Today's Thought | Ain't Complicated

Old Light, Still New

Be strong and of a good courage.

The Lord is my light and my salvation: whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life: of whom shall I be afraid? — He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. — My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.

If God be for us, who can be against us? — The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me? — Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us. — We are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

Arise therefore, and be doing, and the Lord be with thee.

JOSH. 1:18. Psa. 27:1. -Isa. 40:29?31. -Psa. 73:26. Rom. 8:31. -Psa. 118:6. -Psa. 44:5. -Rom. 8:37. I Chr. 22:16.

Thank you, Sam!

Ooops. This was sitting among my drafts since 6:47 am on March 30, 2011.

Love. First. Always.

As is my wont, last night before going to bed I read the day’s portions from Daily Light on the Daily Path. Here’s the morning’s section:

The fruit of the Spirit is love.

God is love: and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. — The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. — Unto you … which believe he is precious. — We love him, because he first loved us. — The love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: and that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.

Ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another. — This is my com-mandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. — Above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. — Walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour.

GAL. 5:22. I John 4:16. -Rom. 5:5. -I Pet. 2:7. -I John 4:19. -II Cor. 5:14,15. I Thes. 4:9. -John 15:12. -I Pet. 4:8. -Eph. 5:2.

I got to thinking, “How do I try to avoid obeying the divine command to love? Do I figure there are other verses that somehow free me from obedience to this command? For instance, do I ever think that the imperative to confront error and sin somehow minimizes the overarching requirement to love?”

Let me ever remember this: All other commands hang from the twin commands to love.

It does not work the other way.

So let me love — first, foremost, last, in between, always.

Dropping that, I have nothing left upon which to securely hang any other obedience.

Period.

(You can read the evening’s section here as well: Daily Light on the Daily Path – March 1.)

Persecution: Why the West Won’t Hear

Hundreds of millions of Christians have suffered discrimination or even persecution in lands as diverse as China and India, but mostly in countries where Islam is the top religion.

Despite this, persecution of Christians is one topic the American public doesn’t hear much about. One possible reason: an anti-Christian bias among Western elites.

You could watch the video. Actually, go ahead, if you wish.

But I have a question for you:

What difference would it make if the American public did hear much about persecution against Christians?

I suspect not much.

How Can I Fear?

Harold Dean was one of Ruby’s instructors at Calvary Bible School (Arkansas) way back in 1978.

And he was here at Hopewell Mennonite Church (Hubbard, Oregon) for a series of music meetings in the late 90s.

Anyway, we sell their CD (from which the above song was taken) at Anabaptist Bookstore: I Love You, Jesus.

To Differ = To Hate?

But apparently, according to Apple, to differ is to hate.
—Trevin Wax

Angel? One of the Least!

angel or least one?

No. Not the car.

The owner.

If you know him, you don’t treat him as someone who might be an angel unawares…because he’s no stranger.

But he definitely ranks as “one of the least of these.”

How do you treat him?

PS: Please don’t identify him. Thanks.

Myth: Neutral Music

'Music is neutral; lyrics are the message.' There's simply no factual basis for this belief. Is the music I use really at war against the content of the lyrics?

Do you believe the myth?

And live by it?

And defend it?

And get defensive and testy when it’s challenged?

Here are the opening and closing paragraphs of a piece I learned about on…uh…Facebook:

For years I have heard the claim that the type of music in corporate worship is irrelevant. It is not the music that matters, but the lyrics. Music is supposedly “neutral,” and the lyrics alone determine the message. There is simply no factual basis for this belief. The propagation of this idea has resulted in much spiritual confusion today where the music used in worship actually wars against the content of the lyrics.

[…]

In summary, music always speaks. It always has something to say on its own—free of lyrics. What our worship music says about God must line up with what we are told about God in His Word. We know God two ways: both by His character and by His works as they are recorded in Scripture. Nobody is very interested in knowing the character and works of God today, and that ultimately is the root of the problem. We cannot speak honestly of one we do not know. God is made over into man’s image today, and the music used to worship Him reflects that. A thorough knowledge of God through His Word will have a reformational effect on Christian worship. Only when we know God can we truly worship him in spirit and in truth.

Soli Deo Gloria

Do read the whole piece: Music is Never “Neutral” by Tom Schlueter