People are Watching - Are You Changing?

God is calling us to spiritual growth, and to produce detectable fruit - our outward behavior can reflect the inner change that the Lord has worked in our hearts. In Psalm 24, we read:
3 Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, Who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive blessing from the Lord, And righteousness from the God of his salvation.

There is no way we can change ourselves internally in order to line up with God's nature; we might engage in some self-help from time-to-time and make improvements in our outward appearance or behavior, but without a new heart, those will only be temporary adjustments.  God is calling us to accept Jesus into our hearts as our Savior and then to allow Him to transform our hearts through careful application of His Word and yielding to His Holy Spirit.

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We see a beautiful passage of Scripture in Ezekiel 36 about God's redemptive work, reminding us that God's power is available to produce change in our lives:
25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.
26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.
Oh, boy, it's coming around again - the annual tribute to popular music and pop culture known as the Grammys.  And, there's a penchant for the outrageous that you might expect from the awards show, such as last year's mass wedding of gay and straight couples officiated by Queen Latifah while Macklemore and Lewis belted out the song, "Same Love," an anthem paying tribute to same-sex relationships and denigrating people of faith.  I wrote this last year after the show:

I have read the lyrics to "Same Love", and I'm offended not only by the suggestion that gay love is equated to the love between husband and wife, or generally couples of the opposite sex, the mockery of religion that is contained within it, even including the quotation of "love is patient, love is kind" from 1st Corinthians 13 at the end. Fox News goes on to quote some of the lyrics that were belted out by the group on stage, ""The right-wing conservatives think it's a decision/And you can be cured with some treatment and religion/Man-made rewiring of a predisposition," Macklemore rapped. "Playing God, aw nah here we go/America the brave still fears what we don't know/And God loves all his children, is somehow forgotten/But we paraphrase a book written thirty-five hundred years ago."

Not that you'd see the presentations on the national CBS broadcast, but there are 5 gospel categories, including nominees whose music you will hear on Faith Radio:  Francesca Battistelli, Crowder, For King and Country, MercyMe, William McDowell, Natalie Grant, the Gaither Vocal Band, and the Martins.

One pop artist who has not been nominated for a Grammy, in fact, Wikipedia says he's only been nominated for 2, is Justin Bieber.  According to Business Insider, in 2011. Bieber lost out to Lady Gaga for Best Pop Album (which was expected) but then also lost to lesser known jazz musician Esperanza Spalding for Best New Artist.

It's been a downward spiral for Mr. Bieber for the past few years in his personal life.  According to Christian Today:

Canadian pop singer Justin Bieber has been made quite a name for himself in the past year getting into celebrity scuffles, partying hard and getting in trouble with the law, but the young crooner seems to be sincere in his efforts to turn over a new leaf after he apologised on television for his bad behaviour.

And the efforts continue, with the pop star donating signed shoes for a Christian charity auction.

He went on the Ellen show to make an apology.  He's quoted as saying: "I'm not that kid. I'm a person that genuinely cares. And although what's happened in the past has happened, I just want to make the best impression on people and be kind and loving and gentle and soft."

The Christian Today piece referred to reports throughout last year of Bieber trying to make a spiritual turnaround.  He was reportedly baptized in a bathtub in the middle of 2014 and chose the unusual location after failing to find a church that could baptize him privately.  Since then, he has been spotted attending worship events and concerts.  Last October, he was reportedly seen crying during a Hillsong United concert in Inglewood, California.  The website reports that he is regular attendee at the New York City Hillsong Church.  Seattle pastor Judah Smith has also been reported to be a pastor to Bieber, as well as Seahawks QB Russell Wilson and golfer Bubba Watson.

In a piece on the ChurchLeaders.com website, Smith is quoted as saying:

I just cannot imagine if I was the wealthiest, most famous 18-year-old kid in the world, I cannot imagine what I would do. If I had been given any option to do anything with anyone at any point at any time at 18 years old, needless to say, I would have been in the tabloids more than anyone you could ever imagine. It’s really easy for people to take cheap shots at anybody who’s well-known based on what they’ve read or what they think they know about the person, but anyone who’s had any opportunity to be with someone who is of world-renown realizes that with all the fame comes an enormous amount of expectation and pressure.

I've had Justin's mom, Pattie Mallette on the radio show, and she is not only a Christian and pro-life advocate, but she is a devoted mom, and I really picked up that she believes that Justin is really not like his public persona.  

But, what other people see is perhaps the only impression that they have of you.

Your life may not attract the paparazzi or you may not make headlines, but you are sending a message with the lifestyle you lead and the way you behave.  And, if we say that the way we act isn't who we really are, then that means there is a disconnect there.  I would contend that our outward actions are a reflection of who we are on the inside - yes, we all stumble and fall, we walk in the flesh, I walk in the flesh more than I care to admit, but I am thankful for the grace of God and would hope that my growth in Christ would produce detectable fruit for His glory!

Detectable fruit - God is capable of changing a person from the inside.  And, if we have experienced true heart change through a relationship with Jesus, we can rely on Him to express His nature through us.  We can certainly stop the flow of His life and love through selfishness and sin, but if we are allowing Christ to be our life, we can expect that as grow, people will see the change in us. It can be detectable.   Certainly, this is challenging to each of us, but we serve a God who gives great capacity for change and great power to bring it about.