Your Name - Paul Baloche and Glenn Packiam

Because He Lives

In the late 1960s, while expecting their third child, Bill and Gloria Gaither were going through a rather traumatic time in their lives.
Bill was recovering his strength from a bout with mononucleosis. They, along with thseir church, were the objects of accusation and belittlement. Gloria was experiencing a time of torment, including fear of the future and of bringing children into such a crazy, mixed-up world.

As Gloria sat alone in a darkened living room, tormented, and fearful, the Lord sent a calm and peaceful rest to her. The power of the resurrection of Christ seemed to affirm itself in their lives once again. Gloria remembers the realization that it was LIFE conquering death in the regularity of my day. The joy seemed to overcome and take precedent over frightening human circumstances.
And the song Because He Lives came out of their personal bout with darkness:

Be Thou My Vision

This ancient 8th century hymn text from Ireland is still meaningful for us today with its expression of a yearning for the presence and leading of God in our lives.

The earnest prayer is enhanced by such quaint but tender phrases as “Lord of my heart, Thy presence my light, and heart of my heart.” The text states that when we allow God to have first place in our lives, He becomes our treasure. And we no longer care for the pursuit of riches or man’s praise.

The entire Irish poem was first translated into English in 1905 by Mary Bryne, in Dublin, Ireland.

Several years later, Eleanor Hull, a writer of English history and literature, [enned the prose into verse form and included it in her book of poems, The Poem Book of the Gael. The melody for this hymn is a traditional Irish tune.

And Can it Be, that I Should Gain

Not many hymns begin with a question as does this one. However, it is not an expression of doubt but of wonder and awe.
· How can it be that the shedding of Jesus’ blood 1900 years ago is relevant to me today?
· How was it possible for the Song of God to have died for me?
· Why should our Lord empty Himself of all His divine glory and become a man, in order to save “Adam’s helpless race?”

There is considerable evidence that this hymn was written by Charles Wesley soon after his own conversion. Charles Wesley’s crisis experience occurred on May 20, 1738. He had been sick in body as well as in spirit. It seemed that God spoke to him through a vision. According to his Journal, this confrontation took place after reading the bible for some time.

All Creatures of Our God and King

From the grateful heart of a devoted Italian monk in the year of 1225 came this beautiful message.

As a great lover of nature, Saint Francis of Assisi saw the hand of God in all creation. He demonstrated through his own life all the tender, humble, forgiving spirit and absolute trust in God that his hymn urges others to have. At the age of 25, St. Francis left an indulgent fife as a soldier, renounced his inherited wealth, and determined to live meagerly and to imitate the selfless life of Christ.

Throughout his life Saint Francis appreciated the importance of church music and encouraged singing in his monastery. He wrote more than 60 hymns for this purpose. The beautiful expressions of praise in All Creatures of Our God and King have endured throughout the centuries.

Great is Thy faithfulness

In 1923 Thomas Chisolm birthed one of the greatest modern hymns regarding the faithfulness of God from this golden text.  In stanza one he writes of God's unchanging character and unfailing compassions.  In stanza two he writes of God's faithfulness in maintaining the order of His universe.  In stanza three he writes of God's faithfulness in forgiving our sins, providing strength for today and hope for tomorrow.  Each stanza leads to the great culminating chorus that declares the victorious words of Jeremiah, "Great is Thy faithfulness."

May we all be transported through prayer and faith from our difficulty to a tranquil state of mind where we too can confidently and gratefully proclaim this to be our personal testimony, "Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me."

It Is Well With My Soul

Horatio G. Spafford was known as a sincere, devout Christian. He was the father of four daughters, an active member of the Presbyterian church, and a loyal friend and supporter of D. L. Moody and other evangelical leaders of his day.

In November 1873, Spafford decided to take his entire family to Europe for a vacation, intending also to assist Moody in his evangelistic work once he arrived there. However, Spafford was unexpectedly detained in Chicago due to urgent business concerns, but decided to send his family aboard the S.S. Ville du Harve as scheduled. Midway through the trans-Atlantic voyage, S.S. Ville du Harve was struck by the English vessel Loch Earn and eventually foundered. Spafford's four daughters—Anna, eleven; Maggie, nine; Bessie, seven; and Tanetta, two—were among the 226 who perished in the aftermath. Mrs. Spafford, one of the few who were spared, sent her husband the heartbreaking telegram: “Saved alone.”

Take My Life, and Let It Be

In December of 1874, Frances Havergal visited Worcester, England with a group of friends, consisting of “some unconverted and long prayed for, some converted but not rejoicing Christians.” Much concerned for her friends' spiritual well-being, she had prayed to the Lord that she would be able to lead each of them to a genuine and joyful experience of Christ. By the last day of her five-day visit, the gracious Lord had answered her prayer completely. Unable to contain the inward joy welling up within her, Frances could not sleep that night. Instead, she spent most of the night praising and thanking the Lord while renewing her personal consecration to Him. During that blissful evening in the Lord, she composed the six couplets of the following hymn.

Just As I Am

The story of Charlotte Elliott's protracted struggle against the oppressive power of sin provides a helpful lesson to Christians and non-Christians alike. At an early age, Charlotte began to be aware of her sinful nature and of her impotence to resist sin's enticements. Growing up, Charlotte felt herself increasingly unworthy of God's grace and incapable of facing a perfect and righteous God. She visited many churches and solicited the help of many pastors, all of whom counseled her simply to pray more, to study the Bible more, to perform more noble deeds, and to resolve to do better. However, all the advice she received was unavailing. For seven or eight more years, Charlotte continued struggling in vain against sin, all the while mired in self-condemnation. She experienced at length the despondency of the human condition described in Romans 7:18: “I know that in me…nothing good dwells; for to will [the good] is present with me, but to work out the good is not.”

All The Way My Savior Leads Me

Fanny Crosby, a gifted and prolific 19th century hymn writer, lost her sight at six weeks of age due to medical mistreatment. Fanny was surely well acquainted with the vulnerability characteristic of the visually impaired. This handicap, rather than discouraging or embittering her, instead caused her to ceaselessly rely on the Lord and to draw all her strength from Him.

The following hymn, composed after she had received an immediate answer to prayer, attests to the spirit of absolute dependence on God exhibited in the life of Fanny Crosby. One day she desperately needed five dollars and had no way to obtain it. As was her custom, Fanny began to pray about this pressing need. A few minutes later, a stranger came to her door with the exact amount. “I have no way of accounting for this,” she later said, “except to believe that God put it into the heart of this good man to bring the money. My first thought was that it is so wonderful the way the Lord leads me, I immediately wrote the poem and Dr. Lowry set it to music.”