Spirit

All through the age’s music and spirituality as served hand in hand. As for instruments, the earliest is presumed to be, percussions from noisemakers to drums.

Wind instruments such as reed flutes followed closely, later as the technologies evolved string instruments and organs.

All during this long history of humankind musical quests, the most used instrument, as been the voice. From primitive humming to the rich and melodious Gregorian chants.

Music as an instrument to heightens the senses, to reach beyond and perhaps,even, reach whatever God or Gods or even Goddesses that particular society worshiped.

Often the participants would reach trances and reported communication with the Divine. The same still applies today, many “churches” use music in this fashion.

Now, as a rule however, music has been reduced to a mere form of entertainment to the masses at large. A simple look at the type of music available mostly cloned variations on what currently sells the most.

The lack of creativity is vivid! To be fair it is not only limited to the field of music. Just look at the past few years until today and count the number of remakes. Even worst the remakes of remakes!!!

But I digress, you can still find spiritual music, there is a rebirth of such music Especially in the Christian music genre which is expanding at a phenomenal rate lately.

From the traditional Gospel style to Punk and even Heavy metal!!!

Reminds me that it was not so long ago that the clergy boldly proclaimed rock music to be inspired and even affirmed it to be the work of the devil!!!

Times change:)

Ask yourself this;

When was the last time you heard of a style of music being created? No, Rap dates back to the 60’s, hip-hop, trip hop and all other hops to surface recently are but variations on the same “rap” theme.

Where are the experimenters, the Zappa’s, Pink Floyds, and others?

Those brave soul who push the envelope of what music is, those that are unsatisfied with the musical status quo and pre digested drivel!

Perhaps, if it at all, independent medias might be able to bring you those very same artists but it is well known that these have a limited but thankfully growing following.

Maybe in a few years if not decades, when the masses have become
disenchanted with the corporative offering. Then start deserting to the Independents perhaps then, will the heavy machinery slowly provide to them really fresh and truly creative music.

Perhaps then will we see the emergence of a music that reaches your Soul and animate you the very core?

Claude Gagne is the owner of K.L.O.D Radio and amateur music historian. http://www.klodradio.com

A multidisciplinary artist whose works can be found at
http://www.lulu.com/claudegagne

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In spite of the fact that God makes numerous promises of financial rewards for generous giving, many church leaders are too “spiritual” to preach them. They grow visibly agitated when these promises are mentioned, and are quick to qualify them. For example, in “10 Principles of Giving,” an otherwise outstanding exposition of 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, Dr. John Stott writes,

Two harvest principles are here applied to Christian giving.

First, we reap what we sow. Whoever sows sparingly reaps sparingly, and whoever sows generously reaps generously (v.6). ‘Sowing’ is an obvious picture of giving. What then can we expect to ‘reap’? We should not interpret Paul’s point with excessive literalism, as if he were saying that the more we give the more we will get, and that our income will keep pace with our expenditure. http://www.generousgiving.org/testimonies/display.asp?id=49

Why shouldn’t we interpret Paul’s point as “saying that the more we give the more we will get, and that our income will keep pace with our expenditure”? That’s exactly what he does say. The context leaves us with no other defensible interpretation. If we reap what we sow, and what we sow is money, then what we reap will also be money. Any other conclusion does violence to the text. Yet this gifted, godly expositor is so uncomfortable with the plain meaning of Paul’s promise that he dismisses it without any exegetical supportlabeling an interpretation as “excessive literalism” is not an exegetical argument.

A few sentences later Stott falls into the same hermeneutical trap:

If then we give in this spirit, what will happen? What harvest can we expect to reap? Answer: ‘God is able to make all grace abound to you’ so that ‘in all things’ (not necessarily in material things) on the one hand you may have all you need, and on the other you may ‘abound in every good work’ because your opportunities for further service will increase (v.8).

Why the qualification, “(not necessarily in material things)”? “Material things” is precisely the subject of Paul’s discussion. Paul knows there are other rewards for giving than monetary blessing. But his purpose here is to encourage the Corinthians to give by assuring them that if they give financially, God will bless them financially. Denying this in the face of overwhelming contextual evidence makes us guilty of what I call “emotional exegesis”allowing our personal discomfort with a divine truth to distort the text that reveals it.

God understands that a primary reason we do not give sacrificially is that we are afraid we can’t afford tothat it will bankrupt us. That is why so many Scriptures that challenge us to give, or to live contrary to conventional fiscal wisdom, emphasize God’s promises of financial reward. Here are just a few examples:

“During the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath rest ‘But if you say, ‘What are we going to eat on the seventh year if we do not sow or gather in our crops?’ 21 then I will so order My blessing for you in the sixth year that it will bring forth the crop for three years. 22 ‘When you are sowing the eighth year, you can still eat old things from the crop, eating [the old] until the ninth year when its crop comes in.’” (Lev. 25:4, 20-22)

“Honor the LORD from your wealth, And from the first of all your produce, 10 So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.” (Prov. 3:9,10)

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matt. 6:33).

“Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.” (2 Cor. 9:7,8)

Along with spiritual and eternal blessings, God Himself promises us financial rewards for giving. Obviously He does not consider them to be crass or unspiritual. If we use emotional exegesis to spiritualize them, we become guilty of trying to be more “spiritual” than God. “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy” (Acts 10:15b, NASB).

When you preach on giving, be sure to include God’s promises of financial rewards. That is the truly spiritual thing to do.

Copyright 2006 Rod Rogers

Rod Rogers, D.Min., is a stewardship consultant, speaker, and author of Pastor Driven Stewardship: 10 Steps to Lead Your Church to Biblical Giving. His ten-step Dynamic Giving System

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“Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” - Ephesians 6:17, 18

The Holy Spirit arrested me one day with this: “the Word is as much a manifestation of God as is Jesus, with the same power, two forms of the same Thing.”

I am sure everyone is in agreement, until the words with the same power perhaps. We acknowledge that Jesus is Lord and accept the triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But the Word, a manifestation of God, the same as Jesus - that might take some consideration and the Word having the same power as Jesus - - now that may be a real stretch. Let’s dig into the Word together. Follow along with me for a few minutes and see how this comes alive for you.

We must not stand on the interpretation of one Word. Every word is confirmed by two or three witnesses (2 Corinthians 13:1, Deuteronomy 17:6 & 19:15 and Matthew 18:16) and we know that the Holy Spirit will never give a personal revelation that is not confirmed in the written Word. If the interpretation is correct, it will stand the test and a personal Word from God will be born out in Scripture. The Word of God is eternally consistent and the testimony of any Word is confirmed by the rest of the Word.

John 1:1-3 states, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made”. We know from a careful reading of Genesis 1 that all things were created by God’s spoken Word. Throughout chapter one, God says and then God sees.

The Word was not only with God at the beginning, but we are told they are One and the same, and verse 3 tells us that all things were made by Him. The Word is referred to as Him, which is further confirmation of the oneness of the Word and God. Verse 14 goes on to tell us “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” We know the reference is to Jesus Christ but verse 16 confirms it, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

Jesus assures us that when we have seen Him, we have seen the Father (John 14:9). We can be sure that Jesus is not a watered down version of the Father, and if we had any doubt at all, this scripture dispels it. So we can also be certain that the Word of God is not a watered down version - after all, the Word created everything that is seen. (Hebrews 11:3)

The Word spoken into the womb of a young Hebrew maiden became the manifestation of God as Man. The Word spoken to Lazarus gave us a foreshadowing of its ultimate power over death. And the Word of God spoken by the sinner brings a new birth of the spirit and transformation into sons and daughters of God.

The Word of God has lost no power over the ages - when the Lord Jesus splits the eastern sky and returns to claim the earth in power and glory, there will be no lessening of the power of the Word - they are still One and the Same (see Acts 1:9-11 & Revelation 19:11-16).

Do you long for the power of God in your situation? Then speak the Word He has given you. The Word has inherent power whether as the Creator of all things, as the Son of Man, as the Glorious Lord, or spoken in your mouth - the power is in the Word.

See the power of God operate in your life - make this your personal confession: “Death and life are in the power of my tongue. The words I speak will bring dynamic power into my situation and I will experience the fruit of this power in my own life and in the lives of those I minister to as well.” (See Proverbs 18:21)

Copyright 2006 So-lu’shunz Leadership Services

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