Crossover Music: "Dilution of a Music's Distinctive Qualities to Accommodate Mass Tastes"

"All things have been delivered to me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father.  Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him." (Matthew 11:27)

This is quite definitive, "....no one knows the Son except the Father.  Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son...."  Nothing could be any more clear.  It silences the make-everybody-happy theologians, the "now-we-can't-offend-anyone" nice people, or those of the "we-all-worship-the-same-god" camp.  Much of modern Christendom could be defined as "crossover" religion.  Crossover music is described as, "The dilution of a music's distinctive qualities to accommodate to mass tastes."  To me, nothing "tastes" better than our text.  It is comforting; it is Family.    

Please forgive the personal illustrations.  An older gentleman in one of our parishes once said to me that I mentioned Jesus more than any speaker he had ever heard.  He had been a member of that church and others over his life time and a board member of a local Full Gospel Businessmen Association; so I guess he had heard a lot.  It was not necessarily a compliment or praise as much as he just seemed to state a fact.  Another friend of mine in another location who was not a member of our congregation at that time told me that when he asked an older gentleman in that congregation what he thought of the new pastor, the reply was, "All we hear is Jesus, Jesus, Jesus."  I repeat another incident.  In 1962 I was a part of a Fellowship of Christian Athletes' convention; Jesus Owens was one of the speakers.  A prominent baseball player said to me in a seminar, "We need to be careful not to make this a Jesus religion."  I said, "What else is it?"

I know I have shared the aforementioned at times, but our text brought all of this to mind.  Jesus said that only the Father knows Jesus, and only Jesus knows the Father.  Since Jesus is, "the Truth," this principle should guide our entire life, not just the "church life."  Can I say, To talk of "God" without Jesus is not to talk of God, the Father.  Likewise, to talk of Jesus without Father is not to talk of Father.  I have referred to our Lord Jesus Christ as the Definite Article of God.  Without Jesus, one can only talk of a god.  With Jesus, one is talking of The Only God.  The early Creeds of the Church all centered on the Person of Jesus.  To the hostile world, Jesus makes God too personal.  The attitude is that of Felix, "Go away for now; when I have a convenient time I will call for you."

People don't come to Jesus Christ because I am nice, because I am sensitive to people's "issues."  That just brings them to me.  (It should be without saying that of course, we should be "nice" and "sensitive.")  When I hold Jesus Christ before the world, the world meets Father.  When I hold Father before the world, they meet Son Jesus.  They should not and cannot be separated.  What people do with that encounter is up to them.  O, but what glorious encounter.

Father, in Jesus' Name, I choose Your Words over "mass tastes."  Amen.
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Our Son-in-Law's Mom died today.  Please mention him and the family in prayer.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

"Oh, That I Had the Wings of a Dove! I Would Fly Away...Far From"-------

"Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea....My heart is in anguish within me....Fear and trembling have beset me....I said, 'Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!  I would fly away and be at rest.  I would flee far away and stay in the desert; I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm'....Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken." (Psalm 55, NIV)

"I would flee far away...to my place of shelter...."  Oh, and where might that be?  Have you every had such a fantasyland? 

In the vernacular, and in the mildest sense, it may be that "getting away from it all."  In the worst sense, it may be literally, "....flee far away and stay in the desert;..far from the...storm," far from that job, family, church, that frustration/tension.  We've all done it in some degree, in some fashion, i.e., fled to a "paper tiger" shelter.  It is the state of a most desperate soul in an attempt to get at least some relief from the, "anguish within me," from the, "fear and trembling...." 

History and experience has revealed, however, it doesn't work.  Why?  Such a reaction is within us, not in the circumstances.  If one would be honest, that same, "anguish within me," that same, "fear and trembling," which we attempt to blame on others, or on circumstances which we believe are "beyond our control," has lifted its ugly head even when things seem to be fine. 

When tempted to, "flee far away," and, "hurry to my place of shelter," it is wise to come to the conclusion of David, "Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken."  David recovered and traded, "my place of shelter," for the Lord Jesus Christ, Who Alone is, "My Place of shelter." 

Now this does not mean, "the tempest[s] and storm[s]," of life will just disperse.  It means there, in that, "tempest and storm," is, "[His] place of shelter."  It is not, "'Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,' my shepherd will reroute me."  In David's life, as in ours, enemies or the Enemy do not stop their pursuit.  They always find us.  But whether, "green pastures,..still waters," or, "the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, because Thou art with me," because as David, I traded, "my place of shelter," for, "Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain [me]; He will never let the righteous be shaken."

Father, in Jesus' Name, I thank You for Jesus, my righteousness, Who thereby enables me to walk in the peace that, "[You] will never let [me] be shaken."  Amen.

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

"Set Your Heart to Understand, And to Humble Yourself Before Your God"

"And he said to me, 'O Daniel, man greatly beloved,...Do no fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words.'"  (Daniel 10:11, 12)

Notice some oft ignored characteristics of a Believer, "set your heart to understand," and, "to humble yourself before your God."  Could we say that, "[his] words were heard," because his "heart-set?"

At the beginning of each quarter I am in the Book of Daniel.  One thing which impresses me about Daniel is that he just was.  He didn't "go to church;" he didn't preach, pass out tracks, conduct missions conferences, seminars.  These can all be good, but not the end all of Kingdom living.  The outstanding characteristic of Daniel was in his personhood.  His presence in the Babylonian and Media-Persian super powers had national and international significance.  Daniel is a classic "poster child" for "favor."  Most people talk of favor in a selfish manner, i.e., what God does for them and theirs.  People in Scripture who manifested the favor of God were people for others, for nations, for, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven."

Daniel was not passive, though, and neither were his three friends   They daily walked with our Lord Jesus Christ (remember the fourth man in the fiery furnace and the One Who came to Daniel in the den of lions?).  Daniel's "ministry" was not primarily talking, nor seminars, nor conferences.  His impact came as a result of his daily "job," if you will, you know, sort of like what you and I are supposed to be and do as Followers of Jesus Christ. 

I encourage you to study the Book of Daniel, not for the prophecies this time, but to take notice of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ in our day to day activities, relationship with others, our personal relationship with the Lord God.  Daniel's life is a great example how to conduct ourselves in our daily lives.  You and I may not be counselors to presidents or to leaders of nations, but we are salt and light.  I pray that you and I can have the same thing said of us as was said of Daniel, "We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God."

Father, in Jesus' Name, thank You for opening my eyes-------------- again.  Amen. 
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Great article by Carolyn Glick on the current Mid East situation: www.jerusalemberlinwashington.blogspot.com

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2

"A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life"

"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature....Because of these, the wrath of God is coming."  (Colossians 3, 5a, 6--NIV)

Our text presents to most a contradiction of the faith/grace message; but it is not.  When I repent of sin, surrender my life to Jesus Christ, and go through the waters of Baptism, that is all I need do to be, "accepted in the Beloved."  Once in the Household of faith, once I become a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven, once I begin a life of following Jesus, well, there is more.  Theologically, it is what follows the New Birth, i.e., conversion.  The New Birth is a one time event; conversion is a process.

You know as well as I that there are things yet in our lives which do not reflect the, "be perfect as Your Father in Heaven is perfect," okay, "complete."  Some times, however, I suspect a "way out" in the use of that word.  At any rate, you and I are called to what William Law described as, "A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life."  For bebop christians, this takes all the fun out of religion.  They do not want to deal with what people in the Bible dealt with --- sin.  There is also here a, well, whatever you want to call it, threat?  If I don't, "Put to death... whatever belongs to your earthly nature," then, "the wrath of God is coming."

Why does our Lord Jesus Christ call us to, "Put to death...whatever belongs to [our] earthly nature"?  The answer is quite lovingly simple.  His love for us calls us to a "devout and holy life," not to take the "fun" out of life, but to replace superficiality, a shallow confession, a shallow worship with the depth of relationship in Him, in Father, in the Holy Spirit which brings us into His, "joy unspeakable and full of glory."  This, "joy...and glory," comes only when we, "put to death, therefore whatever belongs to your earthly nature."

I know, "Why can't you just share pleasant devotional thoughts?  If it appeared on Facebook, it would probably not get any 'Likes.'"  Well, I read the whole Bible regularly, and passages such as our text keep cropping up.  What should we do?  Should we do what so many do, just ignore them, pretend they don't exist?  No.  "All Scripture is God-Breathed, and is profitable (beneficial, useful)."  So if we want to be, "profitable (beneficial, useful)", I guess we need to walk in and study, "All Scripture," even that which commands us, "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature." 
(The Bible says you must love me )

Father, in Jesus' Name, I implore You, Holy Spirit, to work in me more and more the grace and power to, "Put to death...whatever belongs to [my] earthly nature."  Amen.
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Fall Mission, October 27-November 26

When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"

"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2