9/22/2013
“LiveLife2TheFullest”
“When Joshua was near the town of
Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with sword in
hand. Joshua went up to him and demanded, ‘Are you friend or foe?’ ‘Neither one’,
he replied. ‘I am the commander of the Lord’s army’.”
-Joshua 5:13-14
You
know that ‘American Dream’ based phrase, “Live life to the fullest”? Do you
ever sit and ponder the way that our modern day culture interprets that particular
expression? I can’t help but think it
insinuates this idea of “living for ourselves”- taking life day by day
serving our own desires. Some ‘good-natured’ people would say that sounds
selfish and does not describe them whatsoever. They defend themselves with
statements such as, “I live to provide for my family or support my friends or
community”. Hmm. Tough one I admit but take a look at Matthew 10:37; 39:
“If you love your father or mother more
than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or
daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you cling to your
life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.”
Now, Christianity seems to be
getting sucked in to this worldly version of my ‘blog title’ expression. And
when this happens, we’re left with the result of the theme of 98.6 Too Cold: lukewarm Christianity.
Sadly enough that is what leads to Christians who cling to their life as
referred to in the verse above. So what
is the correct, Biblically-sound interpretation of the phrase “Live Life To The
Fullest” for a Christ-follower to adhere to? I believe that interpretation entails
SACRIFICING our lives to God, putting the self to death (Rom. 8:12-13 “Putting
to death the deeds of the body” or Gal. 2:20 “My old self has been crucified
with Christ”) resulting in following and obeying Christ; hence the term “Christ-follower”.
Perhaps, the world’s way of looking
at this expression is all wrong. Perhaps, it’s just the opposite. Perhaps, living for ourselves or EVEN
others only points to being the ‘emptiest’ not the fullest. Maybe seeking
for love, meaning, purpose, and hope in all the wrong places (anywhere or
anything besides God) is not the right path to follow and maybe it should not
even be associated with the ‘American Dream’. What if Matthew 6:33 (“Seek the kingdom of God above all else”) is the
route we should take? I’m sure you know somebody through the grape vine who
believed a relationship, for instance, would solve all their life problems and
they’d be “complete” afterwards. Check out this moving 13 minute film if you
get the chance about a woman looking for love in all the wrong places.
You’re probably wondering what my
initial scripture has to do with any of this subject matter. Let me explain. As
the pastor of my church mentioned this past Sunday, “Joshua’s thinking needed to be reoriented”. You see, Joshua was all
wrong in his mindset. He was asking the wrong question. I like this example
because with this expression ‘Live Life To The Fullest’, our culture’s way of thinking needs to be reoriented or RENEWED as
Romans 12:2 says.
Let
me end by comparing the world’s perspective of ‘living life to the fullest’ and
all those who have adopted this misinterpretation to the Parable of the Sower
from the book of Matthew. Chapter 13, verse 22 states, “The seed that fell
among the thorns represents those who hear God’s words, but all too quickly the
message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth”. The
‘lure of wealth’ is the riches of what we see people pursuing after today. “Living
life to the fullest” in this corrupt culture is seen as (often in media): having
the hottest girl on campus, driving the Beemer, having the highest-paid job, getting
smashed every Friday night with the ‘bros’, etc.
DO NOT BE THE SEEDS AMONG THE THORNS!
I visualize thorns not just as an
everyday bush; I visualize thorns as a trap. You get stuck or caught in them. The devil is seeking to snare
Christ followers and produce lukewarm Christians by enticing them into the
riches and wealth of the world. Do not be fooled my fellow readers. The
lifestyles pertaining to wealth hold no eternal value nor do they fulfill anyone.
You’ll only be left with emptiness!
Ryan
Walters. '98.6 Too Cold' Founder, Blogger
9/15/2013
“People Looking At Us Like We’re
Noahzites”
-2 Timothy 3:12
Why are people looking at us like we're a bunch of Noahzites?
Perhaps
because we aren't following the world's definition or idea of what's right and
wrong or good and evil. We’re following
God’s calling for His children which is to be set apart from the world.
Christ followers are called to be living a life that makes them distinctly
different from those of the world (Evidenced by the act of circumcision in the
Old Testament). But the sad truth is,
lukewarm Christians are starting to slowly listen to and take hold of the
'world's teachings'. They're fleeing the way of God though the book of Proverbs
strongly advises not to for it states, “They
rejected my advice and paid no attention when I corrected them. Therefore, they
must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way, choking on their own
schemes…fools are destroyed by their own complacency” (Prov. 1:30-31; 32). ONE-
That statement in itself should place some level of fear of the Lord in us. God
is a god of grace, mercy and love but He does not take lightly to us rejecting
Him and thinking we’ll be just fine all on our own. TWO- complacency is yet another way to say ‘lukewarm’. It is those who are
complacent or lukewarm who are digging themselves a hole they don't want to
fall into.
So why?
Why dig that hole? Here's a few possibilities. ONE- Christians are afraid of not mixing in with the crowd. They may be ashamed
of being different or ‘set apart’; the exact opposite of what Christ followers
are called to be- UNASHAMED (Rom. 1:16 which just so happens to be the
theme verse of current Christian Hip Hop & Rap). Nobody likes standing
out. But God says the choosing to follow the crowd or not take a stand for
Christ against the crowd is basically denying Him which will end up with us
being denied by Christ to the Father in heaven (Matt. 10:33). Two- Christians are surrounded by a
lukewarm environment that's seeking to swallow anybody it can get its hands on.
The pressure builds and Christians cave. Three-
We're all being fed a monstrous and dangerous lie. A lie from the father of
lies himself. A lie that seems like it would taste so sweet, feel so
refreshing, and fulfill our satisfaction. It's fed to us in such a subtle and
sly way- and that's the serpent's specialty. He demonstrated this art in the
Garden of Eden when speaking to Eve.
But we
have a CHOICE like Adam and Eve: give in
to Satan or embrace the TRUTH of God. The truth that can set us free and
break our chains! The truth that standing
firm in faith even against the crowd and majority is an act of honor to the
Lord who loves us abundantly and never forsakes us even if it means us looking
'crazy'. Galatians 5:1 says “Christ has truly set us free so make sure that
you stay free and don’t get tied up again in slavery.” Flee being lukewarm and embrace true grace and love of the
Heavenly Father who relentlessly pursues an intimate relationship with His
creation: us, the Noahzites!
Ryan
Walters. '98.6 Too Cold' Founder, Blogger
9/8/2013
“Taking
Advantage: It Just Doesn’t Add Up”
“I
do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make
us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.”
-Galatians
2:21 (NIV)
Please let me start with
a quote by Michael DiMarco, author of God
Guy, The God Guy Bible & Devotions
For The God Guy. He writes, “This kind of thinking goes like this: ‘I really want to do this sinful thing, and
since it’s too hard to say no, I’m just gonna’ do it and then ask for
forgiveness later’.”
You know what’s funny
about that statement? We as Christ-followers would probably read that aloud,
chuckle and say, “Ha! Every ‘good Christian’ knows we can’t really do that.”
Yet, we turn around and enter back into LUKEWARM
LIFE and do just that! Our actions, whether engaging in sexual immorality or
drinking excessively when pressured by our so-called ‘friends’, reflect that
exact statement above! What’s worse is most
of the time we are doing so without even realizing it!
REALITY
CHECK!
My brothers & sisters in Christ: Do not fool yourselves with this highly idolized misconception by our lukewarm Christian culture for Proverbs 14:11 says:
“Fools make fun of guilt, but the godly
acknowledge it and seek reconciliation.”
Now to the point I finished off with in my initial blog. Heck, let’s state it:
The
human mind is an incredibly stubborn, strong-willed source that seeks to
rationalize and excuse just about anything that could be a desire of the flesh
or tool of Satan.
So why do I tie this concept in with taking advantage of the Lord’s grace upon our constant sin? Because it is one of the main reasons we find ourselves often being “okay with sinning”. The longer we arrive at this place of ‘false contentment’, the more we submit to Lucifer’s lies. The more we fall to his lies, the more we will find ourselves attached to the spiritual landslide of this modern day culture. And to be blunt, no Christ-follower belongs on the side of the temporary, flesh-fulfilling world. We BELONG to our Heavenly father above and we belong to His house in Heaven for eternity after this life passes away.
Reader- we may have never met. But guess what? Christ-follower or not, I love you. As ‘creeped’ out as you may be from that statement, let me explain. I love you because God loves you and He has sent me here with a divine purpose to love you the way He loves you though I can never come close to that level of love. Yes. This is me attempting to relay the ‘truth in love’ Larry talks about in his first blog. Again, I restate that because He loves you dearly He desires for you to be on HIS side, not on the world’s. That may sound like a war or fight between the world and God and that’s because IT IS. But eventually, like every good battle story between good and evil, one stands victorious in the end. Listen to 1 John 5:4-5 and contemplate the winning side:
“For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the son of God.”
Now let me apply the verse from Galatians that got my whole impression of this particular blog ‘running on all fours’. When Christ went up on that cross, we should have learned something about the law of the Old Testament. What we should have realized is that God’s agenda with sacrificing His only begotten Son had an incredibly deeper meaning than what it appeared to be externally beyond Jesus’ death and resurrection. If B.C. life had continued with no A.D. life, people’s mindsets would have remained the same with thinking that following God’s laws and commands makes us right with Him. There’s an error in that mindset. Something had to take place to fix that common misconception.
You see, Christ’s moment on the cross MADE A WAY (John 14:6- He is the way, truth & the life) for us to become right with God regardless of our sin which He died for. Galatians 3 builds more on the end of chapter two: “Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. How foolish can you be?” Oh, look. The term ‘foolish’ used again as in the Proverb I mentioned earlier. So readers, please do not be foolish in thinking you can take advantage of the Lord’s good grace and excuse your sinning to do whatever you’d like when you’d like to. If you do, think of it not just as a slap to God’s face. He sent His Son to die a brutal, and I mean a brutal death to break your chains from eternal condemnation because of your sin. For us to take advantage of the blood shed on the cross, we exceed a ‘slap on the face’. I encourage you to ponder this next time you find yourself sinning or about to sin whether or not you feel the guilt or conviction.
In Christian rap artist Trip Lee’s book ‘The Good Life’, he concludes his chapters with lyrics from his songs to emphasize and confirm his message throughout the book. Now I am as far away as could be from possessing a talent for ‘dishing out rhymes’ but before this blog began I attempted a few lines so to speak regarding this lukewarm generation (If you must know, I desired to be known as ‘YungWaltz’- Ask Jodel and Nate for more on that one). With that said, let me amuse you with a few.
Believers thinking it’s okay, Lower morals to a world of shame.
Culture blinded & corrupt, Once you’re in it
forever stuck.
Trip says ‘we fallin’, I’d say we sink.
To the bottom with the knowledge, Of who we
outta’ be.
But life ain’t a cash out, No dippin’ just when
we’re low.
We think, “Oh hey, I’ll go to God. He’ll fix me
when I’m broke”.
He’s not a system you can cheat, And use when
it’s convenient.
Blow Him off when life’s good, Enough to say,
‘Yo beat it’.
Aside from how corny those lines are as well as how much they do ‘not flow’, take into consideration the meaning. God’s love and grace is not part of a system we can cheat and use when it’s convenient folks. Scripture in Galatians backs that up. This is not a matter that He takes lightly I assure you. I encourage you again to pick a side, God or the world. At least contemplate it and give it some thought. Lukewarm Christians are falsely believing they can take advantage of God’s grace while serving both masters: God and flesh. Matthew 6:24 (You can’t serve two masters). Hop off that fence because it’s one or the other.
In all this, I have not even had the time to cover unintentional sin and premeditated sin especially in their relation to God’s grace. For the time being, focus your attention on Hebrews 10:26-31. No, really. Read it. Right now! Trust me!
Ryan Walters. '98.6 Too Cold' Founder, Blogger
9/1/2013
Lyrics 101: The Trap Behind The Music
Lyrics 101: The Trap Behind The Music
“Don’t use foul or
abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your
words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.”
–Ephesians 4:29
“I only listen to it for the beat, yah’ know? I only pay attention to the music, not so much the lyrics.” This is but one of many famous quotes my mouth had on repeat for many years throughout high school and my early college years. As a guy who put fourteen-hundred dollars into his car stereo, with a love for his MTX Audio dual 12’s especially, I was all about those songs with intense bass. Most of the time those songs were essentially rap and hip hop (keep in mind this was still the pre-dubstep and trap era). Sure, I wasn’t an actual fan of Jay-Z, Kanye West, Drake and others in that scene but their music sounded terrific on my system! Blaring bass out the windows to look ‘cool’ and impress others meant far more to me in my late teens than actually taking into consideration the impact of the lyrics; not only on myself but on my friends and family. (And let's not forget the content of 1 Corinthians 8 which tells us not to 'cause a weaker brother to stumble'. This passage of scripture should DEFINITELY be taken into consideration when playing your music in somebody else’s' presence.)
This is but a small excerpt that could branch into several topics worth more discussing. However, I don’t want to bore the audience. The end of this message defines a key concept that I will further discuss in next week’s blog:
The human mind is an
incredibly stubborn, strong-willed source that seeks to rationalize and excuse
just about anything that could be a desire of the flesh or tool of Satan.
Ryan Walters. '98.6 Too Cold' Founder,
Blogger
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ReplyDelete@Amien Atheist. Thank you for your interest and expressing your perspective. It is okay that you do not follow my way of thinking. I will try to explain or clear things up a bit better for you.
DeleteI am fully aware that Hopsin, etc probably aren't trying to appease Christians. I get the vibe you think I may have been attacking artists which is not at all the case. Please keep in mind this message is aimed towards believers who may be falling into what is called lukewarm Christianity and I am encouraging them to distance themselves from listening to what God says can corrupt our hearts and relationship with Him. I welcome those who do not share my same faith to read these blogs but it is more difficult for those readers to understand the exact message I am sending because of our different beliefs.
The Christian artists I listen to (I do not JUST listen to Christian by the way) don't only care about getting their message to Christian listeners. In fact, if anything their message is more for those who don't share the same faith or even have a faith at all.
I believe God endorses any music that simply edifies Him no matter the genre. And again, I am not condemning music that I find vulgar. I choose not to listen to that music I find vulgar because I don't find it encouraging to my relationship with God and that conviction is between the Holy Spirit and myself. Ephesians 4:29, the verse I have for that blog supports that choice of mine.
Yes I agree, part of growing up in this world is being exposed to so much. There is so much we cannot avoid being surrounded by on a constant basis. So we must carefully choose what we believe or don't believe in and then live based off those beliefs. This way, we can be better prepared when faced by temptations to not give into those things we believe we shouldn't be a part of.
I don't 'delete' friends so to speak if we don't agree on the same things. I don't put myself in a small bubble of a support system that only supports what I believe. Jesus surrounded Himself around those who did not share in His purpose. And as 1 Corinthians states, I am here to imitate the character and acts of Christ so I aim to do the same. I deeply appreciate my relationships with close friends and family who don't share in my faith. Im blessed to have the privilege to speak with them and share my own testimony and beliefs just like I am doing on this blog.
Regarding your last point about fearful thinking-
I believe the Word of God supports critical thinking. We should not take things at face value but instead research and examine them to truly understand the best way we can. Christians for example, should not call themselves Christians because they grew up in Christian homes, attending Christian schools, etc. Thats what is called embedded theology. We're supposed to move past that way of thinking and shift into deliberative theology- challenging and questioning our faith and what/why we believe what we believe. Now there is a distinct difference between critically thinking and fearful thinking. In my faith, God says to guard my heart against things that satan can use to tear my faith down. I'd like to think I am open-minded but if I look carefully into something I realize could be used as a tool from the devil to corrupt my heart and relationship with God then I turn from it. That's not being fearful my friend, that's being what the book of Proverbs calls wise.