The Old Rugged Cross

A couple of years ago I attended an exciting wedding! To be honest, I did more than attend a wedding; I was invited to play the piano during the ceremony and leading up to the main event.

I arrived at the venue about 45 minutes before the Bride arrived and started playing about 30 minutes in advance. I had a good stock of music on my iPad and in my head. As I relaxed and got settled in, the task became easier, and the music seemed to flow. I love playing music, but playing in front of an audience raises the stakes and produces some tension. 

Thank you for the music

The summer has nearly gone, and we are just getting out and about. One of the strange things about the COVID-19 rules is the recommendation not to sing in public gatherings. Singing is good for the soul. It lifts your spirits and creates a sense of community and kinship. I, for one, have missed community singing. Music and songs create passion in our hearts and evoke vivid memories. 

A very effective method of learning is linked to the rhythm of repeating words that somehow glue the words or the facts to our minds. Most of us didn’t necessarily enjoy it but we often learned facts or figures by musical rhythm. If you went to Sunday School you may remember the learning Bible verses by rote, for example, “For God so loved the world …” or “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ …” or maybe “Honour your Father and your Mother”. All of this was to get some important facts from the Bible into your young mind for the purpose of living life and one-day meeting God.   

Morning has broken - a song of encouragement

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The popular and well-known Christian hymn ‘Morning has broken” was first published in 1931. It has words by English author Eleanor Farjeon, and is set to a traditional Scottish Gaelic tune known as "Bunessan" and is often sung in children's services. In 1971, a hit version of "Morning Has Broken" was recorded by British singer Cat Stevens, helping to popularise the hymn in the UK and North America. 

A morning prayer is a wonderful way to focus our time and attention on seeking God's plan for the day ahead. With the current problems in Ukraine and Gaza we certainly need encouragement, peace, strength, and rest. Thankfully God can meet us in a very real and present way when we come before Him with a humble heart. We need to seek  God's presence each morning before our energy and attention is pulled by all the tasks we have ahead. Here is a poem by an unknown author to encourage us to seek God today and every day:-

A hole in the world?

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The Eagles, an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1971, are one of the world's best-selling bands of all time, having sold more than 200 million records.  One of their songs, "Hole in the World" begins like this:

There's a hole in the world tonight.

There's a cloud of fear and sorrow. 

There's a hole in the world tonight.

Don't let there be a hole in the world tomorrow.

Even if we are optimists and constantly look for the best, it does seem, at least at times, that there is a hole in the world. We live in a day of almost unrestrained violence. Children can be snatched from homes and killed at school. Bombs and missiles are exploded in public places. There is war in Ukraine, Gaza and many other less publicized places. No community, no race, no nation is immune to, nor protected from a growing culture of violence. It is as if there is a hole in the world. Now, more than ever, we need to learn a different way, for the path we are following leads to a dark and dangerous wilderness.

I like the way of Azim Khamisa and Ples Felix, two men who experienced first hand a cloud of fear and sorrow. One deadly evening in 1995, 14-year-old Tony Hicks shot and killed a 20-year-old college student and pizza deliveryman in San Diego, California. Tony and several other gang members ordered pizza and, when it was delivered, Tony was told by his gang to shoot the young man, Tariq Khamisa, who delivered the food.

Thankyou for the music

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Music and songs create passion in our hearts and evoke vivid memories. Some of these memories are good some are sad!

Songs are very emotive and help us store memories. A very effective method of learning is linked to the rhythm in repeating words that somehow glues the words or the facts to our minds. Most of us didn’t necessarily enjoy it but we often learned facts or figures (times tables for example) by musical rhythm. If you were dragged off to Sunday School (maybe you loved going) you may remember learning bible verses, for example  “For God so loved the world that..” or “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and ..”or maybe “Honour your Father and your Mother”. All of this was to get some important facts from the bible into your young mind for the purpose of living life and one day meeting God.   

If I was asked to quote some great piece of literature I would struggle but if you whistled a tune of some popular song I often amaze myself by my ability to recall the words. Maybe you do this as well. Music has a powerful effect on our memories in this respect.  

Thank you for the music

 

All photos courtesy of Unsplash

Music and songs create passion in our hearts and evoke vivid memories. Some of these memories are good; some are sad! 

Songs are very emotive and help us store memories. A very effective learning method is linked to the rhythm in repeating words that somehow glue the words or the facts to our minds. Most of us didn’t necessarily enjoy it, but we often learned facts or figures (times tables, for example) by musical rhythm. If you were dragged off to Sunday School (maybe you loved going), you might remember learning bible verses, for example, “For God so loved the world that..” or “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and ..”or maybe “Honour your Father and your Mother”. All of this was to get some important facts from the bible into your young mind for the purpose of living life and one-day meeting God.   

If I was asked to quote some great piece of literature, I would struggle, but if you whistled a tune of some popular song, I often amaze myself with my ability to recall the words. Maybe you do this as well. Music has a powerful effect on our memories in this respect.  

He's got the whole world in His hands - The Lord Jesus

 

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He's got the whole world in His hands.

Remember the song?  ‘He's Got the Whole World in His Hands’ is a traditional African American spiritual, first published in 1927. It became an international pop hit in 1957-1958 in a recording by English singer Laurie London and has been recorded by many other singers and choirs.

 

It's a celebration of God's loving embrace of everyone in this big old world and a good tune as well! I think it's a bit of an exaggeration, though. God doesn't need both hands to hold the world; in fact, the Bible states He is the One who has measured the waters ‘in the hollow of his hand,’ Isa. 40:12, and that 'In his hand are the deep places of the earth,' Ps. 95:4.

Thank you for the music

Music and songs create passion in our hearts and evoke vivid memories. Some of these memories are good some are sad! 

Songs are very emotive and help us store memories. A very effective method of learning is linked to the rhythm in repeating words that somehow glue the words or the facts to our minds. Most of us didn’t necessarily enjoy it but we often learned facts or figures (times tables for example) by musical rhythm. If you were dragged off to Sunday School (maybe you loved going) you may remember learning bible verses, for example, “For God so loved the world that..” or “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and ..” or maybe “Honour your Father and your Mother”. All of this was to get some important facts from the bible into your young mind for the purpose of living life and one-day meeting God.  

Adele Asks

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Adele once asked - ‘Hello can you hear me?’ Adele has sold over 50 million albums worldwide, won 15 Grammies, 9 Brit awards, and is worth over $400 million. 

In 2021 Adele released her long-anticipated Album 30, which was given rave reviews. The album is deemed a ‘masterpiece’ of songwriting.

Having listened to the album, I was struck by some of the lyrics in the song ‘I Drink Wine’. They talk about playing hard, working hard, and not knowing anybody who is really satisfied with life. So sad, but is Adele really that unique in her outlook?

According to the Life Happiness and Satisfaction Survey carried out by Esteban Ortiz-Ospina and Max Roser in 2017, people as a whole are less satisfied and happy than they were in 1973 compared with 2017.

So the question is - can we be truly satisfied? 

Jesus said, ‘but whosoever drinketh the water that I shall give him shall never thirst,’ John 4. 14. He promises true satisfaction to those who wait on Him. Further, in the gospel of John, he said, ‘I came to give life and life more abundantly,’ John 10. 10.

We can find rest In the person of the Lord Jesus Christ by accepting his offer to ‘come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest,’ Matt. 11. 28. 

The Bible promises joy and happiness to all who are prepared to trust God - ‘Happy are they that trust in the Lord,’ Psalm 144. 15. 

What about the peace we all dream of - well that’s available as well - ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you not as the world giveth, I give unto you let not your heart be troubled,’ John 14. 27. 

So can I get you thinking! If you are dissatisfied with life at the moment. Please consider the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. He came to this world lived a perfect life (despite many trials, rejection, ridicule, and abusive treatment. Eventually, at the age of 33, he hung on a cross as a sacrifice for sin to ‘bring us to God,’ 1 Pet. 3. 18.

People who have faith and trust in the Lord Jesus don’t necessarily have easy lives. God doesn’t promise that, but he does promise eternal life in heaven and peace that ‘passes all understanding,’ Phil 4:7.

The Christian can be satisfied in the person of Jesus Christ knowing that the Bible is true when it says ‘God never lies,’ Titus 1:2. The promises that we have just considered are true. Jesus is the same ‘yesterday, and today, and forever,’ Heb. 13. 8.

I pray that Adele will find the satisfaction she so desperately wants in God’s Son, Jesus Christ.

Written by a Guest Blogger

God can make something of your life.

Apparently it is a true story that in a particular city in the United States of America an advertisement appeared on posters around the streets which announced that a great violinist would play in a certain theatre.  The attraction, which whetted the appetite of many people, was that he would play on a violin worth a thousand dollars (a huge sum of money in those days).  The people packed into the theatre and it was soon filled with the most beautiful music which enraptured the audience and it was a wonderfully exquisite experience.  People were so glad they had come to the theatre and paid the entry price. It was all worthwhile.

Then the whole atmosphere changed because suddenly, to the alarm of the people and to the consternation of everyone in the audience, the musician stopped playing and threw down the violin onto the stage floor. His actions, so unexpected, were done with such violence and it was all compounded as he stamped on the violin and crushed it to pieces and walked off the stage. He left what seemed to be just a mound of broken parts and there was stunned silence as the shocked audience looked on in horror.  They tried to assimilate what had happened and why such a gifted musician had done such a dreadful act.  Some people thought that he must have lost his mind and become deranged in some way to have deliberately destroyed such a beautiful instrument which had cost so much. It all seemed such a waste.   

Rap up your life in soul music!

The insatiable desire of the soul for God - only God can satisfy the soul

Psalms 63 - A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee:

my soul thirsteth for thee,

my flesh longeth for thee

in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

To see thy power and thy glory,

so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.

Because thy lovingkindness is better than life,

my lips shall praise thee.

Thus will I bless thee while I live:

I will lift up my hands in thy name. 

My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness;

and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:

When I remember thee upon my bed,

and meditate on thee in the night watches.

Because thou hast been my help,

therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.

My soul followeth hard after thee:

thy right hand upholdeth me.

But those that seek my soul, to destroy it,

shall go into the lower parts of the earth.

They shall fall by the sword:

they shall be a portion for foxes.

But the king shall rejoice in God;

every one that sweareth by him shall glory:

but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped.

Psalms 143:6

I stretch forth my hands unto thee:

my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.

Psalms 33:20

Our soul waiteth for the Lord:

he is our help and our shield.

Psalms 25:1 - A Psalm of David.

Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

Psalms 103:1-2 - A Psalm of David.

Bless the Lord, O my soul:

and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits:

Psalms 103:22

Bless the Lord, all his works

in all places of his dominion:

bless the Lord, O my soul.

Psalms 63:8-9

My soul followeth hard after thee:

thy right hand upholdeth me.

But those that seek my soul, to destroy it,

shall go into the lower parts of the earth.

Psalms 62:1 - To the chief Musician, to Jeduthun, A Psalm of David.

Truly my soul waiteth upon God:

from him cometh my salvation.

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