Deathslayer

[Verse 1]

Angels we have heard speak a God’s caress.

Dead men tell no tales, but Wise Men tell the lore.

The birth of the Child King.

Fore-destined Emmanuel. 

An endless story of life ever more.

The death to Death in this Love’s Great Conquest.

A promise of joy neverending.

But the cost of a covenant

Is the blood of the innocent.

So on the night the King was born,

So Rachel saw her sons no more.

A mother’s tears and shattered soul.

A hollow gap. A gaping hole.

But out of the dark, He will come to reign.

What He had laid down, He’ll take up once again.

Come now, lift your head. Justice will prevail.

He won’t turn his face from the slain you mourn.

The tears of the broken

Will not go unnoticed.

Rejoice! The Slayer of Death has been born.

So call to Him whom the world found blameless.

Joy to a world that is dying!

[Chorus 1]

Arise, Deathslayer!

Ignite the hearts of those who have grown cold.

And turn back time on those whose love has grown old.

Virgin-born. Destroyer of the curse.

Breaker of the Seals of Seven.

Our God, to whom we lay our lives.

Let all the Earth rejoice in Your coming!

Let all creation glory in Your birth!

We shout Your praises heavenward.

We sing the stories You have bestowed.

We speak Your will upon the the world

‘Til every knee shall bend and declare you King.

Turn your face to us, and give us a glimpse of heaven.

And be to us, more than we can ever fantasize.

Arise, Deathslayer! Arise!

[Verse 2]

Children we have heard speak a hard behest.

Even traitors kiss that which they adore.

The rise of the Man God.

Forsaken Redeemer.

An endless story of life ever more.

The death to Death in this Love’s Great Conquest.

A promise of love never failing.

But the cost of a covenant

Is the blood of the innocent.

So when the time for death has come,

The price required: a Deity’s Son.

And down the depths of dark He called

To slay all Death once and for all.

And out of the dark, He will come to reign.

What He had laid down, He’ll take up once again.

Come now, lift your head. The Slain will save you still.

He won’t leave you to the evil you have sworn.

The pleas of repentance

Will not go unnoticed.

Rejoice! The Slayer of Death has been born.

So call to Him whom the world found blameless.

Joy to a world that is dying!

[Chorus 2]

Be praised, Deathslayer!

Unite the thoughts of those whose hearts have split.

And fan the flames once more of passions you’ve lit.

God and man. Redeemer of the damned.

Lion of the Tribe of Judah.

Our Lord, to whom we give our hearts.

Let all the Earth rejoice in Your coming!

Let all creation glory in Your birth!

We shout Your praises heavenward.

We sing the stories You have bestowed.

We speak Your will upon the the world

‘Til every knee shall bend and declare you King.

Turn your face to us, and fill us with things of wonder.

And pour in us, more than we can fill our days.

Be praised, Deathslayer! Be praised!

[Verse 3]

Carols we have heard, now of joy bereft

Faded memories. Tales from long before.

The end of an era.

Forgotten Messiah.

An endless story of life ever more.

The death to Death in this Love’s Great Conquest.

A promise of life neverending.

[Chorus 1]

Arise, Deathslayer!

Ignite the hearts of those who have grown cold.

And turn back time on those whose love has grown old.

Virgin-born. Destroyer of the curse.

Breaker of the Seals of Seven.

Our God, to whom we lay our lives.

Let all the Earth rejoice in Your coming!

Let all creation glory in Your birth!

We shout Your praises heavenward.

We sing the stories You have bestowed.

We speak Your will upon the the world

‘Til every knee shall bend and declare you King.

Turn your face to us, and give us a glimpse of heaven.

And be to us, more than we can ever fantasize.

Arise, Deathslayer! Arise!

[Chorus 2]

Be praised, Deathslayer!

Unite the thoughts of those whose hearts have split.

And fan the flames once more of passions you’ve lit.

God and man. Redeemer of the damned.

Lion of the Tribe of Judah.

Our Lord, to whom we give our hearts.

Let all the Earth rejoice in Your coming!

Let all creation glory in Your birth!

We shout Your praises heavenward.

We sing the stories You have bestowed.

We speak Your will upon the the world

‘Til every knee shall bend and declare you King.

Turn your face to us, and give us a glimpse of heaven.

And pour in us, more than we can fill our days.

Be praised, Deathslayer! Be praised!

[Bridge]

Speak, and I shall fall no further.

Speak, and I shall cease to roam.

Speak, and I’ll be yours forever.

And the younger brother,
This December,
Will sing a carol this eve and come back home.

Speak, and I shall walk on water.

Speak, like no one’s ever heard.

Take my heart and bid me venture.

For the older brother
Will remember
The King has given him leave to change the world.

[Chorus 1]

Arise, Deathslayer!

Ignite the hearts of those who have grown cold.

And turn back time on those whose love has grown old.

Virgin-born. Destroyer of the curse.

Breaker of the Seals of Seven.

Our God, to whom we lay our lives.

Let all the Earth rejoice in Your coming!

Let all creation glory in Your birth!

We shout Your praises heavenward.

We sing the stories You have bestowed.

We speak Your will upon the the world

‘Til every knee shall bend and declare you King.

Turn your face to us, and give us a glimpse of heaven.

And be to us, more than we can ever fantasize.

Arise, Deathslayer! Arise!

-end-

Family Conversations: Loving Like Christ

Pat: It is said that we, men, need to love women like Christ loved the church. You were never asked to love us, but we need to love you. Like Christ loved the church.
Me: To the extent that you'd die for us?
Pat: Dying is easy. We have to live for you. We're all not perfect when it comes to this. But we try. You know, present yourselves as living sacrifices and all that. The only problem with living sacrifices is they tend to wriggle off the sacrificial table every now and then. But we try.

Family Conversations: Dreams

Me: Pat, why do a lot of young people not have dreams anymore?
Pat: Because the young people don't sleep anymore.

Ungrateful

Dear Lord,

You are a good God. I have seen Your goodness in the land of the living. I called to You and You helped me. You plucked my feet out from the traps that bound me. I was overtaken by my financial problems, but You, Lord, gave me rest. I called to You in my distress. I didn't know how to get out of the pit. No one wanted me for the price I needed, and I called to You for help. And You gave me this job, which paid for how much I needed to pay for my financial obligations. And it is a job with two functions. You know me so well that You know that a double-functioned job is needed to keep me from getting too bored. You have thought of that, too.

It would take me two years to pay for my debts. You are giving me two years of respite. But what does my selfish heart do? I have been ungrateful. Instead of accepting the rest You have given me, I go and find other projects to help me feel significant. I did not trust in the value You have given me. Instead of thanking You, praising You, and enjoying the two years You have given me, I complain, I struggle. I sought to find a way to break free. I made a deal with an organization without consulting You. And they said yes, for I know that You have given me the ability to make them say yes. But is this even Your will? Deep in my heart, I know it isn't because it goes against what You have given me. Taking this on will cost more money. Taking this on will deprive me of rest. But also, taking this on at this time, I know that the motives of my heart isn't pleasing to you. It's not because I want to help, or I think it will glorify You. It's because I'm afraid of insignificance.

Instead of rejoicing that Andro is nearby and this is a good opportunity to strengthen our friendship, I look at what I have lost. That I'm so far away from my friends, that I'm so far away from my sisters and parents, that I miss my organization. But if I'm to look at it with the eyes of a grateful person, I would see that this is a great opportunity to build new friendships, an opportunity to lose weight, to contemplate, to exercise. I keep on focusing on what I lack and what I have lost instead of what I have and what opportunity there are.

Lord! Forgive me my ungratefulness. Here is what I want to do, for your glory, O Lord: I will live in Ortigas, in Pearl, really live here. I will develop good eating habits and exercise regularly. I will make friends here. I will root here for two years. I will find a way to increase my energy so I can function properly. I will wake up at 6:00 and sleep at 10:00. I'll take an hour for quiet time. I will exercise 3x a week. I will meet up with a friend once a week. I will enjoy myself in this area.

Then I will excel at this work I'm in. I will train my supervisor so he can be a good employee and support me properly. As for the coders, I need to make them feel supported and believed in. I need to up our quality. I will stop complaining and only talk of good things. I don't need to take over all the aspects of the company, but only do my very best in the position I have been given. I need to stop trying to build new businesses for now. I need to step back and not be the boss, and not be afraid of insignificance because my value is fixed in You, in that I am Yours.

As an on the side, I will help Andro with his project. I will train in game design, and I need to read a lot again. That's it. I just need to train. And slowly plan how I'll do my games when I come back in two years. No implementation. Just training and planning.

But here's my problem, Lord. I've just set something into motion again. And I'm flying to Japan again at the end of the month to work on it. Lord, what to do? In my disobedience, I have caused this. But You are a God who makes the biggest miracles out of our worst mistakes. Father, I lay this at your feet. It excites me, but for the wrong reasons. So I lay it at your feet. I have started it so I will go and continue it as best as I could. But I turn away from my selfishness now and turn to You. Kill it if You will. Or prosper it as You will. But take me back into Your favor and forgive me my ungratefulness. I know You can salvage this. Therefore, I lay it down at your feet. Make it happen or make it not. But be my God no matter what. Take me back and let me dwell in Your will.

O Lord, be with me. You promised to perfect that which concerns me so, please, take me back, O Lord, and take over. Amen.