Day Thirteen

DAY 13

Worship that Pleases God

It never gets any better than that!

Since I was a small boy until today, I have been to almost every type of church and denomination there is, within the Christian religions. I started out in the Brethren church soon to be followed by the So. Baptist and not even a hand were raised. Sometimes we stood when we sang and other times we just sat in our seats. I don’t ever remember the bible being read in a service other that what the pastor would mention in his sermons unlike where I am now in the AME church where we all stand in reverence to God and read it out loud every week a selected passage which is also where the sermon will be preached from. I like this very much. And I am sure this is the only bible reading some will get until next week. Sad but true. I remember once when I was about 8 or 9 years old going to church with my grandmother and a friend of hers named Betty Green to a very different kind of Christian church, far from being Baptist. They, and Betty, all spoke in a different language. One I couldn’t understand. And why were they falling on the floor? This to a small boy was really weird. What are they doing grandma? Is this a church? It was obviously my first exposure to the Pentecostal religion. Who knew and would have known then that years later I would be speaking that “FUNNY LANGUAGE TOO!” I remember it clearly when I entered Teen Challenge the driver that was driving me to the induction home asking me if I had ever been “baptized into the Holy Spirit”. I said do you mean have I asked Jesus into my heart? He replied “No I mean do you speak in tongues?” I said “No I have heard it once when I was 8 or so but other than that never thought or been exposed since. But what the heck, nothing I have tried so far as seemed to work, that’s why I am here I guess, you never know do you?” So one night during intercessory prayer, one of the other men, an ex gang banger from the Crips named Cricket came over to me and asked me if I had ever received the Gift of the Holy Spirit? I said no. So he took my arms and raised them up in the air and told me to just agree out loud with him in prayer as he began to pray. So as he prayed I agreed “Thank you Father, Yes Father..so on and so on.” And after about 2 minutes or so the Holy Spirit took control of my speech and I could not stop what was coming out of my mouth. In my head I was thinking I am possessed by the spirit of Betty Green. I knew that wasn’t true but it was just a fleeting thought, I knew what was happening. After about 5 minutes I began to feel like I could stop if I wanted to but didn’t. I even had a chance while I was there to pray with another young man while he received the Gift while we prayed together. That was even a better experience for me I think than my own receiving of the Holy Spirit, getting to help someone else, letting God use me for such an event in someone’s life. I will never forget that as long as I live. His name was Steve. I was thirty years old when this happened in my life. Why didn’t the Baptist ever teach this I wondered? They never spoke about it. Were they afraid? Are they afraid? What do or do they not want to believe about the Word of God? If it isn’t true why did it happen for me? Why do some churches practice the gifts in their service so strongly and some believe in them but don’t? I don’t know. I spent about a year in a Pentecostal church that did. And it was a Spanish church. In fact I just re-visited there a week ago. I remembered all the dancing during the worship and the sounds of the women praying in tongues that echoed in the background. They were really worshiping with their spirits in their service. But then in reading this chapter, if someone that was new had never read the bible or knew any thing about it, they would be like I was at 8 years old and wonder “what is going on?” whereas if someone walked in to my church they would have no problem understanding the formality of the service. So is one more right than the other? I can’t say. Do I enjoy both? Yes. My spirit can allow me to feel the presence of God in both kinds of service. I have even been to the Church of Christ where there is NO MUSIC played, and for one reason. They say that it distracts from the meaning of worship. That all they need is the voice and not the “entertainment” of the instruments. And Rick writes about this in this chapter that nice flowing music can soothe and make a person “FEEL GOOD” but is it the music that gets you in the spirit or is it the meaning of the words that you are focusing on? So for every person there is a place that fits his or her needs and personality. God gave me talent in my fingers when I was 5 years old. God filled up Lucifer with instrument all over his body and made him to lead the worship of the angels so my feeling is music and worship go hand in hand…sorry COC. Maybe that is why the song says WHY SHOULD THE DEVIL HAVE ALL THE GOOD MUSIC? He was the first to play and he seems to use it quite well to influence the world. I myself find it as a means to come close to Him. In the morning, when I am sad, when I am upset for some reason, it calms me. I can allow His spirit to talk to me. I come up with something new and the Holy Spirit gives me the title and the meaning to what I am playing. The emotions are in the music. God understands more that just my spoken words. And I hear Him in the music I am playing. Like I have said in previous pages, when the Lord gives a gift, it lasts forever and gets better the more you use and engage it. It never goes bad and you never get tired of playing with it, so to speak. It is my truest form or worship I think, because I am totally alone, just me listening to what I am feeling and sensing. Sometimes when I am in a service, my mind tends to wander or my thoughts will race, it’s hard to concentrate. That is just the life of a Bipolar I guess. But when I am alone at the keys, I am focused and my mind is only on what I am doing. It never gets any better than that.