All I Need

Jesus Christ is made to me,
All I need, all I need,
He alone is all my plea,
He is all I need.

Chorus:
Wisdom righteousness and pow’r,
Holiness forevermore,
My redemption full and sure,
He is all I need.

Jesus is my all in all,
All I need, all I need,
While He keeps I cannot fall,
He is all I need.

He redeemed me when He died,
All I need, all I need,
I with Him was crucified,
He is all I need.

To my Savior will I cleave,
All I need, all I need,
He will not His servant leave.
He is all I need.

He’s the treasure of my soul,
All I need, all I need,
He hath cleansed and made me whole.
He is all I need.

Glory, glory to the Lamb,
All I need, all I need,
By His Spirit sealed I am,
He is all I need.

One of over 1,000 hymns written by Charles P. Jones, “All I need” can be found on page 183 of the Redback hymnal, or just #183 for you Redback aficionados.  Mr. Jones was born in Floyd County, Georgia in 1865 and died in 1949.  He was a hymnwriter, preacher, and helped to found the Church of God in Christ denomination.  Mr. Price’s other well known hymn includes #230 – Deeper, Deeper in the Love of Jesus.  I remember singing the chorus to this song – All I need, but I don’t remember when and where.  I asked my wife, and she too remembered the chorus, but neither of us could pinpoint where we learned it.  Remembering songs like this is a little present, a gift, the Lord gives me.  Even when I am not even asking for it.  I am thankful that in my past a music minister, or my mother, or Granny, or someone along the way etched these words into my mind and into my memory banks.  I hope for some of you that this email will be a gift and a reminder of a time in the past where you were able to sing with the author of this song – He is all I need.

Couple of comments on the list of things in the chorus.  These three things are unique in that they are things we ought to seek after, and they are things that God promises to give us.

• Wisdom – Proverbs 4:7 says “Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.”  Proverbs 16:16 says “How much better to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.” James 1:5 says “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.”  Aren’t you glad the Lord gives wisdom to His children that ask for it?

• Righteousness – Zephaniah 2:3 says “Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, Who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility.”  Matthew 6:33 says “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”  Isaiah 61:10 says “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.”  Aren’t you glad you can be covered by Him with the robe of righteousness if you earnestly seek Him?

• Redemption – In looking for verses about redemption, I tried to find a scripture about redemption being “full” like the chorus of the song says.  I came across Psalm 130:7 which reads “Let Israel hope in the Lord: for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.”  That last phrase just stood out to me.  So here’s the word used in other translations for plenteous – “Abundant, Plentiful, Armloads, Generous, Full, and Overflowing.”  Aren’t you glad the Lord redeems abundantly?  Not partially.  Not temporarily.  But full, abundant, generous, overflowing, and plenteous is His redemption.

This is the time of year at my house where we begin to get requests for what our kids want for Christmas.  Since my family is Oklahoma, they need plenty of time to be able to shop for Christmas things and then get them in the mail.  My mom sent a request recently that we all put down on our list the following four things:

Something you want
Something you need
Something to wear
Something to read

My kids are pretty good at coming up with their list of things they want for Christmas, but as I have gotten older, it has become more and more difficult to come up with a list.  My mom says it is because I already have everything, and maybe that is partially true.  Or maybe I have expensive tastes and that is why I am hard to buy for.

Nonetheless, her list made me think.  What do I want?  What do I need?  Do I need more things to wear?  What book do I need to read?

The more I ask myself these questions, the more I end up with essentially the same answer.  Jesus and His Word.  What do I want? What do I need?  Another old hymn says “More of You.  More of You.  I’ve had all, but what I need is just more of you.  Of things, I’ve had my fill.  And yet I hunger still.  Empty and bare, Lord hear my prayer for more of You.”

Something to wear – Maybe I need to put on the full armor of God.  Maybe I need to remind myself of Galatians 3:27 – “For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.”

Something to read – I need to read the Bible more.  To study the Scriptures more.  That is what I need to do.

So today, I would encourage you to realize that in a world screaming to you to get more things…..more stuff, that you realize He is all you need.  Get more of Him, and you get wisdom, righteousness, and power.  Holiness forevermore.  Redemption full and sure.  He is all we need.