AS THE HOUR DRAWS NEAR/LETTER FROM THE GRAVE

As The Hour Draws Near
written by c. njoroge, a. coughlin & s. linne

(Evangel)

Chorus 1

As the hour draws near to take my last breath
I’m not quite sure how much time I have left
I’m walking the path of all the strugglers who died
And I’m in fear of what awaits me on the other side (repeat)

Verse 1
Who knew that I’d be shook up
as I look up to the heavens and see it’s near with I.V.s hooked up?
Like secrets it was nice to be kept by Christ
Now every night’s a deep sweat from a life of regrets
The thrill is gone- was faith real? Not fake like silicon?
Frontin like it’s “Ok” like Lil’ Jon- was spilling sobs
My will was drawn to this common façade
Lord, now I repent for each dent in Your armor of God
Knowing this: it’s Your name that we defraud
Without holiness, no one shall see the Lord
My heart I can’t mask from You- don’t wanna be a part of Your massacre
Please don’t stop my cardiovascular
I hope I repped C-H-R-I-S-T
And sported Him so good I could win an Espy like Wayne Gretsky
Lord put my heart at ease, please before I decrease my BP
And they’re saying “Clear! I need Cc’s!
I think I’m losing him!” Because I’m bruised from sin within
And don’t think I’ll see Your New Jerusalem
You’re just, Lord- I need to be assured
I’m unsure and insecure that where sin abounds Your grace did much more
I need to get confidence believing Your promises
Of Jesus’ accomplishments, not help from the drug store
Because mostly my reputation was count the world as defecation
Yet I proceed with trepidation

Refrain 1

Sin was strong and my deadliest foe
Steady wrong- am I ready to go?
I pray to God because it’s hard to accept- my heart’s heavy, you know
I’m not sure if I’m ready to go
Although You had promised I would live again
For believing in Jesus I’m forgiven yet I’m shivering from hidden sin
Because in the back of my mind, I knew I struggled as my past time
Now I’m scared to… flatline

(Ant)

Chorus 2
As the hour draws near to take my last breath
I’m not quite sure how much time I have left
I’m walking the path of all my brothers who died
And I’m prepared for what awaits me on the other side (repeat)

Verse 2
Life was quick, but these last breaths seem the longest
I’m on the brink of entering everything that You promised
My heart skips thinking of what I’ll be in a moment
This joy is undeniably precious fruit of atonement
I cry tears of happiness because looking back
I see the track that You sovereignly mapped for me- I see immaculate(ly)
The cross of Christ, His awesome price and Your grace that carried me
I persevered in shadows of brothers who marked the path for me
In just a few breaths I’ll walk into a marriage feast
And taste of Your goodness without getting a cavity
Your majesty will light up the city that we’ll inhabit
And the Lamb will be the lamp in the middle- there’ll be no P.M.
I tremble at the fact that I’ll be captured
By the blazing glory of the One that I’ve been waiting to see and I’ll see Him
To see His face and worship perpetually won’t be boring
Because this flesh won’t be a hitch anymore- I’ll be restored
To new morning after morning- and cause You bled
Death I’ll leave here on this hospital bed
And step into the presence of the Bridegroom in heaven
No more valleys to tread or trek through
or leaven to fight against- all things will be made new
No struggling to pray, we’ll sing of Your glory with angels
I’m eager to go- I know I’m a part of Your kingdom
Upon Christ’s deeds I’ll see bliss when the beep comes

Refrain 2
My life was long and I’m ready to go
I stood strong and I’m ready to go
I can’t wait to sing along with the throng up in heaven, you know
It’s where I belong- I’m ready to go
My sneakers are worn down hard from running this marathon in the trenches
Was far from pretending, pressed on with repentance
So now it’s time for me to pass the baton
And at long last, I’ll pass on into heaven

(shai)

Chorus 3

As the hour draws near to take my last breath
I’m not quite sure how much time I have left
I’m walking the path of all the others who died
And I don’t care what awaits me on the other side (repeat)

Verse 3

In a hospital bed, blood clots in my head
Body chock full of meds and I got to be fed
through a tube- I’m comatose, wet food- aroma’s gross
Pursued lewd moods as a refuge- overdose
Frantic seizure, life empty, scary demanded leisure
Anesthesia, temporary amnesia
I’m found in this predicament surrounded by significant
others, my mother- it’s crowded and I’m listening
I hear a person’s voice that I don’t recognize
praying for me- It must be a reverend and his lies
Nurse checking in my eyes- ain’t getting no replies
If she knew I heard everything, I bet she’d be surprised
My family’s upsetting me with cries, what they crying for?
If I could speak, I’d ask the reverend what he lying for?
He said something about believing in the Lord
That’s ridiculous- we all know that Jesus was a fraud
Atheism is logical, blind faith is comical
Seven-day creation and Satan are mythological
The Bible’s full of statements made by men
Who were shaken- too scared to face the end
The reverend said, “Don’t be hostile to the gospel- choose it”
The only gospel I like is gospel music
He said if I understood him take my finger and wiggle one
But if I could have I would have gave him the middle one

Refrain 3

Because he’s wrong and I’m ready to go
Son, I’m strong, yo I’m ready to go
If it’s on then it’s on- bring it on
I’m ready to go, let’s get it on son, I’m ready to go
I’m anticipating hitting the essence
I’ll crash through the gate in minutes or seconds
His antics are fake so I’m dissin’ the reverend
My last action- shaking my fist at the heavens!

Letter from the Grave
written by s. linne

Scene 1

Shaking my fist at the heavens- my lifetime pastime
But now no more natural light shines- flat line
Just as I was dissing his name
I’m hit with the flames as my soul left my physical frame
Frightened, my senses heightened
Defenseless against this relentless lightning
A stampede of thunder claps, I can’t breathe
It’s like I’m running laps with my lung collapsed
I can’t leave- I’m stuck and trapped
Meanwhile, I am no longer senile
The life I lived in the body- that feels like the dream now
And I’ve awakened to a real life nightmare
It’s quite clear- no use putting up a fight here
My destiny is sealed; a true catastrophe
With future agonies that have yet to be revealed
And that thought alone is such a blow to me- it’s terrible
Because what I’m feeling right now is totally unbearable
I’m disembodied, met my worst feat mentally
Every second like a year, every year a century
No one that I can call, I’m crushed under a wall
Of holy fury, amazed by the justice of it all
Getting what I deserve, in fact my soul is burning black
I’ve crossed over the threshold- never to be saved
Eternal is the furnace and it ain’t no turning back
Oh God, just let me send my fam a letter from the grave!

Refrain

My conscience is killing me
Like a worm that never dies (repeat)

Scene 2

To my parent, my sisters, my cousins, my nieces
Friend, co-workers- everybody needs to read this
You probably thinking I’m in heaven smiling down upon you
But that’s not true- I’m writing this now to warn you
I’m serious- wish I could put a gun to your face
Whatever it takes to make you listen- don’t come to this place
I made tons of mistakes when I was there with y’all certainly
The worst by far was not preparing for eternity
It’s crazy- I don’t even know how to tell y’all
But I’m in hell, y’all
And I know it’s upsetting to hear- it’s upsetting to be here
But I write so you’d get it and see clear
I don’t have all the answers- I grope for more
But there are a couple of things that I know for sure
Re-incarnation is a lie- there’s no such thing as Satan- lie
Getting to heaven through meditation- that’s a lie
Homicidal I feel, but it’s vital we build
Your pride will be killed- the God of the Bible is real
Y’all know- I ain’t read the Bible a day in my life
But He’s the one who’s inflicting all my pain and my strife
So get a Bible and read it- whatever you read- believe it
And after reading, eat it, sleep it and breathe it
There’s much more to this man Jesus- observe the story
And I can tell you that there’s no such thing as purgatory
What I wouldn’t give to have your opportunity
I see my pride has ruined me, ignoring God is lunacy
There’s no comfort, all shame, no peace
No slumber, all pain, it don’t cease
So don’t be lax when attacked with distractions
The fashions and attractions had me relaxing
Now I’m awake for the first time ever
But from the goodness of God’s works I’m severed

Regretting all the tracts that I threw in the trash
Regretting moving fast in pursuit of the cash
Regretting spending all my life trusting myself
Regretting not reading the Bible up on my shelf
Regretting all the things in life that had me caught up
Regretting switching the subject when Christ was brought up
Regretting not going to church when my friends invited me
Regretting believing my college profs who lied to me
Regretting dismissing all believers as lame
Regretting not examining Jesus’ claims
Regretting…