Ash Wednesday and Lent is a time of repentance and fasting. It is not an inherent Roman Catholic tradition. Though it is not specifically mentioned in Scripture or required of from believers we have the freedom to practice this holiday as believers in Christ. In a very real way, experiencing the 40 days of  fasting Christ went through in the desert.

Repentance and fasting should be a normal ethic of a believer. The believer shouldn’t need a special holiday marked out just so we can remember to repent of sins and fast for the Lord. However, Christians have the freedom to participate in these holidays, to publicly proclaim their faith, have tangible reminders of their faith in Christ and encourage the accountability of others.

The terrible reality of this time are all the sinful perversions that evolved from this holiday. From the gluttony associated with Fat Tuesday to the depravity of that which is called Mardi Gras. Like Valentines Day and St. Patrick’s Day, the historic Christian tradition gets boggled down with sinful vices and a reason to buy a greeting card.

If you care to, find a church tomorrow morning and participate in an Ash Wednesday service. Many Protestant churches still celebrate this tradition. If you are feeling really ambitious, do what I have done the past two years and find a local Catholic Church and be apart of their service. The rich tradition and beauty that goes along with some of the churches have really been edifying to my soul.

You will not lose your evangelical/Protestant card by participating in an Ash Wednesday service. Assuming you go into it with the right motives, the Lenten season is a time to humble yourself and get closer to God. Which for the Christian, should be a continual ethic anyways. In the same hand, if you decide to not participate in the Ash Wednesday/Lent Season, you are not exempt from continual repentance and devotion to the Lord. So what ever you do tomorrow, do it to the glory of God!

One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. (Romans 14:5-9 ESV)

Here are my jams from February. I am behind and just discovered the amazing voice of Adele, the chillness of the Civil Wars, and the dance party that is Rihanna. Pretty diverse mix.

Enjoy.

February Mixtape

If you have Spotify just click here and listen to this month’s mixtape. If you don’t have Spotify, get it! It is free and they will give you like a month of premium listening for free if you smile at them. It is great! Best way to listen to anything you want by any artist whenever you want!

(January’s Mixtape)

You can click on the graphic below to see the full chart and zoom in!

If you would like the high res PDF go to his blog here.

Im convicted to tell the truth

Superman will always use a phone booth

To turn in to a super hero

But Jesus Christ can turn my sins in to zero

see, he doesnt need a letter on his chest

to proclaim he is the best

Would you believe me

when I say a man died at the age of Thirty-Three

On Calvary

To die for the sins of you and me

Sit back and listen to this story

A boy was born in a stable

THe mom was a virgin, how could this be able

Something divine must have happened

Papa Joseph wasn’t clappin’

untill and angel told him it was ok

Then he was fine doing things God’s way

Miracles happened and he changed lives

But people still denied him,

even after seeing it with their own eyes

He died on a cross, The worst way to die

As he hung there, he watched his mother cry

A Man

A Son

Holy and Sinless

But Jesus knew he had to do this

He rose again on the third day

So we can be in heaven someday

The Divinchi Code is a bunch of crap

to say Christ wasn’t Devine

Dan Brown should be slapped

the ultimate sacrifice, God sent his son

The battle is over, He has won

I can’t make you choose

you must do that on your own

No email, no instant message, No need for a phone

Just ask for forgiveness and let him come in to your heart

Whats amazing is that’s only the start

Grace will always redeem you and this is so true

as it says in Hebrews, “He will never leave you!”

Dear Lord,

Why am I such an Idiot? Why is it when I can see what is right I purposely do the opposite? Lord I am not worthy for the name of being called a “christian”. I am so easily pleased with worldly things when what you offer is worth so much more! Lord I give it all up….I give it all up to you…Please forgive me for being such a fool….I take your Grace and Mercy for granted…..Yes I know you will forgive me…..Yes i know you sent your son to shed his blood on the cross for me……But i shouldnt take for granted what you gave me…..I need to live for you….with out you im nothing….Im desprite for you lord……I want to be on fire….and not the temporary fire that you get for like a week after missions trips….i want people to say….I see Christ in him….I want people to say…he is different….I want people to say….He loves the Lord with all his heart….Lord consume me…..Im done living for my flesh….I want to live for you….today is the first day of the rest of my life…..Im ready to start anew!!!!

Your son, Frank

With all the talk about Internet Censorship and SOPA/PIPA it is almost a bit comical that Steven Furtick‘s ministry pulled this video from some places and airing the other videos that were not so “gospel centered”.

After I watched this video, I tried to find it again a few hours later to show a friend and it came up looking like this:

I was mostly just upset because this sermon is so good that I really wanted my friend to hear it. Through Facebook I came across this link about someone explaining why Elevation Church took it down.

Thankfully, they haven’t removed the sermon from every site! Here it is:

Honestly, I am really surprised Steven invited Matt to come to this. I didn’t think Steven liked guys like Matt because of this:

and

“If you know Jesus, this church isn’t for you.” -Steven Furtick

So he made a new video called “Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus”

Since the day it has been posted on YouTube it has been circulating though Facebook and Twitter like crazy! However, not for all the same reasons. Particularly on my own Facebook most of the comments were about how this man is creating a false dichotomy and that this poem is full of strawman arguments and even theologically incorrect statements.

Let me first say this. If you are going to critique someones thought or argument. Do so with respect. At the end of the day this is a brother in Christ who we are talking about. I don’t think that anyone would say this person is a false teacher or someone trying to lead people astray. He is a man with a passionate heart to see people come to Christ and live a life worthy of the Gospel. He uses personal life examples to illustrate the realness of legalism and the damaging idea that “praying a prayer” or “just going to church” is what saves you. He is a brother that has been purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ and therefore we should treat him as such!

However, just because he is a brother does not mean you can’t disagree with him. There are claims that he is using the word “religion” incorrectly. What he is really trying to show is the difference between Christianity and legalism or Christianity and people who think their self-righteousness gets them right with God. These people throw around James 1:27 because it has the word religion in it. I do agree that the dictionary definition to religion is not contrary to what Christians believe. However, the only major error I found in this poem is that when he said “When Christ said it is finished, he meant it” I don’t believe “it” meant the end to religion but an end of the wrath of God being poured out on to him. The full cup of God’s wrath was being poured out on to Christ and when he said it is finished, it is Christ turning the cup over and saying I took it all!

But my issue with people who criticize this video and calling him wrong is that words change meanings. Words are not concrete. Depending in context and where we are as a culture, words can have a meaning of negativity where previously it was positive. The word “religion” is often associated with legalism. It is also associated with, as the man said in the video, mans attempt to get to God. Though the true definition is not defined that way, culture often dictates the definition of words stronger than Webster. So regardless of what the word really means, culturally speaking, the word “religion” has the same connotation as a legalism. It is also associated with the Pharisees that Christ often rebuked. We can blame this definition change to modern day evangelicalism but honestly who cares. Words are not sacred and there are more important things to redeem than words. So when this man says Christ and religion are on opposite ends of the spectrum. Within context of 2012 American Christianity, that is true. His point is accurate.

Now, I don’t disagree with the people who call Christianity a religion. It must be a religion. If it were not, what would we put on our Facebook as our religious preference? Christianity must a religion legally and must be recognized by one otherwise we have no argument to stand on when we complain about people taking Christ out of schools but they still teach about other world religions. More Churches would be closed down because they would lose their tax exemption status. And while all other religions are looked upon as such, the world will see us as a giant moral social club that argue with others within our giant moral social club.

But we can disagree without being rude.

This is an example of how to disagree with this video without being rude: Voddie Bauchman, which I love him but disagree with him on a few issues, writes an excellent article articulating his point that Christianity is a religion.

However, this is the wrong way to go about it. Calling something lame and making snide comments about the person personally doing the poetry is not ok.What benefit to the argument is there to make a comment about the way the guy looks (which by the way, to me, his swag is very high, do you see that watch?). He isn’t wrong in his critique of the content but it could have been done with a bit more grace.

I do believe Christianity is a religion. Defining religion as: a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involvingdevotional and ritual observances, and often containing amoral code governing the conduct of human affairs. I also agree with Matt Chandler, the Resurgence and others saying religion (in the legalistic, self-righteous sense) is not Christianity.

I guess I am too post-modern for my own good when one word can mean two things.

UPDATE: I do think words matter. There are certain words that need a clear definition. Heresy is one of them. We need to be careful before we call people a heretic.  Calling one self “reformed” is another. Reformed does not mean Calvinist. Calvinists can be reformed, but they are not interchangeable. The word religion is in scripture and within the context of James 1:27 we need to clearly define what that means. However, if someone uses the same word to define false religion or legalism, it is fine with me. Not a hill to die on.

He made a post on SCL about Jesus Jukes. I was so glad he did! In my youth group we had the definition of a Jesus Juker! I mean he would go out of his way to break the ankles on any conversation. For example:

Student: Did you watch The Office last night?

Jesus Juker: No, I was to busy feeding the ushering in the Kingdom of God.

or

Student: Wow! Did you see how many people started following Lecrae after he performed on the BET Awards?

Jesus Juker: If only more people followed Jesus’ life like the way they follow Lecrae on Twitter, maybe we would see true revival in America.

Ok, those conversations never happened. But maybe it did when I was not around. Needless to say, he was a professional Jesus Juker.

I have found myself commenting when people Jesus Juke other people and even rate the level of Jukeiness on a Jesus Juke (The higher the conviction the better the juke). But one thing I am afraid that is happeneing that perhaps Jon Acuff or myself didn’t intend was that calling something a Jesus Juke may be hurting the community of believers.

For example, lets say someone over the weekend watched “The Hangover 2″ or “Bridesmades” (pretty much the same movie but with genders reversed). They talk to you about it and you are maybe concerned because perhaps those movies aren’t the best thing to put our minds and eyes on. I mean if we are honest we can’t say those movies fit in Philippians 4:8 as being something worthy of putting our minds on. So you hearing this feels the need to say, “um…I am not sure if it is really God glorifying to watch those movies. I mean, they can be kinda raunchy and lets be honest, do you leave closer to God after watching those movies?” If your friend replies, “Wow, thanks for that Jesus Juke” we may have lost the battle. If I am honest I put Jesus Jukes in the same category as Trollers. By that I mean their sole goal is to make a normal conversation or topic into something awkward or at least go down a direction that was not expected.

If our out look on Jesus Jukes is that, then are we creating an environment where it is not ok to confront brothers in sin? Where striving for holiness makes you just look like a Jesus Juker. It is something I have seen in my local community and I am kinda worried. We already struggle with calling everything legalism. Legalism is saying, “I don’t do this or that and that is what qualifies me as a believer.” What striving for holiness is, “Because I am already saved, for me to best glorify God, I abstain from this or that.” Big difference and we need to get our definitions straight. Maybe calling something a Jesus Juke blurs that line.

Perhaps I am making a mountain out of an ant hill. Perhaps this post was just a giant Jesus Juke. But my concerns are real.

A blog I enjoy following Ben Terry‘s blog. One thing he does every month are monthly mixtapes.

I want to follow his idea with some of the music I enjoy. Some of the people who know me and follow me on twitter or facebook probably have a good gauge on the music I listen too. So some of the music on here is probably in your iPod already. But instead of loading it with the normal Christian Hip Hop that everyone knows I like, here are some of the tracks I have been listening to recently.

If you have Spotify just click here and listen to this month’s mixtape. If you don’t have Spotify, get it! It is free and they will give you like a month of premium listening for free if you smile at them. It is great! Best way to listen to anything you want by any artist whenever you want!

January’s Mixtape

It includes a cypher with some really good punchlines in it. Some of my favorite worship songs I have been listening to recently. As well as my favorite Dubstep song! Enjoy!