Thought for the Day

Thought for the Day
I wonder what Moses would have done with this song which the YHVH commanded him to compose in Deuteronomy 32 if he had believed that all sacred music must be praise music?

The Purpose of the Song of Moses

The Purpose of the Song of Moses

           Deuteronomy 31:19, “Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel.”  The children of Israel had time after time forgotten the goodness of Jehovah and had turned to false gods of their neighbors.  In verse 16, God told Moses that it would not be long until Israel would again go after false Gods.  Jehovah was always faithful to His people so once again he sent his man with a message which was in the form of a song (see Deuteronomy 32).  The purpose of this song was to witness against an apostatizing nation. 

           The musician was instructed first to compose a song, second to teach it to them, and third to have them sing it.  It is never sufficient to “talk” the songs of Jehovah.  They must be sung.  Now song leader you know a little more why we sing the Logos Christos in church.  God has given musicians the solemn opportunity and responsibility to compose, teach, and sing the songs of Jehovah.

            Not all songs that should be sung in church will be “hippity hop over the top”.  Some of them will be “Are you living where God answers prayer?”  “A Charge to Keep I Have”, “Nothing Between My Soul and the Savior” and “Guard Your Heart”.  Whether our music is a simple praise chorus or a serious song about God’s judgment of the wicked, we should count it a privilege to catechize those who attend our church services with the songs of Jehovah.

Thought for the Day

Thought for the Day

Since many people use music for amusement and an escape from reality, it is no mystery that they do not think through their listening habits.

Wise Choices of Secular and Sacred Music-part 2

Wise Choices of Secular and Sacred Music-part 2

            One of the unfortunate philosophical positions of some Christian musicians is that all religious music is appropriate in the life of a Christian and conversely that all non-religious (secular) music is inappropriate in the life of a Christian.  On the surface it would seem that including only religious music would greatly simplify music philosophy.  This faulty praxis only complicates matters since it removes all need and responsibility of the Christian to prove what is “acceptable unto the Lord”.  This paradigm has spawned generations of Christian musicians who believe that there are no absolutes, rules, or standards of sacred or secular music. To them, there is only one guideline – it has to be religious in nature.  Under this mindset, sacred and secular music is a standardless art that does not have to be evaluated or pass any tests of suitability and appropriateness or correctness or incorrectness.

            A Christian musician without a well-defined congruent Bible based music philosophy is like a ship in the middle of the sea without a compass.  Since a Christian music philosophy must transcend regional cultural boundaries, it cannot be based totally on environment, community, or traditions but rather on that which is compatible with what the Word of God teaches.  If we are to survive in the 21^st century, Christians who are church and Christian school musicians must develop carefully defined music philosophies that are congruent with the Bible principles.  These principles must serve as the foundation of music philosophy.  These standards must be systematic and must cover the nature and value of the whole of both sacred and secular music.

Thought for the Day

Thought for the Day

Poor tastes in secular music often lead to destructive tastes in religious music.

Wise Choices of Secular and Sacred Music-part 1

Wise Choices of Secular and Sacred Music-part 1

A Christian musician’s responsibility does not end with sacred music but it also extends to secular music.  It does not seem to occur to some Christians that the whole of music must come under the Lordship of Christ.  I define secular music as that which pertains to temporal matters rather than with spiritual matters.  So, secular music is music that is not religious in nature.  Sacred music is that which is hallowed by religious association.  Secular music that is anti-Christ, blasphemous, or is irreverent does not belong in the life of the Christian.  However, music that is not religious but is clean and wholesome in nature does belong in the life of a Christian.  Secular music that is concerned with life on earth, i.e. that which relates to life in general is many times of a wholesome nature.  If it is of a morally sound nature it is *amenable to the Lordship of Christ.  Christians may include all music that passes the tests and conditions of Christ-centered living.

When it comes to the matter of secular and sacred music it is not either or but rather wise choices of both.  Although it would appear to be simpler philosophically for the Christian to only include the use of sacred music, there is no valid biblically sound reason not to include secular music that is amenable to the Lordship of Christ. There is no biblical conflict created by a Christian including clean secular music, as well as sacred music.  The two do not oppose each other.  There is not anything inherently opposing about music that addresses itself to religious matters and music that does not address itself to religious matters.

Thought, Song, and Prayer for the Day

Thought for the Day

God does not desire for you to bring him a dead lifeless musical offering, but rather, He desires only living breathing sacrifices “which is your reasonable service.”

Song for the Day Savior Like a Shepherd Lead Us attributed to Dorothy A Thrupp

Prayer for the Day

My precious Father I love to fish for men but I am not very good at it.  If I ever get any better at fishing for men I must take the opportunity to Have brunch with You Jesus so that I can learn where you want me to fish.  Lord, I confess that I come empty to your brunch most of the time.  Please help me to come more prepared to come into Your presence. I confess that I am so needy.  please give me spiritual sustenance so that I will be able to fish for men. This I am earnestly asking in Your sufficient name.  Amen.

Brunch with Jesus—part 6

Brunch with Jesus—part 6

            Matthew 4:19 states, “And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” and Mark 1:17 records, “And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.”  The disciple’s brunch with Jesus reinforced Jesus’ desire for Christians to do more than sing about fishing for men.  If we have brunch with Him he will also remind us that we must become “fishers of men”; that proof of love is proof of new spiritual life; and that proof of love involves much more than musical rhetoric about loving Him. Some of our worship musicing, when we brunch with Jesus, should be a call to becoming “fishers of men” and to Christian service by renewing our vow to present ourselves as living sacrifices unto God.  Although Christ had called His disciples to serving others long before His suffering, death and resurrection, He took the time to appear this third appearance to His disciples to have brunch with them and remind them again that loving and worshiping Him involves loving and serving others.

            The purpose of my posts about having brunch with Jesus is not about downplaying the singing of praises to the blessed Trinity.  I want to make it very clear that having brunch with Jesus should include bestowing sincere lavish praise on the triune God that we love and serve. However, I am convinced that Jesus desires that we show Him our love and worship by loving and serving others.  Therefore, a part of having brunch with Jesus should not only involve our praise responses to Him, but also our allowing Jesus to not only feed our souls but also talk to us about what really matters to Him.

 

Thought, Song, and Prayer for the Day

Thought for the Day

If a musician is going to really take care of the needs of Christ’s lambs and sheep, that musician must first present his or her body to Christ as a living sacrifice.

Song for the Day Gentle Shepherd by Gloria & William Gaither

Prayer for the Day

I am asking You who are the “Lord of the sheep” to prepare my heart and mind to music unto you as I feed Your lambs and sheep.  After musicing for most of my life, I must ask like Solomon of old, “Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people…”  I need your wisdom every time I step before an audience because I represent You Lord.  I do not understand why You have chosen musicians like me to music for you but I know that in your wisdom You have chosen me to be one of your musical shepherds.  I Thank You Lord for giving me the awesome opportunity to feed your sheep and Lambs.  Amen.

 

Brunch with Jesus—part 5

Brunch with Jesus—part 5

            Jesus directly connected loving Him with feeding His lambs, pastoring His mature sheep and having something to feed all of them.  Remember, He ask, “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?”  What Christ was saying was if you love Me you will serve others.  He was not merely asking Simon Peter to say that he loved Jesus  (i.e. sing His praises), but he was saying if you love me you will minister to those that are under your influence.  Although God inhabits praise, Jesus is calling us to Christians to put our words into action.

            The Bible lesson to Christian musicians is clear. Do not only sing my praises but also demonstrate that you love Me by having spiritual fish and bread in your musicing to feed My lambs and My sheep and also pastor them by serving them. A faithful minister of music must saturate his or her music ministry with God’s Word because as Hebrews 4:12 reminds us, “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”  Brunch with Jesus consists of much more than feasting and praising.  It is not only a time when we say “Yes Lord You know that I love You”.  It is a time when we affirm  that we will serve others.  I believe that worship is a time when Jesus is saying, as He inspired St. Paul to write in 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.”

 

Thought, Song, and Prayer for the Day

Thought for the Day

It is much easier for a musician to go about the task of feeding Christ’s lambs and sheep with music than it is for him or her to love them enough to care for their needs by pastoring them.

Song for the Day—Make Me a Servant by Kelly Willard

Prayer for the Day

My precious Lord I want to do your will when I music.  If I know my heart I want my musicing to feed your little lambs and also your mature sheep.  I am sobered by the fact that you said to Peter that a test of loving you was feeding and caring for your lambs and sheep. I am asking you to give me the wisdom to discern Your will for musicing that will be acceptable in your sight.  This I am asking in Your wise and wonderful name.  Amen

 

Brunch with Jesus—part 4

Brunch with Jesus—part 4

            The disciples who came to Christ’s brunch received the bread of life, but that wasn’t all that happened.  Many musicians believe that brunch with Jesus is about feasting and the musician’s leading others in musical praise responses to Christ.  That is certainly part of what should happen, but it is only a part of what happens.  After the filling portion of their experience of having brunch with Jesus, He got down to business with them.  John 21:15 explains, “So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.”  Notice that Jesus first told Simon Peter to feed His lambs. The Greek word translated feed in the AV is bosko (1006) which connotes the act of feeding the lambs.

             Next, “He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.”  The Greek word translated feed in the AV is poimaino (4165) which has more meaning than the mere act of feeding and means to tend or care for the adult sheep as a shepherd.  The shepherd’s responsibilities included many things like leading, correcting, protecting and much more.  Finally, “He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed (bosko 1006) my sheep.” 

 

Thought, Song, and Prayer for the Day

Thought for the Day

This week remember that Jesus is saying as He did in John 14:15, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”  Some musicians try to bring a musical offering of praise and adoration to Christ’s brunch without keeping His commandments.

Song for the Day  I Gave My Life for Thee by Francis Havergal

Prayer for the Day

Dear precious Lord I am asking you to forgive me for whining about how hard I have worked for You.  If I even have to work 24-7 that will be a “present far too small”.  When I think for just a moment what you have done for me and what you do for me every day, I am ashamed of my attitude. Please help me to fight burnout like a tiger.  Also Lord, I confess that many times I try to music to You and for You in my own strength.  Please help me to come to your brunch and be fed and renew my vows to You.  This I humbly ask You.  Amen. 

 

Brunch with Jesus—part 3

Brunch with Jesus—part 3

            The disciples came prepared to Christ’s brunch.  Although they had fished all night without any success, they were able to come with 150 fish because: 1) they were in the place where they could catch fish, 2) they were honest with Jesus when He asked them, ‘Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No.”, and 3) they obeyed Jesus when He said, “Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.”  If a Christian musician desires to come to Jesus’ brunch with a fresh filling, then he or she must attend to the means of grace, be honest with Jesus, and take His advice. The disciples were in a place where they could catch fish.  Serving Jesus requires fishing, not merely singing about fishing.

            Burnout is a common occurrence for musicians who have given and given and given until it seems that there is simply nothing more to give because our nets are empty.  Sometimes ministering musicians feel very much like the disciples who had toiled and toiled throughout the night hours.  However, this malady was curable for the disciple and it is also curable for us.  Like the disciples, we must be faithful to the task at hand.  Jesus is able to help those who stay in their little ships and keep fishing when it seems that the fish will never bite.  Sitting on the bank near the sea of ministry whining about the fact that the fish will not come into our net does not cure burnout and does not enable us to do the thing that will prove to Jesus that we love him.

 

 

Thought, Song, and Prayer for the Day

Thought for the Day

If a Christian musician comes to brunch with Jesus spiritually empty and dry, then he or she will not be able to bring an offering of sincere praise to this spiritual feast. 

Song for the Day Jesus Is the entire World to Me by Will L. Thompson

Prayer for the Day

 Precious Lord I am sobered when I  remember the many times that I have almost let Satan convince me that I am so “wrung out like a rag” that there is no more any way that I will have anything to give to Your lambs and sheep.  At those times I am aware that my net has been on the wrong side of my little boat.  Lord I am asking you once again to help me to fish on the right side.  Lord help me this day to hear Your voice and obey Your voice so that I may have something to bring to your brunch.  Help me to trust You to help me to experience a fresh filling in my empty net.  These petitions I am presenting to Your powerful name.  Amen.

Brunch with Jesus—part 2

Brunch with Jesus—part 2

            Yesterday we considered some of the benefits of the bread and fish provided in Jesus’ brunch. Those who wish to have brunch with Jesus sometimes believe that the content of our worship musicing should be all praise. Although praise music is very important to worship it is not the complete content of having brunch with Jesus   When we take a careful look at the content of Jesus’ brunch, we find that it was not completely about praise. Dining with Jesus was about receiving but it was also about a call to action. 

            First, Jesus gave them the invitation to come to Him.  Jesus gave them a call to worship which connotes coming close to Him.  Jesus didn’t hand out fish sandwiches to them on the boat.  Having brunch with Him required coming into His presence.  Only when they came close to Him, were they able to dine with Him.  Jesus did not say to them, here is some food now go and eat by yourselves.  We can only receive the sustaining benefit of the Bread of life and the sustenance of mature meat when we dine in his presence.

            Second, Jesus did not only demand that they come into his presence, He also required them to bring something to His brunch.  In John 21:10 “Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.”  Jesus expected the disciples to bring something to his brunch because His brunch was a potluck brunch.  Today, each Christian must bring something for the congregation to eat. The disciples had made pre-preparation for their brunch with Jesus.

              It is one thing for Christian musicians to show up and sing and play some praise music, but is another for them to come to Christ’s brunch with a fresh filling.   Remember that John 21:11 records, “Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net broken.”

 

Thought, Song, and Prayer for the Day

Thought for the Day

Many Christian musicians say that they desire to have bunch with Jesus, but they do not understand that Jesus gets down to business with those who dine with him.  If you have brunch with Jesus, you will be fed by Him, but you will also come face to face with the call to Christian service.  Do you still want to brunch with Him?

Song for the Day Come and Dine by Charles B. Widmeyer

Prayer for the Day

I want to thank You Lord that you desire to have fellowship with people like me.  Thank you for having your great table spread with spiritual food for my soul.  Please help me to have the good sense to come to your table and to partake of the spiritual bread and fish that you have prepared for me.  If I know my heart, I really desire to partake of Your table.  Please feed my soul as I give you an offering of praise.  This I am asking in your in your wonderful and sufficient name.  Amen

 

Brunch with Jesus—part 1

Brunch with Jesus—part 1

            John 21:9 explains what the disciples saw when they came to the shore after fishing all night   “As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.”  Joh 21:12 gives the account of Jesus’ invitation to them to have brunch with Him.  “Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was the Lord.” 

            John 21:13 gives the wonderful account of the disciples having a potluck brunch with Jesus.   “Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise.”  Many Christian musicians like to refer to Sunday morning worship as a worship feast with Jesus.  Do you desire to have Sunday brunch with Jesus?  Do you desire that your musicing to be a time of receiving spiritual food for your soul and the souls of the congregation?

            In John 6:35by and 6:48 Jesus said, “I am the bread of life.”  From this declaration made by Jesus we can understand the significance of Jesus offering his disciples bread at this brunch.  Notice that brunch with Jesus provides bread that sustains spiritual life.  It also provides fish.  Unlike the fledgling milk fed Christians mentioned in 1Corinthians 3:2, “I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.” The disciples were given meat.  Brunch with Jesus provides meat that will sustain maturing Christians.

 

Thought for the Day

Thought for the Day

Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”  Since God has an acceptable, good, and perfect will, it is not unreasonable to believe that he has a will concerning how a Christian musics unto Him.

              

Is Adiaphorous Religious Musicing Possible?

Is Adiaphorous Religious Musicing Possible?    

                Christian musicians who are trying to develop a congruent Christian music philosophy should understand that many Christians, who are conservative in many areas of their lives, consider the way that contemporary Churches music to be an adiaphorous form of worship.  They really believe that the conflict over contemporary Christian music to be “much ado about nothing”. 

             When I was mentioning some performance styles and practices that I considered to be inappropriate for public worship, one of my colleagues recently said to me, “I believe we’ve already lost that battle”.  Just because the postmodern church musics a certain way and furthermore, just because many conservatives have been so conditioned by repeatedly hearing a style of religious music that they no longer oppose it, does not make it a good choice.

            The “neither good nor bad” notion about religious music has become the slippery slope that has finally led to style and performance practice capitulation. Although his book was on a completely different topic, the title of Thomas Anthony Harris’s I'm OK, You're OK New York Times best seller has been taken out of context in the development of a false notion by the postmodern church. This philosophical fallacy has allowed these musicians to believe a convenient falsehood rather than deal with an obvious truth. This everything goes philosophy fits well with the adiaphorous philosophy of contemporary Christian musicians.  Many Christians, including a host of Christians who are conservative in many of their beliefs, seem to believe that all the possible ways that religious musicers can possibly music are OK. Simply put, although there are wonderful things happening in sacred music in this century, everything that is happening in church music is not OK!

 

Thought, Song, and Prayer for the Day

Thought for the Day
No Christian musician wishes to be misunderstood when it comes to his or her musicing.  Never-the-less it is most likely going to happen sooner or later.  When misunderstanding comes the Christian musician must be sure that his or her music philosophy is congruent with good common sense and what the bible teaches about music and musicing.

Song for the Day I gave My Life for Thee by Frances Havergal

Prayer for the Day

My precious Lord and Savior I want You to know that I trust You to guide me through the struggles of this life.  Even though I trust you, I need Your help to remain calm when I am misunderstood by others.  The three Hebrew Children are remembered because they remained calm in the fiery furnace.  Lord, I must confess to You that I probably would not have remained calm in that situation.  I need you every hour of every day because although I trust that You are able to protect me, sometimes I’m not sure that you will.  Lord, I love You and want to show your love You by living out my trust for You.  Lord I am asking You to help me not to fall down and capitulate in the time of trouble. This honest prayer I am praying this dy.  Amen.

 

 

 

Be Ready to Fall Down

Be Ready to Fall Down

        Daniel 3:5 states “That at the time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up.” This ancient admonition sounds like a twenty-first century admonition to worship whenever and whatever is going down musically at a particular time.  These three Hebrew men refused to violate their conscience musically or spiritually.  Twenty-first century musicians are at times put in a place where they will have to take a stand.  The Bible lesson in this Scripture is very clear.  These three men would not worship the Chaldean image and they would not worship with “all kinds of music” merely because they were pressured to conform.  

       The result was that they got themselves thrown into a fiery furnace.  Sorry!  These men took a stand about worship style and idol worship which incurred the wrath of those who were in charge.  Those in authority were so mad that they heated the furnace seven times hotter than normal.  So, if you take a stand musically and spiritually, get ready to enter the fiery furnace.

       These three Hebrew men maintained a meek and quiet spirit, which included a good attitude, and God honored them and took care of them.  You may feel that you are in the fiery furnace because you refuse to go along with worship that that does not follow Bible principles of musicing unto God.  However you must stay “cool” in the midst of the hot furnace.  If you do, God will take care of you.  God cared so much for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that He got into the furnace with them.

Thought for the Day

Thought for the Day

Colossians 1:16, “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.”  God not only created the visible part of music, He also created the invisible part  i.e. sound.

 

How Did Music Begin?-part 2

How Did Music Begin?-part 2 

               God truly created music. Although the word created is used loosely by many musicians, man never actually creates music or anything for that matter.  God took nothing and made something--that something was music.  Music composers and arrangers only "construct"--they only are capable of "arranging"  or moving God's created musical building blocks into new artistic patterns.  A contractor who builds a building takes created materials and uses them to construct something.  He always takes "something" and constructs with these materials.  No matter how great a building a contractor constructs or how much *creative effort he exerts, what he puts together is not truly a creation.  We will discuss “creativeness further in chapter eleven under the topic Creativity and the Christian Musician.

             I  have often said that God did not create music because He was destined to do so.  God did not create music because it was in His destiny or future.  God very clearly explained this to Moses when He declared in Exodus 3:14, “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”  God did not say I will be God in the future but rather hayah asher hayah(1961,834,1961) which means according to Dr. Clarke’s research, “The Vulgate translates I am who am.  The Septuagint, I am he who exists.  The Syriac, the Persic, and the Chaldee preserve the original words without any gloss.”  Clarke’s commentary, Vol. 1, p. by Adam Clarke, 306  So, I gave all the previous explanation to try to explain that God does not have a beginning or end, but rather in His own words He simply explains I AM. 

 

Thought for the Day

Thought for the Day

John 1:3, “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.”  It stands to reason that “all things” includes music.

 

How Did Music Begin?-part 1

How Did Music Begin?-part 1  

                We know from Genesis 1:1 that,” In the beginning God  created”.  From this *truism let us explore the philosophical presupposition that in the beginning God created music.  Many church musicians do not start with this necessary philosophical basis.  On the contrary, many Christian musicians believe that there is no answer to the question, “How did music begin?”  They fail to recognize the evident answer found in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created...”  

            God did not need to create music because He is and always has been without need.  In His divine wisdom and sovereignty He chose to create music and that was not because He had too, but rather because He desired to create it.  So He thought it into existence—that is creation.  God did not create music to fulfill his destiny, because He has no destiny.  He was not “I will be” or if I create music my creation will be more perfect because everything that He created before and after He created music was perfect.  Although this is difficult for a musician to conceptualize, God’s creation was completely perfect with and/or without music.  Think about it, God’s creation did not get better or more complete or more perfect when He created music because God never gets better. We as Christian musicians do things to perfect our musical skills in our long journey toward the development of our God given musical gifts. God did not take a long or short musical journey.  He simply thought and absolutely nothing became something—music.  That is creation.

Song, Thought, and Prayer for the Day

Song for the Day Wonderful Grace of Jesus by Haldor Lillenas

Thought for the day
Ephesians 5:20-21 “Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.” 

Prayer for the Day

Lord, I am asking You to help me to always music for Your glory and Honor.  Please cover me with your grace and purify my motives for being a minister of music.  Please help me to lift up your name instead of my own name and self.  Help me to be Your humble musical servant.  Help me to submit all my musicing to You. This I am asking in your Name.  Amen.

Musicing about God, for God with God’s Grace

Musicing about God, for God with God’s Grace

            Colossians 3:16-17 teaches, “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.  And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”  Many speakers and writers miss the lessons taught in these two verses.  Also many Bible expositors skip these verses in their comments or at least they make little or no mention of the music lesson taught here.  I suspect they were so intent on getting to the eighteenth verse so that they could once again tell women to submit!

            I would like to take a brief moment to remind Christian musicians of the main reasons that we music.  First, we must always music “in the name of the Lord Jesus”.  The Greek word used her is kurios (2962) which connotes supreme authority, or one who is the Christian’s Lord and master.  Christian musicians often tend to get lost in the fact that they are giving a music performance or that they work for and represent a particular   church. Although all of the above may be true, a Christian musician’s boss so to speak, is God.  Second, the Christian musician who is performing the psalms, hymn, and spiritual songs does so as a vehicle for giving thanks to God the Father by the mediatorial agency of God the Son.  Third, a musician who performs or leads others in sacred music must have the grace (charis 5485) God in his or her heart.  This Scripture is not referring to man’s charisma but rather God’s grace.

 

Scripture, Song, and Thought for the Day

Scripture for the Day

Psalm 91:4, “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.”

Song for the Day  Under His Wings  by William O. Cushing

Though for the Day

Only the Supreme God can make it possible for a Christian to sing and play with joy while going through a time of great tress.

 

Singing and Playing under God’s Wings

Singing and Playing under God’s Wings

            Psalm 63:7 states, “Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice (ranan 7442).”  In twenty eight other times in the OT AV ranan was translated as some form of singing.  Furthermore, the word ranan connotes not only singing but also creaking or emitting stridulous sound.  The English word stridulous is an instrumental term for the sound that is produced when a string is played by a pick or a finger.  So, it seems reasonable to believe that it is referring to singing and playing a stringed musical instrument in this verse.

            The sweet psalmist of Israel declared that he was able to sing and play when he was under great stress. “It is most probable that the Psalm was written when David took refuge in the forest of Hareth, in the wilderness of Ziph, when he fled from the court of Achish.”  Adam Clarke’s Commentary NOTES ON PSALM LXIII.  This verse tells us that he was able to do so because, in his words, he was under the wings of elohim the supreme God.  The mental imagery that David used here is that God’s wings were sufficient to give him solace, comfort and protection in the time of great trouble.  God’s wings proved to be big enough to give David shade and protection so that he could sing and play this wonderful psalm.  If God’s wings were big enough to protect David, they are big enough to take care of you and me when we are under great stress.

 

Prayer, Song, and thought for the Day

Prayer for the Day

Thank You Lord that You have made it possible for mw to use my tongue to sing praises to you.  You are more than worthy of any song that I could sing to You.  I want to ask You to help me as I sing Your praises in and out of Your house of worship.  May the words of my mouth truly be acceptable in your sight.  These things I am praying in Your matchless name.  Amen.

Song for the Day All Glory, Laud, and Honor by Theodulph of Orleans

Thought for the Day

If you wish to use your tongue to brag or boast, us it to boast and brag on God.

 

More on How a Musician Should Use the Tongue

 How a Musician Should Use the Tongue

              Psalm 30:12 “To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee forever.” The word kabowd (3519) which has been translated “my glory” in this verse in the AV has been a source of much conjecture among Bible exegetes.  Some translators have rendered kabowd heart and others have used the word soul while others have used the word heart.  Yong’s Literal Translation renders the verse, “So that honour doth praise Thee, and is not silent, O Jehovah, my God, to the age I thank Thee!”  Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, John Wesley, and Matthew Poole all believed that “my glory” refers to the tongue.

            So this is another verse in the Bible that instructs the musician in how to use his or her tongue.  The Bible principle of musicing is clear that the singer is to use the tongue to bring glory to God.  Although the English wording in this verse could be misunderstood as giving the singer the right to bring glory to self, this is far from what this verse means.  The tongue is the singer’s greatest tool of praise.  So Chief musician are you using your tongue to bring praise and glory to YHVH elohim?  You must remember that He is the self-existent, independent, eternal God who is the supreme God.

 

Thought for the Day

Thought for the Day

Perhaps worship leaders who sing choruses with a short repeated text over and over again should consider that many people who attend Sunday morning worship are capable of taking in more than one thought repeated over and over again.

 

Songs for the Service vs. a Song Service-part 2

Songs for the Service vs. a Song Service-part 2

            Since the time I visited a Sunday Morning worship service at a Church in city X , I have mused on the thought that maybe these good songs  would have had more effect if they had been strategically placed throughout the worship service. Now, that makes me “high church,” doesn’t it? Well, you might be right but this well-meaning team’s effort might have had the desired effect if they would have fed the congregation with smaller musical bites.

            Sometimes, my logical German mind just aches for a congruent worship that makes sense as a unified whole. Maybe congregational singing would be more effective if the songs we sing in the worship service supported the lessons to be learned and were affirmations of our doctrinal and creedal beliefs. What could possibly be wrong with the songs being spread out for the purpose of having each song or worship chorus carefully and clearly support the unified purposes of our worship? Perhaps we should rethink congregational (and special) singing.  Maybe we should consider songs for the service rather than a song service detached from a unified progression of thought and response leading up to the preaching of God’s word.

Thought for the Day

Thought for the Day

One of my dear friends once told me that she would leave the worship service at her church happy each Sunday morning if they would only sing one hymn.

 

 

 

Songs for the Service vs. a Song Service-part 1

Songs for the Service vs. a Song Service-part 1

            Sometimes a sequence of worship songs and choruses put together by a skillful music minister really makes sense. One reason that song groupings sometimes have power is that they form a sequence of congruent musical and textual thought. However, there are other times when these put-together worship sequences do not form a logical or worshipful whole or they only serve to weary the worshipers.

            Not too long ago, I visited a church in city X. The worship leader and his faithful team had us sing and sing and sing until people began to lose interest and concentration.  I observed as the sequence continued at length that more and more people stopped singing.  Eventually, some people sat down and patiently waited until the worship leader also ran out of steam and decided to throw in the musical towel.

            After the song service was completed, I imagined myself as a church mouse hiding in the corner of the staff meeting room bright and early Monday morning.  Would these dear people who had attended the worship service on Sunday morning get a “beating” by the worship team and its fearless leader? Surely it would be the congregation’s fault. If these people had come to church in the mood for a continuous, twenty-minute songfest, without doubt, all would have gone well. Certainly, I would have rightfully been one to blame if they knew my secret thoughts while the praise leader and his team droned on and on.

 

Thought, Song and Prayer for the Day

Thought for the Day

Psalm 86:12, “I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.”

Song for the Day I Will praise Him by Margaret J. Harris

Prayer for the Day

Dear Lord I am sobered by the reality of knowing that it is my responsibility as a worship leader to admonish all the people to Praise God.  I am aware that I must be a leader of praise when I lead others in worship music.  I am asking You heavenly Father to have the wisdom to know how to engage others in musical worship.  Help me to live constantly with Your praise on my lips.  This I pray in Your worthy and wonderful name.  Amen.

The Man after God’s Own Heart-part 2

The Man after God’s Own Heart-part 2

            There is no doubt that Jesus and all the other writers quoted above were versed in the Old Testament Scriptures and therefore influenced by what King David said about YHVH as recorded in the First Chronicles 29:10-14.  Also, Revelation 5:8 is strongly reminiscent of David’s words,  “And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.” Although we do not know with certainty that the New Testament writings were quotes or paraphrases of King David’s words of praise it is possible that they were taken from David’s praise recorded in 1 chronicles. 

            The most important thought that I have about David’s O.T. praises recorded in 1 Chronicles is that it pays to have a good attitude when things do not work out the way you plan.  David was no doubt disappointed that God would not allow him to build God a House of Prayer, but he kept on praising YHVH anyway.  You may have big plans that are not being developed as a part of the ministry where God has placed you.  I suggest that you should, in the face of unrealized dreams and disappointments, keep praising God for who He is and for what He has already done. It is God’s responsibility to take care of his work, and it is your responsibility to be a good and faithful servant.

 

Thought, Song, and Prayer for the Day

Thought for the Day

Every Christian musician must remember that God is really an all-wise and powerful God. He is capable of taking care of his kingdom here on this earth.

Song for the Day I Will Call upon the Lord by Michael O’Shields

Prayer for the Day

Dear heavenly Father I want You to know that my innermost being desires to bring praise to your worthy name. Lord, I want to be so faithful to You that the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart will always be acceptable in Your sight.  I want my musicing to inspire others to worship you in the beauty of Your Holiness.  I want to say, “blessing and honor, glory and power be unto You as You sit on the mighty throne of heaven.  This I pray in all the honesty and praise that I am able to offer to You.  Amen.

 

 

The Man after God’s Own Heart-part 1

The Man after God’s Own Heart-part 1

            1Chronicles 29:10-14, “Wherefore David blessed the LORD before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever.  Thine, O LORD, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O LORD, and thou art exalted as head above all.  Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all.  Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy glorious name.  But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly after this sort? for all things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.”  King David wanted to build a place of worship and made preparations for the construction of the First Temple although God has told him that he would not be allowed to build the Temple.  1Chronicles 28:2 Then David the king stood up upon his feet, and said, Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had in mine heart to build an house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and for the footstool of our God, and had made ready for the building: But God said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for my name, because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood.” 

            David, being the wise servant that he was, did not become bitter toward God, but instead continued to bless YHVH for who He is and what he had done for His people.  It is no wonder that he is recorded in Acts as “a man after mine own heart”.   Because he had the right attitude about God and His will, David wrote a paean of praise that seemingly influenced several of the New Testament writers and possibly even  the Lord’s Prayer recorded in Matthew 6:13, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.”   Also, 1Timothy 1:17, “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”  The Revelation of St John the Divine also is reminiscent of David’s writing, Revelation 5:13, “And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.”