the world is finally spinning the right way

there are many things that could bring me down today. i must admit it. if i were to sit around and think of all the things that are not the way that i want them to be, i could sit and cry.

i mean really, it's an election year, and there aren't any real choices. we've got 2 communists in disguise, and a liberal democrat pretending to be a republican.

i must admit that right now, i really don't care about any of that. trouble at work, stess all around. it really doesn't matter to me today.

why you ask. the answer is simple. since last october, i have been deprived of my most favorite thing. and as of today, my motorcycle is finally fixed. yeah baby. i'll have bugs in my teeth tomorrow from smiling as i ride past all the gas stations with my 45 miles per gallon 2 wheeled piece of heaven on earth. thank you Jesus for giving us the know how to make life a little better with the joys of a 1500cc v-twin motor. you truly are an amazing God.

and for those of you who haven't yet experienced this joy, you have my condolences, and my prayers that God will find a way to bring you peace and joy in your life.

much love
theoldmusicbox

no thanks, i can handle it.

no thanks, i can handle it

how many times have you said that? how many times have you been struggling, fighting, desperately holding on to that last scrap of sanity that you can call your own. then, when someone asks you "can i help you somehow?" you reply "no thanks, i can handle it".


if this is you, i have to ask you something. what makes you think that you are so tough?


i've been thinking about this all week. you see, sunday was easter. my favorite holiday. that is the day that i surrendered my life to Christ. april 3, 1994. easter sunday morning.


this year, for the first time, i spent the evening watching "king of kings" with my kids. while watching with my son and daughter both at my side, God reminded me of a revelation that i knew once, but had forgotten. "i really don't have to be that tough"


after Jesus was beaten, he had to carry his cross (i believe it was over 2 miles, but i may be wrong) to calvary. have you ever seen "the passion of the Christ"? i don't think that i could carry my cross to my neighbors house after that beating. but do you know what. Jesus couldn't do it either. at one point, while carrying His cross, he fell down and could NOT continue to carry it. so someone else had to carry it for Him!

my friends, don't you see, even our Lord needed help carrying His cross. just like you and me. sometimes we need help. sometimes we need to allow someone else to bear our burdens with us. if Jesus was able to allow someone to help Him, what makes us feel shamed when we can't carry our cross by ourself?

this is a hard lesson for me. i always feel like "hey, it's my cross, it's my battle, if i need help, the Lord will help me" but ya know what, sometimes, the Lord helps us by sending others in His place. and through our stubborness, we refuse the help that he sends us.

so the next time someone says "can i help you?" think about it before you say "no thanks, i can handle it"

much love
theoldmusicbox

someone is coming!

hey musiclovers!

sorry it's been so long, but this one's been building. i heard a speaker a couple of weeks ago, and one point he made stuck to me and i haven't been able to get it out. so drop your quarter, press A-1 and hopefully, you'll enjoy this selection from the jukebox of life.....

in the early 80's, a man was driving on the highway. as he traveled down the road, an airplane flew close to the ground, then crashed into the FROZEN potomac river. there were 79 people on board, but only 4 survived the crash.

the man pulled his car to the side, got out and ran down to the river's bank. when he got there, several people were trying to decide how to help. they had started making a rope by tying jumper cables, cloth diapers, jackets, blankets and whatever else they had in their cars.

this man suddenly just grabbed the end of the "rope" and tied it around his waist. he then jumped onto the icy river. he clawed his way towards the survivors. he slipped, fell into the water, crawled back out and kept going. several times, he slid into the frozen river. jumping from ice chunk to ice chunk. he broke several fingers, toes and a rib while jumping across the river. then he came to the end of the rope. he was still 4 feet away from the people that he was trying to save. and no matter what they tried, he couldn't reach them.

finally, the rescue helicopter came and got everyone out of the river and took them to the hospital. our friend who tried to save them, was in the hospital for 4 days with broken bones, and when he got to the hospital, his body temperature was still at 80 degrees farenhiet.


at the press conference, the survivors were being interviewed and one of the women said that the helicopter didn't rescue them. a reporter told her that she wasn't thinking clearly, that she didn't remember it right. but she said NO, I REMEMBER JUST FINE. the helicopter got us out of the river, but the sight of that man saved us. he just kept coming and coming. and as long as we could see him coming, we knew that SOMEONE was coming to SAVE US.

WOW!

my thought is this. how many times do we see people suffering, hurting, or just plain miserable in their sins, and we don't reach out? my friends, it is time for us to tie the rope around our waist, jump in and show them that, hey, someone is coming to save you!!!!!!

the truth of the matter is this. they can't save themselves. and we can't save them. but we can show them that their is one who can save them. and if they see us coming, then they will have HOPE. and what greater thing can we offer someone who is lost and dying? hope of salvation! i may not be able to reach them, but someone is coming. you may not be able to reach them, but someone is coming. they may feel like they're at the end of their rope, but thank God, someone is coming. but if they don't see us trying to help them, how can they have hope to hold on?

so i leave you with this thought. the plane is down. the survivors are losing hope. if not you, then who is going to give them the hope that someone is coming?

much love and God bless
theoldmusicbox

even when i didn't ask!!!

hey musiclovers!

this may just be a quick blog, or i may start to go on and on. i'm not sure yet, but stick with me, i'm sure you'll get a kick out of it!

as most of you know, i preached at evangel church of God 2 sundays ago. some of you were even kind enough to come and support me. (thanks very much, you'll never know what that means to me) anyway, a friend of mine who works with me in ministry came along with me. his name is robert. he is a really cool 19 year old with a heart on fire for God.

anyway, once we got there, i brought out my preaching bible. a pitiful thing that it is. i have beat it senseless. it even is being held together by duct tape. i gave him my typical response when he joked about it. i said "hey, bibles that are falling apart are usually owned by people that aren't". and we had a good laugh about it. i then preached one of the most heartfelt messages of my life, called "i want pretty feet". (yes, i know, i AM a dork) it was all about service and salvation. i was really pleased with the way that God used me.

the next week, robert gave me a brand new life application study bible. i almost broke down in tears.

you see, a little while back, i had to dispose of my old study bible. it was so abused that even duct tape couldn't hold it together anymore. this really bummed me out, but hey, i still had my preaching bible, and my travel bible, and my e-sword that i downloaded for free from my friend bill's chuch's website (thanks man, that is an awesome resource). but still, i no longer had my good study bible.

while i was preparing my sermon, i talked to God (yeah, i talk and read and study all at the same time). while studying, i mentioned that i really missed my study bible. i wasn't complaining, and i didn't ask for a new one. i just mentioned how much i missed it. then didn't think about it again because i knew i didn't have the money to get one that i really wanted.

so, imagine my surprise, when out of nowhere, my friend robert put that study bible into my hands. all i could think was "wow Lord, i didn't even ask you for this". it was all i could do to keep from blubbering like an idiot. imagine. God cares for me so much, that He gave me something that i didn't even ask for, just because He knew that i really wanted it.

the really, really cool part is this. i would probably NEVER have bought this particular bible myself. but after checking it out, i have to say that it is quite possibly the BEST study bible that i have ever owned. it has so many different helps and resources that it may take awhile to find ways to use them all!

you see, this is just yet another example of the greatness of the God that i serve. because, even when i didn't ask Him, he gave me something that i really wanted. because, He is just that cool.

much love
theoldmusicbox

it's my life, i'm not hurting anyone, just leave me alone!

ok, how many times have you heard that one? it has to be the number one response that people give when they're feeling convicted over their lifestyle choices.

they say things like, "hey, it's my life, i'm not hurting anyone, and if i want to do this, it's only affecting me." yeah. right.

have you ever read the book of jonah? if not, you should check it out. you see, God wanted jonah to preach repentance to the city of Nineveh. jonah didn't like them. (if you read it, you'll see that he ran from God's call because he knew that God would be merciful to them if they repented, and he wanted them to be destroyed)

so jonah ran from God's call. he boarded a ship destined for (what they believed at the time) the end of the earth. while off to sea, they found themselves in a furious storm that threatened to sink the ship. they unloaded the cargo into the sea. they all cried out to their god's. they woke jonah up and told him to ask God for help. that's when they found out that jonah was the cause for the storm.

they asked what could be done and jonah said "throw me off the ship". they wouldn't do it at first. they tried and tried to row the boat to shore but at last gave up and threw him into the sea.

now, let me ask you something. did jonah's disobedience to God only affect him? no. it affected not only jonah, but everyone around him. AND the people who were waiting for the cargo that had to be thrown overboard. AND the people of Nineveh.

NOW, let me ask you something else. who does your disobedience affect? sure, it affects you. but it also affects everyone around you. things that you shouldn't be involved in affect all of those involved. people that you may never know or meet can be affected because you "just checked it out". not to mention those whose lives could have been changed if you had only been obedient to God's voice.

i realize that we all suffer from O.D.D. (obedience deficit disorder) at times. and need a good shot of spiritual ritalin to get us back in line. well, here it is. if our disobedience can have such a negative affect on everyone around us, then that means in turn that our OBEDIENCE must also have a positive affect on those around us.

when jonah finally got out of the fishes belly, he ran to Nineveh and preached the revival of a lifetime and the entire city got saved!!!!! wow. just imagine that. because of one man's obedience, and ENTIRE city was saved!

so hey, after all, it's your life. now, what are you going to do with it?

much love
theoldmusicbox

theology from the backseat of a mini-van

wow. i can't believe it. on wednesday, my son turned 10 years old. double digits!!!

anyway, this year we decided to give my son a choice. he could either have a party like usual, or, he could do something cool with a friend. he decided to do something cool with a friend.

have you ever just listened to the conversations that your children have? i'm not talking about eavesdropping. i mean just listened while they talk to someone their own age. i got to do that this weekend.

my son desperately wanted to go to the dayton art institute to see the roman world exhibit. so for his birthday, we took him and a friend to see it. when we picked up his friend, also a 9 year old boy, we were listening to the radio. k-love. the song "so long self" by mercyme was playing. the 2 boys then went into a 10 minute discussion on what the song was actually about. i must say, as a parent, i was very happy to listen to the conversation. i didn't know the boys family very well. he was on my son's soccer team. but it was so cool to find that this was the type of kid my son choose to be friends with.

anyway, after about 10 minutes the boys decided that the song was about choosing to be a christian and telling satan that he wasn't allowed in your life anymore. i decided not to join the conversation. i wanted to hear how they would come to their decision. it was humorous in some spots, and almost tear-jerking in others, to hear how they came to their conclusions.

i don't think i spoke more than once or twice all the way to the museum. i was too wrapped up in listening.

many times, we worry about the future. we wonder how much to shelter our children. we struggle between the fine line of protecting them from the world and hiding them from it. the truth of the matter is this. one day, my son will have to choose for himself. he will have to decide between the world and eternity. good vs evil. God vs satan. and i won't be there to take him by the hand. i have to trust that i've done the job entrusted to me. that i've taught him to make those decisions on his own. man. that scares me. but the truth is, at some point, we have to give them the chance to make choices.

i like to ask my son about my lessons on sunday morning. sometimes, it's really funny to hear what he gets from my teaching. and it never fails, he always adds something that i didn't think of. i told him i'm going to have to run things by him before i give them. before long, i think he's going to be asking me what i think of his ideas for sermons.

wouldn't that be cool

much love
theoldmusicbox

where is God?

ok, here's the deal. if you've read my stuff lately, you kinda know some of the things i've been dealing with. since i asked the questions "why" last week, i felt like i needed to continue on that vein this week. if nothing else, just to show everyone that i am, in fact, ok.

where is God?

how many times have you been asked that question? how many times have you asked it yourself?

the truth of the matter is, that we all have those moments. you know the ones. when we have borne all that we feel like we can bear. when we have finally come to the end of ourself. when we finally cry out, "dear God!!!! can you hear me????? are you there?? are you listening??

even one of my favorite bible heroes had that feeling. elijah the prophet hid in a cave, scared and trembling because he feared men. then elisha the prophet, after elijah was taken in the chariot of fire. he felt abandoned. in 2nd kings chapter 2. he took the mantel of elijah and hit the waters and said "where is the God of elijah?"

isn't it amazing. after everything that elijah and elisha had witnessed. raising of dead children. fire from heaven. among other things. they doubted the very presence of God in their lives at times. did that make them any less of a man of God? no. it made them human.

i am trying to put a video up here. i don't know if it will work, or if it is just a link. if it doesn't work, go to youtube and search for joshua bell, it will be the first one that comes up. check it out. then finish reading.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnOPu0_YWhw

the violinist is joshua bell. he is the 1 violinist in the country, possibly the world. the violin he is playing was made in the early 1700's. it is worth over 3.5 million dollars. the cheap seats to his concert sell for $100. after the subway he played a sold out concert.

in the subway, he was barely noticed at all. he played for 45 minutes and people thought that he was a street player and in 45 minutes people placed less than $35 in his violin case! this man usually receives $1000 a minute to perform. and almost all of the people in the subway that day didn't even notice him.

it is just like that with God. we have something truly amazing right within our grasp. right here where we are. trying desperately to reach out to us. and what do we do? we turn away. act like we don't see. don't hear. why? because we know that if we look, if we notice, it may just cost us something. the people that noticed mr. bell recieved a concert that would have cost several hundred dollars. for spare change they had in their pockets. and received a few moments of beautiful music.

but if we would just open our eyes to the amazing God who is in our reach, it may cost us our lives, but it will win us eternity.

just remember, when you feel like God is nowhere to be found, He may just be right in front of your eyes. desperately trying to get your attention.

much love
theoldmusicbox