Month: August 2019

Blessed is the Man

by Andrew Micah, posted in encouragement, reflection, theology

I had an epiphany a couple of weeks ago about Psalm 1. I’ve been spending a lot of time lately in the Psalms (which I feel is appropriate for a worship leader). It’s really important that the theology through which we interpret the Psalms is robust and biblical. The New Testament reads so much of the Psalms as prophetic about the person and work of Jesus Christ. I’ve been praying to be able see the Psalms through new eyes in light of this.

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.”

I came to Psalm 1 having just spent some time with John 15, and it hit me that the blessed man who is the subject of this Psalm isn’t just a godly person generally, but the Lord Jesus. Our acceptance with God and our assurance of blessing doesn’t come from our obedience. Instead, it comes from the obedience of Jesus, whose whole human life was lived in the pursuit of God’s righteousness. He is the true tree that bears good fruit, and we can’t bear good fruit unless we abide in Him–meaning, unless our hope of life and acceptance with God is His finished work for us. Our rootedness isn’t in our obedience (although obedience by faith strengthens our faith) but in our union with Jesus. He is the head, we are the body. We are one with Him spiritually. This is why Jesus considers things done for or against His people as things done for or against Him. (Matthew 25:31-45). This is why when Jesus confronted Saul on the Damascus road, he didn’t say, “Saul, why are you persecuting my people,” but, “Saul, why are you persecuting ME?” There is a legal covenantal union in heaven between us and Jesus. We are blessed in Him.

I am planted by streams of water and I am able to bear fruit not because I try really hard to listen and obey (although that’s important) but because Jesus planted me firmly in Him. I am rooted and grounded in love through my union with Jesus.

-Andy

Far From an Actual Movie Review: The Kid Who Would Be King

by Andrew Micah, posted in lifestyle & personal interest, Uncategorized

I am bad at movie reviews. When I write a movie review, it typically consists of me saying that I like a particular movie and that you should go watch it. Which is why this is far from an actual movie review. It’s not in-depth enough to properly be called a review. If you know me and like me well enough that what I think about movies carries weight, you’ll go watch it, and if not, it won’t matter anyways, I suppose. 😛 (yes, I just used an emoji. We’re at that level of seriousness and professionalism right now). Please note that there is a spoiler here.

I watched a really good fantasy movie last night. It’s called The Kid Who Would Be King. I decided to drop six bucks on the Amazon rental because a. it had great reviews, b. I love good fantasy, and c. the concept was fun and the trailer looked promising. It wasn’t disappointing! Super fun, (mostly) great visuals, solid plot, a lot of heart and a helping of humor. The premise is that a twelve-year-old boy in modern-day England stumbles into his destiny as the one who can save England from being overcome by an ancient Arthurian foe.

What I love about The Kid Who Would Be King is that it’s both reverent and irreverent in all the right ways. It’s an incredibly sincere film at heart that at the same time throws off all pretentiousness by taking a deliberately cheeky (in a clean sense) posture towards legend. And that’s what makes it so strong and so enjoyable. Although it hits deep at points, there is something of a lack of true emotional risk in the plot for the adult viewer. None of our favorite people die and as an astute adult you don’t get the sense at any point that one of your favorite people is about to die. In some ways the plot fails to take itself as seriously as it probably should. For that reason it’s probably much more enjoyable on a story level for a child than for an adult. But at the same time, it’s vulnerably genuine in its moral backbone without coming off as high-and-mighty. It’s very funny, and still at some level very convincing. And it leaves you thinking, or at least, it left me thinking. It’s not high fantasy or anything like that. But very fun, and very good.

So go watch it if you’re into this sort of thing. I was glad I did.

~Andrew

What’s happening in my life, and to this blog.

by Andrew Micah, posted in Uncategorized, what's up

I haven’t written on this blog for over two years. When I started it, I knew this might happen. I’ve had the desire to write, but the need to be more fully invested in other things has taken precedence. I’ve continued to share thoughts regularly on my Facebook page, but I’m feeling like it’s time to begin blogging again in earnest. There’s so much happening in my life and in my world that I want to share about and process, and this blog is going to be the primary place where I do that going forward.

The direction of my life has shifted in some pretty big ways since I launched this site in 2017. My focus as a musician has turned towards leading worship and writing original worship music. (This is a story in and of itself, and one which I’ll share here in detail at some point in the not-too-distant future.) In the past year and a half, all of the songs that I’ve written have been worship songs. I still have the desire to write and perform folky singer-songwriter stuff, but it really feels at this point like the wind of God’s Spirit is blowing in my sails the most when I’m leading worship and writing worship music. That’s where the doors are opening and the momentum is building right now. I have more than an album’s worth of what I feel are really solid worship songs written, and there are plans forming to go to studio this winter to record and then release a few of those songs.

Meanwhile, I’ve been involving myself quite a bit in local ministries. I’ve been on staff part-time at Feed My Starving Children in Aurora, IL now since the very beginning of 2018. I’ve also been volunteering at World Relief DuPage/Aurora for a couple of years now, and last fall my role increased to where I’m helping out in their warehouse for approximately ten hours every week. These callings have been incredibly rewarding and, far from drawing energy away from my songwriting, have instead brought new freshness and energy to my creative life. They’ve also done wonderful things for my emotional and spiritual health. In addition, I had the opportunity to serve as a worship leader at a local church here in the Aurora area called New Life Montgomery from the beginning of 2018 up until this last Sunday. Although my commitments there are have come to an end and I’m now seeking membership at another local church, I’m grateful for my time at New Life and for the ways I’ve been challenged and enabled to grow through my role there. I’ve continued to serve at Crossroads Christian Youth Center as their worship leader, and after many months of serving alone, God’s beginning to raise up new leaders from among the students and young adult leaders to come alongside me. I’m excited for the opportunity to pour into these gifted people and grow with them in leading our students in the praise and pursuit of God through Jesus Christ.

All that to say, a lot of very formative stuff has been happening in my life over the past two years, and that’s why I’ve been inactive here. However, at this point I really feel like the Lord is releasing me to “go public,” and the timing is right if I’m going to pursue a life’s work in music and writing. I’m going to be building this blog, along with my new YouTube channel, as a public platform for ministry and engaging with the world around me. There’s going to be all sorts of new weekly content, mostly focused on the topics of worship and Christian living, with a large helping of lifestyle content on the side covering anything that’s personally interesting to me. I’m into a lot of different things (from survival to swing dancing). I’m also in the process of establishing some better habits and rhythms in my life in the area of health and fitness, and just generally growing into adult life. I want to share a little bit about what’s working for me.

Thanks for following along and being a part of the journey! I love real talk so I hope you’ll feel free to jump in and engage here in the comment section, whether we’re friends in person yet or not. Take care!

~Andrew