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.

I Come Expecting Jesus -- John Chisum and Nancy Gordon

 

This songwriter had already traveled a pretty adventurous road in his career, and had had a chance to reflect on how he got to where he was in 1996. So, John Chisum must have thought a lot about God’s presence in his life, even when things for a short time looked pretty grim some 13 years earlier, and even before that really. He grew up in Memphis, but evidently by the mid-1990s was in or near Nashville (see the map-graphic here, with highlights Davidson County where Nashville is located) where his music career was in full swing. With the apparent collaboration of Nancy Gordon, they said “I Come Expecting Jesus” to those who would want to draw close to Jesus Christ, the way John remembers when he was a teenager and young adult trying to change his life trajectory. His desire for Jesus was really beyond any plan that John had scoped out, so we might conclude that we are hearing John saying something from deep inside a pit where he’d been as a young man. Access a moment when you were at the bottom, and realize God was there – that just might be the message that John and Nancy are communicating.

 

John Chisum’s experience as a Christian began when he was 18 years old, following an adolescence filled with alcohol and drug abuse, and needless to say he had had only some distant thoughts about God and being close to Him. But upon his acceptance of Christ’s lordship in his life (with the very significant influence of a woman named Lynn, who discipled John), John says that that moment was like the ‘epicenter’ of everything that proceeded forth from that time. His first response was to write a song, which evidently blossomed into an embryonic music career, though he was still was a youngster struggling to make his way in the Christian music industry. A brief homeless episode with his wife, after an expected ministry job fell through, was part of the life that John lived in late 1983 and early 1984 in Nashville, before God seemed to answer his prayer for a foot-in-the-door new beginning. God answered, and John’s career had its new start in Nashville. The lyrics of ‘I Come…’ indicate this is an obvious communion song, written in or about 1996, though the exact circumstances of its inspiration are not described by John or Nancy. And yet, being close to Jesus, and expecting Him to be with you no matter what the situation, is what John indicates has been the driving force in his life from that seminal moment – actually two moments, when he was 18, and then in his early-to-mid 20s -- in his young life going forward. During communion, isn’t that the pivotal moment in His life when believers are invited to meet His embrace most intimately, a time when He ate and drank with those 12 Apostles, shortly before his crucifixion? To read and hear just how momentous and difficult that time was for Him, especially in what transpired later in Gethsemane and then on the cross, is to appreciate how the holy God feels about us, and just how much He was willing to endure to draw us near to Himself.  

 

Eating His body and drinking His blood…that’s how close He wants you and me to be. Calling it ‘a holy moment’ would be offensive if it were anybody but the Divine One. And, for those of us who can recall  times when we were at our lowest points and calling out to Him for relief, that ‘mercy and grace’ that John Chisum and Nancy Gordon write in their lyrics are not just pretty, philosophical words. They are  filled with meaning almost beyond description. Communion transcends what happens here terrestrially, though I still remember those special times when I did indeed feel His care and guidance in my earthly circumstances. The communion song John and Nancy wrote reminds me that His reach in His own life overwhelmed what happened to Him as a mortal – God overcomes. Getting close to the One who has the power to overcome life – that’s pretty special.  

 

Read about one of the songwriters here: Spirit Soul Body | John Chisum

 

And, here: About – Nashville Christian Songwriters

 

And here: /life-work-with-john-chisum

 

Listen to Chisum’s life story in this podcast here: JOHN CHISUM: 40 Years of Music Making - Nashville Christian Songwriters

 

Very brief information about the secondary author-composer: Nancy — The Blessing Co.

 

See information on the map-image of Davidson County (where Nashville is) here, including the public domain status of the graphic: File:Map of Tennessee highlighting Davidson County.svg - Wikimedia Commons . The following statement is associated with the graphic re: its public domain status: I, the copyright holder of this work, release this work into the public domain. This applies worldwide. In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so: I grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.