Friday, October 11, 2013

The Main Attraction

Praise the Lord.  Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens.  Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness.  Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.  Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.  Praise the Lord.
Psalm 150:1-6 (NIV)

I admit that I did little to prepare myself for the Women of Faith conference in Pittsburgh last weekend.  I anticipated going, but with my friend Jamie planning everything, my task was simply to be present.  As excited as I was to attend, I didn't look at the schedule.  So when it was announced that after lunch break, Third Day would be in concert, I couldn't help but grin widely.

I had seen Third Day in concert before, probably several times, but this Third Day concert was different from the numerous other Christian concerts I attended.

My first concert set the tone for all the others.  While in junior high, I went with a few friends to a local Christian college to see the Newsboys, of whom I had never heard.  After an electric performance, we stayed to meet the band, pose for pictures, garner autographs.  Whereas I listened to lyrics about God, I embraced a bit of a groupie mentality.

The other concerts were the same--a bucket list, a series of who's whos, a game of "bigger and better" (a game which, ironically, I did learn while camping at Creation).

When this Third Day concert began, though, I experienced something different--calm through the commotion, communing with the Holy Spirit, an atmosphere of adoration.  I realized that I had matured since my former concerts.  

The speakers, the worship team, and the prayers had all prepared my spirit for its purpose:  praise. 

How exhilarating it was to worship God with Third Day!  During the concert, my only thought was, "To the glory of God!"  

Now I can't imagine going to a concert and it being about the band.  Clearly God is the main attraction.

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