Phillipians 3:4-11
4 though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more!
5 I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. 6 I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault.
7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ.
For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. 10 I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, 11 so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!
We were talking about the Apostle Paul this past Sunday and reflecting on how the Bible would be different without him and his writings. It was because of Andrew that Paul was brought into a caring, discipling "church" so that he could become what God intended him to be. My thoughts went to this passage.
Paul could boast in so many things. He was a Jew among Jews. He had kept all the laws since his youth. But none of that compared to the priceless gift of Christ. It was all Paul could really glory in. The painful, sacrificial death of Christ was the only thing this great man of God could glory in. It was this and only this that made him acceptable to the Father. God didn't care who Paul was or what he had done or how many commandments he had kept and for how long. All God cared about was the blood of His Son. That is was took Paul from enemy status to friend status.
I guess I could do some boasting also. I could tell you all the things I have accomplished. I could tell you how many years of my life have been spent in service to God. I could tell you how many hours I dedicate praticing, preparing my heart, seeeking the face of God. I could paint a pretty sacrificial picture of myself. I could impress people. I can definately entertain them. God has given me a wonderful gift to be able to worship God and express my love for Him through music. Because of the years of perfecting my craft I can sit down and play pretty much anything at a moments notice and make it seem like I've practiced for hours. I have spent countless hours preparing for the spontenaity that God requires of me.
I could tell you sad stories about my childhood and how my father failed me and what a tyrant my mother was. How I would spend hours in my room praticing piano as an escape from the abuse of the household.
I could boast about how I started playing piano at age 13 and moved on to organ and then singing, then directing choirs and finally to worship leading.
Yes, I could paint a pretty picture of myself.
But, you know what? All that is nothing!!!
You heard me. Nothing!!
Nothing I can do on my own amounts to anything. God doesn't need me to complete His work or to cause His people to worship Him. He has chosen to use me, in spite of me. And as wonderful as it is to praise Him and lead His people in worship, He really doesn't need me to do it. His word says that He can cause the rocks and hills to cry out to Him in praise.
I can't take credit for anything I can do. I have practiced long and hard. It has taken years for me to develope my talents into what I do now. But had He not directed my life and had a direct hand in everything about my life I would have turned out to be a totally different person with totally different interests.
I say a very big Amen! with Paul.
"Yes, everything is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord".
I could choose to sing for another but why would I, how could I keep from singing and playing for one Who has done so much for me?
I turn 48 in a couple of days. I always seem to get down around my birthday. I always reflect on the failures of the past. I am not where I intended to be at age 48. I have dreamed a lot and a lot of those dreams have not been recognized. There have been lots of decisions made that have proved to be detrimental to the dreams I had. But my dreams are not God's dreams. They are mine. When I stand at the keyboard on Sunday morning and worship the God I love so very much, I don't focus on my failures. Sure, I wonder how such a holy God could desire friendship with such a sinful man, but mostly what I feel is that all my dreams have been realized. My entire family, with exception of Micah, is to my right, sharing the "stage" with me. What could be more fulfilling than that? To have the woman I love more than life and the children we have brought into this world together sharing in the passion of our hearts is more wonderful than any stupid dream I have.
There have been lots of ups and downs and lots of things I could feel sorry for myself about or feel regret about. I don't regret my family. Sure, life would have been easier if I would have never married. Perhaps I would be somewhere further down the road in the entertainment business. Maybe I would be writing songs that are sung by my idols, Mac Powell or Bebo Norman or Chris Tomlin. Maybe I would be 50 pounds lighter and run 5 miles everyday.
But nothing gives me more pleasure than hearing my church sing one of my songs or hearing one of my kids singing one of my songs while walking around the house. Nothing makes me feel more at peace with my life than knowing that I have been entrusted with raising a litter of worshippers.
Even with all this wonderfulness, nothing compares to the priceless gift of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
Blessings
Allen
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