Ruach Breath of Life

As you let this gentle music that Christiane von Albrecht improvised wash over you, may Jesus, who cares for you so much, Himself steady and inspire you, and the Holy Spirit lead and speak to you as commit yourself afresh to Him.

Fill every part of my heart with praise this day Lord Jesus! I give You especially . . . and . . . and . . .and . . .

We were actually having a few minutes off at one of our recording events at the House of the Open Door when this prayer and reading from Psalm 45 'happened,' and the microphones were still running! It's powerful.

I love how deeply pairing is woven into the natural world. Not just the supposed ‘pairing’ of dock leaves and nettles, but the way in which so many things come in twos, whether for balance, survival, or fundamental physics – from the pairs of eyes, ears, and nostrils the Lord has given us, and which provide stereoscopic vision and directional hearing, to the two kidneys and lungs that provide vital backup should one fail.

There is a God-inbuilt symbiotic mutualism that bonds pairs of distinct species so that they rely on each other for survival—like flowering plants and their specific pollinators, or fungi and algae as they form lichens. Chromosomes likewise exist in pairs (one set from each parent), just as DNA itself forms a double helix using complementary base pairs.

In our own lives, too, we experience the God who not only opens doors for us, but who in His mercy closes others in His love and wisdom. He grants us seasons of intense wrestling – but also times of rich ‘nestling.’ Rest and work, night and day, the pairings are everywhere; each is different, but each has its own role to play, and all are linked.

Pairs are a feature of biblical poetry. The opening verses of Psalm 19 are an example of this ‘parallelism,' pairing the heavens with the skies, and declaration with proclamation; just as day is paired with night, speech with sound, and voices with words.

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of His hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they reveal knowledge.

Without speech or language,

without a sound to be heard,

their voice has gone out into all the earth,

their words to the ends of the world. (Psalm 19:1-4)

in this parallelism, the one half of the pair invites the other; sometimes fulfilling our expectation, and sometimes taking us aback with an unexpected counterpoint. In Him, all things hold together: light and darkness, heights and depths, the truly ginormous and the microscopic.

We have used a similar technique to craft this celebration of the magnificent riches of God’s character and the the riches of the world He has created. The exquisite music is Steve Jones’ arrangement for string quartet of the opening moments of Mahler’s fourth symphony, which is thought to depict a child’s vision of Heaven. One can hear in it a walk through the countryside, in broad views across a lake, or alpine meadows.

Thank you, Grace and Jonathan Lee on violin, Cathie Muncie on viola, and Corinne Frost on cello for helping us to take great delight in the sights and sounds of God’s beautiful world!

God of Heaven’s High Domain,

Who delights to dwell with the lowly;

God of raging, running waters

God of quiet, reflective lake and pool,

God of mountain panorama

and God of darkest valley;

God the first and God the last,

Three in one, and one in Three;

God of nurturing peace,

who stirs and spurs us into action.

God of awesome holiness,

Who leads us with sweet hilarity.

God of might and mystery –

Gentle Shepherd who will not break a bruised reed.

God of narrow, ancient paths:

Who leads us along highly unorthodox trails;

God of utmost joy and ecstasy:

God of war and Man of Sorrows;

God who crafted our intricate inmost being,

tune our ears to catch the nearness of Your presence and the nowness of Your Word.

Let our hearts beat in time and tune with Yours.

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. (Rev. 22:1-2)

Enjoy the lapping waters of the River Vltava, (‘Wild Water,’ in Czech but which is widely known by its German name, the Moldau). This music by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana is iridiscent with love for his homeland, and beautifully captures the sound of the river as it gathers strength and momentum from its source in the Bohemian mountains, and wends its way through a landscape of forests and meadows before tumbling through the St John’s Rapids, and then before widening out again to pass through Prague on its way to the mighty River Elbe.

This joyous piece reminds us of how the Holy Spirit illumines our lives with the prospect of our eternal home as He flows through our lives. How we need His water of life sparkling within us! At the scent of water, even that which is drooping and failing springs back to life. As the prophet Isaiah asks, 'Why spend our money and direct all our labour to that which cannot satisfy', when He invites us to receive so much more by His Spirit?

See how the Spirit leads you as you listen . . .

Moldau from Má Vlast (My Fatherland) is exquisitely performed for us here by Fontane Liang.

Joysprings for piano - Ozoned by Ruach Breath of Life

..... it was a deep heartfelt yearning for God - for He whom my soul loves..... a longing for Him as vital as the air that I breathe.....

In Your hands You hold all things

And You hold me fast.

You are my Shield and my Defender

You are my Lord over all

You are the One Who knows the end from the beginning

And You hold me fast.

Number13 Ebb and flow by Ruach Breath of Life

Beyond the noise: Poignant moments of prayer and reflection for the nation with Mozart

Beyond the hype and excitement of the Makerfield by election yesterday, which featured a win by a man who studiously avoided referencing the name of the party he was representing, and who began his acceptance speech by claiming that ‘politics is broken in this country,’ it will be good to specifically dedicate Andy Burnham’s time as an MP (and very probably as PM) to the Lord.

With so much being up in the air for the nations at this troubled time, it is lovely to share this extract from one of Mozart’s most beautiful pieces: the slow movement from his 27th piano concerto, which Jo Foote and Christiane von Albrecht recorded for us in a special arrangement for two pianos.

The music embraces both gravity and hope, and takes us to poignant emotional depths, so that, at both a political and a spiritual level, it cuts through the constant noise of the news cycle, offering us instead an opportunity to still our souls and give ourselves - and our nation - once again to the Lord.

Why not take some time to pray for wisdom for our leaders, and for all in positions of responsibility, for the Lord to overrule, lead and beautify. Why not find a quiet space to listen, perhaps even put on headphones to make the most of this "moment of prayer" reflection?

Concerning the times and the seasons . . . you know perfectly that the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labour pains upon a pregnant woman. (1 Thess, 5:1-3)

This intensely powerful piece by David Booth permits us for just a very few minutes to share in something of the intense alarm and shock that war brings. Central to this remarkable piece is time, as beaten out by minutes and seconds in an emphasised way. Suddenly the warning sirens sounds, and all becomes confusion and cacophony as destruction is visited on the nation, Bells continue to sound throughout the piece, while the drumbeat of war continues relentlessly on every hand.

It would be natural and appropriate to apply this piece to Ukraine. Quite apart from the immense physical damage the unrelenting air raids on its cities have caused the degree of psychological distress they have unleashed exceeds anything one can imagine. The trauma will take those caught up in this maelstrom years recover from.

But David had a broader vision even than the war in Ukraine as he prepared this remarkable piece - not least a deep concern for our own nation. The Westminster chimes symbolise home life being disturbed by the sirens; with the trumpet at the end sounding a military call.

The clock continues its unabated beat, symbolic of life continuing in amongst the alarms, and the piece concludes with the sound of marching men: a reminder that though the long years of peace have been our familiar friend, the unwelcome sirens can sound at any time for any nation. The greed and cruelty of human rulers know no boundaries or limits.

Again and again the Bible looks forward to a reign of peace when the Lord Jesus returns to Earth; but first the world must pass through many painful birth pangs. May the Lord direct and lead you in prayer as you experience the power of this piece.