May 22, 2010

Awaiting the Mysterious and Rejoicing in the Revealed



For this blog post, I'm going to talk about Trip Lee's new album, Between Two Worlds, but there might not be too much order to this rant.
I'm very excited and anxiously awaiting this new album for a couple reasons. 1.) I'm interested in what the music will sound like for this CD. All the guys from the 116 clique has a different sound or feel to each of their CD's, so how will Trip's be different from all the others? 2.) I really want to see what analogies, creative outlooks, and play on words Trip is going to bring to the table. For instance, Trip's last album (20/20) was based around seeing God through the right lenses and seeing God in a correct biblical view, and from this we get the creative title of the album 20/20. 3.) I'm most excited to see how God has revealed himself to Trip, and how that revelation will be portrayed to his listeners. What has God put on his heart to write about and bless others with? How has the gospel become more alive in his own life, and thus transfer over into his music? These are the main questions that most excite me.
Being a musician and someone who rights his own lyrics, these are things I think about when writing my own songs. I take things that God has revealed to me, and I put it into a song that tries to relate what I've learned and give it to others. This isn't always my train of thought when writing songs. Sometimes they are more personal and relate to what I've gone through or what I'm currently dealing with in my life. Even though the song may be written for personal use, I've come to see that others can relate as well. Since we are all fallen creatures, I think that's why others can relate to my lyrics because there is always a problem and solution to my songs (fallen condition and gospel solution).
Going back to Trip's new album and me anxiously awaiting it's arrival, there is a biblical connection I've made from this. Me awaiting for the arrival of this album can be compared to Christians awaiting the arrival of Christ's return. I have some knowledge of this album, but there is a lot left unknown. I know when it is coming out, I know the premise behind the whole album, and I've listen to a track from it, but there is so much that I don't know that keeps me wanting to know more, and keeps me patiently awaiting its arrival.
In comparison there are also things we know of Christ's return but there is also so much left unknown. We know for a fact that Christ is coming back, but we don't know when. We know that Christ is not coming as a humble Savior, but he is coming as a mighty Judge. Is his return going to look exactly like the picture that is painted in Revelation, or is this just a human example for something that is beyond our knowledge? We know that there will be a new heaven and new earth, we will dwell with God, and we will be his people forever. There will be no more tears, pain, or death, and Christ will make all things new. But there are so many mysteries of God in the Bible, not just Revelation, that we won't know until we are fully glorified at Christ's return. The mysteries of God keep us coming back for more. Trying to figure them out keeps us anxiously awaiting the arrival of his Son, because when that time comes the mystery will be revealed, the unknown will be made known, and we will praise him for the work God has done for us.
The Father called his sheep and gave them to the Son. The Son gave himself up for them and brought them into right relationship with the Father through faith, which is given to us by the Spirit's work of regeneration in our hearts. Through the work of the Spirits regeneration we are given a new heart and a new life, which allows us to persevere to our final breath or until Christ's return. These truths are the reasons we will be giving praise to God for all eternity, and the work of God will never become old in our lives as long as we truly see the goodness of the Lord's sovereignty, mercy, and grace at work in our lives.
This post explains why I'm excited for Trip Lee's new album, and how we can make a biblical connection through this waiting process that I currently find myself.

May 9, 2010

The Only Reason for Boasting

So I went to a Cubs game last night down in Cincinnati. I don't know who is familiar with the electronic races that happen on the jumbotron TVs, but I'll try and explain them.
For this particular race there were three race cars on the TV, and then they showed the three people who represented each one of the cars. Person #1 would be paired up with car #1. Person #2 with car #2, and so on.
The cars drove from start to finish, and whatever car number won then the person who was paired with that number won a prize. It would show the person who's car won, and they were cheering as if they played a role in the race. If you didn't catch on earlier, the race is totally done by electronics and is totally random. I was probably the only person in the whole stadium that made a biblical analogy out of what I just saw.
Basically the winner is the one who is justified. What did he do to be justified? He didn't do anything. He sat and watched the car do everything for him. Then he started cheering like he was the one who was driving the car and had won the race. Are you starting to see a biblical connection?
We can only be justified because of what Christ has done for us, but most of the time we like to boast and act like we were the one's who have obtained our own salvation. That kid can and should only boast in the work of his race car, just as we can and should only boast in Jesus Christ and the work he did for us. He lived a perfect/sinless life, he atoned fully for our sins on the cross, and he proved his divinity by fulfilling the Scriptures and rising from the dead on the third day, and he is now seated at the right hand of God interceding for us constantly.
This analogy isn't anything special, but it does show us a picture of how we should view pride and our own glory. From what I just said, we shouldn't have any pride, because what have we done in order that we should benefit? We need to stop trying to justify our pride, and give it to God, the only one who has something to boast about. And for us, we can only boast in what God has done as well, because in him is where our benefit is found.