Abuse is worth being sad about, mad about

I've been thinking about abuse a lot lately. One reason for this is that I am in a class here at Fuller called Pastoral Care and Abuse. Through the lectures and readings just over the last week, I'm learning very quickly about the prevalence and the horrors of all kinds of trauma and abuse.

Also, last night, Brittany and I watched Martha Marcy May Marlene. It was an intense and powerful movie about a girl who gets involved in a abusive cult. She goes on to suffer from severe delusions and paranoia because of the sexual abuse that she had experienced there. It was a very sad visualization of the atrocities being committed, occurring much more than we think about, as well as the life long psychological effects that come from these traumatic events. For Brittany, the movie also brought up recent conversations with someone in therapy who has been the victim of incest at an early age. I can't imagine a more horrible form of abuse than that.

Brittany and I cried together last night. My sadness then morphed into a sort of anger. I don't understand why all this has to happen. Doesn't God care about this? Can't he do something about it? My theology tells me that he both cares and can do something about it, so why does it still exist? I think these are questions that all of us have or will one day wrestle with, and I think it's okay to do so.

The answer to these questions for me right now is "I don't know." But I do know that part of what we are celebrating this week, the death and resurrection of Christ, is about God's concern about the evil and abuse in the world. Christ's death and resurrection are a proclamation that the world is not as it should be, and a demonstration that God cares enough about us to enter the world and be subject to its abuses. The cross reveals that there is healing for the abused, and even more radically, that there is forgiveness for the perpetrator.

Being sad about abuse and mad about it is something that reflects the way God thinks about it. I wanted to close this post with some thoughts from a song I've been listening to the last couple of days by High Society Collective. It's called Mad About. It's a song that expresses anger about the many injustices going in the world right now, including abuse.

The line that gripped me this morning as I was running was about sexual abuse. I'll end on this, hoping this line illustrates yet again the horrible reality of abuse going on all around us, and that it's worth being sad about and mad about.

She was only eight when they threw her in the trade/Abused in her youth now a slave of this rape/Uncle prostitutes the niece before she got through puberty/And its hard for her to pray ’cause she’s dropping to her knees for a priest/Geez, the cross that he wears is the cross that she bears/Pedophiles is what Im mad about.

New Swithfoot Album: Vice Verses

Last Tuesday night, I saw Switchfoot perform at the Wiltern here in LA. It was the first time seeing them in concert, despite having been a fan of them for the last 13 years or so. It was an excellent show with tons of energy and creativity (including a spot on cover of Sabotage by the Beastie Boys!)

I'm amazed at how they seem to get better and better with each album, and heir latest album, Vice Verses, continues that trend. I highly recommend getting it ($8.99 on Amazon). Here are just a few of the songs that I'm really digging:

The War Inside:

Yeah, it's where the fight begins
Yeah, underneath the skin
Between these hopes and where we've been
Every fight comes from the fight within

Thrive:

I come alive when I hear you singing
But lately I haven't been hearing a thing
I get the feeling that I'm in between
A machine and a man who only looks like me

I try and hide it and not let it show
But deep down inside me I just don't know
Am I a man if I feel like a hoax?
The stranger in the mirror's been wearing my clothes...

No, I'm not alright
I know that I'm not right
Feel like I travel but I never arrive
I wanna thrive not just survive

Where I Belong:

On the final day I die
I want to hold my head up high
I want to tell You that I tried
To live it like a song

And when I reach the other side
I want to look You in the eye
And know that I've arrived
In a world where I belong

Lecrae - Rehab

In 2008, Lecrae released his third studio album entitled Rebel. It was ground-breaking and definitely put him on the map as the most talented Christian hip-hop artist. Musically and lyrically the album is phenomenal.

A couple of weeks ago, he released another highly anticipated album called Rehab. At first listen I thought it was good, but felt it lacked a lot of the instant hits of Rebel (songs like "Don't Waste Your Life" & "Got Paper"). However, after a few more listens I have become hooked. It really is a fun album that both gets my body moving and encourages me with thoughtful, gospel-centered lyrics.

Check out this video for his song "Background":

And here's the song "Just Like You".I love the way it ends:

You said you came for the lame, I’m the lamest
I made a mess you say you’ll erase it, I’ll take it...
You said you came for the lame, I’m the lamest
I broke my life, but you say you’ll replace it, I’ll take it...

John Mark McMillan

I've been listening to John Mark McMillan for the last few weeks and have really been enjoying his new CD The Medicine. He's a worship leader that has a refreshingly different style. He's less polished and his lyrics are much richer than a lot of stuff out there right now. Some of my favorite songs off the album are Death in His Grave, Skeleton Bones, Carolina Tide, and My Only.

Check out this video for his song, Death in His Grave:

Death In His Grave (Performance Video) from john mark mcmillan on Vimeo.

Here are the lyrics to the chorus and bridge:

On Friday a thief
On Sunday a King
Laid down in grief
But awoke with keys
Of Hell on that day
The first born of the slain
The Man Jesus Christ
Laid death in his grave

He has cheated
Hell and seated
Us above the fall
In desperate places
He paid our wages
One time once and for all

(via)

I Never Wanted To Follow Jesus

There is a song that I remember hearing as a kid called "I have decided to follow Jesus." It's a slower song that is supposed to be worshipful. In the first verse, the phrase "I have decided to follow Jesus" is repeated a few times, followed by "no turning back, no turning back." This video might jog your memory.

I was reminded about the song a couple of years ago when I heard the tune again from Red Mountain Church. The melody was the same, but the lyrics were changed. In her incredible voice, Ashley Spurling simply says "I never wanted to follow Jesus...He rescued me."

I'm very glad Red Mountain redid the song and corrected the lyrics. I'm not sure how the original lyrics were ever meant to be a worship song. The truth is no one desires to follow Christ. We were enemies of God and hated Him until He gave us new hearts to accept the free offer of redemption. The response to this glorious truth is not "I have decided to follow Jesus", a statement of self-determination. That isn't worship.

This is:


Update: My friend Evan relayed the back story behind the writing of the original song. It can be found here. In the context that the song was written, I now see the justification for the use of the line "I have decided to follow Jesus." So, I apologize for posting without knowing the context.

The truth is we do make decisions daily to follow Christ rather than the world. And a newly converted person can declare "I have decided to follow Jesus." But this post is still a plea for these declarations to be rooted in the knowledge of the sovereign decision of God to allow us to make these choices. Dead heart => made alive => respond with repentance and faith => worship God for His grace.

Mumford & Sons

I've been listening to a lot of Mumford & Sons lately. Their album Sigh No More is really, really good. They are a London based band that has an Americana/Folk sound. Their songs almost all start softly and then become really intense, in a very captivating way. And their lyrics are incredibly thoughtful. For instance, here are a few lines from the first song and title track Sigh No More:

Love that will not betray you, dismay or enslave you,
It will set you free.
Be more like the man you were made to be.

There is a design, an alignment to cry,
At my heart you see,
The beauty of love as it was made to be.

And here's the video for one of my favorite songs, The Cave:

Finally, here are some lyrics from the final song on the album, a song called After the Storm (video here):

I will die alone and be left there.
Well I guess I'll just go home,
Oh God knows where.
Because death is just so full and mine so small.
Well I'm scared of what's behind and what's before.

And there will come a time, you'll see, with no more tears.
And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears.
Get over your hill and see what you find there,
With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair.

I am Tiger Woods

Sufjan Stevens wrote a song a few years back entitled John Wayne Gacy Jr.. The chilling song tells the story of the serial killer who raped and killed young boys, and buried them underneath his house. After finishing the story, what Sufjan says next is remarkable. He ends the song with this line: "In my best behavior, I am really just like him. Look underneath the floorboards for the secrets I have hid."

Read that line again. Do you believe that? With the recent Tiger Woods saga, it's easy to point the finger at others mistakes and become self-righteous. But I happen to agree with Sufjan that I am no different than the most vile of offenders. My heart is sinful and rebellious, and in need of Jesus, same as anyone else.

Mike Wise, with the Washington Post, recently wrote an excellent article saying a very similar thing, though he doesn't explicitly state how Tiger can find redemption and forgiveness in Christ (as Brit Hume did recently). Here's his conclusion:

I am Tiger Woods, and I have poked fun at his travails because I use humor as camouflage, because if I were to deal with the truth, if the world were to know the details of my sad, pathetic electronic communication with other women at one time in my life, the horrific embarrassment would not just send me into seclusion; it would send me off the ledge.

It's easy -- maybe even natural -- to judge his actions and ignore what led to them:

Tiger Woods has an emotional void in his life. This void must be huge. For him to be where he is today, this deep emptiness must have consumed him, must be something he has been living with for a long time. Moreover, he has to live with his emptiness while being fully aware that everyone in the world knows just what a manufactured lie his image has been.

Having stared into this void, having known this hollowness, I can neither excoriate the guy nor exonerate him.

I am Tiger Woods, and because of that, I can only hope that he realizes he's sick and takes steps to get better."

Read the whole thing

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

Come, Thou long expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel’s Strength and Consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear Desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

This song has been in my head all week. I love the way it portrays the wonderful truth of the Incarnation. This is the reason for celebration today. God putting on flesh, coming to set His people free from the sin that separates us from Him.

Do yourself a favor and go listen to the Red Mountain version here.

We will behonld the pain become the pearl

The Pearl is the name of a song written by Emmylou Harris. It's a beautiful song, one that I first heard covered by Matthew Perryman Jones. Check out the lyrics, and you can watch her perform it here.

O the dragons are gonna fly tonight
They're circling low and inside tonight
It's another round in the losing fight
Out along the great divide tonight

We are aging soldiers in an ancient war
Seeking out some half remembered shore
We drink our fill and still we thirst for more
Asking if there's no heaven what is this hunger for?

Our path is worn our feet are poorly shod
We lift up our prayer against the odds
And fear the silence is the voice of God

And we cry Allelujah Allelujah
We cry Allelujah

Sorrow is constant and the joys are brief
The seasons come and bring no sweet relief
Time is a brutal but a careless theif
Who takes our lot but leaves behind the grief

It is the heart that kills us in the end
Just one more old broken bone that cannot mend
As it was now and ever shall be amen

And we cry Allelujah Allelujah
We cry Allelujah

So there'll be no guiding light for you and me
We are not sailors lost out on the sea
We were always headed toward eternity
Hoping for a glimpse of Gaililee

Like falling stars from the universe we are hurled
Down through the long loneliness of the world
Until we behold the pain become the pearl

Cryin´ Allelujah Allelujah
We cry Allelujah

Lecrae

reformed, gospel-centered lyrics + dang good hip hop = Lecrae

If you don't already know, check him out. He's has the #5 best-selling hip hop album right now in Itunes, with Rebel. Also, Mark Driscoll sits down with him for a really interesting interview here

Check out these lyrics from a great song called Fanatic:

The world's trying to tidy up, exfoliate they skin
but only Christ can come and exfoliate they sin
And they fate look grim, If they don't take him
As the high priest he is to mediate they sin
The world's got to many Gods, man we choose the one
From hebrews, he rules, he bruised his son

Thanks Roy

I am clean...and I am dirty

I was driving in my car two days ago listening to the song "You and I" by Shane and Shane. I've always loved that song, particularly because of the bridge. It's a wonderful picture of the gospel, particularly how we view our sin. Shane #1 sings the first part (God's words) and Shane #2 sings the second part (ours). Here's how it goes:

You are clean, I've called you clean...I am dirty
You are clean...so unworthy
I've called you clean...dirty
Clean...dirty
Clean...dirty

After that, Shane says "that's what I'm wanting." And I agree with him. I want to see myself as so messed up (becuase I actually am) and then hear God saying He's wiped it all away through Christ. I am dirty...but I now also have been given the righteousness of Christ. That's the gospel. And it's beautiful.

Phil Wickham

I've been listening to Phil Wickham's new CD "Cannons" recently, and have enjoyed a lot of it. There are two ballads new the end that are incredible. Check out "Beautiful" and "True Love" if you can. Here's a couple lines from "True Love"

The earth was shaking in the dark
All creation felt the Fathers broken heart
tears were filling heavens eyes
The day that true love died, the day that true love died
When blood and water hit the ground
Walls we couldn’t move came crashing down
We were free and made alive
The day that true love died, The day that true love died

Rosie Thomas...and loneliness

I went to Eddie's Attic last night, along with Bailey and Evan, and saw a pretty incredible show. I went for the amazing voice and songwriting ability of the opener, Rosie Thomas, and was quite thrilled to be able to experience her musical talent. However, Bailey assured me that I would not be disappointed with the main act, Over the Rhine. And I definitely was not. You should check them both out.

Moving back to Rosie, she has a song called "Say Hello" that I'm quite fond of. She didn't play it last night, but I just wanted to point some lyrics within the song. She says:

"Loneliness is just a crime, look each other in the eye...and say hello."

I like that line. It's very true. Eye contact is such a simple way to care for someone who you might not even know.

Willing to be saved by grace

I listened to a song called "Draw my soul to thee" this morning by a favorite group of mine,Red Mountain Music. In it these lyrics really stuck out to me:

"Bid me seek Thy smiling face;
Willing to be saved by grace"

and later

"Teach me to confide in Thee; Thy salvation's wholly free."

These lyrics struck me because most of the time recently, I have not been willing to be saved by grace alone. I find it more comfortable to try to do good things. And of course, when I fail, I suffer much guilt and shame because I can't measure up.

So, that's my prayer today. That I would be willing to let myself to rely completely on Christ's work for my salvation and standing before God.

Embracing Accusation

So, after about a month of listening to it, the new Shane and Shane CD is great! There is one song in particular, lately, that has really given me much encouragement. It's called "Embracing Accusation" (much thanks to Aaron for pointing it out.) Here are some of the lyrics:

"Father of lies...saying,
'cursed are the ones who can’t abide.'
He’s right, hallelujah, he’s right.
The devil is preaching the song of the redeemed,
that I am cursed and gone astray.
I cannot gain salvation...
Embracing accusation.

The devil’s singing over me an age old song
that I am cursed and gone astray
Singing the first verse so conveniently over me,
he’s forgotten the refrain...
Jesus Saves!"

Being very aware of my sin this week, despair began sinking in. The self-talk is very loud, "David, you are so messed up. How can you call yourself a Christian?" Thankfully, the Truth of the gospel hit me in a very fresh way through the words of this song. I am so grateful, not that I do sin, but that sin gives me the privilege of relying fully on Christ for redemption. Man, how freeing it is to know that my sin has nothing to do now with my standing before God. My salvation is already secured in Christ's redeeming work.

So, next time, when "Satan tempts you to despair and tells you of the guilt within," remember that "God the just is satisfied, to look on Christ and pardon you."

It is Finished

Hark, the voice of love and mercy,
Sound aloud from Calvary!
See, it rends the rocks asunder,
Shakes the earth and veils the sky!
"It is finished, It is finished,"
Hear the dying Savior cry.

"It is finished," O what pleasure,
So these charming words afford.
Heavenly blessings, without measure,
Flow to us from Christ the Lord.
"It is finished, it is finished,"
Saints the dying words record.

Finished all the types and shadows,
Of the ceremonial law;
Finished all that God had promised;
Death and hell no more shall awe.
"It is finished, it is finished,"
Saints from hence your comfort draw.

Tune your harps anew, ye seraphs;
join to sing the pleasing theme;
Saints on earth and all in heaven,
Join to praise Immanuel's name.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Glory to the bleeding lamb!

Red Mountain Music - It is Finished

Mute Math and such

Last night, Roy and I went to see a band called Mute Math. The show was absolutely incredible. Their energy and unique sound made for a fun show. And their thoughtful lyrics come as a refreshment in the sea of superficiality found with most bands these days.

One of the songs, "Control," really has some truthful lyrics.

Take control of the atmosphere
Take control of the atmosphere
Take me far away from here
There is no better loss than to lose myself in you

Take control of the atmosphere
Take control of the atmosphere
You can take my world you can fill the air
Take control, take control

It's such a beautiful surrender

This show came on the heels of several days of really being grateful to God for His divine sovereignty. I've been so thankful recently for family, friends, community, my church, my job, my health, beautiful weather, and most of all...my being redeemed. In this song, I am able to declare that God is already holding all things together. And what a beautiful surrender it is to give up all my striving, to just trust He knows what He's doing.

Understanding that God is orchestrating all things to further glorify Himself is really amazing. And understanding that, in the process, He chose to open my blind eyes to His loveliness is even more amazing. So why does He choose Christians to be saved? Check this out from Dueteronomy 6:

"The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His treasured possession...not because you were more in number that any other people..BUT BECAUSE THE LORD LOVES YOU and is keeping [His oath]"

Amazing! The LORD loves us because He loves us. I'm glad the salvation of my soul rests in the One who is forever faithful, rather than on myself who is severely messed up.

And finally, I can't resist leaving you with a few lines from another Mute Math song called "Progress."

Every moment of time’s just an answer to find
What you’re here for, what you breathe for
What you wake for, what you bleed for

Come Boldly

Come boldly to a throne of grace,
Ye wretched sinners come;
And lay your load at Jesus' feet,
And plead what he has done.

"How can I come?" Some soul may say,
"I'm lame and cannot walk;
My guilt and sin have stopped my mouth;
I sigh, but dare not talk."

Come boldly to the throne of grace,
Though lost, and blind, and lame;
Jehovah is the sinner's Friend,
And ever was the same.

He makes the dead to hear his voice;
He makes the blind to see;
The sinner lost he came to save,
And set the prisoner free.

Come boldly to the throne of grace,
For Jesus fills the throne;
And those he kills he makes alive;
He hears the sigh or groan.

Poor bankrupt souls, who feel and know
The hell of sin within,
Come boldly to the throne of grace;
The Lord will take you in.

What an amazing truth to be able to come boldy into His presence to find mercy and recieve grace in our time of need. Check out Red Mountain Music and be blessed.