Because I'm naturally cynical and like to play the devil's advocate, I often roll my eyes when I hear people share how they heard the perfect song at the perfect time. But tonight on my way home, I found myself wrestling with some serious things in my heart and mind. And this song came on and it was just right...
This is the stripped down acoustic version, as opposed to the well-produced and faster-paced style that was on the radio. But it's combination of declaration and supplication really spoke to my spirit this evening. May it bless you as well.
I've featured Christian hip-hop artist Lecrae here before. And he is beginning to get wider cultural attention as he emerges as a top musical talent who won't budge on his convictions. His latest album "Anomaly" is an ode to how his life is in current tension as he lives 'in-but-not-of the world' (both the secular and Christian worlds). His latest video is transparent, entertaining, and - in the end - amusing. Seriously, the last 20 seconds made me laugh out loud because it perfectly captures married life. Milford and Warsaw and our area are all fairly suburban/rural/non-urban. So hip-hop may seem out of place to post on this blog, but it is beneficial to be exposed to the diversity of other cultures. Plus this is good music. Enjoy.
Have you ever forgotten about a song you really, really liked? Then when you hear it you think to yourself, 'Man, I totally love this song!' This is one of those songs for me. It has spoken to me during circumstances that were very difficult. It has provided encouragement even during times where things weren't that bad, but weren't rainbows and lollipops either. A famous line from the recent Batman movie, The Dark Knight, goes "the night is always darkest before the dawn", which is a similar idea, though not literally true. But I absolutely love the imagery of this song: "the shadows prove the sunshine", because it is literally true. Shadows exist because there is light behind it all. Difficulties and trials exist for a greater purpose in God's grand scheme of history (James 1:2-4, 1 Peter 4:12-19). Job's life teaches us this, Joseph had to learn this lesson, as did the OT prophets, and of course Jesus' life is the defining illustration of this principle. Whatever we must endure, we can know without a doubt that the shadows prove the sunshine.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."
Proverbs 3:5-6 belongs in a select group of Bible verses whose content is clear, practical, and fundamental to the Christian faith. Proverbs 1:7 teaches us that wisdom starts with fearing the Lord. Here in chapter three, we learn that the wisest among us are those trust the Lord and not themselves. It is completely natural to seek independence and the ability to make our own decisions. It is completely natural to rely on our own expertise and abilities to navigate the myriad of situations life throws at us. It is completely natural, but completely foolish. First of all, no matter how gifted we are or how well organized our plans are, it is God's will that is going to be established (19:21). His plans are the ones that work out. While it is not completely natural, it is completely essential that we give our plans over to God and surrender to what He wants (16:3-4). Pray and submit your plans, desires, and dreams to the Lord. Lean on him for the help you inevitably need. I've heard some critics say that faith is a 'crutch'. Faith in God isn't a crutch, it's a wheelchair. Our trust must be total, unreserved, and all-encompassing.
We are starting a new sermon series in the book of Proverbs this week. Proverbs is widely known for it's poetic nuggets of wisdom. The wisdom of Proverbs is more than just 'book-smarts'. It's not given just so we can have a lot of head knowledge. The wisdom of Proverbs is given so we can successfully apply theology to real life. Over and over again, the emphasis is on how to behave in real world situations. Advice is offered on friendships, family and marriage relationships, business, finances, government, poverty and wealth along with a myriad of other areas.
The foundational principle that holds it all together is found in the very first chapter. 1:7 says,
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,but fools despise wisdom and instruction."
All thirty one chapters worth of counsel is couched in the context of fearing the Lord. We must have a humble respect for God and submit to His will if we want to find true wisdom and true success in life. Wisdom is often ascribed to those with gray hairs, who have lots of experience or education. Those things often contribute to wisdom and certainly provide individuals with worldly wisdom. But godly wisdom, which leads to worldly success and heavenly blessing, is only possible when we fear the Lord and follow His ways.
The missions trip really threw off my blogging routine. But we're back with a Music Monday this evening. Quick note, on the last part of my missions trip - we did win our last game on Friday, went sight-seeing and shopping at a mall in Manila, then took off early Sunday AM for home...eventually arriving back in the States in the early afternoon on Sunday. Gotta love the long flight over the date line. This week's musical selection is based on a confession I made in my sermon yesterday. But to give it some context, I was preaching on Philippians 4, and in vs.8-9, Paul gives them some values and qualities we ought to be upholding and applying to the things we think about. Using these verses as a guide for our TV/Movie/Music consumption is an easy application for "whatever is excellent or praiseworthy" and the rest of the list. I mentioned I'd be fine with anyone looking through my iPod at my music library because I feel it conforms to the moral parameters Paul lists, even if some of my albums are "secular". I did confess though that there's probably one song on my list I'd be 'embarrassed' by - though not because it's a shady song. Miley Cyrus' "Party in the U.S.A." was our theme song for the basketball missions trip I took back in 2011 with my LCA basketball team I was coaching at the time. So I uploaded it and added it to my library. It's sort of embarrassing but it has a sentimental place in my heart.
So here's a little fun for everyone - of course I can't completely endorse the artist or her lifestyle - but it's a fun song. The larger point of all of this is - does our TV watching or music library conform to the biblical definition of "good". It's a challenging calling that convicts me in many ways because I know I compromise all too often. But let's keep evaluating ourselves and what we are allowing our minds to dwell on.
As I mentioned in my last post, we traveled out of Manila on Wednesday to play some games in another city. That city turned out to be Subic. As with games in Manila, we were connecting with local pastors in the area and traveling to various barangays (neighborhoods) to play.
This week's set up was unique in that our games on Wednesday and Thursday were basically back to backs. Once we finished a game early Wednesday evening in a barangay, we traveled to another facility to play another team right away. It's not an ideal set-up, especially physically, but we worked through it.
Wednesdays first game was a tight contest with a decent crowd. If my memory serves correctly, that was the game I shared about Christ with the audience at halftime. The second game was in a facility that seemed like a resort, and there wasn't much of a crowd. Sometimes that's the way it is though and we focus on ministering to the opposing team.
Thursday's schedule allowed us to sleep in and then travel to a beach around lunch. It was nice to relax, briefly swim, and bond more as a team. The Subic area is more of a resort area north of Manila. The ride there has amazing views and the beach was pretty nice though fairly empty. We played two games in the evening, starting with a fairly easy game in a barangay. On the way to the second context, we hit some brutal traffic and got there pretty late. The other team and the crowd were patient and once we got started we realized this would be a hard-fought but fun game. We pulled out a victory but most importantly got to share the Gospel with our biggest crowd yet. We can't understand the pastors when the share the Gospel after we have introduced ourselves, but those who know the language have said our set of pastors we've had with us this trip have been exceptionally good and giving a clear message about Jesus. We have observed that the pastors here are very unassuming, sincere, hard-working, and genuine in a way that not all pastors are in the States. I could learn something from them for sure.
This morning we played in a prison against some inmates. The court had a car on it that couldn't be moved, so we just played in two groups of 4 on 4. It was a cool time because we had a lot of down time while we waited and we were able to interact with a lot of the prisoners in a deeper way.
Tonight we play our final game. We are looking forward to it because it should be a good game, but also because it will be our last one. Us old guys are pushing the limits of our capabilities right now. But it's all good, cause it is for God's glory.
