New Song

Here is our newest song:



Hopefully, I will post tomorrow, so tune in!

Scripture Tuesday - Romans 12:21

"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

Our natural bent is to be overcome by evil. When someone does harm to us, we harm them back. Indeed, the

very idea of "turning the other cheek" is repulsive to our flesh. (Of course, there are many things in the Bible
that are offensive, perhaps the chiefest of which is the gospel itself. But I won't go down that rabbit trail.)
  Back to the point, haven't we all seen how effective this principle is? For example, when a small child doesn't
get his way, he usually throws a temper tantrum. Now, when you've got some red-faced little kid kicking and
screaming in your face, you tend to forget anything you ever learned about keeping your calm, and have the
overwhelming urge to let him have it. All joking aside, I have seen myself the power that a calm and loving,
albeit firm, response has to soothe the proverbial beast.
  Paul Washer has also talked about this before, referring, I believe, to 1 Peter 3:1-4. He described a situation in
which he arrives home from work worn out and finds the house in chaos. He then turns to his wife and protests
angrily. Now here is the important part. If she decides to reply in kind, they simply get into a verbal brawl. But if
she responds humbly and kindly, explaining why things are out of order, he picks himself up off the floor,
excuses himself politely, crawls out to the woodshed, and proceeds to whack himself upside the head with a
two-by-four before crawling inside and asking forgiveness!
  In any case, we can see that no matter what our flesh says, if we fight evil with evil, we will be overcome by it. So let us make it our goal to "strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see
the Lord" (Heb. 12:14), for in so doing, we will be able, by the grace of God, to overcome evil with good.

Update

Well, it seems I fell off the face of the earth sometime around last monday. But never fear, for I have returned!
Actually, what happened was that the Wretched Brothers were preparing for a weekend full of "gigs". Amazing,
is it not? Friday, we were able to play at Creatures Cafe, which is a Christian cafe in downtown Asheville.

We played for about forty minutes, but here is a short clip captured on a short camera...



But before that, we were invited to do a brief "interview" and play a few songs for their radio station, called 95.7 "The Choice". (Once again, short clip on short camera)



We were also asked to play a song for a celebration on Saturday that was given by the Fowler Family's (and
ours) adoption agency, Grandfather Home, to honor those who had adopted, and had been adopted, this past
year. It went very well, although no clips were taken. B)

Lastly, our church hosted an early Thanksgiving dinner yesterday evening, having invited people in the
surrounding neighborhoods the previous Sunday, and we were the entertainment! It was a grand time, with
plenty of pumpkin pie, and a gospel message into the bargain.

So, our weekend flurry of fame is ended, and we continue to pray that our music would be used by God to draw
people to Him.

(I will try to have my usual weekly exposition up tomorrow)

Scripture Monday - Psalm 119:11 (And Song)

"I have stored up your word in my heart,

that I might not sin against you."

God's word is the Christian's primary weapon in battle. Indeed, it is called "the sword of the Spirit, which is the

word of God" (Eph. 6:17). How can we expect to lead godly lives if we do not bother to meditate on, and

memorize, scripture? Jesus said that "temptations to sin are sure to come" (Luke 17:1), so we would be wise to

prepare for them; to have the truth in our minds and on our lips, so that when we are tempted, we may expose

it as a lie (and thereby spare ourselves a great deal of pain). Surely, we all know of the rationalization that

comes with temptation. Its purpose is to dull your senses, to lull you into thinking that sin will satisfy. Yet a well-aimed passage of scripture, being "sharper than any two-edged sword" (Heb. 4:12), will cut through this

dark cloud. Like cockroaches that scatter when you turn on the light, evil cannot stand in the face of God's

truth. Let us pray, while we study the Word, that the Holy Spirit will bring to our mind the scriptures that we

need at the right time, and that He would speak with such power that we would be unable to ignore it.

  But I return to the main point of this post, which is that we, as Christians, must be in the scriptures. They are

as food for our souls, a light for our path, and a deadly weapon in the fight against sin. So I challenge us all,

myself included, to search ourselves and discern our weaknesses, then search the scriptures for passages that

deal with those things, committing them to memory, so that the next time we are tempted, we may expose the

lie and put Satan to flight. 

(Now, here is a new song)

New-ish Song

Well, okay, it's a week old. But I'll put it up anyway. Enjoy:

Scripture Tuesday - Psalm 115:3

"Our God is in the heavens; He does all that He pleases."

If we could truly comprehend the size and power of God, we would surely be different people. If we were

constantly aware of His presence, always considering the fact that He is a jealous and just God, would we not

tremble in awe and fear? Were it not for our finite minds, limited and stained by the fall, surely we would! Yet

praise God that He allows His people glimpses, flashes of recognition, although we are thus handicapped. No,

we cannot comprehend His magnitude in this lifetime, but when we enter our glorified state, we will finally be

able to learn with an unfettered mind. Of course, we will never know all there is to know about Him.       

  Nevertheless, until then we ought to strive after knowing Him as best we can, meditating on the scriptures,
seeking Him earnestly in prayer, not so we can have an emotional experience, but so we can carry this
conviction in our hearts; that our God is great, and He is in control. He will be swayed by no one, for His purpose stands firm. He does all that He pleases, and we can be sure that whatever He pleases is good and perfect. So let the Devil persecute us, let him come with his fiery darts! We will not be moved, for "Our God is
in the heavens; He does all that He pleases."

Another One

Today I turned seventeen. At 2:23 pm, to be precise. Sunny baked a carrot cake, we had ravioli, and all is well
with the world. B)
  Anyway, this year has been a good one. I feel like I have matured more not only as a young man and a
christian, but also as a musician. This month marks a year since the Wretched Brothers became the Wretched
Brothers, and next month, a year since we opened our youtube account. This was the year I started writing
songs and singing them. Because of these things, I now know more than ever that the music I make must
glorify God and point people to the truth if it is to be worth anything. My music has a purpose, and for that I am
thankful. I don't know what God has in store for me next, but what I witnessed firsthand this past year is His
faithfulness when I am unfaithful, and His blessings when I obey Him. One thing that was certainly a blessing
was being able to get my Learners' Permit (which also borders on miracle territory, if you ask me!). This is
definitely an important step to becoming a man, and again, I am thankful for for it. Of course, I am grateful for
my family and church family, who have continued to support, encourage, instruct, and love me. This has been a
full year, a gift from God. I can only imagine what He has planned for the next one!

(And now, just for fun)