Rebel to Redeemed…Sharing HIS Kind of Love
Surrendering everything to the Lord and be willing to do whatever it takes to get there is difficult. I’ve both experienced and heard stories of the struggle to get to this point to state “Whatever it takes to draw closer to you Lord.” Stating “Whatever it takes”, is a statement of faith and a way to boldly approach the throne. […]
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Father Jan Michael Joncas was returning from a meal with his friend, Doug Hall, when he discovered Hall’s father had died of a heart attack. Father Joncas longed to find a way to console his friend. In a published interview he recalled “I knew this was a hard, hard experience in anybody’s life, [and I] just wanted to create something […]
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Have you ever had an experience where you felt you were standing on Holy Ground? Moses was told “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” {Exodus 3:5; see also Acts 7:32-33} The song We Are Standing On Holy Ground was written by Geron Davis. The song […]
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They Could Not is an inspirational song sung by Sandi Patty, which reminds us they could not keep Jesus in the grave.The popular Easter song was written by Ron Harris and Claire Cloninger. The song was first published in 1981 by Ron Harris music.What a great reminder that the grave could not hold Jesus. For this reason, we have the […]
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Neath the Old Olive Trees is a hymn I discovered only a few years ago, from a dear friend. The song was written by Baylus Benjamin {or B.B.} McKinney. The song was published in 1929 and renewed in 1957 by the Broadman Press. McKinney was born July 22, 1886 in Louisiana. He was an alumnus of Louisiana College in Pineville, […]
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The Via Dolorosa is a popular song, made popular by Sandi Patty. The song tells the story of Jesus journey carrying his cross down the Via Dolorosa to the hill of Golgotha, where he would hang on the cross and die.The song was written by Billy Sprague and Niles Borop. The song was first published in 1983 by Capitol CMG. […]
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Ten Thousand Angels Cried is a popular song we hear around Easter. LeAnn Rimes released the song on her You Light Up My Life album. The inspirational album was released by Curb Records when Rimes was fifteen years old and her second album. Dave Patillo is accredited as the writer on her album. Patillo’s website states “The David Patillo song […]
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From a young age Don Wyrtzen loved music, under the tutledge of his father, Dr. Jack Wyrtzen, who was the founder of Word of Life International. Don Wyrtzen wrote the praise chorus, Worthy is the Lamb. He recalled:“In 1970, I was in Mexico City assisting evangelist Luis Palau conduct a series of crusades. Because the messages were in Spanish, I […]
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Jesus death on the cross represents the highest form of love, called agape or “unconditional” love. Jesus died for you and for me on the cross, unconditional. He allowed himself to be offered up as a sacrifice for us, but it is up to us if we are willing to accept his gift.My Savior’s Love was written by Charles Gabriel, […]
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When trials come into our lives it is easy to question the circumstances and ask Why Me, Lord? The classic country gospel song, Why Me, Lord? was written by Kris Krisofferson. The song was inspired by Larry Gatlin’s song Help Me Lord. Kristofferson attended a church service where Gatlin’s song was sung. “As Kristofferson explained that the pastor asked, “Is […]
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Anyone who has seen Sister Act 2 remembers the transformation made during the hand clapping rendition of O Happy Day. Philip Doddridge was an 18th Century English Clergyman. He wrote the hymn O Happy Day, that fixed my choice and set it to a melody made by J.A. Freylinghausen in 1704. In the mid-19th Century, Edward F. Rimbault wrote a […]
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Jeremiah 8:22 says “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is there no healing for the wounds of my [God’s] people?” {Gilead also mentioned in Jeremiah 46:2,11 and Jeremiah 22:6} It is believed this passage inspired the spiritual There Is a Balm in Gilead. The song emphasizes the comfort found in the Lord God, […]
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Swing Low, Sweet Chariot is a well-known and popular African American spiritual. The song was written by Wallis Willis, a Choctaw freedman in the old Indian Territory in what is now Choctaw County, near the County seat of Hugo, Oklahoma sometime after 1865. Historians believe he may have been inspired by the sight of the Red River, near where he […]
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Deep River is an African-American spiritual with unknown origins. The song was first printed in the 1876, The Story of the Jubilee Singers: With Their Songs, by J. B. T. Marsh. In 1917, Harry T. Burleigh completed the last of several influential arrangements. The song became very popular in recitals of the early 20th Century. The song was used in […]
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Do you ever have days when your heart is heavy? Do you feel no one cares? We all have times when we are lost, floundering, struggling to understand the difficult times, feel lonely and all alone. No One Understand Like Jesus was written by John W. Peterson. John W. Peterson was born on November 1, 1921 in Lindsborg, Kansas. After […]
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A great and mighty wonder is a little-known Christmas Carol. The hymn is German in origin. The hymn was written by St. Germanus I. He was born in Constantinople of a patrician family in 634 Greece. He was ordained in Constantinople and subsequently became bishop of Cyzicus. He was present at the Synod of Constantinople in 712, which restored the […]
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As with Gladness Men of Old is considered an Epiphany hymn more than a Christmas hymn. William Chatterton Dix wrote the hymn on January 6, 1859 while recovering from an extended illness. He was bed bound at his home in Glasgow, Scotland and unable to attend that morning’s Epiphany service at church. While reading the account of the Epiphany or […]
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There’s A Star in the East is a Christmas Carol. Reginald Heber is credited with writing the song. He was in 1783 England and named after his father. He professed his admiration of the hymns of John Newton and William Cower and one of the first High Church Anglicans to write his own hymns. In 1811, he was appointed Bishop […]
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Bethlehem Morning was written by Morris Chapman. The song was made popular by Sandi Patty. Chapman was born in Mississippi in 1940. He served as pastor to several churches in Texas before becoming CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1992-2010. The song takes one to the morning of Jesus birth. Merry Christmas!
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The song is a traditional spiritual of African American origin. The origin of the song is unknown. One source claims sister Margaret Allison of the Angelic Gospel Singers, a 1950s performing group, wrote the song. However, this has not been proven. She did write the song “Glory to the Newborn King,” which many believe may have morphed into Jesus, Oh […]
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