If someone handed you a roadmap for
life, how would you react? I’m sure you would be happy. Now, don’t get me
wrong: I’m not saying that this album will guide you through life, but I’m
pretty sure it can encourage you when life gets tough, and help you make steps
toward being successful as a believer. Success as a believer is not defined as
an easy, comfortable life, as the album art describes
Lyrics for the album can be found here: http://lilfytr.blogspot.com/p/welcome-to-da-faith-2017-anthem-intro.html.
And I would say that these alone can potentially help encourage you when life
gets tough.
So, my goal for this post is to do
three things with each track that ended up on this album: first, share the
Scripture that forms the background to it; second, excplain what events lay
behind each track being written; third, how it specifically ties in to the
theme of the album. John 15:5 has Jesus saying, “I am the vine; you are the
branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because
you can do nothing without Me.” This faith race that believers are placed in is
a race of remaining in Him, knowing that apart from Him we are incapable of
anything.
“Anthem” begins the album, and
attempts to summarize the whole album. It attempts to be a fun,
synthed-out/scratched-out, introduction that sets the tone for the rest of the
album. It’s based on 2 Corinthians 5:7, where Paul writes, “For we walk by
faith, not by sight.” While the album has ups and downs of fun and serious, so
does this track in lyrical content, and also the verse on which it is based.
While everything might look dark, believers have the hope “post tenebras lux”
(Latin for “after darkness, light”). I wrote this song a day before I recorded
it, reflecting on the past seven years, and some of the lessons I’ve learned.
“Get Crazy” follows. As is clear
from the first verse, it is based on 2 Corinthians 5:17, where Paul writes, “Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, ⌊he is⌋ a new
creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.” I wrote
this song during the summer of 2012, which in all honesty was probably the
start of the peak of my walk with Christ so far. After I moved to Missouri
about a year later, everything grew much more difficult. But, the point of this
song within the theme of the album is as follows: as believers we need to act
like we’re different. “Get Crazy” implies rejoicing. It also implies a total
change in our life to the point where others can say, “You’re crazy.”
“Welcome to da Faith” is the title
track. If you listen to it, it’s clear that it’s based upon Hebrews 12:1-2,
where the writer says, “Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of
witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so
easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before
us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who
for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has
sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.” This one was written probably
early spring of 2013, and I say that for two reasons: 1) I can’t remember
precisely, 2) the line, “the best way to get over a breakup / is to fall for
someone new” would have taken place around that point in time. Ultimately
though, the point of the song is a theological look at the Christian race—what
it consists of, what is important, and how to keep going when tough—and not so
much a personal story.
The first interlude, given by
Pastor Mo Khazaal of Sovereign Way Christian Church in Hesperia, CA, is
included after the prior track as if to say, “the best way to keep going in
this race is to join a local church.” I worried about people thinking that I
was just saying, “Join my church”—well soon to be again my church—but no, what
Mo does in this clip is explain what churches should look like—both leadership
and fellowship. “I’m not saying you have to come to this church. I want you
where God wants you.” And in the past few weeks I’ve become convinced that
there are probably solid churches
within driving distance of just about anywhere in the United States. (I’ve met
people from two separate solid churches in my current area in the past three
weeks alone.) The point being: join a local body of believers who can help you
in this race.
“L.I.L.F.Y.T.R, pt. 2” is based on
1 John 4:15-17, where John writes, “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of
God—God remains in him and he in God. And we have come to know and to
believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in
love remains in God, and God remains in him. In this, love is perfected
with us so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, for we are as He
is in this world.” I wrote it after writing my essay “Love Wins” found here, and after
reflecting on the original that I released (hear it here).
In the original, I focus on the “confidence in the day of judgment” aspect, but
totally ignored the “one who remains in love . . . love is perfected” aspect.
This new version is the core of my theology and exegetical hermeneutic. In the
days since, I’ve realized that it is an extremely hard theology to live out,
but by the power of Jesus it is possible.
The second interlude, given by
Pastor Josh Ritchie of Sovereign Way Christian Church in Hesperia, CA, further
elaborates and expands on the prior song. It is taken from a sermon on 1 John
4:13-21.
“Who I AM (is)” comes next and
tries to paint a picture of God. It is based on the whole of the Bible, and
seeks to paint Jesus as the same as Yahweh. We don’t worship a different God as
believers in Jesus than the Israelites in the Old Testament did. I wrote this
in the summer of 2012, at the height of my spiritual journey thus far. It fits
with the theme of the album because as believers—running this race—we need to
know Who it is we worship.
“Garden” comes from John 15, and
also ties in Luke 8:4-15. I wrote this one in the summer of 2012 as well. John
15 discuuses vitality in the Christian life and relates it directly to intimacy
with Christ—comparing Him to a vine. Since Jesus compares humans to seeds
planted in Luke 8, I take them both together and ask that I would grow well,
letting God prepare my heart to be the fruitful soil. I actually wrote the
chorus to this song the week I met the Lord, back in 2010. It was one of my
first real prayers. As believers, we must stay close to Christ and trust Him to
grow us, even if some of His methods surprise us.
“Role Models” follows, because, it
seeks to thank some people who have been invaluable in helping me to stay close
to Christ. It is based on 2 Timothy 2:1-2, which says, “You, therefore, my son,
be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And what you have heard
from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be
able to teach others also.” I wrote this song sometime before fall of 2013,
before leaving the noteworthy (main portion of song) role models behind in
Southern California. They are still the greatest role models I’ve ever had, and
I’m excited to get back to them in about a month. The point: as believers we
need people to train us up in the faith.
“Fear Is” is based on Proverbs 1:7,
where Solomon says, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning
of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.” I wrote this in
2011 or 2012 when I was coming to terms with the concept of sola fide (faith
alone), and it encourages us to grow in wisdom by God. The greatest wisdom we
can find is to be humble, admit our sinfulness, and turn to Jesus in faith to
fulfill righteousness for us. The greatest theologians in history and modern
day have this understanding.
“What to Do?” speaks of the need
for evangelism, and living to back it up. It is based on 2 Corinthians 5:18,
20, “Everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and
gave us the ministry of reconciliation . . . Therefore, we are ambassadors for
Christ, certain that God is appealing through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf,
“Be reconciled to God.” As I wrote on Facebook a few weeks ago, “Based on 2
Corinthians 5:19-21, if you don’t speak about the gospel as a
believer—especially as a minister—and call for repentance and belief, you are
actually actively muzzling Christ.” I wrote this song originally in 2013 after
a breakup, when I found out that she hadn’t been a believer while we were
together (which ultimately explained the breakup). This song has grown more and
more pertinent to me throughout my last few years, as I’ve been at churches
where the Gospel is not explicitly preached. As the chorus says, “there’s a
million possible things that we can try, but only the gospel can change their
life,” which means, we don’t need programs or fads; we need Jesus, preached in
the gospel: bad news, good news, repent, believe! This explains the concluding
note from Pastor Mo Khazaal. Paul said the same in 1 Corinthians 9:16: “woe to
me if I do not preach the gospel!”
“Ammunition” follows, and verse 1
picks up where the prior song left off. Satan doesn’t want the Gospel preached.
Verse 2 elaborates on what the gospel actually teaches. And verse 3 is an
extremely personal verse reflecting on the specific time I wrote the song. The
song is based on James 4:7, “Therefore, submit to God. But resist the Devil,
and he will flee from you.” We submit to God by drawing near in prayer and
Scripture reading. By putting this in our minds, we have ammunition to use
against the Devil’s lies.
“Get Out” is based on 2 Timothy
2:22-26, and I’ll admit straight out that I’ve probably confused Satan with my
flesh in this song. The passage explains, “Flee from youthful passions, and
pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the
Lord from a pure heart. But reject foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing
that they breed quarrels. The Lord’s slave must not quarrel, but must be
gentle to everyone, able to teach, and patient, instructing his opponents
with gentleness. Perhaps God will grant them repentance leading ⌊them⌋
to the knowledge of the truth. Then they may come to their senses and
escape the Devil’s trap, having been captured by him to do his will.” I wrote
this song originally completely differently in the summer of 2012. I rewrote it
about this topic in the fall of 2015, but it reached it’s final form (only verb
tenses in verse 3 changing) after my breakup in March of 2016. As believers we
have all we need to ignore the lies of the devil/our flesh, but too often we
lazily prefer to follow our flesh.
The third interlude comes from
Pastor Stephen Feinstein of Sovereign Way Christian Church in Hesperia, CA. In
it, he proves my point above, about having all we need to resist Satan and
temptation, and also leads in to the next song, speaking directly about the
temptation I struggle with.
“Tearing Down the Walls” comes
next. It is based on a whole lot of verses, but the one I’m gonna quote here is
found in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. “For though we live in the body, we do not wage
war in an unspiritual way, since the weapons of our warfare are not
worldly, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We
demolish arguments and every high-minded thing that is raised up against
the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to obey Christ.” I wrote and
recorded this song in 2015, and it was quality enough at the time of release
that I left the phrase “three years of longing to be sexually pure” as “three
years” even though at this point it’s been 6 years of actively fighting, and
seven years of knowing I need to. I don’t spend an insane amount of time
reflecting on my sin; I try to lay out my understanding of Romans 7 in a
practical way, which is further elaborated on here, and is due for an
even lengthier treatment in the future. We must look to Christ, not ourselves,
to overcome sin in our lives.
“No Fear” is based on Hebrews 4:16.
“Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may
receive mercy and find grace to help us at the proper time.” The first verse
was written on August 2, 2015 while listening to a sermon where the pastor had
completely sucked the grace out of Psalm 51, which added to my depression
because he was also the one “counseling” me on sexual purity at the time. The
next two verses were written in the months that followed, reflecting on the
grace that God offers at His throne of grace. God wants us to pray to Him; as
believers, we must do it often.
“Trippin” is based on 1 John 1:8. “If
we say, ‘We have no sin,’ we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in
us.” I wrote this one toward the beginning of 2012, probably one of the first
songs from this album to be finished. As believers, we will never be free from
sin entirely in this life. As such we must be honest about it. At the same time
though, we aren’t excused from sin, because we have the Holy Spirit.
“What Did You See?” is not really
based on any specific passage, though passages do show up throughout it. I
guess the best verse to give that sums it up is Romans 5:10, “For if, while we
were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, ⌊then
how⌋
much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by His life!” The song,
especially the first verse, is heavy, as my intro states. I wrote the first
verse around the end of 2015 when I received news that an acquaintance from
youth group as a kid had gotten in a car accident and died on the spot. It made
me seriously think about my life and what I was doing with it. The last two
verses were written in early 2016, reflecting on my treatment by a church over struggles
I’ve faced for multiple years. The point of the song is ultimately that God
chose us when we were dirty and as such He can handle our sin now; He’s in
control and we can trust Him.
“Ask Me About My Father” is based
on John 3:16. “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only
Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal
life.” That simply sums up my Father. In addition, my first idea for this song
originated from my song, “Ask Me About My Savior,” from 2012. Perhaps “Ask Me
about My Keeper” will come out in the future? It serves as a happy conclusion
to the album, calling people again to believe in Jesus. It elevates the fact
that believers are adopted. It plays off the line from “Welcome to da Faith”
where I say, “We got the same Father, His name’s I AM.” Believers must know God as Father.
“But, that’s not the last song on
the album,” you protest. You’re right! “Somewhere, Someday” serves as a
postscript. It’s based off Matthew 6:33, which is one of the hardest verses to
practice in daily life. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” Verse 3 is the
most important, and I thought about changing the last line from “the sooner the
better—this is all true,” to “Your timing’s the best—this is all true,” but for
several reasons I kept it how it is. Here’s why: there’s no sin in desiring
marriage. First Corinthians 7 and Matthew 19 would agree with me. Keeping
Christ my primary focus is extremely hard, and it comes out in that concluding
line.
In conclusion, as believers, the
key is to keep our focus on Christ. Everything we do must be done “by the
Spirit, for the Father, through the Son / 1 Corinthians 10:31.” As you listen
to the album, I pray that it would help you to fix your eyes on Jesus. If you
don’t know Jesus, every song seeks to be evangelistic so I can welcome you to
da faith; trust Him today. Also, in listening to the album myself, I found a
factual error (the Bible says the exact opposite) in one of the songs. If
anyone can point it out to me also, I’ll do something (though I’m still
contemplating what). Maybe buy you lunch… J
Soli Deo
Gloria.
