A couple nights ago, as I was reading Desiring God by John Piper, God
gave me what I call an "obvious" revelation -- something that's so
plain as day, but we don't see it most of the time. It's impossible to
miss, but it's possible to not comprehend it. The revelation came when
Piper quoted the famous warfare passage of Ephesians 6:10-18: "Take ...
the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God." (v. 17)
When I read that, I finally understood. Finally,
after years of knowing that passage - and even having it on a special
coin by my bed - I comprehended what was really being said. If you go
back to the first few verses of John 1, you'll see that "the Word was God"
(emphasis added; v.1). In verse 2, John personifies "the Word" as a
"He". God finally gave me the connection between these two passages.
John 1:1-5 talks about Jesus, calling Him "the Word". Ephesians 6:10-18
talks about the spiritual armor and weaponry given to Christians by the
Father. One of the mentioned weapons is the sword of the Spirit. We all
know what swords are: extremely sharp weapons made to utterly destroy
the holder's enemy.
As Christians, Satan is quite
obviously our 'ultimate' enemy, and in order to defeat him and his
works, we are given a sword. And it may seem like I'm saying these
phrases repeatedly (which I kind of am), but it's because they're
important. Vital. The sword isn't just some cool toy that we have. The
sword is the Word of God. And Who is the Word? Jesus!
Christians
are given the name of Jesus (and the Bible, too; I'm not trying to
dismiss that as part of our sword) to fight. When we "heal the sick,
raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, [and] cast out demons" (Matthew
10:8), we obviously will do so in Jesus' name. Sickness, death, leprosy,
and demons are all devices of Satan. They're all his works. But Satan's
biggest works of evil are nothing in comparison to even one facet of
God. Satan and God aren't even opposites! God is the Lord of the
Universe, and what is Satan? A jilted, selfish ex-servant of the Most
High God. There is infinite power to do good in the world and to destroy
evil in the name of Jesus. His name is our sword, and we need not be afraid of the devices of the enemy.
So
let us unsheathe our sword! Let us fight for beauty and truth and joy
and glory and goodness. Satan is nothing in comparison to even the name
by which our Savior is called. Remember that.
"There is
power in the name of Jesus to break every chain. ... There's an army
rising up to break every chain." - Jesus Culture, "Break Every Chain"
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Monday, March 12, 2012
Hymns
I never did like hymns. I don't know why. Growing up in Baptist churches with fairly small congregations, hymns were oftentimes sung and were revered by many of the parishioners -- but not me.
It's possible that it was just part of my childhood rebellion. There were periods of time where I would literally refuse to stand up during worship, let alone sing; and much less, sing a hymn! "Hymns are for old people," I'm sure I remarked. "They're boring and stupid," I must have said at least once. And all these years later, I finally get it. I finally understand why so many people loved - and still love - hymns.
Perhaps this isn't some scientific fact, but in my personal observations I've noticed that those who truly love hymns are typically those who have a steady walk with God and spend a lot of time reading the Bible, praying, worshiping, serving in the community, and using their gifts. You'll probably also notice that hymn-lovers are close to Jesus, and their Christianity is not abstract.
The hymn that started it all for me was "Nearer, My God, to Thee" -- and yes, I fell in love with it because of a little film called Titanic. (Here's a link to the film version.) Having cognitively heard it for the first time as an instrumental, I was completely unaware of the lyrics and knew only the beautiful strings rendition by I Salonisti. The first time I watched Titanic was winter break 2009, believe it or not. By that time I had already gotten to know God a little bit, but I was still so far away from where I now stand. But that movie was an open door.
Two years later (last autumn) I began violin lessons. God blessed me and allowed me to progress quickly. One day I had an idea -- I remembered that my dad had an old Baptist Hymnal around somewhere. And maybe, just maybe, the first hymn that I ever loved, "Nearer, My God, To Thee", would be in there! So I finally found the hymnal and sure enough, hymn 333 was it.
Every time I played it, I fell in love just a little bit more. Finally, without even trying, I had the whole thing memorized (not that it's super long, though) and I now use it as the opener for most every time that I practice. It brings glory to God and thus joy to me. One day I finally decided to read the lyrics. They're simple, but powerful. One thing led to another and soon I was playing "Nothing But the Blood", "Jesus Paid It All" (which many of us know thanks to modern renditions), "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross", "Sweet Hour of Prayer", "Sweet Sweet Spirit" .... and the list goes on.
There is something so holy and majestic about hymns. Hymns seem to have something that many contemporary worship songs simply miss. They seem to possess the forgotten virtue of honesty. In a "big" church's Sunday morning worship, we may sing lyrics such as "I believe You're my healer"* but yet not believe that God actually heals. We may sing "I'm running to Your arms" but yet never go to God with anything. It is my personal belief that the hymn invites its singers to examine their hearts and actually earnestly mean what they're singing.
I've recently been blessed so greatly by hymns. I would most definitely recommend you pick up a hymnal (with sheet music, so you can sing along!) and start inviting the Holy Spirit into your hymn time. You won't regret it.
*There is quite a bit of controversy surrounding Hillsong's "Healer": the man who wrote the song claimed to be dying of cancer when in fact he was not; see this article for more info. (Yes, I know it's Wikipedia, but the information presented in this specific article is accurate.) Although the song was written based upon a horrid lie, it is a good worship song nonetheless.
It's possible that it was just part of my childhood rebellion. There were periods of time where I would literally refuse to stand up during worship, let alone sing; and much less, sing a hymn! "Hymns are for old people," I'm sure I remarked. "They're boring and stupid," I must have said at least once. And all these years later, I finally get it. I finally understand why so many people loved - and still love - hymns.
Perhaps this isn't some scientific fact, but in my personal observations I've noticed that those who truly love hymns are typically those who have a steady walk with God and spend a lot of time reading the Bible, praying, worshiping, serving in the community, and using their gifts. You'll probably also notice that hymn-lovers are close to Jesus, and their Christianity is not abstract.
The hymn that started it all for me was "Nearer, My God, to Thee" -- and yes, I fell in love with it because of a little film called Titanic. (Here's a link to the film version.) Having cognitively heard it for the first time as an instrumental, I was completely unaware of the lyrics and knew only the beautiful strings rendition by I Salonisti. The first time I watched Titanic was winter break 2009, believe it or not. By that time I had already gotten to know God a little bit, but I was still so far away from where I now stand. But that movie was an open door.
Two years later (last autumn) I began violin lessons. God blessed me and allowed me to progress quickly. One day I had an idea -- I remembered that my dad had an old Baptist Hymnal around somewhere. And maybe, just maybe, the first hymn that I ever loved, "Nearer, My God, To Thee", would be in there! So I finally found the hymnal and sure enough, hymn 333 was it.
Every time I played it, I fell in love just a little bit more. Finally, without even trying, I had the whole thing memorized (not that it's super long, though) and I now use it as the opener for most every time that I practice. It brings glory to God and thus joy to me. One day I finally decided to read the lyrics. They're simple, but powerful. One thing led to another and soon I was playing "Nothing But the Blood", "Jesus Paid It All" (which many of us know thanks to modern renditions), "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross", "Sweet Hour of Prayer", "Sweet Sweet Spirit" .... and the list goes on.
There is something so holy and majestic about hymns. Hymns seem to have something that many contemporary worship songs simply miss. They seem to possess the forgotten virtue of honesty. In a "big" church's Sunday morning worship, we may sing lyrics such as "I believe You're my healer"* but yet not believe that God actually heals. We may sing "I'm running to Your arms" but yet never go to God with anything. It is my personal belief that the hymn invites its singers to examine their hearts and actually earnestly mean what they're singing.
I've recently been blessed so greatly by hymns. I would most definitely recommend you pick up a hymnal (with sheet music, so you can sing along!) and start inviting the Holy Spirit into your hymn time. You won't regret it.
*There is quite a bit of controversy surrounding Hillsong's "Healer": the man who wrote the song claimed to be dying of cancer when in fact he was not; see this article for more info. (Yes, I know it's Wikipedia, but the information presented in this specific article is accurate.) Although the song was written based upon a horrid lie, it is a good worship song nonetheless.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
He Lives In You
If you don't absolutely love The Lion King, there's probably something wrong with you. (Fact of life, more or less.) While I've never had the opportunity to see the live show (yet; I hope to do so someday), only God knows how many times I've watched the famous Disney movie. I. Love. The. Lion. King.
Though I cherished the movie my whole life, it wasn't until very recently that I realized it's more than just a "children's movie". There are a lot of profound spiritual elements in the story!
If you do even just a little bit of research, you'll find that The Lion King was most definitely not based off of Christianity or any Christian beliefs; however, God has His ways of sneaking into our creative endeavors, whether we know (or like!) it or not. Just take a look at this classic film masterpiece in greater detail, and you'll see.
I could write several hundred pages on the spiritual significance of The Lion King, and easily so. It's filled with rich spiritual imagery, regardless of your "religion". So instead of boring you with that, I'll just go to one particular facet: the song "He Lives in You". (Yeah, I know it wasn't in the original movie, but bear with me, it's still part of the story and the Broadway musical.)
Take a listen:
The song basically explains itself! Take a look at the lyrics from a Christian's viewpoint.
I mean, really. Come the freak on! With its references to "the Spirit of Life", "There's no mountain too great ... have faith", "He lives in you, He lives in me", "He watches over everything we see", "Into the Water, into the Truth", "In your reflection, He lives in you" ... It's hard to overlook those, isn't it? This stunning Broadway song could easily be used as some form of God glorification. (I say this because it's not quite worship.)
So instead of giving you some overly detailed analysis... I would encourage you to study this song on your own, and use the Bible as a guide to decoding the song. Try finding some Scriptures on the Holy Spirit, particularly where His attributes are shown as light, life, water, and truth. Look for some verses on our bodies being His temple, and on how He lives inside of us. Search for some verses on the omniscience of God (the Psalms might be a good starting place for that). And finally, I would suggest trying to find some Scriptures on being an ambassador, representing God in our lives, etc. Enjoy!
Though I cherished the movie my whole life, it wasn't until very recently that I realized it's more than just a "children's movie". There are a lot of profound spiritual elements in the story!
If you do even just a little bit of research, you'll find that The Lion King was most definitely not based off of Christianity or any Christian beliefs; however, God has His ways of sneaking into our creative endeavors, whether we know (or like!) it or not. Just take a look at this classic film masterpiece in greater detail, and you'll see.
I could write several hundred pages on the spiritual significance of The Lion King, and easily so. It's filled with rich spiritual imagery, regardless of your "religion". So instead of boring you with that, I'll just go to one particular facet: the song "He Lives in You". (Yeah, I know it wasn't in the original movie, but bear with me, it's still part of the story and the Broadway musical.)
Take a listen:
The song basically explains itself! Take a look at the lyrics from a Christian's viewpoint.
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala [A lion and a leopard come to this open place]
Night and the spirit of life calling mamela [listen]
And a voice, just the fear of a child, answers mamela [listen]
Ubu khosi o khokho [This is the throne of our ancestors]
We ndodana ye sizwe sonke [Oh, son of the nation]
Wait, there's no mountain too great
Hear these words and have faith (have faith)
He lives in you, He lives in me
He watches over everything we see
Into the water, into the truth
In your reflection, he lives in you
He lives in you, he lives in me
He watches over everything we see
Into the the water, into the truth
In your reflection, He lives in you
He lives in you (x5)
He lives in you! He lives in me!
He watches over everything we see
Into the water, into the truth
In your reflection, he lives in you
He lives in you, he lives in me
He watches over everything we see
Into the water, into the truth
In your reflection, (in my reflection) he lives in you
I mean, really. Come the freak on! With its references to "the Spirit of Life", "There's no mountain too great ... have faith", "He lives in you, He lives in me", "He watches over everything we see", "Into the Water, into the Truth", "In your reflection, He lives in you" ... It's hard to overlook those, isn't it? This stunning Broadway song could easily be used as some form of God glorification. (I say this because it's not quite worship.)
So instead of giving you some overly detailed analysis... I would encourage you to study this song on your own, and use the Bible as a guide to decoding the song. Try finding some Scriptures on the Holy Spirit, particularly where His attributes are shown as light, life, water, and truth. Look for some verses on our bodies being His temple, and on how He lives inside of us. Search for some verses on the omniscience of God (the Psalms might be a good starting place for that). And finally, I would suggest trying to find some Scriptures on being an ambassador, representing God in our lives, etc. Enjoy!
Friday, February 3, 2012
Fight the good fight
Life just gets in the way of everything else sometimes.
Such as, keeping my room clean. Or blogging. Or, even writing anything at all. I barely see any of my friends anymore. School has taken over, and so has God.
If I thought that God had wrecked me before... well. That was just the beginning. These past few weeks alone have been ridiculous. Although Wicked really has nothing to do with my life right now, "Something has changed within me; something is not the same." But it's true. I went from listening to my some 4,000 secular songs to listening almost exclusively to worship music. (With a side of Mumford & Sons... ) Instead of reading buckets of fiction I've picked up Desiring God and Eternity in their Hearts - but most importantly, the Bible. This one, to be exact.
My brother gave it to me for Christmas, and I absolutely love it. Although NKJV is my favorite translation, NASB is a very close second. I find that the NASB maintains the regality of the original text while putting it in language that is understandable for the modern person. And the Life Application Study Bible especially begs for one to dive into it, and highlight and underline and scribble notes inside of it. It begs to be cherished in that way.
I've found that reading the Bible consistently changes one's perspective. Although I've dramatically changed within the past year, just these past few weeks have brought forth even more change and transformation of heart. Of course, I'm nowhere near where I want to be. I am still too far from Jesus.
I've also found that when you and your perspective change in a godly way, Satan doesn't like it. (Who would have thought, right?) And what does the Destroyer do to things he doesn't like? Well, ...he tries to destroy them. He tries to steal our hope, kill our vision, and destroy our faith. In my life, when he's tried to do this, it's usually come through the discouragement of people.
Just the other day at church, I had several people chastise me. When I voiced my desire for deeper Bible study at my church's youth group, one person told me that I was immature for not getting enough out of the messages as they are. (Um, doesn't the fact that I want to go deeper into God denote maturity instead of immaturity?) When I gave my prayer request for an upcoming mission trip I want to go on, another adult literally tried to talk me out of wanting to do any foreign missions!
But then, instead of getting angry... I realized something crucial. It comes out of James chapter 1 verse 2:
James 1:2 is one of those staple verses that people tell us whenever we're going through something rough, and they tend to say it in this "holier-than-thou" tone (though not always). I don't know how many times I've simply passed over this verse because I was tired of people telling it to me. (Like Jeremiah 29:11. A great verse, but I would appreciate not hearing it 10,000 times a day.) I've come to the conclusion that James 1:2 is a verse that you have to read to yourself. And when you do, then it's priceless.
I realized that the fact that I was enduring these numerous trials at church was because I was doing something right. If you look at the New Testament, the authors talk multiple times about enduring trials. And every time it is implied that these trials spring from us as Christians doing God's will, and Satan doesn't like it. So he tries to make our lives miserable. Well ha-ha, Satan, nice try. I'm going to consider it all joy.
And one other thought to keep you encouraged (to be read in the context of, you're seeking God and doing His will):
When the world tells you that you are doing something wrong, it means you're doing everything right.
Such as, keeping my room clean. Or blogging. Or, even writing anything at all. I barely see any of my friends anymore. School has taken over, and so has God.
If I thought that God had wrecked me before... well. That was just the beginning. These past few weeks alone have been ridiculous. Although Wicked really has nothing to do with my life right now, "Something has changed within me; something is not the same." But it's true. I went from listening to my some 4,000 secular songs to listening almost exclusively to worship music. (With a side of Mumford & Sons... ) Instead of reading buckets of fiction I've picked up Desiring God and Eternity in their Hearts - but most importantly, the Bible. This one, to be exact.
My brother gave it to me for Christmas, and I absolutely love it. Although NKJV is my favorite translation, NASB is a very close second. I find that the NASB maintains the regality of the original text while putting it in language that is understandable for the modern person. And the Life Application Study Bible especially begs for one to dive into it, and highlight and underline and scribble notes inside of it. It begs to be cherished in that way.
I've found that reading the Bible consistently changes one's perspective. Although I've dramatically changed within the past year, just these past few weeks have brought forth even more change and transformation of heart. Of course, I'm nowhere near where I want to be. I am still too far from Jesus.
I've also found that when you and your perspective change in a godly way, Satan doesn't like it. (Who would have thought, right?) And what does the Destroyer do to things he doesn't like? Well, ...he tries to destroy them. He tries to steal our hope, kill our vision, and destroy our faith. In my life, when he's tried to do this, it's usually come through the discouragement of people.
Just the other day at church, I had several people chastise me. When I voiced my desire for deeper Bible study at my church's youth group, one person told me that I was immature for not getting enough out of the messages as they are. (Um, doesn't the fact that I want to go deeper into God denote maturity instead of immaturity?) When I gave my prayer request for an upcoming mission trip I want to go on, another adult literally tried to talk me out of wanting to do any foreign missions!
But then, instead of getting angry... I realized something crucial. It comes out of James chapter 1 verse 2:
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials.
James 1:2 is one of those staple verses that people tell us whenever we're going through something rough, and they tend to say it in this "holier-than-thou" tone (though not always). I don't know how many times I've simply passed over this verse because I was tired of people telling it to me. (Like Jeremiah 29:11. A great verse, but I would appreciate not hearing it 10,000 times a day.) I've come to the conclusion that James 1:2 is a verse that you have to read to yourself. And when you do, then it's priceless.
I realized that the fact that I was enduring these numerous trials at church was because I was doing something right. If you look at the New Testament, the authors talk multiple times about enduring trials. And every time it is implied that these trials spring from us as Christians doing God's will, and Satan doesn't like it. So he tries to make our lives miserable. Well ha-ha, Satan, nice try. I'm going to consider it all joy.
And one other thought to keep you encouraged (to be read in the context of, you're seeking God and doing His will):
When the world tells you that you are doing something wrong, it means you're doing everything right.
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