Prayer, Song, and Thought for the Day

Prayer for the day—Passing the Test    

Lord, I am asking you to not let me minister to others, and become a spiritual castaway myself.  Lord please do not anything come between my soul and You as my Savior.  Will you take of the “blinders” LORD, and let me see myself as You see me.  These petitions I bring to You knowing that You are all-- knowing.  Amen. 

Song for the day—“Satisfied with Jesus” by B.B. McKinney  

Thought for the day  

It is a good idea to spiritually examine ourselves occasionally because it will help us to be sure that we are ready for the Great Judgment of God. That will surely come after we leave this sinful world.

 

Passing the Test

Passing the Test  
II Corinthians 13:5 states, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.  Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you - unless. of course, you fail the test.” NIV 
       Paul admonishes the Corinthians to examine themselves to see if they were “in the faith’.  Although it is not healthy spiritually for Christian musicians to continually test themselves with “spiritual thermometers” in their mouths, it is a good thing to periodically examine their spiritual lives.  
       Paul, in Hebrews 3:6 admonishes Christians to “…hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.”  If Christ dwells in us we should not ever surrender that faith.  However, if a musician fails the spiritual test, it is necessary to make the spiritual adjustments necessary to have peace with God.  Paul was warning the Corinthians to do what was right when he stated in II Corinthians 13:7A, “Now I pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we should appear approved, but that ye should do that which is honest…” 
       Regardless  of one’s theology, every Christian musician should admit that if he or she has sinned and come short of the glory of God, the blood of Jesus Christ only cleanses from all sin if we walk in the light  (see I John 1:7) .  As I said before, continual morbid spiritual inspection is not spiritually productive.  However, with that said, a musician should never harbor or hide sin in his or her life. 

 

Prayer, Song, and thought for the day

Prayer for the day—God Owns Music.    

Thank You Lord for creating music.  Thank You for hovering over music in the twenty-first century.  Thank you blessed Holy Spirit that You sometimes use music to draw men and women to Christ.  Please help me to find the mind of Christ when I music unto you.  Help me to music in such a way that You will be pleased with the condition of my musical offerings that I present to You.  These things I pray in your wonderful name.  Amen.  

Song for the day—“How great Thou Art” by Carl Boberg, Translated by Stewart K. Hine 

Thought for the day  

J. S. Bach wrote at the end of his compositions “Solely for the Glory of God”.  Is your music and your musicing solely for the glory of God?

Music Belongs to God

Music Belongs to God  

St. John 1A-3 states, “In the beginning was the Word …All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.”  

       It is comforting to a committed Christen musician when he or she realizes that music does not belong to any musician.  God made music so He owns it. The proper understanding of music begins with its ownership.  

       Music belongs to God because He created it in a real and personal way.  It is important for us to realize that music did not begin with a “big bang” but rather with a big creation by a big creator.  Knowing that God created and owns music helps to understand that, since He created music in a real and personal way, He still cares about music and how we use it.  

       As his musical servants, we are a part of something that God considered to be very good when he created it.  Genesis 1:31 tells us very clearly “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good.”  Since music belongs to God, and since He created it in a very good condition, we know that He cares about what we do to his creation.  Since He cares about what we do to music, we know that He will show us how to keep it in its original “very good condition”. 

       We are not alone in the twenty-first century.  God has not abandoned us to wallow in ignorance concerning how to music.  I Corinthians 2:16 tells us that we have the mind of Christ.  It is therefore our responsibility to simply seek the spiritual discernment to gain the mind of Christ concerning how to music unto Him in this present age. 

Prayer, Song, and Thought for the day

Prayer for the day—The Glory of the LORD  

Lord, like the Priests and the Levites in the ancient Jewish Temple, we want to thank You and praise You with our musical OFFERINGS.  We are asking You to inhabit our praise and manifest Your presence in our musical worship.  Lord we confess that we do not know how to come in and go out before You.  We want to please You with our worship, but we confess that we do not always know how to worship You.  We want to thank you for the times that we feel your presence as we music unto You.  Help us to music in a way that will bring honor and glory to your wonderful name.  Things we pray in your name.  Amen.  

Song for the day—“We Have Come into Your House” by B. Ballinger  

Thought for the day    

If we want God’s presence in our midst when we worship together, then we must make sure that we are getting along with each other.

      

 

The Glory of the LORD

The Glory of the LORD  

II Chronicles 5:13b-14 states, “…then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD.  So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD filled the House of God.”  

       The Levites ministered on this occasion and while they were musicing unto god, the glory of Jehovah filled the Temple.  The priest could not carry out their duties and their sacrificial offerings.  The musicing and the Priests offerings gave way to a divine visitation. 

       As the trumpeters and the singers thanked and praised Jehovah for His goodness and His mercy, all of a sudden Jehovah’s presence swept over the Temple.  All those who were there knew that Jehovah was tabernacling or inhabiting their musical and sacrificial worship.

       Do you long for God’s presence to fill the Church when you have the responsibility and privilege to music unto Him?  God will meet with us and will inhabit our praise musicing unto him, if we will seek Him with all our heart.  The most important part of our worship is turning our hearts toward God.  Christian musicians have the responsibility to lead other Christians in taking the journey from the natural to the supernatural and experiencing communing with the blessed Trinity. 

 

Thought for the day--Acceptable Meditations

Thought for The day--Acceptable Meditations
 
If you meditate on the law of the Lord day and night, you will not have time to think on things that displease the Lord.

Meditations that are Acceptable

Meditations that are Acceptable  

Psalm 19:14 states “Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.”  

       The Hebrew word higgaion (1902) translated here in the AV as meditation means a murmuring or solemn sound and is derived from hagah (1897) which means meditate or ponder.  I often hear musicians say that we are what we eat, but I do not often hear them say that we are what we muse or think.  If a Christian musician continually muses on something long enough, he or she will believe it is true whether it is or not.  

       In this psalm David is asking Jehovah to help him not to say or think anything that not acceptable in God’s sight.  Words cut and kill not only the person that we say them about, but also the person who says them.  Thoughts cause actions that not only injure others but also the person who thinks them. 

       In the thirteenth verse of this psalm David also asks the LORD to forgive his hidden faults and his presumptuous (zed 2086) or proud sins.  A musician must never let his theology keep him or her from asking for forgiveness for anything that would keep one from being upright or innocent before God.

 

Prayer, Song, and Thought for the day-Happy Musicians

Prayer for the day

Great and wise High Priest, I want to acknowledge You at this moment as my High Priest.  You understand my temptations and infirmities because You went through them without ever sinning.  I am asking You, right now, to please help me to recognize and acknowledge Your presence.  Please help me to be willing to listen to your voice.  I know that You not only listen but You also love, restore, heal and forgive those who truly ask of You.  Please lift me up in the most holy faith and to put on the whole armor of God so that I may be able to resist Satan.  These things I pray in Your name.  Amen.  

Song for the day—“A mighty fortress is our God” by Martin Luther  

Thought for the day-God Really Cares. 

We all need to remember that the just live by faith in God alone, and not by works i.e. not by “doing”.

 

      

Sometimes Musicians are Happy

Sometimes Musicians are Happy  

James 5:13 states, “Is any among you afflicted? Let him pray.  Is any merry? Let him sing psalms.”  

       James must have understood musicians when he alluded to the fact that when they are afflicted, undergo hardship, suffer misunderstanding, trouble, or are in trouble of their own making, they need to pray.  He believed in the power of prayer because he later stated that efficacious prayer is powerful!  

       Christian musicians do not have much trouble asking god for “stuff’ because it seems that they are almost always in need.  It is one thing for a musician to ask but it is entirely another to believe that “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”  (James 5:16B)  Many times musicians look like they are sad when they are in need.  

       However, Christian musicians are not always sad.  Sometimes, believe it or not, they are happy.   When they are happy, what should they do?   James, writing under Divine inspiration, declared that they should sing psalms.  Some authors render the Greek word psallo (5567) translated psalms in this verse as “to sing a hymn” or to “celebrate the praises of God in song”.  The word psallo actually means to “twitch or twang” i.e. touch the parts of a stringed instrument.   So, it may be justly rendered that happy Christian musicians should sing songs accompanied by stringed instruments. 

       The point that James was making was that musicians naturally sing the praises of God when they are happy.  Unfortunately Christian, musicians, happy or not, often sing out of a sense of duty rather than from a grateful happy heart.   Musicing is a “job” to them.  What a pity that they often miss the joy if simply musicing for joy unto the Lord.