JAN
2013
I was born on the river
But my heart is on the vine
When you cross that valley of death
You climb the ridge along the great divide
But I moved west to the highlands
Chasing a girl who caught my eye
And in the blinding of that summer sun
She left before I even said goodbye
I don’t have a home of my own
And no one has me
So if you wonder where I have gone
I took that rail towards the open sea
Worked my hands to the bone
Smoke and coal lining my lungs
Funny how those cars you load
See more and travel further than I’ve done
I don’t have a home of my own
And no one has me
So if you wonder where I have gone
I took that rail towards the open sea
So Martha have mercy
I’m a sinner, you’re a saint from what I see
And Martha don’t wait up
My light of restlessness burns endlessly
And that valley of shadow
Is no place to stay
In the light of God’s green fields
That roll and roll and roll and roll away
I don’t have a home of my own
And no one has me
So if you wonder where I have gone
I took that rail towards the open sea
I took that rail towards the open sea
I took that rail towards the open sea
TAGS: songwriting
JAN
2013
“Now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus.”(Acts 20:22-24)
So this is his personal “goodbye” to the Ephesians. We see so much of Paul’s heart here, and I can’t imagine that it was lost on the Ephesians as these were his final words to them. And the main theme of his speech is these couple of verses - “I have no idea what I’m walking into next, but I’m sure it’ll be bad. No matter, the ministry of Jesus is more important.”
That’s pretty powerful - Paul does not account his own life as anything compared to doing the work of Jesus. He longs only to be a good servant to the King, doing what he has been called to do even though it may cost him his own life (and it does).
From the standpoint of discipleship, this has to be the most powerful example to give! He tells the Corinthians, “Imitate me as I imitate Christ” (1 Corinithians 11:1). He is setting an example for those he’s discipling and leading. ”Follow me as I follow Christ.” And what did Jesus and Paul both do? They counted their lives as nothing for the sake of God’s glory.
Jesus
Paul
The main conviction Paul’s swan-song to the Ephesians says to me is surrender. It seems so foreign and beyond my abilities to say, “I don’t care what happens to me, I will do the will of Jesus at all costs.” I am so far from that. I am so far from even thinking that, let alone doing it.
But I’m not called to do it on my own. I am called to walk in the Spirit and He will accomplish that work through me. The single obstacle that exists between living for myself and living fully for Christ is surrender. Letting go of what I think is best for what He thinks is best. And surrendering strikes at the heart of all idols. It is not comfortable to let go of your desires and preferences. You are not in control when you surrender your will to somebody else’s. You lose every ounce of power you’ve worked so hard for when somebody else is calling the shots. In submission to another, you kill all longings to be approved by others - the only approval that matters is the One you’re following.
TAGS: bible
JAN
2013
“You have been righteous in all that has come upon us, for you have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly.” (Nehemiah 9:33)
Ezra talks about the repeating pattern of how, since the beginning of time, God has faithfully led Israel (Abraham, Moses, the prophets) and how we have only in turn acted wickedly and disobeyed God. Over and over and over and over. Ezra uses words for God’s goodness such as: “you gave”, “you multiplied”, “you subdued”, “many times you delivered”, “many times you bore with them” to accentuate God’s faithfulness and commitment to the covenant.
But of us he says that we’ve stiffened our necks time and again, we’ve rebelled, we were disobedient.
He ends his sermon with a reminder: “You have dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly”. This sums up the whole history of Israel and of us to this day! He has been faithful, we have been wicked. The point of these constant reminders of God’s faithfulness vs. our wickedness is to show us that, as often as we try to “renew” our commitment to the covenant that we will be obedient, we lack the ability to be obedient in our own power. We just can’t do it. We need Someone who can be obedient on our behalf.
The whole history of Israel’s disobedience compared to God’s faithfulness is to lead up to Jesus: fully God (faithful) and fully man (who fulfills the covenant where we had failed). Jesus is the only example of a man living up to the standards of righteousness that God sets. He obeyed and loved perfectly on our behalf.
1) We must remind ourselves constantly of who God is and what He has done compared to us. There is a consistent pattern in the Bible of leaders reminding their people of their story: God came to us, made a covenant, He was faithful, we weren’t. Over and over we have to remind ourselves that this has been our heritage, a sinful tradition that we still live out to this day. This is an important application because we need to remind ourselves constantly of our wickedness and God’s faithfulness. It’s a dangerous thing when we start to forget that!
2) Jesus fulfilled perfectly what none of us could ever do before. Nehemiah 9:30 says, “Many years you bore with them and warned them by your Spirit through your prophets. Yet they would not give ear.” God is gracious and patient, bearing with us and our sin for many many centuries in hopes that we would follow Him obediently. We never did, and that makes Jesus all the more glorious: where we failed for multiple generations, He achieved perfectly in 30 years. When we kept having to make a half-hearted renewal of our commitment to God (only to fail yet again), Jesus walked in perfect obedience to His Father.
3) I have to depend on Jesus to be righteous. I shouldn’t delude myself into thinking, “I’ll be different than anyone else who has ever lived - I will truly follow God.” That would be to ignore history and the story of every person who has ever lived! Instead, with Jesus as our righteousness, my identity is no longer found in how I’ve failed God, but how Jesus has succeeded. HE is my righteousness, HE is my priest.
TAGS: bible
JAN
2013
I’m happy to announce the culmination of a project I’ve been working on for about 2 years. The Reveille’s Instrumental Songs For Study & Reflection has been a long time coming for me. It is a collection 10 songs (with 1 bonus track on iTunes) that I wrote and recorded from time spent studying Scripture. Buy it on iTunes here, and on Amazon here. Thanks for listening.
OCT
2012
On the edge of the road I have a house I’ve built from stone
And I’ll go there one day when my heart can take no more
There are mornings so calm when my head is filled with storms
And in the heat of the day: living streams that flow from the dawn
Oh Lord have mercy on the broken-hearted ones
For our souls are weary and our hands have borne the load
When our tears have drenched the darkened dirt
Take me to the place I am from
In the dusk of the eve lay me down on grassy shore
And by the light of your face I will see the ones I love
All the memories I keep they will come back to life in the end
And my wife’s face with beam to be with her father again
Oh Lord have mercy on the broken-hearted ones
For our souls are weary and our hands have borne the load
When our tears have drenched the darkened dirt
Take me to the place I am from
Oh Lord have mercy on the broken-hearted ones
For our souls are weary and our hands have borne the load
When our tears have drenched the darkened dirt
Take me to the place I am from
On the edge of the road I have a house I’ve built from stone
And I’ll go there one day when my heart can take no more
OCT
2012
Wow, this one got really weird really fast. Haha. Written from the point of view of Paul speaking to Timothy on his way to execution.
Reach out your hand my friend
Touch the cracks in the wall
In the darkness hear the steps
Echo down the hall
Put down your arms my friend
This is how it should be
No sword in your hand my friend
But the one for me
Oh it’s been good to know you
Let the word in you ring true
But I’m heading for home now
Not a moment too soon
Remember all I’ve said
Write it down on your heart
When they come for you one day
Let them be your mark
Oh it’s been good to know you
Let the word in you ring true
But I’m heading for home now
Not a moment too soon
Oh it’s been good to know you
Let the word in you ring true
But I’m heading for home now
Not a moment too soon
OCT
2012
(co-write with Aaron Ivey)
You’re a flame in the midst of the sea
Feel the waves on the soles of your feet
But you were made for this
You won’t go out so easily
You have lived in castles of despair
But they will burn like embers in the air
You were made for this
There is nothing you can’t bear
Someday I will meet you in the clouds
Someday I will meet you in the clouds
You are my diamonds on a string
Threaded with love so tenderly
I won’t fail you now
May your tired heart believe
May your tired heart believe
Someday I will meet you in the clouds
Someday I will meet you in the clouds
One day you will hear that glorious sound
Someday I will meet you in the clouds
OCT
2012
Well I wish I had known you when you were a girl
Holding onto your mother’s hand
Before the slings and the arrows invaded your world
And every step out your door a foreign land
But now is the time
And here is the place
Spend your days with me, I will not leave you
Whatever you will be, my love will be true
Oh my dear, spend your days with me
I imagine your heart as the beating red
Satellite around your spinning head
And I wish I had known you in younger days
And that orbit would be my hideaway
But now is the time
And here is the place
Spend your days with me, I will not leave you
Whatever you will be, my love will be true
Oh my dear, spend your days with me
But now is the time
And here is the place
Spend your days with me, I will not leave you
Whatever you will be, my love will be true
Oh my dear, spend your days with me
Oh my dear, spend your days with me
TAGS: music
OCT
2012
(co-write with Matthew Brue)
You sicken me
You deceitful beast
And now I see
You destroyed the feast
All the lies that I’ve been told
I can see straight through
You’re the story I’ve been sold
And I’m done with you
You sicken me
You sicken me
Don’t play innocent
And now I see
That you came and went
With my heart upon your sleeve
You abandoned me
And you forced me to believe
It’s not slavery
You sicken me
OCT
2012
Coming kingdoms blow their trumpets
You can hear it in the hills
Hold your breath and rise up slowly
Leave behind all you will
All your talking now to a whisper
Like the end of a dream
All your misdeeds now in sunlight
Never quiet as it seems
Hold on tight! It will be tonight!
This is not the end
Swift and true as the dawn breaks through
This is not the end
Hear the marching of coming kingdoms
Shattering the night
So rise up, captive: greet your victor!
All your faith made sight
Hold on tight! It will be tonight!
This is not the end
Swift and true as the dawn breaks through
This is not the end
Hear the marching of coming kingdoms
This is not the end
OCT
2012
Oh misfortune hang your hat on me
I’ve been lost upon your dark & dusty streets
And I hear my mother, hear my father
They had warned me of your misbehavior
So I’m not scared of what you’re after
Oh misfortune, lifelong company
There are far more worthy enemies than me
And I miss my family, miss my brother
When I feel your weight upon my shoulders
Please leave me be and haunt another
So ooo my heart is broken
But ooo you will not break me
Ooo so dig your heels in
This is just the beginning
Oh misfortune eyes all bloodshot red
You’ve been waiting for the chance to turn my head
With those tired, worn out tricks you’ve labored
An endless stream of empty favors
But your best attempts won’t loose this anchor
So ooo my heart is broken
But ooo you will not break me
Ooo so dig your heels in
This is just the beginning
This is just the beginning
This is just the beginning
NOV
2011
All of history, every second of every day, hinges on the moment when Jesus Christ came into the world. I imagine the heavenly hosts held their breath, waiting for the moment when the Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us. Not the best demo ever - one rough take, but I’m tired. :-)
Lowly gentle Jesus, Son of God and Man
The angels lead Your welcoming, condemned no more we stand
Humble, sinless servant, God Immanuel
He left His place, oh gift of grace, with us now to dwell
Hallelujah He is here!
All of history is changed!
The Word of God made flesh appears
And forever He will reign, and forever He will reign
Jesus reigns!
Behold the simple starlight that tells us of His birth
Light of the world, Bright Morning Star, hope of all the earth
Born in humble stable, Messiah, Prince of Peace
Bow your head and witness Christ the newborn King
He is Christ the newborn King
Hallelujah He is here!
All of history is changed!
The Word of God made flesh appears
And forever He will reign, and forever He will reign
Jesus reigns!
So we sing “Welcome! Welcome!”
All creation holds its breath
For our King has overcome
Behold the babe who conquers death!
Hallelujah He is here!
All of history is changed!
The Word of God made flesh appears
And forever He will reign
Hallelujah He is here!
All of history is changed!
The Word of God made flesh appears
And forever He will reign, and forever He will reign
Jesus reigns!
Lowly gentle Jesus, Son of God and Man
The angels lead Your welcoming, condemned no more we stand
TAGS: music
NOV
2011
This is my favorite of this year’s 7-in-7 I think. I had about 8 people tell me within a week that I HAD to read John Steinbeck’s “East Of Eden”. My wife read it in, like, 5 days. Annie is a big reader and when she told me it was the best book she’s ever read, I knew she wouldn’t think so lightly. So I read it and was blown away. I won’t try and do it injustice in the few words I have here. Just go pick it up for yourself. ”Ready To Vanish” is inspired by the story; here’s a quick demo.
Well I’ve lived here since I was a boy
This town ingrained in my skin
But we buy justice with violence & war
So don’t follow me in
Every time the sky fills with clouds
I assume my time has come
The stores are closed & my money’s no good
But I can’t get my legs to run
Sing “ohh!”
Sing “ohh!”
Well I’ve looked evil straight in the eye
She lives in a house without gates
In the back room she hides from the light
And comes outside when it rains
You can taste it in the soil and our fruit
The undercurrent of disease
But this town is madness down to its roots
We do whatever we please
Sing “ohh!”
Sing “ohh!”
There’s a marching that comes on the wind
I feel it trapped in my veins
And we buy justice with violence & war
But don’t expect the same
So if “you may” or if “you may not”
We’re all Able, we’re all Cain
Everyday attacked but not destroyed
Killing our sorrow with shame
Sing “ohh!”
Sing “ohh!”
Sing “ohh!”
Sing “ohh!”
There was a time I seem to recall
It was not this way somehow
I keep trying to remember it all
But that memory’s long faded now
TAGS: music
NOV
2011
Sometimes it all goes awry. I love short little songs where the music feels happy but the lyrics are sad. There’s a certain naivety about that that I like, and this character feels kind of like a poor sap to me. Quick demo version.
In the dog days of August
When the sun it stays up late
It tarries for a minute longer
Before it makes its great escape
I look back on my decisions
And all the things I should have said
If it’s to you a disappointment
Know that I meant the opposite
And I hope we meet again…
But for now goodnight
Goodnight and pray the morning comes so fast
For now goodnight
Tomorrow is another chance
You wore those earrings of silver
Two tiny owls upon your ears
And if I regret my lack of wisdom
Those two haunting birds have made it clear
And I hope we meet again…
But if not goodnight
Goodnight and I will pray this soon makes sense
But if not goodnight (definitely should be “But if not goodbye” instead!)
Tomorrow is another chance
Tomorrow is another chance
TAGS: music
NOV
2011
The wisdom of this world is foolishness, and even my mind thinks about things incorrectly when they seem perfectly logical. And the older I get, the less I know.
When everything you learn all along the way
Is revealed for what it is in the light of day
You can hold your anthem close, so strict and stubbornly
But soon enough you’ll run out of luck and be swept downstream
And I know nothing is as it seems
I know nothing
I know nothing that I once did
I know nothing
I can’t align my mind that what is weak is strong
Because this sin is so far in, it seeps into my bones
And I know nothing is as it seems
I know nothing
I know nothing that I once did
I know nothing
Well if you could hold my hand, I would let you drown
Because my crippled heart believes what is upside down
And I know nothing is as it seems
I know nothing
I know nothing that I once did
I know nothing
I know nothing
I know nothing
TAGS: music
NOV
2011
I’ve been spending a lot of time in the Old Testament this year, and have really been challenged and grown, seeing Jesus Christ on every page of the Old Testament. ”Lions” is inspired by the visions in the book of Daniel, and the idea of a Lion standing tall that defeats the small lions on our behalf, and the power that gives His followers. Also used is the inspiring Isaiah 30:18-22.
Oh…
And I saw the writing on the wall
Ten thousand men could not heed the call
And pacing the halls: the lions chase us all
Oh…
I saw a man alight upon the air
And I fell facedown of my sins aware
With claws to scrape and tear, a Lion holds my stare
Oh…
And like the dream that had brought me here
Quietly wait for the bringing near
Lion with sword and spear whispering in your ear
Oh…
NOV
2011
There is no place I’d rather be than walking with Annie through life, even when times are tough.
When we were young enough to understand love
We held onto what we had like it belonged to us
With diamonds on your mind and rubies in your hands
We both drew the line and held up our fists toward the wind
When I was old enough to bury my head
From waves that came crashing down upon what you’ve built
Like a seal upon my soul, and coal touched to my lips
I held your heart so gently it fit in my fingertips
And there’s nowhere I’d rather be
Than lost out here with you
These broken busted teeth
Will remind us what we’ve been through
The wearied song and stumbling along of me and you
Well the days go passing by, and it seems so slow
And I wish I had back half of what I’ve let go
There’s a story in my mind that seems so hard to write
And I hope we don’t let our memory drift and pass us by
And there’s nowhere I’d rather be
Than lost out here with you
These broken busted teeth
Will remind us what we’ve been through
The wearied song and stumbling along of me and you
I love you I love you I love…
I love you I love you I love…
I love you I love you I love…
I love you I love you I love…
The wearied song and stumbling along of me and you
NOV
2011
A couple of weeks after my wife and I got married, her father passed away. More than I’ve ever experienced before, I realized how broken this world is. And things are not right. It is not how it is supposed to be. Isaiah 25 (“He will swallow up death forever”) and Revelation 21 (“Behold, I am making all things new”) were huge passages for Annie & I in that time. We have prayed so often, “Jesus, come quickly”. It may feel like a long time, but it will be soon, and we wait.
This will not go on forever
One day soon the clocks will turn back
And the sky will open up, and the earth will crumble down
And we see everything that we’ve lost
This will not be broken always
When we take hold of what has been paid
And everything restored and tears are wiped away
We will come into a new place
Hold on, it won’t take long
Til we see Him face to face
There is hope for what we broke
And forgiveness…
So hold on
One day soon will come our Savior
On the clouds with peals of thunder
And death is swallowed up and the souls of men laid bare
For that day and that place we wait
Hold on, it won’t take long
Til we see Him face to face
There is hope for what we broke
And forgiveness…
So hold on
This will not go on forever