I Listen to Devil Music

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Posted by Matthew White | Labels: ,

Not really, well at least I don’t think so. I don’t hide the fact that I love music, let me rephrase that -- I love good music! My preferences range from Guns N’ Roses to Metallica to Lynyrd Skynyrd to more laid back styles like Pink Floyd and The Beatles. But recently one of my good friends and a mentor of mine who is a pastor at a church told me I shouldn’t listen to that music. His reasoning being that everything I do should glorify God. Which is a hard comment to argue against since it does say something about it in 1 Peter 4:11. So if music (or any form of entertainment for that matter) isn’t glorifying God should we avoid it? Maybe.


I think everyone has heard the phrase “be in the world, not of the world” (which isn’t scripture) and have determined that we should feel guilty when we enjoy anything “of the world”. Which contradicts what is said in 1 Timothy 4:4 that everything God created is good, which includes the world and everything in it excluding sin. This is where the issue lies...sin. Sin by definition is anything that separates us from God by disobedience. Is it a sin to listen to “secular” music? I don’t think so. Is it a sin to enjoy the world? Not in my opinion. But once the things “of the world” (in this case music) begin to influence you in a sinful way (which begins to separate us from God) then it becomes a problem. Just like movies, books, the Internet, Facebook...any of those things can cause you to sin or have sinful thoughts.


What in your life is causing you to sin and what do you need to do to prevent it from happening? Music doesn’t cause me to sin, but it does some people. Just like everything else in our lives, it’s not a music issue...it’s a heart issue.

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My Year of Spiritual Growth

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Posted by Matthew White | Labels:

2010 was by far the year which I grew spiritually more than any other year in my life.  2009 was a difficult year for me on many levels and entering 2010 I had no idea where God was leading me but it ended being an unbelievable year for me.  After thinking about it recently I can sum it up to one reason as to why...I began listening to God and followed His calling on my life. Hearing from God is difficult for a lot of people to do so I wanted to share the three ways in which I have began hearing from God.

  1. Reading His word CONSISTENTLY. If you asked anybody if they read their Bible I would bet everyone single one of them would say "yes".  But maybe the better question would be if they read their Bible consistently. I have read my Bible sporadically since I became a Christian 15 years ago, but it wasn't until last March that began reading it everyday. Also read it strengthen your spiritual walk not out of guilt and also I recommend have someone who will hold you accountable for it and also someone you discuss what you read. (You would be surprised how God can use the same passage to say two different things to two different people.)  I can't began to explain how much God will speak to you through His word daily.

  2. CONSTANTLY Surround yourself with other believers.  Outside of Sundays, how often do you discuss Jesus and what He is doing in your life? I unashamedly say that my friends are better than anybody else, seriously, I have been tremendously blessed with phenomenal friends, but in 2010 two people came into my life who without a doubt have strengthen my faith and made me a better person. First is Kristine Medlock, who I met in Kenya (well not actually IN Kenya but on the trip) and from our very first conversation to now we've talked about Jesus every single day and what He is teaching us.  The other is Tom Haren, who I have developed a great friendship and relationship with who prays for me regularly and who I know is there whenever I need him. Who in your life is making you a better person?

  3. Start looking for God in EVERYTHING. By nature I am a people person...I love people and I love talking to people. But in 2010 I have somehow seen Jesus teaching me something in almost every conversation I had. I believe this happened because I began looking for Him.  From things as small as where to serve at church or as big as whether or not to go to Africa. Simple concept I know but once you start seeing every encounter as an opportunity to hear from God, you will be amazed how much He will teach you.  
God will speak to you in multiple ways but these are the three ways he spoke to me the most in 2010.  Since I grew as much as I did in 2010, I can't began to explain how excited I am to see what he will be teach me in 2011.

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© 2010 Matthew Alan White