Goodbye Yesterday -- Grace Binion, Joshua Holiday, Mitch Wong, Steven Furtick

 

You can tell of whom they were thinking when they penned the words. Grace Binion, Joshua Holiday, Mitch Wong, and Steven Furtick were undoubtedly thinking of new converts, and that comes through clearly when the lyrics they wrote for “Goodbye Yesterday” are sung or heard. Such a group would be doing and feeling more than just sighing with relief  (‘Whew, I’m saved’), but rather jumping for joy, they thought. The transformation that takes place is more than a feeling and a memory; it’s a new life. These members of the Charlotte-based Elevation Rhythm band (see the seal of Charlotte here) take their name and the praise that they help propagate seriously. Elevate has to mean more than standing and singing, because when the depth of someone’s former condition is known, and the certainty of God’s salvation is appreciated, how can the response be anything but what these four 21^st Century composers brought to the table for others to consume and to further themselves with utter delight? One can imagine that that will be magnified exponentially in the new morning to come.   

 

Nate Diaz tells this much in an interview about ‘Goodbye Yesterday: The song has a connection to an old hymn I Have Decided to Follow Jesus (see the blog entry for 4/2/2016), which was the basis for some of the lyrics, and which was on Steven Furtick’s lips pretty spontaneously as the bridge portion of the song. Nate says the song is pretty ‘blunt’ and the bridge lyrics that they sing -- ‘I have decided’ and ‘no turning back’ -- are meant for people who are eager and full of zeal to proclaim their allegiance to Him out loud, who are very unashamed of their devotion. Nate said it was really energizing to see young people singing this with fervor, because the age in which we live is filled with temptation to entertain them, instead of trying to get them to truly follow God. The environment sounds kind of like what you might observe among a group of fanatical sports fans, whose team just won the championship right in front of their collective eyes. It wouldn’t be a surprise if these fans also sang an anthem song at such an event, and that’s how Josh Holiday describes ‘Goodbye…’, as an anthem to celebrate salvation. There’s no hesitation in such a gathering, when people know their hope and expectation is based on a guarantee from the One who made humans and wants them to join Him in the Forever place. Perhaps that was part of the thinking – that it is a celebration of what’s already been won – when this group of musicians decided upon a name for the album, Victory Lap, which contains the song ‘Goodbye…’ that they produced in 2024. ‘New day’, ‘born again’, and ‘resurrection in my veins’ join the song’s title words and the bridge section to reinforce what the new creation experiences when the old dead-end ways are traded for what He offers.

 

And so, the song has an energy, which is not really a shocker. It’s one that the participant just cannot really feel unless he’s on his feet, ready to move even just a little bit. If someone says ‘party’, that would be part of the thrill too, to realize that you are on the winning side and that the door to this gala has been opened for you to step inside and feel the clap on your back and the embrace of everyone you see. There’s an event at a church that this blogger has volunteered to join next month, just to see this kind of sensation. It’s called Night to Shine. Utter joy. That’s what awaits us who believe, and it’s not reserved for just a mild-mannered sort of satisfaction that you might feel after receiving a congratulatory handshake at some routine event, perhaps when you are promoted, one that’s filled with a few pieces of cake and some punch, an event that concludes after 45 minutes. No, as the Elevation Rhythm band reminds us in ‘Goodbye…’, this party goes on ‘again, and again, and again, and again’, as many times as He has  rescued me from a hole-in-the-ground ending. ‘Dancin’ on the grave…’ in this case is OK, because it’s not someone else’s demise about which I sing. It’s the one where I’ve buried my old past. You can choose -- either the hole in the ground, or the party above ground.  

 

Read some brief comments about the song here: https://www.klove.com/music/blog/new-music/elevation-rhythm-s-goodbye-yesterday-sets-the-tone-for-a-new-day-9498

 

Hear some more about the song’s development here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DOoRoChETJ3/

 

Read a brief bio on the group Elevation Rhythm here: https://www.klove.com/music/artists/elevation-rhythm

 

See information about the seal of Charlotte here: File:New seal of Charlotte, North Carolina.svg - Wikimedia Commons…This file is in the public domain because official item legally exempt from copyright in its country of origin. The image can be found in this document:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte,_North_Carolina

The King -- Amanda Cook, Chris Davenport, Ran Jackson, Ricky Jackson

We can say He’s “The King”, but that really means something quite different than what historians and most people imagine when they see that title attached to anyone. That difference certainly did not escape Chris Davenport, Amanda Cook, Ran Jackson and Ricky Jackson when they sat together in 2023 and considered how to sing to this king. They must have thought of the moments when Jesus was with Pilate, and how perplexed that governor was when he encountered Him. Pilate thought Jesus was a mere man (see the artwork Ecce Homo [Behold the Man!], by 19^th Century artist Antonio Ciseri), with perhaps a few tricks up His sleeve, and could not imagine that His crowning moment (even while wearing the ignominious crown of thorns) was near when He would, as king of the universe, die and then turn on death and crush it. No king has ever done, nor could one ever accomplish what King Jesus did. No reign has ever been established the way that Jesus brought about this one, and so these four 21^st Century composers thought of how best to acknowledge someone as unique as Jesus. A single shout of praise just doesn’t do justice to how we should respond. It takes a lifetime, and every moment counts.

  

Chris Davenport sat and talked about how “The King” developed the one day that he and his comrades were at Ricky’s house; they were about to suspend their work for the day, when Ran mentioned that he had a chorus, and the others’ reaction when they heard it was that the lyrics and the idea were obviously hitting the bullseye, so they decided to press on with their efforts, rather than quitting for the day. What is the best way to address the God who has done what Jesus did? They settled on the idea that praising and celebrating with every line was the only apt response. Chris said a church should just ‘light up’ as it shouts about the victory that He’s provided. So, let yourself go, and think of it as a party, but also as a time when your absolute conviction that He’s the beginning and the end of everything gives you confidence to approach the overwhelming issues in your life with a renewed sense that the darkness cannot win. He’s won for you and me, and we should consider it an honor and privilege to be called Christians. ‘For the war is won’, these four sang (v.1), and there are so many other words that they used in the lyrics that should lift the spirit of the church, like ‘victory banner’, ‘celebrate’, and ‘joy’ (v.1); and ‘trumpet’, ‘glorious sound’, and ‘Jesus riding on the clouds’(v.3) that provide thrilling mental images that are based in scripture. These aren’t just feel-good faint hopes, but real promises that we can take with us through life from the One who died and rose again to secure them for us. Oh, and there’s that word ‘Hallelujah’ that they sing repeatedly, to cap what should be an ecstatic moment. But, it’s also not a moment when we forget how Jesus paid for this, as the songwriters retell us in verse two that He ‘bore…burdens, and ‘suffered…shame’ for all of us. And yet, He met death head-on, and left its ‘fear’ in an ‘empty grave’ (v.2). Death is robbed of its horror, and we get to see Him ‘fling the gates wide open’ on that eternal morning. Are you excited yet…does that send an electric shock through you? You and I will indeed tremble at these words -- not in dread, but with exhilaration.

 

He will rouse us one day, of that we can be certain. Chris suggested in the interview that being Christian can make us take some things for granted, that we might become too relaxed in our certainty. You might have sung about the glorified Jesus a thousand times, but don’t get ‘too cool’, that you might start to take the same attitude as those who do not have Jesus. Live life remembering what that resurrection moment was like for Him, and how that will be magnified so many times when He does the same for you. It will indeed be personal, and you can start to celebrate it now, as a way to get others’ attention and broadcast to as many others as will listen that they can expect the same if they connect with this king. The album on which “The King” was included was entitled Time. That seems appropriate when we think of this king and what he’s already initiated, and how it will culminate in one never-ending day. Though time will be suspended, it won’t be an eerie place, a la the Twilight Zone. Chris, Amanda, Ran, and Ricky have reminded us that the shadowy domain where Rod Serling invites people to come, versus the one where King Jesus will be light, are quite different. His domain will inspire adventure, wonder, and utter delight. Which place would you rather be in – Rod’s home or the home of King Jesus?

 

See the song story shared here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcebOp2pwsY

 

See some comments from one of the songwriters here: https://www.ccmmagazine.com/news/chris-davenport-releases-new-worship-single-the-king/

 

See the information here re: the album and the year it was released: https://genius.com/Chris-davenport-the-king-lyrics

 

See information on the image here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcebOp2pwsY …The author died in 1891, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1931. Find the image inside this article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontius_Pilate

 

Christ Is Risen, He Is Risen Indeed -- Keith and Kristyn Getty, Ed Cash

 

It’s a celebration, best used as the opening of a worship service. That’s how Keith Getty describes “Christ Is Risen, He Is Risen Indeed” that he and his wife Kristyn, and Ed Cash co-wrote in 2012, as a nod to their church fellowship’s historical roots and a reaffirmation of what matters most to such a group of believers. The title words of the song encapsulate what for centuries has been a traditional declaration and response by Christians each time they gather, but especially on the annual Easter Sunday, oftentimes captured in pictures or recreations of the event (see the Resurrection image here -- Icon of the Resurrection [depicting Christ having destroyed the gates of Hades and removing Adam and Eve from the grave. Christ is flanked by saints, and Satan is depicted as an old man bound and chained].) You may call it the Pascal greeting, or maybe the Easter Acclamation, but no matter how you identify it, this salutation is packed with meaning and an implicit acknowledgement: the Messiah’s rising supersedes all other events in one’s life. It’s just gotta be accompanied by an exclamation mark, or even multiple ones, since the phrase is actually two assertions…!!

 

Irish natives Keith, Kristyn, and their American collaborator Ed have taken straight from some 20 centuries of history the most important aspect of Christ’s life: his triumph over death. They had probably heard it themselves any number of times that they had gathered on Easter, and not unlike others, had decided that the magnitude of what they were celebrating could not be confined to that one special day of the year. Indeed, as they opened their bibles, they no doubt noticed that the events of that first Resurrection Day were not confined to just one of the books of the bible, but recorded in all four accounts of His revival. Particularly in the three accounts known as the synoptics (Matthew 2:6-7; Mark 16:6; and Luke 24:6), the first half of the song’s title phrase is told to unsuspecting women as the arrive at the tomb to tend to the dead man’s body. Shocked and amazed are perhaps too tame to describe what they must have felt when they heard this stunning news from angels that were there to greet them. The response phrase may originate with what two disciples heard from the 11 remaining Apostles when they returned to Jerusalem (Luke 24:34), following their own startling encounter with this risen Lord. None of us 21^st Century disciples have the advantage of eyeballing what those 1^st Century people did, obviously. But, we believe that day’s events have become the fulcrum of human history, and there’s just no way to overstate its impact, nor diminish our response. Calendars have been rewritten and countless lives have been upended ever since that day. Keith, Kristyn, and Ed have chosen ‘He’s alive!’ as their most potent phrase in the song, just one of many that recount what Christ accomplished for all time. It’s what can happen for all of us.

 

Try on some of these words and phrases that the three songwriters employ to re-tell the story: ‘…borne our sin through sacrifice’, and ‘conquer…sting of death’ (v.1); ‘joy awakes’…’dawning light’ (v.2); ‘doubt and darkness’ (until) ‘saw Him…hearts believed’ (v.3); ‘once bound by fear, now bold..’, and ‘life everlasting’ (v.4); and ‘power raised him…from the grave’, and ‘frees our hearts’ (v.5). The story does have its grim facts, but these are countered by the elation that thrills anyone who dreads the grave. So, a few ‘Hallelujahs!’ populate the lyrics, along with a reminder at the song’s end that Jesus hasn’t gone heavenward to merely sit and watch us, to be ‘glorified’ in a solitary way, but that ‘heaven’s gates are opened wide’. He’s done what only He could do, so you and I can join Him there. It makes you want to jump and shout. Indeed, He’s Risen, and He awaits us!  

  

 

 

See here for brief information on the phrase’s orgin: Where does the saying “He is risen; He is risen, indeed” come from? | GotQuestions.org  and here also: 'He Is Risen Indeed' - Meaning and Easter Origin (crosswalk.com)

 

Read about the song’s title history/meaning here: Paschal greeting - Wikipedia

 

Hear/see brief song story here at 2:00-2:17 of the video link: Bing Videos (Hymns for the Christian Life video)

See here for information about the Resurrection image: File:Resurrection (24).jpg - Wikimedia Commons  …Re: the copyright status of the image, the following statement accompanies it: I, the copyright holder of this work, release this work into the public domain. This applies worldwide. In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so: I grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law. (Image date is 11 December 2009)