0 New Single “Shades of Grace”

Shades of Grace

Release Date: February 19, 2013

Today we released a new single, “Shades of Grace,” from the upcoming CD “White”. Think Sunday come ta meetin’, clap your hands and shake the rafters Gospel meets Americana; Tomlin plays Mellencamp. If you like this song please support the music by downloading from iTunes, Amazon, CD Baby or elsewhere! Thanks!

The colors of your love are plain to see
In the pure white wool of the lamb
That was slain for me
And the bright red blood
That was shed to wash away
All of my sin
Now you see me covered in
The shades of grace

Thanks again to the amazing Nick Garrett-Powell for producing, recording, playing organ, bass, electric guitar and singing harmonies. We were also joined on this song by the legendary Jim Sitter on drums, and the superbly talented Alex Goldman on violin, thanks, Jim & Alex!!

“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18 NIV)

You can view more details about this single on the discography page: View More Details


0 No Fishing Allowed

I was recently reading this passage in Micah 7, and was struck by the imagery of God hurling our sins into the deepest, dark depths of the sea.

Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea. —Micah 7:18-19

Have you ever seen the creatures that live at the extreme, dark depths of the ocean? Most of them are blind and fairly frightening to behold; definitely not something you would want to find at the end of your fishing line if you were to pull one up. I like this dual meaning to having our sins cast into the deep. Once there, they are not meant to be retrieved or pulled back up. Indeed it should be impossible to find them again down in the dark, where no light reaches, but if we were to somehow snag and retrieve them they would be ugly to behold—that is if they weren’t completely crushed to nothingness first by the extreme pressure and weight of the water at those depths!

With this in mind, I find it interesting that when we forgive others who have wronged us we often try to get away with only tossing the memory into the shallows at the very edge of shore. It’s like we want to be able to have them close at hand and easily accessible to fish them out whenever we want to revisit the hurt and feed the bitterness. But we are called to forgive just as God has forgiven us, to forget and remember their sins no more!

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. —Ephesians 4:31-32

I love this quote from Corrie ten Boom, who of all people had cause and perhaps according to the world’s standards the right to hold onto a grudge and harbor bitterness for her captors and tormentors.

When we confess our sins, God casts them into the deepest ocean, gone forever … Then God places a sign out there that says No Fishing Allowed! —Corrie ten Boom

This is the model we are to follow. We are to forgive and forget, cast the bitterness and anger into the deepest ocean and then obey the posted “No Fishing” signs!

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. —Colossians 3:12-13

I was inspired to start working on some song lyrics that speak of this “No Fishing Allowed” concept. Here are my initial thoughts that will perhaps change as the song is more fully formed.

If our forgiveness is no more
Than minnows in the shallows
Then we’ll be too quick to reel it in
When bitterness snaps its jaws closed
We’ll just reel it in
Instead of seven inches down,
Let seventy times seven fathoms drown
Our hurt, our anger, our sense of deep betrayal
Let the depths of the deep drag them down, down, down

No, there’s no fishing allowed
When we forgive those who’ve wronged us
Just like our Father forgives
We’re to leave it behind
Just forget about it
As far as East is from the West
That’s how far he has cast them away
All our iniquities sink into the depths of the deepest sea
The sign says, “No Fishing, Please!”

I find I take bitterness’ bait
Swallow hook line and sinker
When those ugly bottom feeders rise
I think to myself, “Look what’s for dinner”
But he has called us to release
Not to catch, release, then re-catch
Instead of angling for anger
Let’s let love for our neighbor be the day’s catch

Let’s let our bitterness sink
Into the depths of the deepest sea
Where the sign says, “No Fishing, Please!”

I for one am so thankful that God does not hold our sins in remembrance or pull them out and dust them off to remind us of our shame and guilt. No, instead he blots them out as if they never happened and remembers them no more!

I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. —Isaiah 43:25

He does not hold on to his anger or nurse a grudge, nor does he repay us according to what we deserve. Instead he sent his only Son to die in our place and pay the penalty for our sins, so that he could look at us and truly see us as spotless and blameless in his sight—for he sees the perfect white Lamb of his Son when he looks at those of us who are buried and hidden in Christ!

Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. —Psalm 103:2-5, 8-12

It’s not just a good idea to forgive others in this manner, but it is something that we are called to do.

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. —Matthew 6:14-15

And yet, even in light of these verses, we so often like Peter try to hem and haw or bargain with the Lord. What if I forgive them seven whole times? That is surely a great amount and I should be crowned a saint for my long-suffering and patience, right? I’ve already forgiven them so many times, and yet they still continue to hurt and wrong me. When is enough enough? Jesus reply is that we are to forgive again, even when it seems an innumerable number of wrongs have been stacked against us!

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. —Matthew 18:21-22

May this be a gentle reminder to all of us the next time bitterness comes knocking and we are tempted to cast our line into the shallows to reel it back out again. First we need to throw it out into deeper waters, and then we need to obey the posted limit—zero, No Fishing Allowed!

Scriptures to look up:

0 Precious Is The Blood

I wrote this song on April 24, 2005.

This song is slated to be on a few upcoming projects as it fits for both my Hymns project and Easter project. I’ve been inspired lately after hearing several recently “revived hymns” by artists like Owl City and Jadon Lavik. So I decided to put my hand to reworking some of the rich lyrical heritage found in so many hymns, and hopefully breathe some revival into these songs that, for many congregations, have been gathering dust. This is one that I had written awhile ago and fits along with some of the others like “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus” that I have done.

Instead of being a complete revisiting of an existing hymn, this song is more of a tip of the hat to the classic hymn by Robert Lowry, “Nothing But The Blood”, which is included briefly in the bridge. The rest of the song was inspired mostly from this passage in 1 Peter 1 that reminds us that we were redeemed and bought by the “precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.”

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God. —1 Peter 1:18-21

The song begins by painting the beautiful picture of Jesus being the sinless, perfect Lamb of God, who stepped down to become a man and pay the penalty for our sins.

In the image of a Lamb
Holy God stepped down
To become a man
But remain a spotless
Sacrifice

It is hard for us to truly understand or imagine what it must have been like for God to step down and leave heaven to come and dwell among us, and yet He did so for wretched sinners like us!

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! —Philippians 2:6-8

The chorus then reinforces the main theme from the passage in 1 Peter 1 that we were redeemed and bought by the “precious blood of Christ”.

How precious is the blood
That washes me, that crimson flood
Now I’m as white as freshly fallen snow
I am clean and forgiven
This I know

It combines this with the beautiful imagery from Isaiah that compares how clean we become, after being washed by Jesus’ blood, to pure white snow.

“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. —Isaiah 1:18

The song goes on in the second verse to offer thanks for Jesus’ amazing sacrifice on the Cross. In light of this amazing gift we recognize that, though once we were lost and separated from God by our sin, now we are found and His! That is such fantastic good news that we should shout for joy and celebrate!

For the gift of the cross
I humbly bow and give you thanks
For without You I was lost
Now I am found, I am Yours
I’ll celebrate

“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15) Truly how precious is the blood of our Savior that washes us clean!

The bridge neatly ties into the timeless lyrics of the traditional hymn, “Nothing But The Blood”, by Robert Lowry. It may have been penned in 1876, but is still just as relevant and true today! “What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus!”

So tell me what can wash away my sins?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
And what can make me whole again?
Oh, I say, nothing but the blood of Jesus

I hope you are encouraged and blessed by this song!

Truly, how precious is the blood!

You can listen to the audio for the single and find out more on the discography page or listen to the player below: View Discography

We also recently added a lyric video for the song that you can watch here: Watch Video Now

Scriptures referenced by this song:


0 Hope

I’m not talking about the kind of “hope” people normally mean when they say, “I hope it won’t rain today,” or “I hope I can find the perfect {job/wife/husband/car} (insert want/need/desire here).” That isn’t really hope at all! Those statements are already laced with doubt and in some cases cynicism that the thing “hoped” for won’t really happen at all.

The hope I am speaking of is not some wishy-washy soap bubble, ready to pop at the slightest disturbance. It is a strong assurance—the absolute expectation of coming good. In the original greek used elpiß or “elpis” means “a strong, joyful and confident expectation.” It is such a sure thing you could stake your life on it!

And indeed we have! For we have fled the sinking ship of the failed promises of this world to take hold of the firm hope of salvation through Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross once and for all.

Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged.Hebrews 6:17-18

Let me be clear. We should replace the word “hope” in that sentence with our established definition from above. We need to take hold of the firm assurance, the absolute expectation, of our salvation in Him.

He is our rock, our secure foothold and foundation; the anchor for our souls that keeps us from being tossed by the waves of life’s stormy seas. Let the winds and waves do their worst we are anchored by a hidden line below the turbulent waters to the solid Rock of Christ!

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek. —Hebrews 6:19-20

He is our unshakeable Bedrock who holds us steadfast and provides us a calm perseverance, a peace if you will, in the midst of the wild tumult. But do not lose heart and pull up the anchor too soon, lest you be swept away by the surging sea.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27

Ride out the storm, secured by your anchor in the unshifting Rock of our Savior. For His promises are true! When He said, “I will never leave or forsake you,” He meant it!

The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” —Deuteronomy 31:8

He can speak to the storms and the waves must obey when He says, “Peace. Be still.” Since He is the Creator of the very fabric of the universe, even the concept of the atom and the molecule, the elements have no choice but to obey Him! Why do we so quickly lose our faith in the sign of strong winds and when the waves are crashing down around us? It is then that we should all the more cling to Jesus as our source of strength, and look to Him to bring peace in the midst of the stormy seas of life.

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
Mark 4:39-41

Any storm or trial you are going through He has already experienced, so He can fully sympathize and come alongside us in those moments. There is no longer a veil between us, but we are able to come boldly before the throne of grace to seek mercy and find help in our time of need!

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. —Hebrews 4:14-16

So be still, and have hope!

Scriptures to look up: