Before the World

Who or what is God? How do you define God?

In my home country, heavily influenced by Judeo-Christian thought, many people have a concept of "god," though not all people believe that such a being exists or exactly what such a being would be like. But when we worked in Thailand, we found that the Thai people, in general, don't have a concept of a God as an ultimate being that is separate from the created realm. As such, there is no term specifically for a God. The term they might use for God essentially has a meaning like "lord" and can refer to a spiritual being or an earthly ruler. So when we used the term, we used it with qualifying terms such as "God the creator."

The Bible has many references to God as Creator and, as such, is Lord over all that He has made. It also points out the unique role of humans in the created realm and the fact that these humans were designed to have a relationsip with Him. God is a personal God.

Genesis 1:1 ESV
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Genesis 1:27 ESV
So God created man in his own image,
 in the image of God he created him;
 male and female he created them.

Psalm 24:1 ESV
The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof,
 the world and those who dwell therein,
for he has founded it upon the seas
 and established it upon the rivers.

Psalm 100:3 ESV
Know that the LORD, he is God!
 It is he who made us, and we are his;
 we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

Psalm 115:15 ESV
May you be blessed by the LORD,
 who made heaven and earth!
The heavens are the LORD’s heavens,
 but the earth he has given to the children of man.

Proverbs 3:19 ESV
The LORD by wisdom founded the earth;
 by understanding he established the heavens;
by his knowledge the deeps broke open,
 and the clouds drop down the dew.

Isaiah 40:28-29 ESV
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
 The LORD is the everlasting God,
 the Creator of the ends of the earth.
 He does not faint or grow weary;
 his understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the faint,
 and to him who has no might he increases strength.

Isaiah 44:24 ESV
Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer,
 who formed you from the womb:
 “I am the LORD, who made all things,
 who alone stretched out the heavens,
 who spread out the earth by myself,

Isaiah 66:2a ESV
All these things my hand has made,
 and so all these things came to be,
 declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 10:12 ESV
It is he who made the earth by his power,
who established the world by his wisdom,
and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.

Jeremiah 27:5 ESV
“It is I who by my great power and my outstretched arm have made the earth,
 with the men and animals that are on the earth, and I give it to whomever it seems right to me.

Jeremiah 51:19a ESV
Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob,
 for he is the one who formed all things,

Colossians 1:16 ESV
For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

Hebrews 1:10 ESV
And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,
 and the heavens are the work of your hands;

2 Peter 3:5 ESV
For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God

When God appears to Moses, Moses asks what God's name is. God introduces Himself a "I am who I am." God is the self-existent One, the One who exists apart from the created realm. (Exodus 3:14)

In Psalm 139, David writes about the awesomeness of God and, in verses 13-16, what that means for us in particular as humans.

Psalm 130:13-16 ESV
For you formed my inward parts;
 you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
 Wonderful are your works;
 my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
 when I was being made in secret,
 intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
 in your book were written, every one of them,
 the days that were formed for me,
 when as yet there was none of them.

This song is based of the thought that God is creator of the world in general and humans in particular, and as such, He is Lord over the world and our lives as well. And in spite of all that God has to keep track of in regulating the universe, He cares for us as individuals. The mix of tenses in the song is intentional.

Before the World
©Edd Russell, Fresno 6/2006

INTRO E B/D# C#m Bsus F#m G#m A2

E      B/D#                      C#m  Bsus
   Before the world was born
F#m G#m          A2   Bsus
        There was You.
E     B/D#                       C#m Bsus
   Before the world was born
F#m G#m A2
You   are   God
     F#m G#m   A2
Before  time began
F#m G#m    A2     Bsus   E       B/D C#m Bsus
You   are    there    al   -   ways

CHORUS 1
                      E B/D# C#m Bsus
And You are Je     -     sus
    F#m G#m   Bsus
Crea  -  tor  of all
                     E B/D# C#m Bsus
Yes You are Je    -    sus
F#m G#m Bsus
Lord over  all

INST:  E   B/D#   C#m   Bsus (2X)
            F#m   G#m   A2

E      B/D#                      C#m  Bsus
   Before the world was born
F#m G#m          A2   Bsus
You knew my name.
E      B/D#                      C#m  Bsus
   Before the world was born
 F#m G#m        A2
You  called me Yours
     F#m G#m    A2
Before  time began
F#m G#m    A2   Bsus E   B/D C#m Bsus
I       am    Yours  al - ways

CHORUS 2
                      E B/D# C#m Bsus
And You are Je     -     sus
    F#m G#m   Bsus
Crea  -  tor  of all
                     E B/D# C#m Bsus
Yes You are Je    -    sus
F#m G#m     Bsus
You  are my God

REPEAT CHORUS 1

INST:  E   B/D#   C#m   Bsus (2X)
            F#m   G#m   A2

F#m  G#m  A2
You    are   God
F#m  G#m    A2
I         am   Yours

END:  F#m  G#m  A2  Bsus  E

Tear Down That Wall

This is what I hope will be the first blog of a series highlighting some of the songs I have written over the years. With them are some unpolished home videos of the songs.
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I didn't have much interest in music as a child. All of us kids were required to take a year of piano lessons (though it took us two years to go through a one year program) taught by my mom's youngest sister, who was a part-time piano instructor and also an organist. My sisters continued piano beyond the requirement. Some of my siblings studied some kind of musical instrument or vocals in school. I had no such interest, though I did do well in music appreciation when it was taught to us in sixth grade—not so much because I liked the music part but I liked the analytical aspect of it. I think one reason I had little interest in music was because I had nothing to sing about.

Then, when I was seventeen, I ended up getting involved with a youth group at a Baptist Church in a nearby town. As part of our weekly activities, we sang praise songs. When I became a believer, I finally discovered something worth singing about. After I graduated high school, I realized I would like to bring some of the songs with me to university. My mom at one point had puchased a 3/4 size nylon string guitar which, at that point, no one had bothered to try to learn to play. I started teaching myself a little bit and put together a notebook of songs with chords—a notebook that I still have lying around. I started playing some of the songs I learned at youth group plus other choruses that I put together myself. I got a cheap case for the guitar and off to university I went.

My first time performing in public was a week prior to starting university. At that point I had been playing for about 3 months. There was this optional program called freshman camp, which started a few days before classes began. During some free time, I was sitting around, strumming my guitar and singing. At one point, I 'm playing the tune, "We are One in the Spirit," and this girl I don't know walks up to me and says, "We're going to sing that for the talent show." I replied, "No, we're not," to which she said, "yes, we are." This went on for a few minutes, and I finally gave in. It was probably the only song I could play half-way decently at that point.

During my university years, my guitar playing improved a bit. Also, a friend who was a music major invited some of us to join a choir as part of a class project, so we got to perform an entire cantata in front of her music instructors. That was a bit nerve-wracking, to say the least.

Original chord chart used in my first public guitar-playing

Since then, I have sung in church and community choirs and have also helped lead worship in various churches with guitar, vocals and/or percussion.

I'm at best a mediocre guitar player. Still, I was able to teach some guitar to some young people when we were in Thailand. Some of those went on to become much better players than myself.

Over the years, I've put together some songs, mostly as part of my own private worship. However, I'm beginning this series with a song I was reminded of by two sermons we heard at Butler Church in the past two weeks. This last Sunday's message was based on Matthew 5:13-16

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.
"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."

Back in 2006, I was part of the missions team at our church. At the time we were trying to encourage the church to think beyond the walls. In the Bible, the church is never a building or place to go to, rather, it is a group of people. Yet often our outreach efforts are focused on getting people to "come to church." Jesus tells us to, "Go...and make disciples," not to sit around and wait for people to show up. How can we be a "light" to our neighbors if the light is blocked by the walls of our houses and church buildings? So, our missions team encouraged people to find ways to get to know their neighbors so that we might be a blessing to them in some way.

That was the background for the song. I also borrowed a line from a speech by Ronald Regan at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin, Germany on June 12, 1987:

“Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” (emphasis mine)

Tear Down That Wall
© Edd Russell, Fresno 11/2006



D
  You are a God without borders,
          Em
  You stepped out from heaven for us,
           C
  You reached in the dark, lonely places;
     D                                    Asus-A
  Illuminated us with Your love.
D
  You tore down all of the fences
           Em
  That kept us from coming to You.
          C
  You opened the doorway to heaven
             D
  When Jesus stepped into our lives.


C/G
  But we’ve erected some fences
D
  To keep all Your love to ourselves.
C/G
  We hide Your light under a basket
D
  So everyone stays in the dark.


                    C/G                                             D
We want to tear down that wall. We want to tear down that wall. (2x)
                      C/G                                                        D
Jesus help us tear down that wall. Cuz we’ve got to tear down that wall.
                          C/G                                              D
Yes, we need to tear down that wall. We want to tear down that wall.

Shear Delight

Now that we have moved back to California, I am using garden tools a bit more. The tools that seem to get the hardest use are those associated with pruning—some vegetation has gotten a bit out of hand in the 14 years we were away. It can be hard to find well made hand tools, but when I do find them, I like to hang onto them. As a result, I have some garden tools that have been around a while.

Not the oldest tools I have by any means, but still showing their age are my hand pruners. I'm fond of my Felco brand tools. The Felco #2, pictured on left, I bought when we lived in Haiti in the late 1980's. They had already had a good workout behind them when we moved to California, since a lot of of the work I did in Haiti was related to growing fruit trees and other trees. When we bought a house, and fruit tree pruning became a major winter activity, I bought the Felco #7 which has one handle that swivels that makes it easier on the hands to use. I have had the #7 over 20 years. We even brought that one to Thailand with us. The rubber hand grips are a bit weary, but otherwise they still cut fine—with a little maintenance, of course. Good tools don't necessarily cheap, however—the current price of these are $70 and $90 respectively.

Felco #2 and #7

Back in 2020 when we were stuck in California, I acquired and old set of Corona loppers that had belonged to a friend who had inherited them, I believe from a grandparent. I don't know all that they had been through, but I'm guessing they had had a hard life, as they were not in good shape—they were missing one handle and only had part of the other one. However, I went to Fresno Ag Hardware and got a new set of handles for about $35 and was pleased to find that Corona had not even changed the hole configuration in all the ensuing years since the loppers were made, which was probably before I was born. As a result, I didn't even have to drill holes in the handles to make them fit.

Corona Loppers

One reason that the pruning tools get such a good workout is that I don't just prune with them, I also use them to chop up what I prune, either for stuffing cuttings into the green waste bin, or making them a bit smaller for the compost pile.

The most recent addition to my trimming tools is the hedge shears. They were given to me by a friend (who is older than me) who probably inherited them. When I acquired them, the blades were painted green, which only served to cover over the rust. The handle on one side was split, and was held in place (somewhat) by a piece of steel wire—except the wire did not stay in place. I recently purchased a bench grinder with a wire brush wheel which I used to clean up the blades. This past week, I bound the split handle with some new wire and oiled the handles. The shears are well made, but they are heavy, and I'm not sure I will keep using them, because they are hard on the hands and shoulders. I think I would like a pair with thinner blades that sharpen at a lower angle. And maybe a rubber bumper to reduce the shock when cutting.

Hedge Shears - before fixing up the handle

After fixing up the handle

The tools take maintenance, especially sharpening. I have some diamond sharpening tools, but I still like to use an Arkansas stone to put on the final edge. You can read the story about one of those here: https://mekong-sunrise.blogspot.com/2018/11/longevity.html

Arkansas Sharpening Stone

For cleaning up old tools, I find a wire brush helpful. A standard tool I like to have around the shop is a bench grinder. I usually keep a wire brush on one side and a fine stone on the other, but switch them out as necessary.

Bench Grinder

The nice thing about having good, well-maintained tools, is that I look forward to pruning season. It seems less of a chore and more of a way of relaxing. (And having just written that, I have just researched some hedge shears that will make trimming less of a chore than using the old freebie I acquired.) Pruning uses a combination of horticultural skill and art to design what your future trees will look like. And I like my old-fashioned non-powered garden tools. While I do have a battery powered mower and weed whacker, I prefer to dig with a spade and garden fork and do cutting with shears, loppers and hand saws. Saves money on gym membership, too.

God placed Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden to tend to it and eat from its produce. (Genesis 2:15) He didn't need a lot of tools, because creation had not yet been corrupted by sin. (Genesis 2:9) I look forward to the day when Creation is restored and pests and weeds are no longer an issue, and all we have to do is harvest. (Romans 8:20, 21; Revelation 22:2,3) In the meantime, I'm grateful for some well-made tools.

Happy gardening!

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Update: I did break down ad get some Felco 250-63 hedge shears. They are lighter, have a different style of cutting edge, and also have nice rubber bumpers, which my arms will appreciate. They even use similar hardware to the hand pruners.

Felco 250-63 hedge shears