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It is a shame since this is a good song EXCEPT for McMillan's opinion (not any accurate or scriptural Biblical truth) and explanation of why his friend died in a car accident. The scripture is clear "It Gods will for everyone to receive Christ yet because of our own free choice and will millions do not, and go into a Godless eternity.
Romans 1 states that everyone in creation is born with and knows there is a God. They sear and harden their hearts to this and reject it. They make a choice not God.
It is also not Gods will for anyone to die young. "..with LONG life will I satisfy him and show Him my salvation"
The Scriptures clearly explain God loves us and does not send evil on anyone, for God is incapable of trying of tempting anyone Read the scriptures. PS THE GREEK WORD translated "tempt" IN THE ORIGINAL ANCIENT TEXTS IS "PERAZO" which means "to try, make trial of, test:
in a bad sense, to test one maliciously, craftily to put to the proof his feelings or judgments
c) to try or test one's faith, virtue, character, by enticement to sin
1) to solicit to sin, to tempt
a) of the temptations of the devil
"Let no one say when he is tried, tested or tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by [what is] evil and He Himself tempts no one.
14But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own evil desire (lust, passions).
15Then the evil desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.
16Do not be misled, my beloved brethren.
17Every good gift and every perfect ([d]free, large, full) gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of all [that gives] light, in [the shining of] Whom there can be no variation [rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [as in an eclipse]." James 1:13-17
God has no evil in himself "every GOOD and PERFECT gift comes from GOD.". God's very nature is love. "GOD ISSS LOVE" 1John 4:8 8"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love."
"It is Gods will that all be saved..." yet not all are saved. Many things happen outside of the will of God because of our own doing from our choices, our freedom of choice, free will and satan.
Every person has the power to choose.
Deuteronomy 30:19
"I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: THEREFORE CHOOSE LIFE, that both thou and thy seed may live:"
Everyone has a choice of life or death, blessing and curses, and are to choose life and blessing.
God gave us HIS SPIRIT and HIS WORD to lead us. . . not evil. There is Gods way and there is the hard world's way.
"For as many as are led by the spirit of God these are the children of God" Romans 8:14
"Let the peace of God RULE and UMPIRE in your hearts"
"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart"
God magnifys His word above His own name" Psalm 138:2
"People are destroyed for a lack of knowledge" Hos 4"6
"(First #1.) Submit yourself to God, (and..2.) Resist the devil and he will flee" James 4;7 We are told to first submit and commit our lives to God-(Romans 12:1 like a living sacrifice-NOT A DEAD MARTYR which is no more any earthly Good) then to resist the devil-(who has no more power, just deception, having been totally defeated by Jesus. Colosians 2: 13-15
"..you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements (the law based on performance and works and not faith.) that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
14having blotted out the handwriting in the ordinances that is against us, that was contrary to us, and he hath taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross;
15having stripped the principalities and the authorities, he made a shew of them openly having triumphed over them in it.
Gods plans and will are all good and not evil.
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Don't blame God for problems or so called trials. That is religious tradition and worldly opinions but not Biblical truth. We need to take responsibility for our problems, wrong thinking, gain knowledge, and take our authority using the mighty name above every name that is named, the name of Jesus.
PS Keith Greens death and a few of his children, tragic as it was, died in a tragic plane accident because he overloaded the plane and was warned not to do it. Keith violated the law of lift and gravity. God did not need him in heaven. Keiths family needed him here. God is not a murderer. God allows what we allow.
The key is a lack of knowledge of Gods word and thus NOT COOPERATING with Gods spiritual laws and principles. Hosea 4:6
God is in control of everything. He knows the time of our death to the second before we are even born. He does not will any of this and yes, we are the ones who make choices. But we all have our crosses to bear and God gives us what we can handle. Some people have lost their entire families in one fell swoop while others live their life with a healthy and full family and face only minor trials. God may not will young people to die, but He uses everything to His good purpose. And to try to claim anything different is not biblical. We have NO idea what God has planned but He does give us trials to break us down then build us up in Him.
Being a Christian is the farthest thing from easy like you seem to make it sound. When we die to ourselves and give our lives to Christ we devote ourselves to pain, suffering, humiliation and denial by the world. That is the point! Ever read sermon on the mount or read the stories of Gods chosen people throughout the Bible. He wants good for us, but sometimes we have to fight through torrential waters to get there. This song was born out of pain and it brought John Mark to see how great Gods love is for us, even when a young man dies in an accident!
There are other problems I have with the song, for instance “Heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss”. I do not think that this is a very appropriate way to express God’s love for us, but that is just my opinion as a studying pastor of worship. Also, heaven has not met earth, heaven is not going to meet earth, heaven and earth will be destroyed and there will be a new heaven and new earth. (1 Peter 3:13, Rev. 21:1, plus about a dozen other references). I suppose he was talking about Christ, he just didn’t do it very well.
As to Mcmillan’s claims as to the origins of the song, I don’t doubt his story and that it was a very touching experience, yet his assertions about prophesies and such are rather bold. Also, if only 1 person came to Christ as a result of his friends death, would it not be worth it? He also claims that many, many people are coming to Christ as a result of just hearing the song. Yet, how can they, when his song contains nothing about the gospel? I do not mean to downplay the truth that God loves us, this is evident all throughout scripture, but what about the most gloriously loving act of all? What about Christ’s death on the cross? No one can come into a saving relationship with God without this, yet the song says nothing about it. This song is true in that God loves us, but what about God’s other attributes? His Justice, his Holiness, his completely fulfilled Pleasure within himself, his wrath, his absolute hatred of sin? None of this is understood by the song, and the song is completely void of the Gospel message, which alone can bring us to salvation (Also God’s work in out lives is necessary, although I do not mean to get into a discussion on Calvinism).
As to those who say that they Serve God and not the word (notice the lower case “w”), this cannot be, for God and the Word are one in the same. John 1:1-5 states “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” You cannot Serve the Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob without Believeing in his Word. Without the Word of God, we know nothing. As Paul says in Romans 1 (reference earlier in this blog) all men are witness to the revelation of God in creation, yet if you keep reading, you realise that this revelation has only the power to condemn us, not to save us or give us any real knowledge of God. Knowledge of God comes from the Bible, and is supplemented in many ways by Creation, but it comes solely from the Word of God which he has written through the prophets, apostles, and great men of the faith. The Word has been handed down for the purpose of our continued knowledge and understanding of God.
My point in all of this, is that this song “oh how he loves us”, however well intentioned it is, fails to present the Gospel to a dying world. If Mcmillan truly wanted to reach “the youth of the nation”, he would have written about the Gospel.
I think you are absolutely right on. This song is not written by God. It's a man who felt compelled to write it when he was going through a traumatic time. I was always a little bit put off by the "we are His portion..." part as well. He is our portion and salvation is the prize. God doesn't "need" any of us but he wants us jealously. And this song is definitely missing mention of Jesus.
Nonetheless, I can see why this song is reaching so many people. It's easy to sing and it has a great backstory. I like it because it is a reminder that He loves us and that He has a plan through all the struggle. I don't believe it to be truth from the Bible or from God's own mouth. Anything and everything other than the Bible should be taken with a big grain of salt.
God's word is the only complete truth. In the body we all need to be mindful of the sinfulness of all human beings. Songs, books, movies, etc. written for Christians can be very inspiring and give us new perspectives on God, but if they don't biblically match up they need to be taken lightly. Liking this song isn't wrong, but believing that it's "annointed" or "from God's mouth" is a sign of gullibility. The enemy is never far away from that.
As far as the "Sloppy Wet Kiss" line, I am addressing this last because it is not my biggest problem with the song. I recognize that this is my opinion, and so you can take it or leave it. But I also believe that as a respected and very knowlegable proffessor that I know said: "There are many things in Song of Solomon that Jesus would never do to the church". Song of Solomon is filled with passionate sexual references, and thats ok, thats good, because its talking about a marraige relationship, not about Jesus. Yes We are the bride of Christ, yes there will be a "wedding ceremony", but only in that there are images reflected in marraige that reflect attributes of God's relationship to us. It is an analogy. yes it is biblical and it is right, but the analogy only goes so far. Once we start using sexual terms to describe our relationship to God, we have gone too far. I must go now, but I would love to continue this conversation later.
God loves us through it all. He meets us in our hurting and suffering. He cares for our needs. Even when the world is crashing around us we have Him to cling to. And oh how he loves us - more than we can ever imagine.
But how do we understand that love unless we know Jesus? We must realize Jesus' sacrifice to realize God's love for us. The two go hand in hand. I imagine that the only reason people come to Christ after listening to this song is because they are hearing it paired with a testimony or a sermon about Jesus. Jesus LOVES us. If you know little or nothing about Him, hear about what He did, then hear a song like this you are probably going to get very emotional; emotional enough to give your life over to Christ. So let's stop taking this song so literally. We must remember the root of the song and look back to Jesus.
Also - the sloppy wet kiss is bringing God down to earth level. He does not give sloppy wet kisses. Song of Solomon is written by a man to a woman, not as a metaphor of Christ and the church as many believe. Just because he is the bridegroom and we are the bride that doesn't mean we'll be getting to "know" each other in the biblical sense. That is a need of our sinful flesh and there will not be any sex or making out in heaven. Sorry to use such words but that line is just as disrespectful. That takes all of the praise and exaltation away from God, He is not a sexual being.
And God is at earth level. Jesus was fully man and fully God...Jesus had to identify with man so that He may be our intercessor at the right hand of God. God is still on earth through His spirit. WE ARE HIS INHERITANCE!!!!! So yes, we are His protion....we are His bride.
this song has ABSOLUTLY NO POWER TO CHANGE people...Its GOD WHO CHANGES PEOPLE AND IT IS GOD WHO SPEAKS THROUGH this song.
Deuteronomy 32:9
"For the LORD’s portion is His people;
Jacob is the place of His inheritance."
JMM COULD have gone as far, biblically speaking, as saying that WE are HIS prize!
"And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him." Mal. 3:17
Does that not sound like we are cherished, prized, valued, and absolutely jealously adored by the creator of the universe? Clearly - worshipping Him for eternity will be our prize... but we are CO HEIRS with Christ. We - His chosen ones - are His portion! Isaiah 49 talks about a mother never able to forget her suckling child - and that yes they even could forget but He could NOT forget us. That is amazing to me. Coming from experience I cannot FATHOM forgetting my suckling child... yet how much more so does the Lord think on us? My. How He loves us.
Does every worship song have to include the direct Gospel? I do believe that there is NO other way to the Father but through the blood of Jesus... but our Christian inheritance and hope is beyond the cross... beyond the grave... He is alive! He IS COMING for His BRIDE! His love didn't stop at the cross :O) PRAISE GOD! Doesn't "Amazing Grace" touch many lives yet not directly tell the Gospel? Not every song HAS to be "Just As I Am" or "The Old Rugged Cross" to draw people to want to know MORE about this God that loves them SO much. "Holy, Holy, Holy" is one of the most beloved hymns of all time... I'm sure it has drawn people closer to the Lord... but doesn't directly mention the gospel. "Great is They Faithfulness" mention neither cross, nor blood, nor Jesus. Yet - it is a moving spiritual song. Do you see my point?
And as far as songs being given to us by the Lord... does God not speak to His people? No?
Hebrews 12:25 "See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused Him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from Him who warns us from heaven?"
I will testify that I hear from God. I testify that I woke up in the night with a song written on my heart and knew it was from the Lord. We do not add or take away from scripture to hear from the Lord our God! Or do you think that "that was for then?" I tell you that God is the same today as he was yesterday and will be forever (Hebrews 13:8). So if He spoke to His people then... why not now?
As for the sloppy wet kiss... I get it. I didn't like it at first, either... going so far as to sing "beautiful" in place. I still do that because most people don't get it. I think about some fathers wanting to give their little ones a BIG kiss... sometimes you see the children turning away and cringing... and the dad will just lovingly PLANT one one them. Or the child running up to the parent with a big, sloppy kiddo kiss to plant on a parent they adore. OR when my child is crying and I kiss their tears and smother their hot cheeks with kisses - affirming my great affection for them. My first inclination was a romantic thought (though it could be held in that context as we are His bride. What groom would just shake hands with His bride? Biblical imagery - not man's). I am no longer offended by it!
AND if you've read this far and are STILL with me...according to Strong's
Worship = Proskunew or Proskuneo... pros = to, toward, near, with regard to... and probably derivitive of kuon = a dog licking his master's hand
that would seem kind of unashamedly loving our Master to the point where we may not be totally "controlled" in our worship of him. No dog licks his master's hand with control and precision.
Okay... my two pennies.
"The LORD your God is with you,
He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
He will quiet you with his love,
He will rejoice over you with singing."
I searched on several occasions for a verse that used this language without success, and you of course have found one. From what I can tell, it is describing us as God's people, which I certainly believe. However, I still dont understand why the word portion was used, and so I will continue to study to hopefully understand better. Perhaps there is a better word that the translaters could have used,i will try to look into it.
As for songs like "Holy, holy , holy" not containing direct references to the gospel, thats true. However, look at what they do contain. compare lines like
"Holy, holy, holy!
All the saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns
around the glassy sea;
Cherubim and seraphim
falling down before Thee,
Who was, and is, and
evermore shall be."
to lines like "loves like a hurricane, I am a tree, bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy". In my opinion there is no comparison to the truth that is communicated between the two!
Also lines like "Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!" how important are truths like these in a world where hundreds of thousands of so called "christians" are denying truths like the existance of the trinity?
So many of the older hymns AND QUITE A FEW NEW SONGS AS WELL contain so much more depth and weight and truth than lines like these. I am extremely concerned about so many christians being raised up as what you might call "theological light-weights". we as believers do not seek to study the things of God like we should, and we have a tendency to get bored and even annoyed with theology, when in all reality, it is the greatest thing we could ever study!!! Thank you for your explination of the sloppy wet kiss!!! I would say that that finally makes sense without being a sexual explination of our relationship with christ. However, i think that the ambiguity with which these things are stated is enough for us to question the usefulness of this song. I tried to figure this stuff out, I really did. Obviously im just not that smart of a guy, but i really do try. Me and my girlfriend even got in a little scuffle over this song because when she first heard it she loved it, but when I raised my questions about it, she could not answer them.
Unfortunately, while you may understand the sloppy wet kiss line like you do, which I think is BEAUTIFUL, I dont think that hardly any of the young people who are singing this song have that same understanding, and i think that the understanding that they do have is qhite inappropriate. THerefore, I cannot in good conscience use this song in any kind of worship service.
Trust me, I believe in passionately worshipping God. But I also am very passionate about being as sure as I can that when I lead worship it is the truth of God's word that leads people to be emotional, and not their emotions leading them. If I remember correctly, Proskuneo was first used when the three "strangers" visited Abraham and he bowed down (proskuneo meaning to bow down/lay prostrate) before these men who were actually angels (some have even suggested that one of the figures is actually Christ). I whole-heartedly believe in passionate, physical, emotional, but also intellectual worship, and worship always needs to be as a result of knowing truth about God. Not a response to emotions, or music, or poetry, and this is why the words of our songs are so important.
Thank yo so much for your explinations and insights. I hope that I have not been too judgemental in my comments, however I still cannot justify using this song in a worship context.
Thank you for your kind words. I definitely will not judge you or be offended by your honesty. I would not sing any song and lead others into worship unless it aligned with scripture. I also cannot sing a song I cannot wrap my heart around. Songs like "Famous One" have bugged me, and I won't sing it. No matter how catchy the tune... if I don't feel led I won't do it. So I can respect that you won't lead others with "He Loves Us"... we'll be held accountable if we lead someone astray! So, if you do not feel peace about this song - then just lay it at God's feet and move on. However, be ready to listen and obey if He calls you to do the song... laying aside your reservations.
Just a quick thought on portion. The Hebrew is chalaq which has been translated as divisions; land; inheritance; property; reward; territory; legacy. Legacy is my personal favorite. We are His legacy! Think about it... His hands and feet! We bend to His will, set aside our flesh, die to selves, read His word and listen to His guidance. How amazing is that? Strong's says: deal, distribute, divide, flatter, give, have, imparter, take away a portion. These words confused me. Prayerfully and humbly I consider the word "flatter." How can "portion" be taken as "flatter." WE believers are INTENDED to flatter God with our lives. Do we? Do we live lives in a way that unbelievers will want what we're having? Or do we serve up "seeker friendly" services that look just like the world. But I digress!
I will tell you that I am not one to shun songs like, "It Is Well With My Soul" just because it is old. The story behind it is so incredible... I will say without question that it is only God in that man's weakness being strong. However, I am guessing you are over 30 years old - as am I... and recall a time when most everyone knew who Jesus was... whether they chose to accept or reject Him. I tell you that "He Loves Us" was meant to reach a different generation for His kingdom. It speaks to their hearts and causes them to seek out our God and His Son. Let's be frank with one another(Prov. 27:17). Young people today are not going to be moved by the "old standards" of the earlier church. I grew up on those and appreciate the beauty and truth that lies within them. However, I would not bring them to our body of believers as is. I would definately update it to be "relevent" to today.
I was honestly not a lover of this song the first few times I heard it. I sought out it's alignment with scripture and was satisfied to the point I can use it in my personal worship time. Unfortunately we have enough people in our body that would take offense - barring handing out a scriptural and Hebrew/Greek study guide - we probably will not be doing corporate worship with it.
I just always want to live my life so that others may see Jesus in it... and not the Pharisees. While it falls upon us to keep the Word of God as our "plumb line" to our lives, the word itself shows instances where "the law" was set aside by Jesus to do His Father's work. I am by no means advocating the setting aside and contradicting of God's word... but if there is someone that seeks out the Truth, Love, Grace, Sacrifice, Mercy, Resurrection (and everything else that goes along with it) of Jesus Christ because of this song - would that not be the same as Jesus calling the Pharisees to task in Luke 15?
Okay, my soapbox just crumbled beneath my feet. I am just thrilled that there is a song that has gotten multiple (not just us!) people cracking open their word and searching it carefully and with broken, contrite hearts. Our God is such an awesome God and worthy of our praises!
God bless,
jen
Oh, and Christians debating instead of living out the very truths they're debating about.
Actually, no that's just sad.
Feel free to comment and debate what I just said. Meanwhile I'll be on to the next opportunity to help the lost get saved, and the saved grow as disciples.
Oh, but please... keep debating.
It is up to us to correct one another in love. 2 Tim 3:16 says "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness," So many Christians that don't know and/or don't follow the teachings laid down in the Word of God... many are giving "Christianity" a bad name. If we lived out what is set for in the scriptures... this world wouldn't be falling as quickly as it is.
Who said we aren't serving? :o) I am!
my farther in heaven no matter what people say,pressure
dont mean nothin to me.
Guess we will always try to correct each other and "one up" each other through scripture too.
God Bless you all and happy holidays!
Question, why does it seem like with knowledge comes judgement? Does it have to be that way?
Thank God He does... we certainly need that kind of love. I know I do.
"Oh, how He loves us...oh, how He loves us..."
I am moved by these words, and no one can take that feeling away from me if it brings me closer to my Saviour.
When people write, think, or say this... it just means they clearly haven't experienced the true love of God. Just some cracker jack prize renamed and disguised as love. It makes me sad for the cookie cutter Christians that put God in a box to feel comfortable. He's so much bigger then the silly debates to who He really is. The word says, 'God is love'. If that's not good enough... bummer. He created us to be creative. The song was creative and reaches those who truly understands what God's love is all about. An intense desire to have a relationship with us. I think JMM does a great job interpreting that message through this song.
Really good work! Thank you for your Bible study on "portion" - you saved the song for me. I was about to give up on learning it and incorporating it into my worship. Thanks and keep it up!
Just wondering - what are your insights on "Famous One"? Do you see a theological problem with it?
Hey everyone: let's not forget that the writer of "Oh How He Loves" didn't plan on it being a congregational worship song - it was for private devotion but it just so happened to speak to many hearts. Go easy and gracefully please.
Agape!
I don't find your comments offensive in the least. Thank you for caring enough to look more deeply into the scriptural truths in this song.
How often do we just sing what the worship leader presents without really understanding what we're singing? I know I fall guilty.
I've also wondered about Famous One and would love to hear your insights.
As for my opinion, I absolutely love the chorus of this song, and it's been runnning through my head like crazy lately. What a beautiful reminder throughout my day.
My 2 teenage daughters go to church twice a week but have never really FULLY learned about an intimate relationship with Christ. They know about what it means...they can quote scripture about it...but the deep personal part has not yet quickened them. They still listen to secular music BUT I listen to Christian music and when this song comes on the radio and we are out and about....they hear it over their headsets and immediately you can see them transform and with tears while singing they are reminded of Gods great and merciful love...they have written these words down and shared the simplicity of it with friends....How He love us.....so simple to grasp.....How God loves us OH......tender touching and penetrating the hearts of our youth. I am not going to debate some of the words...but I will say that teens can relate the "wet sloppy kiss" and can see that picture much more clearly than we can, Intimate! Christ, his Bride and intimacy and I believe their hearts are softening for the Lord and soon they will have that moment when they finally understand what it means to be loved completely and wonderfully by God. Today's Christian music can do that for them... Grace over you!!
Sorry it took so long to respond. I am very passionate about this song, and just love to sing it wherever I am and feel close to my Lord!
Okay - about "Famous One." I honestly could not get my heart around it. I did some inward searching and realized that it was simple. It comes down to calling our Lord the "Famous One." Like there is any other Lord or should be any other Lord. If the lyrics had said, "You are our Lord, The ONLY one" maybe it wouldn't bother me. Nothing deeply theological. Again, there might be someone out there that enjoys this song immensely.
Come and die so you may truly live!
Bless all of you!
Jen
To exhaustively understand God and comprehensively define Him would be to deny our humanity in the light of His divinity. To attempt to wrap the God of truth around a few chords and words would do injustice to His expansive nature. While it was at the cross that His love was poured out FOR ALL TO SEE, it was since creation, since "In the beginning.....", that His love was present and demonstrated.
Worship in its essence (without being trained in Hebrew or Greek) is the consumation of our very being in response to God. We express this need through songs, giving, poetry and so on. How then can an expression be intristically wrong?
You know, the real problem here is that the Church has become so tied up with fear of conforming to the world that we have become somewhat irrelevant! We confuse personality with morality, symptoms with behaviour, humility with pride, even worship with song.
Let me share a testimony of how this song has reached me and my Church. I come from a country where Islam is the pre-dominant religion and Jesus cannot be preached openly or rather to a certain ethnic group. Despite opposition and placing our lives at risk, a few of us make frequent visits to these villages, preaching the gospel and laying hands on the sick. We have witnessed many miracles but none as breath taking as the miracle of a soul being touched by the love of God. No elaborate doctrine preached, no creed professed, no detailed study of God.
Just like the song " Jesus loves me this I know", people turned their lives over to their Saviour, this Jesus who was once foreign to them, but now miraculously close to their hearts. Then of course, there was teaching and discipleship.
A friend who led the team had just returned from the US and brought along a Jesus Culture CD. On the night we returned from an amazing 4 day trip, I heard 'how He loves' for the first time and I was sobbing like a child! Not because it was touching or I liked the words or it was theologically sound, but because I saw a vision of the blood of Jesus Christ covering multitudes of people, of different tribes and races and I heard Him say, "This blood was for them too". Intellectually I oblidged the thought, emotionally I was stricken with both awe and urgency, spiritually I worshipped abandoned to the truth, THE Truth.
I took that vision to my Church and many, many have had a touch from God through that very song. I'd like to end by saying this. Worship was never meant to be about the type of music being played or how one's expression is worded through the lyrics of a song. While I appreciate sound theology in what is declared or being sung in a congregation, the 'worship experience' at its very core is that 'secret place' where its only you and God. Words and music serve only to get you to your destination and the journey ends with finding Him waiting for you with open arms.
Why can't you see the good this song is doing and praise it for that if nothing else?
"we eat our own the bones and all" - relientk
This is why I hate telling people I am a christian. Thank God He didn't say I couldn't be ashamed of fellow believers.
Also I like the sloppy wet kiss part. I find it in no way offessive. I see it like this; I just became a father 3 months ago. Everything that is good and loving about my fathering comes from the example given by my heavenly father. I want to do what I want but i choose not to for well being of my daughter. Now I also love nothing more than to give my daughter sloppy wet kisses and her face lights up with a huge smile and she knows that she is loved. Now I do not understand why God would not want to that to us.
I think the bottom line is that we were created for one pupose to be loved by God. Because I was first loved by him I can now love.
I introduced this song to my Youth last summer and the Lord loved through the song. I introduced it to my congregation in January and I wisely used the Crowder line "unforeseen kiss" instead of "sloppy wet kiss". If I were to error, I wanted to error on the side of not offending people. The Youth still shout out the original line. I always smile to hear 300 youth singing the correct line. If that is the hangup for any of you I would recommend using this line. Great song and a great corporate song.
I introduced this song to my Youth last summer and the Lord moved through the song. I introduced it to my congregation in January and I wisely used the Crowder line "unforeseen kiss" instead of "sloppy wet kiss". If I were to error, I wanted to error on the side of not offending people. The Youth still shout out the original line. I always smile when I hear 300 youth singing the correct line.
If that is the hangup for any of you I would recommend using the Unforeseen line. Great song and a great corporate song.
OH HOW HE LOVES US. It is a profound statement that points to the cross!
It is pretty simple!
We missed it the first time, because...
The messiah couldn't come from Nazareth...
Wasn't he Mary's son, born out of wedlock?...
This song is so touching and ministers so deeply.
Let us trust God to lead people to the truth.
We are not the "Junior Holy Spirit"!
He loves us! The simple truth of the gospel, the Good News, that God so loved the world that...John 3:16?
How many of us knew (know) everything? None!
But this song makes people think about His love and there is no other lasting draw to God through His son, except his Love. If the law was the answer, we wouldn't have needed Jesus.
I love the way that this song is simple in terms of the line about the hurricane. We've all seen the force of a hurricane (on tv or for real) so this is a really good way to try and show how powerful God is. Love Love Love :)
I came to look up the lyrics and stumbled upon this page where there seems to be a debate of sorts on it.
I'm a senior in high school & completely fell in love with this song at a youth conference I attended a few weeks ago.
I've grown up in the church and have heard countless messages about his LOVE, but this song made it... oh so real again. <3
To DEREK: I agree that the song doesn't encompass all of God's traits, nor the entire Bible. But it does have the message of the gospel: LOVE. He loved us while we were yet sinners. I believe that as a person grows in God, they begin to increasingly understand the vast nature of our God. His love, his passion & even his wrath, as you mentioned.
But to an unbeliever, that is what changes a heart. What changes a life. When they get even a GLIMPSE of God's undeserved, unending and unconditional LOVE for them. People come to churches with CRACKS in their souls--sin, hatred, bitterness, all the baggage of the world.
And the only thing that can truly mend those hearts is the love of God. <3
"Sloppy wet kiss." (: Haha, I was taken aback when I first heard the line. But as I've thought about it, I realized that GOD IS PASSIONATELY IN LOVE WITH ME.(: And I think that's the message the writer's trying to convey. That passion overrides everything; He doesn't care that it's not the prettiest thing, but He just LOVES us so much. (:
I'm of the belief that the Holy Spirit uses anything & anyone to fulfill its purpose: to bring the lost to Christ. And though I don't know this man's background, I know for a fact that the words, though they might not be eloquent or theologically sound or complete in thought, THEY TOUCH THE HEARTS OF A GENERATION ACHING FOR THIS LOVE THAT I KNOW. A generation who lacks father figures, who haven't seen examples of true love, who see themselves as low & unworthy of ever being loved. It sends the simple message: HE LOVES US. <3
Grow a pair and shut up.
C
He is jealous for me,
Am
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
G F
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
C
When all of a sudden,
Am
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
G
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
F
And how great Your affections are for me. (2nd time - Oh how He Loves)
PRE CHORUS:
C Am
And oh, how He loves us oh
G
Oh how He loves us,
F
How He loves us all
C Am
*Play Verse 1 again louder
CHORUS:
C
He loves us,
Am
Oh how He loves us,
G
Oh how He loves us,
F
Oh how He loves.
VERSE 2:
C
We are His portion and He is our prize,
Am
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
G F
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
C
So Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss,
Am
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
G
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
F
When I think about, the way…
PRE CHORUS:
C Am
And oh, how He loves us oh
G
Oh how He loves us,
F
How He loves us all... How He Loves
CHORUS:
C
Yeah, He loves us,
Am
Oh how He loves us,
G
Oh how He loves us,
F
Oh how He loves.
C
Yeah, He loves us,
Am
Oh how He loves us,
G
Oh how He loves us,
F C
Oh how He loves us oh.
I feel like a hundred and fifty years ago, nobody called themselves an American. They'd say, "I'm from this state, and we belong to the South," or "I'm from this city, and we belong to the North." If you are at war with someone, how can you belong to the same country as them? But, when I ask you who you are, I'm sure many of you would tell me your church, and what denomination it belongs to. And if I asked where your denomination finds it's origins, I would eventually find out that it came about because members of it used to belong to another denomination, they had some disagreements, and instead of compromising, they split off. Can you really call yourselves Christians, united in Christ, when you are not united at all? How can you ask me to call myself one of you?
Even if you came into this thread with the pretense to raise questions without drawing any anger or bickering, how can you think that it would not result in discord? Because of people like you, I am to shove my feelings for God and his creation into a box? So slight are your observations and contradictions to this song and yet how entirely caustic. After reading some of your objections, it is undeniably clear that no one should write a song or say anything about or to God if the words he or she uses aren't in scripture. Perhaps I should show up at your wedding to scrutinize your relationship with your husband or wife to see if your relationship fits within MY Biblical understanding of how a married couple should be. How does that sound? Or maybe you can all go dig up John's friend Stephen's body and bring it over to his house, and then ask John if Stephen knew when he was alive that his best friend was gonna use his death to write a song that just doesn't line up with YOUR understanding of scripture, and he therefore obviously doesn't love the one true God, and since love and truth both come from God, he therefore didn't truthfully love his friend Stephen. IS THIS WHAT HE DIED FOR? Maybe God took Stephen away just so he wouldn't have to watch everything Christ did become trivialized to this. Imagine if He were on that cross today, right now, how many cliche Christian t-shirt stands there would be on the sides of the road on which he carried our shame, how many vendors pandering plastic cross necklaces for us to wear while we look on as the one undeserving man in all of history carries a real one. I tell you the truth, all of us today carry trinket crosses, and we would do very little beyond the bumper stickers on the backs of our cars to make the kind of sacrifice that Jesus has.
I suppose I missed the eleventh Commandment, where we're supposed to argue over the internet and accomplish nothing for the kingdom. So lost are we, that we don't even have an inkling of an idea of what love is, nor how to arrive at a place where we could possibly accept it into our lives. HOW CAN WE THEN BE SAVED? IF GRACE IS AN OCEAN, THEN WE ARE DYING IN THE DESERT, AND WE WON'T BE HAVING ANY OF GOD'S WATER. But I don't want it anymore. I don't want to have to go to heaven, and stand before Stephen, and Jesus, and all the Saints, and tell them that whereas two thousand years ago people would die and it would start a revolution and change everything, today, they die and we just argue over whether or not we can draw any connections to scripture, picking at the Bible like it's Stephen's rotting corpse, and we're all just vultures, sampling each denominational carcass to make sure we've found the right one. We are disgusting. Filthy. And vile. So wretched and despicable, every awful and horrible thing to ever happen to us is too good for us to have deserved it, that hell itself should open it's maw and we would all go reap everything we've sown and inherit all the atrocities and suffering that we have coming to us, we still couldn't ever be able to comprehend just how much that place is exactly where s**t like us belong; That is exactly what we ought to receive as reward for everything we've done. For everything we are.
And He loves us.
Oh, how He loves us. Oh, how He loves us. Oh how He loves...
All i know is that I needed this song to be sung that night, to feel God's love. And we sang. And I felt.
And it was glorious.
honestly kind of hate that I even have to write this blog.
I have realized that the song “How He Loves” has become very personal to many people, and it honestly doesn’t really belong to me, or Kim Walker, or David Crowder. It belongs to them. I would like to say I’m sorry if I let you down by allowing the words to be changed in David’s version. My version and Kim’s will always be the same. David contacted me and very sincerely asked if it would be cool to change a couple words in his version, because he knew that there are literally thousands of people who would never hear the song the way it was. After a couple weeks of thought I decided to go ahead with it. Mostly because I knew it was only a matter of time before someone recorded a version with a different line, and honestly, I was glad for David to be the one to do it.
I have tons of respect for David. He’s super sweet, humble, talented, and a very intelligent guy. I’m certainly flattered that people would be so passionate about my original version of the song, but I feel bad that David’s taken so much flack over this whole deal. Especially since he went out of his way to include me in the whole process. Not to mention, he has given me WAY more credit than most songwriters ever receive from a performer who covers their song. David has told the story of the song and given me full credit on countless radio interviews and press releases. This is actually pretty unheard of. In case you don't know, most songs on the radio are covers. When's last time you heard an artist reference the writer of a song?
All this to say, I don’t have a problem with David changing the line because he knows the people he is serving, and that line would have isolated the song from those people.
What I do have a problem with though, is that the condition of greater Christianity would be as such that he would even have to change it. I think the fact that a line like “Sloppy wet kiss” could be controversial is ridiculous. Are we in kindergarten? Has any one out there not had or at least expected to some day, engage in a sloppy wet kiss? Have Christians decided to stop procreating and let Islamic extremists populate the whole earth?
Some folks are genuinely sad because a song so personal to them seems to have been messed with, and others seem to be glad that you can now sing this song in church with your grandparents. I understand both of those sentiments, and don’t have an issue with either. Still many of the people, on both ends, who seem to be making a big deal out of it, have both seemed to misunderstand the lyric. It seems that people either hate it or love it because they think I’m some how talking about kissing God. Please folks, I never ever, ever, ever, thought of this line as though it was talking about kissing God. Please read the words.
“HEAVEN meets EARTH like a sloppy wet kiss”
The idea behind the lyric is that the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of earth converge in a way that is both beautiful and awkwardly messy. Think about the birth of a child, or even the death of Jesus himself. These miracles are both incredibly beautiful and incredibly sloppy ("gory" may be more realistic, but “Heaven meets earth like a gory mess” didn’t seem to have the same ring). Why does the church have such a problem with things being sloppy? Do we really think we’re fooling anyone on Sunday morning, especially God? Are we going to offend him? I mean, he’s seen us naked in the shower all week and knows our worst thoughts, and still thinks we’re awesome. What if we took all the energy we spent faking and used that energy to enjoy the Lord instead? That could be revolutionary!
Final thoughts:
I applaud David for changing the line to serve his people, and at the same time I boo the machinery that would cause him to have to do so.
There are FAR too many songs in this day and age that are bringing in New Age spiritual ideas into the church, while the Christian culture unwittingly embraces them...because they dont know (1) The Bible to help them discern error and (2) the extent to which New Age lingo has infiltrated the church and (3) the growing influence of "a New kind of Christianity" being promoted in a large number of churches today.
We sing songs that touch us emotionally, read books 'about Gpd' that touch us emotionally, yet are in direct conflict with what the Bible tells us about God. When we emotionally and mentally connect with an image of God that is a false image of God, we border on worshipping a god of our imagination, and not the God of the Bible...no matter how much we think we are worshipping Him. I know this will sound legalistic to some who do not realize the extent of this problem in 'churchianity' today.
For those who know God's Word (which the Bible says is how we come to KNOW Him in TRUTH), you hear songs like this and may say..."oh, this is harmless...I know what these words really mean"... and this type of discussion about symatics seems like an unneccessary debate...and legalistic, especially if your church and the people you reach dont seem impacted by the things I am mentioning here. However, for searching people, they are bombarded with messages about what 'god' is that are false...and many of them also speak of god as Love...and LOVE as all that GOD is. Not Jesus Christ, but the Christ Consiousness. Not a God that has any wrath or that hates sin...but just that we all need to "love" eachother and God...and that is all there is. There is a fine line between Biblical truth and deception in the age in which we are living, where MUCH error is coming into the church.
The Bible tells of a time when "they will not endure sound doctrine, but surround themselves with a great number of teachers who tell them what their tickling ears want to hear". It says that in the end MULTITUDES UPON MULTITUDES will say "Lord, Lord...did we not prophesy, cast out demons, heal, etc. in YOUR NAME...only to hear...depart from me, for I never knew you." This is a SOBER warning. It is heartbreaking...for it means many who claim CHRISTIANITY will be turned away from our Lord. WHY???? For a lack of KNOWLEDGE!!! We can have a great zeal for God and emotionally feelings about God...but if we do know worship Him in SPIRIT AND TRUTH, we do not KNOW HIM AT ALL!
Spirit without truth leads to a false relationship with God. And Truth without Spirit does as well. It is not an either or proposition. Legalism or Love.
I dare to say that statistics are sobering. While 79% of Americans claim to be Christians...only 4.6% believe in the 5 fundamental teachings of the Bible that are needed for Salvation. Christ is Diety, Born of a virgin, rose from the dead, Salvation is grace through faith-not of works, the Bible is God's Word, and there is no other way apart from Salvation/Belief in Christ to get to God. ONLY 4.6%!!!! We are in the state of the church we are today because people DONT KNOW TRUTH. We are NOT discerning. We do NOT LOVE TRUTH, as God commands us to. And thus, when people call us to the truth and to be more discerning...we all get offended. That is sad!
We must be lovers of TRUTH. God IS Truth. We need to know Him and help others to know truth about Him so that we are worshipping IN SPIRIT...the RIGHT Spirit.
So PLEASE...lets all be loving toward one another and HUMBLE. Dont assume wrong motives of one another. Jennifer and Derek clearly LOVE GOD and are doing their best to "guard the flock" as The Bible commands those in Christian leadership to do. We have far too few leaders who do so. These fellow believers are being judged, when they are simply loving God AND HIS PEOPLE enough to try their best to be TRUE to Him and not lead others astray. And they are being judged for that. They never bashed the songwriter...only questioned whether THEY should use the song.
If any lesson...lets be more discerning about the songs we choose to sing, listen to, worship to. Lets think on the words and not sing just because of emotionalism. When we know the words and can look to the Bible to help us better understand how they apply to the Truth of God, it will help us better to Worship God both in Spirit AND in Truth...and help us grow more deeply in Love with God and more rooted and grounded in Him. That IS PROFITABLE for the Kingdom!
May God grant us patience and love for one another as we all run the race...and humility as we examine our own hearts and pride that get so easily offended when someone may just be being used to convict us and teach us "as iron sharpens iron".
Blessings!
Anna
I first heard this at the beginning of last school year. My church started a new monthly youth movement, called Uprising. The band that played sang How He Loves, and I'm pretty sure I cried and hawked like a child at the simplicity and beauty of such a statement. He Loves Us. He truly does. I don't deserve it, and neither do you but he does.
Now, I'm odd in that, when I really like a worship song, I like to find the Biblical references and ideas behind the lyrics, and quite frankly, with this one, in all of my studies, I found nothing Biblically unsound.
On the topic of a lack of a Gospel message..... SO WHAT?!?! Yes, I wholeheartedly believe that the Gospel is the only pathway to Christ, but must every attribut of God we worship beonly His sacrifice? No! And who's to say God can't use a song such as this to draw a believer or an unbeliever closer to Him, just because it doesn't contain the GospelI'll tell you who; no one, because that would be belittling and confining an unfathomable, awesome God, who is Holy Holy Holy, who dwells in unapproachable light, who loves us. When I hear and sing this song, I am moved to tears not out of sadness, but sheer joy! But I'm allso just blown away at why the God of the universe would love a wretched piece of clay and dirt like me?!? Who is to say... The fact is He does.
I also think that this song is bettter suited for corporate worship with believers, at it is far more suited to reveal relevant Biblical truths to already believers than to nonb-believers.
On the "sloppy wetvkiss" topic, I think it has a dual meaning.. Yes it simply refers to God's fatherly affection for us, but I also agree that it deals with Christ's incarnation on earth. At a camp I attend called Worldview Academy, we study a concept known as "God's glorious inefficiency". God gets things done in ways that bring him glory and praise, not the easy way. This he also demonstrated in the way he atoned us of our sins; in a sloppy, gory, gruesome, but truly beautiful, and for the last 2,000 years, awe-inspiring way. God's love go us is the most raw, rugged, real, unabashed, unmasked, unrefined, example of love EVER. In fact, I might even describe it as sloppy :)
Anyway, that's my two cents. Some other song that really move me to worship and praise God (and my worship is increasingly including prayer while I'm praising, not just mindlessly singing) are: With Everything, by Hillsong United, True Love by Phil Wickham, and Remedy , by David Crowder band. All of these songs were introduced to me while being a counselor at my church's Middle School camp, and they all lead me to weep uncontrollable, sloppy tears of joy as I cry out in praise and adoration, to a God who loves us, oh, how He loves , oh, hooves us, oh, how he loves:")
God does not use the devils tool bag to teach his kids a lesson. He doesn't kill them early, put sickness on them, or rob them.
That is what the devil does. Just because God knows all and sees all doesn't mean he does all.
He is bound by His word.
There is a HUGE difference between God causing and God permitting. People get this mixed up way too often.
God doesn't need anyone's kids or loved ones in heaven. He didn't send the death angel to harvest them for his neediness.
Just because you aren't able to explain why children die or why accidents happen doesn't mean GOD should get the CREDIT.
We have an ENEMY, HIS NAME IS THE DEVIL. HE GOES AROUND SEEKING WHOM HE MAY DEVOUR. HE LIKES TO STEAL, KILL, and DESTROY.
That's what the DEVIL does, not GOD. Get is straight and keep it straight.
I would add, for the God is Sovereign croud. He is sovereign, but he can't violate his word or promises. He can't go against what he has set in place.
These songs cause mixed seed to be sown. The Bible is clear on what mixed seed does.
These songs water down the gospel and the message of an all powerful Jesus. They cause doubt, fear, and unbelief.
We are called to be overcomers and more than conquerers.
People that say they like them because they can relate to it tells me a few thing.
1. they haven't lined up with Gods word
2. they are more emotionally connected, than faith connected
3. they don't understand God's nature and who he really is
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