Carrying

Featured song: He Will Carry You, by Scott Wesley Brown, from his 1983 album Signature.

Life brings many joys, but it also brings many sorrows. We suffer sickness, loss of friends and family, and pain from things we do to ourselves and things others do to us. We put on the mask that tries to make it clear to the rest of the world that we are handling everything just fine, thank you, but deep inside we feel like we are dying.

Jesus never promised there would be a life with no trials or problems. He did say that He would be there with me through every step of the way. Nothing — nothing! — would be so big or bad that He would be unable to carry me through it.

Today’s song, sung by Scott Wesley Brown, affirms that promise. And it seems all the more powerful accompanied by the commentary by the words of Larry Black, from whose radio program it was recorded, over 20 years ago.

There is no problem too big, God cannot solve it
There is no mountain too tall, He cannot move it
There is no storm too dark, God cannot calm it
There is no sorrow too deep, He cannot soothe it

If He carried the weight of the world
Upon His shoulders
I know, my brother, that He will carry you

If he carried the weight of the world
Upon His shoulders
I know, my sister, that He will carry you

He said, “Come unto Me
All who are weary
And I will give you rest.”

(repeat)

He will carry you
He will carry
You

Tags: faith, help, Scott Wesley Brown

Featured song: The Master’s Hand, from Carman’s 1982 album Some-O-Dat.

Everybody has their own story about what brought them to know Jesus in not just an intellectual way, but a personal way. Sometimes the journey has been a smooth transition into a relationship during childhood that just matures with time; sometimes it has been hard-fought struggle to seek out truth amidst the falsehoods and trials of life. 

I like what Keith Green said, as heard on the live introduction to his Song To My Parents on the 1983 compilation album I Only Want To See You There: 

“All I want to tell you is, you’re not going to find happiness in anything else. I tried. Oh, did I try! My own parents can tell you that. I travelled all over the United States, read lots of books on the occult and eastern religions, took lots of drugs… You’ve heard the testimonies before, I don’t need to tell you mine. But the part of every testimony I love is when they get to the bottom of their list. I put Jesus at the bottom of my list …”

It is such a constant theme in stories people tell about how they came to faith in Jesus. It could be an intellectual journey, like that taken by C.S. Lewis. He started with an attitude of Atheism; there is no God. As he continued to read and wrestle with the problem of what he saw in the world and what he understood from great authors of English literature of the past, he realized that there was no clear way to be certain that God did not exist. So he moved to a different level, that of the Agnostic, the person who admits that he does not know whether or not there is a God. Further time and reflection led him to the point of view called Theism: there is a God. He was not certain whether or not this God was interested in the affairs of men, but he had concluded that there was clear evidence that God exists. And from that point he came to believe that God as described in the Bible was the picture of God most consistent with what he could see in the world, and so finally moved himself to the realm of Christianity. 

For others, the path they take could be one of pain and loss, and finally finding themselves at the bottom pits of their own personal hell. And at that point they finally realize their desperate need for Someone to save them — and at the bottom of their list, they find Jesus. 

This song by Carman recounts what happens to someone who has either avoided the Church all his life, or has just never felt that Jesus had anything to offer him. And then one day, when he ducks into a service to “drop out of sight”, he finally has no choice but to sit still long enough to actually listen to the message given by the preacher. And those words pierce him to the heart, make him finally see his own blindness and stubborn pride, and God has His chance to break through and effect a change. 

I once heard someone tell me that finding Jesus was like being let out of a prison. I would ask you to consider again the Hand of the Master, who is offering you a release from your own prison, when you surrender control of your life to the One who really knows how life is to be played! 

I walked into the church that night
Thought that I’d drop out of sight
So I sat down
I laughed, in spite of all my blues
It’s really not the type of place I’m used
To hanging around

I looked ahead and saw the man
Watched him close, as he began to speak
That certain day
And it seem that something deep inside
Had seized my soul, and though I tried to shake it
It wouldn’t go away

It was as though the words he said
Would echo back inside my head –
I almost cried
I’d be a fool, so I supposed,
Then somehow, got myself composed,
And held it inside

I felt the blood rush through my wrist
The tighter that I squeezed my fist, determined
Not to let conviction start
But with all my wisdom left behind
I somehow saw that I was blind
And slowly, let His presence
Fill my heart

As everyone stood to their feet
I managed, somehow, to repeat the prayer
That they were prayin’
Then I dropped my head, and I dropped my eyes
As suddenly, I realized
Just what I was saying

Through trembling lips and streaming tears
I ended all those wasted years
Of dreams I’d built on sand
Unloading all my guilt and wrong
I somehow felt both weak and strong,
The night
I took the Master’s hand

[spoken]
As I look back, remembering,
I still recall how everything
Just seemed different than before
How every house and bird and tree
Was strangely beautiful to me
And people were even more

[sung]
How could I have been so blind
To rush through life and never find this rock
On which I stand?
But when I whispered deep that Name
I knew I’d never be the same,
The night
I took the Master’s hand

But when I whispered deep Jesus’ Name
I knew I’d never be the same,
The night
I took the Master’s hand

Tags: C.S. Lewis, Carman, faith

Featured song: Woman, Man That I Love, from Paul Clark’s 1977 album Hand To The Plow.

Twenty-three years ago today, I stepped out on a journey that I have never regretted. It has become stronger and more sweet with time. I am not referring to my journey with Jesus, but rather the life I have lived with my wife, Kim.

On that wedding day, we had written our vows, arranged our ceremony, and planned for music to be sung. Our friends, Jim and Diana Moeller agreed to sing for us two songs that I had liked for a long time. After Kim heard them, she also liked them, and asked for a tape of them to listen to, so she would know them better. The special gift that she gave to me that day was that as we listened to this song being sung, as we faced each other up in front of our family and friends, she softly sang the words of the woman’s part — to me! How memorable that was for me, something that I continue to treasure.

Happy 23rd anniversary, Kim! You have made this life worthwhile!

Enjoy, then, one of the most performed songs for weddings during the era of early Jesus music! [Note: for the album, Paul Clark had the help of Kelly Willard singing the second part.]

[man]
Woman, your worth is far above all precious jewels
My heart trusts in you
I know you’ll do me good,
All the days of my life

Woman, your hands, they seem to work with delight
You’re like a merchant ship
Gathering goods from afar
For your home

You rise before the sun
To serve everyone
Day after day, your hands seldom rest
You never eat the bread of idleness

Woman, you are a gift to me
Grace and beauty are yours
Woman, you’re like a silent night
Gentle and quiet in heart

Woman, you are a gift to me
Grace and beauty are yours
Woman, you’re like a silent night
Gentle and quiet in heart

And I love you
Please love me
Let us live together
In Him

[woman]
In my heart there’s a feeling
That I know has come from above
He gave me you for my covering
It’s true that you are the man that I love

Since the day that He spoke to me
And showed me you were the one
We’ve been through so many changes
But still you are the man that I love

What a joy to be living
Sharing our lives together
If we continue in giving
We’ll share a little of heaven
Right here on the earth

What a joy to be living
Sharing our lives together
If we continue in giving
We’ll share a little of heaven
Right here on the earth

Woman, I love you!
You’re the man that I love!
Let us live together in Him

This album is available at the artist’s web site

Tags: marriage, Paul Clark

Featured song: Lazarus Come Forth, from the 1984 album by Carman, Comin’ On Strong

Anyone who grew up in a church that had Sunday school classes for children was exposed at a young age to stories from the Bible. There were stories from the New Testament about Jesus, but there were also those great stories from the Old Testament about the encounters that people had with God over the thousands of years before Jesus came to earth.

All of the most interesting stories are those in which God does something miraculous in His interactions with people. Hebrews 11 in the New Testament is specifically discussing the topic of faith, but in the process it gives snap shots of many of the miracles of those saints of the past.

These stories are compelling because they are not part of the ordinary life that we usually see from day to day. They inspire, they provoke dreams, and they have built up my confidence in the certainty that God interacts in daily life.

In today’s song by Carman, we have another Jesus story. Again, it is told from the point of view of someone in the story as he lives through it. The story is about Lazarus, one of Jesus’ friends, and his two sisters. Lazarus became ill; Jesus heard about it, but purposely chose to not come and heal Lazarus. Instead, He allowed this illness to take Lazarus’ life. And that choice made the miracle all the more miraculous, because it was not only a healing, but a resurrection from the dead.

The story, told from Lazarus’ point of view, shows his journey from life into death, and his interaction with the faithful dead saints of the past. It is told in the context of these souls having a meeting, and each sharing his or her testimony of God’s action in their life, how they knew Him. The song is a powerful reminder that God can make the difference in a life — in my life, and in your life, even today!

“I am the resurrection and the life
He that believeth in me
Though he were dead
Yet
Shall he live”

A certain man had died
In the town of Bethany
And Lazarus was his name

The Bible says he was
A man that Jesus loved
And his sisters
Thought it was a shame

Mary and Martha longed
For Jesus’ healing touch
To come and raise their brother
‘Cause they loved that boy so much
But Jesus had a plan
Not known to any man
That would soon take away their pain

They was waiting for Jesus to come and say
Lazarus,
Oh, Lazarus,
Hey, Lazarus, come forth!

When he died he went to where
The saints of God did stay
In the holding place
They lived beyond the tomb

And there he saw Elijah, Moses and Samuel, even Ruth
And all the others, jammed up in a room
He turned around and saw Ol’ Gideon standin’ by the door
He walked up, said, “Hey, brother
Tell me, what’s this group here for?”
Well, Giddie said,
“Well, alright, this is testimony night;
Have a seat, man, ’cause the meeting’s startin’ soon!”

While Mary and Martha just wanted to see their Lazarus,
Oh, Lazarus,
When will their Lazarus, come forth?

Moses shook his stick, said,
“Now, this meeting come to order!
Can I get a witness for the Lord tonight?”

Abraham kicked it off, said,
“I want y’all know that I knew Him;
He gave a child to my barren wife!”

Isaac waved his hand, said,
“Hey, daddy, I knew Him, too!”

Jacob jumped up, says,
“Amen, Grandpa, preach it!”

Old dignified Solomon
He adjusted his robe, said,
“I knew him; He made me so smart,
I started to teach it.”

Ezekiel said, “I knew Him
As a wheel within a wheel.”

Job said, “Man, he healed me
When I was almost dead!”

Sampson said, “I knew Him
When some Philistines tried to jump me;
I took a donkey jawbone, busted a few heads!”

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego said,
“We knew Him in the fiery furnace.”

Jonah said, “Man, He gave me a second chance!”

Daniel cried out, “I knew Him
In a hungry den of lions”

The Holy Ghost hit King David,
He just started to dance!

Lazarus got so excited,
He shouted, “Hey, I knew Him too!”

Moses put down his stick,
Said, “Hey, who’s the new kid?”

Needless to say the room got real quiet
When Lazarus said, “But I knew Him
In a way that y’all never did.

“You see, man, I walked with Him and talked with Him;
I saw how His teachings awed the crowds.
Those famous tears of compassion, I could actually see.
Man, He used to come over to my house after church,
And my sisters would make Him dinner
Every month, I even supported his ministry.

“You see, man, I watched him confront the Pharisees
I was there when he fed the five thousand
I heard the people gasp when he healed the lame
You see, man, I even remember the littlest things;
The things that most folks would forget.
Like the simple, loving way He’d just
Call my name.”

Up at the grave, stone rolled away
With a loud voice Jesus started to say,
“Lazarus”

“You see, fellas, it just seems like yesterday,
I could hear that man saying my name…”

“Lazarus!”

“As a matter of a fact it seems like today, I don’t…”

“Lazarus!!”

“Excuse me brothers,
I think I hear Him calling me now, what…?”

“Lazarus!!”
“Jesus?”
“Lazarus!!
“Jesus??”
“Lazarus!”
“Jesus!”
“Lazarus!!”
“Hey, Jesus!”

“Lazarus, come forth!
Come forth!
I command you,
Come forth!!”

Whoa, Lazarus,
Hey Lazarus,
Oh, Lazarus come forth!
Like Jesus was saying,
“Sickness be healed,
Mountain be moved”
When He said, “Lazarus come forth!”

Mary don’t weep, Martha don’t moan
Here come your boy, comin’ forth!

“He that believeth in me,
Though he were dead
Yet
Shall he live.”

Tags: Carman, death, Heaven, Jesus