Tabernacle of David Homework (Appendix II): good vs. evil

Randall Q. Lawrence
Faith Bible College
Tabernacle of David
Elder L.
March 8, 2011

Homework (Appendix II): good vs. evil

It was interesting to read the use of dancing in both good and evil circumstances. I liked how dancing before the Lord is used to glorify God and in worship and praise while dancing for selfish, sensual, carnal reasons just glorifies satan/devil [I do not capitalize—no respect].

This section reminds me of a favorite movie Footloose that was released when I was first in high school. This movie was about a town preacher who got the town to pass anti-dancing laws following the death of his son from driving under the influence coming back from dancing at a bar. The new kid, Ren, played by Kevin Bacon, becomes the hero as he stands up to this preacher in trying to get a Sr. High prom put on.

One of the highlights is in the Ren character standing up to the town council and using a Bible with highlighted Scriptures of Psalm 149:3 & 2 Samuel 6:14-16. My parents and I really liked this movie and it connected with teens and their rebellious ways, had great music and dancing, and it showed how good persons could go to controlling and judgmental extremes. The sad thing about this movie is that it glorifies dancing for sensual, earthly pleasure. It’s easy to pull for the new kid and great to see some reconciliation and healing come between this kid and the preacher over him taking his daughter to the Prom. This movie used dance and great music to make money—another earthly focus.

I want to contrast the above with my experiences this summer. I attended the CCM (Contemporary Christian Ministries) Celebration (family camp) Reunion in June 2010. I went up the whole week with the attitude to serve rather than be ministered to. We had a “soaking room” for prayer, meditation, drawing apart with the Lord. I had to skip out on classes, but I made time to be with the Lord. I also had volunteered to help with the Sr. High group which I did being there to help the young adult leaders. Peggy dropped me off on Sunday, but she could not be there all week and came back up on Wednesday night. We were secretly engaged, but we shared this with quite a few of our friends. We had quite an encounter after I was delivered of some junk—encounter with the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, and Abba Father God. Our friend Dan, who helped with wedding, prayed a prayer of unity over us and “seemed to marry us in the sight of God”. I bring this up because we were so blessed through this experience and others like a youth “fire tunnel” (double prayer line). I also had a role in getting the baptism re-scheduled later so a father in Texas could make it to Iowa to be a part of the service. The Spirit and a friend motivated me to call and everything fell into place for the blessing of this family. Before the baptism, I was so excited and was going to give a prayer for the service. I got dressed in my swimsuit in case they needed any more help or there were anymore baptisms. I went ahead of Peggy to the pool where the baptisms were being held. Peggy had an accidental fall breaking bones in both legs. She experienced a miraculous healing following 3 rounds of prayer over her. This among many other experiences led to a joy that could only be expressed in movement. I could not keep still. I was so filled with joy and overflowing that I just had to dance before the Lord. I use this example to express my desire to not take experiences with the Lord for granted and expressing how rich, how blessing, how wonderful dancing before the Presence of Lord is compared with the carnal, sensual dancing of my younger days.