from Him through Him to Him (Romans 11:36)
Gather gather gather
Hearts and hands
Upward lift your countenance
All throughout the land
Gather gather gather
Encourage those in need
Dance with those who sing
Grateful to be freed
Gather gather gather
With exceeding joy
In every place in every space
Welcome the miracle boy
Gather gather gather
Let praises ring
Blessings honor power
To our saving King
If you hear His voice…
Infant Immanuel cooing
Toddler Lamb of God
Saying Abba for the first time
Preschool Prince of Peace
Learning to recite the Torah
School age Alpha and Omega
Singing the Songs of Ascent
Adolescent Wonderful Counselor
Asking powerful questions in the synagogue
Adult Good Shepherd
Messiah
Bread of Life
Redeemer
Praying, blessing, preaching
Today, if you hear the voice of His life
Know it was given for you
With Joy
Know there is nothing
He hasn’t walked through
With Joy!
God sent His son
Word became flesh
And spoke to our softened hearts
The joy of the Lord is
My strength
Everlasting
A crown upon my head
In my shout
In my song
In my suffering
Beside my fear
Fresh
With me when I go
With me when I return
With me in my salvation
In the hills
In the mountains
In the valleys
In the meadows
In the city
In Zion
Holding hands with hope
With the Holy Spirit
With the unity of the church
Shared
Heard far away
With gladness
In the palace
In the works of His hands
In the redeemed
In the newly saved
In the wilderness
In baby movements in the womb
In all the earth
In good news
In THE good news
In the House of God
In dedication
In my heart
In His presence
In comfort and love
In peace in believing
In Jerusalem
Exceeding
In my praise
Nurturing my faith
In the morning
In the evening
Complete
Before my trials
During my trials
After my trials
In worship
To be entered into
To be received
In the resurrection
In the Word
From age to age
With the bridegroom
With the bride
A gift from God
In repentance
In forgiveness
Full
With a joyful heart
I look up
To where my help comes from
With a joyful heart
I speak out
Of where my help comes from
With a joyful heart
I taste beyond
From where my help comes from
My help is from You
Creative keeper
My help is from You
Marvelous protector
My help is from You
Constant defender
With a joyful heart
I clap aloud
My help is from You!
Psalm 121
There we were
What a mess
Trapped in a tempest of wrath
Anger, selfishness, deceit, fear
But God
Here we are
Still a mess
Still tromping through
The wilderness
But a toiling crew
Ambitious for unity
Fearful now only
Of the Living God
Thankful now
For the joy He brings–
Bitter water
Made sweet
Eph. 2:4, Ex. 15
Hands tightly clenched together
With both sorrow and joy inside
Mine to hold
Hands open wide to heaven
Sorrow fades
Joy remains
Joy comes in this
Before it all
And after it all
He loves us
Eternal love
Not by circumstance
Not due to our actions
Just because
He is love
And it naturally flows
To each of us
Joy comes in this
Before it all
And after it all
We can love Him
Eternal love
Not due to circumstance
But because of this action
Sacrifice
He is love
And it supernaturally flows
From us to Him
The other side of peace
Is not always war
It can be Martha like good deeds
She was missing Peace
It can be pharisee like traditions
They were missing Peace
It can be rich ruler like security
He was missing Peace
Peace often comes
The opposite of expected or
The opposite of circumstances
Sometimes it’s obvious
It was sunny and hot
Send a cloud
It was dark and cold
Send some fire
Sometimes it’s not obvious
And it is instead crushing
Unexpected loss
The fact is we never know
What we are truly saved from
So we must practice our faith
Live the truth
Not a truth
Even in the prison of this fallen body
Sitting at the feet of Peace
In an earnest Mary like way
Embracing Jesus and community
In a rejoicing gentile like way
Keeping all of life in perspective
In a destitute child like way
As unto the Lord with thanksgiving
Let’s do the opposite of the expected
Let’s share Peace
Life is at times
A shipwreck in motion
In desperation
Cargo is being tossed overboard
The boat is creaking and groaning
Under the tremendous load
There are leaks
Waves are crashing over the sides
Amid the chaos and uncertainty
You’ve lost sight of land
You’ve lost
Everything
It’s tempting
In times like these
To question future purpose and
The beginning seed
Whose sin brought this storm
Upon you?
Peace and hope
Become an obscure and laughable concept
What can anyone say or do?
Nothing
There is nothing anyone can do
To renew what has been demolished
Only God can heal that kind of pain
Only God can restore
The Job like loss
Only God can take you
Safely to land
With newfound hope
And resilient peace
Faithful Lines 