Behind the Songs
Man I’m Supposed to Be
Growing up as young, Christian men in this world, we are faced with an overwhelming amount of temptations. From cheating on a test to not honoring God with our bodies, the devil tries to make his way feel better and seem more enticing than following God’s design for our lives. This song was written from our perspective about temptations that we’ve encountered in our lives, but the same principles apply to women as well as men. Throughout the Bible, many well-known Biblical heroes went through the same exact temptations that we struggle with today. 2 Samuel 11 tells the story of David and Bathsheba. In this story, David chose to follow his own sinful desires rather than God’s perfect plan. As a result of his mistake with Bathsheba, he suffered great heartache through the death of his son. Through all of this, David learned a valuable lesson that we can apply to our lives. When he repented, God gave him another chance and blessed him with another son. There is no temptation too great that God won’t help us overcome.
“Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20
James 1:12; 1 Corinthians 10:13; 1 Corinthians 6:15-20; 2 Samuel 11, 12
Welcome Home Jesus
When God created us, we were given the freedom of choice. God never forces Himself upon anyone, but He longs to have a relationship with each one of us. In the book of Luke, Zacchaeus had heard about the many miracles Jesus had performed throughout the area. When Jesus came to Jericho, Zacchaeus wanted to see Him. He was a very short man so he climbed up in a tree to get a better view of Christ. When he saw Jesus and recognized that He was the Son of God, he immediately invited Jesus to come into his home and into his heart. God is waiting for us to open the door to our hearts. The only requirement is that we ask Him to come in.
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him, and he with Me.” Revelation 3:20
Luke 19:1-10; Psalm 19:14; 1 John 1:9; Psalm 51:10
The Good Fight
At the end of his life, Paul wrote a letter to Timothy to encourage him to persevere and remain faithful to the work of spreading the gospel. Throughout his ministry, Paul faced many challenges. He had been stoned many times, exiled, thrown in prison, beaten, and ridiculed during his ministry. It would have been easy for him to get discouraged, but his faith in God allowed him to complete the mission that God had given him. As Christians, we have all been given the same responsibility of sharing the message of Christ with the world. Throughout the Christian walk, there will be many trials that come our way that could distract us from finishing God’s work. However, we must press on and fight the good fight of faith. As a reward, there will be a crown of righteousness waiting for us in Heaven.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” 2 Timothy 4: 7, 8
2 Timothy 4:7, 8; Revelation 2:10; Philippians 3:12-14; Romans 5:1-5
Moving On
Forgiving others when they hurt us is one of the most important things that God wants us to focus on. It is also one of the hardest things to do because in order to truly forgive someone, we have to learn to let go of what happened. One of the greatest examples of forgiveness in the Bible comes from the story of Joseph. After being sold into slavery by his brothers, Joseph endured many hardships while he was in Egypt. But God rewarded Joseph for trusting in Him and placed him in a position of great power. When Joseph had the opportunity to seek revenge against his brothers, he chose to forgive them instead. Joseph was not able to do this on his own. It was only with God’s help that he was able to set aside his anger and bitterness and start over. With God’s help, we can forgive anyone for anything they do to us.
“And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32
Genesis 45:1-15; Colossians 3:13; Matthew 18: 21, 22; Matthew 6:12
You Are My King
There are many examples in the Bible where Christ helped those who were discouraged. John 12 tells the story of Mary, the sister of Lazarus. Mary had lived a rough life, but had come to know Jesus as her Savior and friend. Jesus had come to her rescue on more than one occasion and for that she was forever thankful. One example of this was when he saved her from being stoned by the Pharisees. To show her love for Him, she anointed Jesus’ feet with very expensive perfume. To those around her, this seemed like a very foolish act. But Jesus saw this as her way of honoring Him. Many people today endure heartache and face discouragement. Sometimes, it can even seem like you’ve been dealt a worse hand in life than everyone else. But like Mary, we must praise God through every situation, both good and bad.
“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”
Psalm 34:1
John 12:1-8; Psalm 150; 2 Samuel 22:4; Psalm 147:1
Until You Bless Me
God loves blessing us. Many times, those blessings come in ways that are hard to notice. Other times, His blessings are obvious. Even though God will continue to bless us, we need to actively ask for His blessings in specific areas of our lives. It’s not that God doesn’t know what we need. But by asking, we admit that we need His help. In Genesis, Jacob wrestled all night long with God. When daybreak came, God told Jacob to let go of Him. Jacob refused and told God “I will not let go unless you bless me.” God honored Jacob’s request and blessed him abundantly. Sometimes we think that God’s blessings are the result of something we did. We must recognize that everything we have is from God and without Him we would have nothing. Take time to thank Him for blessing you today.
“And He said, “Let Me go, for the day breaks.” But he said, “I will not let You go unless You bless me!””
Genesis 32: 24-29; John 14:14; Ephesians 1:3; Hebrews 4:16
On My Own
Satan focuses his efforts on those who live their lives for Christ. You may wonder why your life seems so hard when in reality the reason you struggle is because Satan hates the followers of Christ. He has no reason to attack those who don’t follow God because they aren’t a threat to him. He knows that his time is short and he wants to keep as many people out of Heaven as possible. Job was a man of God who was blameless in the sight of God. To prove to the world and Satan that there were people out there who would remain faithful to God no matter what, He allowed Job to lose all of his family, friends, possessions and health. Through all of this, Job never blamed God for his hardship, even when his wife and friends wanted him to. Job never gave up on his belief in God and as a result, God rewarded him with twice as much as he had before. Like Job, God comforts us through the storms of life if we truly believe and trust in Him.
“God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1
Job 1, 42; Isaiah 25:4; Psalm 23; 2 Corinthians 1:3, 4
From Above
It’s easy to feel like God has forgotten about you and that He doesn’t care about the details of your life. But that is the exact opposite of how God feels about you. He cares about all of His creations, especially mankind because He created us in His own image. God sees everything and He knows what we are going through. In the Old Testament, God blessed Samson with great strength. Because of his pride, God took away his strength and allowed him to be imprisoned. During his captivity, Samson was tortured and even had his eyes gouged out. It would have been easy for him to feel alone and abandoned by God. But God was still with him and used Samson for one final victory against the Philistines. If you feel like you’ve been abandoned, just remember that God is always with you and nothing is too small for Him to care about.
“Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Matthew 10:29-31
Judges 16; 1 Peter 5:7; Deuteronomy 31:6; Matthew 18:12-14
Red Hat Society
In April 2005, we experienced a death in our family. The loss came as a surprise to us and we were really hit hard. We didn’t know how to handle our sadness or even how to feel towards God at first. The night before the memorial service, we sat down and wrote out all of our feelings on paper which became this song. We sang it the next day and dedicated it to our family to bring them hope and comfort. God has shown us through this song that He can make something good come from something so bad. Many people have expressed to us how this song has brought them comfort after losing a loved one. That is why we chose to re-record it for this album. We want people to know that there is hope after death. God is coming soon to raise to life those that have lived for Him and we will be reunited with our loved ones in Heaven.
“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Revelation 21:4
1 Corinthians 15:51-57; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Acts 24:15; John 11:25
Unshaken
Unshaken means being steadfast, faithful, consistent and dependable in all things. Abraham was asked by God to take his son, Isaac and offer him as a sacrifice to God. He probably wondered why God would ask him to do that since He had given him Isaac and had promised him that his descendants would be like the sands of the sea. But Abraham never questioned God’s will for his life. He simply obeyed. Just before Abraham was about to sacrifice his only son, God sent an angel to stop him. God tested Abraham to strengthen his faith. God already knew the end result of what would happen. But in order for Abraham to grow, he had to go through the anguish of giving up the son he had longed for. Like Abraham, we want to be unshaken for Christ. We want to be shining lights in this sinful world so that everyone can see Jesus through us.
“For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.” Philippians 2:13-16
Genesis 22:1-13; 1 Peter 4:1-11; 1 Corinthians 15:58; Matthew 5:16