Rockin' out--a Lenten Meditation

I like to lift to music. Loud music. Very loud hard rock Christian music. Something abut it just gets me going. I have my own play list too called Lifting Music. On it, I have Flyleaf, Thousand Foot Krutch, Skillet, Pillar and many others. Each with a good solid base line, pounding drums, great guitar riffs. There's a couple of songs that just get me going when they come on.

Pillar has a song called Fireproof that just gets the blood flowing and the energy pumping. The guitar and base from Fireproof get me going, and then the words just spur it on even more.

Skillet has two songs from their Awake album that kick me into high gear. These two songs by Skillet are on the opposite thematic spectrum. Their song Hero is about the need for a savior, someone to help in times of trouble. On the other hand their song Monster is about our sinful nature wanting to come forth and how it feels like sometimes we have a monster inside of us, controlling us, moving us, leading us to where we don't want to go. Why do these get me going? I don't know to tell the truth. I think it's a combination of lyrics and music that pump my blood and I get that second wind.

At those moments, the world disappears, and it's just me, the weights and God. Nothing else but that.

I called this a Lenten meditation because these three songs are my favorite to work out to and they are amazing songs that exemplify what Lent is. Lent is the time looking forward to Easter, looking forward to celebrating Jesus' resurrection. But in order to get to the resurrection, we have to look at His death. Monster is the reason why Jesus died, because of that monster inside us all that just wants to rip out and destroy everything. That feeling you get when you hold it all back when someone says something just down right mean to you, yeah, that's the monster right there. Jesus died because of the Monster.

Hero talks about needing someone to fight for what's right, no one's going to die tonight. The monster is what causes the need for the Hero to save us so that we won't face death.

And then there's Fireproof. Because of our Hero defeating the Monster, we can't be touched, destroyed, hurt anymore by the Monster. Yes, the Monster will always be inside us, but it ain't got any control over us. Why? Because the Hero made us Fireproof against the Monster.

There's one more important part of my exercise routine and that's cool down. My cool downs are a lot different than my lifting. It's simple, quiet, slow. And my music matches that. I call it my Centering Playlist. It's soft, quiet praise music that settles me, calms me down. I walk around the gym for a bit or I peddle the bike very slowly, focusing, relaxing, calming my body down.

As we approach Easter, we have the Hero who fought the Monster and won. Because of Easter, we can slow down and be calm.

And yes, I actually think about these things while I'm lifting. It's just me, my music and God.

How do you see the coming of Easter through the eyes of Monster, Hero and Fireproof?

Fireproof


Monster


Hero

The Gospel in Klingon--a Lenten Meditation

I was one time asked if I believed in Aliens. My response: I'm looking forward to the day where I could bring the Gospel message to a Klingon. I've stated many a time that the book Systematic Theology by Louis Berkhof would be a great evangelism tract for Vulcans (that right there should tell you about the book). And then what about the Klingon concept of Spirituality. Does that even jive with the Gospel. Jesus was about peace, about forgiveness, and most importantly salvation and forgiveness of sins. The Klingons on the other hand revere Kahless, a mighty warrior who said that killing was for battle and to enrich the spirit.

So, if aliens did arrive on planet Earth, many questions would be raised. But those I'm not getting into right now. If the God of all creation could create one planet containing life, couldn't he create more?

But what I do wonder about is how acceptable would a Klingon be to the Gospel message. According to Star Trek.com, the Klingons are a warrior people. To die honorably is held in high esteem. To die at one's own hands instead of being killed by an enemy is held in high esteem as well.

As we come towards Easter, one thing I've always found interesting is that Jesus went willingly to the cross to die a painful death. He willingly allowed himself to be arrested. He willingly allowed himself to be beaten and tortured. He willingly allowed himself to have nails driven into him, nailing him to the cross. And he did so for all who call on his name to find salvation from sin. To a Klingon, to die in such a way shows honor and valor. It is not weakness to die for another or even to die to defend what you hold to be true. This is honor to a Klingon, not weakness.

But I wonder if even greater though is the ultimate victory to a Klingon to defeat death itself, the greatest enemy. The Klingons have a saying "Today is a good day to die." It is not that they are afraid of death, but that it is a part of life and an honor to die. But to die and then come back from even that is seen as an amazing feat. Their revered Kahless was thought to have come back but only turned out to be a clone. Even so, this was seen as a great feat for Kahless to have done.

And so, we have the most powerful words of victory over the greatest enemy of all

Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin...But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:55-57

Easter isn't about weakness. It is about victory. A victory even a Klingon can appreciate.

I'm starting to wonder if I should start calling these Spiritual Sci-Fi Fridays?