The Lost World

The Lost World

We have all gone astray - We have shunned the Lord
Looking for truth in so many different places
We have all gone our own way, though his spirit poured
We get confronted by so many different faces

Who has believed Him?
Who has seen the Light of Life?
By His wounds we are healed,
For our peace, He was crucified

And as I wander through the lost world
I see so little hope, such little faith
As I wander through the lost world, I know
I'll never find my home if I'm without Your grace

Masquerade, lack of hope - place it in a lie
There's got to be something more to this life
Shut the door, close the mind - changing like the tide
There's no such thing as the eternal high

Who has believed Him? Led like a lamb to the slaughter
Oppressed and afflicted, He poured out His life unto death

And as I wander through the lost world
I see so little hope, such little faith
As I wander through the lost world, I know
I'll never find my home if I'm without Your grace

Come all who are thirsty, drink and you will see
For the god of this generation, has made us blind!

Who has believed Him?
Who has seen the Light of Life?
By His wounds we are healed,
For the punishment that brought us peace - He was crucified!

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based on Isaiah 53 & 2 Corinthians 4:4
written by Mike Abramson & Lance Miller...

Sustain Me

another old one that Lance and I wrote. this was actually a really good song...

Sustain Me

O wash me, O Lord
Cleanse me of this guilt
Let me hold on again
Cause I admit my shameful deeds

Only Your power could sustain me
Only Your love could mend my brokenness
Only Your grace could save me
Only Your grace could put my soul to rest

I come to you on bended knee
My face is to the ground
I'm finding you despite all of this
Now I long to lift Your holy name

Only Your power could sustain me
Only Your love could mend my brokenness
Only Your grace could save me
Only Your grace could put my soul to rest

Send Your forgiveness
Let it reign down on me
Shower me with Your love
Fulfill my every need

Only Your power could sustain me
Only Your love could mend my brokenness
Only Your grace could save me
Only Your grace could put my soul to rest

I'm washed
I'm cleansed
I'm filled
I breathe again
I believe
I am free
I will live
Eternally

My Will Be A Dead Man

My Will Be A Dead Man

There comes a time
When I must murder my will
I cry out to God –
RETURN, RETURN, RETURN
Take from me this struggle
God, my will be a dead man

On this day, on this profession
On Your sacrifice, on Your Son
With this bloody Messiah
Show me Your sorrow
Illuminate my eyes with Your love
Paint this landscape with Your blood

I’m still learning what it’s like to be free
It can no longer be me against me
How I must be consumed for the sake of You
This will be my legacy - let it take all of me
Show me who I am in the depths of Spirit and truth
Cause I've seen the face of redemption; I know it's You

Never Mine: A Song of Redemption

I'm tired, can't keep focus anymore
I resisted, grabbed the reins and took control
It's brought me, nothing but wasted time
Leaving me alone and incomplete

Take this
My soul, My life
Take this
My all, it was never mine

I failed, threw it all way, but
You salvaged the broken, You made me whole
Now I wash my hands of my own existence
And I lay it at your feet...

Take this
My soul, My life
Take this
My all, it was never mine

This is my cry for freedom
This is my song of redemption
Because my heart isn't pure
And this could be my last shot at love...

=====================================

most of this was a song from my old band - Simplex Method. I can't remember who was the primary write (though it was probably Lance), however I redid some of it and also contributed at its inception back in the day.

Chasing After the Wind

Music is an indirect force for change, because it provides an anchor against human tragedy. In this sense, it works towards a reconciled world. It can also be the direct experience of change. At certain points during some shows, the reconciled world is already here, at least in that second, at that place. Operation Ivy was very lucky to have experienced this. Those seconds reveal that the momentum that drives a subculture is more important than any particular band. The momentum is made of all the people who stay interested, and keep their sense of urgency and hope. (J. from Operation Ivy)


Chasing After the Wind

I've heard them call it a waste of time
Maybe just a chasing after the wind
But this is how I commune with God
Where I become a spiritual being again

Cause if I dance all night, sing all day,
Maybe at the break of the dawn,
In the cool grey of the morning,
My heart will finally find its calm.

I just wish I could see myself at the end
And know that I wasn’t just chasing after the wind
Cause time seems to keep ticking away
Till there’s nothing left, only yesterday

Redeem...

I guess this is sort of my redemption song.

Redeem...

REDEEM...

I feel the weakness in my skin
No longer at peace
But at war from within

I cry in pain
But in Him I remain

Oh God, how I want to share Heaven with you...

If it wasn’t for this death kiss
My body’s natural affliction
Like a stinging cut to the wrist

I don’t want to do it on my own
I don’t want to end up in Hell all alone

Oh God, how I want to share Heaven with you...

Jehovah-rapha, I'd ask You to forgive me,
But I know Your help I'll deny,
I just don’t want to live another lie.

So all I can do is cry in pain,
Cry in pain for what remains.

Oh God, how I want to share Heaven with you...

I say to myself then, Will this be my ruin?
Should I hide inside my shadow
Till hellfire comes or I admit my wrongdoing?

Because what gets me is this quiet cull,
And so failure becomes my secret canticle.

Oh God, how I want to share Heaven with you...

And yes, I know Your story,
How You left Your Father in Heaven,
How You were emptied of all Your glory.

To be forsaken by the One You love,
You came to earth to die for those You love.

Oh God, how I want to share Heaven with you...

But I just stood there as we mocked Him,
Remembering, all You said was,
“Please… Father, forgive them.”

Telling us, Fight for the God of love.
Urging us, Fight for the God of love.

Oh God, how I want to share Heaven with you...

Lord, Your love never came in disguise,
You laid it all out there,
Only asking that we not compromise.

Help me rise above all of this impurity.
Grant me solace amidst my insecurity.

Oh God, how I want to share Heaven with you...

This isn’t just another dance,
It is my heart’s cry,
Calling once again for innocence.

Jah, You know, my heart’s rebellion is not of the chosen kind
Only the result of my inherent design.

Oh God, how I want to share Heaven with you...

Lord, I ask, for these things that I have seen and done,
Father, please forgive me,
Bless me in the sacrifice of Your Son.

So I surrender, I surrender all to You – All that I am, my pride, my anger
Just to get a glimpse – of Your hope, of Your love.

Oh God, how I want to share Heaven with you...

A Day's Refrain

A Day’s Refrain

I’m not depressed tonight
More tired of this fight
Give up, give in
We can’t slip this skin

and in this day’s refrain
I hear the singing of no pain
Stepping up to forfeit
My struggle, I quit

No more will disdain
Ever again wear my name
Or unhappiness the same.
Why did I even play this game?

In it, I find no peace
Only disease without cease
And in this day’s refrain
I long to feel no pain

So just forfeit
Give up, give in - quit
Sweet release or serenity
I ask them to envelop me presently

God, for You how I long
Grab thy hand - be strong
May I come to You? Feel me.
A day’s refrain, can I see? Heal me.

Chase the Dawn

Chase the Dawn

i need your brokenness,
cause i'm chasing the dark,
and i see your eyes,
speaking the way...

this time, I’m racing along
giving this sin
a fight that never ends -
chasing the dawn

now your eyes,
follow me here,
seeking my soul,
just leaving me bare

testing my will
my only chance
fading my heart
like storybook syntax

but when did I lose faith?
was it those promises,
I thought You never kept?
Or is it this heart that never heals?

But Your eyes
They follow me down
Seamless and sure
They leave me broken, in need of a cure

Stripping my soul
Leaving me hollow
With but a silhouette
Chasing the dawn

The Broken Heart of a Traitor

The Broken Heart of a Traitor

This broken heart of a traitor,
Bound by the frailty of words.
Finds itself plagued by one question,
Is Your grace enough? (to heal the burned)

Oh how could I tempt fate again?
I'm not sure but today left with silence,
And these muddy waters come rushing in,
Taking what's left of my innocence.

God, I am Your imperfect creation,
struggling, striving forth
Fighting for that which is eternal
Fighting for that which is love.

But I find failure is my only real friend
That this tradition of defeat
Will try to claim me till the end.
Capturing me with the heresy in my heart.

But how do I stop my heart and my tongue,
From fanning the flames of unforgiveness?
My only hope is that this love suffers long
And rejoices in truth, rescuing me from my December.

I Remain...

I Remain...

Captive to my sinful desires

I become burned beyond recognition

Melting to the image of this world

I am unrecognizable

Where do I go from here?

Who will embrace my pain?

Who will hide the tears?

In Him, I remain.

Camouflaged, I hide my face

Heart drenched in hopelessness

Captive to my faithlessness

This shadow descends upon me.

Where do I go from here?

Who will embrace my pain?

Who will hide the tears?

In Him, I remain.

Losing myself in compromise

I now have led to my demise

I become a martyr to this world

Because only in death, do I find life.

In Him, I remain

Strength of My Life

All i feel is all i am,

held to nothing,

changing day by day,

forever downard it seems i go,

never thinking i'll find the right way.

stuck in this losing mindset,

failure is what i become,

cause this is all i feel.

forever downward it seems i go,

chasing all i think is real,

always forgetting what i already know.

blindly groping the air,

for what i know is not there.

forever downward it seems i go.

ignorant of where to step next,

its a situation leaving me quite perplexed.

now inaction has become my way of life.

never is this the solution for which i search,

forever downard it seems i go.

all this does is add to my strife,

and this peace i long for, on my fingertips it seems to perch.

seemingly to be almost within my grasp,

an illusion, never do i think over it my fist will clasp.

forever downard it seems i go.

please God, grab me with Your sovereign hand,

rip me from this life and mold me to Your plan.

never let me ago astray from what you have in mind,

cause all that seems to do is waste precious time.

forever with You, i pray i will walk.

this life i live, i renounce it now.

in front of You i wish to bow.

without spot and without blemish is how i am to be,

swathe me in Your blood, so in Your presence i can be eternally.

forever with You, i pray i will walk.

God, on my knees i come to You,

Be a light unto my feet is what i ask,

my desire is to perform Your holy task,

and to do all things i said i'd do.

forever with You, i pray i will walk.

Lord, always let me be found at Your side,

let me find the footsteps You've already laid in the sand,

i want to live my life where You abide,

and be found always within Your hand.

forever with You, i pray i wll be.

Your love, just pours out over me,

Thank you God for every breath,

thank you even for my death,

cause i know, in it, You is what i will see,

And forever with You, i know i will be.

Flag Burning - those damn hippies...

Flag Burning Amendment Fails
66-34... pretty damn close

My main point is that something like burning the flag should never be banned. Though you and I may find it reprehensible, it is necessary for open and robust discourse. Open and robust discourse is the exact purpose of the First Amendment. Also, if you look at the history of what we call "free" speech (I use quotations b/c much speech is not free), you'll see that there exists a hierarchy of speech and the protection of that speech correlates to where it falls in that hierarchy.

Flag burning is considered "political speech." Political speech is the MOST protected form of speech. So if this were a Supreme Court decision (and it was in 1984) the Supreme Court would show deference to the speech. The thought is that you err on the side of letting too much in, rather than censoring too much out. This thought process is indicative of Oliver Wendell Holme's "marketplace of ideas" theory. Which in its most crude form, basically says, throw everything out there and let society deal with it. The better the idea, the more reverence society will pay it; thus it will rise to the top. The worse the idea, the quicker it will sink. It's basically derivative of capitalist thought but generally tends to work for speech.

So in the end, I say all this only to say that the ability to express your political views in the manner you see fit (so long as it does not infringe on other's rights) is one of the proudest traditions this country possesses. To take that away just because you find the action reprehensible is antithetical to American Constitutional thought/ideology. You cannot practice viewpoint discrimination when concerned with the methodology someone chooses to espouse their views.

HOWEVER, if Congress is able to pass the amendment and get it ratified by 38 of the 50 states, so be it. The voice of the people has spoken and that is exactly how you're supposed to do it Constitutionally. I would back that.

my tenure as president...

Alright, here's the deal - I'm president of my law school this year.

So yeah, I think we're screwed or should I say - they - not we, cause I get to go to Hawaii for free and I get a $10,000 stipend!!! Badass, huh? Exactly.

I promise I'll take it seriously... at some point. You know, sometime after I'm tired of using it to hit on girls and get copious amounts of free food : )

These Dreams Are Made In Lies

These Dreams Are Made In Lies...

If no one speaks a word
and this hope has to die
do i really need to tell you
that these dreams are made in lies?

Cause now that everything is burning,
This could be my last chance to breathe.
Do I really have to die alone?
Will my God come to find this need?

Can this sorrow carry me
To what I've heard others call
The most beautiful epiphany?

But everything is changing
Right before my eyes it's changing
But I'm still waiting
And You're giving it all away

You're holding on to the future
I'm holding on to the past
And this fear has come between us
I don't think we're ever going to last

I'm hurting from the inside
My life is in Your hands
Cleanse me from the inside

So I surrender, I surrender all to You
All that I am, my pride, my anger
Just to get a glimpse- of Your hope, of Your love
To grab hold of Your future

Tonight, now I am standing with You
It feels so perfect, You with me
My heart is beating for You
My last chance to breathe...

Stand Against The Wind...

So living in Chicago, you are accosted by homeless people and needy people multiple times a day. They are sitting on the corner, they are walking down the street with you, they are trying to sell you a self-made newspaper. When you're around this all the time, your heart becomes callous towards them. You're just de-sensitized and that is a horrible thing. I claim to be a Christian- the fundamental tenet of my faith is love which, because of my callous heart, I don't see born out in my life on anything close to a near daily basis. This was a horrible realization for myself for I believe that without love, you have nothing. And so I started thinking, how did I get here? Do I really not care? Could I care again? From these thoughts, this poem was born. Enjoy.

Stand Against the Wind

Oh Lord, thank you for my call

For urging me to stand against the wind

Because I dont know how,

A man could be so callous that he doesnt recognize his kin

And I dont know how,

A man could be so jaded that he cant look past this skin

From where I stand I see,

Humanity stricken, tragedy given, love forsaken,

Now I dont know what its like,

To live in fear or live in silence with this ritual breaking

Awaiting compassions return

Hopefully coming on the next passing wind

So this is my prayer to Thee,

That we are no longer satisfied with complicity

Search our souls, find sincerity,

Do not let the world prostitutionalize me

Abhor the sleeping who dont see,

That in saving one life, you save the entire world manifestly

Cause from every heart you touch,
You hear innocence cry out this, our canticle
That the children are the image of the invisible
That we are all the image of the invisible,
And as sons and heirs of grace,
We cannot allow this, this quiet cull


for those of you out there who listen to Thrice religiously, the last verse is not a copy, I view it more as paying almage cause I love Thrice.

Come Waste Away With Me...

Well, so Greg's urging finally got me here to do some posting. I assure nothing I say will be profound, thought-provoking or intelligent. However, it may be offensive, grating and/or downright awesome. You know why it'll be awesome? Cause I'm awesome - they don't call me the Hebrew Hammer for nothing!!! So keep checking in to see if I put anything. I'll probably be putting up poems that I have written. They usually suck but you should waste your time with them anyways.