Lyrics from Priorities (1999)

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94 | b4u | cut the strings | make a choice | middle ground | mortal me | potato song | priorities | to serve you |

94

little guy just a walkin' the street, name of Jesus upon his sleeve. boys saw him coming, thinking in their minds: "freak. God-boy. goodie goodie so fine." they started yelling as he passed them by, "haven't gone to church my whole life. what's the difference between you and me? the heavens are empty. no god sees me." dig the pit a little deeper. He who made the ears, He hears. He who made the eyes, He sees. He knows all the thoughts of men. certainly. certainly. hanging with his friends at the local mall. God on his lips, talking to all. friends say, "stop talking like that. for all of our sakes, keep it under your hat." "don't you bring your God-talk near. your speech is foolish. i have no fear. except of someone seeing me talking to you, cuz then they'll think that i'm a God-boy too." dig the pit a little deeper. chorus. little guy just a walkin' the street, never knowing just who he'd meet. expecting the daily ridicule on his way passing by to school. he met with the sneers and taunts of them, same time, same place all over again. except this time some kid could hear anothervoice sounding full of reason and fear. why do you not see that God sees you insulting, taunts aimed at Him are heard by the one King of Kings.maybe there's hope after all. chorus.

b4u

so quick to stand and open my mouth, so slow to kneel in front of You. pride and diction, poise and memory. so eloquent the prayer i use. can't remember the last time i took a chair, started listening to what You'd say to me. the minute i stopped trying to make the perfect prayer, Your love for me i can finally see. Father where's Your glory? Father where's Your grace? it isn't in some outward show of face. Your grace is upon us, Your glory forever. and when i'm silenced i hear so much better...humbled before You. so busy tryin' to keep myself clean. pride everywhere, my silent enemy, hits me where it's least expected to be. blinded by my works, sometimes i think it's me. oh my God, take me off this pedestal. don't wanna be here anymore. take me down to the foot of the cross, where my Savior died and i shun all pride. chorus. (Micah 6:8) He has shown you, oh man, what is good. and what does the Lord require of you? to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. chorus.

cut the strings

i was so stupid once, i tried to hide from You. and when the chance came up i showered in sin with the things i would do. i thought that i was clean but i just didn't see my face. completely covered me and didn't leave an untouched place. if i'd have looked around i could have seen it everywhere. i didn't want to look i didn't even want to care. i tied myself so tightly with those strings of sin and shame and all because i was way too proud to call out His name. maybe i was convinced that He could never want me back but i knew too much of His love to ever believe that. i'm tired of everything. please cut these strings and lead. cut, cut the strings of sin, the strings that tie me down to my old ways that aren't of You. cuz i'm feeling rather tired and beaten to the ground by all my aimless walk and wandering around. still have a stupid side, sometimes i turn astray. but one thing's different now cuz i'm sure You're the only way. and now You've come and changed my life and separated me from all that sin and shame, so thankful that You set me free. i hate to look back now cuz then i see my brokenness, but when i do i see my Savior cleaning up the mess. putting me back together, ultimately made me whole now i am free to love Him with my heart and mind and soul. and you don't have to worry how tightly you've tied those strings, cuz God's love is bigger than your sin! He's bigger than your sin. cut loose and let him lead. chorus.

make a choice

this is joe schmoe. he keeps up with the jones'. he's got his life in tact with nothing rattlin' his bones. suv, posh house, fine wife and booming stocks. looking from outside you'd think his happiness was locked. nothing to fear. the future only looks bright, hi-tech security keeps him safe through the night. nestled snuggly with his trophy wife in his bed while haunting visions of eternity invade his head. what are ya gonna do when it all comes crashing down? you swim in shallow hope but in that pool you'll someday drown. God gave us this world. it's ours to fully enjoy, but seek the Giver not the gift. you've got to make a choice. think about it, joe, all your stuff don't 'mount to jack. truth is you need God. it's His presence you lack. in His presence is true fullness of joy. not the fake joy that comes from gadgets and toys. like putting bandaids on a cancer as an ultimate cure you put your hope in this world and it'll never endure. think eternal, trust in God cuz only He will satisfy. don't hesitate or delay cuz it's too late when you die. chorus. one morning Joe woke up to find his mind in a pit of poverty and despair. without these things could he be happy? could he find joy beyond his material tower of babel? this ain't no joke. we're talking life and death. is your hope in stuff or in Him who gives breath. sooner or later every person will bow. don't wait till later. serve him now. chorus.

middle ground

this world i know, i call it my home. everything here my senses condone. i work to see wealth and don't need a thing. life should be perfect, but there's something missing. some say how worthless these things really are. you can't take them with you. we soon will depart. so why do i cling to this world so tight, when the God of all will give eternal delight. issues at hand somehow demand that i take a stand now. evil or good, so misunderstood. there's no middle ground. what can i say? did God go half way when He sent His Son down? in Him i confide. put me on His side. there's no middle ground. the giver of life. how could i ignore. the contract You made, the curtain You tore. You straighten my paths. You show me the way. yet i still feel this tug that leads me astray. the world keeps saying "come dine with me. God's here for one day, that leaves you six more with me." now the charge: will i take up arms, against this menacing world, or let down my guard? chorus.

mortal me

looking back through the ages. retrospective years gone by. against all odds consuming. perseverance: the word they live by. eyes set on Thee above. passion not for earthly spoils. obedient from the call to death. lesson of our christian toil. why does He use average mortal me? am i so good that He needs me to accomplish His plans? this i know: that His compassion shows, when despite of myself He uses me. mortal me. i see their lives ended, because of hardened hearts of men. burned on a pole, shredded by wild beasts, or crucified upside down. now convinced same spirit is with me, i live in the wake. tripping and stumbling all along the way, yet upheld by Him who saves. chorus.

potato song

i am glad God made me a potato. God has grown me, picked me, taught me to live humbly and now i'm living life not going solo. cuz God chose and gave purpose to His servant lowly. now they'll cook me, set me on the table so life i can give to those all around me and i'm glad God made me a potato. Lord, please use me nourishingly. by no merit of my own He picked me. out of sin He picked me. from the dirt He cleaned me. now i'm living.

priorities

i don't care what people think, sometimes i know i'm wierd. i sit and read my Bible while they go out and have a beer. i pray for hours and praise God while they skip classes without fail. but God is my life's focus. He is my priority. and Jesus is my all in all. He is my savior and my life's priority. lifted me from my sin and He set me free, made my life full and happy. ya know i don't care what people think. Jesus is Lord and my priority. i still don't care what people think. they say i waste my precious time. i don't sleep in on sundays or drink to death on thursday nights. my hope is that they'll come to see that my commitment isn't small and know that God's my Savior, to His cause i give my all. ya know i don't care what people think. Jesus is Lord and all i'll ever need! chorus.

to serve you

it amazes me just how far You've brought me, from a life of sin to living in the Light. by no feat of my own, You brought me from the pit, put me up on solid ground so i could praise your name and say God, i give you the glory for taking my life and removing all my sin. i know there's no way i could have tried to change my old ways on my own. i'll love You forever, lift Your name higher, focus on what i can do to further Your kingdom, spreading the gospel. i am living to serve You. i live to love You. i love to praise Your name. cuz You alone are God. serving only You. and with my whole heart i will love You. and with my whole life i will serve You. now my biggest goal is to know You more, You're infinitely huge but the task is not a chore. You delight in me. sometimes i'm not sure why, but all my days i will serve you with all my strength i will strive to give. chorus. and some day i'll come into Your awesome presence. i'll fall on my knees when i see Your beauty. the words i long to hear, hear the Father say, "well done faithful servant, you lived by My grace." chorus.