Prayer, Song, and Thought for the Day

Prayer for the Day.

Lord, I believe that it is a wonderful thing that you are so many things to us that it takes more than a few names to explain who you are and what you do for your children.  Please help me to understand more about your wonderful names which are found in your inspired word.  Help me as I music your Names to do so reverently and with great joy.  Thank you that you are such a wonderful god who meets the needs of Christians .  Help me to also music your names to sinners that they may come to repentance and salvation.  These things I am praying in Your wonderful names. Amen.  

Song for the Day  That Beautiful Name by Jean Perry  

Thought for the Day  

When  I was growing up and wanted to do  some things that dad would not let me do, sometimes I would ask why and he would remind me that I was his child and that my name was Wolf.  One of the reasons Christians shouldn’t do some things is simply because we are God’s children .

 

 

 

 

God’s Names Explain His Character

God’s Names Explain His Character

Psalm 92:1-2 “It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: To shew forth thy loving kindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night,”

            The first phrase of verse one is translated from the Hebrew words towb yada Jehovah (2895, 3034, 3068) which means it is good to extend one’s hands to the self existent, independent eternal God who is.  It also says that it is good to celebrate Elyown (5945) the high lofty supreme God instrumental music (zamar 2167) set to words.  It is interesting that the emphasis here is on instrumental music accompanied by words.  This is completely the opposite of the modern paradigm of praise musicing.  It is also important to note that psalm song is to be sung to the honor of God by singing His names mentioned here as  Jehovah Elyown. 

            On the authority of God’s inspires word, it is a good thing to bring honor to God by recognizing and singing and playing his name.  So, why not spend some time today honoring God by singing the names ,and the meaning of His names.  Why?  The reason is that you will receive  spiritual strength from musicing God’s names with understanding.

 

Prayer,song, and thought for the Day

Prayer for the Day  

O thou eternal exceeding God who is now reigning in heaven and on this earth, Give this Kansas farmer the wisdom and understanding to music unto You.  Lord, I confess that I do not know how to come before your presence with musical offerings.  I further confess that I do not know how to music unto your children.  I thank you Lord for every time that you have anointed your servant to music unto you in the presence of your people.  Lord, I cannot rely on past help and past anointing.  I am asking you for a fresh anointing for musical service this day.  These petitions I am bringing in your exceedingly powerful name Elohim Melek.  Amen.  

Song for the Day God the Spirit, Guide and Guardian by Carl P. Daw, Jr.

Thought for the Day  

The same God who helped the Sons of Korah, for whom the forty seventh psalm was written, is the same exceeding God and reigning King who helps and anoints earnest Christian musicians in the twenty first century.

 

 

 

 

Musicing with Understanding

Musicing with Understanding

Ps 47:6-7, “Sing praises to God, sing praises: sing praises unto our King, sing praises.  For God is the King of all the earth: sing ye praises with understanding.”

Adam Clarke stated that the phrase sing ye praises with understanding means, “sing an instructive song. Let sense and sound go together. Let your hearts and heads go with your voices. Understand what you sing; and feel what you understand; and let the song be what will give instruction in righteousness to them that hear it.” Clarke’s Commentary, Vol. 3 page 372.  The Cambridge edition KJV margin translates zamar sakal (2167, 7919) as “everyone that hath understanding”. 

Certainly every Christian musician wishes to sing and play music with understanding.  I believe that the beginning of this wisdom is understanding that God is KING.  He is not a merely a god but rather He is the only true God.  As this passage puts it “God is the King”.  He is Elohiym Melek (430, 4428) i.e. He is the exceeding God who reigns!  Every musician must understand that He is not merely a god who was but that He is the only true god and is living and reigning now! 

Five times in these two verses musicians are instructed in sing praises.  The final admonition states that before a musician sings praises he or she must gain understanding and use this understanding when musicing unto God.  I believe that the main source of this understanding will be imparted to earnest Christian musicians while they are on their knees before Elohiym Melek.

Prayer and thought for the Day

Prayer for the Day  

Lord Jesus come and help me music unto you.  Help me to listen to the checks of the Spirit every time I music in Your wonderful name.  I am earnestly asking you to tune my heart to sing Your praise.  Lord I want you to know that I want you to teach me to music.  Lord I do not want to be the boss.  I want you to tune and teach me to music unto your wonderful name.  This I am praying in your mighty name.  Amen.

Thought for the Day  

What a wonderful thought—God cares enough to be every Christian musician’s tuner and teacher.

 

 

The Holy Spirit Will Tune and Teach Musicians  

              Come Thou Fount by Robert Robinson

              Come, thou Fount of every blessing,

               tune my heart to sing thy grace;

               streams of mercy, never ceasing,

               call for songs of loudest praise.

               Teach me some melodious sonnet,

               sung by flaming tongues above.

               Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,

               mount of thy redeeming love.  

               Here I raise mine Ebenezer;

               hither by thy help I'm come;

               and I hope, by thy good pleasure,

               safely to arrive at home.

               Jesus sought me when a stranger,

               wandering from the fold of God;

               he, to rescue me from danger,

               interposed his precious blood. 

 Robert Robertson referred to God in this hymn as “the fount of blessing”.  He also mentioned never ceasing streams of God’s mercy that caused him to sing songs of praise.  Two of the greatest things that being a recipient of God’s love made him recognize was first, that he needed God to teach him this “melodious sonnet”, and second that he needed God to “tune his heart “ to praise with music.  

            We as Christian musicians need God to help us make the same two preparations before we music unto Him.  We need God to teach us how and what music we should use to praise Him.  If we would let the Holy Spirit guide us in our musical choices they would be much more efficacious and we would not have problems with songs that do not represent the moral nature of God. 

            My earliest memories of singing in church include my mother pray for me and having me ask God specifically to help me make the right choice of a song to use in the worship or evangelistic service.  Because of her wise guidance I learned as a little child to invite the Holy Spirit’s guidance in my musical choices.  My Godly mother taught me to let God “tune my heart to sing god’s praise”.

Prayer, Song, and Thought for the Day

Prayer for the Day   

Lord, look deeply into my heart and see if I am musicing unto You with a perfect heart that is without offense toward You.  Help me to heed Your command in Matthew 5:48, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.”  Lord, when you look into my heart, I want you to see a heart that is perfect toward You.  Lord cleanse my heart from any desire to “sound a trumpet’ so everyone will see and hear my musical offerings that are supposed to be given so that others will see you and get a glimpse of who you are. Help me to know how to music unto you in such a way that it is done “in secret” rather than for “show”.  These petitions I am praying in your holy and perfect name.  Amen.  

Song for the Day   Guard your Heart by Steve Green

Thought for the 

It doesn’t make much sense to spend time tuning your “harp” before you give God a musical offering if you do not spend time “tuning your heart”.

 

 

 

 

Musical “Alms” from the Heart

Musical “Alms” from the Heart  

Matthew 6:1-4 “Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.  Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward, but when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.” 

            You will probably be surprised when I admit that this passage of scripture is not really about music but rather a Christian’s benevolence or good deeds toward others.  However, I like to think of a chief musician’s musical ministry as what I call “musical alms”. Sacred musicing, according to Ephesians 5:19, is supposed to be done for two reasons: first, the musician loves others so he or she sings and plays “to one another” and second, the musician loves god so he or she musics “unto God”.

            So, may I suggest that the Christian musician that does his or her musical alms for self actualization i.e. figuratively  the musician sounds the trumpet so everyone will be aware of how talented he or she is, is not musicing for the right reasons.  It is one thing to do the right thing, but it is another to do it the right way.  It is my belief that God is more interested in musical offerings that exude from a perfect heart than perfect musical performances from a heart full of offenses toward Him...  God does not only accept the best musical offerings, but rather he only accepts our best musical offering.

 

 

 

Prayer, Song, and Thought for the Day

Prayer for the Day   

Lord, you have called all Christian musicians to a life of holiness.  Please help us to be holy because You are holy and you command us to be like You.  Help me to offer musical sacrifices unto you out of a holy pure heart.  Lord, I want my musical ministry to be efficacious so help me to let you remove “all that is not holy and all that is untrue”.  This I am asking in your wonderful name.  Amen.  

Song for the Day  Holy Spirit, Light Divine  by Andrew Reed 

 Thought for the Day  

If considered it necessary to purify the Levite musicians of the Old Testament certainly we should not be surprised that He commands twenty first century musicians to be filled with the Holy spirit.

 

 

Musicians Must Live Holy Lives

Musicians Must Live Holy Lives  

1Peter 1:5 states, “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” 

            Yesterday we considered the scripture in Malachi chapter that stated, “And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.”  Today we quoted I Peter 1:5 that is a New Testament imperative for Christians to be holy.  Why are we commanded to be holy?  The reason is that God is Holy.  God has many wonderful attributes, but it is his holiness that is His most striking attribute.  Musicians are not able to present musical offerings that are acceptable unto God unless they live holy lives.  

            This should not be a surprise to us since Ephesians 5:18-19 commands Christian musicians to be holy when they music unto God when it states, “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.”

 

 

So, if Christian musicians are going to present acceptable music offerings unto God, holy living is not an option.