Cultivating Your Primary Skill

After spending time stressing the need for cultivating a private ministry with the Lord, Paul Baloche highlights the need to cultivate the God-given skills used for musical worship in this episode of his Youtube series, "Leading Worship". Baloche mentions Psalm 33:3, which says to "play skillfully" unto the Lord. Just as the musicians mentioned in 1 Chronicles chapter 25 were trained to play at a high level, Baloche encourages worship leaders to put that same emphasis on refining their talents so that they can play with excellence. There's "no shame", as Baloche puts it, to take time to properly practice and do specific things to improve one's musical ability. Things like scales and timing may not have any direct correlation to ministering to the Lord, but they are important for the musician who strives for excellence for the purpose of God's glory. 

Baloche makes a good point when he talks about focusing on the musical side of ministry. The end goal is always hallowing the Lord's name. We are able to get to that end goal only through commitment to our craft and a desire for excellence in Jesus' name. At face value, practicing may seem like the refining of musical skills, but in the big picture it is preparing us to glorify God. However, the key is not losing sight of the end goal. We may get so caught up in practicing and perfecting our music that we forget the big picture. Our hearts must always be set on hallowing the name of the Lord. In Acts chapter 20 Paul writes, "I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me." Paul was focused on his end goal: finishing his race, that being where God had called him to minister. Like Paul, we too, should be solely focused on what God has called us to do, and that should dominate our mindset, so much so that we never lose sight of it. 

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