So I was listening to music on my way home (as is usual), and this song High Noon by Andrew Peterson came on. I stopped reading to really listen to the music and words, and while I don't plan on re-hashing the song, it had some profound statements. In the beginning of the song, Christ dies, and takes his last, shuddering breath on the cross. I had always pictured that moment, but a moment that I had never pictured was when the demons MUST have believed they had beaten this Christ, the one that had resisted them all of his life. They must have rejoiced, they must have reveled in his death. Demons rejoiced. But, thankfully, Jesus took another shuddering breath three days later, and the stone was rolled away, and sin was conquered. The shadows had been dispersed, and the battle was won. By our savior. And, unlike those demons, we don't revel in death, but rejoice in new life. However, as with my first post here, I still feel that we do not truly worship our savior as we should. I'm not saying that we should dance like crazy, or revel, but if you wanted to do so to demonstrate your gratitude to God, I certainly wouldn't stop you. And while I don't wish our model of worship to be demons, I feel as if I must point out that when demons were happy, they rejoiced. And we, as redeemed children of our God, rarely even raise our voices in a half-hearted song of praise. I just see something wrong there. So please, I emplore you, engage in true worship of your savior, and give him all you have to give this week, and always. Show him your appreciation of his dying for you with one shuddering breath, and conquering death with another.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
Planning
So, long time no post. I'll get around to re-doing the layout eventually, but how do you like the background? Too much? Too busy? Let me know. Anywho, before I get to the main point of the post, I want to give you a little bit of my debate background. Trust me, I'm going somewhere with this.
When I first entered debate, i wasn't really sure what to expect. Two people argueing is what tends to spring to mind when the word is mentioned. Rarely thought about are the hours of fore-planning, practicing, speaking drills, case writing, logical fallacies, resolutions, and research, to name a few things. Three years of debate drilled into my mind the importance of doing research, keeping from being fallacious, and planning for all possible turns of an arguement. While I am guilty of not excercising any of this when it comes to blogging, I plan on making it a point of finding a designated time to blog. Promise.
Now, aside from letting you know that I will make it a point to blog from now on by planning a time for it, I have something else I want to say. You might have guessed, but I'm talking about digging into your bible. It takes work! And if you don't plan a time to study it, odds are you'll read it as often as I blogged. You've got to plan a time, even if it is only a few moments here and there. Read it during lunch (just be careful not to drop food on your pages), before breakfast, or before bed. Whenever works for you, do it.
Next, if all you do is plan to read and then amble about your pages, you won't get much out of your time. You need to find something in the text that you read that can be applied to your life. If you have trouble with this, pick up a devotional book. Maybe even a study bible. A journal to write your thoughts on the verses. Whatever will make the time that you spend reading your bible more productive, make sure you do your best to try and have/do that thing.
Finally, you've got to make sure you have a translation of the bible that is both true to the original text as well as easy to understand. A long time favourite of mine is the New American Standard (NAS), but lately I've taken quite a shine to the English Standard Version (ESV). Without a translation that you can understand, you'll have quite a hard time discerning what the text is conveying. The concept isn't new. Ever struggled reading old English? Yeah. That's what reading the KJV is like. Not impossible, but not exactly easy either. And hey, even in the newer translations there are words you won't know the definitions of. Don't just skim over them, look them up! Not only will it give you a better chance of learning what the text means, you'll grow your vocabulary. Huzzah.
I know I already said finally, but I'm adding another point to this. And that point is that at some point, you'll get stuck. Have no clue what a passage means. That's fine! Pastors don't only exist during services or youth group. I'm sure they'd love to help you understand a passage you're having trouble understanding.
And so, at last, I am done writing. I hope you take something away from this, and while I didn't recite a memorable story quite like my friend Chris does over at his blog, I hope you'll remember what I said. And hey, maybe next time I'll even have a story for you.
Join me in planning, won't you?
When I first entered debate, i wasn't really sure what to expect. Two people argueing is what tends to spring to mind when the word is mentioned. Rarely thought about are the hours of fore-planning, practicing, speaking drills, case writing, logical fallacies, resolutions, and research, to name a few things. Three years of debate drilled into my mind the importance of doing research, keeping from being fallacious, and planning for all possible turns of an arguement. While I am guilty of not excercising any of this when it comes to blogging, I plan on making it a point of finding a designated time to blog. Promise.
Now, aside from letting you know that I will make it a point to blog from now on by planning a time for it, I have something else I want to say. You might have guessed, but I'm talking about digging into your bible. It takes work! And if you don't plan a time to study it, odds are you'll read it as often as I blogged. You've got to plan a time, even if it is only a few moments here and there. Read it during lunch (just be careful not to drop food on your pages), before breakfast, or before bed. Whenever works for you, do it.
Next, if all you do is plan to read and then amble about your pages, you won't get much out of your time. You need to find something in the text that you read that can be applied to your life. If you have trouble with this, pick up a devotional book. Maybe even a study bible. A journal to write your thoughts on the verses. Whatever will make the time that you spend reading your bible more productive, make sure you do your best to try and have/do that thing.
Finally, you've got to make sure you have a translation of the bible that is both true to the original text as well as easy to understand. A long time favourite of mine is the New American Standard (NAS), but lately I've taken quite a shine to the English Standard Version (ESV). Without a translation that you can understand, you'll have quite a hard time discerning what the text is conveying. The concept isn't new. Ever struggled reading old English? Yeah. That's what reading the KJV is like. Not impossible, but not exactly easy either. And hey, even in the newer translations there are words you won't know the definitions of. Don't just skim over them, look them up! Not only will it give you a better chance of learning what the text means, you'll grow your vocabulary. Huzzah.
I know I already said finally, but I'm adding another point to this. And that point is that at some point, you'll get stuck. Have no clue what a passage means. That's fine! Pastors don't only exist during services or youth group. I'm sure they'd love to help you understand a passage you're having trouble understanding.
And so, at last, I am done writing. I hope you take something away from this, and while I didn't recite a memorable story quite like my friend Chris does over at his blog, I hope you'll remember what I said. And hey, maybe next time I'll even have a story for you.
Join me in planning, won't you?
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Worship and Will - A Clarification of Musical Praise
A calming sensation, eyes shut tight and heart thrown open. The world dissolves, and it's just you, the music, and The Lord.
Is this how you feel when you worship our Lord and Savior? I know it's how I feel. If you haven't felt this way, you're missing out. And, maybe, you're even fooling yourself. I'm not telling you that if you don't feel this that you're not worshiping right, but I will take the time to explain what it is, and what it means. As a musician who plays for the glory of God, I feel as if it is my duty to help lead others into joyful worship of Christ. This covers technical aspects such as actually being able to play the music with which we will worship, as well as spiritual aspects such as being right in my walk with Christ, and other things. But I digress. Having this chance to lead others into worship is a special feeling, and it troubles me when people out in the "audience" who profess to be followers of Christ don't join in the worship. It makes me wonder whether or not they know why they should be worshiping.
I don't wish to make this too long of a post, so I will keep my reasons short. However, I implore you, reader, to think about what I say and truly take it to heart. When we worship, we directly enter the presence of God. Indeed, we are asked in a Psalm to do just that (Psalms 100:2). Can you feel the weight of that statement? The almighty, omnipresent, eternal God, brings you directly into his presence while you worship him. The God who saved you from eternal damnation, who regenerated your heart, who sent his son to die a painful and bloody death on a cross with a nail through each hand and one through both feet, having previously been beaten, whipped, and forced to carry the cross on which he hung, this is the God whose presence you enter. And you don't worship? The extremely short twenty minutes or so on Thursdays that we worship this awesome God through music, and you can't find it in you to worship him? To allow others to worship? I don't mean to guilt you if that is what you're feeling, but I find that if you don't think about it this way then you miss the whole idea behind worship, which is rejoicing in, glorifying the name of, being thankful towards, loving, and giving all you are to our holy and wonderful God and Savior.
Next, I want to talk about our actual singing. I don't want to tell you that you're doing anything wrong, because I don't know your intent. I do know, however, that if you only sing to be able to say "Look at me, I'm worshiping. Aren't I great?" then something is wrong. Also, I wish that when you sing you mean what you say. Singing "I give you my all" or "you are my king" shouldn't be taken lightly. Mean what you say, and if that means not singing a song because you don't really accept the song as truth and need to examine your heart first, then so be it. I want to be in front of honest, joyful worshipers, not people giving lip service to look good. And once again, just to be absolutely clear, I'm not saying anyone that may or may not read this is doing anything with malintent or without the right mindset, but this is a topic that worries me greatly and so I feel I must address it.
With this said, I want to once again ask you to take this to heart. Entering into genuine worship of God is one of the best feelings you can ever experience in my opinion, and this is a feeling fairly easily obtained. Without people that will genuinely worship, we might as well stop playing music for others. And trust me, it gets tempting to do just that sometimes.
Will you join me in genuine worship this week, and past the end of time?
Is this how you feel when you worship our Lord and Savior? I know it's how I feel. If you haven't felt this way, you're missing out. And, maybe, you're even fooling yourself. I'm not telling you that if you don't feel this that you're not worshiping right, but I will take the time to explain what it is, and what it means. As a musician who plays for the glory of God, I feel as if it is my duty to help lead others into joyful worship of Christ. This covers technical aspects such as actually being able to play the music with which we will worship, as well as spiritual aspects such as being right in my walk with Christ, and other things. But I digress. Having this chance to lead others into worship is a special feeling, and it troubles me when people out in the "audience" who profess to be followers of Christ don't join in the worship. It makes me wonder whether or not they know why they should be worshiping.
I don't wish to make this too long of a post, so I will keep my reasons short. However, I implore you, reader, to think about what I say and truly take it to heart. When we worship, we directly enter the presence of God. Indeed, we are asked in a Psalm to do just that (Psalms 100:2). Can you feel the weight of that statement? The almighty, omnipresent, eternal God, brings you directly into his presence while you worship him. The God who saved you from eternal damnation, who regenerated your heart, who sent his son to die a painful and bloody death on a cross with a nail through each hand and one through both feet, having previously been beaten, whipped, and forced to carry the cross on which he hung, this is the God whose presence you enter. And you don't worship? The extremely short twenty minutes or so on Thursdays that we worship this awesome God through music, and you can't find it in you to worship him? To allow others to worship? I don't mean to guilt you if that is what you're feeling, but I find that if you don't think about it this way then you miss the whole idea behind worship, which is rejoicing in, glorifying the name of, being thankful towards, loving, and giving all you are to our holy and wonderful God and Savior.
Next, I want to talk about our actual singing. I don't want to tell you that you're doing anything wrong, because I don't know your intent. I do know, however, that if you only sing to be able to say "Look at me, I'm worshiping. Aren't I great?" then something is wrong. Also, I wish that when you sing you mean what you say. Singing "I give you my all" or "you are my king" shouldn't be taken lightly. Mean what you say, and if that means not singing a song because you don't really accept the song as truth and need to examine your heart first, then so be it. I want to be in front of honest, joyful worshipers, not people giving lip service to look good. And once again, just to be absolutely clear, I'm not saying anyone that may or may not read this is doing anything with malintent or without the right mindset, but this is a topic that worries me greatly and so I feel I must address it.
With this said, I want to once again ask you to take this to heart. Entering into genuine worship of God is one of the best feelings you can ever experience in my opinion, and this is a feeling fairly easily obtained. Without people that will genuinely worship, we might as well stop playing music for others. And trust me, it gets tempting to do just that sometimes.
Will you join me in genuine worship this week, and past the end of time?
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Is it ever enough?
I was looking for some guitar tabs online for the Canon in D Major. I printed them and started practicing. Running through the notes, I began to get frustrated that there were so many notes, such a fast tempo, and the fact that it printed on multiple pages so I couldn't just look from one page to the next, that I had to flip them over.
Thinking to save myself some time, and make things simpler, I started to change the notes. Writing down places I could shave off a few, and slowing things down a bit. I tried my best to make it all fit onto one page. After an hours work, I was done. Ink dripping off my pen, shining on my music notebook. I had condensed four pages into one, and constructed just a simple line. But something wasn't right. The song sounded off, lacking that something it originally had. It wasn't satisfying to play. It wasn't what the composer had in mind.
Do you ever feel like I did? Not liking how things have been laid out, and rushing to grab your pen and notebook in order to "make it better"? What we end up with is always a mere shadow of what the original was. A cheap imitation. You see, Johann Pachelbell had a specific idea for his Canon in D. He wanted those "extra" notes, and when all is said and done, it is a beautiful, intricate song.
Did it ever occur to you that God is our "composer"? As it says in Romans 8:28,
"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."
God weaves occurences in our lives for his benefit, to the greater glory of his name. He predestines our lives just as a composer plans for certain notes to be played. He knows everything, is everywhere, and always has been, is, and will be. Yet, for some reason, we sometimes feel like I did while playing through music, and jump to say "God, this is too hard" or "God, you did this part wrong, it should really be like this". We doubt the perfect plan of God, and scorn his hand moving to make his intricate song in our lives. I want to challenge us all, myself included, to allow God full control of our lives, and allow him to write his song. We have no right to second guess God, and yet we still do. I hope we all resist the temptation to grab our pens and "fix" his work.
So now, I ask you, will God's work ever be enough? Or will you always try to change the notes he's written for you?
Thinking to save myself some time, and make things simpler, I started to change the notes. Writing down places I could shave off a few, and slowing things down a bit. I tried my best to make it all fit onto one page. After an hours work, I was done. Ink dripping off my pen, shining on my music notebook. I had condensed four pages into one, and constructed just a simple line. But something wasn't right. The song sounded off, lacking that something it originally had. It wasn't satisfying to play. It wasn't what the composer had in mind.
Do you ever feel like I did? Not liking how things have been laid out, and rushing to grab your pen and notebook in order to "make it better"? What we end up with is always a mere shadow of what the original was. A cheap imitation. You see, Johann Pachelbell had a specific idea for his Canon in D. He wanted those "extra" notes, and when all is said and done, it is a beautiful, intricate song.
Did it ever occur to you that God is our "composer"? As it says in Romans 8:28,
"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose."
God weaves occurences in our lives for his benefit, to the greater glory of his name. He predestines our lives just as a composer plans for certain notes to be played. He knows everything, is everywhere, and always has been, is, and will be. Yet, for some reason, we sometimes feel like I did while playing through music, and jump to say "God, this is too hard" or "God, you did this part wrong, it should really be like this". We doubt the perfect plan of God, and scorn his hand moving to make his intricate song in our lives. I want to challenge us all, myself included, to allow God full control of our lives, and allow him to write his song. We have no right to second guess God, and yet we still do. I hope we all resist the temptation to grab our pens and "fix" his work.
So now, I ask you, will God's work ever be enough? Or will you always try to change the notes he's written for you?
Thursday, September 17, 2009
δούλος of Christ, welcome
Hello all! Welcome to the first post in what I hope becomes a long and healthy series of posts that provide some more reflection upon the thoughts listed on storiesfromtheloft.blogspot.com and, occasionally, some more in-depth analysis. They'll probably have my little twist on them, but maybe that's beneficial to you. However, in an aside from what this blog will most commonly be about, I thought I should write about a concept that I find to be of great importance in the Christian walk. In a book given to me by pastor Jason called Worship Matters: Leading Others To Encounter The Greatness Of God, there is a concept brought up that is of great importance. This first bit of wisdom is that the "mind and heart belong together." That is, what the mind dwells upon and pours over, what one enjoys the most, what one is passionate about and what one feels depressed without, what one fears losing the most reveals the hearts intent. I want to ask, are your mind and heart in conflict? Saying you search for one thing and your actions reveal otherwise? I know I struggle with this, and others do as well. Using one of Chris' great examples, do you try to fit God into a box and not allow him to encompass your whole life, heart mind an soul? I ask this because if you truly are a δούλος of Christ, then it is really his life, not yours. In keeping with this idea that you are a slave to Christ and your life is his, your speech, conduct, and love should be used by you to change the world around you, and express your relationship with Christ in everyday life. No one will know you are a δούλος of Christ unless your words and actions demonstrate this. For junior highers, I am making a specific reference to the parable brought to us this night by Ted about building the house on rock or on sand. I hope you keep these things in mind, and I hope that we all truly act like the δούλος of Christ that we are.
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