God Really Is with Us

God Really Is with Us

 Isaiah 7:14 states, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold a Virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and thou shall call his name Immanuel.”

       St. Matthew 1:23 quotes Isaiah’s prophesy and further explains that Emmanuel means “God with us”.  To a people long ago who were in great darkness, God promised to send His son to be with us!  It was a long time after Isaiah’s prophesy before Christ was born, but god always keeps His promises.

       Christian musician be sure to remind everyone who takes part in your Christmas musical ministry that Christ’s coming to earth in space and time was a fulfillment of God’s promise to mankind that God really would come to earth to dwell with us.  Although you, as a music minister, may believe that all those who minister musically with you know all about the story of Christ’s coming to earth—tell them again! 

       I get blessed just thinking about the fact that God was and is with us.  We are not alone on this earth.  We may not be able to see Him, but we can experience His presence very, very near us at this time of Christmas.  Christ came to abide with us—not just visit us.  He came to tabernacle with his children.  Be sure to invite all who minister with you to experience Christ in a special way as they music unto Him.   That will make their musicing real and very special this Christmas season.

Bach’s Philosophy of Musicing

Bach’s Philosophy of Musicing

            J. S. Bach is often quoted as saying, “The aim and final reason of all music should be none else but the glory of God and refreshing the soul. Where this is not observed there will be no music, but only a devilish hubbub.  If he lived today he would certainly not be considered politically correct.  His first and last aim for all music and musicing was the glory of God.  Evidently Bach made no distinction between the ultimate purposes of religious or secular music. 

            Bach evidently believed philosophically in a prescriptive approach to church music. He once said, “I have always kept one end in view, namely ... to conduct a well-regulated church music to the honour of God.”  Although we do not precisely what Bach meant by “well-regulated church music”, we at least know that he believed in regulating what he musiced unto God.  I’m sure that he was constantly aware that some music styles and some music content was God honoring and that conversely, some music did not bring honor to God.  We would do well to be aware of what the religious music we perform does to the listener.

In the Will of God at Christmas

In the Will of God at Christmas

Jeremiah 1:5 states, “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.”

       Today is my firstborn daughter Deanna’s birthday.  At the time I am writing this devotional, she is thousands of miles away from us today. Before she was born God knew who she was and what He wanted her to be doing right now.  God sanctified or “set her apart’ and ordained her to be a minister’s wife and He knew that she would be letting her light shine as she teaches music in Scotland on this very day in 2017.

       You may have loved ones who are ministering far, far from home today.  You and I need to constantly be reminded that God is awake.  Nothing slips up on Him.  There is no luck, happenstance and nothing startles God, because, in His awesome wisdom, He always knows what is best.

       I would rather have my children thousands of miles away from me serving God than to have them all around my table but out of the will of God for their lives.  With that in mind, we will celebrate the birth of God’s son Jesus Christ with joy and full confidence that He is working out his purpose in our lives.  My heavenly Father sent His only Son to Die.  I only sent my daughter to serve Jesus Christ.

Prayer for the Day

I am asking you heavenly Father to protect my daughter Deanna and her husband Mark today as they prepare for the Christmas season.  Lord, please bless Mark’s ministry as a Chaplin in the Royal Navy in Scotland as he ministers to some who do not even know the basic plan of salvation. Please make Deanna’s ministry fruitful as she teaches music in the public schools.  Please make them prophets to the nations.  Also, please comfort the hearts of those who minister musically around the world and are separated from their families at this Christmas season.  These things I am praying in your wonderful name.  Amen.

Aesthetics in A Christian’s Music Paradigm—part 4

Aesthetics in A Christian’s Music Paradigm—part 4

            What really matters about the use or disuse of a style of music when one is worshiping a high and holy triune God is much more complicated than mere musical or aesthetic quality—although musical and aesthetic quality does matter.  What really matters is what a particular style of music communicates to the musicer and the listener and what that communication has the potential to do to a person mentally and spiritually.

             A piece of music that is not full of aesthetic meaning is not necessarily harmful to the musicer and the listener. So, whether or not the formal properties of the music are arranged in such a way to make that music aesthetically valuable is not reason enough to exclude a style of music as a whole or as a single musical composition from the life of a Christian.

Thought for the Day

 The Bible in Basic English translates 2Corinthians “7:11 For you see what care was produced in you by this very sorrow of yours before God, what clearing of yourselves, what wrath against sin, what fear, what desire, what serious purpose, what punishment. In everything you have made it clear that you are free from sin in this business.”  Although this scripture is not addressing music directly, the principle stated in this verse extends to the music and musicing of a musician who is a born again Christian.

Aesthetics in A Christian’s Music Paradigm—part 3

Aesthetics in A Christian’s Music Paradigm—part 3

            A Christian musician should not admit or exclude a style of music solely on the quality of its aesthetic value.  Notice that I said totally; I did not say that one should ignore a style’s aesthetic qualities that give it its value. However, the question at hand is not music’s deepest aesthetic value but rather what effect it is capable of having on the whole life of a Christian.  For instance, it has been a mistake to exclude the host of  different styles of music that exist today from the musicing of a Christian based on the belief that these styles are not music at all or that they are not aesthetically high quality music.

             The issue is not whether a type of music is “musical junk” or that it is “not music at all” or that it is “not of enough musical quality” to be aesthetically effective.  The problem with such statements that are often made is that they are simply not always accurate statements.  Although the conservative Christian musician is continually guarding the practice of musicing unto God, overstating one’s position on music aesthetics is not the answer.

Thought for the Day

When it comes to the use or disuse of many pop styles of music in public worship, the simply stated facts are much better arguments than making statements about a style of music that cannot be substantiated.

Aesthetics in A Christian’s Music Paradigm—part 2

Aesthetics in A Christian’s Music Paradigm—part 2

 As I have often stated, the Christian should not develop an aesthetic approach to religion, but rather a religious (biblical) approach to aesthetics.  Music aesthetics is by no means the bellwether of Christianity.  Having an aesthetic experience with music does not form any proof, nor is it any indication that the Holy Spirit has placed His anointing or approval on a musical performance or a performer.  However, aesthetics and aesthetic experiences with music are important and must be considered in our discussion of both musical paradigm and music philosophy.  Music’s beauty is an important part of its nature, and will definitely affect what that music will communicate to the musicer and the listener.

The Christian musician must be cognizant of the fact that although beauty, as it relates to music philosophy and ultimately musician unto God, is in some aspects a personal matter.  However, the Bible does consider beauty in music and in Psalm 89:15 it very clearly states, “Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.”  So, the aesthetic consideration of sound is not completely a matter of taste or personal opinion.

Thought for the Day

Since the Bible states very vividly that some people understand what the “joyful sound” is, conversely, some people evidently do not understand what it is.

Aesthetics in A Christian’s Music Paradigm—part 1

Aesthetics in A Christian’s Music Paradigm—part 1

            The Christian musician must become aware of where the aesthetics of music has been placed in his or her musical paradigm.  Although we will consider many more aspects of aesthetics in the life of a Christian musician, pin pointing where aesthetics is placed in one’s musical paradigm, and ultimately in that person’s music philosophy, is essential to the establishment of what that musician considers the nature and value of music to actually be.

            It is often difficult to get a church musician to explain his or her specific beliefs about aesthetics in church music, if that musician does not consider this aspect of philosophy toe even be important.  In the business of a Christian’s music ministry, that musician must be personally convinced of the importance of aesthetic philosophy before that musician is willing to dialogue about what aspects of aesthetics are or are not congruent with a Bible based music philosophy.

Thought for the Day

Since a Christian is never autonomous, but always subject to the laws of God, every Christian musician must seek to find and do God’s will—and that includes music and musicing.

Are There Any Absolutes?—part 3

Are There Any Absolutes?—part 3

            Before Hegelian synthesis thought, the Scripture in I John 2:15, “Love not the world”, meant just that, don’t love the world or become controlled by the system of “this present age”.  After acceptance of Hegelian synthesis thought, it became acceptable to be a worldly Christian.  Those who accepted this viewpoint no longer believed the Bible when it said that if you loved the world, the love of the father was not in you.  Under this autonomous philosophy you could love the world and the Lord at the same time.  So, the synthesis thinking church musicians, who were in many instances, graduates of Christian colleges and seminaries began to think that if it was okay to love the world system then it was okay to love the world’s music.  Philosophically they believed that the answer could no more be based on good music and bad music, God’s music and the Satan’s music, or in appropriate or inappropriate music.  They believed that all styles were equal and that the musical answer must be somewhere between truth and error.

Thought for the Day. 

One of the ways that Christian musicians are swept into philosophical error is by believing that it is not possible to develop a Bible based music philosophy.

Are There Any Absolutes?—part 2

Are There Any Absolutes?—part 2

            Philosophy has been historically a pursuit of the systematized principles that give a wisdom that reveals truth and a unified filed of knowledge based on truth and error or thesis and antithesis.  Somewhere in the early 20th century many philosophers began to give up hope in a unified filed of knowledge based on thesis (right) or antithesis (wrong).  They began to believe the philosophy of Georg Wilhelm Frederick Hegel (1770-1831).  Hegel believed that every idea belonged to an all-embracing mind in which every idea (thesis) elicited its opposite (antithesis) and the result of these two was a unified whole which he called synthesis.  His “unified” whole was epistemologically different since it derived “knowing” from a new synthesis thesis.  This “knowing” brought about a new truth that was always found somewhere between truth and error.

Thought for the Day

It is disappointing that many church musicians now believe that the only thing they can know for sure about religious music I that they cannot know anything for sure about it because they are of the notion that there are no absolutes in church music.

Are There Any Absolutes?—part 1

Are There Any Absolutes?—part 1

            I am deeply indebted to the work of Francis Schaffer for opening to me a very clear basic understanding of how philosophical thought has shaped the thinking of modern and postmodern Christians.  After reading his Escape from Reason and The God Who is There as well as other of his great works, it became clear to me how many Christian musicians came to believe that there are no absolutes in music. 

            For centuries philosophers believed that it was possible for all thought to come under a unified filed of knowledge.  They often fought bitterly over just what that unified field of knowledge included.  Although philosophers did not agree on the content of that unified knowledge, they did agree that philosophical endeavor could and should bring about a philosophy of hope to the world   

Thought for the Day

If a Christian musician’s music is to be Christocentric, it must be congruent with God’s Word and Bible principles of musicing.