I confess… I am an idolater! Having a background in music ministry, I have become one of over 35 million people who sit vicariously alongside Randy, Paula and Simon to “critique” each contestant, hold my breath when Brian announces, “tonight, someone has got to go home,” and cry when they do.

Two weeks ago I was stunned. The show opener by the whole group of contestants, complete with choreography, was one of my favorite worship songs, “Shout to the Lord!” At first I was a bit angry. “Here we go again,” I said to myself, “society has once again taken something that is sacred and turned it into entertainment!” Having sung that song many times to the Lord myself, it somehow just did not fit into this highly powerful form of entertainment that has taken our world by storm.

But then I got to thinking… (that in itself is a bit amazing!)

      How many of the rhythm and melodies of the hymns we used to sing in church actually came from the pubs or folksongs of the day? I guess it is O.K. if that turns around from time to time.

      If God is the original Creator of music, and I believe He is, then beautiful music should be appropriate in most any setting.

      Perhaps the words of “Shout to the Lord” could be a powerful witness to over 35 million people of the greatness of God!

      And how can one sing such a song without it having some kind of impact upon one’s spirit?! (You go, contestants!)

      The Bible points out that all of creation has this ability to praise the Lord (Isaiah 55:12), so why not even those who don’t yet claim to have a personal experience with Jesus?

      And old grouchy Eaglewind just didn’t get it at first- all around the world those who do not yet know Christ were singing with those who do!

Then I also thought…  someday soon, “Every knee shall bow… And every tongue shall confess to God."  (Rom 14:11 NKJV) and when that happens, it WILL be a bowing of the knee, not choreographed entertainment! So I finally told myself to “lighten up” and enjoy the moment! Thanks American Idol for having such a beautiful opener! I bet even Simon enjoyed it!

One day eight-year old Michael went to the pet store with his dad to buy a puppy.  The store manager showed them to a pen where five little furry balls huddled together. After awhile, the boy noticed one of the litter all by itself in an adjacent pen. Michael asked, “Why is that puppy all alone?” The manager explained, “That puppy was born with a bad leg and will be crippled for life, so we’re going to have to put him to sleep.”

“You’re going to kill this little puppy?” Michael said sadly while patting it. “You have to realize that this puppy would never be able to run and play with a boy like you,” the manager said.

After a short conversation with his boy, Michael’s dad told the manager that they wanted to buy the puppy with the bad leg. “For the same amount of money, you could have one of the ‘healthy’ ones. Why do you want this one?”

To answer the manager’s question, Michael bent over and pulled up the pants on his right leg, exposed the brace underneath and said,  “I want this one because I understand what he’s going through.”

Today Grace Kathryn  who was born on March 17 and went to be with Jesus on the same day, was honored by friends and family with a brief graveside memorial. I can’t imagine what parents, Peter and Rachel, and grandparents, Jann and Glenn, and other family members feel, for I have never lost a child. In fact, with over 40 years of experience in pastoral ministry, I find I still do not have answers to some of life’s toughest questions. I can certainly pray… and I can show compassion… but understand what they are going through?

However, I know  a Person who can!

“He is… A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” ( Isa 53:3 NKJV), and my prayer is that Peter and Rachel will feel His arms about them just as He is holding their little one in a wonderful place called Heaven.

When I was a music pastor many years ago, my assignment one year during the Easter service was to sing a couple verses of the well-known hymn, The Old Rugged Cross… simple words, powerful message:

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,

               the emblem of suffering and shame;

               and I love that old cross where the dearest and best

               for a world of lost sinners was slain.

               So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,

               till my trophies at last I lay down;

               I will cling to the old rugged cross,

               and exchange it some day for a crown.                 

I had sung that song all my life. Most everyone present knew the words to The Old Rugged Cross,  for it had for many years been a classic hymn of the Christian Church.

So, like a bird’s first song in the morning, I started off with the chorus, touching each word and note with great emotion, with plans to head right into the first verse. However, when I got to the first verse, my mind was suddenly void of any semblance of the message written by the author. I had a choice to make: I could just whistle the verse… or I could look like I was so moved with emotions that I couldn’t choke out the words… or I could make up my own words. I chose the latter- to re-compose the first verse with an adlib that I am sure George Bernard, the author most likely went directly to the Lord in Heaven to complain- “look what that guy just did to my song!”

While I still remember that awful moment of having to “cover” for my human weakness, I am reminded of how much of the story of the cross is “re-written” today to fit our own needs and desires.

Nothing has stirred quite so much controversy as the Cross. There are two sides of the cross that are easy to see: on one side  the media mocks it, liberal politicians fear it, city and library administrators are known to ban it, countless “progressive” teachers have censored it… Yet Christians keep on wearing it.

So do fashion-conscious teenagers across the country, and some stores can barely keep up with the demand. Girls from coast to coast sport decorative crosses stripped of any real Christian meaning

A cross purged of Christian meaning doesn’t offend anyone. Yet a cross standing on a hill or in a town square during this season portraying the true meaning of Easter sends a message that many often refuse to tolerate.

The world demands a conformity that validates its values, not God's values. Society wants approval, not truths. And, as Jesus once said, "men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." (John 3:19-20)

But those of us who love God…who are "crucified with Christ," …filled with His life and walking in His light -- cannot approve of that darkness because we are in the world, but not of the world. We can spread God's love, but we can't love what God forbids. So, much of society calls us extremists, for it doesn't understand.

The cross sometimes stirs persecution -- even in America.  “Remember," said Jesus, "...If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.... because they do not know Him who sent Me." (John 15:20-21)

In hard times, the victory of the cross may look anything but triumphant. But we MUST remember that the way of the cross sometimes brings pain as well as joy. God's way up may first lead down; His call to victory might, at first, look like defeat. The Apostle Paul is an  example…For taking his stand with Jesus, Paul faced hatred, persecution, beatings, stoning, imprisonment, starvation and, ultimately, martyrdom. But suffering for Christ didn’t quench his joy. He had counted the cost and received something infinitely greater than all the coveted thrills and treasures of the world -- fellowship with Jesus, the Lord of all, both now and forever.

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal."  (2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Instead of changing the Old Rugged Cross into something of my own liking, this Friday, Good Friday, I intend to look on the Cross for what it is, - a symbol of God’s continued work in me, knowing that the cross is only a short time away from Resurrection!