Tower of the Lord

Have you ever heard the saying “you are what you eat”? For instance “if you eat nerds candy then you are a nerd”, of course that is just a funny interpretation of the meaning and I think that it originally meant “if you eat healthy food you will be healthy, but if you eat junk food you will be unhealthy”. Now while this may have been a “worldly” concept originally, I believe that it can apply to our spiritual lives as well. So what makes our spiritual diet healthy or unhealthy? Let’s start by taking a look at the spiritual “junk” food that makes up an unhealthy spiritual diet.

Junk Food
Potato chips, candy bars, soda pop, “snack” foods and chocolate, these are just a few of the many kinds of physical junk food that we feed our bodies that are not good for us. Before I start comparing “junk food” with “spiritual junk food” I would like to point out that a candy bar every once in a while is not going to kill you and I personally like chocolate. This comparison is not perfect but it does work. The main difference is that spiritual junk food is more like poison and even a little can cause problems.
Spiritual junk food is the little “white” sins that we think are okay especially when compared to the “big” sins of murder and adultery. In essence this is one of those fabled “little white lies” that we hear of and which do not really exist. Taking that CD from the store is just as bad as robbing a bank, actually just thinking of taking that CD is as bad as robbing a bank. As Jesus said in Matthew 5:27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” It is not the actions only that God will judge because He knows your heart and judges the sins that take place in your heart. If you think of sinning and do not take that thought captive to Christ then it becomes a temptation which leads to sin, and sin ultimately leads to death [James 1:14-15]. These “little white lies” that the enemy tries to convince us as okay are in-fact just as wrong in the sight of God as any other sin. To God anything that is not completely pure and Holy is entirely sinful and unholy, just the smallest “little white lie” is way too much. This is why God called us to the ultimate standard, His word says “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.” [Ephesians 5:3]. As Joshua Harris wrote in his book Not Even a Hint “So what is God’s standard when it comes to lust [or any sin]? How much lust [sin] does God want us to allow in our lives? Are you ready for this? The answer is not even a hint. That’s right. Nada. Zip. Zero. I’m not saying this to be dramatic. I really believe it’s what God calls each Christian to regardless of what kind of culture we live in of how old we are. And it’s not because God is heavy-handed, or strict for the sake of strictness. It’s because he loves us — and because we are His. It’s because He is wise and His wisdom exceeds our understanding.” Mr. Harris later goes on to explain why he believes God made the standard so high “One of the reasons God calls us to cleanse our lives of lust [sin] completely is because He knows that lust [sin] never stays at the level of ‘just a hint’. Lust [sin] is always an unholy desire for the forbidden… It’s goal is the very act of desiring. The result is that lust [sin] can never be quenched.”. So because of this we must maintain not even a hint of junk food [sin] in our lives if we want to be spiritually healthy.

Spiritual “Health Food”
On the opposite end of the food chart is heath food, unlike junk food health food is the stuff that is good and beneficial to our bodies this is the stuff that helps us to grow strong and enables us to fight off the attack that come against us. In Joshua 1:8 we are told “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”. So the first type of health food is the Word of God, we are to meditate on it and study it so that we can grow. A strong hunger for God’s Word is a good sign of growth and development in our spiritual lives. When a baby desires more food we know that he/she is growing, likewise when a Christian desires more of God’s food (His Word) then we know that he/she is growing in Christ. And as a baby grows into a man he starts to long for meat and not just milk, so also does a growing Christian want more spiritual meat as he grows in the spirit. “For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food [meat in KJV] is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.” [Hebrews 5:13-14]. We do not start out eating meat when we are infants rather we start out by eating (drinking) milk so that we can grow stronger and become able to eat meat. We must start out by building our foundation upon the Rock of Christ and learning the basics of God’s Word before we eat the meat of the deeper meanings of scripture.

“Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.” [John 4:34]. This is another kind of spiritual health food, doing God’s will. Whenever we are walking in God’s will for our lives we grow and prosper, because God’s will is for us to prosper. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” [Jeremiah 29:11]

So if we are what we eat then what are you? Are you a healthy, strong and growing Christian? Or are you a junk filled, sinful, stagnate Christian? I would like to challenge you even as I challenge myself. Be a healthy and growing Christian, eat what’s right and shun what is wrong, grow in the wisdom and knowledge of God and maintain Not Even a Hint of junk food in your spiritual life.

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” 1 John 4:7 If we are of God we will love and John is not talking about “mushy, mushy” romantic love, he is talking about Agape Love.

AG•A•PÉ (a’gə-pā’): Greek word for love used by the early Christians to refer to the special love for God and God’s love for man, as well as the self-sacrificing love they believed all should have for each other.

So we are to have Agape Love towards God and towards others. There are three things that I would like to outline in this article they are: what is Love, how do we show Love and why should we Love. Lets begin with what love is…

What is Love?
According to 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” To me this says love is how we act not what we feel. It isn’t the warm feeling that we get when we hold a little baby it is the way we act when someone is irritating. Love is a verb, an action, not something that “grows in you” but something that you build towards others. Love is the kind word when someone needs comforting, the ready hug in times of trouble. Love is the smile on your face when everything seems wrong and when you feel all alone, and you smile not because you are happy but because you love God and He loves you. So if God abides in us then we will love because God is love and he who knows God has love.

How do we show Love?
Practically speaking love is: patience with your siblings or children, compassion for those in pain, kindness toward those who are friendless, help to the struggling and much, much more. As I said earlier love is an action not a feeling, and so we show it by acting it out and performing acts of love towards our neighbors and enemies. Love “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails” this is how we show our love; we bear one another’s burdens and help them when they struggle. Love believes all things and acts accordingly. If we believe everything that the Bible says then we give people the benefit of the doubt until they prove themselves unworthy of trust. Love hopes all things, it hopes for the salvation of the world, the repentance of all sinners, it hopes for a better tomorrow. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1 KJV). Love endures all things, love endures temptation, it endures persecution and afflictions. And love never fails! No matter what is set against it and no matter what attacks it, love never fails! It is eternal and everlasting, because God is Love so love is eternal. We show our love by acting it out toward our neighbors and enemies through compassion and unconditional love.

Why should we Love?
There is an old hymn that says “They will know that we are Christians by our Love” this means that people will notice that we are different and that we have something in us that makes us joyful in troubles and pain. In 1 John 4:21 we are told “And He has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.” this is a commandment, not a suggestion or a request, it is a command from the LORD. Think about it, if we were to love everyone regardless of age, gender, race, political persuasion, or anything else then the world would be much more peaceful and if those people returned that love then the entire world would be saved because “everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.” (Part of 1 John 4:7). But aside from these positive side effects “we should love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19 adapted).

In conclusion we need to remember three key verses: 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a, 1 John 4:7-21 and Mark 12:30-31. These verses explain the three questions I asked at the begining, What is Love? (1 Cor. 13:4-8a), How should we show Love? (1 John 4:7-21) and Why should we Love? (Mark 12:30-31). Love is first for God and second for your neighbors, these are the greatest commandments and these are the meaning of Agape.

TheRebelution.com just launched the results of their massive Modesty Survey! Over 1,600 Christian guys answered questions on everything from glitter lotion and lip gloss to swimsuits and skirt slits! For you girls, it’s everything you’ve ever wanted to ask guys about modesty, but were afraid to ask! For you guys, it’s really interesting to see what other Christian guys think!

Most importantly, the survey is presented as a resource to help Christian girls (and guys), not a list of legalistic rules, and it is accompanied by the Modesty Survey Petition (which tons of guys have signed) which encourage young women to focus on the heart, not the hemline, to honor their parents, etc. 

TheRebelution.com presents the results of the survey as a big St. Valentine’s Day gift from 1,600 Christian guys to all Christian girls—and I can’t think of a better one!

Go check it out: www.therebelution.com/modestysurvey

But also make sure you spread the word to all your friends. We want as many Christian girls  as possible to see it on Valentines Day, so you can repost this post on your blog or forward it as an email.

Guys, they are still accepting signatures for the Modesty Survey Petition, so this is an opportunity for you to still share your voice on the topic of modesty!

In this post I would like to take a look at some of today’s Christian artists and how they are leading by a bad example. I would also like to paint for you a picture of what a true leader looks like. When you get on stage you become a leader, no-matter what you are doing or why you are doing it you are put in a position of leadership when you step up and be the one who goes first. When you are a leader everything you do comes under scrutiny, how you dress, what you say, and how you act. People will follow your example and do the things you do because they see you as an example to be followed. So Christian musicians (or any musicians for that matter) are leaders and examples.

What is a leader? What is an example? Well according to the 1828 Webster’s a leader is “One who goes first” and an example is “A person fit to be proposed for a pattern; one whose conduct is worthy of imitation” Now that we know what a leader is I would like to give you a picture of what a leader looks like (not just how they dress but how they act and what they are like on the inside).

A leader is someone who will give all they have to give to fulfill two goals, 1) To complete the tasks given to them by those in authority over them, even unto death. 2) They will give everything they have to those who they lead in-order that they might prosper and grow, this reminds me of a quote from the Lord of the Rings movies, “I give hope to Men. I keep none for myself” this is a great quote and is a great example of what a leader thinks and does.

Now I would like to paint for you a picture of a true leader. The name of this leader is Jesus. He was, is and always will be the best and greatest leader ever. He exemplified all of the requirements of good leadership and He also showed a passion and submission uncommon in most leaders today. I will not cover all of what I believe a true leader should be, I will just cover a few things that relate to this post.

Jesus was humble
When you look at most of today’s leaders you see proud and self-righteous men who think that they are the ultimate authority. These men despite having others in authority over them think that they are in-charge and balk at submitting to higher authority. Unlike these worldly leaders Jesus was humble and knew how to submit, His humility was not just on the outside either. When Jesus and the disciples were eating the last supper Jesus humbled Himself and washed the feet of the disciples, He told them that whoever desired to become great should become the servant of all. (Matthew 20:26-28) Jesus knew that true leadership was proven when you submitted to higher authority and said “Father not my will but yours be done” (Matthew 26:39b & 42b)

Jesus Knew the Power of Words
Numerous times throughout His ministry Jesus would speak and a thing would happen, He knew that words are powerful. In-fact He was the “Word become flesh” (John 1:14a). He knew the power of words for it was by His words that the world was made. In Luke 7:1-10 the story is told of the faith of the Centurion, the Centurion told his friends to tell Jesus “Say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one ‘Go’ and he goes; and that one ‘Come’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this’ and he does it.” (Luke 7:7b-8)

Jesus Cared for Those Under His Authority
In Luke 15 Jesus tells the parable of the lost sheep and explains how He is the good shepherd. Jesus cares for those who He leads and will give all that He can give to see us safe. He even gave His life for us that we might be saved. That is what a leader does for his followers he seeks their safety and comfort before his own. John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” Jesus cared for the well-being and the hearts of those He led.

So we have these two definitions and we have a picture of what a leader should look like. Now the question is ‘Do today’s Christian musicians fulfill these requirements?’

I believe that the answer is sadly no in most cases. Most of today’s musicians are not following the example portrayed by the best leader in history Jesus Christ. They are not acting in a way that shows them to have a pure heart, nor are they dressing in a modest and pure way. They are portraying a life of rebellion and impurity despite the fact that they claim to be pure. Now I am not claiming to be any more pure or any better then they are, I don’t claim to have all my stuff together. However, I am not in a position of leadership like they are. I am not an example to thousands of young adults and children of what a Christian should be. They are.

I would like you to take a look at these Music videos and think about weather or not they are portraying Christ-like behavior and Purity in their dress and actions.

Barlowgirl: Never Alone Music Video

Jeremy Camp “Take You Back” Music video

Now before you jump down my throat or discredit what I have to say let me make this clear “I am not saying that they are not Christian”. I personally have been blessed and encourage by much of the music done by these two artists. While I don’t like everything done by either of these artists (some of it is too rocky for me) I do like some if not most of their music and have found it very encouraging. What I am saying is that they are setting a bad example in the way they are dressing and the way they are acting.

My Thoughts on BarlowGirl’s Video
I like the song that they are doing, it is a great song talking about how we are never alone even when we feel like no one is there. Christ is there and He will always be with us. What I don’t like is the way that they are dressing and acting. Their clothing is less than modest (by my standards, and i believe by Biblical standards) and slightly rebellious in character. They are dressing in a sloppy and careless fashion as if the way that they look is not worth the effort to keep clean. They are dressing God’s Temple in raggedy and slightly gothic clothing and are not portraying a picture of Christ’s beautiful bride. This is especially true once they begin playing their instruments, they don’t strike me as very worshipful but more attention grabbing which is not modest. Again, I want to say I have been blessed by their music and enjoy listening to it but this video is disturbing especially since they claim to be taking a stand for modesty and this video is not modest.

My Thoughts on Jeremy Camp’s Video
Disturbing. I like this song and have heard it many times, it has a good theme but in the video Jeremy Camp is very gross looking. (at least I think so) He has earrings, which I have a big problem with when it comes to guys, earrings are for girls and when a guy wears them it symbolizes three things. 1) Rebellion. It shows that they are rebelling against God’s designs for male and female by dressing like a girl (the same applies to his shirt it is tight like a girl’s, and just as immodest as a tight shirt on a girl). 2) Conformity. It shows me that he is conforming to the ways of this world in his thoughts and beliefs, he is accepting the world’s lie that male and female are the same and so he can dress like a girl. 3) Immodesty. Earrings in a guy show me that he does not understand true modesty and what it means, he does not under stand that modesty is about being humble and turning all the attention to God and drawing none to ourselves. Now just because this is what earrings mean to me does not mean that I think that Jeremy Camp is necessarily any of these things, but I do think that by wearing earrings he is telling other people that it is okay because he is a leader and he is doing it. As I have said I have been bless by lots of Jeremy Camp’s music and enjoy listening to his work. He is very talented and I know that he has blessed lots of people through his music. However, I think that he should be more careful as to how he dresses and how he acts.

Now to conclude I would like to say that I am not picking on these artists nor do I think that they are alone in their failed leadership. I am using them as examples only because I ran across these videos and was struck at how conformed they are. I know that these videos do not necessarily represent who they really are and what they really stand for. I know that in order to accurately evaluate their actions I need to see more and know more about them. What I have said in this post is not my final opinions about them rather it is only what I got out of watching this video. And since this is what I got from these videos I think that they should be more careful as to how they act and dress when doing these videos because that may be all that someone sees of them and they should desire for people to see Christ in them. I hope that what I have written has affected how you see musicians and challenged you to strive for excellence in all that you do.

Doing it All4Him
Joshua

Since being launched last Tuesday, The Modesty Survey has captured over 70,000 answers from around 730 Christians guys, ages 12-50+. Roughly half (55.5%) the respondents have been teenagers (ages 13-19), 32.6% fall between the ages of 20-29, and 10.7% are 30 years old or older.

Most importantly, over 95% of current respondents (1) notice whether a girl dresses modestly or not, (2) agree (or strongly agree) that modesty is important for all girls, regardless of height, weight or build, and (3) say that modesty is an important quality for their future wives to have.

The survey will remain open until 1,000 Christian guys have completed it. At the current rate we should reach that number by next Tuesday, but we’ll need your help. Below are a few ways you can help speed up the release of the final results.

ACTION STEPS for WEEK TWO

GUYS: If you haven’t done so yet, sign-up for the survey and encourage your godly friends to take it too. If you’ve already started the survey, finish the survey. Don’t procrastinate or it may close before you share your opinion on important issues.

GIRLS: Keep recruiting more godly Christian guys to take the survey. If you’ve run out of guys to tell, make sure the guys you’ve already told have completed the survey. The sooner 1,000 guys have completed the entire survey, the sooner the results will be released.

Take It (GUYS) / See It (GIRLS)

Note: This Post is borrowed from TheRebelution.com

With the coming of the new year people make lots of resolutions. Some resolve to lose weight and work out, others resolve to spend less money and eat healthy food. But whatever the resolution few continue in their resolve for long, in a few months they are back to their normal routines of eating, spending and not working out. Some might say that resolutions are pointless and others are afraid to resolve, so the question is, Do You have the Courage to Resolve?

When I talk about having the courage to resolve I am not talking about resolving to lose weight or work out, I am talking about resolving to be pure, resolving to give your all to Christ and further His Kingdom. It is not that losing weight is bad, actually it is desirable in 1 Corinthians Paul talks about how our bodies are holy and how we should take good care of them (1 Cor. 3:16 & 17). What I am saying is this, we should put the spiritual things before the carnal and the resolutions of the spirt before those of the body. Matthew 6:33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” if we worry first about what Christ wants for out spirits then the physical things (health, finances, etc.) will fall into place.

I would like to issue a Challenge, I challenge you to make a resolution not a resolution of the flesh but one of the spirit. I challenge you to strive for purity, and commit yourself to the furtherance of the Kingdom of Heaven. In a letter to his mother John Wesley asked for a list of sins he should avoid his mother replied with this “Whatever weakens your reason, whatever impairs the tenderness of your conscience, whatever obscures your sense of God, whatever increases the authority of your body over your mind, whatever takes away from your relish for spiritual things, that to you is sin, no matter how innocent it is in itself.” Think about that, that covers a lot of things. My challenge is this avoid those things, avoid the things that increase the influence and control of your flesh over your spirit, and take away your desire for God. I am not saying take it on all at once, start with the small things and go from there. Ask God for guidance and strength, ask for the wisdom and knowledge to stand strong and take out those strong holds one at a time.

The stakes are high and the risk is great, once taken this commitment will lead to death, death not of your spirit but of your flesh. This is not a resolution for the faint at heart, it will require Courage and Resolution beyond the physical. It will require supernatural strength from God and a ernest desire to give your all to Him. As an example I would like to use the story of Daniel and his friends when they were training to become wise men. The king of Babylonia told Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility- young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning [Daniel 1:3b-4a NIV]. Among these were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table. But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, instead he asked “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink.” At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. Now you May be thinking “you said you were talking about spiritual resolutions, but Daniel resolved to go on a diet.” and you are partially right, I am talking about a resolution of the spirit, Daniel and his friends resolved to honor the Lord by refraining from eating the food of the king and instead devote themselves to God and seek first His wisdom and knowledge before the things of the flesh. What they were doing is fasting, not the kind of fasting where you eat no food but the kind where you stay away from things that your flesh desires and spending your time praying. You see the story does not end with them eating veggies for ten days, they continued this for three Years, however their fast was not in vain. Because “To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning.” [Daniel 1:17a NIV] You see Daniel and his friends resolved to please God before men and before the flesh and they were greatly rewarded. They were set aside to learn language and literature of the Babylonians and God rewarded their Resolution by giving them more than they asked for. It took great courage to eat only veggies and water when everyone around them was eating steak and drinking wine, I would guess that they were made fun of, laughed at and scorned because of their resolution. Most likely they suffered from a great desire for the things of the flesh but they had resolved to do something and by strength given to them by God they had The Courage to Resolve.