Tag: witness

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Sing, Write, Whatever You Do In Life. Offer Your Best.

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Had the good fortune of seeing John Mark McMillan play in Chattanooga last night at The Camp House. If you haven’t caught him on his Tongues of Fire tour, I highly recommend it.

I’ve heard this music scene described as a hipster, Jesus convention, but hey, Jesus loves hipsters, too. Right? And we ARE capable of looking away from the skinny jeans, if we try hard enough. (I think I’m just jealous I can’t fit into skinny jeans.)

Anyways…

I couldn’t help but marvel at a performer so on fire for eternal truths, genuine conversation with his audience.

It was great to see a “younger” audience (I’m dating myself, I know) tied into the deeper topics as well. One song which especially stood out to me, and I hadn’t heard before was titled: Future / Past, and the lyrics are below:

“Future / Past” by John Mark McMillan ::

You hold the reins on the sun and the moon
Like horses driven by kings
You cover the mountains, the valleys below
With the breadth of your mighty wings

All treasures of wisdom and things to be known
Are hidden inside your hand
And in this fortunate turn of events
You ask me to be your friend
You ask me to be your friend

And you,
You are my first
You are my last
You are my future and my past

The constellations are swimming inside
The breadth of your desire
Where could I run, where could I hide
from your heart’s jealous fire

All treasures of wisdom and things to be known
Are hidden inside your hand
And in this fortunate turn of events
You ask me to be your friend
You ask me to be your friend

And you,
You are my first
You are my last
You are my future and my past

You are the beginning and the end”

 

If this were a Sunday school lesson, I’d say ‘Amen,’ and we’d all head home. But, I wanted to bring up the relevance of JMM’s ability to connect with his audience AND deliver a message. The 2 go hand-in-hand. And…he did this in a way I hadn’t seen in a loooong time.

It was refreshing.

He said about halfway through his set that he didn’t know what he’d done before he was writing songs, but he felt like he’d wasted it.

To him, any time prior to songwriting and singing had been squandered.

And, I’m starting to see the need in my own life (writing as an example), to live on purpose. To care for those around me.

I pray the same is happening in your life. Whether it’s singing, songwriting, or whatever gift you have: use it.

It was refreshing to see someone similar in age having such an impact on the world around him. I wanted to post a video of the live environment I was trying to describe above. Hope it works for you:

 

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Integrity – Sleeping Soundly at Night.

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Do you rest peacefully at night?

Not a Serta mattress conversation. (I’m not asking about counting sheep.)

I mean, do you feel at peace, when you lay your head down onto the pillow?

Is there a connectedness between you and the day you toiled through? Did hard work bring you a sense of solace?

There’s a lot to be said for the integrity of a hard day’s work. Farmers can say it – physically, Stock Market workers attest to it – mentally, and especially school teachers – spiritually.

The work yields a bit of satisfaction. Doesn’t it? On some level?

Knowing that you remained steadfast, even during the tantrums that a high schooler might’ve thrown.

Whether you adhere to the Ten Commandments, the Golden Rule, or neither, this bit about integrity is a universal quality we all possess as human beings.

As William Penn wrote, “Right is right, even if everyone is against it, and wrong is wrong, even if everyone is for it.”

Wise man.

So, it doesn’t matter if you are one extreme or another on the Myers – Briggs Personality Test, you are still human and you value honesty, integrity, and mutual respect.

  • Leaving work 15 minutes before the departure time,
  • not logging a vacation day you took,
  • letting someone into the movies without a ticket, etc…these are all ways we can compromise our integrity, and for the believer, our witness.

 

For these reasons, and the love of the Creator, it’s essential that our actions speak louder, and our Yesses be Yes. And our Nos be No.

Maybe we remember 9/11/01, but may we also strive to live with the urgency of the unknown. None of us know our departure date from earth. For this reason alone, integrity should be key to daily decision-making.