A Banjo Doesn't Lie

My son is learning to play the banjo. He is in the early stages where the excitement of novelty leads to non-stop practice, but also reveals the noise of inexperience. There are moments as he practices, when a note or chord are struck true and the ensuing sound is pleasant. However, this truth quickly fades as the noise of error takes over. As my wife and I proudly listened to him struggle to find the truth, she commented, “An instrument doesn’t lie.” A very astute point! The joy of hearing pleasant tones of music, regardless of one’s belief structure, would seem to be a universal acknowledgement. It would not seem excessively presumptuous to say that every sane person enjoys music and although preferences may vary as to the genre, all people demand that their music be true. 

Why then does this reality that is a sine qua non for music fail to translate into other areas of life? Take, for example, the area of morality. If we were to listen to the dominant voices of society, we would be led to believe that immorality is a fluid reality, a thing always mutating according to the progress being made in its environment. Today’s loftiest voices seem to be saying that there is no “true” sound when it comes to the note of human behavior. The impact that these societal authorities are having is clear according to resent surveys. In a USA TODAY article Cathy Payne references a Pew survey which indicates that currently 60% of Americans say that homosexuality should be accepted. This number is up from 49% in 2007. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/06/04/homosexuality-acceptance-countries/2387943/ 

Why the increase? Why is the trend increasing in the direction of acceptance and not in the direction of disapproval? Some might claim that the answer to these questions lies in the reality that educated and cultured people are evolving away from the bigotry and narrow-mindedness of their petty ancestors. While those weak-minded schleppers refuse to accept the inevitability of sexual liberation, the free-thinking, nose raising elites sit and scoff. So who is right? Surveys simply reflect trends in the way people are behaving or thinking. Simply being on the majority side of an issue does not guarantee being right? It only guarantees that certain groups of people hold similar views. 

If we are to know the sound of truth we must acknowledge that it will certainly not manifest itself through information attained by surveys. It will not magically fall from the sky into the minds of a few spiritual, or for that matter, academic elites who will then manipulate the masses into naively following them. Truth is not going to be under the authority of a political party ready to serve its wishes. Truth will be manifest through the created order of things. It will be known through everyone and everything accurately reflecting the image of the Creator. Therefore, to know the truth in music or morality, demands a knowledge of its source, a source many throughout time have professed as God. 

The biblical writer of Hebrews identifies this source at the beginning of his letter, he writes, “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.” logos4:CopyBibleVerses;ref=BibleESV.Heb1.1-4

Indeed, according to sacred scripture the source of truth was revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. Therefore, to know the truth is to know Him. The reality that the lines between right and wrong, morality and immorality are being progressively blurred is a sobering sign that the rejection of Jesus Christ, God’s own Son, continues with unabated passion still. The boldness at which He is rejected is as dominant today as it has ever been. The proud who refuse to humble themselves before Him seem to feel as though the more boldly and confidently they rebel, the more they can ease their troubled conscience. However, this is the ultimate practice in futility.

The good news for all who have humble themselves before God’s anointed ONE, who are  staying the course and who continue fervently seeking Him is that they are on the side of eternal truth. The ONE who has called us has also promised us that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life and that no one can come to THE FATHER, accept through HIM. (John 14:6) 

We can learn so much from the simplest things. A banjo, when played according to the truth, makes beautiful music. Even so, a human being, when reflecting the image by which she was made, makes a pure and beautiful life. 

Seeking the Sound of Truth,

Pastor Gibbs

All In

In the final chapter of Ephesians we learn of that all important element in our spiritual journey, namely, warfare. Obviously, this is not a reference to the warfare that we are so accustomed to hearing about in the media. The warfare which Paul refers to is spiritual in nature, that is, it belongs to a realm that is only recognizable to those who are “all in” the game. 

Paul mentions in chapter 2 that, “God...made us alive together with Christ...and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (2:4-6 NASB) He describes those who had been spiritually dead (2:1) being made alive or becoming alive in Christ Jesus. These are the warriors whom have been brought out of the darkness and into the light from which they are able to distinguish between the lord of darkness and the LORD of LIGHT. 

So the command to “put on” the entire armor of God, the weapons of spiritual warfare, can resonate only with those who have been called by the eternal COMMANDER and CHEIF, the LORD JESUS CHRIST. What Paul says, beginning in verse 10 of chapter six, is essential for the spiritual warrior. He writes, “...be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11. Put on the full armor of God...” (6:10-11) He reminds the good soldier that to serve well requires full surrender to the power and strength of God. The spiritual warrior must have relieved himself from depending on the master of self. He has surrendered himself as a servant who is depending on God’s strength, alone. Along with full dependence upon the Spirit of God, the faithful fighter must also be diligent to wear every piece of armament that has been made available to him. By this Paul succinctly implies that no victory is possible without the use of everything made available to us by GOD.

This battle that we have been called to must no longer be thought of as “our” battle, or as “me verses the devil.” The battle we have joined is a long standing battle that transcends the ages, it is the battle between good and evil, between the eternal GOD and the rebellious angels of darkness. We know nothing of this war, except what we learn from the Spirit of God and from being in the battle fully equipped. We grow in wisdom as warriors through each battle, great or small, being fully clothed in God’s armor. We learn to wear it, to use it, to command it. We become, in the truest sense of the word, spiritual warriors for the eternal KINGDOM. 

The greatest danger we face is being lulled into thinking the enemy is weak or tired. It is essential for us to remain alert and always consider that we are certainly being targeted for destruction. At times Satan’s means will be subtle and barely noticeable, though no less affective. Other times, his schemes will be severely felt. Nevertheless, God promises us that the victory has already been won for us by Jesus Christ. This victory is ours, but we must claim it by using the same weapons that our CHAMPION, himself used. We must always walk by faith and recognize our hope is entirely in God. 

So the question for each of us to ask is, are we all in? 

Seeking to be all in!

Pastor Gibbs