He Made His Home In Me

Recently another worship leader Dan, John and myself have been writing some new songs around the grace theme.  There have been so many great truths running through our hearts that we decided to try to capture them in song format.  In fact, I had been writing down impacting phrases, concepts and verses for several months in preparation for this experiment.

I didn’t know how this would work because I’ve almost always written love/adoration songs.   But surprisingly, the phrases and melodies began to fall into place… and then it got exciting as the song began to take shape.  Here’s the end result.

The truth is that the message of grace is revolutionizing everything about our walk and relationship with God.  It changes our perspective of God… and who we are in God’s eyes… and in our own eyes.  Wow!  Now, the theological verses about “no condemnation” begin to have experiential realization and application.  It’s an exciting road into freedom.

‘He Made His Home In Me’ focuses on our ‘one-ness’ with God.   And if God and I are one, then I need to get skilled at thinking like that and talking like that and acting like that.  This ‘need’ is not a conformance issue from some pressure forced upon me… but rather this change results from revelation as it begins to emerge from the core of the heart and then my heart begins to change my thoughts, my thoughts begin to change my words, and my words begin to change my actions, and my actions begin to change my world.

Many of us did the Christian thing for many years under a heavy conformance pressure from outside influences.   But as Jesus said, there was the potential to become “white washed sepulchers” with that methodology.  Rather, Jesus’ obvious emphasis was on the heart.

When the Wesley brothers retrofitted the then current bar tunes with the new doctrines that they were preaching, it gave the doctrines a powerful ‘vehicle’ to escort them into the parishioners’ homes.  (BTW – those old bar tunes are now our classic and dear old hymns)   The strategic vehicle was music… then and now.   Catchy phrases and melodies stuck in the singers heart and then washed them throughout the week as the doctrines were reiterated.  Nothing new really… David and the Psalmists ‘sent’ their sermons home with the people.  But the end result is that a culture begins to be changed not just by ‘Sunday’ preaching, but by every man ‘preaching’ to himself as he sings the songs over and over.  How ingenious of God to create human hearts that are captured and respond so well to music.   Thank you God!

So, let your heart listen to this song’s truths.  Get familiar with these truths.  Let them wash your heart and rearrange your thought processes.  Then watch how your world begins to come into alignment with your inner reality.  Proverbs 4:23 says it this way, “… out of your heart flow all the issues of life.”   And Jesus said it this way, “According to your faith be it unto you.” –  Matt 9:29.   

We now have several songs in process, but here you go… a first song of many, we hope.

He Made His Home In Me

Vs 1
Whatever my God believes about Jesus
Is what He believes about me
What’s true of Him is quite true of me
Now I’ve become His glory

Chorus:
There’s not a thing I could do to set myself free
He paid the ultimate price for my liberty
The success of the Cross was full and complete
Now I’m innocent, righteous and holy
For He made his home in me
He made his home in me

Vs 2
When I look into the mirror of His Word
The reflection I see is me
I’ve come to know  now I fully believe
It was Jesus’ delight to reveal Himself in me.

Bridge
Sin and shame have been defeated
He has called me son
No more distance or delay
For God and I are one

His delight is on me now
I’m covered in His love
I’m perfect and complete in Him
All hiding is done
For He made His home in me
He made His home in me

(c) 2015 – Mark Hendrickson, Dan Caudell, John Hendrickson

Click here for a chord chart and click here for an mp3 audio.

— MLH

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Announcing: 14th Annual He-Man Camping, Intl

Dear He-Man campers (and She-Women, too)

             Official Extravaganza Gala Announcement

Our 14^th Annual “He-Man (and She-Woman) Camping Trip, International” will be June 25-27 (Thurs thru Sat)(2 nights and parts of 3 days)  That’s right, it’s just over a month away.

This year we’ll be combining ALL types (manly types, girlie types and the ‘small fry’) for ALL three days and two nights.  It’s a family camp out.

Same place – South Central Missouri – Near Mt View, MO on the beautiful Jacks Forks River.  More details coming on the web site below.  Just look at the serenity in this pic!

Like all years, everyone is responsible for their own camping gear, travel, food and expenses. Camp sites are free.  I’ll supply the water, the large tarp for over the camp fire area… and the opportunity.  🙂

So mark your calendars and gather your gear for another extravaganza of epic proportions.  And just for a reminder of how epic it is, here are some things to look forward to:

~ Experience the priceless koinonia of tent-city group camping on a bed of gravel.  It’s sorta like the Early Church… many things are shared in common, like:  good victuals, snoring, tall story-telling, and… Ok, you get the idea.

~ Expect some sumptuous meals!!  It’s pretty doggone good when ya get to eat this good and this much on a campout.  Refresh your fire building skills… and cooking-over-an-open-fire skills… like the cave men did.  Or bring your Coleman cheater ‘cooker thang’ with fourteen gas burners and temperature controlled cake ovens, etc…  Don’t forget to wash your cookware in the ‘automatic washer’ down at the river’s edge.

~ Then you can lather up your bod and scrub the day’s grime off… just before retiring for the evening.  If we’re lucky we’ll hear the eerie sounds of the screech owl and the hoots of the hoot owl… and see an occasional bat flit through the firelight.  Watch superb fire demonstrations from hollow logs and special effects… thnx to Dave Wyatt’s legacy.  Fight off marauding bandits… the wild racoons that come out just after dark.  Warning: for protection, all women and children must stay in the center tents… near the fire.  The veteran He-Men who have survived previous battles with the bandits, will stand watch and protect those sleeping.  So just relax and fall asleep to nature’s ‘white noise’ sleep noise from the frogs, cicadas and crickets… interspersed with raccoon chatters or growls as they’re fought back into the darkness of the night.  Then wake to nature’s alarm clock… the whip-o-wils… at about ‘o-dark-thirty’, for an early start at a fresh new day.

~ During the day, we’ll rally the dam builders to work on the dam projects.  Swim, fish, skip rocks, catch a crappie bare handed… or just soak up some sun.  Don your swim mask and enjoy the underwater wonder-world of bass, crappie and an occasional scary-barracuda-looking billy gar.  We’ll assemble a major world class crawdaddy catching… and eating… delegation.  A few howls and screams… from a painful pincer/claw… are absolutely necessary in order to prove that we’re having lotsa fun.

~ Prepare for the mind (and body) numbing cold water ‘polar bear’ swim to the back of the spring cave.  This qualifies you to be a full-fledged and duly authorized member of the true He-Man International legacy.  And you will belong to the High Order of Dingbats… including several other very distinguished titles.  Your skin will turn red first… then blue… and then… O, well, don’t worry, the undertaker can fix that.  And we will also officially pronounce to you, “You are now more of a man than your mother!”

~ Join an intrepid expedition through the caves… at least the easy cave.  If we only lose one or two people in the easy one, we’ll then proceed to the harder one.  Brace your shivering self as you take a shower in the 12 foot water-fall in the cave entrance room.

~ Expect to get really good at spotting itching weed/nettles and poison ivy… remember, “Leaves of 3, let it be!”  If you don’t get good at spotting them… then expect to get good at wishing that you did. 

Or… ignore all of my gobbledygook and just relax, dial-down, veg out… and enjoy the R&R like most everyone does.  We have a ton of fun and lotsa hangout fellowship.

For pics, tips and quips check out the He-man Facebook page here:  http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=109356022452575&ref=ts

Please feel free to forward this email to anyone who might be interested.

See you soon… if you’re not a city-fied scaredy-cat.  
Mark & Debbie