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“Cry the Name” by Jill Phillips (originally by Rich Mullins)

26 Oct

“Cry the Name” by Jill Phillips (originally by Rich Mullins)

I cannot hide this longing that grows
In this temple of silence and stars
But a thief in the night stole in and broke
Every chain that had bound up my heart
I cannot cling to shadows again
So here on this altar tonight
I lay every dream I’ve ever dreamt
To burn in the fire He lights

I cry the Name of the One who loves me
The Name of the One on whom I call
‘Til it roars like thunder
Rolling down these canyon walls

I cry the Name of the One who loves me
The Name of the One on whom I call
‘Til it roars like thunder
Rolling down these canyon walls

Every breath I’ve ever breathed
Was sent as a gift from on high
And with all that is left of all that is me
Up to the Heavens I cry

The Name of the One who loves me
The Name of the One on whom I call
‘Til it roars like thunder
Rolling down these canyon walls

I cry the Name of the One who loves me
The Name of the One on whom I call
‘Til it roars like thunder
Rolling down these canyon walls

The Name of the One who loves me
Name of the One on whom I call
‘Til it roars like thunder
Rolling down these canyon walls

I cry the Name of the One who loves me
The Name of the One on whom I call
Down these canyon walls

I cry out Your name
I cry Your name out
‘Til it roars like thunder
Rolling down these canyon walls

The Name of the One on whom I call
‘Til it roars like thunder
Rolling down these canyon walls
Down these canyon walls

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: David “Beaker” Strasser / Richard Mullins

Dear God, I think Rich Mullins would have liked this cover of his song. Like most people, I usually like the original more than any remakes, but this one really brings the poetry of the words alive for me.

I cannot hide this longing that grows
In this temple of silence and stars
But a thief in the night stole in and broke
Every chain that had bound up my heart

Paul talked about Jesus coming like a “thief in the night,” (1 Thessalonians 5:2) so Rich and Beaker lean into that imagery here. Our minds think of a thief in the night as a bad thing, but, well, if you know you know, right? If you know this verse then you know the depths of what Rich and Beaker are saying. So with this verse, I just get this image of someone at the end of themselves and they’ve finally submitted to you. They let you come in the window and trusted you to rob them of everything you want to take. The beauty of it is, you want to take their shame, their guilt, their vice, their selfishness… You want to take all of that and leave them with the smooth skin of a new baby. The innocence of a spotless lamb. That’s what you stole. So now that the thief (you) have made off with all of the bad:

I cannot cling to shadows again
So here on this altar tonight
I lay every dream I’ve ever dreamt
To burn in the fire He lights

At least at first, it’s hard to cling to the shadows again. Shadows come from the light, when things are there to block it. And we want those things in our hearts that will block your light. But you want to remove them so the light shines everywhere. And, at least at first, we want your light everywhere. We want the shadows gone. I just finished looking at Jonah and Nineveh. At first, the Ninevites and the King of the Assyrians wanted you and repented. They wanted to get rid of their shadows. The sad thing is, the thrill wears off and the comfort of our shadows and shame can slowly come back if we don’t walk through the narrow gate and persevere down the narrow path (Matthew 7:13-14). But let’s sit a little longer on this night that Rich and Beaker are describing. They have chosen to lay every dream they’ve ever dreamt and let them burn in the fire you light. Beautiful.

I cry the Name of the One who loves me
The Name of the One on whom I call
‘Til it roars like thunder
Rolling down these canyon walls

I know there are a lot of places with skies, stars, and canyons, but this makes me think of some moments I’ve had out at the H. E. Butt Family Foundation Ranch near Leakey, Texas. Mountaintop experiences, to be sure. Glorious. Emotional. Humbling, but in a good way. It can be hard to leave that place. So I’ll just let the poetry of these words take me back to those times. When the soil of my heart was freshly weeded. Before some thorns and weeds had crept in. Just you, me, and guiltless soil.

Father, to quote another Rich Mullins song, “Elijah,” “Sometimes my ground was stony, sometimes covered up with thorns, and only you could make it what it had to be.” Help me to weed my soil again today. Help me to go and be your ambassador in every situation I find myself in. I love you, Father. Make me what I need to be today so that you might be glorified. I want to decrease and you increase. As I teach Sunday school in an hour, I want you to move hearts. Let this be a day when we do some weeding in all of our hearts.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on October 26, 2025 in Hymns and Songs

 

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“We Are Not As Strong As We Think We Are” by Rich Mullins

30 Jun

“We Are Not As Strong As We Think We Are” by Rich Mullins

Well, it took the hand of God Almighty
To part the waters of the sea
But it only took one little lie
To separate you and me
Oh, we are not as strong as we think we are

And they say that one day Joshua
Made the sun stand still in the sky
But I can’t even keep these thoughts of you from passing by
Oh, we are not as strong as we think we are

We are frail, we are fearfully and wonderfully made
Forged in the fires of human passion
Choking on the fumes of selfish rage
And with these our hells and our heavens
So few inches apart
We must be awfully small
And not as strong as we think we are

And the Master said their faith was
Gonna make them mountains move
But me, I tremble like a hill on a fault line
Just at the thought of how I lost you
Oh, we are not as strong as we think we are

We are frail, we are fearfully and wonderfully made
Forged in the fires of human passion
Choking on the fumes of selfish rage
And with these our hells and our heavens
So few inches apart
We must be awfully small
And not as strong as we think we are

And if you make me laugh
I know I could make you like me
‘Cause when I laugh I can be a lot of fun
But we can’t do that I know that it is frightening
What I don’t know is why we can’t hold on
We can’t hold on

It took the hand of God Almighty
To part the waters of the sea
But it only took one little lie
To separate you and me
Oh, we are not as strong as we think we are

When you love you walk on the water
Just don’t stumble on the waves
We all want to go there something’ awful
But to stand there it takes some grace

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Beaker / Rich Mullins

Dear God, I was listening to a podcast this morning, and they were talking about something they were reading that we are only able to see about 2% of what is visible around us due to our limited visual spectrum and the size of things. My wife and I talked about it a bit. We have a friend who is an ophthalmologist and she talks about the mission trips she goes on and how just something as simple as $.50 reading glasses change a person’s life because they were a seamstress and thought they could no longer work because they couldn’t see detail anymore. How much would that be us if we could all of a sudden see a fraction of what is around us that we cannot see? Is the vision of the spirits in the world actually closer than we think? Is it maybe not a veil between us, but simple ignorance?

That’s when this song came to mind for me. I am not as strong as I think I am. I think the closer I get to you the smaller I feel. And that’s a good thing. I think the closer I get to you the weaker I feel. And that’s a good thing. I don’t have to put my faith in my own strength to find my certainty or peace. I talk to people around my age who say they don’t feel their age. And that’s fine. I always tell them, “I’m not sure what 55 is supposed to feel like, but I think this is it.” I just don’t feel the need to push myself up and pretend to be something that I’m not. Is that good or bad? I’m not sure.

Thinking about this song that Beaker and Rich wrote, I wonder what they inspiration for it was. How did they decide to write this song? Were they feeling especially powerless? It starts with a broken relationship. It’s a love song to lost love. Poetically, I think my favorite part of the song talks about how we are “formed in the fires of human passion.” But the passion between those two people also succumbs sometimes to the fumes of selfish rage. This is truly an amazing song when you really sit with the lyrics.

Father, my hells and my heavens are just a few inches apart. Tonight, I will try to lean into the heavens and cling to them as I try to teach the Bible study lesson I think you gave me for these men. Help me. Be with me. Fill me. Help me to be weak. Be strong for me.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 
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Posted by on June 30, 2025 in Hymns and Songs

 

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“Growing Young” by Rich Mullins and Beaker

16 Jul

“Growing Young” by Rich Mullins and Beaker

I’ve gone so far from my home
I’ve seen the world
And I have known
So many secrets
I wish now I did not know
‘Cause they have crept into my heart
They have left it cold and dark
And bleeding
Bleeding and falling apart

And everybody used to tell me
Big boys don’t cry
Well, I’ve been around enough to know
That that was the lie
That held back the tears
In the eyes of a thousand prodigal sons
Well, we are children no more
We have sinned and grown old
And our Father still waits
And He watches down the road
To see the crying boys
Come running back to His arms
And be growing young, nah, nah
Growing young, nah, nah, nah, nah

I’ve seen silver turn to draw dross
I’ve seen the best there ever was
And I’ll tell you, it ain’t worth what it cost
And I remember my father’s house
What I wouldn’t give right now
Just to see him
And hear him tell me that he loves me so much

And everybody used to tell me
Big boys don’t cry
Well, I’ve been around enough to know
That that was the lie
That held back the tears
In the eyes of a thousand prodigal sons
Well, we are children no more
We have sinned and grown old
And our Father still waits
And He watches down the road
To see the crying boys
Come running back to His arms
And be growing young, nah, nah
Growing young, nah, nah, nah, nah

And when I thought that I was all alone
It was your voice I heard calling me back home
And I wonder now Lord, what was it that made me wait so long
What kept you waiting for me all that time
Was your love stronger than my foolish pride
Will you take me back Lord
Take me back and let me be your child
Because I’ve been broken now, I’ve been saved
I’ve learned to cry and I’ve learned how to pray
And I’m learning, I’m learning even I can be changed

And everybody used to tell me
Big boys don’t cry
Well, I’ve been around enough to know
That that was the lie
That held back the tears
In the eyes of a thousand prodigal sons
Well, we are children no more
We have sinned and grown old
And our Father still waits
And He watches down the road
To see the crying boys
Come running back to His arms
And be growing young, nah, nah
Growing young, nah, nah, nah, nah

 

Dear God, I first heard this song nearly 25 years ago, and although I loved it at the time, I never knew how much it would come to mean to me. At the end of the day, we all need to have our wills broken to the point where we are willing to submit to you. And it comes easier to some that it does to others. The harder the heart, the more time it takes to break.

I have those in my life now for whom I pray this song and the sentiments of this song. Some are relatives. Some are friends. And I am in there too. You are still working on my heart and drawing it into yourself. I’m still learning to get over myself. I’m still learning to repent and pursue holiness. I’m still learning to look to you for my happiness and fulfillment.

Father, I’m willing to cry, so that’s a start. I’m willing to express my hurt and my faults. That’s a start too. The last 25 years have brought wounds and scars, but they have also brought me compassion, wisdom, love, and humility. Be glorified in me and please help those whom I love.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen

 
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Posted by on July 16, 2018 in Hymns and Songs

 

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