Westy's Weekly Blog

It would be wonderful if we could say that it was the people of God who invented music and song.   It would be even more wonderful if we could say that God’s people invented music and song – specifically – in order to praise and worship their creator God and Saviour.   The book of Genesis however points out that the reality is a little different. Of course it goes without saying that music and song have an enormous role to play in the life of God’s redeemed people.   That was true already in long ages past.   Some weeks ago I pointed out that at the Exodus Israel's victory song is sung to honour God's defeat of Pharaoh – with Miriam playing the tambourine for the occasion.   Music and song will also be important in God’s restored creation when Jesus returns.   At the end of the Bible there is John's apocalyptic vision of multitudes of victors singing the song of Moses and the Lamb – this time accompanied by harps given by God.   And then somewhere,...

  There’s a bad myth that needs to be debunked – speedily..!   It’s a myth I’m sure you’re quite familiar with: The myth that if you’re a genuine Christian then you won’t be troubled by anxiety.   Or to put it more bluntly: being worried is a sign something is wrong in your relationship with the Lord. Being human and living in a fallen and broken world means that a certain amount of anxiety is inevitable in daily life.   There’s a long list of very ordinary garden variety worries that trouble people – constantly.   The teenage lad worries that a couple of pimples will spoil his first date.   The young high school lass is anxious about her shyness around boys.   The young dad is anxious about his job because his company has gone into receivership.   And the young mum worries that her second pregnancy might again end up in a miscarriage. Anxiety or worry is the tag we put on our psychological reactions to situations of stress in our lives. ...

  In a myriad of ways we can be used by God to bring blessing into the lives of others and so bring glory to our father in heaven. Think, for example, of that well-known Prayer of Francis of Assisi .   It spells out with great clarity some ways we can be a blessing to others:             Where there is hatred let me bring your love;               where there is injury your pardon Lord...!             Where there’s despair in life let me bring hope;               where there’s darkness let me bring your light...! Living out that prayer of Francis of Assisi is not an optional extra for Christians... it is our mandate... our duty.   And that calling we have is spelled out in many ways in the Bible.   Let me give you just one example. ...

When I began my Christian radio program on our local Community Radio I chose to call it ‘Songs of Faith’ – that seemed appropriate because Christianity is a religion of song.   Over these past years on that program we have listened to simple Bible choruses but also to well thought-out hymns; we’ve listened to Psalms from the Bible but also to Afro-American Spirituals; to children’s songs but also to classical pieces from Handel and Mozart.   We Christians have a very long history of expressing our faith in music and song. That makes Exodus chapter 15 all the more surprising.   In fact, it’s rather amazing when you stop and think about it.   Exodus 15 begins with these word:             Then Moses and Israel sang this song to the Lord:             ‘I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted.          ...