we read:
18 "Come now, and let us reason together," Says the Lord, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land...
I believe that the Bible teaches a principle of cause and effect, of sowing and reaping. There are blessings that come as the result of obedience. Now, God doesn't guarantee us a life free of suffering; in fact, suffering can be used in our lives to bring about greater fruit for the Kingdom. As we are motivated by the Lord to deeper faithfulness, that will bring glory to His name - that is the ultimate aim of our lives - to conform to the image of the risen Christ in us.
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In Proverbs 3, we can read some wise words about being faithful to God:
3 Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart,
4 And so find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man.
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
Well, our wonderful Family Faith Night #1 with the Montgomery Biscuits and Faith Radio is now in the rear view mirror, with Jasmine Murray, a finalist in Season 8 of American Idol, performing in a pre-game concert. #2 is on the way June 24 with Calling Glory...you can register to win tickets and our Grand Prize of 2 Owners' Suite tickets and throwing out a first pitch by going to FaithRadio.org.
During the leadup to that night, it occurred to me just how many former Idol finalists are actually in our music archives at Faith Radio - Danny Gokey, also from Season 8, is there; in fact, he was in Montgomery last December for A Montgomery Family Christmas. There's Mandisa, who is currently in the Meeting House Top 10 with Unfinished. How about Colton Dixon, who was in Dothan for the Will Graham Celebration. And don't forget Jason Castro, Phil Stacey, and probably some I'm leaving out.
Of course, with talk of Idol returning, perhaps as soon as this fall, don't forget there's another talent-rich competition, produced by Mark Burnett, a show on which Anthony Evans was once a contestant and for which he became a consultant. Yes, that would be The Voice, which crowned another champion this week. That would be Season 12 of the show.
His name is Chris Blue. He's a worship leader in Knoxville, TN, at Cokesbury United Methodist Church. According to a story on the Faithwire website, Chris told the Knoxville News Sentinel he tried out for the show after his fiancee, Stephanie Dunkley, was diagnosed with bone cancer. The story states:
After her diagnosis, Dunkley underwent a bone cancer transplant to save her life. It was at that moment, a light bulb went off.
“When everything happened with my fiancée and her story, I realized that life was just too short,” Blue said.
“And after God was kind of pushing me to go forth, and I was declining and saying ‘No. This can’t be …’ I asked that He would just confirm, and He did, and when He did, I would say that really did help push me and helped me overcome the fear and just do it.”The article links to Chris' Instagram page, where he wrote:
...I CANT BELIEVE THIS IS REAL!!!! faithfulness rewards!! Life has had its struggles and the obstacles have had their days of victory but we NEVER quit!!!! Did we @aliciakeys and now I can finally call myself and to every person that believed prayed and loved from the beginning!! My fiancée parents siblings and ALL OF YOU!! We are champions!!!!The Faithwire story also relates, "Through the season, Blue has opened up about his relationship with his fiancé, Dunkley and expressed how winning would mean would mean the world to her. After his blind audition, he told of how she flatlined during her treatment and it was then and there he realized he would “never let her go” again..."
He plans to use the prize of a $100,000 and a record deal to give Stephanie, who is based in London, the "wedding she deserves."
And, Chris has debuted in the number one position on Billboard's Hot Gospel Songs chart with his version of Tamela Mann's "Take Me to the King," a song he performed on the show's May 15 episode. The original was in the top slot for 25 weeks in 2012 and 2013 and becomes the first song with more than one version in the #1 position on the chart, dating back to 2005.
I quickly typed in some thoughts relative Chris' story. First of all, we can remember that suffering can produce motivation. When we or someone close to us suffers, it can either cause us to withdraw from God and become bitter...or, and this is much more productive, we can allow that suffering to motivate us to rely on God more wholeheartedly. Chris' fiancee Stephanie's suffering propelled him to compete in The Voice, at the direction of the Lord - Stephanie's plight helped him open his eyes and ears.
Then, we recognize that motivation can produce faithfulness. We see ourselves becoming more faithful, and we see God meet us with His faithfulness at the point of our obedience. But, we cannot shy away - once God has stirred our spirits and spoken to our souls, we can respond to His call.
Finally, our faithfulness produces glory to our King! It seems that Chris wanted to honor His Lord, and you can see that evidenced in His story. Our participation in whatever activity should be with the intent of making God famous, not trying to be famous ourselves.
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