And now–why not?–a bit of God’s stuff that really works: cats playing with their kittens.
I love it when kittens run sideways. It’s like when they suddenly discover they can make their tails all puffy, and they run around doing it for no reason.
Only God would have thought of including cats and kittens in His creation.
I’m so glad I was able to find this for you today–this scene from The Greatest Story Ever Told, 1965, in which Christ raises Lazarus from the dead.
Shortly before God the Father raised Him, Our Lord raised his friend Lazarus, and called him out of his tomb to live again, so prefiguring His own resurrection.
Notice His prayer, in which we find echoes of Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of the dry bones.
And when the dead man is restored to life, the people understand–some of them–that this is the Messiah who was long foretold, He has finally come: and racing to the gates of Jerusalem, to report the good news, we find the doubter, who now believes, the old blind man, who now can see, and the young cripple who can now run like the wind to delivering the glad tidings. And with it we are given the “Hallelujah Chorus” from Handel’s The Messiah.
Yes, yes, yes! He is risen! The Messiah has come, and He is risen indeed.
Let every knee be bowed to Him, and every tongue confess Him Lord. Amen!
Turn the volume way, way up for this! I don’t think there are many churches where this hymn has not been sung today.
Words by Charles Wesley. Message by the Holy Spirit.
Raise high our voices, Christians–God will hear us.
Thank you, Linda, for requesting this hymn.
Everybody–the hymn shop is open to all, day and night, at no charge: so what are you waiting for? Come on, don’t be shy! If there’s a hymn you’d like to see posted here, just let me know.
P.S.–The hospital just called. Aunt Joan is okay now, and resting comfortably. Actually, it’s been a bit longer than usual between trips to the hospital.
Our thanks to all of you who prayed for her.
Suggested by Erlene: We Shall Behold Him, sung by Sandi Patty.
At first I didn’t understand what she was doing, but then it became clear: this woman is signing as she sings, so that people who can’t hear the music can still follow it.
I am sure some of them hear God’s message a lot better than some who are endowed with perfectly serviceable ears.
This being Good Friday, I thought this a suitable hymn to share with you–Johnny Cash performing Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?
My mother used to sing this around the house. I trust she sings it now, in glory.
Fanny Crosby, who wrote at least 8,500 hymns–including this one–was blinded by a doctor’s error when she was only six weeks old. Later in life she said she was grateful to God for her blindness, because it enabled her to see Him without distraction.
She made it clear to her family that she wanted only the smallest and most modest marker on her grave. P.T. Barnum, it seems, was buried nearby under an enormous monument that Fanny thought distasteful.
But she already had a much bigger monument than Barnum would ever have–thousands and thousands of hymns that are sung by millions of Christians to this day.
Let us turn to something infinitely more edifying–Savior, More Than Life to Me by Fanny Crosby, performed by the Harding College Concert Choir.
My thanks to Robert Cottrill–and visit his website, wordwisehymns.com ( http://wordwisehymns.com/2010/02/12/today-in-1894-albert-ketchum-born/ ).
The other day was the anniversary of Fanny Crosby’s death, in 1915. During her 95 years of life, this blind woman composed between 8,500 and 9,000 hymns! That deserves an exclamation point. Indeed, if you have a favorite hymn dating from the 19th or the early 20th century, chances are Fanny Crosby wrote it.
What a gift God gave her! And what a gift she was to us.
I was unable to do this yesterday, but here it is today–The Family of God, sung by the Harding University Concert Choir: posted as a slightly belated birthday present to Linda.
Happy birthday, kimosabe!
I found this hymn waiting for me when I was finally in shape to have a coherent thought today. Better share it!