The traditional Roman calendar celebrated the feast of Gabriel the Archangel on this date, the day before the solemn Feast of the Annunciation. The angelic messenger -- whose name means "the strength of God" and who spoke, in the description by the prophet Daniel, with the "sound of his words like the voice of a multitude" -- appears twice in the Book of Daniel and, in the New Testament, as the herald to Zachary of the birth of John the Baptist as well as in the annunciation of our salvation to the Virgin Mary.



There is a sense in which Gabriel is the patron of each of us as we work to fulfill the command of the Great Commission and it's particularly fitting that we also observe today the anniversary of the birth of Frances Jane Crosby at Putnam County, New York in 1820. Fanny Crosby, who described her salvation experience as a "floodtide of celestial light" and whose poetry has been a source of enlightenment for millions, was blind from the age of six weeks. In her long and fruitful life, she was the author of more than 9000 hymns, a messenger of the faithfulness of God and of salvation in Jesus Christ.



Tell Me The Story Of Jesus



Tell me the story of Jesus,

Write on my heart every word.

Tell me the story most precious,

Sweetest that ever was heard.

Tell how the angels in chorus,

Sang as they welcomed His birth.

“Glory to God in the highest!

Peace and good tidings to earth.”



Refrain



Tell me the story of Jesus,

Write on my heart every word.

Tell me the story most precious,

Sweetest that ever was heard.



Fasting alone in the desert,

Tell of the days that are past.

How for our sins He was tempted,

Yet was triumphant at last.

Tell of the years of His labor,

Tell of the sorrow He bore.

He was despised and afflicted,

Homeless, rejected and poor.



Refrain



Tell of the cross where they nailed Him,

Writhing in anguish and pain.

Tell of the grave where they laid Him,

Tell how He liveth again.

Love in that story so tender,

Clearer than ever I see.

Stay, let me weep while you whisper,

Love paid the ransom for me.



Refrain