I DID IT!!!

I DID IT!!!!! I trashed all my secular CD's! As of 3:15 pm today, they are all gone!

It may sound drastic but the Lord has been speaking to me about it for quite some time now. I just didn't listen to Him for a while, thinking that it was just ridiculous. Then I said to myself, "Okay, I hardly listen to any of them anyway and they are just taking up valuable space." So, I thought I would sort through them and decide what I didn't want and sell them all on eBay.

Well, they sat for three more months, and God started speaking AGAIN! Funny how sometimes you just want to ignore God, but you know you can't. This time, God said "throw them in the trash!" "WHAT? I paid good money for those CD's. There's about 200 of them, a few bucks a piece, that's a great hunk of change." I said "How about I sell them all and do something good with the money?" I'm a very frugal person. I try to save a penny everywhere I can, try to recycle, and trade and sell what we don't use to get what we need. It's ingrained in me. I grew up shopping at the Thrift Stores, and I enjoy it. I just don't like waste. So, God spoke again. Deuteronomy 7:25-26 The images of their gods you are to burn in the fire. Do not covet the silver and gold on them, and do not take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it, for it is detestable to the LORD your God. Do not bring a detestable thing into your house or you, like it, will be set apart for destruction. Utterly abhor and detest it, for it is set apart for destruction.

So then I started looking through them, and the lyrics, ugh! I can't even believe I ever listened to that stuff! And most of them aren't even heavy metal types like Metallica and Ozzy. They were mellow, pop, alternative, etc. So, after reading many lyrics, I thought I would save a few of my favorite songs on my computer for when I finally get an mp3 player, and I would just resell the ones that didn't have cussing, and sexual lyrics, and weren't speaking out against God, surprisingly a lot of them were. Not to mention, the many artists that thank God in their credits, saying without the Lord they couldn't do what they do, etc. and are singing about booty dancin', sex, drugs, drinking, selfishness, cheating, jealousy, revenge, etc. Or they'll say that their music is a gift from God, but then don't even bother to thank Him in the credits. So they sat for a while longer.

But by this time I guess God was getting frustrated with me, because he finally said, If they're not Christian music, THROW THEM ALL OUT!

I've searched the scripture, searched the "Should Christians listen to secular music" websites, and every time, this verse kept coming back to me, over and over and over. 1 Cor 10:31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

And then I decide to listen to a few of my old CD's, (Looking back, I can't believe that I was being so defiant!) I enjoy a wide range of music styles, from Dave Matthews to John Anderson, Jewel, Sinead O'Conner, Tracy Chapman, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Gin Blossoms, it's a huge variety. So, I put in John Anderson to listen to what used to be one of my favorite songs, Seminole wind. It talks about calling to the Seminole wind, and the ghost of Osceola. Glorifying? I think not. Then I listened to "Let go of the stone" which must have been God telling me AGAIN to dump them. Here are the lyrics.

you shouldn't wade out in deep water when you don't know how to swim
he told you it was over, and like a fool you followed him
into a world full of emotion, spinning out of control
****It's killing you, but you won't let it go.
Let go of the stone, if you don't want to drown,
In the sea of heartache, that's dragging you down,
its pulling you under, and you keep hanging on,
if I'm ever gonna save you, let go of the stone.
Don't you realize the danger and the hurt your headed for,
put your arms around me and swim with me to shore,
just let go of that old memory, i know its hard to do,
but I'll be here, holding on to you. ****

Now, mind you, this is a song about a man trying to save a girl from a bad relationship. but if you read the lyrics between the stars, that's what I heard. It's like God was telling me to let go of it! It's not important! It's almost like a symbol of all the junk that I need to let go of in order to be completely obedient and to follow God. No wonder Jesus told his disciples to "drop everything and follow me".


And another one, hard to give up, was my Creedence Clearwater Revival collection. In addition to Live, John Anderson, and Dave Matthews, they are (were) probably my all time favorite band. Now, mind you, I haven't listened to any of my CD's for quite some time, but I do catch the songs on the radio sometimes. Unfortunately I never paid much attention to the lyrics...until now. Mostly about voodoo, one night stands, bad luck, spells, paganism, being broke, being down and out, going to jail, every now and then there's a hint that they're looking for someone to save them, wanting to pray, that there is something else, but they just never get it. I noticed this on most of the music I had. But then there is this song that blew me away. Sounds to me like he might have came close to Jesus, but instead just ran away, not wanting anything to do with Him. Don't you think?

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Walk On The Water Lyrics:


Late last night, I went for a walk,
Down by the river near my home.
Couldn't believe, with my own eyes,
And I swear I'll never leave my home again.
I saw a man walking on the water.
Coming right at me from the other side.
Calling out my name; "Do not be afraid."
Feet begin to run, pounding in my brain;
I don't want to go; I don't want to go.
No, no, no, no, no...I don't want to go.
Mmmmmmm...

and I say "hmmmmmmmmm..."


And then there's 'Sting'. You think mellow, love songs and such. Some of his recent stuff almost seems religious, I guess that's because it is. Any religion, whatever feels good. The following are quotes from Sting about his religion:

"In a sense I am more of a Hindu ... I like the Hindu religion more than anything else at the moment."
"I would not consider myself a Christian any longer. My beliefs are much wider than that. I don't believe God is necessarily a Catholic or Islamic or anything else...it's a much larger concept than that..." said this latest Champion of the Universal Religion.


As I continued hesitating about this big difficult task that God has given me, I went to church on Sunday and within the scripture that went along with the sermon was Psalms 10:3 He put a NEW SONG in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Then that evening reading my bible I came across Psalm 118:14 The Lord is my strength and MY SONG; he has become my salvation. Then these two showed up out of the blue, Col. 3:2 Set your minds on things above, NOT ON EARTHLY THINGS. and Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us THROW OFF EVERYTHING THAT HINDERS AND THE SIN THAT SO EASILY ENTANGLES, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Let me add another: Psalm 91:1 Sing to the Lord a NEW SONG, for He has done marvelous things.

_______________

Now the LORD has spoken in my life again and I want to be obedient to Him in every way. So, I DID IT! 200+ CD's in the trash. And guess what, it feels good!

Oh, and I was able to keep just a few, a four CD collection of classical piano masterpieces, a Christian music mix CD, a spa/music/nature sounds CD, a Christian CD by Rick Cupoli that my mom gave me and I have yet to listen to, and some Toby Mac on my computer. (but I'm not all that into rap these days.) I was going to keep Simon and Garfunkel but God said "ALL". I wanted to keep 'Live' too. It even sounds on the most recent CD that I have that they are getting closer to God, but still there's all that cussin' and other junk. But God said "ALL" so, hopefully I can find a good Christian band that I will like their music just as much.

_______________

The following are just a few other things that provoke my thoughts about this subject:

• I saw a photo of Brittney Spears wearing a SixSixSix tee-shirt at a MTV party. and many others sporting shirt's, tattoos, and album covers with this sign.


• The many deaths in the 'industry' due to suicide, and drugs and alcohol.


• Blasphemy and denial of God in secular music.


• Kurt Cobain was into satanism, look what happened to him. You might say he was just joking around, but seeing his demise, I think not.


• A lot of musicians are questioning the existence or searching for God in their lyrics. They may not even realize it but read some of the lyrics in your secular music and see what they say.


• Even the 'milder' music leans toward non-monogamous sex, hanging out at bars and night clubs, homosexuality, and lust, etc.


• Madonna- we all know the blasphemy she performed and is still spreading. Do you think secular musicians sell their souls to the Devil for riches and fame? Read the lyrics to 'Beautiful Stranger'. Don't think the Devil still makes that offer to people? He offered it to Jesus, why wouldn't he offer it to people in current times?


• The Beach Boys: http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Evils%20in%20America/Rock-n-Roll/beach_boys.htm


• The average age of a rock star is 36.9 years? Can that be true? http://www.av1611.org/rockdead.html Is it possible that the rock stars are selling their souls for Rock n Roll? A thought to ponder.


• I could go on but why bother? I'll just read 1 Corinthians 10:31 again!

_______________

Here's a nice little blog post from a pastor, that I found about listening to secular music (mainly country). Usually people think country music is better to listen to than other secular music. Read this for another perspective: http://shanekastler.typepad.com/pastor_shanes_blog/2006/07/should_christia.html

He poses the question; “Would I be listening to this song if Jesus were sitting next to me?” Definitely something to think about.

Respect I understand, But FEAR God?

We tend to think of God as just another person, but he isn’t. He is God, the one and only, the holy, powerful, and awesome God.

In the bible it says to fear God. I have always wondered what does that mean? How do I fear God? I love him. But do I really truly respect Him in the way that He would want me to? I don’t use His name in vain. I don’t disrespect Him by saying bad things about Him. I study his word, follow it, and try to be more like Him (Matthew 5:48). I believe in Him. I have faith in Him. But exactly how do I fear God, and more importantly, why should I be afraid of Him?

God isn’t a just a person and we shouldn’t try to put Him on our level or think of Him like just another person. He’s our friend and our Father but He is so much more than what an earthly friend or father would be. Not to mention that in today’s society, we don’t even give most people the respect that they deserve, and then we try to bring God down on our level, as just another friend, without giving Him the respect and glory He deserves. We think of only ourselves, expecting Him to be there for us when we need Him, just like we expect from our friends of the world. We expect him to provide for us, just as we expect form our earthly father, mother, or our family. We just expect Him to take care of us because we think we deserve it. We don’t deserve God’s love; he only gives it as a gift. We should humble ourselves and realize that we don’t deserve it. And for the sins we have committed, and the wrongs we have committed against God, what we actually deserve is to spend eternity in hell. But since God loves us so much, He gives us a gift, a very special one, a second chance, a chance to be with Him in the kingdom of heaven. And He will even forgive the sins we have committed and completely forget about them. Can you say that about any of your earthly friends? And I haven’t even mentioned all the other gifts and blessings that He gives us throughout our lives here on earth and all the more gifts and blessings He will give us in heaven. We don’t deserve even one of them.

How do I fear God, and why? Good question. I have an answer. Imagine God. Not just as you do in prayer or devotion but imagine Him as a being as he sometimes presented himself in the Old Testament. He was awesome in every extent of the word. (Definition of Awe: an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear or wonder produced by that which is grand, sublime, extremely powerful, etc. i.e.: GOD!) Imagine if you heard His voice with your two ears, or actually saw Him with your own two eyes, standing in front of you. So grand and glorious, bright and beautiful, marvelous and breathtaking. I would be scared. I would certainly fear God then. He is all-powerful and can do anything He wants to. He could strike me dead, He could send me straight into hell, discipline me in any way He felt necessary, He could do whatever He wanted to me, and I would surely deserve it. Even as one whom many people might have, by observance, called a “good person”, I have sinned against God excessively throughout my life. He has every right to be angry with me and in His anger He could strike me dead right here and now and not accept me into His kingdom, and He probably should. But instead, He takes me in His arms and forgives me, and I love Him for that! But I still fear Him for what He is, who He is, how powerful He is, and because He is God, the one and only.

A Christmas Letter From Jesus

NOTE FROM THE BLOGGER: I was thinking that this letter might be a little bit premature at the beginning of November, but considering that the retail industry starts their holiday campaigns at the beginning of November, I think I need to start my CHRISTmas campaign early as well!

Share a smile today! :)

God bless!

-2C33

Hello dear friend!

Well, as you know, it's time for my birthday again. Last year they had a real big party for me and it seems like they will again this year. After all, they've been shopping and preparing for it for months now, and there have been announcements and advertisements almost everyday about how soon it's coming! They really do go overboard about it, but it's nice to know that at least on one day of the year some people are thinking about me a little. You know, it's been many years now since they first started celebrating my birthday. Back then they seemed to realize and appreciate how much fun it is for the little children. Just the same, it seems that most folks are missing the point of it all. Like last year for example...when my birthday came around they threw a big party but can you believe it?... I wasn't invited! Imagine! The guest of honor, and they forgot all about me! Here they had begun preparing for the festivities two months in advance but when the big day came I was left out in the cold!

Well, it happened so many times in recent years I wasn't even surprised. Even though I wasn't invited I thought I'd just quietly slip in anyway. So I came in and stood off to the side. Everyone was drinking, laughing and having a grand time, when all of the sudden, in came this fat fellow in a bright red suit wearing a phony white beard and shouting "Ho Ho Ho!" He looked like he had more than enough to drink but he somehow managed to weave his way across the floor while everyone cheered. When he collapsed into a big armchair all the children went running over to him excitedly yelling "Santa!! Santa!!" I mean, you'd have thought he was the guest of honor and the whole holiday was in his honor! Then he began telling them the most ridiculous stories you've ever heard ... that he lived at the North Pole with a crew of dwarfs and that every year on my birthday he rides in his sleigh pulled by a bunch of flying reindeer, delivering presents to children all over the world!! I mean there wasn't a word of truth in anything he said! Imagine telling such poor, little, impressionable kids such far-fetched fables! Finally I just had to leave, I walked out of the door, and it was hardly surprising that no one even noticed that I had gone.

As I walked on the street afterward I felt about as lonely and forlorn as stray dogs! I could hardly remember the last time I'd felt that low. Maybe you do not think I cry...........

That little manger scene you had put in the corner of your living room was really touching!! It's sweet of people to commemorate my birthday like that. But did you know that nowadays, in some countries, the authorities won't even allow manger scenes to be displayed in the parks, streets, or public places anymore??? Not to mention their schools! And I'm not talking about Communist countries! I'm talking about the U.S.A. Imagine!! What could be more innocent than a manger scene to remind people of my birthday? .... and yet they ban it! They've actually passed laws against it and made it illegal! What's this world coming to? Another thing that amazes me is how, on my birthday, instead of giving me presents, most people give presents to each other! And to top it all off, it's usually all kinds of stuff they don't even need! Let me ask you, wouldn't you find it odd if when your birthday came along, all your friends decided to celebrate it by giving each other presents and never gave you a thing? Someone once told me, well, it's because you're not around like other people are, so how can we give you a present? You know my answer to that one...then give gifts of food and clothing to the poor, help those who need it. Go visit the lonely! I said, "Listen, any gift you give to your needy fellowmen, I'll count as if you gave it to me personally!" (See Matthew 25:34-40)

Well sad to say, things are getting worse each year. You can just imagine my shock a few years ago when I began seeing them taking my name out of my birthday greeting and replacing it with an X. What an insult!! Think of it!...X-mas!! What if I wrote you a birthday card and said Happy Birthday X! You'd probably never talk to me again! And that's just about how I feel. I mean what more could they do to push me right out of the picture on my own birthday? It reminds me of what happened recently to a friend of mine, a sweet elderly fellow. He's from the poorer side of town and he's been trying unsuccessfully for years to join the church. But it was a very exclusive church for the proper kind of folks, and they just did not think he was good enough to be a member. I found him one day sitting by the church steps with his head on his hands bowed and I asked him what was wrong. He told me about it, I put my arm around his shoulder and told him I knew how he felt. I've been wanting to enter that same church for twenty years and they've never let me in either! Well, there's an end even to my patience. So I'm going to let you in on a secret.........

Now this is something I've been planning on doing for quite sometime, but the way things are going, I think I'm planning of holding my own party! How about that? It's going to be the biggest, most fantastic feast, you could possibly imagine! It might not happen this year but I'm sending out invitations now anyway because I know you'll want to come. There's going to be room for billions, for everyone who wants to come! Some really famous old timers and celebrities are going to be there and I'll reserve you a seat of honor right with them! (Matthew 8:11) So hold on to your hat because when everything is ready I'm going to spring it as a big surprise and a lot of people are going to be left out in the cold because they didn't answer my invitation!! Let me know right away if you'd like to come and I'll reserve you a place and write your name in large golden letters in my BIG GUEST BOOK!!

Much Love,
JESUS

Borrowed from the net at:
http://home.att.net/~JesusIsTheReason/9.htm

Scripture discussion for Today, Saturday 11/4

Psalm 133

A song of ascents. Of David.

How good and pleasant it is
when brothers live together in unity!
It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron's beard,
down upon the collar of his robes.
It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the LORD bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore.

Comments:

Position yourself in the body. Blessings flow down from God like oil poured over Aaron's head, flowing down.

---God---

---Jesus (head)---

---body (followers of Christ)---

---(husband---wife)---

---others---

If you refuse to be blessed, you are denying others of their blessing. Who could you bless with your blessings.
Blessings of happiness could put a smile on someone else's face during a sad time.
Blessings of prosperity could build your church, feed the hungry, clothe the poor.
Blessings of a new/better job could make your family feel more secure.
Blessings of understanding may reunite your marriage.
Blessings of forgiveness can change someones heart.
There are so many kinds of blessings you can receive and they flow down from God, through Jesus, to you and on to your family, children, friends and others, even to unbelievers. In this way you might even bring others to Christ.
It talks about the dew on the mountain, a few drops of dew here and there, but all over a mountain, can make a river. You may only receive a few drops of blessing, but it may flow as a river to your spouse and children.

What awesome promises of God!!!

I pray you are blessed today!

The one to watch, Mike Huckabee

Mike Huckabee for president.

I'll admit it, I'm not big into politics. I'm not even 'little' into politics. But I do vote. I think it's always important for each one of us to make our vote count. I've been concerned with the upcoming election because I was starting to think that there were no qualifying candidates that were running for president. At least I personally wouldn't hire any of them if I had the say so, and even though I am one in over 300,000,000 here in the US, my vote still counts. In the past, I have felt the need to vote out a certain candidate, rather than voting in someone I thought was worthy. But just recently someone sent me an email with a video clip of Mike Huckabee in a debate. I was intrigued. So I went to his website and checked him out. www.mikehuckabee.com. Go check this guy out. I like where he stands on the issues and he seems like a sincere Christian man who wants to do what is best for our country. He all for supporting Israel, he supports the sanctity of life, he defines marriage as between one man and one woman, he just seems to have it all together.

I've signed up for his email updates and am going to keep watching him through the next several months. It would really be nice to vote someone 'in' this election, rather than feeling it necessary to vote someone 'out'.

I urge my blog readers to comment on this article with any updates or news about Mr. Huckabee's campaign.