God uses music to prepare our hearts to meet Him.
"For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at His tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord.". Psalm 27:5-6
Today we had three remarkable young ladies provide praise and worship music for our church. I have seldom experienced the Holy Spirit's presence as powerfully as I did this morning. As they sang, my heart was drawn into an expression of worship that was honest and humble. As they sang, all distractions were removed as the Spirit spoke to hearts. As they sang, the Holy Spirit was nudging the sermon in a different direction than I anticipated. God seized control of the service in a wonderful way.
OK, so my point to this blog is, "Does your choice of music draw you closer to God or move you further from God?"
James 4:8 says, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you".
And before you start throwing tomatoes at me, I am not talking about "rock" verses "Christian". I tried for years to define "Christian" music and in my simple mind, music breaks down into 2 categories: music that pleases God and music that does not please God.
I will give you two verses to ponder on this and I will leave you to your musings.
Psalm 19:14
"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you,
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer."
Philippians 4:8
"Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise."
Proverbs 4:23
"Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life."
(FYI: this word "guard" in the Hebrew is the same word for "gatekeeper")
One of my favorite old hymns is:
"The Savior is patiently waiting to enter your heart,
why won't you let Him come in.
There's nothing in this world to keep you apart,
what is your answer to Him?
Time after time,
He has waited before,
and now He is waiting again.
To see if your willing to open the door.
Oh how He wants to come in."
