Goodness of God -- Jenn Johnson, Ed Cash, Jason Ingram, Ben Fielding, Brian Johnson

God is good. Have you ever heard someone say that? And yet, even Jesus – God in the flesh – had a reply to that compliment which must have befuddled those with whom he traveled and spoke (see Mark 10:18 and Luke 18:19). Jenn Johnson had a reason to say out loud something about the “Goodness of God” though, because a new life was in her arms, and in a most unexpected way since she hadn’t even been pregnant nor really considering having another child. But, adopting a new baby boy was an awesome thing, and has been for so many parents over the decades since its beginning in America in the latter part of the 19^th Century (see Sister Irene and children at New York Foundling orphanage in this picture; Sister Irene is among the pioneers of modern adoption, establishing a system to board out children rather than institutionalize them.) And, it wasn’t an accident that the song spoke to the four men – her husband Brian, and Ben Fielding, Jason Ingram, and Ed Cash -- who helped Jenn finish off what she started writing in a car one day.

 

Adoption by many people can be a long process, with lots of anxiety and uncertainty, but for Jenn and Brian, it was like a miracle that proceeded so smoothly. The birth mother even related to the Johnsons so well, that she appeared at the hearing that finalized the process, one that had begun when this woman hand-picked this Christian songwriting couple to be her baby’s parents and even met them at the hospital on the day of the baby’s delivery. Even a judge of several decades who presided at the court said he’d never seen anything like it. That’s how it must be when God’s intimately involved, one might conclude. That must have been on Jenn’s mind too, when one day on the way to a doctor’s appointment, she spontaneously began to sing a song about God’s goodness, as she reflected back on her life and had a feeling that God’s faithfulness had shone through to her. Her newest child (they named him Ryder Moses) was the latest sign of His goodness, and this thought helped her produce 50-60% of the song about God’s goodness on the spot in an otherwise routine car trip to see a doctor. In talking with Ben and Jason a short time later in Redding, California, they remembered feeling that Jenn’s efforts had already produced a winner, and that little remained to do in its creation. One thing that stood out to them was that her words were so universally true, that they felt like the story she was relating through the already-completed lyrics was also theirs. Ed also contributed with some thoughts that became the song’s bridge section, saying that while the message of the song was one he hadn’t heard before, he felt that it had been around for some time. And so, he thought that that was something he wanted to communicate -- that God is relentless in running after us, meeting us in all the pain and struggle of life, even if His presence sometimes might not be very discernible. Amazingly, Ed says his anxiety at flying on a plane would depart from him whenever he listened to the song in flight.

 

Thank God for adoption! None but One is His unique (some bible translations say ‘begotten’) Son, so for me to be part of His family, I have to agree to be His adopted son. That idea was really special for someone like the apostle Paul (see Romans 8:15,23; 9:4; Galatians 4:5; Ephesians 1:5), for though of Jewish birth, he considered himself to have been the worst sinner (1 Timothy 1:15-16), and deservedly far from being included in God’s family. And so, when he talked to Gentiles whom he often encountered, that same message flowed to them from him, an adopted son in God’s kingdom. It is indeed special to be chosen by Him. What is the alternative to being adopted? Sister Irene must have seen and grimaced so many times at the circumstances that ensued when a baby was rejected by everyone, leaving it without a home and loving parents. God doesn’t operate an orphanage, and He sure doesn’t want to reject you and me (2 Peter 3:9). In His image-making generosity, He’s already visualized you on a path toward, and living space inside His home, and even provided a special brother and a Spirit to make sure you find the way there. The other operative factors really are the choices that you and I make.

 

Watch/hear the song story here: https://www.worshiptogether.com/songs/goodness-of-god-bethel/

 

See it here also: https://www.foxnews.com/faith-values/adoption-miracle-worship-song

 

See information on the photo here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Children_at_New_York_Foundling_cph.3a23917.jpg … 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 70 years or fewer… {{PD-US}} – US work that is in the public domain in the US for an unspecified reason, but presumably because it was published in the US before 1931. …found inside this article -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adoption

 

What a Beautiful Name -- Ben Fielding and Brooke Ligertwood

 

They let scripture speak, and that method got deep inside themselves as they thought about all that God was saying. Brooke Ligertwood shares that she and Ben Fielding were reading, and became so struck with “What a Beautiful Name” Jesus has, that they couldn’t help singing about this realization and its importance for believers in late 2015.  What happened for Brooke and Ben in Sydney, Australia (at or near the Hillsong Convention Center, see it here) need not be an isolated event or an understanding only for an elite few. We all have bibles – even multiple copies for each of us – that tell of the supreme Creator, and how he has reached down and done something astonishing, even for those who might reject Him. That must have been part of the wonder and amazement that these two songwriters encountered as they prepared for a conference at the Hillsong worship site.

 

Ben and Brooke were preparing, as 2015 wound to a close, to sing and share in 2016 with other ardent believers about the only One worthy of worship. Would there really be anything new that they could say to such a group? Perhaps it’s the daily grind and the all-too-common misuse of His name in the everyday world that helped spur their study and discovery of something unique to Him – that His very name is so distinct and, as they say repeatedly, beautiful, and not just attractive, but also wonderful and powerful. Do you suppose that’s why God is so adamant in the Third of the Ten Commandments – ‘You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name’. (Exodus 20:7 and Deuteronomy 5:11)? His name has multiple facets, as Brooke mentions in the video when she relates how the song developed. She and Ben were reading various passages in Colossians (1:15-20 and 26-27), Hebrews (1:1-4), and apparently some in the prophet Isaiah (42:7; 49:9; 58:6; and 61:1-2, which Jesus Himself quotes to his hometown crowd [Luke 4:18-19]) and these two down-under songwriters found so much that should lift everyone above life’s doldrums. He was ‘at the beginning’, the very ‘Word’, present with the Creator (v.1). He didn’t ‘want heaven without us’, so with His great mind and heart motivating Him, He made His way toward us, to allow His grace to overcome our sin (v.2). So, those two verses help us capture the beauty and wonder of His name. Brooke and Ben cap the song with the power of His name – that cruel ‘death’, the ‘veil’ separating believers from Him, and the ‘grave’ that once held Him, surrendered to His name. Indeed! Jesus’ name has no ‘rival’ and no ‘equal’, a fact in which Brooke and Ben invite us all to celebrate passionately.   

 

The Ligertwood-Fielding approach to songwriting here is not just for musicians. Everyone could be singing a chorus of praise daily, if they read what drew the attention of these two songwriters before they even sat at a keyboard or had a guitar in hand. As Brooke talks about it in the video, there is something special that happens when a person identifies something in His word that connects with a truth deep in one’s soul, and then vocalizes that. It helps nurture and cement faith, and is rather like a building block that one apostle (Paul) was trying to urge believers in his age to adopt…. Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ (Romans 10:17) – that was the train of thought that Brooke expressed. Singing the truth of scripture is like a confession of belief that someone can offer to God. Would there be any other way than beautiful, wonderful, and powerful to describe someone who created you, came to earth, sacrificed Himself, and then rose again to bridge the gap between you and Him?        

 

See/hear the song story here: Hillsong Worship - "What a Beautiful Name" (Story Behind the Song) | WORD 101.5 FM - Pittsburgh, PA (wordfm.com)

 

Read some more information about the song here: What a Beautiful Name - Wikipedia

 

See Hillsong Convention Centre image information here: File:Hillsong Convention Centre.jpg - Wikimedia Commons.  This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Tatie2189. This applies worldwide. In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so: Tatie2189 grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.

Who You Say I Am -- Ben Fielding and Reuben Morgan

 

Ben Fielding and Reuben Morgan were probably at or nearby a church in Sydney, Australia (at the Hillsong Convention Centre, see the picture) where they were ministers in 2017 when they wrote a song that they thought was especially needed by young people trying to overcome anxiety. “Who You Say I Am” – that’s what Ben and Reuben reminded them, and also those of us who are older (!), about how security and peace-of-mind is captured. Identity. If one word could sum up what these two thought God’s Son was saying to skeptics two thousand years ago, that would be it. With that certainty of identity comes certainty of one’s destiny, too. But even Jesus, the Son who brings this identity to those He made, must have realized during the extended debate with those skeptics that convincing people would be difficult. ‘Do you want to get well?’ (John 5:6), Jesus had once asked a lame man; and so, is He likewise asking you and me, ‘Do you want to be free of anxiety?’ Just believe in Him, and how you are connected to Him…that’s the solution, straight from your Creator’s mouth.

 

Ben’s and Reuben’s efforts actually yielded two songs – ‘Be Still’ and ‘Who You Say I Am’ – as they sought to provide young people reassurance, an indication at the depth of confusion that often accompanies anxiety. The cynics with whom Jesus was trying to reason were also confused, and though some believed, they still seemed very puzzled at Jesus’ claims about Himself. ‘I’m here to set you free’ (John 8:36) is a paraphrase of what He wanted to do for them. And yet they reacted as if they thought there must be another answer, and ultimately attempted to kill this freedom-bringer (John 8:59). Ben Fielding says he shared this story from scripture with the church in Sydney, including the words of Jesus about His coming to set slaves free, an assertion that he and Reuben underscored in the song’s lyrics. Some people who are limited in their spirits by earthbound conventional thinking, like those skeptics Jesus confronted, would no doubt contend ‘I’m not a slave!’ But, Reuben and Ben say with their poetry that if you’re ‘lost’ (v.1), or are a ‘slave to sin’ (v.2), Jesus has come to free you. He’s ‘brought (you) in’ (v.1); made you ‘a child of God’ (refrain); ‘ransomed (you)’, and made this transaction ironclad by ‘(dying) for (you)’ (v.2). ‘Free indeed’ (refrain), these two Aussie songwriters say with conviction, over and over again, as if they understand that these words might be difficult for some people loaded down with guilt and suspicion to accept. You can be certain that there’s a place for you in the ‘Father’s house’, that you ‘are chosen’, and that He’s ‘for (you), not against (you)’, they say elsewhere in the song. Ben concludes in an interview about the song by saying identity = ‘knowing ourselves in Christ’, and that in this knowledge comes a ‘stability’ for life.          

 

Am I willing to accept the title words of this song by Ben and Reuben, that I am ‘Who You (Jesus) Say I Am? A book in our 21^st Century (Now, Discover Your Strengths, authors Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton) has suggested that professionals in all organizations can maximize their abilities by knowing and zeroing in on their specific character identities. That’s how you improve an organization’s professional health, according to them. In Jesus’ day, some of the sick tried to get healthy by jumping into a miraculous pool of water (at Bethesda, John 5:7), while other Jews argued with Jesus and wished Him dead, when He told them how to find their true identities and achieve spiritual health. Jesus was eventually executed, but He came out of that grave, and so can you and I. There’s a lot to appreciate about freedom in an earthly place where you and I live every day. But, there’s lots that enslaves too, not least of which is that inevitable grave, the same one Jesus conquered. There’s a way through this, if you’ll listen to what Ben and Reuben remind you that Jesus can do. He wants you. Be free in Jesus.  

  

 

The song’s story is here: Who You Say I Am by Hillsong Worship - Songfacts   and here:  #941 - "Who You Say I Am" by Hillsong Worship | BEHIND THE SONG WITH KEVIN DAVIS | NewReleaseToday

See some information about the song here: Who You Say I Am (song) - Wikipedia 

 

See Hillsong Convention Centre image information here: File:Hillsong Convention Centre.jpg - Wikimedia Commons.  This work has been released into the public domain by its author, Tatie2189. This applies worldwide. In some countries this may not be legally possible; if so: Tatie2189 grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.