The 'Move' of Worship

I know that music moves us. Its the way God set us up. That's not entirely a blanket statement, but by and large music moves us. My question for this musing is this: To where does music move us? It moves us from here (where we are) to where?

The right music moves me closer to my wife, or different music stirs a patriotic response in me. The music on that ASPCA (the sad one with the abused/neglected animals) commercial moves me to change the channel. But music that proclaims the Holiness or Righteousness or Sacrifice or Grandeur of our Lord moves me to offer Him all of me. It stirs in me a desire to surrender.

So music moves us toward the intended target? That doesn't sound exactly right. To where does music move us? It can move us to an ideal or event. Get the right jingle stuck in my head and I'll start craving coca-cola. But I don't think God's intended purpose for that programming is fulfilled by mass marketing that "teaches the world to sing, in perfect harmony". I think God's intended purpose in programming us to have music move us is so that we are moved to worship Him. So if the song you just listened to causes you to be amazed at the God of the universe, it fulfilled His intended purpose. If not, well that's 3+ minutes of your life you'll never get back.

At Wit's End

...you will find yourself at your wits' end and at the beginning of God's wisdom. When you get to your wits' end and feel inclined to succumb to panic, don't; stand true to God and He will bring His truth out in a way that will make your life a sacrament. Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

Oswald Chambers said it so much better than I could ever say it myself. I do believe that only when we get to our wit's end can we begin to trust God's wisdom. The Word says that He will never put anything on you that is more than you can bear. Only He is talking about temptation in this much quoted scripture, not about circumstances of life. You see, He wants to put more on you and me than we can bear because He knows it will cause us to rely on Him, instead of our own strength. Dont resist the trials of life. See them as the gift from God they are. You may find yourself in Elisha's shoes, striking the Jordan river with Elijah's cloak asking, “Where it the Lord, the God of Elijah?” and finding that the river has parted.

SNAC

SNAC this weekend will be at Bro. Lee's house. Jr Hi needs to bring drinks, 9-10 chips and 11-12 desserts.

Sent from my Windows Mobile® phone.

Important?

Is what we do important? I dont mean to ask if what we do is significant or interesting or cool. Is what I (or you or your gf or bf or, idk, your bff rose) do important? If it is then we should, by all means, pour all our hearts into it. We should let it consume our conscious moments and drive our dreams. We should shuffle our schedules to have more time to do that thing which we have realized is truly important. We should spend the money we work so hard to earn on that very important thing. We should convince our friends and families that it is the most worthy and valuable thing we could possibly do. We should invite them to join us, but if they refuse, it shouldnt deter us from continuing. When we face ridicule and persecution for doing that most important thing, we should set our face as a flint; determined to carry on.
If what we do is not important, we shouldnt.

Ok, so this begs the question: what do we do? I cant answer that for anyone but me, and I dont like the answer very much. Reason being that what I do is largely unimportant. Gandhi said: what we are doing may seem insignificant, but it is most important that we do it. I like to pretend that what I do is significant and that people are very concerned that I do it. When, in fact, much of what I do is not. I would like people to see me as important and my work monumental. But that's the fallen side of me. The Christ in me (who, btw, is working very hard to be seen) doesnt care the people see me or my work as important or monumental. He cares that they see Himself in me. They can only do that as I spend time with them and love them and care for them. Who "they" and "them" is should be a different musing altogether. Let's suffice it to say that for now, I want for God to change me. That doesnt sound like its going to be very comfortable, but I'm ok with that.

Most people who know her consider one of the genuinely greatest humans they know. We, however, see her in a whole different light.

World Car Show, Addison, Texas

Why is it that when you know you can sleep in the next day, you tend to stay up to all hours of the night, thus ruining the benefit of extra sleep? I'd be Tammy Greene has a good answer to that question! Well, I find myself there tonight. We are meeting up at 12:30 tomorrow for breakfast at IHOP so we could stay up late tonight.
The card games are now over, the boys are snoring softly and I've exhausted all the useless websites on the internet, so here I sit; not ready for sleep.
We have tackled a pretty interesting topic this week so far in the form of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The 'big three' of Jewish faith. Jews and Muslims alike point back to Abraham as the father of their existence (to a degree anyway). Looking at the heritage that was passed from one to the next, and even further considering Joseph, we see that God was able to use some faulty character in order to accomplish His purposes. Deceit seemed to be a character fault passed down from one generation to the next. (If you arent familiar with the story, you'll need to read it to get that one.) But one constant in each of those is the favor of God rested on each, so His faithfulness was able to see things through.
Things are so very the same today. It is not the great character and nobility of any of us that accomplishes greatness on God's behalf, it is His own faithful character. I have been amazed at the conversations these kids have had this week. People like Ramona, the Niccoli gentlemen, Kelsey, the massage lady all have their own stories and you need to ask about them the next time you see one of the students that went on this trip. They'll tell you that God is busy setting up appointments for us to share His fame.

Passion

For various reasons I havent told anyone about this yet, and even though I should prolly post it in my All in the Family blog, its more serious than what I usually put there so here goes.

Each Thursday morning at Rusk Intermediate School (4th and 5th grade) is CSI which is a clever acronym for Christian students something or other. I was invited to attend this past week to answer any questions that might come up during the discussion. I wasnt aware that my oldest son, Bryce, was leading that discussion.

About 45-50 of students came into the science lab for the meeting. Bryce read several verses from Romans that turned out to be the Roman road. He explained what each meant and that God's purpose was to provide salvation for us. It was good

The impact part of the time I spent at RIS was realizing the passion with which Bryce speaks about the things of God. I have heard him speak to his peers many times about this or that report he was giving for this or that project. I have heard him speak to his peers twice when he was talking to them about God's plan for their lives. The difference is amazing. He is well spoken and organized with any topic, but what the Spirit of God does in him when he is sharing from Scripture is different from any other time. He has an incredible burden for his friends to walk with God. He sees God's Word as ultimately important. I'm sure they exist, but I've never known a 10 year old with that kind of spiritual depth.

Melo and I see him growing up so fast that its almost alarming. She says she wants him to be her little boy always but my take on it is this: God has incredible plans for him and watching that unfold will be amazing. He is growing up too fast, but as he grows, so does his passion for the things of God.