In case you're not yet one of the nearly 20 million (so far) viewers of the amazing clip of Susan Boyle on "Britain's Got Talent", check out her song here.
Finally, some true talent and beauty! Not only does this woman have an incredible and beautiful voice, I find her personality delightful. How interesting to watch this situation play out- Susan does not outwardly fit the media's definition of success, beauty, or attraction, and the crowds make it clear that they are not impressed and don't plan to be. But alas! Boy do people's jaws drops when that woman opens her mouth and her amazingly gorgeous voice comes out.
The cheers, applause, and standing ovation that follow show me one thing: this is what we truly crave. This proves to me that people in general are fed-up with the fake beauty and physical requirements that we're given. The superficial never satisfies and this proves to me that we are not satisfied.
Finally a breath of fresh air. Thank you Susan Boyle!
Friday, April 17, 2009
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Look at What We Did
Look at what we did with Him! Do you see?
He came as our Prince, our Saviour, our Rescuer. He was our Healer, Provider, and Counselor. He fed us, loved us, helped us, taught us. Humble and gentle, He ministered. Day after day, we followed Him. He never ceased. Miracle after miracle amazed our eyes, minds, and souls.
We yearned for advice, He gave it. We thirsted, He quenched it. We hurt, He healed it. We hungered, He satisfied it.
Our heart issues were guided, our physical needs met, our minds dazzled. He patiently, caringly, strongly was.... our Hero.
Look at what we did...
We scorned Him, beat Him, mocked Him, begrudged Him.
We crucified Him.
"Crucify Him!!! Crucify Him!!!!" Our lips of praise and thanks turned to lips of hate and vengeance. We had gotten what we wanted and needed and now we wanted something else. We wanted to destroy, obliterate, and kill.
And so we turned on Him. He had helped us, loved us, served us. And we spat on Him, abused Him, cursed Him, and cruelly killed Him for all to see. Crucifixion. What a dark, crushing, humiliating, and excruciating way to kill Him. Kill Him. We killed Him. That is what we did with our Holy and loving and giving Jesus.
He cried out "Father forgive them" as He hung by the nails in His hands and feet on a cross of blood and sweat and death. And He died.
But He did not stay dead. No, oh no He did not. You see we didn't just kill a benevolent and amazing man. This man was God! God in human form! And He could not stay dead. He arose! He arose!!! He conquered death, once and for all. And because of His sacrifice, we may be forgiven and we may have a personal relationship with God. Oh, thank you Jesus!
Here we are now, and it's Easter season. The day to celebrate this amazing sacrifice and powerful resurrection two thousand years ago. So what's similar today?
We are still given beautiful and godly things that were intended to be holy but we have instead defiled, despised, and destroyed. From our bodies, to $ex, to our families, we take things of beauty and we crucify and ruin them for our own sin and pleasure.
We are also still given a choice of what do with Christ. Are we going to admit our sin and accept His forgiveness? And then what... what are we going to do with Him on a day to day basis? Do we keep reveling in the sin that He was crucified for? Or do we strive towards sanctification and seek to bring HIM glory, and not our own.
What are we doing with Jesus? Do you see?
He IS our Prince, our Saviour, our Rescuer. He IS our Healer, Provider, and Counselor. He feeds us, loves us, helps us, teaches us. Humble and gentle, He ministers. Day after day, we should follow Him. He never ceases. Miracle after miracle amazes our eyes, minds, and souls still.
We yearn for advice, He can give it. We thirst, He can quench it. We hurt, He can heal it. We hunger, He can satisfy it.
Our heart issues can be guided, our physical needs met, our minds dazzled. He patiently, caringly, strongly IS.... our Hero.
He came as our Prince, our Saviour, our Rescuer. He was our Healer, Provider, and Counselor. He fed us, loved us, helped us, taught us. Humble and gentle, He ministered. Day after day, we followed Him. He never ceased. Miracle after miracle amazed our eyes, minds, and souls.
We yearned for advice, He gave it. We thirsted, He quenched it. We hurt, He healed it. We hungered, He satisfied it.
Our heart issues were guided, our physical needs met, our minds dazzled. He patiently, caringly, strongly was.... our Hero.
Look at what we did...
We scorned Him, beat Him, mocked Him, begrudged Him.
We crucified Him.
"Crucify Him!!! Crucify Him!!!!" Our lips of praise and thanks turned to lips of hate and vengeance. We had gotten what we wanted and needed and now we wanted something else. We wanted to destroy, obliterate, and kill.
And so we turned on Him. He had helped us, loved us, served us. And we spat on Him, abused Him, cursed Him, and cruelly killed Him for all to see. Crucifixion. What a dark, crushing, humiliating, and excruciating way to kill Him. Kill Him. We killed Him. That is what we did with our Holy and loving and giving Jesus.
He cried out "Father forgive them" as He hung by the nails in His hands and feet on a cross of blood and sweat and death. And He died.
But He did not stay dead. No, oh no He did not. You see we didn't just kill a benevolent and amazing man. This man was God! God in human form! And He could not stay dead. He arose! He arose!!! He conquered death, once and for all. And because of His sacrifice, we may be forgiven and we may have a personal relationship with God. Oh, thank you Jesus!
Here we are now, and it's Easter season. The day to celebrate this amazing sacrifice and powerful resurrection two thousand years ago. So what's similar today?
We are still given beautiful and godly things that were intended to be holy but we have instead defiled, despised, and destroyed. From our bodies, to $ex, to our families, we take things of beauty and we crucify and ruin them for our own sin and pleasure.
We are also still given a choice of what do with Christ. Are we going to admit our sin and accept His forgiveness? And then what... what are we going to do with Him on a day to day basis? Do we keep reveling in the sin that He was crucified for? Or do we strive towards sanctification and seek to bring HIM glory, and not our own.
What are we doing with Jesus? Do you see?
He IS our Prince, our Saviour, our Rescuer. He IS our Healer, Provider, and Counselor. He feeds us, loves us, helps us, teaches us. Humble and gentle, He ministers. Day after day, we should follow Him. He never ceases. Miracle after miracle amazes our eyes, minds, and souls still.
We yearn for advice, He can give it. We thirst, He can quench it. We hurt, He can heal it. We hunger, He can satisfy it.
Our heart issues can be guided, our physical needs met, our minds dazzled. He patiently, caringly, strongly IS.... our Hero.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
The Distortion of Beauty Part 3
We have recognized the distortion of beauty from the how's to the who's. But what now? How should we respond to this assault?
First, we must push aside the distorted view and see beauty for what it truly is. By rejecting the sinful and contaminated perspective from the world, we are compelled to find a new perspective. This can only be found through a Biblical one.
Do you want to have a Biblical perspective of beauty? Then you must know its Maker.
You see, God Himself is the Creator of beauty. If we want to understand it, we have to understand Him. God designed beauty to be an attraction on the outside and inside- and in its original perfect creation, beauty is a pure and lovely pleasure and a holy attractiveness. Some forget that God loves beauty- He designed it and enjoys it (Genesis 1:31)! So I'm not suggesting that we must be plain, drab, and not spend a second of care on our appearance. Of course not! Who created the sunset, the sparkling ocean, the starry nights, and the female form? God did, and He not only finds beauty in it Himself but He made us to enjoy the beauty as well. Women should enjoy their loveliness! From little girls spinning in their dresses to grown women with a new set of jewelry, we should revel in our prettiness. Too a point.
You see, the problem comes when this drive for beauty consumes us. The time we spend on ourselves spins out of control. Our mental focus is driven to what others think of us. Our good stewardship is lost as our finances are cast away on our search for beauty. Our satisfaction goes only as deep as our appearance pleases us and others. Instead of enjoying our gift of beauty, it becomes an idol.
Do you see how beauty is so often an idol? Is it an idol to you?
We need to use and enjoy our beauty only so much as we can still glorify God in it. This means having an attitude of beauty. We must be beautiful on the inside before we can be truly beautiful on the outside.
Do you know any "beautiful" people who are actually hideous because of their inside self? Are you inwardly beautiful?
We must have a spirit of humility, kindness, thankfulness, and servitude if we want to be truly beautiful (Proverbs 31:30). We also need to limit the time we spend on ourselves! I wonder what would happen to the Church if the women in it spent as much time in the Word and prayer as they do on their appearance. Amazing things could happen!
And also, don't allow the worlds sickness to become yours. Refuse to settle for its cheap definition of beauty. I encourage both men AND women to look away from the ads and magazines. And don't absorb yourself in movies and novels that teach you to live skin deep. View others in a deeper way and view yourself the same. Don't judge others for their appearance- look within.
Look within. This is the key to true beauty. This takes us full circle to my original point in Part 1. As we saw then, man's tendency is to look merely on the outward, but God looks within (1 Samuel 16:7). As Christians, we are called to also look within.
The Bible (in James 1:23,24) talks about how if we look in a mirror physically it matters so us. We primp and remember our appearance. Yet how often we look within ourselves at our spiritual mirrors, see something we know needs changed, and just walk away, completely forgetting what we even look like! We need to be maintaining our inward beauty with much more care and drive than our outward beauty.
So to men and woman alike: next time the world whispers its offer of beauty to you, don't listen. See it for what it really is- fake, distorted, and dying. Choose true beauty, Biblical beauty, instead. Seek the inward first, and enjoy the outward in its Biblical limitations (whether this means a time limit, pride limit, or marriage limit).
The outward is passing, but the inward is eternal. Revel in true beauty, and settle for no less.
First, we must push aside the distorted view and see beauty for what it truly is. By rejecting the sinful and contaminated perspective from the world, we are compelled to find a new perspective. This can only be found through a Biblical one.
Do you want to have a Biblical perspective of beauty? Then you must know its Maker.
You see, God Himself is the Creator of beauty. If we want to understand it, we have to understand Him. God designed beauty to be an attraction on the outside and inside- and in its original perfect creation, beauty is a pure and lovely pleasure and a holy attractiveness. Some forget that God loves beauty- He designed it and enjoys it (Genesis 1:31)! So I'm not suggesting that we must be plain, drab, and not spend a second of care on our appearance. Of course not! Who created the sunset, the sparkling ocean, the starry nights, and the female form? God did, and He not only finds beauty in it Himself but He made us to enjoy the beauty as well. Women should enjoy their loveliness! From little girls spinning in their dresses to grown women with a new set of jewelry, we should revel in our prettiness. Too a point.
You see, the problem comes when this drive for beauty consumes us. The time we spend on ourselves spins out of control. Our mental focus is driven to what others think of us. Our good stewardship is lost as our finances are cast away on our search for beauty. Our satisfaction goes only as deep as our appearance pleases us and others. Instead of enjoying our gift of beauty, it becomes an idol.
Do you see how beauty is so often an idol? Is it an idol to you?
We need to use and enjoy our beauty only so much as we can still glorify God in it. This means having an attitude of beauty. We must be beautiful on the inside before we can be truly beautiful on the outside.
Do you know any "beautiful" people who are actually hideous because of their inside self? Are you inwardly beautiful?
We must have a spirit of humility, kindness, thankfulness, and servitude if we want to be truly beautiful (Proverbs 31:30). We also need to limit the time we spend on ourselves! I wonder what would happen to the Church if the women in it spent as much time in the Word and prayer as they do on their appearance. Amazing things could happen!
And also, don't allow the worlds sickness to become yours. Refuse to settle for its cheap definition of beauty. I encourage both men AND women to look away from the ads and magazines. And don't absorb yourself in movies and novels that teach you to live skin deep. View others in a deeper way and view yourself the same. Don't judge others for their appearance- look within.
Look within. This is the key to true beauty. This takes us full circle to my original point in Part 1. As we saw then, man's tendency is to look merely on the outward, but God looks within (1 Samuel 16:7). As Christians, we are called to also look within.
The Bible (in James 1:23,24) talks about how if we look in a mirror physically it matters so us. We primp and remember our appearance. Yet how often we look within ourselves at our spiritual mirrors, see something we know needs changed, and just walk away, completely forgetting what we even look like! We need to be maintaining our inward beauty with much more care and drive than our outward beauty.
So to men and woman alike: next time the world whispers its offer of beauty to you, don't listen. See it for what it really is- fake, distorted, and dying. Choose true beauty, Biblical beauty, instead. Seek the inward first, and enjoy the outward in its Biblical limitations (whether this means a time limit, pride limit, or marriage limit).
The outward is passing, but the inward is eternal. Revel in true beauty, and settle for no less.
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