Thought Quotient

I will come to you
if you don’t mind this mess
Cause I have brushed up my act,
but I’m still an orphan trying to look her best

There’s been talk all over town
about the one who fixes the broken down

I will come to you
if you don’t mind my unfaithfulness
Cause I have put my hand to the plow,
but my spirit was barely in it

There’s been talk all in these parts
about the one who warms the coldest hearts

Alathea - ‘Broken Down’

People ask us, “So you’re from East Tennessee, do you have a refrigerator on your front porch?” We say, ” Well, maybe.” We’ve actually decided that it’s a pretty smart idea - put all your broken stuff out on the porch, and just maybe someone will come by and fix it. And maybe we shouldn’t stop there but put the broken things in our heart out, so when the Healer comes through town, He’ll know to stop by. When Jesus was here on earth, people went even further - they carried the sick into the marketplaces or wherever He was. “And all who touched Him were healed.” - Alathea

“We are the faded, splintered and sedated”

We’re all trying to make ourselves appear new, or that we’ve got it all together. We’re all hurting in some way and the temporary sedative gets chosen before the everlasting Savior. A ‘quick fix’ may not be a fix after all. Politicians can’t fix our sin problem - and neither can we. Only God can change our hearts for good. A song on Switchfoot’s album ‘Nothing Is Sound’ touches on that…

Everything is broken, everything is broken
Everything is breaking down, breaking down
Everything is bleeding, everything is bleeding
Everything is breaking down, breaking down

I pledge allegiance to a country without borders, without politicians
Watching for my sky gets torn apart
We are broken, we are bitter
We’re the problem, we’re the politicians
Watching for our sky to get torn apart
Come on and break me

Entropy and aching, where have we been aiming
Everything is fading out, fading out
We are the faded, splintered and sedated
Everything is fading out, fading out

Switchfoot - ‘Politicians’

We played this one downtown in Washington DC, surrounded on all sides by the government buildings. You see, I believe in democracy because I mistrust all humanity equally, (including myself). Power corrupts us all and we become political, (in the worst connotation of the word). We become simply pawns of our own insatiable hunger for control. Maybe control is a myth, like Santa Claus or the easter bunny: a nice fable that makes the children want to be good all year round. Well, seems to me there’s a monster in all of us. I pledge allegiance to a nation without borders, without pride, without politicians like ourselves. - Jon Foreman

This week you can download free sheet music for the song ‘Son of God’ by Starfield compliments of Worship Together.

• Worship Together free song index

It’s also the featured Bible Study as well…

• Son Of God by Jon Neufeld of Starfield

If you’re registered, you can view Jon and Tim as they play it on ‘New Song Cafe’…

After their performance, they show - host Vicky Beeching and us - the chords so we can play it too. Props to Jon for the use of bar chords!

Also, here’s some video of the guys in honor of this week’s release of ‘Beauty In the Broken’…

• Windows Media
• Real Media

I’m not alright
I’m broken inside
…broken inside

And all I go through
it leads me to You
it leads me to You

Sanctus Real - “I’m Not Alright”

“It’s been an unbelievably hard year for the band, but we’ve learned to rely on God’s grace, and we’ve learned to be honest and transparent. Being honest and transparent means not faking it. It has to be OK to say, ‘No, I’m not alright’.” - Mark Graalman

(more…)

Mark Hall (Casting Crowns) – “As a youth pastor, I’m always searching for good music for my students. I’ve been stung a few times in the past by the attitudes and the lifestyles of the bands I’ve promoted. This has made me very weary of talking up bands before I put them on my stage or play their music at my events. Recently, a friend told me about a new band called Starfield. On my friends promise that they were the real deal, I had them come and perform for my students on a Sunday. Their humble hearts and high energy for Jesus made me want them to minister to my kids and share the stage with Casting Crowns. We’ve found another good one!”

Chris Tomlin – “I just spent a couple of weeks on the road with the Starfield boys and I am a fan. I already knew that their music was good, but their hearts for God and His people stood out the most. Their attitude toward ministry was refreshing.”

The world has no use for broken things. But thankfully God does, and He not only uses broken people, but he can do what no one else can do. Bethany Dillon reminds us of that in a song from her latest album…

The same sun that rises over castles
and welcomes the day
Spills over buildings into the streets
where orphans play

And only You can see the good in broken things
You took my heart of stone and made it home
And set this prisoner free

Hallelujah, hallelujah
Whatever’s in front of me
Help me to sing hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Whatever’s in front of me
I’ll choose to sing hallelujah

Bethany Dillon - ‘Hallelujah‘

What a journey writing this was. We call it “the Job song.” I love his story—his character of heart actually inspired much of it. I long to have the peace he had in the middle of loss and feeling abandoned by God. I think that’s why it’s so powerful for me to remind myself of God’s sovereign-goodness when a fallen world is standing right in front of me. - Bethany Dillon

Related Links:

• Only God can change our hearts for good