TRANSCENDENCE.  That’s what these live performances are for me.  They take me to a different place, lift me up from the low places, take me again to the High Place of God’s presence, and Glory, and Truth.  They feed my spirit, nourish my convictions, keep me wanting More, and keep on taking me to that More.  These re-orient me.  They inspire me to keep living ‘out there’ and bold and risky.  All of them are by my favorite bands, and some of my favorite songs by them.  Two of them arise from a Christian worldview, all of them are filled with passion, longing, and volume.  So crank up that volume, go full screen, and be transported.

The first is U2 playing “Where the Streets Have No Name” at the Rose Bowl.  Starts with Amazing Grace, and it’s that and more. I wonder when Bono’s canonization will be?

Then there’s The Killers with “When You Were Young” at the Royal Albert Hall.  I’d pay big money to be the guitarist 3 minutes in.  And that Brandon Flowers….’nuff said.

Few people know that Rage Against the Machine is one of my all-time favorite bands.   This video (half-live) of “Sleep Now in the Fire” shows why, on many levels.  Zack de la Rocha, Tom Morello…wow.   I sent this to a friend the other day early in the morning and said, “Watch this and you won’t need coffee.”  He watched it _with_ coffee and was wired all day.

And this song is just fantastic anyway, but live?  Get out.  It’s Marcus and the boys playing “I Will Wait” at Red Rocks.  “Raise my hands…Paint my spirit gold… bow my head…Keep my heart slow.”  Oh yes and yes and yes.

(If you watch all those back to back, you may need to watch this to come back down.)

So, these are things that take me to higher ground.  They may not speak to you in the same way, but it begs the question,  “So what DOES take you to a different place, lifts you up from the low places, takes you again to the High Place of God’s presence, and Glory, and Truth, feeds your spirit, nourishes your convictions, keeps you wanting More, and keeps on taking you to that More?”  I encourage you to clearly identify those things, embrace them, create space for them, unapologetically let them lift you, and enjoy them, with God.  He’ll know how to channel the fire that stays lit.