“Living the Lyrics”

1966.

Andraé Crouch.
“The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power.”

If you’re like me, the mere mention of this song sends the melody and lyrics racing through your mind. But like many songs we sing, the words can dance in our heads without fully landing. The seeds scatter but seldom take root.

Providentially—and with renewed conviction—this gospel classic has come to mind as I’ve been reading through the book of Acts. Jesus Himself said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Really? Did He intend this only for the disciples then, but not for us now?

Rhetorically, the answer comes back with an emphatic no. Power then. Power now.

In November 1980, my twin sister Debbie married Randy Birkey—a middle school connection rekindled in a wedding ceremony. Within 12 years, four children filled their home.

Fast forward to 2017: brokenness and disappointment. Divorce.

Separate lives. Debbie in a Chicago suburb. Randy in Madison, Wisconsin. Overlap where necessary—but only when necessary.

Then—yes, then—2022. At a men’s silent retreat through Christ Church Madison:
“I met Jesus in a powerful way and experienced a miraculous, spiritual transformation.”

Randy’s words. His experience. Connected to the church all his life, yet on the doorstep of 70, he encountered rebirth.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

New.

And yes, a multi-year journey toward reconciliation. Slowly. Cautiously. Kindly. Building bridges where a chasm once existed. Watering the roots of trust where doubt had grown a forest.

Conviction. Repentance. Kindness. Sacrifice. Selflessness. Warmth. Hope. Respect. Trust… then love.

The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power. On Saturday, May 2, 2026: marriage—again.

An unextinguishable beacon that splashes light into every corner of darkness.

Transformation is possible. Then. And now.

For a Jewish zealot in Acts 9.
And for adults in the waning years of life.

Power—
to become witnesses,
on the dusty pathways of Jesus,
and in the suburbs of Chicago and Madison.

“There was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and Jesus was there…” (John 2)

Yes. Jesus was there.

In Galilee—and at Church of the Resurrection in Wheaton, Illinois, on May 2.

Transformation.

Andraé Crouch was right. It will never lose its power.

Never.