GLMX #232: Beauty is Only Skin Deep

Plastic surgery is big business around the world. In 2013, nearly 12 million nonsurgical procedures took place. The International Business Times reports an increase in young people seeking plastic surgery due to what has been called “selfie imperfections.”The article states, “In response to the current obsession with social media selfie photos, more people are resorting to plastic surgery to fix imperfections like prominent noses, unacceptable wrinkles or curves, or hands that don’t look perfect in Instagram wedding ring announcement photos.”

While millions of people obsess about their outward appearance, their real concern out to be about the part of them that they can’t see and that no one else can see. It’s not the outside that needs a re-make. It’s the inside — the soul — that needs the surgery. On the inside, people are messed up because of their own sins, failures, and faults that leave them feeling guilty, inadequate, and even unworthy of success or the finer things of life.

God does not want you to live under the pressure of constantly trying to fix your problems by fixing up your physical appearance. Changing how you look will not change your personality, make you a better person, or make you act nicer toward others. It’s the inside — the part of you that you can’t see — that needs to be fixed. And God is the only one who can fix a person on the inside. He can heal your soul. He already knows your sins and failures. He already knows your darkest secrets. In Jeremiah 16:17, God says, “Mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.” Ecclesiastes 12:14 also says, “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” You can’t hide anything from God.

Not only does He know all about your faults and failures, but He has done something about them. Two thousand years ago, he sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross and accept the punishment that you deserve for your sins, failures, and faults. Jesus Christ shed his own blood so you would not have to. And 1 John 1:7 says, “the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

Today, you can bring everything in your past that you have been trying to hide from others before the Lord Jesus Christ, and He will wash you, cleanse you, and make you a new person on the inside. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Would you like to be made a new person on the inside? Would you like to have your soul washed, cleansed, and made brand new through the blood of Jesus Christ? Would you like for Jesus Christ to do surgery on your soul, to fix what you can’t see? If so, there are a few steps you must take.

GLMX #175: Beyonce: It’s the Soul that Needs the Surgery

To the surprise of the music industry and the delight of her fans, multi-Grammy award-winning singer Beyonce released an entire album on iTunes on Friday, December 13th, without any previous announcement or promotions. On Friday night, both versions of the album were ranked at number 1 and number 2 on the iTunes charts. With thousands of people trying to download the album in a matter of hours, iTunes reportedly crashed under the sudden load of visitors.

According to Religion News Service, one of the songs worth listening to is titled “Pretty Hurts.” The song, which is accompanied by a video in which Beyoncé is acting as a beauty pageant competitor, addresses the critical way women are treated in the entertainment industry simply based on their outward appearance. The hook goes like this:

Pretty hurts
Shine the light on whatever’s worse
Perfection is the disease of a nation
Pretty hurts
Shine the light on whatever’s worse
Trying to fix something
But you can’t fix what you can’t see
It’s the soul that needs the surgery

We live in a society that places a lot of emphasis on a person’s outward appearance. We make judgments of people based on how they look. And people work desperately to present an image of perfection when on the inside they are broken, hurt, wounded, and messed up. Perhaps the greatest tragedy of our day is the vast number of people who look alright on the outside but, in reality, it’s all a facade — a mask they put on in order to deceive the world.

As Beyonce laments, the makeup, the nice clothes, and the controlled personality, is really an attempt to fix something that you can’t see. It’s not the outside that needs a re-make. It’s the inside — the soul, the part of you that you can’t see — that needs the surgery. On the inside, people are messed up because of their own sins, failures, and faults that leave them feeling guilty, inadequate, and even unworthy of success or the finer things of life.

God does not want you to live under the pressure of constantly trying to fix your problems by fixing up your physical appearance. As Beyonce sings, “you can’t fix what you can’t see.” It’s the inside — the part of you that you can’t see — that needs to be fixed. And God is the only one who can fix a person on the inside. He can heal your soul. He already knows your sins and failures. He already knows your darkest secrets. In Jeremiah 16:17, God says, “Mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.” Ecclesiastes 12:14 also says, “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” You can’t hide anything from God.

Not only does He know all about your faults and failures, but He has done something about them. Two thousand years ago, he sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross and accept the punishment that you deserve for your sins, failures, and faults. Jesus Christ shed his own blood so you would not have to. And 1 John 1:7 says, “the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”

Today, you can bring everything in your past that you have been trying to hide from others before the Lord Jesus Christ, and He will wash you, cleanse you, and make you a new person on the inside. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

+ Plus, listen to Natalie Grant singing “Perfect People”

Don’t Let Looks Deceive You: David (A Picture of Christ)

Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message #102

TEXT: 1 Samuel 16:1-13

The Italian historian and philospher Niccolò Machiavelli said, “Men in general judge more from appearances than from reality. All men have eyes, but few have the gift of penetration.”

We live in a society where much emphasis is placed on a person’s outward appearance. We make judgments of people based on how they look on the outside, instead of taking the time to learn more about their character and personality — how they really are on the inside. How many people have gotten into relationships with somebody who looked like they had it all together on the outside, but after a few weeks or months with that person, they found out that that person was not all they appeared to be. Appearances can be deceiving.

Today, I want us to look at a man who looked like he had it altogether. He looked like he was a born leader. He was somebody the people of his nation were willing to follow. However, he failed them because, even though he looked good on the outside, there was something wrong in his heart. He did not have the kind of respect for and relationship with God that he needed to have.

First, we’ll take a look at Saul — the failed king. Then, we’ll look at the type of king God wanted for his people. And, finally, we will look at the selection of David as the king of Israel.

+ Plus, listen to Shirley Caesar singing “Yes, Lord, Yes” and the West Angeles COGIC Choir singing “Lord, Prepare Me To Be A Sanctuary”