I grew up listening to music on
polyvinyl records. In my teens came the eight-track cartridges. Later, it was chased by
cassettes, then CDs, and now MP3s. Naturally, the LP records became about as popular as
the telegraph. Now, I am not so afflicted with nostalgia that I would ever want
to return to listening to music on vinyl records simply because it was the hip
or chic thing to do. Though I still have in my possession some 45s and 78s, I really have no desire to play them. I love to listen to digitized music because of its
clarity, mobility, and convenience. If something better comes along, I probably
would gravitate to that medium.
The phrase, “broken record,” has
reference to polyvinyl records where the stylus gets hung in a groove due to a
scratch on the surface of the record, and it constantly repeats itself at a
particular point. Sometimes dust and debris can cause a broken record effect,
and yes, it was annoying like someone who continually repeated something over
and over again with little to no variation. Hence, this would be a description
of me, sounding like a broken record.
Admittedly, I realize I come
across this way at times or too many times. Often you will read something like,
read, reflect, and realize the truth of Scripture, or read, meditate, and apply
the Word of God to every area of your life and so forth. It is, however, more
by design than attributed to a fault. The reasons are with apostasy metastasizing
like cancer in our culture, and the erroneous belief in Christian circles that
the Bible is becoming or already considered to be irrelevant, it is an
unmistakable conclusion that the walk is not matching the talk. In the
meantime, we make the claim to be a Christian nation, right?
I share grave concerns over the future
of America. We are a nation with a spiraling debt of over 18 trillion dollars
and growing; we will not recover. In addition, we are a nation becoming
increasingly fractured; we are a nation that revels in flaunting sinful
behavior; we are a nation revealing itself to be hostile to Christians; we are
a nation guilty of policing political correctness; and worst of all, in my
opinion, we are a nation where believers are going south on the Word of God. I
am uncertain at this point that we have crossed the Rubicon, but we are
certainly done for if there is not a change of heart among God’s people
starting yesterday!
Our problem as believers is not
in failing to execute an advanced play from the Book, like loving our enemies,
but in poor performance of sticking to the basics which leads to an inability to carry out more challenging commands. Billy Graham believed that 95% of our troubles would dissipate if we simply read and live out the truths of the Bible. It’s nothing magical; it is transformational (Rom
12:2)! This comes about by perspiration, good old discipline, and elbow grease. Look, you may feel this is elementary, and it is, but if we continue to
bypass the basics, how can we know the life in order to live the life (cf. Josh 1:8, 9)? We don’t win in
life for God by sidestepping the basics; all the more advanced plays are founded upon it. Not only do we fall, but our country
falls like the Roman Empire from within and without. By winning I mean knowing
and doing God’s will for our life. This victory is only achieved by being in
accord with the principles of Scripture, not circumventing them.
Look around at the lifestyles of
believers nowadays. We are losing the game big time because we are in a default
mode of, “How dare you to judge me!” People are freaking out over the infringement
of their self-esteem and self-authority; it’s ridiculous this usurpation of self over godly principles. It is akin to a
Judges 21:25 mindset; it’s ugly and leads to severe consequences. The Bible sets forth what is right, not man (Prov
14:12). Our hearts are so scratched by willful sin these days that the stylus of God's Word is just repeating itself. The songs of truth cannot be heard from our hearts by others because of our insistence on being disobedient. Only a 1 Jn 1:9 experience can resurface the damaged grooves.
This may explain why Christianity
does not work for many believers. They arrogantly outgrow the need of praying, reading, studying, meditating, memorizing, and applying the truth of Scripture where the rubber hits the road! So the record of their heart just skips and repeats. People are annoyed rather than attracted by their testimony. I personally feel that a believer who chooses not to
keep with the basics doesn’t have the right to criticize any believer or
church. In so doing is nothing more than being hypocritical (Jn 7:24). I liken it
to voting; if you don’t exercise your right to vote, you haven’t any right to
complain about how the government is being run. If you fail to get a flu shot, you
shouldn’t gripe about being bedfast by a flu bug. The idea of my vote or flu shot
won’t make a difference in the larger scheme of things is a defeatist attitude.
Even if you were right for argument’s
sake, wouldn’t you rather go down swinging than simply give up? Standing for
Jesus rather than high tailing it? If we stand for nothing we will fall for
anything. Do we question God’s command to be holy (1 Pet 1:15, 16), “Lord,
since I am a sinner, You know that I am going to sin; so why bother trying to
be holy as You are holy?” You know; there is no need to answer that question
for the very simple reason it is commanded for us by God to be holy! God
decrees; we obey! There are no options. Do we need to entertain the thought
that our obedience to God’s commands is a natural byproduct of our love for
Him (Jn 14:15)?
Getting away from the basics is
like treating God’s commands as optional. Now that is a buzzword today, “Options!”
Solomon concluded that it is wiser to fear God and keep His commands than to
treat them as optional (Eccl 12:13, 14). Now let’s not kid ourselves; we like our options and the more the merrier. I have known of people who had refused to attend a
certain church because there were not enough options available. It is
disturbing to see that we are being a people of what’s in it for me. How about
considering before making a decision to join any church, “What’s in it for God
if we attend this church or that church?” If God gets nothing out of it, I
would advise staying away from any church if you think like that. Most
believers today are looking for options not an opportunity for service. Would
to God I was so wrong about this!
I think we should start an alternative
church called, “Cherry Pickers for Jesus.” There we can pick and choose what to
obey, ignore, or reject freely without creating a riot. It is so Osteenian in nature! And we wonder why our country
is in deep, deep trouble on so many fronts? Many American churches are going
down the same rabbit hole as the government. Neither views the Word of God as
the supreme and final authority in all matters of faith and practice. If I didn’t
believe that God was on the throne and my future was secure in Christ, I would
be very depressed. Don’t get me wrong; my heart is broken over the direction
our nation and churches are heading. Frankly,
it is very unsettling, but we have to stay focused on the Word (Psa 119:165;
Isa 26:3) and keep on keeping on, sounding like a broken record, “Repent!
Repent! Repent! Judgment is coming!”
I will have to confess that my
stylus is stuck in the groove of the truth of Scripture, the truth of
Scripture, the truth of Scripture…. Being like a broken record can be annoying to some; I get that, but my heart is in the right place
out of a genuine concern for others. I don’t want America to fall or see
believers caught up in the fall. The plain truth is that our faith cannot
advance into Christlikeness if we get away from reading, studying, meditating,
memorizing, and applying the truth of God’s Word to every area of our life. How
can we expect to execute advanced plays like “Do good to those who hate you”
(Mt 5:44) if there is nothing for the Holy Spirit to work with within our hearts? He
isn’t going to put in what has not been deposited by us already! It is our personal
responsibility to grow. By taking on that responsibility, God will help us and
strengthen us in the maturation process.
Unlike the uncertainty or no
guarantee of voting or getting an injection, sticking to the basics, and never
getting away from it, will make a difference in our personal lives and the lives
of others in a way that is pleasing to God. When we are holy, we have the right
to holler out against sinful behavior that is ruining individuals, families,
church communities, and our very nation. Get in the spiritual groove and become
a broken record for Christ for there are plenty of scratches out there.
Repetition is the key to
learning. Somebody, if not you, is bound to benefit from it and that will make a
difference in the world, your world. I am not going to say that being a broken
record is not without its dangers. We run the risk of being thrown into the pit
of persecution like they did Jeremiah in his day in following God’s will for
his life. Jeremy was the biblical model of being a sanctioned broken record for God. He constantly repeated his message not because of any scratches on his heart but in his obedience to God's will for his life.
Jeremiah allowed the stylus of God's authority to run through the grooves of his heart unimpeded though he sounded like a broken record for years in spite of the annoyance it caused to others that judgment was coming because Judah refused to turn from their sins. We know that the song of Jeremiah fell upon deaf ears, and it cost the southern kingdom of Judah dearly as Nebuchadnezzar razed Jerusalem in 586 B.C. God was faithful to him and never left his side in all of his repeats though at times he thought he was alone. That’s what he gets for thinking, right? God promised never to abandon us through thick and thin; we got His Word on it (Heb 13:5).
Remember, the best place to be in the world is at the very center of His will just like Jeremiah, but believe me when I tell you; we will never realize this if we drift away from the basics. Stick to the basics, the basics, the basics…. How is your song of redemption and obedience being heard by others, in the groove or out of the groove? In the groove is being in the will of God; out of the groove reveals a scratch on the heart. Make sure people are more annoyed over your obedience to God than some personal sin! <><
Jeremiah allowed the stylus of God's authority to run through the grooves of his heart unimpeded though he sounded like a broken record for years in spite of the annoyance it caused to others that judgment was coming because Judah refused to turn from their sins. We know that the song of Jeremiah fell upon deaf ears, and it cost the southern kingdom of Judah dearly as Nebuchadnezzar razed Jerusalem in 586 B.C. God was faithful to him and never left his side in all of his repeats though at times he thought he was alone. That’s what he gets for thinking, right? God promised never to abandon us through thick and thin; we got His Word on it (Heb 13:5).
Remember, the best place to be in the world is at the very center of His will just like Jeremiah, but believe me when I tell you; we will never realize this if we drift away from the basics. Stick to the basics, the basics, the basics…. How is your song of redemption and obedience being heard by others, in the groove or out of the groove? In the groove is being in the will of God; out of the groove reveals a scratch on the heart. Make sure people are more annoyed over your obedience to God than some personal sin! <><
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