Power of Music

       I was listening to a concert after church service last week, and it was a most pleasant experience. It was full of joy, sorrow, love, and unity. How powerful real emotions can be?! Well, I say that music is another language: another way of expression. Americans speak in English, Israelis express themselves in Hebrew, and the Europeans have their many different languages. All of these languages express human intellect and our hearts. I contend that music is the best language to express the heart. Real emotions can be best articulated with the sound of a violin, a guitar, a piano, or—the best instrument of all—the human voice. You can even combine these instruments together to create a unique sound: a song.

        Well, I believe that music is the language of the heart. It is the best way to express how a person feels on the inside—when you can’t articulate it to anyone in anyway the mind can come up with. The push and pull of a song pushes and pulls the heart strings of an individual. We feel what is felt by the singer or musician. It could be anything from sorrow to joy, love to fear, or suffering to heroism. We can feel a love far away, or a love close to us. It’s an amazing gift from our Creator, but it’s a difficult set of talents to master. The best musicians take years to master it, and still they persevere to perfect the craft that God has given them

God gave the gift of music to individuals—do you believe that He’s a musician? A singer? (oh, He has the voice of many waters—God can sing.) A music-lover? You bet! Look at the psalms: these words were not poetry in the sense that we look at poetry today. It’s not filled with intense imagery as is common for poetry, but the words were written to be lyrical. The words were meant for singing: they’re song lyrics. These song lyrics weren’t just written without any harmony or rhythm. Some were written in harmony with an ancient guitar called the lyre (Keenor כנור]]: which I believe that’s what David had during his concerts with King Saul), some had brass instruments like a trumpet, and some with huge ensembles in mind. God loves good music.

        Yet, how powerful is music? I tell you the truth from a biblical perspective: music can rebuke spirits, make armies come against each other in there confusion, and music can, in its simplest and perfect form, praise and worship God. In 1 Samuel 16:14-23, Saul was troubled with a distressing spirit, and his servants called for David to play for him—which he did. The music was so pleasant to Saul that the spirit went away and he was refreshed. Now, how often do you play a song just for the purpose of rebuking a spirit? David knew what that’s like.

Another example is in 2 Chronicles 20:1-24, Jehoshaphat, King of Judah, was facing three enemy nations: Edom, Moab, and Ammon. Jehoshaphat gathered all the people to him, and proclaimed a fast for all the people in his kingdom in order to seek God’s help. God told the nation and the king through Jahaziel that He would deliver them—He told them what to do. The king and the people did what God told them to do, but what was amazing was that they stood by their enemies singing praises to God. While they were singing, God confused their enemies, and they killed each other. Don’t tell me music is not powerful!

        Not convinced? Alright, Acts 16:16-26, Paul and Silas were in Philippi preaching the gospel. They encounter a demon-possessed slave girl who kept annoying Paul. Paul rebuked the spirit out of the girl, and the merchants of the area were mad because she was helping them get rich. In their rage, they brought Paul and Silas to the local judge. They were both put into prison. While in prison, they did something that still astounds me: they sang hymns to God. More astoundingly, God responded by causing an earthquake to loosen the chains and open the prison doors—perhaps He was adding the rhythm section to their song : ). Amazing!

        What’s even more amazing is that angels can sing, and God sings. Look at the book of revelation: you have many passages throughout the book of angels singing praises to God: “Holy, Holy, Holy, / Lord God Almighty / Who was and is and is to come!” (Revelation 4:8). Jesus Himself sang with His disciples in Mark 14:26. A lot of examples for a blog I know, but it’s important to understand what I am giving you, O reader. Music is the language of the heart: the heart of man; the heart of God. It’s a powerful ensemble of instruments to praise and worship our Creator. I can see why Paul encouraged it in two of his epistles: we, as God’s elect, should sing our hearts to God. You never know, God might just sing His heart back to us as individuals and as a church.

Introspection of a Wilderness Mind #1

        About a few days ago, I prayed a prayer for the LORD to ‘search my heart’ and to ‘try my mind’. I needed to see the things God sees in me that either needs to be burnt away—pride, lies, self-deception, etc—or needs to be remolded and reshaped. What I mean by remolded and reshaped can be better explained in a later blog—I am still beginning to understand it myself. What I do know is this: God sees a vision of us as His dear children. He wants us to live up to the full potential that He created us to be. Thus, if we desire Him too, He shows us things in our lives that need to be changed or burnt away. He prunes things in us and/or in our lives to be more fruitful in Godly character.

        The LORD searched my heart, and saw things that He didn’t want there. What God reveals isn’t comfortable by any means, but it’s needed for our growth. I am not going to write what God showed me in my heart because that’s not the purpose of this blog. However, I can show you, O reader, what He revealed to me about what He saw in my mind. Notice, I asked for this; He responded to my prayer. Here’s steak for thought. Shouldn’t that prove in of itself that God is not a God distant from us? He wants to be near to us to work with us; He wants to have a proper relationship with us.

        Well, what He revealed to me about what’s in my mind is a lack of vision for my future. It’s a wilderness mentality that Satan puts on us to make us believe that we are defined by our past miseries and present circumstances. The enemy also tries to make things happen in order to keep us in this state of hopelessness. How does he do this when God is in charge? Simple, we allow him too, and God allows him in order to teach us to trust Him. I am allowing the enemy to control my circumstances because of my lack of vision. Why? This isn’t what God had in mind for me.

        Did not Jesus Christ pay the price for my sins so that He can cleanse me of my past? Did not Jesus Christ—after I was baptized into a watery grave and reborn again to new life—give me of His Spirit in order for me to live in newness of life in the present? Why then do I not have a great and positive vision of my future? God prophesied through Jeremiah in Chapter 29 and verse 11: “I know the thoughts that I have toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope”. He wanted to give that to the captives of Judah of Jeremiah’s day. How much more does He want that for me, a child of the living God?! O how little is my faith!

        It seems that I am introspective in this blog, but it’s for a reason. Sometimes, we need to be introspective about ourselves and our lives. This is one of those times for me to reflect. I feel that the example of Abraham would help in gaining a proper perspective and understanding of what God wants me to see. Also, I prayed that God would show me what He sees.

Serve Your Generation

        Lately, I had been beginning my mornings with bible study, and munching on spiritual cookies and drinking spiritual milk—as the LORD provides. Lately, I was led to read the story of Paul of Tarsus. I was munching through chapter 13 of Acts at a slow pace. I really chewed up Paul’s speech to the Jews and Gentiles in Antioch. He gave a summarized history of Israel during the wilderness, time of Judges, and Kings Saul and David. When Paul spoke of David, I swallowed something in verse 36 of chapter 13. It said: “For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God”.

        Of course, the context of the passage is about David’s death, and seeing corruption. Jesus Christ died and was resurrected—seeing no corruption. That’s a different subject for a different blog. However, I swallowed something down to my heart. David served his generation by the will of God. David was a man after God’s own heart, and he died with honor—according to Paul—serving his generation according to God’s will and purpose. David wasn’t perfect: he had his sins and problems. He did the best that he could to love God and love his neighbor.

        3000 years later—from the time of David’s reign—I am reading Paul’s version of his tribute to David. He served his generation the best that he knew how with the guidance and will of God. This sparked a question in my mind: “How can I serve my generation?”. It is such a simple, yet such a burdensome question. But, I can ask it with sincerity and honesty to y’all, O readers, and to God in prayer. To my readers, it’s a rhetorical question; to God, it’s a question of purpose—“What is Your will for my life? How can I serve my generation?” These are hard questions to ask.

        But, they are necessary questions to ask for a man and/or woman who seek the LORD, and desires to be an instrument of His—for His purpose and glory. We cannot serve a generation that’s asleep in the grave or a generation not yet born because the former waits for judgment, and the latter waits for existence. History is written down for today’s generation to learn from the triumphs and follies of past generations. The responsibility to love one another is a step in the right direction for those of today’s generation to serve those not yet born. There’s much more to loving your neighbor as yourself than what I just summarized—this is one reason reading the bible is so important to consistently do.

        It is not my place to give you, O reader, all the answers to these questions. It is your responsibility, and mine, before God to take to heart these things and seek our Creator through prayer and study of the bible in order to truly comprehend how to serve today’s generation. I do believe that love is the most basic element of life, and the source of that love is our Creator. Perhaps, that’s where we should begin our journey on how to serve each other. God is love, and knows what love really is. In my opinion and proven belief that love is a selfless way of life, and not a selfish one. That’s a very broad definition that only God can expound on, but it’s a good new beginning.

The Throne of David

My heart is in great anguish. I was reading the prayers of so many Americans on facebook that truly desire a revival for God and His way of life. I truly desire this as well, but I was doing a prayer of my own, and something stood out to me: “Leaders of ourselves”. Although I truly in my heart want to be a part of this revival, I know that I cannot until my own house is in order. Jesus said: “A house divided against itself cannot stand”.  So, when we have one foot on the sand and the other on the rock, would we be able to stand? Just something to think about; something I need to think about.

        

          I believe that God looks at a house, or a family, with one man and one woman bearing lots and lots of Godly seeds. I also believe that God has given the man the responsibility of being the leader of the house. So, whatever the man does affects the house of his family—for good or evil. If the man makes God his King and does what God says through His Word, that man and his house will be blessed. If that man despises God and doesn’t make Him his King by not doing what God says through His Word, that man and his house will be cursed. There are several instances in the bible that prove it: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Achan, Jeroboam, Ahab, Jonathan, and David.

Well, David received a special blessing from God: “Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me^[b]; your throne will be established forever”. What this means is that God blessed David with a dynasty that will last forever: this means that David’s children will always exist before God and be of some position of leadership and/or rulership. Jesus Christ is of David’s lineage, and He is our King of Kings. Many good kings came from David: Asa, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, Josiah, etc. And that’s not even mentioning the kings that God raised up after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Leaders like Zerubbabel, the kings of Parthia, and the kings of England. Queen Elizabeth I and King James I are both of David’s lineage. However, Mary I, Elizabeth’s half-sister, rising up against her sister wasn’t a work of circumstance, but of divine purpose.

God didn’t just bless David and his descendents, but He also cursed them as well because of what David did to Uriah the Hittite, committing adultery with Beer Sheba, and stealing her as his wife. All of these are sins before God, and God was not happy with David. David was exercising his power for evil instead of giving power to God, and letting Him be King over him in the situation by keeping His commandments. Because of this, God cursed David: “the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me”. God also said: “Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house;”. If you look at the feud between Mary I and Elizabeth I, you could see that the sword of David was going on between the two sisters for the throne of England. However, God willed to establish Elizabeth to be ruler over England, and that her reign was one of England’s famous reigns.

God’s blessing and curse of David is a generational blessing and curse that lasts forever, and it’s for heads of nations, states, towns, churches, and families. I know of this curse because I am of that lineage, and have endured it for years. My grandfather has traced my mother’s side of the family to King James II, and from there back to David. The blessing and curse of David do apply to my family. It applies to the head of the household downward. If the man despises God, the sword goes against him and his family. If the man is servant to God, God establishes him, preserves him, and blesses his family. However, if the father is not a servant of God and is under the sword and the son is a servant of God, the sword goes against the servant of God. That is what is happening to me now.

Elizabeth I was an example of this, so was Hezekiah, and Josiah in biblical times. Jesus Christ faced it as well after Judas betrayed Him—it was the only way to establish Jesus Christ as King of Kings. God allowed Jesus to be crucified for us, die for our transgressions, and be resurrected. God allowed the curse of David to be used against Jesus, and when He was resurrected, God the Father established His throne forever. However, until Jesus Christ returns to establish His kingdom on this earth, the curse of David is still in effect today. The only way for God’s people to be removed from the curse is to allow Jesus Christ to reign over us in our daily lives, and have God establish our house. It’s the only way to keep me alive.

Notice that I mentioned earlier that this effects churches. Well, I had seen many churches that have split off from each other, and there’s no real explanation about why. Sure it would and has been done over doctrine or a minister’s personality, but the biggest reason was power. Leaders want power to control their congregations: power to be kings. Leaders of the church have been elected by the elders themselves to be in charge, and I know of many people who would recognize what I am talking about. United Church of God has done this, and now Church of God A Worldwide Association is doing this. But, what if the people keep the power for themselves and not give it to Jesus Christ? I hope you know where I am heading with this.

You see, there is one big flaw with this method of governance; no one gives power to the King of kings Jesus Christ. The elders have all the power, and give it to the ministers or the leaders. No one gives it directly to Jesus Christ who is the Head of the Church. Remember, if you don’t give power to Jesus Christ to have Him reign over you and have dominion in your life, you are doing the samething that David did when He killed Uriah—despising God. When you despise God, God puts the curse of David on your church because Jesus Christ is of the lineage of David. Brethren rise up against each other, and this is how churches split off. This is also how spiritual wars happen between different churches that believe similarly and yet don’t. God’s church is scattered because we didn’t learn to give power to Jesus Christ, and let Him have dominion in our lives.

When I had read about the updates that The Church of God A Worldwide Association had elected their ministerial leaders, I was terrified for the church! This is showing God that you are despising Him, and there will be spiritual war among the brethren of God’s church. “The sword will not depart from your house because you have despised Me.” I lament for you, O COGWA, because you are making the same mistake United did. But, there is still hope for the true church of God, and that is this. The church must give power to Jesus Christ, and allow Him to be King over us. If necessary, the church needs to allow Jesus Christ to rise up an apostle of the lineage of David to shepherd God’s people until His return. The apostle is not king, but Jesus Christ is King over him, over his house, over his congregation, over the Church of God. The apostle is the servant of Jesus Christ, and only Jesus Christ can show us who this apostle is that has given power to the Lord who is the Head of the Church and King of kings over His Bride.

           I am telling you though. If there’s a need for an apostle or not, the only way to remove the curse of David from the church is to give power to Jesus Christ and let Him establish the Church—there is no other option! If you don’t take this into consideration, No ideas about governances will work. They will all be devoured by the sword until we repent!

My Oath

          Perhaps, I should tell you what's been on my heart lately. About seven years ago, I was flying to Italy for the Feast of Tabernacles. During the flight to London, which was a long flight, I was contemplating about why I was doing the things that I knew were wrong before God. I was a womanizer, sexually immoral, and even fornicator, as a teenager--of course they were symptoms of a deep longing for love and affection and beauty. In my struggle to find the very core reason for why I did the things that I did, I found out the truth about myself about women, I kept choosing them because of what I wanted--lust and selfishness.

          It wasn't right. I didn't want to do that: didn't want to womanize, treat the opposite sex as sex objects, and didn't want them to be disrespected/devalued. In the wake of my realization, I had prayed to God an oath to Him: "I know why I keep messing up in regards to women, and it's because I choose them and not You. So, I want You to choose the one that is best for me." I vowed to God that I would not date anyone--in the worldly since--if He chose the woman for me. I knew that He would choose someone that is best for me; He wants to give me someone that puts Him first--even over me. I needed to learn to do the same. As proof of my conviction, I had stopped dating all together and became friends with the opposite sex.

          As time went by, God would guide women into my life to teach me something about myself. Overtime and overcoming, God has taught me what it's like to truly respect and honor a woman. It took several years, but it was very rewarding. I feel that I am more of a man by respecting and honoring a woman than in disgracing her and devaluing her. God has given me certain signs and dreams to show me that He is keeping His promise to me. Most of those signs are songs--one of which is my song: "In Your Midst". You see, as time went by and God was teaching me how to love and respect a woman. He was showing me His feelings and emotions about His own wife: Israel. I guess it was His way of showing me how to love her the way God intended it to be.

          First in 2007 with someone in my local congre-gation, teaching me about my own self-righteousness and about how to keep His way of life from the heart and mind--which is only possible through His Holy Spirit.

          Second in 2008, when I went to Israel and Jordan for 7 weeks, and I believe, that God had revealed to me who it was that He has chosen--although she can choose to say "no".

          Third in 2009, when I endured my parents divorce and seeing the suffering of my mother by the ironfist hand of my father who was being influenced to do wickedly.

          fourth in 2010, when I was at ABC, and I was holding fast to my oath to God. I may have made mistakes, but I never desired to break my oath.

          Finally, in 2011, when I realized what it's like to be a real man by honoring and cherishing a woman.

          That brings me to today, 7 years later, and I feel that God wills that He fulfill His promise to me, but I don't know how right now. I have sang my song "In Your Midst" as a sign to Israel and Judah of our modern world about the feelings and emotions that God feels for her that He has given to me over the years of my training. Most of them are in the song, that I had sang at Pentecost as a new offering to God. I do have an mp3 file of the song for anyone that wish to listen to it--free of charge.

          As of right now, I do not know what to do about the oath besides the fact that I do not want to break it. And, the ending of the song is tragic because the actions of God's people are tragic because the church has made it about the church of the people instead of making it the church of God. When we make the church about ourselves, are we not pushing out Jesus Christ, our Husband, to not be involved and reign over us in our daily lives? Did we not make the same mistake as ancient Israel did when they wanted a king to reign over them? The consequence of that didn't take place until 720 BC for the northern 10 tribes and 586 BC for Judah and Jerusalem. I'll focus on the Kingdom of Judah, Did they not become destroyed by their enemies because they worshiped their organization and pushed God out of their lives?

          Can America do the samething and expect a different result? Did not America push God out of schools and universities in 1963 with Abington School District v. Schempp? Did not America push God out of government by focusing on socialism and progressivism? Did not America push religion out of politics with Lemon v. Kurtzman in 1971? Did not America push the law of God out of school in 1980 with Stone v. Graham? Did not America push God out of our media, businesses, and homes? Prove to God that we are still one nation under God, O America, or our debt and corruption will destroy us.  

          But, there's something that America has forgotten and needs to know. That is this: America has a great purpose. We need to look and learn about the truth about America. Why was she born when there was no hope of her being born? Why did the Union not become two nations or the Confederate States of America when Robert E Lee should have taken Washington D.C? Why does God still preserve us today when we have a debt that's almost our GDP and corruption everywhere? Do you not think that God still has a purpose for America even now? If we just stop burning incense to vanity and look to Him for all our needs, wants, hopes, dreams, faith, love, and life, will we not find out America's purpose? Will we not see who the Union is? The One with many crowns on His head, and a crown with a name that no one knows except Himself? If you know George Washington's vision, you will know that the crown has blazen the word: Union! Is He not going to be America's first and only King? Should we not let Him reign over us now?

          I still believe that the Lord will return for His Bride—despite our deeds.  Although this version of the song has an ending that is tragic, it isn’t the end of the story! There’s hope of a new beginning. We need that new beginning in the Bride of Christ today. The bride needs to hold on to God and never let Him go. Just as the woman in Song of Solomon held on to her beloved and never let him go (Song of Solomon 3:1-5). My hope is that the one God chose for me will dream and seek me with all her heart in hope of never letting me go. Is this not what the Husband, the Lord Jesus Christ wants His Bride to do for Him? Just as He will never let His Bride go, so will I do the same for her whom God has chosen. Just as Christ nourishes and cherishes the bride, so I will do for her as best as I know how in the Lord. Don’t let me go—I will not break my oath… I cannot let You go oh Lord Jesus—please come quickly!

The Purpose of Light

        Have you ever noticed that light is not just a single color—although it can be. Light can just be white, or it can have multiple colors: Purple, Blue, Cyan, Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red. Light has seven colors. Scientists called these colors: The Light Spectrum. You can get multiple combinations from just those seven colors. You can get colors like Navy Blue, Lavender, Tan, and Zinnia Gold (don’t ask which colors make that one). When all seven are all together, you receive white light to see things, but you need all of them together in order to receive the white color. Even if one color is missing, you get a completely different color, and light would not be white and everything would be more difficult to see. Confused yet?

         Well, What I am saying is this: light was created for purpose. God created light, and is, Himself, light. What do I mean by this? It took me a while to understand it myself. But, God wanted me to know about why He created light, and how He, in Himself, is light. Jesus said: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12). He was telling that to the average, everyday, poor/middle -class people of His day. What did He mean by it? Well, it’s a reference back to creation. “The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was^[a] on the face of the deep.” (Genesis 1:2), or in the original Hebrew, the earth was uninhabitable and nothing: without purpose and without worth.

Notice that darkness covers the earth when it has no purpose and worth. In Genesis 1:3-5, “God said: “Let there be light”, and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day.” I never quite understood light in the biblical since until God opened my eyes to the understanding of it. God knew that the earth was uninhabitable and worthless, and He first created light. Why? He needed to create purpose for the earth first. He created light in order to begin the process of making the earth habitable. God created purpose, and called the light Day, and then gave value to darkness by separating it from light and giving it a name: Night.

        So, God created light to show that He can create purpose. Light has so many benefits that I will have to wait for another blog to convey them all, but it is what it is. So, what did Jesus mean when He said: “I am the Light of the world”? He meant that He is the creator of purpose, and that He is God who created light in order to begin the process of making the world habitable. If you follow Him, You will not be without purpose—that is what Jesus Christ is saying.

Wake Up to Living

        Behold: the sun is high in the clear, blue sky, but a man doesn’t feel the burn of its rays when he stepped outside from his house. He took a stroll around the staple looking at the flowers and leaves blowing in the wind—he doesn’t feel a thing. He did remember the weather lady forecasting showers in the afternoon, and he just so happened to feel like taking a stroll around the neighborhood that afternoon. “Of course, forecasters aren’t always right, so it won’t rain on me” so, he thought. About a half a mile away from the farm land and the sun reaching close to the horizon, clouds appeared like someone wished them there. More clouds appeared, and they become grayer and thicker. “It won’t rain!” the man insisted to himself. Oh, it will. The sprinkles dropped, and that man suddenly realized that it’s raining. “I got to get back to the house”. He ran as fast as he could to outrun the rain—couldn’t. That man was completely soaked when he got back into the comfort zone of his house. Reaching for a towel to dry off, he thought: “How did this happen?”

        Ok—how, indeed, did that person not wake up to the reality of what the weather lady told her audience. It was going to rain! Simple: he was asleep. He was numb. He couldn’t feel the urgency of her voice. There’s thunder, lightning, and hail forecasted. It happened after the man was safe in his house, but he wouldn’t have realized it unless he never wanted to be soaked in the first place. There was no urgency in his heart. There was no emotion to feel, or beauty to take in. He’s a daily sleep walker.

        Is that what we are? Are we all sleep walking spiritually? Are we just walking through life without feeling anything, or taking in beauty, or determinate to love or do anything besides what we are comfortable with? I know that I am fighting that sleep walking side of me that just wants to be comfortable, but the truth is: comfort doesn’t necessarily mean happiness or fullness of life. You are just comfortable—that’s it. Is that what Jesus wants for us? “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). Yep, that’s the words of Jesus Himself.

        Notice He said “might”—meaning it’s a decision we have to make for ourselves. He wants us to live the way He lived with an abundant life filled with beauty, emotion, passionate determination for what’s right in God’s eyes, and love. I know that I struggle trying to ingrain these things into my life. It’s difficult when it’s natural to be numb. I don’t want to be numb! So, how do I get out of the numbness? It’s simple: faith, hope, and love. Faith to step out of my comfort zone in order to live my faith, hope in a dream or vision that I cannot see (have to be specific in regards to those dreams and visions), and love for God and my fellow man. It’s that easy, right? Yea, it is easy—to say—but not easy to do. In fact, it’s impossible to do on my own. Thankfully, Jesus said: “the things which are impossible with men are possible with God” (Luke 18:27). My hope is that you will believe that with me: “with God, all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26).