Artist of the Week

Artist: Sanctus Real
Album: We Need Each Other
Song: Lay Down My Guns



I have to admit, when I first saw the title of this song I thought to myself, “I bet this is one of those silly anti-gun messages that some bands sing about.” But to my surprise, it is a really touching and powerful worship song. Before I go on, I need to give you some background about the song. As Sanctus Real was putting together this album, a song writer friend, Doug, sent them a file of lyrics, and on this file was the chorus “Lay down your guns, lift up your hands.” Matt Hammitt, the lead singer and song writer used this chorus, tweaked it a bit and wrote this amazing song. As you read through these lyrics, think about the war in Iraq, the things the soldiers have to go through on a daily basis. Some of them lose their friends over there, some even lose their own lives. This song is a tribute to the soldiers in Iraq, and also Hammitt is using the war in Iraq as a metaphor of our lives on earth. The last run through of the chorus says it best:
May this desert reach its end where my new life begins
And I'll abandon my defenses and live to love again
When I lay down my guns and lift my hands

While we are on this earth, we have to uphold our defenses, Satan is attacking us all the time, he is on the prowl. We lift up our guns to defend ourselves against the enemy. But when we leave this earth and finally reach Heaven, we can lay down our guns and we will eternally be in peace where we can lift our hands to worship the Lord.

Enjoy the song.


Well I just need a place to lay my head
Forget the chain that hangs around my neck
These guns are not as heavy as the hearts they defend
I can't wait to get back home where I can find some rest

When I lay down my guns and lift my hands
Surrender to Love and live again
May this desert reach its end where my new life begins
When I lay down my guns and lift my hands

And I have seen the devil in this place
And I lost myself when my friends found the grave
When you're this far from Heaven
It's hard to keep the faith
I'm barely holding on
I can't wait to

Lay down my guns and lift my hands
Surrender to Love and live again
May this desert reach its end where my new life begins
When I lay down my guns and lift my hands

And I'm laying down these burdens
Taking off the weights
And I can't count the miles that I've walked to find my way
To lay down these guns
How I need to lay down these guns

Lay down my guns and lift my hands
Surrender to Love and live again
May this desert reach its end where my new life begins
And I'll abandon my defenses and live to love again
When I lay down my guns and lift my hands

Lay down
Lay down
Lay down my guns

Bankrupt!

Every morning when I leave town as I go on to the highway, I see a little sign that says “Bankruptcy or Divorce from $500.” I understand that the economy is tough and times are hard, but seriously? With the new president, though we don’t really know what his plans are, we do hope the change is a good thing for the economy. Looking at the stimulus package in the house and senate, I am not so sure that change is good. But nevertheless, we must have faith. Faith is what keeps us going. I have faith that God will keep my family afloat through these rough economic times. I know this because the Bible tells me that God will provide. But I also know this from past circumstances. God has delivered us through many trials, some financial, some relational, and some spiritual. But God has delivered us, and we are thankful for that. But how can a person know that God will take of them? Well, you first have to declare bankruptcy. Yes, you heard me correctly, declare bankruptcy. You don’t need file chapter 7 bankruptcy or anything like that (save that $500!), rather, you need to declare your moral bankruptcy. You must admit to God that you have fallen short of His Glory and accept the gift of Life that Jesus gave us when He was upon the cross. When we do that we become unblemished to God. We are no longer bankrupt! There is no need for us to worry about being bankrupt again when we have the blood of the Lamb covering us. We are spotless before the Lord and we can come to His throne. Nothing can take that away from us. Christ refers to us numerous times as His bride. With Him, there is no chance of divorce (save another $500!). We are the bride of Christ who will be taken up to Heaven to spend eternity with Christ. The Christian band Sanctus Real has a song titled Eternal and the chorus of the song says this message the best. And in this marriage of our hearts, There is no death do us part, For You are eternal, And I am eternally Yours. We are eternally His. There is no lawyer who can draw up papers to nullify this marriage contract. With that said, there is nothing to fear because God will be beside us forever. There is nothing this world can do to change that. I will live my life here on earth to the fullest, doing what I can do to glorify God because I know one day I will come before His throne and worship Him. Nothing in this world can take that away. My appointed time is set, and there is nothing that can erase that from the docket.