The Music of Otherbee

Jesus’ disciple Peter asked Christians to “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”  That is the main purpose of this album.

A few years ago, I had the pleasure of participating in a spiritual discussion group that included people of several different faiths.  Sometimes, we studied the Bible.  These times turned out to be the best Bible studies I’ve ever participated in!  The group consisted of graduate students in science, which meant that nobody was afraid to ask difficult questions.  It forced the Christian participants to carefully consider what it means to follow Jesus.  My personal reflection and our group’s discussions inspired much of this music.

I believe that many churches and the religious right political movement have obscured the true meaning of Christianity.  It is not simply about attaining salvation and living with personal piety.  It is about wholeheartedly loving God and our neighbors.  It is about loving not only those who love us, and not only those who are suffering, but even those who despise us.  It is love for the homeless man, the illegal immigrant, and the fanatical terrorist.  The standard is high.

Christ’s message is not about earthly wealth, health, and prosperity.  It is about putting God first in everything, including time and money.  It is the widow who gives God her last coin.  It is about standing for truth even in the risk of persecution.  It is the Chinese Christian imprisoned for distributing Bibles, the Indian pastor attacked by an unruly mob.  They follow Jesus’ example of sacrificial love.

This is a tall order, and I cannot claim to live up to it.  All I can do is try my best and rely on God’s grace for the rest.  I continue to strive because my conviction is that if everybody were to live according to Christ’s standard of love, the world would be a perfect place.  Indeed, the message of Jesus is my reason for hope in this world and beyond.

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There are 13 songs in this album, each with its own post below.  Every post contains the lyrics and a link to an mp3 file.  If you are musically inclined, you may be interested in the chords (pdf).  For further convenience, all the songs, lyrics, and guitar chords are available as a single 48 MB file (zip).