July 18, 2003
I Saw Jump 5 Last Night
For the first time thus far,
my daughter dragged me to a concert instead of me dragging her to one. As she sat on my shoulders looking over the small mass of squealing little girls, I thought to myself, 'Hmmm. Do I have the Lip Sync-ing To Tracks talk tonight? Or do I wait a few years to bring it up?'
Ha ha ha ha.
It's sad to look at the quality of entertainment sometimes. But hey, my daughter and her friend had a blast (even if Kaela, sporting a black Still Breathing t-shirt, wanted to leave and go play mini-golf halfway through the set). So, I'll put off the "That's not real entertainment/skill/talent" talk until later...
Sometimes I get slack in my Bible reading. I've read through the book entirely a few times and it seems oh so familiar some times. While that's good, it can also feed complacency. Well, this morning I was reading through John chapter 11 & 12 and it was wonderful to see the Living Word feel alive to me. It didn't seem boring or "Been There / Done That" at all... Sure, I heard a quote from a book or a sermon when I went over the shortest verse in the Bible - "Jesus wept." The comment about the fact that "He didn't have to weep." (Implying that He knew what was going to happen in a few minutes with the resurrection of Lazarus, but that He chose to cry...) Yeah, I heard those familiar "voices" as I read, but I also had new angles to chew on as well. That is the kinda freshness that is exciting. The fact that Jesus prayed out loud some things for the benefit of those within hearing distance was a nice affirmation for me. Many times I pray out loud with the introduction, "Father, we come to You in the Name of Jesus," because it's such a good reminder to myself and those around me of proper doctrine and an understanding of the trinity and the roles of God. It's easy to think, "That's not praying! That's preaching to those around you. How distasteful!" Well, while I'm certainly not Jesus the Messiah, His actions do validate this method to a certain degree. So, that tiny lil' tidbit was cool to chew on.
Then Jesus went on to talk about Himself being "lifted up," which signified the way He would die. My mind flashed to how much I don't like that AOG favorite, "Lift Jesus Higher" (which goes, "...lift Jesus higher, lift Jesus higher, lift Him up for the world to see / He said if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto Me..."). If the song was sung properly, we would really be saying, "Crucify Jesus higher, crucify Jesus higher. Crucify Him high so the world can see..." Ouch. That's just a bad song. Bad doctrine. Good intentions. Bad results. My mind also flashed to Keith Green's death when Jesus came to the point where He said, "...unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies..." Well, I never said my mind didn't wander when I read the Scriptures, now, did I?
Ha ha ha.
