From my heart......

Water from the Rock
Exodus 17

At the LORD's command, the people of Israel left the Sin Desert and moved from place to place. Eventually they came to Rephidim, but there was no water to be found there. So once more the people grumbled and complained to Moses. "Give us water to drink!" they demanded. "Quiet!" Moses replied. "Why are you arguing with me? And why are you testing the LORD?" But tormented by thirst, they continued to complain, "Why did you ever take us out of Egypt? Why did you bring us here? We, our children, and our livestock will all die!" Then Moses pleaded with the LORD, "What should I do with these people? They are about to stone me!" The LORD said to Moses, "Take your shepherd's staff, the one you used when you struck the water of the Nile. Then call some of the leaders of Israel and walk on ahead of the people. I will meet you by the rock at Mount Sinai. Strike the rock, and water will come pouring out. Then the people will be able to drink." Moses did just as he was told; and as the leaders looked on, water gushed out. Moses named the place Massah—"the place of testing"—and Meribah—"the place of arguing"—because the people of Israel argued with Moses and tested the LORD by saying, "Is the LORD going to take care of us or not?"

Aren't we just like the children of Israel...It seems as if we are never satisfied. They had seen God part the Red Sea for them and yet they still believed He would not continue to take care of their needs. Has God ever parted a "Red Sea" in your life...made a way for you when there seemed to be no way??? Why then do we fail to realize He will continue to make a way for us at all times?? Why does it always have to be about getting our own needs met? Why do we make the places we live, work and worship a Massah or a Meribah because of our complaining and arguing? I think it's because we have the same problems the children of Israel did in the times they were unhappy with God...we make it all about me, me, me.

In my short experience as a worship leader I have to be really honest and tell you the one thing I struggle with most is the attitude the music we sing is for us. Sometimes people leave the choir or orchestra because they don't like the kind of music we are doing. What's up with that? It may not be your "style" or the kind you like, but God didn't call you to be a part of a dynamic, growing music ministry to make you happy...HE CALLED YOU TO SERVE! Servanthood requires us to have the same attitude as Jesus...He laid down all of His desires to be obedient to the Father's will. If a certain style of Christian music does not minister to you, then you may need to examine your heart. What makes music Christian is not the style of the music, but the LYRICS. Instead of hearing the music, we need to focus on what the song is saying. If

the message is biblically sound, then it will minister to people because it is based on God's word.

My next struggle comes when we choose to bring others into our "Massah" or "Meribah" with our complaints....If you don't like the song, keep it to yourself. The person next to you may LOVE it. When you speak negatively about it, it steals their joy about the song!

FOLKS, WE NEED TO KNOW AND UNDERSTAND....

CHOIR AND ORCHESTRA IS NOT ABOUT US.

IT'S ALL ABOUT JESUS.

Israel Defeats the Amalekites

While the people of Israel were still at Rephidim, the warriors of Amalek came to fight against them. Moses commanded Joshua, "Call the Israelites to arms, and fight the army of Amalek. Tomorrow, I will stand at the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand." So Joshua did what Moses had commanded. He led his men out to fight the army of Amalek. Meanwhile Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of a nearby hill. As long as Moses held up the staff with his hands, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites gained the upper hand. Moses' arms finally became too tired to hold up the staff any longer. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side, holding up his hands until sunset. As a result, Joshua and his troops were able to crush the army of Amalek. Then the LORD instructed Moses, "Write this down as a permanent record, and announce it to Joshua: I will blot out every trace of Amalek from under heaven." Moses built an altar there and called it "The LORD Is My Banner." He said, "They have dared to raise their fist against the LORD's throne, so now the LORD will be at war with Amalek generation after generation."

Since I have shared deeply from my heart today, let me be real with you. I am in the midst of a battle right now. My load at school is heavy. My load at church is heavy. My load at home is heavy. I feel like I am Moses for a lot of folks and that's ok, but my arms are getting tired. I need for you to hold up my arms so we can continue to allow God to do what He needs to do.

Please pray for your music ministry.

Pray for me, pray for our choir, pray for our orchestra, pray for our sound servants, Jennifer and Kevin, pray for Chris Lewis (another Moses in our church who carries a heavy load), pray for our Power Point servants, pray for each other, pray for our attitudes, pray we will always see the eternal significance of being a worship leader, pray for revival.

JUST PRAY!

I want you to know I love you deeply. I am not upset with anyone or unhappy. I am honored to be serving with you every Sunday. God has filled our music ministry with so many talented folks. Let's remain faithful to keep the main thing, the main thing and our great God will do the rest.