Our part is to listen His is to speak For the words that He says Will be heard by the meek While His ways seem a mystery and not understood God works in Heaven through it all for our good When fears of dark nights seem to stand in our way He sticks close by our side till the first light of day And He calls us to follow In both joy and through loss For we come nearest to Him At the foot of His Cross At the Foot of the Cross by Peter Caligiuri Copyright © 2023 All Rights reserved When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. John 19:26-27 ESV
Month: July 2023
I’d Rather Have Jesus
The song, “I’d Rather Have Jesus”, is one of my favorites to sing, but I especially love the story behind how it came to be. Originally Rhea Miller wrote the words as a poem, being inspired by what her father had said in church, just after his receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior. The first verse was the testimony of his surrender to Christ.
I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold
I'd rather be his than have riches untold
I'd rather have Jesus than houses or lands
I'd rather be led by His nail pierced hand
Rhea Miller’s little poem became loved by Mrs. Maude Whitney Shea, the mother of “George Beverly Shea. In 1932 at the age of 23, George had been struggling with the decision of whether to use his talents in the secular music world or to continue singing for churches. One afternoon as he sat down to practice, he found the words to Rhea Miller’s poem, left on the front of his piano.
I'd rather have Jesus than men's applause
I'd rather be true to His dear cause
I'd rather have Jesus than worldwide fame
I'd rather be true to His holy name.
As George read over those lines, God began giving him both a melody, as well as the certainty in his heart of what path he would choose. That night, George sang his new composition for the first time to the congregation of his father’s church. Amazingly, once George had committed to the purpose God had for him, doors began to open for him to sing in many churches, eventually becoming the soloist first for evangelistic crusades with Jack Wyrtzen and later with Billy Graham. The world-wide fame, George had let go of when he chose to follow Jesus, was given to him as he sang for God and he eventually released more than 70 albums, with his final recording made as he approached his ninetieth year! George Beverly Shea could truly say at the end:
I rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today!
“I’d Rather Have Jesus”
Lyrics 1922 by Rhea Miller
Music 1932 by George Beverly Shea
Is God Really Listening?
Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary. Psalm 28:2 NKJV
Have you ever noticed that when our children are babies, they love to tug on our hair, grab on to our noses and play a game of peek-a-boo? Their persistence and tireless delight at this are a bit puzzling until we realize that what they really want is for us to see and hear them. That longing to be seen and heard is David’s prayer. He asks for help, hopes for God to bring a solution to his problems, but more than anything else, David wants to know that God is listening. The difference between, just wanting an answer and wanting for God to listen, is like the difference between ordering a new game for your kids to play and taking the time to sit down and play it with them. One will occupy them and keep them out of your hair, but the other will give you both time to get to know one another better. Sure, God can answer our prayers in an immediately, but what He also longs for us to get know Him better and realize that He is always listening. So, let’s be grateful, not only for the answers to our prayers, but just like King David, let’s be grateful that God hears our prayers and listens to our pleas for mercy!
Blessed be the Lord! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy. Psalm 28:6
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