Perhaps you have heard the phrase, "There is nothing new out of
Hollywood". There is a great deal of truth in that statement, however,
Hollywood isn't the only place to see or hear great themes repeated.
Vanilla Ice sampled the opening beat of his 1990 hit "Ice, Ice, Baby", from Queen and David Bowie's song "Under Pressure". Are you bobbing your head? Many songs, regardless of musical genre, sample or use chord structures from previous songs. Some artists, instead of coming up with their own material, will do their version of another' artist's previous hit. This is called "covering" a song. "Brown Eyed Girl", from Van Morrison's 1967 Blowin' Your Mind, album has been covered by Adele, Billy Ray Cyrus, Johnny Rivers, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Bob Dylan, and many others. This lack of originality could be considered by some to be......wait for it......Shameless.
In 1991, the entire world knew who Garth Brooks was. He had 6 number one hits and saw much of his music crossing over into other charts. He released his third studio album, Ropin' The Wind, in 1991. It was his first full album to debut at #1. But it was a #1 song from that album that Garth Brooks covered that continued the momentum into 1992 and rest of the decade. While staying true to the original, which only made it to #40 on Billboard's Hot Adult Contemporary Singles chart in 1989, Garth Brooks carried on his hit parade with radio listeners as he covered "Shameless" from the album Storm Front by Billy Joel. Read the lyrics and listen to Billy Joel sing it here: http://www.lyricsmode.com/
Garth Brooks here: http://www.elyrics.net/read/g/
Have you ever been in a situation where you were embarrassed? Perhaps you were ashamed by a family member or friend by the way they acted or reacted in a public place. "Insensitive to disgrace" is the definition of the word shameless from dictionary.com. Often you hear people say, "I really don't care what people think of me". This may be true for the majority of folks in their circle of influence, but in reality there are people whose opinion means much to them.
If you ask Church growth professionals what the number one reason why members of their denomination don't do "visitation", "outreach", or are consistent apologists for their faith, their reply is a resounding, "people don't want to get their feelings hurt or be rejected". The same goes for amassing a volunteer base to do the work of the church. We don't want to be placed in a situation whereby we might be embarrassed or ashamed. In short, we have a sensitivity to disgrace. We are wired with an intense desire to be accepted. What we sometimes don't realize is that we already ARE accepted by the One who loves us enough to sacrifice everything for us. Why can't we be shameless for Him?
In 2 Samuel 6, we see an example of the most powerful person in the world being truly shameless. He tossed protocol aside and exhibited his extreme joy by dancing. This was something a King should never do, especially in front of his subjects. David did it. His wife mocked. God approved.
Read the story here: http://www.biblegateway.com/
In Isaiah 20, God commanded Isaiah to go naked for 3 years to prove His point and set an example before the Israelites of what He was going to do to them because of their evil. Isaiah did it. The people mocked. God approved.
So
brother or sister in Christ, what is God asking you to do that you
would consider disgraceful. We have examples in the Bible that prove if
God tells us, we should do it. The people may mock. God will approve.
Our ultimate example is Jesus himself. Even the movie The Passion of the Christ didn't adequately portray the shame Jesus suffered during His torture and crucifixion. How can we say "NO" when we " are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:9-11.
"I'm shameless, when it comes to lovin' you. I'll do anything you ask me to, I'll do anything at all.....
'Till Tuesday
Loving HIM by loving you,
Randy
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