“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.”

Revelation 4:18

Father, how can I praise you unceasingly? I cannot mutter constantly all day long. I cannot repeat one sentence continually. It would have no meaning for me after a few repetitions.

I will praise you by getting up in the morning. I will praise you by doing my work without complaint. I will praise you by the way I treat others and by the way I spend my free time. I will praise you through the way I live.

And Lord, today, as I pick up the tools of my trade, I praise Your name. Through my art I say, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was, and who is, and who is to come.”

Praise the Lord.

Amen

When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,

and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.

Revelation 1:16-18

Father, it is so easy to limit Christ to the images we see in paintings or in movies. It is easy to make Him into our image – fully man but not fully God.

Lord, as I try to share my view of our Savior in words or images, help me to share a more complete picture of Christ: risen, powerful, beyond simple description. Help me to define the indefinable.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen

They have forsaken Me,

The fountain of  living waters,

To hew for themselves cisterns,

Broken cisterns

That can hold no water.

Jeremiah 2:13

Father, this reminds me of what I sometimes do in the middle of a creative endeavor: I try to collect ideas from my own mind or try to guess at solutions to problems when I really need the help of the Holy Spirit. This doesn’t mean I can’t rely on my training. I’m only trying to say there are times when only You have the answers I need.

Oh, Fountain of Living Waters, I come to You for ideas. I release this project into Your hands. Show me what it needs. Help me to be a good collaborator in this holy act of creation.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen

3 John 1:2

Father, I pray you help my soul to prosper. Help me to feed myself with Your Word, good books, great art, and Christian fellowship. I pray You help me to think thoughts worthy of You, and to meditate on the good and lovely.

As my soul prospers, I pray you prosper my physical body, my work, and my life. Keep me healthy – spirit, soul and body.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen

GET ON BASE Part 2

“But I can’t read music.” Many songwriters can’t. Some of my favorite don’t.

“But I’m not a great singer.” Diane Warren, the greatest hit songwriter of our generation, professes to be no great singer.

“I don’t play an instrument.” I admit that it’s helpful to play, but not at all necessary. Worship songwriter Paul Baloche writes many of his songs away from an instrument, and pop songwriter Jason Blume usually hires someone to figure out the chords to his songs for him.

How about this reason for not getting started (this is real): “I’m too proficient a musician, and the stuff that’s in style is more rootsy.” Come on. Really? Ever hear John Mayer play guitar?

But at the root of all this, the belief that what you write will be no good distracts you from any real writing. So here is your goal. It’s not a lofty one, but it’s what my third grade baseball coach told me to do: Get on base.

When I played ball as a kid, I was a good infielder but a lousy batter. The advice all lousy batters hear from the dugout is, “Don’t try to hit a homer. Just get on base.” To sit down to a blank sheet of paper with the entire world looking over your shoulder critiquing every word you write is too difficult for any human on earth to do. “Is it radio friendly?” “Will my pastor like it?” “Can everyone in the church sing it?” These are not questions to ask yourself right now. Don’t write a song that can stand up to every critique. Just get on base.

Yes, there is something trying to write through you, a song only you can sing. Do you know the scripture, “The spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet?” God does not move a prophet’s tongue, and He doesn’t move your pen. Craft is working out what you think you heard, interpreting it, until it’s right. And – here’s the bummer – it will never be all the way right. It will not be perfect. However, the craft part is not the hearing from God part, and every Christian can hear from God.

“They that are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Let God lead Your pen. Get out what He’s trying to say to You. You can go back and fix what you didn’t get right. When you write something you’re not sure is right for the song, just tell yourself, “I’ll go back and fix it later.”

So, don’t worry craft stuff yet. It will just get in your way. God is speaking. Are you ready to take dictation?

James 4:14b

Life is speeding by so quickly, Father, and there is still so much I want to do. I feel I should have done more, accomplished greater things, and made better choices. My art hasn’t progressed as far as I would have liked, and my commercial success has fallen short of my dreams.

Lord, I place my life in Your hands. Help me not to worry about my life, its speed, and its accomplishments. I pray everything I’m supposed to do unfolds in Your time. And someday, when time is no more, I’ll have eternity to pursue artistic approaches to praising You.

Thank You, Lord.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen

1 Peter 1:15

Father, forgive me wherever I’ve allowed unholy behavior to creep into my life. The creative act is an act of worship, and I don’t want to allow anything I do to tarnish that act of worship. I repent. Help me to change.

In Jesus’ Name,

Amen