The Beginning Of True Worship: A Circumsized Heart

My Bible reading time is getting so good. I'm so close to The New Testament that I can taste it but the journey has been astonishing, slow paced but full of meditation. As I read through the books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel there was one similar focal point that I tuned into: God was telling these anointed men that what He most desired was the heart. The Lord went on to pour out prophecies about how He planned to recapture Israel's hearts, how He desired for His people to circumcise their hearts. God gave them so many literal examples and symbols for what true worship really was but they (with an exception of a few) never got it. The prophet Samuel understood this when he reprimanded King Saul for choosing sacrifices over obedience. David got it when he sang in one of his Psalms about how he finally realized that The Lord takes no pleasure in sacrifices and offerings, but instead, delights in a broken and contrite heart. For a while God used these literal expressions as a shadow of the true meaning of the beginnings of worship. Before anything else, God desires to have our hearts in His hand, because to give someone your heart is to give them all of you. Change came and God was behind this transformation, ready to reveal to all that what He was trying to do this whole time was win over their hearts. The few men that understood this did life with God: walked with Him daily, invited The Lord to be where they were, and followed The Lord wherever He wanted them to go. It's so easy to recognize a move of God when you spend intimate and public time with God. In your secret place as well as the grocery store, church, between classes, at work, and during lunch conversations. This is a picture of what doing life with God is and it all begins with a rendered, devoted, circumcised heart. You see, a circumcision removes the natural protective covering and what God was saying was this: for a while guys I asked you to circumcise your children because I was giving you a picture of what I really wanted and that was for that wall in your heart that you use to keep me out to be removed so that I could come in. God wants to come in to our hearts and dwell there. Worship first involves us giving our hearts over so that His Spirit may dwell there. When Jesus came He later gave the next revelation and that was this: guys, the temple was a symbol for a long time but now I've been sent by my Father to tell you that when I leave His Spirit will now not just be with you and in you...now He's gonna be upon you because your bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. The Lord tells us in The Book of Daniel that God is the revealer of mysteries and that He is.

*~*~*

(Ezekiel 11:19-20) I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.

*~*~*

My favorite example so far in The Old Testament of what a circumcised heart looks like would have to be in the life story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego when they're put on the spot and about to be thrown into a burning furnace because they refused to worship anybody/anything else but their God. I mean, I felt empowered as I was reading this.

*~*~*

(Daniel 3:17-18) "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” 

*~*~*

God loves and honors that heart that has let Him completely come in to the point of living a life that screams: My God is the living God and He can do anything for me but even if things don't work out the way I envision I will still love Him and keep my heart open to Him. God just can't resist this genuine heart because we were all created the same fierce and bold potential to love. This is the beginning of true worship that is born from doing life with God.

///Will You Still Worship When Your Usual Way of Connecting With God is Cut Off?///

The key that opens the door into God's presence is intimacy; It's a singular action that later turns into a plural activity. To have an intimate relationship of any kind there first has to be a connection, that bridge that allows communication between two Spirits. (John 4:24) tells us that "God is Spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth." When we feed our Spirit then our flesh, weak or strong, has to submit under the authority of Jesus. The case for me this week was weak flesh and a strong Spirit. I know when you first read that last sentence it sounds a bit bizarre or maybe a bit uppity but the Lord knows the details of my week and these days have truly stripped my flesh off to only reveal my Spirit. In past seasons I've had to battle through my flesh getting in the way of my Spirit's purpose and I continue to struggle with this of course but God had something new to teach me this week. The battle that I had to face required me to solely depend on the strength of my Spirit Man: I had been feeding Him with word, music, preachings...etc. and now came the time to see the fruit of that. I have seen the fruit and the words that were declared did not return void.

Sunday night, the Lord gave me a dream: I saw myself at a party of some kind. For some reason I was there helping out and I went outside and started walking toward my Mom's SUV. When I was about to open the door I felt someone following me so I turned around and saw a young man walking up behind me. I locked the car and asked the guy if I could help him with anything and before I knew it he pulled out a gun and shot me. He just walked away after this and disappeared behind a wall. I felt myself fall to the ground and land on grass but I didn't feel the bullet penetrate me. I was shocked by this but instead of panicking I began to declare, "I cover myself with the blood of Jesus...The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want He makes me lie down by green pastures and leads me beside still waters..." And then the guy comes back, pulls out his gun, and shoots me over and over again. The more I declared The Word the angrier he got and the angrier he got the more he shot. The bullets couldn't touch me. There was like a force field blocking the bullets. The word of God became my faithful shield. I didn't know it then but God was preparing me for what was going to come and clearly He showed me that I was going to have to declare His Word through this spiritual warfare.

My voice was just gone for almost the whole week and if you express your worship to God through singing like I do then you know how horrible, horrible, that really feels. How impotent I felt when the guitar was being played. Every chord made my heart leap and my lips quiver with anxiousness. Day after day I drove in my car with only my hand raised up and my mouth tightly sealed. The Holy Spirit was there in that moment and saw my heart. It even began to drizzle so all I could do was smile. I felt in my Spirit so strongly that the enemy was not going to hear one complaint, nor one reproach, and he especially was not going to cause confusion as to why this was happening to me. My worship was not going to be defined by what I lacked, but rather, what I had. God loves it when I sing to Him but He loves me so much more. That's it right there! He wants us so so so much more than anything else we can offer Him. The way I was approaching and confronting this situation wasn't something I was doing with the intention of just receiving healing...it was about all my love being offered in the palm of my hand to my good and faithful God in the midst of difficult circumstances. I desperately wanted Him to know that I would worship and love Him no matter what I was going through...I wanted Him to just love my heart...I wanted to make Him smile.

 I didn't even have to memorize this scripture because once I read it, it was engraved in my Spirit. Spending the night on the couch far from my room could have provoked my frustration but instead I took my pillow, blanket, my Declaration Scriptures Notebook, and Bible and read until my eyes couldn't read another word. I declared (Jeremiah 17:14) after The Lord showed me this scripture as I was reading my Bible. What is used to harm us God can use to benefit us. It will work for your good if you're called to God's purposes. Will you still worship?

Make another connection and if that one is taken away make another and then another. If your voice is gone use your hands and if your hands are gone get down on your knees. If you can't dance pray and if you can't pray then converse in your mind with your God. Make a connection. In the natural you may not be able to sing so let your life be your song or maybe you can't physically bow down so let your every step be in full surrender to God. Don't let anything steal your worship because while you see it's tangible form, God see's its spiritual form. Will you still worship?

His Rain Falls When We Prepare Our Hearts

 I want to talk about those times when we lead or participate in a praise and worship service in which we feel that God's presence just didn't move. We compare one service to another or one season to another and find ourselves playing the blame game: Yup it was that out of tune guitar, those loud drums, the tired vocalists, and definitely those new songs. It's easy sometimes for us to concoct some crazy-wild explanation for something so simple. I've even found myself saying, "Lord, why? These people needed You to show up...I was dying for You to show up." I don't know if any of you can relate but this is a horrible feeling. You come home and think that you just wasted your time and even worse that you just wasted God's time and probably made Him tear up a bit from how awful that whole service turned out. I've been there and it's because I've been there that I've sought out my Lord's council. I love how he speaks into my heart so clearly. There are specific moments when I've just felt God laugh and I'm pretty sure when I've talked to Him about these things He's been just balling out, shaking His head, ready to just cradle me because the answer is so simple.

*~*~*

(Song of Solomon 1:6) 

Do not stare at me because I am dark,

    because I am darkened by the sun.

My mother’s sons were angry with me

    and made me take care of the vineyards;

    my own vineyard I had to neglect.

(Song of Solomon 2:10)

My beloved spoke and said to me,
    “Arise, my darling,
    my beautiful one, come with me.

*~*~*

What The Lord revealed to me was that we, His children, are the ones who carry His presence and He confirmed this with His Word that says that we are the Temple of The Holy Spirit, His church. We're suppose to be putting the "C', "H", "U", "R", "C", "H" in "church". The only way to do this is through our relationship with God. He is always able to move but we also have the calling to release what He has freely given us. His Spirit is waiting to be releases but if we don't feed our spirit's how can we accomplish this? It's about talking to our Father because His Holy Spirit is with us and longs to be upon all of us, it's about getting into His Word for a fresh and new revelation, and it's about intimate prayer and worship behind closed doors when no one is looking. God is tired of His unfaithful bride who is ravished by many lovers. In Jeremiah 3 The Lord tells His people that "the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen" because of their unfaithfulness. God uses the words prostitution and unfaithfulness to describe our desire to seek another's council and even our own;He refers to anything that occupies the first place in our hearts. 

*~*~*

(Jeremiah 2:13)

“My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
    the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
    broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

*~*~*

Do we not do this today? We lean on our own past understanding and at some point stop overflowing because we've traded fountains. We think we can survive with what we know but those moments are when we need The Lord the most. Only He can see a heart naked as it is. When He says He wants a worshiper in spirit and in truth, this is what He's referring to. He longs for His worshiper to lay beside Him and hear His heartbeat and the only way for us to do this is to cultivate that relationship. Sometimes we reach moments where we hide our faces from The Lord and sink back. He's calling out. Talk to Him. He just wants to talk to us. He just wants to love us. Our wells can't hold water but His can. He doesn't want us to struggle or get frustrated anymore. When you prepare your heart's garden He will walk in and spend time with you. Because you know Him He will listen and because He knows You His Spirit will be upon you ready to be released.

*~*~*

(Psalm 132:7-8)

“Let us go to his dwelling place,
    let us worship at his footstool, saying,
 ‘Arise, Lord, and come to your resting place,
    you and the ark of your might.

//We are that resting place that 

The Holy Spirit longs to dwell in.//

*~*~*

 "Learn to steward God's presence in stillness, not just in corporate worship." 

                                                                                           

                                                                                            —Steffany Gretzinger

When we do this through intimate time with The Lord our services and corporate gatherings will be in continuous overflow. His signs and wonders will be there. The fullness of His Spirit is the key and that key can only be given to us through spirit taught knowledge that comes from the secret place. My secret place sometimes looks like a locked room with soft Bethel or Ihop music playing in the background, or a locked bathroom with me kneeling at the foot of the tub, a car ride, or gardening time outside. The one thing that all these locations have in common is that I am alone with God in order to seek Him. You don't need anything fancy just a place where you can cultivate that relationship with God behind closed doors so that when you do life in the open you will be walking in the fullness of His Spirit and that rain will fall no matter where you find yourself.

A Season Of Seeking Out The Hidden Things

When we find ourselves secluded theses are the seasons where one on one with The Holy Spirit we grow and mature. There is always a lesson to be taught and learned. I find myself in this season right now and The Lord is who He says He is. Faithful and true, holding my hand and walking me through. After some adjustments in my life The Lord revealed to my heart and placed this scenario before me: "There is a bus that is taking you and others to the next season and you got on early. Better to be the first one on than the last because the last ones to get on I had to push and force so they come hurt, scared, and confused. This is a season of seeking out the hidden things." I've been hearing this in my Spirit and then came God's word to confirm His spirit taught words to me:

*~*~*

(Isaiah 26:20) 

Go, my people, enter your rooms 

and shut the doors behind you; 

hide yourselves for a little while 

until his wrath has passed by.

(Isaiah 45:3) 

I will give you hidden treasures, 

riches stored in secret places, 

so that you may know that 

I am the Lord, the God of Israel, 

who summons you by name.

(Isaiah 48:6-7) 

You have heard these things; 

look at them all. Will you not admit them? 

“From now on I will tell you of new things, 

of hidden things unknown to you. 

They are created now, and not long ago; 

you have not heard of them 

before today. So you cannot say, 

‘Yes, I knew of them.’ 

*~*~*

I've been what feels like the last one on the bus and it is not pretty...it hurts. I thought my wounds were going to kill me but my Lord healed me and only the scars remain. I never understood the scripture that reads that God wounded us but now He would heal us until I encountered these seasons. God raises a banner and calls out to us but sometimes we hesitate for too long and enter a zone of false comfortability. And then He is forced to drag us because He loves us and can not sit there and watch us miss the prepared table that He has set before us. The confusion and pain won't last forever because our God is faithful and will bind our wounds and wipe our tears. There is rest in knowing who we are in Christ and what God wants us to really do. We will never be able to fit a man-made mold. That yoke is too heavy and only brings us neverending burdens. They are burdens disguised as servanthood obedience and kingdom obligations but God will not permit His loved ones to be fooled. 

*~*~*

(Psalm 127:1-2) 

Unless the Lord builds the house,

    the builders labor in vain.

Unless the Lord watches over the city,

    the guards stand watch in vain.

2 

In vain you rise early and stay up late,

toiling for food to eat—

    for he grants sleep to those he loves.

*~*~*

Just two Sundays ago I had this vision during the service while the team and I were worshiping in song and what I saw was a beautiful treasure box. I felt my Lord's excitement. He wanted His people to open it. He desired for us to open it. I say "us" because He longs for all of His children to want more of Him. To be curious and child-like in our Daddy's spiritual matters. This makes Him happy. The treasures of our Father's heart are found through communion and relationship with prayer, worship, and reading scripture in spirit and in truth. 

There are things that I've had to step away from because God is dealing in His way with those things and desires to keep me on His track. Those "things" in the natural seem good and should have God's stamp of approval because they are ministry related and done in His name but God's ways are higher and so much sweeter. Can anybody say amen?! Some people won't agree but that's OK, the murmurs just have to roll off your back. In the secret place with The Lord and with the support of those around you who can truly perceive the move of God this period of time will bring a new revelation of who God says you are. In this season, unlike other past seasons, it was easy for me to let go and move with the Spirit of God because I know He's going to teach me something good. I've tasted this very fruit in the past and I've seen God's goodness and the joy that overflows from His dwelling place.

On another note, My Summer II Mexican American Lit class officially starts tomorrow and I couldn't be any more excited. My best friend is also teaching me to play piano, something a few seasons past I thought would be impossible. My excuse was that I'm not a good multi-tasker but God just laughs at my excuses and hugs me before sending me on my way. I've been reading through The Bible so much to the point where it's been a day long thing sometimes. I know I won't always have that kind of time so this season is so important to and for me. It's a step back in order to step in. A hungry heart The Lord cannot resist and that's my purpose in this time...to love on my God and to rest in the fact that my Beloved's desire is for me.

Holy Spirit Teachings //&// The Anointing

There are things that only The Holy Spirit can teach us. Books, other than God's Word, expand our knowledge and enhance our spiritual lives without a doubt;However, only God's Spirit can reveal the hidden treasures of our Father's heart unto our hearts and these are the "things" that no eye has seen and no ear has heard. What do I mean by "things"? Teachings. Lessons. Guidance.

I want to share a scripture with you that I've been meditating on for days. I decided to introduce this verse in two different versions mainly because what I'm leaning toward saying is that The Holy Spirit and the anointing go hand-in-hand. And it's this continual overflow of a relationship that equips us with wisdom, character, and thoughts from above. Our minds are renewed over and over again and we get a glimpse of God's Kingdom each and every time.

(1 John 2:27) As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him. NIV

(1 John 2:27) But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don't need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ. NLT

There are three main points that I want to focus in on: God wants to pour out His anointing over us, this anointing that is The Holy Spirit teaches us everything God wants us to know, and we must remain in Him. Just like branches must remain connected to their tree so must we remain connected to, abiding in, Jesus. As we seek Him more and more He shows us more and more. As we surrender ourselves to God more and more and find rest in Him more and more He takes more and more control. What a beautiful season when we come to the fullness of God's Spirit...we are made whole. Some may not understand the vocabulary yet they do have the anointing because this is something that only The Holy Spirit can give. It's not a mind thing, it's a Spirit thing. God does use us to transmit His anointing but The Holy Spirit is the one who can supply it. This power is born out of a deeper relationship with God. Just like the Psalmist David said, He anoints our head with oil and all the rest of the benefits he describes come from sitting at the table with God. Out of this relationship with The Holy Spirit comes anointing and out of this anointing comes power.

(1 Corinthians 2:10-14) These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.

I especially love how this verse ends: The Holy Spirit explains to us spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. Spirit-taught words. This kind of vocab can only come from above. It's something fresh and new that the Father has in store just for you. And I can't stress this enough, power is the result of anointing and anointing is the result of our relationship with The Holy Spirit. These encounters mold us and the fruit is more and more anointing which produces power upon power. Jesus lived it.

(Acts 10:36-38) You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached—how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

Ok, I'm sorry but I love this, I just have to emphasize this: because God was with Him! Why? Because God is with you. He is with you. He. Is. With. You. He wants to give you a fresh portion of Himself as He anoints your head with oil. This subject is so near and dear to me because The Holy Spirit has taught me along my own journey that without His anointing my music just makes noise. I need Him to break through, to satisfy, to transform, to heal, and to restore. We can't do anything worth doing without The Holy Spirit. I pray right now that as you read this your cup overflows and not only is your spirit renewed but it is set on fire. And here I go sharing some more quotes from Bill Johnson's Book, "When Heaven Invades Earth." Amazing book that I can't wait to finish and that I just can't seem to stop sharing.

*~*~*

"Those who discover the value of His presence enter realms 

of intimacy with God never previously considered possible. 

Out of this vital relationship arises a ministry of power that 

formerly was only a dream. The incomprehensible becomes 

possible because He is with us."         

                         

                                     —Bill Johnson

"Even though we may know the will of God from scripture, 

we still need The Holy Spirit to help us with the interpretation, 

application, and empowerment to perform His will."   

                                                    —Bill Johnson

"The anointing is actually the person of The Holy Spirit upon 

someone to equip them for supernatural endeavors."  

                                 —Bill Johnson

*~*~*

Bringing Your Intimate Worship to The Public

In the intimate we come to know our Father's heart. Because our spirits are seeing Him we come to know Him. Now from personal experience I can honestly say that it took me awhile to learn to love seeking The Lord without a live worship band playing, because of how involved I was in this, and without the large building we have come to call "church". When I first received Jesus in my heart I went through a series of processes and one of the first ones was my constant desire to be in "church". I'm talking about spending more than three days a week and hours and hours at "church". I had to be there because my spirit was a baby and was hungry and extremely thirsty. It was a season of separation: from all that the Lord showed me was unholy for me and from any triggers that reminded me of who I was. In fact, at first, if I wasn't there I couldn't find myself. You come to realize whether or not it's really God that occupies first place in your heart when you lose it all. God strips us of everything that we hold on to that isn't Him because He wants to be our fountain. This happened to me and I struggled, cried, and even turned away for a moment from my pure love for my Father. I couldn't sing, I didn't want to sing. 

Reflecting on this I compare my situation to that of King David's. I felt just like David in The 2 Book of Samuel when him and his team were carrying the ark of the covenant back to Jerusalem after it had been stolen from them. They were so happy, celebrating their great victory, when suddenly the ark slipped and in order to break its fall one of David's men touched it with his hand causing God to kill him on the spot. David became so angry and so afraid of God that he sent the ark away to another's home because he didn't know how he could trust The Lord after that. Time past and God showed David His faithfulness. God showed David that what He did was not because He was a cruel Father. The Lord showed David how much He loved him, because he was a man after God's own heart, by proving that His people die because they lack knowledge. The Word of God shows us in the 1 Book of Chronicles that David accepts what God had done because he realized that there were laws that God Himself established in the times of Moses that he and his men had disobeyed.

Because God took me by the hand and led me into the next season of my life, which was about seeking Him at any cost, I learned to love pursuing Him without the four walls that I had become so accustomed to. That basically looked like my best friend and I spending hours and hours and days and days in my living room just expressing our worship to God with our voices and instrument. In that season I learned that where the Spirit of The Lord was there would be freedom. This scripture became real to me. My friend and I learned so much not just about music but about what seeking and finding God really meant. More seasons past and suddenly I found myself in a totally different time and place in my life in which The Holy Spirit introduced me to simplicity. What happens when the instruments and the mics are gone? He taught me the simple joy, peace, and love that flows in His presence when I close my door and forget about the noise of life to fall on my hands and knees to worship Him. Just Him and I. Because I read His Word and began to learn who He really was I became not hungry for the expressions that I utilized to connect with Him, but merely hungry for Him. I craved Him. At any cost I wanted Him. Freeze that and picture this please. That is exactly where true worship is born. Because I sought Him, He faithfully revealed Himself and then suddenly our family worship times became overtaken by The Holy Spirit, which then led to that pouring out over any place that I found myself walking through or singing at. Because now worship wasn't a word I used so lightly and singing wasn't at all anything without worship. Before I sing I worship. Before we sing or play music or do anything else we need to worship. We are worshipers first and that will clearly be reflected wherever we go. In your spirit you can perceive the atmosphere and whether or not mountains are moving and lives are changing. You don't worry first about tuning and teamwork, first worship Him alone on your own and The Holy Spirit will show up wherever you go if that is your prayer and heart's desire. He will. In order for the public to experience the presence of God those that carry the ark and know how to enter God's presence at any time must cling to the moments that they spend seeking God so that they can release that wherever they go. These are the reflections of a psalmist, of a worshiper, and of a lover of God's presence.

(Matthew 6:6) But when you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private. Then your Father, who sees everything, will reward you.

Random Snippets: Spontaneous Worship, Self-Discipline, Song Choice

///Spontaneous Worship///

(Psalm 33:3)

Sing a new song of praise to him; play 

skillfully on the harp, and sing with joy.

(Ephesians 5:19)

speaking to one another with psalms, 

hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and 

make music from your heart to the Lord, 

This was something I did but that I didn't know what to call at the time. When I led worship at a church at age 18 the Holy Spirit really became my teacher. I could feel Him so near instructing me how and what to sing. Suddenly between songs He would just take over and new lyrics would burst forth without me even thinking. The Pastor called it "prophetic worship" because sometimes I would prophecy through song but the band and I would just say, "lets flow." I compare these moments to a stream of running water because there was no stopping what the Holy Spirit was doing and it was a continuous overflow of new songs. It wasn't until last year that I first heard the term "Spontaneous Worship," when discovering Bethel Church in Redding, California. The Spirit connected me to something that I'd never heard of. He thught me what made Him happy. During our congregational worship times it's great to get a perfect sound and to have beautiful voices on cue but...the Holy Spirit could care less about that if we're not letting His voice be heard. He knows what's in the Father's heart and if we're ignoring Him in our churches then we'll be stuck in an old revelation when God always has a new one to give. Spontaneous Worship isn't something you practice because it comes from soaking in God's presence and worshiping him in spirit and in truth. It's a new song that isn't rehearsed that bursts from The Spirit's heart, to yours, and then to those around you. Many churches don't allow this because they seek an "order" but God's order looks nothing like ours. I encourage you to let the Holy Spirit move the way He wants to through you. There have been musicians, pastors, and singers that I have worked with that just don't want to have anything to do with this because they seek their version of perfection, just like there's those who's spirit's discern what comes from God and respond to the atmosphere. The Lord has given me prudence to know when and where but my heart's desire is that first off, as worshipers, we can all plug into what the Spirit of God is doing. David constantly talked about singing a new song to The Lord in his Psalms because he knew the difference between sitting and writing to moving and reacting at the time at hand. He didn't have time to write during a battle between the Philistines but he could begin to praise his God right where he was by sing out, "Praise be to The Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war!" You'd be surprised to know that many of the songs that you hear now started off as spontaneous songs during a worship service or during a car ride. So I encourage you to let your spirit sing on stage and off. Let the Holy Spirit move through you, let Him be your teacher.

///Self-Discipline///

(2 Timothy 1:6-7) 

This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift 

God gave you when I laid my hands on you. For God has 

not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of 

power, love, and self-discipline.

You have been given the power by The Holy Spirit to discipline yourself. It doesn't matter how old you are because God's Spirit is given to anyone who responds to His call. Whether you sing, play an instrument, dance, or minister all together discipline is something that we all need to enforce in our lives. Discipline is what has now accustomed me to vocalize each time before I sing to maintain healthy vocal chords and what helps a guitar player play certain chords and memorize a musical scale. If you're like me going through preparation, through a psalmist school, or a ministry school then you know this: you will only learn what you practice. Without making yourself practice, your gift will never reach it's full potential. God always has more to teach us but we've got to be responsible and apply what has been taught to us.

*Discipline- training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character

Take advantage of all the training being thrown at you.

///Song Choice///

Just like there are numerous stars in the sky, there are numerous songs out there to chose from. We each have our own style when it comes to the way we choose music: some of us popcorn choose (so not recommended), others go check out popular songs and go for that, some choose songs that they like or that they think the congregation/audience will like. So what's the best way? I love this topic, I love talking about this. Here are some tips that I've learned and that I've been taught, so I share!

1. Pray. Ask God what He wants to tell His people. Ask Him how to guide his people because each service is different and God will always have something new and specific to say.
2. Observe. When you get to the place that you're getting ready to sing, play, or perform at look at the people. Are they sad? Borred? Fired up? If the congregation or crowd looks depressed then you want to gear more toward starting with praise songs that will get them meditating on God's power or faithfullness. If the congregation or crowd looks on fire already (which is every worship leader's/minister's dream) then take them deeper with praise or worship songs that reflect giving more of ourselves to God or songs that bring everyone together to cry out to God as one.
3. Message in Action. Now that you've prayed and God has reveled to you what He wants to say and you've observed the specific crowd, act on it. Though you may not understand why, the Holy Spirit knows exactly why so just be obedient and you'll see the fruit.

• I think song lists are a good guide but once we cling tight to it's order we tend to brush off anything that's not on the list. So be prepared to let the Holy Spirit surprise you and your obedience will have its reward.
• Don't choose songs because you love them. You need to be in constant connection during the week with God so that the days you give you truly give. Choose the songs that the people need.
• Respect the authority no matter what, even if you know better because God's anointed are protected but just like David was anointed he also recognized King Saul's anointing by refusing to take revenge out on him. Pray for your leaders but if their vision is truly not matching up with what God is constantly revealing to you then decide whether or not you want to continue with a vision that you don't share. Can to be together if they are not in accord?
• Express your worship to God with your music and gifts as if each time were the last time here on this earth.

Random Snippets: Anointing, Power, The Key

(Isaiah 61:1) 

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,

    because the Lord has anointed me to 

proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

    to proclaim freedom for the captives

    and release from darkness for the prisoners

This verse goes on and on and it is beautiful. The truth is beautiful. Jesus repeats this verse in the book of Luke, filled with the Holy Spirit. The anointing of God is the difference between heaven and earth. The anointing of God manifests His glory. I rarely talk about this but I feel the need to share. When I barely began to sing at church at age 15, church members would come up to me after and tell me that they heard angels. At age 17 when I began to help out at another church by leading worship I got so much feedback but the one thing I remember is the guy sitting next to me after the service during prayer whisper, "Was that you singing just now, because I heard a different voice...do you know that you have an angelic voice?" He couldn't comprehend what he had heard but he was in awe, as was I because I was just softly humming to the piano's melody. It's been something that has always followed me to this day. Angels. The angel of the Lord encamped around me. The anointing of God was given to me. To the girl who wanted nothing to do with God. In God's eyes I was special when I hated myself. In whatever I do His anointing is over me. When I sing I don't care about pretty because I already know that anything anointed by God is beautiful. Sure I've learned and continue to learn the vocal techniques but the Holy Spirit has an out of my order type of order. If He tells me to start releasing a certain sound instead of lyrics I obey and I see His ways unfold before my vary eyes. As worship leaders, artists, sons and daughters of God our heart's desire should be the Father's anointing over us. Let that be our prayer.

Jesus came from heaven to earth to redeem our lives and to place in our hands the very same authority that His Father gave Him. Like an inheritance Jesus passed the power on to the new sons and daughters of God. We have all been given this authority.

(Luke 10: 17-22) 

The seventy-two returned with joy and said, 

“Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” 

He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 

I have given you authority to trample on snakes and 

scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; 

nothing will harm you. 

However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, 

but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” 

At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, 

said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, 

because you have hidden these things from the wise 

and learned, and revealed them to little children. 

Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do. 

“All things have been committed to me by my Father. 

No one knows who the Son is except the Father, 

and no one knows who the Father is 

except the Son and those to whom 

the Son chooses to reveal him.”

Just imagining this scene is amazing to me. To envision Jesus laughing and smiling at His disciples as He witnessed the joy they experienced in releasing the supernatural power that the Holy Spirit had poured over them. I imagine Jesus smiling in His throne each time we exercise that same power. When you and I sing or play an instrument we have the power to submit all principalities of darkness beneath our feet. Anyone scared out there? We live in this world but the Word of God tells us how there is a supernatural realm invisible to the natural eye that is more real than what our eyes see. It's where the angels battle, where demons are submitted and stomped beneath our feet, and where God inhabits. When you release a word you are impacting both worlds. It's not about singing a simple or extravagant song. Seeing God's glory here, His kingdom being established on this earth, is what I yearn for. To see the woman in the back row crying out for help during the Worship Service have a divine encounter with the Lover of her soul. To witness the teenager on the verge of suicide fall to her knees as the angelic melody, inhabited by God's Spirit, sweeps over her. To take part in bring a people closer and closer to the living God. You and I have been given this authority. Some believe that the times of miracles and the supernatural power of God is over and died along with the disciples. That's a lie. We are in the third era. The time of The Holy Spirit. The time of the One who raised Christ from the dead and baptized people upon people with the gift of speaking in tongues. Is our God not unchanging? We serve the one and only LIVING God. And because of Jesus you have the power that the Holy Spirit has poured out on you. Don't hide it and don't bury it because God has given it to you for a reason. Whether you're up on a stage or not remember the power that has been vested upon you. Just a single word, phrase, utterance, or sound can alter the spiritual atmosphere and transform lives.

David entered the presence of God whenever he wanted to because he learned how to each time he spent time seeking God. The seeking impacted his daily living. As I talked with my friend Lizzie I began to peel further and further the layers of David's way of living. I want to tune into that. David's genuine love and passion for His living God impacted lives. While His brothers were busy looking gorgeous, David was given a beauty that cam from obeying the Lord. His walk involved killing lions and bears to protect his flock, defeating giants, governing a kingdom, fighting battles, chasing off spirits with his music, and freely dancing in public. I say again, David's genuine walk with the Lord impacted and still impacts lives. If we're not genuine nothing will ever change. People were impacted by David being David. And David was a lover of God's presence. The prophet Isaiah prophesied about the Son of God and how God would "place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opened no one could shut, and what he shut no one could open. Jesus has handed us the same key.

(John 14:12-14) 

Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the 

works I have been doing, and they will do even greater 

things than these, because I am going to the Father. 

And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the 

Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me 

for anything in my name, and I will do it.

You and I are here on this earth and in this time and season for a specific reason. What are you doing with the authority that God has given you? Pray over all things for God's anointing because that is what separates us from being average. We were made to walk in the supernatural today.