Blessings vs burdens... my prayer this morning

God, you are amazing and perfect in all ways. I am ashamed for the times that I think I know better than you. Please forgive me of my pride and selfishness. Please lead me to find forgiveness from those I have hurt.

I desire to be part of Your kingdom here on earth and not just wait around for death. You have given me so many blessings in the form of the people you have surrounded me with. On the other hand, with my physical blessings, it is hard for me to know what is beautiful and what is actually a curse. I desire to live simply and share the financial blessings you have given me before I get too used to seeing them. Once familiarity sets in, it is much like a disguise, and I am unable to differentiate the blessings from the burdens.

Examples related to my last post...

Here are two examples of people who have taken powerful action as a result of what they believe. They, like me, would probably feel pretty uncomfortable being lumped in with most fundamentalist Christians, but it is safe to say they are moved by a fundamental belief that Jesus' commands to His followers are to be taken very seriously since He is the One true God.

1) I've been very inspired by George Muller who gave up any form or salary whatsoever and refused to solicit people for funds, yet somehow (miraculously?) he was able to care for 10,024 orphans before he died. He truly gave up everything we would consider worthwhile to gain so much more.

Reading George Muller's biography has really influenced the way I want to live. You can read shorter excepts about his life by just looking him up on Wikipedia or google.

2) In the case of Tom Davis and the Red Letter Campaign, the idea seems to be taking action based on the red letters commands of Christ. I have yet to read the book, but from getting the chance to see Tom's blog I understand that this belief has given him a sense of urgency for orphan care. This sense of urgency is slightly different to me than the typical world relief worker who just wants help when it works out for them. Both are very needed and appreciated though. I just differentiate because I rarely see people just get up and go to Africa on a whim unless it is for something greater than good works.


In an age where it is more comfortable to view the Word of God as figurative compared to the traditional understanding of Scripture, the question I ask myself is if I take the word of God literally enough compared to many traditional churches who never had the balls to act upon Scripture as truth.

In case there is any question, I want to clarify that the finger I'm pointing is at myself. I've been blessed enough to obtain many physical assets in my life, and I know it's time to start putting those things to use for people who deserve them. It's a challenging yet very exciting time for me. Feel free to push me further in this direction and call me out in areas where I am weak.

Is this too blunt?

Some people argue that fundamentalists Christians take the Bible too literally and that makes them exclusivist jerks. I would argue that most fundamentalists don't take the Bible literally enough, and that is why everyone thinks they're jerks. If not one single fundamentalist stored for himself riches and instead lived his life in service of the poor and oppressed, then I don't think anyone could really hate them for what they believe.

In fact, if I'm allowed to define what I mean by the term fundamentalist, then I hope to be one someday; someone who takes action as a result of believing in the literal truth of what Jesus said.

Lambesis Studios

For those of you interested in checking out the latest happenings at my studio then go see our new blog www.lambesisstudios.blogspot.com.  There is a hilarious new post about our friends Sworn Enemy that recently recorded there.

Lust, Pride, and Simplicity

Lust is clearly tied to pride (and no, this is not the beginning of my new hip-hop lyrics).  We/I lust after things we can't have but don't really want them as much as we just want to know we could have them.  Actually, I usually want to take it a step further and fully attain what it is my selfish nature desires before I realize that I don't want it.

Everything we obtain in life comes with something attached.  The typical saying is that it's impossible to find something good with no strings attached.  Unfortunately, that phrase is usually what old business men say and it is rarely used in the context of the three major sins of our selfish nature.  The lust of eyes may bring us to find fancy new electronics, but they come with a price tag as well as serious time investment that begins to control our lives.  The lust of the flesh may bring me to a buffet, but I can't eat all that food and feel ready to win a speed race directly afterward.  And, finally, the pride of life may convince me that I've got some pretty damn good plans for myself before I realize that I would have been happier all along having followed God' will.

You can simply call it consequences if you want to spare yourself the description.

True freedom and joy will arrive when I not only know but also act upon the fact that simplicity and submission of control are more powerful than anything my lust and pride can find.

Long time no post

Sorry for the delay in posting.  Things have been really busy around here between the holidays, recording for the As I Lay Dying DVD, the mini Austrian Death Machine tour, and the current U.S. As I Lay Dying headlining tour.  However, you can start expecting a more regular update on this site as well as other websites I am affiliated with.  Thank you so much for all of your thought-provoking comments and questions.  I look forward to hearing more from you in the future.

 

good questions & lyric explanations

I've been keeping in touch with a fan and new friend who always has though provoking questions for me. This time I thought I would share his question and my answer since it's not always easy to know exactly what I'm writing about in lyrics to As I Lay Dying songs.

(((Austin wrote)))
since we are kind of on the subject of As I Lay Dying I always wanted to ask you about one of the new songs... I have been able to get the deeper meanings from all of your songs on all three of the main albums, but one song, actually two songs I have been struggling to understand the exact intention of your writting... sooo the songs are "an ocean between us, and forsaken" if you could just explain to me the main idea behind each of them, that would be sweet man.

(((my response)))
Symbolically, "An Ocean Between Us" is about a person waiting for a ship to come and rescue him. I use that to express the idea that the ship will never come just like the dreams of society that will never bring us fulfillment. We're taught to love certain things and spend our time chasing certain goals, but who cares about that stuff if that's not what you want. In my experiences, the suggestions of the "American dream" or mainstream thinking are very empty. In fact, what I want is far from (or at least should be) those things. There is an seemingly endless ocean of space between us. One practical example is the fact that most top 10 artists want to talk about how powerful they are, how much bling they have, or how many booty shaking ladies are chasing them around. I believe that God is found in the hearts of the weak, poor, oppressed, and those who suffer the injustices brought upon them by others.

That brings me to the song "Forsaken." That song is about those people who we turn our back on and try to pretend like they don't exist. In my case, I was picturing orphans. We turn our backs on them, and while we do so we tend to chase luxuries that will bring us a sense of comfort. Unfortunately, luxuries fail to bring us the feeling of family that even someone else's child would bring us. So, while we've forsaken the poor and oppressed of this world in pursuit of "happiness" we too ended up alone.

Here are the lyrics to these two songs below...

An Ocean Between Us
how many years have we waited
for a ship that never set sail?
and how many days have we wasted
chasing a love that was not our own?
i sat ashore and watched
as one hopeless wave crashed upon another
while my thoughts ran to the highest hills
my heart never reached the sea
with only delusions of an endless journey
i am left with an ocean between you and me

is this your salvation?
is this all you can give?
i will not stand in reflection
of someone else’s dream

the gate to my heart has been weld shut
with the splendor of my aspirations closed in
how many years have we waited
for a ship that never set sail?
and how many days have we wasted
chasing a love that was not our own?

is this your salvation?
is this all you can give?
i will not stand in reflection
of someone else’s dream

Forsaken
i’ve looked straight into your eyes
and turned my head for the last time
because i was scared to leave these walls in ruin
like the fate of those who trust in themselves
we are alone and afraid

i know you are the one we left behind
yet somehow we are the ones who are alone

i will no longer turn my head
i will never forget you
you are the one we left behind
you are the forsaken

we’ve built our confidence
on broken dreams now left for dead
yet we’ve been condemned
to chase these dreams that never end

our selfishness consumes us
until the whole world is not enough
forgive the day that i erased your name
for it’s the memory of me that will decay

i know you are the one we left behind
yet somehow we are the ones who feel alone