There are lots of reasons for that -- most notably the ones who run around our house in Disney movie-themed pajamas every night.

We also spent a good amount of time working on Stephanie’s photography business.

But the new year is always a fun time to reflect on what a year has taught me, and share that with you, for whatever it’s worth. So, you  might actually see a few posts from me over the next few days. They are likely to be hyper-introspective and even soppy, so… consider yourself warned.

Today, I’m sharing one of my favorite songs of 2011.

It wasn’t new in 2011, and it may or may not be familiar to you.

The song is Dancing In The Minefields by Andrew Peterson.

I’ve actually been enjoying this song, along with most of Andrew Peterson’s, for years now.

But this year, for whatever reason, it seemed especially profound and inspiring to me.

The lyrics are pretty straightforward and probably not too much of a stretch for most folks (hear the song and read the lyrics below): life is full of landmines.

Fundamentally, the landmines are all the effects of the Fall of man: pain, suffering, illness, disappointment, discouragement…

That imagery takes a different shape for each person from day to day. But at the end of the day, we’re ALL living in a minefield, and we never know when the next one is going to blow up in our face.

The song pretty much assumes that we don’t need to be convinced of this.

But what I love about it is the picture he paints of marriage being about DANCING in the minefields.

That picture implies so much to me.

It’s not about trying to avoid the landmines.

It’s not about mourning how hopeless the situation appears.

It’s about holding hands and dancing through the ridiculous situation -- taking every little excuse to celebrate and not getting stuck for too long when there’s an explosion.

I also love how the song pretty much just assumes that we all know that marriage is hard:

It was harder than we dreamed but I believe that’s what the promise is for.

What promise?

And how is this possible?

Where is the motivation to keep going when there are so dang many setbacks every day/week/month/year?

The last verse explains it:

‘Cause we bear the light of the Son of Man
So there’s nothing left to fear
So I’ll walk with you in the shadowlands
Till the shadows disappear

‘Cause He promised not to leave us
And His promises are true
So in the face of all this chaos, baby,
I can dance with you

There it is: we can hold hands and dance through the minefields because we have hope in the sovereign, good God who we’re trusting to hold it all together.

And in that way, marriage is celebration of the Gospel.

I’m not sure I can come up with the right words to explain how special that picture is to me.

But hopefully the song speaks for itself.

Enjoy!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtTa81LyuQM

(if you are reading this on the blog home page, lyrics are after the jump)

I was nineteen, you were twenty-one
The year we got engaged
Everyone said we were much too young
But we did it anyway

We bought our rings for forty each
From a pawn shop down the road
We made our vows and took the leap
Now fifteen years ago

We went dancing in the minefields
We went sailing in the storm
And it was harder than we dreamed
But I believe that’s what the promise is for

“I do” are the two most famous last words
The beginning of the end
But to lose your life for another I’ve heard
Is a good place to begin
‘Cause the only way to find your life
Is to lay your own life down
And I believe it’s an easy price
For the life that we have found

And we’re dancing in the minefields
We’re sailing in the storm
This is harder than we dreamed
But I believe that’s what the promise is for

So when I lose my way, find me
When I loose love’s chains, bind me
At the end of all my faith, till the end of all my days
When I forget my name, remind me

‘Cause we bear the light of the Son of Man
So there’s nothing left to fear
So I’ll walk with you in the shadowlands
Till the shadows disappear

‘Cause he promised not to leave us
And his promises are true
So in the face of all this chaos, baby,
I can dance with you

He said something along the lines of, “Growing up, somewhere between the picture books and flannel graphs, I got the impression that Jesus was a feminine hippie with a lot of hair product. One day, I realized: I don’t have respect for this guy because I could beat him up.”

He went on to point out that, even during Jesus’ first visit to Earth, he had many ‘manly’ characteristics. He was a carpenter, so likely strong and rough. He spent most of his time camping with His disciples, and the pharisees made Him so angry that he consistently mocked them to their face.

But, more to the point, when He comes again, there will be nothing soft or ‘hippie-ish’ about Him. He’s coming to start (and finish) a war.

Revelation 19:

Then I saw^(W) heaven opened, and behold,^(X) a white horse! The one sitting on it is called^(Y) Faithful and True, and^(Z) in righteousness he judges and makes war. ^12(AA) His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are^(AB) many diadems, and he has^(AC) a name written that no one knows but himself. ¹³He is clothed in^(AD) a robe dipped in^[d] blood, and the name by which he is called is^(AE) The Word of God. ¹⁴And the armies of heaven,^(AF) arrayed in fine linen, white and pure,^(AG) were following him on white horses. ^15(AH) From his mouth comes a sharp sword^(AI) with which to strike down the nations, and^(AJ) he will rule them with a rod of iron.^(AK) He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. ¹⁶On his robe and on his thigh^(AL) he has a name written,^(AM) King of kings and Lord of lords.

So, just a quick recap: A warrior on a horse with a sword coming out of His mouth, with a robe dipped in blood, a name tattooed on His leg, and itching for a fight with everything evil.

Add an announcer and you have a scene from WWF smack-down.

Put that on a flannelboard….

I’m writing this because I’ve been reminded of it lately as Josiah has grown up a little bit.

The other night, at the dinner table, Josiah looked up and said, “Dad, I love good people. But I don’t love bad people. I will KILL them!”

Now, clearly, we have some serious work to do. I need to teach him that there is no such thing as a good person, and that Jesus already died FOR the bad people.

But he explained himself. I asked him, “What kind of bad people?“. And he said, “Like Goliath“.

What my son was saying that day was, “Dad, I want to be brave and I want to stand up against the bad guys! I’m not afraid. I’m a warrior!”

It’s in his DNA as a little boy.

Just like Kharis gets all of her shoes out and tries them on even though nobody taught her to, Josiah beats up imaginary bad guys with invisible swords.

There’s some part of my parenting instinct that winces every time he does. I can see him at the playground getting carried away with “playing swords” with some kid who doesn’t understand the game and then trying to explain it to their parents.

But the last thing I want to do is try and suppress that natural desire that God gave him to be brave, strong, and to fight against “the bad guys”.

Fast-forward a couple of weeks…

Josiah and I were driving to the store and we were rocking my new favorite windows-down-and-radio-up song, The Lord Is A Warrior by Matt Papa.

In it, he simply celebrates how God is the ultimate warrior and the ultimate Savior – both by dying for our sins and then by promising to destroy all evil that rejects His reign. It’s basically the resurrection plus Revelation 19 put to music.

You can listen to it here:

(And once you realize that it’s awesome, you should go buy it.)

Anyways, back to the story:

Josiah asked me, “What’s he singing about?”

I said, “He is singing about how the Lord is a Warrior. Do you know what a warrior is?”

“No.”

“A warrior is like a strong fighter.”

“Jesus is a fighter?!!?!?!?”

“Yeah buddy. Jesus is the strongest fighter. He is the best hero ever.”

“YEAH! The best HERO! And whenever the bad guys want to hurt you, He will KILL THEM!”

We came home and Josiah ran in and told his mom, “Mom! Jesus is a fighter and he gets ALL the bad guys and He ALWAYS wins!”

Theologically, my son is learning (and very excited about) God’s sovereignty and justice.

Now we just have to figure out how to communicate about grace, sacrifice, and love….

But I think most of us could use a little more of that perspective.

When is the last time you went up against something scary (illness, difficult relationship, financial hardship, etc) and pictured Jesus the warrior riding in front of you to fight your battle?

Kind of makes me want to break out my action figures….

He just released a new single called It Is Finished.

Put on your headphones, sit back, and meditate on these lyrics:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LyKwgYhP6I

the earth shook and trembled

the sun bowed its head

the veil of the temple was open for man

as Jesus went down in the cold of the grave

defeated the darkness when He overcame

the keys of the kingdom were placed into hands

of children and priests and of fishers of men

through all generations His will be heard

creation resounds the victorious words:

IT IS FINISHED

IT IS DONE…

Last year alone, THREE different members of our worship team released new albums, but you won’t find them in Walmart or on the radio, so I want to make sure you know about them.

First up: Sam Fisher

You can find Sam leading worship most Sunday mornings at the Summit church‘s Cole Mill Campus.

Sam has been a full-time musician since I was in high school and his newest project, From Age To Age, is a neat intersection of rocking tunes with God-glorify lyrics.

Here’s one of my favorites from the album, called Beyond The Ordinary:

Next: Matt Papa

You can find Matt leading worship at our brand-spanking new North Raleigh campus.

Matt’s new album, Your Kingdom Come, is a great combination of Gospel-centered lyrics and high-quality, Beattles-esque music style.

My favorite song from the album is called Open Hands. It’s a great song for corporate worship, expressing surrender to God. Check it out:

Last (but not least) is Aftermath:

“Aftermath”, AKA Jonathan Edwards, can be found leading worship many Sunday mornings at our Brier Creek campus.

He has a really unique sound, and his new album, The Aftertaste Of Abandonment, is one of those catchy CDs you leave in your car CD player for weeks at a time.

Check out one of  my favorites, Airplanes and Airwaves:

Give these guys a try and let me know if you what you think!

Well, for those of you who told me that nobody likes hip-hop, have no fear: today is rock.

Steph will tell you that probably my favorite musician is John Mayer.

Say what you want about his private life or his 20-million-dollar watch collection (no, seriously), but the man has more musical talent in one fingernail than I probably ever will in my life.

Not only does the guy have some serious musical talent, he also has some incredible song-writing skills. The lyrics to some of his songs are profound and poetic, and he manages to verbalize thoughts that I have but don’t know what to do with.

Jon Acuff over at “Stuff Christians Like” even wrote a “John Mayer Quiz“, where he challenges you to guess whether lines are from the Bible or from a Mayer song. He also gives 7 Reasons Why Christians Wish John Mayer Were a Christian, which is pretty funny to me.

Anyways, for my birthday last year, Steph bought me the Where The Light Is: John Mayer Live In Los Angeles concert DVD.

It’s a fun mix of acoustic, blues, and pop and I love it.

In the past couple of weeks, it’s been a staple in our house because Josiah (our little drummer) has discovered a love for music and asks me to watch that thing every stinking day.

He points at the drummer and flails his arms and goes “booommma! boooommma!”

(Have I ever mentioned that I love my kid?)

Anyways, I don’t know where this long intro came from, but here is my favorite jam from the DVD. It’s the song Belief, which I have blogged about before.

Enjoy:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZHnVvy_Hxg

All the good music was fowl, and all the ‘clean’ music was super cheezy (DC Talk, anyone?)

I wish that the fellas at Reach Records had been making music back then. Lecrae, Tedashii, and Triplee have the best hip-hop music out there, whether you’re looking at secular or anything else.

If you’re into hip-hop, check out this first single from Triplee’s new album, Between Two Worlds, coming out later this month (pre-order here):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltJkFW9s2iQ

(lyrics after the jump)

Verse 1:
Creation’s groaning, lost their hope and feel they always closed in // Lots to cope with, on the ropes, wish they was in the open // This broken world is so dim // our souls are searching, groping // For one with hope to hold us close, and set goodness in motion // I remember growing up in Dallas, I thought me and my close kin // Was more than straight, our folks was great ,not broke that paper flowed in // Not boasting man, just saying in my brain I didn’t know then // That all went wrong, and it just can’t go right like a broke pen // My mind was blind and cloaked in // but then that foolishness departed I saw this thing’s an ocean // and we just tryna swim real far but But can’t nobody float when // we ain’t got boats or no fins // We need a hero to go in // cause our solutions don’t win // Education can’t fix it, more dough just leads to more sin // Medicine is temporary, government seems so thin // With all these weighty problems, that ain’t shrinking they just growing // Who’s adequate to save us, how about He knew no sin?

Hook:
Like a G5 yeah you rushed to rescue me // Took a cross in exchange for a throne to save me // You began the work and I know you’ll finish // And make all things right when you come back // Cause you’re my hero, you already saved the day // Cause you’re my hero, and I know you’re coming back for me

Verse 2:
Follow the steps bro, Adam sinned now we all dead so We gotta sentence on our head like death row, everything is wrecked All creation is a mess bro, In the fullness of time, in steps the hero no red cloak, He’s Jesus No flashing lights, glitz n glam, and no cameras He came to serve needy folks, and point them to the answer You see Him healing, feeding folks, and telling them the standard Our most basic need is to be ransomed by Jesus It has first place, yeah we separated in the worst ways Even physically peep how the earth quakes Separated socially, murder and the worst rapes Even separated from ourselves, we in the worst state It’s so major, that’s the reason that we need a Savior Cause the root of needs is separation from Creator Jesus came humbly to restore us to our maker And later He’ll restore all that He made bruh, He’s Jesus

Verse 3 (my favorite):
God is not pleased man, it’s clear that His standards missed // The world is running rampant with, sin it’s an abandonment // Man is feeling stranded, feeling hopeless since his banishment // God is angry at the distortion and the mismanagement // Evil is at work, but don’t be thinking He can’t handle it // He promised He would do away with all of it, dismantle it // He’s put up with this damage in His world, but He’s promised us // That He’ll destroy all His enemies and then He’ll walk with us // New Heaven, new Earth that’s where all His sheep dwell // Cause Jesus succeeded in every part of life that we failed // Died the death we couldn’t die, paid our price with 3 nails // Began the work He promised, in the end we all will be well // Already beat our enemies and when His Kingdom’s realized // All those who oppose Him will see Jesus with some real eyes // Deliverance is offered us, the hero He is urging us // Salvation is exclusive to His people who have turned to trust

Every year, around this time, I start to get an itch for some Christmas music, and I always go back and forth because I don’t want to be sick of it before Christmas actually rolls around.

Besides the basic warm fuzzies that Christmas music usually brings, I love it because it is usually so worshipful.

Good Christmas songs are songs about Jesus.

They are songs about how God put on flesh and came to earth.

“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” is a great example of this. The song is really a hymn that was written by Charles Wesley, a great reformation preacher. It has stanzas like this:

Christ, by highest Heav’n adored;
Christ the everlasting Lord;
Late in time, behold Him come,
Offspring of a virgin’s womb.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail th’incarnate Deity,
Pleased with us in flesh to dwell,
Jesus our Emmanuel.

“Hail The Incarnate Deity”, and His name is Jesus! That’s what Christmas is all about!

So, that’s why I’m excited to let you know about a new Christmas album that came out this week.

It’s called, “On The Incarnation“, by Daniel Renstrom and friends, and is inspired by the book with the same title — all about the incarnation of our God!

It has four new songs about the incarnation of Jesus, and some really nice renditions of four historically classic Christmas songs.

You can buy the CD here, or download it from Amazon music here.

You can also come hear Daniel at our church Saturday night, November 7th. Details here.

Lemme know what you think!

]]> http://www.therieslands.com/2009/10/30/on-the-incarnation-by-daniel-renstrom/feed/ 0 http://www.therieslands.com/2009/10/01/this-too-shall-be-made-right-derek-webb/ http://www.therieslands.com/2009/10/01/this-too-shall-be-made-right-derek-webb/#comments Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:15:29 +0000 Zack http://www.therieslands.com/?p=4004

Derek Webb is one of the best musicians that you’ve probably never heard of.

He has a niche of followers who love his music and wrestle with his message, but I’ll bet that if you’re over 25 and reading this, then the name is new to you.

If that’s the case, do yourself a favor and go get one of his albums. Any one will do.

You don’t even have to risk spending your money on something that you may not like! Derek is actually the founder of NoiseTrade, where you can download an album for any price you’re willing pay, or for free if you’re willing to recommend it to five friends!

I’ve been enjoying Derek’s music since he came and performed at NC State several years ago. I remember sitting at Derr track and watching him — nothing but a mic, a guitar, an amp, and some pedals — introduce me to “Where The Streets Have No Name” by U2…

A so-called ‘christian’ artist singing a U2 song that has nothing to do with Jesus.

Was this a mistake?

Were the Campus Crusade staff people scrambling to huddle up and figure out what to do?

And so began a long series of lessons that Derek Webb has been instrumental in my learning.

His music constantly challenges me to think rightly about the Church, culture, morality, and Jesus.

He has helped me love the difference between those four words, and their interrelation.

My new favorite song, from his last album (not his newest album), is called “This Too Shall Be Made Right“.

It’s a recongition that this earthly kingdom is broken, but that it won’t always be.

It’s a song of mourning and hope.

Reality and optimism.

One verse says:

the earth and the sky and the sea are all holding their breath
wars and abuses have nature groaning with death
we say we’re just trying to stay alive
but it looks so much more like a way to die
this too shall be made right

I think of so many people I love when I hear those words.

Another verse says:

I don’t know the suffering of people outside my front door
I join the oppressors of those who i choose to ignore
I’m trading comfort for human life
and that’s not just murder it’s suicide
this too shall be made right

Ouch!

This about what happened in Indonesia this week. And how much was that coffee you’re drinking?

You can read all the lyrics here.

Do you have a favorite Derek Webb song?

Chris Tomlin, Louie Giglio, & Christy Nockels will be doing a Christmas tour this year!

As you can see, they completely neglected our great state of North Carolina when they planned this thing, but I’m still tempted to try and get to Virginia Beach.

Anybody interested?

Today I want to let you know about another very talented rap artist associated with Lecrae and  the Reach Records label.

He calls himself ‘Tedashii’ (and he tweets!), and he just released a new album, called “Identity Crisis” (you can buy it here).

My favorite track from the album is called “Make War“.

How can you not love a hard-core rap track that starts out with a John Piper sermon snippet?

But the whole message of the song is awesome and, I think, very appropriate for the church in our age.

Check it out:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVT5MDmZ3wM

You’ve seen Lecrae pop up on this blog a few times now (like here).

He’s been around for a while, but for years, I used to walk right past his albums at the christian bookstore. I can’t really explain why…  I just looked at the album covers and assumed the music would be cheesy, like most almost all ‘christian’ rap.

But it’s not.

At all.

His newest album, Rebel, is the bast rap album in the history of the world I’ve ever owned.

Seriously.

I play it when I run. I play it when I drive. I play it while I work.

And I have been for like 6 months now.

One of the catchiest songs on the album is all about the Church, and called “The Bride“, (in reference to how the Bible says that the Church is the Bride of Christ).

The theology on this track is astounding, and the message is desperately needed in the Church at large today.

There are so many misconceptions about what the Church is, and isn’t.

…so many churches teaching bad theology and making the rest of us look bad.

And maybe probably the worst part: so many people giving up on the Church because it isn’t what they want it to be.

Recently, at the Advance 09 conference, pastor Mark Driscoll gave a great message about what the Church is and is not.

Everything he said was insightful and important, and this track captures it really well.

I’m sure it’s kind of awkward to read lyrics to a rap song, especially if you’ve never heard it, but check this out (emphasis mine):

Hook:
Yeah she may look gritty
When her man come back she gone look so pretty – She the Church
You might see her acting crazy, be patient with her tho cause she still God’s baby – She the Church
Before you dis her get to know her, Jesus got a thing for her and He died just to show her – She the Church
She ain’t bricks and buildings
She all of God’s people Men women and children – We the church

Verse 1:
She’s a building of beings being constructed
Christ is the cornerstone, foundation build on another and you’s a goner holmes
She’ built on Him, supported by Him, conformed to Him, now she’s a body of bodies who transform through Him

A temple that breathes we are the halls,
we are the floor board or more we are the walls
Manifold wisdom of God no longer a mystery
The church pinnacle of our salvific history
One flesh union homie
The Tri-union is glorified through our corporatized communion
Still the present reality is she was born a casualty though she’s made alive
She’s still affected by depravity
Once lived in sin and enslaved by her lust and
folks catch her slippin and they turn away disgusted
She’s a work in progress Christ is the head of her
And He wash her clean with the words that He done said to her
She’s already pretty but she’s really not dressed and sometimes she look silly but she’s far from a mess
Yes, please so don’t be dissin cause Jesus done paid grip an
And if you didn’t then should caller her Misses. I’m talking bout the church

Verse 2:
Her name is ecclesia meaning the assembly
Bows to the Trinity No other Divinity
A body family and community she is all one/ but on earth you see her in congregational small ones/ a microcosm or a small scale example/ but it is the church even though its just a sample/ Invisible spiritual/ physical visible/ not a brick temple never that simple/ this a not a building/ she is not bricks/ she’s a world changer but ain’t bout getting rich/ perpetrating fakes cause a lot of folks to hate/ plus her hands get dirty and her feet get scraped/ and sometimes her body parts start acting outta place/ legs tryna be arms/ arms thinking they the face/ but she’ll never be replaced with a one man band or a small Taliban with no body in command

Verse 3:
Some don’t get it so they hate/ they say she’s on a paper chase they say she’s really fake/
So they go start a ministry so they can do the work/ but they don’t understand how Jesus feel about His church/ and yeah they make disciples/ they got plenty conversions/ they take care of the widows and the orphans they be workin/ But none of them are churchin/ no church structure/ no elders and no discipline/ they have no conductor/ and they so they don’t submit/ but quite a few of them baptize/ people how I pray that you’d look at this thing from God’s eyes/ take responsibility inside the whole council not just the area where you might have a mouthful/ who should folks submit to/ who will conduct the discipline/ if excommunicated what body will they be missing then/ look at Ephesians 4 where Paul gets practical/ 1st timothy and Titus if you thinking I’m irrational/

What’s your favorite and /or least favorite thing about the Church / your local church?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v3d6SFcDys

I stumbled across this awesome video over at Joanna Muses.

Two very talented guys take a piano and cello and mix an instrumental combo of Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” and Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida“.

If anyone figures out a cool way to track this to an mp3, please let me know!

It describes an article based on a section of the book Bono In Conversation, where Bono essentially witnesses to an interviewer.

I love this because it’s such a classic scenario, capturing the stereotypes and assumptions that so often blur our communication about the Gospel. This interviewer is working on the assumption that Christianity is for the feeble-minded, and that anyone who would accept the idea that God came into the world as a man and died for the sins of the human race must be a fool who hasn’t thought it out all the way.

And here’s Bono, the iconoclast of ‘cool’, explaining grace! And what’s more, he gently calls this dude onto the carpet and basically explains to him C.S. Lewis’ argument from Mere Christianity: you can’t be luke warm about Jesus. He is either The Messiah, or he was nuts and should be dismissed as a lunatic.

For all my friends who have wondered what it looks like to share the message of Jesus effectively and contextually, just have a look at this!

Check it out and then tell me what you think:

Is Bono, the lead singer and songwriter for the rock group U2, a Christian? He says he is and writes about Christianity in his lyrics. Yet many people question whether Bono is “really” a Christian, due to his notoriously bad language, liberal politics, and rock star antics (though he has been faithfully married for 23 years). But in a new book of interviews, Bono in Conversation by Michka Assayas, Bono, though using some salty language, makes an explicit confession of faith.

The interviewer, Mr. Assayas, begins by asking Bono, Doesn’t he think “appalling things” happen when people become religious? Bono counters, “It’s a mind-blowing concept that the God who created the Universe might be looking for company, a real relationship with people, but the thing that keeps me on my knees is the difference between Grace and Karma.”

The interviewer asks, What’s that? “At the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics — in physical laws — every action is met by an equal or an opposite one,” explains Bono. “And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that…Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed, because I’ve done a lot of stupid stuff.”

The interviewer asks, Like what? “That’s between me and God. But I’d be in big trouble if Karma was going to finally be my judge,” says Bono. “It doesn’t excuse my mistakes, but I’m holding out for Grace. I’m holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don’t have to depend on my own religiosity.”

Then the interviewer marvels, “The Son of God who takes away the sins of the world. I wish I could believe in that.”

“The point of the death of Christ is that Christ took on the sins of the world, so that what we put out did not come back to us, and that our sinful nature does not reap the obvious death,” replies Bono. “It’s not our own good works that get us through the gates of Heaven.”

The interviewer marvels some more: “That’s a great idea, no denying it. Such great hope is wonderful, even though it’s close to lunacy, in my view. Christ has His rank among the world’s great thinkers. But Son of God, isn’t that farfetched?”

Bono comes back, “Look, the secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: He was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Muhammad, Buddha, or Confucius. But actually Christ doesn’t allow you that. He doesn’t let you off that hook. Christ says, No. I’m not saying I’m a teacher, don’t call me teacher. I’m not saying I’m a prophet. I’m saying: ‘I’m the Messiah.’ I’m saying: ‘I am God incarnate’…So what you’re left with is either Christ was who He said He was — the Messiah — or a complete nutcase…The idea that the entire course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed and turned upside-down by a nutcase, for me that’s farfetched.”

What is most interesting in this exchange is the reaction of the interviewer, to whom Bono is, in effect, witnessing. This hip rock journalist starts by scorning what he thinks is Christianity. But it is as if he had never heard of grace, the atonement, the deity of Christ, the gospel. And he probably hadn’t. But when he hears what Christianity is actually all about, he is amazed.

If I get to church Sunday and all we do is worship through these songs, I think that’ll be time very well spent…

What’s missing?

His newest album, Rebel, has been in heavy rotation on my playlist for weeks.

One of my favorite tracks is called “Don’t Waste Your Life” (based on the Piper book).

You can view the full lyrics to that here.

Below is my favorite verse:

Suffer

Yeah do it for Christ if you trying to figure what to do with your life

if you making a lot money hope you doing it right because the money is Gods you better steward it right

stay focused if you ain’t got no ride

your life ain’t wrapped up in what you drive

the clothes you wear the job you work

the color your skin naw you Christian first

people living life for a job

make a lil money start living for a car

get em a house a wife kids and a dog

when they retire they living high on the hog

but guess what they didn’t ever really live at all

to live is Christ yeah that’s Paul I recall

to die is gain so for Christ we give it all

he’s the treasure you’ll never find in the mall

Your money your singleness marriage talent and time

they were loaned to you to show the world that Christ is Divine

What would my life be like if I believed that Christ is the only Treasure my heart is really after, and everything else in my life is a tool He’s given me to display His worth?