Don't Blame Jesus » Rich

Podcast 41 – The Huntress, In The Night

Rich — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 05:49:21 +0000

This week we try out some new recording hardware. It is our hope that this new gear will make it easier for us to podcast and thus increase our frequency. Please forgive the rustling paper on the table top, we didn’t have any monitors so we didn’t know about it till after we were done.

Anyway, on with the show. This week…Rich introduces us to The Huntress by The Echoing Green and In The Night by 4-4-1. Then we look at Proverbs and the wise words of Solomon that inspired the lyrics. (Both songs are available on iTunes)

We talk about what the lyrics and verses mean, especially right here and now.

Hope that it encourages and challenges you.

Favorite New “Praise” Song

Rich — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:59:11 +0000

Maybe it is just me, a lot of “praise” music reminds me too much of elevator music, and lyrically is not all that sharp and rather repetitive. Kinda the opposite of what praise music should be like.

Found one that I love, the speaks to me everytime that I listen to it, and it is musically and lyrical gold.

You’ve have to buy the album “As The World Bleeds” by Theocracy to hear it, because it isn’t on youtube.

But check out the words.

I Am by Theocracy

I am the light upon your path when you have lost your way
I am the footprints in the sand the ocean’s tide can’t wash away
I am the shelter from the storm that rages on and on
The incorruptible foundation that the wise man builds upon
I am the bread that feeds a starving man upon the street
I am the bounty on the table in the palace at the feast
I am the rain upon the earth after a scorching drought
I am the the quenching of the thirst you never thought you’d be without

I am the melody that weaves it’s way inside your soul
I am the symphony, the masterpiece, the actor’s greatest role
I am the poetry that speaks to you with every rhyme
I am the songwriter who seems to write your life in every line
I am the simple truths that shaped your world from your birth
I am the vast volumes of knowledge spanning all across the earth
I am the whisper of the wind you feel but cannot see
I am the alpha and omega, first and last, eternity

I AM (you cannot see me)
I AM (the resurrection and the life, the doorway and the vine, I AM)
I AM (you cannot touch me)
I AM (the bread of life, light of the world, long before Abraham, I AM)

I am the trusting child whose simple faith is ever sure
I am the parent’s love, unchanging, unconditional and pure
I am the loyal friend whose heart will never let you down
I am the hand that pulls you back into the boat before you drown
I am the thunder and the glory and the blinding light
I am the still, small voice that tells you what is wrong and what is right
I am the sacrificial lamb a guilty world reviled
I am the father ever waiting for his lost and wayward child

I AM (you cannot see me)
I AM (the resurrection and the life, the doorway and the vine, I AM)
I AM (you cannot touch me)
I AM (the bread of life, light of the world, long before Abraham, I AM)

I am the heart of the righteous desire and the forth man you see in the midst of the fire
I am the giver of life and the promise of Israel
I am the the hope of the lonely and lost in the blood running down to the foot of the cross
I am the breaking of chains and the tolling of freedom’s bell
I am the notes that eternally ring in the music too holy for angels to sing
I am the fire on the altar consuming the sacrifice
I am the three and yet I am the one in the grace of the Father and the death of the Son
I am the one who redeemed you by paying the highest price

I am grace and mercy, I am sacrifice
I am endless glory, I am light and life
I am long-awaited hope of Israel
I am longing sated, prophecy fulfilled

I am from the beginning of time, an I am sustain the system of life
I am symmetry, reason and rhyme, and I am conviction that cuts like a knife

I am the author of order and flow
I am the Father of Lights; watch me put on a show!
I am the seeker of all gone astray
I am the keeper of souls ’til the end of all days

I am power, I am glory, I am love’s unending story
I am justice, I am honor, I am hope and living water
I am righteous, I am holy, I am free and one and only
I am sovereign, I am faithful, everlasting, I AM that I AM

I am humility, the one who laid it all aside
Traded a crown of kings for a crown of thorns, betrayed by human pride
I am humanity, took on your curse and all your pain
I am divinity, eternity, forever I remain

I am your guilty scars, as Roman soldiers tear my back
I am the crimson stain that washes all the souls faded to black
I am the one who bled in silence and endured it all
I am the Word who spoke no word, with a thousand angels waiting for my call

I am the covenant – your hero in the bloodstained pages
I am your guilt, your sin, you debt fulfilled for all the ages
I step into your shoes, your substitute
Your sacrifice
Your raison d’être (looked it up, (reason for existence))
Your second chance
Your breath of life
I AM

I am the joy of angels dancing in the streets of heaven
I am the sinner’s prayer for mercy and a past forgiven
I am the lamb upon the alter dying willingly
All hope that was
All hope that is
All hope to be
I AM

More Theocracy

Rich — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 17:40:48 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6Huy7Fonv4

Nailed

I’ve been working for my whole life to get to the other side
And try to achieve true righteousness
All the scourges and whips I cracked
The flesh I ripped off my back
It only led me to emptiness

Here I am, a broken man who’s done all that a man could do
And found that it’s only filthy rags
Monasteries, religious schools, indulgences, laws and rules
It all added up to nothing and darkness and death
Vanity, Heartache, and emptiness
Efforts all fading away
The flesh and defeat that it brings
‘Till You guide me and show me things
That my eyes have never seen before
As I burst forth from the belly of the beast
Never fight it anymore
For the burden on my life has been released
Nail it to the door

Solo: Val

Nailed these ninety-five things I’ve learned
They’ll say that I must be burned
For God has no place for heretics
All the things that they try to sell
It’s trickery straight from Hell
To turn it into a den of thieves

See these madmen peddling the wares of dead men’s souls
Collecting on a debt already paid so long ago
There’s fire in my spirit, and fire in their eyes
For now they’ll want to burn me alive
Yet freedom rings
Unworthiness is all I bring
The blood of Christ is all I claim
This grace revealed everything
That my eyes have never seen before
As I burst forth from the belly of the beast
Never fight it anymore
For the burden on my life has been released
Nail it to the door

This is from their latest album “As The World Bleeds.” The album is epic. Please click and listen. There is such driving and angst in the first verse dealing with our inability to make ourselves righteous or even right. Then it opens up beautifully on the chorus, such elation, when we realize that it is grace from faith in Christ that delivers it all for us.

One of those Strugglelicious Days!

Rich — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 03:00:04 +0000

I am frustrated to the Nth degree right now. They are cutting back the number of people per shift to make more profit and running as hard as I can, I can’t keep up with everything that I am expected to do. We need that extra person. One of my favorite managers got fired, and she will be missed. I checked on a new job that I really really really wanted. They just hired 4 new people and didn’t even look at my application.

So this song and lyrics fit. This is Sweden’s “Harmony” with “Inner Peace.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2w9yKaQhWo

Day after day
There’s struggle within me
To find my way
Through this oppression.To feel free,

I just want to know
Whom to lose and whom to keep near
Where can I go to avoid this sense of fear

Awake in my bed as
Time passes by
A war in my head raging. Tell me why?

Lord of all lords
King of all kings
Is there a place for inner peace?
Oh tell me please
Lord of all lords
Through eternities
I’m reaching for you I’m on my knees

They keep telling me
Who’s fool and who’s the wise
And how I should see
The surroundings through their eyes
Perplexed in my mind
But I’m trying to stand tall
I’m trying to find
My own path through it all

Awake in my bed as
Time passes by
A war in my head Raging tell me why?

Lord of all lords
King of all kings
Is there a place for inner peace?
Oh tell me please
Lord of all lords
Through eternities
I’m reaching for you I’m on my knees

… psalm 23…

Awake in my bed as
Time passes by
This war in my head still raging, tell me why?

Lord of all lords
King of all kings
I have to put my trust in you
What can I do?
Lord of all lords
Through eternities
I’m reaching for you Oh help me please

If you know the song “Darkest Hour” by Undercover, that says how I am feeling as well. There is a line in Darkest Hour. “I fall down to my knees, and all I know is Jesus please.”

Time for me to lean in to Jesus. I need a good dose of the Gospels and Psalms right now.

Podcast 34 – Behemoth & the Gospel

Rich — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 18:19:13 +0000

My son Graham had a special request. He has a bearded dragon named Behemoth. The name was taken from the book of Job. He wanted podcast on that passage and he wanted it put on CD so that he could listen to it again and again. So I took it on as a challenge, and Ken and I shared with him as well what he needed to know about life and the good news of Christ as well. It is a great gospel message and takes the gospel back to its roots. It is not just for Graham but for everyone. I hope that it challenges you and encourages you.

Podcast 33 – What… bear your cross?

Rich — Thu, 20 May 2010 23:18:03 +0000

One of my friends requested that Ken and I do a podcast on what it means to bear your cross. It has been a while in the making. But I believe that it will be worth it. It will definitely give you hope.

Podcast 32 – 1 Corinthians 15, Death and Hope

Rich — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 21:44:57 +0000

Do you have friends and family members with serious life threatening medical conditions? Have you thought about your own frailty and mortality? Ken and I look at some verses to give us hope. My father-in-law is in Intensive Care right now and it has been life and death for the last few days. That, and with Easter, looking at Christ’s Death and Resurrection really got me thinking. As always, I hope this encourages and challenges you.

Rich

Previously I mentioned Spire Comics — Got a Link!

Rich — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 19:40:38 +0000

http://www.carpsplace.com/spire/spire.htm

I mentioned some of these before. Spire Comics are Christian comic books from the 70s. Available are some biographical ones like Hiding Place and God’s Smuggler. Not every comic has been converted to .pdf. But some of them have, and you can download them for free. Enjoy.

Rich

Podcast 29 – Jesus asleep in your boat.

Ken — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 23:28:30 +0000

Today Rich and I discuss the passage in Luke Chapter 8 starting in verse 22 where Jesus and his disciples are crossing the sea of Galilee in a boat when Jesus lies down to take a nap and a storm suddenly comes up. As the disciples began to freak out it becomes a wonderful illustration for us on how we are to trust Christ when the storms rage in our own lives. After recording this podcast I was encouraged and Rich and I hope that you will be encouraged as well.

Wow! Thank God for the Finnish!

Rich — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 04:45:45 +0000

Ken and I are into music. The song that leads in and out of the Don’t Blame Jesus episodes is actually a worship song called “King Jesus” that Ken wrote.

So anyway, Ken was recently me showing a Christian Eurotrance band called “G-Powered” that comes out of Finland. Just beautiful. “With You” by G-Powered

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKkyVSyDsDQ

And while I was looking around on youtube for other Finnish Gospel music, I came across two songs by a band called “HB” that I had to share. Got to love some good Christian Finnish Metal

It amazes me that so many of “Christian” bands in the States seem to be saying less and less with their lyrics. I am glad to see that bands out there in other countries are proclaiming the good news boldly.

First HB video here is “It Is Time.” Challenging people to take advantage of the Gospel offered to them right now!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWxpgBUwO6c

I have included the lyrics to this second song below. Wow!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBvGQ60_p7I

HB “God Has All Glory”

When I was reborn, you gave your sign to me. The cross was the way and it says you’ll be with me… Day after day. I Heard you calling and felt that I had to seek you! And I finally realized. That your ways are so much higher than mine.

You know everything. Your wisdom and power exceeds all limits

God has all glory, power and honour! He came to save us. He gave His life for us! God has all glory, power and honour! He conquered death and brought us salvation.

You forgave all the things that were sin against You. It was so outstanding – my dark heart is so clean – You love me so! Now I want to serve you. Whatever You want, I will do. You have all the power thats why I can trust in You. Jesus. My Lord!

My life belongs to you, you promised to lead me and never leave me.

Richard