...and they fell facedown...

"There's no place on Earth like being facedown before the God of the universe..." - LOUIS GIGLIO

There's nowhere else in this world you can go and no better heart surgeon on this planet than the presence of God. I consider myself fortunate to have a gift of music. I love to go to my keyboard and worship...just playing some chords quietly and reflecting on where I've been, where I am and where God is in relation to all that.

If you have not had the pleasure of experiencing David Crowder Band's new CD/DVD "REMEDY", I highly encourage it. The opening song is such a powerful call to worship. The chords are rising, the drums are driving, there's the repetition and the feeling that we are ascending the hill of the Lord. The chords make sense and they lead us to a place that we want to go. David opens with the line "I'm trying to make you sing from inside where you believe...", thus the call of a minstrel or worship leader put into effect. The understanding of the power of God, the power of music, and the unimaginable power of the two combined that requires a thought and response and revelation of God, that is of worship; worship to Him, of Him, and for Him. This is not a commentary on the new DCB album (sorry Sandy), but rather the acknowledgement of music in our lives, and how God uses it to change our hearts. After all, music tames the savage beast.

Jubal was the first documentation of a musician in the Bible. He is credited with being the father of all those who played instruments. What was it INSIDE him that desired to hear that sound? What was it that simple conversation was not enough? What message was there that could not be communicated any other way other than to get on the harp, lyre or flute and make these new noises? It was the "thing" inside. The spirit of God poured into man in such a way that the only response was this "bubbling" over of a new language and the desire to create a new voice-box. Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of lights, from above. This gift of music is a gift that crosses boundaries, languages, races, gender and denomination. Even those that do not believe in instruments in the church still have the hunger and desire to use their voices for God, to sing out and up to glorify Him.

The most intense, powerful worship service I have been a part of (to this day) was one sung in Spanish. I didn't understand a single word and so sang my own song. As long as I continued to hear the words Dios and Hey-soos I knew I was o.k.!

He who hands clean hands and a pure heart will ascend the hill of the Lord. Jacob had a dream of angels ascending and descending a ladder to Heaven. The stairway to Heaven was evident long before Led Zeppelin's acknowledgement. There is an ascension of our spirits that has to occur...and even in this, God still has to descend to meet us. The blessing is that He actually will. The ascension is facilitated, sometimes, by listening to music that glorifies Him. The rising of the major and minor chords, delicately played at the right time, the sounds of the voices rising in response to an undying God, the hum of a group singing thanks to a God that has never failed a single one of them, the ethereal sounds of cymbals and drums being struck and the Word of God in your heart causes action. The action is worship. The action is a response to the revelation of who God is. The revelation comes through His working in and through you. Elijah found the revelation to be in a whisper; Moses found the revelation to be in a bush burning but not consumed; even Belshazzar found the revelation in the handwriting on the wall.

Give God a chance to reveal Himself to you, either through this blog, through a co-worker or through personal prayer time. Allow Him to lift your spirit, allow Him to fix your hurt, allow Him to bless your obedience, allow Him to consume your life.