Two Sausage Biscuits

Two Sausage Biscuits
Tuesday, December 23, 2008

My normal morning routine consists of waking up and spending around ten or fifteen minutes in prayer before a shower.  This morning, I felt impressed to go ahead and get ready to go quickly and (oddly enough) go by Hardee's to get two sausage biscuits.  Hmm.  OK, Lord.

It took me a while to get ready and gather the trash, but I was soon off to Hardee's "on a mission from God" (you gotta love the Blues Brothers).  As I drove, I wondered, "Who is this for?  How am I going to know when and where I need to deliver these sausage biscuits?  I'm listening, Lord."  I felt impressed that I was to get two sausage biscuits plus whatever else I wanted.

When I arrived at the restaurant, I observed what appeared to be a 15 or 16 year old young black man serving another customer at the cash register.  When it was my turn to place my order, I asked for two sausage biscuits...plus a Frisco ham & egg sandwich and orange juice. 

As I told the cashier what I wanted, I realized it was not a young man but a young woman.  I had no major revelation from God about her.  There was no word of knowledge, so we just chatted while she prepared my order.  I noticed on the way in the door a sign that said "Santa's little helpers...Hardee's will be open Christmas Day." 

I asked her, "Are you working Christmas?"

"Yeah..." and she let out a little sigh.

"Bummer!"

"I guess so, but it's not that bad."

"Extra hours, huh?

"Exactly.  At least I'll get a little more money from it."

"Yeah, that's got to be about the only good thing.  Maybe you'll have some really nice customers."

"Hope so!"

"Hey, you know this whole Christmas thing is for you, don't you?"

"What?"

"It's for you.  Jesus came for YOU."

"Wow...I guess He did.  I've never heard anybody put it that way before, but now that you say that, you're right."

"You know God loves you?  And Jesus came for you.  If you didn't need Him, He wouldn't have come."

She slowly handed me my breakfast and my two sausage biscuits.

"Are you traveling somewhere?"  She must not have recognized me as a regular patron.

"No," I answered.  "I'm just heading in to work."

"Oh, OK.  Do you want any jelly for your biscuits?"

"No, thanks."

"Have a Merry Christmas," she said with what seemed like a little more thought than normally afforded for a Christmas greeting.

"Merry Christmas to you too," I responded.  She turned back to the cash register to serve the next customer.

Traditional methods of personal evangelism, from my perspective, usually aim to produce either acceptance of Jesus and a prayer of salvation or a rejection of Jesus at some point in the conversation.  I'm not sure how I would have done that in this situation, but I believe this cashier received at least a little reminder of God's love.  Maybe our conversation was like a gentle rain giving water to a growing seed, the eventual fruit from which will be salvation for this cashier.

My prayer is that the love of God expressed through me would warm this cashier's heart to the Gospel.  Maybe I'm not the one lined up to bring the harvest of this person into the Kingdom, but I hope my interaction readies her heart to receive salvation.

Call to Fasting and Prayer in 2008 - Fast-Day in Virginia in 1774

Greetings!

Today, I want to pass along a message that is relevant to us all (in the United States). We must be in prayer for this election. Take these ideas to heart...and take ACTION.

Be blessed!

Andy Johnston, Facilitator

musicsharegroup@gmail.com

http://musicsharegroup.blogspot.com

Dear Friends,

It seems as if every election we hear the words, "This is the most important election in…" I am sure I have been guilty of such statements in the past. Today, I don't believe I am going out on a limb when I say that this election is one of the most important of my lifetime, and possibly the most important.

Our nation is divided in so many ways. We see division in our churches, we see it politically, we see it socially and economically. We even see it in our families, as we now have so many single parent households. We have become a nation where most people are doing "what is right in their own eyes." This has become our "way." Truth is under attack, and deceit is coming from all sides where people are desperately trying to prove any point.

Friends, a house divided cannot stand!

Our way is destroying us. We live in the greatest nation on the face of the earth. We are and have always been a Christian nation. Yet, as Christians, we have stood by and allowed the world to divide us. We have become lethargic and act like a people defeated instead of a people who "can do all things through Christ who strengthens us." This election is about much more than politics. It is our future. Are we as Christians going to continue to stand by and allow our nation to be stolen from us?

John Quincy Adams, one of our founding fathers, said, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." There are many things that can be said of our leaders in government, however “moral” and “religious” are two words that I would not use to describe most of them. It is imperative that we elect people who are moral and religious and who are willing to speak truth. People who are willing to stand up for what is right even at great personal cost. People who truly want to serve their fellow man and this country. Not people who lust for power and will let nothing stand in the way of their personal ambitions. This is especially true of the 2008 presidential election.

One event or one election did not take us to this moment in time where fear, selfishness and division rule. One event or one election will not get us out of it. Our Christian faith in action is the only thing that will make a difference.

2 Chronicles 7:13 "If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, 14 and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”

Our ONLY hope is in the Lord. It is time for us to unite in prayer and fasting for our future and for the future of our kids. We need to pray for this nation, pray for unity, pray that each and every candidate for office (local, state and federal) will come to know the Lord personally and base their decisions on the Living Word and the wisdom of God. Pray that all deceit will be exposed, no matter the source. Pray that truth will find the light of day. Pray that each and every candidate be willing to set aside personal desires, ambition and philosophy for the good of this nation and its people. Pray that the people of this nation set aside selfishness, greed and personal ambition. Pray that the people of this nation will humble themselves before the Lord and each other, that “at the name of Jesus every knee will bow… and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:10-11)

THIS IS A CALL TO ARMS!!! It is time for Christians to take a stand. I ask you to pray and fast with me over the election as you feel the Lord lead you. I specifically ask you to fast and pray on Sunday, November 2nd. I ask you to set this day apart as a day of fasting, a day to humble yourself before the Lord and each other. I ask you to pray devoutly to implore God to avert the heavy calamity which threatens destruction to our economic future and our civil rights. Pray against the evils of division. Pray that the Lord give us one heart and one mind firmly to oppose, by all just and proper means, every injury to our Christian and our American rights, and that the minds of our elected officials may be inspired from above with wisdom, moderation, and justice, to remove from the loyal people of America all cause of danger from a continual pursuit of measures pregnant to their ruin.

Strong words. I wish I could claim credit. The inspiration for these words comes from a book my friend and co-worker Andy recently purchased titled The Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States by Benjamin F. Morris. This book is inspiring and a reminder of what can happen when we take a stand, and what can happen when we fast and pray and humble ourselves before God. I have provided a portion of Chapter 22, “Fast and Thanksgiving Days,” pages 652 to 654.

RISE UP AMERICA and BE STRONG IN THE LORD.

Imagine what a difference we can make if the Christian community set aside our differences and united in fasting and prayer. Anything is possible! Please use this e-mail or any other means to implore your family and friends to fast and pray. Imagine what could happen if instead of eating lunch on Sunday, we all shared communion instead. That is my plan personally. I beg you to join me!

Yours in Christ,

Bob Erwin

bob@leeresources.com

Greenwood, SC

Fast-Day in Virginia in 1774

At the beginning of the great conflict for liberty and an independent nationality and government, Mr. Jefferson—who, whatever were his peculiar views of the Christian system, always acknowledged the government and providence of God in national affairs—recommended in Virginia the appointment and observance of a day of public prayer and humiliation. In June, 1774, when the news of the Boston Port Bill reached Virginia, the Colonial Legislature, then in session, appointed such a fast-day for that colony. Mr. Jefferson’s account of it is as follows—

We were under the conviction of the necessity of arousing our people from the lethargy into which they had fallen as to passing events, and thought that the appointment of a day of general fasting and prayer would be most likely to call up and alarm their attention. No example of such solemnities had existed since the days of our distresses in the war of ‘55—since which a new generation had grown up. With the help, therefore, of Rushworth, whom we rummaged over for the resolutionary precedents and forms of the Puritans of that day, preserved by him, we made up a resolution, somewhat modernizing their phrases, for appointing the 1st day of June, on which the Port Bill was to commence, for a day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer, to implore Heaven to avert from us the evils of civil war, to inspire us with firmness in support of our rights, and to turn the hearts of the king and Parliament to moderation and justice.

To give greater emphasis to our proposition, we agreed to wait the next morning on Mr. Nicholas, whose grave and religious character was more in unison with the tone of our resolution, and solicit him to move it. We accordingly went to him in the morning. He moved it the same day. The 1st of June was proposed, and it passed without opposition. The Governor dissolved us. We returned home, and in our several counties invited the clergy to meet the assemblies of the people on the 1st of June, to perform the ceremonies of the day and to address them in discourses suited to the occasion. The people met generally, with anxiety and alarm in their countenances; and the effect of the day through the whole colony was like a shock of electricity, arousing every man and placing him erect and solidly on his centre.

Washington, then a member of the House of Burgesses, sent a special message to his family and constituents to observe this day; and Mason, a distinguished patriot, also a member, “charged his household to keep the day strictly, and to attend church clad in mourning.”

WILLIAMSBURG, May 30, 1774

The House of Burgesses of Virginia, on the 24th of May, adopted the following resolution, which was directed to he forthwith printed and published—

Tuesday, 25th of May, 14th George III., 1774.

This House, being deeply impressed with apprehension of the great dangers to be derived to British America from the hostile invasion of the city of Boston, in our sister colony of Massachusetts Bay, whose commerce and harbor are on the 1st day of June next to be stopped by an armed force, deem it highly necessary that the said 1st day of June be set apart by the members of this House as a day of fasting, humiliation, and prayer, devoutly to implore the Divine interposition for averting the heavy calamity which threatens destruction to our civil rights, and the evils of civil war, to give us one heart and one mind firmly to oppose, by all just and proper means, every injury to American rights, and that the minds of his Majesty and his Parliament may be inspired from above with wisdom, moderation, and justice, to remove from the loyal people of America all cause of danger from a continual pursuit of measures pregnant to their ruin.
Ordered, therefore, That the members of this House do attend in their places, at the hour of ten in the forenoon, on the said 1st day of June next, in order to proceed, with the Speaker and mace, to the church in the city, for the purpose aforesaid; and that the Reverend Mr. Price be appointed to read prayers and to preach a sermon suitable to the occasion.

By the House of Burgesses,
George Wythe, C. H. B.

Source: The Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States by Benjamin F. Morris. Pages 652 – 654. Published May 2007 by American Vision, Inc. Available for purchase at www.americanvision.com.

What would Theodore Roosevelt think? (Off topic)

Greetings!

Politics are definitely off-topic for this musician-oriented blog. But, since I'm writing, I've decided to make an exception! Actually, this post deals more with our culture than our political landscape. I found it enlightening and I thought it was worthy of a place on this blog because we're all impacted by the changes in our culture.

The title of the article is "TR - Where RU?" and the writer, Rick Marschall examines our political and cultural climate in the light of more than a few quotes from Theodore Roosevelt. I believe we need to recapture a moral consciousness in our country. It seems that we would do well to learn from the wisdom of this great American, Theodore Roosevelt.

TR - Where RU?
By Rick Marschall

Oct 27: the sesquicentennial of Theodore Roosevelt's birth. Many things changed in America during TR's lifetime: he was born 150 years ago, just before the Civil War commenced, and died just after World War I ended. When he became president, the Wright Brothers had not yet flown their fragile craft; in the War to End All Wars, TR's youngest son Quentin was killed in an aerial dogfight over the French battlefields.

It is a tired cliché, though no less true for it, that the changes that have occurred over 150 years have been astonishing, perhaps without parallel in history. My friend Wade Mainer, the country music pioneer, is approaching his 102nd birthday, and he finds more people asking him about the days before radio and TV (or rural electricity) than about his musical influence on American folk arts.

Somehow people gravitate toward the tangible aspects of life when they wonder about changes - the comforts, the appliances and conveniences, the gadgets. Perhaps it is harder to grasp (and certainly more troubling to process the implications of) intellectual, spiritual, and sociological changes. Wade, born in 1907, grew up in a very different America than we know.

To a greater extent, Theodore Roosevelt might scarcely recognize the America of 150 years since his birth. To the extent he would recognize it, he would grieve - and likely be incensed by - the nation we have become.

If TR had not been a US president, he would yet be prominent in American history for any of a number of achievements. He was a first-rank historian; several of his works remain the standard works in their fields. He was a world-class naturalist, a specialist in obscure areas like bird calls and protective coloration; he discovered species and collected specimens for the American Museum of Natural History, where a wing is now dedicated to him, and charted an unknown river in Brazil under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution. He was an authentic cowboy during the short-lived period when there were real cowboys in a real Wild West. He rode ranges for days at a time, herding cattle, and once tracked and captured a trio of horse thieves. As Assistant Secretary of the Navy before the Spanish-American War, he ordered the Pacific Fleet to Manila, thus setting up the greatest naval victory in American hi story; when war was declared he volunteered and led his regiment, the Rough Riders, up San Juan Hill in the most colorful battle of that short but decisive war. Criticized as a warmonger, he was extremely proud of the fact that none one bullet was fired in conflict during his presidency... and he was the first American to win the Nobel Peace Prize. As a hunter he pursued game for sport, food, skins, and study; as an outdoorsman he advocated for the environment, and as president set aside millions and millions of acres of wondrous parklands for protection and posterity.

But TR was president, one of our best. If he was not the greatest president, the reason might be that there were no major crises during his tenure, and that might be due to his own foresight and leadership. Yet he possibly was the greatest man who served as president. "The Most Interesting American" was one of many descriptions showered on Theodore Roosevelt, but he likely would have said there was no greater compliment than simply to be called an American.

TR has become, with Lincoln, the favorite president to name as a favorite: JFK, Reagan, Clinton, Bush, and McCain all hailed Theodore Roosevelt as a role-model. Remarkable: across the aisle, across the spectrum, across the years. Yet despite the praise heaped upon him, TR would scorn most aspects of American society today and, possibly, scorn today's leadership class and their policies.

On this 150th anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt's birth I will let this assertion stand against not the cartoons and photographs in our history books, nor the dates and honors in his biography. TR's forceful words - always carefully composed, and colorfully clear - are the best records of his core beliefs. They serve as advice to an America that is changed indeed from the one he left us - a measure, surely, of changes: changes made and changes needed.

An overlooked aspect of Theodore Roosevelt is his spiritual side and the essential component, he believed, of America's well-being:

"We are the citizens of a mighty Republic consecrated to the service of God above, through the service of man on this earth. We are the heirs of a great heritage bequeathed to us by statesmen who saw with the eyes of seer and prophet. We must not prove false to the memories of the nation's past.... Let us care, as is right, for the things of the body; but let us show even more that we care for the things of the soul."

One of TR's scores of books was titled Fear God and Take Your Own Part; another was Foes of Our Own Household, its title taken from Matthew 10:36. He is credited with creating the term Muckraker, describing corruption-watchdogs; yet he was quoting Bunyan's Christian classic, The Pilgrim's Progress, portraying the man with the muck-rake as one who cynically looks down in the mire rather than raising his eyes to the positive and encouraging truths. It is fair to say that if, in TR's day, a foreign power would have threatened to outlaw religious expression in America, or ban Bibles and prayers in public places, TR would have mobilized the Rough Riders again to do battle against such outrages. I posit that today, he would seethe no less against a handful of brigands in judge's robes who are systematically imposing thought-control and denying free speech and the exercise of religion in our land.

"We've got to watch out for those who offer to be crooked on our behalf."

Politicians who prattle about the Middle Class should make us suspicious. If they are willing to pander to this one class, patronize another (the "lower class"), and denigrate a third (the "upper class"), members of all classes should lock their doors and hide their pennies. Not forgetting that the ruling class of politicians and media elite are all economic upper-classmen anyway, we should heed TR's observation that anyone willing to suppress one group in order to serve yours, is fully capable and congenitally certain to betray you when the next mood suits. Why do no politicians make the promise to exercise justice to ALL classes? Surely that should be the aim of every public servant. TR called it the Square Deal.

"The distinguishing feature of our American government system is the freedom of the individual; it is quite as important to prevent his being oppressed by many men as it is to save him from the tyranny of one."

TR's reforms cast the government in the role of referee on some issues, but never a womb-to-tomb dictator. Perverted by his distant cousin Franklin and distorted by succeeding generations of Marxians and socialists, the policies of Theodore Roosevelt were formulated to allow individuals to rise or fall according to their own merits and a clear playing field. Americans' current sense of entitlement, fostered by liberals and nanny-state commandants, regards private initiative - and personal responsibility - as shameful opinions deserving criminalization. Usually the people who yell the loudest about "knowing their rights" have never read the Constitution. Terms like "fairness," "privacy," "capitalism," and even "democracy" - and the sins committed in their names, like the "right" to abortion on demand, by opportunistic politicians - are not mentioned in the Constitution. America is a Republic, not a Democracy.

"I despise a man who surrenders his conscience to a multitude as much as I do the one who surrenders it to one man."

Politicians do everything for the taxpayers except get off their backs and stop picking their pockets. TR entered politics when a young man to fight corruption; his first battles as a state legislator in Albany were fighting the system and bosses of his own party. Sometimes he voted against "pork" for his own district, and he reached across the aisle (to a reform governor, Democrat Grover Cleveland) to champion clean-politics measures. Through his life was a practical politician, but also a maverick, even leaving his own party when a presidential nomination was stolen from him. (He ran as an independent, the Progressive, or Bull Moose, candidate - the last time a moose was prominently named in a campaign - and finished second... but ahead of the Republican.) He put country first. And his last political battles were against corruption and high-handed Washington tactics, little changed from the beginning of his career, yet worth the fight. There are parallels to at least a couple of today's candidates...

"Without honesty, popular government is a repulsive farce."

TR prided himself on being able to compromise and accomplish great things. But we should be proud to recognize that he was someone who did not compromise with evil, and never sacrificed his integrity. If he were to return to Washington today, the only place he would find integrity is in a dictionary.

"If on this new continent we merely build another country of great but unjustly divided material prosperity, we shall have done nothing; and we shall do as little if we merely set the greed of envy against the greed of arrogance, and thereby destroy the material well-being of each of us."

Generations of a welfare-state mentality has conditioned Americans to believe the government owes them everything, that health care is a right, that housing is a right, that prosperity is a right. Freedom is a gift from God, not a governmental favor. TR was a student of history, not just a maker of history, and knew the consequences of the National Anthem being displaced by cacophonous whines and demands. He would see - and thunder against! - the inevitable results of a society saturated with rampant drug use and pornography; the suppression of religious expression and promotion of homosexuality; where half the marriages end in divorce and half the babies - those, that is, not the victims of infanticide - are born and raised outside a traditional family unit; where illiteracy is growing, not declining; where obesity is as common as the sniffles (remember his book The Strenuous Life?); where there is an indifference to a virtual invasion of illegal aliens; where students are spectacularly illiterate and lag behind scores of other countries in math and science skills. None of these trends are unique in the history of great civilizations - but every single type of these things contributed to decay, despair, and downfall of previous societies. TR believed America was a special place, but not, however, specially immune from the laws of civilization and decay. Ideas have consequences, he knew, and so do policies.

"Aggressive fighting for the right is the noblest sports the world affords."

This review began with a reminder of TR's spiritual moorings. We can close this birthday celebration with words of his that are more frequently quoted - however just as often ignored, today, to America's shame, and, perhaps, her doom. These were the last words he wrote, delivered to a meeting his death prevented him from addressing:

"There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag, and this excludes the red flag which symbolizes all wars against liberty and civilization, just as much as it excludes any foreign flag of a nation to which we are hostile. We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language, for we intend to see that the crucible turns our people out as Americans, of American nationality, and not as dwellers in a polyglot boarding-house; and we have room for but one soul loyalty, and that loyalty is to the American people."

A nation's destiny cannot turn on one election. If it were so in 2008, may God help America, because we elect men and women, not saviors. And properly so: since we have chosen to operate democratically, we get what we deserve. Under Washington and Lincoln and TR, America, with all its imperfections, happily accepted that dictum. Today, despite all our "progress," getting what we deserve should make us anxious in the extreme.

In every election of my lifetime, I have heard people say - first adults around me; then my peers; finally myself - that they suppose they'll vote for the lesser of two evils. Such are the fruits, evidently, of democracy. If we truly believe that both candidates, or both parties, are evil, we should dissent from the system and decide in some way to be aggressive fighters for the right.

In the meantime, however, it is a screaming necessity to appreciate what we used to have in this nation... to examine every aspect of the mess we're in... and to act, somehow in some way, personally and persuasively, to address the situation. We have squandered the gifts of God; we have dishonored the patriots like TR who nurtured and advanced it. May God help us indeed.

One last word from Theodore Roosevelt on this, his birthday, as the national elections draw nigh: "A vote is somewhat like a rifle - its usefulness depends upon the character of the user."

Rick Marschall
Swartz Creek, MI
AmericaCiv@aol.com

May be reprinted and forwarded without permission

This article was originally published in Rare Jewel Magazine and was distributed via email on October 24, 2008. For more information about Rare Jewel Magazine, you may contact their customer service department:

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Birth Announcement!

Greetings!

I haven't posted lately and here's why:




















Ian Andrew Johnston is here! He was born in the early morning hours of Sunday, October 19, 2008. He weighed 8lb 8oz and was 21 inches long. He was born super fast...the doctor broke her water at 2:16am and he was born at 2:30am. This is our third child. We have a son named Asher (almost 4 years old) and a daughter named Claren (2 and a half).

Life is precious and sweet. God is good! Oh, by the way, I think I'm overdue to write a review of my new guitar (Taylor T5-S1). I also came across some more great free resources that I'll pass along. But for now, I'll spend a few days welcoming Ian into our home.

Be blessed!
Andy Johnston, the Facilitator

musicsharegroup@gmail.com
http://musicsharegroup.blogspot.com

Thoughts on Songwriting, Songwriting Success by Billy Foote

Greetings!

Thoughts on Songwriting
I've had a desire to write songs since I started playing guitar.  In fact, songwriting is a foundational part of the inspiration that led me to learn guitar.  I saw two guys playing guitar and singing an original song at Palmetto Boys State in the summer of 1997, and something within me grabbed hold of that image and said, "I want to do that...I will be able to do that one day!"

Like most creative pursuits, my songwriting seems to come in fits and starts.  Sometimes I try and try and try and don't really come up with much.  There are other times that I am not even thinking about trying to write and I just begin to dwell on an idea about God or a musical thought.  Before I can even really grab a pen, a song is there.  Most of the time, it's a balance between the two approaches.  There is rarely an inspired musical idea that is "ready to go" without some effort to refine it.

I've been blessed lately to have written two songs that our worship leader has pulled into circulation at church.  I'm starting to develop sort of a "reputation" as a songwriter, and it's quite uncomfortable to me.  I mean, I really like being a part of fleshing out a new creative expression of God's glory, but occasional creativity often brings with it an implicit expectation that it should be more regular.  I aspire to that, but I don't feel all that much in "control" of the creative flow that results in my songwriting.  Maybe that's a copout, maybe it's truth. You decide!

At any rate, God is worthy of our songs.  He doesn't need them, but he enjoys them and chooses to work in people's hearts through them.  It's a sovereign act of His grace that he allows us to be a part of the process.  I was encouraged when I read an article by Billy Foote and I wanted to pass it along.

Songwriting Success

by Billy Foote

Songs for worship have never been more popular than they are today, but the secret to true success isn't on the radio or on disc. It's runs deeper than that.

When it comes to songwriting, I must begin by saying: God does not need any of our songs. He is not waiting for one of us to write the song that will signal the second coming, but He is worthy of our songs.  He is worthy of songs that remind us of who He is, what He has done and what He is going to do. He is worthy of songs that encourage the Church and tell of His greatness.

There are over 100 references in the Bible about singing to the Lord. I would encourage you to read Exodus 15:1-21. It is the song of Moses and Miriam.  Some scholars believe it to be the oldest song on record.  Of course, there are many references in scripture that exhort us to sing new songs. Psalm 33:3 says, "Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy."  Psalm 95:1-7 gives a wonderful invitation to worship the Lord. Psalm 98:1-9 is a song of God's victory. All of these songs praise God for who He is and what He has done. They paint a large picture of our God.

I am blessed to know that God has not lost his ability to inspire new songs in the hearts of his people.  He moved on Moses; He put songs in the hearts of writers such as Fanny Crosby and Charles Wesley; and He is still moving in people like you and me. Praise the Lord for his never-ending power!

As we look at songwriting, I believe there are three important questions we must ask ourselves:

1. What is our motivation?
Worship music has never been more popular than it is right now. It has given quite a financial boom to the Christian music industry. In light of that, it is certainly fair to ask what motivates us.

Remember the story of Annanias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-10? Annanias sold a piece of property, brought the money to the apostles and said they were giving the whole amount to the church. In reality, they were keeping some of it for themselves. They could have kept it all, but they lied to God and His people. Have you ever wondered what motivated them to lie? Pride? Recognition?  Glory for themselves? We do not know exactly what their motives were, but we do know that God killed them for their actions that day.

Now, don't get me wrong. I am not saying that God will kill those who are writing songs with wrong, self-seeking motives. I am suggesting something even worse. If our motives are not pure, He might just remove his hand from the talents and gifts that he has given us. He might just leave us to our own devices with powerless songs that lack the authority that only He can give. He will not yield his glory to another (Isaiah 48:11). Our songs must be for his glory alone.

2. What makes a good song from a theological or Biblical perspective?
A lost person who comes to our worship services will more than likely hear two themes in our songs: God is love, and God is Holy. Of course those are true statements, but He is so much more.  I could go and find a secular, godless band and ask them to write a song on God's love, and I bet that they could come up with something. They could just think about their wives or girlfriends and use God's name instead. I do not take lightly the love of God. I even wrote a song called "You Are My King (Amazing Love." But God is so much more than love.

Do our songs accurately represent the attributes of God?  Do they give us a bigger picture of who He is?  There are so many subjects we can write about.  We all hear songs about the grace of God, but what about a song that declares that grace teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness (Titus 2:11-12).  What about songs on the Word of God, the power of God (Psalm 68:32-35), the sovereignty of God, songs that declare we are no longer enemies of God (Romans 5:6-10). Even more, songs that remind us of the great commission would honor the Lord.  Let me take a moment to point out to all of us that Jesus' last words on earth were, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation" (Matthew 16:15).
        

3. What kind of preparation should we put into songwriting?
Some writers write from an emotional perspective, but our feelings can change from day to day. Who God is never changes. When you sense a song welling up in you, do you simply write down everything that comes to mind or do you also make time for study on whatever subject the song contains?  As I write this article, I am in the middle of working on two songs. One is on the power of God, and the other deals with the fear of the Lord.  At this point, I am not writing lyrics. I am researching the scriptures anywhere the power or might of the Lord is mentioned. I'll do the same regarding the fear of the Lord. The truth is that I might not ever write a song on either subject.  If I don't, that will be fine. I will have a better understanding of the power of God and deeper insight into the fear of the Lord.  If I do write a song on these subjects, I will most definitely have the authority of the Word of God behind these songs.  Let us continue to use our God-given talents to paint pictures that give glory to a great God.

In closing, I want to encourage those of you who are reading this article to keep writing. It is easy to get caught up in what songs are on Christian radio and CDs and feel that those are the only ones that matter. Many of us have songs that may never be picked up by other bands or Christian labels.  Some of us will write songs that we alone will sing to God.  Still some will write songs that only their local church body will use.  But let the "success" of our songs be measured by this: Do they bring glory to God?  Do they accurately represent His attributes?  Do they encourage and teach the Body of Christ? That's all.

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Billy Foote and his wife Cindy live in San Antonio, TX. Billy is an itinerant worship pastor whose main goal is to help believers incorporate worship as a daily lifestyle rather than just in song. He has traveled full-time for fourteen years, leading worship for youth, college and church-wide events. God has gifted him most in the areas of worship leadership, guitar skills and song writing. Some of the songs God has given Billy to write are widely-known including "You Are My King" (Amazing Love), "Break Our Hearts," "Sing To The King" and "I Have A River." To learn more about Billy's work and ministry, visit his web site at www.billyfoote.com.

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Be blessed!
Andy Johnston, the Facilitator

Email: musicsharegroup@gmail.com
Blog: musicsharegroup.blogspot.com

Musicademy's September 2008 Newsletter

Greetings!

This info is just too good not to pass along. Musicademy is a worship music training organization with some great people and some phenomenal products. They publish a monthly newsletter that is chock full of tips, tricks, and material to help you become a better musician, especially in a worship setting. Below is their September 2008 newsletter. I hope you enjoy!

Be blessed!
Andy Johnston, facilitator

musicsharegroup@gmail.com
musicsharegroup.blogspot.com

Dear MusicShareGroup,

Welcome to the September Musicademy Newsletter.

In this edition:

• Ask The Expert – what to do when there is no musical space
• Ask The Expert - how to create seamless flow in worship
• Guitar Styles - Hendrix Double Stops
• Workbooks for drums, bass and keyboard DVDs
• Submit a Musicademy product reviews and get a free Song Learner lesson!
• Worship train wreck confessional
• The Old Schoolhouse Magazine offer
• New T-Shirt Design - competition
• Win Five Free Song Learner Downloads

Ask the Expert – What to do when there is no musical space

Stephen Miessner from the US emailed to ask “What do you do when you're the keys player and there isn’t room for you in a song?”

Andy answers: Firstly I’d ask why isn’t there room in the song. Is it written in a way that is very guitar led so doesn’t work well for keys? Or is it actually that everyone else is overplaying and therefore there is no room left for you. If the second, then maybe don’t play in that section (its great that you are developed enough as a musician to be hearing that there is no space – so get out rather than adding to the mush). If there are too many instruments and everyone is just playing too much then as a band you need to work on the arrangements so that everyone creates some space and compliments each others’ playing – look back through our newsletter archive for some input on that. Communication and honest feedback is key here so that the band make space for everyone to contribute.

Its lovely when there is space for the keys player to work in some riffs, fills, passing notes and the like, but if you have lots of other musicians and vocalists all trilling and frilling its going to be a lot better if you refrain from adding to the “extras” mix and instead look to add in a textural layer.

Secondly the lack of ‘space’ may not be to do with general busyness but actually a lack of integrated grooves. I’ve often played in situations where the drums, keys and bass are all playing slightly different pushes and accents and it all just sounds like a bit of a mess. So again the key is to simplify but to get everyone to understand that they need to play together as one unit and not as a bunch of individuals.

If there is a still lot going on rhythmically there are some practical simple choices you can do to make it work:

If it suits the song a great choice is to use a Hammond organ sound. It works well with electric guitar driven songs and is the sort of sound you can hold long, vamped notes with minimal chord movements to create an overall sense of force and adding behind the rhythm but not clashing with it. Almost think of the sound like a backing vocalist singing long flowing notes to add to the harmony and using your draw bars to add vibrato.

Another obvious solution is strings and pads which will just add a textural layer. If you are using strings, be careful not to play full chords. It will sound more authentic in octaves or single notes. Again play using long notes with minimal changes or if you want to play more rhythmically focus on the groove and play a repetitive motif but try to again use minimal movement and note changes.

You can do something similar to Hammond organ with pad sounds but do make sure you are using a “quality” pad sound. A cheap and nasty keyboard an often give cheap and nasty sounds. So think about the type of song and a sound that works well with it – is your pad sound suitable for its style? For instance, if the song is fast and drives along, a pad may sound too sweet and sugary and would be better used in something more delicate.

Lastly, pads can be a bit like guitar effects, they sound great in the right place, but if you use them all the time you are going to give your congregation ear fatigue.

All the best with working this all out. Our experience with the live worship band training seminars that we run is that generally everyone is playing far too much, far too loudly, all the time. Focused work on dynamics, arrangements and honest feedback is the place to start and if you don’t have the skills in your band to lead that then maybe look to get some help from a really experienced musician who can identify the specific problems.

Ask the Expert – How to maintain a flow of worship

Chief Allan Hewey from Maine emailed us asking for advice on keeping the worship momentum going. He was particularly looking for some practical tips to keep the congregations’ focus heavenward.

This is a really interesting question and in unpacking it we need to consider how different churches approach this – it can be a very “culturally created” approach. For instance, the Vineyard and Soul Survivor will have typically an intensive worship time where the musicians will flow fairly seamlessly from one song to the next with very little in terms of spoken word or discernable gaps. Contrast this with a Baptist church where we were recently teaching. The (non musician) worship leader would introduce a song with almost a mini sermon, or certainly a verbal reflection on the lyrics. The band would then play and the worship leader would then verbally reflect again on the words, perhaps within a prayer before introducing the next song.

Either approach, and the many options within that spectrum can be equally helpful or unhelpful. It depends on what works culturally, and what is helpful to your congregation in drawing them closer to God, much of which will depend on what they are used to. We all tend to fall back on the familiar so it might be helpful for worship leaders to deliberately try a different approach from time to time perhaps learning from other church styles. Remember that people take time to adjust to change so you may need to try it a few times for people to get used to.

The key thing is to be aware of what you are trying to achieve. For many, a ‘time of worship’ is really like a musical based mediation where the act of engaging with a song’s lyrics helps people focus their thoughts, desires and prayers towards God and disengage from the myriad of other things going on in their brains. So therefore would repeating a verse of a song become boring or actually help people get a hold of the lyric? Would a prayer between a song help articulate people’s worship or distract them from participating? Would a faster song help them release the joy they are feeling towards God or would it make them feel like they are being ‘wound up’ when they want to be still and listen? Would silence allow people time to prayer in their minds or would it be uncomfortable? Would playing very loud put people off or cause them to move, dance, sing etc in an abandoned way? Would reading out a liturgy together with as much gusto as the congregation could muster be releasing and help people get excited about their faith or would it be cheesy and awkward? Would segueing between songs bring excitement as worshippers discover the songs meaning in a fresh way or would it make the whole set feel like one long boring, mid tempo song? Would reading a poem help bring a sense of community offering or would peoples minds wander as they couldn’t join in themselves?

For any of these the answer could be either depending on your congregations demographic, what they are used to, how often change is introduced, whether a different artistic expression seems new or clichéd, even the time of the day and how awake they feel!

So therefore don’t be afraid to try new things, but also don’t assume that an expression that went well last time will work every time. So you do need to look, listen and try to intuit how the congregation is responding and act accordingly – the job of the artist! But don’t be afraid to have a go! Mix it up; see how your congregation responds. Try to help them come off autopilot and realise that TODAY we are worshipping. Just don’t fall into the rut of doing something because ‘that’s what we always do here to worship’

Let’s look at some practical tips:

You can use different song tempos and speeds to help people engage – choose songs that flow well from one to another in terms of tempo or mood – Any sudden changes can throw people – which may be exactly what you want to do.

Say you don’t have the most technically competent band, they all need to have a chord chart, and are all quite nervous of improvisation and moving seamlessly from some to song. What can you do to help?

Firstly, you will need to work out and practice the segues in advance, its less likely to go wrong if you are following a formula that’s been rehearsed. Yes, it may not feel very “spirit led” or improvised, but it will be a chance for your novice musicians to learn and develop. The crucial thing here is to rehearse again and again, the junctions between the songs. They are the tricky bits so rehearse them lots more than you run through the full song.

In terms of keys it will help if you choose songs in the same key, or a key that you can flow easily into.

Some advice on keys:

• You can choose a song selection where the keys increase (get higher) to give the set a sense of lift and momentum.
• Conversely you can drop a key (hymns often lend themselves to drop a tone for a verse and then come up again - this works well for a hymn like Crown Him with Many Crowns where you create a nice sense of tension and release).
• Dropping or raising a tone and singing with more gusto will add nicely to your dynamics and flow
• Moving in fifths, for instance moving form a song in E to a song in B, feels quite natural, however the skill if you are keeping playing (i.e. not stopping) is to modulate into the new key so that your congregation have a sense of the new root note. There are lots of ways of modulating into different keys but an easy way is to use what is called a 5-1 cadence – this means that whatever key you go into you play the fifth chord in the new key just before you start on the root chord. So, for instance, in the Key of E if the song finished with the chords A B & E, and you wanted to go into the key of B, you could play A, B E then play the fifth in the key of B which is F#maj and then the B – this will give an audible cue that the song has modulated into a new key.

Four words of caution:

• The first chord in the song is often but not always the root note! Go to our article from April 2007 for advice on working what key a song is in.
• If you are changing songs into new keys to better suit your flow, then do make sure that a) your musicians are all aware of the new key and b) that the top and bottom ranges of the song are still singable. And do check them out in advance, even if they are singable, not all songs work well in every key
• If your intention is to move seamlessly from one song to another, its not going to work if you are needing to put a capo on or wait for your keyboard player to hit the transpose button – so make sure you can all play in the key its written inIf your musicians are using chord charts, make sure they have them laid out side by side on their music stands so you are not interrupting the flow scrapping through reams of paper.

One other suggestion on helping with flow is to introduce some “bridges”. There are sections of songs (such as the chorus from the Hillsong song The Stand) which dovetail well into all sorts of other songs. Again, just adjust the key of the bridge song to suit the original. You could bring in elements of old hymns – the chorus from Oh Come All Ye Faithful perhaps. These are well used examples but keep your ear out for sections that you could lift to bring new life to another song. And take notes from other worship leaders you may see at conferences – those song choices and sequences can feature in your future set lists too.

Guitar Styles - Hendrix Double Stops


This month we’re going to look at probably my favourite playing style, which is called double stops. Double stops means playing two notes at the same time and was employed to great effect by a certain Mr James Hendrix. Hendrix is known by non musicians for his wailing solos but this style used on gentler songs like Little Wing and Castles Made of Sand is perfect for playing in worship settings.

The easiest way to understand double stops is by fretting a chord and playing any two adjacent strings. Then as the sound rings, use a spare finger to fret another note in the key on at least one of those strings. If you can add hammer-ons and pull-offs it will add to the overall texture too.

The key to this style is to think of it as lead guitar but using chords as a base rather than scales. It works very well with the CAGED system I talk about in the Intermediate Guitar DVDs but even if you’re not familiar with that you can still get some good results from a couple of basic shapes.

To demo this we are going to play some licks around an E chord. Barre your index finger across strings 1-5 at fret 9 leaving the low E open. Now place your ring finger on the G string (3) fret 11 and play the two middle strings. The combination of pulling that third finger on and off will give you the notes of E, F# and B.



The same can be done for any other note in the key of E using this same shape, so keep your index finger at fret 9 and play any of the other notes marked with a red dot. Try any two adjacent strings and see what results you get. It will work particularly well if those red dot notes match up to any of the notes in the chord you are playing over. You are doing what’s now known as little winging it.



Even though we are in E this shape is based around the G shape in the CAGED system so bringing the barre up to fret 12 will help you play around in G, fret 7 will be D, fret 5 is C Fret 2 is A and so on. So give it a try.

For the minor chords start off by using an Em minor barre chord up on the 7th fret which is an Am shape. Start again by playing any 2 strings and take on and off fingers 2, 3 or 4. So really any finger apart from the barred index finger. Next use any free finger to play other notes in the key of Em as outlined in red. Once again find other minor chords by sliding the barre up and down so Dm is fret 5, Bm fret 2 etc.



So, if you are playing lead guitar this is a great textural alternative to using pentatonic scales which can sound pretty ‘widdly-widdly’ in the context of a lot of modern worship song styles. Use a clean slightly driven sound with long reverb for great results and even add delay or chorus effects to taste. If you use a pick play those two strings hard you’ll get some really percussive guitar tones.

Apart from the Hendrix classics also check out a James Taylor song called Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha. The double stops licks played by Michael Landau are some of the sweetest you’ve ever heard!

Workbooks for Drums, Bass and Keyboard DVDs

We are currently working on some student workbooks to go with the Beginners Drums, Bass and Keyboard DVDs. These will be phased in over the next few months. We have found that the workbooks really help students get the most out of the DVDs (all the drum loops, backing tracks and worship leader interviews as well as the main teaching). They are also great for teachers using the DVDs to teach in groups as the workbooks split each DVD into 10 lessons.

The Beginner Guitar Workbooks are already available – click through to our webstore to buy.

The New Musicademy Website – Beta Testers Required

We are currently putting the finishing touches to a new look Musicademy website with better store integration and lots of wonderful “Web 2.0” features that will enable more interaction with and between the people who visit our site and use our DVDs and downloads.

Central to the site will be a Blog which will feature lots of free video clips, advice on worship and musicianship, guest articles and a good dollop of humour. Our hope is that the site becomes a significant and helpful resource for worship musicians. If you would like to contribute to the blog in any way – by writing an article, recommending a YouTube clip or even just commenting on the content or our DVDs then please email us.

We are currently looking for volunteers to be beta testers of the new site – you will be sent a link and asked for your feedback on the user experience. Please Email us for more information.

Worship train wreck confessional

You remember those train wreck moments when it all goes horribly wrong – your band starts in different keys, you sing the wrong lyrics or worse. Do you have any of these moments you would like to confess either on audio or video? If so please please send them our way. We’ll reward any we publish with some free stuff from our store. We’re also really happy to have You Tube code if you’ve found something great online.

Submit a Musicademy product review and get a free Song Learner lesson

If you would be willing to write a few lines by way of a Musicademy product review for our new website, we will send you a voucher for a free online Song Learner lesson. The review can be of a whole DVD course, an online lesson, our vocal care products or any of the CDs. We’d ideally love to have a little photo as well so don’t forget to attach one to your review.

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine offer

We know that our DVDs are often used by homeschoolers so we’ve teamed up with The Old Schoolhouse Magazine to bring you a special offer which will help your home and homeschool run smoothly. You want suggestions, encouragement, and practical how-to information. You need a storehouse of helpful articles for those days when you yearn for a fresh idea, a little boost, or facts to share with potential critics – all from a solid Christian perspective. That's where The Old Schoolhouse Magazine comes in.

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine has just launched their fabulous Fall Special for new U.S. subscribers and you'll want to respond early. It's a 50% savings off of cover price and they even have a homeschooling tote bag for the first 1000 to respond!

Right now, during their Fall Special you can subscribe for only $39! You’ll receive 2 years of The Old Schoolhouse Magazine (8 large quarterly issues), the current issue (so you get a quick jump start!), and 6 fabulous Bonus Gifts (for the first 3000). PLUS, the first 1,000 new subscribers will also receive their Homeschooling with Heart tote bag!

View the full details and subscribe online at

www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com/US_Promotion.php.

New T-shirt Slogan/Design Competition - Win 2 DVD Box Sets!

We are launching a competition to win two Musicademy DVD box sets worth over $160. We are looking for a cool/funny slogan or if you’re feeling arty a funky design. It might feature the Musicademy name but doesn’t have to. So have a brainstorm and send in your slogan ideas – we’re happy to receive more than one entry per person.

We mainly sell t-shirts at worship festivals and conferences and the average buyer is male aged 18-40. Any entry which ends up made into a t-shirt will win two box sets of their choice. Email your entries before the end of August 2008.

You can view current entries on our blog. Do email us and let us know which you like best.

Win Five Free Song Learner Downloads

We really like to know what you think of our newsletter and the Musicademy products so please take a couple of minutes to answer these questions and e-mail them to us. One respondent will win five free song learner downloads and we’ll let you know what they think of them in the next issue.

1. What did you think of this newsletter?
2. Which articles did you particularly enjoy?
3. Any questions for our “Ask the Expert” feature?
4. Any suggestions for content that you would like to read in the future?
5. Any suggestions for websites we could recommend people?
6. Have you bought a Musicademy product or downloaded a lesson and what did you think of it?

Please e-mail your responses to enter the draw!

Having trouble reading this?
If for some reason you can't see the pictures, or the newsletter doesn't appear correctly, you can see a copy of it here.

The Spirit of Truth

Greetings!

This post is a little different from my usual writing.  It has nothing to do with music necessarily, but everything to do with authentic worship.  This is a teaching article by a gifted teacher named Derek Prince.  For any who are already familiar with Derek Prince's legacy, no introduction is needed.  For those who may not have heard of him, Derek was a bible teacher who was extremely intelligent and articulate, yet he never budged on the truth of God's word and His supernatural power.  Derek was a contemporary of C.S. Lewis and his practical Bible teaching has been foundational in the lives of many believers in the past 50 or 60 years.

I've been praying lately that God would fill me with an absolute disgust for anything that is not honest and true in worship.  Certainly, we must often times press through discomfort in our flesh to follow with what we know is right and true.  However, when I say "disgust" with what is not honest and true, I'm talking about when we disengage our hearts from seeking God and "latch on" to a person, an activity, or a thing that is other than Him.  You know on the inside when this is happened.  The counterfeit has no comparison with the Truth.  And yet, there is sometimes such a powerful draw away from Him. 

The article below shows how we can set our compass to pursue God in truth.  Zeal is important, but the Spirit of Truth must undergird all that we do, whether it is in worship or in daily life.  Enjoy the article below by Derek Prince!

Be blessed,
Andy Johnston, the Facilitator

musicsharegroup@gmail.com
musicsharegroup.blogspot.com

The Spirit of Truth

Dear Friend,

"And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide
with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it
neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and
will be in you."1

When Jesus promised His disciples that He would ask the Father to send them a divine Helper, He gave this Helper a special name: "the Spirit of truth." At the same time, however, He warned them that the world would not be able to receive this Helper.

For this, the Scripture supplies two reasons. First, from the time that men turned away from God in rebellion, they have been unwilling to accept the truth which exposes their unrighteous deeds. Therefore they "suppress the truth in unrighteousness."2

Second, rebellion against God has exposed humanity to the domination of the god of this age, "Satan, who deceives the whole world."3 Deception is the primary weapon that Satan relies on to keep humanity under his control. Once his ability to deceive is stripped away, Satan has nothing to offer anyone except a place with him in the lake of eternal fire!

Over many centuries, human philosophy has never been able to produce a satisfactory definition of "truth." On the other hand, the Bible gives a threefold answer. First, Jesus said, "I am the truth."4 Second, in praying to God the Father, He said, "Your word is truth."5 Third, John tells us, "The [Holy] Spirit is truth."6

In the spiritual realm, therefore, there are three coordinates of truth: Jesus, the Scripture and the Holy Spirit. When these three are in agreement, we know that we have arrived at truth—absolute truth. It is important, however, that we check all three coordinates before we arrive at a conclusion. There are three questions that we must ask concerning any spiritual issue:

Does it represent Jesus as He truly is?

Is it in harmony with Scripture?

Does the Holy Spirit bear His witness?

Historically, the Church would have been spared many errors and deceptions if it had always checked all three coordinates of truth. It is not enough that a teacher paints an appealing picture of Jesus as a perfect moral example. Or that a pastor batters his congregation with a barrage of Scripture verses. Or that an evangelist impresses his audience with a thrilling display of the supernatural. Before we can accept what is presented to us as truth, all three coordinates must be in place: Jesus, the Scripture, the Holy Spirit.

In the threefold presentation of truth, the distinctive function of the Holy Spirit is to bear witness. "It is the Spirit who bears witness."7

The Holy Spirit bears witness to Jesus as the eternal Son of God, who shed His blood on the cross as the all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. In the words of Charles Wesley:

"The Spirit answers to the blood
And tells me I am born of God."

The Holy Spirit also bears witness to the truth and authority of Scripture, as Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, "For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance . . ."8

Ananias and Sapphira

There can be no compromise between the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of truth, and Satan, who "is a liar and the father of it."9 This was dramatically demonstrated in the early church, when Ananias and Sapphira lied about the money that they had offered to the church. They claimed that they had brought the full price of the property that they had sold, whereas in fact they had kept back part of it.

However, the Spirit of truth in Peter was not deceived. He charged Ananias with lying not merely to men, but also to the Holy Spirit Himself—the one who is the very Spirit of truth:

But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God." Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came
upon all those who heard these things.10

Three hours later Sapphira came in and repeated the same lie. Like her husband, she paid for it with her life.

Rightly defined, the sin of which Ananias and Sapphira were guilty was hypocrisy—religious pretense. They were pretending to be more generous and more committed to the Lord than they really were. Jesus reserved His strongest words of condemnation for this sin in the religious leaders of His day. Seven times in Matthew 23 He said to them: "Woe to you . . . hypocrites!"

What Is Hypocrisy?

Our English words "hypocrite," "hypocrisy" are directly derived from the Greek word hupokrites, which means "actor." This is the essence of hypocrisy: putting on a religious act. Probably no sin is more common among religious people than hypocrisy. In fact, some forms of religion almost demand it.

When people enter a religious building, their whole demeanor changes. They are no longer natural, free and open. They appear to be gripped by some kind of invisible "cramp." They feel required to put on a religious mask. Different branches of religion may require masks of a different kind, but few of them allow people to be their real selves.

When the preacher condemns certain sins, such people respond with a dutiful "Amen!" But outside the church they commit those same sins without even a twinge of conscience. If they pray out loud, they use a special tone of voice and often a special vocabulary. They do not stop to consider how a human father would feel if his child were to address him with such artificial language or to put on an unnatural form of behavior just to impress him.

The God of the Bible has no time for hypocrites. This comes out very clearly in the story of Job. Job's three friends poured forth a torrent of religious platitudes. They said, in effect, "God always blesses the righteous, they never suffer unjustly." On the other hand, "God always judges the wicked, they never prosper." Yet the facts of history demonstrate that this is not true. It is just religious talk!

On the other hand, Job was completely frank. He said, in effect, "God is not treating me fairly. I have done nothing to deserve all this. But even if He kills me, I will still trust Him."

In Job 42:7 the Lord revealed His estimate of the conduct of Job and his friends. "The LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite, 'My wrath is aroused against you and your two friends, for you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.'"11

We need to ask ourselves: How does this kind of religious behavior differ from the sin of Ananias and Sapphira, which cost them their lives?

The Moment of Truth

At a certain point in his career, King David was guilty of two terrible sins. First, he committed adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of his neighbor Uriah. Then to cover up his sin, he procured the murder of Uriah.

Apparently David got away with all this. He still went through his regular forms of worship. He still carried out his duties as king. He still lived in the royal palace. Outwardly nothing had changed— until God's messenger, the prophet Nathan, confronted David with his sin. At that moment David's eternal destiny hung in the balance. By the grace of God, David made the right response. He offered no excuses, made no attempt to cover up. He acknowledged, "I have sinned."12

Later on, in Psalm 51, David offered up a prayer of confession and then a cry for mercy. Verses 5 and 6 each begin with the word, "Behold," expressing a sudden revelation of a vital truth.

Verse 5 says, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me." David had come face to face with something that only the Spirit of truth can reveal: not just the sinful acts that he had committed, but the awful evil power of inherited sinfulness that indwells every descendant of Adam.

Verse 6 reveals the only basis on which God offers deliverance from the power of indwelling sin: "Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts." Even after his sin, David had continued to go through all the outward forms of behavior appropriate to his role as king. But now there was a vast gap between his outward behavior and the inward condition of his heart. He had become a hypocrite—an actor playing a part which no longer corresponded to what was in his heart. For this there was only one remedy: honest confession and wholehearted repentance.

From Palm Sunday to Good Friday

There is one truth that runs through the whole Bible: God will never compromise with sin. This is vividly illustrated by two days in the life of Jesus: Palm Sunday and Good Friday.

On Palm Sunday Jesus entered Jerusalem as a popular hero—"the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee."13 The whole city was open to Him. He could easily have set aside His bitter enemies, the religious leaders, and established Himself as King. That was what the people were longing for.

Yet He chose another way. Five days later He hung rejected and naked on a cruel cross. Why? Because God will never compromise with sin and the only way to deal with sin was the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

Many Christians today are speaking and praying about "revival." They often overlook the fact that there is one barrier to revival that can never be bypassed. It is sin. Until sin is dealt with, true revival can never come. And there is only one way to deal with sin: "He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy."14

Frankly stated, many sections of the contemporary church are full of "covered sin." Here are some sins that Christians often seek to cover:

1. Abuse of a child—physical, emotional, sexual—or a combination.
2. Broken marriage vows.
3. Unethical dealing with money.
4. Addiction to pornography. (I have been shocked to discover how common this is among leaders in the church.)
5. Gluttony—overindulgence of our physical appetites.

God's remedy is twofold: first, confess; then, forsake. It is seldom easy to confess our sins. Yet there is no other remedy. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."15 God has never committed Himself to forgive sins that we are not willing to confess.

But it is not enough merely to confess. We must also "forsake." We must make a resolute determination not to continue to commit the sin we have confessed. We must follow the succinct advice that Daniel gave to King Nebuchadnezzar: "Break off thy sins by righteousness."16 Between righteousness and sin there is no middle ground. "All unrighteousness is sin."17 Whatever is not righteous is sinful.

Are you face to face with a difficult decision?

If this letter has caused you to question things in your life that you have been accepting, or has confronted you with some area of disobedience, open up to the Spirit of truth! He is ready and willing to come to your help.

Yours in the Master's service,
Derek Prince

PS: The theme of my next letter will be the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Notes:
1 - John 14:16–17
2 - Romans 1:18
3 - Revelation 12:9
4 - John 14:6
5 - John 17:17
6 - 1 John 5:6
7 - 1 John 5:6
8 - 1 Thessalonians 1:5
9 - John 8:44
10 - Acts 5:3–5
11 - Job 42:7
12 - 2 Samuel 12:1–15
13 - Matthew 21:11
14 - Proverbs 28:13
15 - 1 John 1:9
16 - Daniel 4:27, KJV
17 - 1 John 5:17

Reproduction for free distribution is permitted.

Play or blog? Tough question...

Greetings!
Hi everyone, I've spent a lot more time living what I write about than writing about it.  It's been a busy but productive time at home, at work, and at church.  I've had the privilege of a few jam sessions with friends (everything from a full band situation down to 2 guitars on the front porch). Needless to say, it's been a while since my last post.  My laptop has also been to the manufacturer and back for a warranty repair.  It's been tough to find time to blog since the other computers I have access to aren't really located in good spots for blogging (kids, work etc.).  I'm back now.  I should be able to put out content a little more often.  Hope you find it encouraging and helpful!

New Toy/Tool!
Some of you know I've been saving for a new electric guitar for quite some time now.  I finally got it!  It is a blue Taylor T5.  For those who may not be familiar with the T5, this instrument is a hybrid guitar that can produce acoustic as well as electric tones.  I got really excited about it when it came out because I saw the dual tone capability would keep me from having to swap between my acoustic and electric guitars during a song set.  It is a step up from the electric guitar that I was using, and it will be a great tool.  I came across the dealer that sold me the guitar when I was doing some research on eBay (Mojo's Music in Edwardsville, Illinois).  He had the exact model (T5-S1) that I was looking for in stock, and it was the right color...translucent blue stain on a flame maple top.  It was a guitar he purchased for his inventory about 2 years ago and just didn't sell.  By the time I called and was interested in the guitar, he was tired of looking at it and sold it to me for a little bit more than what he paid for it.  What a blessing (for me)...he was also glad to get rid of the guitar!

The T5 opens up some sound possibilities that weren't available to me with my other instrument.  It's a blast to play and it sure is nice to look at (if you ask me).  To each his own...I've found mine.  To make it all the more special, I was able to purchase it the Monday after Father's Day!  Yes, I had saved up for it, but the timing of it worked out so that it was really a Father's Day gift for me.

After a month and a half of playing the T5, I really don't have any complaints.  The pickups, especially the neck pickup sound amazing!  The acoustic tones aren't as "belivable" as I initially hoped...admittedly, I'm a bit spoiled by my 10 years of playing my other Taylor, a 710ce.  I'm still tweaking the settings on my PODxt to find the right balance.  In fact, I have acoustic strings on it right now and I have some new settings to work with (see below).  The acoustic settings sound better with these strings, but it seems that I've lost some sustain on the electric settings.  All in all, my tone has improved.  It's a lot of fun to play!  There are few things that pull the best out of me like playing a quality instrument.

Influences
One thing that I recommend to anyone who asks me about learning to play an instrument is to find a "hero" of sorts.  Doing authentic music is all about producing sounds outside that you hear in your heart.  There's certainly a place for getting away and finding creativity in solitude away from other influences.  Still, how can you create anything if you don't begin to develop your own mental library of sounds that you like?  Yes, you will be out of balance if you only study from one source.  Everything you play or write will always sound like someone else.  On the other hand, when you're learning, it is helpful to have someone else that you look to for inspiration and technique.  A few of my inspiring influences are: Steven Curtis Chapman, Lincoln Brewster, Paul Baloche, Andy Park, Marty Sampson, Darlene Zschech, etc.

New Tone
Speaking of Lincoln Brewster, I downloaded his tone!  Lincoln has some amazing guitar sounds when he plays live and in the studio.  He's had access to some of the most sought amplifiers and effects available, but he has settled on several products from Line 6 for his live sounds.  I have a Line 6 PODxt, a device that Lincoln has used in the past.  FYI, I use the FBV Shortboard to control the settings when I'm playing live.  Lincoln posted his settings on his website recently, and I was able to download them and set up my system with some of the exact settings that Lincoln uses.  Do I sound like Lincoln when I play? Not hardly!  But, it's fun to hear some of the sounds he has put together.  I was able to glean a couple of settings, especially for my acoustic guitars.  Thanks to Lincoln for letting us "borrow" his tone!

Songwriting
I brought out a new song that I wrote to our church band last week.  It went over well and I think the song will probably make it into our regular rotation.  I hope it will be a declaration of faith and praise that our people can really embrace.  There are more songs to come...stay tuned!

Wrapping Up
God is soooooo good.  I really do stand amazed when I take a step back and look at where I've been and what He's done.  Being a Husband and Dad myself just makes the picture of His love for me even that much clearer.  I'm also oh so aware of how much I need Him to fill me up so that I reflect Him as I relate to my family.

Be blessed!
Andy Johnston, the Facilitator

musicsharegroup@gmail.com
musicsharegroup.blogspot.com