April 2021 Archives
Concert Review: Gold City (4/29/21)
Last night, I attended the first concert I have been to since August 2018. I’d had a long day and wasn’t sure I was up to going, but boy am I glad I did.
Gold City was the first southern gospel group I saw in person back in 1989 and, although the group members have totally changed since that day, Daniel Riley, Bruce Taliaferro, Thomas Nalley, and Chris West are doing well at carrying on the legacy.
I still get excited at concerts, and I’m sure that excitement showed when the concert kicked off with Somebody, Sing Me a Gospel Song. I’ve really liked this song since it was first released back in the 1990s I think. Although I know most if not all of the old Gold City hits, I have not kept with the group since Tim Riley retired. This was not intentional as much as our paths just not crossing. Because of this, I did not know I Will Not Be Shaken, Alabama Mud, God’s Still Good, or Those Same Hands. On the way to the concert, I was telling my niece and nephews that I typically like uptempo songs unless there is a slow song where the message and delivery really grab me. Those Same Hands fit that category.
They sang another old song with I Cast My Bread Upon the Water before slowing down the tempo once again for I’ve Been Washed in the Blood. After that was, I Have an Anchor, and then Bruce sang Once and for All. I’m Rich closed out the set before they took a break so the offering could be collected.
Daniel Riley took some time to share his concerns about the Church and how everyone is cowering in fear of offending people. He pointed out that “The truth is often offensive.” This is sad but true. I confess that I am one who does not like to offend people, but I pray for boldness to be a light regardless of what others think. I don’t ever want to be ashamed of Jesus or bring Him to shame in any way.
Daniel then sang It’s Still the Cross, followed by the group singing We’ll Soon Be Done with Troubles and Trials. Believe me I was tapping my feet to that.
I Will Stand was another new song to me, but the line jumped out at me: “He’s the reason I’m alive. How can I not live to make Him known?” Wow. I think the key is in remembering that it’s not about me. It is all about Him. My heart should well up with extreme gratitude to the One who has been so good to me that I can’t help but share Him with others.
They closed the night with two GC classics: I’m Not Giving Up and Midnight Cry.
Christians Need to Judge
It upsets me when people throw around verses like “Judge not that ye be not judged” (Matthew 7:1) or “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone” (John 8:7). Some don’t even try to be spiritual as they blurt out, “We all sin. No one’s sin is worse than another’s.” No wonder the church is in the state it’s in today!
Most of the time, I challenge people to deal with the sin in their own lives. Instead of being flippant and accepting the fact that “We all sin” and “No one is perfect,” we need to be crying out to God to show us where we are failing and change our hearts so that we can be perfect as He is perfect (Matthew 5:48). I understand that we will never attain perfection while on this earth, but if we do not repent, we will not be the overcomers that Christ has called us to be, and we may end up missing a glorious eternity with Him.
As you grow in your own walk with the Lord, you will develop discernment concerning others that are faltering and, in spite of popular opinion, it is not wrong to judge those who claim to have a relationship with Christ but are not living in accordance to that claim. Matthew 7:20 says that “By their fruit, you shall know them.”
In 1 Corinthians 5:9-11, Paul tells us:
I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person (emphasis mine).
That sounds pretty judgmental to me.
As I write this, I realize that some will accuse me of being self-righteous and arrogant. I don’t know how to keep from sounding that way. The fact is that I grieve when I hear of Believers who have walked away from God or who still claim to be His child while they give in to their selfish indulgences regardless of who they hurt. I pray for them with tears sometimes. But it is not wrong to refrain from listening to teaching by someone who does not exhibit the fruits of the Spirit. And when you think, “Yeah, but I do that same thing,” that’s when the Holy Spirit should convict your heart. Just because you do the same thing does not make it OK.
Our refusal to call sin what it is is why each generation gets further and further from the Lord. Our culture no longer understands what it means to be a follower of Christ. They are told that, if they ask Jesus into their hearts, they are born again when in reality that does nothing except provide a false sense of security for those who don’t want to surrender everything they have in exchange for the life that Christ promises to His true servants.
I admit that I am upset right now. I’m tired of platitudes and cliches being tossed around by people who don’t seem to have a clue what Christianity is all about. Our biggest problem is not that the church is judgmental. The bigger problem is that it doesn’t judge. It wants to accept everyone and, in doing so, it is “loving” people into Hell.
I am not claiming perfection. I am well aware of areas that I need to grow in, and I expect that God will continue to show me more. But I want to make sure that I am being taught by people who are growing in holiness as they seek to love God with all of their heart, mind, soul, and strength. I want to surround myself with those who want to please the Lord in everything that they do. I want to be an example to others who are looking for a reason to believe in Christ. I don’t want to settle for people who have the same faults that I do. Sure, I can bear with those people, knowing that God is continuing to do a work in both of us. But I want to encourage everyone to keep running the race. Be faithful. When you fall, get up, repent, and keep running.
I often recommend The Walk of Repentance Bible study because that is the heart of the Christian life. If you are comparing yourself with others, Scripture says that that isn’t wise (2 Corinthians 10:12). Instead, God’s Word should be your guide. Galatians 5:22-23 is a good place to start, but the whole Word of God will tell you what is acceptable to God and what isn’t, regardless of whether or not it’s currently accepted in society.
In summary, I encourage you to definitely get the plank out of your own eye before dealing with the speck in your Brother’s eye (Luke 6:42). Don’t be like the pastor who preached strongly against adultery not long before being caught with a prostitute. No, this is not about hypocrisy. It is about raising the standard, explaining to your children the difference between right and wrong, good and evil, sin and righteousness. It is about challenging others to raise the bar with you. If you know someone who struggles with the same sin you do, see if he or she is open to being your accountability partner so that you can both find freedom from that sin. I am not advocating that everyone begin to look down on others for their shortcomings. Not at all. But I am saying that it is not wrong to confront professing Christians who are living in sin. Perhaps in doing so, you will save them from the fire (Jude 1:23) instead of being partially responsible for their demise (Ezekiel 3:18).
CD Report: Glorious God (Lauren Talley)
Back in 2019, Lauren Talley released a couple of worship CDs. I reviewed the other one shortly after they came out, but this one is worth mentioning too.
I am not a fan of the praise and worship genre, but there are good songs within the genre, and Lauren has chosen some good ones. Some will be familiar to you and some may not, but they will all bring you into the presence of Jesus.
Songs included are: Glorious God, What a Beautiful Name, Mercy Tree, The Heavens Are Telling, Let the Glory Come Down, Jesus at the Center, Jesus Only Jesus, and A Wretch Like Me (which Lauren wrote).
Sunday Has Arrived
Jesus’ followers just experienced the worst weekend of their lives. They were going about as normal, celebrating the annual Passover, laughing, joking, and probably even arguing a bit, and now their mentor and closest friend had been brutally murdered. That must have continued to hang over them as they observed the Sabbath. They had to stay home on that day and do no work, which included going to check on the tomb of their beloved. As soon as Sunday rolled around, however, a couple of women did go to the tomb and were shocked to find the stone rolled away from the entrance with no body inside. They ran to tell the disciples who thought there must be some mistake! So Peter and John ran to the tomb to see for themselves. The women were right! This could only mean one thing: Jesus had risen! He promised He would, and He kept His word once again! Reactions varied from different ones who heard the news. Some believed while others doubted. I imagine I would have been in the latter camp. How could a man who was so obviously dead come back to life? And yet He did.
No one alive back then could have imagined everything that Jesus’ death and resurrection accomplished, but praise the Lord, because He lives, we too can live. He left us an example to follow, to be holy as He was holy. He showed us how to pray, how to be led by the Spirit, and how to rebuke self-righteous Pharisees when necessary. If He had remained dead, His followers would probably not have written down His works. There would be no need for us to study Him. Sure, we could take note of Him being a good man, but He was so much more than that.
As Sunday draws to a close, I would like to challenge each of us to examine His life, to learn to live as He lived, to love as He loved. Let’s strive to be more like Him than ever before. Let’s make sure that, as far as we are concerned, He did not die in vain.
The Darkest Night
The trial continued throughout the night. I imagine this was unusual. In ordinary circumstances when the masses wanted a person dead, I expect that it didn’t take long to convict him, but this trial was different. Historians say that Pilate was not a nice man. He was a Roman. He delighted in torturing and killing Jews and yet there was something about Jesus that made him hesitant and so he stalled, hoping to find a way to release him. At one point, Pilate reminded the crowd that they could choose to release one prisoner. “Whom do you want me to release to you?” Pilate asked. “Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” To Pilate’s amazement, the people asked for Barabbas to be released. A known criminal to be set free while a man whose only crime was honesty was sentenced to death. Although Pilate didn’t like it, he was a coward and so he finally gave the command for Jesus to be crucified.
Crucifixion has to be the most horrendous form of torture and death which was ever invented by any regime, but this was the means by which Jesus would suffer. I’m sure my readers are familiar with everything that took place between the trial and the crucifixion. If you’re not, you will find it detailed in every Gospel. Matthew 26 may be a good place to start.
As hard as it was for Jesus to go through everything He went through, I expect the worst part is going through all that and people not caring. Sure, more people may attend church on Christmas and Easter than any other day of the year, but that is to appease their own conscience. It has nothing to do with gratitude for what Christ has done for them. They don’t seem to recognize, as Rusty Goodman put it, that “had it not been for the old rugged cross … then forever my soul would be lost.” Jesus didn’t die so that we could be happy and live in ease. He died so that, when we surrender to Him, we can be holy and have eternal life with Him.
Every year around the new year and my birthday, I take time to ponder my life and ask God to show me areas that I need to grow in. Easter is also a good time to examine our hearts in light of God’s Word and make sure that we are living as He desires us to live, that our hearts and minds are pure, and that we are fully surrendered. I don’t believe that we can do those things too often. It’s easy to get into fleshly ruts instead of seeking to be daily filled with the Spirit.
Let’s not fritter away this weekend. Like most of you, I have things to do tomorrow, but I plan to set aside a time to focus on Jesus, the life He lived, and the purpose of His death. I want Him to continue to change me into His image so that I can be a light for Him. I hope that is your desire as well.
Photo by Duncan Sanchez on Unsplash
A Dark Night
April 1st. A day when many are pulling pranks on friends and family while others are reflecting on the night Jesus and the disciples shared before He was crucified. Maybe your day has included a little of both.
I can only imagine what Jesus must have felt like eating with His disciples, full of heaviness concerning what the next morning would bring while His disciples were totally oblivious. It wasn’t that He hadn’t tried to prepare them. He had. But there was no way that they could grasp the gravity of the situation.
Maybe they thought that He was being overly dramatic. Maybe God in His mercy kept them from understanding what was about to take place until they absolutely had to know. Regardless, His words about dying and leaving them seemed to go through twelve ears and out the others. Jesus must have felt so alone sitting at supper that night.
More amazing than anything was the fact that, when they asked Jesus who it was that was going to betray Him, He told them, and they totally missed that too.
A while later, He and eleven of His disciples went out to Gethsemane. He allowed Peter, James, and John to go with Him a little further and asked them to watch and pray with Him. I expect that they still didn’t grasp what was happening or they probably couldn’t have slept. Here Jesus was surrounded by His closest friends, but He was functionally alone during His greatest trial. He woke them up a couple of times and then finally let them sleep, knowing they would need their rest to get through the days ahead.
I can only imagine the terror they felt when they were rudely awakened by an angry mob wielding swords and torches. Peter sprang into action, taking his own sword and cutting off a soldier’s ear. He no doubt thought this was when Jesus would rise up and overthrow the Roman government, with some help from His followers of course. But He could not have been more mistaken. Instead, Jesus told Peter to put his sword away. Then He healed the soldier’s ear!
Later that evening, as Peter was in the distance, trying to see what would become of Jesus, he denied three times that he had known the One that he had once called Lord. After hearing the rooster crow, Peter’s heart smote him, and he wept in remorse. Judas, on the other hand, realizing that he had made a grave mistake, went out and hung himself. Jesus would have graciously forgiven Judas, but instead of asking, Judas ended his life.
Scripture doesn’t record where most of the other disciples were at this point. I expect they had gone into hiding. And who could blame them? The Romans were not a people that one would want to spar with. If they arrested Jesus, it wouldn’t be long before they would go after His followers.
And so the evening ends. Jesus is on trial, His followers are scattered. One disciple is dead, and one is full of remorse. Surely, things can’t get any worse. Or can they?
