Blindness

Today’s post is another story song by Don Francisco, this time taken from John 9:1-38.

In this long passage, Francisco again tells one of the Gospel stories from the point of view of the person who received a healing through the hands of Jesus. The man, blind from birth, does not go out of his way to find Jesus to seek a healing. He apparently had not even heard about Jesus and the miraculous things He had been doing around the country since the start of His ministry. In fact, from the text of the story in the Gospel of John, the healing was associated with Jesus teaching His disciples something about why disease was in the world.

The problem of death and disease in the world – now that is a concept large enough to write an entire book on the subject. In fact, that is exactly what has been done many times, by theologians and atheists alike. There are many questions associated with this problem, and it can be hard to get an answer acceptable to people. The explanation that I offer if this question is posed to me (“How can a good God allow disease and death in the world?”) is that the world as it was originally created was good and free of those problems. But with the fall of Adam in committing the first sin, his control of the world passed to Satan, the deceiver. The consequences of that sin were disease, death, and decay. People also became blind, so to speak, to the spiritual world around them. Direct connection with the Creator was broken, and we were left stumbling around, looking for our Father and a reason for our lives. And yes, we became subject to injury, diseases, and eventually death. None of these were ever intended to be our destiny.

And though we have forgiveness of our sins, and a restoration of fellowship with our Father God through the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross, our physical bodies still live in this fallen world, and are still subject to the consequences of Adam’s sin. Sometimes, as in Jesus explanation of the blind man’s situation, a disease or infirmity may be present in order for the glory of God to be show through a miraculous healing. Sometimes the glory of God is shown in the way in which that person lives with their problem. But in all situations, God’s goodness and glory can be found, if we just look for it.

I have never yet been in a situation where I have had to personally deal with a serious illness or injury. And, being human, I don’t very much want to have to experience such a thing. But I have set my mind to be prepared to be an example of faith, hope, and love to those around me should such a situation ever arise. And my desire would be not that others would say about me, “Oh, what a nice guy! What a strong character!”, but rather, “Look what God has done for him!” And whether I received a healing or did not, I would want to follow the example of the blind man in this story, and fall at Jesus’ feet and worship Him, not for what I want or hope He would do for me, but for who He is.

Enough of my words. From Don Francisco’s 1981 album The Traveler, here is the song Since I Met Him.

Now it’s hard to describe what my life use to be
To someone who’s always been able to see.
You know I wasn’t unhappy or bitter that way,
But everything’s changed since I met Him that day.

I was down by the corner, just passin’ the time,
Sitting in sunlight and feelin’ it shine,
When the sounds of a crowd began to grow in my ear,
So I waited and listened as I heard them draw near.

Then a man stepped up to me and He spat on the ground,
Put the mud on my eyes and then smeared it around,
Sent me off to Siloam to wash off the clay,
And I opened my eyes and I looked at the day!

And I have no idea how He did it;
I just know what happened to me.
Yesterday I was in darkness –
But since I met Him I can see!

When the Pharisees heard it they put me on trial;
Even called in my parents and grilled them a while.
And when at the end, I defended the man
Who had opened my eyes, all the trouble began.

I said, “Ever since the beginning of time
No one’s opened the eyes of someone born blind
This man’s sent from God, it just can’t be denied!”
And they cursed me and grabbed me, and threw me outside.

I really don’t know how He found me,
I just know He was talking to me.
It was easy to tell by the sound of His voice
He was the reason I see.

And as soon as He spoke to me I couldn’t hide
The emotion that welled up from deep down inside
And combined with the dreams that He’d made to come true;
To kneel there and worship was all I could do!

And I called Him my Lord and Messiah
For everything He’d done for me.
Yesterday I was in darkness,
But since I met Him I can see!

And I call Him my Lord and my Savior
For everything He’s done for me.
Yesterday I was in darkness,
But since I met Him,
Since I met Him,
Since I met Him I can see!

Since I met Him (Messiah!)
Since I met Him (Messiah!)
Since I met Him I can see!

You can purchase this music from the artist’s web site here.

Tags: Don Francisco, healing, Jesus

Shakespeare stated in As You Like It this often-repeated phrase:

All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts

This analogy to life fits the way that we often live. It’s not that I necessarily intend to “play a role”. I may simply be doing what I always do, living the way I always live. And yet, I do “act” differently around my family and friends than the way I “act” when around strangers. Perhaps it is because I am afraid of what others will think of me. Or maybe my behavior at home is not appropriate for business or other public interactions with people. So, I “act” more formally at work, at the store, or at church, to better fit the situation.

And yet, regardless of the situation in which I find myself, I am presenting who I am and what I stand for to those around me. If I am a significantly different person at work than I am when at church, if I fail to stand up for truth because of what I fear others will think about me, then I am being false to what I believe, and I am failing to truly follow Jesus in all parts of my life. Following Jesus can be “tough”, when the world expects me to follow its directions.

And that brings me to today’s song. One of the things that can make the lyrics of a song memorable is to use a common phrase in a new and unique fashion. That is the case with Tough Act To Follow by Crumbächer from the 1987 album Thunder Beach. The song writer here alludes to Shakespeare’s theme of being an actor on a stage, and describes his activities using the language of the theater. The turn of phrase here is the tough act of following Jesus, trying to be sincere and true to His calling in all facets of life. Enjoy this unique song!

Watching my story’s plot unwind
Making up endings in my mind
Waiting for the curtain
I see You standing in the wings
Cheering me on through every scene,
How can You be so certain?
Oh, my Jesus…

You’ll be a tough act to follow, it’s a
Tough act to follow You
But, after all the parts that I’ve played through,
I will follow You.

Spotting the mark,
I’ll take Your cue
Knowing my role is subject to
The crowd’s interpretations
Under the pressure to succeed,
Will I inspire them to read
Between these rough translations?
Oh, my Jesus…

You’ll be a tough act to follow, it’s a
Tough act to follow You
But, after all the parts that I’ve played through,
I will follow,

You’ll be a tough act to follow, it’s a
Tough act to follow You
But, even when the lights go down, it’s true:
I can follow You.

I will follow
Yes, I will follow You
Follow You
I will follow

You’ll be a tough act to follow, it’s a
Tough act to follow You
But, after all the parts that I’ve played through,
I will follow

You’ll be a tough act to follow, it’s a
Tough act to follow You
But, even when the lights go down, it’s true:
I can follow you

You’ll be a tough act to follow, it’s a
Tough act to follow You (oh, you know it’s true)
After all the parts that I’ve played through,
I will follow You

You’ll be a tough act to follow, it’s a
Tough act to follow You (I will follow you)
But, even when the lights go down, it’s true:
I will follow.

Tags: Crumbächer, following

Today’s story as told by Don Francisco in song is from Matthew 14:22-33, and is one of the most famous of the miracles of Jesus. Even those who don’t know about Jesus will have heard something about “walking on the water”. Again, the story is told from the point of view of one of its participants, this time by Peter. His boldness in the face of a frightening situation is another example of Peter’s willingness to do it all for Jesus, to demonstrate his trust. What makes this rendering of the story particularly meaningful is the message delivered in the final two lines. Wait for it – it’s well worth the journey through the song. 

From Don Francisco’s first album Brother Of The Son in 1976, here is Voyage To Gennesaret. As before, the audio Bible version used here is the 2002 dramatized NIV Audio Bible by Zondervan Publishing, read by Steven Johnston.

Eleven men besides myself
In a boat both small and light
Pushed off for Gennesaret
In the first watch of the night
But a storm blew up at midnight
Coming hard down on the prow
We started losing headway
Shipping water stern and bow

When someone shouted loud,
“Hey, look to starboard on the sea!”
The men screamed out in terror
At the form we all could see
A man was walking on the water,
And we trembled, cried and prayed
But He stopped and turned and spoke to us,
“It is I, don’t be afraid.”

I shouted out to Jesus,
“If it’s You, then call to me,
And tell me now to come to You
And walk across the sea.”
Without a second’s thought
He looked at me and answered, “Come!”
My insides turned to water
My mind went blank and numb.

I climbed across the gunwhale
Looking straight into His eyes
But long before I reached His side,
The wind began to rise
And I forgot Him in an instant
And I sank just like a stone
I cried out, “Jesus save me!”
And His hand was on my own.

“Oh man of little faith,” He said,
“What made you doubt My word.
Have you been this long with Me
Without knowing what you’ve heard?”

We climbed into the boat
And all at once the wind was gone
The sea turned calm and gentle
The day began to dawn.

We knelt amazed and worshipped Him
For the power He displayed
For all that we had seen
Had left us wondering and dismayed

It was not till after Pentecost
I could really understand
But even when I doubted Him,
He did not let go my hand.

Tags: Don Francisco, Jesus, trust

Any parent who has had a child who was gravely ill will tell you how very difficult it is to handle. There is a major feeling of helplessness to have a child that is sick, and who begs you to make him or her better. It is bad enough to have this happen if you live where there is modern medical care available; at least in those circumstances, you have a little assurance that a solution will be found. But imagine how difficult it would be with no healthcare available beyond folk remedies, and your child is sick with a fever, and continues to get more and more ill. What can you do? How do you handle it??

Today’s Bible story in song by Don Francisco is from Mark 5:22-24, and Mark 5:35-43. It involves this very problem, and the efforts made by the father to get the only help he could think of: The healer from Galilee, Jesus. From Don Francisco’s 1979 album of the same name, here is Got To Tell Somebody.  The audio Bible version used here is the 2002 dramatized NIV Audio Bible by Zondervan Publishing, read by Steven Johnston.

She kept on getting weaker as day dragged into day
The doctors gave no hope for her; she seemed to fade away
My hours were filled with constant dread; time became a knife
That slowly and relentlessly cut the cord of life

There was a teacher in the region then some of us had heard
That He’d healed a paralytic by the power of just His Word
So with hope again rekindled I went at once to see
If I could find a man named Jesus from a town in Galilee

I began to search the city and soon I saw the crowd
They were pressing in to touch Him and they called His Name out loud
But with the strength of desperation I pushed them all aside
I through myself before Him and from my knees I cried,

“Lord, come and heal my daughter! Even now she’s close to death!
Her fever’s uncontrollable, she fights for every breath.
But God’s given You the power; life is Yours to give;
If you’ll just lay Your hands on her I know that she will live.!
She will live, she will live.”

Well, He’d just begun to go with me when a face I saw with fear
Came towards me with the news I knew I didn’t want to hear
And although I tried to steel myself I trembled when he said
“Why bother the Teacher anymore? Your little girl is dead.”

Then Jesus touched my shoulder and He told me not to grieve
The trembling stopped when He looked at me and said, “Only believe!”
Then He sent the crowds away except His closest men
And they followed right behind us, as we started off again

But we were still a long ways down the road when I heard the sounds and cries
Of the mourners and musicians as they strove to dramatize
My grief they had no business with beneath their loud disguise
My wife just sat there silently, and stared through empty eyes

Then Jesus asked the mourners, “Why is it that you weep?
She isn’t dead as you suppose, the child is just asleep.”
It only took a moment for their wails to turn to jeers
“Who does this man think he is? Get him out of here!”

And with authority I’ve never heard in the lips of any man
He spoke and every sound rolled out with the thunder of command
And in the sudden silence they all hurried for the door
Wondering what the reasons were they’d ever come there for

Then He called his three disciples that were with Him on the way
He led them and my wife and me to where our daughter lay
He took her by the hand; He told her “Child, arise!”
And the words were barely spoken when she opened up her eyes!

She rose and walked across the room and stood there at our side
My wife knelt down and held her close and at last she really cried
And then Jesus told us both to see that our daughter had some food
But as to how her life was saved, not to speak a word…
Not to speak a word…

I got to tell somebody!

I got to tell somebody!

I got to tell somebody
I got to tell somebody
I got to tell somebody, got to tell somebody, what Jesus did for me
I got to tell somebody, got to tell somebody, what Jesus did for me
I got to tell somebody, got to tell somebody, what Jesus did for me
I got to tell somebody, got to tell somebody, what Jesus did for me!

You can purchase this music        from the artist’s web site here.

Tags: Don Francisco, healing, Jesus