Secular

"Run from anything that stimulates youthful lust. Follow anything that makes you want to do right. Pursue faith and love and peace, and enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts."
-2 Timothy 2:22

Last night at the Addiction Ministry, God convicted me of the music I listen too. God just spoke and challenged me to rethink what I listen too. Ultimately, does the music I listen too support Jesus or the sex, drug, and rock and roll life style? Is the music I listen too make me want to worship Jesus or have more of the desire to live the lifestyle of sex, and drugs, and rock and roll? Do I want to give up my rockin' awesome music? No! However, I want to worship Jesus. And I know listening to the radio station I listen to does not glorify Jesus. I get embarrassed at some of the things they talk about and mention. And I know if affects the way I think and talk. I don't think I need to pray about it, God told me and there ain't no praying about it. I guess what I need to pray for is the strength to not listen to it. I love my music. I love my jams. But it is causing me to stumble and not honor God. Ask yourself this question: "Should Christians support people who laugh at our beliefs and values?"
I don't know about you but I want God to use me, I want my life to be pleasing to Him. When we back up one verse in 2 Timothy 2:21 we read:
‎"If you keep yourself pure, you will be a utensil God can use for His purpose. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work." Are we really making ourselves pure when we sing about killing ourselves, and doing drugs, and having sex, and saying every cuss word on God's green earth? Singing is a utensil God has given us to worship Him, not sing about the things mentioned above. After all, what goes in must come out, right? YES! That is why Paul is writing Timothy saying, "Run! Run, from anything that stimulates youthful lust. Follow anything that makes you want to do right....enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts." Running away is considered cowardly. But wise people realize that removing themselves physically from temptation is very wise. We belong to God! We do not belong to the world or what it offers us. It's hard. But God will give you the strength to press on, and keep working on you till you are all He wants you to be. Till we look like Him. That's what the whole Christian life is about, to be like Him. To enjoy what He gives us, not what the world wants to give us to enjoy. It might be you'll have to quit listening to music for a while. It might kill me, but if it means I have to do that to glorify God I'll do it. I won't lie, Christian music isn't exactly rockin' out there, I know. Just something to think about.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Elliot

Image
Who believes what we’ve heard and seen? Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this? The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling, a scrubby plant in a parched field. There was nothing attractive about him, nothing to cause us to take a second look. He was looked down on and passed over, a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand. One look at him and people turned away. We looked down on him, thought he was scum. But the fact is, it was our pains he carried— our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us. We thought he brought it on himself, that God was punishing him for his own failures. But it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins! He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through his bruises we get healed. -Isaiah 53:1-6 The verses above have stuck out in my mind surrounding this Easter Season and in the midst of this plague. Jesus wasn't afraid of disease or death or anything deemed to b
Read more

Hupomone -- A Patient Endurance

Image
I can remember the first time I heard this Greek word, Hupomone (noun). (pronounced hoop-om-on-ay') It literally means remaining under the Divine Presence while being tested. I was sitting in the church my dad was pastoring at the time, a rural church in North Carolina. It's been well over 10 years ago. I was sitting on a pew with my friend Sarah, kinda toward the front. I don't remember anything about the sermon that day, just the word Hupomone. Sarah and I looked at each other and giggled like girls do, and Sarah blurted out, "What's humopone?!" My dad, the gracious man he is, answered her interruption. For the next few months Sarah and I would run around randomly saying, "Hupomone!" several times in a row. It really is a fun word to say. Looking back on it, what a great thing to do. What if there were people running around yelling Greek words at you to remind you, Endure! Endure! Endure! Endure! Endure! People probably thought we
Read more

That You May Believe

Image
  We see the word, "believe" a lot in our culture.  We are encouraged by wooden frames, and art to "believe in ourselves."  In all actuality that is idolatry telling you to place your faith in yourself.  I don't know about you, but I have no idea how to direct my life other than to trouble.  Do we really want to lift ourselves higher than God?  That we are worthy within ourselves to reject God and trust ourselves instead?  I guess we have all walked that path at one time or another.  My existence outside of Jesus Christ and His Spirit in me amounts to nothing.  It begins and ends.  I live for myself, doing whatever I please, going wherever.  It may be attractive for a season, but in the end my life it isn't hinged on any meaning. In throwing the word, "believe" around so much it looses it's meaning almost like when we tell people we love them without thinking or feeling.  Believe is a key word to the Bible, especially the book of John.  Belief
Read more