Sunday, August 29, 2010

More Mp3

Added another collection of 16 song demo's written some years ago. It's my good intentions to start adding a few more every month as I can. With nearly 2000 songs written, this will likely take a lifetime to do.

Announcing

You may have noticed a new link over at the right called "Anthony's MP3 Songsite-beta."
It's beta because it has not been prettified yet. All the links are currently working, I think.These first 54 demo's are songs I wrote during a 40 day intensive Bible Study I did a few years back. Lyrics are at the old blogsite. As such, the quality is a bit uneven- some of the songs are pretty good, some mediocre, and some stink, imho. They give insight into the process of writing songs though, I think. Also my vocals and guitar wax and wane in regard to quality. You know, I think my voice is actually a bit better now than then.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Kabod


Oh the glory set before your eye
Was a heavy weight and a means to fly
It sheds a grace that cannot be ignored
It makes me the raging love that is love’s reward.

Shine on our lives and make us aware
Of the profound power that we bear
Upon your Word and Will we wait
Help us to bear your glory’s weight.

Living to die and dying to live
We stand or fall by the power to forgive
So in your power we participate
Make us to bear your glory’s weight.

A furious and ferocious fire
A devastating draught of divine desire
Lord let it consume the haughty heart
There is no power that can tear us apart.

Fashion a fortress of forgiveness divine
Set us in a tower of your power’s design
We persevere, prevail and participate
As you make us bear your glory’s weight.

Anthony Foster
August 25, 2010

Blood-Bought Bride

We commit our hearts to thee
Bound to you we are set free
To love and to cherish and obey
We embrace your covenant today.

Protected in the mighty rock of offense
Bastion our spirits with love that never relents
Brand us with fervor to see you glorified
Make us the beautiful blood bought bride.

And nothing shall ever separate
Us from the love that is our fate
No power of heaven or on earth
Can change our heart of change your worth.

And so with the bridegroom we are one
One flesh, one spirit conformed to the Son
We betroth our souls to the One who died
Make us part of the beautiful blood bought Bride
The bridegroom draws us to His side
We are the beautiful blood bought bride.

Anthony Foster
August 25, 2010

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Reduce Me To Love

Reduce and refine me
Put my idols behind me
Set my mind on things above
Reduce and refine me
Kindly remind me
What I am made for and made of
Jesus, reduce me to love.

For life will confound
Distract and leave bound
But your love will humble us
For your love simplifies
And in You pride dies.
And love becomes our trust.

Reduce me to love
Reduce me to love
Simple and pure
Love will endure.
Render my heart
Or rend it apart
Until my reason to be
Is to be conformed to Thee

Your raging love
Sears my soul of
Distraction and dross
Until gain becomes loss
When you become Lord
We become loves reward.
Jesus reduce me to love.
Jesus reduce me to love.

Anthony Foster
August 22, 2010

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

We Name the Name

We declare the power of our strong and steadfast tower
We declare the glory that is age to age the same
He has risen from the grave and He is mighty to save
So we tell the story and we will name the Name.

For He is Jesus- the mighty King
Jesus is the name we sing
To Jesus all praise we will bring
We profess His honor and fame
And we will name the Name.

Filled with wonder, tearing Sin asunder
Heart’s beat and soul’s breath
Name that conquers Death
Darkness is driven out
And in its wake despair and doubt
So in His Name we live and move
And by His name we learn to love.

The Name of Jesus frees us from our sin
There is no other name and there has never been
A name that is our living head
A name that raises from the dead
The only name that is the hope of men
By His name we are forgiven and begin

To name the name of Jesus, Glorious Jesus
Jesus Mighty Jesus, Jesus Holy Jesus
Jesus is His name

We who are called by your Name
Who now stand without blemish or blame
Can only lift our eyes
We are the foolish made wise
One unholy mess who will confess
The One by whom we are named
The name above all names.

The Name of Jesus frees us from our sin
There is no other name and there has never been
A name that is our living head
A name that raises from the dead
The only name that is the hope of men
By His name we are forgiven and begin
To name the name of Jesus, Glorious Jesus
Jesus Mighty Jesus, Jesus Holy Jesus
Jesus is His name
For He is Jesus- the mighty King
Jesus is the name we sing
To Jesus all praise we will bring
We profess His honor and fame
And we will name the Name.


Anthony Foster
August 11, 2010

To Count the Cost

How will we fathom the profound price
Of an all sufficient sacrifice?
How do we count the terrible cost
Of our God hanging on a cruel cross?

Before the mystery profound
Before the Glory that is found
When all else is counted as a loss
We must count the cost, count the cost.

And how will we measure
The depths of Father’s pleasure
In bruising his beloved Son
So that we may be undone?
How can we ever hope to plumb
The depths of a grace that leaves us numb?

The cost that shows the power of
We strength of weakness bound in love.
How can we ever hope to count
The worth of wonders that surmount
Every other value in this Earth?
We can only start to ascribe worth
By falling down in mercy’s dew
We’ll not comprehend the shame he knew
For glory set before Him he endured the cross
How can we ever count the cost?
The wage of the work that redeems the lost
How can we ever count the cost?

Anthony Foster
August 11, 2010

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Genealogies and spiritual heritage

The Apostle Paul admonishes us in 1 Timothy 1:4 not to "pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith." Again in Titus 3:9, "But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless." On the other hand the genealogy of Christ serves a purpose in the Scripture. At the very least we must not presume to rely in any way upon the righteousness of our ancestors to accord any merit to us in our walk. However I think it is proper to understand that we stand on the shoulders of giants and if we do we have a godly heritage that CAN inform how we walk as well.Recently I have bee doing a study of five pastors from the past hundred years of my ancestry who played a major role in the shaping of the spiritual landscape I now find myself in, as well as the upbringing I had in the Church. I have found that five local churches were founded and supported by family members, and five pastors of those churches were related to me as well. Then I ask myself- what have I been doing, or will I do, to continue that Kingdom impetus in my generation in this community? Is that a part of my calling from the Most High? These are not easy questions, but ones I must ask as I move forward with seeking the Lord's will.

Why Call Me Lord?

A voice comes to me, One I know well
Conviction is the story it must tell
To confront and rebuke and reprove it comes
To train me in righteousness till I am undone

"There is really only black and white
Not many shades of grey
There is only wrong and right
But you go your own way
If you don’t even trust my word
Why in My name do you pray?
Why do you call me Lord, Lord
And do not do the things that I say?"

"The only sacrifice that I desire
Is for you to do the things that I require
To do justly and love mercy
To love one another in charity
And from this wicked world to walk away
Why do you call me Lord, Lord
And do not do the things that I say?"

I hear the word fall on my hard heart
And I pray that it will break it apart
I want to do your will but I have gone far astray
Give me the faith and the power to stand and stay

"Your prayers they have become
A game that you play
I don’t want your sorry sacrifice
I want for you to trust and obey
Why do you call me Lord, Lord
And do not do the things that I say?
Why do you call me Lord, Lord
And do not do the things that I say?"


Luke 6:46
Anthony Foster
August 9, 2010

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Thought for the Day

I am one unholy mess
Becoming perfect righteousness.

Christ forever intercedes

Golden bowls of incense pure
Outpoured before God’s throne
Prayers of the saints that e’re endure
To make his glory known.

So let us lift up holy hands
To glorify his name
For the one in whom his presence stands
Boldly without blame

Christ forever intercedes
He forever intercedes
His very blood he pleads
And He ever intercedes.

Out great high priest has prophecied
Our reigning King has bled and died
So in Christ we are crucified
In His resurrection we abide.

Healed by His stripes and Christ’s alone
The curse is broken, we are blessed
And standing boldly before His throne
In confidence and peace we rest.

The righteous prayer he hears and heeds
For his good pleasure’s sake
For grace and mercy intercedes
And lives, our chains to break

So transform every one of us
Make us more than dying dust
Though die we will and die we must
In hope eternal now we trust

Christ forever intercedes
He forever intercedes
His very blood he pleads
And He ever intercedes.

Anthony Foster
August 7, 2010