TobyMac “Eye On It”

I’ve been listening a lot to TobyMac’s “Eye On It” (2012). It’s an awesome CD. Here is the official music video for his title song—one of my favorites. It was likely inspired from 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 and Philippians 3:7-14 (see below).

http://tobymac.com/videos/eye-it-official-music-video

 “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. 25 Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; 27 but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27, NASB)

“But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, 10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; 11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained it or have already become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:7-14, NASB)

“Eye On It”

Eye on it, eye on it
Eye on it, eye on it

Eye on it
Eye on it
Eye on it, eye on it

I set my eyes to the west, walkin’ away from it all
Reachin’ for what lies ahead, I got my eye on it
I see my sweat hit the ground
I put my foot in the block
This is the race of my life
And I can’t wait for this shot

‘Cause I can feel the wind at my back
Chest is pumpin’ like a heart attack
Feet are moving and my mind is locked
Pressin’ on with everything I got

I got my eye on it
I got my eye on it
I got my eye on it
Eye on it

I got my eye on the prize, I got my eye on it
I got my eye on the prize, I got my eye on it
I got my eye on the prize, I got my eye on it
I got my eye on it, and I will not quit

I got a new passenger to help me navigate the way
So when my heart hits the floor I can recalibrate
I feel the deeper callin’ me, all else is fadin’ in the past
So let me run in the race that I know is built to last

‘Cause I can feel the wind at my back
Chest is pumpin’ like a heart attack
Feet are moving and my mind is locked
Pressing on I gotta take my shot

I got my eye on it
I got my eye on it
I got my eye on it
Eye on it

I got my eye on the prize, I got my eye on it
I got my eye on the prize, I got my eye on it
I got my eye on the prize, I got my eye on it
I got my eye on the prize and I will not quit

Eye on it

Worship Song: My Hope

A powerful worship song that we sung in church a couple of weeks ago.
A message I needed to hear and embrace.
The YouTube video features Kathryn Scott singing with Paul Boloche—the writer of the song.

MY HOPE

Nothing will change
If all the plans I make are wrong, Your love stays the same
Your light will guide me through it all, I’m hangin’ on
I’m leaning in, to You

Nothing can reach,
The end of all Your faithfulness
Your grace is with me,
Through every shadow, every test
I’m hangin’ on
I’m leaning in, to You

I don’t know where you’ll take me
But I know You’re always good
My hope is built on nothing else,
Than Your great love, Your righteousness
I will not walk another way
I trust Your heart, I trust Your name
I’m holdin’ on
I’m holdin’ on, to You

You are my rock
When storms are raging all along,
You shelter me, God
I’m safe with you on solid ground,
I’m hangin’ on
I’m leaning in, to You

I don’t know where you’ll take me
But I know You’re always good
My hope is built on nothing else,
Than Your great love, Your righteousness
I will not walk another way
I trust Your heart, I trust Your name
I’m holdin’ on
I’m holdin’ on, to You

My hope is built on nothing else,
Than Your great love, Your righteousness
I will not walk another way
I trust Your heart, I trust Your name
I’m holdin’ on
I’m holdin’ on, to You

Card Carrying and Cross Bearing

I’ve heard of the phrase “card carrying,” but wondered when it originated. I discovered one of the earliest uses of the term was found in a Daily People article written in 1912, describing “‘Union-card’ carrying members.” During the 1950s it was used as a label for members of the Communist Party. After the 1950s, the scope of the phrase has expanded to refer to:

• A member of an organization, party, or group.
• Someone devoted to furthering a group’s values and beliefs.

We have “card carrying” Republicans and Democrats today, but what about “card carrying” Christians? What would characterize them? We get a radical answer from Jesus in the Gospel of Mark.

Mark 8:34-38. Then Jesus called the crowd to himself along with his disciples and told them, “If anyone wants to follow me, he must deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow me continuously, 35because whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and for the gospel will save it. 36What profit will a person have if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? 37Indeed, what can a person give in exchange for his life? 38If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes with the holy angels in his Father’s glory.” (ISV)

This is Jesus’ advertising slogan for card carrying Christians. They must deny self, pick up their cross, and keep on following Jesus. They must be willing to lose their life for Jesus and his saving message. Some think that you can be a card carrying Christian without cross bearing, but not according to Jesus. What did Jesus intend to mean by the phrase “pick up your cross?”

“Pick up your cross” is a Roman phrase. This phrase most likely shocked and even disgusted Jesus’ original hearers because they were well aware of the purpose behind the practice of picking up ones cross as it pertained to crucifixion in the Roman Empire.

Crucifixion was generally associated with crimes against the state of Rome, whereas other forms of capital punishment were used for other crimes. As a rule, crucifixion was reserved for hardened criminals, rebellious slaves and rebels against the authority of Rome. Crucifixion was especially practiced on freedom fighters who tried to break away from Roman rule. Normally, in the Roman era the crucifixion process began with the rebel being tied to a pole and flogged with a whip that had sharp pieces of metal or glass. They would be flogged till their blood flowed. The Passion of the Christ film provided the most graphic and realistic picture of what took place during a flogging.

After the flogging, the victim was forced to pick up his cross beam and carry it on his shoulders to his place of execution. Here we see from The Passion the two criminals who would be crucified with Jesus carrying the roughly 100 pound cross beam to their place of execution.

Notice that the picking up of ones cross beam and carrying it to your place of execution was intended to be a public event. The condemned picked up their cross beam and carried it through the busy streets to their place of execution which was carried out in plain view of the people.

We are told by Mark that those “passing by” were hurling insults at Jesus (Mark 15:29). Those in the city, and the everyday commuters in and out of the city, were confronted with the brutality of crucifixion.

But why did Rome want people to witness the execution of rebels?

Rome wanted everyone to know that those who wish to challenge the will of Rome—her authority to rule over others as she pleases—must suffer a humiliating defeat for all to see and fear. When Rome condemned a man to die for his rebellion, they would force him, as his last act, to publicly display submission or obedience to the authority against which he previously had rebelled. What better way to demonstrate this submission by having him carry the instrument of his judgment through the city; to a public place; while wearing a sign around his neck which said that he had been a rebel. In the act of cross bearing and crucifixion Rome was saying:

 Take notice everyone, this man used to resist the will of Rome, but you can plainly see that now he has submitted to her will.

So when Jesus said “If anyone wants to follow me, he must . . . pick up his cross,” he was using a figure of speech that would have been easily understood by those under Roman rule to mean: “to submit to or obey the will of another.” That this is what Jesus intended to mean by “pick up your cross” finds support in Mark 8:31ff. Jesus says to his disciples that he must suffer, be rejected, killed, and rise again after three days. But Peter takes Jesus aside and begins to rebuke him. Jesus responds with a stronger rebuke,

“Get behind me, Satan! You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” (Mark 8:33)

Why does Jesus call Peter Satan? Because Satan is seen throughout Scripture as one who opposes God’s will and God’s way, and Peter is acting just like Satan by opposing Jesus’ plan to obey the Father’s will. Peter needs to fall in behind of Jesus, pick up his cross, and follow Jesus in the path of self-denial and obedience to the will of God.

Peter was rebuked another time by Jesus for trying to oppose Jesus’ plan to obey the Father’s will. You remember the scene. Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane about to be arrested by some soldiers who were led by the chief priests and Pharisees. Peter responds by drawing out his sword and cutting off the ear of the high priest’s servant. Jesus immediately commands Peter,

“Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” (John 18:11)

Jesus was talking about drinking the cup of suffering and death. Of course, it was just moments earlier that Jesus prayed in the Garden:

I am grateful that King Jesus said “No” to living to please self, and kept on saying “Yes” to obeying the Father’s will in the face of a humiliating death. He did it so that he could create a bunch of card carrying Christians who follow him in the path of self-denial and cross bearing—radically devoted to obeying God’s will.

In the next post we will look more at the meaning of cross bearing. Be blessed.

Who is calling the plays in your life?

Head coach Sean Peyton is the play caller for the New Orleans Saints. He gives the play to his quarterback Drew Brees, who then gives it to the rest of the team.  Yes, Brees sometimes changes the play at the line of scrimmage when he notices a defensive alignment that warrants it, but everyone knows that Peyton is the main guy who decides which plays to run. The players obviously trust Peyton’s play calling since the Saints have won 65% of their regular season games and a Super Bowl under his leadership.

When it comes to your life, who is the one calling the plays?

Jesus begins his advertising slogan for being his follower by essentially telling people that they need to stop calling the plays in their life. Jesus says,

“If anyone wants to follow me, he must deny himself” (Mark 8:34)

This message is good news, because anyone can become a follower of Jesus Christ, but we must come to Jesus on his terms and his terms alone. To follow after Jesus requires that we first deny ourselves. Jesus said we “must” deny ourselves—it is not optional if you want to be his follower.

The idea of self-denial is sometimes misunderstood by people. People think that self-denial means that we deny things to the self, but this is not what Jesus intended. One commentator said it well when he wrote that self-denial means that we . . .

“turn away from the idolatry of self-centeredness.” (The Gospel According to St. Mark, C. E. B. Cranfield, 281).

The New Living Translation has captured the meaning well:

“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from you selfish ways . . . .”

This is a hard saying to swallow for us, especially since we all have the natural tendency to look out for #1—ourselves. It is part of our fallen nature to place ourselves and our interests above those of others.

This natural tendency occurs at all ages. For example, when my youngest boy Noah was two years old, you could ask him this question: “Noah, who are you?” And he would reply with a smile, “I am King of the babies.” We asked him this question often because we loved his response. This went on throughout the year and then his grandparents got him this for his third birthday.

With this Lego castle, and a King’s crown, and a King’s robe, he really thought that he was the King of the Babies. It was shortly after this we got complaints from parents that there three year old kid was being asked in their Sunday school class to pay taxes to “the King of the Babies.” I have to admit that the extra cash was nice, but we had to shut that down.

None of us is immune to seeking to place ourselves and our interests above others. It doesn’t help that our world encourages the worship of the self. Our world promotes self-idolatry. If you read through the Gospels you’ll find that those who were not in a saving relationship with God, were characterized by Jesus as being self-righteous, self-centered, and having a thirst for self-promotion.

It should come as no surprise that Jesus’ call for self-denial is unattractive to people who are absorbed with pleasing self. We like to be in charge, and call the plays, and answer to no one but ourselves. But if you want to be Christ’s disciple, there must be a decisive decision to turn away from living to please self. Charles Williams said it well in his translation:

“If anyone wants to be my disciple, he must say, ‘No’ to self.” (The New Testament in the Language of the People)

If you want to be a follower of Jesus, he demands that we first say “No” to self—to stop living life according to our will and way. When we stop calling the plays in our life we are acknowledging that we are not good at play calling and we need someone who is trustworthy to call the plays for us. Who better than King Jesus, the creator and sustainer of all things?

When we humble ourselves in saying “No” to self, it opens us up to “pick up our cross.” What did Jesus intend to mean in this second part of his advertising slogan? My next two posts will answer this question.

How would you advertise Christianity to the masses on Super Bowl Sunday?

We are bombarded by advertisements every day of our lives—from the newspaper, bill boards, radio and television. Advertisements seek to peak our interest and stimulate us to buy what’s being promoted. Did you know that during the last two Super Bowl’s companies paid nearly 4 million dollars for a thirty second advertisement of their product? People get paid big money to come up with funny, catchy, and memorable ways to pitch their product to the masses. Let me ask you a question: “If you had thirty seconds, how would you advertise Christianity to the masses on Super Bowl Sunday?”

Today, we are going to look at how the Lord Jesus Christ advertised Christianity to the masses. His memorable advertising slogan is found in the Gospel of Mark chapter 8 with parallel accounts in Matthew 16 and Luke 9.

 Mark 8:34-38. Then Jesus called the crowd to himself along with his disciples and told them, “If anyone wants to follow me, he must deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow me continuously, 35 because whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and for the gospel will save it. 36 What profit will a person have if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? 37 Indeed, what can a person give in exchange for his life? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes with the holy angels in his Father’s glory.” (ISV)

Deny yourself, pick up your cross, and follow Jesus continuously; lose your life for Jesus and the gospel message and you will save it. Is this the advertising slogan you would have used to reach the masses on Super Bowl Sunday?

I doubt it. I think most people (Christian or Non-Christian) would think that this kind of message is too radical and too demanding to advertise to the masses. I would be curious to see how an advertising agency would pitch Christ’s message to the masses. What kind of slogan or jingle would they come up with? Here’s what I’m thinking:

 “Follow Jesus, Lose it All, Imagine the Possibilities.”

Honestly, if this was the advertising jingle, I don’t see a lot of people asking, “Hey, where do I sign up?”

Now you and I may not have chosen deny yourself, pick up your cross, and keep on following Jesus as our advertising slogan for becoming a Christ follower and remaining a Christ follower, but the Lord Jesus Christ did. As a matter of fact, when I read through the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—the biographies of Jesus), I discovered that this radical message proclaimed by Jesus was not some footnote to what he preached throughout his three year ministry. Jesus’ call for people to come after him, to deny themselves, to take up their cross, to follow him, to lose their life for the sake of him and the gospel message was proclaimed from the beginning to the end of Jesus’ ministry. Evidently, this message was important to Jesus and it needs to be important to us as well.

Tomorrow we will start to look at each part of Jesus’ teaching: deny self, pick up cross, and continue to follow. Hopefully, we will come away fully embracing his radical advertisement for becoming and remaining a Christ follower.

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My two all-time favorite (and funny) Super Bowl commercials are for Walmart and Doritos and can be seen here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_eDaMeJtrg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2EcgNfK3PA