Website: www.madagascar-themovie.com
Title: Give Me Your Eyes
Artiste: Brandon Heath
Website: www.brandonheath.net
Reality TV programs have become a staple for television viewers over the past years, most of which are doing more harm than good. MTV somehow has lead the way with programs targeted at teenagers, one of their most viewed programs being 'My Super Sweet Sixteen'.
MTV's My Super Sweet Sixteen promoted a disregard for authority (parents), responsibility, the value of money among many other tings. The program propagated a fib that teenagers from wealthy families can do as they please and get what the want when the want. This program created monsters.
MTV being as crafty as they are recently created a new reality program called Exiled where they take 8 teenagers from My Super Sweet Sixteen and send them to another country for a week to live with a family under extreme conditions. No air conditioning, atms, cellphones, hot water or electricity with hopes they value life more after the experience. On the surface the program seems to pushing a positive message but I can't help but wonder how much of this is done for entertainment value or increased viewer-ship.
I think it's interesting that MTV used My Super Sweet Sixteen to promote a lifestyle which they then used to create another program, Exiled, to try and undo those same values.
James when challenging Christians about their lifestyle asked this question "Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?" (James 3:11 - NIV)
Title: Arise (Stand Up)
Artiste: Shachah
Website: www.shachah.com
If we were to just sit and watch people, without knowing who they were or where they came from, just "people watch", what would we be able to find out? We could guess if they were uptown, downtown or in-between; if they had a job and what kind it was; we might try to determine where they were going and sometimes we could even try to guess what they were thinking. But at the end of it all it would be a series of guesses based on observation. Could we then, from observation, tell if the stranger was a Christian or not?
Well, outside of some declarative item on their person... more than likely we wouldn't. Christians don't necessarily walk differently as they go by and sometimes we don't behave in any way that sets us apart. Truth be told, it's hard to "be" Christian. "BE" meaning act, behave, move in a manner that consistently reflects Christ. Life's circumstances change and sometimes we can't always keep up with a Cross Movement.
What things affect us? Well here are a few things that can make it hard for others to see the Jesus in people.
1. Disappointment in God. Yup, sometimes, this happens. We think things are on the right track and all of a sudden something happens and you wonder, "What? God? What???" The Israelites left Egypt in joy only to discover sand and scorpions and more sand. Soon they began to grumble and complain.
2. Distraction. When things are going so well that we forget God was ever in the mix. At these times we don't have to consciously turn away from God, we just have to become absorbed with all we have been given.
3. Dangerous Relationships. The bible says, "Bad company corrupts good character". We have to be careful of who we associate with.
4. Prayerlessness. The communication channel between our God and ourselves have to remain open! It's like having VIP on your cell phone with your best friend and never using any of the minutes! How else will we know what he is saying to us if we don't keep our minds in a place that can receive his message. Keeping the prayer line open can protect us from...
5. Self-Reliance. That instinct that tells us, we can do it all by ourselves and the power is in us and only "I" can get it right. Without God, everything is meaningless, including our efforts.
Those were just a few things. We must counteract these things with remembering God's faithfulness, thanksgiving, good company, prayer, and dependence on an all powerful God. That way, we can truly show the world the most powerful testimony: Godly lives.
Title: Live Out Loud
Artiste: Steven Curtis Chapman
Website: www.stevencurtischapman.com
As a teenager I was addicted to MTV & BET while praying for a Christian alternative. Then I was introduced to TBN's late night segment, on Fridays, that was dedicated to teens. There was a series called G-Rock with alternative Christian music and other programs with people like Ron Luce (Acquire the Fire/Teen Mania) and Eastman Curtis (This Generation) that were just 'wicked'.
Unfortunately one night a week wasn't enough and I went back to my addiction, watching MTV & BET on the idiot box. Soaking up all the warped morals they were willing to throw at me in programs like 'Cribs' , 'Real World', 'Road Rules', 'Rap City', 'Hits from the Streets' and 'BET Latenight'. Before I knew it I was watching programs promoting infidelity, materialism, same sex relationship and list goes on. All of which are contrary to what I believe as a follower of Jesus the Christ.
Recently I came across a channel called Gospel Music Channel which is dedicated to bringing Gospel music of all genres to their viewers, even teens. They don't have a bunch of reality tv shows like 'The Hills' but the have shows like Gospel Dreams (similar to Digicel Rising Stars), The Kitchen Sink, Hot List, Front Row Live and much more.
If you don't have Gospel Music Channel in your list of cable channels you can call your Cable Provider and request it (or have your parents do it).
Jesus said this "Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light. But when they are bad, your body also is full of darkness." - Luke 11:34 [NIV] (explanation). Remember 'a man reaps what he sows' (Prov.11:18, Gal.6:7).
What are you watching?
'...anything that puts up shoots faster than it puts down roots is fragile and in danger of breaking, falling, or dying.' - ODB Daily Devotional 05/09/08
I posted this on my personal blog this morning, but thought I'd share it here as well. I love that quote. I love it because it applies to so many things in our lives. Our schooling, our talents, our personalities, our relationships (with God and man), houses & buildings, everything. A firm foundation is so necessary to maintain stability.
I was having a reminiscent conversation with a friend the other day and I was reminded of our beginnings. We have been through quite a lot in our relatively short lives and have come out closer and stronger because of it. Why? I believe our beginning has something to do with it. We spent quite a lot of time getting into the heart of each other, knowing the 'nitty-gritty' of each other, understanding our motivations, dislikes and likes and how to genuinely handle each other. By the time people saw us together it's like we had been friends from we were two, but we weren't, we just took the time to grow our roots, and let me tell you, they didn't grow overnight.
It's a critical element in any solid career, in any solid family, in any solid friendship, including our relationship with God. The shoots are all the flairs that people see, but they won't last long, remain beautiful, or withstand great stress without a fully grown and deep rooted foundation.
Death, many of us fear it and some of us don't stop to think about it, it's inevitable. I must confess that I worry about how I'll die (fearing death).
The truth is I usually separate myself from death by compartmentalizing the issue but I was unable to do so on Sat.Aug.30.08. On Saturday my neighbour called my attention to our land lady's dog, sparkle, which was bleeding. The dog was afraid of the thunder and lightening Gustav brought to Jamaica and it seems that he burst a blood vessel which may have been the cause for the bleeding. This didn't help his already bad heart condition.
In an attempt to assess the situation properly we had to wait until 8:00am to talk to a veterinarian. Unfortunately that was too long, when we went back to look at the dog he was dead. We were too late and nothing the vet told us could help. Sparkle was gone, just like that.
As I reflected on his death I'm reminded of the saying "Tomorrow is promised to no man" and how we put off things we can do today for tomorrow, when we have no guarantee. James tells us not to boast the days to come, he says "...you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." (James.4:13-15 N.I.V). I'm not suggesting we live our lives in fear that we die at any given moment but that we live each day seeking to fulfil God's purpose for our lives.
Yow! Real big man ting...I'm not at that place where I can fully live my life without the fear of death but I pray that my desire to be a true follower of Christ will overpower that fear and that I will "not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matt.10:27-29).
Why do you think we are afraid to die, even as Christians?
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