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Strength
for Tomorrow Grace for Today
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I
think the songs I like best are the ones that have been born out
of experience. They're not fabricated in order to incorporate a
catchy tune, an infectious rhythm or a trendy lyric. Those might
be a part of the song, but its essence, its core, is birthed out
of circumstances that may be glorious, or may be tragic.
Whatever the experience, if we're careful to take note of what
God's teaching us, then it's a lesson worth learning, worth
remembering and worth sharing.
In fact, scripture is full of references to a "new
song," and those new songs are the result of God's working
in the life of those who either wrote or are singing the
new song. Over and over we read the command, "Sing to the
Lord a new song, for He has ..." You see what I
mean, don't you? God moves powerfully, spectacularly,
miraculously - and the result is a new song.
All this was certainly the case when it came to writing
"Strength for Today, Grace for Tomorrow." I'm pretty
sure you can relate to some degree to the circumstances that
compelled me to write this piece. You've faced it, too in some
fashion. It might be pressures, even conflicts, at home (raising
kids, dealing with aging parents, scrimping to make financial
ends meet); challenges in the work place (a tyrannical boss,
uncooperative co-workers); discord or disunity in your church
("Why can't everyone see this as clearly as I do?").
You get the point, but the real point is this: we can't hope and
pray that all these will go away so that we can live the life we
dream of. This is our life, and in reality these are
opportunities to help us grow more and more into the likeness of
Jesus. Life calls for strength and it calls for grace. As
always, how we respond to what life throws at us is much more
important than what it is that actually comes our way.
And as we step out in
faith on this journey,
We know that You'll be our comfort and stay.
Lord, give us strength for tomorrow,
And grace for today.
Bottom
line - extend grace ... everybody benefits.
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You Are Welcome Here
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The
sad truth is, there are a whole lot of people who feel like they
can't enter the doors of our churches because they just don't
have it all together. They feel like they've made too many
mistakes in the past, or that, in continuing to make those
mistakes over and over again, they've somehow arrived at a point
that's beyond redemption. They're convinced that their life
is too scarred and their reputation is too tainted for them to
associate with "church folks." The Body of Christ
could never accept them, they think. And Jesus? Well, He could
never love "a sinner such as I."
Sad.
Tragic, really. The real truth is that we're a hospital for
sinners, not a hotel for saints. And we're all in the same boat,
you know. And where Jesus is, you are welcome there.
Come,
you wounded, weakened and weary,
You are welcome here.
Come, discouraged, come, broken-hearted,
You are welcome here.
This is a refuge for grace;
This is a harbor of mercy.
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Our Only Hope
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When
we lose sight of how we got to where we are today - for better
or for worse - we're in trouble. Every one of us is the product
and the result of thousands of experiences and just about as
many influences. None of us has gotten where we are all by
ourselves.
A couple of years ago I was asked to create
a patriotic work for my friends at PraiseGathering Music. I
jumped at the chance because 1) I love working with these guys,
and 2) it had been a while since I'd flexed a patriotic muscle.
We agreed on a couple of parameters, one being that this work
would be in the 25 - 30 minute range. I gotta tell ya, sometimes
it takes me 15 minutes just to say what I'm about to say! But I
think it turned out OK and we settled on the title,
"Freedom," for the entire musical. So, I got to work
and wrote what I think is a pretty celebratory expression,
complete with lots of orchestral fanfares, some stout choral
writing and a version of our national anthem that includes more
than just the first verse!
When it came time to wrap it all up, I
wanted to say something that would address our heritage and
offer a word of encouragement for the future. I don't have to
tell you that, as citizens of this great country of ours, we've
got lots to be thankful for, as well as a few incidents we wish
we could overlook. And we've got  lots
to look forward to, though at times, the days ahead can look
bleak. That's when I remembered that we didn't really get here
as individuals or as a nation exclusively by human ingenuity and
effort. We've been too fortunate, too prosperous, too blessed to
think we accomplished all this on our own. The undeniable hand
of God has been on us, and surely He won't leave us now.
So as we look to the days ahead, we also
look to the days gone by. We remember the great, great
faithfulness of a great, great God. We recognize His hand in the
lives of our ancestors, and we trust His hand in the lives of
our children. I'll say it again: none of us has gotten where we
are all by ourselves.
Our only hope for tomorrow,
And the only praise that will last;
Yes, our only joy in the sorrow
Is in the One who led us in the
past.
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May the Mind of Christ, My Savoir
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I
love the passage from Ephesians 5:19 that says, "Speak
to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing
and make music in your heart to the Lord." I've
always thought of this as a good, biblical encouragement to
incorporate a broad spectrum of styles in worship planning,
and I suppose that's true. And we do that today, don't we? We
utilize artistic, presentational pieces (psalms), and we
include those universal statements of our faith and testimony
(hymns), and we program recently composed expressions of
worship (spiritual songs).
The
parallel passage in Colossians 3:16 stresses the
importance of teaching and admonishing each other with these
songs in all their stylistic variety. That, of course, is the
power of music. We learn valuable truths and the treasures of
God's Word through well-prepared and attractively-presented
music. Somehow, all the arts (music included)
seem to bypass the intellect and go straight to the heart. And
when a strong message is attached, that's an unbeatable
combination.
There's
a line in the text of MAY THE MIND OF CHRIST, MY SAVIOR that
comes directly from the opening words of Colossians 3:16, and
it says this: "May the Word of God dwell richly in my
heart from hour to hour..." And there you have
the secret - allowing the Word of God to dwell in us every
day, every hour.
Have
you ever been at the point where you needed wisdom beyond your
understanding and discernment beyond your experience? Where
you just needed to get from one hour to the next, and the only
way to do that was to rely on God? Where, in every moment, you
were just depending on Him, knowing that if He didn't show up,
you were sunk? I thought so. Me, too.
All
in all, not a bad way to live.
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Praise
to the King of Creation
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Every
now and then, a new melody or a different type setting of a
familiar text can breathe new life into it. Not that it's
necessarily an improvement on what's standard, but it does
give us a new perspective on the depth and insight of great
lyrics.
PRAISE
TO THE KING OF CREATION! is a new anthem that I'm pretty
excited about. You'll recognize the words as those from
"Praise to the Lord, the Almighty." I tried to
provide a fresh, new melody to this and stay true to the
sturdy nature of the familiar words we cherish. And I wanted
to offer some accompaniment options, so it can be used with
piano only, or with piano, brass quintet and timpani, or with
piano and trumpet solo.
 As
you program this piece, you might want to consider including a
reading of Psalm 100 or Psalm 103 before the choir sings.
Context is everything, and placing a new musical setting
alongside a well-loved scripture passage can help create a
very special moment for your choir and congregation.
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