Dark Is the Night

I lie down and close my eyes;
I dream, though I do not sleep.
Tomorrow’s ills seem too real today,
Tomorrow’s paths too steep.

Dark is the night and steep is the path,
When I close my eyes to the Way of God’s Son.
But bright is the night when I open my eyes
And follow in faith as God’s Son leads me
Till my journey’s done.

Then I open my eyes in faith
To One Who has been here before.
He knows where I come from;
He knows where I’m going.
I’ll let Him lead,
I’ll let Him open each door.

Dark is the night and steep is the path,
When I close my eyes to the Way of God’s Son.
But bright is the night when I open my eyes
And follow in faith as God’s Son leads me
Till my journey’s done.

About This Song:
I don’t recall the circumstances under which I wrote this song, but I can easily imagine them. I admit that–even as a Christian–I sometimes permit myself to worry when turning my concerns over to God and letting Him lead me safely through the valley would be so much better.

Jesus encountered the worst of every problem I can possibly face in my earthly life and then some. That qualifies Him to be the Ultimate Guide.

All I have to do is quit being so self-dependent–and worrying because I know I’m not really in control of my life, no matter how much I’d like to think I am–and let God take the wheel.

Are you a worrier, too? Have you experienced the freedom of stress-free living that comes only from giving God complete control of your life? If not, you’ve missed something of major importance. It’s not too late, though. . .

As I grow older,  my faith in God’s ability to lead me grows stronger, because I can look back to the ever-increasing number of problems God has led me through. He may not have always provided the answer I wanted or expected, but He’s never let me down.

A PDF lead sheet for this song is not currently available. However, if you think this song might prove useful for your needs, please Contact Me at my website to make a request for it. I can’t promise to honor every request, but I’ll do the best I can.

Please come back again this weekend to see what song I’ll talk about next.

Best regards,
Roger

 

Kiss My Hurting Heart

Like a child who’s tripped and fallen down,
And he cries out for his momma’s help,
Still sobbing till she tends his wounds
And kisses all his hurts away,

So I find that I, too, sometimes fall
And I cry out for my Father’s help.
Lord, come and make things right once more
And kiss my hurting heart.

Kiss my hurting heart, Lord, kiss my hurting heart.
Make things right once more. Lord, kiss my hurting heart.

Like a child who’s wandered out of sight
And she cries out for her daddy’s help,
Still sobbing till he takes her hand
And kisses all her fears away.

So I find that I, too, often stray
And I cry out for my Father’s help
To come and put me on the path
And kiss my fearful heart.

Kiss my fearful heart, Lord, kiss my fearful heart.
Put me on the path. Lord, kiss my fearful heart.

Like a child who breaks his favorite toy,
And he cries out for his momma’s help,
Still sobbing till she fixes it
And kisses all his grief away,

So I find that I, too, often break
And I cry out for my Father’s help.
Lord, come and make things whole once more
And kiss my grieving heart.

Kiss my grieving heart, Lord, kiss my grieving heart.
Make things whole once more. Lord, kiss my grieving heart.

About This Song:
When I was still working at the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, we had chapel services every Wednesday morning. One Wednesday, missionary couple David and Chanelle Acton presented a very moving devotional–one that inspired me to write this song.

One thing a good parent does is to kiss his or her children when they hurt. Perhaps it’s a physical injury. Or fear of being separated in a large store. Or grief over losing or breaking a favorite toy.

A good parent not only wants to make the child feel better, but to deal with the hurt in an appropriate way. That may involve actually kissing a child’s boo boo, reaching out to assure a child that she’s safe, or making a valiant effort to repair a broken toy.

But God is the best Father of all, and when we’re hurting, He wants us to reach out to Him and ask Him to kiss our hearting hearts. But that requires us to have the humility and dependence of a child.

Are you willing to humble yourself and call out to Him that way in your times of need?

You may find a free PDF lead sheet (chords, melody, & lyrics) for this song here.

Please come back again at mid-week for another song.

Best regards,
Roger

A Witness Between Us

Sing to the Lord; let’s make up a new song.
Sing to the Lord; let’s make up a new song.
Sing to the Lord; let’s make up a new song
As a witness between us that He is our God.

Sing of His love and sing of His goodness. . .
As a witness between us that He is our God.

Sing of His mercy and His foriveness. . .
As a witness between us that He is our God.

Sing of His power and sing of His presence. . .
As a witness between us that He is our God.

Sing of his truth and sing of His wisdom. . .
As a witness between us that He is our God.

Sing to the Lord; let’s make up a new song. . .
As a witness between us that He is our God.

About This Song:
This song is one of those repetitious songs that makes it easy for people to learn to sing along with.

The basic idea comes from Psalm 98:1. . .
Sing to God a brand-new song.
He’s made a world of wonders!

He rolled up his sleeves,
He set things right.
(MSG)

and Joshua 22:34. . .
Reuben and Gad named the altar:
A Witness Between Us.
God Alone Is God.
(MSG)

The rest of the lyrics come from various Psalms and name many of God’s attributes. If you can think of some I haven’t included, please Contact Me and let me know. I might want to add them.

You may find a free PDF lead sheet (chords, melody, & lyrics) for this song on my website.

Please come back again this weekend to see what song I’ll talk about next.

Best regards,
Roger

As Independent As Cats

We’re as independent as cats,
And we lived our lives on our own
Till we meowed at God’s door
And Jesus Christ took us in,
Took us in, took us in.

Jesus bandaged all of our wounds,
And He made His house our new home.
Ignoring we were just strays,
He treated us as His own,
As His own, as His own.

Though we love our Master so much,
We’re still independent as cats.
We run and play under foot
And paw at fish in the tank,
In the tank, in the tank.

When He calls us, we may just yawn;
When he pets us, we may jump down.
We nip His toes as He sleeps
And we knock plants from the shelf,
From the shelf, from the shelf.

We sun in the window and watch
All the strays Christ wants to bring in;
Then we slink off and we sulk,
Because He loves them all, too,
He loves them, too, He loves them, too.

We’re as independent as cats,
And we lived our lives on our own
Till we meowed at God’s door. . .

About This Song:
This song is one my most unusual ones. I mean, the very idea of comparing ourselves as Christians to stray cats who’ve found a perfect home. How insulting!

And it’s not as if Christians are God’s “pets,” either.

But if you get past those objections, I think you’ll find some pretty apt points. Before becoming Believers, we stray and live our lives our own way. Once we become Christians, we find a permanent place in Heaven, where we will live under God’s eternal care and protection. Not to mention the love with which He cares for us while we’re still living on earth.

But do we always behave? Do we always do the things God expects of us? Do we always show our appreciation of Him? Do we always treat Him with the love and respect He deserves?

Not me. No matter how good my intentions, I’m like the apostle Paul, who wrote that in spite of his desire to do good, he still ended up doing bad things.

We should rejoice whenever another sinner comes into God’s family. While we’re not apt to act like Jonah, who griped at God for saving the people of Nivevah after he preached there rather than destroying them, we sometimes feel that way when some really evil person claims to become a Christian. We don’t want to believe it and we don’t want him or her to be our equal in God’s sight.

As I read in a novel recently, each of us is God’s favorite. No need for jealousy.

So there’s more to think about in this song than you might have thought at first.

A PDF lead sheet for this song is not currently available. However, if you think this song might prove useful for your needs, please Contact Me at my website to make a request for it. I can’t promise to honor every request, but I’ll do the best I can.

Please come back again at mid-week for another song.

Best regards,
Roger

Beggar

I was once a beggar in my soul,
Just looking for a fuller kind of meal,
When another beggar found me and said,
“Let me show you where you can get your fill.”

Then he took me to the House of God
And he gave me some of God’s Living Bread,
And I never felt so satisfied inside
Until from God’s table I was fed.

Then I exclaimed, “Can such a feast be free?
There must be something that I should do to pay.”
Then he explained, “You can’t pay the price God paid,
But you can thank Him by giving His love away.”

So if you’re a beggar in your soul,
Just looking for a fuller kind of meal,
Let me take you to the table of Living God,
Where you can always get your fill.”

About This Song:
I can’t claim that the portrayal of Christians as beggars showing other beggars where to get food is original, but I’ve long thought it an excellent extended metaphor.

I don’t know much about homeless people or beggars, but I can’t imagine many of them would be willing to help a fellow-beggar unless he or she had a source of food that was sufficient for both of them.

But God’s table is big enough for everyone. Everyone in the world. The Scriptures state  clearly that God doesn’t want anyone to be left out.

The question for us Believers is whether we’re thankful enough for God’s provisions–expecially our salvation through faith in Jesus Christ–to willingly share our faith with others. And sometimes to share from our abundance of material possessions as well.

You may find a free PDF lead sheet (chords, melody, & lyrics) for this song on my website.

Please come back again this weekend to see what song I’ll talk about next.

Best regards,
Roger

Blessed by the Past

We’ve been blessed in the past by the Saints who’ve gone before us,
Who in times of tribulation showed theirs was a living faith.
But the future is our challenge, for in days of wealth and leisure,
Will we show a lonely world that God is love?

We’ve been blessed by the past, but will we embrace the future?
When the Lord asks, “Who will go for me?” how will we answer Him?
Will we stay safe in our churches and drop coins into the offering,
Or will we respond to Him, “I’m yours; send me!”?

We’ve been blessed by the past, but when we embrace the future,
We will prove to be a blessing if we show our faith is real.
When we sacrifice our wealth and when we sacrifice our leisure,
We will show a lonely world that God is love.

About This Song:
About ten years ago, one of the Baptist associations in Virginia held a song writing competition as part of the celebration of a significant anniversary, although I can’t recall which association–or even which anniversary.

The theme was “Blessed by the Past.” I honestly thought that was a pretty weird idea–something I ordinarily wouldn’t have been interested in. But it seemed like a worthy challenge.

Months after the event at which the winning song was shared, I sent email to the association office. I knew my song hadn’t won the contest, but what had become of it?

When I heard back, the contest coordinator apologized for the fact my song had somehow gotten lost–and consequently had not been considered.

I didn’t have much choice but to shrug off my frustration. I couldn’t expect anything positive to come out of the competition at that point.

Have you ever put your best efforts into something you wouldn’t ordinarily have done? Something that seemed like the right thing to do, only to have your efforts ignored–or perhaps to have the project backfire on you? Then you can relate.

Yet as I look at these lyrics, perhaps my decision to write them was my way of telling God, “I’m Yours; send me.”

I believe God sometimes calls people to go somewhere or do something  to test their obedience. God’s asking Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac comes to mind. God didn’t want Abraham to actually kill his son, but to show he put God first in his life. So God was able to prepare Abraham to do what He really wanted.

Let me change directions.

American Christians are currently under attack from the federal government, the military, abortionists, atheists and non-Christian religious groups, and who knows how many other special interest groups that represent things Christians cannot biblically accept or endorse. And in some cases things they must actively oppose.

We may well be facing times of tribulation. Are we prepared to sacrifice our Isaacs to show that ours is a living faith in a loving God–a loving God who teaches us to “hate the sin, but love the sinner”?

You may find a free PDF lead sheet (chords, melody, & lyrics) for this song on my website.

Please come back again at mid-week for another song.

Best regards,
Roger

Vast

How vast is God’s wisdom;
How broad is His knowledge!
And what mind could fathom
The thoughts of the Lord?
Who could advise God
Or put Him in his debt?
For He’s made all things,
And His Ways are His own.

About This Song:
Some years ago, Beth Moore did a Bible study at the International Mission Board’s annual Spiritual Emphasis Week. While I don’t recall anything about the series otherwise, I do recall an emphasis on Romans 11:33-36. . .

33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
    How unsearchable his judgments,
    and his paths beyond tracing out!
34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
    Or who has been his counselor?”
35 “Who has ever given to God,
    that God should repay them?”
36 For from him and through him and for him are all things.
    To him be the glory forever! Amen.
(NIV)

I always pray while lying in bed going to sleep. I have certain things I always pray about, including thirteen unsaved people and my thousands of unknown readers.

But I also like to praise God for who He is. I marvel at the fact He’s too big, too wise, too knowledgable, too loving, too merciful–too much of everything I’m not–for me to truly comprehend.

The closest I can come to appreciating God’s vastness is to look at Jesus Christ–God Himself living on the earth as both God and man.

I have two lead sheets available for “Vast.” One version is in 3/4 time; the other in 4/4. If you’re a musician, you might want to play around with doing the two versions in sequence. The 3/4 version seems fast moving, the 4/4 version more restrained.

Please come back again this weekend to see what song I’ll talk about next.

Best regards,
Roger