REVIVE US AGAIN

This is a special holiday weekend. For many it marks the beginning of summer, for others it is a three-day vacation, for some it marks the opening of swimming pools, and for many it is a time of family gatherings. But as you know, the true significance is that it is meant to be a time that we remember those who have faught and died to protect our freedoms. And thankfully this freedom includes the freedom to worship, a freedom that we have taken for granted. Even today there are Christians who are martyred daily for their faith. This morning I heard a news report that said that the majority of folks in this country who claim to be born-again Christians seldom even pray once a day. That is startling, but shows how far we have sunk. Those thoughts made me recall a hymn which we used to sing and maybe should begin to sing again. William Paton Mackay (1839-1885) originally worked in Scotland as a medical doctor. He resigned that position to become an ordained Presbyterian minister of the Gospel. Mackay was a staunch believer that the Word of God means what it says. This quote from one of his publications is an example of his straightforward, no nonsense Gospel message of grace and commitment: "Creed, or the belief in a certain amount of doctrine, has made Christendom, but never made a Christian. Ye must be born again". It is McKay who penned the words of this week's choice, "Revive Us Again". I couldn't find anything about the actual writing of the hymn, but I did come across some interesting information provided by Cliff Barrows of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. Cliff said ""Revive Us Again" is a gospel song that we have used in almost every evangelistic crusade since 1946. When we sing it, we often revert to the ancient practice of antiphony which was common in the performance of the Hebrew psalms. In the refrain, the audience on one side of the auditorium or stadium will sing "Hallelujah!" and those on the other side will echo "Thine the glory", and so on until the final phrase "revive us again," which we sing in unison. Sometimes we have sung the hymn responsively over long distances. In our final meeting in Sydney, Australia, in 1959, the first phrase was sung by 80,000 people in the Royal Agriculture Society's Showground. They were answered by 70,000 people in the Cricket Ground, almost two blocks away. In 1955, by use of a telephone in relay, the folk in Bangor, North Wales responded to the audience in Glasgow, Scotland". That must have been an inspiring experience. As you reflect upon the words this week, make this your personal prayer. And as you experience the freedom to worship that others have died to preserve for us, ask the Lord to revive you and use you as He sees fit.

(1) We praise Thee, O God!

For the Son of Thy love,

For Jesus Who died,

And is now gone above.

Refrain:

Hallelujah! Thine the glory.

Hallelujah! Amen.

Hallelujah! Thine the glory.

Revive us again.

(2) We praise Thee, O God!

For Thy Spirit of light,

Who hath shown us our Savior,

And scattered our night.

Refrain

Hallelujah! Thine the glory.

Hallelujah! Amen.

Hallelujah! Thine the glory.

Revive us again.

(3) All glory and praise

To the Lamb that was slain,

Who hath borne all our sins,

And hath cleansed every stain.

Refrain

Hallelujah! Thine the glory.

Hallelujah! Amen.

Hallelujah! Thine the glory.

Revive us again.

(4) All glory and praise

To the God of all grace,

Who hast brought us, and sought us,

And guided our ways.

Refrain

Hallelujah! Thine the glory.

Hallelujah! Amen.

Hallelujah! Thine the glory.

Revive us again.

(5) Revive us again;

Fill each heart with Thy love;

May each soul be rekindled

With fire from above.

Refrain

Hallelujah! Thine the glory.

Hallelujah! Amen.

Hallelujah! Thine the glory.

Revive us again.

"Wilt Thou not revive us again: that Thy people may rejoice in Thee?" (Psalm 85:6)

Listen to this great hymn sung here. LISTEN

ONLY JESUS CAN SATISFY YOUR SOUL

The internet is a great source of information. But it does fall short when information just isn't available anywhere. And that is very often the case when you are trying to find the background of the writing of hymns and songs from this era. I tried in vain to find anything about the background of my choice for this week. However, I did find out a few things about the writer, Lanny Wolfe. He was born and raised in a middle class family in Ohio. His father, a railroad engineer, was not a churchgoer. His mother was the daughter of a Methodist preacher. She sang and played guitar in revival services while still a teenager, traveling across the Midwest and the East. Lanny faithfully rode a city bus to church each week with his mother, brother and sister. He began piano lessons at the age of nine and his pastor's wife allowed him, as a teenager, to play piano for a camp choir. Of personal interest to me was that in 1963 he got married (I was married in 1962), he graduated from Ohio State (same year I graduated from Susquehanna), and he got his first real job, teaching math (same year as I did). In 1965 he became a director of music at a Bible College in California. Later he began to write music and he has been one of the more prolific writers of Christian music in his era. (You can read his complete biography at BIO.) So while I know nothing about the background of this Gospel song, the message is clear and so key for today's world. This is a song that our family sang frequently during our family ministry because of the special message it conveys. People are looking for meaning in life in all the wrong places, and we have the answer. It's only Jesus who can satisfy the soul. Fame, fortune and wealth fall short and often lead to depression and loneliness. But Jesus can change the heart and make man whole. My prayer is that you have discovered this truth and that your soul is satisfied because you've trusted Him.

(1) The world may try to satisfy

That longing in your soul.

You may search the wide world over

But you'll be just as before.

You'll never find true satisfaction

Until you've found the Lord,

For only Jesus can satisfy your soul.

Only Jesus can satisfy your soul.

Yes, only He can change your heart

And make you whole.

He'll give you peace you never knew,

Sweet joy and love and Heaven, too.

For only Jesus can satisfy your soul.

(2) If you could have the fame and fortune,

All the wealth you could attain.

Yet, you have not Christ within,

Your living here would be in vain.

There'll come a time when death will find you,

Riches cannot help you then.

So, come to Jesus, only He can satisfy.

Only Jesus can satisfy your soul:

Yes, only He can change your heart

And make you whole.

He'll give you peace you never knew,

Sweet joy and love and Heaven, too.

Only Jesus can satisfy your soul.

Yes, only Jesus can satisfy your soul.

Listen to it here. LISTEN

HOME FREE

This has been an emotional week as we passed the first anniversary of my brother Terry's graduation to heaven. There is no question that he is missed by many and he is deeply missed by me. He was always there to encourage me when I encountered challenges. His smile and his spiritual wisdom will never be forgotten. During his final year of life he frequently sent out updates on his journey through the battle with cancer. I wish that these would have been saved and published. I have kept the final one that he sent out to his close friends and prayer partners in April of 2009, two weeks before he was taken home. Here are a few excerpts. … "They gave me a transfusion of six units of platelets an hour before the procedure and they were able to drain 1.8 liters from the left lung. When I returned from having the procedure, I was breathing much easier and felt much better. They had to give me six more units of platelets before they could perform this procedure the next day on the right lung and drained .575 liters from that lung! Oh what relief!!!!! The doctors are continuing to run tests, but feel this was caused by the aggressiveness of the cancer. We saw God working in many different ways in getting me to the hospital and in my treatment while I was in the hospital! Life is hard but God is good! … If the blood counts don't improve, I probably will not be able to have any more chemo treatments. We continue to "Trust is the Lord with all our hearts and lean not on our own understanding' because we know "He will direct out paths." … Psalm 42: 5 and 7 says: "Why am I discouraged? Why is my heart sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again – my Savior and my God!" At times it becomes easy to get discouraged – BUT – I need to get back to God's Word and praise Him for what a mighty God He IS! Each of you have been a real encouragement to us and helped us to keep our focus on God! The support of the family of God has been TREMENDOUS! … Isaiah 8:11-14 (NLT) "The Lord has said to me in the strongest terms: Do not think like everyone else does. Do not be afraid that some plan conceived behind closed doors will be the end of you. Do not fear anything except the Lord Almighty. He alone is the Holy One. If you fear Him, you need fear nothing else. He will keep you safe." … The following song has been very inspirational and I hope you will carefully looks at the words." Here are the words of the song that Terry shared with us.

Oh I know you are never unkind

But Heavenly Father

Since you know my heart

Surely you can read my mind

Good people underneath the sea of grief

Some get up and walk away

Some will find ultimate relief

Home Free, eventually

At the ultimate healing we will be Home Free

Home Free, oh I've got a feeling

At the ultimate healing

We will be Home…Free

Out in the corridors we pray for life

A mother for her baby, A husband for his wife

Sometimes the good die young

It's sad but true

And while we pray for one more heartbeat

The real comfort is in you

Home Free, eventually

At the ultimate healing we will be Home Free

Home Free, oh I've got a feeling

At the ultimate healing

We will be Home…Free

Pain shows little mercy

And suffering's no respecter of age, of race or position

But I know every prayer gets answered

But the hardest one to pray is slow to come

Oh Lord, not mine, but Your will be doneLord,

Let it be...

At the ultimate healing we will be Home

Home Free, eventually

At the ultimate healing

We will be Home Free

Home Free, oh, I've got a feeling

At the ultimate healing we will be Home

Home Free, eventually

At the ultimate healing

We will be Home Free

Home Free, oh, I've got a feeling

At the ultimate healing we will be Home

Home Free, oh, I've got a feeling

At the ultimate healing we will be Home

We will be Free!

And today Terry is home free, enjoying the presence of His Savior.

I wasn't able to find a good video of this sing, but here is one that shares the music and the words. LISTEN

AND I KNOW

Recently I heard of a Christian family whose daughter had obviously sinned. The results of her sin were public because this single young lady could not hide her resulting appearance. As is too often the case in such situations, her parents received all sorts of unwanted advice from their "spiritual" friends. The advice included suggestions that they should disown their daughter to even suggesting that her father should resign his position in church. I am guessing that some even thought she should be made to confess her sin in front of the congregation. It is amazing how cold and harsh fellow Christians can be. These same Christians can gossip about the situation, but they don't see that as a sin – at least not a sin of the same seriousness. So often we can see the sins of others but not our own. And we can go on gossiping and thinking that some sins are worse than others – at least worse than ours. But sin is sin. And the scriptures remind us that All have sinned. Without Christ we are lost and lonely and as some hymn writers have written, we are vile wretched people, without hope. But we know that Christ can make the vilest sinner clean – even the murderer, the drug pusher, and the gossip. Guy Penrod, formerly with the Gaither Vocal Band, wrote a gospel song that speaks to this fact. Hopefully you can relate to the words of this week's choice as you read the words below and listen to the Gaither Vocal Band on the link below.

(1) Come, ye sinners, lost and lonely,

Jesus' blood can make you free;

For He saved the worst among you,

When He saved a wretch like me.

And I know, yes, I know

Jesus' blood can make the vilest sinner clean,

And I know, yes, I know

Jesus' blood can make the vilest sinner clean.

(2) To the faint He giveth power,

Through the mountains makes a way;

Findeth water in the desert,

Turns the night to golden day.

And I know, yes, I know

Jesus' blood can make the vilest sinner clean,

And I know, yes, I know

Jesus' blood can make the vilest sinner clean.

(3) In temptation He is near thee,

Holds the pow'rs of hell at bay;

Guides you to the path of safety,

Gives you grace for every day.

And I know, yes, I know

Jesus' blood can make the vilest sinner clean,

And I know, yes, I know

Jesus' blood can make the vilest sinner clean.

Listen to this song here. LISTEN

LEAVE IT THERE

Charles A. Tindley is known as one of the "founding fathers of American Gospel music." The son of slaves, he taught himself to read and write at age 17. He was a driven young man, working as a janitor while attending night school, and earning his divinity degree through a correspondence course. In 1902, he became pastor of the Calvary Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the church where he had earlier been the janitor. At the time of Tindley's death, his church had 12,500 members. The Tindley Temple United Methodist Church in Philadelphia was named after him. Tindley's "I'll Overcome Some Day" was the basis for the American civil rights anthem "We Shall Overcome," popularized in the 1960's.i1But back in 1916 a fellow who was a constant worrier visited Tindley one day. After listening awhile, Tindley replied: "My advice to you is put all your troubles in a sack, take 'em to the Lord, and leave 'em there." I had forgotten about this hymn until a few weeks ago when I heard it sung on a favorites program on our local Christian radio station. I then remembered how this used to be a favorite hymn sung in church and prayer meetings when I was growing up. It is also an old male quartet favorite that I often sang in my days on the radio with the Gospel Four. It has so many great thoughts, especially for those facing trials and for those of us who are worriers. What is the best thing you can do with those trials and worries? Take them to the Lord … and leave them there.

(1) If the world from you withhold of its silver and its gold,

And you have to get along with meager fare,

Just remember, in His Word, how He feeds the little bird;

Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.

Leave it there, leave it there,

Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.

If you trust and never doubt, He will surely bring you out.

Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.

(2) If your body suffers pain and your health you can't regain,

And your soul is almost sinking in despair,

Jesus knows the pain you feel, He can save and He can heal;

Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.

Leave it there, leave it there,

Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.

If you trust and never doubt, He will surely bring you out.

Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.

(3) When your enemies assail and your heart begins to fail,

Don't forget that God in Heaven answers prayer;

He will make a way for you and will lead you safely through.

Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.

Leave it there, leave it there,

Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.

If you trust and never doubt, He will surely bring you out.

Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.

(4) When your youthful days are gone and old age is stealing on,

And your body bends beneath the weight of care;

He will never leave you then, He'll go with you to the end.

Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there

Leave it there, leave it there,

Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.

If you trust and never doubt, He will surely bring you out.

Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.

Listen to it sung in an old recording by the Statesmen. LISTEN