Great Christian Music - Blessed Assurance

Fanny Crosby wrote more than eight thousand hymns and used more than two hundred pen names. Under contract to a music publisher, she wrote three new hymns each week during much of her adult life. The fact that she was blind didn’t diminish her productivity. She would formulate an entire song in her mind and then dictate it to a friend or a secretary.

One of her good friends was Phoebe Palmer Knapp, wife of the founder of Metropolitan Life Insurance  Company. One time when Knapp came to Brooklyn to see Crosby, she brought a tune with her that she had composed. “Play it for me on the organ,” Crosby requested. 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. Finally the blind woman responded, “That says, ’Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! O what a foretaste of glory divine!’”

Scriptures: Romans 8:1,16-17; 2 Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 10:18-20; 1 John 5:13

Themes: Assurance, Submission, Praise, Salvation

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine!

O what a foretaste of glory divine!   

Heir of salvation, purchase of God,

Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Saviour all the day long;

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Saviour all the day long;

Perfect submission, perfect delight!

Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;

Angels descending bring from above

Echoes of mercy , whispers of love.

Perfect submission – all is at rest,

I in my Saviour am happy and blest;

Watching and waiting, looking above,

Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.

Frances (Fanny) Jane Crosby (1820 - 1915)

Information taken from; The Complete Book of Hymns by William J Petersen and Ardythe Petersen.

What an amazing woman of faith!! Here is a version of the song by Third Day. Hope you enjoy it! 

Matthew’s Great Achievement

Our son Matthew did fantastically well in his junior school career. His prize giving, at Bosmansdam Primary, was on the 30 November 2010. He came top of grade 7. He also won the Dux Shield which means that he achieved the highest marks of all the grade 7’s over the seven year period of his junior school career. His name was also put on the school’s roll of honour.

When he went up for his awards Allie and I were in tears, so thankful to God that Matt had continued to work hard throughout his junior school career. Also that Allie could be able to stay at home and give him the support that he needs. All glory to God. Matt has often asked us why God has given Him these gifts and made him this way. We have told him that God has a plan for him and that he will give glory to God with the gifts that God has given him. We also tell him how special he is ‘cause Jesus Christ died for him.

When we thought of a name for Matthew we were not believers , but the name we chose means ‘gift from God’. Thank you our Lord for your precious gift of a child to us.

Matthew is pretty humble and shy and doesn't like to make a big fuss over things so he would probably think it not very 'cool' that I'm blogging about this. I can't help it though I wanna tell the world 'bout how God provides.

So now it’s on to High School starting 18 January 2011!!

Blessed Redeemer

Wrote this email on the 10 September 2010, posting with current date.

Precious Saints,

Tears kept coming into my eyes as I was listening to this song (on my ipod) on the way into work this morning on the bus......quite a surreal experience......have had a different kinda week, cancelled cell group, won’t be able to go to mens' group at Salem tomorrow (Matt’s soccer) and then we have decided to go to a family braai instead of evening service at Goodwood Methodist(apologies to you Pete love to be there for your sermons)

The apostle Paul wrote this almost 2,000 years ago;

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Galatians 6:14)

So on the day of Eid as the Muslims break their fast of Ramadan I will boast only about the cross of Jesus Christ my saviour and don’t burn their holy book the Koran just pray for them, point them to the cross.

Please cover Adam in prayer, he is preaching at 8.30am on Sunday morning at his home church in Durban and Peter C, he is preaching 6.30pm at Goodwood Meth.


Casting Crowns - Blessed Redeemer (some of you have this CD)
Songwriters: Mark Hall, Bernie Herms

Up Calvary's mountain one dreadful morn
Walked Christ my Savior, weary and worn
Facing for sinners, death on the cross
That He might save them from endless loss

Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer
Seems now I see Him on Calvary's tree
Wounded and bleeding, for sinners pleading
Blind and unheeding, dying for me

"Father, forgive them," my Savior prayed
Even while His lifeblood flowed fast away
Praying for sinners while in such woe
No one but Jesus ever loved so

Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer
Seems now I see Him on Calvary's tree
Wounded and bleeding, for sinners pleading
Blind and unheeding, dying for me
Dying for me

Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer
Seems now I see Him on Calvary's tree
Wounded and bleeding, for sinners pleading
Blind and unheeding, dying for me

Oh, how I love Him, Savior and Friend
How can my praises ever find end?
Through years unnumbered on Heaven's shore
My songs shall praise Him forevermore

Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer
Seems now I see Him on Calvary's tree
Wounded and bleeding, for sinners pleading
Blind and unheeding, dying for me

Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer
Seems now I see Him on Calvary's tree
Wounded and bleeding, for sinners pleading
Blind and unheeding, dying for me

Blessed Redeemer, precious Redeemer
Seems now I see Him

My (Raymond's) SalvationTestimony

So here it is eventually my salvation testimony. This is the letter I was talking about in my previous post which I wrote to someone I love very much who is still with the Jehovah's Witnesses. I wrote this letter in 2007 but I'm posting it as current date.Hope it's not too loooong!!

My Dear ??????,

I’ve been wanting to write this letter to you for about three years. But I’ve always been stumped as to how to write it and what to actually say in it. So I’m just kinda going to tell a story ‘bout my journey and relationship with our Almighty God.

I can remember sitting on the couch with you all those many years (15!!??) ago talking to you about the bible and the Jehovah’s Witnesses. I know I was excited and wanted to share and tell you about what I was finding out. This was the first time that I had found a bunch of people who actually made use of God’s word and knew what they were talking about. They believed they had the truth and I remember saying to you that we should check it out to see if this was so.

Well we both did that. You stayed and I left. I could not really explain at the time why I left but I will try to put it down in writing in this letter.

Read more »

GOoD DAY!!

Hi to everyone reading this. I suppose looking at this blog some people may have been wondering right.... what's happened to this guy, he has just kinda disappeared. So it's been two years now since I have posted anything. At the time in 2008 a couple of weeks before Christmas a 'feeling'/prompting just came to me to stop blogging. His Holy Spirit was preparing me for something else, starting me off on another path.

I started to see some of that direction when I started a home bible study group in May 2009, nope no huge dramatic beginnings.I humbly tried my best to be obedient to the prompting of His Holy Spirit. Well the study of His word in this small group has been a huge revelation to me. My co-leader and I prayed for direction and material and we were guided one book at a time and we received what we needed.

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Yes Virginia there is a Santa Clause

In 1897, Francis P. Church wrote a now-famous editorial in which he told little Virginia O'Hanlon that indeed there was a Santa Claus. Church wrote in the Sun:

"Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist…No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever."

Read more »

Quote for the day (15)

If faith never encounters doubt, if truth never struggles with error, if good never battles with evil, how can faith know its own power? In my own pilgrimage, if I have to choose between a faith that has stared doubt in the eye and made it blink, or a naïve faith that has never known the firing line of doubt, I will choose the former every time.



Gary E Parker