Delta Spirit “Bushwick Blues” from Yours Truly on Vimeo.

In the time of my confession, in the hour of my deepest need
When the pool of tears beneath my feet flood every newborn seed
There’s a dying voice within me reaching out somewhere
Toiling in the danger and in the morals of despair.

Don’t have the inclination to look back on any mistake
Like Cain, I now behold this chain of events that I must break
In the fury of the moment I can see the master’s hand
In every leaf that trembles, in every grain of sand.

Oh, the flowers of indulgence and the weeds of yesteryear
Like criminals, they have choked the breath of conscience and good cheer
The sun beat down upon the steps of time to light the way
To ease the pain of idleness and the memory of decay.

I gaze into the doorway of temptation’s angry flame
And every time I pass that way I always hear my name
Then onward in my journey I come to understand
That every hair is numbered like every grain of sand.

I have gone from rags to riches in the sorrow of the night
In the violence of a summer’s dream, in the chill of a wintry light
In the bitter dance of loneliness fading into space
In the broken mirror of innocence on each forgotten face.

I hear the ancient footsteps like the motion of the sea
Sometimes I turn, there’s someone there, other time it’s only me
I am hanging in the balance of the reality of man
Like every sparrow falling, like every grain of sand.

Mark your calendars now…
This Saturday, January 23, we are performing on the longest-running music series in American television history, Austin City Limits!

To get you all ready for the big show:
You can read our program preview, set list, and a have a look at photos from our recording now on austincitylimits.com.

ACL is also featuring a clip of our “I and Love and You” performance, which you can watch here!

Austin City Limits airs on PBS: check here for your local listing.

Can’t wait for you to see it!

Best,
The Avett Brothers

]]> http://www.justindetmers.com/?feed=rss2&p=1021 0 http://www.justindetmers.com/?p=860 http://www.justindetmers.com/?p=860#comments Sun, 27 Dec 2009 19:47:38 +0000 Justin http://www.justindetmers.com/?p=860 A “conscience” helps us make sense of a Holy God. A conscience illuminates a moral/ethical dimension in our lives/world that shouldn’t be ignored. When people don’t have these, oh the horror…I think we can all understand the need for a moral compass. But I’m not talkin’ bout that, Willis.

I’m talking about an over-active conscience. When one’s conscious has been hijacked and one becomes too sensitive and plagued heavy sense of being wrong/unworthy/not good enough. He or she has no gray, it’s all black and white; even if the “morality” is just a construct of societal/cultural norms, these are seen as mandates from God Himself. This could mean a prohibition on consuming lawful/moderate amounts of alcohol, using sarcasm, listening to non-Christian music, or so on. But Christianity isn’t about what you don’t do, it’s about who you know.

This is summed up well in the lingo of “conviction” that I’ve heard used quite a bit over the years. Allow me to interpret the Christian-ese: it is feeling guilty, bad, or something to that effect. Dictionary.com says that to convict means “to prove or declare guilty of an offense…to impress with a sense of guilt…a person proved or declared guilty of an offense.” (Again there is place for this, but I’m speaking of excess) I hear people speak of feeling convicted, but never of feeling acquitted, why?

Unhealthy guilt leads to despair, to fear, to worry, and drowns us in inadequacy and insecurity. OR, if we think we play the game better than others, it leads us to arrogance, “I’m better than you.” I know many who live this first hand, I’m recovering from an over-active conscious (aka Baptist guilt or feeling “convicted” all the time)…even doubting salvation.

However, Christians who read/know scripture should really be overwhelmed with a sense of acquittal. When we read the Bible and realize we don’t measure up, we should feel relieved. Any guilt we experience should be what Paul calls “godly guilt”, which leads us to turning around to go in the right direction. Feeling that holy sorrow isn’t about me turning into Eeyore (From Winnie the Pooh). We should be affirmed in our salvation, and eager to work out or sanctification, knowing the Spirit will help us do His will. This means even our mistakes should take us back to Jesus, showing us how good He is. This will motivate us not just to behaving well, but to but mission – where real sanctification happens. We should feel relieved, not perplexed. That grace & love takes off the pressure; acquittal fills us with thanks and spills over into a life of gratitude and joy.

The text tells us that it actually is Satan accuses the “brethren,” yet Jesus lives to intercede for His people. Romans 8 explains nothing could ever separate us from God’s love. Nothing. 1 John 4 tells us that God is love. And Hebrews 10 does a breathtaking job of explaining how sin was and is dealt with – how one perfect sacrifice effectively power-washed our souls.

So, if you (as a Christian) wrestle with excessive guilt, feeling heavy, discouraged, weighed down by an overactive conscience that convicts you; know you are acquitted (and stop sinning). Perhaps you could rest in the lyrics of this Dashboard Confessional song, “Get Me Right.”

“Jesus I’ve fallen…if I meet my maker, I’ll meet my maker clean/But, Jesus the truth is/I’ve struggled so hard to believe/I’ll meet my maker/I’ll need my maker/To cure of my doubting blood/And drain me of the sins I love/And take from me my disbelief/I know it should come easily/But it remains inside of me/It battles and devours me/It cuddles up the side of me/And whispers it convinces me I’m…Right.”

Hell from Tegan and Sara on Vimeo.