Category Archives: Firm on the Rock

Discipleship, Firm on the Rock

Are You a Picture?

I came across a great song by Ben Harper tonight called Picture of Jesus. I want you to read the last verse and chorus:

Some days have no beginning
And some days have no end
Some roads are straight and narrow
And some roads only bend

So let us say a prayer
For every living thing
Walking towards a light
From the cross of a king

We long to be a picture of Jesus
Of Jesus
In his arms
In his arms so many prayers rest

I long to be a picture of Jesus
With him we shall be forever blessed

In 2 Corinthians Paul says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit (3:17-18).”

To be a picture of Jesus to the world is the challenge. The good news is that you don’t have to go about this transformation on your own. In fact, you can’t do it on your own no matter how strong you are or how determined you may be.

The Spirit transforms you into the picture of Jesus- transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory- road by road, day by day, minute by minute.

What an amazing blessing and an amazing promise! Amen!

Best of..., Firm on the Rock, Music, Resources

Top 10 Songs to Wake Up To

10) I Heard It Through the Grapevine – Creedence Clearwater Revival
Sometimes you want a song to help ease you into the day. Your snooze button is 9mins. This good-morning groove clocks in at just over 11min. Take that extra couple of minutes to get reoriented to a brand new day. Just try to lay still when this sweet groove hits your ear. I dare you.

9) Sunday Morning – No Doubt
First comes the snare drum. Then the bass groove. Then the guitar solo. Then the dancing in front of the mirror while brushing your teeth.

8) Hard to Handle – The Black Crows
You’ll be up and out the door with a hitch in your step and the chorus in your head all day. “Hey little thing let me light your candle. Cause mama I’m sure hard to handle!”

7) Livin’ On the Edge – Aerosmith
(Boom. Boom. Boom.) We’re livin’ on the edge! The drum beat and the inspirational lyrics will help march you out of bed to meet the day with purpose and determination.

6) Alive – Pearl Jam
The opening guitar solo on this song will blow the sheets right off your bed. “Alive” won’t ask you to get up. It makes you get up.

5) Till I Hear It From You – Gin Blossoms
Another song to gently awake you and help you begin your day.

4) Can’t Stop Lovin’ You – Van Hagar Van Halen
I can’t stop singing the chorus at the top of my lungs.

3) Best of You – Foo Fighters
Dave Grohl’s voice is a refreshing splash of cold water in the morning. I highly recommend this song if you have to wake up earlier than usual.

2) Tom Sawyer – Rush
Waking up to this song feels like your being announced at a packed stadium full of cheering fans. Do you have a make-it-or-break-it meeting in the morning? Do you need some extra enthusiasm in the AM? Then wake up to Tom Sawyer, shake it out, and scream “Game on!”

1) Beautiful Day – U2
A heart beat rhythm is only one of the great aspects of this Good Morning song. When this song wakes you from your sleep you can’t help but believe that it is going to truly be a Beautiful Day. It doesn’t matter what happened yesterday. It almost doesn’t matter what the day threatens to bring. As you open your eyes, don’t forget that “After the flood, all the colors came out.” You are known. You are cared for. You are loved. It will be a Beautiful Day.

Firm on the Rock, Music, Remarkable, Thoughts, U2

All That Can’t Leave You Behind

I’ve been listening to one of my all-time favorite albums, U2’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind, most of the evening. I absolutely love this album. It reminds me of early college life and all the new experiences and fun that come with time of your life. We’ve been rearranging some furniture in the house tonight but I have found myself a little distracted. You see, it seems as though some lyric or line captures my attention and pulls me into the music. This has happened on each and every song (yes, even New York and Wild Honey). So, as we listened, I collected my favorite lines or verses below.

To me, music doesn’t get much better than Beautiful Day, lyrics don’t get much better than Stuck In a Moment, hope doesn’t get much better than Walk On, and love doesn’t get better than Grace.

Beautiful Day
See the Bedouin fires at night / See the oil fields at first light and / See the bird with a leaf in her mouth / After the flood all the colors came out

(Beautiful Day ranks #1 on my “Greatest Songs to Wake Up To” list)

Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of
And if the night runs over / And if the day won’t last / And if our way should falter / Along the stony pass / It’s just a moment, this time will pass

(Perfect finish.)

Elevation
Love, lift me out of these blues / Won’t you tell me something true / I believe in you

(Narrowly beat out the line A mole living in a hole / Digging up my soul. Narrowly.)

Walk On
You’re packing a suitcase for a place none of us has been / A place that has to be believed to be seen

(The live version takes you home with a chorus of “Hallelujahs” at the end.)

Kite
Who’s to say where the wind will take you / Who’s to say what it is will break you / I don’t know where the wind will blow / Who’s to know when the time has come around

(When Bono dedicates this to his late Father I dare you not to tear up.)

In a Little While
In a little while I won’t be blown by every breeze / Friday night running to Sunday on my knees

(There’s an entire youth group message series contain here in)

Wild Honey
Did I know you, did I know you even then / Before the clocks kept time, before the world was made / From the cruel sun you were my shelter / You were my shelter and my shade

(Every album needs some throw away ditty. Thankfully these lyrics narrowly save this one. Narrowly.)

Peace On Earth
Their lives are bigger than any big idea

(This song is bigger than any one lyric.)

When I Look At the World
So I try to be like you / Try to feel it like you do / But without you it’s no use

(“When you see as God sees, you will do what God says.” – A. Stanley)

New York
In the stillness of the evening / When the sun has had its day / I heard your voice whispering / Come away now

(Every album needs an odd track.)

Grace
What once was hurt / What once was friction / What left a mark no longer stings / Because Grace makes beauty / Out of ugly things

(Boom.)

Bonus: The Ground Beneath Her Feet was a bonus track on some of the early presses of ATYCLB. No lyric hit me but I rocked out some sweet air guitar to the Edge’s solo.

Awesomenessness, Collecting Experiences, Firm on the Rock, Live Music, Music, Popular Culture

Concert Review: Matisyahu @ the Palladium Ballroom

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Matisyahu 3 I had the chance to see Matisyahu in concert last night. This marked the third time I have seen his electric stage show and I loved ever minute of it. For those of you who don’t know about Matisyahu here is a one sentence bio:

Matisyahu is an Orthodox Hasidic Jew who blends reggae, rock, and hip-hop beats into some extremely awesome music.

There. That sums it up nicely.

In 2005 I was heading out on a long trip and the album cover to Live at Stubb’s jumped out at me. I grabbed it and then proceeded to wear my iPod battery out listening to this amazing artist blend reggae and rock with the Old Testament in ways deeper and more meaningful than ever. I have been hooked ever sense.

The concert was at the Palladium Ballroom in downtown Dallas. I had been told that the Palladium was a dive but I really liked the venue. It was in a sketchy part of town but the actual concert area was very nice. There was a great open space, no smoking, and friendly staff and security.

Matisyahu opened the set with L-rd Raise Me Up and captured the crowd with his unique sound. From there the show built to a fevered pitch as the band went through songs old and new. The band is working through a few new songs in anticipation of the new album due out in early 2009. They tried out So High So Low and Smash Lies from the recently released EP, Shattered, on the crowd to much fanfare. The new songs fit well into set and made me excited for the rest of the album.

Highlights from the concert include an extened versions of Jerusalem (Out of Darkness), Youth, Time of Your Song, Chop Em Down, and of course, King Without a Crown. They played for well over two hours. I (reluctantly) had to call it a night at midnight but the band was still going strong as I made my way to the parking lot. I’ll be interested to see a completed playlist to see what I missed!

I only paid $25 bucks for this show but after what I saw last night I was reminded that I will have to fork out a lot more dough the next time see him. Music like this doesn’t stay cheap forever.

I have already pre-ordered a recording of last night’s set from MatisyahuLive. If you sign up for the Matisyahu mailing list at MatisyahuWorld you can redeem a free song and a free concert. You definitely need to check this guy out. If you like what you hear get Live at Stubb’s, one of my Top 10 Albums of All Time.

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Matisyahu 6

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Firm on the Rock, Insomnia, Ministry, Planning, Youth Ministry

Best Laid Plans

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It’s insomnia time again my friends so I’m making the most of it and I’m clocking in. Rather than lay in bed staring at the ceiling or flipping through the tv channels or playing some XBOX I’m prepping for my week ahead.

I’ve cleaned up my home office and I’ve laid out all the books I think I’ll be using for references this week. I teach 3 different classes, 3 times a week. Sometimes due to the nature of what we’re studying I need only two prep times because we will build upon (say) Sunday morning class during our Wednesday night class. That is not the case right now. On Sundays we are studying the life of Christ. On Wednesdays we have more of a discussion based class. We recently finished studying Philippians and I’ll soon start a class on God @ the Movies. Both of these teaching times are more or less formal teaching times with a big dose of discussion. Sunday nights are a bit different. On Sunday nights we gather for a teen worship time complete with singing, prayer, and a “sermon.” This week we will not do this on Sunday night. That means I don’t have to prep for this but I will spend a little time looking ahead and planing out the Sunday nights for the month of May.

In personal study time, I’ve been studying through Acts 11-15 and I’m working on a book proposal. The proposal has been time consuming but very enjoyable. I hope to have it finished in the next two weeks. As it comes together I’ll be posting information here and would love feedback from you all. I’m reading Bulletproof Book Proposals to aid in my completion of the proposal. Each chapter ends with a writing assignment that helps you think through the various aspects of a winning proposal. I have really liked working through and thinking through my ideas. I would buy my book idea! Maybe some editor will think the same thing!

So that’s where I’m at here at 1:50 in the AM. Maybe I’ll crash here a few hours. We shall see.

I hope that you are fast asleep. I hope that you are getting your rest.

I’ll join you sometime. Until then it’s back to work.

Firm on the Rock, Lauds

It’s All I Can Do

Psalm 116
What can I give back to God for the blessings he poured out on me?
What can I give back to God for the blessings he poured out on me?
I lift high the Cup of Salvation as a toast to our Father,
To follow through on a promise I made to you from the heart.

It’s all I can do
It’s all we can do
This is all we can do

Discipleship, Firm on the Rock, Guilty Pleasure, Ministry, Music, The Word

Bap-Ba-Bap

This morning I sat down at my desk and fired up iTunes. I hit the shuffle button and then play.

“Higher Love” by Steve Winwood began flowing forth from the speakers on my desk. I didn’t even know that I had that song!!!

I am a huge sucker for any song with synthesizer and this ong brings it out in full force.

As I listened to it again this morning I realized that I really only knew the chorus. Yes, it is an awesome chours but I began to really hear the lyrics of the verses today for the first time. I’ve posted the entire song with synthesizer annotation (Bap-Ba-Bap) for your enlightenment below. What a great song and an even greater reminder to keep telling the world about the true Higher Love that they are seeking. Like Message in a Bottle, the world is looking for acceptance and belonging. Never forget and be ready to tell those around you where you hope is. If you’ve got a case of the Mondays let the synthesizer take you into the presence of Higher Love!!! Bap-Ba-Bap!

Think about it, there must be higher love
Down in the heart or hidden in the stars above
Without it, life is a wasted time
Look inside your heart, I’ll look inside mine
Things look so bad everywhere
In this whole world, what is fair?
We walk blind and we try to see
Falling behind in what could be

Bring me a higher love
Bring me a higher love
(Bap-Ba-Bap)
Bring me a higher love
Wheres that higher love I keep thinking of?

Worlds are turning and were just hanging on
Facing our fear and standing out there alone
A yearning, and its real to me
There must be someone who’s feeling for me
Things look so bad everywhere
In this whole world, what is fair?
We walk blind and we try to see
Falling behind in what could be

Bring me a higher love
Bring me a higher love
(Bap-Ba-Bap)
Bring me a higher love
Wheres that higher love I keep thinking of?

Bring me a higher love
Bring me a higher love
(Bap-Ba-Bap)
Bring be a higher love
I could rise above on a higher love

I will wait for it
I’m not too late for it
Until then, I’ll sing my song
To cheer the night along
Bring it…oh bring it…

I could light the night up with my soul on fire
I could make the sun shine from pure desire
Let me feel that love come over me
Let me feel how strong it could be

Bring me a higher love
Bring me a higher love
(Bap-Ba-Bap)
Bring me a higher love
Where’s that higher love I keep thinking of?

Firm on the Rock, Music, U2

Don’t Let Me Out of Here

The shackles are undone
The bullets quit the gun
The heat that’s in the sun
Will keep us when it’s done
The rule has been disproved
The stone, it has been moved
The grain is now a grove
All debts are removed

Oh, can’t you see what love has done
Oh, can’t you see what love has done
Oh, can’t you see what love has done
What it’s doing to me

Love makes strange enemies
Makes love where love may please
The soul and its striptease
Hate brought to its knees
The sky over our head
We can reach it from our bed
If you let me in your heart
And out of my head

Oh, can’t you see what love has done
Oh, can’t you see what love has done
Oh, can’t you see what love has done
What it’s doing to me

Please don’t ever let me out of here
I’ve got no shame
Oh no, oh no

Oh, can’t you see what love has done
Oh, can’t you see
Oh, can’t you see what love has done
What it’s doing to me

Oh, can’t you see what love has done
I know I hurt you and I made you cry
Oh, can’t you see what love has done
Did everything but murder you and I
Oh, can’t you see what love has done
But love left a window in the skies
Oh, can’t you see what love has done
And to love I raphsodize

Oh, can’t you see what love has done
To every broken heart
Oh, can’t you see what love has done
For every heart that cries
Oh, can’t you see what love has done
Love left a window in the skies
Oh, can’t you see what love has done
And to love I raphsodize

Oh, can’t you see

Window in the Skies
U2
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