My Eyes Look to the Hills
For days now I have been in shock over the events happening in our country and the impending decisions that our President must make. I too have thought of the lost lives, the children without parents, what will happen in the days ahead and the countless jobs that have been affected by the terrorists acts upon our country. I wanted to write about it, but my words fail.
Having knowledge of these events while leading worship can make our jobs as worship leaders very difficult. I feel it necessary to refer you to a situation in the Old Testament that should give us some comfort, encouragement and hope.
May I remind you about the story of King Jehoshaphat of Judah in 2 Chronicles 20, though he was faced with serious opposition the scripture states that he "feared" the impending war. King Jehoshaphat sought the Lord and called on the "Worship Leaders" to lead the people in praises to God. The Lord worked it out as they worshiped God singing "Praise the Lord, for His mercy endures forever". The Lord set ambushes against the enemy and the Kingdom of Judah prevailed. (Note that Judah means "praise")
Let this be a message of encouragement to you. We serve a Risen Savior who promises us peace in times of trouble and unrest. Hebrews 10: 23-25 reminds us not to forget to come together as a family encouraging one another and that we should not fall in the habit of not meeting together. This portion of scripture continues to exhort us, that we should encourage each other and even more so, as we see the day of our Lord approaching.
We don't know the time or the hour, but the Lord does. We are to keep our hands to the plow, cry aloud and spare not - sharing the gospel of peace, hope and love. Letting all that has an ear to hear and know that there is a God who cares who gave his only Son for us obtain eternal life. Our God promises to keep us in prefect peace as long as we keep our mind and thoughts on Him. Comforting one another with the same comfort that He comforts us with. (2 Cor. 1:4)
We need to pass this message of hope on to our brothers and sisters during our times of Corporate Worship. I encourage you to exhort God's people and put them in remembrance of His Word. Reminding them that He is our Peace who has broken down every wall, He is our Provider, Healer, and Comfort. He is our Hope for a free life, because where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom. For it is in Him that we live, move and have our being. God has been our dwelling place throughout the generations and He will be exalted among the nations.
Go forth in the power of His Name and lead His people in the praises of Him who has called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. Remembering that we were once not a people but that he brought us from nothing into His Kingdom for now we are His people and we are called by His name. We belong to Him and He belongs to us, we are the sheep of His pasture and He has promised us that He will not allow anyone to pluck us out of His hands.
Remember even if you feel that you are to weak to sing or play your instrument, He is the vine and we are the branches, apart from Him we can do nothing. Some may trust in chariots (the military) and some may trust in horses (missiles) but we put our trust in the name of the Lord! Take heart He will never leave us or forsake us. We look to the hills for our help and our help comes from the Lord our God.
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This is the debut album by EXW friend Paul Langford. Paul is a Chicago based singer, arranger, keyboardist, producer and conductor. Paul has a career that spans 14 years. Paul's work includes arranging for groups like GLAD, Voices of Liberty, VoiceTrek, The Chicago based "Caroling Party" and Day of Discovery Singers. His arranging has appeared on recordings side by side with greats like Gene Puerling and David Maddux, and he has sung with Don Shelton, Bonnie Herman and Bob Bowker, among others.