"My stubborn will subdue."

Hymn: “Holy Spirit, Breathe on Me” – Edwin Hatch (1835-1889) Adapted and set to music by B. B. McKinney (1886-1952)

Tune: TRUETT

A few years ago there was a very popular book published by James Dobson called The Strong-Willed Child. People in my church were discussing it almost as if it should be added to the canon. It seems that every parent in the country began to think that they had the one about which he was writing. I never read it because at the time all my ‘children’ were those in my choirs at the church… and in my opinion most of them were plenty strong-willed!

The book would not have been nearly as marketable as “The Stubborn Child,” but that’s basically what Dobson was trying to help parents deal with.

Our heavenly parent must feel the same way about us… his stubborn children! Don’t you wonder if God has a shelf full of books on how to deal with his children? Of course he doesn’t – he’s all-knowing, you know! But my guess is that there are times when he gets pretty frustrated with us when we dig in our heels, stomp our feet, bang our fists on the floor and scream loudly… figuratively speaking, of course. The truth is, most of us can be pretty stubborn at times; even as adults, our inner strong-willed child rises to the surface.

In this hymn-line, we pray an incredibly poignant prayer when we ask God to mollify the part of us which tends to be rebelliously determined… even obstinate. The picture of a horse being reined in comes to my mind – those scenes we’ve seen in movies where the wildest breeds of horse are in the corral, and they are being brought under the control of the one in charge until finally they are almost docile – even useful.

Okay, Lord Jesus: by the breath of your Spirit calm my restlessness, my inflexible insubordinate self in order that I may be useful-er – make that more useful – to you, to your kingdom, and to the world in which I have been placed. Take thou my heart, cleanse ev’ry part… including my stubborn streak! Amen.

Sorry, I could not find a halfway decent recording of this online!

"Alexander Taming Bucephalus" - F. Schromer

"Give our hearts to thine obedience."

Today's Hymn-Line: “Give our hearts to thine obedience.” 

Delacroix - "Christ on the Sea of Galilee"

Hymn: “Jesus Calls Us O’er the Tumult” – Cecil Frances Alexander (1818-1895)

Typical Tune: GALILEE

Alexander was an Irish hymn writer whose texts put her in category of the greats because we still have several of her hymns printed in books published in the twenty-first century: “All Things Bright and Beautiful,” “There Is a Green Hill Far Away,” and this one about the call of Christ coming to us above the struggles and conflicts which might easily drown out his sweet voice saying “Christian, follow me,” and “Christian, love me more.”

The hymn-line I have chosen from many possibilities in this text is part of the final stanza as she pleads with Christ in his great mercy to be sure that we hear his call – that we might give our hearts to obey him, serve him, and love him more than we love anything or anyone else.

What strikes me is that her prayer – and ours as we sing it – is that we might hand over our hearts into the realm of full obedience to all his callings… those mentioned in the earlier stanzas and those yet to come in our pilgrimage of faith.

Thank you, long-gone Irish poet. May your words move us to hear fully, obey willingly, serve extensively, and love extravagantly.

Hear This Hymn at the Organ

Hear This Hymn at the Piano

Originally Posted 09/04/2013

"I need no other argument. I need no other plea."

from Courthouse - Waxahachie, TX

Hymn: “My Faith Has Found a Resting Place” – Lidie H. Edmunds

Tune: LANDAS

We watch way too many legal dramas on the television at our house. In fact, we’re now into several from the BBC; we just couldn’t get enough courtroom drama here in the states! We both read legal thrillers, and because Carlita works in a law office, we have lots of discussions about how the system works.

After the bailiff (or British usher) calls the court to order, one of the first questions to the accused is “How do you plead?” or “What is your plea?” In most cases on the televised dramas, the plea is “not guilty”; otherwise, these could be some very undersized shows!

It is then that the arguments are presented from both sides of the aisle… the prosecution and the defense teams present every possible angle to support their belief in guilt or innocence.

We understand that we are all guilty, right? Guilty, vile and helpless we. Our having sinned and fallen short of the glory of God have put us into that category. But our case is argued by our Advocate (I John 2:1) – the One who sits with us at the defense table. Our striving would be losing were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing… Christ Jesus.

His argument on our behalf is brief: “I have died for this person,” he says. It’s a short argument, but it is enough. The Holy Spirit is called as a witness (Hebrews 10:15), and the defense rests.

Despite the rantings and objections of the prosecutor – the Evil One himself – who may call witnesses to the contrary, the verdict is “not guilty.” We turn to thank our Defender and offer him payment for his services; he hands us his bill marked “paid in full.” The case is closed. The next sinner on the docket is called forward, and the process continues. It is fortunate for us that the Father of our Defender was our Judge.

That’s a lot to process while singing this one hymn-line, isn’t it? I’m afraid that is how my mind works! When this phrase comes across my lips, I am reminded that I’ve had my day in court and that I am now free from the law – and it’s a happy condition.

 Hear Cynthia Clawson Sing This Hymn

Originally Posted 09/03/2013

"Let us hope and trust, let us watch and pray, and labor till the Master comes."

Hymn: “To the Work” – Fanny J. Crosby (1820-1915)

Tune: TOILING ON

We don’t sing this hymn much anymore in any denomination, but I definitely grew up on it as did many of you. I’m using the last line of the refrain as the hymn-line, but the returning theme in Fanny Crosby’s text is the message that “Salvation is free!” That phrase ends three of the four common stanzas printed in most hymnals.

MY favorite of the stanzas is:

            To the work! To the work!” Let the hungry be fed.

            To the fountain of life let the weary be led.

            In the cross and its banner our glory shall be

            While we herald the tidings, “Salvation is free!”

This call to get off our backsides and get on with our calling(s) is a strong one, and it emphasizes the social message of the gospel (feeding the hungry/poor) and the evangelistic message of leading weary souls to the fountain of life… the cross whose banner flies above our troops as we march through the streets announcing the good news that salvation is without cost to the one who believes it… yet at great cost to the One who provides it.

It doesn’t happen as much now, but in addition to a lunch break, workers were given two breaks during the day – one in the morning and one in the afternoon; for many, these were ‘smoke breaks,’ but I won’t go there this time! When those breaks ended, the boss/foreman/office manager would say, ‘Back to work now,” and the day’s tasks would resume. The first line of each of this hymn’s stanzas could be “Back to work! Back to work!” 

On the spiritual side of life in our toiling for the kingdom, we need to be singing our way unbegrudgingly with today’s hymn-line: Let us hope and trust, let us watch and pray, and labor till the Master comes.

Originally Posted 09/02/2013 (Labor Day)

"Assist me to proclaim."

Hymn: “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing” – Charles Wesley (1707-1788)

Typical Tune: AZMON

Today, all around the world, preachers will preach, choirs will sing, praise teams will produce music, prayers will be lifted aloud, teachers will lead small-group Bible studies, someone will share the gospel that another may hear it for the first time. And none of these can do it alone; they all need the some assistance.

Our gracious Master, God, intends to be the helper of those who proclaim the gospel today in church buildings great and small, ornate and simple, long-established or store-front. The danger – yea, even the scary part - is when folks stand before others to expound on the tenets of the faith without first asking God’s backing – his undergirding.

The Broadway Show Les Miserables features a wonderful song “On My Own.” It is one of many show-stopping melodies. Some of us who serve as worship leaders join Eponine’s sentiment and think we can do this sacred task on our own… that our talents and perhaps our education will carry us through. Under our own power, we are powerlessly ineffective. The right words may be spoken, the exact notes may be sung to the proper rhythms – but they become as sounding brass and tinkling cymbals. They become full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Just because someone shakes your hand and says, “Good job today,” doesn’t mean a whole lot to any of us when we realize that we have gone it alone—on our own.

In public worship and in personal evangelism… at every turn in life’s road, we need to constantly be calling out for assistance, crying out for help as we proclaim the goodness of God.  Don’t wait until you are in hopeless distress to send up an S.O.S.

Today and every day: My gracious Master and my God, assist me.

Listen to an Arrangement from Coral Ridge Presbyterian

A Contemporary Setting by Dave Crowder Band