Music

"...Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord..."

Ephesians 5:19

A friend on Twitter started a thread that asked fellow tweeters if they listen to secular music or not, and whether or not they thought it was right. Thought I would run with it and blog about it. Thanks @jackalopekid. :)

Now, I don't believe all secular music is bad. I love Jack Johnson, Norah Jones, Coldplay, Lifehouse, The Fray, Musiq Soulchild - to name a few. I can appreciate good, clean secular music that doesn't degrade humanity, or encourage sinful behavior (i.e., doing drugs, promiscuous sex, being angry, materialism...etc...). I think classical and jazz are just genious. There are many country songs that are beautifully written and performed. And believe it or not, I really enjoy listening to kid's songs, such as Laurie Berkner or David Weinstone. Probably because I have two of them who love to sing and dance. :)

But...

You must be selective.

I think I can speak from experience that music is very powerful and infulential. I used to be very heavily into rap music. My excuse was, "I don't listen to the lyrics, I just enjoy the beat." And, I really did like the beat....yet, no matter how hard I tried to ignore the lyrics, the filth still got stuck in my head. Pretty soon, things were "ok" in my head - it was "ok" to be selfish, "ok" to go out and get drunk every once in a while, "ok" to slip a few curse words here and there, "ok" to dress provocatively, "ok" to check out other men (hey, I was looking, but not touching, right?), "ok" to covet the riches of another..... When I was in college and sometime thereafter, I got drunk often, dabbled heavily in drugs, and was disgustingly promiscuous. The music I was listening to had a great impact on my thinking. It warped my view of what was ok to engage in and drug me further away from God. I Corinthians 10:23 says, "Everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial." I truly believe the enemy has most secular music in his arsenal as a way of wrapping the world around his little finger. There are even studies that have shown that music can influence a teenager's sexual promiscuity, as well as sexually aggressive behavior towards women.

It was when I made the conscious decision to leave 92.1 "The Party Station" on the airwaves and listen to rather the Christian station 91.7 WEGS and 91.1 WPSM that my mind began to be freed from filth. I began to see the world biblically, not secularly, and as we Christians know, a biblical worldview is necessary in your walk with Christ. I then started buying worship cd's and playing those everytime I got in the car. When you are walking with Christ, there is no music in the world that will make you feel the way God's music will - when you speak words that glorify Him and raise Him up, there is nothing that will match that. When you are dealing with the hustle of daily life, there is no music that will release you from the pressure like God's music. He has annointed it for a reason. There is no music that will bring you closer in your walk with Him. Why wouldn't you want to show your Father you love Him every chance you get? For me, the only times I really listen to music is in the car. I can focus on Him, (and the road, of course) without having children attached to my hip. It is my moment of peace - and I want to use that time to worship the One who gave me life. What a better way to bring your children up in this world than to let their little ears hear His music at a young age. When my little girl sings along to worship songs, I know that the name of Jesus is being written on her heart. After all, children are influenced by media and music, they "observe, imitate, and make behaviors of their own."

One person argued that, "secular music reveals our real culture, there is a lot to be learned." Ok, sure. But do you have to listen to the music, and conform to the world to be able to relate to people about Christ? The Bible says, "do not be conformed to this world." Romans 12:2. Conforming to the world in order to relate to the world is dangerous. We can, however, relate to people through our life experiences. 2 Corinthians 6:14 says, "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?" Your testimony to Christ's goodness and love is shown through the way you live your life and how you respond to life in general. That is far more powerful than being able to understand a culture through music, or understanding them at all.

The same person argued, "Maybe we should create a total subculture in which we shut off the world. They don't need Jesus!" How does choosing to not listen to secular music shut off the world? You shut off the world when you choose to sit stagnate and not move to God's calling. You shut off the world when you become self-absorbed in your own life and don't seek to meet the needs of others around you. You shut off the world when you aren't willing to tell other's about Jesus, regardless of what you know about their culture. Let's remember that we don't do anything in our own power, but by the power of Christ in us (Philipians 4:13). You don't have to understand the filth of the culture to be able to bring souls to Christ. God has equipped you with all that you will ever need to be His hands and feet. Remember, He already knows the culture better than we ever will.

If you are a Christian, will the gates of heaven be shut on you if you choose to listen to secular music? No. Music doesn't save you. Is God going to turn His back on you? Absolutely not. However, music can change you and can influence you in ways you may not be aware of. "Be careful little ears what you hear." Ephesians 5:9-11 says, "For you were once darkness, but now you are the light of the Lord. Live as children of light and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them." Why not let the power of music influence you to worship and adore your Creator? Isn't He worth it? "I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted." Exodus 15:1

Watch this video (RT: @TMinistry - Discern Wisely). It is an hour long, but will bring to light just how powerful music can be.

My Strong Tower

"God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear...." Psalm 46:1,2

I sat in the presence of a mighty, loving God last night who answered my call.

I woke up at about 1:45 a.m. sweating and with an awful sense of fear overwelming me. I had awaken from a dream - one that was very dark, demonic, and straight out of a horror film. (I don't watch that garbage, so this was out of the ordinary for me.) Even though I was awake, and I was not in the midst of the dream anymore, I felt an enormous amount of fear. What I was afraid of, I don't even know. I felt like I needed to get up, pray, and read my Bible to push through this fear, because fear is NOT of God....it is straight from the enemy of our souls. I have dealt with fear like this before, fear that I had worked myself up into, but this time it was different - It felt like someone had taken a big heavy piece of metal named "fear" and placed it on my shoulders, and I just couldn't throw it off of me. As silly as it sounds, I felt like Satan was standing over me, pushing down on the metal and laughing at how pitiful I looked.

I sat in the living room, in tears, praying for my Father to comfort me and release me from the stronghold of fear. I looked up and asked, "please speak to me," and opened my Bible.

I opened right to Psalm 46:

"God is our refuge and strength,

A very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear,

Even though the earth be removed,

And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;

Though its waters roar and be troubled,

Though the mountains shake with its swelling.

There is a river whose streams shall made glad the city of God,

The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High,

God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;

God shall help her, just as the break of dawn.

The nations raged , the kingdoms were moved

He uttered His voice, the earth melted.

The Lord of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our refuge.

Come behold the works of the Lord,

Who has made desolations in the earth.

He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;

He burns the chariot in the fire.

Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted amont the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!

The Lord of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our refuge."

Coincidence? Nonbelievers would say so. I, however, felt the presence of my Father last night like no other time. In a book of 1189 chapters, I find it hard to believe that I coincidentally fell onto this Psalm at this particular moment of need. The song, "Strong Tower" by Kutless immediately came to mind after reading it. My love for my Father was magnified by 100 after this encounter with Him. The fear was removed from me, and I crawled in bed and fell right back to sleep. Take that, Satan!

What I learned from this incident is that God is bigger than anything that may have a stronghold over you and is keeping you from walking in fullness with Him - fear, anger, impatience, unkindness, addiction, lust, whatever it may be. You fill in the blank. Many may know this, but many aren't humble enough to go before Him. Once you realize you are just a mere, weak soul without the power of Christ, chains will finally be broken and life will be restored.

You need Him. Period.