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Category Archives: Hymns and Songs

“Trees We’ll Never See” by Amy Grant

01 Mar

“Trees We’ll Never See” by Amy Grant

Good sweet earth
Sleeves rolled up and hands buried in the dirt
I can see you there in one of dad’s old shirts
Showin’ me how life’s supposed to work

Good straight lines
You need seed and sweat and soil and sweet sunshine
And once those roots take hold, you’ll be just fine

It’s a beautiful design
It just takes love (love) and faith (faith) and grace, a little time

We’re all sons and daughters, just ripples on the water
Tryna make it matter until our time to leave
One day, they’ll carve your name in stone
And send your soul on home
‘Til then it’s prayin’ for rain and pullin’ up the weeds
Plantin’ trees we’ll never see

First day of spring
The whole world’s wakin’ up and turnin’ green
And everything connects to everything

It’s a beautiful design
It just takes love and faith and grace, a little time

We’re all sons and daughters, just ripples on the water
Tryna make it matter until our time to leave
One day, they’ll carve your name in stone
And send your soul on home
‘Til then it’s prayin’ for rain and pullin’ up the weeds
Plantin’ trees we’ll never see

Statues fall and glory fades
But a 100-year-old oak tree still gives shade

We’re all sons and daughters, just ripples on the water
Tryna make it matter, until our time to leave
One day, they’ll carve our name in stone
And send our souls on home
‘Til then it’s prayin’ for rain and pullin’ up the weeds
‘Til then it’s prayin’ for rain and pullin’ up the weeds
Plantin’ trees we’ll never see

Trees we’ll never see

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Michael White / Marshall Altman

Dear God, well, I would have lost the song-selection BINGO I wanted to play last night, coming up with the songs I thought Amy Grant would play for her concert. She did nothing from her first three albums, which really surprised me (“Old Man’s Rubble,” “My Father’s Eyes,” “Walking Away with You”). But some of the songs she released since I followed her career closely were lovely. This is the one that really struck me.

So much of my life–of every life–is about the seeds we plant that we never see the fruit from. And some of those seeds die. Some fall on the path. Some on the rocks. Some in the vines and thorns. But for those seeds that find the good soil… Well, that fruit can be stunning.

I remember when my kids were young and I would pray that the good seeds we were planting would find good soil and grow. Perhaps I should have prayed against the bad seeds we planted. That they would land on the path or in the rocks. But I still pray for the good seeds my wife and I tried to plant. That some of them are still in there. Still growing. Maybe dormant. Maybe I can’t see it above the soil. Not that I don’t see tons of good fruit in their lives and I know you had us have a role in planting. Especially my wife. She’s such a great woman. And our children have amazing and wonderful strengths. Oh, Father, continue to love them and grow them into people who are wholly yours. For their significant others. For the people around them who invest into their lives. I pray that you will live in and speak through all of them. Fill them all with your Spirit.

Father, I might not live to see all of the fruit from the seeds my life has planted. Both the good fruit and the bad fruit. That’s what the weeding is about, I suppose. I certainly made mistakes. I continue to make them. But my heart is to worship you with everything I have, love others, and then that will be enough for me. I don’t have to see the fruit. I don’t have to see the results. In fact, that is zero chance I will know all of the effects of my life. That’s good. Because it’s not about me. It’s about you. Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on March 1, 2025 in Hymns and Songs

 

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“1974” by Amy Grant

27 Feb

“1974” by Amy Grant

We were young,
And none of us know quite what to say,
But the feeling moved
Among us in silence anyway.
Slowly we had made
Quite a change–
Somewhere we had crossed a big line.
Down upon our knees,
We had tasted holy wine,
And no one could sway us
In a life time.
Purer than the sky,
Behind the rain.
Falling down all around us,
Calling out from a boundless love.
Love had lit a fire;
We were the flame.
Burning into the darkness,
Shining out from inside us.
Not a word.
And no one had to say we were changed.
Nothing else we lived through
Would ever be same the same,
Knowing the truth
That we had gained.
Purer than the sky,
Behind the rain.
Falling down all around us,
Calling out from a boundless love.
Love had lit a fire;
We were the flame.
Burning into the darkness,
Shining out from inside us.
Stay with me.
Make it ever new,
So time will not undo,
As the years go by,
How I need to see
That’s still me.
Falling down all around us,
Calling out from a boundless love.
Yeah…
Burning into the darkness,
Shining out from inside us.
Purer than the sky,
Behind the rain.
Falling down all around us,
Calling out from a boundless love.
Love has lit a fire;
I am the flame.
Burning into the darkness,
Shining out from inside us.
Purer than the sky,
Behind the rain.
Falling down all around us,
Calling out from a boundless love. (Ohh…)
Love has lit a fire;
I am the flame.
Burning into the darkness,
Shining out from inside us.
Purer than the sky,
Behind the rain.
Falling down all around us,
Calling out from a boundless love.

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Amy Grant / Jerry Mcpherson / Gary Chapman

Dear God, my wife and I are going to see Amy Grant in concert tomorrow night. I saw a lot of Christian concerts in the 1990s, but I never saw Amy Grant in concert for some reason. And I worked for Word at the time so I sold a ton of her stuff through Christian bookstores. I met her once at a sales conference for the House of Love album, but I’ve never heard her sing.

Regardless, here I am, about to see her in concert for the first time so I have been listening to some of her old songs to just reminisce a little. It was this song that kind of struck me this week when it came on. I remember it being on the Lead Me On album. I think it was the first track. No, “Lead Me On” might have been the first track. Anyway, it really captured the emotions 18-year-old me felt at the time. I had grown up Baptist and had “accepted Jesus” possibly as many as 30 times up to that point. Effective church sermons. Revivals. Fellowship of Christian Athletes conferences. But somehow I never felt like I got it right the previous time. I wasn’t getting the formula correct. I needed to do it again.

So I remember the emotions Grant reflects in this song that she apparently wrote with her husband at the time, Gary Chapman, and Jerry McPherson. I wonder what their conversations were like as they wrote this song. Now, 38 years and a lot of life and heartache later, if they could rewrite any of it, would they? Would they change the lyrics? I think it’s prescient to have the part that says:

Stay with me.
Make it ever new,
So time will not undo,
As the years go by,
How I need to see
That’s still me.

I remember the feelings of just sinking into you and that moment of feeling a complete connection with you, but I never seemed to carry it beyond a few days. There was no discipleship. Or there was not self-discipline in my discipleship or even a real knowledge of what discipleship between you and me should look like.

So now, 38 years later since I had my experience of learning what discipleship looks like for me–or beginning to learn what discipleship looks like for me–how do I think of myself in relation to this song? Where are the friends I had then? How are they doing? I can tell you that the ones I’ve kept up with have had sorrows and struggles, but they seem to still have an active faith in you. For that, I’m grateful. My faith and discipleship are certainly imperfect, but I guess I’m at least faithfully imperfect. Maybe getting a little closer to you on more days than I’m getting farther from you on others?

Father, I do love you. I do worship you. Even now, even in this mode of worship, I know that my worship is so inadequate for who you are compared with who I am, but this is what I can offer you in my limited mind and body. Help me to learn a little more today how to love you and how to love others. I love you, Lord, and I lift my voice to worship you. Oh, my soul, rejoice! Take joy my King in what you hear. May it be a sweet, sweet sound in your ears. (“I Love You Lord” by Laurie Klein)

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 27, 2025 in Hymns and Songs

 

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“Go Rest High On That Mountain” by Vince Gill

17 Feb

“Go Rest High On That Mountain” by Vince Gill

I know your life
On earth was troubled
And only you could know the pain
You weren’t afraid to face the devil
You were no stranger to the rain

Go rest high on that mountain
Son your work on earth is done
Go to heaven a-shoutin’
Love for the Father and the Son

Oh, how we cried the day you left us
We gathered ’round your grave to grieve
Wish I could see the angels faces
When they hear your sweet voice sing

Go rest high on that mountain
Son your work on earth is done
Go to heaven a-shoutin’
Love for the Father and the Son

Go rest high on that mountain
Son your work on earth is done
Go to heaven a-shoutin’
Love for the Father and the Son

Go to heaven a-shoutin’
Love for the Father and the Son

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Vincent Grant Gill

Dear God, this theme keeps coming up for me lately: The cheapness of human life combined with the preciousness of it. I wonder how you see all of this. I know you care about each death because Jesus cared so much about Lazarus’s death. I know you care about each life lived because you took the time to send Jesus to us. And yet there are just so many of us. So many people.

I had a high school friend die of a sudden heart attack a few days ago. I found out about 36 hours ago. His mother has been on my heart as I know she must be hurting. Then there is the mom I know more locally who lost her adult daughter who was over 60. Both of these people lost had trouble finding traction in this life, but both definitely loved you and neither ever stopped trying. I hadn’t seen the high school friend in several years, but he was an incredibly good man. From everything I could see, he was simply good through and through. But he just never seemed to get traction. His career didn’t go where he wanted it to go. His love life didn’t go where he wanted it to go.

What is certain about both of these friends is that they had people who really loved them, starting with their parents. Both had lost their fathers already, but from what I understand, their fathers loved them as much as their mothers did.

I guess I’m praying all of this because I came across this song this morning, and it seemed to fit the sadness I feel for these losses, but it also reminded me of the angels smiling and caring about us too. In fact, isn’t it interesting that they angels seem to love us so much? I don’t know how many other worlds you might have like us that you care about, but you have certainly set up a system in the spiritual realm that shows an incredible amount of love for us.

Father, I pray that my two friends I’m thinking of right now will continue to ripple through this physical world while their souls enjoy you in the spiritual one. In your kingdom. In the New Earth. You are a great God who takes the 100 billion souls that have entered and left the world and cares about each and every one of them. I pray that one day I will be able to go to heaven a shoutin’ my love for you, my Triune God. And please comfort the mothers and others who were close to these two and are feeling this loss. Love them well.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 17, 2025 in Hymns and Songs

 

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Isaiah 6:1-8

09 Feb

6 It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. 2 Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3 They were calling out to each other,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies!
    The whole earth is filled with his glory!”

4 Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke.

5 Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7 He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.”

8 Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?”

I said, “Here I am. Send me.”

Isaiah 6:1-8

Dear God, this might be the passage in Isaiah with which I am most familiar. I remember that some Christian song opened with someone reading from it about 30 years ago. I think it was Wes King. Let me look for it.

Okay, I just found it. It’s a song called “Holy” by Wes King:

“Holy” by Wes King

“In the year of King Uziah’s death
I saw the Lord, sitting on a throne
Lofty, and exalted
With the train of His robe filling the temple
Ceraphim stood above Him
Each having six wings
With two, He covered his face
With two, He covered his feet
And with two, He flew
And one called out to another, and said:
Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts”

Oy Vay Ist Mer, I am, undone
I am a man of an unclean heart
My eyes have seen the King
I’ve seen the Lord, Almighty

Holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord

I am naked beneath, the Gaze of God
My heart is shattered
For I have, seen my shame
Dust and ashes beneath His mighty throne
I am unworthy, I shudder at His feet
But with fire, He touched my lips
And took away my sin

Holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord
Holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord

He has cleansed me, I’m not what I will be
For when I see Him, I shall be as He

Holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord
Holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord

So there is no way I can ever express with my human mind just how different you and I are, Father. It’s amazing you can even hear my prayers, know my thoughts, or care about my life. What am I to you? Who am I to you? There is a huge difference between me and my dog. When it comes to understanding and abilities, I am light years ahead of my dog in comparison. But on a continuum of intelligence, on a scale of 1 to 10, my dog is a .1, I am possibly a .3, and you are 100. But in my literal world–in my little reality–here I am. I am foolish. I am unclean. But I offer what I have to you. Here am I. Send me.

Father, what would you like me to do today? I think I will visit a friend’s church this morning. I will try to bless people who made donations to our nonprofit through acknowledgments for their gifts. I will go through the money I have and figure out how you will have me use it. I will work on my Parents of the Bible project. And I will enjoy the Super Bowl with a friend. Is that all you would have me do today? Of course, I will love my wife. I will pray for my children, their significant others, and my relatives. I will reach out to some of my relatives and offer love. I will submit myself to you. Father, thank you for touching me with Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection. Make me a fisher of people. Make me a lover of people with your love.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on February 9, 2025 in Hymns and Songs, Isaiah

 

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“Lord, I Need You” by Matt Maher

21 Jan

… Lord I come, I confess
Bowing here, I find my rest
Without You, I fall apart
You’re the one that guides my heart

… Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour, I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

… Where sin runs deep, Your grace is more
Where grace is found is where You are
And where You are, Lord, I am free
Holiness is Christ in me

… Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour, I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

… So teach my song to rise to You
When temptation comes my way
And when I cannot stand, I’ll fall on You
Jesus, You’re my hope and stay

… Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour, I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You
You’re my one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

… My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Matt Maher / Daniel Carson / Jesse Reeves / Kristian Paul Stanfill / Christy L. Nockels

Dear God, I woke up this morning with this song in my head. I’m pretty sure we sang it at the church I visited this last Sunday to bid farewell to a pastor friend of mine who was preaching his last sermon before retirement. I’m kind of surprised the song stuck with me over the last two days, but when I found myself singing it this morning, I thought I would spend some time with the lyrics and use them to pray to you. You know, Father, I do, indeed, need you.

Right now, I’m sitting in my warm home in South Texas with snow on the ground outside. It’s kind of fun, but I know there are people who don’t have a warm place to be, and I haven’t cared. Granted, there is only so much I can “care” about. There is so much awful in the world, and even in my community, that happens on a continual basis, and I cannot care about everything. But I know you do. I know you care about the people who are cold right now. Maybe they are homeless and living in their car–if they have a car. Oh, Father, they need you, oh, they need you. Every hour they need you. Please be with them somehow.

As for me, you have given me a set of people with specific needs to love. Help me to love them well. Whether it is through my vocational work, my side projects, my volunteer work in the community, or my relationships, I have work to do. Help me to do it well.

Father, without you, I fall apart. When my sin runs deep, so does your grace. Help me to withstand temptation. Help me to worship you well. Help me to love you. Help me to love others. Lord, I need you, oh, I need you. Every hour, I need you. You’re my one defense. My righteousness. Oh, God, how I need you.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on January 21, 2025 in Hymns and Songs

 

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“Both Sides Now” by Joni Mitchell

27 Nov

“Both Sides Now” by Joni Mitchell

Rows and floes of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere
Looked at clouds that way

But now they only block the sun
They rain and they snow on everyone
So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way

I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down and still somehow
It’s cloud illusions I recall
I really don’t know clouds at all

Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels
The dizzy dancing way that you feel
As every fairy tale comes real
I’ve looked at love that way

But now it’s just another show
And you leave ’em laughing when you go
And if you care, don’t let them know
Don’t give yourself away

I’ve looked at love from both sides now
From give and take and still somehow
It’s love’s illusions that I recall
I really don’t know love
I really don’t know love at all

Tears and fears and feeling proud
To say, “I love you, ” right out loud
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds
I’ve looked at life that way

Oh, but now old friends, they’re acting strange
And they shake their heads and they tell me that I’ve changed
Well, something’s lost, but something’s gained
In living every day

I’ve looked at life from both sides now
From win and lose and still somehow
It’s life’s illusions I recall
I really don’t know life at all

It’s life’s illusions that I recall
I really don’t know life
I really don’t know life at all

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Joni Mitchell

Dear God, Joni Mitchell was in her late teens or early 20s when she wrote this song. Being born in 1943 and having this song first recorded in 1965 means she couldn’t have been more than 22. That’s amazing depth for such a young person. I wonder what her pain was at that point. When you’re young like that, you’re typically more idealistic about life and love. But pain can come from many directions and at any age.

I was talking with two young women I work with yesterday about marriage. We talked about how dangerous it is to go into marriage based solely on the idea that your spouse’s job and the role of marriage is to make you happy. What it’s really about is finding a partner for the journey. None of us have any idea what life holds. What pain it holds. What you’re looking for is someone you think you can go through the journey with together, come what may. And, frankly, you are my anchor through my own journey with my wife. Some will say that we use you as a crutch to get through life. I can’t remember who it was, but I heard someone say one time that someone accused him of using you as a crutch, and he replied that he didn’t use you as a crutch, but as even more than that (I can’t remember what he compared you to, but it was more an ambulance).

I think I first really came to appreciate this song through the movie Coda. A girl/young woman (played by Emilia Jones) experiences pain as she is the only member of her family who can hear. This puts difficult responsibilities and pressures on her. She has seen the issue of deafness from both sides. Deaf people have been the source of the most love in her life (her family), but they have also been her biggest burden (same family). The song really works for this.

Father, I’ve seen all kinds of things from both sides now. I’ve seen parenthood from both sides. I’ve known the absolute joys of it, and I’ve also know tremendous pain. I’ve had joy and pain in my marriage. I’ve had joy and pain as a child of my parents. As a brother to my siblings. As an employee. As a member of my community. I saw from a listing of recently granted divorces that two people I know received their final divorce decrees this month. That made me sad. One was actually a marriage I knew to be unhealthy, and I was kind of grateful, but the other I had no idea about and it made me sad. I know the wife and have never met the husband, but it made me sad for the woman I know. I don’t know her well enough for her to have told me about it, so I have no idea what happened or if it was even a good thing, but I know there have been tears. I know there has been pain. How could there not have been.

So, I pray for my wife and me as we get ready to go through the next couple of days of Thanksgiving. there is lament in our hearts, but there is also so much to be joyous about. We will hold hands together, support each other, and love each other as we ride in your very gracious ambulance through life. We cannot do this on our own. We cannot do this without you. I cannot do any of this without you. I need you, Father. Thank you for not shielding me from lament and the things that cause it, but for holding me through it, and then helping me to love others through their own trials. Use me as you will.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 27, 2024 in Hymns and Songs

 

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Revelation 14:14-20

26 Nov

14 Then I saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was someone like the Son of Man. He had a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.

15 Then another angel came from the Temple and shouted to the one sitting on the cloud, “Swing the sickle, for the time of harvest has come; the crop on earth is ripe.” 16 So the one sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the whole earth was harvested.

17 After that, another angel came from the Temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. 18 Then another angel, who had power to destroy with fire, came from the altar. He shouted to the angel with the sharp sickle, “Swing your sickle now to gather the clusters of grapes from the vines of the earth, for they are ripe for judgment.” 19 So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and loaded the grapes into the great winepress of God’s wrath. 20 The grapes were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress in a stream about 180 miles long and as high as a horse’s bridle.

Revelation 14:14-20

Dear God, the harvest is the end of the world. That’s actually the name of a song by Charlie Peacock that I just thought of as I started to write this: “The Harvest is the End of the World.”

This song doesn’t necessarily line up with this specific passage, but it includes angels with their sickles so it’s at least adjacent to this passage. My wife and I gravitated to this song because it came out a year after our miscarriage and right when our son was born. As we thought about the daughter we lost and the son we were gaining, this part of the song really struck us:

I see angels in the distance
In the distance, I see angels
And their shadows fall
Like crosses on the fields
Some are swinging low the sickles
Some are binding up the sheaves
Some are sifting out the harvest yield

Rachel, run to join the angels
In the harvest in the distance
Rising from your bed as from a dream
In the feint and splintered line
Where the wheat field meets the sky
You might find your sorrow made complete

To quote another song, “Lord, I don’t know where all this is going or how it all turns out. Lead me to peace that passes understanding. A peace beyond all doubt.” I have concerns. I have sorrows. I have things that burden me. Help me to lean on you as part of this. Help me to trust you when it seems like things are going in ways I do not like. Help me to turn loose of my idols and look to you as my only source of peace and comfort. Help me to repent when I need to repent, serve when I need to serve, and listen when I need to listen. Help me to worship you well throughout my entire being. Then I will let the end of the world happen as you have ordained it and go through whatever you’ve decided I must go through.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 26, 2024 in Hymns and Songs, Revelation

 

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“He’s Everything to Me” by Ralph Carmichael

25 Nov

“He’s Everything to Me” by Ralph Carmichael

In the stars His handiwork I see,
On the wind He speaks with majesty,
Though He ruleth over land and sea,
What is that to me?
I will celebrate Nativity,
For it has a place in history,
Sure, He came to set His people free,
What is that to me?

Till by faith I met Him face to face,
and I felt the wonder of His grace,
Then I knew that He was more than just a
God who didn’t care,
That lived a way out there and

Now He walks beside me day by day,
Ever watching o’er me lest I stray,
Helping me to find that narrow way,
He’s Everything to me.

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Ralph Carmichael

Dear God, I was listening to an interview this morning, and I heard the woman, speaking of you, say, “He’s everything to me.” That made me think of this song. And as I thought about this song, I realized I knew every word, but I hadn’t thought about it in a long, long time. Like maybe since I was a camp counselor 35 years ago. But I think we sang it a lot back then.

I went to YouTube to look for a good recording of it, and I am sorry to say that it seems to have completely disappeared. Every recording was old and arranged like 1980s Christian music. I need to find someone to revive this song and help it be more contemporary with our times because it’s a good song.

The video I did find related it to the Billy Graham Crusades, which makes sense. So I thought I would spend some time with the lyrics this morning and worship you with them.

I seem your majesty everywhere. It’s quite amazing. The stars. The weather. The amount of complexity on this one planet is amazing. Then to think there are so many different worlds and planets (and “so many” is an understatement) that have more complexity than this one. You are amazing, Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit. You are AMAZING!

Then I think about your incarnation to come be with us. Your nativity. You physically entered our history and moved among us. You taught us. You sacrificed for us. You saved us. AMAZING!

But then it’s all personal to me. I was nine years old when I first repented and submitted my life to you. And while I’m sure what they were selling me was “fire insurance,” what I remember is not feeling like I was celebrating heaven, but celebrating freedom from shame and my sin. Celebrating feeling loved by you.

And now you and I have this relationship. I meet with you. You put up with me. And you seemingly do it gladly and lovingly. And while you might watch over me, it’s not necessarily in a “keep me from harm” way, but a level of interest in me, and rooting for me, and wanting the best for me through my development into becoming more and more Christlike way. You want to live in me and grow in me. You want to connect with me. And how ridiculous is that? You, the creator of all, want to be with me!

Father, you are EVERYTHING to me, and I love you!

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 25, 2024 in Hymns and Songs

 

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“Psalm 1” by Kim Hill

19 Nov

“Psalm 1” by Kim Hill

Blessed is he who will follow the Lord
He will not stand in the path of the sinner
He will not sit in the seat of the scoffer
For the law of the Lord is his delight

In his law he meditates, day and night
He will be like a tree planted by water
He will yield his fruit in its season, his leaves won’t die
In whatever he does, he will prosper

Blessed is he who will follow the Lord
He will not stand in the path of the sinner
He will not sit in the seat of the scoffer
For the law of the Lord is his delight

For the lost, they are like chaff that the wind drives away
They are not safe at any time their life could perish

Blessed is he who will follow the Lord
He will not stand in the path of the sinner
He will not sit in the seat of the scoffer
For the law of the Lord is his delight

The Lord holds the plans, and the paths of all who follow him
The righteous will stand secure and last forever

Blessed is he who will follow the Lord
He will not stand in the path of the sinner
He will not sit in the seat of the scoffer
For the law of the Lord is his delight

Dear God, this is the second Kim Hill song I’ve thought of over the last couple of days, and there probably aren’t many people who remember her music enough to think of two songs by her in the span of three days. I guess I have a unique knowledge of 90s Christian music.

In this case, the verse of the day from Bible Gateway was Psalm 1:1-2. I pulled up the whole psalm and then this song came to mind since it’s literally called “Psalm 1.” Here is the NLT version of Psalm 1:

1 Oh, the joys of those who do not
    follow the advice of the wicked,
    or stand around with sinners,
    or join in with mockers.
2 But they delight in the law of the Lord,
    meditating on it day and night.
3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank,
    bearing fruit each season.
Their leaves never wither,
    and they prosper in all they do.

4 But not the wicked!
    They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind.
5 They will be condemned at the time of judgment.
    Sinners will have no place among the godly.
6 For the Lord watches over the path of the godly,
    but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.

I was talking several days ago as I prepared for my friend’s funeral about psalms of orientation, disorientation, and reorientation. I would put this psalm squarely in the realm of orientation. The world makes sense to the psalmist. Those who follow you are blessed. The wicked condemned. When I am disoriented, it seems like those who follow you are abandoned and the wicked thrive. And then when I am reoriented, I can see beyond the physical world and realize that you hold those who love you, whether we can see it or not.

As I look at the first stanza, the one line that hits me is that I will not “join in with mockers.” Oh, how that is so easy and tempting to do. I want to mock those who disagree with me. I want to roll my eyes at people I see as foolish. The frustrate me, and I want to join in with like-minded people and mock them. I want to scoff. I want to make the insecurities I have in my disagreements with them, and use scoffing and mocking to elevate myself over them. That’s my human, carnal solution to it. What should my solution be? I suppose I should be looking to you, examining my thoughts and my heart for and then laying them before you to see if they are your thoughts and your heart. Then, if there is disagreement between you and me, I need to repent. If there is agreement, I need to simply love those who disagree and perhaps develop enough relationship with them where I can speak into their lives.

Father, help me to live up to all of this. It is so much easier to say/type than it is to live. But I want to worship you. I want to represent you to the world. I want to love you well. You are my God, and I want the roots of my life to be deep into your presence. Help me to be that throughout this day.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 19, 2024 in Hymns and Songs, Psalms

 

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Mark 13:1-2

17 Nov

13 As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”

2 “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

Mark 13:1-2

Dear God, is it bad that I just don’t care about end time prophecies? The Gospel reading for the Catholic church this morning is verses from later in Mark 13 when Jesus is describing end times. Is it bad that I’m incurious about them?

I guess it makes me think of the Rich Mullins song “Be With You.”

“Be With You” by Rich Mullins

Everybody each and all
We’re gonna die eventually
It’s no more or less our faults
Than it is our destiny
So now Lord I come to you
Asking only for Your grace
You know what I’ve put myself through
All those empty dreams I chased

And when my body lies in the ruins
Of the lies that nearly ruined me
Will You pick up the pieces
That were pure and true
And breathe Your life into them
And set them free?

And when You start this world over
Again from scratch
Will You make me anew
Out of the stuff that lasts?
Stuff that’s purer than gold is
And clearer than glass could ever be
Can I be with You?
Can I be with You?

And everybody all and each
From the day that we are born
We have to learn to walk beneath
Those mercies by which we’re drawn
And now we wrestle in the dark
With these angels that we can’t see
We will move on although with scars
Oh Lord, move inside of me

And when my body lies in the ruins
Of the lies that nearly runied me
Will You pick up the pieces
That were pure and true
And breathe Your life into them
And set them free?

And when You blast this cosmos
To kingdom come
When those jagged-edged mountains
I love are gone
When the sky is crossed with the tears
Of a thousand falling suns
As they crash into the sea
Can I be with you?
Can I be with you?

I have this down as one of my funeral songs. Whatever happens. However this all works out, I simply just want to be with you. I really don’t want to use any mental energy trying to gain this knowledge because, even if I were the one person who could figure this out (which Jesus says in Mark 13:32), what good would the knowledge gain me? Maybe I could use it to scare people into faith in and worship of you. But that doesn’t seem to be how you motivate people. At least, I don’t think selling people “fire insurance” is a good way to motivate them.

Father, I’ll be fascinated to hear this morning how the priest applies the daily reading (which is actually Mark 13:24-32) here in a little bit. One of the things I’ve decided is a “floor” for my life is that I need to get some good teaching at least once a week. Be with the priest this morning and teach me through him. Teach me through the songs we sing. Teach me through the people I encounter. Teach me through your still small voice as I worship you.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on November 17, 2024 in Hymns and Songs, Mark

 

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