Lesson From A Loser Love-Song

I was buying groceries at a supermarket near my home one day, and they started playing one of those Loser Love-Songs over the sound system. *sigh*

Loser Love-Songs is what I call those songs in which the guy gets dumped by his girlfriend and he starts mooning over her and getting all whiney and weepy. Maybe she figured out that he was that sort and that's why she left him in the first place? I wouldn't be surprised!

You can guess I get disgusted with those songs…

But that day in the supermarket, I suddenly realized there was a Biblical truth in THIS Loser Love-Song.

It's called 不要對他說 (Don't Say This To Him) and it is the guy begging the girl not to say certain things to her new boyfriend (the one she is dumping him for). If you want to check out the song, you can hear it in the video below:


The Biblical truth I noticed came out in these words

不要對他說　夜裡會害怕
Don’t tell him you are afraid at night

別說你多睌都會等他的電話
Don't say you will stay up late just for his phone call

別說你只喜歡他送的玫瑰花
Don't say that you love only the roses that come from him

因為這些　是我僅有　殘留的夢
These are my broken dreams


What suddenly struck me was the realization that even though it was a Loser Love-Song (and was setting my teeth on edge) what the composer was asking for is actually something Biblical. He was asking for intimacy, in other words, that there be something that be kept as an exclusive experience between him and his lover.

I believe this is what we earnestly desire when it comes to our romantic lives, a sense of communicating and connecting with someone of the opposite gender so deeply and on an exclusive level. This is what is described in the following passage:

Song of Solomon 4:10-12 (NIV) - How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much more pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than any spice!

Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride; milk and honey are under your tongue. The fragrance of your garments is like that of Lebanon.

You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride; you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.

Not only is this sense of exclusivity shown to be desirable in women, it is also urged upon men as well.

Proverbs 5:16-17 (NIV) - Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares? Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers.

One thing about this sense of exclusivity, we hurt ourselves and the people we open ourselves to if we do it prematurely, or to the wrong people. That's why we need to give ourselves time in any romantic relationship, time to see if this person is someone who can be trusted with our secrets, especially our weaknesses or past mistakes.

Be especially cautious of people who take your weaknesses or past mistakes and use them against you when during quarrels and arguments. Cut these people out of your life immediately. You will regret getting even closer with such people, that I can promise you. These people are what I consider the thorns in the flesh, the messengers of Satan that you should avoid like the plague.

And if they can be harsh and unforgiving to you before marriage, remember, you are totally at their mercy after marriage. Either that or you be prepared to live the rest of your life putting on a false front before your spouse or wondering when any skeletons in your closet will be discovered or when your past will finally catch up with you.

It doesn't have to be like that.

But it does mean that you be very discerning about the people you share the deepest, most intimate (exclusive) secrets of your life with. It may mean waiting longer for the right person, or it may mean investing time, money and effort in getting sound Christian counseling and pastoral care for your life first, so you will be able to discern the right person when he or she arrives.

Will it be worth it? I can't answer that question for you, but would you rather be the one standing outside an ex-girlfriend or boyfriend's window singing a loser love-song?

One More Day In The Gym

I was digging through all my old emails recently and I came across this old post by Scott Wesley Brown. It's called One More Day In The Gym. It's an insightful post, one that I really resonate with, and I'd like to share it with you. You can check it out at

http://www.worshiptherock.com/profiles/blogs/one-more-day-in-the-gym

And if you enjoyed the post and found it helpful, do take a couple of moments and drop Scott a comment or note to express your appreciation.

Again, the post is here: http://www.worshiptherock.com/profiles/blogs/one-more-day-in-the-gym

Be blessed!

Teachers of Pet Topics

2 Tim 2:15 - Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (NKJV)

I love the small group ministry.

Whatever you call it at your church, Cell Group, Carecell, LifeGroup (at my church) or whatever, it's a great way for the people in your church to bond together and build genuine Christian fellowship, as well as to grow in the Word of God.

And growing in the Word of God through a small group ministry is very simple. You don't have to discuss deep stuff or seek out special materials for Bible study; you just need to pay attention during that week's sermon, take good notes, think through the sermon again before the meeting and discuss the sermon with the rest of the people there. That means you'd be exposed to the sermon four times rather than the usual one time. And that helps a lot in retaining the message!

What if you are the one leading the discussion? That's also easy too. If people only talk about what was covered in the sermon, you don't need to do a lot of extra work. And if they ask about stuff that wasn't covered in the sermon or you haven't learned about, you just need to say "I'm not too sure about that. Let me bring it up with the pastor and I'll get back to you?"

You can't get any simpler than that, right?

A problem arises, however, if you are the one leading the discussion, a difficult topic comes up and you feel the need to answer the question even if you don't have enough understanding from the Bible to answer it.

I've seen people doing that. They can't stand saying "I don't know", so they have to squeeze out of themselves some answer somehow or other. And the easiest way to do that is to reduce the question to one of their pet topics, such as love, righteousness, faith, the blood of Christ or something like that, even if it isn’t relevant to the question.

Let me be blunt here: if you can't take saying you don't know and want to give answers to Bible questions in your small group meeting, then put in the necessary work to actually give good answers. And that means beginning that life-long journey of growing in God's Word, to know the whole counsel of God, rather than just your 2-3 favorite pet topics. Become a believer of the Word, rather than just a believer of your favorite parts of the Word!

If you are new to studying the Word of God by yourself, you can start by reading a chapter of the Bible every day. Read it aloud to yourself, and go back to the chapters you have read for the two days before that too. That way you will read three chapters daily, and one will be new to you. If you are involved in the worship ministry, studying the Book of Psalms is a must. Put that as a priority above going for the next overseas worship conference or reading some worship devotional book.

It will be a life-long journey, and it can get frustrating at times.

It takes time and effort to get familiar with a book of the Bible to the point when you can use it, and the reason why some people end up as pet-topic teachers is because they don't feel that they can learn the Bible even if they put in effort. Or they don't want to put in the necessary work.

So what happens? They may look for other teachers and just swallow wholesale the teaching and Bible interpretations of those teachers. That's fine if you have enough understanding of the Bible to discern and evaluate Scripturally the teachings they bring you, whether through online sermons, books, teaching CDs or even commentaries. But if you don't, you are in danger of exchanging your own errors for the errors of others.

And an error, even if held with all sincerity, is still an error!

I remember one day I was reading a teaching by a popular preacher.

Mark 11:23 (NKJV) - For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.

The preacher claimed that this verse meant that when we face challenges in life, we are to take authority over them and speak to them, commanding them to get out of our lives in the name of Jesus. He also claimed that Jesus appeared to him in a vision and said that NEVER in the New Testament were believers told to pray to God about their problems. They were to exercise their God-given authority over their problems.

How interesting. When I first read that, all it took was a second to remember the Lord's prayer (Matt 6:9-13) where Jesus told us to pray to God to deliver us from the evil one (vs 13). There is also an example from David in Psalm 6, where we find David speaking to his problems (vs 8) as well as praying to the LORD about them (vs 4).

So we can see that what he claimed Jesus spoke to him in a vision was not true. All it took was just a passing familiarity with the Bible to keep this error from sinking its roots into my mind. Not too difficult, was it? Of course, there will be other doctrines which will be more difficult to evaluate. One way to help us evaluate teachings – ask yourself if the teaching is what the Bible actually says or what someone else says it means.

For example, in Exodus 12:32 we read that Pharaoh told Moses and Aaron to take the Israelites and leave Egypt, and also to bless him. That is a direct statement of Scripture. If someone claims that Pharaoh was thus trying to obtain blessings that are not rightfully his, since blessing is only for those with a covenant with God, now that is an interpretation. We evaluate this interpretation by asking:

1. Is this idea directly stated in the Bible? If it is, are there any other verses that balance it out or give another perspective?
   
2. If it is an interpretation, are there other verses that support that interpretation? And, more importantly, are there verses that do not support that interpretation?
   
3. If that interpretation is accurate, how much do you need to re-look other beliefs and opinions that you already hold?

And if you come from a Word-of-Faith background, you need to be especially strict with your Scripture interpretation. Because, speaking frankly, we from the Word-of-Faith movement have more than our fair share of false teachers and sincere Bible teachers with some mistaken interpretations here and there. Because of that, believers from other parts of the Body of Christ sometimes find it hard to take us seriously.

So we have to hold ourselves to an even higher standard of Bible interpretation than the rest of the Body of Christ!

Conclusion:

So whatever part of the Body of Christ you come from, or whatever your denomination or beliefs, if you are heading the Bible discussions or studies in your small group, I urge you to put in the best effort you can to know the Bible. It takes effort, that is why we are commanded to be diligent about it (2 Tim 2:15). But if you find it hard to spur yourself towards the work and diligence necessary for this, just remember, his approval, his "well-done, good and faithful servant!" as your reward!

Worship Leaders - Song Selection Made Easy

Hi, everyone!

Here's an IPhone App that worship leaders should find very useful! Whether you lead worship for your church congregation or at a small group level, SongSuggest for the IPhone will save you loads of time and effort when picking songs for your worship set.

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If you are like thousands of other worship leaders, picking songs each week can be a frustrating process. You don’t want to pick the same songs all the time, but you dont want to sing boring stuff or too many new songs each week.

SongSuggest will help you quickly find the ideal song. Many worship leaders use it during their weekly planning times or in the actual service as they try to replace a song that no longer fits!

SongSuggest has over 600 songs. These songs cover the most loved, the most familiar songs sung by the english-speaking christian church around the world for the last 30 years. All the great hymns and choruses are in there.

Why only those songs? Well what use is a song suggestion tool – when you, your team and congregation don’t know the suggested songs.

This is not a planning tool, it will not replace your binder – but it will help you come up with songs your team and congregation already know and love.

Great Features:

• Preloaded with over 600 beloved songs
• Add to Your Binder
• Search for Lyrics & chords
• Watch Song videos on YouTube
• Listen to song clips in iTunes

With SongSuggest you will…

Always have a great song for any occasion! - No more frantic flipping through that huge song binder minutes before the service…

Quickly build a set of amazing songs your congregation loves.

Use it to find one song idea – or plan your whole setlist. This is not meant to replace prayerful planning, but it will jog your memory when you can’t think of anything. It’s also helpful when you are in transit, or away from your desk to start next weeks set list – no matter where you are!

Discover long forgotten yet loved songs awaiting a comeback & your musical makeover.

You will be surprised at all the great songs you have forgotten… also remember many new Christians have never heard these songs – so add your own creative sauce to the old, and mix them with the new.

See your congregation gain confidence in their corporate worship.

Ever been to a concert when the artists starts to sing their popular and familiar songs… remember how the audience responded? You get the same dynamic here. Your congregation or small group will be free to be expressive and authentic in their worship when you use the familiar songs.

Just so you know - I have no business or affliate arrangement with the creators of this iPhone app. In other words, I get no commission or financial benefit should you purchase this app, but I am suggesting that you check it out because I sincerely believe you will find it a great help for planning your worship sets.

Click over to http://www.worshipapps.com/products/songsuggest and check it out now!

Be blessed!