Communion Song

Sometimes when putting a song together, the words come first and the tune follows sometime in the future. Sometimes the words and tune come at the same time. This one is different, as I put the words to an existing tune. The tune I borrowed from a song to my first girlfriend which I wrote in late 1980. While that relationship didn't last, I liked the chords. I don't remember when I acutually wrote a communion song to go with the melody, but at some point in the ensuing 20 years it happened as the first dated copy I have is from 2003.

And when (Jesus) had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. (1 Corinthians 11:24 KJV)

Communion Song
©Edd Russell, Fresno 8/2003

VERSE 1
C2                                      FM7  FM7/E-FM7/D
    This bread You give, O Lord,
C2                                 FM7   FM7/E-FM7/D
   Your body broken for me
G7/B                         G7/A-G7        G7/A
Though I’m the one who’s broken
FM7                             C2 C2/D-C2/E
In You I’m made complete


CHORUS
F                                       G
    You gave Your life for me
F                                 C-C/B-Am
    Gave it up on that tree
                                 Dm-Dsus-Dm-D2-Dm-Dsus
Now I give You my life
Dm                          C2-FM7 FM7/E-FM7/D-C2
    Take it from me now


VERSE 2
C2                                   FM7      FM7/E-FM7/D
    This cup You give, O Lord,
C2                                  FM7      FM7/E-FM7/D
    To wash away all my sin
G7/B                                G7/A-G7       G7/A
Though I still stumble all the  time
FM7                                C2      C2/D-C2/E
You are there to pick me up

CHORUS 2
F                                           G
    You shed Your blood for me
F                                     C-C/B-Am
    Poured it out on that tree
                                 Dm-Dsus-Dm-D2-Dm-Dsus
Now I give You my life
Dm                           C2-FM7      FM7/E-FM7/D-C2
     Take it from me now

Behold, O Lord

In the fall of 1981, I found myself in the hamlet of Stouffville, Ontario, Canada. I had come there to take part in some training with a group called Emmanuel International before heading overseas for a year. The organization was founded by a man named George Middleton, a former missionary to Ethiopia with SIM.

It was a life-changing time for me, and not only because I met Ingrid there (though that was pretty life-changing). At the training we learned practical things like driving 4x4 vehicles off-road and how to maintain them. Milking cows. Preparing chicken from scratch. I even got to have my first experience with hypothermia (that was not part of the required training). But also as part of the training, on most days George would give us instruction on spiritual formation. During this time I became especially aware of my own inadequacy before God—how much even my good works fell short of God's standards—and how much we needed Jesus if we were to accomplish anything for God. We can't be Godly without the power of God. As Zechariah was told to encourage Zerubabbel when facing a seemingly impossible task, "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts." (Zechariah 4:6 ESV)

Emmanuel International HQ in Stouffville

This song started as a poem in response to what was going on inside of me while I was at the training. The tune and chords came later.

Behold, O Lord
© Edd Russell (Fall 1980, Stouffville, Ontario; Emmanuel International)

E                                 F#7  A                                     E
Behold, O Lord how much... do we withhold from you.
       E                            F#7  A                                             E
We say it's you that we love... But we don't act like that's true.
      B                     E                  B                      C#m
If God you can forgive,... and make our lives a light:
 A        B        C#m           A    B                       E
Take them, O Lord from us--   help us to live right.

How can we lie so much,
how can we live like the dead?
How can we always live our lives
without you as the head?
We give our lives to you, God,
use them as you would:
Crucify our hearts, O God,
Make them as they should.

You have created us, O God,
To you we do belong.
Take our lives, we pray, O God,
Make our lives a song:
A song that sings to you, Lord,
To you gives glory alone—
Let us sing for you, O God,
Until you take us home.

Consistency

Today I was working on an Excel spreadsheet, and I wanted to edit a cell. There are two common ways to do this—double-click the cell (which doesn't always work on my Mac) or highlight the cell and then make changes in the formula bar at the top. But since I was using the PC, I just hit the F2 key.

I started working with computers when we had a mainframe system at University. This was before the days of personal computers.Then, when we were working in Haiti, our mission had several PCs that we could use to help put together newsletters and publications. At one point, I was able to borrow a portable computer to use in our remote work location. It weighed about 40 pounds and had a 5 inch CRT screen. It boasted a 5-1/4 inch floppy drive and a small hard drive. It had Microsoft Word for DOS on it as well as a spreadsheet program called Lotus 123. I started using Lotus 123 to do personal finances, clinic finances and to keep track of data from some of our ag projects. In Lotus 123, the way to start editing a cell was by pressing the F2 key.

In 1993, we got our first personal computer—it was a small notebook with a 10MB hard drive and a 3-1/2 inch floppy drive. It came with Microsoft Winows 1.1 preinstalled. At this point, I started using Microsoft Excel instead of Lotus 123; fortunately I could easily migrate my Lotus 123 files to the new platform. One of the things I quickly discovered was that Excel borrowed the process of using the F2 key to edit a cell.

The early versions of Excel were quite limited. A lot of formulas that are standard now, one had to enter manually back then. It only supported one worksheet per file. Summarizing data from several worksheets onto one was not such a simple process as it is now. But one thing the Microsoft has kept all this time is the use of the F2 key to edit a cell.

As time progresses, a lot of things change—and these days things change so fast I can hardly keep up. So I appreciate these little things that stay the same in the midst of a universe in flux.

But more than this, I appreciate a God who doesn't change. If God were fickle, we would not know how to approach Him. What worked one day might not work the next. But, as the writer of Hebrews reminds us, Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8) If He loved us yesterday, He will love us tomorrow and He will love us in all eternity. Thanks be to God! His love is more certain than the F2 key.