... back to it ...

It's been a couple days of my Christian music fast. I've been listening to the classic rock and current metal stations here in PA whenever I would normally listen to our local Christian rock station. It's amazing to me the feelings it is bringing out in me.

You know ... hhhhmmmmm ... here's the deal ... I've been a follower of Jesus Christ all my life ... meaning ... I was raised to love Jesus. Once I was old enough to understand Who He is and my sinful state that keeps me from Him I realized that I had to yield myself to Him and accept His free gift of salvation. That was 36 years ago when I was 9.

PERSONAL STORY - Here's some inside information that I don't think I ever publically shared before ...

One of my relatives (not the guy in the photo) really gave my family a hard time while I was growing up. We had a nice family and all of us (I mean aunts, uncles, grandparents ... everybody) went to church and enjoyed the blessings of God, good family get togethers, a lot of laughter, etc. ... except for one person. Out of respect for that person I will leave out the details but understand that this person's sinful lifestyle probably singlehandedly caused me to get into ministry to the rock/metal culture. They would probably be surprised to hear that.

Why?

Because as a boy, I watched this person go through hell on earth and drag my family through some of the worst pain all because they chose to reject Jesus Christ and plunge into the world's pleasures. To this day, it is very hard for me to listen to music from this person's youth (late 60's into the mid 70's) because I associate it with the wounds of this person's past. Yet I still love this person as a family member and pray that they would connect with their Creator and give their life to Him.

When I listen to secular music, I clearly see the confusion, anger and point of view of people in the world who do not know Who Jesus Christ is. It makes me sad. But it also motives me ...

Over the years I have come to realize several reasons why people reject Jesus Christ.

1. SPIRITUAL BLINDNESS - The first reason is that they have been blinded by Satan (2 Corinthians 4:4). The Bible is very clear that some people have never been able to even make an honest decision for Jesus because they are blind to Who He is.

2. DISGUST FOR CHRISTIANS - Some people have an idea of Who He is but their view has been tainted by the stupidity of His followers. Hypocrisy hurts people's views of the sinless Jesus Christ. So do Christians who live worldly lifestyles. Inconsistancy in followers of Jesus causes passerbys to shake their heads in disgust and keep walking or running away ... God cries out because of our carnality.

3. REBELLION - Some people think they have a better way. King Solomon said it best in Proverbs 14:12, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." In John 14:6 Jesus Christ said, ""I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." I guess that is why people hate Christians so much because Christians follow Jesus Who said He is the only way ... an exclusive statement. You either give your life to Him or you don't. Many choose not to.

Here's the deal ... once you understand all I've written above, you can understand why we hear the things we do in music that is not written by followers of Jesus Christ.

In my next post I'll give you an example of what I am talking about. I gotta go help take down the Christmas tree ...



... later ...