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Colorado Dope
Well, it’s New Year’s Eve and people are celebrating the final minutes of 2013. Or maybe they’re getting an early start to 2014. I don’t know.
I DO know that this world is getting wackier by the minute; well, at least by the year. The latest goofball news I’ve heard is Colorado’s Weed Law which goes into effect tomorrow, January 1st.
Here’s a link to a Denver Post article discussing the Wacky Weed Law: http://www.denverpost.com/marijuana/ci_24823785/colorado-marijuana-guide-64-answers-commonly-asked-questions
To me, it’s one thing to smoke dope for medicinal purposes. Shucks, as a kid I did that very thing! I was sick of school, sick of parents, sick of every rule, sick of hamburgers… so to help me cope with my sickness I smoked dope.
Did it take away my sickness?
Well, does cranking up the car radio reattach the exhaust system that just fell off your car?
No.
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The NEW Year
Well, it’s December 30th, and soon the year 2013 will be history.
This is the time many reflect upon things they did well, and some maybe not so well. Many will make half-hearted resolutions to quit this, start that, while deep down knowing nothing will change. Most resolutions won’t last for 24 hours; but that’s okay. No one takes them seriously, anyway.
It’s the season to hear the new year prophets proclaim their message of prosperity and abundance for all, while other seers declare certain doom and gloom. Churches will gather their saints to “pray in the new year”, which isn’t a bad thing to do. But how does one pray for a new year?
Do we implore the Almighty for extra grace? What if we haven’t used what He gave us in 2013? Do we beseech God for souls to be saved, when we’ve cared very little about our neighbors? Should we beg for God to do “a new thing” while we despise the “old, worn out message” of the cross?
Do we REALLY need a New Year’s pep talk?
Maybe it would be beneficial to look once again at Solomon’s words.
“What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new”? It has been already in the ages before us.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 ESV)
I’m not trying to rain on anyone’s New Year’s parade, or discourage people from setting goals, making resolutions; those sort of things. My message is simply this:
We really don’t need anything new, if we’ll use what we’ve already been given. There is enough time to eat right, exercise, pray, study, read, develop good healthy friendships, and still snuggle with your honey.
There’s enough money, and opportunities, to make a living. Honestly!
Resources are all around you and I. Resources that have been available probably long before 2013.
The flip of a calendar page isn’t a guarantee for a fresh start, or good riddance to bad habits.
And we really don’t need new revelation from God! I’m not saying He won’t give it; but the Gospel is STILL the power of God unto salvation, the Holy Spirit is STILL HOLY and powerful, Father God and His Son Jesus are STILL running the show!
And He HAS given to His people EVERYTHING that pertains to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:2-4).
Maybe this year, instead of looking ahead for change, we should look inside. Implore God to inspect our faith, our desires, the things that frustrate us, the things which tempt us.
Search inside our hearts, Lord.
Because when NEW begins there, it will be quite a year!
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Handling Disappointment
Just in case you don’t know me, here’s a little fact you ought to be made aware of. I love the game of football. Big boy football; the NFL. And, I am a HUGE Chicago Bears fan. Now you know.
Please don’t judge me too harshly.
I share that little bit of personal information because it will help you understand where I’m coming from. You see, in this post I’m going to write about disappointment.
Bears’ fans understand disappointment. They may not handle it very well, but they understand it.
I understand disappointment.
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Could YOU be a CONTENDER?
Could YOU be a contender?
“On The Waterfront” is, in my opinion, one of the greatest movies ever produced! With great acting by Marlon Brando, Rod Steiger, Eva Marie Saint, Karl Malden, and Lee J. Cobb, and directed by Elia Kazan, the film won 8 Oscar Awards in 1955. From its powerful storyline comes the famous line by Terry Malloy (Brando) to his brother Charley (Steiger), “I coulda been a contender.” He was referring to an earlier time in his life, when as a boxer, he purposely lost a fight he could have, and should have won; all because his brother had connections to the mob.
I thought of this movie and its storyline while considering what Jude wrote to the first century believers:
“Dear friends, I’ve dropped everything to write you about this life of salvation that we have in common. I have to write insisting – begging! – that you fight with everything you have in you for this faith entrusted to us as a gift to guard and cherish. What has happened is that some people have infiltrated our ranks (our Scriptures warned us this would happen), who beneath their pious skin are shameless scoundrels. Their design is to replace the sheer grace of our God with sheer license – which means doing away with Jesus Christ, our one and only Master.” (Jude 1:3-4 MSG)
Another version uses the word “contend”:
“…I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” (Jude 1:3 ESV)
Jude was looking for CONTENDERS!
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You want to be heard?
So, you want to be heard!! Well…
You don’t need to shout! Your voice is heard quite well.
You needn’t use profane language; your point is well taken.
Your attempt to talk over other’s responses does not give credence to your viewpoint.
Your use of five dollar words will not cause others to believe your opinion.
Quoting others who believe like you only reveals who you’re listening to. Throwing statistics at someone, even if they’re true, distracts and detracts from the issue.
Do you really want to be heard?
Here are a few thoughts which may help.
– Try listening more. Can you repeat back to someone what they just said to you?
– Let others have an opinion; an honest to goodness opinion. Value their right to have one. Even if they are dead wrong; they are entitled to believe what they want.
– A soft answer goes a lot farther than a smart-aleck retort. And, it could keep you from having a bloody nose.
– The intrinsic value of each human being does not depend upon what they believe. In fact, those who chose hell over Heaven were as valuable as the heavenly saints. They just weren’t as wise.
– Treat each person you meet as the most important person you’ll meet all day.
– Ask others about their hopes, dreams, family, tattoos, even beliefs. And don’t roll your eyes at them when they tell you they believe the moon is made of Swiss cheese!
– Love the one you’re with. Not in the Stephen Stills kind of way; but in the Jesus Christ kind of way. People can tell if they are only a bother, or a stop-gap conversation until someone more important comes along.
With seven billion people on this planet, all wanting to be heard, sometimes one can’t fit a word in edgewise. But a little love, a little genuine interest, will go a long way.
You want to be heard? Try hearing others, first.
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The Same Page
What if our “worship services” were actually what they were advertised to be? What if God enjoyed them as much as we did? Is it possible? Does God even attend church anymore? If He does, how do we go about inviting Him, or making Him feel welcome should He walk into our sanctuary?
Now I can’t speak for every church, or even every person in my home church; but there is one way I know of that can “encourage” God to manifest His Presence and work His work.
As a worship leader, I understand how important it is for every musician, every singer, and every sound and video tech to be on the same page. And in order to make certain everyone is where they’re supposed to be, doing what they’re supposed to do, we have times to rehearse; to practice.
As I lead our practices, there are several things I like to cover with the team. Some things are essential, others are on an “if we have time” basis.
First, are all the instruments in tune with each other? If you don’t have unity in sound, you can’t have good harmony! You’ll never improve your team “sound”, until you are tuned together.
Second, how do we plan on beginning our worship time? Is their a particular word, a certain flow, a heavenly sound to be shared? How does each singer and musician fit in?
Then there are things like key changes, transitions, tempos, solos, and any possible problem parts in a song. We’ll especially practice the beginning and ending of each song, as well as any a cappella parts.
But to me, rehearsal is primarily about ensuring we are on God’s page.
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Lustful Lies
Is sexual lust REALLY a problem?
It doesn’t take a high level of intelligence to understand why and how the enemy enjoys using this weapon. He’s taken out a good many men and women with it, and in spite of the fact his tactics rarely change with this weapon, it’s still just as highly effective in our day as it was 6000 years ago.
People who are seduced and controlled by sexual lust have bought a lie; actually, several lies…
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The Christmas Fence
Have you ever considered the value of a fence? I mean, why do people build fences? You never hear of animals building them; only people find it necessary to have a fence. Only people NEED a fence.
There are various kinds of fences: wooden, privacy, chain link, barbed wire, and split rail fences to name a few. And there’s one other kind of fence you probably haven’t heard of…
The Christmas Fence.
Before I describe the Christmas Fence, I’ll explain one reason why people need a fence.
Protection.
People want and need to protect their personal belongings, including their spiritual, mental, and physical health. There are plenty of “wild animals” around that would just love to steal, kill, and destroy anyone and anything in their path. Hence, the need for a fence.
What happens to people who tear their fence down? How long can they stay safe from the beasts of prey? Beasts like the roaring lion, seeking whom it may devour? How long?
You may ask why would an intelligent person do such a nutty thing? Why indeed!
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Mr. D. and the Bandwagon Believers
Once upon a time, in a land far from here, there lived a large group of people whom the Main Stream Media referred to as heretics. The people were kind hearted, always caring for the poor, the widows, and the orphans. But that didn’t matter to those in charge of the land, or the Main Stream Media.
Actually, the MSM wasn’t the evil culprit as many believed. There was another group, the Fraternity of the Unseen, or F.U.N. for short, which possessed superpowers enabling them to make people think and believe whatever FUN desired.
And they LOVED to have FUN with the MSM.
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The Poisonous Blowfish
This is a story about a wonderful, God-honoring leader who began to believe his own press reports; spent too much time admiring himself in his royal mirror. He morphed into a narcissistic blowfish (pufferfish), with leprosy on his forehead. Not a good ending.
“Then Uzziah prepared for them, for the entire army, shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows, and slings to cast stones. And he made devices in Jerusalem, invented by skillful men, to be on the towers and the corners, to shoot arrows and large stones. So his fame spread far and wide, for he was marvelously helped till he became strong.
But when he was strong his heart was lifted up, to his destruction, for he transgressed against the LORD his God by entering the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. So Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him were eighty priests of the LORD – valiant men. And they withstood King Uzziah, and said to him, “It is not for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD, but for the priests, the sons of Aaron, who are consecrated to burn incense. Get out of the sanctuary, for you have trespassed! You shall have no honor from the LORD God.” Then Uzziah became furious; and he had a censer in his hand to burn incense. And while he was angry with the priests, leprosy broke out on his forehead, before the priests in the house of the LORD, beside the incense altar. And Azariah the chief priest and all the priests looked at him, and there, on his forehead, he was leprous; so they thrust him out of that place. Indeed he also hurried to get out, because the LORD had struck him. King Uzziah was a leper until the day of his death.” (2 Chronicles 26:14-21 NKJV)
Uzziah was quite a guy, until he got too big for his britches. He served the Lord, and the people of God, until he became headstrong and obstinate.
It’s as though he spent too much time looking in the mirror, admiring himself and his accomplishments.
He puffed up like a pufferfish, believing he was bigger than life itself.
“To his destruction.”
By the way, almost all blowfish, or pufferfish, are highly poisonous! The puffer fish, any one of the family of tetraodontidae, protects itself in the wild by gulping down water and swelling up its belly to make itself look bigger. It does this because, apparently, it can’t find a way to communicate the simple message, “I am poisonous.” These fish are considered the second most poisonous vertebrates in the world. They contain a toxin 1,200 more deadly than cyanide. It’s in their skin, their ovaries, their gonads, and their liver. One fish can kill thirty people.
Their bite can actually ruin or kill the work God wants to do. Or get too close to them and find yourself poisoned! (For more info on pufferfish see – http://io9.com/5879406/how-the-puffer-fish-gets-you-high-zombifies-you-and-kills-you# )
It’s great to have self-confidence, but it is self-destructive to believe and venture beyond your calling. No one is that important!
Find your place “in Him”, and be whom God intended you to be. Step away from that self-centered mirror, and instead, do what you can to encourage others.
Leprosy on the forehead will halt your actions, mark you as unclean, and isolate you from the work of God. It will defile your image, and someone else will have to take your place.
Be content to be “marvelously helped”. Enjoy and be thankful for what God has given you to accomplish.
And put that mirror down!
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom.
Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.” (Proverbs 3:5-7 NLT)
Jan Grace
adding God's Word into my world…
