Matt Jones' Random Acts of Verbiage

Last night in Bible study we took a look at different worship songs that had made an impression on each of us for one reason or another. Here is a look at what we choose:

I chose On Distant Shores by Five Iron Frenzy. I chose this because I think it clearly and acurately depicts our Christian life and relationship with God. It shows we are broken and need to be freed from our sin. This is one of my favorite songs (if you have been reading my blog you will know I have quoted it before) because I think each verse is very potent and contains deep truth (which I find very interesting considering how silly and mindless FIF can be too!). I feel two verses are quite profound and should be meditated on:

And off of the blocks, I was headstrong and proud, at the front of the line for the card-carrying, highbrowed. With both eyes fastened tight, yet unscarred from the fight. Running at full tilt, my sword pulled from its hilt. It’s funny how these things can slip away, our frail deeds, the last will wave good-bye. It’s funny how the hope will bleed away, the citadels we build and fortify. Good-Bye.

Night came and I broke my stride, I swallowed hard, but never cried. When grace was easy to forget, I’d denounce the hypocrites, casting first stones, killing my own. You would unscale my blind eyes, and I stood battered, but more wise, fighting to accelerate, shaking free from crippling weight. With resilience unsurpassed, I clawed my way to You at last. And on my knees, I wept at Your feet, I finally believed, that You still loved me.

And the rest of the selection:

Meghan picked The Hammer Holds by Bebo Norman. I had never heard this song before but thought it was pretty good. It talks about our brokenness and being shaped by Christ. There is one verse that really stood out to me:

The hammer pounds again, but flames I do not feel
This force that drives me, helplessly, through flesh, and wood reveals
A burn that burns much deeper, it’s more than I can stand
The reason for my life was to take the life of a guiltless man

I think this verse suggests that the flames or struggle of life can be dealt with by the sacrifice of Christ and through those strugles we can really learn what it means to live - the deeper burn. I like the last line because it gives us meaning for life. We often get so concerned about what God wants us to do in our lives, but, as the line sugests, our lives are here in place of Christ’s so we should just live them fully.

K.C. choose Brighten my Heart by Sixpence None the Richer. This is a great prayer song (by the way, most of their songs are better than their Kiss Me that got so much air time).

My heart is as dark as the soil sodden with winter rains. (Lord, brighten my heart)
My soul is as heavy as the peat freshly dug from the bog. (Lord, lighten my soul)
My thoughts swirl like willow branches caught in autumn winds. (Lord, still my thoughts)
My body as tense as a cat’s as it stalks its prey.(Lord relax my body)

I know I can relate to those thoughts and could (and should) pray each of those requests.

Leann picked The Valley Song by Jars of Clay. This is a wonderful song off their Furthermore album that I highly recommend. When dealing with sorrow (or any time really) this song can really speak to you.

Though the pain is an ocean
Tossing us around, around, around
You have calmed greater waters
Higher mountains have come down

You should definitely check out the rest of the lyrics, they are quite moving. One great thing about this song is it doesn’t try and cover the pain it just suggests that God will carry us through them and is bigger than those problems (while not minimizing their importance to us).

Laurel also picked a song off Jars of Clay’s Furthermore album: Worlds Apart. This song also speaks to our brokenness, our need for God, and the grace that has been given to us.

All said and done I stand alone
Amongst remains of a life I should not own
It takes all I am to believe
In the mercy that covers me

Did you really have to die for me?
All I am for all you are
Because what I need and what I believe are worlds apart

Quite profound I think. In our worship we should reflect on what God has given to us and how our lives don’t always stack up to what he would have for us. “Did you really have to die for me?” Is always a tough question to ask - the obvious answer is “yes” but we wish it didn’t have to be that way. We need His sacrifice and His grace and He should be thanked and worshipped for those gifts that He has freely given.

And finally, Chad (fittingly) chose I Wish We’d All Been Ready by Larry Norman. DC Talk also does a pretty good rendition of this Norman classic. While I disagree with some of this song theoloically (I don’t think the “rapture” will happen like is suggested in the song), I think the message is very good: We have a responsibility in the here and now to share the Good News with those around us before it is too late. As Chad suggested, we should look at it from God’s perspective and recognize how sad it makes him that people reject him. Our call is to live for Christ.

There’s no time to change your mind.
How could you have been so blind?
The Father spoke, the demons dined,
The Son has come and you’ve been left behind.
You’ve been left behind

Pretty harsh stuff, sometimes it is hard to sugarcoat some of the important things in life I suppose.

So what do you think of those songs? What are your favorite?
Shalom

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Matthew Jones