Healing Grace -- John Chisum and Gary Sadler

 

One or both of these songwriters needed some help, though we don’t know just exactly what that was. One thing was for certain, and that was that John Chisum and Gary Sadler sought out the One they felt sure would hear and communicate “Healing Grace” to them. Both John and Gary have spent much of their musical lives in the Nashville area (See the map-image of Nashville in Davidson County here), and that crucible for music development and production worked on both of them as it has for so many others, including by 1994 when their prayer-song about healing and grace emerged. John’s testimony particularly has resonance, in that he’s a living example of an up-and-down career musician who undoubtedly called out to his Creator-Protector on more than one occasion for this song title’s expression in his life. ‘You can make it’, John might say. ‘He’s there, so just keep singing that song of dependence on Him. It never grows old.’

 

Was it 1983, or memories of that time, that had John Chisum writing a set of lyrics and sharing his thoughts with Gary Sadler? Gary must have had his own memories of ‘healing grace’ episodes, ones that every introspective person surely recalls, perhaps even as a catalyst in one’s life. That could be said of John Chisum, given what he and his family experienced upon arriving in Nashville in 1983. John had a job at a church that ended abruptly, like a door slamming in one’s face. He and his wife were without a home and few resources, a most desperate circumstance. John shares in another venue (see his own website link below) about a time when he was 58 and ‘life fell apart’. Whether this was the 1983 experience or a separate episode is not clear (but, he would be nearly 100 years old today in 2024 if that incident was in fact 41 years ago at age 58…a photo on his site suggests otherwise, and that these were two separate incidents); what he says after this opening sentence is noteworthy, something that tells how deep was his hopelessness, a condition that someone might feel more than once in a lifetime. The lyrics on which John and Gary collaborated indicate a recognition that misdeeds, ‘transgressions’ and ‘sins’, were a root cause of the trouble they felt. And yet, that did not permanently distance them from the Healer, the Dispenser of grace. The Confessor – you and me – needs only to use the ‘cry of our heart’ to ‘seek (His) face’. The verbs that John and Gary use can tell us much about what we do, and also what God does in response. God is the one ‘loving’, ‘hear(ing)’, ‘show(ing)’, ‘touch(ing)’, and finally ‘releas(ing) and ‘wash(ing)’ us from our guilt; while we ‘come’ to ‘confess’ and ‘acknowledge’ wrongdoing, and to ‘seek’ Him and ‘receive’ His gift. Verbs are powerful words.

 

Knowing the story of this song, whether the impetus was John Chisum’s or Gary Sadler’s reminiscence or in fact a composite of them both, is really not the point. A ‘song scoop’ is just a single isolated mouthful that you and I take in, savor, and swallow. But, it might also be one that was so tasty the first time – in the way that we sense Him moving in and through us – that we know implicitly to whom we can go for more of what blessed us the first time. He’s not a vending machine, but more like a glue or fragrance that doesn’t wear off, unless we make a conscious effort to rid ourselves of Him. Who would want rid of God after ‘receiving’ from Him, as Chisum and Sadler tell us three times to conclude their lyrics? John and Gary would almost certainly tell us (and I plan to ask them someday) whether ‘Healing Grace’ was one story, or an ongoing statement. Which is true of Him in your walk?

 

 

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

 

And, here: Life & Work with John Chisum - NashvilleVoyager Magazine | Nashville's Most Inspiring Stories

 

And, here: About – Nashville Christian Songwriters

 

See here information on the album on which the song appears: Firm Foundation - Album by John Chisum, Integrity's Hosanna! Music | Spotify

 

See very scant information about one of the two songwriters here: Sadler, Gary | Praise!

 

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.

Lord, Take My Life -- Debbie Dorman and Paul

I am not my own. Said first in a paraphrase by an apostle almost 2000 years ago, and this phrase still echoes today. This writer, a virulent opponent of these very words, had to first have his own life broken down so that God could use him. And these five words apparently rang true for Debbie Dorman in 2001. They were words originally intended for a mixed-up, frankly dysfunctional church in the ancient world, but they still spoke to this 21st Century woman; in fact, it’s the one line in her song that she repeats. “Lord, Take My Life”, Debbie also said, perhaps because she looked at the surrounding world and surmised that maybe us 21st Century folks still need what that old apostle (Paul) admonished his 1st Century world to rethink. Do depravity and apathy, and the human proclivity for wrongdoing, especially in the most sordid ways, even bother us? Does it seem like illicit thoughts and behavior travel as fast as the internet can carry them? If Debbie asked herself similar questions, that wouldn’t be surprising, coming from a songwriter who ministers at a church in Austin (see the Austin flag here) that communicates a different way forward for us who have been stained, even just a little bit, by dissolution. HOPE. That’s what Debbie wants to say to you and me; it’s a word that comes straight from Him, the only real source for it.

Debbie and her husband (Jack) minister at Hope Chapel in Austin, and the compact disc on which ‘Take My Life’ appears is called Songs of Hope. Those are good signposts for what Debbie would have the searcher find, this spring of hope that Debbie’s official site settles on for her message. She zeroes in on what Paul wrote a group of Corinthian believers (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) for her song’s inspiration and theme. This paragraph from Paul, in which these few verses are contained, is pretty blunt. Sexual immorality was menacing and compromising the Corinthians’ relationship with God  -- the same God who was supposed to be inside each of them. How dare you degrade your own body with these debased practices! ‘…you are not your own’…’bought with a price’, Paul says, and which Debbie reiterates for us some 20 centuries later. And, then she adds words that help sum up what Paul most certainly would have also said in the same breath. ‘Make (my body) your home’, ‘reign in me’, ‘live through me’, and ‘take my heart’  – words that indeed Paul was living out, ever since his encounter with Him on the Damascus road and the aftermath of that life-altering episode. The ‘blood of Your Son’ was the price, one that Debbie recognized should compel others toward a Savior, and not just an intellectual exercise, but a step – a commitment – to make Him Lord. ‘Make (my heart) your throne’ no doubt describes what the Dormans have been doing for a long time at Hope Chapel, to the point at which they see others (like Andy Combs…read what he says about Debbie on her site), who they coaxed toward Hope, now living out and helping to point others in the same direction. That’s not unlike what Paul himself would have dreamed could happen when he wrote to a group of baby Christians. I’m still his child, and so are we all, in need of fellow seekers to whom we link arms, to keep each other moving toward the light of hope.

I am not my own…a declaration that really runs counter to my high school Civics class, my undergraduate and graduate degrees, and my everyday interaction with the culture in which I live. ‘I have rights!’, someone says. True enough, but what really is best for me? Tunnel vision and egotism can hound and mislead me, as they do you, too. I have to realize that He knows me better than I know myself. The same can probably be said of the Tempter, too, and does that give me pause? That Ensnarer surely wants me in his trap, and I can so easily find myself there. Can’t you? With two spiritual beings at work who know me so well, am I helpless and hopeless? With one I am, and the other actually gives me what is best. Have you figured out which one is which? 

 

See the songwriter’s official site here, and the biblical reference she makes there for the song: http://www.debdorman.com/songs-of-hope/lord-take-my-life/ , and read about her here:  http://www.debdorman.com/about/

 

Read about the church where the songwriter and her husband minister here: Hope Chapel - Ministries

 

See information about the image of the Austin, TX flag here: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Austin,_Texas.svg . The image’s public domain status is as follows: 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; and also, because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1929.

He Will Rejoice Over You – Zephaniah, Scott Wesley Brown and David Hampton

What’s it like to preach utter destruction to a wayward people, and then follow that up with a promise that divine redemption is also coming? This 7th Century B.C. prophet named Zephaniah warned those who would listen, including probably the highest authorities of his land, while also reassuring them that “He Will Rejoice Over You” – with singing. (See the 18th Century image of the prophet here [a Russian Orthodox icon, in the Kizhi Monastery in Karelia, Russia]). Could it be those last two words of the verse (Zephaniah 3:17) especially captured the attention of two songwriters – Scott Wesely Brown and David Hampton, two guys who obviously loved music themselves -- some 27 centuries later? Listen for God to sing, that’s quite a thing to say! Zephaniah must have felt this was a great way to conclude what he had to say, after beginning his message to his hearers with the opposite. Is the roller-coaster of human experience different today? We might surmise that Scott and David didn’t think so when they reprised in 1996 what Zephaniah said so long ago.

Zephaniah travelled in pretty elevated circles and had a pedigree that seemed to match his environment; so, did that give him some special license to deliver a message from God? Zephaniah was the great-great grandson of King Hezekiah (715-686 B.C), one of the very best kings of Judah following the split of the kingdom some two or three centuries earlier (around 930 B.C.), and this prophet does seem to hint at this by mentioning his bloodlines in the first few words of his message. It also had to be a source of encouragement to Zephaniah that another good king, Josiah (640-609 B.C.), had ascended to Judah’s throne, and at such a young age (eight years old, 2 Kings 22:1) seemed impressionable and eventually willing to redirect the kingdom toward the true God once again. Perhaps Josiah’s father and grandfather (Amon and Manasseh) had strayed too far even for a grandson to respect what evil they had done – worshipping idols of the surrounding nations, an utter abomination to the real God. Could one say that Josiah’s mother, Jedidah, might also have coaxed him in this direction? But, at first Zephaniah had to issue a severe forecast – that God’s judgement would crush not only Judah and Jerusalem, but the surrounding peoples in Philistia, Moab, Ammon, Ethiopia, Assyria, and Nineveh. Repent. That was a directive that Josiah evidently heeded by 621 B.C., finding in his 18th year of rule the Book of the Law, and subsequently renewing the covenant and doing what he could to eliminate the influence of foreign gods in the land (2 Kings 22 and 23). Zephaniah’s words must have resounded in Josiah’s ears --- destruction if you don’t set things on a renewed trajectory toward God (the first 2.5 chapters of his three-chapter message), and God’s vision of a people who have sought Him once again and are being blessed (Zephaniah 3:9-20). Perhaps 3:17 is perhaps the most personal and tender of what God says to them through the prophet – all contained in the few words of ‘He Will Rejoice Over You’.   

Zephaniah, and Scott Brown and David Hampton must have all felt the same thing, even if they were more than two-dozen centuries apart. God wants to embrace his people, inside ‘His (great) love’ and because of His ‘great delight’ in us when we cling to Him only. If you can imagine feeling safe and calm, cared for, possessing an utter sense of protection and belonging, then you have experienced what Zephaniah could foresee. Then you might also hear the Great One singing, something that sounds like a lullaby and a celebration all at once – rejoicing at a Divine level. What’s ‘His voice’ sound like? Almost unimaginable, don’t you think? What if we could engage all of the senses He’s given us to discover Him today? Can you ponder for a moment touching, smelling, and tasting (Psalm 34:8) Him, in addition to hearing and seeing Him? Someday, you and I will get to use all of ourselves to experience Him.  

See NIV Study Bible introduction to the book of Zephaniah for background on the primary author-poet. Also see here for information on the prophet-poet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zephaniah

See here some information about one of the 20^th Century author-songwriters: Scott Wesley Brown - Wikipedia

See the official website of one of the 20^th Century songwriters here: Professional Addiction Recovery Coach | Brentwood |David Hampton (davidhamptoncprc.com)

Listen to a rendition of the song here:  Bing Videos

 

See here for information on the image of Zephaniah: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Zephaniah.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 1929.