August 3 Savior of the World
“Jesus said, But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.¹” John 12:32
I often think about evangelistic worship, that is the role of the songs of God as they usher His presence into the lives of the lost. Savior of the World was birthed out of a vision of the lost seeing the cross and crossing into the light of Jesus, emerging from the darkness of life without God. The song is filled with the hope that with a new song in their hearts they would rise to sing, sensing their holy adoption in Christ.
Prayer: Lord Jesus be lifted up in us, that those who don¹t know You could see You. Let Your love break their hearts and bring them to You. Awe Your children, and those who will be Your children, as they cross from darkness to light singing, “O Jesus lifted up on high, crucified for fallen man, You died and then you rose again, O Jesus, Savior of the world.”
August 4 Don’t Pass Us By
"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. " 2 Chronicles 7:14, 15 [also, Isaiah 2:3, Joel 2:28]
In my early walk with God the two men that were mentoring me instilled in me a vision for revival. Through reading scripture and books about documented geographical moves of God, I was ignited with a passion to see revival come… specifically by 2 Chronicles 7:14. It inspired me to enter into this covenant with God and call others to do so as well. I love to sing about, and to hear others sing about, the amazing things God does and will do.
Prayer: God, by Your Holy Spirit burn in our hearts until we cry out for Your moving on this earth. Remind us of what You have done in the past so that we become hungry for You to do it again. I want to be unsettled about the condition of the earth so that I always cry “come Lord Jesus, do amazing things in our hearts. Do miraculous, unheard of things for Your name sake.”
August 5 Make Straight
“A voice of one calling: In the desert prepare the way for the Lord, make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.¹” Isaiah 40:3-5 [also Rev. 14:14-10, Isaiah 61:1-3]
This is a prayer that has been amplified by the pleas of people throughout all ages. In writing this song I wanted to join with John the Baptist, saints, martyrs, Isaiah and so many other believers that have called people to a place of preparation, a place of giving over of the whole self spiritually to Jesus¹ return and to His great harvest. This cry comes from the core of the spirit and speaks to hearts, creation, and the unseen spiritual realm, calling to all, “make straight paths for Jesus, preparing the way so that all can see Him!”
Prayer. Father I join with the cries that I know You have heard from the beginning of time saying, “prepare the earth and its inhabitants for You.” Father prepare the harvesters, the harvest, and the priests and priestesses for your great return. The Spirit and the bride say come Lord Jesus!
August 6 The Cross
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” Psalm 51:1-2 [also the remainder of Psalm 51, 1John 1:9, 1 John 1:7, Romans 5:17]
The Cross was written in a time that I had great guilt and shame for sin I was struggling with. I needed a simple, summarized biblical confession of what Jesus¹ blood does for my heart and mind as I was emerging from this season of sin. I began to walk in the cleansing and forgiveness of the cross and blood of Jesus, and this song of truth obliterated my felt shame and brought victory in places of struggle for me.
Prayer. Jesus, we thank You for Your cross and Your atoning blood. Jesus my heart cannot stop being grateful for the propitiation You made for me there. Now I lift my head in victory where I once hung it in shame. Now I am Yours, because of Your work on the cross.
August 7 Once For All
“The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God.” Romans 6:10 [also Hebrews 7:27, 1 Peter 3:18-22, Hebrews 10:10, 1 John 2:2, Ephesians 2:3-10, Philippians 3:10,11]
Many times in sound checks at events we as a band will just begin to play, spiritually preparing our hearts and the atmosphere around us. I began playing this simple musical progression, pondering some truths God had been speaking into me. As my band mates began to play, I could feel their intensity and I began to sing out for open eyes, ears and mouths… and for boldness about the cross. I want the cross to really mean something in my life. I want to see it and I want to be consumed by its power. The rest of this song came in the midst of meditating and studying some of these scriptures around the cross and thinking how it has changed me from a child of wrath to a child of God. As I wrote these words I was celebrating the authoritative work the cross has released in me once and for all.
Prayer. God, enlighten our hearts eyes, enlarge the place where the truth of the cross fits. Permeate our bodies, minds, hearts, and souls with the power of the cross. Let us unashamedly announce its power to those in need.
August 8 King Of Glory
“Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.” Psalm 24:7 [also Psalm 24:8-10, Isaiah 62:6]
This is one of many songs I have received from God as a result of keeping my finger on the pulse of my local church. When I was writing this song we had entered into a time of deep waiting, asking God what He wanted to do and where He was moving. Toward the end of this time our intercession began to speed toward a real anticipation of God giving us faith and eyes to see prophetically that He was on the move to do amazing things on the earth. My wife and I recorded some of the faith we felt in that season in this song. King of Glory reflects the things we saw in our spirit and things we wanted to see with our eyes.
Prayer. By Your spirit God give us eyes to see what You are doing and what You want to do, along with the patience it takes to see those things through to fruition. Teach us to wait on You, King of Glory.
August 9 Holy Visitation
“Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand _” Joel 2:1 [also all of Joel]
As I sat in the midst of early morning intercession one summer at my church, I was moved by what our intercessors were crying out to God. They were praying out of a book of scripture that I have used to write songs out of for several years… and now I was hearing these prayers coming out of them in a fresh way. I sat and took vigorous notes of their prayers and the scriptures that were birthing their intercession. I left that day and sat down again to read the prophet Joel and to try and digest the words of this prophecy in my heart. Holy Visitation became a summary of that morning and the cry of God¹s people in the book of Joel, a plea for God to turn from His wrath and visit us again with His power and restoration.
Prayer. Pour out Your spirit on us God, turn from Your wrath and draw our affections and our eyes back to You. We are asking for Your kingdom on earth and we are pleading for the gift of repentance from the spiritual state we have been existing in. We are asking for a Holy Visitation. Release the groanings for a powerful move of Your Spirit all over the world.
August 10 Salvation
“You, heavens above, rain down righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it; I the Lord, have created it.” Isaiah 45:8 [also Romans 8:22, 23, Hab.3:2] Within this song is a merging of several revival prayers found throughout the scriptures. These passages had been running through my heart and mind for several years and were finding expression within the deep prayer that was being offered in my church. Salvation came from my desire to capture the prayer our prayer as we cried out for God to save, heal, restore, and cause the distant to return. It is a prayer for revival.
Prayer. Lord, we have heard about all that You have done in the past. We have heard of Your fame, Your power and Your glory. Do those things again in this day and in this time. Make Your name known upon this earth. Awe us, for You are awesome O God. Yet we have made You seem so small and have attempted to fit you into our world. We turn from our sinful way and ask that You bring the immense Kingdom Jesus into Your world, causing all to shout Your name.
August 11 Immersed
“God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being.” Acts 17:27-28a [also 1 Corinthians 10:31]
Some time ago I began a journey, seeking to not compartmentalize my life by separating spiritual, work, fun, etc. I began to learn about and ponder the idea that life is Jesus. He, by His spirit, is in me and around me. I live and move in Him. I laugh and eat in Him. This truth causes me to think about His sovereign and providential hand in the universe. He is always guiding, always putting the pieces in place. My job is to submit as a part of His grand plan, not wanting to try to keep myself by attempting to be self- made. I want to be His and be kept by Him, ruled by Him, loved by Him. I want to live under His sovereign, providential hand. Jesus is life. Love life.
Prayer: I know You hold the universe Father and You hold me. You are everything to me and I know You are in everything. I don¹t want to lose that in my life by guiding and exalting myself. I want to exist in You and be plunged into You in joy and in pain. I want one seamless focus to my life. As I hang with my friends, as I sing songs to You, as I love my wife and kids, as I pay bills, I want the song of my heart to be Jesus… my core and crux, my all in all.
August 12 One Thing
“One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.” Psalm 27:4 [also Ephesians 6:19, Philippians 3:10, John 17:25, 26]
When my son was born I was in one of the busiest times of my life. All of my reasoning for why I do things and how I live life became more blurred than usual. I have always attempt to be a focused, effective person and am very careful in how I spend my time. So this blurred, fast paced life was very frustrating. I had always loved Psalm 27:4, but God brought me back to it while I was seeking for Him to either rearrange my life or my perspective. I began to meditate on this verse and God just opened it wide to me. I could feel its truth burrowing into my soul as God began to enlighten me again to why I live the life I do and how I long to live it.
Prayer: Jesus, become our one thing. You are the crux of life and everything funnels back to You, so teach me to gaze upon You and enjoy Your presence. Teach me to seek You Father and follow You until I am swept from this earth. All of life comes down to knowing You and spreading Your fame. You are worth my life and I will follow You all my days.
August 13 God Of Hope
“Though he slay me, yet will I hope in Him.” Job 13:15, [also Romans 15:13, 1 John 3:2, 3, 1 Thes. 1:3, Hebrews 6:19]
My friend/ guitar player and I occasionally have a merging moment in our songwriting. Kendall, who is also a worship leader, had most of this song written when we connected on it. He had been pondering the passage in 1 John 3:2,3, thinking about how to inject it¹s truth into his spirit and into the body of people he leads. I quickly attached to what he wrote and then did a quick word study on hope. We just began to sing and worship with those scriptures as he played at the end of the song. We were almost finished recording Porch and Altar and decided to record this song at the last minute.
We wanted to see God birth a hope inside hurting people and inside us as well. As we look upon Jesus it purifies us, gives us endurance and provides an anchor to cling to in a shifting world.
Prayer: Jesus, teach us to look upon You even in desperate situations. Looking upon You purifies me… I ask for Your purifying work and give myself to that process. You are an anchor Jesus and I hold tightly to you today. Set your hope inside of us and cause us to long for You. Though You slay me I will hope!
P.S. (from Kendall, too) We get a lot of questions about the songs we write and lead, asking why we choose the words we use in some songs and what those words mean. The line, “though you slay me I will hope,” has caused a bit of controversy related to our idea of God¹s character. Does God slay us? Our answer has become this: that line speaks of our devotion, not God¹s character. If my wife runs away from me, I will still love her and desire to stay with her. I am not saying my wife is going to run away from me, that is not her character. I am mostly speaking of my devotion, that I will love her even if she does.