Time Travel

Travel back in time with me a bit, back to the Garden of Eden. The fall of man, after the fall, God curses the serpent, and the woman and the man. He says in Genesis 3:17 God curses the ground, the earth. Not only are we cursed, but the earth is cursed as well. Then lets fast forward to an unknown time, Revelation 22 talks about the new Jerusalem. So we have two choices, look back to the garden and try to restore the order, to undo the curse, or we can look forward to the city and hope for what is to come. I think a lot of times as Christians we tend to look back to the garden, to try to fix the curse, but we can’t fix it. We are cursed, we are bad, we are evil people, we can’t do anything about it. The only thing that can help us is Jesus Christ. He helps us overcome the curse. He turns our heads to look toward the new city. So on this journey, press on towards the hope that we have to come, a new heaven and a new earth.

Artist of the Week

One of my most favorite bands of all time is Third Day. I have seen them in concert 5 times, and they are simply amazing. Mac Powell has a magnificent voice that is very distinct. You know that a band that is that big and has been around for as long as they have is real. They are in it for the right reasons. God has given all of them amazing talents. One of the coolest things that Third Day and especially Mac Powell does is help start up bands into the Christian music realm with his production company. One of the bands he helped get into the Christian music industry is this week's artist of the week. Revive comes out of Australia and they rock. Their newest album titled Chorus of the Saints is a hit in the US. Mac Powell produced this album for Revive. I could write the story of Revive and make you read it on your computer, but instead I will let you watch the story, so click here to watch the story of Revive.

I give Revive 4 out of 5 dundies on lyrical content. I give them 4 out of 5 dundies on musical style and talent. They have a great style of worship music. They are very talented musicians as well, and I am looking forward to more albums from them as they continue to use the talents that the Lord has given them. Here are the lyrics of this weeks song, You Know. This song also features Mac Powell. The Australian accent of lead singer Dave Hanbury and Mac’s voice really blend well for a great song. Click on Artist of the Week to hear the song on YouTube.
Enjoy!

I have so many dreams for my life
I'm going this way and that
I'm spending so much time worrying
About how it's all turning out

But You know where I've been
And You know where I'm going
'Cause You see all my plans for what they are
I lay them all down

You keep the sparrow flying in the sky
Why do I question You
The flowers of the field are beautiful
I'm a child in the arms of my Father

And You know where I've been
And You know where I'm going
'Cause You see all my plans for what they are

So many times You've held me near
And brought me through the storm
And You never made me do it on my own
Through broken hearts and broken dreams
My hope in You is strong
There is nothing in my life You haven't known

And You know where I've been
And You know where I'm going
'Cause You see all my plans for what they are

And You know
And You know
'Cause You see all my plans for what they are
I lay them all down

Loud and Clear

What should I do? What is there to do when you are surrounded by people who don’t want anything to do with the true Gospel? When the Gospel as the Bible clearly shows us is called old fashioned or is out of context because our culture is so “different”, what do you do? Well, you do what the Bible tells you. Paul solemnly charges Timothy to preach the Word in 2 Timothy chapter 4. So when people around you are saying that the message of the Gospel isn’t about Christ dying on the cross but about Jesus loving those around Him, you preach the Word. Here at Moody Pastors’ Conference, Michael Easley preached on this last night. He said that the Greek word is where we get the word herald. We need to herald the message, and that means say it LOUD and CLEAR! That is the key, the most important thing. Loudly proclaim the message of the Gospel to a destructive generation. Paul also tells Timothy to reprove, rebuke, and exhort those who are destructive. So let them have it! But wait, Paul says do it with patience. That means preach the message loud and clear, but not by condemning and damning people. We are on the verge of having a destructive generation that will throw away the Word of God for a feel good message. So our charge is to preach the Word loud and clear. It is simple, so do it.

reFOCUS

Have you ever been hunting and look down your rifle into the scope or maybe glass the countryside with your nocs and you find that they aren’t focused right? I know I have. What is even worse is when you are looking through your nocs and they start to fog up. That has happened quite often with me, especially on cool mornings after I have walked a good distance. Another thing that bugs me is that my dad has this scope, a long range target scope with a tiny dot in the middle and really fine cross hairs. The scope must be faulty, because I can’t see the reticle at all. However, everyone else can see it fine, just not me, so, *sigh*, perhaps the fault lies not within the scope.
This morning I flew into Chicago with 3 other pastors in our area. We are attending Moody Bible Institute's Pastors Conference. The theme for this year is refocus. There are a lot of times in my life that I need to refocus my eyes to see where I am heading. When God is directing me I see clearly, but when I turn away a bit it gets a little fuzzy. At that moment I don’t know which way to go and it is so hard to tell. Usually I go the wrong way and the farther I go, the more I realize that I need to refocus my life. All it takes is a turn of a knob to focus a scope or binoculars. In our spiritual lives, it takes a flip of a page. Open up God’s Word to see what He has to say to us. It also takes some bending of our knees. Bow down before the Almighty Creator of the Universe and ask Him to guide you back on track. With the flip of a page and bending of our knees, we can refocus and will be able to see clearly again. My hope is that this week I will be able to truly refocus and see what God has in store for me, my family, and my ministry.

Rubbish - Part 5

Garbage, trash, refuse, waste, or rubbish, we all have them in our lives. Some of the things are absolutely despicable, while others are normal and may seem appropriate. I am going to go through the list that Paul provides for us in Philippians 3:4-7 [T]hough I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
Blameless – Paul considered himself righteous when it came to the law. There was no room for blame because he was righteous. But to whose standard? It is obvious that it was to his standards or the standard of the Pharisees. Paul was not righteous as Abraham was. Abraham was counted as righteous because of his faith. Paul counted himself righteous because of his works. Now, there are two areas we can find ourselves doing the same thing. One is thinking that good works can help you get to heaven. The other is thinking that doing good works keeps you in God’s favor. Let’s start with the first one. Works do not get you into heaven. If they did, then there would have been no need for Christ to die on the cross. Putting your trust in Christ as your Savior is what gets you to heaven. A person can do good works as Paul did before his conversion and not make it to heaven. Paul put his trust in Christ and he is now in heaven. Now this brings us to the second one. Since we are talking about Paul, let’s use him as a hypothetical. Let’s suppose that Paul trusted in Christ as his Savior and left it at that. Would he be in Heaven? Yes. Even if he never did a good work in his life? Yes. How? Well, we could ask the same question about the thief on the cross. He put his faith in Christ right before his death. What good things could he do? He was stuck on a cross. However, Jesus told him he would be in paradise that day. If you don’t believe that putting your trust in Christ alone is what gets you to heaven, then that makes Jesus a liar. The thief would have never gone to paradise. So what is the purpose of works and what does James mean by “faith without works is dead”? Well, works are valuable, and God wants us to do good works. If we don’t we are disobeying commandments. Paul told the jailor that all he needed to do is believe on the name of Jesus Christ and he and his family would be saved. Now to put this in movie terms, that is the ticket to get you in the theatre. What seat do you want? Do you want popcorn, pop, jujubes? The works you do determine that. Works put jewels in your crown and Paul makes it clear that all our works will be tested and if you don’t have any, you will escape as though through fire (1 Cor. 3:10-15). So Paul considered the works he did before his conversion as rubbish, because they were for the wrong reasons. They were for selfish, prideful reasons. When we serve, we need to do it with God’s intentions, with the other person’s needs and desires at heart. Don’t hold the door open so you can hear the thank you. Don’t get mad at someone because they didn’t thank you. If you do, then you are doing it for the wrong reason. Let us do works for the right reason, not for legalistic or selfish reasons. Obey the commandments of God because of your love and reverence for Him.

Rubbish - Part 4

Garbage, trash, refuse, waste, or rubbish, we all have them in our lives. Some of the things are absolutely despicable, while others are normal and may seem appropriate. I am going to go through the list that Paul provides for us in Philippians 3:4-7 [T]hough I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
To the law and to zeal – Paul was a Pharisee who studied under Gamiliel, one of the most well known and respected Pharisees of the day. Paul was good at what he did, he was there when Stephen was stoned. His name was Saul at that time (remember, Jesus changed his name to Paul on the road to Damascus). To understand a little better of who Saul was, we should look at what a Pharisee is and when they came into existence. Scholars believe that the Pharisees came into existence somewhere around 400-300 BC. The purpose of the Pharisees was to help the people of Israel, the remnant that was left, to draw closer to the heart of God. They wanted people to know the law and to live righteously as God commanded them to. They started out with good intentions, stuck to the Torah, and things looked good for them. As time went on, the Pharisees thought that there were some areas of life that needed a little extra conviction. Areas where the law wasn’t too clear on. So they started to add to the law. Now, during the day of Jesus, the Pharisees were quite corrupt and had added hundreds of things to do and not to do on the list. A lot of these things they added they did so to make themselves look better. Not to God, but to others.
And that is where I want to come in and talk about how we can apply this to our lives. The Pharisees started with not just good intentions, but godly intentions. They wanted to help the people of Israel to live by the shema (Deut. 6:4-9). But as time went on, the Pharisees got in the way of themselves. Do we ever do that? Do we start with good intentions and find out later that we tripped over ourselves many times along the way? I know I do, and most likely if you don’t think you do, you are in denial. It is hard to help others in their relationship with God without making reference to some of your disciplines or convictions. And it isn’t wrong to do that necessarily, but it becomes wrong when you show them or tell them about what you do to make yourself feel good and puff yourself up a bit. The key is to do it with humility. Every time I hear the word “humble”, I think back to Numbers 12:3. The book of Numbers was written by Moses, and that passage refers to Moses as the most humble man on earth. Is it a contradiction? No, it is the inspired word of God. Moses was so humble that when God told him he was the most humble, he still was humble, he never got puffed up. My goal is to be like that, to not have an ego, to let my pride go and truly come before Christ in a humble manner. That is what Paul wanted as well. Paul was well known in the Pharisaic realm. But when Christ met him on the road to Damascus, Paul was humbled. Do you ever feel like you get knocked off you donkey when your pride level is a little to high? It hurts, doesn’t it? But it causes you to look around and see where you have gone wrong and which way you need to go. Paul considered his Jewish stature as loss for the sake of Christ. Let us do the same to our stature that hinders us from coming before God.

Artist of the Week

Artist - NewWorldSon
Album - Salvation Station
Song - Salvation Station

Music is something that can make you move in mainly two different ways. You can move to the beat and do a little headbob and tap your feet, or you can move, and I mean really MOVE. You find yourself dancing all over the place and using every extremity to move with the beat. Every now and then there comes a band that will take over every muscle in your body and make you move and truly get jiggy with it. This week’s spotlight is on a band that makes you move, NewWorldSon. Their style of music is soul music, and if soul music can’t get you moving, then something is wrong with you. These four guys are talented musicians, and you know that they are going to be good just by looking at them. Anytime a bassist uses an upright, you know that there is going to be some good rhythm to the music. Their song Workin’ Man is a fun upbeat song that makes you want to get up and dance. The song that I am focusing on is called Salvation Station. Here is what lead singer Joel Parisien has to say about the song, "This is my response to Curtis Mayfield’s lyric: ‘People get ready, there’s a train comin’. You don’t need no baggage, you just get on board.’ I thought, well, if I don’t need any baggage, then you don’t even need to slow down, I’ll just hop on!"
If you click on artist of the week, you will find a video of this song. Now, I will tell you in advance that the video is about 10 minutes long, and they spend half the time jamming away and are accompanied by Chops Horns (famous horn section accompaniment for Alicia Keyes, The Police, Funkadelics, and the Rolling Stones). Somewhere in the video between 6 and 7 minutes Joel starts jamming on a kazoo, and it sounds good. So you know he is talented. I give these guys 5 out of 5 dundies on lyrical content. They don’t have much variation, but when you take the style of music into consideration, they do a wonderful job lyrically. I give them 6 out of 5 dundies on musical style and talent. Like I said before, these guys are extremely talented and they just make me want to dance like a fool.
Here are the lyrics, and please check out the video.
Enjoy!!

There’s a train leaving from Calvary and it’s goin’ to salvation station
There’s a train leaving from Calvary and it’s goin’ to salvation station

I’m gonna jump that train I’m gonna jump that train
I’m gonna jump that train oh Lordy I
I’m gonna jump that train I’m gonna jump that train
And we gonna reach salvation station in the sky
Gonna leave sin city leave it all behind
‘Cuz where we goin’ they don’t take that kind
Gonna leave sin city leave it all behind
‘Cuz where we goin’ they don’t take that kind

Can you hear that whistle blowin’
And can you see that black coal smoke?
Can you hear that ole whistle blowin’
Salvation station, that’s where we goin’

Rubbish - Part 3

Garbage, trash, refuse, waste, or rubbish, we all have them in our lives. Some of the things are absolutely despicable, while others are normal and may seem appropriate. I am going to go through the list that Paul provides for us in Philippians 3:4-7 [T]hough I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
Tribe of Benjamin – Benjamin was one of the sons of Jacob, aka Israel. The importance of being from the tribe of Benjamin is that Benjamin and Joseph were Jacob’s favorite sons (they were born to Rachel, Jacob’s favorite wife). Israel’s first king came from the tribe of Benjamin. Also, the tribe of Benjamin remained faithful to King David during the rebellion of Absalom. The reason Paul includes this in his list is that the Jewish audience would understand that Paul came from a Hebrew family, and as we found out yesterday, was circumcised as the Hebrew ritual would call for. Paul had reason to boast in who he was and where he came from.
So the question I have for you today is: Do you boast in your father’s name or in your Heavenly Father’s name? I am very proud of my name. Back in the town I grew up in, I was known by Rex’s son or Jack’s grandson. The reputation of my dad and grandpa gave me an in. People respected them, so they were going to respect me. My parents raised me, and the influences of grandparents on both sides have had a great effect on who I am today. But the one greatest thing that makes me who I am today is Christ. I strive to find my identity in Christ and Christ alone. As I stated yesterday, I am very proud of my heritage, my parents and grandparents. I hope that my son Asher will be that proud of me some day. But more importantly, I hope and I pray on a daily basis that he will find his identity in Christ.
About 3 years ago we moved away and I took a ministry position at Rock Creek Bible Church. Nobody here knew my dad or grandpa, my reputation was not built on them, they knew me and only me. In a way, it was a good way to show others who I am aside from where or who I came from. It was a blank slate. I could use my identity in Christ to show others how He has formed me into who I am. My heritage does play a big part in that because I know I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for my heritage.
Do you identify yourself with your last name or do you take on the name of the Lord? Your earthly name will be with you all the days of your life, but who you are in Christ will be with you for eternity. Someone will write your name on your tombstone which will erode and someday be gone. But if you identify yourself in Christ, God will write your name in the Lamb’s book of life, which never erodes.

Rubbish - Part 2

Garbage, trash, refuse, waste, or rubbish, we all have them in our lives. Some of the things are absolutely despicable, while others are normal and may seem appropriate. I am going to go through the list that Paul provides for us in Philippians 3:4-7 [T]hough I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
Circumcised – I will not go into the details of what circumcision is, but the main thrust of it was that it was a sign of a covenant between Abraham and God. A covenant that Paul explains in Romans when Abraham was set apart as righteous because of his faith, not because of his circumcision. The circumcision was an outward symbol of his faith. From then on, God commanded His people to be circumcised so that they would be set apart for Him. Over a period of many, many years, the reasons people got circumcised became more about themselves instead of because of who God is and what He did for them. It became a meaningless ritual for some, while others still kept doing it as an outward symbol of their faith.
Here are some passages where Paul tells us that the importance of cirumcision is not the outward physical action, but what is on the inside that counts.
Romans 2:28-29 - that circumcision should not be phyiscal, but rather a condition of your heart.
1 Corithians 7:18-19 - that it doesn’t matter if you are circumcised or not, but keeping the commandments of God is what counts.
Galatians 5:6 and 6:15 - circumcision or uncircumcision counts for nothing, but faith working through love counts, and that we are a new creation.
Colossians 3:11 - There is no Greek, Jew, circumcised, uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free; but Christ is all, and is in all.
It is obvious that Paul doesn’t value the mere act of circumcision, but who we are in Christ.
So we can ask ourselves this question: What actions do I do on the outside to “represent” my faith or the condition of my soul? Do we do things on the outside in order to impress others or even ourselves? Maybe for some it is baptism, an outward symbol of your faith. But are you doing it because every 8th grader has always done it or because your parents made you? Maybe it is praying at a table in a restaurant, trying to get others attention rather than conversing with the Almighty. What are the reasons you do these outward acts? To build confidence in your self or to help you know Christ Jesus in a continous way? If it is the former, then I suggest you throw the towel in, because you will never make it. The only way we can make it through this life is with a desire to know Christ Jesus as our Lord in a ongoing way. We may fall, no, we will fall and it will hurt. But in a strange way, that is how we know God is helping us.

Rubbish - Part 1

We put our trash bags in our garage until it is time to have it hauled away. This last week, we had something that smelled a little funky in one of the trash bags. When the smell was no longer funky, but rather very pungent, I decide to air out the garage. It helped, the fresh air came in and the pungent funk went out. Trash seems to have many different yet distinct odors and it reeks of rubbish. There is more rubbish in our lives than we think, but this trash isn’t just in trash bags and waste baskets. Garbage can be all over our lives and we never smell it or see it. It usually can be seen by others before us because we are too used to it being around us. This garbage can consist of things like bad habits and sinful things we are tied up in. But according the Apostle Paul, rubbish is not ONLY the bad things in our lives, but also good things that keep us from growing closer to Christ. In Philippians chapter 3, Paul goes through a list of things that he has done to make himself the most righteous person, the most confident person. Then after the list he says that he counts all that stuff as rubbish. The things that Paul did to make himself confident in his flesh include being brought up in the right culture, being part of the right family, following the right rules, and executing orders in the right manner. So, being brought up in a Christian home, in a small town where people respect me because of my name and following the proper protocol is rubbish? It can be. Paul tells us that he counted all those things as loss for the sake of his salvation through Christ. He goes on and says that it is worth counting them as loss because of what he has in knowing Christ. The word “knowing” is a present participle, meaning that this knowledge is incomplete and constant and Paul does not want to stop learning Christ. He doesn’t want his confidence in himself to hinder his confidence in Christ. He wants to know less of the sinful Paul and know more of the Christ. Our Pastor asked us this Sunday if we are willing to give up our name for Christ. I am proud of who I am, my heritage. I am proud to say that my Anabaptist relatives came over from what is now Germany to escape religious persecution. I am thankful that I come from a line of faithful and godly people. But I will not dwell or boast on my religious heritage, but I will rather boast in what Christ has done for me and what He has in store for me.* My next 4 posts will deal with the garbage list that Paul gives in Philippians 3:4-6. I will try to give some practical applications we can use in our lives to get rid of the rubbish.

*Disclaimer* Now, I want to make one thing clear, my relatives are not garbage, they are wonderful people. But I could easily dwell on what they did and put their actions in front of what Christ did for me. My relatives did not die for my sins; they did not defeat death on the cross. But they did live their lives as examples of godly men and women who have put their faith in Christ and who also desired to know Christ in a continuous way.

Jephthah

For my devotions yesterday and today I read about the story of Jephthah in the book of Judges. This story is very tragic in what happens to his only child, his daughter. I never really paid too much attention to this story, just figuring it was one of the gruesome stories of the book of Judges. Then two years ago almost to the day I was up in Chicago at Moody’s Pastor Conference. I heard one of the most amazing preachers in the world, Haddon Robinson. The passage he preached on was the story of Jephthah in Judges. At that particular time we were going through the book of Judges in our teen Bible study at church, so I was pumped. Where else to get better material than from one of the best expository preachers of our time? For the duration of the 38 minutes and 10 seconds he preached it was obvious that everyone in the packed auditorium was waiting for his next word. For those of you who don’t know the story of Jephthah, here is a quick run down: He was born of a prostitute and kicked out of his house by his brothers because he was illegitimate. He went to the land of Tob and led a group of scoundrels and thugs. He was a mighty warrior and knew how to handle a sword. Israel was in the thick of apostasy and had been worshiping idols and had been sold into the hands of Philistines and the Ammonites. The elders of Gilead (Jephthah’s father) went to Jephthah and asked him to lead the armies of Israel to defeat the Ammonites. He ended up leading them victoriously, but before he started, he made a vow to God,
“If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, then whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return in peace from the Ammonites shall be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up for a burnt offering.” Jephthah led the Israelites to victory and on his way home, his only child, his daughter, ran out of the house to meet him. Jephthah, who was shunned at a young age and basically raised himself in a foreign land, did not fully understand the grace of God. He didn’t know that God did not honor human sacrifice. He went ahead and sacrificed his daughter.

The message of Robinson’s sermon was that faith without theology is dangerous. Jephthah had faith in God, but he lacked the theology, the understanding of who God is. Did God honor Jephthah for his faith? Did he accept the sacrifice of his daughter? I am pretty sure he didn’t accept it as a pleasant aroma. But if you look in Hebrews 11:32 where the writer is going through a list of the Old Testament Saints who made it to the Hall of Faith, Jephthah is mentioned. Why? Because he had faith. God did not honor the sacrifice of his daughter, but He did honor Jephthah’s faith.

So what can we learn from this story? When we have faith in God, we need to have the theology to back that faith up. God will still honor our faith if it is true, but it can be dangerous without theology and may have consequences on this earth. Jephthah was basically kicked out of Israel and spent the majority of his life in Tob. He didn’t know much about God What he knew was that God was real and He had led Israel out of Egypt. But he didn’t know all there was to know about God. We have the Word of God at our hands, so we probably can’t get away with sacrificing our children. We can’t pull the “I didn’t know” card when he have the answers in front of us. It is like school. When the teacher has given us the material, we are responsible for reading and memorizing it so we can take the test. We can’t say the dog ate my homework and get away with it. True faith in Christ will get us to Heaven, our theology and what we do with our faith decides our rewards when we get there.

Please Stand for the Honorary Judge Regier

Please stand for the honorary Judge Regier. Sometimes I feel that is what I hear when I begin to judge others. Do I really think that I have the right to judge others on their appearance and their ideals without even knowing anything about them? I don’t. Why do I always think that I can judge someone by just looking at them or by talking with them for the first time? Well, because I am human. But does that excuse me from doing it? No. The whole world judged a particular person a few weeks ago, Susan Boyle. By the appearance she had and the comments she made, the world probably thought, “This lady will by x’d off stage in no time and maybe even laughed off.” But then she sang. The world stood still, and even the unthinkable happened, Simon Cowell smiled. The world still awaits the final outcome of Susan Boyle, but even if she doesn’t win, she has won in the hearts of many across this planet.

We so often judge on appearance, what people wear, what their hair looks like, what style of music they listen to, what they watch, and the list can go on and on and on. But do we know them? Do we truly know the reasons why they dress the way they do? If you don’t then you best stop judgin’. If you do, then you best have the best intentions for helping them if you are judgin’. We think we can do a better job at being the Mayor or Pastor or Governor or Senator or even President, but you know what, says who? You. What makes you more qualified? I love the way that Eugene Peterson writes Matthew 7:1-5 in The Message: “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.”

We should check ourselves before we check someone else. What makes us more qualified than the next person? What makes our lives better than the person down the street? What makes our reasons for dressing the way we do better than the other person? If it lies in your opinion or even your own standards or ethics, then it still isn’t right. We aren’t supposed to judge others to make ourselves feel or look better, we are supposed to judge others to help them with their walk with God. We have their best interests above ours. If all of us would do that, then racism, prejudices, hatred, and fear would no longer be issues.

There are a lot of Susan Boyles out there, people who look and act a little or maybe a lot differently than we do. But you may not know the story behind it, and don’t judge until you do. Don’t judge until you have put their interests above your own.

Artist of the Week

Artist: Bluetree
Album: God of This City
Song: When I Survey

I really like to listen to artists who have accents. I have always liked the Newsboys and Rebecca St. James with their Australian accents. Then there is Matt Redman and Delirious from the UK. But perhaps the coolest accent of all is the Irish accent. The mainstream band U2 is a lot of fun to listen to, and this week’s Artist of the Week is from Ireland as well. Bluetree has just recently been hitting the Christian radio stations in the US with their new worship song, God of This City. Bluetree is a band that has been around since 2004 and has been active in the UK since then. The band was actually born out of frustration of the idea that worship is only from the heart. Here is what the lead singer Aaron Boyd has to say: “We are Jesus’ hands and feet in the world. Let’s not just ask God to change everything, but let’s be a blessing and speak words of life into people’s difficult circumstances.” I totally agree with the frustration that brought this band into existence. Worship is not just from our heart and our attitude towards God, it is our life. If we want to truly worship God, we need to worship Him with all of our lives. This album is filled with genuine worship songs that inspire us to live for God. One of the songs on the album is an old hymn, which is this week’s song. When I Survey is Bluetree’s version of When I Survey The Wondrous Cross.

I give Bluetree 5 out of 5 dundies for lyrical content, as their songs are wonderfully written worship songs that truly inspire you to bow and worship God. I also give them 5 out of 5 on musical style and talent. They are gifted in voice and instrument and they are using that for the glory of God. One really awesome thing about Bluetree is that when you buy their album on DiGSTATION for $7.99, they will donate $2 of each album sold to help end child trafficking.

Here are the lyrics to the song. Click on Artist of the Week to see a video on YouTube of the song put to a slideshow of pictures. Enjoy!

When I survey the wondrous cross
on which the Prince of Glory died;
my richest gain I count but loss,
and pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
save in the death of Christ, my God;
all the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his blood.

See, from his head, his hands, his feet,
sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
or thorns compose so rich a crown.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
that were an offering far too small;
love so amazing, so divine,
demands my soul, my life, my all

Plant A Seed, Grow A . . . Pumpkin Crown?

We just got done planting our garden, and we didn’t use any seeds. It is hard and tedious to plant seeds. Especially things like carrots and radishes, where the seeds are so tiny. So we, like many other people, used the little plants. It takes a lot of work out of it for you. No watering little tomatoes for weeks, you just plant the plant in the garden and let the sprinkler do the rest. We even planted some pumpkins this year. I remember years back when we planted a pumpkin plant and it grew and grew and grew and vined out all over the garden. It even went out of the garden (and we had a big garden, big enough to use a tractor and disc to till it up each year). I think I am going to train our pumpkin to stay a little smaller this year.
I found out something very interesting this last week about a seed. I came to know Christ as my Savior at the age of 5. I always remembered that since my brother was a Christian, I wanted what he had, so I had always thought that my mom led me to Christ and prayed with me. That is what I remembered, but not what really happened. This is the true story that I found out about this week: My brother and I were up in my room by ourselves and he is the one who led me to Christ. After that, he went and told my mom about it and she came up and prayed with both of us and thanked God for my brother leading me to Christ. In my mind, all I remember is my mom praying with me, so I always figured it was her that led me to Christ, but in fact it was my brother. Now how does all this correspond with a seed? Well my brother planted a seed in my life many, many years ago. I wanted what he had. I wanted Jesus in my life. The interesting thing about that seed that he planted all those years ago is that it has grown and grown and branched off and grown some more. Since my brother led me to Christ, I have had numerous opportunities to share the Gospel with others and lead some to Christ. The cool thing about that is, all the people I have touched and seeds I have planted, they all go back to what my brother did for me in my bedroom almost 24 years ago. It doesn’t stop there, it keeps going; the people I have shared the Gospel with have shared it with others, and those people heard the Gospel at that point in time because of what my brother did for me. The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:8 that we will have rewards in Heaven, according to our labor for God here on earth. When we plant seeds or water them, we get rewards for that. When someone we planted a seed in plants a seed in someone else, we get rewards for that. It grows and grows and grows, like a pumpkin. Paul then goes on in verses 9-15 about how our works and deeds on earth will be tested by God. I encourage you to read that passage so you can be sure of what you are building your life with: gold or wood, silver or hay, or precious stones or straw? Something that lasts or something that won’t stand the test? Now, it is clear in that passage, that no matter what you build with, it is what you build it on that matters the most. If you build it on Christ, then you will spend eternity with Him in Heaven. However, the materials you use to build decide how many rewards you get. What do you want to build your house out of? Wood, hay, straw or gold, silver, or precious stones? It is how you live your life and why you do it that way that decides what you will use.