It’s music Monday and I thought I’d take a look at a hymn that we sang in church this past weekend. The inspiration for Be Thou My Vision can be traced back to an event in 5th century Ireland when Saint Patrick defied the High King Logaire and lit a flame to celebrate Easter before the King lit a flame for his pagan celebration. The king in turn rewarded his bravery by allowing him to continue his missionary work. Around 100 years later, Dallan Forgaill penned the original text that was translated to English by Mary E. Byrne in 1905. Seven years later, Eleanor H. Hull adapted the poem into the verse that we know today. It was later paired with the traditional Irish tune Slane.
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Be Thou My Vision
God deserves our worship
During the worship time of our staff devotions, my friend Brad shared for a moment about how when he woke up he was not looking forward to leading worship this morning. The words of the song he led us in brought about a change in his attitude though. God wants us to worship Him because He deserves it. Even if we don’t want to, He deserves our utmost attention and praise, so we are compelled to worship Him. It’s not about us.
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picture of grace
“Mercy doesn’t care what you’ve done.” If that’s not a perfect picture of God’s grace, I don’t know what is. You’re failures don’t void His mercy in your life, and your greatest successes can never earn it. I heard this song on the radio this past week and it’s been in my head and on my heart ever since. The lyrics scream with amazing images of God’s grace and mercy.
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in my head
I’ve got a song stuck in my head today. Often times this can become more of an annoyance than anything (especially if it’s a kid’s song). Today it is more like a deep breath of fresh air after not having breath in your lungs for an extended period of time. More on that concept from David Crowder’s book Praise Habit. Ironic that it’s one of his songs rolling around in my head.
Lift My Eyes from All I Can Say
Come let us worship The King
Come lay your heart at His feet
Come let us worship The King
Come let us bow at His feet
And I lift my eyes to the hills where my help is coming
I love it when a song of worship doesn’t leave my mind. It tends to permeate my heart and attitude as it plays over and over in my head.
on my mind
there’s a lot of things I believe in
and a lot of things I like
plenty of stuff I love to do
but nothing worthwhile to write
i hear stories of clean water
next to the sale of slaves
a plan to give shoes to barefoot kids
and rid the world of AIDs
they say “pay more for fair trade goods”
and stop poverty too
buy this shirt to save a girl
it’s what all good people do
but where’s the hope in companies
that say they’re doing good
money earned and money spent
and still people without food
even one problem of the world
can’t be changed by me
i say “all i can do is pray”
but my generation wants change the world physically
even though i know what i believe and like
i don’t know where my passions lay
i’ve tried to narrow them down before
but without consistency, frustration comes at the end of the day
do i even have a passion
or is my passion just unrealized
maybe i just don’t do enough
to see my passion finalized
i don’t want to change the world
it’s not my battleground
but if i have one goal in life
it’s to see the lost be found
A New Psalm
as defined by dictionary.com:
psalm
- noun
1) a sacred song or hymn
2) when capitalized, any of the songs, hymns, or prayers contained in the Book of Psalms
3) a metric version or paraphrase of any of these
4) a poem of a similar nature
My God, mighty to save,
You conquered the grave to take me from death to life.
You’re love for me is indescribable.
You see to it that all of creation is taken care of.
How much more then do You care for me?
I put my trust in You, my creator.
Creator of all things,
Your name alone is exalted.
To You be all glory and honor.
There are parts of my life that are hard to let go of,
but I am giving them all to You, God.
My entire being belongs to You.
You are my portion and the song in my heart.
Fear and doubt creep in as spies from the enemy.
They try to pull me away from You.
But You are my strength.
Glory be to God Almighty.
My hope lies in You alone and so I put my trust in You.
1 Thing to Remember
No matter where you are or what you are doing right now, there is one thing that you should remember… Jesus is Emanuel.
Emanuel is God With Us. He is not God remote. He is not God on the other side of the world. He is not God buried and dead. To be with us, He Is alive. He is not God up in the clouds. He is not God coming after us. He is not God on another planet. He is not God 2000 years ago. He Is God With Us, right now*.
He is with us when we are sitting in our cubicles. He is with us when we are laying in a hospital bed. He is with us as we sit in traffic. He is with us at the rock concert. He is with us when we are struggling with porn. He is with us when we doubt His existence. He is with us when we feel neglected. He is with us when we worship. He is with us at the park with our kids. He is with us at the beach. He is with us in the snow. He is with us sitting on the street asking for change. He is with us on our private jet. He is with us when we are at peace. He is with us in the midst of battle. He is with us when we witness to the lost. He is with us in prison. He is with us on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, FriendFeed, MySpace, Gmail, AIM, and MobileMe. He is with us when we wake. He is with us when we sleep. He is with us at the movie theater. He is with us at the bar. He is with us when we pay our taxes. He is with us when the offering plate passes us by. He is with us on the fishing trip. He is with us in the desert. He is with us at the dentist office. He is with us on the phone. He is with us in a crowded elevator. He is with us when we’re alone.
The point is God is with us. Remember that always, especially in your times of struggle and doubt.
Thank you Jesus for being Emanuel.
*Not only is He now, but He was then, and ever will be forever. He will never leave us or forsake us.
Jesus Messiah from Hello Love
Jesus Messiah Name above all names
Blessed Redeemer Emmanuel
The Rescue for sinners
The Ransom from heaven
Jesus Messiah Lord of all-Chris Tomlin
