Modern Parables-Say Something

Say Something

Hello again! So glad to have you all back here, it's been an amazing week, and I can't be more excited to share this with you guys. It is the final installment of the series, so next week we'll be back to normal. I heard our song for this week come on the radio though and instantly knew God had an awesome intention for this post.

So, as I post a link to the song, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVgixOjGhVU) I want you to ask yourself this question while you listen: Why do you have a reason to doubt?

There are many things in life that we come across that can shake our decision making processes. Whether it is an awkward moment, a fear of failure, or even disappointment to meet a desire we have all doubted something could/would happen before. The Bible shows us an example of someone who had a few doubts of their own...let's turn to John 11. (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2011%20&version=NKJV) The passage we are looking at is 44 verses long, so please follow the link if you are currently unable to reach a bible.

There are two characters we want to look at in this passage to truly understand the meaning:

• Martha
• Mary

Martha, a sister to the man Lazarus who has died in this passage. A personal friend of Jesus, a mourning sister, a worker, and most importantly a believer in Christ. When we look at this passage we see Jesus arriving at the grave site of Lazarus, and Martha greets Him. She tells Him that had Jesus been there, her brother would not have died. When Jesus answers her saying her brother will rise again, she responds with even more knowledge of Jesus's teaching. He tells her a truth about Himself and she SAYS that she believes. 

Is this you? You believe in Jesus, you have seen Him perform miracles and yet you don't see why He hasn't solved this problem? Martha knew but did not truly believe. Our song opens with "Say something, I'm giving up on you. I'll be the one if you want me to, anywhere I would have followed you." Martha knew that Jesus could have done something, and so she feels the need to question Him here on WHY He didn't come in time to save Lazarus. She is giving up on His ability to save...

BUT WHAT ABOUT MARY?? She brings hope to us right? She too comes running and throws herself at the feet of Jesus, telling Him how she wishes He had come sooner for she knows that Jesus could have saved her brother. How does Jesus respond to this act of desperation? He sees her compassion, her pain, her belief, and He weeps. He asks Mary to take Him to the body. She had no expectations. You see when Martha shows up, she says that, "But even I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you." Mary is not concerned with this, in her pain all she wants is the comfort that Jesus brings. 

"And I will swallow my pride. You're the one that I love, and I'm saying goodbye." The song clues us into this image of someone who is walking away. Someone who has lost all hope, THE WRITER HAS GIVEN UP ON LOVE. And yet we have to ask....have we given up on love? Are we giving up on a Savior who loved us to the point of death?

Sometimes we look to God to make Himself real to us. We just need Him to say something....anything. In the silence though we wonder if He is there. We decide like Martha in the story to give him one last chance, we roll away the stone and look into the darkness of the tomb, into the darkness of our pain, into the darkness of our doubt.....and we wait. Then Jesus, calls into the darkness with a voice of compassion, because it literally pains Him to see His loved ones, YOU, hurt.

So why are you doubting Jesus right now? What are you expecting? Are you wondering why Jesus didn't show up, why He let this pain go on? Are you thinking that Lazarus will come walking out of the tomb? I think there is one thing that this passage and this song teach us, so if you hear nothing else hear this:

• Sadly we all live in a broken and sinful world, in broken and sinful bodies, with broken and sinful expectations at times. When God shows up, and how God shows up, will ALWAYS shatter all expectations. Say something, so what could happen if we stop restricting what that something could be?

Thank you for reading and God bless.

-rcrawford

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Modern Parables-I'm in a Hurry

I'm in a Hurry (And Don't Know Why)

Good Afternoon! I hope all of you have had a marvelous week. I know it's not been a full week since the last post, but I'm trying to get back onto a consistent schedule so that these posts don't seem so randomly placed. This week I felt that it was necessary to step away from the pop feel that the songs seemed to lean towards, so a little country twang is what we'll be listening to this week. 

Our song is titled I'm in a Hurry (And Don't Know Why) originally by Alabama. In 2013 a band called Florida Georgia Line released a cover and it can be found here for those unfamiliar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Htr2-u64aMs

How many of you have had a busy weekend? A weekend of running from one place to another? I once met a business man who was absolutely opposed to vacation. I chuckled and asked him why, and he gave this response: Vacation is just ridiculous. Why would I want to take a week off so that I can work twice as hard the week before or after? 

In Mark 10:13-16 we find Jesus giving an interesting teaching. 

13 People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” 16 And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

When I go to my church at home I love to sit in the balcony. You get to observe all kinds of people, today though I got to see one of my favorite things. There was a baby who appeared to be about a year old and she was as happy as could be. The speaker was not so important to her, but soft chairs for her to sink her teeth into? It was Christmas all over again for the little girl. 

The chorus to our song this week goes like this: I'm in a hurry to get things done, oh I rush and rush until life's no fun, All I really gotta do is live and die, but I'm in a hurry and don't know why. This sounds like such a sad life right? The songwriter is openly saying how useless he feels life is. Like a prisoner he is bound to his actions everyday with no purpose behind them. Is this so far off from us though?

I asked at the beginning of the post how many of you have had a busy past few days? Why are you busy? The disciples try to keep the children from swarming to Jesus, but He tells them to let the children come. The children had no separate agenda, they more than likely didn't know what was to come after seeing Jesus. This is unimportant though, for now they just wanted to be with Jesus.

I like to think I am learning to grasp what busy means. Living in college there is always another club or organization that wants more of your time. Why are these important though? Relationships? Resumé Builders? Can't we fall into the same habits with our Christian lives though? The second verse of the song talks about being on time, but why are you on time for church? Is it respectful or is it because you want to chat with friends before service? Maybe it's because the living God is in that place and you just can't wait to get there? Don't worry, I am not pulling a holier than thou statement here because I too fall into the habit of rushing to church for those exact same reasons. 

Challenge the process. Take a break, do something to break the day-to-day schedule up. The disciples were trying to keep the children away from Jesus. Only the wise and learned should be around Jesus. Only those who are intelligent enough to comprehend His teachings. Jesus told them that this was not true. These children just wanted to be with Jesus. It wasn't another stop on their schedule. It wasn't a service they had to attend before they started homework. It wasn't the thing keeping them from lunch. It was Jesus. 

So why WOULD I want to take a week off of work so that I can work twice as hard the next? After bouncing and biting for nearly 45 minutes of the service this morning, the little girl in front of me rested. Because sometimes we all need to stop, break the monotony of schedule, and find Jesus. I promise it makes the schedule worth living. So that way when you look at why you live and die, I pray you can see Jesus is the reason why. 

Thank you for reading and God bless!

Modern Parables-Brave

Brave

First off, Happy New Year to all! I hope you all had a fantastic evening bringing in the New Year. It's nice to see you back here. I must admit, I've been struggling with this topic for awhile now, so I promise I am not coming from a standpoint of mastery. 

The song this week is Brave by Sara Bareilles, if you have not heard this song before it can be heard here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyAfjUHlFSM

The story we will be looking at alongside the song is found in Daniel 1. Now as the passage is twenty-one verses long I will post a link (lots of links this week) to the passage for you to follow along with. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel+1&version=NIV

What's going on in the passage is that King Nebuchadnezzar has requested some Israelites to be in his service who are of tip top shape. These boys appear and are given a buffet of fantastic foods to eat from while they are readied for the king. This is the kind of buffet that would make an American teenage boy's heart explode with happiness. The Israelites do something very odd though, that is they say that they want vegetables instead of the feast. This brings us to our first point: There is always a choice.

The first verse of Sara's song discusses the power of words. It opens with the line, "You can be amazing, you can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug." Whenever we come across a situation there is always a choice: right or wrong. This sounds so simple, and yet so often we miss it. Whether it be peer pressure or even attitude, we don't see a choice every time. I like to imagine Daniel, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael standing at the end of the buffet table just shocked, then we hear Azariah's stomach growl and the group just looks at him. It doesn't seem to mention a vegetarian option, but due to the Lord's commandments for these four they knew that they weren't' supposed to eat the meat and wine of the king's buffet.

The second point this passage shows us is it won't be easy. The official resists the command of the four at first because he fears that he will get in trouble. The men didn't have to choose to go against the flow, none of the Babylonians would have known otherwise, but they still chose the tougher route. Sara's second verse talks about how we don't always do the brave option. We get paralyzed by fear, but maybe one day we can stand up and be brave.

If you hear nothing else in this blog hear this, God is never going to put something in your path that He hasn't prepared you for. No matter how frightening, uncomfortable, or even painful something might seem God has prepared you to handle it. Not only has He prepared you for it, but He's going to go through it with you, so go for it.

The final thing that this passage shows is God responds. The men took the faithful route, although different, and God grants them wisdom and knowledge. This would later take them to positions of advising that were higher than any others in the kingdom. The bridge to the song goes like this, "And since your history of silence won't do you any good, did you think it would?" We are called to act, and we must do so.

I don't know what situations you are dealing with in your life right now. I can't give you the answer of what is right or wrong to do in them. In fact the right thing might not even be an action at all, it could be an attitude change. Although it can be difficult or painful, we get to rest in one thing before we do anything. That is that we are never alone. The all powerful God who made this life will be right beside you the whole way through.

Thank you for reading and God bless.