For Lord’s Day, May 24, 2014

Dear Saints,

There is a song getting a lot of airplay on the Christian radio that my family and I have enjoyed singing along to while driving lately, and the refrain has been on my mind a lot with where God is bringing both sermons (and even the bulletin quote) this Lord’s Day, “I Am a Difference Maker”. Above is the band’s official video.   Here’s a video of a live performance at Austin City Limits:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3hwk6VRMzc
And here’s a particularly nice live performance of the song:

A disclaimer: one of my daughters and I read the lyrics and each concluded, “I don’t get it.”  So I almost abandoned using the song for this week’s e-devotion. But it had touched my heart so much with what it had meant to me (and I like the style), that I searched for “what’s behind the song”.  I found an article that (while I still have some confusion or perhaps I’d give other qualifications) on the whole helps to understand and appreciate the song.  What songwriter Bear Rinehart shares about is behind his writing the song is important for us to consider with the sermons tomorrow, “Express a Good Profession”, and “Live a Good Report” with the main concern to witness to King Jesus’ rule over us and the world.

You can read the whole article here.  Following are some excerpts that should challenge us about why we do what we do, or more importantly, for whom (and some times we will find we have idols we need to lay down and bury):

This song is my story of trying to understand my role in God’s plan. We were on tour with a secular artist, Taylor Swift, playing to 20,000 and even 50,000 people per night. We felt like we were doing what we were supposed to be doing. Despite our efforts, I didn’t feel like we were having the impact we are called to have.

I think God was asking us at this time, “What are you doing this for? Are you doing it for Me?” …

We don’t need to be concerned about what happens after we’ve given up this gift we have to God. That was really powerful for us. We had ambition and let that take too much of a priority in things that led us down a road that wasn’t good.  I think that in trying to re-prioritize, God wants us to sacrifice those things, those idols in our lives. Some idols for us were wondering what the outcome was going to be, that we had the upper hand or maybe we were the best band out there, or we thought we were the most clever at it.

I feel like the beginning of the song is us asking ourselves are we really difference makers. How valuable are we, really?

Brethren, may we live our Christian profession with with a lifestyle like Christ and Peter command to make a valuable difference for Him:

• Matthew 5:16: Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
• 1 Peter 2:12: Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Too many Christians are content with the status quo, and thus make little meaningful or lasting impact in the world for God.  May you and I, by the way we live our lives, be difference maker witnesses in this world for Jesus Christ.

Semper Reformanda,

Pastor Grant