A Thousand Tongues

A thousand? I don’t know what to do with one sometimes, and here is this comment that suggests what someone would do with a thousand. The hymn, “A Thousand Tongues to Sing” is pretty well known in Christian circles, and many a church goer has sung the hymn, possibly by rote, not even hearing the meaningful lyrics being sung for the umpteenth time. The hymn by Charles Wesley was prompted by a quote from the Moravian preacher Peter Boehler, who said to Charles, “If I had a thousand tongues I would praise Jesus with every one of them.” Again comes the question, “a thousand?” Wesley responded some time later by writing these words:

O for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer's praise,
The glories of my God and King, the triumphs of His grace.

My gracious Master and my God, assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad, the honors of Thy name.

Jesus! the name that charms our fears, tat bids our sorrows cease;
'Tis music in the sinner's ears, ‘tis life, and health, and peace.

His love my heart has captive made, his captive would I be,
For He was bound, and scourged and died, my captive soul to free.

He breaks the power of canceled sin, he sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean; His blood availed for me.

So now Thy blessed Name I love, Thy will would e'er be mine.
Had I a thousand hearts to give, my Lord, they all were Thine!

Boehler and Wesley recognized a few things here. First, that God was GOD and was so magnificent beyond our understanding that mere mortal lyrics just couldn’t do justice to praising God. Mere mortal words couldn’t speak descriptively enough to encompass the greatness of God, who He is and what He has done. Mere human hearts aren’t capable of loving God back with the same completeness with which God loves us. So the question wrestles with the concept of using finite human words and emotions to respond to the power, the greatness, and the magnitude of the unending love of our infinite God.

If I had a thousand tongues and the wisdom of the ages, could I then tell God how grateful I was for his love, and tell others about how much God means to me? My answer is “probably not” but part of the adventure of this Christian life is to keep moving forward in that conversation with my Father God (what parent doesn’t enjoy hearing that their children love them?), and keep telling others about Him in the best way I know.

What does God mean to you? What is there about Him that you would ever want to share with someone that you care about?

(To hear David Crowder's version and instructions on playing it, go here. He also adds some insight about the writing of the hymn.)

Run, JOYFULLY, With Perseverances

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV)

Even when I was younger and athletic, I never like to run. Running was something you did in short bursts in basketball or tennis, or that long run around the bases. Running was that grind that you did around the track in the off season only because the coach’s drill-sergeant yells intimidated you and moved you forward. I never understood those who CHOSE to run and how they spoke about the freedom of being out and running free.

It’s been many years since then and, due to a change of attitude about health, I’ve begun to job. If you knew me when, you’d be quite startled. At least several times a week, I don headphones and begin to jog, and it is only now that I understand what I missed all those years. Now I’ll also admit that my jogging incorporates praise music and prayer, and between that and the actual act of jogging, I can honestly say that I relish that time as a physical and spiritual workout. The first time I experienced that joy, I was quite surprised. I should be groaning, but I just couldn’t do it. It was then I remembered an episode of the TV show “Friends”, where Phoebe went jogging. Her style of jogging was so wildly joyful that she couldn’t contain it. Not THAT was a picture of running with perseverance, and doing so with joy.

The verse from Hebrews is one of my favorites, and I always read it with the seriousness due a marathon runner, running forward with a serious face and eyes fixed on the prize. It was a test of endurance in which you grit your teeth and had your game face on. But in thinking of Phoebe, it put a different spin on the text. I now could see that joy was a major part of enduring. For those of you who are steadily involved in ministry, lay or clergy, I know that sometimes enduring and persevering are difficult positions to hang on to. I’ve set my game face and endured many a task or ministry, perhaps because I felt alone or put upon. But Phoebe’s joyful running reminds me that there is joy in the journey. I can and will endure, with joy. I pray you will too.

Mighty to Save

I haven’t been in the best of spirits as of late. I’ve had bronchitis and been out of the office and haven’t accomplished the things that I had planned to have done by now. I haven’t felt good enough to continue my regular jogging. I’ve had to handle a few situations that weren’t the happiest of things to deal with. On top of that, it has rained most of the weekend. By all rights, I should be feeling blue, depressed and at my wits end. I’m guessing, yes, just guessing here, that I’m not the only one who has had to deal with difficult things in life.

As I listened to the rain today and peeked outside, I noticed how fresh and green everything looked. God renews and transforms the grass, the trees, the azalea bushes, the birds, and even me. I’m old enough to know that there will be good days and bad days. And I’m grateful that God has consistently showed me that even though there are bad days, He will carry me through it. In times of trouble, and in times where I feel lower than a caterpillar’s tummy, I have a firm foundation and know there will be a light at the end of the tunnel. I know that no matter how low I ever feel, God is right there with me, holding me up.

While surfing YouTube, I found this video of the song “Mighty to Save.” The lyrics are wonderful reminders that God is there for us, in the good times and in the difficult times. I’ve learned over the years that even when despair is about to take me over, that I must choose to remain faithful to the One who has rescued me and continues to save me from the pit of despair. Because of his saving grace and compassion, we don’t have to live in fear, sadness, and hopelessness. If He is mighty enough to save us from everlasting death, He is mighty enough to bring me though any trouble. Because of that, I can find joy again. You can too. In Him there is hope, peace, and mercy, and the mountains we face are moved. I hope you enjoy the video and find reason after reason to rejoice always.

Happy Easter

Yesterday was Easter Sunday, a day when Christians celebrate the transforming power of Jesus Christ. To some, it is one of the two days of the year when you show up at a church building, because, well, it’s what you are supposed to do, or your family decides that it is the proper thing to do, or because it is something you used to do when you were a kid. To some, it is a Sunday, the same as any other Sunday, when you “go to church” and do the same things that you do every Sunday. And to some, it is a day like no other- a day that is not about the status quo, or being in a church facility, or having the perfect new clothes or hearing the perfect Easter music. It’s not about the noun, church, commonly defined as a institutional building, and scripturally defined as the followers of Christ. It’s about the verb, church- the movement of gathering together with joy and anticipation, simply to be unified in praising and thanking God- Christ centered worship, not “me” centered worship. It’s about the verb, church- the movement of Christ followers back out into the world and living out the Good News by loving, caring, sharing, giving- Christ centered living, not “me” centered living.

For whatever reason you entered the church building on Sunday, you were there. Hopefully you experienced the presence of the risen Christ in a way that moves you beyond your past and all the baggage attached to it, and moves you into a new understanding of what it means to be a Christian- not a “church goer”, but a Christ follower.

One of my favorite Easter songs is simply titled, “The Easter Song” (sung by Keith Green) and tells the story of what happened when Jesus’ disciples discovered he was no longer dead, but alive. The lyrics are a full blown proclamation of the overwhelming joy that comes when you realize even just a portion of the power and majesty of God that forever demolishes the perceived power of death and overcomes it with the real and tangible power of eternal life. I pray that you will invite the Holy Spirit in, to guide you to a deeper understanding of God’s love for you, and show you how to respond to His love by loving others with your words and actions. Happy Easter.

Holy Week

Holy week, the time between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, is intended to be a time of intentional preparation for the celebration of Easter. Palm Sunday is a day that we remember Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The people cheered and welcomed Jesus into the city shouting “Hosanna!” Thursday was the Last Supper, where the disciples were told, “Do this in remembrance of me.” They learned about servanthood as Jesus washed their feet. This was followed by betrayal, and the crowd’s cheers turned into jeers. Friday was the finality of the tomb… or so they thought. But on Sunday, death and hopelessness were overcome by Christ’s resurrection. Now there was grace, redemption, life, hope, joy...



Holy week provides time to remember this journey of our faith. As we remember these events, we give of ourselves, intentionally setting aside time with the Lord just to be in his presence. On Maundy Thursday at 7 p.m., we remember Christ’s words and share the bread and the cup. We put our feet in the sandals of the disciples and are reminded about humble servanthood.



This year we will have a footwashing for those who choose to come forward and participate in this unique remembrance of how Peter told the Lord, “You shall never wash my feet” and then learned about the example that Jesus was setting for his followers (John 13:1-17).



On Friday, we enter into a time of being still before the Lord, remembering that he gave his all for us. This year our Good Friday Tenebrae service will be held at 7 p.m. in the Family Life Center. It will be multi-sensory and will use music, video, readings, and candlelight to experience the passion story of Christ. Experiencing the fullness of Holy Week leads to a better understanding of the light, life, and joy of the Easter celebration. We encourage you to make time for Holy week, not just to “be at church,” but to come together as a people of faith yearning to experience God’s presence in a real and powerful way. Holy week culminates with the joy of Easter as we will gather to celebrate God’s redeeming gift of grace.



Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another Heb 10:25a (read Hebrews 10:19-25),