Being In Tune

I love music. There is so much that comes from music for me personally such as guitars, rhythm, and lyrics. Other than family, friends, God (which includes church, youth, Jesus, and seminary), and sports there is probably nothing I love more than music. Whether it was 80's "hair" metal in the late 80's and early 90's or hard rock and heavy metal that I listened to in the 90's and 2000's even though my parents told me not to (sorry Mom), or current contemporary and Christian hard rock music-I have always loved music.

So for the season of Lent, I thought it would be different to approach it from a "musical" perspective. I am going to look at things such as being in tune, picking a good teacher, practicing, how to you define your talent level, and going LIVE! So let's begin.

Then the Spirit led Jesus up into the wilderness so that the devil might tempt him. After Jesus had fasted for forty days and forty nights, he was starving.  The tempter came to him and said, “Since you are God’s Son, command these stones to become bread.”  Jesus replied, “It’s written, People won’t live only by bread, but by every word spoken by God.”  After that the devil brought him into the holy city and stood him at the highest point of the temple. He said to him, “Since you are God’s Son, throw yourself down; for it is written, I will command my angels concerning you, and they will take you up in their hands so that you won’t hit your foot on a stone.” Jesus replied, “Again it’s written, Don’t test the Lord your God.” Then the devil brought him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.  He said, “I’ll give you all these if you bow down and worship me.” Jesus responded, “Go away, Satan, because it’s written, You will worship the Lord your God and serve only him.” The devil left him, and angels came and took care of him.  ~Matthew 4:1-11

So what is the first thing a novice or expert guitarist does when they pick up a guitar? Before anything can be done to play music correctly, the musician must make sure the guitar is in tune. If the guitar (or any instrument) is not in tune then you are already starting off behind and will be less likely to be able to play a good sounding song, much less a nice sounding riff or chord. So it doesn't matter if someone is a novice or an expert, if the instrument is not in tune then it is going to be much more difficult to play good music. Case in point, I had the youth praise band intentionally play Mighty to Save out of tune and off beat on Wednesday. They are an amazing groups but being out of tune made the song sound.....well awful.

What if we looked at our faith in the same way? We are God's instrument but if we are not in tune with God then it is going to be much more difficult to do any good in this world. We started the season of Lent last week and lent is a time for reflection and a time for the laying down of things. We reflect on what we can do to become closer to God. We lay down those things which interfere or distract us from our relationship with God and even those closest to us. The purpose of laying down distractions is not to punish us but is to give us a greater opportunity to be in tune with what God has to say to us. What if we lived in tune with God's plan? What does that look like? What must we do first?  What if we looked to Jesus? Just before Jesus began his public ministry he was tempted by the devil or tempter. He emerged from these temptations, this solitude and began his public ministry. He was now in tune with what God was asking him to do. He had to be tempted and rid himself of distractions so He could perform his public ministry to the best of his abilities. So during Lent, we must rid ourselves of distractions so that we may be in tune with God. And that plan may involve all of the practices that Jesus participated in: silence, solitude, prayer, reflection, and knowing scripture. We must start somewhere so that we are in tune with God. And to start, we don't have to be an expert theologian, we don't have to have the best teacher all the time, we don't even have to practice all the time (although we should), but we must start with the right mindset. We must start by being in tune with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. My challenge to you today is to memorize the following short bible verse and look at it everyday during lent:
              
 He must increase and I must decrease.~John 3:30

It's a pretty short and simple verse that really encapsulates what our attitude should be during the season of Lent and throughout the rest of the year. Write it on your mirror (preferably with expo marker or lipstick) so that you see it at least a couple of times a day during this time of reflection. And take the verse to heart so that you can be in tune with what God has to say to you.

Grace & Peace
Kevin

A Letter to Bill

A letter to Bill:

I lost a friend. Not a life long friend but a friend from the day that we met about eight years ago shortly after I arrived in Granbury. Bill, you were someone who always asked me how I was doing. and you took initiative to introduce yourself to me shortly after I arrived here at Acton. Through the last few years things that seemed simple now I realize meant more. I loved and will miss our competitive banter related to your Dallas Cowboys and my Denver Broncos. Just simple text messages and subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) jabs we took at one another involving our teams. I still kick myself that I allowed you to take Peyton Manning in our fantasy draft two years ago and then he proceeded to have the best season ever for a quarterback. And you never let me forget how dumb I was for not drafting him. I should have known better. I thought those funny, sarcastic quips would be the lasting memories we shared. But they are not, and for that I am thankful. There are two much more meaningful examples of our friendship.

You asked me to go play golf time and time again. The last time we played in February you insisted that I bring Carson along because you knew he was taking golf lessons. You were impressed that he actually played all eighteen holes and I know that was because you were talking to him, giving him pointers, and encouraging him throughout the day. He still talks about that day and how much it meant to play golf with his dad and Mr. Bill. Thank you for inviting a six year old to play golf and take a day out of your busy schedule for him and me. The next time Carson and I play golf we will think of you.

A couple of weeks ago I came to visit you in the hospital and you asked if I would read scripture with you. We sat there and read texts from Matthew, Luke, and James for about an hour. But it did not seem that long at all because we were so engaged in our discussion. You shared how you felt that you were being called to read more scripture these last few weeks. You asked me if I believed in miracles and if I had witnessed any. I said yes and told you that the miracles I have seen are when someone who doesn't know Christ comes to know Christ in a true, deep, and meaningful way. In all my years, there have been few more meaningful moments than that discussion we shared that afternoon.

What I wished I had told you and hope you know now is this: you are that miracle that you asked about. In every sense of the word you are that miracle. You never stopped fighting. You never stopped believing. You remained faithful because that is who you are. You led people to Christ by the way that you lived and by the person that you are. You were one of the nicest and most genuine people I have ever met, it's simply who you were. I do not understand why you have left us so soon but I know that you now know why. Although it hurts right now I have faith that one day I will understand as well. You live on through these and many other memories and the influence you made on those that you loved.

Grace & Peace Always
Kevin