Bad Romance

1 Surely God is good to Israel,
       to those who are pure in heart.

 2 But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;
       I had nearly lost my foothold.

 3 For I envied the arrogant
       when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

 4 They have no struggles;
       their bodies are healthy and strong.

 5 They are free from the burdens common to man;
       they are not plagued by human ills.

 ²⁸ But as for me, it is good to be near God.
       I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;
       I will tell of all your deeds.

Psalm 73:1-5

Today I watched some of Lady Gaga's videos for the first time.  I had heard some covers of her songs at youth event talent shows, but never heard any of her actual music.  After watching Bad Romance, which I found very artsy, I did some reading about her.  The song appeared on her second album, The Fame Mnster.  She was quoted in Rolling Stone as saying about the album while writing it, "I’m kind of obsessing over the decay of the celebrity and the way that fame is a monster in society!"

In looking for a verse for today, I opened up my concordance and looked up the word "lost".  It's how I've felt lately, and I wanted to see what the Bible had to say on the subject.  Other than lost coins and sheep, and prodigal sons, there was one psalm that used the word.  So I looked it up.  Verse two fit with how I was feeling, "But as for me, my feet had almost slipped".  As I read it in context, the verse was about losing faith because of seeing the prosperity of people who get things for nothing.  Verse four says, "They have no struggles".  This reminded me of the Lady Gaga quote.

It's so easy when we watch TV, listen to music, and go to movies, to be drawn in by the celebrity.  We see things that are better than what we have.  Entertainment entertains because it allows us to escape our lives.  We want our lives to have happy Hollywood endings because we want hope.  We like mushy romances because we want to be loved.  As a society we have a bad romance with celebrity.

Jesus shows us a better way.  He teaches us to love one another.  Psalm 73 speaks of how it's natural to envy, and concludes with where we should return - the side of our Lord.  We are sent out into the world to witness, and that means that we will be tempted by the world.  The key is to remember to come back to Jesus.  That's one of the reasons we have church every Sunday - to remind us of the gift of Grace God has given us.  It is greater than all the money and fame in the world.

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My soul finds rest in God alone.

1 My soul finds rest in God alone;
my salvation comes from him.

2 He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

Psalm 62:1-2 (NIV)

This verse reminds me of Exodus 20:3 "You shall have no other gods before me". Except that it's turned on its head. Instead of a commandment from God, it is an exclamation of God's greatness. I have no other gods before me, because my salvation comes from my God. He is my rock, my fortress. My soul finds rest in him. It's just so uplifting to view one of the commandments, and the one Jesus said was the most important, in such a wonderful new light.

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Being Put to the Test

No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.

I Corinthians 10:13 (NRSV)

This was one of the verses in the second lesson on Sunday, March 7th. I underlined it. I've been carrying it around in my back pocket ever since until I got around to writing a blog post on it. This verse spoke right to me in church that day. I've been having a tough time of things lately, and this was a nice reminder that God won't give me anything that I can't handle. When you're struggling to see daylight, it's hard to get out one step at a time. Instead it's easier just to ignore your problems. Sure, they often get worse, but if you ignore them, it doesn't matter, right? The funny thing is, even if you ignore them, God doesn't give you anything you can't handle. No matter how bad things are, you can get through them. One step at a time. One day at a time. God is always there beside you - and that's a good reminder to have.

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Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum (INRI)

Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read:

JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, "Do not write 'The King of the Jews,' but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews."

Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."

John 19:19-22

On Sunday I was looking at the paraments in church. I noticed the one on the altar had letters above it, and I wondered what they stood for. So at the end of the service, I asked VA Moyer, the pastor who had preached that day. He told me it was the Latin letters that had been written on the cross. So I looked it up.



Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum

Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews

So often we see symbols and don't know what they mean. It was interesting to find out why those letters were on the parament. As I was looking up the Bible verse, I read the next few verses as well, which are included above. I find it fascinating that Pilate, who crucified Christ because he was afraid of the people, also feared God. I may be reading a lot into these two verses, but Pilate was willing to admit that Jesus was who he said he was. If a man that was not a Christian can do that, cannot we as well?

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Sharing Our Faith

This was the second of two personal reflections I wrote for a retreat this past weekend.

Open your journal and write down your response to these questions. Spend as much or little time as you need to answer these questions. When you are done please sit quietly until your small group leader tells you it is time to come back.

Have you ever tried to share your faith with someone?

Have you ever had someone share their faith, Christian or otherwise, with you? How did you respond?

Jesus tells us that we are to share the faith in a passage called the Great commission. Read Matthew 28:18-20. Jesus tells us to go and make disciples of all nations.

What’s your first response to this? Is it fear, nervousness, excitement, or something else entirely?

Jesus spoke these words to his disciples. Why do you think they apply to us as well?

Often when we are not prepared for a question, it is difficult or impossible to answer it. Take a few minutes and write down what you would say if someone asked you what you believe in. There is no right or wrong answer here. If someone asked you what you believe, what would you tell them?


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