The Substance Of Things Hoped For

Make It Better His name was Isaac, and he lived over 300 years ago in London, England. He was a very smart young man. By the time he was five years old, he had learned Latin; by the age of nine years old, he had learned Greek; by twelve years of age, Isaac had mastered French and Hebrew. He was gifted musically and showed great potential. As a teen, he became dissatisfied with the music in his home church. Keep in mind that this was 300 years ago in England. His family attended the very formal Church of England where almost all of the music consisted of high church anthems. Isaac felt like they should sing songs about Christ and the cross. He thought that salvation and redemption should also be emphasized in the music. One day, he complained to his father, a deacon in the church, about the dead, dry, starchy service that they had just sat through. His dad rebuked him by saying, "Son, that's the way we have always sung, and if you think you can do a better job, then do it. Why ...

Conversion Of William Paton Mackay (Songwriter)   Born: May 13, 1839, Montrose, Scotland. Died: August 22, 1885, Portree, Scotland.   This is the testimony of Scottish doctor, W. P. MacKay, author of "Revive Us Again." In his own words, My dear mother had been a godly, holy woman, quite often telling me of the Savior, and many times I saw her on bended knee in prayer for my soul's salvation.  But nothing had made a deep impression on me.  The older I grew,  the more wicked I became... One day a seriously injured man was brought into the hospital.  His case seemed hopeless, he seemed to realize his condition for he was fully conscious and asked me how much time he had left to live. I gave him my opinion in as cautious a manner as I could. "Have you any relatives whom we could notify?" I asked. The patient shook his head. He had only one wish, it was to see his landlady because he owed her a small sum of money and also wished to bid her farewell.  He als...