Quote-ables.

Today's quote-able. A Bible Verse. A song. Some rantings which will no doubt bring forth some opinionated comments. Lets get down to business.

First the verse:
"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me."- Psalm 51:10

There are a lot of Bible verses I love, but this one comes pretty high on the list of my personal favorites. It is one that I memorized as a kid and I bring it up in my mind quite frequently. And by frequently, I mean more or less every time I take my eyes off God and put them somewhere else. And by that I mean more or less everyday.

Now the rantings:
The band Switchfoot and front man Jon Foreman.

I don't think I can actually say I am a Switchfoot fan. I am not against them in any way, I just don't love their music. Good band. Good message. Good lyrics. And they've been around forever. They have just never been on my list of favorites.

And yet, I know almost all their songs...!?

Why? My life contains several Switchfoot fanatics. They are the favorite band of my sister, as well as the favorite (and by favorite I mean...almost to the point of idolatry...) of 2 of my close friends. The 3 of them lecture me constantly on why Switchfoot/Jon Foreman should be MY favorite. (No. NEVER!) Thankfully I have other friends who appreciate...other...music and those 3 are out numbered by a bunch of anti-Switchfooters. Praise God for diversity in friendships!

Anyway, now to segway into the song portion of this quote-able.

Last summer, I heard my friend (the nameless, but #1 ranking person on the fanatic list) play/sing a nice, little song called White as Snow on a acoustic as a bunch of us sat a fire at a graduation party. I liked the song a lot and it was stuck in my head for quite some time. The lyrics were all taken almost directly out of passages of the Bible, and the chorus echoed the Psalm 51 verse I mentioned above. At first I thought my friend had written it, as he is a talented musician and song writer, but no! Of course, it was by none other than JON FOREMAN (I really, really should have known) off of his solo Winter EP.

The lyrics:

(Verse1:) Have mercy on me, oh God

According to Your unfailing love,
According to Your great compassion
Blot out my transgressions


(Chorus:)Create in me a clean heart, oh God
Restore in me the joy of Your salvation


(Verse2:)The sacrifices of our God are a broken and a contrite heart
Against You and You alone have I sinned


(Chorus:) Would You create in me a clean heart, oh God
Restore in me the joy of my salvation

(Bridge:) Wash me white as snow and I will be made whole"

Regardless of who wrote the song, I really, really love it. It is very simple, quite repetitive, and musically not something I would normally be drawn to. And it is by Foreman. And still, despite all that, I find myself listening to it often. Give it a listen, you might like it. You might actually be surprised, as I was, and find yourself wondering if you could possibly be turning into a Switchfooter...