Our Father in Heaven (The Lord’s Prayer)

Posted on February 26, 2020 by Roger E. Bruner

Our Father in Heaven, holy is Your name.
May Your kingdom come, may Your will be done
On earth as it is in Heaven.

Lord, give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive us our wrongs as we forgive.
Lord, turn us back from temptation’s door,
And keep us safe from the Evil One!

Our Father in Heaven, holy is Your name.

About This Song:
The Lord’s Prayer is one of the Scriptures Christians are most familiar with.

But I wonder how often we forget the fact that Jesus used it to teach His disciples how to pray. It was a model for them to use, not one for them–or us–to necessarily use verbatim.

While I think it’s possible to actually pray the Lord’s Prayer rather than simply repeat it by rote, I also think it’s extremely hard to focus on each element of Jesus’ words while trying to pray that way.

That’s one reason I chose to set Jesus’ prayer to music and to rephrase it my own way. Not out of disrespect for Jesus’ words, but because I needed to say it the way I could better pray it.

What about you? Do you pray The Lord’s Prayer as if the words are yours? Or do you get caught up in repeating word after familiar word in a way that’s almost meaningless–or at least impersonal?

Maybe you don’t want to pray the way I’ve reworded this prayer for my song, and that’s fine. But you can dig out the meaning of each section of the prayer–I won’t attempt to get into that here–and express it your own way. And show that you’ve learned something from Jesus’ model prayer.

We don’t see many specific examples of Jesus’ prayers in the Bible, although we see a number of references to His praying. But I’ll bet He didn’t use the model  prayer as a mold from which to copy His prayers.

Free lead sheets (lyrics, tune, and chords) are available for many of my songs. Click on the Lead Sheets tab at the top of this page to see whether one is available for this song. Videos for many of my songs, some recorded at home and some at our church’s nursing home ministry, can be accessed at my website, RogerBruner.com, under the Listen tab.

Look for me again next Wednesday. Better still, subscribe to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

 

Links you might be interested in:

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I Can’t Count Them!

Posted on February 12, 2020 by Roger E. Bruner

In the ocean,
I wonder how many schools of fish there are.
I can’t count them.
In the forest,
I wonder how many different trees there are.
I can’t count them.
In the meadow,
I wonder how many blades of grass there are.
I can’t count them.
In the graveyard,
I wonder how many have died without the Lord.

I can’t count them! I can’t count them.
The numbers are too great.
I can’t count them! I can’t count them.
But Jesus knew and loved each one.

In the desert,
I wonder how many grains of sand there are.
I can’t count them.
In a blizzard,
I wonder how many flakes of snow there are.
I can’t count them.
In the night sky,
I wonder how many flecks of light there are.
I can’t count them.
All around me,
I wonder how many will die without the Lord!

I can’t count them! I can’t count them!
The numbers are too great!
I can’t count them! I can’t count them!
But Jesus knows and loves each one.

About This Song:
When I was still working as a web programmer at the International Mission Board (IMB), one of my assignments was to program a “pop clock.” This wasn’t the kind of clock that tells time, but constantly shows updates of the world population increase, the number of people hearing and believing the gospel, the number of people hearing and not believing the gospel, and people not having an adequate opportunity to hear the gospel–both today and year-to-date.

I worked closely with several of the folks at the IMB who dealt with missions-related statistics. They had numbers for everything!

But those numbers didn’t mean as much to me. I can’t conceive of numerous thousands of people, much less millions and billions.

That doesn’t make the facts any less true, however. In spite of the growth of Christianity, Christians aren’t sharing the gospel fast enough with a lost world.

If you’re a Christian, are you sharing your faith with the people around you–or are you hiding it?

And–if you’re not a Christian–won’t you turn to God today, confess and repent of your sins, and accept Jesus as your Savior and Lord? You’re more than a statistic to God. He loves you more than you can possibly imagine.

Free lead sheets (lyrics, tune, and chords) are available for many of my songs. Click on the Lead Sheets tab at the top of this page to see whether one is available for this song. Videos for many of my songs, some recorded at home and some at our church’s nursing home ministry, can be accessed at my website, RogerBruner.com, under the Listen tab.

Look for me again next Wednesday. Better still, subscribe to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

Links you might be interested in:

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Sharing the Harvest

Posted on February 5, 2020 by Roger E. Bruner

Who will come and share in the harvest?
Who will work the Master’s fields?
Who will join the angels as they’re singing praise
For each soul the Harvest brings in?

Crops are ripe and ready to harvest;
Who will help to work the fields?
Never has there been so much to harvest
Or to lose if the workers are few.

Crops will die if left where they’re standing;
Who will gather them in time?
Smallest loses cannot be afforded,
For the Master planted His Son.

Pray the Master call more workers
That the Harvest be complete.
If He calls you, pray with ready answer,
“Here am I, Lord. Send me.”

About This Song:
Virginia Baptists had a mission partnership with the African country of Tanzania during the latter 1980s, and “Sharing The Harvest” was their theme. While I didn’t get to participate in that partnership, the relevance of the theme really struck me.

“Sharing the Harvest” refers to Matthew 9:37-38…

37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
(NIV)

Also to Isaiah 6:8…
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
(NIV)

And to Luke 15:7…
7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
(NIV)

My former wife and I used to have a vegetable garden. I still remember watching the green beans dying in place because neither of us wanted to go outside in the summer heat and gather them in. What a waste of good food.

But how much worse to let the unsaved people of the world “rot” and go to hell because of our failure to participate in their harvest.

I admit it. I have trouble picturing the billions of people who don’t even know the name of Jesus, much less have a personal relationship with God through faith in His Son. I have a very small circle of influence (except possibly through my Christian novels), and most of the people I know are fellow Believers.

However, I started out years ago committing to pray daily for the spiritual needs of three people I knew or knew about. My daily prayer now includes more than twenty unbelievers, several of whom are family members.

I have virtually no contact with most of the people on my list. Prayer is the MOST I can do to try to assure that they’re included in the Eternal Harvest. I’ve promised God to be faithful in my prayers for these people, even though I’ll probably never find out here on earth whether most of them ever become Christians. I’ll probably never even know whether they’re still alive

Nonetheless, praying for those people is one way I can say, “Here I am. Send me!”

Are you reaching out to nonbelievers–or are you a nonbeliever someone else may be praying for or reaching out to? Either way, I’m praying for you right now as well.

Free lead sheets (lyrics, tune, and chords) are available for many of my songs. Click on the Lead Sheets tab at the top of this page to see whether one is available for this song. Videos for many of my songs, some recorded at home and some at our church’s nursing home ministry, can be accessed at my website, RogerBruner.com, under the Listen tab.

Look for me again next Wednesday. Better still, subscribe to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

Links you might be interested in:

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I Believe It!

Posted on January 22, 2020 by Roger E. Bruner

I believe it with all my heart,
I believe it with all my heart,
I believe it with all my heart.
Lord, help me be able to believe it more.

The Bible is the Word of God,
His truth for all the ages,
Though written down by men long years ago.
I cannot claim to comprehend the mysteries contained there,
But day by day I’ve come to love it more.

I believe it with all my heart,
I believe it with all my heart,
I believe it with all my heart.
Lord, help me be able to believe it more.

Christ Jesus is the Son of God,
His Plan for man’s salvation,
Though Christ lived and died and rose from death long years ago.
I cannot claim to understand the mystery of God’s love,
But day by day I’ve come to love Him more.

I believe it with all my heart,
I believe it with all my heart,
I believe it with all my heart.
Lord, help me be able to believe it more.

Heaven is the home of God;
He shares it with believers,
Though moving there takes a lifetime to do.
I cannot claim to tell you just where Heaven is located,
But day by day I long to see it more.

I believe it with all my heart,
I believe it with all my heart,
I believe it with all my heart.
Lord, help me be able to believe it more.

About This Song:

The refrain of this song comes from Mark 9:20-24. That’s the story of a father who wanted Jesus to heal his son. He had been possessed by an evil spirit from childhood.

Jesus told the man, “Bring the boy to me.”

20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”
“From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”
24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
(NIV)

Christianity requires faith–faith in the Bible as God’s Word, in Jesus as God’s Son, and in Heaven as our ultimate, eternal home.  We ought to pray with faith in God’s ability to answer our prayers–and His desire to provide what’s best for each of us.

But how much faith is enough?

I don’t know. So I’ll just keep on praying along with that desperate father, “Help me to overcome my unbelief.”

How’s your faith? How about leaving a comment?

Free lead sheets (lyrics, tune, and chords) are available for many of my songs. Click on the Lead Sheets tab at the top of this page to see whether one is available for this song. Videos for many of my songs, some recorded at home and some at our church’s nursing home ministry, can be accessed at my website, RogerBruner.com, under the Listen tab.

Look for me again next Wednesday. Better still, subscribe to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

Links you might be interested in:

 

 

 

 

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Not My Will But Yours, Lord

Posted on January 8, 2020 by Roger E. Bruner

Not my will, but Yours, Lord,
Not my will, but Yours.
Help me want what You want,
When I call on You.

Help me pray like Jesus In Gethsemane.
Not my will, but Yours, Lord;
Not my will, but Yours.

Sometimes when I pray, Lord,
Sometimes when I pray,
I want things I shouldn’t have,
And You answer, “No.”

Help me pray like Jesus In Gethsemane.
Not my will, but Yours, Lord;
Not my will, but Yours.

Often when I pray, Lord,
Often when I pray,
I seek quick solutions,
But You tell me, “Wait.”

Help me pray like Jesus In Gethsemane.
Not my will, but Yours, Lord;
Not my will, but Yours.

I don’t always pray, Lord.
I don’t always pray
Till I find a door locked;
Then I cry to You.

Help me pray like Jesus In Gethsemane.
Not my will, but Yours, Lord;
Not my will, but Yours.

Lead, I’ll follow You, Lord.
Lead, I’ll follow You.
I can’t see in darkness,
But the dark is light to you.

Help me pray like Jesus In Gethsemane.
Not my will, but Yours, Lord;
Not my will, but Yours.

About This Song:
In Jan Karon’s Mitford series, she talks about the prayer God always answers: “Not my will, but Yours.”

That’s the prayer Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before His crucifixion. He had just asked God to spare Him from the physical, emotional, and spiritual agony He was about to undergo. Yet He recognized that His death was a key part of God the Father’s plan to redeem mankind. So in praying “Not my will, but Yours,” He was acknowledging that He not simply accepted what was coming, but that He wanted it because God Himself wanted it.

Amazing.

It’s easy enough to tell God how we think He ought to answer specific prayers requests. But we lack a God’s-eye-view of the situation. Any situation. Every situation.

We don’t know His plans. His intentions.

I believe God wants us to be specific in our prayers, however. But once we’ve asked for what we want or think best, we ought to conclude by praying for God’s will to be done, regardless of our personal preferences. And we need to mean it.

I think Jan Karon is right. Whenever we want what God wants, He’ll honor our prayers. Not necessarily doing things our way, but providing answers that best suit His plan for our lives. Could we ask for anything better than that?

Is prayer a normal part of your life? How about sharing a comment about what prayer means to you?

Free lead sheets (lyrics, tune, and chords) are available for many of my songs. Click on the Lead Sheets tab at the top of this page to see whether one is available for this song. Videos for many of my songs, some recorded at home and some at our church’s nursing home ministry, can be accessed at my website, RogerBruner.com, under the Listen tab.

Look for me again next Wednesday. Better still, subscribe to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

Links you might be interested in:

Posted in Jan Karon, Mitford series, Praying like Jesus | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Servant of All, Lord of All

Posted on October 30, 2019 by Roger E. Bruner

Jesus Christ was everything that God Himself was;
Yet He never insisted on having His own way.
He had every right of God Himself,
Yet He gave them up, He freely gave them up
To become the servant of us all.

Jesus could have stayed in heaven at His Father’s side,
Yet He never refused to do His Father’s will.
So He humbled Himself and became a man,
And such a life He lived and such a death He died
To become the servant of us all.

Jesus Christ is back in heaven at His Father’s side;
God raised Him from death and restored Him to life on high,
So when the name of Christ is heard,
Every knee shall bow and every tongue confess
That Jesus lives as Lord of all.
Yes, Jesus Christ is Lord of all.

About This Song:
Although many of my songs have somewhat of a folk song feel–I learned to play guitar during the “folk fad” of the 1960s and never got that style of music out of my blood–this one comes closer to being country.

It’s also chock full of Scripture. Here are the most obvious verses:

Matthew 12:18. . .
“Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.
(NKJV)

Phillipians 2:8. . .
And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
(NKJV)

1 Timothy 3:16
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:
God was manifested in the flesh,
Justified in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Preached among the Gentiles,
Believed on in the world,
Received up in glory.
(NKJV)

Phillipians 2:11. . .
11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
(NKJV)

If we needed further evidence of Jesus as Servant, we could look at the Lord’s Supper the night before His death, when he took a servant’s role and washed his disciples’ feet.

Would that all of Jesus’ followers were as willing to serve others as their Master did. What a difference that would make in this poor, hurting, sin-filled world of ours. Maybe the lost would be more willing to listen to us–and to accept God’s free gift of eternal life.

Confident in the knowledge that ultimately all will call Him “Lord.”

What about you? Is Jesus your Savior or simply an interesting historical figure? My prayer is that you will soon “confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” if you don’t already.

Does this song speak to you in any particular way? If so, how about leaving a comment?

Free lead sheets (lyrics, tune, and chords) are available for many of my songs. Click on the Lead Sheets tab at the top of this page to see whether one is available for this song. Videos for many of my songs, some recorded at home and some at our church’s nursing home ministry, can be accessed at my website, RogerBruner.com, under the Listen tab.

Look for me again next Wednesday. Better still, subscribe to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

Links you might be interested in:

Posted in Foot Washing, Lord, Lordship, Obedience, Servant, Servanthood | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

How Happy Are Those

Posted on October 23, 2019 by Roger E. Bruner

How happy are those,
Yes, how happy are those,
So happy are those
Who belong to the Family of God.

So happy they’ll be,
Yes, how happy they’ll be,
So happy they’ll be
When they meet their Father in heaven.

For they will inherit
All the things He has promised.
Yes, theirs is the Kingdom,
And they are His children.
How happy are those,
And how happy they’ll be.

About This Song:
Definitely one of my oldest songs. I can tell because I didn’t put a completion date on the original copy. But that doesn’t lessen the importance of its message.

Christians often focus so much on heaven that they miss the joy of living on earth. I’ve been guilty of that at times. How about you?

And who can blame us? As God’s children, we stand to inherit more good things than we can possibly imagine–once we get to heaven.

But what about the here and now?

Jesus saved us not just for eternity in heaven, but for a more meaningful life here on earth. One that will make us happy. Not because our circumstances will always be good, but because being God’s children–Jesus’ siblings–is a constant source of joy.

When I look at my problems in light of that, I quit complaining. God wants what’s best for me, but also what’s best for his Kingdom on earth. I’m not just His tool. I’m part of His family business–spreading His Good News to others.

Being part of that plan is special. How happy I am.

Do you have that kind of happiness, too? How about sharing a comment?

Free lead sheets (lyrics, tune, and chords) are available for many of my songs. Click on the Lead Sheets tab at the top of this page to see whether one is available for this song. Videos for many of my songs, some recorded at home and some at our church’s nursing home ministry, can be accessed at my website, RogerBruner.com, under the Listen tab.

Look for me again next Wednesday. Better still, subscribe to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

Links you might be interested in:

 

Posted in Earthly Lives, God's Family, Happiness, Heritance, Satisfaction | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Adding Up Fractions

Posted on September 11, 2019 by Roger E. Bruner

Adding up fractions to total their sum
Requires finding their common denominator.
So growing a whole church from people like us
Takes our faith and our love and our common vision.

If you want to add two-fourths and five-tenths,
You cannot do it directly.
But if you look at both numbers as halves,
Their sum can be easily figured.

Adding up fractions to total their sum
Requires finding their common denominator.
So growing a whole church from people like us
Takes our faith and our love and our common vision.

The Lord wants to bond the “us-es” and “thems”
To form one sound church body,
By overlooking our differences
And using what we have in common.

Adding up fractions to total their sum
Requires finding their common denominator.
So growing a whole church from people like us
Takes our faith and our love and our common vision.

 

About This Song: Some years ago I belonged to a church that was experiencing a severe lack of unity. The members were not of one accord, and I wasn’t sure God was very fond of how either side was acting.

The spirit was fractured, and its ministries ineffective because of each side’s insistence on being “right.” I wrote this song to encourage the members to seek those things we had in common: to find our lowest common denominator so God could add our mutual strengths together to form a perfect One. A unity He could use us for His purposes–whatever way He wanted to.

While my song may not have inspired the desired changes, the church eventually began to pull together. Better than before, anyhow.

But can you imagine how much more effective this church might have become if the members had overlooked their fractiousness and put themselves fully into God’s hands to be made perfectly whole?

Free lead sheets (lyrics, tune, and chords) are available for many of my songs. Click on the Lead Sheets tab at the top of this page to see whether one is available for this song. Videos for many of my songs, some recorded at home and some at our church’s nursing home ministry, can be accessed at my website, RogerBruner.com, under the Listen tab. Look for me again next Wednesday. Better still, subscribe to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

Links you might be interested in:

 

Posted in Church, Fractions, God's plan, God's Will, Good Intentions, Unity | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Too Used to the Dark

Posted on August 7, 2019 by Roger E. Bruner

We’re getting too used to the dark;
We have been learning to live in the night.
We have forgotten how the world looks in the light.

We are getting too used to the surface;
Forgetting that there’s an underneath.
We have been drowning ourselves in the well of our unbelief.

We have forgotten the meaning of goodness.
We have forgotten what is meant by right.
We have given up believing that believing in God
Will carry us out of the dark world of our night.

About This Song:
I wrote this song in the late 1960s and included it in a musical drama I’d composed–to be sung by members of a band who were doing their best to resist Christianity. So these lyrics are not coming from a Christian perspective.

M. Brent Coleman, my pastor during my first few post-college years, gave a great sermon illustration one Sunday. An illustration that jumped out, grabbed my attention, and refused to let go. A song waiting to be written.

He talked about walking into an oppressively dark restaurant. He could tell how dark it was because of his inability to see well when he first went inside. That was because of the contrast; he had just been outside enjoying the daylight. So the difference between outside and inside was as unmistakable as, uh, day and night.

The longer he stayed inside, though, the less conscious he was of the darkness. Of its being so objectionable. He grew used to it. More accepting of it. More comfortable about being there, no matter how uneasy he’d felt at first.

When we’re walking with God in His Way, we walk in His light. A light like no other. We’re “outdoors” in a special kind of way. There’s no stumbling when we’re walking close behind Him.

But when something tempts us enough that we go off on our own sinful way, we move from the safety of His light to the dangers of darkness. At first we realize we’ve strayed–our consciences are apt to bother us–but the longer we remain in the darkness of that “restaurant of sin,” the more comfortable we feel. And the less we worry about the pitfalls we may encounter.

A Child of God must be constantly on the alert. We can’t avoid temptations–even Jesus was tempted–but we can and must resist them. And remain in the safety of God’s Light.

Free lead sheets (lyrics, tune, and chords) are available for many of my songs. Click on the Lead Sheets tab at the top of this page to see whether one is available for this song. Videos for many of my songs, some recorded at home and some at our church’s nursing home ministry, can be accessed at my website, RogerBruner.com, under the Listen tab.

Look for me again next Wednesday. Better still, subscribe to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

Links you might be interested in:

 

Posted in Brent Coleman, Darkness, Light, Sin, Temptation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Wedding Song

Posted on May 29, 2019 by Roger E. Bruner

What God joins together,
Man cannot separate.
What God’s love creates,
This world cannot harm.

When God gives light,
Where can there be darkness?
When God smiles in love upon us,
What can we do but love?

About This Song:
Of the two hundred-plus song lyrics I’ve posted on this blog, this one is the hardest to talk about. That’s why I’m hesitant to post it now.

When I wrote “Wedding Song”  for my first wife, I meant those words. Just as I meant every word of our wedding vows.

Jesus had some tough things to say about divorce. He considered it a sin except in the case of adultery. That was certainly not the case in my divorce.

It’s easy for Christians who are still married to their original spouses to speak harshly of those of us who are divorced.

But God forgives all kinds of sin. The cleansing that comes from His forgiveness is complete. Perfect. Eternal.

You may not be divorced, but  you may be guilty of other things you know God considers sinful. Sins that feel huge. Bigger than the everyday kind of sins we’re all guilty of. Sins that are too big for God to forgive.

No sin is that big, however. All we have to do is repent and ask God’s forgiveness. For that I’m truly thankful.

Your comments are welcome.

Free lead sheets (lyrics, tune, and chords) are available for many of my songs. Click on the Lead Sheets tab at the top of this page to see whether one is available for this song. Videos for many of my songs, some recorded at home and some at our church’s nursing home ministry, can be accessed at my website, RogerBruner.com, under the Listen tab.

Look for me again next Wednesday. Better still, subscribe to receive these weekly posts by email.

Best regards,
Roger

Links you might be interested in:

 

Posted in Divorce, Forgiveness, Marriage, Sin | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment