Category: Singing

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Bondage? Part 1

Have you ever had to write a compare and contrast essay? I’m sure we all, at some point in our educated lives, wrote or had to prepare to write a comparative essay. But stop and imagine what your write if you wrote a compare/contrast essay on your life? 

 

In 1887, George C. Stebbins penned words that distinctly reflect the appearance of a comparative and contrasted life. A life before, or without, Jesus and a life including Jesus. The differences could not be more stark. Verse 1 of this hymn goes as follows.

“Out of my bondage, sorrow and night, Jesus I come, Jesus I come; Into Thy freedom gladness and light, Jesus I come to Thee; Out of my sickness, into Thy health, out of my want and into Thy wealth, Out of my sin and into Thyself, Jesus I come to Thee.”

Stebbins does a beautiful job of capturing the sides of with and without Christ. Though, some may wonder ‘what bondage, sorrow and sickness is he talking about being caught up in?’, it’s just that. It’s the bondage of ignorance and the sorrow and sickness of a sin-infected world.

Now what about the other half of that verse? Freedom, Gladness, Wealth, Health…personally, I’d like to take all of the above! Do not be surprised that those things may not come in the form we would like them to or would even expect them to. Truly seeing and appreciating ‘freedom, gladness, wealth and health’ takes humility and a willingness to relinquish self-control. None of which will come easy because we are in bondage to the physical desires of this world.

 

Compare and Contrast Essays have always been fun for me. Picking a topic and writing about how, why and what makes it so individualistically different to something else is enlightening. If you were to do that with your life, what do you think you would see? The apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans talks about his, and, ultimately, our, struggle and fight with the sin that is constantly in our lives. He makes it clear in Romans 7:24 & 25 to whom we should be in bondage. He strongly reiterates this idea in Romans 8, saying, “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.” 

 

Bondage to sin is weighty, cumbersome and exhausting. Freedom in Christ is light, easy and full of relief. And each of us will choose between bondage and freedom. Compare and Contrast these two and make your choice…

 

Bondage or Freedom?

Written by Emili (Bruce) Todd
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The Sweetest Hour

There is something about sweets around this time of year that make them hard to resist (and maybe not just ‘this time of year.’) They have a way of pulling you back for, ‘just one more bite…’. Perhaps that mindset should even permeate our lives when it comes to what God has instructed regarding our most precious avenue to Him, prayer.

A blind English preacher, William Walford, in the 19th century wrote a song that well encompasses the precious gift of prayer. “Sweet Hour of Prayer” was written and published over 170 years ago, and very poetically encapsulates the pure sincerity of how beautiful our relationship to God can be. Three verses are well-known within the Lord’s church, (Sweet Hour of Prayer) but this fourth was new to me. Perhaps you’ll find it, as I did, a beautiful comparison to the end of our lives on this earth. But notice the reference to Moses and the end of his life as recorded in Deuteronomy 34.

Read the words from this ‘forgotten’ fourth verse:

“Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer! May I thy consolation share, till, from Mount Pisgah’s lofty height, I view my home and take my flight: This robe of flesh I’ll drop and rise to seize the everlasting prize; And shout, while passing through the air, “Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer!””

If you compare the words of this verse and what we know of the area around Mt. Pisgah, on the East side of the Dead Sea, the surrounding area and landscape matches up the description in Mr. Walford’s hymn. Pair this fourth verse up with the 1st-6th verse of Deuteronomy 34 and you will notice that the poetry aligns well with these verses. God has taken Moses to show him the land that was promised to him and his fathers before him, yet does not allow him to enter the land. (Num. 20:9-11 & Deut. 34:1-12) As these parallel well, we ought not to forget or overlook the meanings behind and within these words. At the end of our lives, we can look back on all the experiences. We can see in our children and grandchildren the legacy that we have left and potentially see glimpses of how it will be when we are gone. Knowing we have an end point in our life, what should be the most meaningful and cherished thing to us? Would it be that we made time (spent time) in the sweet hour of prayer.

But if we’re honest, at times our prayers can seem not so sweet. They may feel sorrowful, bitter, painful, and anything but sweet, but read Psalm 141:2 as King David compares prayer to that of the fragrant smell of incense to the Lord. Regardless, of how we feel when and while we pray, it’s the sheer act of sincerely humbling ourselves and taking our concerns to the Almighty that bring us closer to the sweetness we find in Him.

The sweet treats in life are good in the moment, but they will always leave you craving more. Having a personal relationship with our Savior in prayer, will never leave you empty. As a matter of fact, it should leave us wanting more! But it is a relationship that requires active obedience, holy reverence, sincere humility, and genuine faith. All of which will leave us wanting, ‘just one more bite.’

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What Is YOUR Story?

We sing that we have a “Blessed assurance,” but what does that mean? When you say/sing that “Jesus is mine,” how does that change your life…does it change your life?

We must consider the rest of this verse if we are to fully understand the value and importance of this assurance in Christ. You will sing that you are an heir of salvation and that you’ve been purchased of God. Have you been born of His Spirit and washed in His blood? If you have, and if you are walking with Christ, then you have blessed assurance.

But you have to realize it doesn’t stop there. As a matter of fact, Fanny J. Crosby realized there was more to this ‘blessed assurance.’ Notice the the importance found the next two verses; “Perfect submission…” Are you prepared to submit to the King of Kings? When you do then you realize that when Christ returns, the joy (rapture) of heaven will burst on our sight. And even in her blindness, Fanny J. Crosby wrote about ‘seeing’ Christ when He comes to take us home. Notice the reference to Matthew 24:31 as she writes, ‘…angels descending.’

So take note of the rest we find with the assurance we have in Christ. The third verse simply states in my Savior I am “happy and blessed.” And with this blessed assurance, we are watching and waiting for Christ to come and take us home. It amazes me how our author of this song used the eyes of her heart to ‘look above.’ It really is no surprise to me that Fanny J. Crosby wrote that this blessed assurance was her story and her song.

Still the question is for you and I to answer is simple. Will you have a heart of submission to Christ? Are you ‘lost in His love?’ Spend your life praising God and singing of His glory. Search for and find that perfect submission. When you do, then you can answer the question…What is Your Story?

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Even the Stars…

The title of this article leaves a question…what about the stars? “Even the stars…” leaves me to think that they are included with something else, but what? First of all, we know that as God’s people we are called to praise Him. But in reality, all creation is called to praise Jehovah God. But in our limited thinking, do we draw a line as to who can praise the Creator of this world? With no limits to the vastness of the universe we only need to read and know that there is no limit as to who and what can (and will) give Him praises!
Pick up your Bible and turn to Psalm, chapter 148.  This scripture has been turned into one our favorite songs in the brotherhood. And, if the truth be known, when we sing this song, we’re singing a ‘psalm’ that is almost a word-for-word account from the chapter.  From the hills and mountains to the beast and cattle, we sing this song of praise.  So whether you see yourself as a young man, a maiden or an aged man; whether you’re a child or a king we must all be praising God.  As a matter of fact, take a closer look at who/WHAT the Psalmist says will praise God. All His angels, the sun and moon, sea creatures or monsters or dragons depending on your translation, fire, snow, vapors and hail, beast, birds and cattle; all created things will praise the Creator! And the reason why is found in the 13th verse, “…for His name alone is exalted.” Do you praise God or, in your life, do you have other things that are exalted?
Read the words to this ‘psalm’ and then compare the song we sing on Sunday to the words written in the 148th Psalm…
“Hallelujah, praise Jehovah, from the heavens praise His name;
Praise Jehovah in the highest, all His angels praise proclaim.
All His hosts together praise Him, sun, and moon, and stars on high;
Praise Him, O ye heav’n of heavens, and ye floods above the sky.
Let them praises give Jehovah, they were made at His command,
Them forever He established; His decree shall ever stand.
From the earth, oh, praise Jehovah, all ye floods, ye dragons all;
Fire, and hail, and snow, and vapors, stormy winds that hear His call.
All ye fruitful trees and cedars, all ye hills and mountains high,
Creeping things, and beasts, and cattle, birds that in the heavens fly.
Kings of earth, and all ye people, Princes great, earth’s judges all,
Praise His name, young men and maidens, aged men and children small.
Refrain:
Let them praises give Jehovah,
For His name alone is high,
And His glory is exalted,
And His glory is exalted,
And His glory is exalted,
Far above the earth and sky.”

It is a clear that all created things will praise God.  So let me encourage you to sing and to give your praise to God. The stars are praising Him, so be careful that you don’t let the creation in heaven, or on earth for that matter, out sing your praise to Jehovah!

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Which Song Should We Sing…

Often our repertoire for singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs is nothing short of limited. We sing on Sunday morning, maybe Sunday night and the for the ‘faithful’ we’ll sing on Wednesday night. But if you were to really push yourself, how many songs (from the hymnal) do you know? Song leaders, honestly, how many options do you have at the ready when Sunday morning comes? If you were to list out 5 or 6 “Communion” songs…which ones would you write down? Right now, as you read this, can you list out 8 or 9 songs that would be good to lead before a prayer?

We have our favorite hymns, but do we know which ones should be placed where in our ‘order of worship?’ What would top your list? Would you include; “How Deep the Father’s Love,” “Ivory Palaces” and “It Is Well with My Soul?” Certainly you would have some of the all-time favorites such as; “How Great Thou Art,” “Amazing Grace” and 728b, “Our God, He is Alive.”

Let’s try this short exercise to see how you would pull together an order of worship for Sunday morning…which of the following would be good for opening worship:

“Be Still and Know,” “Faithful Love” or “O Worship the King” (Why do you choose that song?)

How about the song before the Lord’s Supper:

“How Deep the Father’s Love,” “Bind Us Together” or “Break Thou the Bread of Life” (AGAIN…WHY?)

What about the song before the lesson, a sermon entitled “Heaven is My Home,” would you lead before the lesson;

“My Jesus, I Love Thee,” “Sing to Me of Heaven” or “This Is My Father’s World” (CONSIDER THE QUESTION…WHY DO YOU PICK THE SONG YOU PICK?)

So many options are available, but perhaps with this exercise you can see that just because you like a song or you think it’s a good one, you need to ask why you’re picking each specific song. Realize you have the responsibility to ‘set the mood’ for the moment of worship, then your song selection becomes more focused. And keep in mind, if your repertoire of psalms, hymns and spiritual songs is limited you won’t be able to grow in your worship and leadership as you lead the congregation in singing.

Let me encourage you to wear out your hymnal. Spend long hours reading the words and come to a better understanding of what you’re singing. Then you’ll see what Paul was talking about when he wrote I Corinthians 14:15, “I will sing with the spirit and I will sing with understanding (the mind).”

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A Life-Changing Morning in West Texas…Sept. 23

It’s a joy to be in Knott, Texas this week for their annual Gospel Meeting. This year, Mike Vestal from Midland, Texas will be the speaker for the week. As we come together for worship this morning, our lesson will focus on the first of “Six Life-Changing Words.” We’ll begin with the name above all names, the name that means “God is with us,” the life-changing name of Jesus.

Below is a list of the eight songs we’ll be singing this morning as we consider Jesus as the beginning of the change in our life. Join the Lord’s church this morning as He calls us to not only live differently, but to worship in spirit and in truth!

“We Praise Thee, O God for the Son of Thy love. For Jesus who died and is now gone above…Hallelujah! Thine the glory!”

“Praise God from whom all blessing flow! Praise Him all creatures here below…Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost!”

“Jesus, name above all names. Beautiful Savior, glorious Lord. Emmanuel, God is with us. Blessed Redeemer, Living Word.”

“Man of Sorrow! What a name for the Son of God who came. Ruined sinners to reclaim…Hallelujah! What a Savior!”

“My Jesus I love Thee, I know Thou art mine. For Thee all the follies of sin I resign. My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou. If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus is now…”

“Jesus is ALL the world to me, my life, my joy, my all! He is my strength from day to day without Him I would fall. When I am sad to Him I go, no other one can cheer me so, when I am sad, He makes me glad…He’s my friend.”

“Have you heart that’s weary, tending a load of care? Have you a soul seeking rest from the burden you bear? Do you know my Jesus? Do you know my Friend? Have you heard He loves you and that He will abide till the end?”

“There’s within my heart a melody, Jesus whispers sweet and low, ‘Fear not I am with thee, peace be still, in all of life’s ebb and flow.’ Jesus, Jesus, Jesus! Sweetest name I know. Feels my every longing, keeps me singing while I go.”

Worship this morning in spirit and in truth and you’ll find how Jesus can change your life and ‘keep you singing.’

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A Contact with Thirteen Cents, Pt 2

A contract that reads: $_____.13

Could this really be how God might work in our life today? Does He answer our prayers in ways that “WOW!” us or in ways that we cannot see, or maybe both? If you read last weeks article, you began the story from Dottie Rambo and her career as a gospel music writer/singer. Let’s conclude with the ‘rest of the story’ from Dottie Rambo, and I hope you’ll take time to consider and remember all that God has done in your life. Dottie’s personal account of this narrative continues…

“When we arrived (in Nashville to meet with Pop Benson) we began to look over the contract, I was dying to find out the amount. I said, ‘Let me look at it.’ Mr. Benson looked over his glasses and said, ‘Well, Dot, my girl, this is the best I can do.’ I really wasn’t interested in anything except the thirteen cents. When I looked at the amount, it read so many dollars and thirteen cents! When I saw that I said, ‘Give me a pencil.’ There was a mild protest, ‘Wait a minute, we haven’t read it that well. We don’t know that much about it.’ I said, ‘We don’t need to know anything else. We’re just supposed to sign it.’ So we signed it.”

“We got into our car and began pulling away from the curb. All of a sudden, I began talking quietly to the Lord. I said, ‘Lord, I appreciate You doing this for me. I know You must have done a million things like this that I didn’t know about or don’t remember, and haven’t thank You for, but You know me – I’m human and I forget. But when You do good things, just roll back the curtain and remind me of them and I’ll thank You for them!’ “

“When that happened the melody in my heart started rolling and I started weeping. I was asked, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ I said, “Nothing, I’m just rejoicing. I’m writing a song.’ During those one hundred miles home, without an instrument, I wrote, ‘Remind Me, Dear Lord.’ “

Whether God gave Dottie Rambo a ‘sign’ or if it was just a coincidence, no one can argue the fact her first contract ended with thirteen cents. And personally, I’m glad it did. For without it, we might not have this song to remind us that the things we love and hold dear to our hearts are just borrowed, they’re not ours at all. And whether you’ve sung this song before or not, Dottie reminds us that there is nothing good that we have done to deserve God’s Son. We’re not worthy of the scars in His hands. Today let me encourage you to take some time and just talk with God. Tell Him your plans, your wishes and then may…ask Him for thirteen cents!

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A Contract with Thirteen Cents, Pt 1

The lesson’s we can learn from the pages of God’s word never cease to amaze me. Unfortunately, it seems we don’t open the Book often enough to learn those lessons. For example, do you remember Judges chapter 6 when God calls Gideon to deliver His people from the oppression of the Midianites? An angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon calling on him to “…deliver Israel from the hand of Midian.” In one of the most noted negotiations in Old Testament history, Gideon asked not once, but three times for God to ‘show me (him) a sign.’ (Read Judges 6:17, 18 & 36-40 to learn about the offering, the dry fleece on wet ground and dew-soaked fleece on dry ground.) When we read God’s word, we often find that we really haven’t changed much from Gideon’s day. For example, when was the last time you asked God for a sign to confirm His authority? Maybe you said something like…

“Lord, if you will __________________, then I will _____________________.”

And though it’s true God works in ways we cannot see, we have to realize we are not in negotiations with God. It’s simply not how God operates today. At the same time that certainly does not mean we should stop seeking His guidance in all that we do. Christ’s own words in Matthew 7 tell us to, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you…”

Recently I came across the backdrop of one of our older ‘spiritual songs,’ by Dottie Rambo. Written in the mid-1960’s, Dottie shares her personal story behind the writing of this song…

“At the time I wrote this song, we were living in Kentucky just getting started in the music ministry. I was holding down a job and singing on the weekends. I received a call from John T. Benson. We called him ‘Pop.’ He called about having me sign a writer’s contract and about having our family sing for him. We didn’t know about contracts or what to do about such things. Since it was only a hundred miles from Nashville, my family and I drove to see Pop Benson.”

“As we traveled I prayed: ‘Lord, we don’t know anything about contracts, so You will have to lead us. If we are to sign the contract, let it read so many hundred dollars and thirteen cents. If You’ll just let thirteen cents be the last numbers on the contract, then I’ll know that we are supposed to sign it.’ I told NO ONE about my prayer.”

To see what song was born from this experience, next week we’ll conclude Dottie Rambo’s story and see how (if) God answered her prayer and provided her with… “thirteen cents.”

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A “Sweet Hour” of Prayer? Pt 3

For the past two weeks we’ve looked at prayer and the time we spend talking with God. We have a vast array of songs that either mention prayer, focus entirely upon prayer or simply are a prayer. The more we ‘sing with understanding,’ the more we will come to realize which songs do what in our worship to God and admonishing one another.

In 1856, Love Willis wrote, and we still sing, a prayer asking our Heavenly Father to… “Hear the Prayer We Offer.” Twenty-five years later Mary Kidder asked the singer a basic question, “Ere (Before) you left your room this morning, did you think to pray?” In that same year (1875), A. Cummings penned the familiar words that we still sing; in the…“Morning, noon and evening unto Thee I’ll pray.” Our hymnals are filled with songs of prayer and songs to remind us to pray. Even within the last 30 years we have come to know and love, “On bended knee I come, with a humble heart I come; bowing down before Your holy throne.” Or perhaps you’ll know the hymn we sing asking God to “listen to our hearts…”  We pray and sing about prayers because this is our direct line of communication with God.

And as we conclude the message behind, “Sweet Hour of Prayer” let’s consider the third verse of this song written by W. W. Walford in 1845;

“Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer, Thy wings shall my petition bear to Him whose truth and faithfulness engage the waiting soul to bless; And since He bids me seek His face, believe His word, and trust His grace, I’ll cast on Him my every care and wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer.”

The imaginary of this verse puts ‘wings’ on our prayers to lift our petition before God’s throne. And as our requests come before God, this song expresses that He is waiting to bless us. His promise of truth and faithfulness are just waiting to be “engaged.” That alone should strike a cord in our hearts. But before we conclude this prayer and close the page of this hymn consider how our God calls for us to seek Him, to believe in Him and to trust in Him. If our heavenly Father is asking us to search for Him, believe in His word and trust in His grace, then you can see why He calls us to ‘cast on Him’ every care. So again, slow down and wait for this time of prayer. Forget the cares of this world, the business of your schedule and spend “an hour” in prayer.

Our souls will ‘find relief’ when we, ‘take our station before God’s throne’ and ‘cast on Him our every care.’ In short, don’t watch the clock and don’t focus on yourself. If your heart is right with God, prayer can be sweet. Know that an hour of prayer won’t hurt you, but it certainly will bless you!

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Dreaming of Heaven

When was the last time you woke up and could remember your dream? Not the nightmare that shakes you awake or the dream that bring tears to your eyes. I’m talking about the dream that fills you peace and brings a smile to your face. Do you remember your dreams? Sometimes we wake up and can’t recall the events, but only a feeling or emotion from the nocturnal vision. Then there are other times when we wake and can recall every scene with vivid detail. Perhaps you’ve had this ‘dream’…or maybe you’ve sung about the vivid details of this vision of heaven!

 

From a distance I saw a huge crowd of people standing in Heaven around the throne of God. This vast assembly had been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, and they were singing to God with an incredibly beautiful melody! As I listened to them singing, I heard their song, and I so wanted to join them. You could say that I tried to sing, but I couldn’t.

This vast ‘singing’ assembly were saints who had died under persecution. Some were killed by the sword and others had been burned at the stake, but all of them stood on the mount because they had died for truth and in the name of Jesus. And as they stood shouting victory and giving praise to “the Lamb,” they were bowing before…the GREAT I AM!

These saints, in the presence of God, were feasting (rejoicing) in His love. But perhaps what intrigued me the most was that this vision, this dream, was perpetual…it never ended. Rising before these saints were images of joy and complete happiness. These ‘scenes’ were always new, no reruns, no repeats… always new rising, over and over and over again in their presence as they sang before the throne of God.

Then, as if given special permission, I joined in the song of praise. This is the song I was singing to God…

“Holy, Holy, Holy Lord! God of Host on high adore!”

And as I sang, I thought, “How can someone like me be able to sing to the Lord of Host, the Great I Am, the Almighty King?” Still I continued,

“Holy, Holy, Holy Lord! God of Host on high adore! Holy, Holy, Holy!”

This is just a story, maybe a dream, but you no doubt will recognize this ‘vision’ as one of our longtime favorite hymns, “On Zion’s Glorious Summit.” When we sing the songs from years gone by, we must stop and contemplate what we’re singing? We need to ‘see’ the songs we sing. Read the words to this song and come to appreciate the message, then you’ll be closer to understanding what you’re singing.

“I will sing with the spirit, I will sing with understanding…”
I Corinthian 14:15