April 30, 2007 by Administrator.

Music has power. It evokes feelings and moods. God created music as something beautiful and completely unique. Nothing on earth is like it. It can enhance or change the mood and feelings of the listener. From personal experience and observations, I can make this blanket statement: Secular music is not honoring to God. Does that go for all of it? Yes. If you are horrified, please read on. If you claim to be a follower of Christ, can you say honestly say that God Himself has personally approved of your music selection? If Christ is living within you, do you think He wants to listen to songs about relationships, breakups, affairs, sex, drugs, alcohol, and hate? I have the heard the excuse countless times, “The song talks about Jesus and him turning his life around after a car wreck.” But what they leave out is that when you skip to the next song, it talks about meeting someone at a bar. Secular artists sometimes give their music a religious flare because of their own past or to draw a larger audience. I have also heard statements about “Christians in a band” being alright, although they’re not a Christian band. I don’t care if the secular artist is a pastor’s kid and refused to have premarital sex; they still don’t sing for the glory of the Lord. How can a secular “Christian” artist sing to the glory of God if they don’t want to sing amidst His own children, but rather to the children of Satan? I have listened to every kind of secular music. I have listened to moral, explicit, gothic, rap, pop, country, rock, and religiously seasoned secular music. Every bit of it was dishonoring to my Lord and Savior. If you don’t think God cares about what you listen to, please read Psalm 150 and read below Colossians 3:16-17, which says,

“Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”

These verses are self-explanatory. I think any Christian would find a hard time arguing with these verses. To me, these verses are the end of all discussion about music for a Christian. Secular songs are not psalms, hymns, or spiritual songs to the Lord with thankfulness. These words cannot be claimed to be sung in the name of the Lord with thankfulness to God the Father. So when you go to expand your music selection again, let God download your tunes and buy your CDs.

Posted in Christian Living, Christian Applications | No Comments »

April 26, 2007 by Administrator.

We are all quite familiar with the verse “Judge not, lest ye be judged” in Matthew 7. Sadly, this verse has become a modern secular tool against Christianity. Claiming Christians and non-Christians alike use this verse to quiet the voices of any who try to condemn sin. This verse has been completely distorted for the individual moral convictions of whoever uses it. People will deliberately overlook countless Scriptures where God makes declarations of His hate for certain sins. Instead, “Christians” and the unsaved use this verse to dismantle other Christians for condemning sins that they don’t feel should be judged. Of course, we are to show love. But Christ has not called us to be so loving to the world that we disregard anything they do. God loved the children of Israel, but He would not sit back and tolerate their sinful, rebellious acts. Am I expected by the Lord to be tolerant? Proverbs 8:13 says that the fear of the Lord is to hate evil. How do these conforming individuals explain verses like these? I understand that I should not judge others of their faults if I am too struggling hard with it myself. Yet, the fact of the matter is that we are not called, as followers of Christ, to make others feel comfortable in their sin. The Word of God is full of convicting messages. The Holy Spirit used those same convicting pages to draw me to Himself. If you don’t want people to feel convicted or guilty for their actions, then you are showing that you don’t want others to condemn you for your own actions. When people use this verse in defense of sin, they are really saying, “Tolerate, lest ye be not tolerated.” 

Posted in Christian Living, Today's World, Doctrine, Christian Applications | 2 Comments »

April 23, 2007 by Administrator.

The Son of God became man to enable men to become the sons of God.

~ C. S. Lewis

Posted in Hope, Encouragement | 1 Comment »