This World

“This World” is a new song that will be appearing on the Rock Rwanda compilation record in an effort to raise awareness and support Africa New Life Ministries and on my latest EP due out this fall. The song was written from the perspective of a broken, weary, desolate, and hungry soul. It was written from the perspective of an orphan.

 

It was not long ago that my world collided with a beautiful soul named Enric Sifa. Enric is a survivor of the genocide that took place in Rwanda several years ago. He lost his family and lived on the streets for most of his childhood. Enric and I had met on myspace through a friend and had kept in touch as best we could via email as he was in Africa and I the States.

 

It was on April 17^th 2008 when Enric walked into the Guitar Center that I was managing at the time and we exchanged silly grins as we realized the smallness of the world. That Enric had flown all the way from Africa strolled right into my life. I am grateful for that day and not only to have made a great friend but I was changed forever in a few minutes. Enric’s good friend had brought him in to buy him a new guitar and He had brought in his old one. I bent down and opened the old case to find a worn down guitar with severely old strings and a hole in the body. This is the guitar Enric had been playing for a long time without complaint. When I went to pick of the guitar and look at it Enric held it and did not want to let go. His friend assured him it was alright and he slowly handed it to me.

 

I can imagine what must have been going through his head. This loud music store and some girl he hardly knows now is taking his most prized possession. I asked Enric if he was ready to look at some guitars and he grinned from ear to ear and so did I. I took him back into the acoustic room and it was in that room that I was changed. The instant Enric walked in his eyes filled with wonder and he let out a loud gasp of amazement. Amazed at guitar-covered walls. Floor to ceiling guitars. I told him he could play anything he liked and he looked at me in awe and said, “I play these guitars?” He pointed to the one he liked and I handed it to him. He sat down and began to strum it. He closed his eyes as if in complete contentment with all that was going on and he said, “I have never heard such a beautiful sound”.

 

My eyes filled with tears and my heart was moved to its core.

 

Everything going on in my life in that moment became insignificant and unimportant as I watched my new friend in wonder and thankfulness.

 

That day I learned something. I saw what joy really means. I saw what faith really means. I saw what humility really looks like. I saw my friend who had lost everything dear to him so full of joy and faith. I saw an example that joy is possible when all hope is lost and peace is touchable when the storm is raging on around me. I saw brokenness made whole. I saw Jesus more then I had ever seen Him in one person. I saw Jesus in this orphan boy from Africa. I saw Jesus in Enric.

 

For some time I have been moved by the devastation going on in Africa but it was this night that I was called out even greater to actually do something about it. There is a country that’s dieing; an entire generation that’s literally dieing. As my burden for the people of Africa grew stronger and stronger my heart was overwhelmed. As an artist I new what I could do.

 

So this song is not only for the people of Africa but it’s for all of us. It’s for the broken and rejected. It’s for the weary and down trodden. It’s for the hungry and the weak. It’s for anyone who needs a hand of mercy extended to them or that little ounce of hope to help them get through just one more day. I pray this song speaks to you and moves you as I was moved that night. I pray that if your hopeless right now you would find hope. That if you’re restless you would find peace and if your broken you would find healing. I pray that if there is sorrow in your heart you will find joy. Lastly, I pray that if you’ve lost your way you would find the faith to believe again.

 

“Come to me all you who are weary and carry heavy burdens and I will give you rest.” Matt. 11:28

 

To hear the song, click the small “powered by reverbnation” found on the right side of the screen. Please feel free to come back and let me know what you think!

Humility

Humility is the heart of worship. Humility is worship.

 

Humility is so important to the Lord because it determines:

 

            -Your depth and connection with the Lord

            -Your effectiveness in others lives

            -Your worship life

            -If you’re a worship leader or pastor it determines your influence in your ministry

            -Essentially, your effectiveness in the kingdom

 

Pride

 

Pride is the greatest threat to a worshipper and it is the exact opposite of worship.

 

Pride has caused the greatest of kings to fall and the greatest of kingdoms to crumble.

 

PRIDE WILL DESTROY YOUR LIFE

 

What the bible has to say about pride:

 

            Proverbs 8:13 “All who fear the Lord will hate evil. Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech.”

 

            1 John 2:16 “ For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father but are from this world.”

 

There is no place for pride in worship!! Pride and arrogance are not from God they are of this world. Everything we are is from God anyway. All of our gifting’s and our talents from Christ alone. The bible says, “Every good and perfect gift comes from God”. That means anything good that’s in you is from Christ.

 

 

The Greatest Example

 

Phil 2:1-11  “1 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. 3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God
 as something to cling to.
 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges he took the humble position of a slave^[ and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God
 and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names,10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
 to the glory of God the Father.

 

This passage shows the greatest example of what humility is. I think it is the greatest act of humility ever recorded. It’s amazing that the almighty God, the creator of the universe would come down to earth and take on human form. He could have come as a wealthy king or come with earthly riches and authority but He came as a servant. He came and put on an imperfect body and gave up his divinity to dwell with us. He gave up His rights and then died a criminal’s death on a cross. He dies unjustly and for me and you. He didn’t even defend Himself or His rights.

 

How often do we defend our rights? How often do we fight for that which we are “entitled” to? What are we even entitled to?

 

The God of the world dealt with the ignorance of man everyday without ever walking out of love or without pride ever rising up. He never made people feel inferior. Without judgment He served the selfish with a glad heart. He loved the unlovable, extended a hand of grace to those who didn’t deserve it, and offered Himself as a sacrifice so that I might live. In His sacrifice He never asked for recognition or flaunted this act. Humility.

 

I had the privilege and honor of being raised and mentored in worship by Pastor Tim Smith. (www.worshipwithoutborders.org) If anybody gets humility that guy does. He drilled it into me and I am so grateful for that. He challenged me constantly in the area of humility. I learned that everyday you have to die to yourself. When I wake in the morning my prayer should always be “God, how can I serve you today? “ How can I live for you and not me today?”

 

What kind of musician are you?

 

Humility determines what kind of musician you are.

 

Every team I have ever ministered with I’ve noticed one trait. I can close my eyes and listen to determine who is practicing humility in their lives and who is struggling with it. Pride affects everything in your life including the way you play music. As ugly as pride is inside and in our daily lives it’s also ugly in our worship. I mean, how can we worship Jesus when we are to busy worshipping ourselves. To be candid for a moment, pride sounds like overplayed, loud, and busy noise. It typically clashes with the rest of the team or band.

 

Lets work it out!!

 

So how do we get a hold of this humility thing? How do we walk this out daily? I can tell you one thing, it’s not easy!!! It takes work and desire; a desire to be more like Christ.

Ask yourself these questions:

 

-Where am I currently serving?

            If there are not opportunities right in front of you then search them out. Remember that faith without works is dead.

 

-How often do I have to be right?

            I don’t think I need to say anything for this one.

 

-How do I respond when I’m not right?

            Do I remain quiet when I am wrongly accused? Do I lash out in defense?

 

-How often do I put others needs ahead of my own?

            I’m talking gut reaction. Are you more concerned with making sure you’re taken care of?

 

Getting a grasp on humility happens as we spend time in the word daily. We have to know the Father. As we press in and learn Him we begin to take on His character. We will take on humility.

 

A Prayer Challenge

 

There is a prayer I have prayed for a long time. I remember the first time I prayed it I could barely get the words out because it was such a risky prayer. The prayer is simply, “Jesus, keep me humble no matter what it takes”. Sounds simple enough right? For me praying that prayer is saying, “God, if it means taking away everything I care about and stretching me until I break, I want you to do it. If this means you cross my path with people and situations that force me to lay my life down then I want that.” Jesus has taken me on a journey in my 23 short years of life. He has broken me open time and time again and He humbles me everyday.

 

I dare you to pray that prayer today. Can you do it? Can you really ask God to work His humility in you no matter what the cost?

 

Jesus,

 

My nature is selfish and my eyes are constantly on myself. Help me to be a servant like you. I pray that my heart would be moved for others need more then mine. I ask that you would help me to not only respond to my life in humility but that I would be eager and seek out opportunities to lay my life down. I understand that humility is worship and that walking in humility is such an important and necessary way to worship God. Amen 

 

A Call To the Christian Artist

 

As “Christian Artist” we have an incredible opportunity not only to touch people with the power of music and worship but we get a chance to touch them with our lives.

 

What differentiates the Christian Music Industry and the secular industry? Simple, one industry glorifies God and the other self. We carry a HUGE responsibility if we so choose to wear the “Christian” name. What does your life look like when you get off the stage? How are you treating and serving your band or worship team? What about your family and friends, do you serve them?

 

Humility is knowing who you are in God and who God is in you. “Christ in Me the hope of Glory.” You’re gifted because God put the gift in you!

 

I implore you to search your heart. Ask the Lord to take you to a whole new level of humility. Ask Him to make you more effective in this. We need not to compete with each other in the industry. The way I see it is the more voices we have the better. There is whole world that needs hope that needs a touch from God. Lets be one big voice and an army for Christ.

 

Just like we read earlier in Phil 2:2 lets be artists of one mind and one purpose. We are all working for the same thing and there is power in numbers. Serve each other and help each other succeed. Pray for one another. Lets shift the atmosphere and extend a hand to each other. Jesus, restore unity and love unto us!

Before You Change Your World

Before You Change Your World

“The actual connection”

 

In session I we discussed the importance of embracing and trusting again in the power and presence of God. Letting Him run the worship service and your heart. In session II we are going to learn how to walk this out.

 

Before you change THE world you must change YOUR world

 

When I was attending Bible College at Portland Bible I often heard a strong and passionate statement made by students. Every time I heard the statement something just didn’t sit right with me. Everyone else seemed so impassioned when it was used but I was never moved or inspired. Now that you are totally curious…the statement was “I want to change the world!” Now at first glance sounds like a pretty valid statement and I do not question the motive and sincerity of those who so passionately proclaimed it. I often found myself feeling overwhelmed by the statement as it meant something so much greater then me, that I could be a part of something greater then myself. I was an off campus student. At the time it felt as though I was missing out on true bible school experience because I didn’t share in the dorm life and all the clubs. Later on however in my last term there that I discovered that God was doing something in my heart and using my off campus experience to really speak to me. I was working in a music store with a staff of about 30 men and I the only female amongst the group. It was an educational experience to say the least. Everyday was a chore for me. I was in constant culture shock between Bible College and my horribly crass working environment. My school was up on a hill in North Portland and everyday I would drive down off that sheltered mountaintop of glory into the valley that I call “my real world experience”. Over the course of this season I grew increasingly worn down and frustrated. I would go to my classes and chapel times at school and sit frustrated. Frustrated because it felt like that world wasn’t reality. I would hear all these great statements like “I want to change the world”, and I thought to myself “ok well that’s really going to happen with you all sitting up here and talking about it for you 4 years.” Now let me be the first to say that my thought process there was completely pious and judgmental but bare with me here it’s going somewhere. My attitude at work grew increasingly irritable and impatient. It was two extreme experiences colliding and I was at a breaking point. I would barely get through each day at work keeping to myself and reading my bible with great fury on my breaks. One day as I was tuning and polishing the acoustic guitars I began to pray. I pressed God for answers and clarity. “God, it’s so overwhelming sometimes. How can we really change the world? I am only one person and it’s such a big statement to throw around. There is so much to change, where do I even start?” I felt the presence of God with me right there in that room full of guitars polishing cloth in hand. I heard what I believe was the Lord speaking to me and He said, “Before you can change the world you must change your world.” It was just so profound. How could I have missed it? I was humbled yet again in the presence of my king. I was surrounded by a world of hurting and searching people. I was a small little light in a big dark room but my light had grown so dim in weariness. Dim in selfishness. I learned something that year. Something that changed my faith in its entirety. I learned that it starts with me and the immediate world that has been given to me. It’s the person sitting next to me on the bus or train, the cashier at the grocery store, the homeless person on the side of the road, or the elderly woman crossing the street. This was the greatest act of worship. It is the essence of who Jesus is. It starts with who I am touching, loving, and serving. It starts with me.

 

If we are going to change our world with the mighty presence of God and His awesome love it starts with us. We have to get bigger on the inside!! How do we do that? I have compiled 4 ways that will help you to grow bigger on the inside through worship on a personal level.

  

1. Worship with your heart not just your mouth

Matthew 1-11 “ 1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. 2 For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.3 During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”4 But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say,‘People do not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, 6 and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say,‘He will order his angels to protect you.
   And they will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.7 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God. 8 Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me. 10 “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say you must worship the Lord your God
 and serve only him. 11 Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.

When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness and asked him to bow down and worship him, was he asking Jesus to sing a chorus with his name associated with it? Perhaps that was part of it, but the greater goal was to get Jesus to deliver His entire being to the hands of Satan. Surrender His thoughts, His desires, affections, dreams, everything within Him. His heart essentially. I think this story is one of the truest teachings we can find on worship. Even the devil has it down! God is asking for our entire being. Not just part of your heart. Surrender sums up our relationships with Christ. The person who has worship in their heart is the one who will have the Lord walking with them all the days of their life.

2. Worship when nobodies watching

When you are alone you discover the heart of worship. You will discover that you were built for it and made for it. Out of the heart of worship comes your entire Christian life. You find a new ability to hear the voice of God when you worship. If you don’t sing, start singing!!! Love worship and let it create an atmosphere over your life.

Go to the throne room daily. Hebrews 4:16 says “come boldly to the throne room of grace”. Remember that your public worship expression is an overflow of your personal worship experience.

Heb. 9:11-18   11 But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. 12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15 And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

We have complete access into His amazing presence because of the once and for all offering. The first part of this verse speaks of God as our “High Priest”. He entered the most holy place with His own blood. He didn’t come with an animal sacrifice or offering but with His own and that is what makes Him the high priest. No one else can hold that office, only Christ. In the Old Testament, a priest main function was to carry out the worship of God through the offering of sacrifices. There were essentially two different kinds of sacrifices: sin offerings and thank offerings, which were offered to express gratitude for God’s goodness and blessing. The New Testament tells us that Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament sin offerings through his death (Heb. 9:11-14; 10:1-14); so, we never need to make those types of sacrifices to God again. But as Christians who have benefited from his sacrifice, we have the freedom to express our gratitude to God for Christ’s work in many ways. In 1 Peter 2:5 when he says that we “offer up spiritual sacrifices to God.” Peter does not say here what these sacrifices are, except that they are spiritual, not physical. By studying other passages in the New Testament, however, I discovered several different sacrifices that we can worship God with. I think it is important to recognize that no one way is viewed as more spiritual than the others; all are important if we want to have well-rounded spiritual lives. A few different sacrifices or ways to worship are:

1.      we can offer our whole selves Rom. 12:1,

2.      we can offer God our praise Heb. 13:15

3.      we can offer service to others Heb. 13:16.

 I really think this study in the New Testament makes it clear that worship is to be a lifestyle made up of lots of different kinds of actions and not just a corporate meeting. This concept of worship is so important because when Christians view worship as the most important priority (which is correct) but have a superficial view of what worship is, the result is often a superficial Christian life. These kinds of Christians are faithfully committed to attending the Sunday worship service, but because they view that as the heart of worship, they fail to develop a lifestyle of true whole-hearted commitment to God, thankfulness, financial stewardship and ministry. I think God is more pleased and we are more fulfilled when we develop lifestyles surrounded by the full worship experience described in the New Testament. So go to your prayer closet. Open your bible and begin to sing the word over yourself, your circumstances, and others in your life.

3. Forget about you, think about him

Matthew 6:10-13 “Our Father in heaven,
may your name be kept holy. 10 May your Kingdom come soon.
May your will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today the food we need 12 and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. 13 And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.

Notice the first five points of the Lords prayer are to do with God?

God’s sitting up in heaven saying “Hey pray my prayers would ya?”

Humility is the essence of worship. We will be talking more about this later on in the study but humility is key to experiencing a real worship life.

4. Change your attitude

Psalm 100:2 “Worship the Lord with gladness.

                     Come before him, singing with joy.”

Don’t come into His presence with a crappy attitude!! Rejoice and go to your happy place. Think happy thoughts. Your attitude will make or break your personal worship times with the Lord.

FRONT FOOTED WORSHIP

GET INTO IT!!! Get into whatever is going on in your life. Don’t shrink back. Sometimes we have to make a decision as Christians to stop complaining about life and jump in. We must enter in with thanksgiving. You make a choice to worship the living God and let go of offenses and bitterness. It will tear you down and separate you from His presence.

Before You Take the Stage

You’re back stage with the worship team five minutes before show time. You’re tuning your guitar, warming up your voice, running the set list and opening thoughts through your head. Mentally rehearsing all the little parts you worked out with the band. You check your face and outfit one last time to make sure you look like a rock star.

STOP

What’s wrong with this picture? Maybe if we took out the words “worship team” and inserted the words “rock band” instead it would work better? There is something important missing here. Can you guess? Ok, you probably guessed it, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, God, you know the big cheese? That is what will make or break your worship service. BEFORE YOU HIT THE STAGE YOU MUST HIT THE THRONE ROOM!!!

To the worshiper and worship leader

Just as we have been talking about the atmosphere of worship over your life and how to create that we must go deep into His awesome presence ever time we even attempt to lead people into worship.

Preparation: Every person is different. Do what you have to do to touch the face of God on your own and together with your worship team.

5 ways to immerse yourself in His presence before you hit the stage:

            1. Exhort

            Stir the fire up. Everyone comes in carrying stuff from the day. Some will come in excited and some not so much. Each other with scriptures and pump yourself up for Jesus!  Pray for each others needs and for an increased anointing. Be sensitive to each other and to the spirit. This will help in creating unity too.

2. Worship!

Before you worship, worship!!!

Sing together or my favorite is praying out and singing spiritual songs. Songs of God. Your times in communion with God before the service will typically determine what kind of worship experience you have in the service.

3. Express the vision

            Share the vision and create the mission for the service. What is the purpose God is speaking? What does He want to accomplish? Carry that mission with great significance and priority and know and make clear what the focus is for that worship time.

4. Pray the Vision

            Not only can you pray the vision but the job of a worship team is to sing and prophecy the vision of the church. Did you know you actually have the authority to sing things into existence? YOU DO!!!

It is so easy to miss out on the importance of having a clear vision.

Proverbs 29:18 says “without vision the people will perish.” If you don’t have a vision pray that God gives you one and see the change it brings. Know the vision of the church. Ask your pastor for the vision if it’s not clear.

5. Sing the word together

            One of my favorite memories in my worship training times is singing the Psalms. We would start a simple chord progression, split up the scriptures and then take turns singing them. As we were singing we would let the spirit move and begin to flow in prophetic song.

Sing the word, build up your faith and it will cause your passion for Christ to awaken and your heart to come alive.

These are just five ways I have encountered in my experiences. Dig deep and seek the Lord about maybe what He is wanting you to do before you hit the stage and before you change your world.

Jesus,

Take me deeper. Deeper into your presence before I hit the stage. Show me the people and needs around me in my world that need your touch. Then use my life to minister to them. May my personal times with you grow greatly and deepen as I seek to touch a world that is dieing and know you in a greater way. Enlarge my heart for people, for you, and your presence. Amen.

Get a Bigger View Of God

The real authentic faith

Matthew 17:20 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”

What a scripture! The important thing to grasp here is the context of the physical realm. Jesus was not just using this as an example He really meant it. He was trying to show us that with Him anything is possible. By faith a mountain literally could be moved. That is the kind of faith we need to get a hold of. We have got to make a declaration over our lives that we will live by faith. That we serve a God who does the impossible, a great big God who loves me enough to come into my world and make the impossible possible.

The Influence on the Church and Your Worship Ministry

As you grow and take on this new and BIGGER view of God it will affect everything you do. Every decision you make, every conversation, every thought, every belief, and every interaction. You will become the greatest influence to those around you. You will find yourself with an incredible amount of faith and trust not only for yourself but also for every person you come in contact with. It will strengthen the house of God.

Your personal times in worship will deepen and you will experience a new hunger for a relationship with God and a new love for the house of God. This kind of faith will make worship more then music, or a melody, or a cool band. It will transform a worship service from a sing along to an incredible, empowering, and life giving experience and encounter with the living presence of God.

The challenge…

Ask yourself this question,

“What do I really believe a Sunday morning service needs to possess to see people impacted?”

Take a moment and honestly assess your answer…

How easy was it to instantly picture a rockin band, emotionally stirring sermon? How about an exciting and innovative children’s program? How about a cool café? Be honest! It’s easy to set our eyes on the natural things that we can create. Churches in America are full of great programs. Programs are important and very helpful in Christian growth however; the danger in this thought process is that it can pull away from the faith that is the foundation of who Jesus is. It can tend to put too much of an emphasis on the form and in that we subtly begin to let go of the power. Our faith and trust in God decreases as we invest more and more energy into programs and events.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t have an awesome worship time, great teaching, and innovative programs because those are all crucial. As a church though, it is so important for us to challenge our thinking on this issue.

Do I believe I serve a big enough God who can take a desperate and lost person and turn them inside out by simply the presence of His mighty hand?

What’s important to me in church and/or my ministry?

Everyday we should be asking ourselves these questions as we let our heavenly father search our hearts.

TRUST THAT AS YOU STEP OUT IN FAITH AND EXPERIENCE THE PRESENCE AND BRING THE PRESENCE OF GOD IN YOUR WORSHIP, HE WILL MOVE!!! WE MUST TRUST IN THE POWER OF THE CROSS.

Jesus,

Show me how to have a bigger view of you. You are an awesome and mighty loving God. Give me the faith to really believe that I can move mountains. Help me to trust in your power more then anything I could create. You are truly the only one who can change and capture a heart. I long for an even deeper time in your presence. To meet with you face to face and to learn to trust in the power of your awesome hand.