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Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all for the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)
OK so if you don’t know it by now this is one of my favorite Bible verses. This verse means so much to me. In fact, let me be cliché, and count some of the ways/reasons why it one of my favorites.
1. Um……It’s from the Bible so you know it’s good.
2. It’s the Bible verse that is the cornerstone of my Household. To further explain, I went to Franciscan University in Steubenville, Ohio. There we have these things called Households. A way to explain them is to say, that they are like Fraternities but with less drinking and way more praying. My Household was called AMDG. That stands for “Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam;” the English translation being “All for the Greater Glory of God. My household consists of guys who strive to become true men of Christ. Who strive to live “all for the glory of God;” so much so, that we wear AMDG on our shirts to remind us. We also do other thing but I can’t divulge secrets.
3. It’s the inspiration for “Father We Stand.” To actually go back to the subject of Households, this song was written by a Household brother of mine named Ben Walther. (Which if you haven’t check out his music, DO IT! benwalther.com He’s anointed.) Anyway, Ben wrote it and it is the song, anthem and warrior cry of AMDG. That is one of the other reasons I fell in love with 1Corinthians 10:31.
4. This verse is helping me become healthy. Little secret; I use to be huge. Now I am working on losing weight. For years I focused on the “do all for the glory of God” but stupidly forgot…or rather ignored…the “whether you eat or drink.” But now that I am no longer a “cafeteria Christian,” meaning I pick and choose what I want to believe, once I hear The Truth I strive to make it my own and live by it.
5. This verse helped me realize what I was called to do. When discerning what God wanted for me, God kept bringing up 1 Corinthians 10:31 and the parable of the talents in Matthew 25. I realized after some prayer that they weren’t being brought up for no reason at all. On the contrary, God was calling me to stop hiding. To stop fearing the unknown. To stop fearing Him controlling my life. To stop needing to know everything. And to start trusting Him; start loving Him; stop hiding what he gave me and start giving all He gave me to others. To Share my talent and with it give all glory to Him, my God.
With that, even though I could type so much more, I end this blog entry by praying THANK YOU God for all that you have done for me. Thank you God for inspiring me with your Word. For sharing yourself with us in so many ways. For loving us SO abundantly. And thank you God for each and every person who reads this or hears the music we make and is inspired to go out and live all For Your Glory.
God bless you all
-david
I often think about Grace, not a person but the wonderful gift that God gives to us. And as of late it has been on my mind a good deal. I’ll admit for many years I had a problem with the idea of grace. To me it seemed like God was doling it out unfairly. Now as far as I know God by definition isn’t necessarily fair but He is a Just God. And what I saw as unjust allotting of grace always perturbed me and set up a conundrum in my head. Let me explain so to avoid any scandal.
In the past, I would look at personal friends, whom I viewed as holy, and many famous people, who were widely accepted as holy, as figures who were God’s “chosen” ones. (“chosen,” suggesting to me that God seemed to care more about their salvation then the rest of civilization.) When I would really ponder this notion, I would get mad at God b/c it seemed that instead of loving everyone equally He was choosing to love some more then others. The means by which I felt He did this was through the distribution of grace; meaning to some He gave what was needed while others He didn’t seem to give enough. (“Need” to me meaning the satisfactory amount of grace that would force or create the opportunity for persons to get out of their sin or spiritual rut they currently found themselves.) But this didn’t seem right b/c God loves us all and wants us all to be out of sin and in Heaven with Him. So then the question I would ask myself was, since each of us has sin and ruts, why does it seem that some get out of that sin and become holy while others don’t? My flawed answer again was that “God must just love those persons more fully and have a specific purpose in mind for them.” Then, my flawed reason would continue, “since that purpose must be fulfilled, to actualize it, God must bestow a extreme amount of grace upon that person to help them overcome their sin, which will in turn help them become the holy person God wants them to be.” But even though I knew God does call some to do miraculous things and live amazingly holy lives STILL the reasons I would come up with to explain God’s Love and bestowal of grace seemed too un-God-like. I mean, God is a generous God and He gives us all we need. So it can’t be that He gives some what they need while the others basically get cast into hell.
And so I wrestled with this issue of Grace for years. But the reason I am writing this blog entry is not to tell you of my short comings or episodes of faulty reason. I am here to tell y’all of something God reminded me of the other day. Of course I’m not great theologian or can even begin to claim that I fully understand grace, through the years I think I have come to understand it a little better, by the Grace of God. (Pun, or whatever that was, intended.) So, here is what God reminded me of in prayer the other day; an idea which healed a piece of my heart and drew me closer to the Lord. I share it with you now, hopefully you can follow…
Ever since Adam and Eve committed the “Big Screw Up,” man has hid when he falls into sin. He hides from God and that which he is fearful of. For instance, murders hide from the police. Kids hide from their parents when they break something in the house that they have been repeatedly told not to touch. Teenagers are known to isolate themselves from their families when have something which they feel needs to be hidden, like the fact they got detention at school for punching Jon Alexander in the face. But to bring it backs to first hiders, Adam and Eve hid their bodies b/c they realized they were naked. But more importantly, they hid from God when he called out to them. This is what I think we all do when we sin. To use a metaphor (I think that’s what this is), Sin is like a house. When we sin we draw further into that house. And the more and more we sin, the deeper and deeper we isolate ourselves. You might ask; what do we isolate ourselves from? We isolate ourselves from God, the God who loves us and calls out to us. But when we have hidden ourselves in a House of Sin we can’t hear God clearly or possibly at all. Of course that doesn’t stop God. To go along with it though, God is a gentleman. A gentleman who gave you Free Will. He won’t brake down the door to your house and pull you out kicking and screaming. He gave you free will so that you can chose The Good, chose Him. So God knocks. He knocks on the door to our house. He knocks on our hearts and invites us to follow Him. Some will answer and some won’t.
(Here’s where God spoke the good stuff to me)
So, the question still arises, why does God seem to give to some the grace they need to hear His call and get out of sin while others don’t?
The answer I received was this: God doesn’t force people to do anything, He gave us Free Will. Grace is not some crazy Jedi/Star Wars like force that comes over you and controls your mind. God loves each and every one of us and wouldn’t violate the Free Will He gave us by controlling our minds and basically making us slaves. At the same time because God loves each of us, He bestows His grace to everyone. And because He is a good and generous Father, He gives each of us exactly what we need. (HERE IT COMES…..) Question: But how then if God sends His grace upon us in proportion to what we need, giving us ALL we need, do people still not get out of sin and end up in hell? The simple answer is we are sinful, stubborn and an untrusting people. The more complex answer is this: We entrap our hearts in these houses. Then we hide in the deep recesses of those houses. But that’s of course not the end, for if it were then no one would ever be saved. Luckily we have a good and gracious God. God’s grace is that knocking at the door of your house. He loves all of us and does it for all of His children. And because He loves you, He sends His grace upon you in proportion to which you need it. In other words, there are those who are very receptive to God. They have their ears open and the house they have hid themselves in is relatively small. Why would God huff, puff, yell his lungs out and pound down the door for this person? He doesn’t have to and probably wouldn’t because when God does something He does it perfectly. So, His grace knocks appropriately on that person’s door. Then there are those whose house is a friggin mansion and they have hidden back in the room farthest away from the front door. Well, God loves you and wants you to be happy so He wants you to chose Him and walk with Him (because nothing else can truly fulfill us but God) and so He knocks like crazy, nearly breaking down the door, and yells at the top of His lungs crying out for His beloved.
Now it “make or break time” because the next step belongs to us. We have to answer the door. God will only knock. He will respect our Free Will and allow us to be the stubborn little brats who won’t leave their miserable house if that’s what we want to choose. This can explain why sometimes big events happen and why some people respond to that event by having a huge conversion while others never turn toward God and answer that door. Some will even walk farther away from God. Luckily, that won’t stop God. He will keep pouring out His graces and knocking at our hearts till the day we die. That’s the type of God we have; a good God, a loving God and a gracious God.
With that, may God bless you abundantly with His graces. May your spiritual ears be cleaned allowing you to hear God’s call and swiftly run to the door answering it so that His Holy Spirit may fully dwell within you.
-david
Hey Hey!
So here it goes…my first official Blog.
Lately, David Hust Music has been doing tons. Luke and I have travelled to Louisiana. I did a Show there at the Steubenville on the Bayou Youth conference. (which was awesome. God was definitely there.) I got to hang out with my good friends Righteous B, Bishop Sam Jacobs, Kelly Pease and Fr. Jose Robles. Then I had the privilege to sing for Cardinal DiNardo of the Galveston Houston diocese. This week I will be headin’ out to Hollywood California to praise with and sing for the So Cal Catholic Underground. I’m real excited. The show will be Saturday from 8-10pm. (go to http://www.catholicundergroundla.com/ for more info) Anyway, the reason that I am excited is b/c the Catholic Underground movement seems really amazing. It is an answer to John Paul II’s call to Christian artists. And when I read this quote here below I was moved b/c this is the call I have been feeling in my heart. It is the reason I love music and why I made the album. I feel God wants me to use the gift He gave me to glory Him and to help people’s souls draw nearer to Him.
So here’s the quote, it’s long; get ready:
……WITH THIS LETTER, I TURN TO YOU, THE ARTISTS OF THE WORLD, TO ASSURE YOU OF MY ESTEEM AND TO HELP CONSOLIDATE A MORE CONSTRUCTIVE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN ART AND THE CHURCH. MINE IS AN INVITATION TO REDISCOVER THE DEPTH OF THE SPIRITUAL AND RELIGIOUS DIMENSION WHICH HAS BEEN TYPICAL OF ART IN ITS NOBLEST FORMS IN EVERY AGE. IT IS WITH THIS IN MIND THAT I APPEAL TO YOU, ARTISTS OF THE WRITTEN AND SPOKEN WORD, OF THE THEATRE AND MUSIC, OF THE PLASTIC ARTS AND THE MOST RECENT TECHNOLOGIES IN THE FIELD OF COMMUNICATION. I APPEAL ESPECIALLY TO YOU, CHRISTIAN ARTISTS: I WISH TO REMIND EACH OF YOU THAT, BEYOND FUNCTIONAL CONSIDERATIONS, THE CLOSE ALLIANCE THAT HAS ALWAYS EXISTED BETWEEN THE GOSPEL AND ART MEANS THAT YOU ARE INVITED TO USE YOUR CREATIVE INTUITION TO ENTER INTO THE HEART OF THE MYSTERY OF THE INCARNATE GOD AND AT THE SAME TIME INTO THE MYSTERY OF MAN. HUMAN BEINGS, IN A CERTAIN SENSE, ARE UNKNOWN TO THEMSELVES. JESUS CHRIST NOT ONLY REVEALS GOD, BUT “FULLY REVEALS MAN TO MAN”. IN CHRIST, GOD HAS RECONCILED THE WORLD TO HIMSELF. ALL BELIEVERS ARE CALLED TO BEAR WITNESS TO THIS; BUT IT IS UP TO YOU, MEN AND WOMEN WHO HAVE GIVEN YOUR LIVES TO ART, TO DECLARE WITH ALL THE WEALTH OF YOUR INGENUITY THAT IN CHRIST THE WORLD IS REDEEMED: THE HUMAN PERSON IS REDEEMED, THE HUMAN BODY IS REDEEMED, AND THE WHOLE CREATION WHICH, ACCORDING TO SAINT PAUL, “AWAITS IMPATIENTLY THE REVELATION OF THE CHILDREN OF GOD” (ROM 8:19), IS REDEEMED. THE CREATION AWAITS THE REVELATION OF THE CHILDREN OF GOD ALSO THROUGH ART AND IN ART. THIS IS YOUR TASK. HUMANITY IN EVERY AGE, AND EVEN TODAY, LOOKS TO WORKS OF ART TO SHED LIGHT UPON ITS PATH AND ITS DESTINY.”“
If you made it this far, you are great stuff and I commend you.
So there you have it, the first blog of many to come. And if you didn’t enjoy this one; no worries. I will refine my skills & just for all y’all who don’t want to read super long quotes, I’ll work on that too.
Peace and God Bless
-David
1 Corinthians 10:31
So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do ALL for the greater glory of God.
One of the first things I want to do as this website is launched is just say Thank you.
Thank you to each and every one of you who visits this site. Thank you to the people who have bought the album and supported me in what I believe God is calling me to do. Thank you to everyone who has listened to the music and has been actively receiving and engaging God through it. Thanks for letting me Pray with you. And with that, praise and thanks be to God for all He is doing. I ask that His blessing may be continually be upon you and that He use me in whatever fashion He wants; so that All glory may be His.
Also, Thanks to everyone who has been praying for me. (Please keep up those prayers. Lord knows I need them.) & Thank you to those who have supported me and helped me along this journey; especially those who have been there for me over the last few months: My parents, Michael, Marty “my brotha from anotha motha” Link, Luke “the man” Carey, Robo, Liz, Yager, Schumaker, Laura Burd, Zaggs, Kissinger, Uard, Nic Frank, Kelly Pease, Ben Walther, Righteous B, Fr. Dave, Sally Dubroc, Paul Hood, Fr. Jose Robles, The Servant Singers, Mrs. Stannard, Mrs. Hickman, Jaimers, JonPaul, honestly…all my Pseudo Moms, Jim Havens, Amanda Melefsky, Dawn Apang, 101.7FM Catholic Radio Buffalo/1460AM Catholic Radio Rochester. I could go on forever. I love and thank all y’all.
May God’s guiding hands and Holy Spirit come upon you and bless you forever
-David
Coronthians 10:31 So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God.
My dear Louisianans,
I love y’all. I love your state. I just honestly had to have some fun in that Truck stop that had a plethora of Tobacco products.
I hope y’all enjoyed the video. Know there’s no hate coming from my end.
God Bless Louisiana
-David
