I absolutely love music! I love praising God
through music! I can only imagine that is how David felt when he was alive. So
often we see where he plays his harp and cries out to his God. This was a man
after God's own heart! Pretty powerful statement I'd say. But I think we have
something to learn from that. I don't think David would have wrote about that
if he didn't think there were other people who would come along after him and
experience the same moving experiences through music that he did.
Let's just say today went down as the hardest day
of work yet. Our boss actually called the day early because he felt bad for us.
The sun was brutal and the weeds were tall. Will and I were given a task to cut
all the "grass", which mainly consisted of weeds, briars, and a few
patches of grass here and there. In America this task wouldn't have been bad at
all. I probably would have called my buddy from across the street, asked to
borrow his John Deer and went to town. Well not only do they not have riding
lawnmowers here, but they don't even have a push mower. Even on top of that
there are no Weed Eaters (that is my next task... I think I can rig up one with
a few things from the Market).
One time when I was younger I remember I got in
trouble while we were at our family ranch. I can't recall what it was I got in
trouble for, even though I still remember vowing to myself to never do it again
because of the punishment that took place after. I was given a tool that looked
somewhat like a "hoe" except on the end of the handle was a long
curved blade. Daddy Burl, my granddad, told me to go cut down all the weeds
with stickers on them. Boy, was I mad at that man that day! "You want me
to do what?" I thought. I managed to finish the task and don't believe I
ever went down that route again. Well I tell that story because when Will and I
walked into a overgrown field, full of sliced up mango trees, these were the
tools we were given. Well actually, I wish I would have been handed that nice
tool Daddy Burl gave me several years ago. No shovels or machetes today, but a
combination. It looked like they just stuck a machete on the end of the shovel
stick and went to town. I actually had to stop and "re-nail" the
plate of the machete to the handle within a few minutes of our work. I'm trying
to paint a picture here that you can hopefully visualize. Anyways enough of my
whining! Needless to say this work was hard and time consuming but very
rewarding at the end when we looked back across a freshly cut field, with a
beautiful backdrop of the foothills into the Andes mountains.
I remember looking at Will a few hours into it and
saying, "I am on the struggle bus this morning". We both laughed and
went back to work, knowing that we made this commitment and nothing was gonna
stop us. So naturally I pulled the iPhone out and went to my last resort. I
needed some pump up music. Now if you know me, and most of my teammates can
tell you, my pump up music is much different than most. I will get very anxious
and nervous if I were to throw some heavy rock, or rap into my headphones
before a football game. I'm the guy, along with my roomie Jaxon, that is
blasting something along the lines of Justin Bieber, Taylor Swift, Mumford and
Sons, Lumineers, or Disney Pandora station. I also enjoy christian music. I
have several artists that I really like but one group I really connect with is
the group Hillsong United. Today I had one of those moving moments when a song
came on and I hadn't heard it since Easter Sunday. I remember singing it next
to my parents in the Erwin Center with hands held high and tears coming down my
face. There is just something about the tune and more importantly the lyrics
that come with it. If you have never heard it I suggest you pause reading this
blog and go listen to the song Cornerstone by Hillsong United. Here are the
lyrics, see ya in about 4 minutes with wet eyes... Here is the
link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZq9xTfHvgo
Cornerstone by Hillsong
United
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus blood and
righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest
frame
But wholly trust in Jesus name
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus blood and
righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest
frame
But wholly trust in Jesus name
Christ alone; cornerstone
Weak made strong; in the
Saviour's love
Through the storm, He is Lord
Lord of all
When Darkness seems to hide His
face
I rest on His unchanging grace
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil
My anchor holds within the veil
Christ alone; cornerstone
Weak made strong; in the
Saviour's love
Through the storm, He is Lord
Lord of all
He is Lord
Lord of all
Christ alone
Christ alone; cornerstone
Weak made strong; in the
Saviour's love
Through the storm, He is Lord
Lord of all
Christ alone; cornerstone
Weak made strong; in the
Saviour's love
Through the storm, He is Lord
Lord of all
When He shall come with trumpet
sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found;
Dressed in His righteousness
alone,
Faultless stand before the
throne.
Like I have said several times already, I love this
song. What sticks out to you about it? To me there are several, and every time
I listen to it one of them pierce my heart because of something going on in my
life at that time. I know this a song that I clung to during a rough period in
my life. "Through the storm, He is Lord, Lord of All!" Amen
to that! And thank you Jesus for holding true to that truth at all times and
through all storms! I could talk about each part of this song and what it means
in my life but this blog isn't about me. At least I don't want it to be. I hope
that maybe some of my experiences can enlighten your day and give you that
extra "umph" to get you through the day. I, by know
means, want you to feel like I am preaching to you because I am the last to
have that position! You will completely understand that by the end of this
blog. But I want a way to reach the ones who want to be reached. So this is my
effort, for the time being!
Today though, one part I really clung to. "Christ
Alone, Cornerstone". Wow! I never knew three words could have so
much meaning. So many people sing this song and breeze right over these three
to get to the part about how He makes us strong, but do we actually realize
what we just sang? When I looked up Cornerstone in the
dictionary this is what I found:
1. A stone that forms the base of
a corner of a building, joining two walls.
2. An important quality or
feature on which a particular thing depends or is based.
Also looking into the "True Dictionary"
aka the Word of God, Paul writes to the saints of Ephesus in Ephesians 2:19-22:
Consequently, you are no longer
foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of
God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ
Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building
is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him
you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his
spirit.
I love the second definition in the
dictionary... An important quality or feature on which a particular
thing depends or is based. I would say Jesus is a pretty important
feature to say the least and we would be crazy not to depend on
this particular thing and base our lives on it! But do we actually do that? If
you honestly took a look into your life right now, could you say that Jesus is
the cornerstone in your life? Is he the cornerstone for your family? It is a
tough question and many stray away from actually answering that question, but
who are we hiding that secret from? Maybe your friends and co workers are
missing it, but the one who cares sees straight through you! You can't hide
that from Him!
There are many things that we replace Jesus with as
our cornerstone, especially in America! We have money, clothes, success, jobs,
self-perception, education, social status, knowledge, sex, experiences, drugs,
and the list could go on and on and on... I can list these because I have tried
to make all these my cornerstone at some point in my life and I was never able
to find true joy. Not only that, but my life continued to keep going south and
I wasn't even trying to hang on. Paul writes to Ephesus and tells them that we
are "joined together" through the chief cornerstone Jesus.
I got back from work and couldn't help but take a
nap! It was pretty incredible I might add. But when I woke up I put my iphone
on shuffle and what do ya know? The first song to come on is Cornerstone. I
just lay there in bed with my hands held high again singing this song, yet all
the while praying for God to reveal to me what my cornerstone is in my life.
Also not only to reveal it to me, but to help me chisel away at it day by day
and put Him in the place he belongs!
Immediately after I walked out to the porch to see
the sun beginning to fade away over the horizon. I turned on a podcast that
John Mark Davidson gave me that I had been meaning to listen to. It was a
sermon by Tim Keller talking about Pride. God definitely had heard my prayer
and was screaming at the top of his lungs at me! This was my cornerstone! No
doubt about it!
I decided to write this blog today because I
believe everyone deserves to hear the way Tim Keller presents this idea. I told
Will after turning it off, "If someone doesn't ever hear that sermon, they
will be missing out on a whole new view of pride. I gotta blog tonight!
Again!" And so I am!
Tim Keller's talk comes from the passage of 1
Corinthians 4. Paul is talking to the church of Ephesus and trying to almost
calm them. But he is also trying to enlighten them on something he has come to
hold true to. He says in verse 3,
"I care very little if I am
judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. vs. 4
My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord
who judges me.... vs. 6 Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself
and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the
saying, "Do not go beyond what is written." Then you will not take
pride in one man over against another. vs. 7 For who makes you different from
anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive
it, why do you boast as though you did not?"
One thing we must remember is that the meaning of
judge in this scripture means: the verdict of either positive or negative. In
our every day lives, we are judged by others, and we judge ourselves. Tim
talked about how we should take the example of Paul. He says that he doesn't
care about the judgements that others lay on him, and then goes even further
and proclaims that he doesn't even judge himself.
How many of us are trying to live up to
expectations, whether big or small? These are expectations put on you by
yourself or by others. Are you trying to live so highly up to the hoops and
hurdles in your life? What happens when we reach those expectations? Tim talks
of when we reach those, our egos are fed, which turns out to be something of an
internal monster that is never satisfied/full no matter how you are perceived
by yourself or others.
We live in a world that judges every single one of
our performances. Most religions when you look at them are all about the works
you do on this earth and then you will receive the verdict at the end. I think
the reason I love christianity, and even more so the gospel, is because in
Jesus Christ, and only in Him, do we get the verdict before the performance.
Romans 8:1 says, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who
are in Christ Jesus..." So what is the reason to have any pride
in your life? When I say pride I am talking about the pleasure we feel when we
have more than someone else, are better than them at something, or when we
achieve the expectations/standards either we or everyone around us have set up
for us. We no longer have to live in that world and that is what Paul is trying
to explain. We are free!!! "FRRRREEEEEEDDDDOOOMMMMM", as William
Wallace would say! We should all be praising God for that, because now we can
live with one goal, to further his kingdom on this earth!
Are you tired of being the mouse in the wheel of
pride? It's a never ending killer cycle. I know I've grown tired of it. Living
up to expectations that I have set up, living up to the way others perceive me.
Finding pride in those things, it's just not worth it. For so long my
cornerstone to my life has been my pride. I am constantly wanting to please
people. I want to impress coaches and fans! I compare myself to the best quarterbacks
in the Big 12. Off the field I try to live up to standards "the
church" has made for me, and yet I constantly fall short of those. There
comes that monster again. But now I just let it ring...
FREEEEDDOOOOMMMMM!
To wrap it up I want to take a look into 1 Timothy.
Because when you read 1 Corinthians 4 you would almost seem to think that Paul
is boasting about how he has this figured out and because of this he is better
than them. He completely is not saying that! This man who wrote all these books
that we live by today says in 1 Timothy 1:15-16,
"Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves
full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners-- of whom I
am the worst. vs. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so
that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his
unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive
eternal life."
This man Paul, how does he have so much freedom yet
claims to be the "worst of sinners"? Because he had it figured out!
He had no pride, his pride was Jesus Christ! He had no ego, Jesus bore that one
for him on the cross! He had no one to please, except that of Jesus Christ, who
now saw him as White as Snow! What a testimony!
This is my prayer tonight: Lord, thank you
for Tim Keller and the word he brought to my ears today! Please Lord remove the
pride from my life! You are my judge and my only judge! You hold the ultimate
verdict! The difference Lord, is that verdict has already been made before my
performance here on this earth. You say in Romans 8, that there is no
condemnation for those in Christ Jesus! Let me rest in that tonight Father.
Soak into my mind, that I don't have to live by anyone's standards anymore! Not
even mine! Break my standards down Father. Allow me to live with freedom
furthering your Kingdom daily. I struggle with Pride I know! Remove that from
my life and replace that cornerstone Lord. This is not easy! It is actually
really hard and very scary! I am going to need your help all along the way.
Please Lord place your hand on my life, my image, and my heart! I love you
Father! I need you Father! and I want You! Amen!
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