Lent - Day 10: Memories

The memory of the righteous will be a blessing...

Proverbs 10:7

It was on Facebook, while perusing my high school alumni photos, that I came across the above photo as I scrolled down the listings. It stopped me in my tracks. I would know this structure anywhere!  This is the old Phoenix Central Seventh-day Adventist Church - the church home of my childhood.  Sitting at the corner of Ninth Street and Garfield, this grand old lady looks better today than she did back when I raced down the hall in the basement to reach my Sabbath School room. 

Central Church was where I sang songs, listened to stories, and placed stick figures of Bible characters in the sand box.  It was where I was baptized, where I learned about Jesus, where I sang my first church solo at 2 1/2 years old, where I joined my first choir, and where I accompanied my first Messiah rehearsal.  So many memories are packed into that small structure. How wonderful it was to run across this picture and be reminded of the very beginning of my walk with the Lord.

I invite you to take a few moments today to think about the first steps of your journey with Jesus.  Was it as a child?  A youth?  An adult?  What are your memories?

Precious memories, how they linger
How they ever flood my soul
In the stillness, of the midnight
Precious sacred scenes unfold

 

Lent - Day 9: Losing Sheep

 

Suppose you had a hundred sheep and lost one.

 Wouldn’t you leave the ninety-nine in the pasture

and go after the lost one until you found it? 

When found, you can be sure that you would put it

across your shoulders, rejoicing, and when you got home,

call in your friends and neighbors saying, “Celebrate with me! 

 I have found my lost sheep.”

Luke 15:3-6 

This parable had a lot of “punch” with Jesus’ listeners, because Israel at that time was an agrarian society.  His audience instantly identified with the story of a lost sheep.  The animals were a source of meat, clothing, and money—very important to a family’s survival. 

Losing one animal also hits very close to home for many of us. Whether it is a dog, a cat, or a bird – our pets become members of our family and beloved companions  I have owned many dogs and cats over the years, and am well acquainted with the feeling of panic when a pet is lost, and the euphoria when it is found safe and sound. 

In this parable, Jesus was illustrating for His listeners the value that God places on each human life.  We are His children, and He loves us individually and unconditionally.  You are His child, today and forever.

The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell.

It goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell.

 

Lent - Day 8: Lamb of God

 

Behold, the Lamb of God,

Which taketh away the sin of the world.

John 1:29

As a child, Twila Paris released her first album, entitled Little Twila Paris, in 1965 when she was seven years old.  The album included songs drawn from those she sang with her family in their evangelistic meetings.

As an adult, Paris released her first full-length album in 1981, and four years later, wrote Lamb of God while sitting at the piano in her parents’ living room.  Twila Paris has had a highly successful singing career, written and published children’s music, and created wonderful hymns and worship songs.

In the early 90’s, when my husband was in seminary in Michigan, Twila Paris came to the university campus to give a concert.  Students and their families were given free tickets, and I’m not sure who was more thrilled – my children or me. As we left the gymnasium after the concert, my family all agreed that their hands-down favorite song was, Lamb of God.

 

Lamb of God - Twila Paris

 

Lent - Day 7: Come In!

Behold, I stand at the door and knock.

If anyone hears My voice and opens the door,

I will come in and dine with them,and they with Me.

Revelation 3:20 

We have a tradition in our family which dates back to when my kids were in early elementary school. We were always relatively poor during those years, and rarely had money to spend on entertainment or dining out.  But when something special occurred in the life of one of my girls, we would celebrate by pooling our pennies and going out to eat.  It might have been just Taco Bell, but it was a time for family to gather together over a celebratory meal.  That tradition continues today, even though my children are miles away.  They will call with their latest triumph and I will say, “Fantastic!  We need to go out to eat!” 

The Apostle John presents a beautiful picture of Jesus standing at the door of our hearts – our lives – knocking for entrance.  That thought alone is enough to warm my heart, but the text does not stop there.  Jesus has a purpose for knocking.  He wants to join us for a meal - to gather at a common table and eat with us in fellowship, celebration and love. 

Into my heart, into my heart,

come into my heart, Lord Jesus.

Come in today, come in to stay,

Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.

 

 

Lent - Day 6: My Father's House

 

To those who sold the doves He said,

“Get these out of here!  How dare you turn

My Father’s house into a market!”

John 2:16

Our first pastorate after my husband finished seminary landed us in the beautiful town of LaPorte, Indiana.  The warm and friendly congregation took great pride in their church, and taught their children that it was the house of God, not just another building.  Our pastoral team worked hard to make each gathering an inspirational moment.

When Jesus returned from his time in the desert, he joined His mother and family in Capernaum and attended a wedding at Cana, where He turned water into wine.  After leaving that celebration, Jesus and the disciples went to Jerusalem and stopped by the Temple. Expecting to hear the sounds of music, prayers and praise, their eyes, ears and noses were assaulted by the sounds and smells of an animal market, and the shrewd trading of the money changers.

Jesus made a whip of cords to drive out the animals, then overturned the tables of the money mongers, proclaiming to all: “It is written:  My house will be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers!” [Luke 19:45-46]

Familiarity often breeds carelessness. Whether it’s a Tuesday, a Friday or a Sunday, it matters a great deal to God how we treat His house.

Lent - Day 5: My Faith Looks Up to Thee

 

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus,

the author and perfecter of our faith.

Hebrews 12:2

In 1832, Lowell Mason, well-known musician, hymn publisher and advocate for music education in public schools, bumped into Ray Palmer, a 24-year-old man who was burning the candle at both ends – holding down a regular job during the day, attending classes at Yale, occasionally teaching at a girl’s school, and trying to prepare for the ministry. 

Mason was looking for hymns for his latest project.  Palmer happened to have in his journal a copy of a poem he had written two years earlier.  Mason was so taken with the verses, he borrowed a sheet of paper, wrote down the words, then hurried home to his studio where he hammered out the perfect tune.  And thus, My Faith Looks Up to Thee was born.

 

My Faith Looks Up to Thee

Islington Baptist Church  

Lent - Day 4: Trust in the Lord

 Trust in the Lord with all your heart;

Do not depend on your own understanding.

Seek His will in all you do,

And He will show you which path to take.

Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT 

Last week I read a devotional written by a woman recently widowed.  She wrote that becoming a widow was a journey she never expected and was not one that she would have willingly chosen.  Speaking with God about all the changes and challenges in her life, she had one specific request: “Please don’t let my car break down!”

When she noticed her state inspection sticker was due, she made an appointment.  During the course of the inspection, they found a problem that had to be fixed.  Then they ran diagnostics on her Check Engine light and found more problems that could not be ignored.  When all was said and done, that simple inspection ended up with a final bill over $1000, an expenditure she could not afford.   When tears threatened, a voice inside said, “Who do you know that is bigger than all of this?”  She acknowledged, “You are, Lord.” (Words of Life, Ricardo Bacchus, editor)

Notice in our scripture today that God does not say, “Trust in the Lord and He will keep all these bad things from happening to you.”  No, it promises that He will show you the path to take through all the inevitable dark moments of human life. In fact, Psalm 23 declares that God will walk the path with you. Trust His guidance today.

Lent - Day 3: In the Garden

Because Your love is better than life,

My lips will glorify You.

I will praise You as long as I live,

And in Your name I will lift up my hands.

Psalm 63:3-4 

My mother bought a piano at a yard sale, then hired a piano teacher for her three children: my older brothers, age 6 & 8, and me, age 4. (I can’t imagine trying to teach piano to a 4-yr-old!).I don’t remember much about those really early years, but by the age of 8, I knew that the piano would always be a very important part of my life. I enjoyed singing, but I LOVED playing the piano. Long after my brothers moved on to greener pastures, I remained.  I can not imagine a life without music. 

Music has the ability to tell us a story in such a way that it stays with us forever.  I invited you to leave a comment about your favorite hymn, and someone did just that – suggesting two different hymns, both of which are so appropriate for the Lenten season.  Today let’s sing, In the Garden.

 

In the Garden Lyrics  Praise Adonai

Lent - Day 2: Peace, Be Still

A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat,

So that it was nearly swamped.

Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion.

The disciples woke Him and said to Him,

“Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

Mark 4:37-38

The painting above, Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee, was painted by Rembrandt van Rijn.  The Dutch seventeenth-century artist who loved to paint stories from the Bible – over 60 in all were based on biblical themes.  It is said that Rembrandt regarded the Bible as a personal diary, filled with connections to his personal life.

In Rembrandt’s canvas, the seas are wild and the sky is black.  At the front of the boat are several terrified disciples, struggling against the storm, trying to save them all.  At the back of the boat are the rest of the disciples staring at Jesus, willing Him to save them. If you look closely, you will see a young man in the back of the boat (light bluish robe), clutching a rope and staring, not at Jesus, but out at you – the observer.  It is Rembrandt:  he has painted himself into the experience at the point just before Jesus stands up and calms the storm.   

As I write, an ice storm is expected to take over my portion of the world tonight, just days after a severe ice storm shut off my power for 48 hours. I am endeavoring to mentally place myself right next to Jesus and know His comfort and peace as we face the tempest together.    

The winds and the waves shall obey Thy will:

Peace, be still.

Whether the wrath of the storm-tossed sea

Or demons or men or whatever it be,

No waters can swallow the ship where lies

The Master of ocean and earth and skies.

They all shall sweetly obey Thy will:

Peace, be still; peace, be still

They all shall sweetly obey Thy will:

Peace, peace, be still.

-Master, the Tempest is Raging

 

Lent - Day 1: Ash Wednesday

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jorden

And was led by the Spirit into the desert,

Where for forty days He was tempted by the devil.

He ate nothing during those days…

Luke 4:1,2

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent - a forty day period leading up to Easter Sunday.  It is a time of commemoration of the forty days Christ spent in the desert, directly after His baptism and prior to His public ministry.  The purpose of Lent is to prepare for Easter through prayer, repentance, almsgiving, and self-denial.  “Giving up” something for the forty days of Lent has become an integral part of practicing self-denial.

·        * The early church, particularly Lutheran, Catholic & Anglican, abstained from eating meat; for some, this extended to not eating meat, eggs or dairy.

·        * Giving up chocolate is a popular choice in today’s church.  It should be noted that Thomas Aquinas authorized the continued eating of candy during Lent because sugared spices are digestive aids on a par with medicine, rather than food.

·         *  Abstaining from Television, Movies and/or Gaming systems.  I have read wonderfully hilarious stories regarding families with children who have attempted this.

·       *   Abstaining from all Social Media:  Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. 

·       *   The Lent Event:  Donate the value of what ever you give up to a local charity such as the Chesterfield Food Bank.

After reading many different suggestions for self-denial, I invite you to ponder this one:

  If there’s anything we should give up this time of year,

 it’s our sense of superiority: either to those outside the church,

or those inside the church who do things differently than we do.

Author Trevin Wax

The Ark

The Lord then said to Noah:

Go into the ark, you and your whole family,

because I have found you righteous in this generation.

Take with you seven of every kind of clean animal,

a male and its mate; And two of every kind of unclean animal,

a male and its mate; and seven of every kind of bird, male and female,

to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth.

Genesis 7:1-3

I loved the story of Noah and the ark as a child.  My imagination placed me by Noah’s side as he stared up into the darkening sky.  Not darkening with rain clouds, mind you, but with hundreds of pairs of birds flying straight for the ark’s huge entrance.  Soon the sound of plodding feet were heard as creatures of every description also made their way onto the plains and into the ark two by two – one male, one female.  What a thrill that must have been to watch.

Imagine my surprise, as an adult, to realize that the two-by-two setup was for the unclean or wild animals.  The clean animals – those that would be used for food (and perhaps work) came in groups of seven!  I don’t know about you, but other than the days of the week, I rarely think in terms of seven.  How in the world did seven cows know to gather together and head for the ark?  Or seven goats… Or seven chickens…  Obviously there were cowboy angels at work in that roundup.

If God cared so specifically for all the animals, birds and insects of the earth, how much more does He care for you and your life – amidst a raging pandemic, amidst freezing temperatures with no electricity, amidst the trials and temptations of your everyday life.  God created you in His image and He loves you.  Believe it.

The Raven

Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah:

“Leave here, turn eastward, and hide in the Kerith Ravine,

east of the Jordan.  You will drink from the brook, and

I have ordered ravens to feed you there.”

1 Kings 17:2-4

The story of Elijah and the ravens is fascinating.  After Elijah tells King Ahab that there would be no dew or rain except at Elijah’s command, Ahab was very angry, so God instructed Elijah to hide by the brook in Kerith – out in the middle of nowhere.  The Lord said Elijah could drink water from the brook and would be fed by ravens. 

The prophet fled to the brook, settled down, and waited for help to arrive.  Like clockwork, morning and evening, big black ravens brought him a meal. It was not just a crust of bread in the birds’ mouths!  The Scriptures indicate that the ravens brought bread and meat for breakfast and dinner.

Last Saturday at 8:30am, the power went out at my home and over a wide swath of Chesterfield County due to an ice storm.  The temperature inside the house slowly sank from 70 degrees to 48 degrees. In the midst of the cold, God sent: my three daughters.  From Northern Virginia, New York and Hanover County, they coordinated deliveries of hope, encouragement, hot meals, and firewood.  The power came on this morning at 9:30am, bringing the promise of light and warmth, and many heartfelt thanks to my girls and to my heavenly Father.   

 

Animals in Heaven

They will neither harm nor destroy on all My holy mountain.

says the Lord.

Isaiah 65:25b

I want to leave you this week with a description of what all animals, birds and insects will be like in the kingdom of heaven. Have a blessed weekend.

The wolf will live with the lamb,

the leopard will lie down with the goat,

the calf and the lion and the yearling together –

and a little child shall lead them.

The cow will feed with the bear,

and the lion will eat straw like the ox.

The infant will play near the hole of the cobra,

and the young child put his hand

on the hole of the viper’s nest.

They will neither harm nor destroy

on all My holy mountain.

-Isaiah 11:6-9

 

The Scorpion

I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions

and to overcome all the power of the enemy;

nothing will harm you.

Luke 10:19 

When my girls were very young, our family experienced bouts of homelessness.  All three times, we were taken in by church members who had “spare accommodations.”  Solution #2, a little tiny house in Peoria, was perfect for our needs, but overrun with insects, much to my middle daughter’s delight. 

My two oldest girls slept sideways on a twin mattress, with a blanket roll separating their “space.”  One Friday as I prepared the laundry, I picked up my oldest daughter’s pillow, only to discover a small, very live scorpion (stinger and all), perched underneath. The rule in Arizona is, the smaller the scorpion, the deadlier.  Our thanks and praise to God were immediate and heartfelt.

References in the Bible indicate that the scorpion has always been a bad boy.  In Revelation 9, scorpions are portrayed as deadly enemies of the faithful.  Praise God that Jesus gave us the authority to trample spiritual scorpions and to overcome the power of the enemy.

 

 

The Hornet

 

I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run.

I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the

Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way.

Exodus 23:27b-28

Several years ago, I was in my backyard on a glowing spring morning, doing one of my favorite chores – mowing the grass.  I was out in the middle of the yard, not a tree or shrub within striking distance, when I was suddenly surrounded by a cloud of hornets, buzzing angrily and stinging me everywhere.  I beelined for the house and the calamine lotion!  I had run the lawn mower over the opening of a ground hornet’s nest and paid the price for my folly.

When the children of Israel were receiving instructions for moving into their promised land, God instructed Moses, and then Joshua, that he would clear the land of its inhabitants by sending in swarms of hornets.  Having been on the receiving end of a similar experience, I can testify to the brilliance of the Lord’s plan.  But it was neither quick enough nor conventional enough for the men of Israel – they wanted to storm the country, weapons at the ready. 

So Israel did it their way – to a much bloodier, violent, hateful end than God and the hornets would have accomplished.  Our Father's ways may not always be conventional, but they are always best.

The Donkey

 

The donkey said to Balaam, “

“What have I ever done to you,

that you have beat me these three times?”

Numbers 22

The donkey is a highly intelligent animal that has a reason for everything it does.  According to experts, a donkey has: 

A stoic nature with very subtle body language, especially when experiencing  pain or fear

A natural propensity to freeze when threatened or frightened

A strong sense of self-preservation.

Balaam was obviously not aware of these facts when he struck his donkey three different  times for being “stubborn” enough to refuse to travel further down the path Balaam had chosen.  God finally had to give the donkey human speech and open Balaam’s spiritually blind eyes so that he could see the mighty angel with the shining sword blocking the animal’s way.

I’m not much different than Balaam.  I absolutely hate delays when they crop up while I am totally focused on my all-important mission.  But the story of this smart donkey has helped me to turn to God in such times of stress – not with complaints about being late, but rather with a grateful heart for His care and protection throughout my day.

The Lion

When Daniel learned that the decree had been signed and posted,

he continued to pray just as he had always done.

His house had windows opened toward Jerusalem.

Three times a day he knelt there in prayer, thanking and praising God.

Daniel 6 (The Message)

I love cats of every size and stripe.  I think tigers are my favorite, but lions come a close second.  Tigers are not mentioned in the Bible, but lions are referred to over 140 times.  The lion was the symbol of the tribe of Judah, and Jesus, whose lineage traces straight back through that tribe, is named The Lion of Judah.  My favorite lion story?  Daniel in the lion’s den.

We all know the narrative:  King Darius is tricked into passing a decree that would land Daniel in the lion’s  den - cooked up by Daniel's fellow government officials.  The king tried to undo his hasty decree, but the law is the law.  The king went with Daniel to the mouth of the lion’s den, then sealed the exit with his ring after Daniel was put inside.  The king returned too the palace and spent the night fasting.  At dawn, he went back to the den and called out: Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve so loyally, saved you from the lions?  And Daniel cried out:

O king live forever!  My God sent His angel

who closed the mouths of the lions

so that they would not hurt me.

 

Never be afraid to trust an unknown future

To a KNOWN God.

-Corrie ten Boom

 

The Snowy Owl

The owl will nest there and lay eggs;

she will hatch them, and care for her young

under the shadow of her wings. 

Isaiah 34:15 

In the winter of 1890, a snowy owl was spotted in New York City’s Central Park, a beautiful bird that makes its home in the arctic tundra.  It was quickly gone, and another has not returned in the last 130 years – until Wednesday, January 27.

A birdwatcher announced the rare visitor on Twitter, proclaiming that a snowy owl had been spotted in the North Meadow baseball fields of Central Park.  Other birdwatchers in the neighborhood came running to see the fluffy white owl with thick black bars that declared it to be a young female.  Cameras and cell phones recorded the event:  Ms. Owl sitting on the fence; Ms. Owl flying into third base; Ms. Owl doing that amazing 180-degree twist of her head; Ms. Owl ignoring the flock of crows trying to get her to leave.  It was a short visit by a magnificent example of God’s glorious creation.  By Thursday morning, she was gone.

This week we will be taking a look at a few of the animals that are mentioned in the Scriptures and still inhabit our planet today.  God’s love shines out from the creatures He has formed and placed among us.

 

You will not understand the language of the reporter,

but this video has the best pictures of the event.

Standing in the Need of Prayer

 

Jesus told this parable:

Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed:  "God, I thank you that I am not like other people - robbers, evildoers, adulterers - or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get."  But the tax collector stood at a distance.  He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner."

Our world needs prayer.  Our country needs prayer.  Our church needs prayer.  Our friends need prayer.  Our families need prayer.  But most of all - we ourselves need prayer, today and every day.

Standing in the Need of Prayer - Jesus Own Kids

In My Heart There Rings a Melody

And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit,

speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and

spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,

Ephesians 5:18-20 

For an end of the year project for my Music Theory class my freshman year in college, each student was to write an original song.  Piece of cake, right?  As soon as we had our melody in hand, we were to come and play it for the teacher.  I was one of the first to do that.  After listening to my “original”: composition, he grabbed a hymnbook and showed me the song I was copying.  For the first three or four weeks of the semester, I visited the professor’s office daily and played my “original” song.  Time after time I turned away frustrated.  Since that experience, I have had the utmost respect for musicians who can compose.  It is not my gift.

Elton Roth was a music evangelist in a small town in Texas in 1923.  One morning he wandered in the local church and made his way to the sanctuary.  There were no people in the pews, no minister in the pulpit.  He had been hearing a melody in his head all morning, so picking up a scrap piece of paper, he wrote down both the melody and the words for In My Heart There Rings a Melody.

 

In My Heart There Rings a Melody

Arr. Patty Drennan 

Feel free to leave a comment, or share the name of your favorite hymn

Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus

 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

I have sung the wonderful hymn, Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus, all my life, but I never really understood its words until my first child was born.  Everything was peaceful and “normal” with my new life as a mother, and then it all disintegrated right in front of my eyes.  I found myself sitting at the nurse’s station while a pediatric cardiologist drew pictures and quietly explained that my daughter probably wouldn’t live through the night.  You can barely think, much less trust. 

As I stood by my child’s tiny hospital bed, the nurse on duty that night emotionally lost it and began yelling at me that my God was absolutely useless, and where would He be when she came to hand me a dead baby?  She stomped out of the room before I could tell her that actually, I knew exactly where God would be – right there, in that room, with His arms around me and around my child.

Never be afraid

to trust an unknown future

to a known God.

-Corrie Ten Boom

 

Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus

Casting Crowns

You can leave a comment, or share the name of your favorite hymn

Take the Name of Jesus with You

Therefore God exalted Jesus to the highest place,

and gave Him a name that is above every name,

that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth… and every tongue confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Philippians 2:9-11

I learned today’s song, Take the Name of Jesus with You, in the big pavilion where the adults met for their meetings at campmeeting.  During my teenage years, I was often invited to play the piano for “song service,” and this was one of the songs that I learned to play.  It was a congregational favorite, and soon became a favorite of mine.

This hymn, also known as Precious Name, was written in 1870 by Lydia Baxter, a New York woman who was a bedridden invalid for most of her adult life.  Mrs. Baxter enjoyed studying the names of Jesus given in both the Old Testament and New Testament writings.  This hymn flowed out of her extensive research.

Take the Name of Jesus with You

Southwest Baptist Church

 

He Touched Me

When they had crossed over, they landed in Gennesaret.

And when the men of that place recognized Jesus,

They send word to all the surrounding country.

People brought all their sick to Him and begged Him

to let the sick just touch the edge of His cloak,

and all who touched Him were healed.

Matthew 14:34-36

If there is one thing I miss more than anything else during this pandemic, it is the loss of touch:  the clasp of a hand, a pat on the back, a warm hug.  My daughter and son-in-law come to the house once or twice a week to visit outside.  We share pantomime hugs, but obviously, that is not the same as actual human touch.  Jesus realized the importance of reaching out His hand to touch someone who was ill – even the “untouchables.”  Several of His miracles were performed with a simple touch.

Bill and Gloria Gaither are American songwriters of Southern Gospel music.  Although Gloria often writes the lyrics while Bill writes the music, they also enjoy composing music as a team.  To date, they have written over 700 songs.  One of my favorites – He Touched Me.

He Touched Me - Gaither Vocal Band 

 

Love Lifted Me

Humble yourselves before the Lord,

and He will lift you up.

James 4:10

My father always said that new cars were wonderful to own and drive, but the value of your new vehicle plummets the minute you drive it off the car lot – because then it becomes a used car.  The same, in some ways, can be said about church hymnals.  Almost as soon as a hymnal is printed, it is “outdated” for many, and there comes a call for a “supplement” to provide the hymns and songs that are missing.

A few years after the supplement, The Faith We Sing, was published in the year 2000 by the United Methodist Church, there came a widespread call for another contemporary hymnal to be published.  When congregations across the country were poled for suggestions for this new hymnal, the #1 requested song was not a contemporary chorus, but a hymn written in 1912 by James Rowe – Love Lifted Me. 

 

Love Lifted Me /  The Forester Sisters