Now Is The Start – A Fine Frenzy

In all honesty I should have posted this a few weeks when this song was the free song of the week on iTunes – that way, if you like it, you could have got it for free. This month the review is going to be short. I know, I know, first I skipped September and now October is a short post? What kind of an operation am I running here!? Sometimes I ask myself why I still do this, and then I listen to a song that piques my interest, or write a post recommending songs that I already love, and I know why I still do this – it’s fun, and it helps me think about things and grow in my faith, I hope you feel the same way. Alright, on the the review!

This month we are looking at the song Now Is The Start by A Fine Frenzy. I ran across this one in the iTunes store under the Free Song of the Week section. I was a little surprised, because I had listened to A Fine Frenzy a few years ago when one of my friends had recommended it to me. I liked it, but I quickly got over it too. Still, at the time I listened to her (Alison Sudol is the real name of the voice behind A Fine Frenzy) she was pretty popular, so it was unexpected to see her in the free giveaway song spot. So, since it was free, I downloaded it and gave it a shot, and it turned out I was pleasantly surprised.

This is a song about new beginnings – a topic which I find easy to relate to considering I’m a Christian. Becoming is Christian is being given another life, a second chance, a new start. This song actually makes me wonder if Alison Sudol is a Christian, because she has a lot of verbiage that is similar to Christian lingo. Take her first verse for example:

Verse 1
“Hey
Do you hear
Do you hear that sound
It’s the sound of the lost gone found
It’s the sound of a mute gone loud
It’s the sound of a new start”
This sounds suspiciously like Luke 15:24 (prodigal son) and Mark 7:37 (Jesus heals a man who is deaf and mute). Both these men were given a new start from their previous life.

Verse 2
“Kiss
With a mouth of shooting stars
All the lost and the broken parts
Unafraid you can name your scars
With a touch of a new heart”
The second verse talks about people who have a broken past, who have accumulated scars during their walk through life. The answer once again, is that Jesus is the healer of the broken, and that His life is imparted to His children.

Verse 3
“Go
And it goes with where you go
The most faithful of friends, you don’t
Need to think, you already know
You are right as you are”
As I’ve talked about previously, Jesus is the most faithful friend anyone could ever have. He will never leave you or forsake you (cf. Duet. 31:8, Josh. 1:5, Heb. 13:5). The Holy Spirit is often described a living inside or Christians, and being ever present. And the sacrifice of Jesus makes us right with God, no matter what we were before, once we accept Christ, we are made right with God just as we are.

Bridge
“New start
In the air there is a
New heart
Under there, beneath these
New arms, everywhere it is a
New, new, new, new start
Now is the start”
This is the final meaningful section in this song (by meaningful, I just mean different than the Chorus). I think this verse just about sums it up: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” -2 Cor. 5:17 (emphasis mine) To me, this bridge matches very closely to the verse above. When we become a Christian, we are made new spiritually, and when we finally meet Jesus in Heaven (in the air), we will be given a new body.

So, if becoming a Christian isn’t a new start, then I don’t know what is. Of course, there are probably other interpretations to this song, but this is the one that makes the most sense to me. As far as whether to listen to this song or not goes, I’d say go for it! Even if you don’t agree completely with my interpretation, the basic message of this song is a good one.

Now is the start, go live for Jesus,
-Teegan

The Answer to our Pain

Life is hard.
I know, that’s an obvious statement to many of you, but I think sometimes we need to say it out loud to remind ourselves of its truth. The difficulty of life often produces much pain, sometime physical, sometimes mental, and other times emotional. This pain often causes us to ask the question: Why? Why am I experiencing this pain? or Why is there pain in this world at all? or Why can’t I rid myself of these hardships?

All these are difficult questions, and so we often fail to provide meaningful answers. And maybe the reason we frequently don’t have good answers to these questions is that the answer is above what our little minds can fully comprehend, it’s something that can’t be entirely explained. You won’t find a satisfying answer in the newest self-help book, in the advice of celebrities, or even counseling from your friends. Because the answer to pain is above us, the answer is The Doctor – no, not Doctor Who – but rather the Great Physician, Jehovah-Rophi, Jesus.

We live in a fallen world – that is, one that is infected by sin – so as long as we live, we can never escape pain and suffering. One of the reasons I really like Alistair Begg (and one of the main reasons I originally started listening to him) is that he talks a lot about suffering. It’s not in every sermon, but he does seem to bring it up every other month or so. One of my favorite quotes from Alistair about suffering is this one: “Christianity is not about how to escape from the difficulties of life, but it is how to face the difficulties of life. There is no ‘come follow Jesus Christ and escape everything.’ It’s ‘come follow Jesus Christ…and LIVE!’” and this one: “The difference that Jesus makes is not that He removes us from the circumstances, but that He grants us grace in the midst of the circumstances.”

This reminder is so helpful to me, because being a Christian doesn’t guarantee a carefree, happy life – indeed, sometimes it assures just the opposite – however, being a Christian does guarantee that Jesus will always be there for you. This is epitomized in verses such a Ps. 23, Ps. 71, Phil. 4:13, and others. But I did a quick word search for “comfort” in the Bible, and 2 Corinthians 1:3-7 came up as an obvious major verse for this concept. I’ve highlighted certain portions to help them standout more:

“3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. 7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.”

If there is anything that stands out about this passage, it’s that there will be suffering in our lives, but there will also be comfort too.
I think that’s enough of an introduction to this month’s Song You Should Listen To: The Hurt & the Healer by MercyMe. This song really nails this topic on the head. We experience a lot of hurt in our lives, but Jesus is there to be our healer. Enjoy.

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-hurt-the-healer/id527205212?i=527205215
Spotify: MercyMe – The Hurt & The Healer

Here are a few more quotes to hit the road with:

“When I understand that God is in control of these things then all of my struggles, and all of my challenges and all of my experiences are brought before the God of peace.” -Alistair Begg

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” -Jesus (John 14:27)

Thank you Jesus, for being my healer,
-Teegan

We’ve Got Good Music Too

Well, darn. I was thinking about stuff to write about on here last week, and then the weekend hit, and I totally forgot about posting. And now it’s October 2nd. Luckily, I had pretty much decided on what song to recommend for September. The review on the other hand, I have no idea. So I think for September, all I’m going to post is the Song You Should Listen To. School started back up at the beginning of September, and I’m taking 22 credit hours, so I’ve been busy.
At any rate, here is September’s Song You Should Listen To: Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music? by Larry Norman. This is a fun song about how many people think certain types of music are bad or evil, and shouldn’t be played in church or listened to by Christians. This one has been in my music library for many, many years (probably since I started my music library). This song was also a big influence on me to create a blog like this – as the message of this song is very similar to the goal of this blog. Here on the Meaning of Music I review songs and try to determine if it is a song we should listen to, or if we shouldn’t – not based on the sound of the music, but on the message. This is Larry Norman’s point in the song – that we shouldn’t just say “that song sounds different than what we’re used to, so it must be bad.” We need to decide if the song praises God or not. If it praises Him, listen to it. If it is contradictory to what the Bible teaches, be very careful with how much to listen to it. Music is powerful, so if we just fill our heads with the vain philosophies of men, we will quickly loose sight of the truth.
I hope you enjoy the song!

Lyrics: Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music
iTunes: Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music
Spotify: Larry Norman – Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music

I also highly recommend the rest of the album this song comes from: Only Visiting This Planet by Larry Norman.

There will be no review article for the month of September, so wait a few weeks and I will (hopefully) post one for October.

Jesus is the rock, and He rolled my blues away.
-Teegan