NEWS Live to Love
I was reading a book written by Watchman Nee today and came across this passage:
"Our complete surrender of ourselves to the Lord often hinges upon some particular thing, and God waits for that one thing. He must have it, for He must have our all."
Some particular thing... God waits for that one thing. He must have it.
Those words from the passage resonated strongly with me. Though I had been blessed with the Holy Spirit on December 7, 2002 (as I described previously in my blog "I Am Love"), it wasn't until Easter morning 2005 that I had completely surrendered to the Lord. I remember that morning as if it were yesterday.
I was sitting at my kitchen table, drinking some coffee and reading Scripture. My children were in the family room watching T.V. All of the sudden, I heard a voice. The voice said:
"Give me your music"
It was a gentle voice. A loving voice. It was so clear. I looked up from my Bible. I realize the Lord was speaking to me. He was asking me to surrender my true love - my music.
I was momentarily stunned. I began to cry (the Lord's voice always reduces me to tears). The Lord was asking me for something that I hadn't given Him since receiving the Spirit. He was asking me. He wasn't telling me. He was asking me! Gently. Lovingly. He waited patiently for over 2 years for me to give Him my music. I hadn't realized the mistake I had made. I felt so ... embarrassed.
As the tears continued flowing, I told the Lord at once that the music was His. "Yes, Lord," I said, "from this day forward, the music is yours. It is done."
Music was a huge part of my heart. It always has been. Music is in my blood. I have pictures of myself as a little child with a pacifier in my mouth holding a guitar. The Lord knew my passion for music. But He also knew that I had to surrender it to Him.
I thanked the Lord profusely that Easter morning for asking me to surrender the music. I especially thanked Him for the way He asked me for my music - on Easter Sunday (the day signifying His resurrection), in a gentle and loving voice. So gentle. So loving. The Lord is gentle. He is loving. He is Spiritual fruit. (Galatians 5:22-23)
Anybody who has listened to Sweetbird's music since the band's inception will detect a significant change since 2005. The new record "Shine" is His music - not ours. That's not to say that His Spirit didn't grace Sweetbird's previous records, "Free Spirit Reflection" and "Soul Fire." It surely did, but nowhere near as powerfully as it did on "Shine." All of the songs on "Shine" were inspired by the Holy Spirit. Every single one of them!
I don't know how many musicians out there today are recording music inspired by the Holy Spirit. I know there is a genre in the music business called "Christian Music." However, I don't know how much of this music is inspired by the Holy Spirit. You might be surprised to learn that Christine and I don't call our music "Christian." We refer to our music as "Inspirational." Sweetbird's music is inspired by the Holy Spirit. We receive the music from Him. It's a spiritual thing and has nothing to do with religion.
Here's an example of what I'm talking about. Not too long after surrendering my music to the Lord, I wrote a song titled "Live to Love." The song is on "Shine." The opening lines are:
Surrendered to Him
Forgiven of Sin
Bless with His grace
We rise above
And live to love
Those lines were inspired by the Holy Spirit. I wrote the entire song in about five minutes. The words just poured out of my heart. I had no control. They just poured out of my heart, effortlessly. The song captures the essence of walking in love: surrender completely, receive His love in your heart, and then share your loving heart with others (including your enemies). The lyrics to the bridge of "Live to Love" are:
Search me
Transform me
Let Your heart rein supreme
These words describe the process of complete surrender. Let the Lord search your heart, allow Him to transform your heart, and let His heart rein supreme. If you follow this process, you will learn to walk in love and live a life of love. As Paul told the Ephesians:
Dearly beloved, be imitators of God, and live a life of love (Ephesians 5:1-2).
Watchman Nee is absolutely correct about the importance of complete surrender. The Lord doesn't want part of our heart - He wants all of it! Complete surrender is the key to walking in love and living a life of love.
May your heart be completely surrendered to Him.
Agape,
Steve
ps: If you would like a free copy of Sweetbird's new CD, "Shine," send me an email with your mailing address and Christine and I will send you one. Send your name and address to: steve@sweetbirdmusic.com
"Our complete surrender of ourselves to the Lord often hinges upon some particular thing, and God waits for that one thing. He must have it, for He must have our all."
Some particular thing... God waits for that one thing. He must have it.
Those words from the passage resonated strongly with me. Though I had been blessed with the Holy Spirit on December 7, 2002 (as I described previously in my blog "I Am Love"), it wasn't until Easter morning 2005 that I had completely surrendered to the Lord. I remember that morning as if it were yesterday.
I was sitting at my kitchen table, drinking some coffee and reading Scripture. My children were in the family room watching T.V. All of the sudden, I heard a voice. The voice said:
"Give me your music"
It was a gentle voice. A loving voice. It was so clear. I looked up from my Bible. I realize the Lord was speaking to me. He was asking me to surrender my true love - my music.
I was momentarily stunned. I began to cry (the Lord's voice always reduces me to tears). The Lord was asking me for something that I hadn't given Him since receiving the Spirit. He was asking me. He wasn't telling me. He was asking me! Gently. Lovingly. He waited patiently for over 2 years for me to give Him my music. I hadn't realized the mistake I had made. I felt so ... embarrassed.
As the tears continued flowing, I told the Lord at once that the music was His. "Yes, Lord," I said, "from this day forward, the music is yours. It is done."
Music was a huge part of my heart. It always has been. Music is in my blood. I have pictures of myself as a little child with a pacifier in my mouth holding a guitar. The Lord knew my passion for music. But He also knew that I had to surrender it to Him.
I thanked the Lord profusely that Easter morning for asking me to surrender the music. I especially thanked Him for the way He asked me for my music - on Easter Sunday (the day signifying His resurrection), in a gentle and loving voice. So gentle. So loving. The Lord is gentle. He is loving. He is Spiritual fruit. (Galatians 5:22-23)
Anybody who has listened to Sweetbird's music since the band's inception will detect a significant change since 2005. The new record "Shine" is His music - not ours. That's not to say that His Spirit didn't grace Sweetbird's previous records, "Free Spirit Reflection" and "Soul Fire." It surely did, but nowhere near as powerfully as it did on "Shine." All of the songs on "Shine" were inspired by the Holy Spirit. Every single one of them!
I don't know how many musicians out there today are recording music inspired by the Holy Spirit. I know there is a genre in the music business called "Christian Music." However, I don't know how much of this music is inspired by the Holy Spirit. You might be surprised to learn that Christine and I don't call our music "Christian." We refer to our music as "Inspirational." Sweetbird's music is inspired by the Holy Spirit. We receive the music from Him. It's a spiritual thing and has nothing to do with religion.
Here's an example of what I'm talking about. Not too long after surrendering my music to the Lord, I wrote a song titled "Live to Love." The song is on "Shine." The opening lines are:
Surrendered to Him
Forgiven of Sin
Bless with His grace
We rise above
And live to love
Those lines were inspired by the Holy Spirit. I wrote the entire song in about five minutes. The words just poured out of my heart. I had no control. They just poured out of my heart, effortlessly. The song captures the essence of walking in love: surrender completely, receive His love in your heart, and then share your loving heart with others (including your enemies). The lyrics to the bridge of "Live to Love" are:
Search me
Transform me
Let Your heart rein supreme
These words describe the process of complete surrender. Let the Lord search your heart, allow Him to transform your heart, and let His heart rein supreme. If you follow this process, you will learn to walk in love and live a life of love. As Paul told the Ephesians:
Dearly beloved, be imitators of God, and live a life of love (Ephesians 5:1-2).
Watchman Nee is absolutely correct about the importance of complete surrender. The Lord doesn't want part of our heart - He wants all of it! Complete surrender is the key to walking in love and living a life of love.
May your heart be completely surrendered to Him.
Agape,
Steve
ps: If you would like a free copy of Sweetbird's new CD, "Shine," send me an email with your mailing address and Christine and I will send you one. Send your name and address to: steve@sweetbirdmusic.com
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home