A rondolet on the victory of the Lord Jesus Christ by His Passion and Resurrection
(Mark 1:24 and Luke 4:34; John 1:29 and 36;Revelation)
by Salvatore Anthony Luiso
The Lamb has won!
To Christ belongs the victory!
The Lamb has won!
The Holy One of God! The Son!
All glorious in purity,
Triumphant by humility:
The Lamb has won!
No Christian musician ever influenced me as much as Andrae Crouch did. In fact, I modeled my own “music ministry” after his.
Of course, I stunk as a singer and musician, and my attempt to become a contemporary Christian artist ended the day a friend told me, “Jim, your singing is hoarse and out of key, but at least you sing with feeling.”
Oh well. It was painful, but I got the message.
Although I quit singing much in public after that, in my private devotions I always aspired to be more like Andrae Crouch. He sang with feeling too, and I could relate.
I was privileged to see Andrae in concert on numerous occasions. The first time was at an outdoor concert, where I chatted briefly with him as he walked through the crowd and listened to the other groups on the stage before him. Although his group, Andrae Crouch and the Disciples, was the headliner of the day, he was just an approachable, humble brother in the Lord behind the scenes.
But I was the most impacted by a concert in Dayton, Ohio. Andrae’s group was the final act, and I remember sitting through some incredibly boring Southern Gospel groups who came on first.
When the moment finally came for Andrae to take the stage, he was introduced by a rather obnoxious local DJ. For what seemed like an eternity, the DJ went on and on about how great Andrae was, citing all the awards he had already won and all the #1 songs he had written.
The DJ’s introduction was over-the-top, nauseating HYPE, pure and simple. He seemed to be preparing the crowd for Andrae Crouch to suddenly descend from heaven in a cloud of smoke or walk on water as he took the stage. I couldn’t help wondering how Andrae was going to begin his concert after such an uproarious introduction.
The DJ eventually ran out of accolades and declared loudly, “HERE HE IS, GRAMMY AND DOVE AWARD-WINNER, ANDRAE CROUCH!!!”
Despite the hype that preceded him, Andrae took the stage without saying a word. He didn’t greet the audience or even look our way. Nor did he start his concert with a rousing song to match the hype of the DJ’s introduction.
Instead, Andrae quietly sat down on his piano bench, looked toward heaven, and began singing one of my favorite songs: “Thank You, Lord. I just want to thank You, I just want to thank You…for all you’ve done for me.”
The scene still brings tears to my eyes today. Many of us would have fallen into the trap of believing the hype and accepting the accolades for ourselves. But not Andrae Crouch.
Even at the height of his popularity and acclaim, Andrae was careful to lay down his crowns and trophies at the feet of Jesus. You see, that’s what we’ll all do in eternity, but Andrae was wise and humble enough to get a head start on glorifying God while he was still alive.
Today Andrae Crouch is no doubt singing in a much more anointed group than he ever experienced on earth. Casting down their crowns before the Lord’s throne, I’m sure they are singing passionately:
You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created (Revelation 4:11)
Thank You, Lord, for Andrae Crouch. To You be the glory for a life so well spent.
Whenever the revelation of God’s glory shines the brightest, human frailty and foolishness becomes the most apparent. This certainly was true the day Jesus was transfigured before three of His disciples, Peter, James, and John. I love the way this amazing scene is described in The Message translation of Matthew 17:1-8: “Sunlight poured from his face. His clothes were filled with light” (v. 2).
Ordinary humans may reflect God’s glory at times, like Moses did after he had spent 40 days in the Lord’s presence. As believers, each one of us has the incredible opportunity today to reflect His glory in this way: “We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NKJV).
But instead of merely being reflected glory, Jesus’ transfiguration wasn’t something more like “transmitted” glory: “His appearance changed from the inside out” (v. 1 MSG). What a sight it must have been to see “sunlight poured from His face,” as The Message translates verse 2.
Yet things began to get off track when the disciples “realized that Moses and Elijah were also there in deep conversation with him” (v. 3). Peter always had a plan, and he just couldn’t help himself from breaking in on this holy encounter: “Master, this is a great moment! What would you think if I built three memorials here on the mountain—one for you, one for Moses, one for Elijah?” (v. 4)
Peter was well-meaning, of course—just as we are when we come up with bone-headed schemes to advance the kingdom of God. He probably thought Jesus would consider it quite an honor to have a memorial booth built for Him right next to Biblical dignitaries such as Moses and Elijah. But Peter didn’t yet realize that Jesus was in a class all His own. He also didn’t realize how ridiculous and insulting it was to suggest that Jesus, the Son of God, should be confined to a box made by human hands.
Right in the middle of Peter’s rambling proposal, God interrupted him with a stern rebuke: “While he was going on like this, babbling, a light-radiant cloud enveloped them, and sounding from deep in the cloud a voice: ‘This is my Son, marked by my love, focus of my delight. Listen to him’” (v. 5).
It was as if the Heavenly Father was saying, “Thanks for the kindly suggestion, Peter. But instead of coming up with such hair-brained ideas, you need to sit still for a moment and LISTEN for a change!”
I don’t know about you, but I definitely have some of Peter’s tendencies. When I don’t take time to listen, I often come up with crazy ideas for helping God rule the world. Perhaps you can relate.
When Peter and the two other disciples heard this heavenly reprimand, “they fell flat on their faces, scared to death. But Jesus came over and touched them. ‘Don’t be afraid.’ When they opened their eyes and looked around all they saw was Jesus, only Jesus” (vs. 6-8).
I love how this story ends. Peter no longer has any bright ideas. Moses and Elijah are gone, no longer a distraction. When the disciples finally opened their eyes and looked around, “all they saw was Jesus, only Jesus.”
Don’t we all need this kind of glimpse of Jesus from time to time? In addition to transforming us, it would save us a lot of time and energy in not having to build unnecessary and counterproductive monuments to our own ingenuity.
