You’ve Been Activated

Have you seen the movie Eagle Eye?  Two seemingly random people are thrown together by a mysterious voice that keeps calling them with instructions.  They end up working this wildly elaborate plot in supposed service to their country.  I won’t ruin the ending for you (and it’s not relevant to my point).

The thing that caught my attention is the when the voice calls them for the first time.  She gives them a directive and then says, “You’ve been activated.”

They are unsuspecting, normal people whose services are needed because they are in the right place at the right time.

I think God calls on us in the same way sometimes.  We are going about our daily routines and “bam,” we’re called into service.

“You’ve been activated”

Last week I was heading to work when I got on the subway at the normal time and normal place.  An older gentleman sat down and began to talk to me.  Now, if you are familiar with NYC subways, you realize that no one talks to each other…usually ever…especially in the morning.  The thing about this man is that he wasn’t annoying.  He was 73 and he had chronic pain in his back.  He was on his way to physical therapy in Jersey City where the doctors do not have any other options for him except live with the pain.  He kept saying “I just don’t know what else I can do.”

Almost immediately I knew that God said, “You’ve been activated.”  I thought, “Lord, You don’t want me to pray for this man on the quiet train, do You???”

It got even better when the man explained that he had seen a preacher on TV the night before talking about healing and he had called, but couldn’t decide whether to go…he wanted to know if I believed things like that could happen.  First, I thought about how the Lord has a sense of humor.  I told him I knew God could heal Him and give him a miracle.  I have seen it myself.

I still didn’t know if I should pray for him on the train, but it turned out he just needed someone to tell him he should go to the church.  Sometimes God just needs us to give people a prod.

You just never know when you’ll be activated.  But, rest assured, God has activated others for you and He will use you if you are willing.  If you and me are paying attention.

Do you have an “activation” story?

Hate to Stop the Music

I know I run the risk of sounding like Madonna (thanks, Norah!) Rihanna with a title like this (I think her’s was “Please Don’t Stop the Music”).  But I’m forging ahead anyway – you can’t copyright a title :).

A couple weeks ago I was coming into work and, like a lot of New Yorkers, I had my earphones in taking in some tunes.  (At a minimum, most New Yorkers are listening to an iPod and reading a book.  There are many variations on this.)  As I got in the elevator I noticed the woman beside me was taking out her earphones as I was.  There was actually a sense of disappointment in the air; like someone had injected a little reality.  She laughed a little when I remarked at how lame it was to stop the music – especially when it’s good.

I saw a commercial lately that illustrated just this.  The ad shows a young guy with tattoos and earrings rocking out to some headbanger tunes right up until he sits at his desk, removes the earphones, and the image changes to him as conservative businessman in a suit.

Something about music takes us out of reality and into an amazing universe created by the artist.  I believe this is a good thing.

Last summer Olivia and I drove to New York City from Nashville several times (15-16 hours).  The last time we made the trip, we bought the Sara Bareilles album, Little Voice, and played it relentlessly: there and back and while we were driving around the City.  I can’t tell you how crazy it is for one of those songs to come up on shuffle now and be taken back exactly to how I felt on that trip.  If I close my eyes I am in the car driving over the Queensboro bridge in our Honda Fit with the windows rolled down.

How does music do that?  More importantly, how can I make music that affects people like that?

Does music do this for you?

Justice, Obama, and the Harlem River

I know there are lots of different people with different views that read this blog. I have my friends from the Church who, by and large, are conservative. I have my music friends who are mostly liberal. I even know some who cherry pick from one side or the other. If you know me, you know that I lean conservative and this is mostly on social issues. I’ve lived in overwhelmingly liberal communities a lot, so I’ve learned to just keep quiet and nod when politics comes up. This is a shame, but I know as soon as I express my support for certain positions that I will not just get a disagreement from some liberal friends, but a moral judgment that could threaten their opinion of me as a person. The same goes for select conservative brethren. If, by some chance, I happen to feel that the Left has some insight on a particular issue (I can’t think of one now:) then I am lambasted as not holding to the straight and narrow.

So it is with this disclaimer that I offer you the following words…

A few months ago I was taking a walk along the Harlem River in Manhattan. If you don’t know the geography of New York City, there are several rivers/bodies of water that meet here: Hudson, Harlem, East, Long Island Sound, and, of course, the Atlantic Ocean. I’ve been taking walks and spending time praying as I explore the City and this particular day I felt God say “Pray for justice.” Now, there are those that pray for justice all the time and it is burden on their hearts. Let’s just say it’s not one of my regular prayer topics. So I began to pray in the Spirit for justice; justice in the City, in the Nation, and justice in the lives of my friends and family. As I finished, the Lord began to speak to me. He said that the election of Obama as president is a river of justice for African-Americans. Just as the Harlem River cuts through the rocky land, justice cut through the rock of hard hearts that brought oppression to an entire race and is now bringing about righteousness.

You have to believe me when I say I wasn’t really pursuing this revelation. It was if the Lord wanted to reveal it to me for some reason I’m still not aware of. I am just overwhelmed that He would choose to speak to me at all.

Considering my views and the fact I voted for John McCain, I began to ask God how this could be with Obama’s positions, particularly on abortion. What about justice for the millions of unborn babies that never see life? He answered that I, as a human, could not see justice the way He sees it. We tend to only focus on one thing, one issue at the detriment to all the rest. He can bring about His purpose in as many streams as I could imagine and beyond. He showed me that there was justice coming related to abortion and it would be a wide, mighty river (think of the Mississippi). And not just for abortion and racial injustice, but for all the wrongs that require His ability to make them right. The streams of righteousness are flowing strongly through all the Earth.

The thing all of these “rivers of justice” have in common is that they flow to one place: the ocean. Remember that I said that in New York City many rivers/bodies of water flow into the Atlantic? When I saw that they were metaphors for justice, I asked the Lord if the ocean was a place of judgment or mercy. He conveyed that it could be either. The atrocities committed are more than deserving of judgment, but because of Jesus, because of His sacrifice, the rivers flow together into an ocean of mercy. This mercy stretches as far as we can see like the horizon line on the water that just keeps going. The rivers flow into Him – the true ocean of mercy.

We’re Moving!!

Olivia and I are moving to New York City on October 15!  We have an apartment in Inwood (the top tip of Manhattan) and are very excited.  I’ll keep you posted on what all is happening once we get there.

New York City

Olivia and I were in New York City this past week to see if it’s where God wants us.  We stayed with our good friend Millinee in Inwood (North Manhattan).  She was so gracious to let us stay 10 days!!  I talked with two Churches about possible Worship Leader positions.  One would be towards the first of the year and one is open now.  The one that is open now is different from where I’ve been recently, but the spirit of the people was so sweet.  I went to two of their services on Sunday and was able to taste a little bit of what they are about.  The Lord will show us what is right.

After getting back to Nashville, Olivia and I are confident that New York City is the place He has for us next.  We don’t know what that may look like, but we know He wants us to go there.  Olivia is beyond excited and so am I.  We are looking for an apartment now.  We thought we had secured one before we left, but it didn’t work out.  We are scouring the Web and will probably go back next week to find a place.  It is crazy!  If you find one you like, you’ve got to get your application in immediately or someone will be right behind you to snatch it up.  They want more info than a mortgage company.  Just pray that the right thing will open up and that we’ll just wait before the Lord for the right one.