Ruach Breath of Life

David Booth has recently recorded a really special piece for Flamenco guitar. We called it 'Tender Flamenco!'

I recorded this lament to accompany his beautiful guitar piece.

It is inspired in part by the Lord's moving words in Jeremiah 2 and 3, where He looks back to the intimacy He used to enjoy with His people, and mourns how far they have backslidden.

Let's use this moving piece to pray for people who once walked closely with the Lord, but who no longer do.

Heart of my heart,

I planted you as noble vine, a seed of the highest quality.

I remember how you were, radiant in first love.

and I was with you as Friend and Lover, a Mighty Warrior who saves,

taking great delight in you,

and rejoicing over you with singing;”

but now you have turned your back and forgotten Me. (Jer. 2:21; 2-3, Zeph. 3:17)

What fault did you find in Me, and what harm have I done

that would cause you to stray so far from Me,

turning to systems that cannot fail to fail,

and building cisterns that contain no trace of My living word? (Jer. 2:5, 13)

I went to such lengths to bestow great blessings on you –

and if they had been too small, I would have added still more; (2 Sam. 12:8)

but like a thoroughbred turning up its nose,

you sought to beautify your way by the skill of your own hands (Jer. 2:32-33)

and ended up despising all that I have given you.

Will you not pause to reconsider,

and pour out the gratitude

that used to stream from your heart,

lest all that is left be an empty shell

that you seek to fill in a thousand different ways?

I keep a chair reserved at My banquet table here in Heaven

for when you return to your Shepherd and your Guide. (Jer. 3:4)

My hand is stretched out and My Spirit allures, (Hos. 2:14-15)

but I can do no more until you are willing to acknowledge your need

and reach out Your hand once more to receive

the endless blessings that I have always had in store for you. (Jer. 3:13-14)

With politics so much to the fore in people's thinking at this time, I was reminded of this quote by the 17th century Anglican theologian Richard Hooker that ‘He that goes about to persuade a multitude that they are not so well governed as they ought to be, shall never want attentive and favourable hearers.’

Those who promise much by way of better things for society are always likely to be popular, initially anyway, until their ideas are exposed to realities that either prove their value or show them to be wanting.

Each of us know where our heart veers in response to the events and challenges of our time, but may we always bear in mind that the anger of man can never bring about the righteousness of God; and that while hatred of ‘the other side’ can stir up feelings of superiority or contempt, nothing less than the working of God’s Holy Spirit can ever create anything that truly unites.

Since we must always be in search of godly ways of expressing our concern, I thought that reminding ourselves of James Montgomery’s words in his famous Christmas carol would be an unusual but potentially fruitful way to join with the angels in celebrating that Jesus has come into our midst, and that He invites people everywhere to come and worship the One who is with us now, and who will suddenly appear again.

Here’s a reminder of the lyrics:

Angels from the realms of glory

Wing your flight o'er all the earth

Ye who sang creation's story

Now proclaim Messiah's birth

Shepherds in the field abiding

Watching o'er your flocks by night

God with men is now residing

Yonder shines the infant light

Come and worship

Come and worship the Lord, our God

Come and worship the Savior

Worship Christ the newborn King

Saints before the altar bending

Watching long in hope and fear

Suddenly the Lord descending

In His temple shall appear

Come and worship

Come and worship the Lord, our God

Come and worship the Saviour

Worship Christ the newborn King

Come and worship

Come and worship the Lord, our God

Come and worship the Saviour

Worship Christ the newborn King

Jesus, we don't have to wait until Christmas to pray for You to rekindle the love of many to honour and worship You with all their hearts!

It is a great delight to share these three brief 'doodles' that I improvised on the piano with you. After recording them, I sent them to Justin Coldstream, who kindly transcribed them. I then sent them on to James Horsfall, a very talented pianist in Jersey, who shaped, sharpened and played them for us. They are lovely. I sent them to a dozen friends by Whats App, and everyone received clear leadings and impressions as they heard them. Why not put them on a Sound Cloud loop, soak in them for a while and see what moods, emotions, heart cries, people and situations come to mind as you listen!

In these mellifluous recordings of two very brief piece I wrote for the clarinet, Mike Halliday captures for us something of the sense of the burgeoning spring.

Few if any have surpassed Gerard Manley Hopkins’ depiction of the bursting vibrancy and vitality of nature's rejuvenation in spring:

Nothing is so beautiful as Spring –

When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush;

Thrush’s eggs look little low heavens, and thrush

Through the echoing timber does so rinse and wring

The ear, it strikes like lightnings to hear him sing;

The glassy pear tree leaves and blooms, they brush

The descending blue; that blue is all in a rush

With richness; the racing lambs too have fair their fling.

What is all this juice and all this joy?

A strain of the earth’s sweet being in the beginning

In Eden garden. – Have, get, before it cloy,

Before it cloud, Christ, lord, and sour with sinning,

Innocent mind and Mayday in girl and boy,

Most, O maid’s child, thy choice and worthy the winning.

Hopkins crowds his sonnet with such sensory detail that we are transported and our poetic vision magnified to the point where we can see in the diminutive speckled blue eggs of the thrush, nesting low in trees and bushes, a miniature, earthly version of the blue sky that speaks of heaven on earth. With crowning skill He captures something of the purity and innocence that was present in Eden, and reminds us that the Lord still makes all things new. I love the thought that the thrush’s song cleanses the ear wearied by winter as it echoes through the trees!

In case you wondered, Hopkins wrote the word "lord" with a lowercase 'l' ("Christ, lord") not as a mark of disrespect or overfamiliarity, but in order to emphasise an intimate, personal, and immediate connection to Jesus Christ (the maid’s child). It is His presence within the humble, physical, and fleeting nature of spring that bridges the gap between his immensely vivid description of nature and his direct, personal plea to Christ to protect and redeem the innocent minds of children (the "Mayday" girls and boys) before sin snares and sours.

Let us join Hopkins in praying for many to be renewed in spirit, at this time when so much and so many find themselves engulfed in mayhem and destruction, and lift our hearts in praise and gratitude to the Lord for the wonders of His created world – and the wondrous ways by which He renews our life and hope.

As we enter the welcome season of spring in the northern hemisphere, it is precious to pause and notice all the vivid displays and explosions of colour around us, and to pray for a spiritual ‘burgeoning forth’ across the Earth.

This is the time of year above all others when we celebrate the natural world emerging all its glory as it was created to do, breaking forth in its soft, downy abundance. Let’s pause and marvel at the quiet gentleness that is abroad in the whole of Nature: an iridescent playfulness that mirrors and accompanies the urgent need to reproduce and multiply.

With the spring comes the fulsome joy of the dawn chorus as the birds gather in song. Isn’t it a joy to listen to them about their business? It is full of hope and expectation; a great settling and busyness as one generation prepares the way for the next. And Jesus says to us His followers, ‘Look at the birds as they get on with what My Father has made them to get on with. Don’t be afraid, and don’t worry – you are free to do the same!’

This invitation to freedom in Christ feels particularly poignant when we consider how inclined wee can be in the Church to build structures, and to rely on our plans and programmes, sometimes even to the extent of depriving ourselves of experiencing more of the joy of the intimate worship and encounter that flows in the immediacy of the Father’s presence. Let’s be sure to make room for it in our daily lives as well as in our meetings!

As we listen to this second spring piece that Mike recorded for us, let’s pray for the Church in the light of the trusting freedom of the birds, and their selfless preparation for a new generation. May we be like the bird in this picture who is both rejoicing at the coming spring, and yet equipped to meet needs and situations that will call for great resolve and courage. And may the Lord grant our leaders, political and spiritual alike, all they need to sustain them in and through whatever situations we are called upon to face, decide upon and put into action in this and every season.

Where the church is going: Looking beyond the global shaking.

Somewhat along these lines, you may appreciate this far-reaching article by Rodney Woods on nurturing healthy freedom in the Church, at this time when much is being shown to be hollow because insufficiently hallowed. Rodney is the senior minister at City Temple in London: https://freedtolead.substack.com/p/where-the-church-is-going

Father, my Father, I love You by Huw Humphreys

Back in the 1980s, when Robert was organising meetings for students and others, our worship was often led by Huw Humphreys, a talented wordsmith and composer. This is one of his exquisitely powerful and devotional songs. May we minister to Him and fill His heart with joy in all that we do.

Eternal Light - May we be light-bearers for You, Lord! (Part Two) by Ruach Breath of Life

Through the grace of God, the power of His Spirit and the hard work of those who have laboured to make Christ known, the gospel has spead from one community to another all around the world. You and I are invited into the Kingdom of the King of Kings, to honour, love and serve the great King who has passed triumphant through the grave, and before whom all Creation will one day bow. This is our deepest joy and our highest destiny. How can we not love and honour Him with all our hearts, and for His sake surrender everything else – even though many all around us choose to bar their hearts against Him.

Whether we are privileged to be part of a strong fellowship, or more of a lone voice in a sea of unbelief, here is a beautiful song I first heard in Oxfordshire, and that lifts our heart to seek and worship Him.

Having been unable to track the composer down, the piece must remain for the time being ‘Cop con’. I would be grateful to hear from anyone who might have information about it. May this lovely song lift your hearts and keep you focused on the Lord Himself.

Vocals - Megan Topper

Violin - Francis Cummings

Flute - Nicola Gerrard

Cello - Jo Garcia

Keys - Christiane von Albrecht

Guitar - David Booth

In dulci Jubilo by Ruach Breath of Life

Bird song by Ruach Breath of Life