For he [God the Father] has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. (NLT)

These two verses communicate the essence of the Gospel. We were in darkness. God, in His grace, rescued us from our sin. I really like the imagery of being transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of his Son.

So, I wrote a song about it, called “Your Grace Has Rescued Me”. It’s a very simple worship song, and it goes like this:

The lyrics are:

[Verse]
There’s darkness inside me, still you won’t deny me
Your grace has rescued me.

And all that would bind me, forgiven completely
Your grace has rescued me.

[Chorus]
I will run to You, You followed through
Your grace has rescued me

[Bridge]
It’s a wonder how You love me
Undeserving I have been set free
A wonder how this grace has rescued me.

The verse simply claims what it is that God has done for us. We were slaves to sin, living in darkness, and in his grace, God forgave us and has offered us salvation through his Son.

The verse is our response to this grace. I believe the only response appropriate to the measure of grace that God has given us is to chase after Him with everything we have.

I’ve always had those types of people around me, and I still do. My parents. My friends. My church. My wife, Angela. You have all challenged me to be a better person, and you have stood beside me in the process. It is very important to seek out these kinds of people in life.

I wrote a song back in 2002 called “Thank You”. It is for everybody who has ever been there for me.

Lyrics:

In all the dark places that I can’t deny
And all the empty spaces that fill my life
In this life I’m faced with all the mistakes that I’ve made
And all the words I could say are not enough to repay

I just want to thank you
For the life you saved
And I want to tell you
That you made me the man I am today

In tomorrow lies the hope that you gave to me
With the power of our savior you set me free
Through my hardest times you never left my side
And through all my darkest nights you were always by my side

This version of “Thank You” is available for free download on the Things EP. A slightly different version of this song is on the 13 Miles album, (also available for free).

I can be bought
Persuaded and sold
With fancy pictures and marketing you can steal my soul

Greed is my god
Jealousy my lord
There is always bigger, always better, always more

My society – lies to me – tells me things and I believe
My heart it longs – and all it wants – is something that will make me complete

Look at all my things
And count all my gold
Dig a hole you can’t fill and then ask for more

Sell me your dreams
Sell me your hopes
Just make sure you tell me that it’s nothing at all

You can’t buy me – I’m not for sale – I’m not for sale
You can’t buy me – I’m not for sale – I’m not for sale
You can’t buy me – I’m not for sale – I’m not for sale…
I’m already paid for

1st Chorinthians 6:19-20 has a curious line in it. It says, “You were bought with a price”. If I can be purchased, I suppose that means I’m for sale. There is a lot of imagery in the Bible that suggests (or, rather, proclaims) that we belong to God. We have been ransomed, purchased, reconciled, etc. I think if we belong to God, we could also belong to something else. If God has purchased us, that means we can be bought by someone or something else as well.

We live in a world that is trying desperately to buy us out. Through a system of greed and jealousy, we are always desiring, always acquiring, and never, ever satisfied. There is always a bigger house. A nicer car. A higher salary. Better lifestyle. The list goes on and on. If we allow ourselves to be sold to consumerism, we will never, ever be truly happy.

We have been bought with a price. It may seem odd to think about – maybe we never wanted to sell ourselves.  Maybe I don’t want to be owned, but I know I do want to be fulfilled. Complete. And I know that selling myself to whatever thing I want at the moment has never completed me. Only God can do that.

As with most church camps, there is a night toward the end that involves a campfire and lots of sharing by students. Many times these events lead to the sound of crickets chirping, but not this one. Somewhere along the way, kids started sharing, and I mean really sharing. They stripped away all the fake exterior and started talking about the real demons they struggled with. We’re talking substance abuse, addictions, self-mutilation… It was shocking. What came from that campfire session was the realization that we are broken people – every one of us. We are broken, and only God can fix us. Another thing those kids realized is that they needed each other. They needed to encourage each other. They needed to keep each other accountable.

If we try and face our demons alone, they will destroy us. Period.

I was pretty moved by this whole thing. I hung out at the campfire after most people left and wrote out a prayer for those kids. The prayer became a song, and it goes like this:

Fill me when I’m lonely
Fill me this I pray
Fill me when I’m lonely
Fill me today

I need your love
And I need your presence
I need you here to carry me through
I need your love
And I need your presence
It’s all I want todo

Hear me when I’m crying
Hear me this I pray
Hear me when I’m crying
Hear me today

Draw me closer to you
Draw me closer to you
Draw me closer to you
It’s all I want to do

Listen/watch the song here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BZXkWzoa4s

I’ve often wondered how Abraham (he went by Abram at the time) felt about moving. He left everything he knew and set out to something foreign. Something unknown. God made him a great promise – he promised Abraham that he would make him the father of a great nation, but Abraham had to have wondered about that, because his wife was barren. I’m sure Abraham was scared, confused, worried…

So Angela and I have moved. We felt it was God’s calling in our lives to take this step, and we know that God will take care of us, but we are still in a place we don’t know. We can take comfort in the story of Abraham. God came through on his promise (He always does). He came through in Abraham’s life, and He’ll come through on his promise in our lives as well. It’s hard to go through times of uncertainty and times of displacement, but we know that we serve a God who makes all things happen for his Glory, and we serve a God who loves us and who has really awesome plans for our futures.

Well, Abraham left, and so did I. I wonder if Abraham wrote a song about it – ’cause you better believe I did…

I don’t know where I’m going
I don’t know, but I’ve been here before
I don’t know where I’m going
Walk out the door

Would you tell me if I asked you?
Would you tell me what you see in me?
Would you tell me if I wanted everything?

It’s the hard part of leaving
All you know, it just fades away
And you just want to see it never change
But you change

Going, not knowing
It’s just so hard to let go

Here’s a bit of an explanation of the lyrics…

“I don’t know where I’m going, but I’ve been here before”

• While I might not know exactly what’s going to happen in the future here in North Carolina for me, I can read about others (like Abraham) that have gone through similar situations in life. I can read their stories and understand how God worked in their lives.

“Would you tell me if I asked you”
“Would you tell me what you see in me”
“Would you tell me if I wanted everything”

• It’s no secret that God sees more than we do. I’ve heard so many illustrations about this, but the bottom line is that God knows more than we do, and he knows more than we do for a reason.
• I’m asking the question here – if I were face-to-face with God, and I could ask him anything – would He tell me what my future had in store? Would he tell me what he had planned? I think so many times the journey makes us who we are, and that if we knew everything we were going to be or amount to in the end, something would be lost.
• I suppose that in asking these questions, I’m saying that I think I understand why there is uncertainty, and why there is a journey and not just a destination.

The song “Leaving” is on the “Strings EP”, and you can get it here.

• Christians are judgemental
• Christians are gay-haters
• Christians are close-minded and intolerant

In other words – we’re no more than hypocrites.

There really is no argument against data like that. This is how we as a Christian community are viewed.  In my opinion, we’ve earned this reputation.  Other statistics show that the general lifestyle of a professing Christian in America does not at all differ from a non-Christian. Things like divorce rates and such are identical. The word “Christian” means “little Christ” – or to be Christ-like. In my opinion, we as Christians are way off the mark when it comes to actually doing what we are supposed to do – to be like Christ.

I recently had a conversation with a fellow youth pastor. It was one of those talks where you kind of come to an epiphany during the conversation. I’d never verbalized it in my life before, but at the end of our talk, I told him, “My greatest fear is that I’ll become like the Pharisees. That I’ll become like the religious leaders that Jesus hated”. Jesus called them “Sons of hell”.  He literally pointed to a group of pastors/church leaders and said, “You are sons of hell”.  Powerful.  It was because they cared more about how they appeared to those around them than what was inside their hearts.  They had empty faith.  The reason I said I was afraid of becoming like the Pharisees is because, while I truly and genuinely try to live like Christ, many times I don’t. I’ll say that I forgive, but I’ll hold a grudge. I’ll say I care for the poor, but I live in a nice house in the suburbs and hardly ever think about people who have less than I do. I’ll say I want to help the oppressed – the helpless, but I sometimes I feel like I don’t really do anything about social justice or equality.  There is a struggle inside of me.  There really is a struggle inside of all of us.  We are born with a sin nature.  Yet, we are also created in God’s image – in the image of a perfect, loving, and merciful God.  And we are called to live a life like Christ.

Last week, at camp in Colorado, I wrote a song called “Empty Faith”.  This song is many things.  It’s a confession – an admission of guilt.  It’s a portrayal of the struggle between sin and love that lives inside me.  It’s a prayer – a petition to God to change my heart and make me more like Him.

Here are the lyrics:

We hold our Bibles high
And we say we’re right
We’ll give you the perfect lines then run and hide

Can’t we see we’ve lost the way
Can’t we see that it’s all just fake
As long as they’re watching everything’s fine

Where are you in all of this
We use your name but destroy your image

I say I’m different but I just look the same
So I am over all this empty faith
I’ve been changed by a love I can’t explain
So I am over all this empty faith

We’ll white-wash the outside
We’ll do everything right
As long as they’re watching everything’s fine

You ask for more
You search the heart of me
Change the heart of me

May we all have a desire to truly and honestly live like “little Christs”.  I encourage you to really examine your own heart, and then ask God to make it more like His.

View the video on YouTube