Music has been around since the beginning of time. Archaeologists have uncovered flutes made of clay and ivory that date back tens of thousands of years. In the 1950s, clay tablets containing what is thought to be the oldest known piece of music, “Hurrian Hymn No. 6,” an ode to the Canaanite goddess Nikkal, were excavated in Ugarit, Syria. On Christmas Eve in 1906, transmitted from Brant Rock, Massachusetts, Reginald Fessenden played “O Holy Night” on the violin in what is thought to be the first radio broadcast containing music.

What began as a locally televised music performance show hosted by Bob Horn on WFIL-TV, Channel 6 in Philadelphia in October 1952, became a nationally broadcast show on this day sixty one years ago: American Bandstand, hosted by Dick Clark, airing on ABC at 3:30 PM. Do you know the first song played on that first show? For those of you old enough to remember, both Elvis (1956) and the Beatles (1964) were introduced to the world on The Ed Sullivan Show. Casey Kasem hosted a Top 40 countdown show on the radio for close to forty years.

Needless to say, music and singing is a big part of our lives. We listen to music as we workout, while house cleaning, in the car, at concerts, wedding receptions, and most any other time and place, appropriate or otherwise. Music is about us, about how it makes you feel. Music often transports us back in time. Every time I hear “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” by The Tokens, I immediately go back to that first kiss with my then girlfriend, now wife Robyn. There is a genre or a song that speaks to every person. Since the first note was played, music has made us feel good. Sadly, today there are also genres that seem to invoke violence, hatred, discord.

There is one genre of music however that is not about us. This music is about the One it is being sung to. Worship music is intended not just to make us happy, but rather, it is the love song of our hearts sung to God. We are transported into the presence of God through worship music; music birthed from hearts hungry for God. The question isn’t “Did I like this song?” Instead, the proper question is, “Did God like it?”

John Wimber, founder of the Vineyard Movement, who was himself a musician, stressed that worship is not about us but about God, it is not “getting something” from worship, it is us giving to God because he is worthy of our praise.  

The scriptures are filled with references to singing to God. Psalm 95 begins this way, “Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.” And the first verse of Psalm 96, “Oh sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.”        

So I ask you today, is your heart of worship focused on you or upon the One worthy to be praised? Changing your focus really does make all the difference!

Okay now for the answer you’ve been waiting for. The first song played on American Bandstand’s national television debut on August 5, 1957, was Jerry Lee Lewis’ rockabilly version of “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.”   

There is so much these days to cause us anxiety and fear. Earlier this week, not too far from where I live, a fourteen-year old girl stabbed her older sister in the neck with a large knife, killing her. What would drive a kid to do that? Some of what causes us stress is not single events (like the murder I just referenced), but instead, stuff that just seems to drip, drip, drip. Maybe you wonder, “Will this pandemic ever go away. Will things ever get back to some sense of normalcy?” I venture to guess that not a day goes by where something doesn’t leave us shocked, saddened, angry, anxious, fearful.

We spend our days worrying and fretting, often times needlessly and none of us are immune to bad things happening; some of it life changing, other times not so much. But in either case, we experience some degree of negative feelings and emotions. It could be a family member is one of the half million Americans who have died from COVID-19. As you were ready to leave work for the day your boss called you into her office and told you that your hours were being reduced due to the company’s declining sales, leaving you worried about how you will be able to pay for your daughter’s upcoming wedding. Your son sits on the bench while the coach’s son gets to play all the innings, even though “everyone knows your kid is the best player on the team.”  

[Let me briefly pause and say that I am in no way diminishing any struggles you might be facing, whether they are big or small, or those times when you have reason to have legitimate fears and concerns.]

Regardless of the severity of what is causing anxiety, worry or fear, we are clearly called in Scripture to be prayerful rather than be consumed by undue concern. In Philippians 4:6-7 we read – “Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life” (MSG).

And not only are we told to pray, we are also supposed to worship and trust God, even when we don’t really feel like it – “Though the cherry trees don’t blossom and the strawberries don’t ripen, Though the apples are worm-eaten and the wheat fields stunted, Though the sheep pens are sheepless and the cattle barns empty, I’m singing joyful praise to GOD. I’m turning cartwheels of joy to my Savior God. Counting on GOD’s Rule to prevail, I take heart and gain strength. I run like a deer. I feel like I’m king of the mountain!” (Habakkuk 3:17-19, MSG).

So, today, even if your cherry trees aren’t blooming or are frozen in the ice, ask Jesus to replace the worry and anxiousness you have with the calm and peace that only He can bring!

All throughout life we seek direction. Your parents gave you direction from the moment they brought you home from the hospital, sometimes even well into adulthood. Teachers and coaches give direction. Bosses give direction. Pastors give direction. If you are traveling, you input your destination into your navigational device. Or if you are old school, you look at a roadmap. There are an endless number of books that provide guidance on just about anything you need help with. I recently was at a local bookstore and right there on display, “Sex for Dummies, 4^th Edition.” Really? Google any topic and you’ll probably find many websites claiming to offer insight and direction into just about any subject you can imagine. Sometimes the direction we get is solicited, other times, we get it without even asking for it. Some people are just lifelong “advice-givers.” Know anyone like that?   

Regardless of the source of the direction or advice given to us, sometimes that direction is flawed, short-sided, done so with selfish motives, or just downright bad advice. Sometimes what appeared to be good advice ends up being not so good. There are also times we choose to ignore the advice of others. These days we are suspicious of most advice, and we don’t always trust the advice we are given, even from reliable sources. 

On the other hand, when you go to God for His direction, you can trust the answer 100% of the time. In order for you to hear God’s direction, you need to surrender your heart to seeking His ways not your ways (James 4:3), you need ask according to His will (1 John 5:14-15), and often times, you simply need to wait for His answer (Isaiah 64:4).

Scripture is full of verses that make it clear that God desires to give us His plan, His direction for our lives. In Psalm 32:8 we find this – “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”

Think of a time when someone did not heed your advice. Think of the consequences, knowing that things could have been different for them if only they would have listened to you. When we turn our backs on God and ignore the plans He desires for us, we also often face consequences. The prophet Isaiah, speaking on behalf of the Lord, says this to disobedient Israel – “I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your well-being like the waves of the sea” (48:17b-18).

Let me end with this … God’s word, His wisdom, is your roadmap for life. We find this in Isaiah 55:9-11 – “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.’”

I am not much of a thrill seeker. I have no desire to step out of a perfectly safe airplane or jump off a cliff tethered to a harness only secured by a rubber band. Fast motorcycles, not my cup of tea either. I do however like roller coasters, so long as the lap bar keeps me safe and secure in my seat. Let me explain.
 
When Robyn and I were dating we often went to Dorney Park in Allentown, Pennsylvania, which was near her hometown. We enjoyed riding the wooden roller coaster known then simply as the Coaster. It has since been renamed the Thunderhawk; built in 1924 by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, the most predominant manufacturer of roller coasters in the United States.

One beautiful summer evening we boarded the ride as we had done many times. We sat in the first car. Prior to the ride leaving the station, the attendant checked that all the lap bars were locked into place. We snuck a quick kiss as the coaster began its chug up the first hill. Near the top we heard a click and suddenly our lap bar unlocked. We looked at one another with fear in our eyes as we anticipated being thrown from the car as it sped down the first hill. Needless to say, we survived, no worse for the wear, and it makes for a great story.

Once, some years later, when a gang of us were at Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, Pennsylvania, for our annual camping trip, several of us dads decided to ride the Phoenix as many times as we could without getting off. I think we rode it six or seven consecutive times until the ride attendant made us exit the ride. Just let me say, I would not recommend riding a roller coaster that many times in a row. 
 
Life is like a roller coaster. One minute you are slowly chugging up the hill and then the next minute you are plummeting down the other side at breakneck speed with the g-forces pushing you into your seat. Then, all of a sudden you whip around a turn, being lifted out of your seat (that moment coaster enthusiasts call “air time”), feeling if you are about to be launched into the air. Soon thereafter, the ride comes to a screeching halt, you jerk forward before being snapped back into your seat. You get off dazed and dizzy only to get in line once again. Sound familiar?
 
While life constantly changes like the the movements of an amusement park ride, and we tend to be happy or sad, excited or discouraged, or energized or exhausted based upon whether the roller coaster of life is traveling up the hill, down the hill, or flying around a turn, one thing remains the same through it all, and that one thing this – God is forever loving, faithful and unchanging. The theological word is “immutable,” which simply means “not changing or unable to change.”
 
There are many references in Scripture to the immutability of God. One such reference is found in Hebrews 13:7 – “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” 

In Malachi 3:6, God affirms, “I the LORD do not change.” [The context of this verse is that while unfaithful Israel deserved annihilation (Numbers 18:32), survival is not due to their own merit. Quite the opposite; the only reason they have not been wiped out like Edom (Malachi 1:1-4) is because God is faithful, He does not change, His promises are eternal (Hebrews 6:13-20).]
 
So, whether you are slowly chugging up the incline or rapidly speeding down the hill, whipping around a turn, being pushed into your seat, or lifted out of your seat, you can be assured that while life’s lap bar does occasionally come unlocked, failing to keep you safe, in God, through Jesus, you always have a safe and steadfast anchor for your soul. (Re-read Hebrews 6:13-20.)

 

 

[Before reading today’s post, I encourage you to find my post from yesterday and start there.]

When is the last time you said to yourself that you have too much – too much money, too much love, too much success, too much time, etc.? I am sure most of you have never said that, not even once. But on the contrary, many of us see ourselves as not having enough. You say if I only had more money, more friends, more time, more energy, more influence, more education, and maybe even more trust in God. You see yourself as not having enough. We limit what we do because we don’t think we have enough, and we don’t think we don’t have what it takes. Often we feel under-supplied, under-funded, and under-trained. And we convince ourselves that we just don’t have enough. Right now, Robyn and I don’t feel like we have enough energy to do the things we want to do.   

While the culture often tells us that we don’t have enough – isn’t that the underlying theme of most advertising – God, on the other hand, tells us that in and through Him, we will always have enough. You are probably familiar with a story found in all four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) in which five loaves of bread and two fish feeds a very large crowd. We are told the people ate until they were satisfied, and that there were leftovers. This story, while it does involve a miracle performed by Jesus, more directly points to the source of the miracle more than the miracle itself – it points to Jesus as being both our source and our provider. 

There is a similar story found in the Old Testament, this one, just as yesterday’s post, is found in 1 Kings Chapter 17 in which the prophet Elijah has an interaction with a poor widow who barely has enough flour and oil to make bread for herself and her son. Elijah instructs this widow to make him a small loaf of bread and then to go home and make a meal for herself and her son, promising that the jar of flour would not be used up and the jug of oil won’t not run dry.  

This woman was probably very confused, worrying about the scarcity she sees, yet she went away and did as Elijah told her. The story tells us they all ate for many days. Pretty cool, right! Well, the story does not end there. Here is what we read in verse 16 – “For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.”

Did you get that? There was flour and oil left over! What at first appeared to be not enough, then looked to be just enough, was in fact more than enough. 

(To read this story in context, see 1 Kings 17:8-16.)

What does all this mean? It is about trust and obedience. This story is really nothing more than when you say, “I can’t do that,” God says, “Yes, you can!” It is about looking to God, through His Son Jesus, as your endless source and your faithful provider.

God wants you to offer everything you have, and everything you are, to Him, even if it is nothing more than a handful of flour or little jar of oil.

Where do you need God to make your not enough more than enough? What He did for the widow He can do for you too!

So, today, will you trust God’s promise of “more than enough” rather than your “not enough”? It starts just as it did for the widow… “And she went and did as Elijah said” (v.15).

Think back to time in your life when something in your life, maybe without warning, dried up. Everything was running smoothly, then suddenly, the wheels fall off. Maybe you had a job you really enjoyed for twenty years, in fact you had recently been promoted to manager, when suddenly one day your boss walks in and tells your job has been eliminated. After gathering up your personal belongings you quietly leave by the back door, saying to yourself, “didn’t see that coming.” Or maybe you unexpectedly get diagnosed with cancer, leaving you bent over gasping for air. I am sure in either case you ask God, “Why?” I propose that maybe a better question to ask is, “God, what are You doing in and through this situation? What are You teaching me?”

As God leads us on the journey He has for us, He opens and closes doors, trying to lead us in the right direction. God doesn’t ask us for our opinion, nor does He really have much interest in our opinion. God’s one desire is for us to be obedient, even when it doesn’t make sense.

Let’s look at a story found in the Old Testament – 1 Kings chapter 17 begins with the prophet Elijah announcing that because King Ahab “did more to arouse the anger of the LORD than all the kings of Israel before him (16:33)” a severe drought would come upon the land. God instructs Elijah to leave town and hide in the Kerith Ravine. God also tells him that the ravens will bring him food and the brook will supply his drinking water. The text (v.6) tells us that he had plenty to eat and drink. The word “kerith” means hidden. Elijah was cut off from the rest of the world. Sometimes God has us in a hidden place, cut off from life so we can rely solely on Him.

However, shortly thereafter, the wheels seemed to fall off. We read this in v.7, “Sometime later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.” I am sure that Elijah questioned God. But God had a plan. He sent Elijah to the town of Zarephath; and it was there that he had an encounter with a poor widow in which the LORD turns what appeared to be not enough into more than enough, not only for Elijah but also for woman and her son. Check back tomorrow for that story 1 Kings 17:8:24.

What nugget of truth can we take away from Elijah’s Kerith Ravine experience? It was in that secluded place that Elijah had to rely solely on God’s provisions. And it was in his time of solitude, cut off from the world around him, that Elijah received divine instructions.

So, today, when your brook dries up, when the wheels fall off, know that your faithful and loving God is using it to grow you and make you more like His Son, Jesus, fully dependent on Him. And it might also just be in those moments that you hear His voice more easily.