Out of Darkness

About 2 months ago I began writing what I thought would be a spoken word piece that my band would use to open our shows.  Once I finished writing it and rewriting it and rewriting it again (which is a big step for me, rewriting that it) I contacted someone about making the backing track for it.  Now, when I contacted him and asked him if he could and what such a project would cost I assumed that I would have plenty of time to talk to the band and see if this was something we would want to commission.  He got back to me very promptly with the information I had asked for and I thought that would be it until the band gave the final go ahead.  God had something else in mind.  Within a couple of days of informing the band of what I had found out (we were going to wait until our next meeting before making a decision) there was a sample track for me to listen to.  No one was more surprised than I was!  At first I was a bit upset as I hadn't cleared any work to begin on the project but when I went back over my communications I also noticed that I hadn't said to wait either, so I prayed.  When I informed the band of what was happening it was decided that we would move ahead with it even though the timing wasn't the greatest for the band.  In about a week we had a finished product and it is a great sounding track with a powerful message of hope through Jesus Christ.  Here is the final transcript:

"I remember those days, not so long ago, when I walked in darkness. Oblivious to even the existence of light, I hungered for things unwholesome. Like a zombie I shambled around blindly, living to hurt as I was hurting. Like Jacob Marley I felt the chains of sins committed weighing heavily upon me and feared that I would wear them for eternity. I longed for redemption but found only pain.  
Then, one day, I encountered someone who didn't run and would not be driven away. He was clothed in armor of pure light. He told me I was created by God to be his child and joint heir with his Son.  He spoke of my disobedience as though it was not a death sentence but merely an indiscretion, easily forgiven and forgotten. He told me that in the depths of my sin God had sent his son Jesus, to bear the penalty for my rebellion, and that I could be free of the chains that weighed me down.
I fell to my knees and cried out for deliverance and was granted salvation.  The rags I once wore were replaced with the robes of Christ’s righteousness, shining brilliantly for all to see.  Everywhere the light touched showed the decay and depths of depravity from which I had been rescued.  The man told me I was to put on the armor of God, pick up the sword of the Spirit and go forth to do battle. Not against flesh and blood but against the powers of darkness that had once held my soul captive.  As silence fell I could hear my former self in the distance, whispering its desire to drag me back into the darkness. "
For various reasons we have chosen not to use it, at least for now.  So I got the bands blessing to use it for this work, getting the word out about fighting the inner zombie.  No sooner had that been settled than God brought someone along to help me turn it into a video.  While we are in the very early stages of putting this together I am very excited about working with Living Water Productions out of Lewiston, Maine on this and will post a link as soon as it is finished.

We are calling this project Out of Darkness.  I wrote this as an example of my own struggle with my inner zombie.  So often we feel alone or isolated and think no one else deals with the things we deal with.  My hope is that through this blog and projects like Out of Darkness that people will come to realize that they aren't alone, that there are others who are dealing with the exact same things they are and that there is hope. Christ is that hope, he has made a way for us to experience victory over our inner zombies.  It isn't a quick fix and it will take effort on our part, like all relationships do, but if we will believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and that God raised him from the grave then we WILL be saved.  And if we make it our mission to simply seek God we will grow closer to Him and that is instrumental in helping us fight the zombie inside!

http://www.biblestudytools.com/psalms/27.html