Categories
Jesus

Healing

Lepers At A Village Leprosarium In China -- Photo credit, PicApp
Lepers At A Village Leprosarium In China -- Photo credit, PicApp

In chronological order, the next story that Don Francisco told in song is from Matthew 8:1-4. It tells the story of a healing by Jesus given to a leper. The story is brief and to the point. Francisco in this song takes the license to tell about the man, and what his life was like before he encountered Jesus.

It is not possible to tell for certain whether the man was truly afflicted with Hansen’s Disease, caused by Mycobacterium leprae, the disease that is called leprosy by doctors in the current age, or whether this statement refers to some other type of chronic skin condition. Regardless, because of his problem he was treated by the Jews as the Law of Moses commanded: He would have been excluded from participation in the life of worship of Yahweh in the temple in Jerusalem, and would have been ostracized by all around him. The original purpose of the isolation that was commanded was to prevent it from spreading to others in the community. The outcome of the isolation, however, was to create a situation that resulted in loneliness, depression, and despair.

Jesus absolutely breaks all of the Jewish laws about leprosy by not only talking to the man, but by actually touching him. And then He does what the man hoped most for, which was to remove his disease completely. The final part of the recovery would be to have the priests agree that he was cleansed, thus removing his stigma and isolation.

We do not come in contact much with the disease leprosy in the United States. But we do have many people who are socially isolated for various reasons. Maybe they have a facial deformity, a rash, or something else that makes them physically unattractive or even repulsive. Perhaps their behavior is such that they are unpleasant to be around. Perhaps their profession is one that repels others (working on a hog farm can result in some strong odors). Sometimes it is just because they are different from me. Any of those people can have the consequences of years of being rejected by others, and bear rejection’s scars. The miracle that they need to know is that Jesus loves even them, without regard to how beautiful or cool they are. And Jesus, acting through us, wants to touch them with His love.

Don Francisco tells this story in his song Willing To Heal, as heard on his 1987 album The Power. As before, the audio Bible version used here is the 2002 dramatized NIV Audio Bible by Zondervan Publishing, read by Steven Johnston.

Turned from my family, turned from my home
I lived like a beggar, I wandered and roamed
My life was just hopeless, till I heard His name
A prophet, they said, healed the sick and the lame

Well to find Him was easy, I followed the crowd
But I kept to the edges, crying out loud
“Unclean, unclean, stay out of my path
I’m an object of scorn, I’m a vessel of wrath!”

There on the hillside, He taught us that day
I’d never heard anyone say what He’d say
And then He was done and His sermon complete
And I ran, and threw myself down at His feet

I said, “Lord if You’re willing, I know that You can
Make me as clean as a natural man.
I know You can do it, deep down in my soul;
Oh Lord, if You’re willing, Lord, please make me whole!”

With a voice of compassion, He told me to stand
“I’m willing,” He said, then He reached out His hand
“Be cleansed,” were the words that He spoke with a smile
And in an instant my skin was like that of a child

Now as time passes by, there is much we forget
But I’ll always remember the day that I met
Jesus the Lord and His first words to me
“I’m willing,” He said, and He healed even me !

I’m willing to help you, I’m willing to heal
I’ve borne all your sufferings, I know how you feel
Your pain can be ended, my power is real
I will not deny you, I’m willing to heal

I’m willing to help you, I’m willing to heal
I’ve borne all your sufferings, I know how you feel
Your pain can be ended, my power is real
I will not deny you, I’m willing to heal

I will not deny you, I’m willing to heal

The Power, Don Francisco, 1987 You can purchase this music        

from the artist’s web site here.

Categories
General

Full Circle #107

The latest episode of Full Circle, the radio show done by Jesus Solid Rock veteran Jerry Bryant, is available to listen to. You can search the iTunes Store for “Full Circle”, and subscribe to it. This latest episode includes more great Jesus music from the past, as well as the second part of the interview with Annie Herring of the 2nd Chapter of Acts..

Give the show a try, and if you want to see Jerry continue to do this show, please consider donating to the show at the PayPal link on his web site (see the link to the right).

Categories
Jesus

Come, Follow

FIshing netMany of the songs from the Jesus movement had themes that came out of stories from the Bible. But there are few writers who did this as well as Don Francisco. He had a way of taking a passage from the Bible, putting the story in lyric form, and singing it with such passion that you were there, right in the story. On his first four albums, released between 1976 and 1981, he had nine songs that dealt with the life of Jesus, and then on his seventh album added one more. 

I enjoyed these songs so much that I created my own “album” of them that I called The Gospel According To Don Francisco, just for personal use. I located the Bible verse from which the song was taken, took that audio from a Bible-on-tape, and then played that song, putting them all in chronological order. Since we are starting the season of Lent, I decided to share these tracks. So, between now and Easter, it will be a Don Francisco marathon!

Back in this post and this post I discussed the call of Jesus to his disciples, and how they chose to drop everything they were doing to obey and follow Him. Inspired by the text in Luke 5:1-11, Don Francisco also dealt with these themes in his song Come And Follow from his first album, the 1976 release Brother Of The Son. The audio Bible version used here is the 2002 dramatized NIV Audio Bible by Zondervan Publishing, read by Steven Johnston. 

Me and Andrew, we’d been fishin’
The best part of last night
We’d caught nothin’ for all our tryin’
Come the mornin’, and the light
Then I saw Him, and He asked me
To take Him out a little ways from the land
He was teachin’ all the people
They listened there in silence on the sand.

Come and follow, come and follow,
Come and follow, come and follow Me.
Come and follow, come and follow,
Come and follow, come and follow Me.

When He’d ended all His teaching
He turned around and spoke again to me
He said, “Simon, row out farther,
Drop your nets once again into the sea”
And I said, “Master, we’ve been workin’
Since the sundown yesterday!
But one more time, I’ll throw them over
Just because it’s You who say…”

Come and follow, come and follow,
Come and follow, come and follow Me.
Come and follow, come and follow,
Come and follow, come and follow Me.
Follow Me, Follow Me

James and John, they’re both my witnesses
To the truth in what I’ve told
How our nets were filled to bursting
More than both our boats could ever hold
And I fell down there before Him
Crying, “Leave me, Lord — I’m full of sin!”
He said, “Simon, don’t be frightened,
Follow Me, you will learn to fish for men.”

Come and follow, come and follow,
Come and follow, come and follow Me.
Come and follow, come and follow,
Come and follow, come and follow Me.

Brother Of The Son, Don Francisco, 1976 You can purchase this music     

from the artist’s web site here.

Categories
Life

Service

The life of a follower of Jesus is many things. It is a turning away from darkness toward the light. It is submission to the will of God, and giving up on my will. It is obedience to a way of life that might make no sense to me; to love my enemies, to do good to those who would try to use and abuse me. It is to stand up for what is right, and to stand against what is wrong.

It is all of these things, and more.

And yet, the most important thing is to put myself under the lordship of God, to do as He commands. And what does He command? In Matthew 22:36-40, Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment in the Law. He responded, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the law and prophets hang on these two commandments.” So Jesus put the essence of the law as love. And an importance part of love is service, to God and to my neighbor.

Yet the soul does not willingly give up its demand to be the boss, to be the center of the universe, to say “mine!” and “me first!”. It is a change from the mind set of a toddler to the mind set of an adult, to be able to set my rights aside, and to put the rights and needs of others above mine. And this is the essence of being a servant.

Larry Norman often ended his live concerts by singing the song, I Am A Servant. It tells of a person who has recognized the difficulty in being a servant, and what he has learned that he lacks in his life by avoiding service. Here is the song from Norman’s 1976 album, In Another Land.

I am a servant
I am listening for my name,
I sit here waiting
I’ve been looking at the game
That I’ve been playing
And I’ve been staying much the same
When you are lonely
You’re the only one to blame.

I am a servant
I am waiting for the call,
I’ve been unfaithful
So I sit here in the hall.
How can you use me
When I’ve never given all,
How can you choose me
When you know I’d quickly fall.

So you feed my soul
And you make me grow,
And you let me know you love me
And I’m worthless now
But I’ve made a vow,
I will humbly bow before thee.
O please use me
I am lonely.

I am a servant
Getting ready for my part
There’s been a change
A rearrangement in my heart
At last I’m learning
There’s no returning once I start.
To live’s a priviledge
To love is such an art
But I need your help to start,
O please purify my heart
I am your servant.

In Another Land, Larry Norman, 1976