Friday, March 28, 2008

The Great American Novel

I wanted to share some lyrics by Larry Norman that I felt were important, but I was having trouble picking which song to post. There are so many that impacted me in my early Hippie Jesus Freak days, and still do. I decided on The Great American Novel, it is one that is just as relevant today as it was when Larry Norman first sang it in the early 1970's.


THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL
by Larry Norman

I was born and raised an orphan
in a land that once was free
in a land that poured its love out on the moon
and I grew up in the shadows
of your silos filled with grain
but you never helped to fill my empty spoon

And when I was ten you murdered law
with courtroom politics
and you learned to make a lie sound just like truth
but I know you better now
and I don't fall for all your tricks
and you've lost the one advantage of my youth

You kill a black man at midnight
just for talking to your daughter
then you make his wife your mistress
and you leave her without water
and the sheet you wear upon your face
is the sheet your children sleep on
at every meal you say a prayer
you don't believe but still you keep on

And your money says in God we trust
but it's against the law to pray in school
you say we beat the Russians to the moon
and I say you starved your children to do it

You are far across the ocean
in a war that is not your own
and while you're winning theirs
you're gonna lose the one at home
do you really think the only way
to bring about the peace
is to sacrifice your children
and kill all your enemies

The politicians all make speeches
while the news men all take notes
and they exaggerate the issues
as they shove them down our throats
is it really up to them whether
this country sinks or floats
well I wonder who would lead us
if none of us would vote

Well my phone is tapped
and my lips are chapped
from whispering through the fence
you know every move I make
or is that just coincidence
will you try to make my way of life
a little less like jail
if I promise to make tapes and slides
and send them through the mail

And your money says in God we trust
but it's against the law to pray in school
you say we beat the Russians to the moon
and I say you starved your children to do it

You say all men are equal all men are brothers
then why are the rich more equal than others
don't ask me for the answers I've only got one
that a man leaves his darkness
when he follows the Son


Peace, Love, and Light through Jesus the Christ!
Kevin (Cloud)

Monday, March 24, 2008

Larry Norman Has Left The Planet

Larry Norman influenced my life so much with his writing and his music. Larry was THE pioneer in Christian Rock music and was considered the poet laureate of the Jesus People Movement in the late 1960's.

Larry Norman, 'Father of Christian Rock,' Dies at 60

Here is part of Larry's final message...
"I feel like a prize in a box of cracker jacks with God's hand reaching down to pick me up. I have been under medical care for months. My wounds are getting bigger. I have trouble breathing. I am ready to fly home....

...Goodbye, farewell, we'll meet again somewhere beyond the sky.
I pray that you will stay with God
Goodbye, my friends, goodbye."


Missing you Bro... looking forward to meeting you in eternity!

Peace, Love, and Light through Jesus the Christ!
Kevin (Cloud)

Friday, March 21, 2008

Sunday, March 16, 2008

5 Years Of War

"War Sucks!" read the signs carried by the Code Pink group as they marched yesterday in the rain. War sucks the life and the resources out of our nation explained several of the marchers as we walked along the sidewalk listening to the drumbeat of makeshift percussion. We personally didn't make the entire route because we were pushing a toddler in a stroller and the rain was getting worse, but we did march a few blocks before ducking into a fast food restaurant.

It's been five years folks! Let's find a way out!

Peace, Love, and Light through Jesus the Christ!
Kevin (Cloud)

Saturday, March 15, 2008

So What Color Was Jesus?

There was a lot of discussion this week in the media about race. I can't help but wonder why we are comfortable having a man of color die for our sins, but electing a black man as President seems to bring up so many ugly feelings and comments. So... really, what color was Jesus? Is white America ready for the possibility that Jesus may have looked like the people blowing-up our troops in Iraq or even the African-American candidate running for the highest office in the land? According to an article by Giles Wilson in the BBC News Online Magazine Jesus was most likely 'a man of color'. The article quotes Professor Vincent Wimbush, an expert on ethnic interpretations of the Bible at California's Claremont Graduate University, who says the matter of the historical color of Jesus seems to him a "flat, dead-end issue". "He's of Mediterranean stock, and it's quite clear what that means. We see people like that in the world today, and that should end the matter." The article also quotes New Testament scholar Dr Mark Goodacre, of the University of Birmingham. Dr Goodacre was involved in the reconstruction of a Middle Eastern first century skull for the BBC's Son of God program in 2001, which resulted in a suggestion of what a man like Jesus might have looked like. Dr Goodacre said that "We do seem to have a relatively dark skinned Jesus. In contemporary parlance I think the safest thing is to talk about Jesus as 'a man of color'." This probably means olive-coloured, he says. Why in the 21st century are we still being divided by race issues?
Colored People - by Dc Talk Pardon me, your epidermis is showing, sir I couldn’t help but note your shade of melanin I tip my hat to the colorful arrangement Cause I see the beauty in the tones of our skin We’ve gotta come together And thank the Maker of us all (chorus) We’re colored people, and we live in a tainted place We’re colored people, and they call us the human race We’ve got a history so full of mistakes And we are colored people who depend on a holy grace A piece of canvas is only the beginning for It takes on character with every loving stroke This thing of beauty is the passion of an artist’s heart By God’s design, we are a skin kaleidoscope We’ve gotta come together, Aren’t we all human after all? (repeat chorus) Ignorance has wronged some races And vengeance is the Lord’s If we aspire to share this space Repentance is the cure Well, just a day in the shoes of a color blind man Should make it easy for you to see That these diverse tones do more than cover our bones As a part of our anatomy (repeat chorus) We’re colored people, and they call us the human race [oh, colored people] We’re colored people, and we all gotta share this space [yeah we’ve got to come together somehow] We’re colored people, and we live in a tainted world [red and yellow, black and white] We’re colored people, every man, woman, boy, and girl [colored people, colored people, colored people, colored people, yeah]
Here are some 1st century comments about race...
For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:26-28) ...put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all. (Colossians 3:10-11) For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many. (1 Corinthians 12:13-14)
Peace, Love, and Light through Jesus the Christ! Kevin (Cloud)

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Bomb Bomb Bomb, Bomb Bomb Iran????

Speaking at Murrells Inlet VFW Hall in South Carolina last year, John McCain was asked what to do about Iran...

His answer was to sing "Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran" to the tune of Barbara Ann, a popular Beach Boys song.

Recently John McCain received the endorsement of popular televangelist John Hagee. Last year I was given one of Hagee's books titled "Jerusalem Countdown", I will not attempt to review the book or Hagee's eschatology, but in it he endorses a preemptive strike against Iran to protect Israel.

Does this give John McCain the moral and spiritual backing he needs for expanding the conflict in the middle east? Now with Admiral William Fallon out of the way will Bush and McCain move forward with an attack on Iran? Is this the green light they most likely were looking for? Pray for peace!

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone - for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.
(1Timothy 2:1-2)


Peace, Love, and Light through Jesus the Christ!


Kevin (Cloud)

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Who Would Jesus Bomb?

While listening to the news of Admiral Fallon's early retirement, I thought it was necessary to post about the message of peace. A monk gave me this pin when my wife and I visited a monastery in Big Sur a few years back, I have kept it in plain sight ever since to remind me of Jesus' message...

"But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. " -Jesus
(Luke 6:35)


Admiral William Fallon the commander of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, resigned yesterday. Admiral Fallon didn't believe that war with Iran made sense or was winnable. Let's hope and pray that someone else with some common sense replaces Admiral Fallon and keeps us out of Iran.

Peace, Love, and Light through Jesus the Christ!
Kevin (Cloud)