SUNDAY CHOICE – A MESSAGE FOR LENT- Behind The Song

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:13)

What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the Blood of Jesus. — There is power, power wonder working power in the precious blood of the Lamb.—There, to my heart was the blood applied Glory to His Name.  When I was a young girl, I sang these words at the top of my lungs at my church. My Gammy played the B3, and my Dad would sing- My Mom and I sat on the very front row and I was taught from birth that worshiping God was a good thing. So I did, and I loved it. I loved God with my whole heart even at four years old, and though I didn’t fully comprehend the weight of the words I was singing, I believe the Lord delighted in it. It’s songs like those about the Blood that shaped who I am and my relationship with the Lord today. Songs full of truth and scripture and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The more life I live, the more I’m thankful for that precious blood of the Lamb. I’ve messed up and made plenty of mistakes but I am so thankful and grateful that Jesus bled, died, and rose again so that we may have eternal life with HIM, the Holy God, righteous and blameless even though we aren’t perfect. Being in relationship with God is such a precious gift.

So when we sat down and wrote Thank You Jesus for the Blood, we started by sharing what God has done for us and could truly say we were all lost but now we’re found and we just HAVE to thank Him for it. Our friend Steven began to play the keys and that reminiscent sound of the songs I sang as a child began to take shape in the song.

I invited my mother and two Italian aunties to help at this particular writer’s retreat, and as they were in the kitchen preparing an amazing meal for us, the music swept in and compelled them to join us in the room we were writing in. Tears ran down their faces as they heard ‘Thank You Jesus for the Blood’ come to life because they too were thankful for the blood that washed their sins away.

Just like the songs that have lived and continued to capture the hearts of multiple generations, our heartbeat as song writers is to pen lyric and melody that does the same.  I love how this song brought us all together in worship and thanksgiving. Unity in worship is the most beautiful thing and we can all relate to being sinners saved by grace.

 Charity Gayle 

Pray this hymn will be a blessing to you.