Thought
for the day--Musicing is a Light
If musicing unto God is a part of our good works, and it is,
then Christian musicians need to be sure that people see and hear good quality
music when we sing and play in and out of church.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Aesthetics and the Christian Musician-Part 2
Yesterday we introduced the philosophical topic of Aesthetics and the Christian musician. Today we are going to discuss very briefly some music directions of the twentieth century that started the decline in a philosophical belief that there are absolutes in music.
Musique concrète is an example of
anti-music music composition. Pierre
Schaeffer (b.1910) composed music directly on tapes or discs from natural
sources. However, these “natural sounds”
were seriously distorted by playing them backward, changing the speed of the
sound of by other editing abnormalities.
In 1948, Schaeffer composed his Concert
des bruites (Concert of Noises) and other original compositions. Pierre Schaeffer’s music can be identified
with the philosophy of surrealist painters with its juxtaposition and chance
techniques. He often took perfectly
natural sounds and scrambled them in an indeterminable manner. (Surrealism will be considered later in this
discussion.) Schaeffer, Henry, Baronnett
and Boulez were the early “inventors” of this anti-music distortion. These compositions included religious pieces
like Mass for Liverpool and The Apocalypse of John. So this distortion found its way into
religious genres making subtle mockery of the awesomeness and solemnity of
sacred symbols. One shocking aspect of
this distorted religious music is that the narration of the Bible text is
clearly understandable. John Cage
(b.1912) became interested in anti-musical techniques like prepared piano and
chance operations. Cage called his
chance music indeterminacy. Other composers began to use chance
operations which have been termed ateatoric i.e. like the throwing of
dice. In 1952, Cage composed his
ultimate anti-musical composition, 4 minutes and 33 seconds. This piece became the ultimate composition of
anti-music since his purpose was to compose music that said absolutely
NOTHING! The performer simply sat at the
piano for the designated period of time making absolutely no sounds.
Christian Musicing is like a Light
Matthew 5:16 states, “Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
Why do you
suppose that Jesus has commanded Christian musicians to let their light shine? I believe it is because our world is a very
dark place to live in the twenty-first century.
Sin has made this world dark place with a very dark atmosphere at
times. Jesus knew that Christian
musicians are prone to let Satan come by and cover it with a bushel
basket. So, Jesus reminded us all, in the Sermon on the Mount,
to make absolutely sure that we keep our light shining very brightly.
The light of
Christ placed in us is so powerful that Satan needs a bushel basket to
completely hide it from those who see it, and will receive its light in their
lives. Satan knows that, without this
light of Christ, people will continue to live in darkness. Jesus instructed us to put our powerful light
on a candle stick so that it will give the light of salvation to all people.
One of the ways that a Christian can show
the light of Christ is through his or her musicing. Jesus explained, in this sermon, that “you”
are the light of the world. This means
that there is much value in people seeing the Christian musician music unto
God. As I play exegetical gymnastics
with this verse of Scripture, I have the notion that maybe Jesus includes our
musicing unto Him as a part of what people need to “see”. As I just said, it is just a notion, but I
think it is a valuable notion. If so,
musicians need to let their musical light shine in such a way that all who are
in the “house” will see it and glorify our Father who is in heaven. Therefore, we need to be very careful of what
people “see’ as well as what they hear when we music unto God.
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Prayer for the day-Learning to Commit and Trust
Prayer for the
day-Learning to Commit and Trust
I am thanking you Lord that you are the” way” and I am
thanking you in advance for helping me to know how to walk through this sin
cursed wicked world. Please help me to
walk in your never failing footsteps.
Lord, I know that I have many weaknesses and some of them are so are so
big that they could cause me to lose my way spiritually.
Help me Lord to
commit my way unto you. Please forgive
me for trying to work out my problems without your help. Help me to trust you! Help me to trust you right now to “bring it to
pass”. You have promised that if I will
commit and trust that you will guide me every step of my life’s way. These things I pray. Amen.
Learning to Commit and Trust
Learning to Commit
and Trust
Psalm 37:5 states, “Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust in
him; and he shall bring it to pass.”
This verse is
telling the Christian musician to trust his or her course of life to the self-existent,
independent eternal God who is alive, well and able to take care of the
Christian’s problems. God is! He exists! He’s alive! He hears our
prayers! He cares! The Bible teaches very clearly that God is “touched
by the feeling of our infirmities…”
The Greek word
asthenia (769) connotes feebleness, frailty and weakness. So, on the authority of God’s Word, we know
with certainty that the LORD is move with compassion when he sees our
weakness. God is moved, by his very
nature, into action when he sees our feeble efforts to serve Him. Since we know that he cares about our “way”,
we need to commit our path of life unto his care
It isn’t very
much fun to tell God that we are weak in some areas of our Christian walk with
him. It is more enjoyable to ask God to
send a “sin killing world-wide revival” than to tell our heavenly Father that
we have failed in some area of our life.
You should not worry about being honest with our Savior because he
already knows about your infirmities. He
is waiting at the right hand of the Father for you to tell Him that you are in
trouble and need help in the way that you should walk before Him.
Remember that
St. John 14:6 records that Jesus said, “I am the way. In other words Jesus said that, “I am the
road and I am the right rout.” So, this
Scripture simply asks the Christian musician to commit his or her journey unto
the LORD.
I do not know what perplexes you today,
but I do know that you can trust Jesus to guide you right now, if you will only
ask Him to help you and give you good directions in how to get too the Eternal
City.
Friday, June 28, 2013
Thought for the day-I Will Be With You
Thought for the
day-I will be With You
Christian musicians love to sing about God being the “lifter
up of my head” but they do not always seem to believe what they sing.
I Will Be With You
I Will be With You
Isaiah 43:2 states, “When thou passeth through the waters, I
will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when
thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the
flame kindle upon thee.”
God comforted
the people of Jacob (Israel) because, as is stated in the first verse. “But now
saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel,
Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art
mine.” Remember that in the thirty-second
chapter of Genesis, God changed the name of Jacob (the supplanter-heel grabber)
to Israel (the prince of God). Only God
is able to change a supplanter and turn him into a prince of God.
As a Christian
musician, God has changed you and you are a child of God. Like Israel, God has redeemed you and you
are His child. It is wonderful that God
claims you and says “you are mine”.
When the going gets rough, remember that God
has promised, “I will be with you and I will not let your troubles overcome
you. And I will not let the fire consume you.”
As a matter of fact, god has promised that he will not let your fiery
trials even “kindle upon you”.
Why? Because God has promised “I
am the LORD thy God the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour… ” (Isaiah 43:3). That’s what our Savior does; He saves us not
only from sin but also from the destruction of the fires and floods of
life. These facts should help you to get
a smile out of at least one side of your mouth when you are depressed. Hallelujah!
Praise God! Now those of you musicians
who are laboring for the Lord, out there where “the rubber meets the pavement”,
you must get your head up and trust God to help you have an effectual music
ministry.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Prayer for the day-Sing as a door of Hope
Prayer for the
day-Sing as a Door of Hope
I thank you gentle
Savior for your loving forgiveness.
Thank you that you are now sitting at the right hand of the Father
praying for all musicians who have sinned and come short of the glory of
God. Lord I am asking that all those
musicians that have failed spiritually will, right now, listen to the gentle
voice of the Holy Spirit and will respond, repent and sing unto you. Please help them to remember that you are
kind, forgiving and that you will not only forgive their sin but you will also
be patient with them as they seek restoration spiritually. These things I pray in your wonderful
name. Amen.
Sing as a Door of Hope
Sing as a Door of Hope
Hosea 2:15 states, “And I will give her vineyards from
thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of
her youth, and as in the day when she came out of the land of Egypt.” Various bible scholars disagree as to
whether this portion of the Book of Hosea is allegorical or a literal story of
Hosea’s unfaithful wife. Never-the-less
Hosea’s name means “salvation” and this account is about salvation and
restoration.
Because of
forgiveness, salvation, restoration and reconciliation, Gomer was able to sing
again. The word used here for sing is
not the usual Hebrew word shiyr (7891) which simply means “to sing”. The Hebrew
word used here is anah (6030) means not only to sing but also to respond, to
pay attention, and to give answer.
Jesus our
Savior has the door of reconciliation wide open. If we have failed spiritually, He is sitting
at the right hand of the Father waiting for us to repent and sing unto
Him. He wants the erring musician to pay
attention and to respond and give answer with his or her whole heart. Our loving, forgiving Savior simply desires
that we ask forgiveness with a repentant heart.
It is a simple truth that” He’s as close as the mention of His name”.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Prayer for the day-"Sound an Alarm"
Prayer for the
day-“Sound an Alarm"
Old Testemant Priests "Sounded an Alarm'
Thought for the
day-The Noise of Your Songs
Christian musicians should always remember to be as careful
in “tuning” their hearts as they are in tuning their instruments and singing in
tune.
Old Testament Priests “sounded an alarm”
Joel 2:1 states, “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an
alarm in the holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for
the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand.”
The prophet
Joel commanded the priests to blow an alarm with the shofar (7782) which was a
ram’s horn. Blasts of this powerful
instrument, although not a melodic musical instrument, were used to sound an
alarm for the people of Israel to hear.
All assemblies if the children of Israel were signaled by blasts of the
shofar. On this particular occasion the
message of the prophet was that the Day of Judgment or punishment was about to
happen.
Church
musicians have no less responsibility in the twenty-first century. They are set apart by God to be “kings and
priests” unto God (Revelation 1:6) to sound out the message of God’s love and
judgment. All Christian musicians have
the responsibility to sound out the message that God has said that, “I will pour
out my Spirit upon all flesh…” (Acts 2:17 & Joel 2:28). In the time of the
prophet Joel, God’s justice was tempered with mercy if men and women would
repent.
Musicians
today have a wonderful opportunity to sound the trumpet and tell this
post-modern generation that God has promised to pour out his Spirit on those
who will repent and do his will. So,
Christian musicians should be reminded of the importance of their musicing
today. We as Christian musicians may not
see how the problems of this generation can be worked out. However, we should remember that it is our responsibility
to be “good and faithful” servants by sounding the trumpet of alarm, and it is
God’s responsibility to meet their spiritual needs
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Thought for the day-The Noise of your Songs
Thought for the
day-The Noise of Your Songs
Christian musicians should always remember to be as careful
in “tuning” their hearts as they are in tuning their instruments and singing in
tune.
The Noise of Your Songs
The Noise of Your
Songs
Amos 5:23 states, “Take thou away from me the noise of thy
songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.”
At the time
that this Scripture was penned by the prophet Amos, Israel’s heart was not
right with God. So Jehovah spoke through
Joel to tell Israel that he would not accept their meet offerings, thank
offerings, or their musical offerings.
Because of
Israel’s “heart condition”, God called their songs and their singing with
instruments “noise”. The Hebrew word rendered
“noise” is hamown (1995) which means “a noise or a tumult”.
Church
musicians need to tune their hearts before they tune their harps. It was so in the days of the prophet Amos,
and it is still true today. Our hearts
must be in tune with God or our musician is nothing more than noise to our
God. Your taking time to read and study
God’s word is just as important as organizing and practicing the music for
Sunday morning worship! If you take time
to read, pray, and get your heart in tune with God, you will not be apt to hear
God say, “I hate, I despise your feast days…though ye offer me burnt offerings,
I will not accept them…”
I have always
told my students that, “The God of performance is also the God of rehearsal.” If you come to rehearsal with your heart in
tune with God, and if you “practice the presence of God in rehearsals, you will
never have to “put on” or act like you are enjoying God’s presence when you
give God a musical offering in a church service.
Monday, June 24, 2013
Thought for the day-Sacrifice with Thanksgiving
Thought for the day-Sacrifice with Thanksgiving
If you are gifted and called of God the Bible says that you
cannot abandon your calling and quit using your musical gifts for God.
Musicians Sacrifice with the Voice of Thanksgiving
Musicians
Sacrifice with the Voice of Thanksgiving
Jonah 2:19 states, “But I will sacrifice unto thee with the
voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that which I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.”
Jonah sang his
way out of the big fish according to Jonah 2:8-9. He was so desperate and tired of having his
own way that he began to pray and make God some promises. You would pray too if you found yourself in
the belly of a big fish.
I heard a little
chorus once, at a church in Newport News Virginia that my wife and I attended,
when I was in the US Army. It went like
this:
“When
God tells you what to do
You’d
better do it. You’d better do it.
It
doesn’t pay to disobey
That’s
all there’s to it.
Like
Jonah you’ll find out
The
hard, hard way.
If you have
promised God that you will music for him and to him, you better pay your vow
and keep ministering musically unto him.
Keep giving God your musical offering with the voice of
thanksgiving. If you do not, you may
find yourself in a mess spiritually.
My Bible says in Romans 11:29, “For the
gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” So, “buck up” musical soldier and remember
there are some things in life that you have to keep doing. Why?
Because God wants you to keep doing what he has told you to do. If you
do not, like Jonah, you may get the opportunity to test out the acoustics
inside of a big fish!
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Thought for the day-"Reason"
Thought for the
day-Musicians Must “Reason"
You can always discern who is speaking to you by how quickly
the mysterious voice wants you to act.
Satan’s voice is subtle but urgent—God’s voice is gentle, is never in hurry,
and always gives you time to pray and read God’s word.
Christian Musicians Must "Reason"
Christian
Musicians Must “Reason”
*Isaiah 1:18a, “Come now let us reason together saith the
LORD…”
*I Samuel 12:7, “Now therefore stand still that I may reason
with you…”
*Romans 12:1, “I beseech you therefore brethren by the
mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable
unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
*Acts 17:2, “And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them,
and three days reasoned with them.”
Isaiah, in his
prophecy to Judah, uses the Hebrew word yakach (3198) which has been translated
reason in the AV. It means “to cause one
to decide to be right’. In Samuel’s exhortation
to Israel, the Hebrew word shaphat (8199) was used and it has been rendered
reason in the AV. It means literally to “pronounce
sentence or to execute a judgment” on someone.
The Roman writer used the Greek word logikos (3050) which the AV
translated as reasonable. This Greek
word means to use rational thinking or the use of logic. St. Paul used the Greek word dialegomai
(1256) in is three day disputation in the Synagogue at Thessalonica. It is translated reason in the AV and it
means to dispute or argue thoroughly with logic.
God’s Word and
God’s way is always logical and reasonable.
If Satan is trying to get you to think unreasonable thoughts or follow a
path in life that is unreasonable, resist him in the name of Jesus Christ and
he will have to flee from you. He will
not have to flee because of your logic or what you believe, but rather because you
invoke the strong name and power of the Lord Jesus Christ who is sitting at the
right hand of the Father making intercession for you at this very moment.
God is never
the author of confusion or irrational thinking or reasoning. Musicians are emotional and sometimes
irrational thinkers. Sometimes they just
do not think before they leap. If your
thinking right now does not line up to the Word of God, change your
thinking. If you cannot defend your
thinking with God’s reasonable Word, then what you are thinking is wrong. Do not leap if you haven’t prayed and
followed the clear leading of the Holy Spirit.
If you are in doubt, don’t do it!
If a thorough
discussion of God’s Word proves your thinking to be faulty, you are, as my
father used to say, “Leading your ducks into a poor pond”. Don’t speak or act before you think. Be sure that you never act in haste. Satan whispers “You must act fast”. Our wise heavenly Father says, “Come now let
us reason together.”
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Thought for the day-The Profit-Loss ledger
Thought for the
day-Profit-Loss Ledger
Matthew 6:21 warns the Christian to keep his or her in the
right place “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Where is your treasure stored?
The Profit-Loss Ledger
The profit-Loss Ledger
St Mark 8:36 states, “For what shall it profit a man, if he
shall gain the whole world, and loose his own soul?”
I guess I
should have introduced this little discussion on April fifteenth (Income tax
due in the US). However, you probably
need this now because you are probably so busy right now that you are wondering
if all you are doing is really worth all it is taking out of your life energy. Church musicians sometimes are not sure if
all they are doing is really worth it when they consider the “big picture”.
I have titled
this little “pep talk” The Profit-Loss Ledger.
Take a look at verse thirty five of this chapter of St. Mark’s
Gospel. It says that if you save you
lose and if you lose you save. What does your profit-loss ledger look like? Jesus said in verse thirty four that, as a
Christian, you should deny yourself and take up your cross and follow Him.
The goal of the
Christian musician should be to come to the end of life with a good looking
profit-loss statement. You have chosen
to lose this world’s goods so that you can save up treasures in heaven. Be sure that you do not “gain “the whole
world” and lose “your own soul”. Be
assured that you have made the right choice, although it may not look like it
when the going gets rough.
You must always
remember that “market timing” does not matter as much as “time in the market”. What that means in spiritual terms is that as
you stay in the will of God year after year, you are laying up treasures in
heaven. You cannot see them now because
they are not here but rather in heaven.
When your earthly profit-loss ledger is closed at the end of your life,
you will see clearly that” it pays to serve Jesus—it pays every day.” What this means is that your heavenly eternal
interest is compounded daily by our heavenly Father.
Friday, June 21, 2013
Thought for the day-Your Jerico
Thought for the
day-Your Jericho
Sometimes we go to great length to try to solve our problems
our way when it would be much easier to just “let go and let God have his
wonderful way”.
How to Conquer Your "Jerico"
How to Conquer
Your “Jericho”
Joshua 6:20 states, “So the people shouted when the priests
blew with the trumpets: and it came to
pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and when the people
shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people
went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.”
This true story
of the blowing of the seven shofarot was given to us by inspiration of God and
therefore is profitable to us today.
Just think of it, Joshua and his “men of war” and seven priests carrying
seven trumpets (made of ran’s horns) went around the city of Jericho one time
for six days. On the seventh day (seven
is the number of perfection) they went around the city six days and nothing
happened. It was on the seventh time
that they went around the city that the city walls fell down “flat” under or
even with the ground in such a way that each soldier was able to go straight
into the city .
Do you have a
Jericho to conquer in your life? If so,
obey God explicitly and he will give you the city. Do not only partially obey God—obey Him
completely. Musicians are known to be a
bit stubborn at times. You must follow God’s
will completely if you want him to knock down the walls of your “Jericho”.
The trumpeters
blew, the soldiers shouted and the walls “fell down flat”. Whether God used the tremendous sound of the
seven ram’s horn trumpets or the sound of the soldiers “great shout” to
accomplish His will or if God pushed the mighty walls of Jericho over with his
little finger is not the major point of this true story. God is faithful to keep His Word if we are
faithful to obey His Word and do what it says for us to do.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Prayer fot the day-Sing in the Ways of the LORD
Prayer for the
day-Sing in the Ways of the LORD
I thank you
LORD for helping me to “sing in the ways of the LORD.” Thank you for making it possible for me to
get glad—even when things are not going well. I am also thanking you LORD for helping me to keep singing when
things are far from the way that I wish them to be. Please
teach me to know your way. Please teach
me the right way to sing unto you when I do not feel like singing. Give me a continuous song in my heart that
keeps praising you. Please help me to
remember that I must sing in your way because your way and your glory and power
are far greater than I am able to comprehend.
These things I pray in your strong name.
Amen.
Have You Sung in the Ways of the LORD Today?
Have You Sung in
the Ways of the Lord Today?
Psalm 138:5 states, “Ye they shall sing in the ways of the
LORD: for great is the glory of the LORD.”
Bible exegetes
argue about whether this verse means “in the ways of the LORD” or “of the ways
of the LORD.” Although we will not
settle this argument in our discussion today, I like to think it means “in”. However, be that as it may, we do know for
certain that this Scripture does command us to sing.
Have you sung unto
the LORD today? The self-existent,
eternal God wants you to sing unto him.
If you and I are going to make it into the Eternal City of God, we must
keep our heart singing! Even if things
aren’t going well, we must keep singing God’s praises. I decided a long time ago to “get glad”
rather than to get mad, “get sad”, “get bad” or “get even”.
So, keep
singing this little thought, “If you’re happy and you know it, say amen.” What this little song means is that if you
are going to sing in the ways of the LORD, you must sing “amen”—so be it. Every Christian musician goes through times
of great stress and trouble. It isn’t the
trouble that matters; it is how you get through it that matters in the
end. The LORD is very much awake, and He
knows when you are in trouble. So, sing
in the ways of the LORD. His way is a
song of hope, triumph and victory.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Prayer for the day-Harps on Willows
Prayer for the day-Harps
on Willows
I am asking you Lord to not ever let me get so homesick that
my depression keeps me from musicing praise unto you. Please give me the common sense to sing and
play the songs of the Lord to people in this darkened sin cursed world. Please help me to keep musician unto you and
let the joy of your songs minister to my own heart. This I pray in your great name. Amen.
Do Not Hang Your Harp on a Willow
Do Not Hang Your
Harp on a Willow
Psalm 137:2-4 state,” We hanged our harps upon the willows
in the midst thereof. For there they
that carried us a way captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us
required of us mirth, saying, Sing unto us one of the songs of Zion. How shall we sing the LORD’s song in a
strange land?”
The Israelites
had been taken captive into the country of Babylon. Their situation was less than desirable. So,
they quit musicing unto Jehovah. Many
times the very emotional Christian musician decides that singing songs that
tell the whole truth about Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection will not
be accepted by the post modern generation.
So, they hang their harps on a willow and refuse to sing “the songs of Zion”. These Christian musicians erroneously
conclude that if this generation does not like the way I music unto God, I’ll
just hang my banjo up on the back porch.
They believe that the current minister of music has carried them away
captive musically speaking. As a matter
of fact he doesn’t understand the way we used to make music in our old praise
band.
This problem is
much like that which existed in Babylon with these Jewish musicians. Because they were so depressed with the way
things were going, they hung their harps upon the branches of the willow trees
and decided that they could not music unto Jehovah in this atmosphere in
Babylon. So, rather than play the “songs
of Zion” which told the story of the only true God, with music that was God
honoring, they decided to sit down and weep and remember the good ole days.
These musicians
refused to utilize music which was a God given means of grace to their heats. They failed to do the only thing that would
have lifted them out of their despair.
They forgot that musicing unto God would bring them spiritual joy and
bring honor to Jehovah.
There is
another lesson to be learned in verse five.
“If I forget thee o Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.” As we mentioned earlier, they had the
wonderful opportunity to music the story of the only true God to people who had
probably never heard the true story of Jehovah.
However because they were so disappointed and depressed emotionally,
they lost the opportunity to minister to the Babylonians.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Thought for the day-New Renovated Song
Thought for the
day-New Renovated Song
Christ is not merely an added Dimension to the Christian’s
life. God is not merely added to one’s
old life. The same concept is true of a
musician’s musicing. The born again
Christian musician does not merely add some songs about Jesus to his or her
songs about what goes on in the life of one who is dead in trespasses and sins.
A New song of Renovated Character
A New Song of
Renovated Character
Psalm 144:9 states, “I will sing a new song unto thee, O
God: upon a psaltery and an instrument of ten strings will I sing praises unto
thee.”
Christian
musicians have been born of the Spirit and have passed from spiritual death
unto life. God has so thoroughly
renovated their inner character that they have actually put off the old man and
by his saving power have put on the new man.
Old things of the old life and of the old sinful man have passed away
and behold all things have become new (see II Corinthians 5:17). God’s saving power has made his musicians new
men and women. For more information on
the new man you should read Ephesians 2:15, 4:24, and Col. 3:10.
It only stands
to reason that this new musician with a new inner character should sing and
play a new song. This new song is new because it is a song of renovated higher
character. Therefore, it is a much better song.
As a Christian
musician ask the Lord to give you a new song—one that is of a different character
than the song you sang when you were dead in trespasses and sins (see Eph.
2:1). Make sure that the music part of
the song you offer unto God is of a changed character. The music part of the music of the new man
should represent the new changed life.
Changing your music may be painful to you as a musician but it is necessary
if your musicing is going to truly represent the life of a Christian.
Monday, June 17, 2013
Thought for the day-Extending the Hands
Thought for the
day-Extending the Hands
I often wonder why many Christian music directors use their
faces, necks, fingers, wrists, arms, shoulders and their entire bodies to
direct secular music and stand like a like an expressionless statue and conduct
with only one (stiff) arm when they lead congregational singing.
Musicing with Extended Hands
Musicing with
Extended Hands
Psalm 147:7 states, “Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving;
sing praise upon the harp unto our God.”
We are
admonished many times in the Bible to sing!
We are also commanded to sing unto the LORD. This Scripture verse in the Book of Psalms
instructs us to sing with thanksgiving.
The Hebrew word towdah (84260) has been translated thanksgiving in the
AV. The Hebrew word towdah means “With
extended hands”. So, Psalm 147”7 could
be justly rendered “sing unto the LORD with extended hands…’ Towdah connotes extending or raising one’s
hands in avowal or adoration to God as a confession of faith.
Is the tenor of
your musicing an avowal of faith unto God?
Is God not only the author but also the object of your musicing? Are your hands and your heart reaching up
toward God as you sing or play music? Is
your musicing a deep expression of your love and respect for God? When you extend your hands to direct
congregations, choirs, or instrumental groups, is the movement of your hands
and arms a deep expression of your passion to draw the people into effectual
musical worship? Is your musicing mostly
mere expressions of the science and art of music or are your musical actions
deep and effectual expressions of your heart and soul’s pantings after
God? Does God have preeminence in all
your musical ministry expressions?
If you are
directing a congregation that is sighted, they can all see your musical
directing expressions. They can all see
your facial expressions or lack of expressions.
They all know it if you represent the great stone face as you direct
sacred music. They know if you are
passionately involved in expressing musical worship through your conducting
gestures. When you towdah (extend your
hands) this reaching out of the hands has deep Bible support and spiritual
meaning. Therefore, church music conducting
is very serious business. Ask God to
help you efficaciously worship him, as you conduct congregations, choirs and
instrumental performing groups.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Thought for the day-Trust in the LORD
Thought for the day-Trust in the LORD
It seems strange that Christian musicians sometimes flee to
our elder brother Jesus Christ only as a last resort.
Putting Our Trust in the LORD
Putting Our Trust
in the LORD
Psalm 118:8 states, “It is better to trust in the LORD than
to put confidence in man.”
Psalm 118:8 is
the middle verse of the Bible. This
verse is a beautiful admonition for Christian musicians which the LORD has
placed in the middle of God’s love letters to his children. There are two words which are of special
interest in this verse. The first is the
Hebrew word chacah (2620) which has been translated trust. Strong identifies it
as a primitive root word that connotes fleeing to the LORD for protection. The second word of interest is the Hebrew
word batach (982) which is translated confidence in the AV. This word means to trust, put one’s confidence
in, or to be confident the LORD.
This verse does
not say that it is wrong to put confidence in a friend. It merely says that it is better to trust or
take refuge in Jehovah who is the autonomous, self-existent, eternal God. Our friends are for a while and then they
pass off the stage of life very quickly.
Therefore the Christian cannot put permanent trust in any human being.
As Christian
musicians, we all have people that we trust.
However, we must always keep our eyes on Jesus. People are prone to make misjudgments and to
fail us in our time of extreme need. Our
sinless, perfect, loving, all-knowing Savior will never let us down! There Christ is our batach and we can always
trust Him. There is no one else who
deserves such confidence.
Although we all need people to befriend us, we
must always remember that is in Jesus who will stick closer to us than a
brother. That means a lot to me, since my
two earthly brothers Nathan and David, have stuck close to me, and have fought
my battles all my life. When I think about
my elder brother, Jesus Christ the righteous, that I can trust even more than
my two earthly brothers, I get blessed in my soul.
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Prayer for the day-Filled with Logos Christos
Prayer for the
day-Filled with Logos Christos
Lord Jesus, I am asking that the words of my
mouth and the meditations of my heart be crammed full of the content of your written
Word. Help me, as a Christian musician,
to hide your Word in my heart. May my
mind be so filled with the knowledge of your Word that your praise will constantly
be in my mouth. Please let your living
water flow out of my inner being. Please
help me to feed your sheep and your lambs with the meat and milk of your Word
as I pastor the musician that I communicate with from day to day. Lord, I want you to know this morning and
throughout this day that I love you and give myself to always be your musical
servant. This I pray in your glorious
name. Amen.
Musicians Filled with the Logos Christos
Musicians filled
with the Logos Christos
Colossians 3:16 states, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you
richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
You don’t have
to be around a musician very long until you will learn what is near and dear to
his or her heart. You will find out in a
hurry what that musician likes or doesn’t like when it comes to music matters.
This musical
discourse in Colossians admonishes the Christian musician to be filled with the
logos (3056) Christos (5547). This Bible
lesson very clearly instructs Christian musicians to be filled with the Word of
Christ. The Colossian writer very succinctly
explains that musicians are not to be filled with just any words but rather God’s
Word. Furthermore this writer explains
that Christian musicians should be completely filled with the Word of
Christ. We know this because he used the
Greek word plousious (4146) which has been translated richly. This Greek word connotes being crammed completely
full. It also has the meaning of a
richness of this filling.
The English word
dwell has been translated from the Greek word enoikeo (1774) which means to
inhabit. So, Christian musicians are
admonished to be crammed full of the Word of Christ and that this knowledge should
inhabit the mind of the church musician continually. No church musician is ready to music unto God
in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs until he or she is crammed full of
knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Therefore it is the responsibility
of the Christian musician to guard his or her mind and to be sure that it is
dwelling on the proper content.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Thought for the day-Divine Fruit
Thought for the day-Divine Fruit
Although you may not always be blessed in your soul when
others are blessed by your musical ministry, you should be concerned if you are
not fed and thereby blessed when you music unto God.
You Must be a Partaker of the Divine Fruit
You Must be a
Partaker of the Divine Fruit
II Timothy 2:6 states, “The husbandman who laboureth must be
first partaker of the fruits.”
Bible scholars
differ as to the wording and thus the meaning of this verse. One school of thought is that the farmer who
does the work must be the first one to sample the crop of fruit. Another exegesis is that the farmer must eat
the fruit before he works. We are not
going to settle this difference in exegesis today in this little philosophical discussion.
However, let me
ask you, as Christian musician do you regularly partake of God’s divine
fruit. When you are feeding others with
the wonderful divine fruit produced when you music unto God, do you also
partake of that divine fruit? If you do
not, there is a distinct possibility that you may “preach” and “feed” others with
your musical ministry and become weak in your own spiritual life.(I Corinthians
9:27)
Here are some
of the warnings and admonitions given by Timothy in this Scripture passage: 1. Endure
hardness as a good soldier (vs. three),
2. Don’t entangle yourself with
the affairs of this life (vs. three), 3. Make sure you do the right thing the
right way (vs. five), 4. Be a partaker
of the divine fruit (vs. six), 5. Carefully study God’s Word so that the Lord
will be able to give you spiritual understanding (vs. seven). So the heart of the matter is that you, as a Christian musician, must eat if you are going to have the spiritual strength to feed others. If you do not you will not have an efficacious music ministry.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
Thought for the day-Musicing unto God
Thought for the
day-Musicing unto God
Every time I go
into a place of business where I will be doing very important business, the
people who work there are dressed in professional attire. I often wonder why some church musicians do
not respect God and His House with the same level of respect.
Musicing unto God was a Grand Occasion
Musicing unto God was a Grand Occasion
I Chronicles 15:27 states, “And David was clothed with a
robe of fine linen, and the Levites that bare the ark, and the singers, and
Chenaniah the master of the song with the singers. David also had upon him an ephod of linen.
As the children
of Israel brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, the procession included
King David and the Levite musicians with their musical leader Chenaniah. They
were dressed for the occasion in robes of fine linen. Because they represented the LORD Jehovah,
they had put on their finest clothes for the great event. It is important to note that they wore
appropriate clothing since they were near the Ark of the Covenant.
Chenaniah, the
master of song, was chosen to lead the singing Levite musicians on this
occasion. What a grand occasion this
must have been. Just think of it, they
were bringing the Ark of the Covenant whish was the symbol of Jehovah’s
manifest presence back to the city of Jerusalem. It is no wonder that they dressed up for the
occasion.
When we, as
church musicians, are doing the musical business of the self-existent,
independent, autonomous and eternal God we should square our shoulders, dress
up, and look and act like we are in God’s
representatives who are ministering in the presence of the God who spoke
world’s into existence. We should always
remember that we, as God’s musical servants, never get a second chance to make
a good first impression on those to whom we minister to musically. So, if we are going to do the business of God
we must look, dress and look like we represent the only true God whom we worship.
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Ministry is a Continual Process
Music Ministry is
a Continual Process
I Chronicles 16:37 states, “So he left there before the ark
of the covenant of the LORD Asaph and his brethren, to minister before the ark
continually, as every day’s work required.
King David left
Asaph and his associate musicians there in the Tent to minister musically
before the Ark of the Covenant. The
Hebrew word Azab (5800) translated as “left” in this verse means to relinquish
or commit. King David trusted the chief
musician Asaph and the musicians who ministered under his supervision so much
that he could leave them there to minister musically. In other words, the king could trust them to
stay on the job in his absence.
These musicians
were so steadfast in their commitment to music ministry that David could put
complete trust in them to keep ministering unto Jehovah even when the “Boss”
was absent from the place of ministry.
They considered their ministry a sacred trust. It seems that these music ministers trusted
themselves and the worth of their music ministry so much that they were
steadfast guardians of musicing unto the LORD.
This sacred trust was a direct result of their understanding of the
value of music ministry in this pre-temple place of worship.
King David
trusted Asaph to not only stay at the job site but also to get the job
done. We know this because this
Scripture verse tells us very clearly that he trusted these musicians to
minister “Continually, as every day’s work required.” Can God trust you to stay
on the job? Can God trust to continually
minister musically? Can God trust to
minister as much as every day’s work requires?
Can God trust you to keep remembering the importance of your place of
musical ministry?
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Thought for the day-His Song
Thought for the
day-His Song
If you find
that you have lots of days that “His Song” is not on your mind then, on purpose,
put it there. You should music unto God when you do not feel like it. If you do, then it will not be very long
until you will feel like musicing unto God.
His Song
His Song
Psalm 42: 8 states, “Yet the LORD will command his loving kindness
in the daytime and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto
the God of my life.”
Today is a
wonderful day because it is a gift from God.
God has given us another day to love and worship Him. This verse of scripture assures us that we
will have His loving kindness throughout both the day and the night. We hill not just have His love and kindness
part of the time but rather ALL of the time.
It does not matter where we are because distance is not material to God.
The self-existent, independent, autonomous, eternal God is alive and is
watching over his children.
The LORD’s song
will abide with us every moment of the day and night. There are literally millions of songs that
can captivate our attention but none are as important as “His Song” because this song not only contains truth but
also embodies truth. His song will
comfort and guide throughout every moment of the Christian musician’s life.
Christian musician have you ever
considered just how important your musical ministry is? You are implanting (hopefully) the LORD’s
song into the hearts, minds and lives of children, teenagers and adults. If you are truly sharing “His Songs” with
those you minister too, this song will be a guardian, guide and stabilizer to them
throughout their lives as long as they remember the truth contained in them.
Every time you
minister musically to saints or sinners you are implanting a vital means of
grace, to be forever stored in the minds of all who hear the blessed message of
Christ crucified, risen and seated at the right hand of the Father making
intercession for them. So, today is a
wonderful day because you will have the opportunity to sing or play “His song”
to some needy soul. Do not hoard “His Song”
but rather share it today with those around you!
Monday, June 10, 2013
Thought for the day-A Good Thing to Confess
Thought for the day-A Good thing to Confess
Since Satan is absolutely no match for God, Christian
musicians should rely on God to take care of troubling situations that Satan
has caused to arise in the place where we minister musically.
A Good Thing to Confess
A Good Thing to
Confess
Psalm 92:1-2
states, It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises
unto thy name, O most High: To show forth thy loving-kindness in the morning,
and thy faithfulness every night.”
The
superscription of this psalm identifies it as “A Psalm or Song for the Sabbath
Day.” It is a wonderful creedal confession. We as Christian musicians should often
confess to the independent, self-existent eternal God that it is a good thing
to give thanks (yada-3034) i.e. to hold out our hands in avowal to God. Christian musicians should be quick to raise
our hands before God as an expression of honor to our precious Lord and Savior.
These verses are also a confession that
is a good thing to sing praises unto our God.
The words “sing praises” have been translated from the Hebrew word zamar
(2167). Thus we confess that it is a
good thing to play the strings of a musical instrument as we sing unto our God.
Christian
musician do not ever let Satan convince you that your musicing unto god is a
waste of time. I believe that the
effectual fervent musicing of a righteous musician can avail much! Satan knows that he cannot get you to rob a
bank or steal a car, but if you are not careful, he might get you to “sit in
the seat of the scornful”. If he can get
you to become depressed then he can cause your musical ministry to become ineffective. You must remember that the “joy of the LORD”
is a musician’s strength.
You must take
courage Christian musician. Tell Satan, “In
the name of Jesus Christ, “get thee behind me Satan…” We should remember the words of Martin Luther
who wrote in hymn “A Mighty fortress” concerning Satan that “One little word
will fell him.”That word will come from our advocate Jesus Christ the
righteous one!
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Thought for the day-Sing to the Glory of His Name
Thought for the day-Sing to
the Glory of His Name
Some Christian musicians seem to be more in the habit of
shouting at the Lord than shouting unto the Lord.
Sing to the Glory of His Name
Sing to the Glory
of His Name
Psalm 66:1-2 states, “Shout with joy unto God, all the
earth! Sing to the glory of his name;
make his praise glorious!” (NIV)
This Scripture
lesson admonishes Church musicians to shout God’s praises. How do we know this an admonition for church
musicians to sing and shout God’s praises?
The inspired superscription of this psalm states very clearly that this
psalm set to music is “For the director of music.” This psalm is for the Chief Musician. Musicians
are you catching on? All Christians are
commanded to shout God’s song with great joy.
If the religious
music that we sing is just about “us”, it probably does not matter much. However if our religious music is about The
LORD, then it is very important. If it
is about “us” it is merely religious music, but if it is about god it is sacred
music.
Why should we
shout out God’s praises? Why shouldn’t
be quiet and subdued when we sing about God?
There are many reasons including some that I will mention here. We, as Christian musicians, have something
real to shout about. This message needs
to be proclaimed loud enough to cause those who are dead in trespasses and sins
to wake up to the fact that Our God is glorious and has the power to forgive all our sins. Also, I believe that we need to sing God’s
praises emphatically enough that Satan and all the world will know that we mean
business when we music unto God.
Rev. Larry
Smith says, “Never mealy-mouth the great creeds of the church” Garen Wolf says,
“Never mealy-mouth the high praises of our God when you music unto him.
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Thought for the Day-Publishing the Word
Thought for the
day-Publishing the Word
When this life is over and when the “Book” is opened, it
will be surprising who will be considered faithful among God’s ministering
servants. I want to be sure that the Lamb
or God will find me to have been a good and faithful musical servant.
Publishing the Word
Publishing the
Word
Psalm 68:11 states, “The Lord gave the word: great was the
company of them that publish it
The Lord has
given us his Word. If you are singing
and playing his Word, you are a part of a great company that God has anointed to
publish it. Look up Christian
musician. You are great because you have
been chosen to join the great and mighty anointed army of Christians who are
set apart to publish the glad tidings in this perverse world.
You are great
because you are a part of the great and mighty battle company whom God himself
has enabled to publish the message of our mighty and awesome God. This company of Christian soldiers has been
empowered by the Holy Spirit to do musical spiritual battle for our God.
You are great
because Jesus has promised that “ye shall receive power after that the Holy
Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem,
and in all Judaea, in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth (Acts 1:8).”
Friday, June 7, 2013
Prayer for the Day-Joy or Sorrow of Heart
Prayer for the
day-Joy or Sorrow of Heart
LORD, thank you
for a pure heart that can sing for joy.
I can sing at the end of the day because you live in my heart. Please help me to always hear your voice and
be quick to respond to your admonitions.
Thank you for the rivers of living water that flow from a heart of love
for you. I bless your name this day
because you have made me truly glad. I thank you Lord for your love and gracious mercy to
me. These things I pray in your
wonderful name. Amen.
The Choice of Sorrow or Joy of Heart
The Choice of
Sorrow or Joy of Heart
Isaiah 65:11 states, “Behold my servants shall sing for joy of heart,
but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of Spirit."
This scripture
speaks of the rejection of those who forsaken Jehovah. God had called after them but they had
refused to respond to his admonition. We
are often led to believe by the world that a sinful lifestyle brings happiness. The bill boards and magazine ads show a false
view of a “happy sinner”. We never get a
glimpse of the crying and sorrowfulness of heart of those who reject God and
live a sinful life and fail to live a holy life.
This Scripture
shows an accurate picture or the righteous and the ungodly. The inspired prophet Isaiah boldly explained
some of the results of holy and unrighteous living. He stated that the righteous would sing for
joy because of the inner peace in his or her heart, and that the ungodly would
howl for sorrow of heart. The prophet’s
writing is not a novel idea since the Psalmist stated in the first Psalm that godly
would be blessed and that the ungodly would be like “…chaff which the wind
driveth away.”
Jesus said as
recorded in St. John 7:38, “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said
[Zechariah 14:8], out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” It is no wonder that this blessed musician sings
for joy of heart.
The reason that
the wicked musicians “howl is that corruption, sorrow, vexation of spirit and
sadness flow out of the life of the wicked.
The reason that the righteous musicians are blessed and “sing for joy of
heart” is that they have an inner peace that flows out of a holy heart life, so
much so, that they have an outer joy when they music unto God.
So, cheer up
musical servants of the Most High God and sing and play with true joy of
heart. Sing for joy because you are spiritually
whole, truly happy and are free from the fractured dreams that come at the end
of the ephemeral pleasures of a sinful life.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Thought for the day-My Servants Sing for Joy
Thought for the
day—My Servants Sing
Musicians who are the musical servants of God never have to
act like it is a joy to minister unto God, because they have the “joy of the
Lord” in their hearts.
My Servants Sing for Joy
My Servants Sing for Joy
Isaiah 65:14 states, “Behold my servants shall sing for joy
of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of
spirit."
Sometimes the
philosophical discussions may be a little solemn, but today’s discussion should
cheer you with the promise in Isaiah that “My servants shall sing for joy of
heart.” If you are God’s musical
servant, this is a very precious promise for you.
Christian
musicians who live a life of musical servant hood have the right to sing unto God
with great joy. True servants of God all may music with real joy which the
prophet Isaiah called “joy of heart”. True
joy of heart is one of life’s greatest blessings.
No one may notice that you are living a life
of musical servant-hood , but God sees everything you do for his kingdom. Jesus sees your good musical works that
glorify your heavenly Father which is in heaven. No one else may, but God keeps accurate
records. He, who sees your good works
done quietly in his name, will reward you openly. Never forget that you are laying up treasures
in heaven where nothing corrupts or can steal your heavenly treasure (Matthew
6:19).
You should be
encouraged! You have the right to music
so exercise that right and “sing for joy”.
Make your boast in the Lord (Psalm 34:2). Continue with great joy to honor the Trinity with
your musical offerings. Lift up God’s name
in the congregation of his people.
Without reserve or shame let the whole world know that the LORD is the
only true God who is alive and worthy to be worshiped. Music in God’s name to all those you have the
opportunity to that God is Good! You
should never, never, never, never quit ministering unto your heavenly Father,
with great joy, as long as you have breath.
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