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About the Book
In "God's Word Heals," Derek Prince explains how the Bible contains powerful promises for physical, emotional, and spiritual healing. By understanding and applying these promises, readers can experience God's healing power in their lives. Prince provides practical guidance and examples from scripture to help readers tap into the healing power of God's Word.
Rich Mullins
Born Richard Wayne Mullins on October 21, 1955, in Richmond, IN; died on September 19, 1997, in La Salle County, IL; son of John and Neva Mullins. Education: Attended Friends University, Wichita, KS, late 1980s.
The talents of Contemporary Christian singer/songwriter Rich Mullins and his work with the group Zion were first noticed by Christian music superstar Amy Grant. The inclusion of his song "Sing Your Praise to the Lord" on Grant's Age to Age album in 1982 soon lead to deals with Reunion Records and the start of a successful career as a songwriter and singer. With nearly ten albums and numerous Contemporary Christian hit songs to his credit, Mullins's career was cut short by an automobile accident that took his life on September 19, 1997, in Illinois.
Raised near Richmond, Indiana, Mullins began writing songs in his head as he drove a tractor over the fields of his family's farm. He taught himself to play the piano at age four and soon mastered a number of other instruments as well, including the guitar and hammered dulcimer. Long before his birth, however, factors over which he had no control were beginning to shape the world in which he would grow up. In Rich Mullins: An Arrow Pointing to Heaven by James Bryan Smith, the singer tells of some family history and how it came to affect his life: "My dad grew up back and forth between Kentucky and Virginia because his father was a coal miner. And when my dad was 14 my grandpa came home and told my grandma to load up the truck 'cause they were gonna move.... And my grandpa said, 'Well, Rose, we're going to Detroit.' And she said, 'Why in the world are we going to Detroit?' And he said, 'Because I don't want my boys to grow up to be coal miners.' And so they got as far as Indiana and ran out of gas--and that's how I got here."
As a boy, Mullins was known as Wayne, his middle name. Although he went by Richard when he went off to college and shortened that to Rich when he launched his music career, he preferred to be known as Wayne by his family. Mullins was particularly close to his mother, Neva, who was raised a Quaker. He admits, however, to having been somewhat embarrassed by his father, who was raised in the heart of Appalachia, "which is a very polite way to say that he was a hillbilly," Mullins told Smith. Mullins said that it was not until he was nearing the end of high school that he began to understand the true meaning of the biblical injunction to "honor thy father and mother." In Smith's book Mullins is quoted: "[I]f you cannot honor your father and mother, then you can't honor anybody. Until you come to terms with your heritage, you'll never be at peace with yourself. That was a real breakthrough moment for me. So, what I needed to do was come to understand the Appalachian life, so that I could know more about my father, who had been a stranger to me all my life."
In 1974, after finishing high school, Mullins attended Cincinnati Bible College in Ohio, working as a youth minister in a local church. A couple of years into college, he formed a band of his own. The band only stayed together for about a year, and during that time it performed Christian music at schools and colleges throughout the Cincinnati area. In the late 1970s Mullins left college to work with Zion Ministries and perform with their band, aptly named Zion. In the summer of 1981 a copy of an album recorded by Zion--made up mostly of songs written by Mullins--found its way to Christian singer Amy Grant. The up-and-coming Grant and her managers were impressed by Mullins's "Sing Your Praise to the Lord" and decided to include it on Grant's next album, Age to Age, released in 1982. Mike Blanton, an adviser to Grant and founder of Reunion Records, signed Mullins to his first publishing deal as well as his first artist deal.
Mullins's first album for Reunion, self-titled, was released in 1986 and includes such songs as "Place to Stand," "Elijah," and "Few Good Men." He followed that in 1987 with Pictures in the Sky, which includes "When You Love," "Be with You," and "Verge of a Miracle." Winds of Heaven, Stuff of Earth, Mullins's third album for Reunion, was released in 1989 and features "Awesome God," "Other Side of the World," and "If I Stand." Also hitting music stores in 1989 was Never Picture Perfect, which includes the singles "I Will Sing," "While the Nations Rage," and "First Family."
In 1988 Mullins moved to Wichita, Kansas, to study music education at Friends University, a nondenominational Christian institution. While studying at Friends, he continued to record and perform whenever he could. In 1991 and 1992, he released two volumes of a compilation entitled World As Best As I Remember It. After completing his studies at Friends, Mullins joined a Compassion International mission to the vast Navajo Reservation in Arizona to teach music to the local children and spread the Christian gospel to whomever he could reach. As part of his work in the Navajo Nation, he formed a music club for some of the younger residents. In May of 1995, he moved to the Navajo Nation, settling into a trailer adjacent to the reservation. He lived there with fellow musician Mitch McVicker, and the two were involved in a project to collect musical instruments for the children of the reservation.
Throughout his career, Mullins has been nominated a total of 12 times for Dove Awards, presented each year to the best in Contemporary Christian music. He never received the award, but close friend Doris Howard told Release magazine that he probably didn't mind. "Nashville didn't own Rich, but then, he cared nothing for the things of this world."
On September 19, 1997, the Jeep in which Mullins and McVicker were traveling from Chicago to Wichita overturned on Interstate 39 in La Salle County, Illinois. Both men were thrown onto the road from their vehicle. A tractor trailer following close behind swerved to miss the Jeep but instead hit Rich, killing him instantly. McVicker, though injured critically, recovered.
Rich Mullins's Career
Joined Christian group Zion, late 1970s; released self-titled album for Reunion Records, 1986; recorded total of nine albums of Christian music for Reunion, 1986-96; wrote several Contemporary Christian hits, including "Awesome God" and "Sing Your Praise to the Lord"; studied music education, devoted time to relief efforts among Navajo Indians of the Southwest, mid-1990s.
valentine’s day for single christians
There is a strangeness to Saint Valentine’s Day. G.K. Chesterton saw the oddness of it with his remark that “there seems to be a comic incongruity in such lively and frivolous flirtations still depending on the title of an ascetic and celibate bishop.” Valentine’s Day remains a massively popular holiday in America, despite the fact that many people don’t simply consider the day strange, but dread it all together. For some, the day is too commercialized — a waste of money, they say. All those cards and flowers and chocolates for a holiday we’ve made up needlessly. But many who cringe at Valentine’s Day are simply lonely — they hate being sad, and being reminded of what they don’t have. But as a single Christian who longs to be married, I propose another reason to step back from this annual day of love: it stirs up longings in us that can’t be filled — yet. Valentine’s Day is not an easy or light thing to face as a single person. The chick flicks, charming cards, and chocolate hearts can easily make us feel sad and tired — and tired of feeling sad. But for Christians, this is no excuse to wallow in our loneliness or discontentment. This year, I will not celebrate Valentine’s Day, but it is not simply because I’m frustrated or lonely. It’s because I would rather enjoy God’s gifts of contentment, fulfillment, and hope — gifts that Christ died to purchase for us, whether we’re single or married. Real Contentment When you’re on a diet, does it help you to look at pictures of food, or does it make you even more weak, hungry, and miserable — and more likely to cave to your cravings? For me, it’s the latter. Looking at what we long for but cannot have stirs up feelings in us we cannot satisfy. It causes us to feel drained, despondent, and worse still, discontent. “Single Christians, Christ died to give you contentment, fulfillment, and hope — even on Valentine’s Day.” Longing for companionship, romance, marriage, and sex is not wrong. God himself created these gifts so we would enjoy them (Genesis 2:18; Proverbs 5:18; Song of Solomon; 1 Corinthians 7:5; 1 Timothy 4:4; 6:17). Desiring these good things — and feeling loneliness and sadness without them — is natural. It is not necessarily sinful. It is being human the way God created us to be. But for those of us not-yet-married, these yearnings remain unfulfilled. As a result, we sometimes turn to other things — romantic comedies, chocolates, relationships we know won’t lead to marriage — trying to satisfy the voids in our hearts. However, when we are in a state of weakness, verging on the precipice of discontentment or even dissatisfaction with God, these activities can quickly become dangers. Through fruitless relationships we can exploit other people to get the emotional security we crave without seeking to love and honor them above ourselves (Romans 12:9–10). For many single people, the cheap pleasures of pornography or other sexual experiences become most alluring when we feel discontent. But even good things like movies or chocolate can become dangers when we use them to quench our loneliness. They make us laugh, have a good time, and forget our sorrows — but when these fleeting pleasures fade, we only feel more aware of our alone-ness. For Christians, this should not be the case. We can combat this disappointment and loneliness by turning to the only one who can fulfill us: Jesus Christ. He is the only source of happiness which will never disappoint us and never leave us feeling discontent (Jeremiah 2:13). If anyone thirsts, let him come to Christ and drink (John 7:37) — he will not leave you discontented. Real Fulfillment God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.  Only Christ can fill the emptiest hearts, the loneliest moments, and the saddest days. He understands them all (Hebrews 4:15–16). He loves each of his children (Jeremiah 31:3). He promises  to fulfill all of our needs (Philippians 4:19). “Singleness cannot keep you from the abundance of life and fullness of joy that God promises you.” We may feel like we need  a boyfriend or girlfriend. We may feel like we need  the special intimacy and companionship only a spouse can provide. We may feel like we need  sex. Again, these are legitimate longings. But even if God does not satisfy these specific desires right now, he does promise his comfort and support during the pain of waiting (2 Corinthians 1:3–4). Leaning on his strength, we can carry on (Philippians 4:13). And we can do more than that — we can live full, satisfied, truly joyful lives (Psalms 16:11). Instead of using the season of singleness as a time to mope and bemoan our loneliness, we can use it to chase after our Creator, pursuing a deeper, more satisfying, more glorifying relationship with him every day. It is true that God created marriage and sex for us to enjoy, but he did not create us  for enjoying marriage and sex, ultimately. He created us to enjoy him , in whatever circumstances (Philippians 4:11) — singleness cannot get in the way of God’s promise of full joy in him (Psalm 16:11). Instead of marking our calendars for an annual day of mourning while the world revels in mutual love, we can mark our calendars to celebrate the special relationship we have with our Father in heaven, who lovingly looks on us and showers us with his glorious blessings and assures us that we are never alone. Real Hope No matter how lonely we feel right now (and sometimes that’s pretty lonely), we are assured that it won’t be like this forever. Our lives here are merely a vapor, a breath (James 4:14; Psalm 39:5). Think of this: even if we remain single for the rest of our lives here on earth, it is only a fraction of time compared to the eternity we will spend rejoicing in the presence of Christ, who we will know more fully through our pain and loneliness than we ever would have otherwise. “God did not create us ultimately to enjoy marriage or sex. He created us to enjoy him.” I do not relish the idea of living out my days alone in this world. Nevertheless, I am comforted, encouraged, and hopeful in remembering God’s eternal perspective: my days here are limited (Psalm 39:4), and sooner than I realize, I will be in his comforting, fulfilling presence, enjoying perfect harmony and companionship with him and all the saints for all eternity. This light momentary affliction — whether a lonely Valentine’s Day or a lifetime of singleness — is preparing an eternal weight of glory (2 Corinthians 4:17). This gives me hope. Real Love Dear single friends, let’s not dread February 14, but look forward to it as a special day God has given us to glorify him. Let’s see our loneliness as a reminder to search for satisfaction in Christ. Let’s use our sadness to dwell on his sacrifice, purchase, and love for us. Let’s seize the day to pursue him. I’ll be worshiping him, and enjoying him, right alongside you.
