To The Creative Heart I Ask: How Can We Serve Two Masters?

How much do you love Jesus? According to many of the posts by youth in the social media I follow it would seem there are a lot of us. But there is something that disturbs me about these various blogs and about my own life. We say we love Jesus, a heart response to his love for us, but then we champion things in this world that fly in the face of our Lord and Saviour. I am beginning to ask myself how I can follow Jesus and participate in the culture of my times.

It is hard for me. I consider myself an artist. I am creative with a creative mind and heart. I am not satisfied to be a consumer. I want to produce and I want to produce all the time. My chosen canvas is a blank page and my instrument is words but because I am what God created me to be, I am creative with whatever I do. I write poetry, short stories, plays, musicals, blogs, but I also create with photography, food, drawings (not great at that), design. I also create with business, but I make a lousy manager. Just ask any of my friends and family and they will tell you that I am never satisfied with how things are; I am always trying to make it more. But if I am not aware of the weaknesses of such a heart and mind, I can easily be destroyed by the enemy.

I am attracted to anything that is creative, offbeat, having a different perspective. I get overwhelmed by dance, am moved by music, absorbed by photography. I am drawn to things that force me to look at the ordinary in a different way. I think a lot of people are. I think that the adolescent heart, constantly looking for definition and exploration, is very vulnerable to such things. The problem is that our culture has been infected by sin because it is crafted by our sin nature. At one time the Church was a huge influence in culture and creativity but now the depravity of man has become the greater influence. It has become impossible to participate in the culture of our time and follow Jesus.

Now I know you are reading this thinking you are an exception. You aren't. I sincerely love the Lord my God with all my heart, all my soul and all my strength. My passion for Jesus is immense. My jealousy for my Father's righteousness is overwhelming. Yet, I am easily swayed and influenced by the creativity of even the depraved mind. I do not lack discipline. I do not lack knowledge. I do not lack an off button. But just as Eve looked and saw it was good and then took, if I allow myself to look I will be attracted and I will participate. If you are willing to be honest, you too will admit that things linger in you after listening to certain songs, watch certain movies, look at certain pictures, read certain books.

Art is powerful and so is the culture of the creative. It has an influence on us. It sticks with us. It changes us. And now that this culture is being further crafted by the depravity of man, there is far greater danger in it. There is no greater tool for shaping the heart and changing the mind of our society than the 30 minute sitcom. All for the sake of laughter and entertainment we allow our perspective to be shifted. It won't happen after the first, second, or third episode but like a slow dripping faucet it will change you. It wasn't too long ago that suggesting a man and woman have sex outside of marriage would never have been found on television, but now we are "liberated" from such restraints and we actually see boyfriends and girlfriends in bed together. Then we wonder why our youth move in with their boyfriends and girlfriends. The depravity today goes far beyond  sex outside of marriage, and we watch it and are entertained.

It is true that he who is in us is far greater than he who is in the world but it doesn't mean that we should continue to put ourselves under the influence of he who is in the world. It means that we have nothing to fear in this world but we still need to receive our sustenance from the Vine, who is Jesus. My creativity must be defined, shaped, molded by the righteousness of my Father. Such creativity is limitless in Christ which is far different than the seemingly unlimited depravity of this world.

If you are young and you have actually read this far it means that you are seeking answers in your own quest to express your creative nature. You have choices to make, as do I. I do not see it is possible to be influenced by both the Spirit and the world. I do not see it is possible to serve two masters. You know that Jesus said we can't. I do not see that we have any choice but to turn our backs on the creativity of the depraved and seek the righteousness of our Father. He is the one who gave us this character; he is the one who will feed it to grow and flourish for his glory. It is time to turn away from the fruit we must not eat and find our joy in our King. It is time to make a choice over entertainment.
 

Here's The Bath Water, Now Where Did That Baby Go To?

Have you ever gotten so involved with something that you have lost sight of everything that is important in your life? Of course you have; we all have. It is like the husband who mourned the death of his wife and built her a grand hall in memorial. However, he got so lost in the project that he ended up throwing out her body in the process. So now we have the Taj Mahal as a reminder of what happens when we lose sight of our purpose in the midst of the journey. When this happens to me I go back to three places in the Bible to regain my footing: the Psalms, Proverbs and the gospel of John.

Psalm 1 is a great grounding psalm. It reminds us of the greatest priority in our lives, that living is not enough, and living for God must be our center:

God blesses those people
    who refuse evil advice
    and won’t follow sinners
    or join in sneering at God.
2 Instead, the Law of the Lord
    makes them happy,
    and they think about it
    day and night. (Psalm 1:1-2, CEV)

It is far too easy to take short cuts in life, to set aside what is right to gain personally in our finances. But righteousness is important to God and effects our relationship when it is not our priority. But this righteousness does not come from the law but instead from a love for the Lord. It is like any other love. When we love someone we would never desire to do them wrong. God's love for us has given us a life possible through grace. We do not earn it by living a law. But our heart response is to want to please and honour our God. There is right and there is wrong in life and our love for Jesus will give us a desire to do what is right. This desire for righteousness sets us apart:

They are like trees
    growing beside a stream,
trees that produce
fruit in season
    and always have leaves.
Those people succeed
    in everything they do. (vv. 3-4)

For me, this is the secret of life. I can labour until my dying day and do marginally well for myself. I will be known as a hard worker but it doesn't mean I was fruitful. Many people work hard and see limited success but God has promised to bless the work of the hands of his children. I do not believe this means nominal success. I believe this means fruitfulness in a way that the world will be able to see the hand of God.

This does not mean oodles of money. Success is more than just money so why should be allow this to be our measuring rod? Fruitfulness means abundance in relationships, health, attitude, outlook, love, joy, wisdom and everything else in life. It is not a "getting by" or a "marginal" attitude but a great generosity in everything, including finances. It has been given to us, as God's children to produce abundantly.

That's why I love going back to these verses to get re-established. I need to know that mediocre is not what I have been called to. I need to be reminded that God's plan is so much greater than my own. I need to be reminded that God has greater purposes in my success that just for my sake and yet blessings for me is included in his plan. If I do not feel the creative juices flowing, if I have become unaware of the blessings, if I am feeling drained, then my roots are not in the stream of the water of life. These verses are a warning sign to me. It is like God is holding up a picture to show me what it is suppose to look like.

So, have I lost it? Have I lost the purpose in the busyness of the project? Has my vision so narrowed that I have thrown out the baby while holding on to the bath water? The honest answer for me is yes. But such honesty is only valuable if I am going to do something about it and this blog entry is a beginning step to get back to my first love. A baby step but it is a step. It all comes down to love, a passionate love, a love response in light of what Jesus has done and the Father continues to do every day. I am so thankful for his grace, which never gives up on people like me. I am so thankful for the mercies that are new every morning.

You Know Who You Are

Good morning my friends,

I want to continue with yesterday’s thought as we look at the end of today’s reading. Moses has just given instructions to Israel. They are not of his own thinking but are the direct command of God. Israel is to be a separate people, set aside for the purposes of God, to be a nation of priests who represent him to the world. Then they are told that the community needs things like gold and silver, materials such as fabric and wood. Here there is no command. Here there must be a willingness to give:

“Then the whole Israelite community withdrew from Moses' presence, and everyone who was willing and whose heart moved him came and brought an offering to the LORD for the work on the Tent of Meeting, for all its service, and for the sacred garments. All who were willing, men and women alike, came and brought gold jewelry of all kinds: brooches, earrings, rings and ornaments. They all presented their gold as a wave offering to the LORD. (Exodus 35:20-22)

The only sacrifice and offering that is acceptable to the Lord is that which is given freely and cheerfully. That is what we touched on during Sunday’s teaching. We are never forced to serve our God. We are not forced to give. In fact, if we offer ourselves and our possessions with reluctance our God does not want them. He wants a generous and cheerful people to bring what their hearts compel them to bring. Now consider this:

Then Moses said to the Israelites, "See, the LORD has chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts- to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic craftsmanship. And he has given both him and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, the ability to teach others. He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as craftsmen, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them master craftsmen and designers. (Exodus 35:30-35)

This picks up from yesterday’s thought. There are a few words I want you to consider: “the LORD has chosen”, “he has filled him”, the Spirit, skill, ability, knowledge, “in all kinds of crafts”, to make, to cut, to set, to work, to engage, “the ability to teach”. Do not think for a moment that creativity is not a skill. In fact, it is a skill given and ordained by God. It is a gift. But it goes beyond the actual doing. Along with the ability to do God has also ordained some to teach. This is directly from the LORD just as he has ordained some to preach, to heal, to prophecy. Those who have the ability to work with their hands, to mould materials into beautiful things, who are able to draw, paint, create, who see patterns and designs in the world around them and who can recreate these for others to enjoy, have a special calling. They are wrong to ignore it or think it is not worth much. What such things are worth are beyond measure.

If these craftsmen and artist do not step forward into their calling then how will such things be passed on? We are not all called to such things yet we all have some desire to craft things with our hands. We are not all skilled but we all enjoy doing it. Those anointed by God have the ability to teach us how to be better at it. We need to be taught. How will we ever know if the “greats” still walk among us if they refuse what they have been called to? We need them. We need them to walk in faith, to trust that the LORD will look after them as he looks after the preachers and evangelists. They need to see their calling to be just as important because our God speaks with more than just words. In fact, words often do not convey the deeper truths of our existence with him. Some are great with words, others with numbers, others with ideas and others with their hands.

You know who you are. You know what God has given you the ability to do. You know that you are good at these things. Now accept the purpose of the Spirit, the skills, the abilities and the knowledge. Step forward and take the risk of criticism as the preachers must. Step forward and be willing to walk in faith as the evangelists must. Allow yourself to be guided by the Spirit and see what works of beauty God wants to birth through you. Come to him with generosity in your skills and with a willing heart to serve him in this manner. Come with your sacrifices and offerings.