. . . and God saw that it was good

Even though it was almost a full year ago, you may remember that we got an extra day in February since it's a Leap Year, but did you know before the end of 2008 we will get a "Leap Second"? When I first saw this article, I thought this is a bit ridiculous. I can understand that the calendar we use day to day isn't the most precise that we need to add a day to February every four years, but we seriously that off that we need to correct our time by one second?!? Apparently, even though we have extremely accurate atomic clocks, the earth's rotation is just so ever imprecise that every so often, we need to adjust how we measure time to remain in sync with our position in the universe.

What I think is amazing is how we look to science to measure everything in the universe and can see how God has designed everything so well. I find it even more amazing when I read articles like this that mess with our concept of how we have everything so figured out. Having all these studies, archeological findings, experiments and hard evidence to prove that everything in the Bible is true is not crucial to my belief in Jesus. Yet the more concrete facts I learn , I can feel my faith decrease ever so slightly. If someone is given libraries upon libraries of irrefutable information about something that isn't tangible (for a silly example, like Bigfoot or the Loch Ness monster), the less faith it takes to believe in something. With tons of evidence, one is left with absolutely no choice but to concede belief--the free will to believe is taken away by force.

Things, like this "Leap Second" just remind me how awesome and great God really is. Like it says in Isaiah 55:9, God's ways and thoughts are much higher than ours. Whenever we think we have God all figured out and are ready to put Him on our shelf because we think we have contained to what we can understand, He throws us for a loop and we have to wrestle with facts and events that baffle our brains. To me, it doesn't matter what kind of new research comes out that may discredit how God perfectly created the universe, my personal relationship with Jesus Christ is the biggest evidence to my faith. So what if that according to our understanding the world isn't as perfect mathematically as we think it should be, God's math is far more perfect than our math!

Mourning the Soul of Music

Here's my chance to sound like an old grumpy man-despite my real age. Right now, I'm going to complain that the 'scene' wasn't what it used to be when I was younger. I am going to complain about how the music I grew up on has now vanished, replaced with mostly garbage and that nobody cares about the music anymore. But, more than that, I'm really heartsick that the simple art of listening to music is lost. I am as guilty as anyone when it comes to turning on some music to fill the silence when working on something else, yet, I relish the times I get to sit down, put on a pair of headphones and just close my eyes and do nothing else but listen to music. Better yet, I love listening to music live. I don't really need alot of lights, video and spectacle when a musician I really enjoy is performing.

Music is that important to me. It is something that can be consumed on its own--it is that rich. It is more than a condiment for daily life. It really is what gives me hope, and as Tim Robbins' character in "The Shawshank Redemption" puts it, music is something that can't be taken away since it resides within the human soul. So, when I see the absolute lack of respect for a musician pouring his guts performing, I get upset. When I see people give away something that can't be forcibly taken by others, I get depressed--dejected that some have no problem wasting such a valuable part of being a human.

Perhaps it is just the consequence of living in the age of the iPod, where music is available anything a battery is fully charged. There is no need to listen intently, savoring every moment because it is so fleeting, so hard to retrieve later on. I love to live as though music can be retained. The best part of listening to something I truly love is afterwards, when the music is so fresh in my mind it lasts for hours. This is really raw, concentrated emotion, the very framework of our souls that is left over after listening to music. Being able to listen to music anywhere and anytime is an untold curse. We can no longer enjoy an entire meal because the individual ingrediants have been left out. Yet, this is what we devour--empty representations of something valuable--hollow pieces of food, gaining no satisfaction, but getting all the taste. Missing the substance of what we are consuming, we go back for more. More taste, more sensation, yet never having our fill. The gluttony of sensuality--obese on what we can experience, but we are too distracted by the next thing to realize how truly emaciated and cadaverous we really are.

Jesus and Black Metal

I'm going to put myself right out in the open here, I love metal and I LOVE Jesus! To some, these two passions don't belong together--I can see why. On one hand you have baby Jesus, meek and mild, in swaddling clothes, sleeping in a manger, with cows and sheep in the background singing 'O, Holy Night' softly and on the hand, you have a bunch of long-haired guys, usually growling, banging away on drums, playing chaotic music that sounds like random noise. People in church have kind of accepted having generic rock bands play Christian music, but metal still needs to stay far away--with all those un-Godly people who still need to be saved by watching 'Facing the Giants'. Call me crazy, but I have feeling that Jesus loves all people, regardless of what kind of music they like. There has always been a pull in my heart to use metal centered around Jesus and excellent music to reach those who don't want anything to do with Christians or Jesus. I've had countless conversations with metal-heads who are blown away that I like metal, don't compromise my faith in Christ, but still love them and don't shove a cookie-cutter version of Christianity down there throats. To me, this is showing them who Christ is all about.

I came across this story about a Christian metal band in Ecuador that has been experiencing alot of abuse for being Christ-followers. Take some time, read it, understand that Jesus used the language, customs and the experiences of the people He was ministering to so that He could bring them Good News. Also, take some time and pray for all those who are still lost and need Jesus in their lives and those willing to take risks to be ambassadors for Christ.

Good day folks,

There have been a few incidents this year concerning threats and assaults toward a few black metal evangelistic bands in South America, happening in Brazil, Venezuela, and Ecuador. My friend Abraham who is playing in Golgotha just told me that recently, the band played at a 400 person show in Quito. Apparently, for some time, Golgotha had been receiving threats from a group of black metallers who are part of a quasi-militant self-professed satanic cult group that actively speaks against Christian metal of all styles and has been doing so for a long time. When Golgotha took to the stage, the antagonists began to blaspheme. Golgotha played an excellent set and some of the crowd began to headbang and enjoy the music. A few people in the crowd became aggravated at the fact that others were enjoying Golgotha's music (both Christians and non-Christians at the concert.) and tried to persuade them to stop. Their inability to do so caused a few to pick up bottles and rocks and throw them at the stage. A couple of the band members were hit but not badly. The band did end up speaking to the crowd and some became very angry at the message, and didn't let the band finish the set successfully. Nobody was seriously hurt.

http://forums.firestream.net/showthread.php?t=27099

In Christ, Josh

String Theory--Jason Truby

Better late than never . . .

I was ecstatic to finally find this 2004 album on Ebay! This instrumental-acoustic guitar album by ex-Living Sacrfice and ex-POD guitarist Jason Truby is a must get. These 24 songs, ranging in length from under 30-seconds to about 4 minutes, truly reveal a sincerely heartfelt, gifted and skilled guitarist. The liner notes of the CD give little insights to the creation or message of each song (including what kind of guitar he uses in the song itself-he uses over 14 different ones!). This is an absolutely beautiful and rich album that allows a musical glimpse into the soul of an extremely sincere artist.

Faith We Can Understand

We live in such a bi-polar society. There are cynics that question every big event reported by the media and come up with alternate theories in an attempt to reveal the truth that is being covered up. At the same time, there are a few of us that actually believe that aliens built the pyramids for humans, ohhh, and that they came down to earth to seed the planet with the human species. I don't believe, however, that most people are illogical or simply crazy (Well, maybe except those looking at the skies waiting for our Martian mommies to bring us back home). Most people look at a body of evidence and interpret the facts in the most reasonable and logical way that their brains allow. In the majority of cases, nothing is believed unless it is scientifically proven or lines up with clear logic.

My question is what role does faith play in our hearts and minds? I look in Hebrews 11 and see that it is with faith that "we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible". That's tough. Faith always seems passive--that I allow myself to believe something without seeing any convincing piece of evidence. So, do we walk around, believing anything that looks spiritual or must there be a strong collection of facts and data that confirm the existence of God? How is faith itself the way we understand things that don't make any rational sense?

Beyond What We Can See

• Reason is the natural order of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning.

• Reality, in fact, is always something you couldn't have guessed. That's one of the reasons I believe Christianity. It's a religion you couldn't have guessed.

• If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.

Perhaps you can find a running theme in these quotes from CS Lewis. There is something within us as humans that draw us away from the everyday reality we experience. It's said in Ecclesiasties this way, that God has put "eternity" into our hearts. As much as I know that Christ's teachings are immediately applicable to any situation in our daily life, there is something about having an intimate relationship with Jesus that is simply transcendent--the more time I spend with Him, the farther I am lifted from ordinary life. Now, this doesn't mean that I can now escape the realities of being human. Yet, I find comfort that living isn't bound by my own reason, that I can truly live without having to figure out all the philosophical meanings of life (even though I personally love thinking about these things on occasion). It is awesome that God has given us the ability to imagine and to create such amazing things through our Art. If you needed any evidence that humans are really the daughters and sons of God, just consider this single attribute.

Both Lewis and JRR Tolkien held the personal belief that main story of the Gospel--that God came down in the form of man, was crucified for our sins and rose again on the third day with the promise of His return--was truth, but also a true myth. If you think back to many myths from the Greeks and Romans, this story resembles these pagan myths in some ways, but, especially to Tolkien, what set the Gospel apart was that it is the only true myth or fairy story because it has to be lived out in our daily lives.

True Worship

Worship. That word alone brings up so many different definitions, connotations, actions and emotions to so many different Christians. Being in as many contemporary worship services as I have in my lifetime, certain trends and patterns begin to emerge. The most glaring thing is how focused many contemporary worship songs is on the worshiper instead of the One being worshipped. Now, this doesn't neglect the fact that several times in our relationship with Jesus, expressing our devotion and service to Him is important, but there is a point that worship has gotten so over-defined that our focus has been lost. Pick up any one of the several books on worship and you might find the distinction between "praise" and "worship", "hymns" and "spiritual songs", yet the question remains--Who exactly are you worshipping?

This past week alone, I have experienced at least three different worship services. I am still blown away how the whole atmosphere of the room changes when the lyrics of worship songs relate directly to God, compared to when the lyrics are requiring God to do something for the one singing or lamenting the state of the worshiper. When one is praising the Creator of the universe, our own lives seem pretty small in comparison. But, that's when I feel free--that there is a whole reality beyond me and the limited life I am living.

I've always heard that worship is really a "lifestyle". It never sunk deep until I read Psalms 132:

Surely I will not go into the chamber of my house,
Or go up to the comfort of my bed;
I will not give sleep to my eyes
Or slumber to my eyelids,
Until I find a place for the LORD,
A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.

Let us go into His tabernacle;
Let us worship at His footstool.
Arise, O LORD, to Your resting place

Imagine that, you can make God comfortable through your worship! That's what it is all about!