The Power of Music

A major rite of passage, at least of sorts, occurred in our home last Friday…Ethan got his saxophone for middle school band. When we went to meet the band director, she encouraged Ethan to play the trumpet, but he was not interested. You see, I was a trumpet player myself, and though he didn’t want to offend me, he wanted his own experience. After some contemplation, he chose the saxophone. With eager anticipation, we ordered him a rental saxophone and waited with baited breath for its delivery.

We got home with the sax on Friday after school, and with all the excitement of a Christmas morning, he unpacked his horn and carefully assembled it. After moistening his reed, he placed it in the mouthpiece and blew, producing a pretty decent tone for his first time. Within a couple hours, and without any formal training, he was playing noticeable parts of the theme song to The Pink Panther and The Streets of Cairo, which you might recognize as the stereotypical snake charming song.

There was a sense of pride Tiffany and I detected in Ethan as he began to get the hang of this new passion. The more he played, the more I could see something happening in him…the music wasn’t just emanating from the horn, it was coming from his soul. I know personally there have been numerous times when I have gotten lost in a powerful song in a worship service, a great concert, while in my car, and even while vacuuming my living room. This brings to life a great quote from Heinrich Heine that attempts to define this transcendental shift, “Where words leave off, music begins.”

Music has a power that penetrates parts of the soul in ways words alone cannot reach; this is the reason we use music in worship services. Once music breaks through some of those inner barriers, the Word of GOD is able work its way deep within and do its transformational work of changing us from the inside out. Sure we may not know, or even like, all the songs we sing in worship, but if we allow worship to do its job, we are preparing ourselves to receive the word of GOD as it is read and proclaimed.

Music is very important in the Bible. Throughout Scripture we see instances where music was used to prepare people for battle, call people for ministry, comfort people in pain, inspire people for great works, and challenge people out of their self-defined comfort zones. Music was, and still is, used in a myriad of ways to help us devote our entire life in worship to GOD! One of my favorite images in all of Scripture comes from Zephaniah 3 when we get a glimpse of how life will be when all of GOD’s people turn back to Him. Then we read verse 17, and it’s one I doubt I could ever reflect over enough, “For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” (Zephaniah 3:17, NLT, emphasis mine)

Friends, this is an image I absolutely love! Think about GOD singing over you and how that heavenly lullaby must sound. Think about the LORD, the Creator of an ever-expanding universe, who wants to cradle and sing songs over you, songs that only He knows! Like Ethan moving into a transcendental state while playing his new saxophone for the first time, I can scarcely imagine the glory of GOD’s singing over me, lovingly calming my fears, and sharing with me His holy gladness.

So next time you hear or sing a powerful song lifted up to GOD, think about GOD also singing over you. Imagine the melody. Imagine the lyrics. And imagine the life-changing power of GOD’s own song, penetrating deep within your soul, changing you from the inside-out. This is the power of music…this is the power of GOD. So let’s lift our lives as songs to the LORD, and listen for the songs being sung over us. 

You're Invited!

As a child, I remember few things as exhilarating as an invitation to a birthday party! The feeling of being included and my presence being requested to celebrate a friend’s life was always a highlight. Having a young son, I see this over-and-over again as he receives birthday party invitations and Tiffany and I have to play some schedule hop-scotch in order to meet all of our commitments. Knowing how important this is to him, as well as the child having the birthday party, we do everything we can.

I saw this play out last week as Ethan hosted a pool party for some neighborhood kids to celebrate the start of the new school year. We have a child who is new to the neighborhood who Ethan invited to come and participate. This literally made the child’s day, week, and maybe even his year! He must have thanked us a dozen times for inviting and including him. We then extended an invitation for him to join in a slumber party with three other boys and we received another dozen or so thank-yous. This got me thinking about just how important it is to include people in our plans.

We are relational creatures. In fact, this is why GOD created human beings in the first place…for the purpose of relationship. From the study of Psychology, we have learned that one of the most important needs of the human soul is to belong. We see this play out on the playgrounds, in classrooms, boardrooms, sanctuaries, and places wherever people gather. We have an innate and internal need to belong. This applies to the here-and-now as well as the eternal. To hear that you are welcome and wanted just does something to the human psyche and spirit. Whether you are marking a life-defining watershed moment, or sharing in a simple cup of coffee, no one wants to feel as though he/she isn’t wanted or special.

As we get ready for a BIG weekend of celebration, I hope that you will reflect over this need to belong and consider who you might invite to join you for what promises to be a special time. On Sunday, we will celebrate the 7^th birthday of The Lighthouse and the 4^th anniversary of the ministry unification between Lighthouse and Cokes Chapel. We will have wonderful worship with special elements as well as a covered dish luncheon following the 11am service. We want YOU there in order to help us celebrate! We also want you to invite a friend to help US celebrate these milestones. It won’t be the same if you aren’t there, so please, make every effort to be present and help us fill both of our worship spaces as well as the lunch.

I know how busy people are this time of year. I also know how Tiffany and I can feel when Ethan receives a birthday party invitation for what is always a jam-packed weekend. What we have learned, though, is these parties are so important for Ethan and his friends, that we do what we can to make it work. If this is the case for you this weekend, I hope you will do the same and make every effort to attend. It is a Sunday you will not want to miss.

You are welcome. YOU are wanted. YOU belong! So come and help us celebrate. And let’s make the party even bigger and grander by inviting someone else to come with you.

Back to School with the Golden Rule

The dog days of summer seem to get shorter and shorter, don’t they? Since the local school systems made adjusts to the calendar, students get out earlier but go back earlier, too. This really hit me one day last week while doing a little grocery shopping.

I was passing by the stationary and office supply aisle when my attention was caught by a noticeable buzz. There was a sort of feeding frenzy taking place as parents and children were rustling through bins and baskets to pick out the best folders, pencils, crayons, and paper. It brought back all sorts of memories of picking out the tools that would accompany me into a new campaign in the classrooms of my local school. I wanted to be well equipped. So as a parent, I definitely want the same for Ethan as he begin middle school this year.

Tiffany did a great job of helping get Ethan ready for school this year. A week or so before we left on vacation, she and Ethan went and purchased the equipment he would need for the sixth grade. As a side note, it is a whole new world from what it took to get ready for elementary school, but I sense that’s a blog for another time. As they picked out the requisite paper, folders, binders, lunchbox, and book bag, a new item made its way into the shopping cart that had Ethan particularly excited: a combination ruler and 3-hole punch that fits snugly in the spine of his binder. Talk about multitasking…he will be able to punch holes in things AND measure them at the same time! That ruler punch is something for which he is quite proud.

School is a vital aspect of young people learning to become adults. School is so much more than just reading, writing, and arithmetic; it is about facing challenges, persevering, making friends, and accomplishing the seemingly impossible. So when we think about measuring up and keeping a straight line, a ruler is a huge help! Beyond the centimeters and inches, we need to make sure we are sending our children and their teachers in to a school year with the best possible chance for success. They need a standard, a “ruler” if you will, to help provide an answer in a world that is slow to give them.

Jesus gives some timeless advice that I am sure you have heard before. “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”  (Luke 6.31) Many know this as the “Golden Rule” and work to live their life by this timeless principle. It helps when we think of the potential consequences of our actions and how we might personally be impacted if those same consequences were to come our way. Thinking this way can help prevent quick tempered and shortsighted reactions to very real circumstances.

If we were able to completely follow this golden rule, the world would be a different place, let alone our local schools. Treat others like you would want to be treated whether you are in the classroom, lunchroom, bathroom, locker room, music room, or art room. Wherever you might come face to face with someone else, remember Jesus’ timeless advice. You could do much worse than to arm yourself with this powerful piece of wisdom and advice to make a difference in the world around you.

We are not but just a few days into the new school year here in Coweta County, and our neighbors in Fayette, as well as some private schools, resume next week. There is no doubt it will present all sorts of challenges. But if we can remember to treat our neighbors as we would want to be treated ourselves, then we are making great strides toward a wonderfully constructive and educational experience. We need all the help we can get to measure up and keep a straight line. So as you pack your backpacks and briefcases for another day, remember to pack one item you can stand to have in abundance: The Golden Rule! Have a great year.