"Ye Shall Have a Song"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…

"Ye Shall Have a Song"

    "Guitarman????  Guitarman!!!"  I heard the voice and recognized the face, but couldn't remember Mr. Pettaway's name.  He didn't remember mine either, except for the title that a small population of our community has conferred upon me.  "I thought that was you and your wife, Guitarman" said Mr. Pettaway.

    The population to which I refer involves men who attend the services at the Rescue Mission in our city.  We lead music in Mission meetings, but I do not preach.  A pastor friend of mine who asks us to conduct the singing portion of the service delivers the Word of God.  The men of the Mission thus know Frances and me in terms of song.  Or, as with Mr. Pettaway, as "Guitarman and his wife."  We have frequently encountered men who greet us with the title, and I count it a blessing and an honor despite the fact that I view preaching and teaching as my primary calling (I also do not perceive the title "Guitarman" as implying any great skill or talent on my part!).  I also lead the music in the meetings when I do speak, so the guitar is very much an integral part of our ministry.

   Mr. Pettaway is doing well.  He's been living in his own home for several years now, seems very healthy, and gives the Lord all the glory for the redemption that has occurred in his life.  We enjoyed a wonderful time of fellowship while standing near the toothpaste aisle of Walmart.  It is always a blessing to see men whose lives have been shattered by destructive behaviors experience the Lord's grace that redeems hearts from cycles of sin and its consequences.  As I looked into Mr. Pettaway's joyful countenance and clear eyes, I rejoiced in the salvation of the Lord Jesus and the blessing of seeing a brother rescued.

    I was 28 years old when I bought my first guitar.  Sometimes it seems more like it bought me.  Most importantly, I never dreamed we would team together over the course of more than three decades and thousands of services to join our voices with so many others in praising the Lord.  Frances, the guitar, and I sing more than 1500 hymns a year together with those who attend the meetings we conduct.  My guitar, now 12 years old, has never let us down.  It stays in tune, sounds beautiful when played properly, and projects enough volume for those meetings when we have no amplification.  I have no plans to ever use another guitar for services, and hope that this blessed musical friend of ours will be with us for the duration.  "Guitarman."  I'm honored by the title conferred to me by the men of the mission, again, not because it speaks to any musical ability on my part.  I rather like being associated with so good a friend, and so wonderful a gift given by the Lord for purposes I could never have anticipated.  Mr. Pettaway reminded me of the blessing, and the joy of seeing the Lord give songs of redemption to the men of the Mission.

Why Do They Sing
words and music by Glen Davis

Why do they sing,

these men who've lost everything?

How can they smile,

when their hearts must be so broken?

Whence comes the song

in a life that must seem so wrong?

Why do they sing?

Oh why, why do they sing?

I think I see the source of their melodies.

I think I hear the voice in their rhapsody.

It tells of a hope for those lost so long ago.

Why do they sing? Oh why, why do they sing?

I know why they sing… 

Jesus, Jesus, oh, Jesus.

Why do they sing, oh, why?

I know why they sing. . . 

Jesus.

"Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the LORD, to the mighty One of Israel."

(Isaiah 30:29)

Weekly Memory Verse

    For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

(Proverbs 2:6)