Remember January 20th 2000? If you braved the frigid temperatures, and it was cold for Kentucky ...maybe just maybe you were enjoying the spectacle in the Heavens; under the firmament of the sky you would have seen the beauty of Gods creation ...and a total Lunar eclipse. Awesome God is what I thought! The glory of a clear winter night has often inspired me but an eclipse like this is something I’ve never seen... its memory will linger and always bring glory to the Creator of all things. At least two things came together to make that a special moment. Nothing to obscure the view.... and nothing to distract from the moment. As a praise and worship leader these two things are what I strive for.... and long for.
One chief ingredient of real worship is simply nothing between. I don’t know if you knew this or not but it’s been almost a decade since the atmosphere has allowed such a clear view of an eclipse. Volcanic dust has previously distorted our view. The earthly can obscure the heavenly.
Likewise the view we have of God can be filtered through past experiences, wrong teachings, or our tendency to make the image of God more like our expectations of right and wrong... good and evil, then like the Samaritans (John 4:22) we know not what we worship. True worship comes when we obtain intimate knowledge of who He really is; and that requires a life long desire and commitment to know Him. When you spend every moment with someone, who they are comes through.
Jeremiah 29:13
And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
On that night, in my mind, there was one central theme, one central focus and that was the lunar eclipse. The canvas of the night sky enhanced the power of the moment, not competed with it. The heavens have a glory all their own but with the beginning of the eclipse, the new thing, demanded my attention. All the glory of the dark skies faded while I marveled. In the same manner the purpose of the Praise Team ....the purpose of our praise ...is to surround His presence and provide a place for His Glory to manifest. We are the paper... He is the Word revealed. When words appear on the empty page, you no longer are aware of the paper but of the words ...a stained page may distract you, but not a pure, clean sheet or heart. Who we are, and what we do and say should bring honor to Him. We have the heart and mind of Jesus when we seek to bring honor to God, and when our presentation, and skills causes hearts to turn to God. Praise is a beautiful thing, and I love the sound of sweet harmonies and beautiful music. But these gifts of God should never be the chief focus of our praise time. God is why we're here. What God is doing , or saying should command our attention.
He deserves our complete devotion. Let our prayers be "Oh, God.... may my skill and life bring honor to you and let me not seize a moment with my own glory in mind. Let who I am and what I am doing glorify you.” Let's not be the peripheral thing that distracts others from Him.
