Of Music And Ministry : Come As You Are

Dear Prayer Team,

"A little child kneels before God's throne, to his left is a man bound in chains, and to his right knelt a socialite. Neither one did God turn away..."

I have been blessed to have sung those words to a song that means a wholelot to me called, Come As You Are. If you listen to the music of RESCUE very much I am sure that at one time or another this song has ministered to you.Well it wasn't God's throne but the little children were definitely crowding very close to the platform of the sanctuary at Pleasant Valley Seventh Day Adventist in Boring, Oregon. In fact they were so close that some children were on the platform with us and a couple of them were between us and the monitor speaker playing with our dry erase board. My silent prayer was,"Lord you know how my memory lapses work. If they erase the song list offthe board please allow me the supernatural ability to remember the next song! It worked out just fine, they chatted about where it might best be placed and eventually it came to rest, set-list intact, right back where it was supposed to be. Two of my own children were sitting on the floor by the stage along with the other children there. My two precious bundles of energy sat quietly in rapt attention as we sang our hearts out to those in attendance. We sang of the redemption of Christ, His intense love for us, our responsibility to seek, serve, and listen to His quiet but very present voice. Seemingly high concepts for such little children still forming their cognitive abilities. Surely, they would be unable to relate to the philosophical ramifications of belief in a supernatural God. Surely, relating to the ideas of the substitutional sacrifice of a perfect Christ would not be concrete enough for them. They should not be expected to be able to sit through such a program.

But there they sat...and sat...and sat. Eyes wide, mouths agape, attention focused...why?

Why does the prisoner, steeped in sin and selfishness, allow