Brian Olson Devotional, Hymns, Worship

And Can It Be, That I Should Gain

And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain—
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

He left His Father’s throne above
So free, so infinite His grace—
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam’s helpless race:
’Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For O my God, it found out me!
’Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For O my God, it found out me!

Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine;
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th’eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.
Bold I approach th’eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

Words by Charles Wesley,1738
Music by Thomas Campbell, 1825

 

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.
John 15:12 – 17

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
Romans 8:1

So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
Hebrew 4:14 – 16

 

What is a friend? You can get a variety of answers to this question. Definitions can range from those you know closely to people you have met in passing. So what is a friend?

True friends, are those in whom you can trust. Jesus told His disciples in John 15:14, “You are my friends if you do what I command.” Jesus calls His followers friends. Now before we think he may be using this term in a broad sweeping sense, step back one verse to John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” This is certainly not the act of a casual friend.

When we stop to think about this, it is a staggering reality. Jesus calls us friends. Jesus laid down his life for us. Jesus, the incarnate Son of God. Who are we that he would do this? This is the question asked by Charles Wesley in “And Can It Be.”

The opening line reads, “And can it be that I should gain an interest in the Savior’s blood?” Why should I receive such a wondrous gift. It is not simply a case of who am I, but the reality that I do not deserve it. Wesley goes on to write “Died He for me, who caused His pain, For me, who Him to death pursued?” Not only do we not deserve such a wondrous gift, but we were the cause of His very suffering and death.

But again we are drawn back to Jesus words, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” So Wesley writes, “Amazing love! How can it be, That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?”

Through His sacrifice we have been made new and Christ has opened the door into God’s presence. So we join with the words of Wesley, “No condemnation now I dread; Jesus, and all in Him, is mine; Alive in Him, my living Head, And clothed in righteousness divine, Bold I approach th’eternal throne, And claim the crown, through Christ my own. Bold I approach th’eternal throne, And claim the crown, through Christ my own.”

 

 

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Brian Olson Devotional, Hymns, Worship

To God Be The Glory

To God be the glory, great things He has done;
So loved He the world that He gave us His Son,
Who yielded His life an atonement for sin,
And opened the life gate that all may go in.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,
And give Him the glory, great things He has done.

O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood,
To every believer the promise of God;
The vilest offender who truly believes,
That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,
And give Him the glory, great things He has done.

Great things He has taught us, great things He has done,
And great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son;
But purer, and higher, and greater will be
Our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
Let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son,
And give Him the glory, great things He has done.

Words by Fanny J. Crosby, 1870
Music by W. Howard Doane, 1870

 

“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14:6

“Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
Galatians 1:3 – 5

I have worked with youth for the better part of 20 years. Some of these have been as a supervisor at work. Some of these have been as a youth group leader in the church. Some of these have been as a Chaplain and an Assistant Scoutmaster with the Boy Scouts of America. And most recently it has been as a Trail Master with Trail Life USA. What I have seen in each of these is that youth like to be recognized for their accomplishments. They like to have the nod of a head, the pat on the back or the word of congratulations.

Now this of course this is youth, but as adults we are no different. While we may not do things for the recognition, it is always nice to have a pat on the back or a “well done.” After all we have put all this work into something, it is reasonable that we should get some recognition. When we do not get the recognition, then we start to feel under appreciated. We feel as though no one cares. In fact, the only thing worse that not getting recognized is when we do all the work and someone else gets the recognition. Any of us who have ever been an employee have probably found times when our supervisor or a coworker gets the credit for all we have done. How frustrating this can be.

Now if we think we deserve to get that recognition how much more does God deserve recognition for what He has done. This is what Fanny Crosby lays before us in her hymn, “To God Be The Glory.” Here she worships and praise God not simply because He is God (which is a valid enough reason in and of itself) but because of what He has done. In this case she draws us to God’s greatest accomplishment.

She writes, “So loved He the world that he gave us His Son, Who yielded His life an atonement for sin, and opened the life gate that all may go in.” John chapter three verse sixteen tells us, “God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believed in Him would not die, but have eternal life.” Surely this is the greatest thing God has done. But no, Crosby tells us further that” The vilest offender who truly believes, That moment from Jesus a pardon receives.”

This gift is not simply for those who are “good” people, those who give an appearance of righteousness. It is for everyone. You see, those of us who now follow Christ at one time were no different than that “vilest offender” , and without Christ would be there today. A point Paul drives home 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 when he writes, “Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

In Christ we have been made new. In Christ we may come before the Father no matter what we have done. So I join with the words of Fanny Crosby, “Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Let the earth hear His voice! Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Let the people rejoice! O come to the Father, through Jesus the Son, And give Him the glory, great things He has done.”

 

 

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Brian Olson Devotional, Hymns, Worship

Children of the Heavenly Father

Children of the heav’nly Father
Safely in His bosom gather;
Nestling bird nor star in Heaven
Such a refuge e’er was given.

God His own doth tend and nourish;
In His holy courts they flourish;
From all evil things He spares them;
In His mighty arms He bears them.

Neither life nor death shall ever
From the Lord His children sever;
Unto them His grace He showeth,
And their sorrows all He knoweth.

Though He giveth or He taketh,
God His children ne’er forsaketh;
His the loving purpose solely
To preserve them pure and holy.

Words by Karolina W. Sandell-Berg
Music: Traditional Swedish Melody

 

“Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Matthew 7:9 – 11

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!
I John 3:1

 

We have all been raised with lullabies. Those comforting melodies that we use to put children to sleep, to drive away bad dreams and to let them know they are loved. That in many ways is what we have in “Children of the Heavenly Father.”

Now in the interest of full disclosure, I come from a strong Swedish heritage, and take great pride in it. And this beloved Swedish hymn is tied to that heritage.

A few years ago, I had the privilege to sing this hymn at my Grandfathers funeral, and in true Swedish tradition, I sang it in the original language. Now in all honesty, I don’t speak Swedish. But that did not take away from the beauty of this traditional Swedish melody. When I combine this beautiful relaxing melody, with the meaningful words (in English of course) I begin to see the real beauty of this piece.

You see, one of the real keys to a powerful piece of music is that the music and the words each, individually, communicate the same message. That is the case with “Children of the Heavenly Father.”

As I said, the melody has the rolling feel of a lullaby seeking to sooth a scared child. In this case, we are those scared children, and we need to be reminded that our peace can be found in our Heavenly Father. As we look at the words we see this message revealed.

We see a Heavenly Father who watches over and protects us. We see a Heavenly Father who provides all that His children need. We see a Heavenly Father who can not be separated from His children and knows all they face.

And so I peacefully come to rest in the final words of this hymn, “His loving purpose solely, to preserve them pure and holy.”

 

 

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