Higher Ground

The story of the song "Higher Ground" is more the story of its writer, Johnson Oatman Jr. Oatman was born and raised in a devout Christian home in the mid-1800's. His father, Johnson Oatman Sr., was a towering man with a booming voice and was very much in demand as a gospel singer. As a young boy, Oatman Jr. wanted nothing more than to be just like his father. As the years went on, he became a part of the family firm- Johnson Oatman & Son. 

But something was missing from his life. 

Oatman felt God's call to be in some form of full-time ministry. After years of study, he was ordained as a Methodist minister. But he never was able to realize his two biggest passions, even through ministry. He desperately wanted to sing like his father. But he didn't have the booming voice that his father had, let alone the singing talent in general to become a much-wanted gospel singer. 

His other passion was to witness to all he came across. But in a small Methodist church, there were many restrictions on him and his time that prevented this. He became a circuit-riding preacher for years, going from church to church and across denominational lines preaching and teaching. But he was never a great preacher, even though he did still feel called to minister in some fashion. 

At the age of thirty-six, he found his calling. In 1892, Johnson Oatman Jr. began to write hymns. He wrote hymns for years, with songs like "No, Not One" and hundreds more being sung in churches around the world by 1895. For years, he continued to write, including songs like "Count Your Blessings" in 1897. He wrote over 5,000 songs in his lifetime. 

In 1898 he wrote the song that we are looking at today- Higher Ground.

V.1
I'm pressing on the upward way,/New heights I'm gaining every day/Still praying as I'm onward bound:/Lord plant my feet on higher ground

C.
Lord lift me up and let me stand/By faith on heaven's tableland./A higher plane than I have found,/Lord plant my feet on higher ground.

V.2
My heart has no desire to stay/Where doubts arise and fears dismay;/Though some may dwell where these abound,/My prayer, my aim, is higher ground.

V.3
I want to live above the world,/Though Satan’s darts at me are hurled;/For faith has caught the joyful sound,/The song of saints on higher ground.

V.4
I want to scale the utmost height/And catch a gleam of glory bright;/But still I’ll pray till heaven I’ve found,/“Lord, lead me on to higher ground.”

Oatman reached his "higher ground." He found what God had called him to do. It was not to be the next great gospel singer. It was not to be the next great preacher/soul-winner. It was to do both through the songs that he wrote. His songs have been a blessing and an inspiration to so many. This one, in particular, has blessed my life in a special way. Will you continue to pray with me to God the words of Oatman- "Lord, plant my feet on higher ground!"? 

Still, My Soul Be Still

Click the above picture to listen to this song on Spotify

Music is so versatile.  Think of any emotion or movement that you want to describe better than words can  There is always a sound or harmony of sounds that will match it exactly. Moving from one end of the spectrum to the other, today we transition from the fired-up rally cry to stand for a biblical cause to the quiet whisper-call for biblical rest.

Keith & Kristyn Getty are yet another husband/wife music duo that I am sure many of you have heard before.  They are best known for writing the very popular worship song, “In Christ Alone.”  But what sets them apart is that they are one of the few groups out there today trying to make NEW, original hymns – songs meant to capture the rich truth of the Christian faith, but set to modern music.  Their success is warranted and their philosophy is admirable:

“There are two reasons we write modern hymns,” explains Keith.  “First, it’s to help teach the faith. What we sing affects how we think, how we feel and ultimately how we live, so it’s so important that we sing the whole scope of truth the Bible has given us. The second reason is to try to create a more timeless musical style that every generation can sing, a style that relates to the past and the future.”

The song, “Still My Soul Be Still” isn’t entirely original, since it is inspired by the old Katharina von Schlegel hymn: “Be Still My Soul” (1752).  The spirit of both songs is an encouragement to believers to cling to the unique and unending peace of Christ.  The Getty’s song pairs Kristyn’s gentle, angelic voice with Keith’s masterful orchestration.  The result is a marriage between good artistry and the ageless message of being still within God’s rest:

Still, my soul be still and do not fear 
Though winds of change may rage tomorrow 
God is at your side 
No longer dread the fires of unexpected sorrow

God, You are my God, and I will trust in You and not be shaken 
Lord of peace renew a steadfast spirit within me 
To rest in You alone

Still, my soul be still. Do not be moved 
By lesser lights and fleeting shadows 
Hold onto His ways with shield of faith 
Against temptations flaming arrows

Still, my soul be still. Do not forsake 
The Truth you learned in the beginning 
Wait upon the Lord 
And hope will rise as stars appear when day is dimming

My favorite part of these lyrics are the pictures from nature that illustrate the magnitude of God’s rest.  Dwelling upon the rages of fierce wind and roaring fire can be terrifying, but God considers these to be “lesser lights and fleeting shadows” compared to His greater offer of supreme shelter and safety.  While we are still dwelling in this land of fearful night and doom, we must look up and remember that “hope will rise as stars appear.”

Beyond physical anecdotes in nature, the Scriptures offer us a solid invitation to the bountiful Rest that God offers through Jesus Christ.  Listen to these excerpts from Hebrews 4: “…the promise of entering His rest still stands…For we who have believed enter that rest…Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts…So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God…Let us, therefore, strive to enter that rest…let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest [Jesus] who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

These pieces of biblical text do not unpack the entire meaning of Hebrews 4, but rather isolates the language of God’s rest.  The idea is to help us better see that Christian peace is different and better because it is based on promises, the finished work of God and the orientation of God’s grace towards sinners. We don’t deserve rest and we don’t live in a world that allows us to enjoy complete rest, but our hope is strong and our confidence is based on the sure character of God in Christ.

Therefore, we can enter His rest and hold fast to His grace. We are called to strive for rest (which sounds like an oxymoron) because God does give us a measure of Heaven and a taste of future full rest in our hearts as God’s Spirit dwells within us today – activating God’s truths from the inside out.  God’s rest is tremendously useful and vital towards every aspect of our lives and no other religion offers anything like it.

Today, let this song (and it’s truth) be a balm over your anxiety and a soothing agent of trust in God over your doubts and fears.  Still.  My soul be still.

This story originally appeared on Truth in Tunes. See this story and more at https://truthintunes.wordpress.com/2012/11/08/still-my-soul-be-still-keith-kristyn-getty-2009-awaken-the-dawn/

The Heart of Worship

The Heart of Worship

One of the most popular praise and worship songs of the early 2000's has to have been this song written by Matt Redman. "The Heart of Worship" is a deep song of praise to God with an even deeper back story.

In the late 90's, Matt's home church was in the midst of a spiritually apathetic time. Their worship time was very much stagnant. It had no purpose. His pastor, Mike Pilavachi, made a decision that would change the way the church worshipped. He took away the sound system and the band, everything that the church would have viewed as important to the worship "experience." He wanted to strip the church of its facade and focus on worshipping God. This allowed the people to see why they were really in the building- why they were really worshipping. 

They had come to the heart of worship.

Matt Redman wrote this song after having this experience with his church. They had restored the band and the sound system by the time he'd finished, but the meaning still held true for him and the congregation:

VERSE 1

When the music fades, all is stripped away, and I simply come./Longing just to bring something that's of worth that will bless your heart.

PRE-CHORUS 

I'll give you more than a song for a song in itself is not what you have required./You search much deeper within through the way things appear you're looking into my heart.

CHORUS

I'm coming back to the heart of worship, and it's all about you, it's all about you Jesus./I'm sorry Lord for the thing I've made it when it's all about you, it's all about you Jesus.

VERSE 2

King of endless worth, no one could express how much you deserve./Though I'm weak and poor all I have is yours every single breath.

PRE-CHORUS & CHORUS

They had come to love God so much. They knew now what it meant to honor and love him in their worship. I preached a message earlier this year on this very subject. Just as the song says, God does not want our songs. He doesn't require it. Our songs are a way of showing our heart to Him, of showing Him how much we love and adore Him. When we realize this and put it into practice, we have reached the heart of worship.

Who Am I

Psalm 8:3-4

3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; 

4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

So many songs have been written about who we are in Christ. Common themes such as our being conquerors, over-comers, and warriors echo throughout many of the great songs that I and so many others hold dear. But that is not the theme of this song. 

In an interview, the writer of this song, Mark Hall commented, "Me being a conqueror is true, but at the same time I need to understand that my life is a vapor, and me being able to even pray to [God] is because of what he's done for me."

I believe that before we can truly see all of who God is, we need to see all that we cannot be. The chorus of this song describes so much of who we as mere men are: "a flower quickly fading, here today and gone tomorrow; a vapor in the wind." These excerpts that I have chosen are scriptural and recognize our own mortality. Isaiah 40:8 says, "The grass withereth, the flower fadeth:" James 4:14 says, "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away." We have no control over our life. Compared to God, we are little specks with no eternal value on our own.

But that is where we see God come into the picture. It's not because of who we are (sinful, fallen men) but because of what He has done (die on the cross for our sins and rise again from the dead). It's not because of anything that we have done (not of works, lest any man should boast- Ephesians 2:9), but because of who He his- our holy, sinless, perfect God!

Video Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZP0HAg0GAA