Archives

My Thanksgiving Acrostic

Nov25

IMG_7489 (1)I posted this ten years ago here on my blog but I think it bears repeating! I hope you will enjoy this:

Here is an acrostic I made that contains verses about thanksgiving, music and praise to God.  As you read through it, remember Psalm 95:2, “Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!” (ESV)    Let us think about all of our blessings and the One who made them possible as we feast and enjoy the company of those we love on this special day!  I hope you will enjoy this little Thanksgiving acrostic:

                   Teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.  (Col. 3:16b, KJV)

                   He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.  (Psalm 40:3, ESV)

                   All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord, and all your saints shall bless you! (Psalm 145:10, ESV)

                   No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.  (Psalm 84:11b, KJV)

                   King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see.   To him be honor and might forever.  Amen.  (I Timothy 6:15b & 16, NIV)

                   Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  (Ephesians 6:19 & 20, KJV)

                   Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!  Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.  (Psalm 33:2 & 3, ESV)

                   I will sing of steadfast love and justice; to you, O Lord, I will make music.  (Psalm 101:1, ESV)

This is the Victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.  (I John 5:4b, NIV)

                   It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sings praises to your name, O Most High; to declare your steadfast love in the   morning, and your faithfulness by night, to the music of the lute and the harp, to the melody of the lyre.  (Psalm 92:1-3, ESV)

                   Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!         (Psalm 115:1, ESV)

                   Give thanks to him; bless his name!  (Psalm 100:4b, ESV)

Please enjoy my Thanksgiving Medley featuring my arrangement of “Now Thank We All Our God” and “Come, Ye Thankful People, Come”. (My music is available for streaming to add to your playlists on Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, Amazon and other streaming venues).  From the CD “Hymn Reverie” by Rebecca Bafford

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!

The Story of Paul and Silas

Nov18

There were a couple of preachers mentioned in the Book of Acts named Paul and Silas.  Of course, most of us have heard of the Apostle Paul and his fearless preaching of God’s Word even in the face of great persecution!  Less well known, is his partner, Silas, who participated in several of Paul’s adventures in ministry to the Early Church.  Paul and Silas were not too interested in being “politically correct”! When they cast out a demonic spirit from a young girl who had been used by her wicked masters as a fortune teller, the masters became extremely angry because she could no longer bring in the money they were used to collecting from her services.  When these evil men saw that all hope of gain from her services was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, drew them into the marketplace before the magistrates and brought them up on false charges.  The magistrates, urged on by the violent mob, tore off the apostles’ clothes and commanded they be severely beaten with rods and cast into prison!  The jailor promised to keep them from escaping, thrusting them into the inner chambers of the prison, and binding their feet fast in the stocks.  (Read the entire account in Acts 16:16-24)

So, what did Paul and Silas do?  Did they begin to complain and cry out about being falsely accused and the harsh treatment they were forced to undergo for the cause of Christ?  Did they try to contact the Church leaders and circulate petitions for their immediate release?  Did they weep and wail to God, asking Him to explain to them why they were forced to endure such horrible pain and suffering?  You and I might have done this, but the Word of God says in verse 25, “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.”  Evidently they made a great noise with their prayer and praise meeting!

Apparently, God heard it, too, and was pleased with their praises and worship to Him.  It seems He began tapping His foot along with their praise songs, because the Word says in verse 26, “And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.” (KJV)  When God gets ready to release you from your bondage, nothing on earth can stop Him!  God can work in amazing ways to confound even wicked leaders!  I believe we have been seeing some of this lately in our own country! Remember the Tower of Babel, where God did not allow wicked men to prevail and confounded their languages?

Getting back to Paul and Silas, verse 27 says that the keeper of the prison, awakening out of a sound sleep, was ready to kill himself with his sword when he saw the prison doors open and all the prisoners’ bands loosed!  “But Paul cried with a loud voice, ‘Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.”  (Acts 16:28, ESV)  The result of their obedience to the law and not just escaping caused the jailor to ask them, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?  And they said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.'”  (verses 30 and 31, ESV)  Paul and Silas spoke the word of the Lord to him and all that were in his house!  Then the jailor washed and cleaned up their bloodied backs from the beating, and he was baptized, along with his household!  He also gave them supper in his own house and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house. (verses 32 – 34)  The next day the magistrates came and publicly apologized to the apostles, letting them out of the prison and asking them to leave the city. (verses 35-39)

Wow, what an amazing story!  Just another day in the life of the Apostle Paul?  Or is there a deeper truth for us today from this story?  Could it be that God wants us as His children to offer Him the sacrifice of praise and worship even when we are faced with extreme difficulty in our lives, wickedness in our leadership, and seemingly insurmountable obstacles?  Does it sometimes seem that all of our prayers are futile?  God sees all and in His sovereignty can deliver us out of even the most extreme persecution if need be.  Sometimes He doesn’t deliver us from it, but allows us to go through it, to show His power, delivering us out of severe pain and suffering as we praise and worship Him in the midst of it, just as Paul and Silas did!

What a beautiful lesson of God’s deliverance and power in the lives of His servants!

Real Men Don’t Need Church?

Nov12

  scared-man-5621790[1]              Chris_Kyle  

Guest Post by my husband, Russell D. Bafford, Sr…. 

Look around any evangelical church service on a Sunday morning and count the people you see.  It is likely women will outnumber men 2 or 3 to 1.  Why is that?  It is because the Christian churches in the USA have become feminized over a period of decades.  Some more so than others, but most have succumbed to the societal trend that shuns, or de-emphasizes, masculine interests, values, and goals in favor of “softer, kinder, gentler” interests, values, and goals of women.   Books, essays, seminars, conferences and a host of other forums have acknowledged this phenomenon, and there has been much collective hand-wringing about what should be done to reverse this trend. 

Worship music can help men feel welcome, or it can drive men away.  More on that later, but let me first share some observations I had as a young boy growing up in the Midwest in a mainline protestant church.  None of the men I saw in the church seemed to care much about what the Bible had to say.  It was just not relevant to their daily lives … or at least it seemed that way to this impressionable young boy.  I never saw my own father read the Bible or pray.  Then I encountered a man who had a profound, lasting effect on me.  He never spoke to me; I don’t know his name; but what I saw him do has been etched in my memory for at least 50 years.  While sitting in the waiting room of my dentist, I saw this man come in, sit down, pick up the Bible from the table, open it, and read it.  He didn’t flip through the pages quickly.  He actually read one whole page and then the next one and then the next …  I was amazed.  He didn’t look like a wimp.  He didn’t look crazy.  He looked like he was genuinely interested in the contents of that book.  He looked like a real man, and today I know he was just that.

Nearly twenty years later God would use the contents of that book to draw me, through conviction and repentance, to Himself.  As I read the Bible through for the first time, I saw God-fearing men portrayed in a different light.  They were courageous, brave, bold, stern at times, stupid at times, compassionate, warriors at times, and they could even be gentle.  The first century Christian men I saw in the Bible were not limp-wristed wusses who trembled at every peril they faced.  Their courage and boldness came from the Lord in a measure far beyond what they could muster on their own.  As a result of what the Bible had to say about men, my paradigm of a Christian man changed.

Fast forward to 21st century worship music.  When men are forced to sing praise songs to the Lord that contain romantic lyrics such as those that express a woman’s desire to be embraced by the strong man of her dreams, then many men lose interest.  Such lyrics might resonate with a single woman, a divorced woman, or a woman who has an unbelieving, cold husband, and there is a place for those expressions of love and desire in women-only events.  However, don’t be surprised if the men in the crowd are less than enthusiastic about mouthing those same words of romantic affection.

Want to really engage the men in your worship?  Sing songs about Christ’s kingdom, His power, His blood, His sacrifice, commitment to Him, service for His kingdom, and in general … what He has done for us.  Read the words Martin Luther wrote in A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, and you’ll better understand what concepts resonate with most Christian men.

Real men need to worship God with other believers, too.  Christian men WANT to do that!  Our churches need to encourage their participation without requiring them to leave their masculinity outside the building.

“…not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”  (Hebrews 10:25, NIV)

Was Lucifer a Musician? (Part 2)

Oct24

Yesterday, I detailed the warning prophecy given by the prophet Ezekiel in chapter 28 of his book. If you did not get a chance to read this post, please do so before reading the rest of Part 2! It is important for continuity.

As I mentioned, Ezekiel 28:11-19, often attributed to a description of Lucifer, was actually a lamentation directed towards the King of Tyre, inhabited by the Israelite tribe of Asher. Wondering if there was actually any correlation between this prophecy and this description of Lucifer we have referred to for centuries, I went online and found the following written in the 1700’s by Jonathan Edwards, the fiery revivalist preacher and pioneer of the Reformed Church, as well as a major figure in the First Great Awakening. He writes the following of this passage: “Satan, or Lucifer, or Beelzebub, being the archangel…conceived rebellion against the Almighty and drew away a vast company of the heavenly hosts with him….This angel, before his fall, was the chief of all the angels, of greatest natural capacity, strength, and wisdom, and highest in honour and dignity, the brightest of all those stars of heaven, as is signified by what is said of him, under that type of him, the king of Babylon (Isaiah 14:12), ‘How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!’ This signifies his outshining all the other stars, as the morning star outshines the rest. It is yet more manifest from what is said of the king of Tyrus (Tyre), as a type of the devil, in Ezekiel 28:12-19….It is exceeding manifest that the king of Tyrus is here spoken of as a type of the devil, or the prince of the angels or cherubim that fell. Because he is here expressly called an angel or cherub, once and again, Ezekiel 28:14, 16…and is spoken of as a fallen cherub. He is spoken of as having been in heaven under three different names; Eden (the Garden of God or Paradise of God) – v. 13; the Holy Mountain of God – v. 14, 16; and the Sanctuary – v. 18.

“He is spoken of as in his first estate, or the state wherein he was created, to be perfectly free from sin, but afterwards falling by sin (v. 15)….The iniquity by which he fell was pride….He is represented as being cast out of heaven, and cast down to the earth for his sin. (v. 16, 17)”

So, I am convinced that this portion of Ezekiel is not only  directed against Tyre, but also depicts in a sort of allegorical way, a picture of Lucifer, whom we also know as Satan. The name Lucifer literally means “morning star” in Latin, or “light-bearing“. No wonder Jesus actually saw him fall from Heaven as lightning!

In Ezekiel 28:13 we not only read of the ten precious stones that covered him, but of the workmanship of his timbrels and pipes. Isaiah 14:11 says, “Your pomp is brought down to Sheol (or the grave), and the sound of your stringed instruments….” (NKJV)

These verses list instruments from all three of the musical families: The timbrels (or tambourines) are a part of the percussion family; the pipes are indicative of woodwinds, brass and flutes; stringed instruments (also translated harps) include the violin family, guitars and pianos. It seems to me that Lucifer could have actually been a musical instrument!! Not only could he play an instrument, but the Word speaks of the workmanship of his timbrels and pipes; then it mentions the sound of your stringed instruments.

Wow! Does this send chills down your spine? Is it any wonder that Lucifer (Satan) controls the music of the world and is called the “prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience….” (Eph. 2:2, NKJV)? It is fairly obvious when one observes the music being lewdly performed on the stage, TV, and on the airwaves that the majority of the latest “hot” trends derive themselves from the basest of desires, ultimately having roots in Satan’s musical kingdom. Most of the popular hip-hop, rock and rap groups claim some sort of allegiance to the darker side, including the occult, profanity, disrespect for authority, indulgence in sexual appetites and promiscuity and complete and utter abandonment of God and His principles. Who else could be behind this music but Lucifer, the brightest of the archangels and chief of the musicians and worship leaders in Heaven? He hates God and all He represents so much so that after he was cast out of His presence, he determined to spend his remaining days deceiving people, especially musicians, into making music that is as anti-God as possible.  And he is pretty good at his job!

Does he try to influence Christian musicians and worship leaders, as well? The answer, unfortunately, is yes, if they allow him to gain access to their minds and talents. Petty jealousy and vying for authority, the exact same things that got Satan thrown out of Heaven, run rampant among church musicians and worship leaders today just as they did when Satan and one-third of the angels were cast out of Heaven thousands of years ago. If musicians who love God give into the work of the Enemy, they also can fall prey to his deceptive voice speaking things such as, “Why aren’t you in charge of the music around here?”; “Why is that person up there playing and not you? You’re more talented than they are!”; “Who does he think he is, coming in here and ruining your starring role on stage?”;  “Show her who’s in charge around here…don’t let her up here to perform!”  Sound comical?  Sadly, often times these ideas often dominate church music programs.  They also hinder the work the Holy Spirit desires to perform through worship.

Competition, envy and jealousy have no place in a church, not in the pastor’s role, nor in the music minister or worship leader’s, nor in the musicians who regularly lead worship. These are things we must guard against, even while realizing who our Enemy is, a disgruntled musician named Lucifer, who has made it his lifelong task to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10) and often tries his best to do it through music! Let’s take authority over any spirits of strife, jealousy, envy or competition in the music and worship department and let the Holy Spirit move in freedom and power to change lives and transform hearts!

Was Lucifer a Musician? (Part 1)

Oct23

Did I get your attention with the title? Thought I might! Through the years I’ve read and heard from childhood the stories of how Satan used to be an archangel in Heaven, became jealous and wanted to usurp God’s position, not being satisfied to be “just an angel”. Eventually he was cast out of Heaven by God.  Jesus speaks of this event in Luke 10:18, to his disciples: “And he said to them, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.’” (ESV) So we know in essence that this is the short version of what happened to Lucifer, or Satan, commonly referred to simply as “the devil”.

I decided to dig a bit deeper and see if I could find out in more detail who this creature really was and what happened to anger the Father so much that he actually threw him out of Heaven!

I went to the very familiar account in Ezekiel 28 often attributed to Satan. Verses 12b, – 14a state, “You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created. You were the anointed cherub who covers….” Verse 15 says, “You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you.” Verse 17 adds, “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground….” (NKJV)

I was always taught that this is a Biblical account of how the extremely beautiful angel, Lucifer, gave into pride, jealousy and sin, resulting in his expulsion from Heaven, taking one-third of the angels with him, known as demons, harassing and creating havoc in the lives of people who allow them in, those who are unaware of their position in Christ and the protection afforded them through His blood! I still entirely believe this!

But, what surprised me as I was doing research for this article, was “the rest of the story”!  Ezekiel 26 – 28 actually contains the Word of the Lord prophesied by Ezekiel against Tyre, a beautiful city located near Nazareth, the crown jewel of the Mediterranean, largely occupied by the descendants of the Israelite tribe of Asher! As we know by reading the historical accounts in I & II Samuel and I & II Kings, Israel and Judah had divided centuries before, had been in and out of war with each other, had separate kings and kingdoms, and, in short, had disobeyed God in most matters.  The majority of their kings were wicked; only a handful did what was right in the sight of God, serving Him and leading their kingdoms in His ways;  even most of these retained “the high places” (or altars to idols) probably because they were afraid of the repercussions if they destroyed them!  It sounds a lot like today…most things allowed to go on in our country and even in our churches remain because of fear!  Very few are brave enough to serve God entirely and speak out against sin, following the path of righteousness laid out in His Word!  I really don’t think things have changed much from thousands of years ago.  Human nature is still the same!

Given this background (I will get back to the story of Lucifer; please bear with me!)….God put upon the heart of the prophet Ezekiel to prophesy evil against many tribes and countries.  If you are interested, just begin reading a few chapters back and you’ll see that he went down the line against many kingdoms, pronouncing severe judgments against them if they would not repent!  Prophets are not very popular people, needless to say!  In Chapters 26 and 27, Ezekiel starts his lamentation against Tyre.  In verses 11 and 12 of Chapter 28, we read, Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God:’” (NKJV)  Then follow the verses previously mentioned, usually attributed to Satan.

So, I began to wonder about this place called Tyre, and looked it up in Halley’s Bible Handbook. Here is what it says:  “Tyre, located 60 miles northwest of Nazareth, was a double city, one part on an island, the other on the mainland in a fertile and welll-watered plain at the western foot of the Lebanon mountain range. A city of incomparable beauty, it was the great maritime power of the ancient world at its zenith, with colonies on the north and west coasts of Africa, Spain and Britain, controlling the commerce of the Mediterranean, with the wares of all nations passing through its port; a city renowned for its splendor and fabulous wealth.  With its subjugation by Nebuchadnezzar it ceased to be an independent power.  It was later subdued by the Persians; and again by Alexander the Great (332 B.C.).  It never recovered its former glory, and has for centuries been a “bare rock” where fishermen “spread their nets”, thus fulfilling Ezekiel’s prophecy (Ezek.  26:5 & 6).”

 The Catholic Encyclopedia continues this horrific tale of woe, stating that Tyre (known as the Mistress of the Mediterranean) was captured by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C., after a seven month siege.  6,000 defenders were beheaded; 2,000 were crucified; and more than 30,000 women, children and servants were sold into slavery.  In 1291, Tyre was finally captured by the Mussulmans (Turkish and Persian Muslims) and completely destroyed.  It was never fully restored and remains a very small community to neighboring Beirut, Lebanon to this day.  Its glory days, sadly, were behind it!  Could this happen to a “super-power” nation today that has forgotten God and His commandments?  I believe it could.

Tomorrow, in Part 2, I am going to explore the connection to Ezekiel’s warning prophecy to the King of Tyre (which unfortunately came to pass in entirety because the wicked did not repent), and Lucifer, the “angel of light” who, it appears, was a musical instrument, as well.

How to Influence Your Child for God!

Oct4

Last week I shared about the birth of my new granddaughter and concluded by mentioning that this week in a “Part Two” post I would give some ideas for parents on how they can create a God-centered environment in the home, conducive to worship, and ultimately instrumental in bringing a young child to the point where he or she will make a personal decision for Christ!

As way of personal testimony, I will never forget how at the age of four my father, a Godly man who later entered into full-time ministry, asked me pointedly, “Becky, have you ever asked Jesus into your heart?” It seemed natural to me at the time, as I had been exposed since the cradle to Christian music, Bible stories and a church that was preaching the Gospel! I had even sung solos publicly; my whole life, largely because of the influence of my parents, centered around the Lord, ministry for Him and the music ministry He was calling me into! But, I remember thinking to myself that I really had not specifically asked Jesus into my heart, so I told my dad I would like to. I knelt at a little rocking chair in my younger brother’s nursery (I remember this vividly to this day!) and prayed a simple, childlike prayer of repentance and acceptance of Jesus as my Savior. I used my own words, but my dad remained with me to encourage me, and I knew fully well what I was doing. That is my simple story of conversion, not very dramatic, as some who have been delivered from lives of crime, drugs, immorality and the horrible effects of their sinful lifestyles, but, nonetheless, it is the way it happened and I have never looked back. Oh, there have been times when I have not been as close to the Lord as I should have been and strayed a bit from the straight and narrow path, but He never abandoned me and always accepted my prayers of true repentance. I know my salvation is assured through Christ’s blood!

Here are some ideas I have thought about that will encourage a Godly atmosphere for your child….

1. Purchase or download some worship DVD’s and CD’s that your baby or young child can watch and listen to daily during active hours, rest times and even while falling asleep. There are so many wonderful resources available for young children that are “age appropriate” and will keep their attention, while helping them focus on Jesus and their worship of Him. Even infants and small children retain much of this in their subconscious which will go with them through life. Also, their memories at this age are the best they will ever be and concepts taught before the age of seven or eight years old remain intrinsically in the brain for life! That is why it is so important to plant seeds of life and hope in Christ in a young child’s mind. If a parent constantly exposes their young children to secular rock, rap, hip-hop and other genres that are not Biblically-based, these are the things the young child will want to hear throughout his life; it will largely be all he or she knows. This is very sad! I observed this during my teaching of private voice lessons to young children. Much of the music some brought to sing was appalling and totally age-inappropriate. I could not blame the child, but rather the parent, for allowing such filth into their home. If you are guilty of listening to music or watching TV programs that blaspheme God, degrade people with foul language, glorify immoral lifestyles, or anything else contrary to the Scriptures, get these things out of your home! Trust me, children pick up on these things faster than you think!

2. Read children’s Bible stories, chapters from an easy-to-understand version of the Bible, classics from literature and the animal world, and other types of books to your child. My mother read to me from a Bible story book from the time I was a baby and I still remember these accounts from the Word of God as if it were yesterday. Encourage your child to memorize Scripture. I remember memorizing many verses and short chapters from the Word, particularly the Psalms, Gospels and Epistles, as a young girl attending Christian Day School; these passages have stuck with me my whole life! Amazing! This just proves that the things you put in a child’s mind first stay with him or her the longest.

3. Enroll your child in some type of private music lessons by the time they are five or six years old, if possible, depending on the maturity of the child.  Piano is a good basic instrument to start with and, will serve as a good basis for another instrument of his or her choice later on down the road. Expose your child to great classical music, as well. I began piano lessons at age four with my mother, and later transferred to a professional music studio at age seven. Some children are not ready that early, but nearly all of them can sing, so some form of private or group vocal lessons is appropriate, if not group keyboard lessons. Check with local studios in your area; you may be surprised what is available now for very young children!

4. Finally, “live the life” in front of your child! Don’t just preach to them, quote scripture and tell them the right way to go; show them by your life! I believe we as parents and grandparents can have a tremendous impact on our children. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when is old he will not depart from it.” (ESV) May God give us all the faith and courage to do this!

Some Lessons from King David

Jul23

As the world welcomes with great interest the birth of a new little prince who one day could become King of England, I’d like to take you back to another great king…the Psalmist David, anointed and chosen by God to lead His people, the Israelites.  Many people believe that the Throne of David is still very much alive today with his descendants sitting on the British throne (Jeremiah 33:17-26; II Samuel 7:11-16; Psalm 89:20-37).  Whether you agree with the position that David’s lineage literally refers to the unbroken monarchy in Great Britain descending from the Israelites, or to Jesus, whom we all know came from the “house and lineage of David” (Luke 2:4), we agree David was one of the greatest kings, warriors, musicians and mighty men of God to ever live!  In fact, God called him “a man after his own heart” (I Samuel 13:14), and we still read, sing and gain comfort from his words in the Book of Psalms today.

Let’s examine a few interesting facts concerning this man chosen of God to be king of Israel.  In I Samuel we read that God spoke to the prophet Samuel and said, “Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite.  For I have provided Myself a king among his sons.” (I Samuel 16:1, ESV)  In verses 12 and 13,  God tells Samuel (speaking of David), “Arise, anoint him; for this is he.  Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.” (KJV)

We see in this passage that God chose the one He wanted, anointed him, and from that day on put His Spirit upon David!  If God’s spirit had not been on him, how would he have dared to come against the giant Goliath and speak boldly to him the Word of the Lord, killing him in front of everyone?  If God’s spirit had not been upon him, how could he have played anointed music with his harp and lyre for King Saul when the evil spirits were vexing him?  This happened several times; the first account is in I Samuel 16:14-23.  If God’s spirit had not been upon him, how would he have been able not only to slay multiplied thousands at God’s command, but also to write some of the most beautiful psalms?

So, my friend, follower of Jesus, and fellow musician, if you know beyond a certainty that God has called you to your ministry, whatever it may be, and that God’s Spirit is upon you, does it really matter what anyone else thinks of you or says about you?  Don’t you have the boldness of the Holy Spirit within you to make you victorious in any circumstance?

You will notice that after David was anointed to be king and God’s Spirit was upon him he became the object of severe jealousy directed at him by friends and family.  Notice his brother’s angry reaction to his coming to challenge Goliath in I Samuel 17:28…not exactly a show of support from his family, was it? After the victory over the giant, while the people, particularly the women, were dancing and singing his praises, King Saul became insanely jealous of David.  I Samuel 18:9 says, “And Saul eyed (or envied) David from that day and forward.” (ESV)  Instead of being proud of him and grateful for his success over the enemy, he sought to kill him from that day on!

How often do we feel jealousy and envy directed at us, perhaps even from other musicians in the Church?   Song of Solomon 8:6 says, “…jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.” (KJV)  The Apostle Paul tells us in I Corinthians 4:7, “What is so special about you?  What do you have that you were not given?  And if it was given to you, how can you boast?”  (CEVU)   If all gifts are God-given, we should never be jealous of anyone else’s talents!  Equally as sinful as having jealousy towards our brother or sister is boasting about our own gift. It’s clear there should be no jealousy, competition, arrogance or pride amongst any musical group or in any form of leadership in the Church.  Even when David felt this jealousy directed at him and had to run for his very life, often hiding in caves, he knew Who had anointed him to be king; he knew that eventually God’s plan for him would be fulfilled!  And, of course, it was.  God used this interim time, however, to do a work in David, molding him and mellowing him, teaching him to trust and obey Him, forming him into the great leader He desired him to be!

My husband had a wonderful comment on the fact that when Saul tried to outfit David with his armor as he prepared to fight against Goliath  (I Samuel 17:38 and 39), David declined, saying, ” ‘I cannot go with these, for I have not tested them.’  So David put them off.” (ESV)  As Christians we cannot simply “use” another person’s armor; we must test the “whole armor of God” for ourselves, putting on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness,  and shoes of the gospel of peace; taking the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, “that we may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”  (Ephesians 6:11-17)

David stood strong in the midst of persecution, jealousy and battle because he knew God had called and anointed him for a specific time and role!  He was willing to wait for this to come to pass in God’s perfect timing.  If we know our calling, why do we let the devil and others destroy our peace of mind and confidence in God?  Let’s take a lesson from King David…be strong in the Lord, for you are victorious today!

What is an “Anointed” Song?

Jul11

Many times we hear people say, “That song is so beautiful and so anointed!”  What are they really saying and how can we tell if a song truly is “anointed”?

Let’s first of all explore what the word “anointed” means.  Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines “anoint” as “to apply oil to as a sacred rite especially for consecration”.  We know of several instances in the Old Testament where the priests or kings of Israel were anointed.  There was a special ceremony and they were “set apart” or consecrated for this office.  Some verses about this are found in Exodus 28:41, Leviticus 16:32, and I Samuel 15:1.  You can look up many others, as well.  This brings us to the other definition for “anoint” which, according to Merriam Webster is “to choose by or as if by divine election”.  In my concordance, the word “anointed” gives the subtitle, “consecrated”.  This brings me to my real question:  Can a song truly be “anointed”?

First of all, let’s explore what the term “the anointing” we hear used so often is not:  It is not necessarily chill bumps all over your body when you hear a good song, although this definitely can be a part of it!  It is not tears or emotional responses to a certain song, although this may, also, be a big part of it!  If this is all the “anointing” were, then many  secular love songs and patriotic songs which invoke similar responses would also be “anointed”.  So, what is this term we often uses so loosely and why is it so important to a song’s ability to speak to hearts and change lives, often turning them towards God in a way not possible through mere spoken words?

The Word of God speaks of “the Lord saving His anointed” (Psalm 20:6) and the “saving strength of His anointed” (Psalm 28:8).  Psalm 105:15 also says, “Touch not mine anointed…” (KJV)  It appears from these and other similar verses throughout the Word that God has special ones that He has “anointed” and that He guards and watches over them diligently!  Could this be the converted, elect children of God?  Could it be that when we place our trust in Jesus as Savior and choose to follow the Lord in all of our ways that we then become His “anointed” and that we are saved for Eternity and protected with His divine provision from harm and danger?  Even though we may “walk through the valley of the shadow of death we will fear no evil for He is with us!” (Psalm 23)

So what does being “consecrated”, or as the dictionary definition puts it, “dedicated to a sacred purpose” have to do with anointed music?  Can we feel this “anointing” in a song?  I think the answer is simple:  When a person becomes a Spirit-filled child of God, this anointing, the “oil” of the Holy Spirit spoken of in the Old Testament,  overflows from our lives, making the words or songs given by the Holy Spirit “dedicated” or “consecrated” as well, or in essence, “anointed”.  Words or songs given to that person by the Holy Spirit will be “anointed” because He is enlightening our minds with the words of God!  That is why I believe the entire Word of God is totally inspired; every word is anointed and valuable to us.   II Timothy 3:16 says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”  (KJV)  This means that if God through the Holy Spirit gives someone a song, that song, including the words and the music, is inspired and “anointed” to bring Him glory!

So, can a song be anointed?  The answer is an emphatic “yes”!   The reason?  Because the person who wrote the song under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit was “anointed” and God’s words and melodies flowing through the writer’s pen bring to bear that same anointing on the song they have written!  Do some songs, even supposed “Christian” ones, leave you cold and flat emotionally?  Perhaps they are not really “anointed”.   Some hymns that have come down through the centuries are just as poignant with emotion and God’s Word beautifully set to poetry as the day they were written.  For example, how can you improve on best-loved songs of all time such as “Amazing Grace”, “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” and “Great Is Thy Faithfulness”?  Hard to compare these with some of the current dribble that passes for music!

One of my friends who happens to be the wife of a pastor of a large church really summed it up for me.  She told me of a recent experience where her daughter who is in her late 20’s decided to buy a CD of just hymns to play on a lengthy trip she needed to make with her two small children.  She told her mother she put the hymn CD into her player and  just couldn’t stop listening as tears ran down her cheeks.  Her two children were quiet and slept most of the way and they, too, seemed to sense the “anointing” coming from the words and music.  Her last comment to her mom is one I will never forget.  She said, “Mom, these hymns are so different from the standard “praise” music we usually hear.  Those songs are ‘all about me’; these hymns are ‘all about Him’!”  I couldn’t have put it any better!  The anointing of the Holy Spirit is real.  It truly can even “fill a song with God’s presence!”

Being “Salt and Light” Where You Are!

Jun13

She was a delicate, beautiful, slightly built young woman who appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent.  After walking into my teaching studio in Tyler, Texas and shyly introducing herself as Sheron,  she told me she was interested in her five year old son, Ali, beginning piano lessons.  She seemed a bit unsure of herself, and I noticed she also had a two-year-old son who appeared to be very hyper-active with disciplinary challenges!  I gladly enrolled her little boy in lessons and decided to take him myself, as I had a few openings.

Ali did fairly well when he practiced, but I don’t think piano was his main interest in life; probably, more than likely, it was his mom’s idea for him to come!  As the weeks passed and he came to his half-hour lesson, I would visit briefly with Sheron and discuss her son’s progress, among other things.  I learned that she was new to our country, having recently moved here from her native country of Iran.  She had a degree in biophysics and after moving to the U.S. had met and married a fellow Iranian who owned several gas station/convenience stores in the area.  She was always very pleasant to talk with and our friendship grew.

One day she confided to me that she was very lonely and did not seem able to make many friends in our country.  I told her I would be her friend and that seemed to please her.  I knew she had her hands full with two very active boys and I just tried to help her feel comfortable.  The next time Sheron brought Ali to his lesson, she said to me, “I want to know about Jesus!  I have been reading some and hearing about Him.  Can you help me?”  I excitedly shared my testimony of receiving Jesus as my personal Savior from sin and asked her if she had a Bible.  She did not, and I told her I would get her one, which I promptly did.  When I presented it to her the following week, she was very excited, telling me she was fluent in English and could easily read an English edition.  She also began reading materials about the Gospel in her native Farsi language.

The next time she came I asked her if she would like to receive Jesus as her Savior.  She eagerly said, “Yes!” and after explaining what conversion was all about, I led her in the sinner’s prayer and Sheron became a Christian!  I asked if she had a church home and invited her to come to our church.  She said she would try, but that her husband was a Muslim and did not like the Christian faith.  She seemed a bit concerned about this fact, and I told her I would be her prayer partner and together we would pray for her husband.  Then she shared with me the fact that she had suffered with severe back pain for some time; I prayed for her healing and she told me the pain left!  The next week she was jubilant when she told me she had not suffered any more pain all week and that she was still rejoicing in her new-found salvation through the blood of Christ!

Not too long after this a young woman in her twenties, with a remarkable voice and to whom I had taught voice lessons when she was in high school, came back to refresh and sing again with me.  During her first vocal lesson, she confided in me that she had recently converted to the “Wicca” faith, a variety of witchcraft, although she had been a Baptist when I had taught her years earlier.  Although I was somewhat aghast and surprised, I simply told her I would pray for her.  She knew how I believed and week after week at our lesson, she would still sing some Christian songs along with Broadway and operatic tunes she was working on.  At times I would have a chance to witness to her of my faith, once again.  One day, she came and told me about some heart-wrenching things in her life, and began to sob in anguish.  As the tears streamed down her face, I said, “Michelle (not her real name), it’s time to come back!  Jesus is waiting for you and you know you will never be happy until you surrender to Him!”  She nodded in agreement, and prayed the sinner’s prayer with me.  Great joy flooded her countenance and the next week when she returned for her lesson, she glowed with a peace that made her look almost like an entirely different person!

Both Sheron and Michelle moved out of my life, Ali discontinuing his lessons and Michelle moving away.  I never saw either of them again, and perhaps I never will, but out of the thousands of people I have taught, I never forgot them!   I know God used me in that little studio to help two young women come to Christ.  Sometimes when I became discouraged about teaching kids who didn’t want to be there, or when it seemed that my work was in vain, I thought about them and others who had come for lessons, many pouring out their hearts and problems to me with tears streaming down their faces, often saying as they sang worship songs, “I don’t know why, but this just brings something out in me that makes the tears flow!”  I would tell them this was the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

When you get discouraged or feel like giving up some days, just remember God can bring people into your life and down your path, even in the workplace!  You don’t have to preach them a sermon; just be their friend and bring Jesus to them as He leads you!  I found out through these experiences that “music really is worship”…being “salt and light” in a dark place!

 

Does God Send Tornadoes?

May21

My heart is broken as I watch the devastation and heartbreak on TV from what is now being called one of the worst tornadoes in history!  I don’t know what it would be like to lose everything I had worked so hard for in just a matter of seconds.  Of course, even more heartbreaking would be to lose one’s child in school, not knowing, as you kissed him or her goodbye in the morning, that you would never see them on this earth again!  Of course, questions come to my mind:  Why did God let this happen?  Why do bad things happen to good people?  Were these people more wicked than others to have such a catastrophe occur in their neighborhood?

I can answer the last question with an emphatic, “Absolutely not!”  I lived in Shawnee, Oklahoma, which also suffered severe tornado damage a couple of days earlier, a lovely city located about 30 miles from Moore, the city virtually destroyed in the storm.  My late husband and I pastored a church in Shawnee for two years and our youngest daughter was born there.  Oklahoma people are by and large God-fearing, salt-of-the earth people and my feeling is if God were choosing somewhere to pour out his wrath, it would not be Oklahoma!  Then, you may ask, why do catastrophes like this happen to seemingly good people?

Perhaps the answer can be found in the Word of God!  In Job 1:1  God called Job a man who was “perfect and upright, and one that feared God and avoided evil”.  Satan asked God if he could destroy Job, a very wealthy man,  and God allowed him to bring about evil in his life on several fronts.  Verse 19 tells us, “(His) sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead.” (ESV)  His oxen used for plowing, camels used for transportation, and servants were also killed.  Then Satan struck Job with severe boils over all of his body.  Even so,  Job 1:22 says that “In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.” (ESV)

We all know the story:  In the end God restored back to Job twice as much as he had before, including 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, and 2,000 oxen and donkeys.  He also had seven more sons and three more daughters and lived to be 140 years old!

Does God send tornadoes?  The short answer is: No!  But he allows some tragedies to occur on this earth because we know Satan and his evil presence is alive and well on Planet Earth!  Jesus said, “For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”  Matthew 5:45 (ESV)  Jesus also told a gathered crowd, “Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?  No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.“ Matthew 13:3, 4 (ESV)  These passages point out that God’s principles and patterns, even regarding the weather, apply across the board, and that many times seemingly innocent people will fall victim to weather-related phenomena.  This does not mean these people were more wicked, but rather that because of sin, this world is an imperfect place.  Many times God’s hedge of protection is lifted from entire nations who do not put Him first by obeying His laws. It is only because of intercession on the part of godly people that He delays His judgment.

One of my favorite verses is Lamentations 3:22, “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.  They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.”  (KJV)  There is a wonderful hymn written from this passage called, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” which I think should be sung in every church!  So, in answer to the question, “Does God send tornadoes?”, the answer is “No, but he allows them and other catastrophes and tragedies to take place in our imperfect world.”  Someday He will set up His Kingdom, and in that New Earth during the Millennial reign of Christ, there will be no more horrible, violent events, either from the weather or from humans.  Satan will be bound for 1,000 years and all will be peaceful.  In the meantime, God has chosen to use the tragic events we humans all experience at one time or another to mold and make us into His likeness and bring out the character of Christ in us, if we let Him.

Let me close with a story:  We all love the beautiful hymn, “It Is Well With My Soul”, but do you know how this hymn came to be written?  An evangelist named Horatio Spafford wrote the song in 1873 after he experienced profound tragedy and sorrow in his own life.  He was a successful attorney and Presbyterian church elder from Chicago who had a deep faith in God.  Although he and his wife, Anna, and five children seemed to have a charmed life and beautiful home on Chicago’s north side, they were severely tested.  In 1870 their only son, Horatio, Jr., died of scarlet fever. In October 1871 the “Great Chicago Fire” destroyed their vast real estate holdings near Lake Michigan.  Still they trusted God!  In 1873, Spafford decided to take his wife and four daughters to Europe to assist the great evangelist, Dwight L. Moody, and his song leader, Ira D. Sankey, who had written many songs.  A business emergency kept him from accompanying his family, whom he sent on ahead on a steamer.  He planned to join them in Europe a few weeks later.  Tragically, on November 22, 1873, the steamer his wife and four daughters were on was struck by a British iron sailing ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.  All four of his daughters were killed.  Miraculously, his wife, Anna, who had lost consciousness, was picked up by a life boat as she floated in the middle of the ocean. A few days later, Spafford sailed to meet his wife in Europe.  As the ship passed the place where his beloved daughters had drowned, he looked out at the sea and through tear-stained eyes, said aloud, “It is well with my soul.”  Even though he could scarcely understand it at the time, and perhaps felt like Job of old, he was able to write the song that has gone down in history as one of the most beloved hymns of all time, “It Is Well With My Soul”!  By the way, God gave him and his wife three more children.

Do we understand all of life’s tragedies?  No!  Does God work good through them?  Yes!  We can stand on 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.” (ESV)  My prayers are with the victims of the Oklahoma tragedy.  I know many have already given testimony on national TV of the grace and mercy, as well as their love, of God!  May He continue to help them through the days ahead.  Let’s all hold them up in prayer!