Pandemonium

But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell.

Yes, I tell you, fear him! - Luke 12:5

The other side of paradise
Aftermath of the afterlife
Where darkness falls
And madness reigns
Never again to see the light

Never again to make it right
Never an end to the constant fright
Never to find a hiding place
From the terrible things
That go bump in the night

That's just the way it is
When you're livin' in Pandemonium
The strife is never-ending
And you'll forever feel alone in here

Worse than any inner city
Our feeble minds
Could conceive of -
An inner sanctum of the departed
The end of the line
For the unbelievers

The deceived and the deceivers
The disconsolate and fire-breathers
Such a high price to pay
To say you did it your way
Now there's no way
For you to flee from here

The hurt...
The pain...
The wrath of YHWH being sorted
With the fury of a thousand wars
And he's only just begun
To get it started

Altogether torn asunder
By a sorrow that forever plummets
'Til the feet touch down in Gehenna
Never again to see the Summit

Nightmare of nightmares
The hounds of Hell
Constantly on the attack
"Abandon hope all ye who enter"
As the heat from the lake of fire
Licks your back...

And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.  - Revelation 20:13


Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Kami-Kaze

Staring down the barrel
Riding headlong into battle
One hand on the Sword
The other gripping the saddle
Stand firm, Holding fast –
Fighting down to the last man
Odds may never be in my favor
But I’m still leaving nothing to chance

I leave my life in God’s Hands
And throw caution to the Wind
I’m not concerned with wins and losses
Because the only certainty is the end
As I’m wielding with conviction
Ready to face down any affliction
Every blow the enemy’s thrown
Will be met with the worst of intentions

Making no distinction
Between the body and the soul
A Master without a rival
All impostors will surely fold
A Kamikaze, Samurai –
Servant of the Most High
Defender of the Evangelion
And crusader for the Light


(cf. Ecclesiastes 11:5; Ezekiel 37:9; Luke 9:23-27, 62; John 3:8; 13:16; Romans 6:6, 8:13; 2 Corinthians 10:3-6; Galatians 5:24; Ephesians 6:10-20; Colossians 3:5; 1 Peter 4:1)


Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Deliverance

Came into the world with collapsed lungs
And a heart barely beating
My beginning could be the end
If I don’t respond to the treatments
The prognosis – it ain’t pretty
Doc’s preparing my mother for the worst
Sayin’ even if I make it to tomorrow
My future would still be uncertain
But just as the curtain closed
She knows something that they don’t know
A Great Physician with a different opinion
On how the story’s supposed to go

“Lord, if it’s his time, that’s fine
But if he lives, he won’t be mine…
He’ll be yours to shape and mold
Give him life and make him shine”

The curse of death was looming heavy
But He chose to remove it
Took a broken, feeble fetus
And He purposed to renew it
So when I get fed up
And want to let up
Thinking that I’ll never make it through this
I remember His past mercies
And how relentless His pursuit is
He makes all things good
And critics attribute it to “western privilege”

But the postman always rings twice
And only the Christ can deliver

Psalm 22:9-10, 51:5, Psalm 139:14; Matthew 6:13; Galatians 1:3-5
 
Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Newtown

“Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”  - Matthew 19:14 ESV

"Evil has visited Newtown today..."


But despite the ages of most of the victims
We're seeking a higher education
In the face of a tragedy so senseless
'Cause the definition of wickedness
Ain't so elementary...

Not anymore.

Dark days like these
Leave us clamoring
And grasping for the door
From Columbine, to Virginia Tech, to Sandy Hook;
Leaves no doubt in my mind
That Screwtape's up to his old tricks
Doing everything he can
To make sure that our faith is shook

"Look...where is God now?
Where's the goodness he promised?
Love don't let little kids die, man!
Stop frontin' and be honest."

As I read the countless status updates
And timelines filled with fear and rage
I'm reminded of the words
That the Rock of Ages said:


"Let the little children come to me..."

You can't stop em -
Don't try to hold em back
There in the arms of the Good Shepherd
So they'll never again want or lack

It was an act of the most vicious kind
Orchestrated with the intent
Of distracting from God's sovereignty
And get us to question his omnipotence
But yea though we walk through valley
Of the shadow of death
His grace is still consistent

He gives us a peace that surpasses all understanding
His overwhelming mercy still abounds
Even amidst the unspeakable atrocities
That puts young loved ones into the ground


The graveyard is the Farmer's field
And he will one day reap what he has sown
And we will all behold the glory
Of the greatest harvest

The world will ever know

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon 

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Zeros & Ones: Importance of the Resurrection (Week 4 Finale)

We finish up our excellent study on the implications of the resurrection of Christ with a lively in-depth discussion on how the eyewitness account of Thomas can be applied in our own lives and our evangelism, what the implications of the resurrection are in this life and how it gives us hope now in the face of death, and finally, how this changes us forever.

 

 

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

The Day The Music Died: The Life and Death of Michael Jackson

"A man is more that the sum of his deeds". That's what I said audibly to myself as I watched parts of the Michael Jackson memorial service yesterday. I didn't even realize that I was talking out loud until that very moment (I surprised myself, actually). But the reason for such a response came as a knee-jerk reaction to what the pundits on television were saying, and seeing the crowds of people. There is a fine line between veneration and idolatry and I believe that yesterday, on some level, that line was crossed - and with reckless abandon.

That being said, I have to point out that Jackson did indeed have a gift for performance and music. His God-given talent makes the work of so many others pale in comparison. No one can take that away from him. But, what seemed to be getting lost in the shuffle of the celebration of his life was...well...his life. Every commentator and interview talked about "what he gave us". The positivity of his music and his message ruled the day. There was no doubt about the concentrated effort to whitewash so many aspects of his life under the guise of celebrating the music. This is what struck me to be the most peculiar:

"We are here to celebrate the gift of music that he gave to us."

"He gave so much to so many through his music."

"We will always have his music to cherish."

"His legacy is his music."

No one really talked much (at least not in the meaningful way) about the legacy of the man himself. I'm not even talking about the accusations of child molestation. After all, legally, he was never found guilty of those charges - regardless of the shadow that was cast by those allegations. Besides, I believe that there where shadows cast much broader, bigger, and earlier in his life that led to other situations. There is one question that remains in all of this: While everyone is celebrating the music, was anyone really paying attention? Many of the songs that didn't have as much commercial success (especially in his later years) told quite a tale of a person in distress. But that's just too depressing. So, we go ahead and we make him up. But here, I'll say it again:

A man is more than the sum of his deeds (Isaiah 64:6).

Here lies Michael Jackson - a man apart.

A broken man who died of a broken heart.

From childhood to the bitter end, we bled him dry,

Now we all shout, "why God, why?!"

He was loved by millions, yet never felt loved at all.

He could never grow up because he felt so small.

I read where one fan stated that, "he was more important than Jesus". Here is where the problem lies. Too many saw him as a savior of sorts, but he didn't have the Savior. He began to give himself over to a distorted view of self and love. He repeatedly changed his appearance because he just couldn't accept himself; never fully understanding that our true identity is found in Christ (Acts 17:29, 1 Cor. 15:10, Colossians 1:15-16). So the music, in essence, became his salvation. It was through it that he would gain an identity and feel some semblance of love and worth. The only problem is that it left him lacking. So he always had to have more. It was through it that he sought immortality - failing to realize that you can never find permanent comfort in a temporal world (Matt. 6:19-20, James 4:14, 1 Peter 1:24). I believe that Quincy Jones said it best when he stated that not being grounded in the realization that you were made as a "vessel for the Divine" can have serious consequences (Acts 17:28, Romans 1:28). Michael was the King of Pop, not the King of Kings. But sadly, he was all too often surrounded by people who made too much of him and not enough of Christ, which tragically left nothing of him at all (Eccl. 5:7, John 3:30, Phil. 3:8). And now, sadly, it is a lesson that he has learned too late (Hebrews 9:27).

The death of Michael Jackson should have been mourned properly - both publicly and privately. I say this in hopes that maybe he is the figure big enough to show both those in the entertainment world and those of us who enjoy the dangers in putting too much stock in things and people of this world.

Eventually the music stops for everyone. On June 25, 2009, it stopped for Michael Jackson (Luke 9:25, 1 Cor. 10:31)...

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon