His albums further increase in sophistication of lyrics and the influence of TobyMac’s style is clearly evident on his third album. My favourite song in that album is “Only Water,” a chilling song about the theme of water in the Bible and brings that to our daily observations. It’s a bit melancholic and nostalgic in tone and I have to be careful not to let these emotions get to me at times or I’ll get depressed and that’ll defeat the purpose of his songs. Here’s the chorus:

And it washes over me

Like a single river stone

Changes everything

But has no power on its own

It’s only water

Brandon posted three biographies updating to each album. His third was sadly mostly about his awards and sales achievements instead of the actual album and the background stories. My favourite biography was the second, especially the beginning that captivated my lingering mind and heart:

Brandon Heath likes the little moments.

Those opportunities to observe, process and act upon what he witnesses in the world surrounding him are the primary traits of a great songwriter

I love how he words this and the fact that it’s true makes me love his personality even more. I really love his videos where he shows his caring and humourous side from the “What If We” series to questions and answers from fans to live sessions. The only regret that I get is probably that his indie albums are not available. Nevertheless, if you hear me Brandon, please never stop getting down to the personal level with people no matter how famous you become, because that’s why fans fell in love in the first place. I still remember when he gave out his cell number in his first album. I just pray now that God would continue to fulfill His will in him and his musical ministries.

He is what I call a real Christian and a real human being.

Leaving Eden (2011)

Life has changed a great deal for Brandon Heath since the release of his 2008 sophomore album What If We. The success of that project, fueled by the massive No. 1 single “Give Me Your Eyes,” catapulted Heath into the consciousness of Christian music fans.

With a true songwriter’s gift of making the personal universal, Heath became a voice you wanted to listen to, both in terms of tone and content of his words. And he’s been rewarded for that work with numerous trips to the Dove Awards stage to claim trophies, including two consecutive years (2009 and 2010) as the Gospel Music Association’s Male Vocalist of the Year.

When it came time for the GRAMMY-nominated artist to begin crafting the songs that make up this newest effort, titled Leaving Eden, one would assume his most comfortable part of the job – songwriting – would fall right into place. Fueled by collaboration, Brandon turned to his friends and fellow co-writers to help shape the new material. His first co-writing session was with award-winning songwriter/producer Jason Ingram, who previously teamed with Heath on their GMA 2009 Song of the Year hit, “Give Me Your Eyes.” The result is Leaving Eden’s first radio single, “Your Love.”

“Because of the success of the last song we had written together, on my way over there, I was feeling a little bit of pressure, and I think Jason was, too,” Brandon says. “But we prayed and asked God to give us His direction. We felt He wanted us to keep it simple and talk about His love. It was the first song written for the album and exactly the push I needed.”

However, following the inspired birth of “Your Love,” Brandon notes a steeper hill climbed in the creation of the rest of the project. “A lot of these songs came about with a little bit of struggle, with moments when I had no idea what God wanted me to say, but that said, my favorite songs on the album are now the ones I wrote at the last minute, and with the most effort.” Brandon says.

Along with taking great effort in the lyrical development, Heath also desired to present a slightly different sonic side to the music on Leaving Eden. The opener and title track kicks in with big tom beats introducing the lyrical keystone “…one more step away…”, nodding at the more muscular sound of the rest of the album.

“I wanted to bring more beats,” he continues. “This is the most pop I’ve ever gone, with post-hooks after the chorus, a very modern pop thing to do. But it was really cool to kinda be in the moment of what music is doing, but also make my own contribution and attempt to push the envelope in Christian music.”

Heath and Muckala and their cast of session players succeed, wrapping Brandon’s voice in a variety of settings from the epic moments of the title track to the acoustic quiet of “Only Water,” co-written with Country music’s CMA and ACM Award-winning Song of the Year writer Lee Thomas Miller. It’s evident in the gritty, New York City-inspired big chords on “Stolen,” the horn-driven strumminess of “It’s No Good To Be Alone,” and the beat-laden challenge of “The One,” which asks the listener to consider what if they’re the one that can help change the world.

Thematically, when Heath approached titling his new 11-song collection, he leaned into the project’s opener. The concept of “Leaving Eden” speaks to a new awareness in Heath’s life, as well as a continuation of his career-long focus on reconciliation.

“The album opens with the title track stating the obvious pain in the world, by just reading the headlines. With the state of things around us, it’s clear we’ve left Eden,” he says. “And what did Adam and Eve want? What was the temptation in eating that apple?”

“They already knew good, but now they had knowledge of both good and evil.”

“I must first mourn the loss of Eden’s innocence in my own life, acknowledge sin and move forward in repentance,” he continues. “I think rediscovering and preserving innocence is part of the umbilical cord that attaches me to God. The life support is still there.”

At the same time, even amidst innocence being slowly chipped away, Brandon Heath knows the world can be changed, even if it’s just one decision at a time.

“I feel like I have a choice not to eat the apple anymore, and to protect what little innocence is still left in my life. Once reconciled with the fall of Eden, I’d love to celebrate the goodness in the world, and that’s what the rest of the songs on the album talk about,” Brandon says.

Leaving Eden represents that important step forward for Heath, as artist, as singer, as chronicler of the world around him. Through this remarkable collection of songs, he reminds us — moment by moment, decision by decision – of the hope given to us. Although we often may feel the weight of the world pushing in, by looking back and leaning on the One who created us, can we truly experience that burden lifted.

What If We (2008)

Brandon Heath likes the little moments.

Those opportunities to observe, process and act upon what he witnesses in the world surrounding him are the primary traits of a great songwriter, something Heath continues to showcase on his second Reunion Records release, What If We.

Even the album’s title grew up out of one of those little moments, a conversation Heath was having with a mentor that sent the Nashville native, now Houston resident, spinning off into thought.

“Every part of that phrase, ‘what if we,’ is important,” Heath says. “I don’t even look at it as incomplete – dot, dot, dot – because the ‘what if’ part is about possibilities, obviously. But the ‘we’ part is saying, ‘let’s do this together, let’s not do this alone.’”

“One of the things that bothers me about this world is that we’re all in this for ourselves. We’re looking out for number one. I don’t want to be alone, I want to live life with other people. God even says it’s better to join together in service to Him.”

Community is at the very core of who Brandon Heath is both as a private person and public figure. He shares this idea with friends and followers alike, both of which have grown considerably since the release of his 2006 debut project Don’t Get Comfortable which produced national touring and multiple radio hits, including the No. 1 blockbuster song “I’m Not Who I Was.”

Heath has garnered professional accolades, to be sure, with the success of songs like “I’m Not Who I Was” also generating the steam that earned him multiple Dove Award nominations in 2008, including taking the trophy home for New Artist of the Year. He was also nominated for Songwriter of the Year and Song of the Year for “I’m Not Who I Was.”

Heath has also been able to take that public platform and merge it with his heart for community, working with Young Life, Blood:Water Mission, Restore International and unofficially many other human rights agencies on the larger global scale, even turning his attention to trials near his hometown of Nashville. After parts of the city and surrounding areas were ravaged by a string of tornadoes in April 2008, Brandon quickly organized a highly-effective benefit concert for the storm victims, evidence of living big in the little moments.

But even as success as an artist started to come his way, Heath knew that his personal, creative satisfaction was always going to come in the form of his songwriting. And where many new artists get caught up, for good or ill, in the swirl of activity surrounding that first record, Heath buckled down and maintained his focus on the talent and skill that brought him to the table in the first place.

“One of the things I think was good about the season around the first record is that I didn’t stop writing,” Heath says. “Going out and singing songs every night was kinda something I initially dreaded, but I loved it way more than I thought I would, which is why it took me so long to become an artist because I wasn’t sure I wanted to perform for a live audience.”

“But my first love is songwriting,” he continues, “so I wrote and wrote and wrote. I wrote with my favorite songwriters, and I wrote with some people I had always wanted to write with but was too afraid to ask. I put myself out there a little bit more this time.”

Heath, both working solo and together with co-writers, wrote more than 40 songs in preparation for What If We, and of the 11 that finally made the cut, it’s fascinating to take a look at how many deal with those little moments — moments of loneliness, of triumph, of questioning, and of longing.

Heath admits the process of collaboration with people like Jars of Clay’s Dan Haseltine, Charlie Lowell, Stephen Mason, and Matt Odmark, plus award-winning writers Jason Ingram and Chad Cates, helped draw out and sharpen those individual moments. “I think the great thing about collaborative songwriting is that you can take some of their life experiences and meld them with your own, and come up with some truly original thoughts.”

And so songs like “Give Me Your Eyes,” about God letting us see the world as He sees it (which was born out of yet another little moment opportunity; people-watching at an airport) and “Sunrise,” about holding out hope through what seems to be one’s darkest period, and “Fight Another Day,” about identifying those situations where seeing trouble through to the other side is the best option, grew up out of those collaborations, taking Heath’s ideas and observations and sharpening them for maximum impact.

“There are things I wanted to say on this record that I wouldn’t have been able to without the help of another writer. In turn, you’re getting to help support them in what they do, but you’re also bettering your own art in allowing other people to help mold what you do,” Heath continues. “The other part of songwriting is relationships, and I think that’s what the human experience is all about. So what better place to draw from than relating to someone in a room? You inevitably get into a conversation about the song that you’re writing, and you get these great moments.”

On the sonic side, Heath and producer Dan Muckala set the course for What If We with a purposeful groove, letting Heath’s voice convey both story and emotion as primary instrument, but also paving the way for a certain kind of sound. That intentional sound came out of what Heath was feeding himself, from a pop culture perspective, as the songs were coming to life.

“We had some songs that had a real Brit-rock feel to them, but I had been watching all these movies that were set in the West, dark movies like There Will Be Blood and 3:10 to Yuma. These films showed a period in our country where society was still figuring out wealth – oil, gold, land – and what order was going to look like, because we were still civilizing ourselves,” Heath says. “Dan and I both started thinking, let’s put something that sounded a little more American on there, let’s put more growly guitar on it, more Stratocaster than Rickenbacker.”

Tracks like the autobiographical “Wait and See” with it’s updated country shuffle, the power pop of “Sore Eyes” and the crunchy anthem “Trust You” line up right alongside What If We’s quieter material, like the abject love songs “London” and “Listen Up” and the album’s emotional core “No Not One,” co-written with Christy Nockels, formerly of Watermark and current Passion worship-leader.

“I love Christy’s voice,” Heath says. “It has always compelled me and I’ve always wanted to write with her. When it comes to Christian music, I think any conversation about vocalist-of-the-century has to have her in it.”

Its relationship experiences like these that have led up to this moment in Heath’s career. “All great ideas start with the phrase ‘what if we’,” Heath notes. “If anything, I love a title that’s a good conversation starter, but can catch people off guard. It is a little bit left of center.”

But it’s those times of being left of center, of being just a bit off kilter, or outside the comfort zone of the everyday, that make us stop, think, and take stock in the little moments all around us.

It makes us wonder…what if we…

Don’t Get Comfortable (2006)

Brandon Heath is a songwriter’s songwriter. Although his debut album, Don’t Get Comfortable, hosts an arsenal of pop-rock tunes that are as smart as they are catchy, Heath wants more than mere pop-stardom.

“Music, for me, has always been about the songwriting,” Heath says. For him, songwriting is a lifestyle, not merely a necessity of building a pop career. Therefore, he’s destined to be a power player in the music scene for years to come.

“When I listen to a song, I really want the lyrics to actually mean something,” he says. “There are a lot of songs out today that aren’t very positive—alluding to sex and rebellion. It takes more skill to write a song with a message or story, and I appreciate the skill of good songwriting.”

Unlike most musicians living in “Music City,” Heath was born and raised in Nashville, Tenn., using the city’s rich musical history to influence him in a variety of ways.

“This is a songwriter’s town,” he says. “There’s something about this town that really creeps into your creativity—whether it’s being influenced by other people or by being influenced by Southern culture.”

Heath is set on contributing to the Southern hospitality. A few years ago, he and his roommates moved to a lower income neighborhood in Nashville, and they’ve made it a point to join a community very much unlike the one in which they were raised. Although Heath’s heart for missions and those living in poverty has recently taken him around the world to places like India and Ecuador, he has realized that there is a mission field right outside his front door. “For most of my life, I’ve never had the perspective of a poor person,” he says. “A couple of years ago, I noticed how often Jesus talked about the poor and being among the poor. It’s forced me to lower my expectations of what I think I need.”

Heath’s music is also influenced by his hometown. Most of the music that inspires him today is made by Nashvillians like Ryan Adams, Josh Rouse and Matt Wertz (who is actually Heath’s roommate). When Heath began playing guitar and writing songs as a 13-year old, it was thoughtful songwriters like Sting, Shawn Colvin and David Wilcox who inspired him the most. That and the Bluebird Café. Heath had his first experience at the famed Bluebird Café, a legendary Nashville hotspot for songwriters, as a teenager. More than the great music, the camaraderie between the songwriters grabbed hold of Heath. In a community of songwriters, he noticed, the songs became bigger than mere songs. They were about shared experiences and lives that are bound together in true friendship.

“It was the way they created together, hung out together, went on vacation together,” he says. “When they were talking about their songs, they were talking about their stories. That was something that I noticed and I wanted immediately.”

Also during his teenage years, Heath was invited to attend a Young Life camp. Although he didn’t grow up in the Christian faith, he agreed to go, simply because he’d always wanted to go to summer camp. “I heard about Jesus for the first time,” he says. “It was Young Life that showed me Christ and got me plugged in to a church.” After high school, Heath became a leader at Young Life camps and is still involved in Young Life throughout the US.

After years of longing for the same musical community that he witnessed at the Bluebird Café, he began to find it in college. Over the next few years, Heath became close friends and songwriting partners with the likes of Bebo Norman, Matt Wertz, Dave Barnes, Chad Cates, Philip LaRue and Ben Glover. He finally found the songwriting camaraderie for which he’d longed.

“We all create with each other,” he says. We’re able to work together toward the same goal.”

He began to write songs for other artists, including Norman, Joy Williams and Christopher Williams. One summer while leading worship at a Young Life camp, Heath began to develop a passion to be more than a songwriter. “I saw how people reacted to not only the songs but also to how I sang them,” he says. “I wanted to be the one to share the songs myself.”

Don’t Get Comfortable is Heath’s major label debut, and it is the culmination of all of his years studying the songwriting greats. Super-producer Dan Muckala (Backstreet Boys, Nick Lachey, The Afters) uses his pop music dexterity to mold earthy songwriting into the stellar sound that rises above the clutter of mindless radio pop without losing its larger than life hooks.

The first single off of Don’t Get Comfortable is “Our God Reigns,” which Heath has been playing in churches for several years already. He wrote it shortly after the United States went to war in Iraq in 2003. During a time of anxiety about war and national security, Heath had a revelation about the Lord’s sovereignty. “I decided that I can’t put my faith in man,” he says. “I have to put it in God.”

The most personal song on the album for Heath is “I’m Not Who I Was.” “It’s about forgiving someone in my past,” he says. “I don’t know where they are now, but I need to forgive them whether they want it or not.”

He says that this is the song that connects the most with his fans. “People have said that it gives them permission to forgive someone that they have been unable to forgive. For me, moving someone to think about their life is the biggest reward as a songwriter.”

Heath’s heart for youth and Young Life becomes most clearly evident on “You Decide,” a song written as an encouragement and challenge for his Young Life kids. “It’s about all the decisions they have to make in their life. There are tough choices to make at 15-years old.”

With its intelligent pop pre-eminence, Don’t Get Comfortable is an album sure to be only the first chapter for Brandon Heath, the truest of songwriters who has finally taken his rightful place behind the mic.

Here’s a list of the people I’ve met and I’ll write in detail further down:

Tim Stewart, his friend, and the elderly lady on the ferry to Galiano (they’re going to Mayne)

Strange old man in the visitor info booth on Galiano

Nice older couple on way to Mt Galiano (they just hiked up and told me I could do it in 45 minutes instead of 1 hour suggested… I did it in 35.)

Owner/server at Montague Harbour Cafe (who firmly refused to sell me food 30 minutes after 5pm closing time)

Ron Ladd of Galiano Kayaks

Nice couple who came in their boat to Montague Harbour

Nice old man in Georgina Point Lighthouse Park (had a friendly chat and said goodbye on the road back too)

Friendly touring cyclist going from Mayne to Salt Spring (shared experience on Pender. Her husband left early for work.)

Strange old cyclist with beat-up bike from Victoria who commented on Calgary

Waitress and Chef at Hope Bay Cafe

Engineer from Victoria at Hope Bay Cafe (working on his blueprint while having a burger)

Garth of Pender Island, a physicist who worked at Kodak at Gilmour (he biked down to Otter Bay to “visit” and stopped to chat with me on his custom bike he made himself. He got this carbon composite frame and put it together while leaving room to put fenders in.)

Ed of Pro North in Whitehorse, Yukon coming with his family to their land on Pender

Friendly woman showing me around Sidney on the map on the ferry to Swartz Bay

Darryl Albert of Saanich in Swartz Bay. He wants to move to Central America when he retires I should send him “Wendy Don’t Go to Mexico”

Two road cyclists in full gear going to Ganges and back for the day.

Kyle of Fulford in Morningside Organic Bakery Cafe & Bookstore who is thinking about offering a bike painted in pink for tourists just around Fulford (he was the guy walking around half naked…). He moved here and seemed very hippie but fit.

Girl from Victoria just biking around Salt Spring for the day. She stopped in Morningside for awhile too.

Salt Spring Island Cheese folks

Barbara Slater. She bakes muffins and goodies for travelers on Beaver Point.

Luke Hart-Weller of Copperwood Gallery. Heather called him a “sweetheart” and it’s true.

Heather and her friend of Salt Spring Island Bread

John and Lavern of Victoria

Dr Bill Hunter of Victoria. A dentist from Fernwood. He told me stories of bike tours in Kentucky and the Baja. He talks about his niece a lot, who apparently worked with Level Ground coffee and fair trade stuff. He camped with her in Strathcona Park in the winter and other places. He recommended me Soto stoves. He also visits Hazelton a lot with friends.

Bryan, Anna, and the McGill Outdoor Club alumni, Victoria Chapter.

Courtenay and her boyfriend trying to be a dentist who came by scooter at 60km/h. They shared smores by the campfire

German counselor of Beaver Point Road. She had a garage sale and offered me Ometepe Coffee and lives with her retired husband and children.

Cam and Tien of Commercial Drive.

John of Mt Maxwell Coffee

Everyone at Saturday Market

2 brothers playing folk music: fiddle, guitar, singing

Salt Spring Island Coffee girl

Wise old mathematician and physicist showing me San Juan Islands. He toured them on a bike a few decades ago.

Swedish girl and her friends of Strathcona who were biking on Galiano

My campsite neighbours, John and Lavern, are a retired couple from Victoria. They packed up an 8-person tent and a gazebo in their van. John told me he made about 20 trips with the wheelbarrow provided in the park to set up his site. They were a nice friendly couple who had everything you can imagine that exists in a camp: a raised queen air bed, a hot water heater for their showers, a gas stove, chairs, coolers, and even table cloth. They cooked a hearty stew dinner of ground beef, potatoes, and carrots, and even invited me to join them. I felt very welcomed and shared some fresh olive whole wheat bread from Salt Spring Island Bread and brownies from Barbara Slater who bakes out of her home on Beaver Point Road and sells it outside her house using the honour system. I felt a sense of community and neighbour interaction that truly lacks in the city. This is really where you really learn what it means to “love your neighbour as yourself.”

When I initially came in the site, I saw John and immediately said hi and a conversation was started. We ended up talking for an hour or two until dinner time on the windy shores of Ruckle Park. We talked about everything from our travels, families, plans, and even religion. I said I was planning to go do gospel outreach this summer. John was curious about which denomination I go to. I told him it is an independent church not affiliated with any headquarters, just following the Bible, but I guess it’s like a Brethren type of church. He then began his story growing up labeled a Catholic in Nova Scotia. He was obviously not pleased about the situation of organized religion and told me it was good I’m going to an indie church. He pointed out the priests, the Catholic church, and all the horrible unmentionables they had done to kids, students, members, and especially Aboriginals. He told me he and his wife never again took their kids to church.

He often questioned about their practice of banning the Bible from the public and Catholicism classes in university. I told him he was right to question and were not wrong in demanding some explanations. I commented on the perversion of the Roman Catholic Church from true Christianity and even added pagan and other practices. He commented even the pagans may be better than the Catholics. I can’t argue about the distaste of religion John has experienced. I said that really, the Catholic Church is more about politics, money, power, family relationships, alliances than actual faith. I told him about my readings about Jesus and how He was actually not a right-wing religious nut like many perceived. I shared about my findings how His timing on earth was with the self-righteous and hypocritical Pharisees and Sadducees. When Jesus stood up for what He believed in, which was really for the right thing and not according to appearances and rituals, the sects plotted to put Him to death. John commented that if Jesus came today, it would probably be the same thing. I agreed.

He mentioned he had two sons, both in commerce like himself, but he said they both inherited his wife’s people skills. He talked about their family trip to South America, Ecuador and Peru, when the sons were 21 and 19. It was relatively cheap compared to Europe and more adventurous. The couple also went to Australia, Malaysia (Lavern’s favourite destination), and all over North America. His sons went to Europe and one of them wanted to go to Taiwan to teach English but got a job at a local hotel earning big bucks while still living at home. The other son turned down a BC Ferries marketing job that was slashed in the recession for a good private industry job. I think either one or both of their sons are married and have kids now.

I felt really sorry for John and his family. They seemed to have a comfortable life now and I am glad for that. But the fact was he was banned from reading the Bible and that his distaste of religion turned him away from seeking the truth in Christ. He said he read books about other religions but not really into any in particular. I am praying for him and his family. I hope that my testimony was beneficial and leading to their eventual salvation.

“I hope you meet God on your travels too.”

This is just a preview of my full post on my bike tour adventures of the southern Gulf Islands. While God has definitely been with me all the steps or should I say pedals of the way, the readings that I did while on my bike tour has been tremendously impacting while I was on tour and after.

Every morning, I would get up in my tent, turn on my iPad to read a portion from the Bible. As I mentioned probably 20 times by now, my new year’s resolution was to know Christ more intimately and to more like Him. One of the ways I have been trying to pursue that was to focus my Bible reading on the gospels first, since that was the setting where Jesus was mostly, then build other books around them. I have finished Luke a few weeks ago, and started in Mark, which is really a no non-sense listing with non-stop action.

My bike tour extended from Wed, June 8 to Sat, June 11, 2011. The days I woke up in my tent would be Thurs, Fri, and Sat. On Thurs, I had to get up at 5am in Montague Harbour Park on Galiano Island and rushed through to pack up to catch the 6:40 ferry to Mayne so I didn’t read in my tent but I took time later to catch up on Mark 5. On Fri, I got up in Macdonald Park in Sidney at 8:30, having woken up a couple of times at 3am by the birds and 6am by the traffic. I packed up quickly again trying to catch the 9am ferry to Fulford, Salt Spring Island, but failed, so I took time at the ferry terminal to read Mark 6 while also browsing artwork especially by Darryl Albert until 11am. On Sat, I got up in Ruckle Park on Salt Spring Island at 8am alongside my new bike touring friend and campsite buddy Dr Bill Hunter, a dentist from Fernwood, Victoria.

That morning, I really took my time to breathe in the fresh salty air facing the Georgia Strait and the ocean, islands, and ferry and plane traffic on the shores of Ruckle Park, and relax and reflect on God’s glorious creation and goodness towards me this whole time on the islands and my life thus far. I dove deep into the Bible and perused Mark 7. I knew it was my last day on the island, so I had a sense of nostalgia of my experience on the splendid Gulf Islands, of which the open and friendly people make up most of their beauties. I had a strong heartfelt burden to reach out to these people in a place with no assembly testimony as I biked through the quiet roads of Mayne to the humming traffic of Fulford.

When I woke up, a grayish white light met my eyes. It was  mostly cloudy with very few blue streaks across the sky. I poked my head outside to meet a little gust picking up beside my tent, forcing me to huddle myself together. The worst of  the wind was Fri afternoon when I arrived at about 4pm to set up my tent. I sat in my tent to indulge in the words of Mark 7. The main outlines here were about “traditions and commandments,” “what defiles a person,” “the Syrophoenician woman’s faith,” and “Jesus heals a deaf man.” The verses that stood out for me were 6, 7, 18, and 20.

6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah [29:13] prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,

Peter was willing to put it all on the line. He and the other disciples had been straining against the waves and wind all night long when Jesus appeared to them, walking on the water. Wanting to prove his courage to Jesus, he made an amazing statement: “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water” (Matthew 14:28). These were rough seas, and Peter was willing to literally step onto them because He was looking at Jesus. That gave him confidence and courage.

It went well for awhile until Peter started to sink. And why did he sink? Because he took his eyes off Jesus and put them on other things. The Bible tells us, “When he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid” (verse 30).

Circumstances can be frightening. When your boss calls you in and tells you the company has to downsize and they are letting you go, when the doctor calls you with the test results that are not good, when you open that letter from an attorney that says you are being sued, it can scare you. It can devastate you. And it can cause you to take your eyes off Jesus.

Where fear reigns, faith is driven away. But where faith reigns, fear has no place. Faith and fear don’t mix. As you bring in faith, fear will walk out the back door. But if you invite fear as a resident in your life, then you will drive faith away.

Peter had faith. He had his eyes on Jesus. He was doing the impossible. But then he started to sink, because he took his eyes off Jesus. In his case, he looked at the wind. In our case, it might be something else. But when we forget God, we will start to sink.

May 19, 2011

“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”

Luke 22:42

I used to have some little Scripture plaques and sayings hanging around in my office, and one that I especially liked said this: “Lord, Thy will anywhere, anytime, any cost.” And let me tell you, that prayer is both the most dangerous and the safest prayer you could ever pray.

That prayer is dangerous because you don’t know where God will lead you. He may have a completely different will for your life that he wants to reveal to you. But it’s also very safe because there’s no better and more secure place to be than directly in the will of God.

In life, there are big decisions and small decisions everyone has to make. But no matter how big or how small the decisions you may face, you should always ask yourself first what God wants for you. From something as small as deciding whether or not to dwell on a sinful thought or something as big as a career or family decision, it’s important to think, “What does God want me to do here?”

I want to challenge you to take a blank sheet of paper, sign it at the bottom, and tell God, “You fill in the blank with whatever you want from me.” And allow him to speak to you about some of the decisions you’re facing today. God desires nothing less than a complete commitment of your life to him because he knows that’s where real life will be found!

SIGN YOUR LIFE OVER TO GOD AND ALLOW HIM TO GUIDE YOUR EVERY STEP!

Does Anybody Know Who I Am?

Galatians 3:26-27

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Following World War II, there were more than two hundred French soldiers with amnesia who returned to Paris. They had been prisoners in Japanese camps and suffered through horrible ordeals of privation and torture. These men had been so psychologically devastated by their imprisonment that they lost the conscious awareness of who they were and where they had lived before the war.

Most of the soldiers’ identities were quickly established from Red Cross records or with the help of fellow prisoners, but after all known efforts were exhausted, there were still thirty-two men whose existence seemed impossible to trace. Not only were there no records of them, but none of the other soldiers knew anything about them. The doctors who were treating these thirty-two men believed that the chance for recovery would be impossible unless they were reconnected with family and friends.

Someone proposed publishing photographs of the men on the front page of newspapers throughout the country. A date, time, and place of meeting would also be given, hoping anyone having information about them would come. The plan was implemented and French newspapers soon published the pictures, adding that the Paris Opera House would open its doors for the potential identification and connection with loved ones.

On the assigned day, a huge crowd gathered inside the opera house to view the  veterans. Every seat was taken and people spilled out onto the streets. Finally, in a dramatic entrance, the first of the amnesia victims walked onto the stage of the darkened room and slowly turned around under the glare of the spotlight, giving everyone a full view. Then, according to instruction, he and the other thirty-one soldiers who followed asked the same pleading question: “Does anybody out there know who I am . . . does anybody know who I am?“

Thankfully, many of the men were soon reunited with their families.

Isn’t this the same question that all of humanity is asking? Sadly, many people have a terrible case of self-imposed amnesia. But this is to be expected from a generation that has stepped back from God’s Word. Sadder yet is the church—professed Christians seem to have forgotten that they belong to Christ.

So who are we? We are called sons of God (Galatians 3);new creations (2 Corinthians 5); children of God and heirs of God (Romans 8).  The New Testament is brimming with descriptions of the Christian’s identity in Christ.

Understanding who we are in Christ will cause us to recognize why we are different from the world. The truth is, if we don’t understand what makes us different from the world, we will never be able to make a difference in the world.

We, of all people, need never ask, “Does anybody know who I am?”  We are new creatures . . . children of God.

Prayer Point: Thank God for the incredible, life-changing work He has accomplished in your life: through His death on the cross, paying for your sin; through His resurrection, securing for you eternal life; through His mercy, flowing for you every day. Don’t live in a state of spiritual amnesia any longer; instead, meditate on God’s promises on your behalf, and thank Him for who He is molding you to be.

Sam and Erin prepared for this day. Their training was disciplined and intense. Even with a ten-month old daughter, they worked regularly, oftentimes pushing the baby in a stroller as they ran. Bad weather rarely deterred them from their training regimen.

The Natural Man

Sam is by nature competitive. Whether he was involved in academics or athletics, he always sought to be first. Perhaps a better metaphor is he fought to be first. Winning is his natural desire. Indeed such a trait seems endemic with his brothers and me. We Rainer males can’t stand to lose. Even when we play Putt Putt golf, we are serious. The game is cutthroat. It’s not a pretty sight.

His wife is competitive as well. Erin has always excelled in academics and athletics. But for Erin winning is important. For Sam it is critical. His natural self just wants to win.

The Race

So I was really curious to see how this race transpired. I suppose Sam had the edge. If nothing else, he is six inches taller than Erin with a much longer stride. Erin had also given birth just ten months earlier. Would Sam leave her in the crowd as he sought a better overall finish in the marathon?

Much to my surprise, I learned that Sam made the decision to stay by his wife’s side the entire race. And as they approached the finish line, he slowed down for just a second. He told his wife to go ahead of him.

Wow.

If you look at the statistics for the Derby Festival Marathon, you will find that Erin Rainer finished one place ahead of Sam Rainer. You will find that Erin Rainer finished one second ahead of Sam Rainer.

When the race was over, Erin sent a message over Twitter: “Thanks to @SamRainer who ran the whole marathon with me and even let me cross the finish line ahead of him.” She concluded the message with a hashtag that read, “rock star husband.”

Years from now, that Derby Festival Marathon will be a blur to Erin except for one item. She will remember how her husband put her first. She will remember how he denied his natural self and let the Spirit lead him to love his wife and to put her ahead of him.

Lessons for Me

I wish I were always that kind of husband to my wife. I wish I always put her before me. I wish I had consistently shown that sacrificial love.

Indeed, I wish I would always treat others that way. I wish I could learn the lesson with consistency that putting others before me is the path of obedience. It is the path of joy.

The son has truly surpassed the father.

Thank you Sam for teaching me yet another lesson.

Thank you for being the example I need to be consistently.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her.(Ephesians 4:25, HCSB)

Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave, just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life – a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:26-28, HCSB)

HT Thom Rainer

Verse 1:
I’m done
Building my own kingdom
No more
Seeking worthless idols

Pre:
Like sheep we have all gone astray
We must choose this day
Whom we will serve

Chorus:
As for me and my house
We will serve the Lord
We will serve the Lord
Idols raised, tear them down
Cause we will serve the Lord
We will serve the Lord
To one king we bow down
As for me and my house
We will only serve the Lord

Verse 2:
I’m done
With powerless religion
No more
Living in deception

Pre:

Chorus:
As for me and my house
We will serve the Lord
We will serve the Lord
Idols raised, tear them down
Cause we will serve the Lord
We will serve the Lord
To one king we bow down
As for me and my house
We will only serve the Lord

Bridge:
We will cross over Jordan
We will claim what you promised

Chorus:

Out:
We will not give our hearts to another
Will not give our hearts to another
We belong to the Lord
We will not give our hearts to another
Will not give our hearts to another
We will only serve the Lord

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