My Musical Journey
My musical journey is what I would like to discuss this week. It was placed on my heart to talk about this because while there are some things I have always understood about music, there is one particular thing about music when once realized, it changed my whole outlook on it; so I’m going to just go right in on it. John 1:3 says: All things were made by Him; and without Him, nothing was made, of that which was made. This includes music and the first type of music I recall in scripture was a song in Exodus 15; I will reference it below. The entire chapter is a beautiful song praising YAHWEH for bringing the children of Israel out of captivity and escaping Pharaoh and his army. Therefore if YAHWEH created music as well, it is not likely that He would create it to do anything but bring glory to His name. Isaiah 42:8 says: I am YAHWEH; that is my name. I yield my glory to no one else, nor my praise to any idol. (CJB) All my life I have been dancing to, singing along with and rocking out to secular music, none of it giving YAHWEH glory.
As a christian I’ve heard many people say that Lucifer was the minister of music in Heaven before his fall. I never looked it up, I just believed it like many things christians believe without researching. Even as I began to write this devotional, I still believed this because it states in Ezekiel 28:13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created . (KJV) There are times were I still refer to the KJV translation, although I now read more direct Hebrew/Aramaic to English translations. Ezekiel 28:13 in the (Aramaic Peshitta) reads: You have been in Eden, the garden of ELOHIM; you were decked with every precious stone, the sardius, the topaz, and the emerald, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire and pearls; and you have filled your treasuries with gold and your chests with precious stones; you had all of these things from the day you were created. There is no mention of “tembrels or tabrets”, or “pipes”. The Septuagint reads closely to the Peshitta: Thou wast in the delight of the paradise of ELOHIM; thou hast bound upon thee every precious stone, the sardius, and topaz, and emerald, and carbuncle, and sapphire, and jasper, and silver, and gold, and ligure and agate, and ametheyst and chrysolite, and beryl, and onyx; and thou hast filled thy treasures and thy stores in thee with gold. The (CJB) as well does not mention tembrels and pipes. I’m beginning to believe that while I’m positive lucifer was the most beautiful and a powerful cherib who worshipped along with the host of malakim (angels); and may even had been the best at it, I am no longer convinced this was his primary function. What I am convinced of is that he is evil, he hates our ELHOIM and he does whatever he can to defile and reverse all YAHWEH created and intended for His people.
I enjoy many things in life but music is one of where I can be pretty OCD with it. Like most, there are certain songs that have played as a soundtrack to my life. I could hear a song or melody and it will take me right back to that time in my life. Unfortunately, it was only after I watched a video message from a dear brother in the faith that turned my world of music upside right; and on 8/2/2021 I realized these soundtracks where a menace to my soul. I am doing something a little different with this devotional by copying the email communication I sent to him after I watched his message. Prayerfully, this will explain my heart at that time, and now as I no longer desire to listen to secular music. My choices are limited as I’m still picky about what I listen to. It took many, many hours building a library of music that had nothing to do with my Creator, and now I am putting in that same number of hours building a collection to His esteem because I want to worship our Father YAHWEH in a way that pleases Him; and I rather listen to nothing, than to listen to something that grieves the RUACH HA’KODESH (Holy Spirit).
Shalom Brother Damien,
Yesterday I watched the video titled Burn your satanic music ASAP! and was overly convicted. You referred to Watchman Yahu, another ministry I am very acquainted with and I have seen his videos on Prince, Parliament and Earth Wind and Fire. However, I believe Yahweh used your video to give me grease stains. So today after I logged out from work, I went upstairs to gather all my albums, (I purchased a vintage record player a few years ago and started collecting albums.) As I started placing each one into the bag to throw them away, I was trying to reason in my spirit that nothing is wrong with Stevie Wonder, still I placed it in the bag. All the old music that I connected with in the 90's which caused me to think of myself as a 90's flower girl and the 90's was the new 60's. I am/was very much into the Beatles, Doors, Jimi that whole era and in the 90's in addition to rap like PE, Brand Nubians, Pharcyde, Digable Planets, De la Soul, I latched on to alternative rock. I followed Pearl Jam all over the globe to see their concerts and now looking at their CD covers which I didn't understand at the time, they are riddled with satanic symbols even tho their lyrics don't quite seem to be satanic, they are however very atheistic in nature which I guess along with the fame is the same thing.
What hit me in the face is when you said music was created only to worship the Elohim, Yahweh...bam, grease stains. It is so hard to believe that the very existence of everything else puts us in enmity with Him.
I am so sorry to Him, but I am even more sorry that I am literally like Lot's wife. Music was such a huge part of my young years because I never fit in, you gave good reasons why I may have felt like that in your testimony but during that time, I was just trying to find a place to be and that music was it. None of my friends liked my alternative music and I didn't care because I felt like it was so much like me, and accepted me and that music was my space. It never made me venture into any dark side or delve into occultic things, I still loved Yeshua and never desired to cross any visible lines, but at the same time I didn't realize I was straddling the fence.
After I end this email I am throwing it all out along with all the CD's, I just don't know why it's hard, I don't want it to be hard, I don't want to look back, I actually haven't listened to any of it in over a year, so it was nothing for me to make the decision. However when I started packing everything up, I feel like I am throwing away part of me, part of a special time in my life................Which is, I suppose...... is the demonic hold....
I think I just answered my question.
Thank you for that video...
So you see the particular thing I didn’t realize then is that music was only created to worship YAHWEH. Like many things I glossed right over this in scripture; but it is hard to understand how, when we see songs, lyrics and Psalms all throughout scripture dedicated to our Father YAHWEH and nothing else. Even in 1 Samuel 16:16-23 (I will link the story below) Saul’s servants told him an evil spirit tends to come over him and suggested they find someone who is good at playing a musical instrument to play for him in order to cause the evil to go away. It was King David who was not king at the time who played for Saul and he was also chosen because it was said of him that, “YAHWEH is with him”. Sure enough, when David would play for Saul, the evil spirits would depart from Saul.
The part in my email where I said the message gave me grease stains is because previously I publicly commented on another video message of his concerning cursing. (Yeah, that was a problem too) I stated, “my mother used to tell me all the time “Girl you just don’t believe fat meat is greasy” She was right about that in me. It is like I always have to get grease stains on my blouse before I truly understood that the fat of the meat is greasy.” So basically instead of just listening to my mother, I would have to experience something she warned against, and get all messed up in the process before I understood she was right. Brother Damien’s message helped me to understand how music is used on us and that I was literally at enmity with YAHWEH rocking out to this stuff; all the while professing belief in YESHUA as my Savior. Isn’t this somehow taking His name in vain? So yes, the way Brother Damien explained in his message that my continuing to listen to this music is out of the will of YAHWEH, gave me grease stains.
RnB and rap was a huge part of my life growing up but then rap music started to take a turn. It became darker beginning with rappers like Snoop Dogg whom I did listen to, but then with the introduction of NWA, Too Short, and many others like them; the lyrics with obvious sexual implications, and violence I could no longer stand to listen to and Alternative Rock was waiting for me with open arms. I traded lyrics pertaining to sex, degradation of women, and violence for lyrics about social issues, broken relationships and depression. I thought I was choosing better, but I was still choosing evil and didn’t have a clue. I recall an Eddie Vedder concert I went to in Las Vegas. He was performing alone and I had met some random people there and was having the time of my life. He left and came back out on stage for an encore. It seemed that security had abandoned their posts and the woman sitting next to me grabbed my hand and said “C’mon girl!” We ran up to the stage and was standing below him maybe 2 rows back and I don’t care how anyone might try to spin it; we were worshiping him. He stood still, his eyes scanning the crowd and thinking back on it now, it was as though someone or something else was looking at us through him. At the time I was very excited because he looked right at me but now, I recall that he did seem to be in a kind of trance pulling something from us that I’m sure if we knew better, we would not be so willing to give. I followed many bands like The Foo Fighters, Nirvana, 30 Seconds to Mars, Maroon 5, System of the Down, Disturbed, Counting Crows, Blues Travelers, the list goes on and on…But to me none could compare to Pearl Jam. I had traveled to different cities and states to see them and even outside the country. I was singing their lyrics believing it was beautiful art when it was killing my soul. Still YAHWEH kept me and protected me the entire time knowing that I would return to Him and I did. As I’m writing this, I am pondering the word enmity which I was in with YAHWEH, listening to this death. It brought to mind some Pearl Jam lyrics:
Rearview Mirror
I seem to look away
Wounds in the mirror waved
It wasn't my surface... most defiled
Head at your feet, fool to your crown
Fist on my plate, swallowed it down
Enmity gauged, united by fear
Tried to endure what I could not forgive
I used to sing this loud and proud letting out all my angst. I thought this was a song he wrote about his complicated relationship with his dad. Knowing he is an atheist and all that I know now about music, I’m not so sure anymore. The lyrics do sound like a complicated relationship but with the Father, our Creator; and not his earthly dad. This song was one of my favorites and I went wild when it would come on, but it was pure death. I repent.
Another Song:
Pearl Jam Lyrics I am Mine
The selfish, they're all standing in line
Faithing and hoping to buy themselves time
Me, I figure as each breath goes by
I only own my mind
The north is to south what the clock is to time
There's east and there's west and there's everywhere life
I know I was born and I know that I'll die
The in-between is mine
I am mine
The lyrics in this song are a little more obvious. I admit that with this song, even though I did like it very much; when trying to sing it, I found myself mumbling “I am mine” and mumbling through much of the song. It was like the RUACH was telling me you will NOT sing this because you are NOT yours. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says: Or don’t you know that your body is a temple for the RUACH HA’KODESH who lives inside you, whom you received from EL? The fact is, you don’t belong to yourselves; 20: for you were bought at a price. So use your bodies to glorify ELOHIM. (CJB) I knew these lyrics were a lie but I sang it anyways reasoning in myself that there is some logical alternative meaning behind the lyrics. I was wrong, and again. I repent.
Around 2015, I had began to start collecting albums to play on my nice little vintage turn table because artists started producing on wax again and I thought it was so cool however those albums, even the ones I had yet to play: the Beatles White Album and their Rubber Soul album; I trashed. The CD’s all thrown away and I praise YAHWEH for releasing me from that stronghold. I still have to delete all the downloads in my player but I don’t listen to them at all and I really don’t miss the music anymore considering what it used to mean to me. If I hear a tune does it take me back to my head banger days? Yes? So I do what I can not to listen to or even accidentally hear this music. I learned a good lesson about this not too long ago. At that time I did not understand at all because the music involved wasn’t something I ever used to listen to so it meant nothing to me; but it did mean something to others. It is important to be cognizant of this when posting or sharing funny or interesting videos or clips that have music. I don’t want anyone throwing stumbling blocks in my path, and I repent for having have done this to another.
In conclusion, may YAHWEH keep His RUACH continuously in my life so that I’m always a help and not a hinder to my brethren. I could go on and on using scripture after scripture to support why I stopped listening to Pearl Jam and the rest, but anyone who has known me personally for years knows that I MUST be serious about this walk on the narrow path and that I truly do love our FATHER YAHWEH; because there was nothing anyone could tell me about this band or any of the music I listened to. I was a groupie, die hard fan to Pearl Jam and wasted so much money over time on concerts for many of the bands I listened to up until 2021. This was not pleasing to our ELOHIM and He is what is most important to me now; and my obedience to Him, His laws and His ways is how I love Him and how I show Him that He is most important to me. So while I can quote many scriptures to assist with the understanding of why you too should “burn your satanic music ASAP”, I would rather you to listen to Brother Damien’s humble and beautifully done message; allowing the RUACH HA’KODESH in him speak to you, the way He spoke to me.
Shalom & Berekah!
P.S. The images above is my vintage record player. Still haven’t found a good place for it since I’m not using it. Maybe someone can provide a good suggestion on where to get YAHWEH praising music, and a little bit of David’s harp on wax! ☺️
Just a few supporting verses:
All things were made by Him; and without Him, nothing was made, of that which was made.
-John 1:3
-Exodus 15
I am YAHWEH; that is my name. I yield my glory to no one else, nor my praise to any idol. (CJB)
-Isaiah 42:8
Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created (KJV)
-Ezekiel 28:13
You have been in Eden, the garden of ELOHIM; you were decked with every precious stone, the sardius, the topaz, and the emerald, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire and pearls; and you have filled your treasuries with gold and your chests with precious stones; you had all of these things from the day you were created. (Aramaic Peshitta)
-Ezekiel 28:13
1 Samuel 16:16-23
Or don’t you know that your body is a temple for the RUACH HA’KODESH who lives inside you, whom you received from EL? The fact is, you don’t belong to yourselves; 20: for you were bought at a price. So use your bodies to glorify ELOHIM. (CJB)
-1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Come, let’s sing to YAHWEH! Let’s shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation! 2: Let’s come into his presence with thanksgiving; let’s shout for joy to him with songs of praise (CJB)
-Psalm 95:1-2
Sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to each other; sing to YAHWEH and make music in your heart to him (CJB)
-Ephesians 5:19
My lips will shout for joy; I will sing your praise, because you have redeemed me (CJB)
-Psalm 71:23
Sing to him, sing praises to him, talk about all his wonders. (CJB)
-Psalm 105:2
A psalm of David: I am singing of grace and justice; I am singing to you, YAHWEH (CJB).
-Psalm 101:1
Halleluyah! Praise God in his holy place! Praise him in the heavenly dome of his power! 2: Praise him for his mighty deeds! Praise him for his surpassing greatness! 3: Praise him with a blast on the shofar! Praise him with lute and lyre! 4: Praise him with tambourines and dancing! Praise him with flutes and strings! 5: Praise him with clanging cymbals! Praise him with loud crashing cymbals! 6: Let everything that has breath praise Adonai! Halleluyah!
-Psalm 150:1-6