Torn

Romans 5+6/Amos 5+6

            I wonder if this whole identity struggle ever leaves. Israel always seemed to have issues with it, Paul addressed it, and it all came back to the Holy Spirit.

            I love Jesus and I like Punk. I love serving Christ and telling people about Him and I love to slam around in the circle pit. I guess it’s hard because the air and persona that goes along with punk isn’t all me. I’m not looking for a fight. I didn’t come off the streets. I don’t hate anybody.

            If I’m supposed to go and be a missionary to a culture perhaps it should always feel a little uncomfortable. I am different because of Christ. That’s not just with the punkers, that’s with anyone who’s not saved. 

The Old-Timers: Soli Deo Gloria Review

The Old-Timers- Soli Deo Gloria

            Fourteen songs, twenty-four and a half minutes. I haven’t picked up a punk record in a while that had an average of less then two minutes per song. The Old Timers’ disc Soli Deo Gloria is a powerhouse of hardcore punk reminiscent of Minor Threat, and The Business. This angst-ridden album reminds me why I got into punk in the first place.

            The crunchy guitars and fast drums are a great companion to the screaming Scottish tinged vocals. The lyrics leave no one safe. The Old-Timers are mad at self-righteous religious folks, poverty, the government, and culture at large. Unlike most bands that just bitch and complain The Old-Timers offer a solution and that solution is Jesus Christ.

            Now stop right there. I know what a lot of you punks are thinking. Yes, listening to a lot of Christian Punk is like getting stuck behind the school bus on your morning commute, “Oh, for cryin’ out loud! Can’t we just be done with this?” I assure you, this is not the case for Soli Deo Gloria. Not often does a Christian punk (dang near, Oi!) band actually have the chops to be able to pull off a record that can be enjoyed by more than just pastor’s kids looking for a way to piss off mom and dad.

            The album’s “Intro” drives it right home that this will be a fast paced, circle pit, punch in the face record. On top of that it leaves nothing to the imagination as far as the lyrics go: “We’re the Old-Timers pressing on/longing for the day we go home/ Holy, Holy, Holy, worshiping the Ancient of Days.”

            This bleeds well into the pro-Jesus, anti-religion track “Adoni’s Agape” which then transitions perfectly into “This City” which leaves nobody unscathed. For the rest of the album they pick apart everything from how we rebel, to how positive thinking isn't enough, and of course how we all need a little more circle pit in our daily lives.

             This band believes that Jesus is the answer to all of societies problems just as much as Bad Religion thinks He is the cause. It is no preaches no more about Jesus then the Dropkick Murphys preach about the plight of the working man. It rails hard against religious hypocrisy and governmental and social negligence. There is no lack of confidence in this band. They take full control of the medium and the message. There is no doubt that they are true punkers but more importantly true Christ followers.

            I give Soli Deo Gloria a solid 8 out of 10. This is a great introduction to these South African punk rockers. You can pick it up at their label, ThumperPunk Records.  

Love, Grace, Wrath

Amos 3+4/Matthew 17+18

            Why do I continually get amazed when the World acts like the World? Uh, duh, right? They gossip, they lie, they cheat, they blame, they run after success, they are bitter, they do drugs, they have sex, they think I’m crazy. They are exactly how I am apart from Christ.

            Again, uh, duh? I wouldn't be upset if a guy in a wheelchair didn't stand to pray, so why do I get upset when the people who haven’t been redeemed by Jesus don’t act like people who have been redeemed by Jesus? Apart from Him I can do nothing and neither can they. The only difference is I know that. That pisses them off even more.

           Most of my frustrations (and probably most of a lot of Christian's frustrations) come from forgetting where we've been. After being submersed in Christian culture for so long we forget that at one point none of this God, Jesus, Spirit stuff made any sense to use either. That's when we become condescending religious nuts. That's when we start acting outside of God's love, grace, and wrath. That's when we, ironically, start acting a lot like what God saved us out of. 

         The whole foundation of Christianity is Jesus' redeeming work on the Cross. The whole foundation for that is God's love for us and our inability to fix the problem of our sin. That realization should allow us to show Grace, and only Grace to those who are no different than us. 

            Lord, help me show Grace to those who don’t know You and act accordingly.

                                                                                                            -Amen

Punks, Shepherds, and Fishermen

Amos 1+2/Matthew 15+16

            So I prayed about being a Christian Punker. I gave it to God and I got the same thing I got when I prayed about my comic books years ago: Go for it, but if people aren't getting saved, what’s the point?

            I pray and I found Caustic Fallout radio, Christian Punks Facebook, CYI World Wide and the Kings Kid’s. It’s nice to be lead towards others like me.

            Amos was just a kooky shepherd who heard from God. He heard some serious stuff, too. He had fire and brimstone fanaticism stuff that would get him lambasted by Piers Morgan. God gave Him some hardcore preaching to do. That must have been uncomfortable to go from talking to sheep to preaching to people.

            Switch to the disciples in the boat worrying about bread. They were so focused on what they did or didn't do that they missed what Jesus was actually saying. They needed to realize what was important. 

            

Faith in Christ or Locust

Joel/Romans 3+4

            If we don’t live by faith the locust come in and munch all the things we've built. If we don’t live by faith in God but only faith in our own bootstraps then all of this will crumble.

            Yes, faith is action. On top of that it must be incessant prayer and Bible reading so that when our actions turn from faith to self we don’t head that direction very long.

            For me I wonder if the punk thing is an action of faith or an action of self. Like most things I do, the motivation flip-flops. Sometimes it is totally an action of self. Anything we use to define ourselves, other than Christ, is an action of self. The question really is, can what we used as an action of self get redeemed to be an action of faith in Christ?

            Sometimes it starts in faith and moves to self (i.e. helping people, ministry, parenting, marriage,), while other times it starts in self and gets redeemed by faith (i.e. your job, your marriage, desires, hobbies, etc). I truly want to glorify God and watch people come to faith in Christ. I also want to stay punk. The question is, if God told me to toss all the punk stuff and become “cute” would I?

            I don’t know. I want to say I would, but why lie in my journal?

A Simple Prayer

Hosea 13+14/ Romans 1+2

            “Lord I wanna love you…with all of my heart…all of my heart…” –Keith Green

            Lord, that’s all I have today. That’s all I have any day. I have nothing to offer anybody except loving You. I don’t want to fake it or trivialize it. I just want to love You more. Let that be what people see when they see me. Holy Spirit, I pray You would be the number one person in my life and that people would see You and be called by You.

                                                                                                            -Amen

           

Obligatory New Years Day Post

   Wow. 2013. It's a New Year alright. Happy Tuesday. To start off the New Year you get an off the cuff invitation to the inside of the Exyle Dome. We have plenty of seating, no admission fee, and no guarantees.
     I'm old enough to have had years of total awesomeness and total crap.
01-04 were fantastic.
05+07 were great years.
06 was pretty bad.
09-11 sucked hardcore.
2012 had it's moments of incredible happiness and pain.
      If I looked over my three decades I think I would find myself in the positive as far as good vs. bad years. God is faithful even when the locust are hungry. I have a great wife, great kids, a good job, and some sweet tattoos.
      I think we love New Years Day because we like artificially mandated times to start over. We really feel that if we try super-de-duper hard this year all of our dreams will come true. This will be my year. This will be the year I run that 5k. I will quit smoking. This will be the year I have sex three times a week, every week. This will be the year my boss finally notices all the hard work I put in. This will be the year I save money for retirement. We need that day. We need January 1st of whatever year to give us a point of reference.
     The February 1st rolls around and we wake up, drink a nice tall glass of EFFIT, and lay back down. The gym can wait. Cigarettes are on sale this week. You've got a headache. Your boss is a prick anyway. The furnace blew up. How many days until January 1st? Then man, this year is totally shot, so I will start next year on the up and up and THAT will be my year.
     January 1st is a day off for me. It's a day off where I sit at the computer and let the kids run wild because my age is catching up to me. Who the hell needs to see midnight anyway? That is such a stupid time of day to be awake. Am I saddened by this? Am I as hopeless and crotchety as I sound? No. I refuse to bitch and complain without having the answer.
     Everyday is new for me. Does that sound as cheesy as it feels to write? It's true. I have been blessed with shorter spurts. Everyday, week, month, minute, hour, what have you, it's all new. I know that the second after I screw up I can start over. I know that the second I spill the milk I can clean it up. I know that the Monday I skip the gym there's a Tuesday with my gym bag already packed. I know that just because the kid was up all last night puking and my wife doesn't want to see me doing anything but schlep a mop and pail that there is another night on it's way.
      What's my secret? How do I have this mindset? Well for four easy payments of $29.95 I'll tell you....okay, I'll tell you anyway:

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
²³ They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
²⁴ I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him.”
                                       

Lamentations 3:22-24

   Does this mean I have it all figured out and I have no issues? Yah, no. If you even think I feel that way read the rest of the posts here or follow us on Twitter and you will see why I am under no preconceived notions that I am anything more than another beggar who knows where to find bread. What God has done and is doing in me is too amazing for me to take any credit for. Everyday I feel the fight between my flesh and His Spirit in me. 

    Everyday is new because He makes it that way. I have received so much Mercy that I know that every minute offers a new shot, a new chance, a new lease. I don't need an arbitrary day because I know what happens when I hit my knees and pray. 

    So yah, Happy New Years Day, friends.