A Wonderful Savior is Jesus My Lord -

Good morning! My name is Charlotte and I am writing to help us give our first thoughts to the Lord.

This week we have been looking at some of the great song writers which wrote the great songs of the church. These songs have been cast away in so many of our churches for new and 'better' songs, yet when we reflect back to the writers / circumstances from which they sprang, we are saddened because of the lose to the people of God. So many were written as a result of adversity that came into lives and from the adversity their faith in God sprang forth.

Fanny Crosby probably wrote more songs than any other composer. She was blinded by a doctor error when she was around six years old. She said of her handicap, "I have always believed that the good Lord, in His infinite mercy, by this means consecrated me to the work that I am still permitted to do."

One particular day she needed five dollars and didn't know where to get it. She prayed about it, and a few minutes later a stranger came to her door and handed her that exact amount.

She was so amazed at the Lord's marvelous answer to her simple prayer with the thought in mind "It is so wonderful the way the Lord leads me." She wrote this as a result of this incidence:

All the way my Saviour leads me; what have I to ask beside?
Can I double His tender mercy, who through life has been my guide?
Heav'nly peace, divinest comfort, here by faith in Him to dwell!
For I know whate'er befall me, Jesus doeth all things well;
For I know whate'er befall me, Jesus doeth all things well.

Another that she wrote that is one of my favorites is this:

A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord, A wonderful Savior to me;
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock, where rivers of pleasure I see.

He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock that shadows a dry, thirsty land;
He hideth my life in the depths of His love, and covers me there with His hand,
And covers me there with His hand.

Fanny didn't start writing hymns until she was forty, but she made up for lost time. She wrote over 8,000 hymns. She was blinded by the light of this world but had a shining light in her soul.

Phoebe Palmer Knapp, wife of the founder of MetLife composed a tune in 1873 and brought it to Fanny in Brooklyn. "Play it for me on the organ," Fanny asked. Knapp did and then asked, "What does this tune say?" She turned to see Crosby kneeling in prayer. Knapp played it a second time and then a third. Then the blind woman responded, "That says,'Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine! O what a foretaste of glory divine!"

Now I ask you - as Jack Nicolson said in 'As good as it gets,' would it hurt us to be around such as this? Would it harm the church to sing songs written by soldiers -tried and true - of the cross of Jesus Christ? Songs written from the heart of adversity, pain, suffering, yet bottom line of trusting in God to walk this walk that we walk while on this earth no matter what the circumstance?

It goes on to say
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.

Question - have we traded the God of action in a life for religious entertainment?????

We are in the last days - Jesus could come any day now - we need to watch and pray and be careful what we say, sing, and do. It might be the last we do on this earth.

Fannie Jane Crosby (1820-1915)

(Facts and some quotes taken from 'The One Year Book of Hymns' compiled and edited by Robert K. Brown and Mark R. Norton - Devotions written by William J. Petersen and Randy Petersen)

Lord, we want to be soldiers of the cross. Help us look to these people who have trusted in You and given their lives to pen words and praises to be a witness to us of Your great power and love. In Jesus name. Amen.

Have a great day today!

Charlotte