“You are not able to serve the Lord.”

At the end of his life, Joshua presents the Israelite people with an ultimatum:

Serve the Lord and throw away all other gods
OR
Forsake the Lord to serve other gods

At this “spiritual high” in Israel’s history, after they have just seen God miraculously destroy their powerful enemies, of course they choose the Lord, exclaiming “Far be it from us to forsake the Lord to serve other gods!” (Josh. 24: 16)
But Joshua then tells the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord,” and warns them of the consequences of turning away from the Lord.  In their fervor,  the people insist that they will serve the Lord, and they erect a monument to remind them of their decision.
The book of Joshua happily concludes that “Israel served the Lord throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the Lord had done for Israel” (Joshua 24:31).

However, the rest of Israel’s history shows that forgetting and forsaking the Lord is not at all far from them.  And Joshua knows this, so he clearly presents the full gravity of choosing to serve the Lord, which is no easy task.  Yet to serve the Lord is the deepest cry of our hearts; we were made for this purpose.  In our pride, we think we can do it, we can do all He requires of us.  But Joshua is right in saying “You are not able to serve the Lord.”  We, like the people of Israel, are so quick to turn from the Lord to our lesser gods of success, wealth, and popularity.

So where does that leave us?
At the cross.

God knew all along that we, in our natural inclination toward sin, were unable to serve Him as he made us to.  That is precisely why He sent His beloved Son, Jesus, to free us from sin, to free us to serve Him.  I am not able to serve the Lord on my own, so I must rely on the power of the Holy Spirit.
As I enter into a crazy week of meeting people and sharing the Gospel with them, my prayer is that I would rely fully on His strength, not my own.  I really don’t have any.

California to Me

Calfornia to Me

California to me
is ancient redwoods,
towering, tall kings of the north,
and coastal cliffs
well worn by water and time

California to me
is the colors of the Bay
and the bridges that hold it together.
The gentle roar of a rushing BART train…
It’s the hills of San Francisco
and is swarming streets buzzing with life
It’s the smell of fresh fish on the wharf
and the lively clamor among Chinatown’s shops.

California to me
is endless acres of nourishing earth
and the snaking veins that deliver her lifeblood.
It’s tomato fields and peach orchards,
happy cows and newborn lambs,
and long summer days of picking grapes
under the scorching sun.

California to me
is rolling golden hills
covered in blue oaks,
foothills of the snow-capped Sierras.
It’s breathtaking views of ancient granite monoliths
and thundering veils of tumbling water.
It’s meadows filled with wildflowers
and quiet country roads.

California to me
is speeding down dry desert roads
in the Deathly heat that soon
gives way to freezing nights,
past sand dunes and shrubs and cactus.
It’s silent sunrises over Joshua trees,
in a land where the toughest carve out life
from the surrounding red rocks.

California to me
is where stars are made—
flashing lights and red carpets,
where dreams are lived larger than life.
It’s rivers of concrete flowing with cars
the sky filled with smog
and a purple haze at night—
the city that never sleeps, never stops.

California to me
is sun-drenched beaches,
and the people tanning upon them
as seagulls circle above.
Its the feel of sand between toes
and the sound of waves at night,
after the sun has sunk into the sea
and bled orange watercolors into the sky.

California to me
is home.

Inspired by Rachel Friesen, who posed this question:
“What do you picture when you think of California?”
This poem is something of a reply.
(Written June 19, 2015)

Tunesday: “Strange Fire”-LEVV

Happy ‪#Tunesday!
Today’s featured tunes are from LEVV, a brand-new project by Audrey Assad.  I’ve been a fan of Audrey Assad since last December, when I also found out she had left her “church music” work for a pop project, which she planned to call LEVV.  And now this long-awaited release is finally here!

I consider Audrey Assad to be one of the best female vocalists on the Christian music scene, and my personal favorite female vocalist, perhaps tied with Lea Salonga.  I first encountered her in heartfelt songs of worship like “I Shall Not Want.”

Now in this new project, Assad shows her versatility as a vocalist, in both  worship and pop contexts.  No longer only accompanied by beautiful piano melodies, Assad finds herself in a sonic landscape of sick synthesizer beats and sweet guitar riffs (by LEVV’s other member, Seth Jones).  Admittedly, there are some times when Assad’s voice gets lost in the well-crafted synthesizer work, in ways that that it never did in her work as Audrey Assad.  However, it does not detract from the project as a whole, which comes together in a work of pure artistry.  Assad’s new sound has a a gravitas that demands a careful listening, with trance-like quality that think it would lend itself quite well to interpretive dance.  Lyrically, the new songs are artfully sophisticated, and I expect no less from Assad.  Freeing herself from writing exclusively “church music,” has allowed her to branch out into new lyrical territory with a fresh creativity.  For those who also loved Audrey Assad’s worship projects, there is still hope, as she is planning to produce a hymns record, titled “Inheritance,” which I also am excited for.  In the meantime, I will be enjoying this new project.

At first I was going to post the song “Arrow” (since it seems to be the feature track of Strange Fire because it was also released a few months ago in the Arrow EP), but after repeated listens, “Heartbreaker” quickly became my favorite.  It’s one of the more energetic tracks on the record, and I think it has the greatest potential in the “pop” world that Assad has now entered.  The tempo picks up considerably sooner than on her other tracks, but still perfectly blends vocals, synthesizers, and great lyrics  to showcase all that Assad is capable of.  Enjoy!

If you like it, you can support LEVV’s “Strange Fire” on social media via Thunderclap and earn 10% off buying the EP off bandcamp.

Bottom Line:

This new project showcases Assad’s piercing and haunting vocals that I have grown to love in a new set of surroundings, among synthesizers and awesome riffs, where it shines with a Strange Fire.

Vanitas

Here in this field of billowing wildflowers—
The sun filtering through a
blanket of baby blue,
reaching down to stroke its
fingers through your hazel brown hair—
I gaze into your laughing green eyes,
and grab your hand and squeeze it tight.
All I know is I don’t wanna let go.

(Written April 22, 2015)

Inheritance

(I’ve been reading through the book of Joshua recently, with the goal of making it all the way through to 2 Chronicles.  But for now, I’m still in Joshua.  Here are some reflections on it:)

By the second half of the book of Joshua, the Israelites, by God’s strength, have more or less cleared the Promised Land of the powerful nations that were previously occupying it.  What remains is to divide up the land between the twelve tribes of Israel.  This chunk of scripture is admittedly pretty boring to anyone but a Biblical geography nut.
Yet there was one recurring subject that stood out to me:
the inheritance of the tribe of Levi, or lack thereof.

The tribe of Levi was set apart by God to be the priests, the teachers of the Law, and the worship leaders.  As such, they were to be dispersed among the other tribes of Israel, having no inheritance, no contiguous territory of their own.

Joshua 13:14 makes the first mention of the Levites’ special situation:

But to the tribe of Levi he gave no inheritance, since the food offerings presented to the Lord, the God of Israel, are their inheritance, as he promised them. (NIV)

Even though the Levites would have no land inheritance, God promises to provide for their needs.

The special case of the Levites is mentioned again in Joshua 13:33 and 18:7a:

But to the tribe of Levi, Moses had given no inheritance; the Lord, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, as he promised them. (NIV)

The Levites, however, do not get a portion among you, because the priestly service of the Lord is their inheritance.  (NIV)

At first it seems that the Levites get shortchanged, since they don’t get any piece of the Promised Land to call their own, while every other tribe does.  That is, until we see that they, in fact, have received a far greater gift.  Their inheritance is the Lord himself, and the privilege of serving Him!  No inheritance, no land, no riches can compare to the treasure of knowing the Lord and getting to serve Him!  It seems the Levites got the sweetest deal of all.

That’s cool.  What does that mean for me today?
Reflecting on the Levites’ situation raised some important questions for me:

• Is the Lord enough for me?  Even if I have nothing else on the earth?
• Do I see the joy of knowing Lord and serving Him as the greatest blessing that He has bestowed on me?

This flies in the face of the “Christianity” that is so deeply embedded in American culture, where we first thank God for his blessings of wealth and comfort, and then ask Him for more.

TotD: Caffeine as Emotion

Caffeine as emotion:
“Caffeinated” needs to be a recognized emotion.
“How you feeling today?”
“I’m feeling caffeinated this morning.”
caffeination (emotion): the jittery exuberance and general excitement for life that defies logic because you full well that you got absolutely no sleep the night before.

I, the poet

I, the poet
Build my walls with words and rhyme—
my attic, haven, hell confined,
Pin my demons to the page
hoping they won’t again stir to rage.
(They will, I’m sure)
My blood my ink, my pain my muse—
the morphine refuge I will refuse,
till I lay the bricks of this facade.

I, the poet
Hide inside my personas,
Freeze my tears into symbols,
Morph my memories into metaphor,
Obscure my secrets with a fog of ambiguity,
Veil my bare soul with layers of fiction.
I am an open book, if you dared to read.

Until then,
I’ll paint my face with a simile
So you’ll never see
What shadows lie behind my eyes.

(Written February 2, 2015)

Tunesday: “Crossfire” – Jason Tong ft. Cat Siu

Today’s #Tunesday jam is an original performed by two of my best friends. They performed it at a talent show about three years ago, and I made a raw recording with my phone. It’s a great song, well-written, great voices, sweet harmonies. As rough as the recording is, it’s so full of heart. It speaks of the ongoing struggle with sin and God’s redemption through it all.
Still love it, hope you do as well!

Also…happy birthday to the guy, Jason. Did I mention that he wrote the song?

TotD: Free Trial of Eternity

Life is just a free trial of eternity.

Stars Will Fall

One day the stars will fall to earth,
Though now they blaze so high and bright—
Beacons of hope in the night sky;
Heroes of old, in myth retold,
On whom we wish for dreams come true.

One day the stars will fall to earth—
A flash so bright that all will see,
The news traveling faster than sound;
Some will gasp with shock and awe
While some will simply shake their heads.

One day the stars will fall to earth;
They’ll be the the talk of town for days
Till they begin to fade away
From a faint glow to none at all
Each leaves the sky a darker place.

Someday the stars will surely fall.
It’s on that day at last we’ll see
The stars were mortals, just as we.

Someday the stars will surely fall.
Finally, it’s then I’ll see
The dark that is inside of me.

(Written July 13, 2015)