David George Montalvo | Communicate Christ

Emasculated Sky Fairy Or Resident Hope?

• Why do bad things happen to good people?
• Where's God in the midst of evil?
• If there is some kind of person in charge of this planet - are they sleeping?
• Are they off smoking?
• Where are they?

These are the questions that an unbelieving world asks of a Christian. Do you have an answer? Can you explain the mystery of faith? Can you make sense of the Jesus we worship?

Does your version of God sound like some sort of emasculated sky fairy waving a magic wand blessing western Christians with health & wealth while a lost & dying world seeks?

Or does your explanation of our holy faith communicate the resident hope extended to all who'll believe in Jesus Christ in a hell bound world?

Isaac Slade of "The Fray" expressed the meaning of the lyrics to his hit song "You Found Me":

There’s some difficult circumstances my family and friends have been going through over the past year or so and can be overwhelming.

It wears on me.

It demands so much of my faith to keep believing, keep hoping in the unseen.

Sometimes the tunnel has a light at the end, but usually they just look black as night. This song is about that feeling, and the hope that I still have, buried deep in my chest.

If there is some kind of person in charge of this planet - are they sleeping? Smoking? Where are they? I just imagined running into God standing on a street corner like Bruce Springsteen, smoking a cigarette, and I'd have it out with him."

The Fray - New Music - More Music Videos

Here are the lyrics to the song; the desperation and angst are glaringly obvious.

I found God on the corner of 1st & Amistad,
Where the west was all but won
All alone, smoking his last cigarette
I said where you've been he said ask anything
Where were you
When everything was falling apart
When all my days were spent by the telephone
Never ring and all I needed was a call
Never came to the corner of 1st & Amistad

Lost and insecure
You found me you found me
Lying on the floor
Surround me surround me
Why'd you have to wait
Where were you where were you
Just a little late
You found me you found me

But in the end everyone ends up alone
Losing her the only one whose ever known
Who I am who I'm not who I wanna be
My way to know how lost you will be next to me

Early morning city breaks
I've been calling
For years and years and years and years
And you've never left me messages
Never send me no letters (All 66 Books of the Bible?)
You've got some kind of nerve
Taking all I want

A world is waiting for our response. Are you ready to answer back full of faith and in the power of the Holy Spirit?

"Be ready to spread the word whether or not the time is right. Point out errors, warn people, and encourage them. Be very patient when you teach." 2 Timothy 4:2

I know as for me, I need to ramp and amp it up; I want to be ready to share my faith with people who need to be "found."

I Luv Ferlin Husky!

Elvis stole his little sneer from this guy! Lyle Lovett stole his hair from this guy! The Beatles' skinny black ties, yup, this guy started that!

Lecrae Loves Pastor John Piper Too

lecrae,john piper

After years of "to the window, to the wall" krunk hip hop from the likes of Lil Jon, the Word of God called me to listen to a different standard of music. So I tossed my blatantly unChrist-like hip hop out da doe then cruised on over to the scroll for some fresh tunes that would tickle my rap ears...

The friendly folks over at the scroll suggested Lecrae! I said, LeWhat? I've been hooked ever since.

What I really appreciate about Lecrae is his commitment to not watering down the gospel. He is to rap what John Piper and Mark Driscoll are to preaching, these men all speak the truth and they don't water anything down.

So if you are in the mood for some rap, check this freebie song out, it won't disappoint.

Note: this song is inspired by a sermon by John Piper but still may be too much for the average whitey to handle.

Head Turn

“…And they glorified God because of me.” – Galatians 1:24

 

During my Bible reading today I ran across a verse speaking of the Apostle Paul, a church planter who lived a few thousand years ago. At one time in his life, he hated "followers of the way" so much that he got approval from his religious leaders to amass a private campaign of death and destruction against them.

 

The Bible records how in one city, he watched on as a Christ follower was literally stoned to death. This guy was hard core. He believed he was doing good. He believed he was bringing about the end of something that would pollute the truth of his belief system.

 

He was wrong.

 

This story reminded me first of how I used to persecute Christians. Yes, I once actually picked on and made fun of Christians. Years ago, I was an extremely dedicated Jehovah's Witness. Yup! It's true. I was soo committed to my understanding that I would skip school to go knock on doors.

 

I wanted to make sure that if angels were really marking doors of people who are friendly to the good news we carried from home to home that therefore we knocked on as many doors as possible. I didn't want destruction to come to any.

 

Occasionally, I would come across the home of a Christian who would shoo me away after being unable to bear my questions of them and their faith. I would literally attack their faith and show their lack of understanding of the scriptures.

 

I was wrong.

 

Then later after reading the above verse (see top of page) I thought of Head, the former guitarist of Korn; an alternative metal band whose songs of sex, drugs, and wickedness literally called out to alienated and confused kids beckoning them to join the mindless selfish immoral freak parade.

 

Like Paul who converted to the very faith he sought to undermine, Head turned from being the Pied Piper of a faithless generation to becoming a radical Jesus follower.

 

Head was wrong.

 

But like Paul whose past preceded him before heading to Jerusalem, Head's past was also a stark contradiction of his former self. Head now filled his heart with God's word and prayed for the Holy Spirit to fill him and use him.

 

Those who once knew Head as a demon-possessed (his own words) drug infested degenerate do now praise God for the radical conversion to the faith - true religion.

 

Are you wrong?

 

Let God's power set you free from your own inability to become anything better. Be transformed into someone new whose nature and character are made pure before God.

Don't Run Away - Step Out In Faith

On rare occasions, an artist comes along with a haunting hook and action-inspiring lyric that encapsulates the Jesus mandate to urgently and genuinely share faith. Phil Wuerffel, an impassioned and talented friend, whose tool of choice is an acoustic guitar, has done exactly that with the recent release of his song, "Don't Run."

Acoustic Garage-Fi Version [ Download Don't-Run.mp3 ]

Here's a smigion of Phil's well-written song... 

"Lifting Up A Prayer For Your Salvation,
You Don't Even Care, You're Lost To This Temptation,
I Will Not Forget To Bring You To HIM Ceaselessly..."

"So, Don't Run Too Far Away From HIM,
I Don't Want You To Miss The End,
When We On Glories Wings Will Fly Away From Here..."

This song captures both the God-love we should have for our neighbor as well as the heart-gripping reality of eternity, and is therefore a welcome kick start to a new sermon series at Grace  Community Church entitled, "WALK - Stepping Out In Faith."

When you get the chance, download our upcoming WALK messages at gcc.org/podcast and be encouraged to step out in faith and share the love of Jesus with someone new.