This is a post from Trip's blog at Reach Records referencing his upcoming album 20/20... you can catch the real thing, and more at http://reachrecords.com/index.php!
It really encouraged and challenged me.. so I am passing it on!
Why 20/20?
Reflections on Psalm 63
For those who don't know, my new album entitled 20/20 comes out soon. It'll be just over 2 years since ITOK when this new album will drop. Feels like forever though! Many people have asked me why 20/20? What's the significance of the title? Just to clarify, it has nothing to do with the fact that I'm 20 years old as some have guessed lol. In this short blog I'll try to briefly explain my reasoning behind the title.
One of my favorite passages in the Scriptures is Psalm 63. There may be nothing else I guard against more in my life than an intellectualizing of my faith. It's so easy (especially for someone built like myself who loves to read and to teach) to turn my relationship with God into learning facts and doing what those facts tell me to do. Biblical faith and love for God includes so much more than a mental assent, so much more than just agreeing with doctrines, and so much more than carrying out duties. In my own fight against these tendencies, I reflect on passages where saints in the Bible express a deep, heartfelt, sincere satisfaction in God. A sincere desire for and delight in the God of the Scriptures. I constantly plead with God to bring me to this point. Psalm 63 is one of those passages that has impacted me the most. Looking at the chapter these were some of my observations...
1. David yearns for God (vs. 1)
He doesn't just seek Him simply because He was told He was supposed to. But he actually desires Him. He thirsts for Him and he yearns for Him like a man dying of thirst in the desert. It's not simply that He'll take Him or leave Him. He can't live! He can't go on without tasting fellowship with His God. The first time I read this passage this really struck me. Do I thirst for my God like that? Do I feel as if I can't go on without tasting of His goodness?
The question following for me was, how does man get to the point where he yearns for God in this way? Well the text tells us. THEY SEE HIM.
2. David has seen God for who He is (vs. 2)
David's eyes have beheld the beauty of His great God! None of us have ever seen something that was so incredibly beautiful yet never desired to gaze upon it again. When we see something beautiful it captivates us and we long to take in its beauty again and again. This is the case with David. He has seen God and His great power and glory, and He can't take His eyes off of Him. He is blown away!
I now know, my thirst and desire for God depends on me gazing at His beauty in the Scriptures; beholding His great glory and taking it in. Of course we need the Spirit to open our eyes so that we can gaze upon God with eyes of faith. We also must pray fervently and depend on Him as we open the Scriptures, pleading with the Father to show us Himself as we open His Word. As the passage continues we find the result of seeing God for who He is....
3. He praises God with his lips (vs. 3)
4. He will bless God and lift his hands in His name (vs. 4)
5. He is satisfied with God (vs. 5)
6. He reflects on His goodness (vs. 6)
7. He sings for joy! (vs. 7)
8. His soul clings to Him (vs. 8)
9. He finds comfort in His protection (vs. 9, 10)
10. He rejoices in God (vs. 11)
My Prayer
May we come to the Scriptures not to learn more facts, or to learn wise phrases, or to find rules to follow, but to gaze upon God, and to learn to worship Him in the way He desires. For those of us who have received sight and come to faith in Jesus Christv , our vision is still blurred by our upbringing, our cultures. Who is this God? What does He expect from me? How do I relate to Him? The Word of God serves as our corrective lenses. My prayer is that we will cling to the Word, see the Lord more clearly, desire Him more than anything else, and serve Him with all our hearts. This is my goal with the new album. I pray God the Holy Spirit works through it and brings men to know Him better. I'm praying all the way up to and following the release on May 20th. Please join me in that.
Much Love
Trip
