Don’t you LOVE music? I certainly do Joy, sorrow, hope, and so many other special messages can be expressed in one single song. Music also happens to be a very controversial topic in today’s churches. Let’s start out with this verse from Ephesians:

“Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord.” – Ephesians 5:19

I think that all Christians can agree on a “common ground” that we should sing songs of praise to our Lord (Personally, that was my favorite part of Sunday at my old church). The big disagreement is regarding whether contemporary music (Christian Rock, Rap, Metal etc) is acceptable.

Some believe that only hymns are an acceptable form of worship music because they are ‘perfect’, while rock and roll is an ‘abomination’ and anyone who listens to it must be evil. The only difference between a Hymn and a Christian Rock song is the beat. The words of both songs praise the Lord; both artists are Christians, and both wrote the song to honor God. So, why is the rock song being placed in the ‘evil’ category, while the Hymn is being sung every Sunday?

Although many will not admit it, this isn’t a religious issue. This is a personal issue. The Christian’s that believe Christian Rock is evil are generalizing that Rock and Roll are the source behind the sinfulness of this generation. Sex, Drugs, Immorality… “That must all be caused by the Christian Rock music teenagers listen to.” Sorry, but I don’t think so. Those problems are caused by many things, but Christian Rock music PRAISING God is not one of them.

One of the most common arguments against Rock and Rap music is the beat. Take this into consideration… In the song Handel’s Messiah, Violins are being played 16 times per second. The best rapper in the world has yet to go over 11 words per second. By this logic Violins should be banned from churches too.

Others believe that violence is the reason Rock shouldn’t be played in Church. They reason that it will encourage children to become ‘killers’ and commit sinful deeds. I defy anyone to find ONE Christian Rock song that promotes violence and murder. The people making this argument are generalizing that because some Rock and Roll has violence in it, that Christian Rock must have it too. This simply isn’t true, and is very poor logic on their part.

The “It’s not the hymns” argument that you will undoubtedly encounter when debating this subject simply proves my point in paragraph 5. This is a personal issue, not a religious one. Do you think God is really going to reject a rock singer’s worship and praise simply because they have a more ‘lively’ beat than a Hymn? Or because a few people in the congregation are biased towards rock-style music? I don’t think so.

I believe that God looks for what is in our heart when we worship; not what chords we play or how fast we play them.

Psalm 6 is a prayer, asking for mercy for the Psalmist’s sins. It’s a picture of how miserable he is in his sins, and how much he desires, and prays for mercy.

He starts off crying out to God, for God to not rebuke him, and to have mercy. He speaks of how weak he is, and how tired his soul is. The next couple of verses detail how weary, and tired he is. He speaks about his grief and his woe, and how much he cries.

The Psalmist concludes by saying that the Lord has heard him, and that the Lord will answer his prayer, and he ends with a warning to his enemies.

This Psalm is a prayer for mercy. How many of us pray for mercy, and pray that God will handle things? Not a generic prayer, like “Help with such-and-such”, but a real heart-felt prayer?

We live in a culture that doesn’t like admitting that we’re wrong, and that doesn’t like asking for mercy. Our culture tries to create the image of being able to handle it all. This Psalm was written by David. David, the boy who killed Goliath, David, one of the greatest Kings of Israel, David, the man after God’s own heart. This is HIS prayer to God, asking for mercy. If someone that is considered so great can humble himself, and pray for mercy, why can’t we? Too often, we try to fix things on our own, and end up making things worse, or no different. Instead, we should follow David’s example, and pray to God, and ask him for mercy.

Today, I’m finishing looking at Psalm 5. I’m picking up in Verse 7.

Verse 7 is an interesting contrast. In the previous verses, the Psalmist was detailing the wicked, and how God was going to deal with them, and what God hated. In this verse, he starts by saying AS FOR ME.

Regardless of what the rest of the world is doing around him, regardless of how evil the world is, the Psalmist declares that he will come into the Lord’s house, and will worship Him. It doesn’t matter to him what the world is doing, he’s going to do what he is supposed to do.

How about us? Are we like that? Do we pray and worship God, and follow his commands, regardless of what the rest of the world is doing?

Continuing, the Psalmist describes the wicked, how there is no faithfulness in their mouths, and how they are utterly evil. He then prays that God will destroy them.

This would be a bleak Psalm if it ended here, but it doesn’t. It goes on to describe how those who trust God will be joyful, and how they will be blessed. He says that the Lord will bless the righteous, and compass him with a shield.

Compass with a shield means to surround with a shield, so it means that God will protect the righteous.

I was going to talk about Christian Music for this post, but as I was reading through my SAT study guide this afternoon, I came across this essay question (paraphrased): “Can ordinary people make a difference in the course of history?”

It started me thinking of the Christian perspective of that question. We don’t need to be missionaries to make a difference for God. We can do it in our everyday lives by setting an example, assisting a friend in a time of need, or helping someone come to know Jesus as their Savior.

Being a Christian is so much more than just going to church. It’s about acting in a way that would please God 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Please take the time to read through these two passages from Ephesians:

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” — Ephesians 5:8-11

“Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the Devil’s schemes” — Ephesians 6:11

Doesn’t it make you feel special that God would choose us to be His soldiers? To choose us to share the light and glory of God with everyone we come in contact with! Our God is truly an awesome God.

Psalm 5 is a heartfelt prayer to God,praying for judgement on the evil, and declaring the Psalmist’s dedication to God.

He starts off praying that God will hear his words, and consider his meditations. He then praises God, telling God how the foolish can’t stand in his sight, and how God hates all sinners. He goes on, saying how God will destroy all the sinners, and abhor deceitful men.

In this day and age, abhor is not a word that we use often. It’s a powerful word, meaning to feel excessive repugnance towards, and to detest to extremity. Compare that to hate which means to simply dislike intensely. So, abhor is a powerful word; one that shouldn’t be lightly used.

The Psalmist says that God ABHORS deceitful and bloodthirsty men. Now, bloodthirsty is an obvious word, meaning someone craving violence, but deceit has a broader meaning. It is defined as “an attempt or dispostition to deceive or lead into error”, “any artifice, or practice, which misleads another, or causes him to believe what is false”, and “Any trick, collusion, contrivance, false representation, or underhand practice, used to defraud another”.

Now, lies are lies, and they are wrong, we know that, and most of us don’t do that. But, how many of us intentionally mislead someone, not lying, but just saying things that lead them to believe something not true? According to the Bible, God MORE than hates that. Why then, do we do things that God abhors? Shouldn’t we stop that, and only tell the truth, letting our yes be yes, and our no be no?

Tomorrow, I (hopefully) will conclude Psalm 5.

Psalm 4 is a beautiful psalm of trust in God. It shows how much faith that the Psalmist had, and how he relied on God regardless of what was happening around him.

In the first verse, the Psalmist cries out to God, praying that God will hear this prayer of his. The Psalmist then switches who he is talking to, and speaks to men, asking how long they will chase after things that have no meaning.

So, because it says Selah, lets do as it says, and pause and consider. Do we cry out to God? or do we chase after things that have no meaning? or try to turn God and what He has done into nothing?

The Psalmist continues by saying how the Lord has set apart the godly, and how the Lord will hear the godly when he prays. The psalmist continues, giving a command to stand in awe of God, pray, and to sin not

Now, let’s pause and consider. How many of us can say we stand in awe of God, pray, and do not sin?

The psalmist then says to put our trust in the Lord, and to offer sacrifices of Righteousness. Sacrifices of righteousness would be doing righteous acts or good works when we don’t have to. How many of us consistently do that?

He then says that many people pray that God will show them good, and make them happy. From there, he continues by praising God, thanking him for putting gladness in his heart, and that he will be able to lay down in peace and sleep, because the Lord protects him.

How many of us have that kind of trust in God? How many of us have that kind of peace and gladness? Can we say that we offer sacrifices of righteousness to God?

The World has come very far in the past hundred years. We have made advancements in technology, medicine, everyday comfort, and yet… with all that we have accomplished, has it been worth the price? With each passing day we rely more and more on our “Human Inventions”, our “Modern Conveniences”, and our “Everyday Luxuries”. So does this affect our relationship with God? Unfortunately, however much we’d like to deny it, it does (And not in a good way).

This modern era is full of worry, stress, and rush. Right now I’m juggling two jobs, SATs, College Applications, my personal life, and a million other things. When I feel overwhelmed or stressed out, this verse helps me remember that everything is part of Gods plan, and that He will take care of me:”Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” — Matthew 6:27

A friend once pointed out to me that it is entirely our own fault that life is so complicated. We make it so. Think about it… all of things that make our lives so busy are centered around US! If we focused more on HIM life would be far simpler, and better for all.

Praying helps a LOT. Take the time to let your life slow down, appreciate what God has given you, and just talk to Him. Like a loyal friend, He will always be there to listen, and unlike modern gadgets that will break or shut down, He will NEVER leave you nor forsake you!

Christian’s are a lot like Butterflies, but every butterfly must begin as a caterpillar.

Caterpillars eat and sleep. Over a period of time a caterpillar will double, and sometimes triple in size. They just eat, sleep and grow. Then one day, when they are ready, they climb into a tree or bush. They seclude themselves in a rock wall, or under a rock or old log. They build a shelter around them that hardens within hours. Then they sit. They lay in their new home, and they sleep. All of the food they have stored up begins to be used by their bodies to transform them. After months of rest and growth, they break free and spread their new wings. They crawl out of their little holes our out onto the nearest limb, and they stretch. They sit in the sun and let it dry their wings. Then, when they’re ready, they lift themselves into the air, and begin to fly. They learn to use their new wings to flutter about. They learn to gather food, and keep predators away. They show off their beautiful colours and grace the fields with their beauty.

 We as Christians start out as caterpillars. We walk around, and explore the Word of God. We take it all in and learn as much as we can. We learn more than we would ever think possible, and our knowledge and wisdom doubles or triples. We grow in faith at an unimaginable rate. Then one day, we crawl into our prayer closet and shut the door. We just want to read God’s Word and speak with Him. Sooner or later the time comes that we break out of our shell. We go out on a spiritual limb and try new things. We test our new knowledge, and see just how much we know. And then we fly. We begin going out in public and try to teach people the things we have learned. We show people how beautiful Jesus is, and we are drowned in the beauty of His grace.

 Like caterpillars, we have to be born a second time in order to grow and learn. It is up to us whether we remain caterpillars, or grow and spread our wings[1 Corinthians 3:1-3].

Psalm 3 paints a picture of a man crying out for God’s help, and how God helps and protects him.

The first two verses detail the Psalmist’s initial cry to God, telling Him how hopeless he is, and he tells God how people say that God cannot help him. These two verses paint a bleak picture; someone so alone, surrounded by troubles.

Now, in most Bibles you will see the word “Selah”. This, according to scholars, is best translated as “stop and listen”, carrying a strong implication that we should stop and consider what we have just read. So, pause, and consider what the Psalmist is saying. He says that his troubles are increasing, and that people say that God cannot save him. Doesn’t that sound like life today? More and more, people say that God cannot help us, or God doesn’t exist. If the Psalm ended here, it would be a bleak Psalm, BUT, it doesn’t.

The next verse describes God as a Shield, and as one who lifts up his head. The Psalmist then describes how he called unto God, and how God heard him.

There is another Selah intermission, so again, reflect, consider, examine the previous 2 verses. God hears us when we cry out to Him, even when the rest of the world says He won’t. Isn’t that great? No matter how bad things get, no matter how much worse they look like they’re getting, God will hear us when we cry out to Him.

The Psalmist concludes by describing how God has protected him, and how he will not be afraid of his enemies.

The Psalm ends with Selah, so, one more time, read back over the Psalm, stopping to examine it, and to meditate on it. The Psalmist said he has lain down and slept, because he was protected by God. That is a powerful picture. Look at the previous verses, he is surrounded by troubles, and yet, with the knowledge that God is protecting him, he is able to sleep, without fear. How many of us have faith enough to depend on God, without worrying about what is around us?

The Psalmist says with 10,000 people around him, he would not fear, for he cries out for God’s help, and God protects him. He describes what God has done to his enemies, and ends by saying that salvation belongs to God, and asks God’s blessing on His people.

So, how about us? Do we cry out to God when we are surrounded by troubles? Do we have faith that, no matter what men may say, that God will save us? Do we have the peace in God that we can feel safe, knowing that he is protecting us?

Vietnam was a cruel and terrible war. Ho Chi Minh was a young leader who wanted to drive the French out of Vietnam. France had always occupied Vietnam and he wanted to see his country independent. He traveled to Russia to study communism under the communist leader of that country. He came back to Vietnam as a young man and began to organize political parties under communism. As his power and influence in Vietnam grew he tried to force the people of his country to accept communism by using terrorist actions. He felt that communism would unite Vietnam and gain it’s independence. He began a series of invasions both within the country and on the borders, oppressing his own people. The US president fearing a domino effect on the countries surrounding Vietnam, sent American troops in to help the Vietnamese people resist the advances being led by the Viet Cong[North Vietnam]. The Viet Cong was counting on the terrain of the jungle and the divided opinion of the war in America, to wear down the American troops. As the war dragged on, the hardships of the jungle wore the troops down, the South Vietnamese were apathetic in their own war. They were letting the Americans fight for them. The Viet Cong’s military tactics were such that they would send people with bombs strapped to them into American camps [including small children]. The South Vietnamese feared the Viet Cong, and they often attacked the Americans, because of the threat of the Viet Cong. The Viet Cong coerced the South Vietnamese into becoming communist.

Additionally the media presented the war in a very negative light to the people in America, which caused the American people to be divided about the war. Peace movements marched on the White House and across college campuses. News of the unpopularity of the war made the troops in Vietnam not want to continue fighting. Many of them began refusing to fight, going so far as to even disobey direct orders. Eventually, Richard Nixon took office, and seeing the lack of progress, the high death toll, the lack of support of the American people, and the fact that the South Vietnamese were not fighting their own war, caused him to pull our troops. By 1975 Vietnam was under total communist control, under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh. Vietnam never regained its freedom, and is communist to this day.

Saddan Hussein was the leader of Iraq. Once he was in power he used terrorist tactics to mutilate his own people. He was guilty of mass murder of his own people, and of the Kurds in the north. People just disappeared, and the death toll was rising. America became involved initially under the leadership of George H. W. Bush. The war that occurred between the American and Iraqi troops was known as the Gulf War. America pulled out when the American troops were driven back. The American troops may have been driven back, but they had accomplished their goal. Kuwait was free and recovering. America remained slightly involved in the northern border of Kuwait as a kind of peace-keeping presence within Iraq.

September 11, 2001 was a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. It is possible that Al Quaida was behind the attack. Al Quaida at the time was funding Saddan Hussein. In early 1992, faulty American intelligence claimed that Saddan had control of weapons of mass destruction. Like President Johnson feared the threat of communism, President George W. Bush [son of George H. W. Bush] feared the threat of terrorism. He gained support from other countries and invaded Iraq. The same situation exists in Iraq today as existed in Vietnam, the terrain is uneven, the enemy could be man woman or child, and the country of America is divided. Our troops are in lack of full support.

The difference is that the Vietnamese were apathetic about their own war, but the Iraqis are taking an active part. Vietnam ended as a bloody mess with no winner. Because we appeared to be of no use, we pulled out. There was no goal to reach, because there was no one to help reach the goal. The American troops in Iraq need our full support. Vietnam was a bloody mess, and the war on Iraq is close behind. What better way to support them, than to pray [1 Thessalonians 5:17]? Give them something to fight for. Don’t just sit back and watch History repeat itself.

Support our troops. Pray for them. They need us now if ever.