I love music. There seems to be a cadence to much of life if you listen closely. From my view we are born into this world in a frequency or sound. Our sound may begin in a certain beautiful melody but as life and experience, perhaps jadedness enter in the melody begins to go out of tune. There seems to be a certain song that the world plays, a set song if you will. I liken it to thinking from one’s reptilian brain, the human set thinking, logic or what makes sense. From the time of the fall of Adam when sin entered the world the melody earth and all of creation played changed into an out of tune, clanging sound but the more one is around it the more it becomes the norm. Creative thinking or out of the box thinking can often get blasted out by the inherent sound the world now plays until the creativity matches the frequency of the the world’s song.

Jesus’ last words on the cross were, “it is finished.” My heart tells me these words meant many things. What I sense they mean for today is that when we choose to believe Jesus died on the cross so that we could be saved and then choose to follow Him and be in union with Him we are a new creation. We rewind the record (hear the song in reverse like rewinding an old school tape) and begin anew at the beginning before the fall, in innocence with a beautiful harmonious melody coming from us. When one makes this step they are a new species with a new record playing over them. Gone are generational sins and curses! Gone is the record of the past! The new has come. It is clean. It is fresh. It is righteous and holy.

We still live in a fallen world though. Sometimes the old record comes back on and its disharmonious tune plays and oddly can feel comforting. My heart feels tempted to play it because I played it for so long, it is familiar and strangely lures me to follow it, stranger still is my tendency to do so. Jesus did the work on the cross, it is not up to me to save myself. There is the work though of taking off the old record that wants to play and putting on the new. It seems to me every force tries to stop one from playing the new record. The new record plays a song that emits love. It shatters the hold of darkness, of the fall, of sin. It wakes up other people as well when they hear it and it calls them to step into their most authentic self and play their true sound. We still don’t fully know what is possible when one lives with this sound playing continually but I believe we are beginning to find out.

It is time to step into the “it is finished” and search for yourself what that fully means for your life. The old record has permeated this atmosphere. Its strange, dark sound plays everywhere and has for generations and decades. One must understand how much it has infiltrated everything, but this can’t be daunting because Jesus conquered it and we are more than conquerors as we follow Him. It is worth the time and search to ask Him how to continually play the new and turn off the old. For me, the old record comes on unknowingly and unconsciously and insidiously-often I catch it at a very late stage after it has been on for awhile and I’m a ways down the road of some negative thought path usually rooted in fear of something. To step into the “it is finished” I realize I really must take thoughts captive and bring them into submission of Jesus. This can be challenging when going throughout my day and doing chores and tasks, getting to work and adjusting to that atmosphere and what it requires from me for the day; later arriving at home and being a chef, or sounding board, or coach or whatever that atmosphere is requiring from me as mom. The old record can come on if something hits a place in me that may not be all the way healed or a place that I didn’t realize was in me that needed healing. I can get annoyed, feel taken advantage of, etc and pretty soon that old sound is playing that seeks to keep me in resonance with the world. Jesus says I am in this world but not of it so my work is to continually stop the old record, take it off, smash it as I learn better my authority and who I truly am, and be responsible to put on the new record that plays the truest melody and sound of my life. You see, the things is, other people need to hear your melody too. So the work isn’t just for you. You have a certain sound that God created to be in and on this earth at this time for a very specific reason and ONLY YOU play that sound!!! Do you understand how important it is that you find your truest sound? That you take off the old record that says you’re a victim, or you’ve been too hurt, or plays the sound of unforgiveness. You see if you play that sound that is what you’re believing for your life. When you play the true sound from God, in tune with union in Jesus the impossible is possible, you step into an incredible “upside down” that defies fallen earth laws because you’re no longer bound to them in Christ…ahem, He walked on water, raised the dead (four, FOUR days dead by the way), healed the sick, cast out demons, multiplied food, etc. And the best part of all is that to truly play this sound one must believe who Father God says they are. This requires a heart connection with Him. And it is the most wonderful relationship one can go after in this life as He is the only one who totally gets you and loves you. To believe who He says you are you must also believe Him for who He is, a loving Father. If this is not how you see Him just ask Him to show you who He is and how He feels about you, He will do it! He wants a relationship with you more than you can imagine. And no human on earth can fill you the way He can.

I can realize I put on the old record too when my thoughts or words are trending more negative. Atmospheres can invoke that. Darkness has for so long infiltrated this world and to take back ground and bring about kingdom living on earth, principles from heaven onto earth that will bless and help people and all of creation we must push forward to shift our thoughts and words to match the true song of our life. So many verses have been running through my head while typing this but I love Philippians 4:8 right in this spot.

In my heart I sense a lot of division in the body of Christ, or the church. Stay with me here for a second, so when I drive or hurt myself I will sometimes cuss and this bothers my son a lot. So much that I have been working at really stopping that totally. He made an observation that has stayed with me, he said why do people cuss when they’re upset? This just stirred at my heart and I didn’t have a great answer in the moment. As I’ve stayed with the question though it seems to me that it is once again a human default to resonate with the sound of the world which is fallen and in darkness. It is hard to come out of this not only because its comfortable but also because the whole world plays it so to decided not to is to choose to face the metaphorical firing squad of the world and man it will try and shoot you down! Back to division, sometimes it seems we are quicker to denounce and cut down than we are to build up or compliment, espcially if we don’t know the other side or someone on the other side, I’m thinking of someone in a different religion or under a different leader. I did this very thing today when my son asked me about Catholicism and what they believe that’s different than us and I gave him some examples, which is fine, I answered his question but later on I felt the gentle pull of conviction and felt in my heart a good response would’ve been to also share how we are similar and more than that if I’m being honest the conviction tied to a bit of judgment that was in my heart towards the Catholic faith. I feel to repent of that in me. But I’m glad when these dark spots get highlighted as it’s then I can go to Jesus and get help removing them.

In these days it is so important that we find our sound and play it for the world to hear in whatever capacity we have been set up for that in this life. Your sound releases other people’s sounds and breaks barriers and slavery that has plagued humankind since the fall (slavery to sin, anything that is lord over one’s life other than Jesus). Also very important to recognize division in our hearts, especially towards other believers and repent and turn from it. The Body of Christ are the ambassadors of heaven to earth, so there is great responsibility in learning how to live as such and choosing to not tear each other down and instead bless each other and love each other, find ways to outdo each other in how you’re a blessing (and no, not in performance but in honor of each other, recognizing with great reverence the Christ that lives in others) as what the body does, the world will follow suit.

Stepping in, may you go to Jesus in quiet moments and begin to build a relationship with Him; may you have the courage to ask Him how He sees you and choose to believe Him; may you get that check from Holy Spirit to grab a thought and bring it to Jesus; may you bless other believers, especially those who don’t agree with you or those you may have felt hurt by. May you begin to see the divine favor over your life.