90’s Christian Rock
In the 90’s I pretty much solely listened to Christian music. There were some pluses and minuses to this. The plus was it was a good way to guard my heart. A minus was there were like 3 big name artists to listen to (a gross exaggeration, but close). One of those artists was Michael W Smith, who had his big, cross-over, break-through with the song, Place in this World.
I can still sing the chorus of that song to you right now. I can even sing it in the nasally voice of Michael W Smith.
The word ‘world’ gets used a lot in Christian sub-cultures. Usually it refers to things/stuff/world-views that oppose the teachings of Christ. Some people to completely far-right extremes, but it’s definitely an important theme in the New Testament.
Check out the list of verses dealing with the world. It’s used well over 100 times in the New Testament alone. It must be an important topic.
The World on the 4th of July.
Overall, the message is this…we (as believers in Jesus Christ) don’t belong to this world. We are foreigners. We are passing through. We belong to a different world or kingdom.
Last week, the United States celebrated it’s 238th birthday. I celebrated along with the rest of the nation in Colorado’s glorious Rocky Mountains. In fact, I celebrated by hiking up a portion of Ptarmigan mountain. I hiked it alone and spent a portion of those hours thinking about the US, the Kingdom of God, and myself.
I loved seeing the incredible glory of God through nature. As I looked around and thought about everything, I had a realization I’ve never had before. On the birthday of our great country, hours before I cheered along with hundreds of thousands of others with fireworks and picnics, I realized I don’t belong.
I’m American. I’m proudly an American. I don’t belong.
True Home
We recently moved to a home in Shawnee, Kansas. We’ve been renting for the past 9 months, and we were able to find our perfect home. We moved in a few weeks ago, and it feels more like home than anything we’ve lived in for a couple of years.
As much as I love it, it’s not my true home.
I was born in Wisconsin. I’ve lived most of my life in Kansas. I reside in Shawnee. I’m an American.
This is not my home.
Home in Nature.
This is one of the beauty’s of nature. It is closer to God than anything else available to us in everyday life. In it, when we listen and pay attention, we experience home. We belong to that kingdom – the kingdom that is completely dependent upon a Higher Power…something…Someone who controls the uncontrollable.
I experienced this (again) while hiking last week. I experienced God. I was closer to Him than I’ve been in a while.
He is my home.
I am home when I am with Him.
Happy Independence Day!
I know it’s almost a week late, but Happy Independence Day! I hope you celebrated another year of freedom found no where else in the world.
I hope you, like me, realize this is not your home.
You have a much greater place than this world.
Leave a Reply