This is Enrapture, the song I wrote from a random text message to a friend in Texas. Thanks Rob!
He’s like the fog that settles in from the sky Carrying the rain He’s like the mist rising up from the ground Carrying the morning dew Can you feel it in the air
Can you feel it in the air Can you feel it in the air that you breathe Can you feel Him in the air Can you feel it in the air that you breathe I breathe, you breathe
It’s the glory of God Glory of God Glory of God
You enrapture me
With the glory of God The glory of God Glory of God You surround me now Surround me now Surround me now
With the glory of God The glory of God You take my breath away
Paul David’s note: I just found this post in draft status. It’s been there since last year. I didn’t really proof read it but gave it a quick lil read. It might be pretty good! Let me know if its not…or if it is, for that matter!
I hear much talk on fearing the Lord. Much I agree with. I often travel in circles that are called “prophetic”. In our efforts to discern the times and seasons and to hear what the Lord is saying about our generation and how to further His kingdom in this hour, we can get very prophetically serious. We become so sober that our countenance reflects more misery at the things we sense rather than the joy which is to be our strength!
There is a fear that comes when God reveals Himself. We see Him for who He is and we see the reality ourselves in the light of Him. The end result is fear. For Isaiah the prophet, it was holy terror! He saw a greater revelation than most, if not all of us have ever apprehended. He was terrified. He cried out. In his terror the angel came with a fiery coal from the alter and touched his lips. He cleansed him from all sin and iniquity. Why? So he could stand in the presence of the Father and hear what He had to say. After he is touched by the coal, after he is cleansed, there is no evidence of fear! He stands in the same presence of God, in the same revelation of His glory and the very essence of His nature and hears and lays hold of the call of God with boldness!
We have a coal from the altar that is available to us at any time. It is the blood of Christ. It cleanses upon request. It cleanses upon repentance. Once we are washed, we can stand in His presence without fear! Always be open to the searching eyes of the Holy Spirit to expose the hidden things in you that need to be revealed and turned over to Him. The revelation of God is always accompanied by the uncovering of our soul. Our reaction is the key that will carry us from fear to freedom! Claim the coal, receive the call and take ground for the kingdom!
I don’t generally friend request anyone on Facebook unless I actually REALLY know the person. Most people friend request me for some reason. A few of these people viciously malign other people, ministries, etc. Most of the time I ignore them. Twice, since I have been on Facebook, I actually took the time to honestly question two separate individuals based on their interpretation of scripture and what I viewed to be terribly flawed rationale. After all…they requested to be friends with me! Both times they unfriended me without reply. I just find it interesting.
I guess it’s easy to attack when there is no fear of reprisal. I never want to be a watch dog….Lord help me! Seriously…Lord help me! How quickly our opinions can be forged into judgments that are not righteous! Watch dogs are chained to a pole, make a lot of noise and never really get anywhere. But they sure can make your head spin if you get close to them! I am not interested in being one. I don’t merely want to protect my turf. I want to expand His!
I remember back when I first started playing music and worship in other churches and venues on my own. I recall one of the first I played in. I think it was 1996. I showed up and everyone was wearing old style suits and dresses. I felt like I had stepped back in the 1800′s. I was wearing jeans and a T-Shirt. I had somehow stumbled into a fairly rigid holiness group. They were quite loving as I recall, bearing with one “weaker in faith” I’m sure. They fed me well!
After I played a song or two I was done with my portion of the day. One of the older gentlemen strolled over to me. I remember this exchange quite vividly. He stared intently at me with a glint in his eye and said, “Son, that’s pretty good but you do play the good old hymns faith don’t you? You need to play the hymns of the faith!” My reply came quickly with a smile on my face looking directly into his eyes.
“Sir, I write the hymns of the faith!” A look of slight shock washed over his face almost as if in slow motion. He turned and walked away.
Here is one of the new hymns of my ancient faith:
To Be Called (I just realized I haven’t titled this. So I just made one up! Subject to change without notice)
oh i want to be called Your friend
but i’ve yet to play the part of a slave
in the day Your light shines on my face
When darkness fell I let my light fade
oh i want to be called Your friend
yet my faithfulness has so often failed
in the morning you rain down Your grace
in Your mercy Your breath fills this place
Oh the mystery of Your love
Cracks my heart before I understand
Healing comes in ways I can’t comprehend
In one moment eternally tarnished
With one wisp of your breath I am clean
oh i want to be called Your friend
but i’ve yet to play the part of a slave
surrendering all i have in faith
a steadfast servant of Your Name
oh i want to be called Your friend
but i’ve yet to play the part of a slave
while face down i feel your hand touch my face
i lift my gaze and You call me son
As we began to journey into His presence I remember wanting to take some time and turn my face, my gaze toward Him while turning away from some things in my life that I had held on to. The words I began to sing were from a poem I had written in my journal not long before this night. I remember grabbing my journal, opening it to the page that I had titled “After Repentance” and I began to sing the words I had written over this four chord progression. I hadn’t named it as a song or even realized that I was going to do anything with it, but after encountering the Lord in the manner which He met me, I was desperate to lay myself bare before Him and let the blood of Christ wash me clean. What other choice do we have? It is a beautiful resolution!
I backed off the microphone to allow His presence flow over me, I looked to my left and caught Don Potter’s eye. He played the simplest melody on his acoustic guitar, but it felt like the protection of a father’s touch sealing my vulnerability before The Father as I went face down in the spirit. My voice, hoarse from tears, sang on.
The journal song:
Lord, You overcome my weakness
With Your perfect strength
And You melt away my jaded heart
With Your flame of innocence
Now the light and the darkness
Can’t dance with me in the same space
So I choose to sacrifice my gaze
Would you let me see Your face
By Paul David Guidry September 22nd, 2010, under Unplanned Divine
I saw this on John Mark McMillan’s blog and I had to spread this one around. This is a visual demonstration of what Unplanned Divine is about! If you haven’t checked out John Mark’s music….please DO! Also you can see his blog here! In his latest entry (as of this posting date) he featured this video clip from Kevin Prosch. I had to share this as well…it is the real deal and the poetic imagery takes me to a vision and prophetic word that a lovely older lady had over me in a mountain church in Central America in 2004. Perhaps I will share it sometime. The harp of my heart… Even if this isn’t exactly “unplanned”, it captures the same spirit of worship that I long to attain to!
By Paul David Guidry September 18th, 2010, under Midnight Musings
Standing in the shower tonight, I was recalling the words of Moses in Deuteronomy 4:9-14. I love to pursue the presence of God. Yes, I know that He is within me but I also know that He moves without me! I love His presence, His glory, His essence and His story. I want to know Him.
Glory is such a popular word among His kingdom people right now. I have seen it attached to the atmosphere of the weightiest moments in Him and I have heard people refer to the glory at the first sign of a warm fuzzy feeling. I have perceived the glory of His presence with the eyes of my heart and I have seen the physical manifestation of His glory with my natural eye. By glory, I mean light, columns of light, radiant blinding light all in various forms and colors. I have also seen His glory manifest in healings that were beyond explanation and comprehension. I am not here to define or limit the scope of the meaning of the word but I do believe we attach certain experiences we have to His glory. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, however this is not the end for me. I am not satisfied with the glory of His presence. I want to know the very nature of the person of God. I could stop in awe at the “cloud” of His presence, but I know that His face and His form is in the cloud and that is what I am seeking! A beautiful woman may walk by and I may smell her perfume. I may even know the brand of her perfume, but that doesn’t mean I know her! That doesn’t mean that my life has been changed by her. Not until I woo her, and she draws me in and we enter into covenant relationship together will our identities be changed forever!
I have seen the outward manifestation of His presence but it, on its own, has never changed me. I have taken note of every experience and encounter and I diligently remember the ways He has shown me the outer emanations of His presence. They have all been great experiences but the sensory experience did not have lasting effect. Still, I am changed. How? I am changed by every Word He has breathed in my direction. The power of His Word which upholds all things changes everything. It changes me from one form of glory to another level of glory! (2 Cor. 3:18) The word comes from the lips of a God whose face is in the cloud! I want to know Him! I love to touch the cloud but my goal is to touch His face! His Word points the way. I want to see through the signs and wonders and follow the sound of His voice until we meet face to face.
I still remember the moment. I was in the prayer room prior to the opening night of one of the larger conferences we’ve done. I had the worship band ready. We had pulled in musicians from different places. We had practiced and prepared. We were ready! Then, in the prayer room, God met me.
I remember from my early childhood until the early part of this millennium, encounters with God came often. Beyond the everyday awareness of His presence, I experienced a tangible communion and communication with Him on a fairly regular basis and each such experience was life altering. Some things He communicated years ago I am just beginning to understand now! This night, before our first Under The Green Tree gathering, God met and challenged me in an extraordinary way.
When God shows up and offers you a new glimpse of Himself in a powerful way everything else pales in comparison. My plans, my circumstances, my hurts, my joys fade into the deep well of His purpose and plan. You get caught up in the torrent of His breath and you cannot bear to go any other direction than where He is going.
We have so many methodologies concerning what “works” for worship, but when your gaze is shifted from your methods to His face then you realize facing Him is the only method that is of everlasting value. This night, after weeping face down in the prayer room for quite some time while He walked me through the experience He had for me, all my thoughts and plans that I had for the evening and the weekend were tossed aside like long outdated tools. For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things and in Him all things consist!
I remember walking onto the stage, my voice hoarse and my eyes red from the tears I shed in His presence and thinking “what now Lord?” As so many times before, I remembered the prayer of Evan Roberts of the Welsh revival and I whispered, “Oh Lord, bend me!”. I was ready to dive in deep.
I have made it part of my personal mission to abolish the warm-up song in church. I have made it part of my personal mission to bring the Body of Christ to the realization that when Jesus said “It is finished” He meant it. The veil is torn. We can access the throne of grace boldly and instantly! We can come with confidence in spite of every circumstance. No sin can stand against His aggressive forgiveness which is grace. The “Holy of Holies” shouldn’t be the exceptional experience, it should be the norm! He is in us and we are in the Father! There is no warm-up song anymore! We turn our eyes toward Him and become consumed by Him! This is the reality afforded to us by faith! We will always experience, in this life, varying levels of His glory and presence but positionally we always have Christ in us and we will always be in the Father. The warm-up song died on the cross of Christ. The resurrection started the race!
So with that realization, I was ready to lay all my “stuff” aside and say to Him, “Would you overthrow my will? Would you overthrow us tonight my God? I let go! I let go of me! Spectator Christianity, it must die! So in that death and resurrection the Bride might fly. So let us fly tonight!”
The rest was unplanned and He proved Himself divine.
By Paul David Guidry September 11th, 2010, under Unplanned Divine
A couple of years ago I kept having a phrase whispered in my spirit. It gripped me and would not let me go. I love music, but the music is not the end goal for me. Music is the means to an end. The end is honoring and entreating the atmosphere and presence of one very real and living God. Excellence is still required. It is not just the “anointing” that matters. That is a convenient cop-out! We always strive to be better than what we were yesterday, but the goal is creating an atmosphere that is welcoming to the Holy Spirit. Still, knowing that much of what we do is spontaneous and improvisational (some call it “prophetic”), mistakes are made which sometimes lead to unexpected turns in our musical journey and we often end up in a place musically and in the spirit that we never anticipated. As I continued to gain more understanding in these areas, the phrase which was once whispered began to thunder in my being: Unplanned Divine.
I knew the call was to release a series of recordings that we would title Unplanned Divine. The emphasis would not be in releasing or promoting individual songs. The emphasis would be on sharing those special moments in live worship that we just happened to stumble upon. Not always pretty, but those moments where we come to Him as little children and He breathes on what we do and lives are touched and transformed. We didn’t focus a lot of time on graphic design or packaging. We would not spend weeks in the studio doing overdubs or touching up issues that I found to be musically or sonically problematic. The recordings would remain raw. We would simply take the tracks as they were played, set them up and roll them out onto a CD. November, 2009, saw the first such release. I quietly leaked it out. This release was an honest, intimate, live documentation of one of the most profound moments in worship in my life. We simply titled the release: Unplanned Divine. To date, this has been one of my best selling projects ever.
Now as we approach the release of the second CD in this series, Unplanned Divine:Encounter, I wanted to take some time and provide some background as to what was going during the live worship session that we lifted the recording from originally. In the weeks that follow this post, we will blog our way through those first moments where we encountered the unplanned divine flow in His Spirit. Every time I listen to the recording, it takes me back to what God was doing in me that day. My encounter with Him in those moments was life changing and very much shaped who I am today.
So hey! Check in periodically and we’ll explore the Unplanned Divine together!
By Paul David Guidry September 2nd, 2010, under Midnight Musings
I have been ruminating on Romans 11 and Colossians 1 for a bit of time. I am always interested in the attributes of Jesus’ character and personality. Who is Jesus and what is it about Him that are also markers on who we are. What is it about Him in us that we would be His representatives here on earth? So in the process of meditating on these scriptures I see these things: From Him, through Him and to Him are all things (Romans 11). In addition, all things were created by Him, through Him and for Him. So, now I begin to wonder how this relates to how the Father views me. How is my life to reflect this particular aspect of Jesus?
We go through many seasons of life. We hear sermons on the desert experience, on crossing the river Jordan and coming into the promised land. When I see the attributes of Christ in the scriptures noted above, I see the parallel in how these relate to the seasons of my life. Just as from Him, through Him and to Him are all things and by Him, through Him and for Him all things are created, so it is with His children in the various seasons of life. We will live out periods in our life where God wants things to come from us and be done by us. We will live out periods in our life where God wants to sovereignly do things through us. We will live out periods in our life when God simply wants to do things to us and for us in order to prepare us for what is to come or even just because He is Dad and He likes to love on us. The potential problem comes when we build a broad theology around one of these aspects based on our experience and subsequently discount or dismiss the other aspects of Christ in us.
Core values in Christ exist that we know we are to represent. We know we are to love. We know we are to reach out to the poor, the needy, the widowed, the sick. We know the gospel of the Kingdom is to go out there to heal the sick, “cleanse the leper”, cast out demons and raise the dead while proclaiming the kingdom of God is near. We shouldn’t feel the need to be “led” to do one or more of these things at any given point in time. These things are simply known and should be central to who we are if we are living out of a revelation of His love. So, seasons will come in our lives when God simply wants stuff done by us. A time will come when God wants aspects of the Kingdom to come from us. There will be seasons where we must simply do things because we know this is what we are to do even if we don’t feel like doing them. Just as by Him are all things, seasons will come in our life when all things we do are done by us out of obedience to things He has already put in us.
In the same way, seasons come when an ease of His presence will be upon us. We see, tangibly, an atmosphere of Him that is beyond us. This is a result of Him sovereignly moving through us. These times are sweet, powerful and memorable. These seasons are what we often tag as “revival”. What we don’t understand is that God does things sovereignly through us in one season, what He longs for us to do purposefully in the next. In one moment He may want to do something through us and then next moment He may want that very same thing done by us. The end result is the same: He is glorified in our midst! In either case we are still, therefore, Christ’s ambassadors.
In the midst of the craziness of life, God in His love and mercy leads us through a season where He wants to do things to us and for us in order to make us more like Him. The moment will come when He will ask you to cease from you labor and just rest in Him and allow Him to move upon you.
Just as from Him, by Him, through Him, for Him and to Him are all things, so it is with the children of God who are partakers of the divine nature and seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. We are carriers of His essence and reflectors of His glory presence as we carry out the role of being His ambassadors. Jesus is the image of the invisible God. We are the image of Jesus. Recognizing the season you are in will help you not build an altar of worship in the season that has past.
Having said all that, I don’t feel like blogging again. I don’t feel like sitting here and writing the things of my heart for all to see. Sometimes, however, God just wants things to be done by me because of the things that He has sovereignly done through me, for me and to me previously. When you don’t know what season you are in and you don’t know what else to do there is always one action He longs to be committed by us and flow from us:
