Memories Familiar tunes can evoke a range of powerful emotions. These melodies can conjure long lost emotions harkening back to some deep memory. It is amazing the power that the Lord has put into music. I have seen people debilitated by dementia, but still being able to sing their favorite hymn or play their trusty instrument. I’m sure that scientists have studied and theorized some mechanism or material explanation. However, maybe the reason is because music reaches beyond the mere physical structure of our brain to our heart and soul. We really have very little understanding of the link between our physical body and our soul and spirit. Even in the pages of scripture, this is not explained in a detailed way. But certainly it could be that as God has formed us as both body and soul, He intended for certain things to be specially powerful in traversing the distinction between the two parts. Since we were created to be worshiping beings this seems like the kind of thing that we should expect to be true. Meaning While we often think of music in terms of entertainment, it certainly carries more meaning than that! The right song at the right moment can fill us with joy or help us to grieve or express sincere anger. So the truly great music is usually more than the notes on an instrument, it is a story being told both in rhythm and rhyme. The lyrics that drive the points of the artist home to the soul of the listener. This is possibly the explanation of the phenomenal success of the song, “Rich Men North of Richmond” that has blown up on the internet lately. Many people are resonating with the message of the lyrics. The song has garnered a lot of praise and some criticism. The criticism has come either because of political disagreements with the message of the song, or because of the presence of certain course terminology, or because of the hard and frustrated tone. Ironically, it is probably these very elements that have also been the reason that the song has earned so much attention and acceptance. It is not my purpose in this article to evaluate the song although I will say that there are many insightful and true points being made. But I want to focus on the power that music can have in driving public discussion and galvanizing people in the way they think. This is why jingles and slogans are so popular in advertising because they can gain a loyal following. Even throughout the history of the church, music has been used both in the promotion of true theology and out right heresy. Majesty Ultimately, the purpose of music is to praise and worship God. There can be no higher or better purpose for which an instrument or a voice could ever be used. David uses music to extol the attributes of God throughout the Psalms particularly His steadfast love and justice (Psalm 101:1). We are also instructed that singing is at the heart of our corporate worship when we meet together as the Lord’s people. Paul instructs both the Colossians and the Ephesians about the importance of them singing not only to God but to one another when they come together to learn, fellowship, and worship! Finally, when the Lord reveals to us a glimpse of the eternal activity of worship around His throne there is a song being sung! God is being glorified as the angels, the living creatures, the elders and the saints are crying out in a loud voice the glory and attributes of Almighty God (Revelation 7:9-12)!
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Melting Pot As the kids are beginning a new year of academic education I feel that it is important to remind us of a key distinction between believing and unbelieving thought. The secular world believes, or at least pretends to believe, that the distinction between sacred and secular means that it is possible for us to engage with one another on a neutral philosophical basis. They think that if believers will check their faith at the door, then we will on be on neutral territory. But in actuality, when we agree to step out of our worldview which is defined by the lordship of Jesus Christ we have given them home court advantage (1 Peter 3:14-16). Our public spaces are often considered a melting pot where various distinctions and disagreements are supposed to melt away. It is ironic that many people coming from a secular worldview have adopted a definition for tolerance that is not actually tolerant at all. Tolerance is when people with differing opinions and perspectives can tolerate each other's freedom to not only have that view, but to also express that view. Most secularists today define toleration as affirmation and acceptance. They will openly acknowledge that they do not need to be affirming or accepting of religious or Christian perspectives but that we should affirm their secular perspective. Software A couple of months ago I was engaged in a conversation with a young homosexual man who was wearing the slogan “All are Welcome,” but he quickly told me that my view was not welcome. This is the kind of hypocrisy that the secular tolerance view leads to. The reality is that there cannot be any real neutrality. This is because everyone has to operate with certain foundational assumptions. A computer cannot operate without an operating system. I am not a computer scientist, but as far as I can tell even with all the necessary hardware in place you must have the information in the software for actual computation to take place. It is the same way with us. We must function from a basic framework of reality. For the Christian, our God and Lord Jesus Christ is at the center of that reality and we cannot abandon this fundamental presupposition. Slogans The danger is that people can easily be taken in by a catchy slogan if they are not grounded in the basic principles of the truth. Paul warned the Colossian Christians to not be taken captive by philosophy, deception, tradition, or worldliness (Colossians 2:8). The point is that catchy and sugary words can be used to trap us into believing things that are not true. But this can only be the case if we are not established in the faith. The myth of neutrality is nothing but a trojan horse meant to catch us unarmed and off guard for the spiritual war that we are all involved in. Savior The truth is the person of Jesus Christ. Notice, I did not say the truth is in the person of Jesus Christ. He said that He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). Since Jesus is the truth, all our wisdom, knowledge, and understanding must be based on Him and His revelation in the Scriptures. Again, Paul told the Colossians that in Jesus Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3). As Christians, we cannot abandon the solid ground of the Lordship of Jesus Christ for the shifting sand of secularism, false religion, or even so called tolerant neutrality! Misplaced Have you ever found yourself frantically searching for your keys or your wallet? You're late to work or to church and you just can’t find them. I’m sure that all of us have been in that situation before. In these cases we know that the item is simply misplaced and we must calm down and conduct a thorough search to retrieve our possession. But what happens when you have searched and yet you didn’t find it? In this case, at some point, we must face the reality that it is lost forever. We are not going to find it. Now, we must deal with replacing the lost item or for something irreplaceable or of sentimental value we must grieve our loss. In this case, we are thinking of loss in terms of something that we have failed to keep track of or adequately protect. Certainly this was accidental, but it is gone just the same and we must deal with the consequences. Discarded But there are also times when we lose things because we purposely let them go. I am speaking more philosophically at this point. We may come to realize that some dream or goal or relationship is simply not worth the effort and cost of us holding on to it. This should be especially true for us as Christians for we have found the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:45-46). The gospel is the message of a treasure that is infinitely more valuable than anything we have or could ever even want. This treasure is Jesus! Because Jesus is God. He is of infinitely more value and importance than everything in creation because He is the creator and not simply a created thing (Colossians 1:15-18). Once we understand this truth, then it should be clear that nothing is valuable enough, important enough, good enough, or glorious enough to keep us from abandoning it for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:8). As the old song says, “nothing in my hands I bring, simply to the cross I cling (Rock of Ages).” Unsaved But what if you are not the one who lost something, but rather the thing which is lost? In Luke 15, the Lord Jesus uses 3 parables about lost things to teach us to understand the heavenly joy produced by genuine repentance and conversion. In the first parable, Jesus tells us about a shepherd who leaves the flock of 99 sheep in safety and proceeds to search out and recover the one lost sheep followed by the great rejoicing because the lost sheep has been found (Luke 15:4-7). The second parable deals with a lost coin. Again the woman searches and finds the coin and calls her friends to rejoice with her that she has found her lost coin. In heaven there is great rejoicing over every one who is found (Luke 15:8-10). The final parable, while significantly more complex, is also about the great rejoicing in heaven when God’s people are found (Luke 15:11-32). So, there are two ways that this could apply to you. First, if you are not an actual believer in Jesus Christ then you must understand that you are lost. You are far from God and you desperately need to be found, rescued and reconciled to God. And the message of these parables is that God and His hosts are ready to rejoice over your salvation. The Bible is clear that every person who turns from their sin trusting in Jesus' vicious death and victorious resurrection and calling on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:9-13). The second application is for us who do believe. We need to rejoice at the conversion of lost souls and go out seeking to find more (Proverbs 11:30)! Sweet We often use this term about the flavor of food to refer to things that we find pleasing. It may be that some friend has done something gracious for us and we respond “sweet.” At this moment we are pointing out the kindness that has been done for us. All of us like to have people show us kindness. Kindness is especially appreciated in the moments when we recognize the greatness of our need. Another way to say this is that during vulnerable and humbling experiences we are more likely to notice the kind things done by other people. Whether these people are those closest to us or complete strangers, we enjoy the sweetness of their kind attention. Preemptive Love One way that we could understand kindness is that it is preemptive love. What I mean by preemptive love is that it runs ahead of the parameters of the relationship or the response of the recipient. When we show kindness or are shown kindness it is not as a reward for our accomplishments or behavior, for that would be honor not kindness. Honor should always be given to the one deserving it (Romans 13:7), but kindness is the reward of the undeserving. It is carrying implicit grace. In this way, kindness is the preemptive expression of love. You have probably had experiences where you were shown kindness by complete strangers. In these instances, you have experienced this concept of kindness going beyond the parameters of the relationship. The person treated you as fitting another image bearer of God even if the relationship was not yet established to earn such privileged treatment. Kindness is also particularly sweet when it comes from someone who is not seeking repayment or someone who, to some degree, could not be repaid. Here, kindness is not shown in anticipation of some future reward but only as the right treatment of another human being. God’s Kindness In both of these instances kindness is a preemptive act of love for the humbled recipient. This is also how God shows kindness to us. God comes to us with preemptive love. The Apostle John tells us that we love God because He FIRST loved us (1 John 4:19). The Apostle Paul also reminds us that while we were still enemies of God, Christ died for the ungodly (Romans 5:8). God clearly shows humanity abundant kindness before we have any relationship, reward, or response to offer. But Why? What is the purpose of God’s kindness? An exhaustive list of God’s purposes will only fully be known in the glory of eternity but I would like to consider two today. First, God shows us such abundant kindness because of the kind nature of who He is. God has revealed to us that He is full of loving kindness (Titus 3:4). This is a reference to His merciful nature that is an attribute of who God is. So God does not simply act kindly, but is Himself kind. The second aspect is that God’s kindness has an intention. Paul again tells us that God’s kindness is meant to lead us to repentance (Romans 2:4). God intends to bring us to the point of repentant saving faith, not through wrathful threats but by demonstrations of kindness toward sinners deserving His wrath and judgment. Be sure, God is wrathful and He warns us about the danger and destruction awaiting those who do not repent and trust Christ, but He also gives us an earnest reason to know that He will receive us with grace, mercy, and kindness. Paul goes on to call the believers to behold both the kindness and severity of God (Romans 11:22). So today, which will you have, the severity of God’s judgment made worse by your rejection of His kindness? Or would you enjoy His kindness forever as a ransomed, redeemed, and reconciled saint?! |
AuthorEddie Ragsdale Archives
May 2024
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