Harmony of Grace

Many Christians claim that they first met God in a church or while reading their bibles. My story is a bit different. "God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and clouds and stars." - Martin Luther   I was introduced to metal music at a young age. I loved the husky screaming over grungy, melodic riffs on the electric guitar. When I rocked out to Avenged Sevenfold and Killswitch Engage, my soul felt refreshed and overjoyed. I starkly remember visiting one of my friend's youth events at a strict, fundamental church and being told by a leader there that rock music is from the devil and as Christians, we should only be filling our lives with good and pure things (which according to him was the multi-million dollar worship industry of the time). According to this youth leader, there was no holiness to be found in the rock-music scene and it was our duty as Christians to take Jesus to them! The problem was that, while I enjoyed some of the worship...

  John 12:12-16 There is a profound truth that we discover in the story of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. It is the truth that, even when our expectations try to interfere, God is always with us.  This does not mean that God is an innocent bystander who is lingering nearby to observe us and monitor our words and actions. God is with us in the sense that when we cry, God cries with us; when we laugh, God laughs with us; When our burdens are too heavy to bare, God carries our load; When we are too weak to carry on, God carries us. God might not always arrive as we may expect or deal with our enemies in the manner that we would like, but God always shows up.  If we can get past our small-minded, self-serving expectations that we place on God then we too can earnestly stand with God’s people and declare: “Hosanna! Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and Glory in the highest! Hosanna!” Prayer: King Jesus, thank You that You are always with me. ...