Traditional or Contemporary Christian Music: Hymns or Hype

 

I am a fan of music. I have listened to different genres in the past, including Traditional and Contemporary Christian music. One thing I have noticed is the line drawn between these two can be very definitive; members of the church generally pick a side and stay. Some would say this happens because of the generational gap that occurs, especially in the diversity of church membership today.

My Personal "Declaration of Independence"

"We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

 

The majority of you reading this probably recognized the statement above to be a part of the Declaration of Independence, and you would be correct. A key document declaring our freedom from the tyrannical rule of King George III. The thirteen colonies declaring their desire for freedom to the entire world, and the beginning of our great nation, the United States of America. Everyone realizes the importance of this and what followed as a result; which was our Freedom.

 

Consider this.......Do we take our spiritual freedom as seriously as we do our personal freedom?

 

At this point, I know that my spiritual freedom is of the utmost importance, but in the past I could not have made this statement.

 

Today, I have decided to make a "Declaration of Independence" of my own! If you so choose, feel free to use this as a means of declaring your spiritual freedom also.

 

 

IN THIS WORLD, January 30, 2014

 

 The Irrevocable Declaration of Robert Archibald, a child of God.

 

I do, hereby, this day declare myself free from sin. I am heir to a Heavenly Throne. 

My Father has set a place for me at His table.

Things of this world no longer have control over Me.

 I am resolved to be free of the shackles that Satan may try to bound me with.
 I accept my Father's grace and eternal love.  

 I recognize that through the death of Jesus Christ I have an eternal hope that is guaranteed.
From this day forward my walk is on the Narrow Path.

 

 

                           Robert Archibald

                          Signature of Follower

  

Romans 6:14 says, “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.”

 

If you want to be free from sin, then I ask that you make a similar declaration after you have read this. The 13 colonies banded together to demand their freedom from tyranny and oppression, and I would suggest that we do the same. The Devil has no power unless we give him power. Take this stand with me, and reap the rewards in Heaven. May God's blessing be upon you.

 

“If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).

 

We are not free of sin, but we can most assuredly be free from sin

 

 

 

 

        

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Following the Leader;Becoming a true disciple of Jesus

Follow the leader is a children's game. First a leader or "head of the line" is chosen, then the children all line up behind the leader. The leader then moves around and all the children have to mimic the leader's actions. Any players who fail to follow or do what the leader does are out of the game. The last person standing other than the leader is now the new leader.

Following Jesus is just as simple as the game mentioned above. There are tools that you need to have, skills that you need to hone, but the basic principle is the same. Follow the "head of the line," Jesus, and mimic the actions portrayed.  In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul instructs the church at Corinth "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ."

If you have accepted Jesus into your heart, and you are interested in becoming a true "Disciple" (more than just a follower); this is where the game changes.

There is a basic skill set that is required of you.

Requirement #1    Love God More Than Anyone Else (1)
Luke 14:26  Jesus tells us "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple"
Strong words? Yes and No. This is a requirement Jesus gives as a means of weeding out those that are not ready for discipleship. The word "hate" used in this context is not literal. Certainly, Jesus is not telling future disciples that they must hate. This is used as the opposite of "love." Strong words simply used to make a point.

Requirement #2   Deny Yourself and Take Up the Cross (1)
"If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." (Luke 9:23)
We all know what this means figuratively, but do we really know the true meaning? There are three steps in this process, and I will try to explain them.

1. (2)Self-Denial-   a restraint or limitation on one's own desires or interests Sounds terrible don't it? Not really, if you put it into perspective. We simply are denying the temptation of sin. Deny the desires of the flesh, and do not settle for anything less than God's will.
2. (2)Torture-  something that causes mental or physical suffering Calm down, there is no reason to stop reading now. Think about it this way; If you go to the gym, you torture your body. The repetitions, the weight you use, or the 5 miles you run on the treadmill; all of this is putting your physical body through discomfort that is equated to torture. No pain No gain is a phrase heard frequently. Thinkers torture their minds. The question you need to ask yourself is; Are you willing to go through temporal pain to have eternal gain?
3. (2)Death-  the end of life: the time when someone or something dies This is to die daily to yourself. Anytime you face a physical loss, suffer at the hands of another, things don't go exactly the way you had them planned; this is the time to die to yourself. Die to ego, die to pride, and die to all other sin. Allow your circumstances to make you more like Christ.

Requirement #3  Forsake All That You Have  (1)
To forsake means to give up or leave (someone or something) entirely. This is something that is hard to swallow. You mean to tell me that all that I have, everything that I've worked for, my livelihood, my self-worth, all of the things I have accumulated in this life; you are telling me that they are not mine. No, that is not my place. The bible tells us this, though. In the book of Mark chapter 10 Jesus has an encounter with a rich young ruler. The young ruler asked Jesus, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" (Mark 10-17)  "Jesus answered, 'You know the commandments: Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not testify falsely. Do not cheat. Honor your father and mother.' 'Teacher,' the man replied, 'I've obeyed all these commandments since I was a child.'" "Jesus felt genuine love for this man as He looked at him. 'You lack only one thing,' He told him. 'Go and sell all you have and give money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.' At this, the man's face fell, and he went sadly away because he had many possessions" (Mark 10:18-22)

I don't believe we are being told to take a vow of poverty, but when our possessions become our God, they take the place of GOD. Everything that we have, all that we are, our livelihood, self worth, and all of the things we have accumulated in this life belong to our Creator. Give generously of our time and treasure, and we will reap the rewards in Heaven.

Requirement #4  Count the Costs (1)
"For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it" (Luke 14:28).

Our lives will change drastically when we make this commitment. We might be asked to go to a foreign country to provide witness. We could be directed to perform something as simple as speaking to the homeless about the Grace of God. The point is; Whatever we are asked to do by our Lord, we shall do; no questions asked. Just be prepared. I firmly believe that the benefits of this journey will far outweigh the trials and tribulations we will see as a result of walking closely with God.


Finally, we need to make sure that we count the costs of discipleship before we begin this journey. Our Father requires all of us.  Billy Graham has said, "Salvation is free, but discipleship costs everything we have."

"Nothing easily attained is worth attaining." -Robert Archibald

References:    (1)  http://www.harvest.org/knowgod/foundations-for-living/what-is-discipleship.html

                       (2)  http://www.christianpost.com/news/3-ways-to-take-up-your-cross-50639/#

Chasing stability

While deep in thought and reflecting on past mistakes and accomplishments, I begin to see the many attempts that I have made to attain stability in my life. I believe we all have that same goal at some point. It always seems to be that whatever we gain it is never enough. We are always searching for the next big thing. No matter how hard we try, though, it seems our best is never enough. The light at the end of the tunnel is always seen, but it can only be viewed from a distance. I sometimes feel like the horse pulling the wagon; the driver has dangled a carrot in front of me to keep me going, but I will never reach nor savor the taste of that carrot. Things in this life are constantly changing. It is hard, and some would think, impossible to ever be stable in anything. I guess that's why I sometimes feel like the hamster in the wheel, always going but going nowhere.

I have found  the one CONSTANT we can all depend on is the love of our Father in Heaven. That for certain in never changing. The bible tells us in Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

I have heard the term "God-shaped hole" many times before, and now I believe I am closer to understanding the true meaning of this;

We try to fill our lives with all of the worldly things that is traditionally accepted to be a measurement of our stability. We spin that little circular wheel round and round hoping that in the next revolution we will gain the boss's favor and get that promotion that we've so long for to be more stable in our careers. That carrot in front of us that has been dangling; tempting us and controlling our lives will surely taste like a steak with the pay raise we just got by spending the first half of our adult life struggling so hard to get.

All of these things are great my friends only if, we have attained SPIRITUAL STABILITY. We can have all the money in the world, we can have the best job that a person could ask for, the fastest car, the best wife, the biggest house; but unless we have given our lives, finances, time, and all that we have to the service of Our Lord all we gain will be for naught. Our eternity is not here on this earth, but it lies in Heaven.

Do all we can to make our time here meaningful. The term "God-shaped hole" that was mentioned before has that particular terminology because God is the only thing that will fit.

"IN A WORLD THAT IS EVER CHANGING THE ONLY HOPE FOR STABILITY IS THROUGH GOD'S LOVE; CONSTANT AND NEVER CHANGING."           -Robert Archibald  

Righting your wrongs and forgiving others

In order to forgive others for past sleights we must began the process of righting our own personal wrongs. To give forgiveness we must attain forgiveness. All of us, at some point in our lives, have wronged someone. It can come in many forms; lying to get what we want, stepping on the shoulders of others to attain a higher position in our careers, stealing, telling lies about others, etc. I believe we, the human race are inherently a selfish bunch. Before any of you get upset there is a way we can change this about ourselves. It begins with realizing who we are, where we came from, and the life teachings of our Heavenly Father. The bible is one long story of the forgiveness and love that God shows for mankind. The story of Esau forgiving his twin brother, Jacob, can be found the Genesis chapters 25, 27, 32, & 33. Genesis 37-50 tells the story of Joseph forgiving his brothers after having been sold into slavery, and in John 8 we find the story of a woman caught in the act of adultery that, in a show of His own divinity, was forgiven by Jesus Christ. So, it is possible to right our wrongs and to forgive others.

We can began by looking into our hearts and asking God to forgive us of our sins. Next, we need to make amends for the wrongs that we have done and the hurt we have caused to others. Then and only then can we began forgiving others.


"TO GIVE FORGIVENESS, WE MUST KNOW HOW TO ASK FOR FORGIVENESS"

Back in the fold and setting the world afire

 If you think you've strayed too far from the fold, and that Jesus has no use for you then this is the post for you. I am a renewed Christian that gave my life back to God 10/14/2012, and that was an awesome experience. Before this happened my thoughts were always negative. I had encountered people in the Christian world that were not so, well Christian. Once I was renewed in Christ, I felt as if I needed to do everything in my power to start witnessing and bringing people in; but now I am coming to the realization that "I" is not part of the equation. This is not what our Father wants. The bible tells us in Ephesians 2: 8-10    ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. 






 We can set the world afire, but only through Christ Jesus. The work has already been planned, but it will be done through us not by us. Once we latch onto the realization that our Savior is Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Omniscient we will know that the work we do is only carried out by us. God sent his Son Jesus to die on a cross for our sins so that we may be saved. Each one of us is just as important as the next in Our Father's eyes, but let us not forget, God is the most important of all. Spread the Gospel, show people the Grace of God, be a witness for Christ; just do these works for the Glory of God with no "I" or "ME" in the mix.