Psalm 150 (The Message)

Hallelujah!
Praise God in his holy house of worship, praise him under the open skies; Praise him for his acts of power, Praise him for his magnificent greatness; Praise with a blast on the trumpet, praise by strumming soft strings; Praise him with castanets and dance, praise him with banjo and flute; Praise him with cymbals and a big bass drum, praise him with fiddles and mandolin. Let every living, breathing creature praise God!
Hallelujah!

Monday, November 12, 2007

Where the River Bends...

Hi everybody! It's Ginger here, and I wanted to take a moment to share with you the blessing that we experienced last weekend as we went back out to Riverbend Maximum Security Prison. We once again sang to a group of inmates who showed such genuine appreciation, and blessed us with their kindness. They played and sang for us at the end of the service, and the fellowship was just amazing.

Vince told them about how earlier in the week, we got to sing at The Wildhorse, but if he had to choose between that and playing for them, he’d choose playing at the prison.

I’d have to agree. Knowing that you are giving a person a bit of joy through your smiles, singing, interaction, and acceptance of them, means much more than any amount of applause ever could.

While most assuredly these guys know what it’s like to be at the very lowest one can be, it was beautiful to witness the healing power of music as it broke down the barriers of pain, grief, hurt, doubt, hate, racism, hopelessness…and, even if but only for a few moments, replaced those things with faith, hope and, the very greatest of these, love.

Jesus once said…
"…for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ …‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these, My brethren, you did it to Me.'"
With experiences like these, I believe I'm beginning to grasp what He truly meant.

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