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Faraway Land

Faraway Land – Lyrics and Commentary

I’ve been looking for the faraway land, that place we glimpse in certain books, in certain music, in our children’s faces, for most of my life. My first breaths of the undiscovered country were inhaled as a young boy through C.S. Lewis’s “Chronicles of Narnia” series of children’s books. The God I saw there was so different from the exasperated cosmic policeman god of my childhood who loved me but didn’t really like me too well. This God I saw depicted in Narnia’s Aslan, the Great Lion, was personal, knowable, loveable, kind, and forgiving while at the same time being above all, infinitely unpredictable, ‘unsafe’, stern, and often exacting.

It wasn’t until my third decade of life that I began to realize these long implanted truths in my own experience, that while God is transcendent He is also personal, knowable, and actually longs to be known by us. Previously I had trusted God for things such as my salvation (by which I meant “I won’t go to hell”), my food, shelter, clothing, and other outer needs. At the age of 30 I hit the brick wall of a self-worth crash, and through my feelings of aloneness, inadequacy, weakness, and desperation I learned to trust this infinitely knowable and loving Father-God. By basing my self-concept in what He says about me, I began to find my real self — the self, one with Himself, that He created me to be. In finding my own God-given human weaknesses I found God in Christ living within me as the Source and Ground of my being.

Faraway Land

When years seem like days to me
No time on my hands
I run away to a place in me
To a faraway land

When home seems so far from me
Heaven’s lights look dim
It’s just as far as my deepest heart
Where my heart’s Father lives

His quiet voice speaking in silence everyday
If I will only listen to the words He has to say
I’ll walk in His Spirit, see Him in my face
I will live, ’cause He will live in my place

When life seems so hard to bear
When shadows look real
The circumstance is your Father’s care
Go by faith not what you feel

If you have been running too
Stop now in your tracks
Turn again to the one in you
Put your burden on His back

His quiet voice speaking in silence everyday
If I will only listen to the words He has to say
I’ll walk in His Spirit, see Him in your face
I will live, ’cause He will live in my place

When years seem like days to me
No time on my hands
I run away to a place in me
To a faraway land

__________________

He’s Holding On To Me

We begin our Christian lives with a willed act of faith; we choose to take God at His word, that He loves us, forgives us in Christ, accepts us, and gives us His Spirit. Then, because of the blinders we carry over from our pre-Christ lives, we set about trying to please God by what we do and don’t do. This mindset of self-effort is the enemy of the fruitful life in Christ.
Paul says “As you received Christ Jesus, so walk in Him.” How did we receive him? By an act of reliant faith. He said, “Trust Me, I’ll save you” and we said, “Ok, I trust You.” How then do we walk in Him? By the same choice of reliant faith. We move over from self-reliance to Christ-reliance; we switch from faith in our own ability to a settled knowledge that God within us is the only Source of good.

He’s Holding On To Me

There’s a path along life’s highway so common and well trod
By the shoes of burdened Christians who won’t put their trust in God
They’ve been born of the Spirit, but they live by what they see
So they trust in their own effort, never living in belief

Chorus:
I’m not holding on to Jesus, he’s holding on to me
He died and rose again to set me free
I am resting in the Spirit, not afraid of what will be
I’m not holding on to Jesus, He’s holding on to me

If you’re living in the dungeon in the heavy chains of fear
Don’t live another minute in the lies you’re holding dear
The chains have all been shattered, the light is streaming in
You can’t close your eyes forever to the One who lives within

Repeat Chorus

_________________

Searching

All the empty faces
Faith in what is seen
Endless days are wasted
Wandering in unreality

Just behind the curtain
A world beyond our view
Listen close and hear it
Eternity is calling to you

Chorus
I have traveled far
Looking for the answers
Deep inside my heart
He leads me along

In a world of trouble
Hard to find some peace
The strain of seeing double
Hold the truth, don’t trust what you see

Chorus
Searching far and wide
For a deeper meaning
Never looked inside
Where Love calls to me

Chorus
I have traveled far
Looking for the answers
Deep inside my heart
He leads me along

_______________

Your Heart Has Found A Home

Sometimes life can be so cold
A thousand knocks that bleed the soul
Painful love can close the heart
The key that locks the door

A hidden heart can’t feel much pain
A buried rose can’t feel the rain
And hidden in that darkened tomb
It withers, never blooms

Chorus:
Calling and calling, the love that’s in the Son
In dying and crying brings hope to everyone
The Spirit in you, you’re never alone
And now your heart has found a home

If hurtinggets the best of you
Don’t fight the dark that brings the dew
Embrace the pain that fills the heart
Remember who you are

Repeat chorus

___________________

Is It Any Wonder?

When I saw the movie version of Les Miserables I was so thrilled by the law/grace theme rhat I bought and read Victor Hugo’s book. Javert is a type of legalistic religionist — a conscientious rule-keeper who despises others who do not keep his rules. Jean Val Jean, a convict fresh on probation after 20 years in prison, is a recipient of God’s grace through a bishop who shows him God’s unquenchable love. Much of the story then centers on Javert’s pursuit of Val Jean, which brought to my mind “The son of the slave woman (those under the law, self-effort) always persecutes the son of the free woman (those who have received God’s grace).

A couple other good books/movies with grace themes which partly inspired ‘Is It Any Wonder?’: Jane Eyre and Moll Flanders. Moll, with its sexual themes, is a little over the edge for the kids.

Is It Any Wonder?

A man in town, he came around, his eyes were cold and gray
Clothes dark and dirty, fear upon his face
The people here lived in their fear, they turned their eyes away
No place for pity, fear had stolen faith

Chorus
Well is it any wonder that his soul is cold?
Well is it any wonder?
No fire burns to light his face
No love to warm his soul

The Man who loved came from above, was born in Galilee
Showed us the Father, died to set us free

He rose above and the Father’s love came down to live in men
Love flows from Spirit by faith in God within

Now when you find the poor and blind, don’t judge the outward man
Love of the Father will draw the soul to Him

Repeat chorus

Well is it any wonder that his soul is cold?
Well is it any wonder?

_____________________

Higher Than Man

One of the things we humans often do is hate openly in others that which we hate unconsciously in ourselves. Legalistic religion, performance-based acceptance with God, can only bring a sense of self-condemnation translating into condemnation of other selves. Often those who are most vitriolic in their condemnation of other people have a raging inner struggle going on against similar sins. A televangelist who was caught in flagrant sexual sin was preaching condemnation and law to his congregation. His own legalistic thinking — a self-effort based holiness — came back and bit him hard.

Don’t get me wrong; sin — all that is not love for God and others — is utterly condemnable. But it gets pretty hard to point a condemning finger at others when a person takes a good, unflinching look at his own sins. Honesty with God, oneself, and others when appropriate is the best policy for dealing with one’s own sins and the sins of others. It goes against our earthly thinking, but “God…justifies the wicked” and “Christ died for the ungodly.”

Higher Than Man

They threw her down at Jesus’ feet
Accused her of adultery
“Moses says to stone her dead,
We want her sentence read.”

They tried to trap Him in the Law
Deny the love that came from God
Moses says to stone her dead,
But mercy says forgive

Judged by the letter of the Law she was condemned
Measured by a standard which is higher than man

Jesus knelt there in the dust
Wrote ther ules of selfless love
“I want the stoning to begin
By one who’s never sinned.”

Jesus knelt there in the sun
Accusers left her one by one
He said “Woman, where’d they go?”
She said, “Lord, I don’t know.”

Judged by the letter of the Law they were condemned
Measured by a standard which is higher than man

This ain’t a war of flesh and blood
Armed with mercy, perfect love
We don’t throw those judgment stones
We love and love alone

Judged by the letter of the Law they were condemned
Measured by a standard which is higher than man

______________________

Another Life I’m Living On

Many of us in our Christian lives are concerned with becoming better people. While this is of course a valid desire — to be conformed to the image of Christ in our daily actions — It’s all too easy to miss the fact of our present oneness with Christ in our deepest being; we get so caught up in looking at our actions as indicators of reality, rather than taking God at his word, that we find ourselves caught up in a cycle of try — sin — repent — try — sin — repent. This self-effort is in itself sin, because it is based upon unbelief.

In bypassing what God says about us — that we are one with him, kings, priests, loved, accepted, vessels containing his Spirit, branches in the Vine — we fall into judging ourselves and others on a performance basis, rather than taking God and what he thinks of us as the center of our thoughts of ourselves. This performance-based thinking we fall into is the very power of sin. It is the driving force of self-effort based holiness, which itself is the enemy’s greatest weapon against God’s people. Christian bookstores are full of self-improvement books. Many churches every Sunday preach “Try harder” and try to motivate God’s people with guilt, shame, condemnation, and mere duty.

In reality, in Christ, there is perfection of being, a salvation from sin. This perfection, this completeness, has been placed within us; it is the Spirit of God given to us for the asking. Working this inner salvation out into our daily actions requires faith — a reliance upon God’s life, love, and power within our hearts, a resting in our oneness with him. It takes a decision to set aside appearances, a choosing to see Christ in the mirror rather than a miserable, failing, stumbling, sinning me. That is our power of choice — to trust in God at the expense of the appearances, or to trust the appearances in spite of God what he says.

Jesus uses the vine/branch relationship to show how God’s love-centered life becomes manifested in our human lives. A branch produces fruit simply by being in the vine; it doesn’t beat on itself, or try, or strive to produce fruit. It just remains where it is; it abides. We abide in Christ by an attitude of inner reliance on him. This reliance produces the fruit of the Spirit through us. Many quote “Faith without works is dead” to mean “Trust God and do lots of works.” An inner attitude of faith will cause us to love God and others, because reliance upon God through his promises causes him to act. He promises to cause us to walk in His ways. That means I am not the causing agent, the originating source of Christ-likeness. God is. He’s the Vine, the originating source of Life. I’m a branch, the means by which the Vine expresses itself in fruit. That puts things in perspective for me. It means I’m a receiver, not an originator, of Life. The fruit that is manifested by that Life — love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, meekness, faith — is not mine by origin; it comes through us from Another Life.

Another Life I’m Living On

Life is odd, do you know why?
You never live until you die
Chasing life, it runs away
Living in tomorrow kills today

I can’t love if I’m alive
I can’t make the sacrifice
When I see that I am dead
Another voice comes through my head

Chorus:
God is love and we’re the branches on the tree
Dependent on the love to live the life we cannot lead
If only God is good then good we cannot be
In our weakness He is strong
It’s another life we’re living on

I won’t try to be the love
I finally win by giving up
In my weakness I am strong
It’s another life I’m living on

Chorus:
God is love and we’re the branches on the tree
Depending on the love to live the life we cannot lead
If only God is good then good we cannot be
In our weakness He is strong
It’s another life we’re living on
It’s another life we’re living on

___________________

In The Morning Light

The lives of the Old Testament saints show God as using evil for good purposes. Joseph, whose brothers sold him into slavery, said years later to his brothers, “It was not you who did this; it was God.” God sent Joseph into slavery in Egypt to eventually save his family from famine.

Throughout the lives of the Bible characters God continually uses evil, and indeed orchestrates it, for his own good purposes. In our own lives it is often not until years later, if at all, that we can see the reasons for our pain. The one thing we can do, in the midst of pain, is trust the God of Joseph. We can trust that he is orchestrating the evil, the pain, the trying circumstances, in the cause of bringing some great good to us and to others. In relying upon that aspect of God’s character we can stand in our pain instead of being brought to despair and unbelief. God sees the end from the beginning. While we can’t do the same, we can learn to trust the only One who can.

In The Morning Light

In the morning light I see my Father’s hand
As the sun’s bright rays flood the hills of the land
The dark soon fades in the power of the day
To light my weary way

In the darkest night I see my Father’s love
‘Cause the night is day to the King from above
The darkness calls heaven’s dew to the leaves
And brings new life to me

Chorus:
When the night falls love gets so hard to see
But the Father is the strength to believe
Remember at night what you knew in the day
Till darkness fades away

In the morning light I see the bluest sky
It’ll dim and fade with the coming of the night
The light and dark are a part of a plan
The Father’s loving hand

Repeat chorus

___________________

Set Your Children Free

Moses, when he learned he was to be the chosen vessel to deliver the Hebrews from Egyptian bondage, mistakenly thought he was to do it by his own effort. His murder of the Egyptian overseer who was mistreating a Hebrew slave shows this attitude. Moses’ own effort culminated in his running away from Egypt to save his own skin.

It wasn’t until after years of tending sheep in the desert, when Moses was an old man, that God finally showed him how the Hebrews would be delivered. It would not be Moses speaking, but God speaking through Moses. It would not be Moses acting, but God acting through Moses. Moses had to learn, through years in the backside of the desert, that he was a zero and God was the All.

Even with God speaking directly to him through the burning bush Moses did not quite believe God would follow through; at this attitude God seemed to be a bit ticked off. But in the end Moses trusted, more or less, and went on with the plan.

Moses is a picture of the same struggle we all have — the struggle to go against the empirical evidence of our senses which assaults us daily, and instead trust in a God who says “I will cause you to walk in My ways.” We think we are our own causing agents; we think we can do good and be good as God is good, that we can love as God loves — until our self-effort finally crumbles in a sobbing mass of frustration after years of striving and trying to perform. It is after this, after our years in the backside of the desert, that we begin to find the real Answer to loving God and others. The answer is in the burning bush — a picture of a human being on fire with the Real, yet not ever burning up or burning out. In Jesus Christ we see the perfect expression of the burning bush, and ‘as he is, so are we in this world.’

Set Your Children Free

God spoke to Moses at the burning bush
Moses was afraid to look
God of Isaac and Abraham
The I AM that I AM

“Let’s go down to Egypt land,
My children die at Pharaoh’s hand
Come on Moses, go with me
I’ll set my children free.”

Chorus:
“Oh Lord, I’m just a man, I cannot speak for You,
Oh, no one will believe, what will I do?
I’m nothing in this world, I wasn’t born to lead,
To set your children free.”

“Who made man’s mouth, who makes him sing?
Who made the mind that makes him think?
Your heart of hearts was made for me
To set my children free.”

“I’ll be your voice, I’ll be your breath,
I’ll be the heartbeat in your chest,
Come on Moses, go with me,
I’ll set your poor heart free.”

Chorus:
“Oh Lord, I’m just a man, but make my eyes to see,
I’ll stand in who I am if You’re in me,
I’m nothing in this world, but be what You will be
And set your children free.”
___________________

Donal’s Lullaby

I read George MacDonald’s book Donal Grant several years ago and was intrigued and inspired by the title character. Donal has a way of being direct in his communication with other people; he says what he means, means what he says, and has no time for bull dung. He is concerned with goodness, fair play, honesty, while still often wrestling with his own pain. He is confident without being arrogant. A couple of years later when my son was born I gave him Donal as a middle name.
The song Donal’s Lullaby essentially says “No matter what happens, no matter what you do or don’t do, God is always going to love you, and so am I.” A couple of years ago Donal’s Lullaby (retitled ‘Loving You Eternally’) was included on a cd of lullabies called Sweet Dreams, sung by Michael W. Smith.

Donal’s Lullaby

Little baby, cherished, loved
Watched by angels from above
Who can know what years may hold?
Jesus loves you, this I know

Deepest longing, earnest prayer
Dearest wish and constant care
Showing you our Father’s ways
Shining love in darkest days

Chorus
No one knows what life may bring
I will promise just one thing
I will trust His love in me
Loving you eternally

If someday you turn from me
Looking toward the light you see
Even though we’re far apart
Home is in your Father’s heart

Repeat chorus

I will trust His love in me
Loving you eternally

___________________

In Memory Of Steve

An instrumental I composed after the death of my cousin, who struggled for a long time with alcohol and other drug problems. In 1991, after going through rehab and staying clean for a time,he was found dead of alcohol poisoning. His mother found a piece of paper in his bible after his death. Steve had written:
“I want so much to be good. Even when I used alcohol and other drugs, I wanted to believe I was a good person,but I often felt I couldn’t measure up. I thought I had to live by a set of rules that I never could follow.
“Now I am finding the goodness inside me. Goodness isn’t something I do, goodness is just being what I already am. God speaks to me in many ways, including through my heart and mind. I don’t have to try so hard to be good. I just learn to relax and invite God to be apart of my life. God has put peace, knowledge, love and joy in my heart today. I hope I’ll always be able to find these things.”

______________________

Let Me Be You

I wrote the first two verses of this song and for a few days couldn’t find a way to resolve it. Taken alone, the first two verses bring only a sense of failure and self-condemnation. After a few days I took the song out again and came up with the last verse and chorus, then wrote a middle chorus.

Let Me Be You came right as I was learning the answers to the questions I was asking: “Who am I? Why am I here? How can I love others without needing anything in return?” I had to learn that at root a human being is a vessel, designed to be in a cooperative inner union with its Creator. I had to learn I am not designed to ‘be good’ by my own ability or power, but that goodness comes from a single Source. That Source promised if I trusted in him, rivers of living water would flow from me to others. As I learn to trust, I see the river begin to flow.

Let Me Be You

I had a dream the other night when everything was still
I walked along the world’s end to a river on a hill
A Man who beckoned there said these words to me
“If you’ve done it to the least of these you’ve done it unto Me.”

I turned my look to those who stood beyond the One in white
One caught my gaze I’d turned away from my door one night
He’d begged me for some bread, I turned away to sleep
“If you’ve done it to the least of these, you’ve done it unto Me.”

Chorus:
I’m not loving the way that I want to
I’m not living today as I would do
Why can’t I find it?
It feels like I’m blinded
Where’s the living love in me to live like You?
I try to be what You are to me, but I just can’t be You

I hung my head before the Lord who lives within my heart
He said, “Dear one, I’ve just begun to show you who you are
You’ret rying, oh so hard, to do what I must do
You’re a riverbed for Love to roll on through
You can’t ever be like Me, so just let Me be you.”

“You can love with the love that I give you
You can live with the living that is true
Cry with the crying
Die with the dying
You’re a riverbed for love to roll on through
You can’t ever be like Me, so just let Me be you.”

“You can love with the love that I give you
You can live with the living that is true
Cry with the crying
Die with the dying
You’re a riverbed for love”