Metal Encouragement for the Soul!

God has kept me alive through the use of metal. There have been a few times in my adult life where I was so depressed that I literally wanted to die and was seriously thinking of suicide. I didn’t feel that I could talk to anyone about this without them thinking I was just downright insane. There are a few songs that are my personal favorites because they gave me the strength to hold on until God and I had everything worked out.

“On My Knees” — by Rose
“This Is A Call” — by Thousand Foot Krutch
“Boys Don’t Cry” — by Plumb

God has also used metal to teach me that everyone is unique and we need someone unique (someone we can relate with) to tell us about Jesus. Metal has also helped me to understand that we can just be ourselves because that is the way God created us. He gave us our likes & dislikes and He gave us our passions. We can use those to reach people similar to us if we are obedient to His calling.

Metal is awesome!
God is the most awesome!!!!
Chris “alldatndensum” Dickens http://christianhardmusic.yuku.com

THE WORD:

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you (Deut. 31:6). Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light (Mat. 11:28-30). Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. (2 Cor. 1:3-4).

THE CHALLENGE:

Are you down? Memorize those Scriptures above! Or go grab the most uplifting Christian Metal album you have and CRANK-IT-UP and worship to it! Thank God for the encouragement He gives through His awesome promises! Promises of love, care, provision, comfort, forgiveness, His presence, salvation, power, joy, peace and so much more! He is awesome—now-go crank that album up and worship Him! Get into it! Lift your hands… shout to the Lord-shouts of praise and thanksgiving! Proclaim to Him – out loud how good He is and how much you love him while you jam. I guarantee—He will inhabit that praise-and when God shows up—so does encouragement!

Metal Blessings,
Pastor Brad
www.guitarjams.net

I hope you’re enjoying the Christmas season! You know the ancient church celebrated Christmas from the beginning of Advent—all the way through the first week or so of the New Year. I’d have to bone up on my history to get the exact dates  but the point is—Christmas is not just a day—it’s a season, an extended time set aside each year to reflect upon and give thanks for the gift of Jesus Christ! I encourage and challenge you to make time this Christmas season to reflect and pray and express your gratitude to God for all that He has done for you in Christ. And I hope this devo will help you do that. It’s not necessarily a “Christmas” devo… but the message is certainly related. Enjoy!

Glen Kaiser’s story… Rob Deacon’s story… Your story?

I could go on for hours talking about how many different Christian Metal Bands impacted me musically and spiritually. I think for me the band that has had the most impact on me getting my life back on track is Rez. During the late 80’s I was really strong in my faith. The only music that I allowed myself to listen to was Christian music. My faves at the time were Bride, Bloodgood, Stryper, Vengeance Rising and Barren Cross.

Around 1990 I started to backslide. I remember talking to Roger Martinez about secular music at Kingdom Bound Festival in Buffalo, NY. While he was not condemning about it he asked me to recite any STYX lyrics and then give him 3 verses in the Bible about Salvation. I had no problem quoting STYX lyrics but could only come up with John 3:16.

During this time period I was getting turned off to Christianity because of some things I saw happening in the church. Unfortunately this incident turned me off even more, although Roger Martinez was in the right and I was not. From about 1990 til about 1997 my musical tastes shifted and ran the gamut from Pantera to NIN and Biohazzard.

Fast forward to 1998 my musical tastes were shifting again from “modern/alternative ” metal bands back to more traditional/progressive metal music. This was as a result of Geno’s Axecaliber show. I was and still am into bands such as Dream Theater, Symphony X and Narnia. I still was not following God at this point and my wife would attest to that fact.

One day I was driving in my car when out of the blue I decided to put on Rez’s double live CD. I wasn’t interested in any of the spiritual stuff I just wanted to rock out. I remembered every lyric and was singing along. I got to the ballad Paint A Picture. Before the song started Glen Kaiser proclaimed that “This song was his story and perhaps it was mine too.” The song describes how he had reached the bottom and how he came to know/rediscover the love of Christ. The last verse goes: “Paint a Picture of a broken heart, see that picture and you can start to understand the Love of the Savior and oh how he understands you. Paint a Picture of a blood covered Cross see that picture and you’ll know what it costs, the price God paid to prove his love for you.” Those words actually brought tears to my eyes as I was singing them and I realized that I needed to make things right with the Lord. I wasn’t quite sure what to do at that moment but when I came home I told my wife of what had happened. I told her that I thought I was spiritually bankrupt and needed to make some changes. I was not sure of how to do this but I think that my wife was praying for me. The change did not take place immediately as we needed to find a good church. That process took a long time, as we were not fully committed to finding a Church until 2001 when we discovered Lake Shore Community Church in Greece, NY. I really liked this church because the messages were simple and what our pastor (Vince DiPaola) was saying seemed to make sense. I still needed to get rid of alot of baggage from my life and God is still working on me. On March 7, 2003 (which also happens to be my birthday) I made the decision to be baptized. Pastor Vince had asked me to give my testimony to the Church just right before being dunked and I shared how God had taken me from a period of severe back sliding to now once again following God and I quoted the lyrics to Rez’s Paint A Picture and told how God had used that song to bring me back to him. This was really the first step of my renewed faith in Christ.

There were moments after this point when I have not been right, but God is not threw with me yet. You see it wasn’t that song alone or really the music of any band that got me to get right. It was God using the music of REZ to bring me to a point of realizing I was on the wrong path and needed to make changes. Because of God using the lyrics to that song I realized my need for him, and he led me to a wonderful Bible Believing Church that has also given me the skills to read the Bible and have a daily quiet time with the Lord every day. I am proud to say that even though I have a long way to go I am growing every day and the Lord has blessed me. God works in strange ways and he used my kind of music to get my attention and get me to surrender to him.

Keep it METAL (in Christ)
Rob Deacon

THE WORD: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20).

THE CHALLENGE: Rob, thank you so much for sharing your story! How wonderful is the truth of the above passage (Rev. 3:20). Our Savior is so patient with us. His love for us is so steadfast and constant. I have no idea where you’ve been, or where you are right now in your walk with Christ, but I know this—if you will open the door today—He will come in!

Metal Blessings,
Pastor Brad Windlan

www.guitarjams.net

Hey guys, Pastor Brad here, I’m stoked about partnering with Kingdom Extreme Magazine to exalt Christ and encourage you in your walk with Him! I’m going to be sharing a Metal Devotional with you each month right here at K.E.M. I’ll be sharing personal stories and lots of stories from rock fans and artists all over the world—about times that God used rock music to touch their lives and draw them closer to Himself. If you have a story you’d like to share—I WOULD LOVE TO USE IT! Write it down in half a page and send it to me @ pastorbrad@aol.com. This first story comes from my own life. Enjoy…

It was the Holy Diver tour, Oct. 24, 1985 @ Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, IN. I was seated about 45 feet from the stage… up on the left just a bit… really good seats. By the way–just as an aside–I was 18. I had been raised in Church, but I was in no way living for Jesus at this time. I was HUGELY into the whole metal scene–partying, etc… Okay, back to the story… I had really enjoyed the show up to this point. Ronnie and the band broke into Heaven and Hell… and in the middle of the tune they sort of broke things down to a cool bass and drum groove thing. Ronnie talked over it… he told a story… it was all about the classic angel on one shoulder and demon on the other –tugging at your heart. It went something like this… He kind of talk-sang it… “There’s a little black ship down below me… and it said, ‘Come with me and I will give you desire.’” The crowd cheered and the mood of the music shifted – it became celestial and heavenly sounding… Ronnie continued, “There’s a little white ship up above me, and it said, ‘Come with me, cause I know just what to do.’ But I said, ‘Go away! Cause I’m gonna burn in hell with all of you! And you! And you!” (as he pointed at various sections of the arena)! AND THE CROWD WENT WILD!

I just sat there. I was stunned… it really jarred me! All I could think was, “Unt uh buddy! Not me man! You can go there if you want to–but I’m not going with you!”

I didn’t commit my life to Christ right then an there… but God definitely used that moment to get my attention and set some things in motion in my heart. That moment woke me up to some very important spiritual realities and forced me to deal with them–and the end result, about 18 months later, was that I totally surrendered my heart to Jesus and never looked back!

THE WORD: Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab. 22 But God was very angry when he went, and the angel of the LORD stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, she turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat her to get her back on the road. 24 Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between two vineyards, with walls on both sides. 25 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat her again. 26 Then the angel of the LORD moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat her with his staff. 28 Then the LORD opened the donkey’s mouth, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?” 29 Balaam answered the donkey, “You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.” 30 The donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?” “No,” he said. 31 Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown. (Num. 22:21-31, For the entire context read Numbers 22:1-35)

THE CHALLENGE:God can speak to us through ANYTHING—whatever it takes to get our attention—a Dio concert, a donkey, or _______ you fill in the blank.

What’s going on in your life right now? What circumstances are you facing? Do they have you soul searching? Are you seeking God through them? Has anyone shared words of encouragement, challenge, or insight with you lately? Did those words have an impact on your heart? How might God be reaching out to you today? I promise, if you give Him your attention—you’ll be blessed by what you hear Him say.

Metal Blessings,
Pastor Brad Windlan

www.guitarjams.net