"Put On Your Socks" by Faust

 What a zany song this is. Faust were a German rock band who dabbled in various styles during the 1970s. Eschewing the tried-and-true rock traditions, this quartet fused different musical elements into their own unique sound. Check out the tune here.

It's obvious to us that putting shoes on first is silly. But we make the same sort of mistake when we present the gospel to people. Before we can give the good news of salvation, we must tell folks the bad news of why we need to be saved in the first place.

A group of people once discussed the matter of worshippers in the temple whom Pilate had executed. Christ's answer showed the peril all people face unless they're saved.

Luke 13:2 to 5 (Bible in Basic English) quotes him as saying, "And he, in answer, said to them, 'Are you of the opinion that these Galilaeans were worse than all other Galilaeans, because these things were done to them? I say to you, It is not so: but if your hearts are not changed, you will all come to the same end. Or those eighteen men who were crushed by the fall of the tower of Siloam, were they worse than all the other men living in Jerusalem? I say to you, It is not so: but if your hearts are not changed, you will all come to an end in the same way.'"

This "end" is both physical and spiritual, meaning an eternity in hell. As Romans 6:23 (BBE) reminds us, "For the reward of sin is death; but what God freely gives is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord."

Giving only half the gospel is as bad or worse than presenting no gospel at all. In Matthew 7:21, (BBE) Christ warned, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will go into the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the pleasure of my Father in heaven." The pleasure of the Father is that sinners repent and follow Christ. 

This is missing from most gospel presentations these days. So present the bad news of human depravity before giving the good news of Christ's substitutionary atonement.

"I Am A Servant" by Larry Norman

This beautiful song of devotion to Christ ought to be our most sincere prayer to him. Enjoy this touching and profound song here:

Jesus himself told his disciples to watch and wait. By extension, we being his disciples too, we must also be ready with our eyes and ears open.

Christ likened his return to us as like the bride groom coming to his home. As he directed his disciples  in Luke 12:35 and 36 (Bible in Basic English), "Be ready, dressed as for a journey, with your lights burning. And be like men who are looking for their lord, when he comes back from the bride-feast; so that when he comes to the door, it will be open to him quickly."

According to John MacArthur, the original Greek word for servant actually meant slave. This is because he bought us with his atoning sacrifice on the cross. 

We read in 1 Corinthians 6:20 (BBE) that, "For a payment has been made for you: let God be honoured in your body." In other words, we're Christ's property.

That being true, we must obey him always. As Paul wrote in Romans 6:16-18 (BBE), "Are you not conscious that you are the servants of him to whom you give yourselves to do his desire? if to sin, the end being death, or if to do the desire of God, the end being righteousness. But praise be to God that though you were the servants of sin, you have now given yourselves freely to that form of teaching under which you were placed; And being made free from sin you have been made the servants of righteousness."

If this sounds irksome to you, remember Christ's words in John 8:36 (BBE). "If then the son makes you free, you will be truly free."

Confessions of 349-18-5171 by Ken Nordine

This jazz poet certainly made some interesting spoken-word tunes. One of these was about the ease of going with the crowd. It's hard to be a maverick and march against the tide of the world. But like he said in this piece, "Poof! There goes perspiration." Check out his tune here

As Christians, we're called to follow Christ and not the world. What he said in Matthew 7:13 and 14 (Bible in Basic English) is his criterion for entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. "Go in by the narrow door; for wide is the door and open is the way which goes to destruction, and great numbers go in by it. For narrow is the door and hard the road to life, and only a small number make discovery of it."

We no longer belong to this world but are the property of Christ. Religious folks don't have his word abiding in them as we do. As Jesus told the ultra-fastidious Pharisees in John 8:43 and 44 (BBE), "Why are my words not clear to you? It is because your ears are shut to my teaching. You are the children of your father the Evil One and it is your pleasure to do his desires. From the first he was a taker of life; and he did not go in the true way because there is no true thing in him. When he says what is false, it is natural to him, for he is false and the father of what is false."

Neither do we wage jihad as do radical Islamists. As our Lord told Governor Pilate in John 18:36 (BBE) "Jesus said in answer, 'My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom was of this world, my disciples would have made a good fight to keep me out of the hands of the Jews: but my kingdom is not here.'"

And of course Paul wrote in Romans 12:2 (BBE) how we must adopt the mind set of Christ toward worldly things. "And let not your behaviour be like that of this world, but be changed and made new in mind, so that by experience you may have knowledge of the good and pleasing and complete purpose of God."