M is for Missions....M is for Music

I was praying with one of my 2 fabulous prayer partners this morning, and she said something exceptionally encouraging as she was praying for me....but, let me back up.

Many months ago, I felt the Lord showed me that He would use the music I write to impact His Kingdom by affecting the un-churched. As any truly, highly spiritual person would do, I immediately responded with "Yes, Lord...thank you."

.....Well, actually, what I said was "Huh? There's no way that people in the secular world will listen to my music! I don't know how you're planning to do that, Lord." Thankfully, the Lord is infinitely patient with His doubting daughter, and He continued to re-affirm that He would use it to impact the lost.

Some months later I wrote a song called "Undefiled Worship" based on the passage in James 1 which talks about true and undefiled religion (worship) being caring for widows and orphans and remaining unstained by the world. It was a catchy tune, and it caught on enough that several churches and ministry groups wanted to begin to use it. Since it seemed like a song that could go somewhere, I decided to record it professionally, as the Lord had already given me a creative marketing plan to be able to raise funds to record. That involved writing and arranging and recording an instrumental worship cd, "Be Still", which I released last year at Christmas. It is intended as a quiet and worshipful backdrop for personal prayer and bible study time etc. I sold several hundred of those cds, and all of the proceeds were put toward recording "Undefiled Worship" in a great studio downstate, Innercircle Productions. The song Undefiled Worship will be ready for release in the next week or two (it's sounding great!)

As I've gotten feedback about Undefiled Worship, I realized that, though it is a song intended for the church, it can impact the lost by inspiring believers to live out James 1:27 lives...seeing the entirety of their lives as an opportunity to purely worship the Lord by loving and serving the people in need of His love. This excited me and confirmed what I had felt the Lord had shown me many months before.

But then it got even better. I saw that the Lord had shown Himself faithful to His promise to use this music to affect the lost...but then I saw Him do more.

Last week I was invited to include one of my acoustic songs, "Surrender is Sweet" on a New England Christian Acoustic compilation album produced by Quickstar Productions. Excitingly, a fairly large portion of the proceeds from this album, "Unified by Grace", goes directly to a medical mission clinic in Uganda, specifically to purchase malaria medication for the patients there. One of the Production Company owners was burdened for the clinic he has done short-term mission work in, and the Lord laid out a plan for how he can continue to help the clinic by doing compilation albums like this one and directing the proceeds that way. I will have the "United By Grace" compilation album ready to sell in the new year.

Talk about exciting! I can again see the Lord directly using this music to affect the lost! Praise HIM!

And so, back to my prayer partner (who is headed out on a month-long medical mission herself tomorrow morning). As she prayed she said,

"Father, I thank You that You are going to be providing medical resources for children on the other side of this world because Elizabeth sat at her piano and worshiped you." Huh....wow.

Now, I realize that the Lord is not helping those children because of me. Rather, He is helping them because He loves them, and He is letting me see Him do it because He loves me. The Lord works all things together for good for those who are in Christ Jesus. It is in Him that all things are held together! I will continue to sit at my piano and worship Him, and write for Him, and pray for Him to use the music to affect His Kingdom. Not my glory, Lord, but YOURS alone!

If you are a worship pastor, and you are interested in hearing and using "Undefiled Worship" for your church, please be in touch and we'll work together to encourage our congregations to live James 1:27 lives. "Undefiled Worship" will be available soon on my myspace as well.

At all times thankful,
Elizabeth