Musical Monday

I wanted to use the song "What If" by Nichole Nordman today. I really like this song because I have trouble sharing my faith. Not because I don't believe, but because I can get pretty worked up and emotional. I have taken my time to research various things, but I am not really good at regurgitating what I have learned. Basically, I am not a very good debater.

I get tired of being thought of as 'closed minded', or that I am a believer because Jesus is now my 'crutch'. I have also found that even when the Holy Spirit is speaking through me (those moments I think, "whoa, where do that come from!"), and the other person just dismisses the point, I can get very frustrated. And yet we are not to grow tired doing this very thing. We may not all be gifted in hospitality or evangilism, but when opportunities present itself we should move forward in it. I am not perfect in my 'execution' of this either...

"What If" by Nichole Nordeman

What if you’re right
And he was just another nice guy
What if you’re right
What if it’s true
They say the cross will only make a fool of you
And what if it’s true?

What if he takes his place in history
With all the prophets and the kings
Who taught us love and came in peace
But then the story ends
What then?

But what if you’re wrong
What if there’s more
What if there’s hope you never dreamed of hoping for
What if you jump?
And just close your eyes?
What if the arms that catch you, catch you by surprise?
What if He’s more than enough?
What if it’s love?

What if you dig
Way down deeper than your simple-minded friends
What if you dig
What if you find
A thousand more unanswered questions down inside
That’s all you find?

What if you pick apart the logic
And begin to poke the holes
What if the crown of thorns is no more
Than folklore that must be told and retold?

You’ve been running as fast as you can
You’ve been looking for a place you can land for so long
But what if you’re wrong?

How many of you have had these kind of discussions? I know I have had many, including painful ones with my own family. But I also have had one that makes me joyfully hopeful.

I had one final such conversation with my mother as she lay dying in a hospital in Hinesville, GA in 2000. You see, my mother had two sisters (one has since passed away as well) that believed "all roads lead to heaven", and apparently my Grandfather was not a "Leave it to Beaver" type (to put it mildly). For years I could not persuade my mother that either Jesus Christ is a liar, or He is the truly the One. As my mother lay dying, not able to respond beyond a weak nod of the head and meeting of the eyes, my then sister-in-law started talking to her about her new age beliefs. I just stood there and let her go on and on, but then she left and I had chance to share.

I point blank asked her, "you do know that there is a difference between what was saying, and what I am saying, right?" She looked at me, and nodded her head. I then asked if she would liek me to read to her from the Bible and she nodded again. It was the last thing she would communicate to me. In the end, do I know if she accepted Christ as her Savior? I do not know it first hand, but others have told me so. I hope it is so. One day I will know for sure.

I encourage those who may stumble across this humble blog, and this post, take the time to research things. Lee Strobel has been helpful to me, so has Robert Cornuke and his BASE Institute.

The one thing I have learned is that it is all of God. No matter if you believe in pre-destination, or free-will, I thnk we can all agree that if it were not for God opening our eyes to the gospel, if it were not for the divine plan of redemption, it would all be for naught.

I may not be able to convince someone that there is an eternal decision to be made, but God can reveal it to them... and that is my prayer.



Verse for today:
Ephesians 2:4-10, ESV
But [2] God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.