Jeremy Camp's album I Will Follow has a cohesiveness and spiritual maturity that I can hear in every song. Following up his hit songs "He Knows" and "Same Power" is his newest single, "Christ in Me." If you like Jeremy's previous hit songs of worship like "There Will Be a Day," "Jesus Saves" and "Overcome," then you'll also enjoy this song and album. 

"Christ in Me" is one of my favorite songs of the past year. Every song on this great new album has a catchy, engaging style and worshipful message. This new song and album represent a perfect blend of what I've always loved about Jeremy Camp's music ministry, with every song reflecting his personal testimony and his biblical worldview. I had the great opportunity to interview Jeremy in person at Creation about "Christ in Me."

Please share the personal story behind the song.

I think we live in a consuming world. We want to consume and get as much as we can for ourselves. I wrote the song based on looking around the world and seeing a desire for self-pleasing, an entitlement-based mentality. I know we all can get caught up in this. I'm not pointing a finger, because we all live in it every day. We get bombarded with billboards and commercials telling us if we do this or look like that, we'll be happy. 

The thing is that believers all know the truth that only Christ fills us up. We know the world is lying to us that those things will make us happy, but sometimes we obsess about those things. If we pursued the things that make us happy, those things make us sick. Look at Adam and Eve and The Fall. They wanted the forbidden fruit. The thing is we get obsessed and try to find happiness other than in Christ. 

We say that, but we need to live it. I want to be able to be a person who is not a slave, as I say in the second verse, to the things that hold me down and the things I'm chasing after, I throw off these heavy chains that I have let become my master. You literally become a slave to those things, looking for a master, and that's Christ.

Which Bible verses connect to the message of the song?

Galatians 2:20 (NKJV): "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

Philippians 1:21 (NKJV): "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

Philippians 3:8-11 (NKJV): "Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead."

Philippians 3:13-14 (NKJV): "Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV): "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."

Romans 6:6 (NKJV): "Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin."

Matthew 6:33-34 (NKJV): "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

What is the takeaway message?

For me, it's one of those things that if I want to show Christ in me to someone else, I want people to look at me and say "he walks in freedom." Not look at me and think I look like I'm in bondage and don't have joy. Be attractive and let Christ exude from you. When you are chasing after the world, people who don't know Christ won't be attracted to Him because you'll be miserable. 

We talk about how Christ is everything, but we don't always live it. The song is based on my observations and my desire for God to empty me, because I want the world to see Him. You need God to do that in you because there are so many distractions. Paul said, "I am crucified in Christ, I no longer live but Christ lives in me." Paul was an example of reminding us that we die to ourselves, and our life isn't ours anymore but Christ's. When we realize that, we'll stop consuming and feeling entitled because we'll realize that our lives are laid down at the feet of Jesus. That's my cry in this song.

Lyrics:
In this obsession with the things this world says make us happy
Can't see the slaves we are in all the searching all the grasping
Like we deserve much more than all these blessing we're holding
So now I'm running free into an ocean of mercy unending

So come and empty me
So that it's You I breathe
I want my life to be
Only Christ in me
So I will fix my eyes
'Cause You're my source of life
I need the world to see
That it's Christ in me
That it's Christ in me

Done with what holds me down the things I once was chasing after
Throw off these heavy chains that I have let become my master
So now I'm running free into an ocean of mercy unending

So come and empty me
So that it's You I breathe
I want my life to be
Only Christ in me
So I will fix my eyes
'Cause You're my source of life
I need the world to see
That it's Christ in me
That it's Christ in me

In this obsession with the things this world says make us happy
Can't see the slaves we are in all the searching all the grasping

So come and empty me
So that it's You I breathe
I want my life to be
Only Christ in me
So I will fix my eyes
'Cause You're my source of life
I need the world to see
Only Christ in me
Only Christ in me
Only Christ in me
Christ in me

God tells us in the Bible that we are all sinners, and we've all fallen short. We need to serve God because of who He is, not what He does for us. God doesn't promise to spare us from pain, but we need to trust Him. You have to trust Him and wait on Him, wait for Him to orchestrate the plans for your life. Daily we are presented with the choices of how to use our time, lifestyle choices, pursuit of riches, living for today not knowing what tomorrow has in store for us and questioning our loneliness and looking for meaning. 

You can take comfort in these words from Philippians 3: "I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things." Our American version of Christianity may not be totally connected to the idea that we have nothing to bring to God, and maybe we expect something in return instead of recognizing that nothing compares to the greatness of knowing Jesus. Faith is when we are empty of ourselves and filled with Him and His Holy Spirit.

Jesus commands us to trust God's Word completely, no matter our circumstances or personal distractions or concerns. The bridge has an amazing and comforting reminder: "In this obsession with the things this world says make us happy, can't see the slaves we are in all the searching, all the grasping."

This song is a great celebratory anthem about what it means to have the hope of Christ living inside each of His children. Sometimes it is hard to believe that God loves us so much that He knows us intimately and He wants to fill our hearts with love. We don't have to be pretend, hide, strive or stand on our tiptoes to meet some mark. He knows our brokenness inside and out, and because of what Jesus did on the Cross, He sees us as righteous. God sees us as He sees His Son. It's not our righteousness or appearance or talent or gifting, it is just Jesus. That's cause to celebrate and sing out to Him: "So come and empty me so that it's You I breathe, I want my life to be only Christ in me." Amen to that!

Watch the music video below.