Romans 1:18-27 and 32 has been used so often to beat down one segment of humanity so often that I want to look at it on a different way, a larger way than just to say that homosexuality is sinful and those who approve of it are also. This half of chapter 1 has the most unfortunate header break. I believe the key to understanding 18-32 is verse 17 - "The righteous will live by faith." What happens when the righteous do not live by faith? We become unrighteous and suppress the truth.

This morning's devotion was from Matthew 5:11-12. When we feel persecution, we are to be glad and praise God. That is a blessing that we can be like Christ. On the other hand, if we see others being persecuted, we are to stand up for them, seek justice, oppose their persecution. We look at Isaiah 1:17 and Micah 6:8 which tells us to look for justice. We fight for other's rights and dignity. For ourself, we turn to God. The parable of the unjust judge and the old woman where she bothers him until he decides to bring her justice because he's tired of her.

Times Paul uses sarcasm to get his point across? Go: I think the most obvious one is Galatians 5 when Paul says that if the Judaizers thought circumcision was so important and out was required for holiness, he wished they would just cut the whole thing off so they would be super holy. Instead of self mutilation, love one another.

Heard a sermon yesterday espousing the evils of critical race theory as a vehicle for cultural marxism. I am starting to read a little about CRT to come to some conclusions on my own. What say you about CRT, cultural marxism, and Christianity? Video one watched about CRT:

Positive one

So yesterday, there was a prayer before church that I sighed loud enough that my wife turned around to tell me to chill. I told her I wasn't going to protest pray. Basically, it was full of Republican propaganda that God needs to convict Christians to protect America... That the Supreme Court needs Christians to vote the right way, that Christianity in America will be destroyed if the election doesn't go the right way so God bring conviction. I had a really hard time getting into the right spirit after that.

Life Songs: Day 9
Invincible
Invincible, Skillet, 2000

Skillet was so different than pretty much anything else in Christian music at that time. They talked about Jesus being better than drugs. Pain was not a foreign concept. Self examination was the norm. I bought the original "Skillet" album, the album with the skillet on the front, before they got the electronic sound. I listened to it on my Discman constantly. The radio song was Saturn but my song was "My Beautiful Robe." Then came "Hey, You, I Love Your Soul." Loved it.

I think people who hold abortion as the only issue worth considering are taking the lazy way out of politics. Have a horribly immoral politicians but they says they are pro-life? We can overlook everything else. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of good people doing great things to help young, scared women to try to help them through a scary situation. The majority, though, want the easy way. Get the baby born. Pat myself on the back. Good luck kid.

Life Songs: Day 8
White & Nerdy
Straight Out of Lynwood, Weird Al Yankovic, 2006

Funny music. It is something I absolutely love. I tried my hand at it in a previous life. I was really bad at it but I loved doing it. I look back now and think I should have respected it more. White & Nerdy, a parody of Ridin' Dirty by Chamillionaire, is a great song. Is it my favorite song by Weird Al? Not really. That would probably be Hardware Store. This song, though, made being nerdy a really cool thing for those of us who are nerdy.

Life Songs: Day 7
Hero
Meltdown, Steve Taylor, 1984

Looking at my list, Steve Taylor songs appear more often than any other artist. I enjoy the honesty of the songs and the fun Steve infuses into them. This song isn't one of the laugh out loud songs but I love it. In 1993, Nike came out with a commercial with Charles Barkley that still causes discussion when it is remembered, the "I am not a role model" commercial. He said parents, not celebrities, should be the role models.

Day 25 of Controversial Five Iron Frenzy Songs
God Hates Flags
Between the Pavement and the Stars EP, 2015

A direct jab at Westboro Baptist Church. An indirect one at me. Reese's explanation for this one is pretty straight forward so let's talk about this. I will link the song explanation from the wayback machine below. There are plenty of jabs at WBC in this, calling them douchebags, bullies, glory hounds, and proud but for me, what stands out is how Reese interacts with them throughout the song.

Day 24 of Controversial Five Iron Frenzy Songs
Someone Else's Problem
Engine of a Million Plots, 2013

This is the most ska song they have ever done. It is also one of the most convicting for the church as it calls out our lack of love to the rest of the world. We dehumanize children and factory workers around the world because we want cheap stuff. We devour the poor as we devour bread (Psalm 14:4) and think nothing of it because it doesn't affect us. Someone else will take care of it while I'm dressed in my fine duds.

Bonus song of the day
Five Iron Frenzy
Where is Micah?
Our Newest Album Ever, 1997

Today is September 25th, which means it is my son's birthday. He's 19 today. He was born exactly 2 weeks after the terrorist attacks, so we didn't know what kind of world he'd grow up in. We named him Micah. Partially because it was a good, Biblical name. For me, this song was part of the reason too. This song became one of his good night songs, along with The Saga Begins by Weird Al Yankovic. We are weird parents.

I saw a meme saying we should be more concerned with human trafficking than COVID. It reeks of the idea that someone cannot care for different things at the same time. It also says that if you aren't focused on trafficking, you are wrong. The thing about God is that He has the ability to care about it all. He gifts people to be different parts of the body. I also believe He gives people different passions.

Day 23 of Controversial Five Iron Frenzy Songs
Zen and the Art of Xenophobia
Engine of a Million Plots, 2013

Looking back at the explanation Reese gave for this song, I think it is easy to say that this was FIF's most controversial song at the time.
web.archive.org/web/2014101902… Written in the shadows of the gun-crazed Shenandoah Valley in Virginia during the Romney/Obama elections, this song is about using Jesus as a political figure for your favorite party. I see this everywhere. One side says Jesus would be a gun-toting, manifest destiny hero.

Day 22 of Controversial Five Iron Frenzy Songs
Anchors Away
The End is Near/Here, 2003

This isn't the Navy Hymn (I'm a Navy Vet and can confirm this.) Anchors Away is about News Anchors and the state of network news at that time. Let's talk about the mouth of the FOX. As always, FIF looks at a problem with the world and turns it around on how we react to it. This isn't so much about trying to change the 24-hour news stations but about changing the listeners to realize they are being manipulated by fear.

Day 21b of Controversial Five Iron Frenzy Songs
To Start a Fire
Engine of a Million Plots, 2013

I was looking at the next week of songs and figure out I have one more song than I have days. I also figured that this song was important to cover on the same day as Farewell to Arms. This entry is out of order but in my heart, I do believe that this song is a sequel to Farewell to Arms and should be covered with it. In Farewell to Arms, we see Hemmingway's story being used to say that leaving faith will end up killing the one you left for and leave bitterness

Day 21 of Controversial Five Iron Frenzy Songs
Farewell to Arms
The End is Near/Here, 2003

It is easy to look at this song and say it is about all the people who have given up on Jesus because they have been hurt by the church. That meaning is definitely there but there's more. This one will have a few secondary threads attached to this tweet to go over everything. I spent a few hours researching this one, looking at Hemmingway, my personal history with love for the church, and some alternative lyrics that never made it to recording.

Day 20 of Controversial Five Iron Frenzy Songs
American Kryptonite
The End is Near/Here, 2003

There's a few songs I have really looked forward to getting to during this month. This is my 3rd most anticipated. The other two are still to come. What is the kryptonite to America's superman persona around the world? Is it obesity, as told through bloated carbohydrates and espressos? Is it being couch potatoes flipping channels on our remotes so we don't have to move? Is it relying on money for comfort and salvation?

Day 19 of Controversial Five Iron Frenzy Songs
New Years Eve
The End is Near/Here, 2003

Every December 31st, my Facebook feed is full of people posting the lyrics and the music for this song. On the surface, it's about nothing changing from one second to the next even though... we can make as many resolutions as we dream. I read into this a continued sense of doubt that is lingering just below the surface in the heart. While nothing is different between seconds, there is a longing that everything would change. Life should be more than we trudge through.

Day 18 of Controversial Five Iron Frenzy Songs
So Far, So Bad
The End is Near/Here, 2003

FIF finally decides they want to write a song about the problems that they see in the world, especially in the Christian community, but decide no one wants to hear it. I see the point of this is also that no matter how many songs are written about injustice, corruption, racism, hypocrisy, and hatred, a song will not change a heart. There had been 4 full albums, 1 EP, and an album of silly songs and outtakes full of calls to change.

Day 17 of Controversial Five Iron Frenzy Songs
Vultures
Five Iron Frenzy 2: Electric Boogaloo, 2001

This song is anti-consumerism but reading into it, there is more there than buying stuff is bad. There are lines about how we will never keep up with the demand for more. The idea that a computer on the shelf is already obsolete and the latest fashion trend went out of style last Tuesday. There is so much desire to get the newest gadget, the freshest styles, the best of the best that can never fill the gap in our bellies and our souls.