Ruach Breath of Life

Some years ago, I was inspired to craft a poem to celebrate the Lord Jesus Christ, that drew on two very different sources. The first is Robbie Burns' much-loved poem 'A Man's a Man for a' That', which dates back to the very end of the 18th century, and affirms that a person's character is of far greater worth than any aristocratic title or wealth. It was considered semi-revolutionary in its day for poking fun at arrogant aristocratic ways, but which looks forward to a day when all men can be brothers across the world.

The second source draws on much older material again. Back in the seventh century, a farmhand called Caedmon was inspired to sing of Heaven’s Kingdom, declaring that the Eternal Lord, the Guardian of Mankind, established Heaven as a roof for the children of men, and then created middle earth, appointing specific lands for different people. This inspired songster urged us to 'praise the keeper of Heaven’s Kingdom, the might of the Creator and His purposes, the work of the Father of glory.'

Here are glorious declarations that in no way need to be confined to a Burns' nights, but which ring out loud and clear the invitation to devote ourselves not to some earthly cause or ruler, but to following the true Saviour of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ where and however He leads us.

To discover more of how Caedmon came to write this piece, and why it is so precious and important to ponder how we can combine and apply the power of music and anointed words, please see https://ruachministries.co.uk/eternal-pageant-heavens-kingdom-and-the-power-of-music/ and also this section from The Still Small Voice: https://ruachministries.co.uk/the-still-small-voice-heavenly-music/

Thank you so much Megan for singing it so beautifully, and for the musicians joining you in this all-but-unrehearsed recording.  

+

Now we must honour Heaven’s King,

His power and His purpose,

The handiwork of Glory’s might,

Establishing His wonders.

And under Heaven’s roof

He made The Sons of God, His glory;

The Guardian of mankind, and Lord,

The Father of Creation.

When Jesus came by Galilee

He lifted hearts and minds

Of humble folk who turned to Him

While others passed Him by:

He spread His kingdom near and far,

The healer o’ men’s souls.

No heeder He of human rank

But man his goal and gold.

And though on homely fare He dined

He feasts at Heaven’s banquet

As King of Kings He’s far above

the tinsel show and all that.

Though bruised by men and put to death,

He’s King of Kings for all that,

And soon He’ll come back for His own

And claim His world for freedom.

He princes makes of high and low,

The ruler and the cowman,

The poor and simple, lost and lone

Are made His sons and daughters.

So sing this song that tells the tale

of how He fashions all things.

And knee and tongue the whole world o’er

Shall worship at His feet.

Now see the pageant through the years

of those who follow Jesus,

the Lamb the centre of the throne

with thousands milling round

The Prince of Peace and Lord of Lords

with crowned head and radiance

No room in here for haughty stare:

He looks and laughs at all that.

The Heaven’s opened, and behold

A white horse passing by

It's rider’s name, The Faithful One

Who wages war for peace.

And from His mouth a sharpened sword

To strike the scoffing nations

His eyes like burning flames of fire,

And crowned with many crowns.

Then let us pray His Kingdom come

as come it will right soon

when Love Himself will be the King

His throne room in our hearts.

The singing choirs salute the sight

As He returns to Earth

And we shall see Him as He is,

The King and Saviour true.

I am the Lord your God

who takes hold of your right hand

and says to you, Do not fear:

I will help you.

After Laurie Klein recited soothing and reassuring words from Psalms 62 and 63 and Isaiah 41:3, the musicians struck up brief but moving improvisations, in this live recording from the Symphony of Worship Conference in Malvern in 2000.

As the first of these improvisations unfold, this is an opportunity to let the Spirit of the Lord wash over you with His rest. When the second one draws to a close, however, you may wish to stay in a spirit of prayer for some time afterwards, and see how the Lord leads, and what comes to mind.

Lord Jesus, thank You for the deep soothing rest that You give us. How can we ever thank You enough for all the help that You give, and the interventions that You send? We drink in Your presence now Lord, and ask You to be with every single person, place or situation that comes to mind, and that we lift to You now.

Charpentier by Ruach Breath of Life

If we handle it wrongly, Patmos can be a time when we endlessly berate ourselves. If only I hadn't done this. If only the other thing hadn't happened, then this would never have happened. And we get locked into the past.

Just imagine if you're walking along, looking over your shoulder, the whole time. At the very best it'll slow you down and give you a stiff neck. At worst you'll end up bumping into lampposts.

Now it isn’t always easy to know when something is a genuine distraction that needs to be resisted as opposed to one of God's significant interruptions.

When Jesus set out to respond to Jairus's impassioned appeal to come and heal his dying daughter, a woman who had suffered bleeding for 12 years thrust herself forward and touched the edge of his cloak. If Jesus was anything like us, he might have been inclined to think, "Well, she's had that condition for 12 years. Can't it wait a few hours? I'm on an important mission." But he dealt with the interruption with compassion and as we all know healed the woman and then raised the little girl from the dead.

May the Lord help us to know whether we are in a Patmos situation that we need to pray ourselves out of or whether this is actually God coming in disguise.

Don't dwell too long on questions that you just simply can't get answers for. Don't allow house room for the but what ifs and the if onlys. Because those dreary refrains can just take over the depths of our heart.

It's a matter of taking every thought captive.

As I listened to this powerful piece of music by my first music teacher, Philip Spratley, it seems a poignantly perfect backcloth to help us pray heartfelt prayers for Ukraine at this time when it is under such intense pressure in so many directions.

Please do take time out to sit in the Lord's presence, and to pour your heart out to Him and see how He leads you.

The people of Ukraine need the Lord's help so badly.

We have recorded many other prayer offerings to help us remember and pray for Ukraine.

https://on.soundcloud.com/1c50pK1BRbt8rLY87H

Many of you will be familiar with the hymn 'Blessed be the tie', a very deep affirmation of the strength that comes when believers truly love each other. As so often there is a story behind the words. In the mid-eighteenth century, John Fawcett was a young Baptist preacher in poverty-stricken Wainsgate near Hebden Bridge in Yorkshire, when he received an invitation to come to a large and influential church in London.

On the day of departure, with his family’s possessions loaded onto a waggon, the distraught congregation begged him to stay – and he did, passing over the opportunity to minister in more affluent surroundings. In a remarkable demonstration of how precious these godly ties were, he remained faithfully ministering there for the rest of his life.

May we draw fresh inspiration from the words he penned concerning the strength of our own relationships. As you will hear, I have written my own words to the tune, but with an occasional reference to the powerful original words of the hymn:

God of hope and Lord of life,

dearest lover of my soul

You alone so worthy,

You alone so dear.

this is my ardent prayer:

Jesus, make me evermore like You.

No one else can fill my heart,

no other passion satisfy;

I am captured by Your beauty,

and blessed by the tie that binds our hearts as one.

Spirit-strong and Spirit-sure,

Spirit-fired and Spirit-led,

let all I am bow to serve and worship You.

There is no splendour compared to knowing You,

No lasting glory but Yours alone

I yield my life to worship You

Close companion, Shield, Defender,

You confer such care on me.

You reveal Yourself, dear Jesus,

in speaking moments deep within my soul,

that leave me trembling in awe and adoration,

longing just to fill Your heart with joy.

One thing I ask of You,

One thing I desire:

That you would open my eyes to see You in Your splendour,

I want to gaze on Your beauty all the days of my life,

and so become more like You, my Lord.

Justin Coldstream wrote this musical arrangement for us, weaving in the theme of a popular folk song from Languedoc, (La Langue d’Oc), in the south of France. I had wondered if it might be possible to blend the two together, and he found a way to do it!

Sue Harris reads the words I have written, and was joined by Thomas, Susanne and Julia Herzog, Ann Seifer, Alex Koderisch, Gabriele Kröhnert and Peter and Shirley Richards in this recent recording.

These are the original words of the hymn:

Blest be the tie that binds

our hearts in Christian love;

the fellowship of kindred minds

is like to that above.

2 Before our Father's throne

we pour our ardent prayers;

our fears, our hopes, our aims are one,

our comforts and our cares.

3 We share our mutual woes,

our mutual burdens bear,

and often for each other flows

the sympathizing tear.

4 When we are called to part,

it gives us inward pain;

but we shall still be joined in heart,

and hope to meet again.

5 This glorious hope revives

our courage by the way;

while each in expectation lives

and waits to see the day.

6 From sorrow, toil, and pain,

and sin, we shall be free;

and perfect love and friendship reign

through all eternity.

No matter how experienced we may be in terms of prayer and ministry, it is always a great source of joy when God moves in unmistakable ways. There is nothing quite like the sense of awe and astonishment we get when He comes in His beauty!

Last Sunday, I was due to give a talk at church based around 2 Corinthians 10. I had worked hard to prepare it and focused particularly on the theme of demolishing strongholds. I also invited Sally Mowbray to come and lead the worship from the piano.

The very moment Sally started playing, we became aware of a deep sense of the Lord’s presence, and a great freedom in the Spirit. We had planned three songs before the talk, but no one wanted to stop worshipping. I couldn't help wondering whether starting my talk would bring us back down to earth rather than allowing us to stay in this precious place before the throne of God.

I had asked a few friends to pray for the meeting, and couple of them had messaged me beforehand to say that the Lord wanted me to speak from the heart. And that is just what happened! Instead of the somewhat formal talk I had prepared, I began to call on the Lord in an extended and impromptu prayer that covered many of the themes I had planned to speak on.

I love how God meets with us unexpectedly! Our pastor told me that the Lord touched his knee during the evening, which meant he was able to play football during an outreach evening with local children. It reminded me of how the Lord healed someone of a long-standing ear problem while we were praying against the spread of Islam in this country many years ago. As we seek Him, He ministers to our needs!

Of course, I still have all the notes for the talk I planned to give, and I hope to share them on another occasion. But talks can be read anytime, while the presence of the Lord is of the moment – may you encounter Him today.

I have no one else like-minded who will genuinely care about your interests; all others seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. (Phil. 2:20-21)

As much as these verses express a great commendation of his protégé, Timothy, they are also a sad indictment of others in Paul’s immediate entourage. It can be a distressing realisation to discover that people are more calculating and concerned for their own affairs and business than truly Christ-seeking.

Set to a profound utterance in tongues that the Lord gave Linda Entwistle many years ago, and which is taken from a presentation called From the Depths to the Heights, this is a chance to, reflect, ponder and pray about what it means to put Christ’s interests first.

Inspired by the words 'Your Kingdom come' in the Lord's Prayer, this is a worshipful improvisation that Sally sung, accompanied by David Booth on guitar. It expresses our longing for more of God and His Heavenly Kingdom as we soak in His presence and seek His face - both for ourselves and for the many situations that we bring Him.

Many years ago, at the gates of the nursery that both Ruth and Tim attended, we enjoyed many precious moments of fellowship with a special group of parents. (We are still in touch with them all!) Amongst them was Sue Harris, who I was delighted to invite to record this poem-prayer that celebrates the "sacrament of the present moment": a lovely concept which Jean Pierre Caussade coined as a phrase three hundred years ago.

Sue loves the Lord Jesus dearly, and we have paired her heart-felt recording with the music of one of Bach’s most beautiful Andantes, which Fontane Liang and Julia Herzog played for us on the harp and recorder.

The music feels somewhat delicate and slightly fragile, like a bluebell just lifting its head, and inspires us to dwell on the tenderness of the Lord’s moment-by-moment love for us – and to remind ourselves that no lack of faithfulness on our part, or 'road block' that we face along life’s way can ultimately keep us from His unconditional love, if we will but resolve to reach out to Him.

May this be a piece to which you often find yourself returning, and find in it fresh succour and sweetness in the Lord. It is beautiful.

Jesus, whatever the flavour that seasons this season

You are the same, yesterday, today and forever.

Your table is set, and Your voice is calling:

‘Come and eat and drink with Me.’

As each new day gifts me with fresh occasions to sing Your praise,

Nothing changes the essence of Your unceasing love.

I say, ‘Good morning, Lord,’ and dedicate myself anew,

resolved to live for You. (2 Cor.5:9)

Your love is purer than a lily;

more tender than the fragrance of bluebells on the Malvern Hills;

more far-reaching than the longest radio beam;

more intent than a hunter on its prey.

When the seasons collide in seeming chaos and confusion,

let me fold my heart around this thought and hold it close:

that although the past is the past, it is more than ‘just’ the past;

we lived and shared it together, Lord, so it is no longer only mine but ours.

As for the future, Lord, that is Yours to decree:

I simply pray it may assume a God-given hue.

I commit to You now the one and only thing I can:

the sacrament of this present moment –

this outward sign of an inward grace.