Sharing Scripture for November 6, 2021

When rock/metal/electro-pop group Dreamcatcher teased that their “Summer Holiday” EP would feature a “cute concept,” fans were understandably skeptical, especially given the band’s four-year history of adamantly denying any such deviations from their traditional goth rock style.

“We came to the decision that we should do concepts that others weren’t doing. We decided internally to try again with a girl group style that didn’t exist in Korea. …” shared Lee Joo Won, who at the time of Dreamcatcher’s debut was CEO of their music label Happyface Entertainment.

True to form, the septet bewitchingly blended rock, metal, classical, synth, and electro-pop in “BEcause,” their title track for the “Summer Holiday” EP. However, the following tracks “Airplane” and “Whistle” strongly echo scintillating pop, and two dreamy love ballads draw the mini album to a close. This trend picked up where the previous EP “Dystopia: Lose Myself” left off, having featured a similar ballad and even a full English-language pop bop. And prior to that, the band’s 2020 full length studio album “Dystopia: Tree of Language” was also not immune to popular influences.

Perhaps Dreamcatcher wasn’t trolling fans when they expressed that a change was coming. … Rather, the variance has been too gradual for fans to notice.

Like music, faith evolves with time and is easily affected by the trends of the world, good and bad.

Israel had a unique identity that challenged the rest of the world. As God’s chosen people, they were to uphold certain laws and moral attitudes that were not found in surrounding nations. They were also not to alter the judgements and guidance given them by the Lord. But, instead of keeping with their core values, many Israelites began to stray and to even worship other gods.

Fortunately, all was not lost, as a remnant of Israelites retained the core of their identity, and were then called by God to witness to the other nations (Deuteronomy 4:5-9). Now, rather than just fulfilling God’s call to avoid veering off the path, they were to also be an example of wisdom and greatness to the world! In other words, they were to be the standard, the role model, others look to for growth and success.

What we tend to forget is that the call in Deuteronomy still exists today. However, outside influences and differences of opinion have led to schisms within the faith. Christians have many different views regarding morals and fundamentals, such as which meats we may eat, what we should wear, how and when we should worship, and who can preach.

Confusion has caused division. How can we be effective witnesses when this division and infighting exists? Will we eventually blend into the rest of the world, or will we rediscover who we are and maintain our saltiness? (Matthew 5:13-16)

Connecting: Reflect on a subtle change that occurred in your walk with God. Has it been for the better or worse, and why did it happen?

Sharing: Can Christians as a whole maintain their saltiness despite fundamental differences? Has the effectiveness already been lost?

 

Applying: Prayerfully read Numbers 25:1-15 and reflect on how the issues found in the text exist and surround us today. Ask God for a less violent yet equally effective solution for addressing those issues as you meet them in life.

Valuing: In maintaining proper character we can become dangerously focused on works rather than faith. Pray that God helps you be faith-oriented in your witnessing.

~Stefani Leeper