I Will Boast – Jeremiah, Paul, and Paul Baloche

What he had to say, the people did not like. In fact, Jeremiah the prophet (see depiction of Jeremiah [The Prophet Jeremiah (1511), from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, by Michelangelo] here) did not much like what he had been given to tell the people of the southern kingdom of Judah either. ‘Don’t brag about yourself’ – that was the message that a descendant of this weeping prophet, someone named Paul, would recast some six centuries later, and which another Paul (Baloche) would repeat for us another 20 centuries later in history. If you want to brag, say “I Will Boast” because you know your Creator, the only righteous, just, and compassionate One, your Redeemer. You want His approval? Good, then practice those characteristics in your life, and see what that does for your outlook and rapport with Him and with others whom you know. It’s the only way to avoid eternal and terrestrial calamity, if you really take some time and think about what these three in history have had to say.

 

Jeremiah had the unenviable task during his prophetic mission (between 626 and sometime after 586 B.C., so around 40 years) of telling Judah’s inhabitants that doom was coming. Here’s a paraphrase of his message: ‘The land will be laid waste, and exile to Babylon awaits. If you want to prostrate yourselves and admit that you’ve violated the covenant with the Lord God, and reengage with the true One, here’s what you have to do, though your punishment cannot be avoided ultimately’. Then Jeremiah tells them in some short directives what Paul Baloche repeats in his musical rendition in 2006. Don’t boast in or count on the following: your wisdom, your strength, or your riches (Jeremiah 9:23-24). That covers an awful lot in the human experience, and the penchant to chase after these still entices a lot of people today, some 26 centuries after Jeremiah first delivered this rebuke. The great apostle Paul must have taken note of his ancestor’s words, for he too talks about boasting pretty frequently, and then tells his contemporaries in the first century that any such crowing should be exclusively connected with Christ. (Paul wrote at least nine times in five New Testament letters about boasting in Christ [Romans 5:11; 1 Cor. 15:31; 2 Cor. 10:14; 11:10; 12:9; Galatians 6:14; Philippians 1:26; 2:16; 3:3].) His namesake 2000 years hence has thus connected what Jeremiah said so long ago with the apostle’s instructions, in order to consummate some ordinances for a God follower’s lifestyle in our current era. The 21^st Century Paul links our boasting to being ‘humble’ and full of ‘thanks’ for Him because He created us in His image and has saved us (v.1 of  ‘I Will Boast’). So, boast in the ‘Lord’, the ‘worthy’ One, in fact ‘in Christ alone’, Paul Baloche says over and over. It never gets old.     

 

What Jeremiah says after his warning about the harlots of human wisdom, strength, and riches is fairly important also, and when lived out today are pretty meaningful. Paul Baloche mentions humility in his lyrics, versus what Jeremiah says in the latter words of his two verses – that kindness, justice, and righteousness are the ways to please God. It sounds a lot like what another prophet, Micah (6:6-8), had already said to the northern kingdom of Samaria approximately 100 years earlier (sometime between 750 and 686 B.C.), in his warning to those people of what was approaching. If worship – true worship – to the true God is not connected to heart-level attitudes like kindness (mercy), justice among people, and ability to humble oneself to Him, then all the sacrifices on earth you can make won’t matter to God. He’s a righteous God, Jeremiah said, and He expects His image-bearers to mimic Him in these key character traits that He gave to His prophets to tell us. Be kind, practice justice, and be humble, if you want to know what righteous living resembles. That is so needed today in early 2025, so get out there and boast in a shining Christ-likeness everyone…or will we need another weeping prophet to come preach?

 

Read about the contemporary author-composer here: Paul Baloche - Wikipedia 

 

See information on the image of Jeremiah here: File:Michelangelo Buonarroti 027.jpg - Wikimedia Commons …This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. {{PD-1996}} – public domain in its source country on January 1, 1996 and in the United States.

I Desire Jesus -- Scott Ligertwood

 

The time and place seem nearly irrelevant, as one considers the words that Scott Ligertwood penned on one occasion to express some thoughts about the One he serves. It was sometime around 2011, and this 28-year-old and his wife Brooke were probably in Orange County, California (see the seal of Orange County here), a place where each of them were saying – in fact, had been living for some time – that “I Desire Jesus”. The words Scott wrote focused his and his listeners’ attention on the Divine One that he said he most wanted, and so directing one’s eyes toward this omnipresent being made his own circumstances seem rather unimportant. Perhaps that’s why nothing has really been said publicly regarding what Scott was doing or thinking to spur his poetry and music-writing at the Hillsong Church in the Los Angeles area in Southern California. You and I do not have to try to be important, as Scott might have said himself if he were asked. Just attach yourself to Him, and don’t let go, for that’s they way to be taken somewhere that you could never go on your own strength.  

 

Scott and Brooke had both been serving at Hillsong for several years, so that is probably the most important reason for Scott’s motivation for “I Desire Jesus”. Neither Scott nor Brooke were raised in Christian homes, and yet they somehow managed to seek out Jesus as teenagers. So, desiring Jesus wasn’t just a song for Scott or his wife; it was something they had already expressed in reality. And being connected to the Hillsong Church, which has a global span with many branches outside of Australia where it began, must have allowed Scott to believe that the reach of Jesus into all of the world was achievable. And so, telling about Him and how this planet’s inhabitants should regard Him must have been pretty captivating. It’s a planet with so many problems, as Scott could not have missed as he looked at Hillsong’s worldwide ambitions. But, Scott did not let that depress him as he wrote. Jesus as the Precious Lamb (v.1 and 4) was the one drawing Scott’s attention, and what He did to ‘ransom me’, was the place where Scott opened the song for all to see Him. The ‘thorn-scarred brow’ (v.2), the ‘cross’ and ‘His blood’ (v.1), all had Scott mesmerized. He transforms all that ignominy into a ‘crown of victory’ (v.2), the impetus for the response we mortals are to give Him, the only proper way to regard Him whose sacrifice makes possible what comes next. Scott said he is ‘free’ (v.1), so an appreciation of that transformation drives what comes to full flower in verses 3 and 4, though it begins in verse 2 as ‘His Name … (we) esteem’. He’s the ‘Triumphant One…we await’, as we anticipate a moment when the ‘earth will shine’ and He receives the ‘glory’ He is due (v.3). Scott said he’d give his own life as ‘an offering’ (v.4), as he thought about how to sum up his reaction to this God-Man’s work. The chorus further underscores how the saved individual can respond – giving Him ‘honor’ and ‘glory’, as he basks in the consummation of His ‘eternal reign’. It’s all about Him, though Scott said you and I get to reap the reward of being in Him.

 

It's theologically challenging for mortals who’ve not yet arrived at the realization that they need saving. ‘Why desire Jesus?’, they scoff. And yet, Scott didn’t try to strike back in 2011 with words that were harsh, though he must have felt the sting of others from time to time when they rejected this eternal message. Just keep telling about Jesus, what He’s done, and what’s to come. It is a hopeful promise that He makes, and which Scott repeated as His ambassador. No one can miss, with even a cursory look around where we live and move about daily, that strife and all kinds of ugly stuff are standard fare here. And, getting older with hurts and incomplete solutions for all of those maladies – what are we to conclude? You cannot ignore what all that entails, and that is this: you and I need rescue. Scott and oh so many others have told us about the prescription, so are you willing to try it? It’s spelled J-E-S-U-S, and it tastes really sweet.

 

See a video of the song’s performance here: Bing Videos

 

Read some pretty brief information about the author-composer here: https://www.famousbirthdays.com/people/scott-ligertwood.html and here: https://cbn.com/article/bible-says/brooke-and-scott-ligertwood-teach-children-about-wonder-god

 

Information about the church worldwide in which the songwriter serves: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hillsong_Church

 

See information on the Orange County seal here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Seal_of_Orange_County,_California.svg …This work was created by a government unit (including state, county, city, and municipal government agencies) that derives its powers from the laws of the State of California and is subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act (Government Code § 6250 et seq.). It is a public record that was not created by an agency which state law has allowed to claim copyright, and is therefore in the public domain in the United States.

I Feel Good, Good, Good – Anonymous

 

We don’t know who wrote it, but we could guess that it has been sung a lot of different ways just by inserting a couple of new words in place of the original ones to fit the mood of whomever was trying to express him- or herself. Open an old hymnal (or a new one, even) and you might find “I Feel Good” --   maybe with the adjective repeated twice more for emphasis – in the pages of that book. Who was behind the song that is often anonymously attributed to ‘Traditional’ or ‘Gospel’ or maybe ‘Folk song’ will remain a mystery, but could it be that Philip Paul Bliss (see his portrait here) helped spawn a musical movement that gave rise to ‘I Feel Good’ and others like it? Someone was feeling good, and wanted others to share that too, and then he/she shared a few other emotions to help carry the group’s celebration further. Maybe an old apostle deserves some of the credit, when he wrote about focusing on the positive (see Philippians 4:8) as he addressed a new church that he wanted to inspire. This can even be done while sitting in a prison, as he apparently was. God can be with anyone, anywhere, and His presence can bring light into the darkest period of one’s life.  

 

The apostle Paul wrote: Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8) Wouldn’t it be interesting if this guy named Philip (P.P. Bliss, as he’s often designated in his songs’ attribution lines) had come up with some of his own pretty positive thoughts to musically echo those first crafted by a guy writing to a community (the Philippians) from which his own name derives? Let’s just pretend that that might be true! Moreover, the 1^st Century Paul and the 19^th Century Philip Paul might thus be linked, not only in their names, but emotionally and spiritually too. All these linkages could not be just an accident, right? OK, enough of this speculation. Here’s what we could say, including that positivity flows from not only saying one feels good, but good, good, good, and hearing some clapping and maybe even foot stomping to accompany all of this revelry. Say the operative word three times, with a jumpy tune that goes well with a broad smile and contentment in one’s heart. You could verify this by experiencing it in person. Change a few words – like from feel good, to can love, or got joy, or can sing, or got peace, or any other ways you want a group to say something uplifting – and you’re doing what the 1^st Century Paul suggested. Philip Paul was perhaps the first to publish a work with the phrase Gospel song that described the contents of a hymnbook (in 1874, Gospel Songs. A Choice Collection of Hymns and Tunes), helping coax worshipping crowds with songs noted for their ease of use. Just sing something simple and crowd-pleasing, so the saved can focus on the delight of their spiritual state. That’s a recipe for easing depression and anxiety, no matter what one’s earthly circumstances are.   

 

Long before the Gospel Music era (also known as the Holiness-Pentecostal period in the 19^th Century) came along, two prisoners (including Paul, and his first partner Silas) modeled for early Christians the feel good, good, good satisfaction, a reaction to their situation that could not but have helped stir others in their presence (see Acts 16:25-34), including the Spirit of God apparently, in Philippi. Earthquakes don’t often happen because of a joyful witness, but who’s to say what might result if more of us dug deep inside ourselves more often to proclaim the hope we have? Paul knew well what joy, despite his whereabouts, could do. Perhaps he was remembering another character in his Jewish history who made the most of his prison stay – Joseph (Genesis 39 and 40). He, and then later Paul and Silas, probably discovered something you and I should remember. Prison is temporary, but joy emerges with so many other potent reasons for celebration on a never-ending spectrum. It’s a journey that doesn’t even end at death’s door. In fact, it’s just really beginning.         

 

Gospel music - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folk_music

 

See information about the portrait here: Philip Paul Bliss, 1838-1876…This work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 100 years or fewer. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1930.