All Those Who Wait Upon the Lord

Posted on February 18, 2026 by Roger E. Bruner

NOTE: Many apologies for my failure to post anything last Wednesday. My wife and I were flying to Memphis to celebrate her mom’s 100th birthday and I didn’t have my laptop with me.

I can’t believe I never posted this song before, but it’s definitely one of my oldest ones and still my favorite.

On August 18, 1976 my wife of that time, Debbie, gave birth to our first and only baby. In spite of a normal delivery, Beth died unexpectedly three days later of what turned out to have been an abnormally formed heart. We were distraught. A short time later I heard about a well-known minister who found comfort in Isaiah 40:31 following the death of his daughter. That verse

“…those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint”

brought us comfort, too, and led me to put it into song.

All those who wait upon the Lord
Shall have their strength renewed.
They will walk and not get weary
And run, but not run down.

Yes, they’ll walk and not get weary
And they’ll run but not run down.
They’ll walk and not get weary
And they’ll run, but not run down.

And they’ll rise up on wings like eagles
And fly, they will fly, they will fly.
They’ll fly, yes, they’ll fly, yes, they’ll fly.
They’ll fly, how they’ll fly, how they’ll fly.

They will fly.

If you’re interested in learning more about our experience, feel free to read my personal essay Memorial to Time.

On a more humorous note, I was attending a writers conference many years after that. Lynn DeShazo, the composer of numerous Christian songs (“More Precious than Silver” is one of them), was the worship leader. I asked if I could share a song with her after the session one day. Although she was reluctant to let me use her nice Taylor guitar, she relented and I sang this song for her. When I asked what she thought, she seemed hesitant to answer. But then with whatever else she said, she told me that the “run, but not run down” reminded her of the Energizer bunny. I certainly hadn’t knowingly borrowed from the Energizer ad, but I am still apt to think of it and smile whenever I sing this song now.

You may listen to “All Those Who Wait Upon the Lord” here. The lead sheet is available here.

Hopefully, the front/back cover image of The Elder (the next to the most recent of my novels) shows up below. Beneath that is a postcard graphic showing all twenty-four of my novels.

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A Special Brand-New Sun

Posted on February 4, 2026 by Roger E. Bruner

Okay, I realize the celebration of Christmas is officially over, but I haven’t stopped singing my two Christmas songs around the house. This song is one of them. I didn’t have a recording before, but I do now and wanted to share it with you. One that I hope captures the beauty and meaning of the lyrics.

I’ve always found the Christmas star to be fascinating. I’ve seen and heard a number of explanations about who the “wise men” were, where they came from, and the nature of the star they followed. They weren’t the only ones. The shepherds in the field also followed the star after the angels appeared to them and told them how to find newborn baby Jesus.

I prefer to think of the star as simply a God-created phenomenon. Just as the miraculous conception and birth of Jesus. As God’s Son, He became a special Sun for us.

Here are the lyrics…

Long years ago He made a wondrous star to shine
On a world so lost in death and darkness,
Yet still it leads to a manger bed of hope.
Yet still it leads to a manger bed of hope.

The Lord is so merciful and tender.
He made His precious Only Son to rise and shine
On a world lost in death and darkness
And guide our footsteps in His path of peace.
And guide our footsteps in His path of peace.

The Lord is so loving and so caring,
He sent His Only Son to die so we can live.
He leads us through the darkest of our valleys
And points the way to the light at Heaven’s gates.
He points the way to the light at Heaven’s gates.

You may listen here. The PDF of the lead sheet has been updated to include all three stanzas. Find it here.

So, let me wish you a belated Merry Christmas and a New Year that’s even better than last year.

By the way, I’m also the author of twenty-four Christian novels, which are depicted on the graphic below. The Angel on the Hill is the newest one, and the QR code will take you to my Amazon Author page.

Blessed regards,

Roger

If the front/back cover image of DOXXI NO-MORE doesn’t display here, click the link if there is one. I’m having to relearn how to do things in WordPress.

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God Loves the World So Much (revised)

Posted on January 28, 2026 by Roger E. Bruner

My previous post of this song is still available, but I have rewritten and added to it.

God loves the world so much
That He gave His only Son
So all who believe in Him
Will not die,
But have life everlasting.
Yes, God loves the world so much
That He gave His only Son.

All who believe in God’s Son
Are not condemned;
They live in His light.
But those who reject His Son
Are already condemned,
For they’re mired in darkness and sin
Without the light of God’s way.

God did not send His Son
To condemn the world,
But that the world through Him
Might be saved.
Yes, God loves the world so much
That He gave His only Son.

“God Loves the World So Much” was the second song I ever wrote–sometime in the latter 1960s. The original lyrics are based on John 3:16, Bible verses familiar to every Christian and undoubtedly our most beloved Scripture:

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

In 2000 the summer staff at what was then Ridgecrest Baptist Assembly presented a musical drama I had written. It contained a choral arrangement, which you may listen to here.

In 2014 I added another stanza to the single original stanza. It was based on John 3:17:

17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but to save the world through him.

You can listen to an audio recording of that newer version here.

In 2024 I added what I intended to be the third stanza, based on John 3:18. 

18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not
believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the
name of God’s one and only Son

The more I thought about it, however, the more convinced I was to make that the second stanza, even though that puts it out of biblical verse order. You may listen to the current version here.

As I always do when writing songs based on Scripture, I reword them my own way, making every effort to remain true to the intent of the original. However, one choice I consciously made with this song was to say “God loves”–present tense–in the first stanza rather than “God loved.”

While God sent Jesus in human form only once, His love is past, present, and future. Hence He “loves” the world.

Non-Christians often question how a loving God can “condemn the world.” That’s the result of sin. God wanted human beings to have free will, for He couldn’t make us love Him. That wouldn’t be love. But that gave us the freedom to sin and every one of us does. Nobody is “good enough” without Jesus’ sacrifice to meet God’s standards.

A free lead sheet is available here.

I’ll be back again next Wednesday. Please join me then. Better still, sign up to receive these weekly posts by email.

Depicted below is my most recent novel. Look for it on Amazon here or go to my Amazon Author page using the QR code on the postcard image of all twenty-four book covers below. The only one I didn’t design myself was done by Ken Raney, a Christmas present from my family.

Best regards,
Roger

The Angel Hill – full cover v6Download
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I Cannot Stop Singing

Posted on January 21, 2026 by Roger E. Bruner

I’m back! No, nothing was wrong with me. Not physically, anyhow. I stopped posting for a while because I hadn’t written any new songs and was only re-posting previous posts. I have several new ones now. “I Cannot Stop Singing” is the newest. I can’t promise to post every Wednesday, but I’ll try to.

I will sing of God’s LOVE every morning.
And I’ll sing of His PRESENCE all day long.
I will sing of His FAITHFULNESS each evening
And praise Him for His AWESOMENESS.
Yes, I’ll praise Him for His AWESOMENESS. refrain

I cannot stop singing about the Lord
And everything He is to me.
I cannot stop singing about the Lord.
His promises never fail.

I will sing of God’s GRACE every morning.
And I’ll sing of His MERCY all day long.
I will sing of His RIGHTEOUSNESS each evening
And praise Him for His AWESOMENESS.
Yes, I’ll praise Him for His AWESOMENESS. (refrain)

I will sing of God’s STRENGTH every morning.
And I’ll sing of His GUIDANCE all day long.
I will sing of His CONSTANT CARE each evening
And praise Him for His AWESOMENESS.
Yes, I’ll praise Him for His AWESOMENESS. (refrain)

I will sing of God’s JOY every morning.
And I’ll sing of His BLESSINGS all day long.
I will sing of His PERFECT PEACE each evening
And praise Him for His AWESOMENESS.
Yes, I’ll praise Him for His AWESOMENESS. (refrain)

I purposely upper cased words and phrases to make it easier for me to follow the lyrics. You may have noticed that the keywords in each stanza progress from one word or syllable to two and then to three.

I was inspired by Psalm 59: 16:

But I will sing of your strength,
    in the morning I will sing of your love;
for you are my fortress,
    my refuge in times of trouble.

and 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17:

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually

You may find a free lead sheet at

https://rogerbruner.com/pdf/I%20Cannot%20Stop%20Singing.pdf

It took two or three weeks to refine the lyrics and the melody even after I got started. I found it interesting to switch between C or G and G7 to match notes in the song. Not the normal G7 played on the first fret of the first string (an F note), but playing an F on the 3rd fret of the 4th string. That’s a lot of jumping back and forth at times.

I’ve spent several hours trying to record this song so you can hear how I do it, but I only had time for a vanilla version with voice and guitar. Somehow the light percussion I had been playing with got mixed in; the big problem was trying to play the drum machine while holding the cord a certain way to keep it from shorting out while I was recording. Kindly ignore any percussion that doesn’t make sense.

Anyhow, you may listen to it here: http://www.rogerbruner.com/tascam/I%20Cannot%20Stop%20Singing%20-%20VG.mp3

I’ve been teaching myself to play a uke — nothing fancy, just basic chords and strumming. And this song turned out to be a really good one to play that way. In fact, I would say the uke helped in developing the song.

Watch videos of some of my songs at https://www.youtube.com/@rogerbruner9714

I’m still writing novels, too. I’m going to change the tagline at the top of the following graphic because I’m afraid “quirky” probably doesn’t mean the same thing to every reader. My intended meaning is “How in the world did he come up with that story idea?”

Postcard Twenty-four Books – 4×6Download
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The Koala Song

Posted on May 15, 2024 by Roger E. Bruner

[This is the only recording of The Koala Song.]

A koala eats certain gum tree leaves,
And it always eats the kind it knows it needs.
A Believer feeds on the Word of God
And knows no other bread will do.

About This Song:
t-Roger 10-19-2023
I’ve been to Australia seven or eight times  and consider it my second home. On each of those trips I visited an animal park where I was able to pet a koala and have my picture taken doing it.

Fascinating creatures.

Even though they look lethargic most of the time, I was once able to take  video footage of a koala running on the ground and of another jumping from branch to branch. Without the video, I wouldn’t believe it. They must be pretty healthy animals.

I may be wrong about this fact–the one I based “The Koala Song” on–but my understanding is that koalas are very picky about what they eat. Not only do they just eat gum tree (eucalyptus) leaves, but only certain kinds. They seem to have an instinct for knowing which ones are right for them–which ones are healthful.

As children of God, we know we should restrict our diets to certain kinds of influences. Some movies, TV shows, and books and periodicals are unhealthy for us as Christians. Better that we steer clear of them and feed on the Bible, the Bread of Life. That’s even healthier than feeding on books about the Bible.

I write Christian novels as well as songs. The two most recent ones are shown below and their pictures are links to the Amazon pages. The eighteen-book picture is a link to my Amazon Author Page.

I write Christian novels as well as songs. The two most recent ones are shown below and their pictures are links to the Amazon pages. The eighteen-book picture is a link to my Amazon Author Page.

I’ll be back again next Wednesday. Please join me then. Better still, sign up to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

        

Eighteen Novel 4x6 Postcard

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Links you might be interested in:

        

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Like Waiting for Spring Rains

Posted on May 1, 2024 by Roger E. Bruner

[I recorded this old song for you. Listen here. A free PDF lead sheet is here. It’s in the key of D, but the chords for C are listed above the D chords.]

Be patient, my brothers, as you wait for the Lord.
Be patient, my sisters, but keep your hopes high.
Like a farmer who’s waiting or the spring rains to fall,
Be patient, my children; the Lord will come soon.

About This Song:
I don’t get to take credit for the simile this song uses. It comes directly from James 5:7-8…

7 Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. 8 You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. (NIV)

If you’re like many other Christians, you look at how messed up the world is now and are convinced that Jesus will have to come again soon. How can the world continue to exist in such a sin-sorry state?

While that makes sense, I suspect people in Jesus’ day couldn’t imagine their world getting any worse, either.

So I have to accept Jesus’ statement that only God the Father knows the date and time of His return. In the meantime, His children need to continue going about the Father’s business–sowing the seeds of His Good News so that as any people as possible will be saved.

I write Christian novels as well as songs. The two most recent ones are shown below and their pictures are links to the Amazon pages. The eighteen-book picture is a link to my Amazon Author Page.

I’ll be back again next Wednesday. Please join me then. Better still, sign up to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

        

Eighteen Novel 4x6 Postcard

Links you might be interested in:

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Then Dawned Sunday

Posted on April 26, 2024 by Roger E. Bruner

(Because of the importance of Easter in the Christian calendar, I am posting this song again this year. I’m including a link for a recording and one for the PDF of a free lead sheet as well. Note that there are a few minor discrepancies in the lyrics.)

Then dawned Sunday, the first day of the week,
When into the garden silently came
Troubled women to anoint the body of the Lord,
Who–Friday on a cross–had been slain.

These women had endured his trial; these women watched him die.
They wept as they saw his body torn by pain.
But they never stopped to think–they never realized–
That what he had told them was true:
That they’d see him in the flesh, alive again.

These women approached the tomb in the stillness of the dawn,
When they saw that the rock was gone from the door.
“Fear not,” an angel said, “the one you seek is not dead,
But has risen and lives today;
Go to Galilee; there you’ll see the resurrected Lord.”

Then dawned Sunday, the first day of the week,
When out from the garden joyously ran
Shouting women to proclaim that one who had been slain
Had lived, died, and arisen as God and man.

About this Song:
Roger-2021
For the Christian, every day is Easter. Rather than coming out of the tomb after being dead three days, however, Jesus wants to come alive through us.

This is one of my oldest songs–thirty to forty years. I used rhymes a lot in the early days of my song writing; although I seldom bother with them now, look at “Days, Hours, Moments” here to see a drastic exception.

This song also better reflects the folk sound that has played such an important part in my guitar playing and song writing than many of my more recent songs.

Because the Gospels differ in their details about Resurrection Morning, I had to make three decisions: Would one woman go to the tomb initially or several? And would there be one angel at the tomb or two? And would the angel tell the women about going to Galilee to see the risen Lord?

I don’t consider the differences between the biblical accounts to be significant; two truthful witnesses may see or experience the same event personally and still describe the details differently. If you doubt that, ask someone who’s close to you to relay something that happened to both of you and see if you don’t start correcting one another almost immediately.

One thing I didn’t like about the original lyrics was I had the angel saying Jesus’s “spirit will live with you evermore” as the last line in the third stanza. I’d done that to make a rhyme, but–unfortunately–that’s not what the angel told the women.

Jesus appeared to His disciples later. When He breathed on them, He said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” But that had nothing to do with what the angel had said.

Poetic license is one thing, but purposely misquoting the Bible is something else. For years I wanted to rewrite that line, but the change was slow in coming. I was limited by the fact that the last word had to rhyme with “door.”

A few years ago the line shown in the lyrics above came to mind after I’d already settled on a different new line. I don’t think most people will even notice that it uses a “false” rhyme (door/Lord).

Although this song still doesn’t include everything the angel says, at least it’s biblically correct now. I hope you’ll find this recording to be a blessing.

I hope you had a blessed Easter.

I write Christian novels as well as songs. The two most recent ones are shown below and their pictures are links to the Amazon pages. The eighteen-book picture is a link to my Amazon Author Page.

I’ll be back again next Wednesday. Please join me then. Better still, sign up to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

        

Eighteen Novel 4x6 Postcard

Links you might be interested in:

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Our King, Triumphant

Posted on March 27, 2024 by Roger E. Bruner

(NOTE: Because Easter is the most important time in the Christian calendar, I’m posting this Palm Sunday song again this year. I’m enclosing a link to a recording here. Here’s a free PDF of the lead sheet.)

Come listen, friends and strangers, too;
You’ll never guess what’s happening.
That Jesus fellow’s coming into town.

You know just the one I mean;
He resurrected Lazarus.
That very man is riding up the street.

The crowds are so excited now;
They think he’s our Messiah.
Let’s go and see this new king for ourselves.

You know what the Scriptures say:
There’s nothing to be scared of.
Our king will come upon a donkey’s colt.

The cheers are getting closer now;
Let’s gather up palm branches
And praise the Lord for sending us a king.

Something tells me such a day
Will never be forgotten:
Our King Triumphant, riding into town!

About This Song:
t-Roger 10-19-2023
In 1993 when I was still working at the International Mission Board (IMB) of the Southern Baptist Convention, I was asked if I wanted to share an Easter song at the IMB’s pre-Easter chapel service.

Since I was eager to share my music anywhere I could, I jumped at the invitation and began working on a new song. Although I recorded an accompaniment to use with it–regrettably, it wasn’t as good as the ones I’m able to record now–the song was well received. (Here’s a fairly recent recording. The lead sheet is available here.)

The song is based on John 12: 9-15…

9 Then a large crowd of the Jews learned He was there. They came not only because of Jesus, but also to see Lazarus the one He had raised from the dead. 10 Therefore the chief priests decided to kill Lazarus also 11 because he was the reason many of the Jews were deserting them[a] and believing in Jesus.
12 The next day, when the large crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13 they took palm branches and went out to meet Him. They kept shouting: “Hosanna! He who comes in the name of the Lord is the blessed One[b]—the King of Israel!”
14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written: 15 Fear no more, Daughter Zion. Look, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt.[c

It also makes reference to Zechariah 9: 9…

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

The prophet Isaiah had said, “And when he comes, he will open the eyes of the blind and unplug the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer, and those who cannot speak will sing for joy!”

And Jesus Himself said, “Go back to John and tell him what you have heard and seen—the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” 

Then, in raising Lazarus from the dead, He fulfilled the final sign of the long-expected Messiah.

Is it any wonder that His riding into Jerusalem on the colt of a donkey inspired the crowds to believe He was their long-expected Messiah? Surely He would deliver them from the heavy and odious hand of Roman rule.

If we had been there in the crowd, would we have thought the same thing? Or would we have realized what we know now: that Jesus was a different kind of Messiah? He was the perfect sacrificial lamb who was going to die to forgive our sins and give us eternal life.

I write Christian novels as well as songs. The two most recent ones are shown below and their pictures are links to the Amazon pages. The eighteen-book picture is a link to my Amazon Author Page.

I’ll be back again next Wednesday. Please join me then. Better still, sign up to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

        

Eighteen Novel 4x6 Postcard

Links you might be interested in:

Posted in Donkey's Colt, Easter, Jerusalem, King, Palm Branches, Palm Sunday, Triumphal Entry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

In the Lord’s Hands

Posted on February 28, 2024 by Roger E. Bruner

[Listen to this song here. A free PDF lead sheet is available here.]

If you race against men
And the running wears you out,
Then how can you compete
Against swift horses?

If you always trip and fall
On a a path that’s straight and sure,
Then how can you hope to climb
The steepest mountains?

Who can hope to weigh the mountains
With a bathroom scale?
Who can hope to measure the oceans
With a coffee cup?

There are things we can’t do;
There are things we cannot change.
But everything in this whole world
Is in God’s hands.

Everything in this whole world
Is in God’s hands.

About This Song:
During the nearly nineteen years I worked at the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, I heard inspiring presentations from a number of people–fellow staff members, visiting missionaries, and special guests like Beth Moore and Ray Boltz. Today’s song was inspired by staff member Jimmy Maroney, who later went overseas as a missionary.

The words are based on two Scripture passages. The first is Jeremiah 12:5:

“If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?”
(NIV)

That passage reminds me that humanity limits us greatly. We have high hopes that we have no chance of fulfilling.

The second is Isaiah 40:12:

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
Or weighed the mountains on the scales
And the hills in a balance?
(NIV)

God’s works of creation are miraculous. How can we ever understand them? How can we even weigh or measure them using our human limitations?

My limitations aren’t terribly important, however. Not as long as the world and everything in it is truly “in the Lord’s hands.”

Note: I forget what translation of the Bible I was using at the time, but the references to “coffee cup” and “bathroom scales” are not original.

I write Christian novels as well as songs. The two most recent ones are shown below and their pictures are links to the Amazon pages. The eighteen-book picture is a link to my Amazon Author Page.

I’ll be back again next Wednesday. Please join me then. Better still, sign up to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

        

Eighteen Novel 4x6 Postcard

Links you might be interested in:

Posted in Climbing, Coffee Cup, Dependability, Dependence, Falling, Horses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Jimmy Maroney, Racing, Running, Scales | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Come Walk with Me

Posted on February 21, 2024 by Roger E. Bruner

[You may listen to this song here. The free PDF lead sheet is here.]

“Come walk  with me,” said Jesus Christ.
I stepped up to His side.
We shared our thoughts and feelings
As we went along our way.
“Don’t be discouraged,” Jesus said,
“When the path veers out of sight,
For every step you take with me
Leads towards my Father’s feast.”

“Come fish with me,” Christ Jesus said.
I stepped into the boat.
We cast the nets on either side
And rowed across the lake.
“Don’t be discouraged,” Jesus said,
“That the fish seem few and small,
For every fish we catch today
Will be used for a feast.”

“Come fish for men,” said Jesus Christ.
I stepped outside my door.
We offered words and deeds of love
As we moved through the crowd.
“Don’t be discouraged,” Jesus said,
“That so few respond today.
Each person you lead to my door
Will share my Father’s feast.
Will share my Father’s feast.”

About This Song:
t-Roger 10-19-2023
Jesus lived in a fishing community. No wonder many of his disciples were fishermen before He called them into His service. Or that He said He would teach them to become fishers of men.

The Bible tells several fascinating stories about Jesus’ experiences with fishing. Like the time–under Jesus’ direction–the disciples caught a fish with a coin in its mouth. Worth the exact amount they owed as the Temple tax.

And the time His disciples had been fishing all night without success. He told them to try again, but to cast their nets in the opposite direction. They made such a haul it threatened to break their nets.

Jesus calls us as Christians to be fishers of men. I don’t know about you, but I often question how good a fisherman I am.

I wrote this song to encourage myself and others that God may not intend for each of us to bring in the multitudes the way Billy Graham did for so many years. Yet each person we “catch” is important. Every individual counts.

That’s why the Bible says the angels in heaven rejoice each time an unsaved person is brought into God’s family.

I write Christian novels as well as songs. The two most recent ones are shown below and their pictures are links to the Amazon pages. The eighteen-book picture is a link to my Amazon Author Page.

I’ll be back again next Wednesday. Please join me then. Better still, sign up to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

        

Eighteen Novel 4x6 Postcard

Links you might be interested in:

Posted in Disciples, Feast, Fellowship, Fish, Fishing For Men, Walking with Jesus | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment