Psalm 119:7a I will praise thee with uprightness of heart,

I was just speaking with my best friend last night about the power of music to lift us up and beyond that which is seen. I have been moved of late by the power of music to instill in me a place of elevation that I honestly do not deserve. Such is the power of music.

It is within my experience to have witnessed something truly sad in my fellow worshippers. So powerful is the sense of music in praise that if they do not feel the music, their praise is absent. They complain, it is too loud, it is that “new stuff”, its old and outdated, I cannot sign to that, the sound system isn’t very good, and on and on and on go the grumblings.

Praise begins in the heart.

We all love to be elevated beyond where we are with the power of music. It is emotional for sure. God has given us the gift of joy in music but is that a sincere replacement for God worship? The music is meant to be an expression of the love that already exists in the heart of the believer, not a replacement for it.

Psalm 119:7b when I shall have learned thy righteous judgments.

It is only after we have learned God’s righteous attributes that we can praise Him for them. It is easier to allow the music to lift us up to a place we do not belong, it is easier than seeking and learning and experiencing all Gods righteous judgments. When the music stops and you exit the door and enter back yet again into this world we live in, were is your praise then?

Psalm 34:1 I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Or do you need the music to set the mood?

1 Kings 14:24 And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.

Have you ever noticed that the first four letters of the world culture is cult? That does not surprise me in the least, after all early Christians were called The Way, a cult according to loyal Jews. Even Roman called The Way a cult. In fact they were if for no other reason than they had a culture that was new, different and expressed a single obsessive component.

Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

This exclusivity is one of the signs we look for in cults. This one issue alone sets us apart from all other religions and we are hated for it as promised by Jesus himself. Labels are easy and it not fair to label believers a cult based on specific characteristics found in cults. Control issues are very common in a number of identified cults of this modern era. Controlling dress code, personal activities, finances, time dedicated to support, possessions and relationships are just some of those signs. Add to that total dedication to a leader.

Think about that list and be honest in your assessment, every major religion in the world contain some if not more than one element of control in these areas, if not overt at least persuasive control. So I will say again, we should not look to specific elements as signs of cult activity. We should look at the culture.

Galatians 5:22-24 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

This is the culture of The Way, my cult.