This is one of those groovy tunes with a cool piano riff that will really get stuck in your head. It comes from the folks at Mars Hill Music, the group “Citizens” on their recent self-titled album. It became hugely popular at a recent youth camp of 150 teenagers here in south-east QLD. Isn’t it great that they are singing scriptures to a tune that will play over in their minds:Colossians 2:13, Ephesians 2:1, Romans 6:11, Romans 5:19,Romans 3:20-21, Ephesians 2:8-9, John 8:12, John 9:5andJohn 3:19. “Made Alive presents bold Scriptural truth without apology. We are by nature objects of wrath, dead in sin, alone and hopeless. God reached us in his love and kindness and made us alive in Christ. Believers are never the same. There are some nice contrasts are in the lyrics as well — light vs. darkness, death vs. life, wrath vs. mercy, etc. This new song correctly uses Law & Gospel and makes you want to sing.”(Bread for Beggars)
Made Alive
I once was dead in sin, Alone and hopeless,
A child of wrath I walked Condemned in darkness,
But your mercy brought new life And in your love and kindness,
Raised me up with Christ and made me righteous.
You have bought me back with the riches of, Your amazing grace and relentless love. I’m made alive forever, with you, life forever By your grace I’m saved, By your grace I’m saved.
Lord, you are the light, that broke the darkness.
You satisfy my soul, When I am heartless.
If ever I forget My true identity,
Show me who I am, And help me to believe.
My sin has been erased, I’ll never be the same.
My sin has been erased, I’ll never be the same.
Recently I posted my thoughts on the problem I see with people so addicted to the small screen that they almost miss the wonder of living in a wonderful world full of amazing 3D people! (Is your Smart phone making you dumb?) Steven Curtis Chapman wrote in a similar vein in the song “See the Glory” except that he speaks of the tragedy of missing God’s amazing grace: “The wonder of his grace should take my breath away, I miss so many things when I’m content with playing gameboy sitting in the middle of the grandcanyon. . . “
Now while it would seem ridiculous to literally play your gameboy in the grand canyon, I’m sure it has been reality for some parents with bored kids on holiday. But figuratively speaking we all have plenty of distractions and thoughts and habits that prevent us from being truly in awe at the grace of a loving God who would lay down His life for us! Sometimes I have ‘awoken’ with a start as I realised that I was treating the grace of God so lightly! Though I have the privilege of reading the bible in my language, of sharing with Christ’s Body and witnessing the work of the Spirit transforming the lives of people around me – I sometimes forget the AMAZING nature of what I see. I almost forget the wonder of my own salvation, that I am a citizen of heaven, a co-heir with Christ. Only by the renewing of my mind in His word can I come back to that point of wonder once more. (Romans 12:2) Oh, that we would let God’s word wake us up, daily, to see the glory of His work in the world, and in us.
SEE THE GLORY
I never did like the word mediocre, I never wanted it to be said of me, oh, no
Just point me to the job and I’d go over, over, Looking for the very best that could be
So what is this thing I see going on inside of me?
When it comes to the grace of God sometimes it’s like
I’m playing Gameboy standing in the middle of the Grand Canyon I’m eating candy sittin’ at a gourmet feast I’m wading in a puddle when I could be swimming in the ocean Tell me what’s the deal with me, wake up and see the glory
Ever star in the sky tells his story, And every breeze is singing his song
All of creation is imploring: Hey, come see this grand phenomenon
The wonder of his grace should take my breath away
I miss so many things when I’m content with playing
Gameboy standing in the middle of the Grand Canyon Or eating candy sittin’ at a gourmet feast Or wading in a puddle when I could be swimming in the ocean I know the time has come for me to, wake up and see the glory Wake up and see the glory
How could I trivialize it
This awesome gift of Gods grace?
Once I have come to realize it
I should be speechless and amazed
Wake up and see the glory
Open your eyes and take it in
Wake up and be amazed
Over and over again
You may be very interested to know that Casting Crowns has just released a new single “All You’ve Ever Wanted”. You can listen on Spotify or buy from iTunes and Amazon. The song focuses on the “relentless love” of a God who simply wants our hearts! There are plenty of echoes of the challenging lyrics Casting Crowns have presented before, but with the comfort that our guilty stains are already washed away. I love the piano riff that underlies the track. Enjoy!
All You’ve Ever Wanted
I just looked up today
And realized how far away I am from where You are
You gave me life worth dying for
But between the altar and the door
I bought the lies that promised more
And here I go again
Lord, I know I let You down
But somehow, I will make You proud
I’ll turn this sinking ship around
And make it back to You
But all my deeds and my good name
Are just dirty rags that tear and strain
To cover all my guilty stains
That You already washed away
(‘Cause) All You’ve ever wanted, all You’ve ever wanted All You’ve ever wanted was my heart Freedom’s arms are open, my chains have all been broken Relentless love has called me from the start And all You wanted was my heart
I was chasing healing when I’d been made well
I was fighting battles when You conquered hell
Living free but from a prison cell
Lord, I lay it down today
So I’ll stop living off of how I feel
And start standing on Your truth revealed
Jesus is my strength, my shield
And He will never fail me
No more chains, I’ve been set free
No more fighting battles You’ve won for me
Now in Christ, I stand complete
“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living wayopened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings. . . “ (Hebrews 10: 19-22)
For me one of the most striking events of Christ’s crucifixion is that moment when the temple curtain is torn from top to bottom. I always wonder who heard or saw that, who were witnesses to that moment? And what an astounding occurrence, coinciding with the death of the one who was Son of God, Son of Man, the promised King of the Jews who would reconcile God and man. But this is no happy coincidence or accident or furnishing fail! It is God’s clear and powerful object lesson. Listen to what Spurgeon says (1888):
“The rending of the veil of the temple is not a miracle to be lightly passed over. It was made of “fine twined linen, with Cherubims of cunning work.” This gives the idea of a substantial fabric, a piece of lasting tapestry, which would have endured the severest strain. No human hands could have torn that sacred covering; and it could not have been divided in the midst by any accidental cause; yet, strange to say, on the instant when the holy person of Jesus was rent by death, the great veil which concealed the holiest of all was “rent in twain from the top to the bottom.”
This supernatural event says that sinful man, who could not look on the glory of God, could now access God by the death of his perfect Son on the cross. Without being zapped or burnt to a crisp we sinful humans can now see the “glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Cor 4:6). We can have direct access to a Holy God by trusting in the death of His Son for us, by His Spirit poured into our hearts, making us right with Him! Until this thick and weighty ‘veil’ was torn we were separated from God and knew only guilt. We had no hope. But from this point on we can have the certainty that we are acceptable to God because of Christ. This is amazing grace!
I love what the band Mercy Me have done in their song “All of Creation” – which takes us from this point where hope was born to singing out in praise to God. It calls for all of creation, both people and the natural world, to join and sing to the glory of their Creator. All creation is groaning, waiting the complete restoration when Christ returns, when the sons of God will be revealed (see Romans 8:19-24) – well I know I am! What better way to pass the time than to sing out praises to the one we wait for?
Separated until the veil was torn The moment that hope was born and guilt was pardoned once and for all
Captivated but no longer bound by chains left at an empty grave the sinner and the sacred resolved
And all of creation sing with me now Lift up your voice and lay your burden down And all of creation sing with me now Fill up the heavens let his glory resound
Time has faded and we see him face to face every doubt erased forever we will worship the king
The reason we breathe is to sing of his glory And for all he has done Praise the father, praise the son and the spirit in one And every knee will bow oh and every tongue Praise the father, praise the son, and the spirit in one.
Jesus, Friend of Sinners is the title of a beautiful song from Casting Crowns’ most recent album “Come to the Well“. It is a song which speaks of need for us to show the love of Christ to others, to show what we stand for . . . that we stand for and by the grace that has been shown to us in Christ. We stand for His forgiveness, won on the cross. We want the world to know that our God shows unmeasured grace and love to those who are his enemies. We don’t want the world to define Christians as those who simply oppose everything, and who stand against them. Jesus is the only righteous Judge of those for whom he died, so let’s leave the judging to him. Let this resounding challenge (from the chorus) go with you today:
“Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, Open our eyes to the world at the end our pointing fingers Let our hearts be led by mercy, Help us reach with open hearts and open doors Oh Jesus, friend of sinners, Break our hearts for what breaks Yours.”
Jesus, Friend of Sinners
Jesus, friend of sinners, We have strayed so far away We cut down people in Your name But the sword was never ours to swing Jesus, friend of sinners, The truth’s become so hard to see The world is on their way to You But they’re tripping over me
Always looking around but never looking up, I’m so double minded A plank-eyed saint with dirty hands and a heart divided
Oh Jesus, friend of sinners Open our eyes to the world at the end our pointing fingers Let our hearts be led by mercy Help us reach with open hearts and open doors Oh Jesus, friend of sinners Break our hearts for what breaks Yours
Jesus, friend of sinners The One whose writing in the sand made the righteous turn away And the stones fall from their hands Help us to remember we are all the least of these Let the memory of Your mercy Bring Your people to their knees
Nobody knows what we’re for, only what we’re against When we judge the wounded What if we put down our signs, Crossed over the lines And loved like You did
You love every lost cause, You reach for the outcast For the leper and the lame, They’re the reason that You came Lord, I was that lost cause, And I was the outcast But You died for sinners just like me, a grateful leper at Your feet
‘Cause You are good, You are good And Your love endures forever And I was the lost cause, And I was the outcast You died for sinners just like me A grateful leper at Your feet
“The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!” (Lamentations 3:22-24)
Screwtape LettersChapter 2 (C.S. Lewis) “Work hard, then, on the disappointment or anticlimax which is certainly coming to the patient during his first few weeks as a churchman. The Enemy (God) allows this disappointment to occur on the threshold of every human endeavour. . . It occurs when lovers have got married and begin the real task of learning to live together. In every department of life it marks the transition from dreaming aspiration to laborious doing.The Enemy takes this risk because He has a curious fantasy of making all these disgusting little human vermin into what He calls His “free” lovers and servants-“sons” . . . Desiring their freedom, He therefore refuses to carry them, by their mere affections and habits, to any of the goals which He sets before them: He leaves them to do it on their own.”
There are few Christians who do not feel some loss of their ‘first love’ for Christ. When our eyes are first opened to the truth of who God is, who we are in relation to him and what trusting in Christ’s death means, our lives and our thinking are radically changed! Even if you grow up in a Christian or church-going family there is a time where faith becomes your own. At first the blessings and presence of God are so tangible. We feel like our love and our passion will never grow cold. . . But then there is passing time, then there is the pressure of the everyday, the kids, the mortgage, the settling in to what is acceptable or expected. And we can lose that first love, that deep appreciation for the things of God. (In fact this is one of Christ’s complaints of the church at Ephesus: “You don’t love me or each other as you did at first!” – Revelation 2:4.)
It is comforting to know that in C.S. Lewis’ opinion (Screwtape Letters) there is some element of God’s design in this. To grow our faith he allows us to experience the disappointment that comes in every aspect of life, once the shiny and exciting veneer of “new” has worn off. God grows us as he deepens our reliance on Him. We come to know His grace more as we see our failings. And for these failings His mercy comes, new every morning. Each day the opportunity is there for us to appreciate anew the reality of God’s love for us in Christ. His grace and mercy pours to us through His Word and His Spirit in us. We also have His body, His people, and we can gather together in Him. We can serve, and in serving, receive encouragement!
The band Mercy Me has captured something of this new deep appreciation of God’s mercy which comes as we mature in the faith. (Watch and read the lyrics below: “The First Time”). As we go through the ups and downs of life we realise the unfathomable depth of God’s love. We realise the worthlessness of our own attempts at self-righteousness, and cast ourselves on Him. This is the grace we rest in, and are refreshed by, each day.
The First Time (by Mercy Me)
“Day after day, I try to explain you, like I can contain you in so many words
You are the ocean, I’m on the shoreline, thinking I know you, like you could be learned
It’s so amazing, that you’d ever save me . . .
I thought I knew your face, I thought I tasted grace
But I have never felt anything close to this. Just when I’d seen it all, new mercy breaks the door. With eyes open wide, it feels like the first time, first time.
it feelslike the first time, first time.
After all of my searching, all of my reaching,
I’m left with nothing, nothing of worth.
You treasure the broken, over and over,
And give me a hope that can never be earned.
It’s still amazing, that you’d ever save me.
And your beauty no eye has seen, Your majesty overwhelming
You love for me is healing, O God!
I thought I knew your face, I thought I tasted grace But it was nothing like this. Just when I’d seen it all, new mercy breaks the door. With my eyes open wide, I feel alive for the first time, first time. Just like the first time, first time. I can see like the first time.
2012 – Songwriters: Muckala, Daniel John / Millard, Bart / Bryson, Jim / Cochran, Nathan / Graul, Barry E / Scheuchzer, Mike / Shaffer, Robby / Ingram, Jason David
Recently I noticed that many of the new songs we had introduced at church were lacking a little variety in terms of tempo! What was missing? The fast songs!
It probably takes a great degree of skill to build a singable song that isn’t slow – especially when we are singing such weighty words about the grace and riches of Christ! But I have begun a quest: to find all the good, singable, fast songs! I’m digging back into my lists of possibilities from the last few years to see what missed out, and why, and what tempo they have. There’s nothing like a lively song to engage people and draw hearts together in praise.
Here is the first one I would like to share, “I will boast in the Lord my God” by Paul Baloche, 2006. I have not used it with a congregation, so I can’t say it is tried and tested . . . but hopefully! (I’ll be using the key of Bb, capo 1 in A for guitar – or try key of C if you don’t mind it a little higher. Alternatively, use E major for a brighter verse, and sing the chorus down the octave if necessary, which it mostly will be for the women!)
There are at least two passages combined in the lyrics of the song: Jeremiah 9:23-24
23 This is what the Lord says:
“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, 24 but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,” declares the Lord.
Galatians 6:14
14 May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Here are the full lyrics:
I Will Boast
Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom
Or the strong man boast in his strength
Let not the rich man boast in his riches
But let the humble come and give thanks
To the One Who made us
The One Who saved us
I will boast in the Lord my God I will boast in the One Who’s worthy I will boast in the Lord my God I will boast in the One Who’s worthy He’s worthy
(Bridge)
I will make my boast in Christ alone
I will make my boast in Christ alone
Here are two GRACE-filled songs, both with a lively tempo, for you to try with your church family. The first is “Grace has now Appeared”from a recent Christmas album, ADVENT by EMU Music. I think this would be very suitable to sing all year, since we celebrate the grace that comes to us in Christ every day. It is a joyful song, full of gospel riches. The second is an older song with a simple chorus, made popular by Chris Tomlin, “Your Grace is Enough” (album: ‘Arriving’). (Click on any of the titles to listen.)
Grace has now appeared
See the love of God the Father for our lost and desperate race
Sending to our world a Saviour, full of truth and grace
People who once walked in darkness now are dwelling in the light
Undeserving of His kindness, Blindness turned to sight
Dead have come to life
Glory to our God in heaven, Celebrate the Saviour’s birth Joyful news for all the people, Hope has come to earth God has comforted His people, Come to drive away our fear Born for us in David’s city, Grace has now appeared
See the grace of our Lord Jesus who was rich but became poor
In our place He pays our ransom, Satisfies the law
Giving up His life for sinners, Banishing our guilt and shame
Pouring out for us His life-blood, Freeing us from blame
This is why He came
See the Holy Spirit’s power overshadow Mary’s womb
Come upon the suffering servant, Raise Him from the tomb
He has come to dwell within us, Bringing us from death to life
Giving us the hope of glory, Making us like Christ
Shining forth His light
Great is Your faithfulness O God, You wrestle with the sinner’s restless heart
You lead us by still waters into mercy, And nothing can keep us apart
(PRE-CHORUS)
So remember Your people, Remember Your children, Remember Your promise O God Your grace is enough Your grace is enough Your grace is enough for me
Great is Your love and justice God of Jacob, You use the weak to lead the strong
You lead us in the song of Your salvation, And all Your people sing along
(Chorus 2) Yeah Your grace is enough, Heaven reaches out to us Your grace is enough for me God I sing Your grace is enough, I’m covered in Your love Your grace is enough for me for me
Today’s post comes from a ‘Gathered Worship Director’ (I like that!) in New Zealand – the original article can be found here at Chong’s Worship: I think you’ll find it quite amusing, but at the same time remember that some lines of our modern hymns may sound equally as strange in a few hundred years time!
God’s blessed the church with hundreds of memorable hymns of the faith. Christians and non-Christians alike recognise lines such as “Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound…”, “How Great Thou Art”, “Great is Thy Faithfulness”, and “Abide with me, fast falls the eventide…” (I’m sure you can think of many of your own examples).
For a bit of a laugh, here are a couple of examples of old hymn lyrics that, although theologically sound, have thankfully fallen out of use:
Even down to old age all My people shall prove My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love; And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn, Like lambs they shall still in My bosom be borne.
’Tis Love! ’tis Love! Thou diedst for me! I hear Thy whisper in my heart; The morning breaks, the shadows flee, Pure, universal love Thou art; To me, to all, Thy bowels move; Thy nature and Thy Name is Love.
The term “bowels” used to mean the seat of one’s emotion (what we refer today as our heart).
The first line of Isaac Watt’s “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” was originally:
“Hark! How all the welkin rings, ‘Glory to the King of Kings.”
When we incurred the wrath of God, Alas! what could we worse? He came, and with his own heart’s blood Redeem’d us from the curse. This paschal Lamb, our heav’nly meat, was roasted in the flame. Repeat, ye ransomed souls, repeat, “Salvation to the Lamb!”
While I like Joseph Hart’s sincere attempt to link Jesus to the Passover lamb in Exodus, this particular imagery is um… hard to stomach (thankfully other people have tried rewriting it).
To fit the language
So why did these hymnwriters use those words? To fit the language of the people at that time, who would have understood the phrases and meanings without any hint of snickering.
Brian Wren in his book Praying Twiceadds some helpful insight (p.297-8):
“… The need for change sometimes overrides the need for familiarity… In the Preface to his Hymns and Spiritual Songs, [Isaac Watts] says that “what is provided for public worship should give to sincere consciences as little vexation and disturbance as possible” However, “where any unpleasing word is found, he that leads the worship may substitute a better; for (Blessed be God) we are not confined to the words of any Man in our public solemnities.”
“However much we value our past, our present interest in congregational song is not antiquarian, but immediate. We sing to God from today, in lyrics which — whether ancient or recent — express today’s faith. When a lyric from the past gets too archaic to be understood, or too out of sync with today’s hope, faith, and issues to speak for us, it will eventually cease to be sung, or amended to keep it singable.“
I was reflecting awhile back on whether Christians had to hang on to obscure hymn lyrics. Ultimately, I think Brian Wren is right – if a line is worth understanding and remembering, it will stay in use. And if it makes you think about your bowels, it’s probably not worth keeping!
Most of you would agree that any form of exercise is more enjoyable when someone else is with you. Even just walking with a friend they help you go further and longer than you ever thought possible. You forget about the difficulties, your sore foot, or back, the cold weather, or how much you hate exercise. Walking alone you can think of a million reasons to stop. A companion helps you keep going. (Dog companions are especially good at this.)
When it comes to us and God, we have a wonderful promise – that He is with us, always. There is not once that we were alone. He is in us, walking with us through every difficulty. Yet he is more than just a faithful or encouraging companion. He is a Spirit who lives in us, a Spirit not of timidity and fear, but of love, power and sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). Matt Redman’s song “Never Once” (Album: 10 000 Reasons) captures well this confidence we have in Christ, that we are in Christ and He is most certainly with us, in us. We are never alone!
“Never Once”
Standing on this mountaintop Looking just how far we’ve come Knowing that for every step You were with us Kneeling on this battle ground Seeing just how much You’ve done Knowing every victory was Your power in us Scars and struggles on the way But with joy our hearts can say Yes, our hearts can say
Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
Scars and struggles on the way But with joy our hearts can say Never once did we ever walk alone Carried by Your constant grace Held within Your perfect peace Never once, no, we never walk alone
Every step we are breathing in Your grace Evermore we’ll be breathing out Your praise You are faithful, God, You are faithful You are faithful, God, You are faithful
I'm Ash. I love Jesus. I'm a wife and a mum. I'm a teacher. I'm also studying my Masters of Counselling. I started studying a few years after started the very hard work of engaging my own story of harm and trauma. This is a place where you'll hear my stories, as well as the stories of others. I'll also reflect on faith, healing and walking with Jesus. I pray that these words might encourage you to do your own painful but life-bringing work of examining your own stories, and allowing Jesus to heal the parts of you still locked in shame. For He came that we might have life, and have it to the full. Welcome, fellow traveller.
Words, words, words... well said Hamlet! A little blog to go off on tangents within the worlds of history, literature, TV and film that interest me. From the Tudors to Tom Hardy's Tess, the Boleyns to Bollywood or from the Wars of the Roses to Wuthering Heights, feel free to browse through my musings to pick up extra ideas and points for discussion!
This is one of those groovy tunes with a cool piano riff that will really get stuck in your head. It comes from the folks at Mars Hill Music, the group “Citizens” on their recent self-titled album. It became hugely popular at a recent youth camp of 150 teenagers here in south-east QLD. Isn’t it great that they are singing scriptures to a tune that will play over in their minds: Colossians 2:13, Ephesians 2:1, Romans 6:11, Romans 5:19, Romans 3:20-21, Ephesians 2:8-9, John 8:12, John 9:5 and John 3:19.
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