What's Your Soundtrack?

Last night as I was driving home from Wally-world with groceries (at ten o'clock at night), I was listening to the public radio program, "Echoes". The music playing was like background music. There really wasn't any meat to it and it seemed quite trivial. The pathetic thing is that as I was listening to it I thought, "if my life had a soundtrack, I believe this would be it." It was a gay little ditty, light and soothing. It would have made nice "hold" music.

I recently picked up a daily devotional by Henry T. Blackaby and Richard Blackaby based on the book Experiencing God. What I read this morning was about "vision". They discussed how vision drives the way we live. I've seen it; I know you've seen it. Vision statements everywhere, work, church, self directed goals. When we can visualize what we'd like to look like, we can set a course for achieving that goal.

The NIV states it this way: "Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law".

And the Message says it like this: "If people can't see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; But when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed."

I know it best in the KJV: "Where there is no vision, the people perish, but he that keepeth the law, happy is he."

As I pondered this, I was also reading in Jeremiah 12. And God says to Jeremiah (who is complaining about why the bad guys always seem to win and he always gets in trouble when he does something bad), that if he's whipped by running with men, how on earth can he expect to run with horses? In other words, if you can't play with the big dogs, stay on the porch.

Life is tough. I have friends going through really awful, painful and scary things right now. I continue on in my life, getting caught up in the craziness of it all and it brings me down. What it may be is that perhaps we have all lost the vision of exactly who our God is. Because without that vision, we perish. It says so right there in the Bible. Without a clear vision of what God is doing and who He is, we see the chaos, the defeat, the bad guys winning and we feel hopeless. When is the last time I stopped and really tried to grasp who He is and what He's up to? And if I could only do that, wouldn't my outlook change? Wouldn't I be more likely to be able to run with the horses? Wouldn't the soundtrack be different?

When I went running today, I turned on my beastly red i-Pod (as my kids refer to it) to a little known group of artists called apt.core. They're not my usual fare for running, in fact, I believe this is the first time I've listened to this particular album. The first song was a very powerful piece called, "No Such Thing as Time". The only words are, "I AM the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end, the one who is, who was, and is to come. Almighty." The next piece simply quotes the first four verses of Psalm 19:

1 The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. 2 Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. 3 They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard.^[a] 4 Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world.

God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.

Psalm 19:1-4 New Living Translation

I think it's time for a new soundtrack.

The Pursuit Begins

I'm reading a book by A.W. Tozer called, "The Pursuit of God." It's not a beach read, if you know what I mean. I've read just the preface three times. Usually I dislike books like that- that I have to re-read simply to understand what it's about. But for some reason, this one is different. Perhaps because it seems to be speaking so loudly to me about what our church seems to be going through.

In the very first chapter, Tozer says, "We must simplify our approach to (God). We must strip down to the essentials (and they will be found to be blessedly few). We must put away all effort to impress, and come with the guileless candor of childhood. If we do this, without doubt, God will quickly respond." (Italics mine).

I need a response from God, so I began to wonder what the blessedly few essentials were. One I'm quite sure of: worship.

Worship is something our church has done away with. They still sing some songs before the preacher preaches, but true worship has been tossed. I know that people at my church might heatedly disagree with me, but it's true, none-the-less. Worship, communing with God, telling Him of your love for him while tears stream down your face, celebrating his goodness, his faithfulness, his power, his perfection: it just doesn't happen. I believe we could do nothing at all but worship him and he would still be pleased.

Tozer goes on to say that "there is little that we need other than God Himself. The evil habit of seeking God-and effectively prevents us from finding God in full revelation. In the and lies our great woe. If we omit the and we shall soon find God, and in Him we shall find that for which we have all our lives been secretly longing."

At our church, we seek God-and-experiencing life (or perhaps it is better said, "God-and-L.I.F.E.") L.I.F.E is our program for experiencing life in Christ. It has its four indicators to make sure you're doing it right. If you've Got Christ (said like, "Got Milk?") then you Live for others, Invite others to L.I.F.E. in Christ, Follow the teachings of God, and Exalt God above all else. That's how you'll know you've got it right.

But that's not what Tozer says. He says that if you've got it right, it will be manifest as an increased yearning for God- a hot pursuit- an unquenchable thirst for Him and Him alone. But you don't have to take my word, or even Tozer's word for it. Jesus said it this way, "And this is the real and eternal life. That they know you, the one and only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent." (John 17:3)

My church appears to pursue image, larger buildings, more members, and a greater profile in this community rather than God. Now, they vehemently deny that's what they're about. They repeat over and over that "numbers" simply means "lives" and as the numbers increase, that means that lives are touched. They say that bigger and more beautiful facilities will draw people so they can then teach them about God. The better and bigger facilities will make it easier to teach people about God. They color it with words that sound right, but even Satan got most of the words right when he messed with Eve in Eden. Expanding programs, and numbers, and buildings seems a roundabout way to reach God. I find I want less and less of what they have to offer. I find my peace in siding with the tribe of Levi, who, when God divided the land of Canaan among his children, Levi received none. "I AM thy part and thine inheritance," He told them.