Wednesday, April 16, 2008
holy
I want to be like a child
Naked before you
Transparent in everything I do
So take my heart this bitter stone
Heal the flesh so faith can grow
Take this song, as simple words of love
Cause you are holy, holy, holy, God
So make my heart your vessel lord
Breath your wind into my sails
Make my life a simple song of love
Cause you are holy, holy, holy, God
What can I give but everything
What can offer but control of me
Jesus you deserve to hold my reigns
Define my direction
Periodically, i’ll ask people close to me what they would write a worship song about if they had the chance.
i asked my good friend mike this a couple of months back and he said..... That he would get back to me. a week later i had completely forgotten about that conversation. mike came to me and said " andy, i’ve thought a lot about what you asked me the other day". i blanked and had no recollection of what i had asked him then he he said this (more or less) : "i would want the worship song i write to reflect a desire for simplicity in faith, to return to the point of a pure, stripped down, organic love affair with Jesus. That knocked me on my tail. We have a great tendency to move the opposite direction. We making things more and more complicated, letting our pride in what we have created ferment inside of us until we forget our original reason for loving the Lord. Jesus says in Matthew 18 2-4 "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."With that child like faith comes a complete transparency. Its intimidating to think about being that vulnerable with someone. God offers us reassurance though his word. In Hebrews 7: 18-19 it says, "The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God". Us imposing all these liturgies and doctrines honestly sometimes will distract us from the faith God has put inside of us. Let us together move closer into the knowledge and the understanding of God’s faithfulness, his perfection and move away from all of the pretense that keeps us away. That’s what this song is about. My journey to a childlike faith. Check out this description of Abraham by a theologian named A.B. Simpson and be encouraged.
"Abraham’s faith reposed in God Himself. He knew the God he was dealing with. It was a personal confidence in One whom he could utterly trust. The real secret of Abraham’s whole life was in his friendship with God. He knew God to be his great, good and faithful Friend. Taking Him at His word, he stepped out from all that he knew and loved and went forth upon an unknown pathway with none but God. In addition to trusting in the Word of God, have we learned to lean our whole weight upon God, the God of infinite love and power, our covenant God and everlasting Friend? We are told that Abraham glorified God by this life of faith. The truest way to glorify God is to let the world see what He is and what He can do. God does not so much want us to do things as to let people see what He can do. God is not looking for extraordinary characters as His instruments, but He is looking for humble instruments through whom He can be honored throughout the ages."
God, strip away the things keeping us away from you. Whether we think they are positive or negative, they can be a distraction from you.
Naked before you
Transparent in everything I do
So take my heart this bitter stone
Heal the flesh so faith can grow
Take this song, as simple words of love
Cause you are holy, holy, holy, God
So make my heart your vessel lord
Breath your wind into my sails
Make my life a simple song of love
Cause you are holy, holy, holy, God
What can I give but everything
What can offer but control of me
Jesus you deserve to hold my reigns
Define my direction
Periodically, i’ll ask people close to me what they would write a worship song about if they had the chance.
i asked my good friend mike this a couple of months back and he said..... That he would get back to me. a week later i had completely forgotten about that conversation. mike came to me and said " andy, i’ve thought a lot about what you asked me the other day". i blanked and had no recollection of what i had asked him then he he said this (more or less) : "i would want the worship song i write to reflect a desire for simplicity in faith, to return to the point of a pure, stripped down, organic love affair with Jesus. That knocked me on my tail. We have a great tendency to move the opposite direction. We making things more and more complicated, letting our pride in what we have created ferment inside of us until we forget our original reason for loving the Lord. Jesus says in Matthew 18 2-4 "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."With that child like faith comes a complete transparency. Its intimidating to think about being that vulnerable with someone. God offers us reassurance though his word. In Hebrews 7: 18-19 it says, "The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God". Us imposing all these liturgies and doctrines honestly sometimes will distract us from the faith God has put inside of us. Let us together move closer into the knowledge and the understanding of God’s faithfulness, his perfection and move away from all of the pretense that keeps us away. That’s what this song is about. My journey to a childlike faith. Check out this description of Abraham by a theologian named A.B. Simpson and be encouraged.
"Abraham’s faith reposed in God Himself. He knew the God he was dealing with. It was a personal confidence in One whom he could utterly trust. The real secret of Abraham’s whole life was in his friendship with God. He knew God to be his great, good and faithful Friend. Taking Him at His word, he stepped out from all that he knew and loved and went forth upon an unknown pathway with none but God. In addition to trusting in the Word of God, have we learned to lean our whole weight upon God, the God of infinite love and power, our covenant God and everlasting Friend? We are told that Abraham glorified God by this life of faith. The truest way to glorify God is to let the world see what He is and what He can do. God does not so much want us to do things as to let people see what He can do. God is not looking for extraordinary characters as His instruments, but He is looking for humble instruments through whom He can be honored throughout the ages."
God, strip away the things keeping us away from you. Whether we think they are positive or negative, they can be a distraction from you.
I absolutely LOVE this post. I too just wrote about something like this. I feel like simplicity is so important. Being real and honest is so important. No mask. No fakeness. Just laying it all out there no matter who you are with or around. God made us to be in His image. He wants us to be who He made us. He wants us to get back to the way it was before that one bite on the apple. The simple way of things where there were no blinders for people to hide behind and there was no shame. He wants us to love and live openly. We can't do this without Him. Man I loved this post. Going back to the ways of a child. Can you imagine going back to looking at the world the way an infant does? They don't know what things are. Everything is amazing to them in new discovery.