The Blind Hymn Writer
The Blind Hymn Writer
Most who read this will probably recognize these hymns:
Blessed Assurance : To God Be the Glory
He Hideth My Soul : I Am Thine, O Lord
Jesus Is Tenderly Calling : All the Way My Savior Leads Me
Pass Me Not, O Gentle Saviour : Praise Him! Praise Him!
Rescue the Perishing : Safe in the Arms of Jesus
Savior, More Than Life to Me : Tell Me the Story of Jesus
All of these, plus over 8000 more, were written by one woman, Fanny J. Crosby!
It is even thought that she employed nearly 200 different pseudonyms
throughout her career.
When she was six months old she was treated for an inflammation in her eyes.
Something went wrong, and as a result she was blind for the next 94 years of her
life (1820 - 1915). Amazingly, Fanny developed the attitude that she was blind,
but not disabled. In her autobiography she wrote:
It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should
be blind all my life, and I thank him for the dispensation. If perfect
earthly sight were offered me tomorrow, I would not accept it. I
might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I had been
distracted by the beautiful and interesting things about me.
When she was told that the doctor who caused her blindness felt great regret and
grief she replied: “If I could meet him now, I would say, ‘Thank you, thank you,
over and over again, for making me blind.’ ”
What a remarkable attitude! It reminds me of the apostle Paul. We cannot be
sure what his “thorn in the flesh” was (2 Cor 12:7-10), but we do know what his
attitude about it was: “Most gladly I will boast about my weaknesses, that the
power of Christ may dwell in me. . . I am well content with difficulties for Christ's
sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”
When we observe people who not only cope with impairment but even overcome
it, we should:
admire their character
realize how blessed we are and be thankful to God
determine, with God’s help, to follow their example - handle hardship with
a positive outlook
- Leonard White
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Speaking in Tongues
There are many people who claim, and sincerely believe, that when they “speak in
tongues” they are duplicating what took place on the day of Pentecost, as
recorded by Luke in Acts chapter 2.
In verse 4 we are told that the apostles “were all filled with the Holy Spirit and
began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.”
Verse 6 adds, “The multitude came together, and were confounded, because that
every man heard them speak in his own language.” In verse 8 some of the
hearers asked, “How hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were
born?” and again in verse 11, “We do hear them speak in our tongues the
wonderful works of God.”
Luke employed two different Greek words in those verses: GLOSSA and
DIALEKTOS, but both of them denote the language or dialect used by a
particular people. The apostles, unschooled men, were enabled by God to speak
in actual languages which they did not know, but which were understood by those
in the audience who normally spoke those languages.
This is in stark contrast to what is observed among professed “tongue-speakers”
today. One researcher who has made a careful study of the modern charismatic
movement has described what occurs as “meaningless but phonologically
structured human utterance believed by the speaker to be a real language but
bearing no systematic resemblance to any natural language, living or dead.”
- Leonard White
______
What About Those Dinosaurs?
I have known Christians who feared that the credibility of the Bible’s account of
creation might be jeopardized by believing in the existence of such creatures in
the past.
Paleontologists agree that there are a number of unanswered questions about
dinosaurs, aka “terrible lizards”:
when did they exist?
when and why did they become extinct?
exactly what was their appearance, diet, habits, etc.?
However, there are a few important facts that should be kept in mind:
1. The Bible affirms that all life forms were created by God. (Gen 1:20-25)
2. There is credible fossil evidence for the past existence of animals which
are now extinct, some of which were obviously extremely large.
3. Much of what is seen in popular depictions of dinosaurs necessarily
involves speculative reconstruction.
4. The existence or non-existence of dinosaurs does not prove or disprove
the theory of organic evolution.
- Leonard White
When a man who is honestly mistaken learns the truth
he either ceases to be honest or ceases to be mistaken.
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