Music and God

that balance is difficult in the best of circumstances. When you mix and mingle faiths, that's another possibility, another opening of vulnerability where there can be problems, and it's not the things in scripture that point you to or away from something are there for your own protection and guidance. Now there are things that are absolute and it doesn't change the scripture says this is the way it should be done, and that's the way it should be done,

and stop arguing. But there are areas gray areas. There are areas where you have to use your discernment, which seems to be a recurring theme today. You have to use your discernment to process those things and make the best decision for you in context, for you and your life, for what you're going through. And you've got to keep those things in mind. And so when you're getting involved

with somebody. You've got to think not just about the love and the emotion part, but you've got to have the balance between the subjective and the objective and understand what you're going through and why you're going through it, and make the best decision for both of you, not just for you. Age differences, emotional difference, all these things play a factor and can be later problems. Sharon, Welcome to the Jesus Christ Show. Hello, Hi Sharon, how can I help you?

not books that are read by Christians. But when I read that, I realized, you know, we seem to be lacking a real depth of not only understanding, but relationship with Jesus based on a deeper just a deeper understanding of what His purpose for us is today. And Psalm twenty three explains how he's not just our We understand who he is as our savior, but very few Christians know who he is as their shepherd and for daily life, and that so we live in this second realm of

the physical almost as Christians. So I wanted to know whether you've ever either focused on Palm twenty three and the deeper meaning of it yourself, and would care to comment. In addition, would you care to comment on I.

a wonderful look at that relationship. As a matter of fact, you have the Psalmist here in this case David reflecting about the concept of a shepherd and the things that it brings nourishment and leading to spiritual restoration. These imagery, the imagery here of waters, the placid waters, and these types of things are very much about that powerful image of the Savior being someone who is interactive in your life,

should you let him. If you remember, the door is locked from the inside, I will knock on it, but you have to open it. Open it. And I'm not sure that I agree that a lot of Christians are out of touch with that. I think they wrestle with it, and I think that's common and normal to wrestle with that relationship part and understanding it in the physical realm.

But certainly Christians call here all the time and you'll hear them speak about the things that they've gone through, and how the Lord provides and God has brought them through something that's a that's a great understanding, and I

don't think it's lost on believers. The Last Call was so beautiful in its sentiment that I wanted to Although I disagree that the majority of Christians have left that, and I'm not sure that that's what she was exactly saying, the sentiment itself, I thought was very sweet and important. So rather than I want to take your call, so hangtight, but I wanted to look at at Psalm twenty three before, which we have on the air a good number of times. But in light of her call, I think to appreciate that.

To remember how many times throughout scripture you have the term a good shepherd, John ten, the Great Shepherd Hebrews thirteen,

a chief shepherd one Peter five to four. It's very important that imagery of the shepherd and the usage is specific, and it's one that's given a lot throughout scripture that the imagery of the shepherd, and David chooses it specifically because of all the dangers in his life that he negotiated around because of God as his shepherd, that loving kindness, that protection, all those things that restored him not only in his physical life around trouble, but also more importantly

into full communion with God. So as much as it's important to understand the salvation nature of why I came and why I died on the cross, hey, you get that, but to understand that one, you're dealing with the negotiation through life and the sharp corners. As my producer Neil says, all the time, the world is not nerfed. You can't nerve the world. There's sharp corners. You're gonna get nocks

and pings in life. But in this particular case in Psalm twenty three, you see the beauty of the balance between both of those things because it talks about the shadow of death. So that's the salvation. That's true salvation, making death now just a shadow. It's not even something substantive. It's just something that looks like there's something substantive there. So death is now not something tangible or something real, it's just a shadow. That's salvation that's about eternal life.

But also it talks about the the the waters and the restoration and the things that are going on in this world as well. That these things being understood the raw the staff about the word of God leading you as well, And there's a there's a great beauty in that, and I would hate to think that it is lost on people. I don't think it is. I think it's there. But absolutely echo the color sentiment in the fact that it's important to understand that God is not just your savior.

That I didn't just just to come die on the cross for salvation only, but for the process of having that good shepherd in your life today to help guide you. Should you listen and not rebel as many people do, but to but to actually let God lead you in life is a very very important thing. Tim, Welcome to Jesus Christ Show.

that rebellion has passed down through the bloodline. But think of it this way, and this might be easier, tim Think of it this way that if you went to you know, Joe's House of Pies, and there's one hundred pies there for you to choose from, well, Joe's House of Pie is created all the options there for you to choose, Every single pie, butter cream, banana cream, apple pie, pumpkin pie, cherry pie, you know, fried shrimp boiled, and

that's something completely different. So all those options created by that place. But when you go in and you make a choice of which one you want, you make a choice of which pie you want to sit down and eat, and then you buy it, and you bring it to the table and you sit down and you eat said pie. That's your choice choice. No one forced you to buy

a particular pie. And you may be forced by the fact that you have only one hundred choices rather than two, But all you need is two options for an honest choice. In limitation, by the way, all analogies break down. I don't want people to get confused. But so in that particular case, you do have the option of choice, and you're choosing, and that choice is free. And just because God knows what choice you will make or how an outcome may come, doesn't mean that he forces that particular hand.

You most certainly have free will. Mister ed Welcome to the Jesus Christ Show.

effects of things that I did in scripture. For instance, if people see things as just instances, well, okay, the death and the cross and there was this, But to see them as they have fluidity and tie into one another, I think is beauty. It's something called the hermoneutics of scripture as well, is something that I think as often left off the table when teaching about the Scripture and seeing how it all does tie together and why that statement in two Timothy is true because it ties in together.

But if you look at the things that took place in scripture, the understanding that there is a beginning, middle, and end to all things in context of scripture is always beautiful. Kind of that gath simone cavalry and empty tomb. That God never leaves you hanging in the middle somewhere is a wonderful lesson to learn if you're going to take scripture out, because a lot of people will come

up against opposition or confusion or frustration. And to know that God is a god of beginning, middle, and ending, when oftentimes it seems like God leaves you in the center of something, is very powerful. Is there a particular direction that you're feeling led to move yourself, like a place to start something that's meant something to eat you or kind of opened your eyes to something else.

How do you take that scripture that you're reading and make an application that's excellent.

simple things that you can remember. So if you're learning to memorize scripture, Proverbs is a really great place to start one because there's some rehashing and similar themes and statements that are made, but also because they seem kind of bite size, they already seem to be parsed into these little, you know, a little nut size to shape, completely consumable, not a problem in a nutshell, done, but the rest of scripture seems to be difficult for people

to dive into because there's stories that go along with them. And it's not just people tend to like the scriptures. You can pull out of context and just say, look, this is what it says, and they're nice. They're easy to teach that way. So as much as I encourage that in going through the books, I think the way you are doing it is the smart way. Read something and then think how does that apply to me, But look not only at the words written, try it and

good study bibles have this obviously. Online you can find stuff like this, find the context of what was going on or why that particular word was used. That always brings more light to the scripture than if you just read it and go, wow, well it's part of that

made sense. Or for instance, if you go to the Old Testament and you start reading, there's parts where it's like so and so beget so and so, and you read that and you go, Okay, I've got to read this because it's the word of God and God says that it's important it's in there, But what does that mean a lot of people don't understand the background behind those names. And the importance of them being written down in the importance of the context. So I would say,

always push them towards the context. First, read what was said, Understand what was said. Now, understand what was said in context, what was going on two thousand years ago in that context that it used those particular words. And now finally, how does it apply to now? Is there a similar situation?

something a little differently. And also it might have small commentary. Often Bible studies down at the bottom will have a little commentary that will shed light on it. And another thing that's not used very often but is in most study bibles is cross references. So you'll see other scriptures next to it. Like, for instance, if you're reading one particular scripture, you'll see it across reference underneath it that

is something similar. And then you go to that scripture and you read that one, you'll go, oh, now, I see how they tie in together. It's not just they're talking about the similar things. This is referencing something that took place beforehand, and that starts to shed light on it and let it breathe a little bit differently and kind of come to life a little bit.

really really well put together and very intuitive. On a rare occasion it's down due to maintenance or then processing something or a lot of people using it or something. But other than that, it's very reliable resource and has many different Bible versions to choose from, so you can look things up, including different languages. You can look things up in the Greek and in the Hebrew, and that

becomes a fun resource. You know, ask questions, dig deep, and if there's something that someone comes across and I find this to work well if you're in a group setting, let's say everyone's studying the same passage, then you get everybody coming together and saying, well, this is what I got out of it, or this is what I saw or this is what I learned. And then you get

someone else saying this word bugged me. There's something about this word that made it seem like it was saying this or saying that, and everybody kind of comes together and then you can go, okay, let's do a word study of that word. How many times is it used in scripture? What other context is that word used in? Could it mean other things? Because often in the Greek, Hebrew, and even the Aramaic words can mean many different things.

Just like in English, if I said to you, oh, later on today, I'm going to be working on a table, you'd say, well, okay, Well he is a carpenter, maybe he's building something. But I could be a mathematician and working on a mathematic table. I could be somebody who does crafts and I'm going to be working sitting at a table. So you have to know the context of what's being stated for it to have full brightness and life and understanding as to what's being said and why.

And when you come together in a group sometimes that it tends to flower and blossom much better than if you're you know, you're on your own, but you kind of go off on your own and then come back and share your notes if that's possible. That's a great way to teach. Thank you very much, You're welcome. I hope that gives you something to work with. Learning and studying scripture, I know, can be a daunting task and it's one of those things you know you're called to

and you want to do. And there's people say, oh, yeah, I read scripture. I know scripture, and I guarantee those are the ones that don't because it's not something you read like that. You know, it's not the tipping point. You're not sitting there going okay, well, yeah I was. You know, I had a layover in Dallas and I thumbed through it and it wasn't a problem. It's not like that. You're you're you're wanting to have it come to life and to understand it. And you're talking about

something written two thousand years ago. That having an understanding of the time and the placement is a good idea. Also, the life and times of Jesus the Messiah is also great, but that's also good to understand the context of what was going around at the time too. It just helps you learn and it becomes fun and kind of an exciting way to engage scripture rather than just the bumper sticker. Well, where does it say that I should do something? And

where does it say that I shouldn't do something? Because there's much more to it than that. Hi, Chris, Welcome to the Jesus Christ Show.

to music in one way or another. And I've also noticed that the more orthodox religions like Islam and Judaism with the chanting and worling dervishes, with the tirling real they do, which I find so fascinating. I'm wondering if there's a linkage, if you will, between like rhythmic movements and singing that God gave to us as sort of a wi fi, if you will, a linkage to him. Is that what the purpose of music is?

find in certain cultures. But music is fairly universal, and the desire to to make music or experience music is fairly universal. So someone can really and easily make the correlation, say, gosh, this is something that's kinetic, that's tying to God. I will tell you if you went through scripture, you will notice that in the Old Testament that there are times where musicians are named by name, talked about by name, and the priests aren't in the same breath, and it

talks about the importance of these musicians. And so music obviously is an important part of worship, but more so than it being connected in some sort of super spiritual way, I think that there's something inherently releasing about dancing or movement or moving to a beat or connecting with a rhythm that releases people from their inhibitions and kind of puts them in I don't mean in a negative way, but in a way that people tend to be guarded and to put on masks, and there's something it's hard

to not respond to a beat, whether it's with a goofy look on your face or a nodding of the head or what have you. And I think that that's a compelling attribute of music. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean that it's like a direct connection to God. However, worshiping in song has always been a part of the Judeo Christian belief system. You just can't separate the two. And as you pointed out with Canter's singing, and even the words of prayer become a song, So it absolutely plays

a part. What I don't want is to get to a point where it becomes this separate thing and it becomes like, oh, I can only get in tune with God if I'm singing or undulating that I do not believe to be true. However, there is a correlation that humans tend to confine themselves, and the unconfining attributes of music that make you want to kind of express yourself

make you more open to the experience of God. I have no problem with making that statement or hearing that statement, and also the direct correlation to the fact that you're created in the image of God. And theologians have gone back and forth for centuries trying to describe what that means, and some have whittled it down to meaning that you are a creature of intellect, will, and emotion. And to expand on that, I would say that creation is a

direct attribute of the creator. Correct creates, That's what God does, and so humans being created in the image of God have the desire to create as well. And I think music and art in general, but music is one of those It is one of those things. It's the desire to create as God created, and in this case, the creation is music, and in that sense, I think absolutely

positively it plays a huge part in worship. I just don't want people to make it more like a transcendental meditation or something that somehow puts them on a frequency or tunes them into God in a way that's different, because I think when you get into that place, you get into some metaphysical things and some things that might not be too productive, especially in the Judeo Christian precepts. Thank you for joining me this Sunday. I hope you

joined me every Sunday. And remember, more importantly than all the craziness that goes on, I am with you always. KFI A six on demand