Thought for the Day

Thought for the Day

Romans 1:28, “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.”  Adokimos means an unapproved mind set.

Can Music Transform the Musician? Part 2

Can Music Transform the Musician? Part 2

            The place that I began to part philosophic agreement with Elliott’s answers to human need is his fourth point “the positive empowerment and transformation of people and their everyday lives.”  My thoughts were immediately drawn to St Paul’s statement in Romans 12:1 and 2, “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.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed (metamorphoo 3339) by the renewing (anakainosis 342) of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” 

            I find no place in the Bible where it teaches that people will experience a metamorphoo through community efforts with music.  Although I have no quarrel with Elliott’s belief that musicians can serve positive causes with their musicing student’s lives will never be transformed by musicing.  Human need and condition can only be transformed by a metamorphoo by the mercy and grace of God being applied to a person’s heart.

Thought for the Day

Thought for the Day

Christian and secular music philosophy have essential differences that make Christian music education necessary.

 

Can Music Transform the Musician? Part 1

Can Music Transform the Musician? Part 1

            “Fully understood, praxis combines several integrated themes: (1) active reflection and critically reflective action dedicated to (2) human well-being and flourishing, (3) the ethical care of others, and (4) the positive empowerment and transformation of people and their everyday lives.”  “Music education as/for Artistic Citizenship”,  Music Educator’s Journal, Vol. 99, No. 1,Sept. 2012, by  David Elliott  This pungent article is a plea to music educators to expand their music praxis beyond mere performance for enjoyment.  This expansion included the four areas mentioned above.   After decades of humanistic music education music philosophers are searching for ways to transform student’s lives through musicing and the praxis of doing music.

            Humanism as a philosophic foundation and humanistic music education as praxis have never been satisfactory answers to the needs of depraved men and women.  As I read this well-written article with much good intent on what Elliott called “artistic citizenship” I found myself agreeing with music of what he was saying.  However, I was strengthened in my conviction that Christian music education is not merely a preference but rather a necessity.

 

Song, Prayer, and Thought for the Day

Prayer for the Day

Dear Lord and worthy Father in heaven I am ashamed of how I often attempt to worship you.  Please forgive me for being so selfish in my attitudes of worship.  Lord I am needy many times when I enter Your House.  I do not mean to obscure Your glory with my troubles and needs, but I know that many times my mind is on my problems rather than your Glory.  Please help me to come before your presence with singing, rejoicing and an attitude of praise to You for who you are and what you have done for me. These things I am praying in your name.  Amen.

Song for the Day Father, I Adore You by Terrye Coelho

Thought for the Day

My former pastor R.E. Carroll used to tell us that we should practice the presence of God every day of the week rather than only when we came to church to worship on Sunday.

Understanding Worship

Understanding Worship  

Exodus 34:14 “For thou shalt worship (shachah 7812) no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:”

 Matthew 4:10 “Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship (proskuneo 4352) the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”

 Luke 4:8 “And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship (proskuneo 432) the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”

            The word shachah used in Exodus 34:14 means to prostrate oneself before God.  Likewise the word proskuneo used in Matthew 4:10 and in St. Luke 4:8 means to prostrate oneself before God.  This explanation of the nature of worship gives us the mental picture of worship as a posture and an attitude instead of an event to be consumed by a congregation for their personal enjoyment.

            If the Bible definition of worship is prostrating oneself literally and figuratively before Almighty God, then what is the proper attitude for the Christian’s musicing unto God in public worship?  Most assuredly musical worship is not a public event where the church attender and participator use the God-created and God-given fine art of music to satiate his or her entertainment fancy.

            Strong’s Concordance defines proskuneo as, “from 4314 and a probable derivative of 2965 (meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his master's hand); to fawn or crouch to, i.e. (literally or figuratively) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore):--worship.”  Certainly this definition of worship places a new light on worship for most of us.  So much of public worship has grown to be about the individual who has come to the public worship service that God often is forced, by our worship styles, to share his glory with us. 

 

Prayer, Song, and Quote for the Day

Prayer for the Day

Dear Lord, I want you to give me forgiving spirit.  Help me to be able to forgive those who have committed an offence against me.  Help me to forgive others even if they do not ask me to forgive them. Lord, you said I Your Word to forgive so help me to be able to truly forgive.  This petition I am praying in Your all-powerful and wise name.  Amen. 

Song for the Day All Your Anxiety by Edward H. Joy

Quote for the Day

 My former pastor and great friend Rev. R. E. Carroll once told me , “Garen when someone has committed  a wrong against me, when I go to prayer I say to the Lord, ‘Lord handle me, Lord will you please take care of my attitude.’”

Forgiving Your Brother

Forgiving Your Brother

            St. Luke 17:3 -4 records the words of Jesus, “Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.  And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.”  Wow!  The words of Jesus often trouble us because, most of us do not like conflict so we fail to go to our brother directly and rebuke him (or her) when he or she trespasses (commits an offence) against us.  It is much easier to do the wrong thing and go to someone else and talk to them about the offence against us than it is to go directly to the offender.  Jesus said to rebuke (epitimao 2008) i.e. to censure or admonish the one who committed the offense. 

            If you think the first part of what Jesus said to do is difficult to understand, how about the second part?  Jesus very succinctly stated, “Forgive him.”  When I read this the other day I decided to look up the word aphiemi (863) to make sure it meant forgive.  Sure enough it means: let go, disregard, keep no longer, leave behind, and of course forgive!  If you think the first and second parts of the admonishment that Jesus gave are hard to understand, how about the third part?  Jesus told His disciples to keep on forgiving even after many offences.

            Musicians are very emotional people.  They get hurt very easily because they are sensitive people.  It is no wonder that they get hurt when someone actually does something to them that is definitely wrong.  However, it is never right to fester over something that someone else has done which is wrong.  You may be right about the situation, but if you do not forgive, the offender you are in the wrong.

 

Prayer for this Blog in September

Prayer for this Blog in September

Lord, as I have asked you so many times, please allow this Music philosophy blog to be a blessing during the month of September 2014. It is also my sincere and earnest prayer let this blog go around the world to places where I cannot go.  Lord, thank you that you are answering my prayer by guiding people from eighty two countries find and read my blog posts. Help me as I prepare a post for each day to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit.  Only you know Lord who is out there ministering musically that needs a fresh anointing for musical ministry.  Help me to know which philosophical and devotional topics are important and will be a blessing.  I am asking You Lord to give special help as we include more posts on Christian music education and music of the Bible. Lord, you know that at times I am not sure which topics to write about concerning music. Please anoint the blog and the blogger.  Please give special help to our new blog family members from the Countries of Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Macau, Moldova, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Vietnam which were added to our blog family during August.  These things I ask in your great and wise and wonderful name.  Amen.

Thank you for a Great Month of August

Thank you for a Great Month of August

            Last month was the twentieth month of my blog which contains devotional and philosophical thoughts for Christian musicians.  I am praising God for the nine countries listed below which were added to the blog family during the month of August.  I have been praying that my posts in 2014 would stimulate new blog members and that the regular viewers would also be blessed by their content. It is my continued prayer that each new post will bring honor to our heavenly Father.  My posts in the month of August were devotional and philosophical in nature.  

       Since we began on January 2 of 2013 we have received a total of over 31,000 page views with about 2,600 views in August of 2014 which is over twice the normal amount of 1,200.  Praise God! Since I started this blog the page views have come from 91 different countries.  These views have come from Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Cayman Islands, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo [DRC], Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Fiji, France, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong,  Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland (Republic of),  Iran, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia,  Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Poland, Porto Rico, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Turks & Caicos Islands, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, and the USA.

 I would like to welcome the Countries of Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Macau, Moldova, Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Vietnam which were added to our blog family during August.   The ten countries with the most page views in August were: USA, France, Thailand, China, Philippines, Germany, United Kingdom, Indonesia, Russia, and Ukraine.  If you are from a country that has had page views in the past twenty months and has been omitted from the 91 countries listed above, please email me your country’s name.  Please continue to pray with me that God will allow this Music Philosophy Blog to continue to go places where I will never have the opportunity to minister musically in person. Please pray for me, as I have mentioned before, I am in the process of writing a general music philosophy book and a devotional book for musicians.  The summer months have been very busy and it has been difficult to make progress on either project.

        I want to thank all of you who have taken the time to view my music philosophy blog during the month of August.  Please continue to pray that God will guide each post and allow it to reach those who need encouragement to keep ministering for our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

       The main reason that I started this Music Philosophy blog is that although there is much music philosophy information on the net, not very much of it is from a biblical perspective.  Please share the blog address with your friends.   If you have an area of music or fine arts philosophy that troubles you, please feel free to let me know and I will include it in our discussions.  My email address is Garenlwolf@gmail.com.