"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives."
- 1 John 1:8-10
Pretty self-explanatory, I suppose. I mean, who wants to call God a liar? Not I!
Which reminds me...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm-HJvUkSdQ
Who I am
- JamCam
- Moncton, NB, Canada
- Christ-follower. Husband. Dad. Worship Leader. Pastor. Musician.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
If I were in a cover band...
Catherine and I cancelled out cable a few months back and I must say I do miss it. However, in lieu of less TV, we've been able to talk more, pray more, and spend more time together. Although I do feel I've been missing out on things, I guess youtube, blogs, and online-news reels cover most of the important things I've been missing.
I only found out a few weeks ago that Jay Leno was moving to daytime and Conan O'Brien was replacing with on the Tonight Show. Oh, how I miss both Jay and Conan (and Letterman's Top 10 Lists). During Conan's opening week, he had John Mayer Trio on as his musical guests. JM3 did a cover of "The Mamas and the Papas" song California Dreaming. And, wow. It's pretty tight and has a really cool arrangement.
It's not the type of song you can really see someone turn into a blues-rock cover, but it works and maintained that familiar 70's groove. So, I thought to myself, if I was in a band (I wish I was), what songs would I want to revamp and cover? well, a la David Letterman, here's my Top 10 songs to cover
1) O My God by The Police - asks some great spiritual questions and cool double-time groove
2) For Once in my Life by Stevie Wonder - I'd slow it down and put a slower groove to it
3) Something by The Beatles - great version on the "Across the Universe" soundtrack that I'd steal from
4) Recovering the Satellites by Counting Crows - great vocals and lots of room for musical expressions
5) Mind's Eye by dc Talk - awesome riff, U2-esque chorus, and great lyrics
6) Paranoid Android by Radiohead - ok, well, maybe not the whole song because Radiohead are practically musical geniuses, but I'd want use 3:38-6:27 and incorporate it into some kind of worshipful interlude (realizing, of course, that the song IS NOT intended for that).
7) Until the End of the World by U2 - I know that you can't really cover a U2 song, but with some ideas and different groove, I think this could be a really cool cover
8) God's Gonna Cut You Down by Johnny Cash - the weird thing about this song is that it's so simple and so cut-and-dry that it's hard to cover it; any deviation from Johnny's baritone vocals or even the melody may take away from its originality. There's opportunity for cool arrangements, though.
9) If I Ever Lose My Faith In You by Sting - of course you can spiritualize this song, but if you listen to the version from the "All This Time" cd, there's a really cool groove and rendition to build off of to make this a cool cover song
10) You by Marvin Gaye - I heard a version of Marvin Gaye's "Inner City Blues" done by John Mayer that had a really cool modern vibe to it; I'd love to do a similar spin on this great Gaye tune (lol). Some good spiritual overtones too.
what songs would you like to cover?
I only found out a few weeks ago that Jay Leno was moving to daytime and Conan O'Brien was replacing with on the Tonight Show. Oh, how I miss both Jay and Conan (and Letterman's Top 10 Lists). During Conan's opening week, he had John Mayer Trio on as his musical guests. JM3 did a cover of "The Mamas and the Papas" song California Dreaming. And, wow. It's pretty tight and has a really cool arrangement.
It's not the type of song you can really see someone turn into a blues-rock cover, but it works and maintained that familiar 70's groove. So, I thought to myself, if I was in a band (I wish I was), what songs would I want to revamp and cover? well, a la David Letterman, here's my Top 10 songs to cover
1) O My God by The Police - asks some great spiritual questions and cool double-time groove
2) For Once in my Life by Stevie Wonder - I'd slow it down and put a slower groove to it
3) Something by The Beatles - great version on the "Across the Universe" soundtrack that I'd steal from
4) Recovering the Satellites by Counting Crows - great vocals and lots of room for musical expressions
5) Mind's Eye by dc Talk - awesome riff, U2-esque chorus, and great lyrics
6) Paranoid Android by Radiohead - ok, well, maybe not the whole song because Radiohead are practically musical geniuses, but I'd want use 3:38-6:27 and incorporate it into some kind of worshipful interlude (realizing, of course, that the song IS NOT intended for that).
7) Until the End of the World by U2 - I know that you can't really cover a U2 song, but with some ideas and different groove, I think this could be a really cool cover
8) God's Gonna Cut You Down by Johnny Cash - the weird thing about this song is that it's so simple and so cut-and-dry that it's hard to cover it; any deviation from Johnny's baritone vocals or even the melody may take away from its originality. There's opportunity for cool arrangements, though.
9) If I Ever Lose My Faith In You by Sting - of course you can spiritualize this song, but if you listen to the version from the "All This Time" cd, there's a really cool groove and rendition to build off of to make this a cool cover song
10) You by Marvin Gaye - I heard a version of Marvin Gaye's "Inner City Blues" done by John Mayer that had a really cool modern vibe to it; I'd love to do a similar spin on this great Gaye tune (lol). Some good spiritual overtones too.
what songs would you like to cover?
Friday, June 5, 2009
1 John 1:5-7 - Light
"This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin."
- 1 John 1:5-7
"I want to be in the light/as you are in the light/I want to shine like the stars in the heavens/oh Lord be my light/and be my salvation/because all I want to be is in the light"
When I first became a Christian, one of my favorite Christian bands to listen to was dc Talk. Believe it or not, I wasn't a huge fan of the song "Jesus Freak"; rather, the rest of the "Jesus Freak" album had a big impact on me. One of the songs that I loved to listen to was "In the Light" and the above video is from the dc Talk's "Welcome to the Freakshow" VHS from way back when. "In the Light" was one of those songs that I'd sing amongst friends with acoustic guitars around a camp fire. I have great memories doing that. I'm sure this song stems from the 1 John verses above about being in Christ's light.
There's a reason why horror/thriller/suspense movies are filmed primarily at night. 'Darkness' or any 'absence of light' cast a shadow (figuratively speaking) on all things good and pure. We expect bad, scary, negative, disheartening things to happen when we can't see the full picture or see what is hidden from us. Conversely, in the light we are sure of what we see and know what we're given in front of us. Christ was a light we were open to see. He lead a sinless life; there was no darkness in him. Therefore, there was nothing hidden from us and we were given full access to who he was, who he is, and what he's done. If we say we are a follower of Christ, yet do not reflect his light or wallow in darkness, we are not fully his; we are not followers. Christ's light is so bright, so blinding, that it has become hot enough to burn all sin and shame from our lives. Yet, if we put on our son-glasses (see what I did there with the word sun/son?), we are deliberately shielding ourselves from complete redemption and letting datrkness enter us in some way or another. We need to make sure to be in his light, being open and honest, loving and compassionate, righteous and just. Walking in his light causes us to never stray from his path; we see where we're going at all time.
So, with that being said, I leave you with a more recent favorite song of mine from song-writer/worship-leader Robbie Seay (pronounced "sea", not "say") called "Shine Your Light on Us".
"Oh, my God/Shine Your light on us/That we might live
Shine Your light/Shine it down/Let Your rescue come for us, we long to love
And if you feel lost, sing along"
Thursday, June 4, 2009
1 John 1:1-4 - Who He Said He Was
"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete."
- 1 John 1:1-3
This morning, my friend Tim had a blog about who Jesus is. Not that I was trying to ride the coattails of what he was blogging about, but it just so happens my portion of 1 John today touches a bit on just that; who Jesus is.
The author, John the Apostle (not to be confused with John the Baptist) starts this book out by explaining the purpose of his writings: to share and express the "Word of Life" to its readers. John makes some suggestions about what the Word of Life is. Or, if you will, who the Word of Life is. Since John likely saw Jesus' ministry first hand, it's easier for him to be able to draw comparisons to person of Jesus and the prophesied Jesus. Apostle John takes the literal "Word" and applies it to the person of Jesus:
Jesus is - "from the beginning" (v. 1)
Jesus is that - "which we have heard (v. 1)
Jesus is that - "which we have seen with our eyes" (v. 1)
Jesus is that - "which we have looked at" (v. 1)
Jesus is the one whom- "our hands have touched" (v. 1)
Jesus - "appeared" (v. 2)
Jesus is - "the eternal life" (v. 2)
Jesus was - "with the Father and has appeared to us" (v. 2)
John's epistle is to "proclaim to you" what we (the apostles) have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us (the apostles)". A call to the sinner, the unsaved, the Jew and the Gentile, to believe that Jesus was the prophesied one and the gift of God in flesh; the truth, the way, and the life. Jesus' story and ministry make "our joy complete" (v. 4).
I was reading (not taking part in) an interesting thread today where people were arguing the existence of God; more precisely, the existence of deities like Jesus, Buddha, or Mohammad. The one Christian in the conversation proceeding to defend Christianity by simply comparing Jesus as superior to Buddha or Mohammad. Instead of using historical fact, scripture, or even the ministry/example of Jesus, he proceeded to just slam other religious figures.
I've quoted this from Bono on a recent blog but I thought it prudent to repeat it. In an interview he did with Bill Hybels where he says, "You either have to believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God or believe that he was a complete nutcase. Jesus was either Charles Manson... an absolute nutcase or, in my opinion, who He said He was."
Jesus is the beginning and end who we have seen, heard, touched, and felt. You can either believe who he said he is, or you cannot. I say this to make our joy complete.
- 1 John 1:1-3
This morning, my friend Tim had a blog about who Jesus is. Not that I was trying to ride the coattails of what he was blogging about, but it just so happens my portion of 1 John today touches a bit on just that; who Jesus is.
The author, John the Apostle (not to be confused with John the Baptist) starts this book out by explaining the purpose of his writings: to share and express the "Word of Life" to its readers. John makes some suggestions about what the Word of Life is. Or, if you will, who the Word of Life is. Since John likely saw Jesus' ministry first hand, it's easier for him to be able to draw comparisons to person of Jesus and the prophesied Jesus. Apostle John takes the literal "Word" and applies it to the person of Jesus:
Jesus is - "from the beginning" (v. 1)
Jesus is that - "which we have heard (v. 1)
Jesus is that - "which we have seen with our eyes" (v. 1)
Jesus is that - "which we have looked at" (v. 1)
Jesus is the one whom- "our hands have touched" (v. 1)
Jesus - "appeared" (v. 2)
Jesus is - "the eternal life" (v. 2)
Jesus was - "with the Father and has appeared to us" (v. 2)
John's epistle is to "proclaim to you" what we (the apostles) have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us (the apostles)". A call to the sinner, the unsaved, the Jew and the Gentile, to believe that Jesus was the prophesied one and the gift of God in flesh; the truth, the way, and the life. Jesus' story and ministry make "our joy complete" (v. 4).
I was reading (not taking part in) an interesting thread today where people were arguing the existence of God; more precisely, the existence of deities like Jesus, Buddha, or Mohammad. The one Christian in the conversation proceeding to defend Christianity by simply comparing Jesus as superior to Buddha or Mohammad. Instead of using historical fact, scripture, or even the ministry/example of Jesus, he proceeded to just slam other religious figures.
I've quoted this from Bono on a recent blog but I thought it prudent to repeat it. In an interview he did with Bill Hybels where he says, "You either have to believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God or believe that he was a complete nutcase. Jesus was either Charles Manson... an absolute nutcase or, in my opinion, who He said He was."
Jesus is the beginning and end who we have seen, heard, touched, and felt. You can either believe who he said he is, or you cannot. I say this to make our joy complete.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
1 John 4:1-3 - Spirit vs spirits
"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world"
- 1 John 4:1-3
There are two significant things that qualify this verse in Catherine and I’s life right now. First, we are now in the process of trying to find a new care-provider for Noah. His current situation isn’t quite working and we were forced to find another babysitter for him in about 4 weeks time. Although a few different options came up for us, and we were stuck between two particular options which both had their pros & cons. Our first option was with a Christian lady with a good reputation but she lived on the opposite side of the city and it would require 40-45 minutes of extra driving each day. The other is also a lady with a good reputation and even though recommended to us by a Christian friend, she’s not a Christian. However, she lives only 2 minutes away from our house making it an easy drop-off each morning.
While Catherine and I were praying together for guidance on the subject, we were struck with the question of why God would provide us with a non-Christian option. I thought of this verse (which I read last week) and thought it prudent to see if this was in deed from Him. We concluded that God is not a God of confusion. I don’t believe He provides us with “options” or “doors” that are not from Him. I don’t believe he provides us with situations that can hurt us. Yes, he can often provide us with situations that challenge us and test our trust/faith, but none that will cause us harm. Conversely, maybe the “non-Christian” lady is an option where Catherine and I are provided with a “walk across the room” opportunity. While we still have not made any decisions, either way I believe we’ll be making the right decision by covering it in prayer.
The second situation that applies to some friends we have who are desperately seeking some spiritual enlightenment in their lives and in their relationship. First let me say that I’m all for that. I think it’s important. I love to see couples seeking God to spiritually rekindle their lives and have that affect the lives of others around them. However, they seem to have found an avenue to experience this spiritual awakening in a local church that is known to be very charismatic. There is, of course, nothing wrong with most charismatic churches; they’re subjective to the Christian’s beliefs and practices. However, I (personally) believe that some of the beliefs and practices at this church are not necessarily recognized by the Spirit of God. Conversely, I believe that there may be false prophets and practices that would not be blessed by God. That being said, I am not one to say what is and is not blessed and holy. However, I do believe that if they do not reflect or demonstrate that what is written in the Word and comes straight from the life of Christ, it is not and will be not be blessed nor Holy.
While I'm hesitant to step in and make my feelings known to these individuals, I must first seek it in prayer and I use this 1 John verse as a base. I'm also hesitant to call the people leading our friends astray "false prophets" because who am I to judge, but I do believe there are some "false teachings" being used including questionable prayer methods, assumed "spiritual gifts (like prophecy and tongues), and things like "spirit casting" being used without proper biblical structure by unauthorized layman. Scary stuff. Either way, I do not believe it is all the Spirit of God who is working within these people.
These spirits are not Spirit. It is a conflict of God's work and something we should always be aware of in an evil world. So, remember to make sure you recognize the Spirit of God when you are confronted with new spiritual ideas, when making decisions for yourself, and fully realize the power of God when you pray for His good and perfect will. Pray against false teachings, false prophets, and evil spirits that may surround you. Cover yourself in the Word and in prayer and He will defend you, guide you, teach you, and lead you in all ways holy.
- 1 John 4:1-3
There are two significant things that qualify this verse in Catherine and I’s life right now. First, we are now in the process of trying to find a new care-provider for Noah. His current situation isn’t quite working and we were forced to find another babysitter for him in about 4 weeks time. Although a few different options came up for us, and we were stuck between two particular options which both had their pros & cons. Our first option was with a Christian lady with a good reputation but she lived on the opposite side of the city and it would require 40-45 minutes of extra driving each day. The other is also a lady with a good reputation and even though recommended to us by a Christian friend, she’s not a Christian. However, she lives only 2 minutes away from our house making it an easy drop-off each morning.
While Catherine and I were praying together for guidance on the subject, we were struck with the question of why God would provide us with a non-Christian option. I thought of this verse (which I read last week) and thought it prudent to see if this was in deed from Him. We concluded that God is not a God of confusion. I don’t believe He provides us with “options” or “doors” that are not from Him. I don’t believe he provides us with situations that can hurt us. Yes, he can often provide us with situations that challenge us and test our trust/faith, but none that will cause us harm. Conversely, maybe the “non-Christian” lady is an option where Catherine and I are provided with a “walk across the room” opportunity. While we still have not made any decisions, either way I believe we’ll be making the right decision by covering it in prayer.
The second situation that applies to some friends we have who are desperately seeking some spiritual enlightenment in their lives and in their relationship. First let me say that I’m all for that. I think it’s important. I love to see couples seeking God to spiritually rekindle their lives and have that affect the lives of others around them. However, they seem to have found an avenue to experience this spiritual awakening in a local church that is known to be very charismatic. There is, of course, nothing wrong with most charismatic churches; they’re subjective to the Christian’s beliefs and practices. However, I (personally) believe that some of the beliefs and practices at this church are not necessarily recognized by the Spirit of God. Conversely, I believe that there may be false prophets and practices that would not be blessed by God. That being said, I am not one to say what is and is not blessed and holy. However, I do believe that if they do not reflect or demonstrate that what is written in the Word and comes straight from the life of Christ, it is not and will be not be blessed nor Holy.
While I'm hesitant to step in and make my feelings known to these individuals, I must first seek it in prayer and I use this 1 John verse as a base. I'm also hesitant to call the people leading our friends astray "false prophets" because who am I to judge, but I do believe there are some "false teachings" being used including questionable prayer methods, assumed "spiritual gifts (like prophecy and tongues), and things like "spirit casting" being used without proper biblical structure by unauthorized layman. Scary stuff. Either way, I do not believe it is all the Spirit of God who is working within these people.
These spirits are not Spirit. It is a conflict of God's work and something we should always be aware of in an evil world. So, remember to make sure you recognize the Spirit of God when you are confronted with new spiritual ideas, when making decisions for yourself, and fully realize the power of God when you pray for His good and perfect will. Pray against false teachings, false prophets, and evil spirits that may surround you. Cover yourself in the Word and in prayer and He will defend you, guide you, teach you, and lead you in all ways holy.
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