Sing! Sing a Song!

I have a blog earlier that I talk about listening to Christian radio and the impact that it made on me. I hope that you have read all of these blogs in order so far, because if you haven’t, you may be scratching your head or a few other places, wondering how this all fits. So if you need to, go back and review the entire blogs that I have posted. If you’re up to date, come on, let’s go explore more about music and song.

There is a book in the bible called “Psalms” that has the most chapters in it of any book in the bible. I would think that tells us that music and singing are pretty important to God. And not the same old music over and over either. Some churches get caught up in singing 20-30 hymns that they are comfortable with, and everyone can sing them from memory. Here’s where a big problem lies. The words become just that. Words. People sing them as they always have, without any enthusiasm, just hoping that the song leader will skip one of the verses. My grandfather used to tell me, “Boy, be glad you are not the third verse in a song, because most churches will skip right over you!” Sadly in our Baptist church where I was raised, this was the truth. Never figured that one out. People just wanted to sing and get it over with. Problem being, I don’t think God ever heard a word we sang. Why should He? We were bored with it, so you know He wasn’t too thrilled either.

God wants us to sing praises to Him. (see earlier blog for background). We should lift up our voices as though it was God standing in the pulpit, telling Him in our sincere voices how much we love Him, honor Him and glorify Him. It doesn’t matter if the only way you can sing on key is to stand on the set of keys that you brought with you. God listens to your heart. He listens to how you sing. Do you mean it? Are you serious in the words that are spilling forth?

I love Praise and Worship music. I also love some of the old hymns, except for one “Give me that old time religion” ([that’s the problem, some people only have religion] another blog, or maybe this one later on). I had a person tell me when I started out leading music in church that the only songs we should sing were from the Hymnal. Anything else couldn’t be from God. I opened up the bible, turned to Psalms, and told him, “If you only want songs that we know are ordained by God, I don’t think you’ll find any of those in your hymnal listed here.” He never brought that one up again. Maybe that is one thing I like about P&W. Most are Psalms that are put to music. We don’t know what music was used in the singing of the Psalms originally. And it doesn’t matter. What matters are the words! So SING! If the others around you don’t like it, bring them earplugs next Sunday. They’re cheap! Pour your heart out with a melody, or harmony, or whatever flies out between the lips.

We’ve looked at what it takes to worship, and how we can do it in our churches and our lives today. Will it be awkward at first? Probably. Will others possibly stare at you? Probably. But are you there to worship them, or are you there to worship God? If you’re there to worship God, it won’t matter what the others think. You won’t even realize anyone else is around you.

Start to worship! Start to praise! Start to pray! Let’s get back to Christianity, instead of just having church. Let’s have Christ. Let’s have ourselves be Christ like.

One thing I want to take a minute and say before I continue. Do you know the God that I have talked about? Have you ever asked God to forgive you of your sins? Do you believe that Jesus died on the cross to save you from your sins? If not, a lot of what you have read is probably foreign to you right now. But if you feel something inside of you, tugging on you, maybe even making your tummy draw up in knots, it’s the Holy Spirit telling you it’s time. Quit trying to live life on your own. You’ve got someone who can guide you, protect you, comfort you, and give you a reason to live, not just in this world, but in the next one to come in Heaven! Do you want this for your life?

Say this prayer: (and mean what you say!)

God, I understand that I am a sinner. I want to have You in my life. I thank You for sending your only Son to die for me on the cross. I want to surrender my life to you. Please come into my life, forgive my sins, and make me a new person. I love you Lord, and I promise to praise your name forever. Amen

There. You did it. Is this the first time that you have ever prayed this? If so, you are now a Christian. See, not a church member. Church membership doesn’t have anything to do with being a Christian. As a matter of a fact, a lot of church members will never even see the Kingdom of Heaven. They have to be saved, just like what you did. Now, find a church where you can learn more about God. Make sure that it is a Christian church. Denominational or not, that is your choice. Find one where you are comfortable worshipping. There are a lot of styles out there, so keep searching until you are where you are supposed to be. And ask God to guide you to the church where you belong! That will be your first step towards learning to work with God, and not against Him. (trust me, you’ll get more accomplished.)

If I can ever be of help in any way, please feel free to contact me @ moreland.keith@yahoo.com and I will be glad to answer any of your questions, or help guide you in your journey.

God bless and until the next blog, Shalom!