It is a natural human tendency to ask, “How long?” when they have no idea what to expect of time. This question comes in all varieties, depending on the context we ask it. “How long do I have?” a patient on the brink of dying might ask. “How much longer will this take?” an annoyed…
Category: OPEN YOUR HYMNALS TO
A missionary couple, Mr. and Mrs. Porteous, were led to a lonely mountain spot by their Chinese executioners. The angry band hated that these missionaries were preaching the gospel. Pushing them to the ground, one very angry man took out his long sharp knife to kill them, only awaiting for the leader’s order to kill. Expecting…
This hymn is one of those oldie but goody kind of hymn. Whenever I hear this sung in church, I can’t deny the fervor and excitement that people usually sing it with. Musically speaking, I think one thing that contributes to that is the quick dotted rhythms at the beginning and end of every phrase…
Charles Wesley could not have been more on point when he wrote about the “long expected Jesus.” Adam and Eve looked forward to His coming when they first heard the promise. Every son that was born brought hope to parents that this could be the Messiah. From the days of Enoch, patriarch and prophets recalled…
My first introduction to this hymn was in the Philippines. The music coordinators of the Adventist university church where I regularly attended chose it as the regular hymn of response to close the service, right before the postlude. It seemed like an appropriate choice for a hymn for it outlines what Seventh-day Adventists and other…
It was the belief about the second coming of Christ that the Seventh-day Advent movement was formed. Hence, it is not a surprise that this is one of the main themes in our worship and theology. This particular hymn was sung during those early formative years of Adventism. For the Adventist to sing this after…
One of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s most popular sonnets is “How Do I Love Thee” where she lists the depth of her love for her husband through hyperbole, or exaggeration. Joachim Neander wrote “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” in the same vein by listing the reasons why we should praise God. However, instead of using…
Somehow I cannot relate to a filthy rag until I had to change a toddler’s diaper. Smelly, yucky and nasty. Ironically, that’s exactly how my righteousness look like.Maybe even worse. But what I cannot come to grasp with is God. Why in His High, Almighty, All-Powerful state would send His son –equally preeminent as He…
Four things Charles Tindley enumerated when he examined his relationship with Christ. Could it be that I have the same four things coming in between my relationship with Him? This world’s delusive dreams Promises of security. A well-paying job. A prettier look. A fully-upgraded life. People cheer me on. A thousand likes on an edited…