Have you ever felt like you were standing in the middle of a tornado and the only reason you knew you weren’t  is that there’s no wind? Well that’s pretty much the way I felt one particular Sunday morning. Now, if we’re being honest with each other I think we can all agree that Sunday mornings can be a whirlwind by themselves. I don’t really understand why but sometimes it seems impossible to get everything done and just get to church on time, much less do it with a Christ-like attitude.

The Worship team I work with has rehearsal before church on Sunday mornings so we have to get there quite early. We all come in right on time, our rehearsal and sound check always goes smoothly without any problems and everyone is always patient and loving with each other. HA! If you’ve ever worked with a group of any size then you know that’s not true. Group dynamics are an interesting thing and there’s much to be learned when you work with a group of people. There’s even more to be learned when you work with a group of people that are all musicians. We are our own species! Does anybody know what I’m saying?  The Bible has something to say about group dynamics. Ephesians 4:2 says “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”

On this particular Sunday morning we weren’t following Ephesians 4:2. No, the group dynamics had turned into a tornado and I was standing in the middle of it; or at least that’s how it felt. Almost everyone had come in late and I had received a couple of calls saying others weren’t going to make it. The songs that were planned weren’t coming together. The sound system had apparently taken on its own life form and was making more noise than the band. We tried and tried to rehearse and pull things together but the harder we tried, the worse things got. Frustration and impatience began to breed and grow.  The force of the tornado was increasing.

We finally decided to stop and just spend some time praying. Now there’s a thought. Why is it often our last resort instead of our first line of defense? Well we gathered together in a circle, stilled our hearts and minds and began to talk to our heavenly Father. We laid our concerns over the sound system at His Throne. We talked to Him about all the issues we were having, confessing our sin and humbling ourselves in His Presence.  We began to sing together and worship the Lord. What sweet fellowship and worship it was. God reminded us to be humble and gentle with each other; to be patient, loving and forgiving.

We ended our prayer time and went out on the stage to begin the church service, trusting the Holy Spirit to lead worship. We could sense the Lord’s Presence. The music flowed beautifully and the sound system worked perfectly. The Lord had answered our prayers.

If you’re in a musical group, put into practice what we learned that day. Pray together as a group and commit your rehearsal time to Him. The tornado of group dynamics will turn into the gentle breeze of His Spirit among you.

Music is such a wonderful gift from God. We’ve seen in our study that God created music for His honor and glory, to declare His worth and to encourage us in the Lord. We’ve seen that God sings and He is surrounded by song as the angels sing His praises. God not only gave us song to declare His worth but also to declare the truth of His Word.

Psalm 119:54 says, “Your decrees are the theme of my song wherever I lodge.” What a declaration – no matter where I am, God’s Word is the theme of my song. No matter the circumstance, no matter where you find me, the Truth of God’s Word is the theme of my song.

The book of Psalms is full of songs declaring God’s truth but there are also other songs throughout the Bible.  In Exodus 15 Moses and the Israelites sang a song to the Lord declaring His faithfulness and might after delivering them out of Egypt. They sang, “The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation.” In Luke 1 Mary sang a song to glorify the Lord and to rejoice in God her Savior. The book of Revelation is full of songs around the Throne of God, songs sung by angels and saints, declaring God’s holiness and His worth.

You see when we experience God, when we experience His faithfulness or when He gives us a glimpse of Himself, the response is to burst forth in song whether you’re a gifted musician or someone who just makes a joyful noise. Oh what a joy to declare that the Lord is our song and His decrees are the theme of our song!

The most powerful songs that you can sing are those that are Scripture put to music. Check out a few of these.

Psalm 40 by NewSong - a great song declaring “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to my God”

Psalm112 by 4Him -  beautiful harmonies based on Psalm 112:1 that says, “Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in His Word.”

Revelation Song by Phillips,Craig and Dean is an absolutely beautiful song with 3 part harmony. Based on Revelation 4&5, it is a powerful worship song declaring “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty”.

One of the best ways to memorize Scripture is to put it to music so check out some of these. Let the power of God’s Word minister to your heart and worship Him as you listen. These are some great songs to add to your collection. Sing His Word and make His decrees the theme of your song wherever you are!

My husband just participated in his first triathlon.  A few months ago he came home from the gym and said they were sponsoring a triathlon. He asked me if I’d like to sign up also and I just laughed.  I prefer to be the one on the sidelines cheering him on as I sip on a cup of coffee.

From the moment he signed up he began his training. He ran, swam and biked as much as possible each week. He came home exhausted, sometimes doubting that he should tackle this race; other times he came home encouraged that he was making progress. As the weeks progressed he progressed. With each workout it got a little less difficult – not easy, but less difficult.

Finally the day for the triathlon came. He was up early, ready to tackle the course. He was competing against a diverse group of athletes. Some were first timers like he was; others were veterans. Some were younger and others were older. He swam, biked and ran alongside them, watching some of them pass him and some of them he passed. He didn’t focus on those around him but focused on the finish line. At times his body screamed at him to slow down and at other times his mind was screaming at his body to speed up to which his body answered, “no way.” He kept his mind focused on the finish line and continued to push his body forward until he completed the race.

Hebrews 12 talks about running a different kind of race. It’s says “Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” I Timothy 4 tell us to train ourselves to be godly. Just as my husband trained physically for this triathlon, we are to train ourselves spiritually for this race we’re in – dealing with the sin in our lives and getting rid of anything that hinders us from continuing to grow in our relationship with the Lord Jesus. We run the race with our eyes fixed on Jesus, not on those around us. We don’t run their race. We run our own race, the race marked out for us and we run with perseverance.

There’s a great song that talks about us running in this race – Runner by Twila Paris. Check it out. The words will encourage you to continue to live purposefully with your heart and mind focused on the finish line, the day we’ll see our Savior. Live each day to hear “well done” at the end of your race. Run to win!

Make the most of your journey,

Molly

I hope you’re enjoying our study on music. It’s definitely not an exhaustive study but I hope that you as a musician are encouraged and challenged to use music to glorify and praise God. We’ve talked about the fact that God created music for us to glorify Him and declare His worth. He also gave us music to encourage and exhort one another.  Job 35:10 tells us that God gives us songs in the night.  Have you ever thought that God uses music to encourage you? He sends a song your way, just when you need to hear it.

We have a Christian radio station in our area. There have been numerous times that I have turned it on and there’s a song playing that speaks directly to what I’m experiencing. The Holy Spirit uses it and speaks to me through it. He sends songs to encourage, to exhort, to convict and to spur us on to do what we need to do. He gives songs to us to praise Him and worship Him.

Exodus 15:2 says “The Lord is my strength and my song.” God not only gives us songs; He is our song! Because of His great and precious promises, because of who He is and all that He does – He is our song! Exodus 15 goes on to say “Who among the gods is like You, O Lord? Who is like you – majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?” I don’t know about you but that makes me want to shout Hallelujah! God is our song!

“Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, O my soul. I will praise the Lord all of my life; I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.” Psalm 146:1,2.

There are so many great songs available that praise the Lord and declare His worth. Check out How Can I Keep from Singing by Chris Tomlin – a great song that expresses this truth we’ve been talking about. In light of who God is, how can we keep from singing His praise, no matter what the circumstances are in our life? This song is written as a solo but has beautiful harmonies. The worship team I work with does this song with one lead singer and then harmony is added on the chorus.

We’ve also done How Great is our God by Chris Tomlin and Indescribable by Chris Tomlin. These are powerful worship songs, written as solos but with beautiful harmonies for a group. If you want all of these songs plus more then get the Best Of: Chris Tomlin. Take the time to listen to these songs and worship the Lord Jesus, who created song for His honor and glory, and who gives us songs in the night. He is our song!

Other Posts in this Series

God Created Music
God Sings
God Inhabits Our Praise
Music is the Language of the Soul
He is Our Song

If there’s one thing that God reminds me of over and over is that He can handle the details in my life. You will find me saying this again and again. I think  He likes to give me “new songs of praise” to sing to Him, new things to thank Him and praise Him for.

I recently put together a musical for the worship team at my church. I had several large details that needed to fall into place and was feeling a little anxious. I wrote the needs in my prayer journal and for a couple of weeks I daily lifted these needs up to the Lord. I was tempted to try to work out some of these things on my own but felt compelled to just wait on the Lord and pray. Now in the grand scheme of life, this prayer request might not seem so important. And if you’re dealing with something really heavy in your life right now this may seem trivial. But the cool thing about God is He is interested in all of our details – the tiny ones that may seem insignificant to others and the huge ones that are too heavy to bear.

Well God, once again, faithfully heard and answered my prayers. He sent the people to me that were needed and all the staging needs were supplied. I recorded God’s answers to my requests in my journal and thanked Him for once again covering the details for me. This process all seems so simple as I tell you about it. But truthfully, I often let my emotions get in the way and get anxious as I wait for the Lord.

Phil.4 says, “Do not be anxious about anything but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” In other words, don’t worry about anything but pray about everything! You see, God can handle our details. We don’t have to worry about His ability or His interest in our lives; and He already knows everything that we need.  What He desires is that we trust Him with the details. He says not to worry  but to just talk to Him, to lift up our requests before His Throne of Grace, with thanksgiving. As you ask for something, thank Him for His faithfulness and constant presence in your life. When you see Him answer, take the time to thank Him with enthusiastic praise.  Phil.4 goes on to say “and the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.

There’s an absolutely beautiful song that speaks of this peace. It’s I’ll Give You Peace by Sandi Patty . Take a few moments and listen to it. Thank the Lord for that sweet peace. He will fill us with a peace that can’t be understood by the world; a peace that lets us know that God will cover our details for us.

Make the most of your journey,

Molly

Right outside my bathroom window there’s a large tree. From that upstairs window I can see all types of birds that visit that tree, along with a family of squirrels. It seems to be a great tree to stop by and visit but for one particular bird, it is home. The reason I know this is because this particular bird loves to sing. Now that’s not unusual for any bird to love to sing; but what makes this bird special is it loves to sing all night long. It’s the most unusual thing. The second the sun goes down this bird starts its song and this song continues until sunrise.

I first noticed it several nights ago. I got up during the night and went into my bathroom. It was about 4:00am and all was quiet, except this bird singing in the night.I thought it was odd and mentioned it to my family the next morning. They had also heard the bird and since then it has continued to sing outside our home each night, all night long!

It reminded me of the Bible verse that says God gives us songs in the night (Job35:10). Now that verse could be speaking of literal night time – things always seem worse at night. If you have a sick child, it’s always worse at night. If you’ve got a heavy mind, those thoughts can keep you up at night. Decisions seem harder at night. Things seem worse at night.

But I think this verse is also speaking of those dark times in your life, such as sickness, family stresses, job issues, financial problems, marriage problems – times when life is too hard to bear, times when you don’t know what to do or how things are going to work out. I believe God gives us “songs in the night”, reminders that He’s with us.

As believers we know we serve a Sovereign God and that He holds us in the palm of His Hands. We know that He knows every detail of our lives and He knows just what is needed at every given moment. We know that He is working every situation in our lives to accomplish His plan. We know that He is conforming us to the image of Jesus, little by little. We know His compassions never fail, they are new every morning. We know He is faithful. And because of all of this, we know we can trust Him. Just like that bird, who LOVES to sing at night, we can sing during the happy times, when the sun is shining bright, and we can sing during the hard times, when it’s dark as night. Our God gives songs in the night – just like that bird at my window.

Make the most of your journey,

Molly

I don’t know what your Sundays are like, but for my husband and me, Sundays are a busy work day. I say that with a heart full of thanksgiving because the work that I’m speaking of is unto the Lord. If you’re involved in an area of ministry in your church, as my husband and I are, then you understand what I’m saying. Sundays are a work day. There’s no sleeping in or enjoying a late breakfast together. We have no idea what Sunday brunch is. There’s no sitting on the patio and sipping coffee. It’s more like, swallowing a bite of toast as you run out the door, hoping you remembered to grab everything you need.

Because I have so much to think about on Sunday mornings, I tend to get into task mode to get it all done. Recently I had been asking the Lord to help me truly focus on worshiping Him during the worship time and not so much on all I have to be thinking about; things like making sure the band, singers and orchestra are all together, that everyone is singing the right parts, that the sound is good, remembering the chord progressions of each song and transitions from one song to another, etc.

One particular Sunday as I ran out the door in a mad rush I whispered that prayer again, asking Him to meet me in the worship time. I rehearsed with the worship team and soon the worship service began. We sang a couple of songs and with each one I tried to worship with my heart and my mind – staying focused on the words I was singing, and singing them from my heart.

About the time we reached the third song in our set the Holy Spirit spoke right into my heart and mind and simply said, “Focus on Jesus”. Plain and simple, this wasn’t a complicated thought. He just wanted to me to focus on Jesus instead of focusing on worshiping Him. You see, the truth is, the moment we focus our hearts and minds on Jesus we can’t help but worship Him. The moment we begin to look into His holiness and gaze at His loveliness everything else will fade into the background and we will be able to truly worship.

As I sang, I thanked the Lord in my heart for such a simple sweet reminder. It wasn’t a harsh correction or even conviction that I felt. God knows that I have responsibilities during the worship services and I have things I have to think about. He didn’t say forget that stuff. He just spoke into my heart – look at Jesus. And that’s just what I did. The worship was sweet and He met me and ministered to my heart as I focused on Jesus.

Make the most of your journey!

Molly

I saw the strangest thing the other day. I got in my car to run some errands and as I pulled out of my driveway I saw a vulture in the road. I’m talking about a real vulture, you know, the kind that is in the Disney movie “The Jungle Book.” I didn’t even know that vultures lived in my neck of the woods. I thought they lived in some far off distant land but not anywhere nearby. Well, no matter where they really live, this vulture was sitting in the road in front of my house.

There was also a dead squirrel in the road. I’m talking dead dead. You know, rotting dead. It had been there for a while. Now this vulture, who apparently smelled this rotting squirrel from his home somewhere very far away, was enjoying a meal of rotten flesh right in front of my house! I couldn’t believe my eyes! I slowly pulled out of my driveway, staring at this strange sight in the road.

The vulture looked up from his meal and gave me the strangest look. Not one of fear or timidity. Not one of aggravation or even aggressiveness. He looked at me as if he were thinking, “This is really good – come get a bite!” I laughed out loud at this sight and then drove off, watching the vulture continue his meal in my rear-view mirror.

Then a thought struck me. How often are we like that vulture, feeding on something that is absolutely rotten?  Proverbs 18:8 says “The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man’s inmost parts.” You see, gossip is like that rotten squirrel. We hear a juicy bit of gossip, and the first thing we do is take a big bite of it and look around for someone to share it with. We become the vulture picking off the rotten flesh and eating it – like choice morsels.

It tastes good at first but it’s like swallowing rotten meat. It’s so easy to gather around “a dead squirrel” with other believers and feast on a bit of gossip in the name of “sharing a prayer request about someone.” Ephesians 4:29 says “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up, according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Wow! That doesn’t allow for any vultures to gather does it? Our words are to benefit others and encourage them. Our words can bring healing or our words can add negativity to any conversation.

Instead of feasting on the rotten squirrel with the other vultures, use your words to help, to bring healing and peace, and to benefit those who listen. Philippians 4:8 says “…whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” So the next time gossip comes to your door, make the choice not to be a vulture. Don’t take a bite and then share it. Remember the vulture in the road.

Make the most of your Journey!

So far in our study we’ve looked at Scripture that says all things were created by God for God (Col.1:16) – so music was created by Him for Him. It’s a wonderful tool that He’s given us to declare His worth. We’ve seen in Scripture that God sings (Zeph.3:17) and that He is surrounded by angels singing praises in Heaven (Rev.5:12). And we’ve seen that God inhabits the praises of His people (Ps.22:3). God has given us song to praise Him and to declare His worth. He’s also given us music to encourage and exhort one another in the Lord.

Music is the language of the soul and is understood fluently by all. Emotions and experiences can often be best expressed in song and it’s a way for us to pour out our hearts to God.  In Psalm 63 David poured out his heart to God in song. “Oh God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” Sometimes spoken words just don’t communicate what’s in our hearts the way a song does.  In Psalm 63:5 David sings “My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.” There are times when things are so tough that words can’t even voice what’s being felt but a song can. Psalm 13 is full of emotion as David sings, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?” David wrestles with his emotions and then sings out with all of his heart “But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord for he has been good to me.” He poured out his heart to God in song and we, as believers, are encouraged and exhorted as we read this.

Have you ever been sitting in a church service and your heart is heavy and burdened so much that you don’t even know how to pray? Then someone gets up and sings a song and you find yourself weeping because the words of the song expressed just what you’re feeling but couldn’t put into words. Music can express what’s in the depths of our souls in a way that spoken words cannot and God uses it to soothe the soul, to encourage or convict.

Have there been times you’re so happy that you can hardly contain it and the worship team bursts into a praise song that causes your spirit to fill with praise to the Lord?  The music helps you to express your joy to the Lord and to sing a new song of praise to Him.

James 5:13 says “Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.” Three great songs that will minister to your soul are In His Presence by Sandi Patty, Worthy is the Lamb by Hillsong, and Come as You Are by Pocket Full of Rocks. Take a few moments and listen to them and allow the music to minister to your heart and lift praise up to the Lord.  Music is often the best way for feelings and emotions to be expressed. It’s the language of the soul.

Other Posts in this Series

God Created Music
God Sings
God Inhabits Our Praise
Music is the Language of the Soul
He is Our Song

Has it ever hit you in a fresh way that Jesus died for you – just for you?  That happened to me just recently. When I was 9 years old I ask Jesus to be my Savior. I realized at that young age that I was a sinner and I needed a Savior. I learned from my parents and that Jesus died to pay for my sins and that all I had to do was ask Him to forgive me and to be my Savior. I understood this truth and in child-like faith I asked Jesus to be my Savior. I grew up going to church with my parents and then got involved in the music ministry as a teenager, so I’ve heard the deep truths of God’s Word taught throughout my entire life. What a blessing that has been!  If you’re involved in a ministry in your church and you too have heard the truths of God’s Word taught over and over, you must guard your heart against letting routine lead to complacency.

As the worship team leader at my church I have the weekly responsibility of planning the music for all of the services. I always ask the Lord to guide my thoughts as I choose the music and to help me choose songs that He would like for us to sing to Him and for Him that week. It always amazes me at how He so specifically answers my requests. This past Sunday was another example of that.I got up early to shower and get ready to go rehearse with the worship team before the church service. As I was drying my hair I started singing the chorus to the hymn Jesus paid it all. That doesn’t seem so odd except for the fact that I haven’t sung that song in years. But it was in my mind clear as could be. I stopped and asked the Lord, “Do you want us to sing that song today in the church service?” I decided immediately that I would add that in between two worship choruses that we were going to sing. When I got to church I asked one of the guys on our worship team if he would lead that song as a solo and then we would join in with harmony second time around. We started the church service and we sang through the list of songs including Jesus paid it all and the songs were so worshipful. We ended with Just for Me by Donnie McClurken. The rest of the day I continued to sing both of those songs over and over.

Finally I stopped and thought about the words I was singing. I asked the Lord, “Are You trying to remind me of something with these words?” He immediately whispered into my heart the precious reminder that Jesus died just for me – yes He died for the whole world but He died just for me. This is a truth that I’ve known and believed all my life – but a truth that He doesn’t want you or me to ever get use to. Don’t let that truth lose its sharpness in your life.  Guard against letting routine lead to complacency. Take a moment and listen to Jesus Paid It All and Just for Me. Thank the Lord that He paid the price for your sins. He did it just for you and just for me! Don’t ever take the truth for granted.

Jesus paid it all;
All to Him I owe.
Sin had left a crimson stain;
He washed it white as snow.

My parents are both in their late 80’s. They have been married for 67 years and are still completely in love with each other. They both love the Lord with all of their hearts and they have taught me to love Him also. I have learned so much from them just by observing how they have lived their lives for Jesus over the years. Whenever I spend time with them I’m always eager to record my visit in my journal so I won’t forget what I’ve learned or experienced. To me they are “Mama and Daddy” and I will introduce you to them that way. I want you to get to know them and learn from their years of wisdom as I have.

When I was nine years old Mama and Daddy bought me a piano. They saw that I loved music and thought I might do well at piano. They paid for lessons and encouraged me in every way. When guests came into our home, Mama would call me to the piano to play and sing for them and afterward, Daddy would always say that he was so proud of me. These guests included family and friends as well as the mailman, the plumber, a couple of door to door salesmen and anyone else that stopped by. They had no shame when it came to encouraging me to use what I had been given. Mama use to say, “God has given you a musical gift. You need to always use it for Him. If you don’t He may take it away from you.”  I began in the music ministry in my church a few years later, at about age 13, and I’ve been in it ever since. I am so thankful that Mama and Daddy saw that I had a God- given ability in music and helped me to grow in it.

You see, God has given each of us gifts, abilities and talents to use for His honor and glory. He has good works planned for us to do with the gifts and abilities. All He wants us to do is use them and as we use them He’ll grow those gifts and abilities. And as He grows those gifts and abilities, He’ll provide more and more opportunities for you to use them. Take the time to discover your spiritual gift. Spiritual gifts are special abilities given to each believer by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of ministering to the Body of Christ. As you grow spiritually and get involved in your local church you will begin to discover what God has gifted you to do. He has also given each of us talents and abilities that should be surrendered to the Lord to be exercised in His service. Recognize what talents and abilities you have. God has given you these things for you to use for Him in conjunction with your spiritual gift.

If you’re still trying to figure out what your gifts and abilities are ask yourself these questions:

• When you sing or teach or serve does it minister to others and point them to Jesus?
• Do you enjoy doing these things and are others blessed by it?
• Do you get positive feedback each time?

Read Romans 12:3-9 to help you identify that area of ministry that motivates you the most. Then get involved. Make the most of each opportunity. Use all that God’s given you for His honor and glory, to minister to the Body of Christ and help further the Gospel. As Mama and Daddy would say, “Use your gifts!”