Father of Lights
(click on the title to get a pdf chord chart of the song)
Psalm 63
David loves God. It is evident in this psalm. I want to be like this guy. He is desperate for God. He realizes that God is his strength, that he has to cling to God, that he will not make it if he doesn't have God. This is just like us, but David realizes this in a full extent here. He knows God will take care of evil men and that those who hold to God will find their reward: goodness and love.
Psalm 8
God is the creator of all things. When anyone looks at the stars, how can they not see that there is a God, a creator, who even in the expanse of the Universe, still created us, humans. God loves us. Every person is created to love and to be loved. God wants our love. That is why we are made, to love Him back. In all the vastness of creation, He still takes time to come to us, even when we don't want Him. Now that is love. I hope we can turn back to him and love him the same way.
Psalm 43
David turns to God to be his defense. Even when David feels defenseless and like God has left him, he turns to God to be what he needs. We can all learn a lesson here.
Matthew 5:3–16
When I was writing music to Scripture, I thought of some important sections that would be good to meditate on. This is sure one of those. Jesus is teaching some hard things for us, but as they are from God, they are good and true. We need to live meek, humble, even persecuted, as Jesus was. Jesus knows what's up. He wants His followers to really follow Him and be that tasty people, that city on a hill.
Father of Lights
In 2003, I went to Japan with my family to visit the World Fair. This was my 2nd time back to Japan, after my first time to study up in Akita. This was completely different. We were there, staying in hotels, and to learn about technologies that are “greening” up the world.
Being in a different environment, you never know just how you'll respond, or what you will think about. One of the mornings, the Sun was bright and bold, shining into our window. But, I thought, that is just a image of the brightness that God is, because He's the Father of Lights, the Creator of Lights. That made me think about James 1:17, where it says: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
God is definitely in the business of being good. He wants us to walk in the light. And that is to our benefit. How much evil happens in the dark? A lot. People are held accountable if they can be seen. God sees everything. God just wants us to do good. He wants His children to act like He does. That is just like every father. They want their kids to do good, imitate them and carry on a good, reputable name. That helps God so much. So much damage has been done to God by people claiming to be His, but they don't act like it.
We need to act like God's kids if we are gonna be God's kids. We need to be in the Light.
Psalm 42
Many scholars think psalm 42 and 43 were played as one psalm. They show similar characteristics. But one thing is true, David depends on God. Even when his own soul gives up on him, he puts his hope in God.
Salmos 134
I was sitting outside on the patio of my host family in the Dominican Republic when I found a melody. I had my bible close by, so I grabbed it and found that salmos 134 fit very well to the tune. And that is pretty much how this song came to be.
You Are The Standard
It really is amazing to me how God made everything. That is what this song is about. It is also about how God made world, the physics or it all, the emotions I feel, and the rules we live by. It is much better to follow them that not to.
The Lord Disciplines The Ones He Loves
Discipline is the one way a parent can really show they care. If a parent lets a child do what ever the child wants to do, they are not protecting them from the dangers that are all around, giving the child wisdom that they have learned through their years. I'm not talking about the oppresive, persona squelching type of over bearing parenthood (even though some kids may think any discipline is just that), but the love that says, you are going to hurt yourself if you do this and I'm going to give you a little pain to deter you so you don't cause more pain.
Discipline also builds trust. It builds those walls that we need to depend on for security. When there is no discipline, we have no way to know that what we are doing is right. The end result is an insecurity throughout our whole life.
Psalm 95
Psalm 95 was my very first attempt at writing to scripture. The story behind why I started to write songs using scripture goes like this. I had a friend, named Josh Herbert, who in high school, wanted to write songs to the whole length of psalms, and his band would be called Psalmist. Well, he never did it, and I was getting in to writing music. I was also getting in to reading my bible. The two clicked and it seemed to work. The songs were never really singable, but they help me and my friends remember the bible better, so they accomplished their purpose.
I can just imaging David and a bunch of Israelites dancing when he was singing this song.
Romans 12:9–21
I had written a few songs from scripture before I came to the point of writing this song. I was looking for some new material, something I could divide up well, and for some reason (I'd say the Holy Spirit's prompting) I was led to Romans. And the rest is history.
Fall time in MN
Seasons change. We all change. That is part of life. What is the one thing that keeps us going on? Love. And I have found God's love to be the most compelling reason to live life on this earth.
Salmos 133
A small secret is that I love electronic music. I thought it would be cool to try to put one of these psalms to an electronic pop. This and the Psalm 63 electronic are the outcome of this.
Psalm 63 (electronic)