YET NOT I BUT THROUGH CHRIST IN ME

 

So often we try to solve the challenges of life with our own strength and wisdom but that often leads to failure and frustration.

What gift of grace is Jesus, my Redeemer

There is no more for Heaven now to give
He is my joy, my righteousness, and freedom
My steadfast love, my deep and boundless peace

To this I hold, my hope is only Jesus
For my life is wholly bound to His
Oh, how strange and divine, I can sing, "All is mine"
Yet not I, but through Christ in me

The night is dark, but I am not forsaken
For by my side, the Savior, He will stay
I labor on in weakness and rejoicing
For in my need, His power is displayed

To this I hold, my Shepherd will defend me
Through the deepest valley, He will lead
Oh, the night has been won, and I shall overcome
Yet not I, but through Christ in me

No fate I dread, I know I am forgiven
The future's sure, the price, it has been paid
For Jesus bled and suffered for my pardon
And He was raised to overthrow the grave

To this I hold, my sin has been defeated
Jesus, now and ever is my plea
Oh, the chains are released, I can sing, "I am free"
Yet not I, but through Christ in me

With every breath, I long to follow Jesus
For He has said that He will bring me home
And day by day, I know He will renew me
Until I stand with joy before the throne

To this I hold, my hope is only Jesus
All the glory evermore to Him
When the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat
"Yet not I, but through Christ in me"

To this I hold, my hope is only Jesus
All the glory evermore to Him
When the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat
"Yet not I, but through Christ in me"

When the race is complete, still my lips shall repeat
"Yet not I, but through Christ in me"
Yet not I, but through Christ in me
Yet not I, but through Christ in me

ALL YOUR ANXIETY

This is a feature where once each month 

I share one of my personal favorite hymns 

        Are you burdened with anxiety?  Are you worried about all that is happening around you?  If you are, you are not alone.  All around the world people are stressed about the virus, wars, politics and the effects they asre having on all of our lives.

          And I must admit that I am not a good one to give advice about stress and anxiety.  I, too, and concerned about the health of my family as well as my own health.  I wonder how the stock market will affect my retirement?  Will the businesses that my sons work for avoid bankruptcy?  Will they have jobs? Will we be able to get our needed medicine, some of which comes from China?  Will we run out of food?  Will my grandchildren be able to survive the pressures of the changing cultures??  There certainly are enough concerns to keep us worriers busy.

          Now if you are a believer, you know that the answer to this problem is to fully trust the Lord.  Jeremiah 33:3, "Call unto me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you didn't even expect."   Proverbs 3:5, 6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."  Now we may know these truths, but obeying them is not always easy.

          When I was in college I was stunned to hear that my pastor, the Rev. Rudy Gehman, had died of a sudden heart attack while preparing for a VBS closing program.  Although that was over 60 years ago, I still vividly remember his funeral service.  One of the things that has remained in my mind is the hymn sung by the Pastor's Quartet - "All Your Anxiety".  I had never heard this hymn before and I have now never forgotten it.  

          Years later it was in our new hymnbook at church, but I don't recall that we sang it very often.  However, over the years the words have often come back to me and have been a comfort to me in times of stress and anxiety.  Recently we were listening to some of our old 33 rpm records - do you remember these?.  One of the albums was by my favorite trombone player, Bill Pierce, and one of the numbers that he played and sang was this hymn.  I immediately thought that I had to include it in a blog. Hopefully the words have been a help and comfort to many.  

         The hymn was written in 1920 by Edward H. Joy (1871 - 1949) who had a long career serving in the Salvation Army.  He was inspired to pen the words of this hymn by the words from Philippians, "Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God."  And also, by the words from 1 Peter 5:7 (NIV) "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."  

          Joy described the challenges that we all face at different times - sorrows, cares, burdens and anxieties.  We all encounter these at various times in life and are currently doing so today. They often cause us emotional stress, and too often even serious physical problems.  But there is a solution.  It is that we bring our anxieties to the Lord in prayer. For this, the hymn writer uses the imagery of coming to the cross, and of coming to the mercy seat.  

          How much better our lives would be if only we could claim and apply the words of this hymn and leave all of our anxiety with the Lord. I admit that this is a lesson that I must often still learn. But there is never a burden that He can't bear. And He asks us to leave ALL of them with Him. There is never a friend like Jesus. 

          

(1)   Is there a heart o'erbound by sorrow?

Is there a life weighed down by care?

Come to the cross, each burden bearing—

All your anxiety, leave it there.

All your anxiety, all your care,

Bring to the mercy seat, leave it there;

Never a burden He cannot bear,

Never a friend like Jesus!

 

(2)   No other friend so keen to help you,

No other friend so quick to hear;

No other place to leave your burden,

No other one to hear your prayer. 

All your anxiety, all your care,

Bring to the mercy seat, leave it there;

Never a burden He cannot bear,

Never a friend like Jesus!

 

(3)    Come then at once, delay no longer!

Heed His entreaty kind and sweet;

You need not fear a disappointment,

You shall find peace at the mercy seat.

All your anxiety, all your care,

Bring to the mercy seat, leave it there;

Never a burden He cannot bear,

Never a friend like Jesus!

 

Listen to it here.   ANXIETY

 

O THAT WILL BE GLORY

 1 When all my labors and trials are o’er,And I am safe on that beautiful shore,

Just to be near the dear Lord I adore

Will through the ages be glory for me.

Refrain:

O that will be glory for me,

Glory for me, glory for me;

When by His grace I shall look at His face,

That will be glory, be glory for me.

2 When by the gift of His infinite grace,

I am accorded in heaven a place,

Just to be there and to look on His face

Will through the ages be glory for me. [Refrain]

3 Friends will be there I have loved long ago;
Joy like a river around me will flow;
Yet just a smile from my Savior, I know,
Will through the ages be glory for me. [Refrain]

HOLD TO GOD'S UNCHANGING HAND

          This is a song which emphasizes the fact that there is no variableness with the God who lives in heaven is "Hold to God's Unchanging Hand". The text was written by Mary Jane (Jennie) Bain Wilson, born on a farm at Cleveland, IN, near South Whitley, in, 1856 (some sources say 1857), to Robert and Mary Frances Russell Wilson. 

          Her father died in her infancy. When she was about four years old, an attack of spinal trouble resulted in her being rendered an invalid, confined to a wheel-chair and bed. Not being able to attend school, she studied at home, read much, and received some musical instruction.

          A natural love for music and poetry early in life led her to verse writing. Her earliest poems appeared in a local paper. Her first hymn was entitled "All the Way," and, not knowing of its publication, she was pleasantly surprised when it was found in new songbooks purchased by a Sunday School in her neighborhood. 

          In 1881, she was baptized by being carried on a chair into a beautiful, tree shaded stream, and, in her words, "it gave me much joy to thus confess my dear Savior." 

          Later, through the influence of a minister named Jacob D. Coverstone, Miss Wilson sent hymns to a publication in Dayton, OH. These attracted the attention of composers such as William J. Kirkpatrick and Edmund S. Lorenz, by whom she was invited to write hymns to be set to music. A prolific poet, she produced about 2,200 poems and hymn texts in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. 
          Yet, over the course of her life she never interjected sadness from her condition in her works. One exception is a poem entitled, "A Memory Picture," which refers to scenery near the old home, and alludes to memories of the time when she could walk. 
           Her mother died in 1902. The mother's grave is marked by a monument bearing the following verse written by the invalid daughter to whom she had given years of devoted care, reading, "After her long life journey cometh death's dreamless sleep; Over her rest may angels ever a fond watch keep." 
          Even though wheelchair bound, she enjoyed attending Bible conferences at nearby Winona Lake, IN, and other locations. Sometime in 1904, which is probably the year that she penned it, Miss Wilson sent "Hold to God's Unchanging Hand" to Franklin Lycurgus Eiland (1860-1909). Eiland's tune (Unchanging Hand) was conceived in 1905, when he was sitting under a tree in the backyard of the Palo Pinto County, TX, log cabin home of fellow hymn writer James Washington Gaines (1881-1937). When Eiland died, his gravestone contained the carved figure of a hand that appears to be reaching downward, symbolizing God's unchanging hand.

1   Time is filled with swift transition.

Naught of earth unmoved can stand.

Build your hopes on things eternal.

Hold to God's unchanging hand. 

Refrain:

Hold to His hand, God's unchanging hand.

Hold to His hand, God's unchanging hand.

Build your hopes on things eternal.

Hold to God's unchanging hand. 

2   Trust in Him who will not leave you.

Whatsoever years may bring.

If by earthly friends forsaken,

Still more closely to Him cling. [Refrain]

3   Covet not this world's vain riches

That so rapidly decay.

Seek to gain the heav'nly treasures.

They will never pass away. [Refrain]

4   When your journey is completed,

If to God you have been true,

Fair and bright the home in Glory

Your enraptured soul will view. [Refrain]

Listen to it here.   HAND

IT WILL BE WORTH IT ALL

          We all go through different seasons during our lifetimes.  Some can be very challenging.  One such season can involve the need to do serious downsizing and that can be tough.  Personally I am presently in such a season.  Physical needs have forced me to change my lifestyle and I must very reluctantly move to a retirement facility.  That is forcing us to get rid of over half of our possessions.

         That has included disposing of valued ministry materials which we have used for over 40 years.  This includes much music, arrangements, background tapes, visuals, hymnsing materials and a variety of useful items which I had developd.  This process has been very hard and soul searching.

          As I've  worked through this process I've wondered if the many long hours of preparation,  ministry, and performance over 40+ years was really worth it.  But I have been reminded that what is done for Christ is eternal and will last.  That is the message of this week's hymn by Esther Kerr Rustholi.

          Sometimes the day seems long, Our trials hard to bear,  We're tempted to complain, to murmur and despair.  But Christ will soon appear to catch his bride away! All tears forever over in God's eternal day!

          It will be worth it all when we see Jesus, Life's trials will seem so small when we see Christ; One glimpse of His dear face all sorrow will erase, so bravely un the race, till we see Christ.

           At times the sky seems dark with not a ray of light, we're tossed and driven on, no. human help in sight, But there is One in heaven who knows our deepest care, let Jesus solve your problems, just go to Him in prayer.

          Life's day will soon be o'er, all storms forever past; we'll cross the great divide to Glory, safe at last! We'll share the joys of heaven; a harp. a home, a crown; The tempter will be banished, we'll lay our burdens down.

     IT WILL BE WORTH IT ALL WHEN WE SEE JESUS!  So be encouraged.

JUS WHEN I NEED HIM MOST

          There are times in life when we need help.  Often it is help with decisions that must be made.  Right now I am facing such times as I try to handle new physical disabilities, downsizing and moving. And I am finding, as this week's hymn shares, that there is One who is there and cares about my current needs.         

Refrain:

Just when I need Him most,
Just when I need Him most,
Jesus is near to comfort and cheer,
Just when I need Him most.

2. Just when I need Him, Jesus is true,
Never forsaking, all the way through;
Giving for burdens pleasures anew,
Just when I need Him most.

3. Just when I need Him, Jesus is strong,
Bearing my burdens all the day long;
For all my sorrow giving a song,
Just when I need Him most.

4. Just when I need Him, He is my all,
Answering when upon Him I call;
Tenderly watching lest I should fall,
Just when I need Him most.

          Friends may fail us.  They may give us wrong information.  They might not always really care. But God is a friend who never fails.  And we can depend upon Him.

SOFTLY AND TENDERLY

            Over my lifetime, church music has gone through many changes.  Some of these changes have created much controversy and not all have been accepted.

            Praise teams have replaced piano and organ accompaniment and often even choirs.  Praise and worship choruses have replaced hymns – hymn books have been replaced with words projected on screens.  Four-part harmony is something from the past.

          But one of the biggest changes is the disappearance of invitation or revival songs.  Undoubtedly, many readers of this column grew up in a revival tradition that included an extended  invitation  hymn — a congregational hymn at the conclusion of the service that focused on those attending who may be called by the Holy Spirit to make either a profession of faith or a recommitment of one's life. In services of this nature, the direction of the entire liturgy points to the sermon and this time of commitment.
           Over the years I have seldom written about these invitation hymns, but in the weeks ahead I hope to blog about some of these which have been part of the history of Christian music.  "Softly and Tenderly," which was originally known as "Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling," is a classic invitation hymn from the 19^th century. It was written by Will Lamartine Thompson (1847-1909) who was a composer of gospel, secular, and patriotic songs.

          Rebuffed in an ear­ly at­tempt to sell his songs to a com­mer­cial pub­lish­er, Thomp­son start­ed his own pub­lish­ing com­pa­ny. He lat­er ex­pand­ed, open­ing a store to sell pi­an­os, or­gans and sheet mu­sic. Both a lyr­i­cist and com­pos­er, he en­sured he would al­ways re­mem­ber words or mel­o­dies that came to him at odd times:  "No mat­ter where I am, at home or ho­tel, at the store or tra­vel­ing, if an idea or theme comes to me that I deem wor­thy of a song, I write it down.

          Thompson was inspired to devote himself to writing while attending a meeting by popular evangelist Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899). When Moody was dying in the hospital he told Thompson, "Will, I would rather have written 'Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling' than anything I have been able to do in my whole life."

          Other well-known gospel songs by Thompson include "Jesus Is All the World to Me", and two with strong eschatological leanings, Lead Me Gently Home, Father" and "There's a Great Day Coming."  Perhaps Revelation 3:20 captures the spirit of the hymn: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." (KJV) This patient Jesus stands "on the portals . . . waiting and watching . . . for you and for me."
          The second stanza takes a different approach: How can we reject the "pleading" one who offers "pardon"? The third stanza increases in urgency: "Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing . . . shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming. . . ." The final stanza returns to the theme of Jesus who offers "mercy and pardon" for the sinner.  The genius of a gospel song is usually found in the refrain and this one is no exception. The refrain extends the invitation to "come home" four times in the melody, and an additional two times in the accompanying lower voices.
            Interestingly, though "Softly and Tenderly" is the quintessential invitation hymn in the revival tradition, the invitation to "come home" may also be seen as the invitation to join Jesus in heaven. Indeed, two examples attest to this: The hymn was used during the memorial service for assassinated civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta on April 8, 1968. It was also a recurring song in The Trip to Bountiful (1985), an Oscar-winning movie about an older woman in the 1940s who wants to return one last time to her girlhood hometown of Bountiful.
          Thompson took ill dur­ing a tour of Eur­ope, and his fam­i­ly cut short their tra­vels to re­turn home. He died a few weeks lat­er.

1   Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, 

calling for you and for me; 

see, on the portals he's waiting and watching, 

watching for you and for me. 

Refrain:

Come home, come home; 

you who are weary come home; 

earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling, 

calling, O sinner, come home! 

2   Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading, 

pleading for you and for me? 

Why should we linger and heed not his mercies

mercies for you and for me? [Refrain]

3   Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing,

passing from you and from me; 

shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming, 

coming for you and for me. [Refrain]

4   O for the wonderful love he has promised, 

                    promised for you and for me.

Though we have sinned, he has mercy and pardon

pardon for you and for me. [Refrain]

Listen to it here.   SOFTLY