MTV

I love music. I enjoy making music, listening to music, and finding new music. I happened to catch a portion of MTV’s Video Music Awards two weeks ago (the VMA’s). I have been on the fence about a particular artist until recently. I’m talking about none other than Taylor Swift. It sealed the deal for me when several weeks ago now she included one of my favorite pastors, Pete Wilson and his family in her most recent video. Check that story out here.

I happened to be watching during Taylor Swift’s performance. It was unreal. She did an incredible job. The message she was sending was huge! Since MTV has taken all of the video’s down from youtube all I have is the audio from her performance. Listen to this song.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tF0x2_mXjM4]

Regardless of you know what happened in 2009 during the VMA’s or not(Kanye West!), this song still speaks profoundly.

Some of us feel like Taylor is singing about our lives. Maybe you’ve lost your balance on a tightrope. Maybe you’ve blown your relationships with everyone around you. Maybe you’ve cursed your family out and left them behind without a care. Maybe you’ve gotten yourself chemically dependent on some thing or another. Perhaps you’ve given parts your sexuality away to people it was never intended for. Guilt can set in and just about wreck a person and cause them to feel worthless and alone.

Jesus knows about this and took care of this problem. See the reality is that every single one of us has ‘blown it and left ourselves in the warpath.’ We’ve all ‘lost our balance on the tightrope’ of life. Jesus died on a cross, was buried as every other dead man is, and unlike every other dead man He rose from the dead!(1 Corinthians 15:1-4) Because of that one action you and I have a hand back up on the tight rope. We have been picked up out of the warpath and placed in safety. Forgiveness is here for you. Hope is here for you. Restoration is here for you. True life is here for you.

I watched as a young woman in the spotlight demonstrated forgiveness on national television. I listened to a musical narrative that made me immediately think of the one who is in the business of forgiveness; Jesus Christ.

~Peter

This morning at church we are talking about discipleship, and our Pastor, Chris Sutton, reminded us that Jesus wasn’t the only individual to have disciples. He mentioned that John the baptist had disciples as well, and several other guys. We were reminded that to be a disciple really means to be a learner, or someone that is continuing to learn a way, belief, or process.

Well, this made me think. And my good buddy James Chester who blogs at “wakeupsleeper.” wrote in one particular post about worshippers. Check it out, it will make you think. Well, after thinking about worshippers, and then thinking about what we were learning this morning I believe that every single person is a disciple. I think that each one of us is a disciple of something, someone, or some idea. We are striving and longing to be better at baseball, basketball, sudoku, arm wrestling, polka dancing, or whatever hobby you may have. Some of us out there are disciples of the corporate ladder. They are learning what to wear, what to say, and how to adjust our lifestyles in order that we may climb up the next rung on that ladder. Some of us are disciples of MTV and mainstream media. We are learning again what to wear, phrases to say that makes you apart of the club, lifestyle adjustments, and much more. The illustrations are endless. We could apply it to anything from ice fishing to Buddhism.

So the question is, what or who are you a disciple of? Are you truly following hard after God, in order that you may become more like Jesus? Or are we working harder at rising up the success ladder of life? You know, getting the babe, the ring, the job, the cars, the house, the 2.45 kids, the beach house, the nanny, the secured offshore account, and whatever else that we as americans call success.

Maybe it’s time that we truly focus on learning more about Christ, and what He has done for us. Maybe it’s time that we took our eyes off of what our culture is telling us to believe and place our focus on becoming a true disciple of Jesus Christ. You know, a learner and a follower.

Thoughts?

I guess you really did it this time

A Disciple of what?