Artistry, Association and Arresting of Spirits by Love

      I have long wanted to write a blog like this....(I still may at some point; here you go ;-))- Billy Smiley of the classic Christian rock band Whiteheart pretty much nailed a lot of what I've wanted to say on the state of Christian music today. This is exactly why I love artists like Larry Norman, Keith Green, Rich Mullins, Mark Heard, Chris Rice and Carolyn Arends, Andrew Peterson and some others-who have been true poets willing to tackle things that don't always make it to the Christian radio playlists.....(and of course, bands like Petra, Stryper, ApologetiX, Supertones, Switchfoot and Relient K- and perhaps a few others)
    I was pleasantly surprised and thrilled to hear a Rich Mullins song on a Christian radio station recently- and I LOVE all of his songs, but immediately I was thinking, "I bet they're going to play 'Awesome God'." And, of course, I was right. (And I LOVE that song, mind you.) But it would be great to hear even more of his songs that ponder deep questions- like one of my favorites from his last album, "Hard to Get"- an incredible song, but not one that would fit in the worship category- and not one I would expect to hear on Christian radio. (And by the way, don't get me wrong on this either- I also LOVE Christian radio- I am very glad for those it reaches with the Gospel of Jesus. I do enjoy listening to the Christian stations fairly often- but I honestly listen more for sermons now than I do for music.) I have my CDs and tapes for that- and a fairly wide range of Christian and very select secular artists.....
    A lot of what this blog says resonated with me. Every now and then I imagine if Jesus had actually commanded us to do what we tend to do with Christian music now- "And thou shalt create music and entertainment for thyselves to sound as like unto the world so that thou mayest be not of the world and not even really in it either. Shelter thyselves from the masses with these creations, lest thou be forced to connect with the unbelievers in an authentic manner and thereby allow them to see a real love and hope in you. Preach My Gospel at them with the cold distance of uncaring and thereby fulfill thy sacred duties as a watchman who need not be concerned with the affairs of this world."
        The Jesus I know doesn't have problems mingling with the sinners and saints and helping both realize they're not nearly as good or as far gone as they think they are. I'm so glad Jesus loves every single one of us, even the woebegone wretched sinners who don't even realize just how truly sinful they are, but know they need help- and the hypocritical, self-righteous jerks who every now and then might have a true moment of clarity to realize they're never good enough- yes, He loves us all. And all of us are both at times. All of us need Jesus. "Freely you have received; freely give." (Matthew 10:8)
     And remember that if we are going to be like Jesus, the One who freely gave His life to pay for all sins and rise again- and give salvation to those who put faith in Him- we must associate with those He associated with on earth. And that's everyone. He loved the tax collectors and sinners- and the Pharisees. He spoke The Truth in Love to them all.
     "The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look at Him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' Yet wisdom is justified by all her children. One of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him, and He went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that He was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed His feet and anointed them with the ointment." (Luke 7:34-38)
     Jesus loves the sinners and the saints and reaches out to both- and calls both to repent and follow Him. The sinner repenting of his sin and the saint repenting of his righteousness. We are both the sinner and the saint- we must repent of our sin and our righteousness. We have no righteousness of our own- even that which we think is good of our own accord is but filthy rags before the holy God. (Isaiah 64:6)
Be honest with God and with others- and humbly associate with all and love all- because Jesus does. (Philippians 2:1-13)

https://m.facebook.com/notes/the-union-of-sinners-and-saints/the-musings-of-an-artist-and-producer-in-todays-music-culture/1050469308334288/?ref=bookmarks&__tn__=HH

(*Also- let me shout to Tim Keller and "The Prodigal God" once more- SUCH a great book!)

(*This also seems to be a great post to point you to this song by T-Bone called "Name Droppin' " where he names a lot of great Christian artists of various genres. The music video is great too, with cameos from John Schlitt of Petra, Geoff Moore and others.
https://youtu.be/0TeDvPOl9UA )

(*One other favourite I wanted to mention. This amazing song by Andrew Peterson and largely written by Gloria Gaither is another great tribute to so many artists who have inspired me in my walk with Christ
 Thank God for poets I have known!
"To All The Poets" by Andrew Peterson
https://youtu.be/uF3dEdXzFxw )

Review of Switchfoot's song "If The House Burns Down Tonight"

"If The House Burns Down Tonight" by Switchfoot

(analysis of Biblical allusions in the lyrics. Lyrics quoted from Switchfoot's 2016 album, "Where The Light Shines Through"- read the full lyrics on the band's site. The Bible verses in parentheses are added by me; these are some verses that came to mind upon hearing the song or are ones that I think add to what the song is saying to me.)
(First- some key theme Bible verses.)

("You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's." Exodus 20:17
"For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness." Psalms 84:10
"And behold, a man came up to Him, saying, 'Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life? And He said to him, 'Why do you ask Me about what is good? There is only One who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.' He said to Him, 'Which ones?' And Jesus said, 'You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honor your father and mother, and, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.' The young man said to Him, 'All these I have kept. What do I still lack?' Jesus said to him, 'If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven; and come, follow Me.' When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. And Jesus said to His disciples, 'Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of Heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.' When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, 'Who then can be saved?' But Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.' Then Peter said in reply, 'See, we have left everything and followed You. What then will we have?' Jesus said to them, 'Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for My Name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will and inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first." Matthew 19:16-30)
"As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life." 1 Timothy 6:17-19)

...........................................................................................

"Ashes from the flames- the Truth is what remains- the Truth is what you save from the fire and you fight for what you love- Don't matter if it hurts- you find out what it's worth and you let the rest burn......

(2 Corinthians 13:8- "For we can do nothing against the Truth, but only for the Truth.")
("I am The Way, The Truth and The Life. No man comes to The Father but by Me."- Jesus in John 14:6)

If the house burns down tonight- I've got everything I need when I got You by my side- and let the rest burn....

I've given too much of my heart away- my soul's holding on like a house divided

(Matthew 12:25, Mark 3:25 Luke 11:17- "A house divided against itself cannot stand."- Jesus)

Holding you and the wheel, it occurs to me- we're driving down the edge of eternity...

("He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end." Ecclesiastes 3:11)

Put your hand in mine and put your heart in driving

("Ye shall seek Me and ye shall find Me when ye shall seek for Me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13)

- we got everything we need, yeah- we got everything we need, yeah.
Left it all behind us- what we need will find us.

("And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19)

And all those lies that mattered most to me
Were draining me dry, making a ghost of me

("Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun." Ecclesiastes 2:11)

And if the house burns down tonight
I got everything I need, everything I need
There’s a fire coming that we all will go through

("According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw- each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire." 1 Corinthians 3:10-15)

You possess your possessions or they possess you

("And He said to them, 'Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.' And He told them a parable, saying, 'The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, 'What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' And he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.' But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?' So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.' " (Luke 12:15-21)

And if the house burns down tonight
I got everything I need when I got You by my side

("I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity." Ecclesiastes 2:18
"There is nothing better for a person than that he should eat and drink and find enjoyment in his toil. This also, I saw, is from the hand of God, for apart from him who can eat or who can have enjoyment?" Ecclesiastes 2:24-25
"Whom have I in Heaven by You? And there is nothing on earth than I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." Psalms 73:25-26

And let the rest burn

("The kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it." Matthew 13:44-46
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in Heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." Matthew 6:19-24)

Ashes from the flames- the Truth is what remains"

("And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." John 1:14
"For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." John 1:17
"And you will know The Truth and The Truth will set you free." John 8:32
"I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No man comes to the Father but by Me."- Jesus Christ in John 14:6
"...Because of the Truth that abides in us and will be with us forever." 2 John 1:2)