Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Life-Syncing Not Lip-Syncing


Remember these guys.

Formed by Frank Farian, frontmen Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus aka Milli Vanilli purported their act as singers. For a time they were able to pull off their masquerade as a pop duo until that fateful day in 1989 when their song "Girl You Know It's True" continued to skip repeating the chorus over and over again. After much backlash and criticism, these purported singers confessed their foibles and admitted that they were shams.

As I was thinking about the fate of these men, I would like to suggest a positive take on this illustration. As Christians, we can do nothing on our own. Our thoughts, behavior, and our lives should be controlled by the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. As we allow the Holy Spirit to work through our lives, let us allow Him to be recognized for the work being done through us. The technical term for sync is synchronization involving the matching up of lip movement with another voice. Let all of us be active in lining up our lives with the movement of the Spirit in order that He may display the power and glory of Jesus Christ to others.

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Prayer

"Lord Jesus, I believe that thou art able and willing to deliver me from all the care and unrest and bondage of my Christian life. I believe thou didst die to set me free, not only in the future, but now and here. I believe thou art stronger than sin, and that thou canst keep me, even me, in my extrene of weakness, from falling into its snares or yielding obedience to its commands. And, Lord, I am going to trust thee to keep me. I have tried keeping myself, and have failed, and failed most grievously. I am absolutely helpless. So now I will trsut thee. I give myself to thee. I keep back no reserves. Body, soul, and spirit, I present myself to thee as a piece of clay, to be fashioned into anything thy love and thy wisdom shall choose. And now I am thine. I believe thou dost accept that which I present to thee; I believe that this poor, weak, foolish heart has been taken possession of by thee, and that thou hast even at this very moment begun to work in me to will and to do of thy good pleasure. I trust thee utterly, and I trust thee now."

Hannah Whitall Smith, The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life, 55-56