Are You Crazy?

I must admit, I am not much of a contemporary Christian music fan. There are a many songs (and artists) out there that have been labeled as "Christian"...but in reality the message they deliver is far from biblical. But I suppose that that is a blog for another day.

On my way to the airport last week I decided to switch things up a bit and not follow my daily routine of listening to the Way of the Master Radio podcast and/or 10:31 Sermon Jams. Instead, I dialed up a playlist I have not listened to in quite some time. This playlist is made up of a select few of my favorite praise and worship songs has been on my iPhone for quite some time. I call it "Fire Me Up". Quite a while back I added a song called "Crazy" by Mercy Me to this prestigious list and it never sounded as clear to me as it did in my truck last week. If you haven't heard it before, the opening verse goes like this:


"Why would I spend my life longing, for the day it would end?
Why would I spend my time pointing, to another man?
Isn't that crazy?
How can I find hope in dying, with promises unseen?
How can I learn your ways better, and everything I'm taught to be?
Isn't that crazy?
I have not been called to the wisdom of this world, but to a God who is calling out to me.
And even though the world may think I'm losing touch with reality,
it would be crazy to choose this world over eternity."

Wow. Those are some pretty powerful lyrics, aren't they? In the eyes of the world, WE ARE CRAZY for believing what we do. But it is easy to say "The World" thinks we're crazy, isn't it? That is so impersonal and so void of responsibility. So let's take a different look at it...a real look.

Does anyone (or everyone) we know who is not a Christian think we're crazy? Do they see daily examples of our living not for the things of the word, but rather our longing for Christ? Shouldn't everything we stand for as Christians be in stark contrast to the things of the world? Shouldn't there be some evidence that we reject the things of the world? : (1 John 15-17)

"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever."

I think that if we each take a real look at our lives we will find we do so much in our attempt to be relevant and fit into a world from which we should be striving to separate. Just to be clear, I'm not suggesting that we should do things so that others will know that Jesus is our Lord and Savior. I'm simply saying that if Jesus is truly our Lord and Savior the world should know we do not love it or anything in it.

-W.S.

Devil's Advocate?

In the course of a discussion, have you ever had someone tell you that they were just playing “devil’s advocate”? Perhaps you’ve even used the phrase yourself, but have you ever put much thought into what that phrase really means? Let me tell you why I bring this up.

This afternoon, my wife shared an exchange she had while witnessing to her cousin on Saturday and I was struck by the irony and wanted to share it here. My wife was explaining what the Bible means to her, and stated something along the lines that she believes everything in it is the inspired Word of God and that everything in it is true. Of course, that is crazy talk to the world so her cousin didn’t understand and began asking a lot of questions. That part isn’t the problem, as we should always be prepared to defend the Word of God but I was struck by the words her cousin used to preface her challenges by saying, “I’m just playing devil’s advocate here, but….”

I’m not sure that phrase has ever been used in a more appropriate context. In fact, I would imagine we have all probably used that phrase at one point or another without thinking about what it actually means. Words are powerful and they have meaning. As a believer, the name of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has incredible power and simply the hearing the name spoken makes my heart jump. Now why in the world would I want to advocate anything in the name of the enemy?

Let’s not get crazy and start a movement against devil’s food cake or anything, that’s not my point here…besides we all know that the devil doesn’t even like cake. ☺

-W.S.

What does it mean?

In my time as a Christian I have heard many people talk about what it means to be saved. I have heard extremes from some speaking of a "warmth" they felt in their entire body when they gave their life to the Lord, and I've heard some say that they really couldn't actually remember when they got saved. But is getting saved really a feeling?

I don't believe that it is, and scripture doesn't think that is either. (1John 1:5-7)

"This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."

I came across the message below which was delivered by John Piper and really hit home with me:



Getting saved isn't about a feeling at all, it is about a commitment. It's about "walking in the light" Despite what many out there preach on T.V., it isn't about your best life now...it's about your best life for eternity. I have thought about this a lot lately, don't you think that if we truly have given our lives to the Lord, it should feel like that every minute of every day? Every minute.

As John Piper asked in his final line in the video above, "Has He become the light that is the joy of all your joys?" Well, has He?
-W.S.

Familiar?

A few posts back, I referenced a website called 10:31 Sermon Jams. They do an amazing job taking excerpts from sermons and putting them to music. It really helps deliver a powerful message in a quick format and I have them all loaded on my iPhone and listen to them daily.

While shuffling through them the other day, I came upon a sermon jam entitled "He Has Now" which was built from a sermon by Rick Gamache on Colossians 21-23 which is a strong parallel with my recent post on my numbness. I really felt inspired to take that sermon jam and add some visuals so I could display it here in my blog. I pray it will touch and inspire you (as it inspired me) to take a look at yourself and how you must stop yourself from becoming "overally familiar" with the Gospel.



There are several more powerful sermon jams to which I plan on adding visuals, and they will be stored at my site at youtube (www.youtube.com/wretchedsinner). Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

-W.S.