DO IT ALL FOR THE SAKE OF THE GOSPEL

“I am no man’s slave, but I have made myself a slave to all, in order to win the more for Christ. To the Jews I have made myself as a Jew, in order to win Jews; to those who live under the law I have come as one under the law, in order to win those who are under the law — not that I myself am under the law. To those who live without the law I have come as one without the law, in order to win those who are without the law — not that I am really under no law in relation to God, for I am bound by the law of Christ. To those who are weak I have made myself weak, so as to win the weak; in fact, I have become all things to all people, in order that, one way or another, I may rescue some of them. But I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share its blessings with others” 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

Emily and I recently attended an alternative rock concert in West Hollywood so that we could hear an up and coming Christian band called “For Today”. I had heard their music on CD, read their lyrics, but wanted to see for myself if this was the real deal. The style of music is definitely not one that I would seek out on my own, but I have always wanted to support the youth and the up and coming evangelists for each generation who needs to hear the gospel in their own style. I am so glad that I had the foresight to bring ear plugs with me to the concert (because I am certain I would have been deaf by the end of the night). The music was so loud that it literally vibrated the skin on my face the entire time! The late night concert scene was a sea of young people mostly dressed in alternative style black clothing, moshing and slamming into each other, and shouting and surging around the stage as we listened to this AMAZING group of young men totally sold out for Christ and His heart for youth. Tatoos from head to toe, piercings, hair styles and colors, giant ear spacers… you name it and we saw it all in one place that night. Even though I could barely understand the words of the songs, I was familiar with the lyrics from “For Today”, here’s one example of the words so you can see that although the style of music may not be my first choice, the words definitely resonate within my soul as the RIGHT MESSAGE for our youth today:

Lyrics to: Isaiah (The Willing) by “FOR TODAY”:

Here I am, God. Send me to the world. There is a burden on my heart to let the world know that You are God. From You, the mighty King of Kings, I learn the word that sustains the weary heart. But, I have been silent for far too long. I love them too much to sit back and watch them die. So take the life that you gave to me, Lord, and speak your heart to a generation.
Brothers and sisters, my prayer for you has been heard. And you can take refuge and hope in this Word: This is the end of the world as we know it. Death will hold no power. Dry your tears and lift your head. Death will hold no power.
Let the light of life shine down upon a people in darkness.
We are the grateful forgiven; the restored and renewed. We will take for ourselves no rest until we are face of God on the earth. And take no rest, God. Take no rest for yourself. Take no rest, oh Lord. May we be the generation to bring your glory down.
Our generation will prophecy. So let the world know, we are a dynasty.

(Thanks to Austin L. for these lyrics)

Here I am, God. Send me to the world. There is a burden on my heart to let the world know that You are God. From You, the mighty King of Kings, I learn the word that sustains the weary heart. But, I have been silent for far too long. I love them too much to sit back and watch them die. So take the life that you gave to me, Lord, and speak your heart to a generation.

Brothers and sisters, my prayer for you has been heard. And you can take refuge and hope in this Word: This is the end of the world as we know it. Death will hold no power. Dry your tears and lift your head. Death will hold no power. Let the light of life shine down upon a people in darkness.

We had a chance to meet with some of the band after the concert, and they were such great guys. I highly recommend this band to any young people who are into this “Scream-O style of music. I also recommend to parents that if you have youth in your home that listen to the world’s version of this music, please prayerfully consider substituting their choices with Christian alternative music such as “For Today” because I can assure you that the bands with this style who are not Christian are NOT singing lyrics that you want your kids to be exposed to, even if they are screaming and the music is so loud you can’t understand anything they are “preaching” as they growl and scream into their microphones. The passion of “For Today” is to place their band into concerts with other bands, not necessarily Christian, so that they can share the gospel and be bold for Jesus. They start their set with clearly declaring that they are boldly Christian, that Jesus Christ is the ONLY ONE that can set them free, and even give altar calls to their audiences, and pray with kids back stage after their concerts.

As I watched this concert, I was reminded by the Holy Spirit of the passage that we have for our devotion today from I Corinthians 9. For those familiar with the original setting of the newly forming first century church, the key to successful missionary activity and the secret of the church’s advance among the diverse nations and cultures of the world was to understand their target audience and speak TO that person, applying the power and truth of the gospel to that generation. In this passage Paul sees rather a change of “stance” according to his hearers — not the gospel, but its presentation and the explanation of it are changed. So it is true for every generation that followed, including the one we are in today, filled with kids who are lost, and searching for something they can firmly stand on. We need to constantly be in prayer that we reach out our hands and hearts to those on the frontlines of outreach, even when we can’t do it ourselves. We can provide the resources, we can encourage them, and we can remember to NOT judge them based on their outside appearance or what it may seem like at first glance! Jesus died for everyone, including the kid with the rainbow hair color, piercings, tattoos and headphones. I have good news! There is a remnant rising up with a PASSION and INTENSITY that can only come from a true relationship with Jesus Christ, Who’s heart is to reach the lost at any cost through His surrendered servants.

Pray for Christian bands like For Today who are literally on the frontlines of the battle, reaching for these youth who are slipping through the cracks and sliding down the slippery slopes of the world philosophies and lies of our adversary. Stand with those who go where you and I can’t go, and pray protection and wisdom and BOLDNESS over them. I hope to meet the guys from this group again, and even though I’m just a “mom”, I am so blessed to know that they are out there fighting the good fight, not compromising the gospel message, and truly representing Jesus and the truth of His Word. Check them out on their website if you want more info about them.

Shalom, sister Lahoma

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