Daily Devotion for February 17, 2006

The following was given to me by a friend who said – you’ve got to hear this!  They were right!  So here it is for others also – and I hope you are as taken by it as I was. Thank you my friend!  It is taken from Nichole Nordeman newest album called "Brave".

WHAT IF
For a friend who thinks this Jesus stuff is nuts.

 

I’ve never felt comfortable arguing about God. That’s not to say I haven’t done it. Trust me. I’ve engaged in more than my fair share of full-blown Bible beating with people.  It’s so embarrassing and humiliating to remember.  Especially since my victims probably never set foot in another ring (and not because I was such a formidable opponent. I just had this nasty habit of always hitting below the belt). Winning an argument for God was a big deal.

 

When I was a young Christian kid, the arguments were about creation vs. evolution. In college, the arguments became about politics.  These days, people are fully entrenched in arguments about how to reconcile “religion” with stem cell research, gay marriage and the complicated choices we make in a time of war.

 

Because I am a follower of Jesus, and I believe that the Bible is a timeless and true roadmap, I tend to head there for my answers. But I don’t argue any more. Nobody ever got argued into the arms of Christ. Nobody gets brow beaten or humiliated into a relationship whose very foundation is mercy and grace. When every argument and piece of well defended evidence sounds empty to a hurting ear, it is the love of Jesus that comes rushing in and changes things. I wrote this song for a friend who I believe strongly will run out of arguments one day and straight into the arms of Jesus.

 

What if you’re right? / And he was just another nice guy / What if you’re right? / What if it’s true? / They say the cross will only make a fool of you / And what if it’s true? // What if he takes his place in history / With all the prophets and the kings / Who taught us love and came in peace / But then the story ends / What then? // But what if your wrong? / What if there’s more? / What if there’s hope you never dreamed of hoping for? / What if you jump? / And just close your eyes? / What if the arms that catch you, catch you by surprise? / What if He’s more than enough? / What if it’s love? // What if you dig / Way down deeper than your simple-minded friends / What if you dig? / What if you find / A thousand more unanswered questions down inside / That’s all you find? // What if you pick apart the logic / And begin to poke the holes / What if the crown of thorns in no more / Than folklore that must be old and retold? // You’ve been running as fast as you can / You’ve been looking for a place you can land for so long / But what if you’re wrong? //

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Tim Hetzner - President - Lutheran Church Charities
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