music

Monologue

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Introduction to: Traversin’ the Ecuador Set.

The songs on this album reflect the fruitfulness of a season in my life where my Maker has put me on a more intense course of learning how to hope in Him alone. No hoping in other people or things. God alone.

Many days on this course were like a good, cold, sock’em-in winter which sends its frost to kill the bugs and piles on the snow limiting my ability to get around at whim. All things water will freeze. The cold winds drive the blood deeper in to protect the organs, and in those days you run for shelter, for heat. That winter season will claim you if you don’t respect it. But winter is only a season, and it precedes the fruits of spring. So it is with seasons of life where the tests, afflictions and losses produce for us eternal weights of glory.

We need a guide to both show us what glory is and how to get to it's core. The Lord is this guide.

The Lord disciplines those he loves (Proverbs 3:11-12), and what is better than to be loved by God? The Psalmist says, “before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Thy word. Thou art good and doest good; teach me your statutes…. It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Thy statutes. The law of Thy mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces” (Psalm 119:67-68, 71-72).

When a blacksmith takes a rod of iron and puts it in the fire to start the process of shaping the rod into a useful weapon, he lays it on the anvil. The hammer is not the only tool he uses. It is not even the first tool he uses. The blank rod is laid on the anvil. The anvil is the solid foundation that can take the necessary blows of the hammer to the rod. Without the anvil, a slung hammer (tests, trials, afflictions) would just punch the iron and bend it out of wack. To produce a useful tool from a blank rod, both the hammer and the anvil are necessary.

God, being the Master Blacksmith, lays us on the anvil of his word. He wants us to be more than just a blank rod, and we do too, so He starts shaping, testing, trying, forming us to know the truths in His word. In this disciplining process, if my hearts eyes are focused on the hammer, despair will often set in as it sees the coming blow. But when my hearts eyes are focused on the anvil, to that which I am being formed, then I can press on in hope and maybe, with grace, even begin to sing “O death, where is thy sting”(1 Cor. 15:55)!

God also lays us on the anvil of his Son and begins to shape us into the likeness of Jesus. We learn to see things as Jesus sees them. “…Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. …Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely on account of me. REJOICE, AND BE GLAD, FOR YOUR REWARD IN HEAVEN IS GREAT” (Matt 5:6-12). “For whoever wished to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it. For what will a man profit if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul”(Matt. 16:25-26)? “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, shall receive many times as much, and shall inherit eternal life” (Matt. 19:29-30). “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me” (Matt. 19:21).

These verses all go against the natural man’s thought for how to be fully satisfied, and so we need God to free us. We need the Lord to flatten the flesh and expose an edge so that we might cut through the lies of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, the incomplete satisfaction of pleasures not enjoyed because of God. And so, in His love for His children, He disciplines us, both for our good and for His glory.

In the midst of the disciplining, when I need some preaching to set my sights on the anvil rather than the hammer, and I’m the only one around to fill the pulpit, I pull out this verse and work it ‘til the lock breaks free; “ I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord” (Psalm 27:13-14). Or this one; “consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing”(James 1:2-4). God is for me in His disciplining. And I take great comfort that the Lord’s hammer never misses and never misfires (Lam. 3:33, 37-38, Job 30:32, Romans 8:28, Heb. 12:10-11).

Some of these songs were written years ago. Some of these texts, which have been worked into a lyric, were written years ago. They have all been a means of grace to my soul as I learn how to walk in the fear of the Lord through His loving, disciplining hand. “Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4b).

If the songs below are linked, that means I’ve had time to unpack them. If they are not, pray for me and stop back later.

Blessings,
Jason Harms

Come Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy

Run John Run

Give Me Jesus

My Wise And Ever Blessed God

O Love That Will Not Let Me Go

The Sovereign Joy

What Do I Love? (when I love my God)

Daniel

Hold Or Hunt

Lullaby For The Childlike

The Sky Above The Land Of Uz- Theme



	Monologue .................................................................................................................... Introduction to: Traversin’ the Ecuador Set. The songs on this album reflect the fruitfulness of a season in my life where my Maker has put me on a more intense course of learning how to hope in Him alone. No hoping in other people or things. God alone. Many days on this course were like a good, cold, sock’em-in winter which sends its frost to kill the bugs and piles on the snow limiting my ability to get around at whim. All things water will freeze. The cold winds drive the blood deeper in to protect the organs, and in those days you run for shelter, for heat. That winter season will claim you if you don’t respect it. But winter is only a season, and it precedes the fruits of spring. So it is with seasons of life where the tests, afflictions and losses produce for us eternal weights of glory. We need a guide to both show us what glory is and how to get to it's core. The Lord is this guide. The Lord disciplines those he loves (Proverbs 3:11-12), and what is better than to be loved by God? The Psalmist says, “before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Thy word. Thou art good and doest good; teach me your statutes…. It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Thy statutes. The law of Thy mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces” (Psalm 119:67-68, 71-72). When a blacksmith takes a rod of iron and puts it in the fire to start the process of shaping the rod into a useful weapon, he lays it on the anvil. The hammer is not the only tool he uses. It is not even the first tool he uses. The blank rod is laid on the anvil. The anvil is the solid foundation that can take the necessary blows of the hammer to the rod. Without the anvil, a slung hammer (tests, trials, afflictions) would just punch the iron and bend it out of wack. To produce a useful tool from a blank rod, both the hammer and the anvil are necessary. God, being the Master Blacksmith, lays us on the anvil of his word. He wants us to be more than just a blank rod, and we do too, so He starts shaping, testing, trying, forming us to know the truths in His word. In this disciplining process, if my hearts eyes are focused on the hammer, despair will often set in as it sees the coming blow. But when my hearts eyes are focused on the anvil, to that which I am being formed, then I can press on in hope and maybe, with grace, even begin to sing “O death, where is thy sting”(1 Cor. 15:55)! God also lays us on the anvil of his Son and begins to shape us into the likeness of Jesus. We learn to see things as Jesus sees them. “…Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. …Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely on account of me. REJOICE, AND BE GLAD, FOR YOUR REWARD IN HEAVEN IS GREAT” (Matt 5:6-12). “For whoever wished to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it. For what will a man profit if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul”(Matt. 16:25-26)? “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, shall receive many times as much, and shall inherit eternal life” (Matt. 19:29-30). “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me” (Matt. 19:21). These verses all go against the natural man’s thought for how to be fully satisfied, and so we need God to free us. We need the Lord to flatten the flesh and expose an edge so that we might cut through the lies of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, the incomplete satisfaction of pleasures not enjoyed because of God. And so, in His love for His children, He disciplines us, both for our good and for His glory. In the midst of the disciplining, when I need some preaching to set my sights on the anvil rather than the hammer, and I’m the only one around to fill the pulpit, I pull out this verse and work it ‘til the lock breaks free; “ I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord” (Psalm 27:13-14). Or this one; “consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing”(James 1:2-4). God is for me in His disciplining. And I take great comfort that the Lord’s hammer never misses and never misfires (Lam. 3:33, 37-38, Job 30:32, Romans 8:28, Heb. 12:10-11). Some of these songs were written years ago. Some of these texts, which have been worked into a lyric, were written years ago. They have all been a means of grace to my soul as I learn how to walk in the fear of the Lord through His loving, disciplining hand. “Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4b). If the songs below are linked, that means I’ve had time to unpack them. If they are not, pray for me and stop back later. Blessings, Jason Harms Come Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy Run John Run Give Me Jesus My Wise And Ever Blessed God O Love That Will Not Let Me Go The Sovereign Joy What Do I Love? (when I love my God) Daniel Hold Or Hunt Lullaby For The Childlike The Sky Above The Land Of Uz- Theme