Today’s song dates back to my wedding in 1995. I was put in charge of two specific details: the disc jockey at the reception and the music played at our wedding. The week of our wedding, I got a call from my friend who had his van stolen with all of his music inside. Fortunately, our DJ was able to borrow enough music so that the reception was saved. Yet, this doesn’t excuse All the Darkness that occurs throughout the world on a daily basis.
Let the word [spoken by] Christ (the Messiah) have its home [in your hearts and minds] and dwell in you in [all its] richness, as you teach and admonish and train one another in all insight and intelligence and wisdom [in spiritual things, and as you sing] psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody to God with [His] grace in your hearts, Colossians 3:16.
As for the wedding music, I asked my best friend from Ohio to sing Steve Wiggins’ song All the Darkness. Phil was a youth pastor in Springfield while I was at a church in Columbus, Indiana. Every Monday we met at a mall in Cincinnati for lunch. Phil taught me how to have fun while serving the Lord with competitive games of Laser Tag and mini-golf. Phil nailed the song as Leanne’s and my mother lite the unity candle. May the lyrics of All the Darkness stir and touch your soul as it did for me more than 25 years ago.
Every song has a story of when you first heard it, what you were doing at the time and how this song impacted your life. The second new song I want to introduce you to is one I discovered in Cleveland, Ohio. When my father was transferred during my sophomore year of college, I needed to find a new place that sold Christian music. A friend from church gave me directions and when I arrived, it was the largest Christian Bookstore that I have ever encountered.
The Lord is my strength and my [impenetrable] shield; My heart trusts [with unwavering confidence] in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I shall thank Him and praise Him, Psalm 28:7.
The selection of music took up an entire section of a large warehouse as I entered Christian Music Heaven. You were able to select from a section of sample cassettes before purchasing a brand new one. I spent countless hours listening to music with headphones on. This is where my vast collection of genres began. Visiting this store gave me the idea of creating a cross over list of Christian artists who are similar to secular music stars. Today’s song is by Bob Hanson: a Bob Dylan sound mixed with a feel of the Doors. You Need to Know serves as a remainder to tell others what their relationship means to you.
Today’s title is found in the lyrics of a band based in Columbus, Ohio. Send the Beggar’s second album Closer to Complete features a song entitled The Knot. The message is based upon a Christian who blends into their surroundings, afraid to make a public confession of a faith in Jesus. The lyrics include an autopsy performed by an angel, carefully examining this person’s heart. Inside the name Jesus Christ is pulled out, causing confusion which prompts a question: “why was this never shown?”
Even so consider yourselves also dead to sin and your relation to it broken, but alive to God [living in unbroken fellowship with Him] in Christ Jesus. 12 Let not sin therefore rule as king in your mortal (short-lived, perishable) bodies, to make you yield to its cravings and be subject to its lusts and evil passions, Romans 6:11-12.
One of the things I struggled with as a new Christian was mixing feelings with faith. My life was like an emotional roller coaster lifting everyone up around me while on my highs. This was quickly replaced by depression as I sucked the joy out of every room that I entered. To be honest, there have been periods where I exhibited no signs of life as a Christian. Like James 1:13-15, my faith was dead inside.
Do not continue offering or yielding your bodily members [and [a]faculties] to sin as instruments (tools) of wickedness. But offer and yield yourselves to God as though you have been raised from the dead to [perpetual] life, and your bodily members [and [b]faculties] to God, presenting them as implements of righteousness. 14 For sin shall not [any longer] exert dominion over you, since now you are not under Law [as slaves], but under grace [as subjects of God’s favor and mercy], Romans 6:13-14.
Apparently, first century Christians in Rome also experienced spiritual dry spells. Depending upon how you lived in the past, breaking any addiction or bad habit can take years. Similar to an internal tug of war, Galatians 5:16-18, ridding your life of sinful desires isn’t easy. King David describes this conviction and pain in Psalm 55:1-4. Whenever you find yourself spiritually dead or dying, on the verge of walking away from your faith, pour out your heart to God in prayer. May confession bring you back to life spiritually in 2022.
When I was in high school, Michael W. Smith was the top Christian artist in the nation. Songs like Go West Young Man, Secret Ambition and Place in this World inspired me to start thinking about the future. While in college at the University of Delaware, I was torn between becoming a golf course architect and serving as a youth pastor. Following a dual internship in Cleveland, Ohio, I discovered my true passion and began to pursue it.
Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own, Philippians 3:12.
After working as an Inner City Workcamp Coordinator and Youth Director at a Methodist Church, I wasn’t sure about how to build a ministry. Following a visit to a Youth Ministry Trade School, a renewed passion was conceived as this training gave me the knowledge and vision to succeed. However, in any ministry there are big egos with a tendency for control and power which make maintaining healthy relationships difficult.
I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward, Philippians 3:13-14.
Over the years I’ve learned that desires and passions come and go. What you believe and think about your role in life today may change as the situations around you fluctuate. Just as societies and the world evolves, it’s important to re-evaluate where you want to go and what you want to do. Once you discover your spiritual gifts and unleash the desires within your heart, pursue God’s will as you seize each day.
I have what medical professionals refer to as an addictive personality. An addictive personality is a hypothesized set of personality traits that make an individual predisposed to developing addictions. I can’t just have one drink; everything I do is to the extreme. Whether it’s playing golf every day in high school, running 6 miles for fun in college or playing sand volleyball up to 8 hours a day each summer that I lived in Ohio, my motto for life is all or nothing. This aspect of my DNA puts me at risk of becoming an alcoholic.
Wine is a mocker, strong drink a riotous brawler; and whoever errs or reels because of it is not wise, Proverbs 20:1.
When it comes to alcohol, I was a quick learner. Sure, there was a temptation in college to act cool by drinking. Yet. after one semester of partying, I grew out of this stage by sobering up. While I still went clubbing along the Flats in Cleveland, Ohio each summer, I usually went as the designated driver. From time to time, I let my guard down by drinking to excess. Following a severe hangover that last 2 days and an alcohol poisoning scare at a wedding reception, my drinking days ended.
Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour. 9 Withstand him; be firm in faith [against his onset—rooted, established, strong, immovable, and determined], knowing that the same (identical) sufferings are appointed to your brotherhood (the whole body of Christians) throughout the world, 1 Peter 5:8-9.
The Bible uses sober in a different context. While sober can refer to the practice of abstinence, one of Jesus’ disciples writes about becoming alert, clear-headed and spiritually awake. In this context, alcohol isn’t the enemy. Rather, the Devil possesses angelic powers, roaming the earth like a predator eager to pounce on the unprepared. Although quitting drinking can be extremely difficult, demonic influences and oppression seek to keep the powerless addicted. In view of this, it’s to sober up by joining Jesus, teaming up through a personal relationship so that freedom and victory is achieved.
As someone who grew up in the Catholic church, I was raised to believe that priests were the only individuals who were worthy enough to study the Bible and teach God’s Word. After a revival during the 1970’s, some priests began to encourage members of their congregation to start reading the Bible outside of church. Unfortunately, the church my family attended in Wilmington, Delaware was stuck in the dark ages until my dad’s relocation to Cleveland, Ohio. About this same time, I began to open my own Bible outside of church which exposed lies within my heart.
The [intrinsically] good man produces what is good and honorable and moral out of the good treasure [stored] in his heart; and the [intrinsically] evil man produces what is wicked and depraved out of the evil [in his heart]; for his mouth speaks from the overflow of his heart, Luke 6:45.
When I started teaching high school Bible at Red Lion, a Sunday School class that I attended introduced me to a book called Restoring the Foundations. Written by Chester and Becky Kylstra, I discovered that this book inspired a healing ministry based upon addressing ungodly beliefs individuals have collected over the course of their lives. Like spiritual baggage weighing down your heart, soul and mind, this integrated approach introduced me to new terms such as soul spirit hurts. As people unpack this baggage, exposed lies can haunt you; preventing you from being healed.
“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is recognized and judged by its fruit. 34 You brood of vipers, how can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart,” Matthew 12:33-34.
During the first century, Jesus introduced a troubling new teaching. When these words were first verbalized, I’m sure conviction silenced any whispers in the crowd. The thought of lies within your heart likely deflated souls previously filled with confidence and pride. This biblical truth sent shockwaves across town as murmurs echoed of this hidden evil from within. Scholars likely declared the words of the prophet are true, Jeremiah 17:1-10. As modern believers are introduced to this truth today, lies within your heart can finally be addressed by an integrated approach to healing.
During my final year of college, I joined an accountability group. The official title of this weekly gathering was a Reunion Group with men whom I met during a Walk to Emmaus Retreat. This sharing group involved giving a brief summary of your week which included your moment closest to Christ and furthest away from God. Since we started meeting on Monday nights in the fall, most of this group stuck around to watch Monday Night Football afterwards. Unfortunately, when I went back home to Cleveland, Ohio over break and the summer, I blended into the world like a chameleon. Instead of developing into a light for Christ, I regularly walked in darkness like the account of the prodigal son in Luke 15.
“Now a traveler (visitor) came to the rich man, and to avoid taking one from his own flock or herd to prepare [a meal] for the traveler who had come to him, He took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for his guest.” 5 Then David’s anger burned intensely against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die. 6 He shall make restitution for the ewe lamb four times as much [as the lamb was worth], because he did this thing and had no compassion.” 7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you as king over Israel, and I spared you from the hand of Saul, 2 Samuel 12:4-7.
You don’t have to squander your wealth in wild living such as Luke 15:13-15 to become a prodigal. Rather, idleness, too much free time and a lack of vision can lead a man after God’s own heart into sinful addictions. Instead of going to work, David took the Spring off, wandering around the roof of his palace until a naked woman got his attention. Like any curious man, David inquired into the status of this woman, hoping that she was single. When the answer was no, the power of being king went to David’s head, allowing compromise to imagine the possibilities of just one night with this beautiful woman. A follower of Jesus describes this state as lust and enticement dragging individuals away from common sense until sin becomes full blown, James 1:13-15.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right and steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from Your presenceand do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit, Psalm 51:10-12.
After David realized that he was the person in Nathan’s analogy, Psalm 51 becomes a prayer for forgiveness. Prior to this confession, sin had entangled David within a pit of despair. Psalm 55:4-5 describes a spirit of conviction and guilt that overwhelms souls when you are revealed as the prodigal. This narcissistic mindset blinds individuals from seeing the truth, the wayward of selfish decisions. While David does provide a blueprint for reconciliation, the reality that I have become the prodigal is a tough pill to swallow. It only took one week of skipping church, sleeping in on Sunday to lead me on the slippery slope that I resid. Doing the right thing sounds so easy, but the apostle Paul reminds readers of Romans 7 that sin influences you to do what you hate. Thus, the next time you find yourself like me, shocked to be the prodigal, take these biblical passages to heart so that forgiveness arrives in the morning, Lamentations 3:19-23.
The sound of war was brought to life in a film written by Robert Rodat and directed by Steven Spielberg. Saving Private Ryan received notoriety for it’s opening 27 minutes, a reenactment of the Invasion of Normandy during World War II. At the time of it’s release, Saving Private Ryan portrayed the graphic nature of war and the harsh reality for a soldier storming Omaha Beach. This production helped those not alive during this time in history to experience and understand the violent nature and sound of war.
In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. 15 He wrote in the letter, “Put Uriah in the front line of the heaviest fighting and leave him, so that he may be struck down and die,” 2 Samuel 11:14-15.
The Bible portrays the politics of war. The prophet Samuel provides a glimpse of ancient conquests when kings went to war each Spring to spread and strengthen their kingdoms. One solider is highlighted, Uriah the Hittite, who camped in an open field with his men. While away at war, King David has an affair with his lonely wife, leaving Bathsheba pregnant. To cover up this sin, Uriah was escorted back to his home to sleep with Bathsheba. When Uriah refused to celebrate his time away from battle, a plot was devised to make Uriah a casualty of war.
16 So it happened that as Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah to the place where he knew the [enemy’s] valiant men were positioned. 17 And the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, and some of the people among the servants of David fell; Uriah the Hittite also died, 2 Samuel 11:16-17.
Over the weekend, deadly shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio brought the sound of war to local communities. Sadly, a local nightclub in Ohio and Walmart in Texas were turned into a battlefield. When the SOUND of gunshots began, innocent souls ran for their lives. According to the most recent update on the death toll, 31 individuals did not survive. The only thing worse than the sound of war are ambulance chasing politicians who are using this crisis to fund raise for their campaigns, demonize President Trump and blame guns instead of mental health. Until the heart of this matter is addressed, the sound of war will likely continue.
When my father was forced to transfer to Cleveland, Ohio to keep his job, I was introduced to cocktail parties. If you want to move from the middle to upper class, I learned that these social events were a necessary evil. These house parties enabled my parents to make new friends. This group called New Clevelanders encouraged parents to bring their own college children to these functions as a way to network as families started over in a new town. I quickly realized that colleges, degrees and majors provided surface level discussions. If you wanted to fit in, going clubbing, drinking and partying were code names into this elite club. I went along with the crowd for a while until conviction made it clear that I was living a lie.
3 Jesus replied, “I will also ask you a question. You tell Me:4 The baptism of John [the Baptist]—was it from heaven [that is, ordained by God] or from men?” – Luke 20:3-4
During the first century, Jesus began to debate religious scholars. Raised in elite and wealthy families, these men were schooled by the best and brightest minds. Meanwhile, Jesus who spent most of his life as a carpenter, void of any formal educational, drew much larger crowds. Thus, resentment manifested in the hearts of these men, jealous of Jesus’ popularity. This culminated in the passage above as Jesus uses John the Baptist to illustrate that authority can come from heaven, not just through earthly institutions. Certain aspects, knowledge and qualities can only be explained as ordained by God despite what earthly wisdom may suggest.
They discussed and debated it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’ 6 But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are firmly convinced that John was a prophet,” Luke 20:5-6.
During a breakfast I had with a friend in December, he marveled at my ability to come up with thousands of ideas for my blogs. From an earthly point of view, my only credentials for writing involve teaching poetry at a boarding school. This tangible experience ignited a passion for writing. Nothing in my past pointed to a career in writing. My English grades, grammar and vocabulary were average at best. Yet, just as John the Baptist received a special anointing from God, the Lord has given me the gift of writing in the Spirit. The more in tune with God I become, the deeper my blogs tend to be. However, on occasion, I become unplugged, relying on earthly knowledge, struggling to come up with material for a week. These phases are natural, a by product of human nature. Nonetheless, while earthly credentials do lead to successful writers, I credit my heavenly father for Express Yourself 4Him.
There are certain things that God calls people to do that are awkward, challenging and unappealing, Unless someone possesses a strong conviction or will to act, most individuals exercise freewill to decline this opportunity to serve God. In the passage below, an Old Testament prophet receives a clear message from the Lord. However, human nature compels Jonah to flee, heading in the opposite direction of Nineveh. This decision sets the stage for an unlikely comeback.
Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Go to Nineveh, that great city, and proclaim [judgment] against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.” 3 But Jonah ran away to Tarshish to escape from the presence of the Lord [and his duty as His prophet]. He went down to ]Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish [the most remote of the Phoenician trading cities]. So he paid the fare and went down into the ship to go with them to Tarshish away from the presence of the Lord, Jonah 1:1-3.
From time to time, I have met people whose lives have taken a similar path to Jonah. Initial stages play the role of a prodigal, indulging their sinful nature until hitting rock bottom. For those who come to their senses, confessions, repentance and reconciliation follows. While in college, I spent a day at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio with two co-workers. My friend Harry ran into an old youth pastor. Eddy and I stared at each other in shock, unaware of Harry’s former life. Prior to this encounter, Harry was in full blown prodigal mode, cursing like a sailor daily while living with his girlfriend. This God instance planted the seed for another unlikely comeback.
Then they said to him, “Now tell us! Who is to blame for this disaster? What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country?” 9 So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I [reverently] fear and worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.” Then the men became extremely frightened and said to him, “How could you do this?” For the men knew that he was running from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them. 11 Then they said to him, “What should we do to you, so that the sea will become calm for us?”—for the sea was becoming more and more violent, Jonah 1:8-11.
Stories like this and the apostle Paul’s radical transformation in Acts 9 communicate a powerful message, anything is possible with God. The Psalmist uses the imagery of infinity, ” as far as the east is from the west,” to describe God’s endless supply of grace, love and mercy. To the human mind, this fact is hard to comprehend and grasp. Nonetheless, whether you are currently running away from God, stuck in a relentless storm or ready to give God another chance, its never too late for a comeback. May the testimony of Jonah give you hope that you too are a candidate for an unlikely spiritual comeback.
ExpressYourself4Him 