Recording Drums...again

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Originally uploaded by AndrewD300.

Hey everyone... Andrew here. I'm in the process of laying down new drums tracks for the new album. Since Josh decided to redo his vocals, it gave me enough time to get the new drums recorded. So far, so good! I'm halfway done, and should have all tracks completed by next Tuesday, if all continues to go well.

Click on the picture to be taken to a gallery of pictures of the set up in the makeshift recording space I'm using.

Wednesday Devo

It has been a busy week and it is about to get busier. I haven't had time to write a devotion for the website but I ran across and article by John Piper that you don't want to miss out on. The article is about repentance and it is something that we as amercians can definitely use to hear more about. Check it out. You won't be sorry. http://www.desiringgod.org/library/fresh_words/2006/041906.html A little side note: I am going to hear John Piper speak this friday in louisville. I will tell him you guys said "hey".

New Cd Update

After listening to the rough mix of the new JMB cd I have to admit that my vocal performance is quite lacking. I am going to re-record my vocals which will push back the release date. The new release date is ......whenever. I was so worried about getting good mic levels and hitting the right notes on the first time through that I didn't feel the songs at all. I didn't sing them like I believed them. I didn't realize how dead it was until the rough mix. I will say that Andrew has done a superb job of mixing the instruments. I have said this before and I will continue to say this until it ceases to be true; I get to play music with my favorite band. Not everyone can say that. These guys are my favorite musicians. I couldn't imagine playing without them. You are a lucky man Josh Martin!

Galatians 1:4,5

Galatians 1:4,5 Galatians 1:4,5—who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. It’s very easy to pass over greetings when we read the bible but this is the third week and we are still looking at the greeting. I told you this would take a while! The reason we are still in Paul’s greeting is because it is so jam-packed with truth about the glorious things of God. His authority and death defying power (v.1), his grace, peace and lordship (v.3), and now in verses 4 and 5 we see other incredible truths. Right away we notice what was done for us. Christ gave himself for our sins. After all, noticing what affects us is part of being human. By nature we are self-absorbed people. But through the Spirit we are awakened to the glorious truths that the taking away of our sins happened because it glorifies God, not because it glorifies us. You can look at Christ’s taking of our sins in two ways. One is biblical and the other is not. You can say, “Christ took away my sins! I must be glorious!” Or you can say, “Christ took away my sins! He must be glorious!” Now, none of us would openly say, “I must be glorious!” but if our view of the cross centers on us rather than on the glory of God, we have already said this in our hearts. Yes, Jesus loves us. Yes, Jesus took away our sins. Yes, we get the benefits of the cross. But He must get the glory. The glory of God is the ultimate reason for the existence of everything. Christ “gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age.” There is an age coming that is not evil. It is an age where those in Christ will look upon his face and not die. It will be an age where the glory of God will be so much more than we could ever dream it to be. Our wandering hearts and wandering eyes will be so satisfied with what we see and feel that nothing will enter our being that does not directly flow up in praise to Him. Christ came to deliver for Himself the church that they might be to the praise of His glory (Ephesians 1:12-14). Christ gave himself for our sins and delivered us from this present evil age and this all happens because of the will of God. The fact that those in Christ have been delivered is owing completely to the will of God. It is not owing to any good work we have done. We can’t pray enough. We can’t read our bible enough. We can’t do enough good things. We cannot avoid enough bad things. You can’t lay down your life for the Kingdom of God enough. Our salvation is owing to the fact that God in his sovereignty has chosen to save sinners. We are saved because it is his will to save us, not because it is ours. We can want to be saved all day long but if God in his Grace had chosen to not save sinners, our desire to be with him would be useless. Paul explains this in detail in Ephesians 2. It was God’s will for Christ to go to Calvary and die for sins. It was God’s will for His own son to die a death that he did not deserve. It was God’s will for Judas to betray Christ. Many of you will struggle with these truths and I struggle with them sometimes myself but the bible is very clear that these events came as a result of God’s ordaining that they be. Nothing catches God by surprise. He is not removed from his throne because of disobedient men. Joseph was sold into slavery because it was God’s will. He told his brothers, “You meant this for evil, but God meant this for good” (Genesis 50:20). He didn’t say “God turned this into good”, he said, “God meant this for good.” God is sovereign over all things. Nothing can escape his hand (Deut. 32:39). Paul closes his greeting by stating that God gets the glory for all of this. The ultimate end in all that has been said and done is the glory of God. We must never claim the glory that comes from our being saved. It must always flow directly to God. No one is good enough to save themselves. We get the benefits, He gets the Glory. Christ took our sins, he gets the glory. We are delivered from this present evil age, he gets the glory. He saves sinners like us because it is according to his will, he gets the glory. Glory will flow forever and ever, and he gets that glory!

Am I really saved?

If we are honest with ourselves, we have all asked ourself this question at some point in time. Especially when we begin to struggle with a particular sin. One thing is for certain, we are saved by grace alone and our salvation is not a result of any work. If we are saved, then doing good things didn't save us. In the same way, doing bad things won't "unsave" us. So if our salvation is strictly of grace, how can we know if we are saved? We are saved by repenting of our sin and placing faith in whatChrist did in the crucifixion and resurrection. This is all of grace. When I talk to anyone about being a christian, we talk about Jesus being savior and lord. Most of us would talk about Christ being both of those things. And if we are saved, then Christ is both of those things. But how do we know if he is savior and lord of our life? There are several ways of testing ourselves that are found in 1 John. Romans 8:16 speaks of the Holy Spirit bearing witness with our spirit so we can know that we are God's children. Their is an inward assurance given by the Holy Spirit but sometimes we don't "feel" it and start to doubt our salvation. Here is an old post that may help you if you are struggling with this. Jesus is to be our lord and savior and TREASURE. A true believer will treasure Christ above all things. They will at least have a desire to know him more and live for him. Where Your Treasure Is Matthew 6:19-21—Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where they can be eaten by moths and get rusty, and where thieves break in and steal. 20Store your treasures in heaven, where they will never become moth-eaten or rusty and where they will be safe from thieves. 21Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be. (NLT) I believe that no other verses in the bible will bring a man to examine himself more than these particular verses. This small passage of scripture crashes on our soul like the waves of a hurricane, consuming every aspect of our life and if taken to heart, will allow Christ to cleanse us from our own selfish desires. Where is your treasure? With whom or what do we spend countless hours? If we take a look at the words and actions of Jesus, we find one common denominator and are able to see the treasure of His life. Everything that Jesus did or said portrayed His love for the Father. The Father was Jesus’ treasure and his heart remained with the Father. Jesus was not looking for approval in the eyes of man nor was he looking to astonish them. He simply loved His father and because of His love for Him, He loved us. If you remember, the Sadducees and the Pharisees questioned Jesus about which commandment was the greatest. Jesus replied “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.” Jesus was not in love with serving the Father. Jesus was not in love with the attention that followed Him as He served the Father. He simply was in love with the Father. It is not our responsibility to determine the treasures of others but to only decipher our own. Only one thing will last throughout eternity. Will this be your treasure or will your treasure fade and rust away with time? Take a look at your heart and what it stands for. Where are your thoughts? There is your treasure. It’s that simple. No amount of reasoning can change that.

New Blog

Hey everyone! I just wanted to say tell ya'll (that's you all for the yankees out there) that I have started my own blog. It's called "the musings of a reformed bassist" and you can get there by clicking on my name over to the side, I think. Although I don't post very often on this site, I plan on posting everyday, or multiple times a day on my new blog. I was going to wait until college started to start blogging but I've decided to go ahead now- it's not like college is the start of my life or anything! I just started this blog today so don't expect much now- maybe you should give it a few weeks so you won't be disappointed once you get there. Side note: I am an awful speller so I constantly have dictionary.com pulled up as I type and I was checking my spelling of "disappointed" just now and the definition that it gave me was "Thwarted in hope, desire, or expectation". That sounds cool. Anyway- that's all I got- check out my blog!

The Gospel of Judas

Matt Perry is the pastor of Boone's Creek Baptist Church in Lexington, KY. He has written an article on "The Gospel of Judas" on his blog. I recommend checking it out. www.bromattsblog@wordpress.com

Galatians 1:2,3

Galatians 1:2,3 Galatians 1:2,3—and all the brothers who are with me, To the church of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The whole law is summed up by Jesus in Matthew 22:34-40. We are to love God and love each other. If the whole law can be summed up with those two commandments, then I believe that everything that belongs to Christianity can be summed up in the greetings of Paul’s letters. “Grace to you and Peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” Why not just say, “Hope things are going well”? Or “how’s things at the church”? Since the bible is the inerrant word of God, there must be a reason why Paul would always address his letters with the pronunciations of Grace and Peace—Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians 1:2, Colossians 1:2, 1 Thess. 1:1, 2 Thess. 1:2, 1 Timothy 1:2, 2 Timothy 1:2, Titus 1:4, Philemon 3. Why does he do this? Why is this important? Well, Paul isn’t here to explain himself but it speaks mountains to me. Grace. Just think about that word and all that it carries with it. Our salvation was bought with a price and that is grace (1 Corinthians 6:20). Saving faith is a gift from God and that is grace (Eph.2: 8,9). We were granted repentance and that is grace (2 Timothy 2:25). We were resurrected from spiritual deadness and that is grace (Eph 2:5). We have been predestined, called, justified and glorified and that is grace (Romans 8:30). God will finish what he starts in us and that is grace (Phil. 1:6). Think about it. That is enough to make a Baptist shout! But what is so amazing about grace is that it is greater than our sin. Grace does all of the things listed above because it is greater than our sin. Praise God! Our sin is disgustingly vile and gross and we need to feel that. The cross will not mean to us what the cross really is if we do not get that. Our sin requires punishment and Christ paid for it on the cross for all who would repent and believe. This is the breath-taking amazement of grace. Grace is the avenue in which all spiritual blessings are bestowed upon us. We receive these blessings only because grace is indeed greater than all our sin. Grace removes sin. Peace. Who doesn’t want this? Peace comes as a result of trusting in the claims of the Gospel. If you are in Christ, then you are at peace with God, period. Romans 5 is an incredible chapter with incredible truths that we often times would dismiss as unbelievable. We don’t always feel like we are at peace with God. Sometimes I struggle to really believe this. How often do we feel like God is mad at us for not doing our daily devotions? How often do we feel like God is mad at us because we didn’t pray all day? Sometimes I think we would rather have the law than grace. Our emotions can really mess with our minds. That is why regardless of feelings, we must trust biblical claims. Paul claims in Romans 5 that through Jesus Christ we have “now received reconciliation”. NOW! Not later. NOW! Let that speak peace to your soul and thank God for that peace that he has provided through his son. We were all enemies of God at one time (v.10) but through the gracious gifts that Jesus purchased for us on the cross, we are now his friends. Do not let our own personal “laws” abolish this truth in our heart. If you are truly Christ’s then you are at peace with God. Knowing this helps to empower you to live the life of faith. Just as Paul pronounced his blessings on the church at Galatia; so I pronounce mine on you as we conclude. “Grace and Peace to you.” May God grant you grace that overcomes the death-grip of sin and peace that calms the stormy waters of your soul. God bless you.

Recording Update

Ok........So I haven't posted on here in a while and I don't use a lot of big words like Josh does in his devotions, but I will give you an update on what is going on with the recording. Josh and Derek came over yesterday 4-6-06 and we finished all the vocals, so we are now ready to ship the product over to Andrew to begin mixing. I know it has been longer than expected for this to be ready, but I will take the blame for this one. However, I am real excited to hear the final product. Andrew did a great job on mixing the live project and I have no doubt that he will do even better with this one. Till next time. Kelly

Galatians 1:1

Galatians 1:1 Galatians 1:1—Paul, an apostle---but not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the Dead— When Paul states to believers that he is an Apostle it is more than just simply saying, “Josh Martin, youth minster”. The age of the apostles was an incredible time. There are some today who believe that the apostolic age has never ended, but I would disagree. If you press me I will give reason why, but that is not the goal for today. The term apostle simply means “messenger” or “one who is sent”. An apostle is one who gets sent by someone or some organization to do a particular task or deliver a certain message. In one sense, we could say that during the 60’s Adlai Stevenson was an apostle of John F. Kennedy. Adlai Stevenson was the press secretary for the president. Adlai was given a message to give to the press about the Cuban Missile Crisis. Adlai would be an apostle in this sense because he was sent out to deliver a message. We do not use this term often because when we refer to the word apostle we are talking about the Apostles sent out by Jesus. This is what Paul is getting at right from the start of his letter to the Galatians. Paul states that he is an apostle, but—he is not an ordinary messenger. He states the he is not an apostle sent “from men nor through man”. He does not want to be classified as one who was simply sent as we would send off missionaries today. He doesn’t want to be classified with those whom the church may send for a particular reason. The message that Paul was carrying was the message that makes up most of the New Testament. When Paul wrote to the Galatians he claims to be writing the very words of God! This is not an ordinary messenger! This is the one who brings the message of Salvation to the Gentiles. Paul was the direct avenue for sharing this gospel with the Galatians. Praise God for sending us such a messenger! Paul speaks of being given the stewardship of God’s grace for the Ephesians and how this was given to the apostles and not just anyone (Ephesians 3:1-5). He also tells that this is all of God’s grace and not by any credentials that he possessed. The apostles sent out by Jesus were not sent in the same way that we are sent. The foundation of the God’s household is the Apostles with Jesus Christ as the cornerstone (Ephesians 2:20). Something that may seem out of place but holds great significance is the last part of verse1. “Who raised him from the dead” seems at first like added information. What does this have to do with the rest of his greeting to the Galatians? Why throw those words in the sentence? First of all, a risen Christ is very important to Paul. It is important to all who are in Christ, but for Paul, it was a visual (or should I say blinding) reality. Paul was converted after Christ had risen. Paul was not speaking as one who had faith only, but as one who had witnessed first hand that Christ had risen. He did not walk alongside Jesus like the other Apostles and this proved to be a point of contention for many people because Paul was not ordained to the office of apostle while Christ was a mortal. To deny the authority that Paul exercised would be to deny power of the resurrected Christ. Secondly, Paul recognizes the fact that Christ is supreme over all things and wants to state that from the start. Paul was exclaiming that he was sent by the supreme authority and that his words should be taken as directly from that authority. Through his resurrection, Christ proved that all things are subject to him—even death. There is not one thing that happens in life that is not under the authority of God. The same God who sends food and famine, sun and rain, tsunamis and drought, life and death, the God who gives and takes away is the same God who is speaking through Paul. His words are not to be taken lightly. I believe that Paul addresses the resurrection here so that all who read would know that these words are to be the authority to which we answer. All things are subject to him without exception. So the question that we will look at every week until we are through this book is—So What? Why does this matter? This matters because the same Christ who made Paul an Apostle and rose from the dead is the same Christ who has called us by name unto Salvation. Therefore, we must gain from this verse that the words of Paul are not only words from Paul. Many will write off the letters of Paul and the theology he taught because they do not believe them to be the word of God. We will see in the coming weeks Paul’s own defense for why His words are from God. Heed the words of God as they have come from Christ through this apostle. They are authoritative. They are inerrant and infallible. They are the very words of God.

The Book of Galatians

We are going to start going through the book of Galatians for our Wednesday devotions. We will probably be in the book for quite a while. Anytime you systematically go through a book it takes time. But I have found that this is how I learn and grow. Hopefully you will too. God Bless!