Kraftwerk: "The Hall of Mirrors"

Believe it or not, this electronic music group from Germany shaped the sound of modern music. Artists as diverse as David Bowie and Africa Bambaataa were influenced by this innovative band. Check out one of their songs here.

Mirrors weren't common when the Bible was being penned. It's why James 1:23 and 24 shows us how people could forget what they looked like. The Bible in Basic English phrases it like this: "Because if any man is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his natural face in a glass; For after looking at himself he goes away, and in a short time he has no memory of what he was like."

Furthermore, we're required to examine ourselves by the yardstick of God's Word. As 2 Corinthians 13:5 (BBE) reminds us, "Make a test of yourselves, if you are in the faith; make certain of yourselves. Or are you not conscious in yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you, if you are truly Christ's?"

Even partaking of the Lord's Table is a serious matter to consider. As 1 Corinthians 11:26-28 warns, "For whenever you take the bread and the cup you give witness to the Lord's death till he comes. If, then, anyone takes the bread or the cup of the Lord in the wrong spirit, he will be responsible for the body and blood of the Lord. But let no man take of the bread and the cup without testing himself."

When we don't put the Lord first in our lives, we're like the  folks in Haggai 1:5 and 6 (BBE) who neglected rebuilding the temple. "For this cause the Lord of armies has said, 'Give thought to your ways. Much has been planted, but little got in; you take food, but have not enough; you take drink, but are not full; you are clothed, but no one is warm; and he who gets payment for his work, gets it to put it into a bag full of holes."

Mirrors, like the scriptures, show us what we look like. That's why Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:16 and 17 (BBE), "Every holy Writing which comes from God is of profit for teaching, for training, for guiding, for education in righteousness: So that the man of God may be complete, trained and made ready for every good work."

If Christ hasn't come to reward us by Monday, I hope to post about a stranger witnessing to somebody.

Hawkwind, "System Check"

This isn't a song but a mock system check for a musical space ship. I chose it because this psychedelic space-rock band has many songs dealing with science fiction, one of my favourite genres. Check out this song here:

We Christians are also required to run a system check on our own faithfulness to the Lord. As Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 13:5 (Bible in Basic English), "Make a test of yourselves, if you are in the faith; make certain of yourselves. Or are you not conscious in yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you, if you are truly Christ's?"

Being consistently seeking to know more about Christ shows the world that you're truly changed. As Paul wrote in Colossians 1:9 and 10 BBE), "For this reason, we, from the day when we had word of it, keep on in prayer for you, that you may be full of the knowledge of his purpose, with all wisdom and experience of the Spirit, Living uprightly in the approval of the Lord, giving fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;"

Another check you can make is if you've suffered taunting and rejection, ore even physical violence, because of your faith. After the people of Lystra stoned Paul, he continued working for Christ. Acts 14:21 and 22, (BBE) tells what he did next. "And having made a number of disciples through the preaching of the good news in that town, they went back to Lystra and Iconium and Antioch, Making strong the souls of the disciples, saying to them that they were to keep the faith, and that we have to go through troubles of all sorts to come into the kingdom of God."

If we don't make a practice of sinning, we know that we've been saved. As 1 John 1:7 (BBE) reminds us, "But if we are walking in the light, as he is in the light, we are all united with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son makes us clean from all sin." All three of John's epistles deal with love and how it's natural to a believer to demonstrate it.

If our adored Lord doesn't come to us by Thursday, I hope to post about people who overstay their welcome.

Illusion of Virtue

What makes you angry about hell? For me, it's that so many "decent" people end up there. Almost nobody grieves for a tyrant or mass murderer when they die. We feel they got what they earned for their wickedness. But when it's an unsaved friend who perishes, people feel offended when they hear the truth about hell.

The Bible is crystal clear about God's holiness. His dwelling cannot tolerate any impurity. Speaking of God's holy city, Revelation 22:15 (BBE) reminds us that, "Outside are the dogs, and those who make use of evil powers, those who make themselves unclean, and the takers of life, and those who give worship to images, and everyone whose delight is in what is false."

People who claim to be believers also will be excluded because they never knew who the Lord truly is. Matthew 7:22 and 23 (BBE) reminds me of charismatics who are obsessed with signs and miracles. "A great number will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, were we not prophets in your name, and did we not by your name send out evil spirits, and by your name do works of power?' And then will I say to them, 'I never had knowledge of you: go from me, you workers of evil'".

What those who claim to be believers need to do is examine themselves. As Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 13:5 (BBE), "Make a test of yourselves, if you are in the faith; make certain of yourselves. Or are you not conscious in yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you, if you are truly Christ's"?

In truth, nobody is even close to being pure. As Isaiah 64:6 (BBE) explains, "For we have all become like an unclean person, and all our good acts are like a dirty robe: and we have all become old like a dead leaf, and our sins, like the wind, take us away."

Even more shocking is that we mortals dare to quarrel with our creator. Romans 9:20 (BBE) says, "But, O man, who are you, to make answer against God? May the thing which is made say to him who made it, 'Why did you make me so?'"

Some mainstream denominations even deny that Jesus was the anointed son of God. As we read in 1 John 2:22 (BBE), this is the test whereby we know who's genuinely saved. "Who is false but he who says that Jesus is not the Christ? He is the Antichrist who has no belief in the Father or the Son."

And if Christ doesn't return by Saturday, I hope to post about a song where a man witnesses a murder and fears for his life.