Playing with Skill

We’ve implemented a new tradition.  Once a month at GIFT practices we have a bit of a workshop.  This last time we talked about playing with skill.

Why is it important to play with skill?  Does it even matter?  I find it interesting when reading about building the tabernacle and also the temple how often the word and idea of skill come up.  God specifically tells Moses about two guys who are skilled to start with and that He has given His Spirit too so that they can do all the intensely intricate details that God is asking for.  Apparently doing something well is something God actually cares about…

Seems opposite of some attitudes that can show up in ministry.  I remember a former camp director talking about all kinds of things that got donated to their ministry, including dozens and dozens of empty milk cartons.  And they’ll use that for…what?  If a ministry does well at a video presentation we are pleasantly surprised.  Yet God’s talking about skill and doing things well.

Part of that has to do with loving God.  I was thinking about this in terms of marriage.  Because I love Josh, if I do something for him I want to do it well because I want him to like whatever I’m giving him or doing for him.  Doing well for the one we love.  Doing well for the One we love.

That could apply to anything we do as service for God, not just music.  With music specifically there’s another aspect that comes into play when we talk skill.  Not distracting other people.  When we’re in a corporate setting our goal is to point to God, to point to Jesus through the music.  Well, we might have great songs and people are thinking about God and then all of a sudden someone plays a B demolished chord (as I heard it called).  It’s jolting because it’s really out of place.  It grabs our attention away from the truths we’re thinking about and back to the musician.

Now, obviously, mistakes are going to happen from time to time.  However, as we grow in skill they should happen less often!  One writer put it this way “Don’t practice until you get it right.  Practice until you can’t get it wrong.”

So, two great reasons to grow in skill: 1. Doing well for the one we love.  2. Not distracting from Him.

Mercy

As I’ve been teaching FYG Deeper: The Bible in 20 one thing that has stood out to me is God’s mercy.

In “In the Beginning” it’s maybe not exactly mercy we see, but we do see Him give people huge amounts of freedom.  He places them in a beautiful garden, full of food and things to do.  Adam and Eve have a great relationship with God, and with each other and have all they need.  God encourages them to eat from any tree they want from any part of the garden…except one.  They’ve been handed the world.  God’s being extravagant in His care for them.

In “What Went Wrong” it’s in the middle of the curses that we see God’s mercy.  Adam and Eve have done the one thing they were told not to do and now are facing the consequences.  As God curses the snake for his part in tempting Eve, God says that one day a descendant of Eve will crush Satan’s head.  As soon as sin enters the world God’s already showing a picture of hope and mercy!

Then God also has mercy in removing Adam and Eve from the garden.  This doesn’t seem like mercy.  But God doesn’t want them to live forever in sin.  By not letting them eat from the tree of life He makes a way for them to die physically so that they (and we) can live with Him forever in the New Earth where the Tree of Life will again be accessible.

Then when we get to “Downpour” we see that even though God decides to destroy all living things He doesn’t do it immediately.  Instead He gives people 120 years to realize what they are doing and to turn to Him.  He even has Noah build a massive boat so people couldn’t even avoid the warning that was right in front of their eyes.  Then, at the right time, God closes the door to the Ark.

Reminds me of how it is now.  God’s promised that the earth is not going to keep going as it is.  He will not tolerate all the sins of people forever.  He is coming to end that and establish a new world.  And one day the ‘door’ is going to close and the ‘flood’ will come.  But right now, we’re in the ‘120’ years.  Years that God is showing mercy, calling people to see their sin and turn to Him.  Years where anyone can go through the ‘one door’, which is Jesus, and avoid the destruction that’s coming.

Isn’t our God good?

Praise

This morning my study book told me to “Write down what the word ‘praise’ means to you.”  I was blinking back sleep and hoping to whip through the morning lesson.  But I was drawing a blank.  What does the word “praise” mean?  It seems to be another one of those ‘Christianese’ words.

One thought came to mind that sounds different than regular ‘churchese.’  To praise someone is to notice something about them and give them a compliment.  For example, I might say “Sally, you look beautiful today!  Love the way you did your hair!” or “Sam, you did a great job on stage tonight.”

Maybe that’s a good definition for praising God too.  Noticing that He does something really well and telling Him so.  Just as there are varying degrees of compliments (from an off handed comment to positively gushing) so our praise of God has varying degrees too.  But I think that when we are more aware of how much God has done and how drastically our lives have been changed the closer we get to the gushing type.

Let all that I am praise the Lord;

with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.

Let all that I am praise the Lord;

may I never forget the good things he does for me.

He forgives all my sins

and heals all my diseases.

He redeems me from death

and crowns me with love and tender mercies.

He fills my life with good things.

My youth is renewed like the eagle’s! (Ps 103:1-5 NLT)