I read something stated by one of two Christian men about the actions he agreed with from another last night- men that I respect but an opinion I do not. So this morning I was ready to cloak myself in the self-righteousness of MY opinion and 'preach' a message I've already expressed before- just with their names attached. As I pondered, I thought about that I have considered in the past that 'action man' has been a bit 'I'm always right' in the past.... and wondered if that's where I was going. And when I gave the whole thing to God, He showed me that I need to apply a tool I often use at work to not make an ass of myself in this instance.
I have three rules I try to run any complaint through before I express it. If it cannot pass all three rules, I say nothing. And when I thought about it, I saw that it was a better lesson to share.
First one: Is it helpful? In my heart, I believe it would be- to the audience in question. But here, before you that read my Sunday messages, you've heard it before. I have already said something to the audience in question; repeating it here would satisfy my sinful need to 'be proven right', but not much else. To determine if something is helpful, you have to consider not only the comment, but who gets to hear it.
Second one: Has it been said before? Now, one could battle me on this on the basis of Jesus's parable about the woman going before the wicked judge, I suppose. But if you think about that case, she was going to someone whom might make a difference, and not so much to convince him as to harry him into a response. Is that what I really want to do- and is my audience actually able to do anything about it. In my case here, both answers are no. But if you noticed that Law #2 was sprung from application of Law#1, then you'll notice that the same holds true between this one and the next.
Third one: Will it make a difference? This one is easy. If my dispute is with one person and my comment is to someone else, someone who's only real involvement would be to agree or disagree with me, then I am not seeking to change a mind or fix a problem, I am seeking support from others for MY position. If I am truly seeking God, it is only HIS opinion that matters- and whether I am in line with it or not.
Thus, I have said all there is to say on the original matter; but the three rules can be helpful to this audience as well as to me, in this circumstance and many others.
Elvis: So all I hadda do is hit this button here, an' it woulda told me what happened on that day?
Yep. Go ahead, you ARE the POTM this week...
All right... say! That's it? A picture of a guy standing next to a tree he hit today, 61 years later?
Yep, sometimes there just isn't a lot going on. But the rest of the show will be good, with 2 debuts, 2 6D stories, and you get a chance to win POTM again!
Wow, that would put me at seven! how many do the Beatles have?
11, plus Paul's 2...
Yeah, yeah, fergit I asked. What else ya got?
Well, I just thought of a live research project I want to do, so give me a sec to step into the research booth, and... Wow, sorry that took so long!
You were just gone a minute...
So I've been calling this the "Cover Summer"- and with another cover coming in this week- since the beginning of M10 summer on May 27th, fully 27% of all the covers I know of that have hit the M10 have hit so far this summer!
Man, this IS a cover summer!
So let's go right to this week's new cover, and the 'original' that I knew is a cover itself! First, Jo Stafford hit #1 in 1952, and Patti Page hit #4 that same year. Then Dean Martin took it to #12, also in '52, before the version I knew- the one by the Duprees- hit #7 in 1962! This week, though, Mo Kenney brings it onto our chart at #10...
Okay, so what're we doin' next?
So last week I mentioned I regretted not feeling well enough to do a 6D on the victim, Sheb Wooley's Purple People Eater. Since you already know what the song is, let's work our way from there to the first modern-era open-mouthed kiss in a movie!
Bet I was the kiss-er...
No, actually it was...
(Thanks to PicClick)
...Merv Griffin, who did it with Kathryn Grayson in So This Is Love, for the first time since the Production Code set in 1934 forbade it. Merv was also quite the singer in his day, mainly with big bands. Two of these hits were the last 2 top tens for Freddie Martin and his Orchestra- 1949's I've Got A Lovely Bunch Of Coconuts (#8), and 1950's Music! Music! Music! (#5). Freddy had a lot of big hits on his own, and backed a lot of other stars, one of which was Judy Garland on her Garland At The Grove lp- on which she covered a certain tune; a song that the bosses at MGM told the original singer they "didn't want to be identified with that type of music". That is, until they heard their staff playing it and singing along during their lunches. Yep, can you believe Judy covered the Purple People Eater, which was last week's 6D- sitting at number one, mind you, but getting no Panel Love.
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Man, that's burnt! But not as burnt as me getting a chance at a second POTM in a row!
Well, you sure do have that chance, buddy! We had twenty contestants with 36 votes, only three of them got more than 2! Would you care to do the honors?
Yes, sir! Your choices fer the winner are: Carl Dobkins, Jr, with My Heart Is An Open Book at #10 on Cashbox this week... Paul Anka an' Lonely Boy at #2... ...an' yers truly at #9 with Big Hunk Of Love!
Like I said, you have a good chance to be the first two-week-in-a-row winner since Barry Manilow did it a while back. While everyone thinks about it, here our other new song this week- brand new stuff from our friends, the Beths at #9....
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Good stuff, man! How's about this week's 6D?
Sure thing, King! In the era we're in, it's not uncommon for artists, such as yourself, to have simultaneously charting a and b sides of the same single. In fact, your Panelist A Big Hunk Of Love, was the a-side of My Wish Came True at #48 this week. Others this week on the Cashbox chart included Brook Benton (who had the big mover, up 36 to #51) with Thank You Pretty Baby, along with With All Of My Heart at #66; Sarah Vaughn with a gorgeous version of Misty at #79 and Broken Hearted Melody at #82; Billy Vaughn's Orchestra with Blue Stay Away From Me at #88 and All Night Long at #94; and a bit higher, Sweeter Than You at #18 and Just A Little Too Much at #19 for Ricky Nelson.
But perhaps the most unusual a/b record to chart, for a week at #87 with On The Good Ship Lollipop and at 96 with Somebody Loves You in 1965 was The Wonder Who? The WW were actually Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, who took up the name when they wanted to release- but contracts wouldn't allow- a cover of Bob Dylan's Don't Think Twice (It's All Right). The WW took that tune, with an exaggerated (even for him) falsetto vocal by Frankie, to #12. This song comes into the story because playing on Bob's version from The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan was a gentleman by the name of George Barnes, who at 12 years old in 1931 became the first person- it is believed- to play an actual- if homemade- electric guitar. This same historical guitarist also played on our 6D victim, charting at #4 this week without a Panel vote- Connie Francis and Lipstick On Your Collar.
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Hey, do we even got a stat pack now? Ya gave away the big mover...
Still have the #1s across the English speakers, if you'd like...
No problem! In the UK, Bobby Darin's Dream Lover was at the top- it was falling at #28 here... In Canada, they had my Big Hunk Of Love at the top... ...an' in Australia, they liked Lloyd Price's Personality, which got a vote on the Panel an' was sittin' at #5 on Cashbox!
Oh, and we should mention that Cashbox's #1 this week did get just 2 votes... but that was because Johnny Horton's Battle Of New Orleans was on the last of its NINE weeks at the top. So do you want to do the M10 or the big reveal...
I'll do the reveal! Just hurry up with yer top ten so's we can see if'n I won again!
All right, all right, keep your boxers on!
At #8, Jakob Dylan and Cat Power move up one spot with their cover of You Showed Me.
#7 and dropping from #2 is The Explorer's Club with their former #1, covering the Loving Spoonful on Didn't Want To Have To Do It.
#6 and up 4 spots is Basia Bulat and Your Girl.
#5 and up 3, Brooke Annibale's Home Again. #4 and up 2, the Jayhawks with Bitter Pill.
Stuck at #3 this week, Dent May and I Could Use A Miracle- a song I've been empathizing with a lot lately...
Slipping a spot to #2 after its second trip to #1, the Jayhawks with their 1995 cover of Grand Funk's hit Bad Time.
Which means the new number one belongs to...
....Australia's Hazel English with Five And Dime!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay, bud, it's up to you!
Geez, I'm so nervous...
Are you itchin' like a cat on a fuzzy tree?
Uh, yeah, somethin' like that! So, here we go... So Dobkins got 8.3%.... ...an' Anka got 11.1%... ...which means, the winner with 19.44%...
YES!!!! It's me again! We get to do it all again next week!!!!!!
Yep! Our own Elvis Presley has a chance to go where no one has gone before- a third straight term as POTM! Can he do it? Will we WANT him to? Find out next time!
John 21 is truly one of the richest final chapters we've hit so far. I gathered my thoughts on it under four categories.
Category one: The gathering
So I first looked at the group of Disciples that were there....
Joh 21:2 There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas who is called Didymus, and Nathanael from Cana of Galilee, and the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples.
So Peter is a given; the discussion held off-page between him and Jesus (Mark 16:7) set him back at the head of the group. The sons of Zebedee, John and James, also pretty much a given. Thomas seems an odd member of the group; one commentator speculates that having missed the first appearance before the Twelve, and being shown up on the second, he was going to stick to Peter and John like glue to avoid missing the Lord again.
Nathaniel takes a moment more. Only here in John is he named Nathaniel; in the other Gospels he is referred to by his surname Bartholomew (son of Tolomeus). Only in John does he get more than a mention, and it's worth it to review that story from John 1. He is sitting underneath a fig tree, possibly trying to put what he believed at peace with what the Teachers of the day were teaching (but not living), when Phillip comes up and proclaims to him:
Joh 1:45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." Joh 1:46 Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."
Now here's the thing, one commentator points out: This is Nathaniel scoffing at the idea of a messiah coming from Nazareth. What then plays on that is Jesus' response:
Joh 1:47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!"
This was a double play on words. The word for deceit, or 'guile' in other versions, is the same word that was used to name the original Israel, Jacob. So, in return for Nathaniel's snide remark about no good coming from Nazareth, Jesus in essence calls Nathaniel "an Israelite with no Jacob in him"- he has the blood, but not the faith! Nathaniel is amazed that Jesus could even know he sat under a fig tree some time before, let alone his thoughts at the time- and it's enough to convict him. So Jesus then challenges him:
Joh 1:50 Jesus answered him, "Because I said to you, 'I saw you under the fig tree,' do you believe? You will see greater things than these." Joh 1:51 And he said to him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man."
So, much like Thomas, Nathaniel is there because he has no intention of missing out.
The other two? I speculated that they may have been disciples but not of the twelve, since they weren't named; Commentator consensus figures it's Andrew (since that would complete the fishing partnership of Peter, Andrew, James, and John) and Phillip (since the Gospels usually have them paired up). Why would John leave them out? Good question.
Category two: The fish story
Joh 21:8 The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off. Joh 21:9 When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Joh 21:10 Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just caught." Joh 21:11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn.
If you know me at all, I have to ask: "Why 153 fish?" But instead of chasing the bunny this time, I let the Lord guide me. And what I discovered was this: The number is meaningless to US. But to someone reading this back then, reading about the net almost breaking, and thinking, "Must have been a pretty wimpy net", he then hits 'large fish, 153 of them', and he has a visual picture he CAN'T deny. This was no fish story!
Category three: Competition or partnership?
Peter and John have, in a few places, a kind of one-upsmanship in the stories, at least from our perspective. Especially considering the race to the tomb. And so, when you see John figuring out it's Jesus on the shore first, and then Peter swimming to shore, it's easy to think that the following passage is more competition:
Joh 21:20 Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who had been reclining at table close to him and had said, "Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?" Joh 21:21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, "Lord, what about this man?"
Because here we have what seems to be a private convo between Jesus and Peter, and here comes John sneaking up behind. But let's look at some clues that it is nothing of the sort.
1- Here's one I missed right off the top:
Joh 21:7 That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea.
John SAID TO PETER! Think about this: in a boat with 7 men on it, John goes first to his- HIS- leader- and tells him. If you have studied John at all, you find that he is ALWAYS ready to defer to Peter. In Acts, Peter AND John travel Jerusalem together, but it is always Peter who gives the sermons.
2- Note the way the story is described: "the one who had been reclining at table close to him and had said, "Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?" This story, if you recall, involved Peter giving a hand-signal to John to ask that question.Would it be to much to speculate that John had come nearby to signal Peter to ask about himself? These two men evidence not a rivalry, then, but a bond born of years of working together, of cues they could read without speaking.
And it changes Jesus' answer not a bit: Our job is not to worry how the other guy is following, just to follow.
Category four: And Peter was grieved because....
Joh 21:15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." Joh 21:16 He said to him a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep." Joh 21:17 He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep.
Traditionally, we think Peter is grieved because Jesus asked a third time, but I believe it is more than that. Those of you who study these things know that the first two times, Jesus asked the word "love" as agapos- the Agape deep love that is the most intimate kind; and Peter answered with phileo, or brotherly affection. A lot of speculation has been made about how it was that Peter could not get his profession of love to match the request of Jesus. The third time, Jesus also uses phileo- a 'dumbing down' of His love for Peter's sake. Jesus came to Peter's ability to love! Of course He did so understanding that Peter still awaited his filling with the Holy Spirit. John points out that it was this third time, when Jesus deliberately stepped down His question, that grieved Peter- not just because it was the third time, but because he had not been able to make the climb himself. Of the many lessons of this passage, the one that strikes me today was that Jesus got what he sought- the desire in Peter to rise to that new level of love. And that He understands we need help to get there. And, that he's looking at that farther ahead date that we CAN love Him that way. He didn't say, "Peter, once you are able to love Me that way, I have a plan for you"- He knew Peter WOULD rise to that love, and had a plan for that day already in hand!
He says that to us, too. Why else do you think we often say, "God, I'm not ready for what you have planned?" But He sees us complete.
Right now I am studying 1 John 5 for Wednesday upcoming, and it has taken me some time to realize that the point is, everything we learn flows together. But the point from which it must flow for us to get anything out of it is that first verse:
1Jn 5:1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.
It HAS to start with God loving us. He touches us then with faith in His Son- a faith born of His testimony. The point where we HAVE to jump in is believing that Jesus died for our sins- not just collectively, but YOUR sin, and MY sin. John goes about things in an elliptical way (to me), but the basis comes back to this- we are nowhere without belief that Christ and Christ alone is the way to heaven. You might glean some understanding from other paths, maybe even hints of how to live a better life on earth, but Heaven requires faith in Christ alone.
The Pharisees thought they had a way through life well enough without putting much mind to God, or to the Messiah that had been prophesied by the Prophets they claimed to listen to. But Jesus taught them the folly in that:
Mat 12:38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, "Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you." Mat 12:39 But he answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. Mat 12:40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Mat 12:41 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. Mat 12:42 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. Mat 12:43 "When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. Mat 12:44 Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Mat 12:45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation."
Sorry for such a long passage, but you need to see what Jesus said here. First, that these other paths that make you content on earth do NOTHING for you eternally- that's the point of the story in vv 43-45. Second, how much do you need to be told this? Look at the verse- 41- about Nineveh. What was the message they got? "Jon 3:4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. And he called out, "Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!" Jon 3:5 And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them. "
The message was nothing more than being confronted with their sin. It was the same message Peter gave in the first sermon, and the answer was much the same:
Act 2:37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" Act 2:38 And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
However, the Pharisees "knew better". And because they knew better, because they knew a 'shortcut' that would bring them peace in this life, the men of Nineveh will get to accuse them in the end because they applied the lesson- they repented.
We live in a world where the Word of God is almost universally available. What will the men of Nineveh say about US in that day?
LAST WEEK AT THIS TIME... Elvis: Okay, you two idiots, we have a problem. Chris is way, way down, an' I think we're gonna miss this week's show. WE CAN'T LET THAT HAPPEN, unnerstan'? Don Everly: Why not? EP: Becuz this is the week o' my big movie Beauty Contest! DE: YOU in a beauty contest? I vote Frankie Avalon... Phil Everly: Not, him, Don, the girls in his movie. What do you want us to do? EP: Well, he usually starts off with what happened that day- in this case, July 17th, 1958... DE: Ah, I remember that day well... EP: I'll just bet you do... DE: Sure, we were on the road with Buddy an' the Crickets. PE: No, Don, we finished that tour in early July. We were taking a break by then. EP: Look, no 'un cares what you did. What was goin' on in the world, that's what we need... DE: So just hit one of these frammistats here and ask.. EP: DON' HIT... WHOOOOOAA... *************************************************************
And that's how we get here, one week askew of where we should be, our Beauty Contest ringleader and POTM guests lost in time, and me with last week's show, a Beauty Contest to put together, and three new debuts to the postponed M10 to play. So let me play one of those, and we'll try to tune in on our poor lost cast.
At #10, the return of someone we haven't heard from since roughly this time in 2016! Here's Canadian Basia Bulat...
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LAST WEEK AT THIS TIME... EP: Thanks, Noodle, fer pullin' us outta that one... Nardole: You KNOW you shouldn't be activating any of these devices! Even Chris barely knows what's he's doing... DE: Sorry, that was my fault... N (Glaring at EP): And you let him? EP: Hell, no! But he won' do it again... DE: But do you really think you had to duct tape me to the chair this tight? I... (Everyone): YES!! EP: Okay, so mebbe you can just roll the tape of our nine contestants in my Beauty Movie Pageant... N: THAT'S the name you're going with? EP: Just run the slides, okay?
From Follow That Dream, Anne Helm...
From Loving You, Delores Hart
From GI Blues, Juliet Prowse
From King Creole, Carolyn Jones
From Love Me Tender, Debra Paget
From Flaming Star, Barbara Eden
From Blue Hawaii, Joan Blackman
From Jailhouse Rock, Judy Tyler
And from Viva Las Vegas, Ann-Margaret
PE: Boy, you sure did pick some fine women, Elvis! EP: Thank you, thank you very much! But now, we gotta figure out which un's Chris picked fer the final four! Noodle, do you have that file? N: Sir, merely hit that link right there... EP: This one? DE (Hobbling over duct-taped to a chair): Hey, let me see! Let me... N: PLease don't push, I... look out! EP: UH-OH...WHOOOOAAA....... ******************************************************************************
Will they ever make it back? Learn more after listening to the debut at #9, from Bob Dylan's son Jakob, and someone we just discussed recently, Cat Power... this came up in my 'discovered for you' feed from the 2018 movie Echo In The Canyon, and in the Cover Summer of 2020, why not?
LAST WEEK... DE: C'mon, guys! Don't hang me upside down on the wall! I promise I won't... PE: Shut up, Don. Is that the list? EP: It sure seems to be! He took Anne Helm, Juliet Prowse, Joan Blackman, and Judy Tyler. So where's that durn dog?
You're not talking about me, are you?
EP: Yes, Misty, good girl... DE: Misty, come rescue me from evil Elvis! PE: Don, shut up! EP: Naw, Misty you come be a good girl... lookit these nice treats...
...each one with the name of a beautiful co-star lady! Now cum on over an' git one...
...that's a girl, an... wait? She's got the paper too! DE: I TOLD you not to stick the paper to the treat! EP: Shut up, Don! There she goes, down that hatch! FOLLOW THAT DOG!! PE: Wait, where does that shaft go to? DE, PE, EP: WHOOOOOOAAA.... ****************************************************************
Okay, so they'll be joining us in a minute, so let me get to the other parts of business here! Your finalists for this past week were:
Hard Headed Woman by Elvis (which he is no doubt singing to Misty right now), #3 on last week's Cashbox chart for 1958, and Poor Little Fool by Ricky Nelson, the big mover from 36 to 14, 12 spots.
The Everlys had the #1 in the UK with All I Have To Do Is Dream, which was #9 here; Canada had Hard Headed Woman, Australia had the Platters and Twilight Time.
Our 6D for the second time in recent weeks was the Cashbox #1, Sheb Wooley's Purple People Eater, which I would have loved to put through the 6D but just wasn't able; and that high debut at #8 this week is the latest single from defending Beauty Contest winner Brooke Annibale...
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THUMPPPP!!!!
Hello, gentlemen! Welcome to this week's show!
EP: Aw shucks, now we gone and done it!
I'd say so. And the only thing I'm actually upset about is that you didn't do it to help me out... you did it for your own glorification! Aren't all those hits enough glory?
EP: Yeah, boss, they are. Sorry! PE: Sorry, Chris! DE: They made me do it! They tied me up in duct tape, an'... EP, PE: Shut up, Don!
Anyway, Elvis, here's the winning slip of paper! You want to open it?
EP: Yeah, I- I mean no, you do it...
Okay then! The winner of the Elvis Movie Beauty Contest Is...
Judy Tyler!!!!! Congrats to Judy!!!!
DE: I was gonna pick her... PE: YOU picked Frankie Avalon! DE: That's back when I thought Elvis an' a buncha guys were in it! PE: I would have picked you, Don... DE: REALLY? PE: Of course not, you idiot, I'm smarter than to pick a guy in a beauty contest!
And for the M10... EP: Boss, let me do the M10... just to kinda make up fer all this....
Okay, go ahead...
The rest o' the M10 had Margo Price's Letting Me Down falling 2 to #7; The Jayhawks go from 10 to #6 with Bitter Pill; The Shacks fall from 2 to 5 with Smile Now, Cry Later; Hazel English is up 5 to #4 with Five And Dime; Dent May is up 5 too, to #3 with I Could Use A Miracle; The Explorer's Club down to #2 with Didn't Want To Have To Do It; and that means, returning to #1 after being 3 for 2 weeks...
...the Jayhawks n' Bad Time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks, bud! And in honor of your repentance, I have a treat for you! Winning this week's Panel by 32.3% to 14.7%.....
.............Elvis and Hard Headed Woman!
I WON? I WON! YESYESYESYESYES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So next time, a hopefully quieter and healthier week, with me and my big bud here, and 1959!
DE: And they finally untie me! Yaaay! Everyone: SHUT UP, DON!!!!
Today as I type this, I'm on what I hope is the far end of the health fun I described last week on another post, so believe me I'm barely getting by on this. Joel 3 at first blush seems to be the standard "End of the world, and Israel survives" chapter. This is good for me, but bad from a teaching/learning standpoint. But we can take a motorboat across the Sea of Galilee this week, and just hit a few wave-crests.
In fact, let's do it as if answering questions from a skeptic. Ready? Q1: When is this all going to take place?
The answer here is as specific as it gets: Joe 3:1 "For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem...
Over the last few weeks, we've been reminded of Jesus saying only the Father knows the date and time. We heard Daniel- a prophet so valued an angel fought demons for a month just to get to him- get told, "Go your way!" when he asked. Religious fakers, code breakers, even devout, intelligent men like Isaac Newton, speculated on the date. But the answer is, and always will be- "When God wills- and not a moment before". HINT: This means one of the best ways to expose a false teacher or church is if they take a guess that contains more than, "soon."
Q2: Why should we even believe God cares? If He hasn't hit us with lightning all this time...
A2: Joe 3:4 "What are you to me, O Tyre and Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Are you paying me back for something? If you are paying me back, I will return your payment on your own head swiftly and speedily.
God isn't blind to the arrogance of doubters; He is, however, blind to their timetables. He has shown over and over that sometimes, a land or people's evil has to be built up to just the right amount. For example, in Genesis 15, God tells Abram his progeny will live in Egypt, "for the iniquity of the Amorites [is]
not yet full". He's going to give them time to commit every arrogance. And then....
Q3: Fine, wipe out the whole world. You'll take out the good with the bad. Isn't that why you 'left the tares grow with the wheat" in the parable?
Guess, what, this is the harvest time, the cups of iniquity are full- Marquis of Queensbury rules no longer apply. Plus.... Joe 3:16 The LORD roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth quake. But the LORD is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people of Israel.
God's had the defense and protection of His People (the ones not fallen to pride, arrogance, and mammon) planned out all along. Look here...
Rev 12:5 She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, Rev 12:6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days.
"She", to all but tradition blinded Catholics, is the people Israel. It was the Jews, not the church, which gave birth to the Messiah. I understand that's hard to swallow when your leaders tell you 'tradition is equal to Scripture; Scripture is just a guide"-as I was- but this is the story of how Israel will be supernaturally protected the back end of the Great Tribulation- 3 1/2 years, or 1,260 days.
Okay, I am fading big time here, so one more question, Mr Skeptic:
Q4: The same one I asked before- If He hasn't done it yet, why should I believe He will?
A4: Joe 3:19 "Egypt shall become a desolation and Edom a desolate wilderness, for the violence done to the people of Judah, because they have shed innocent blood in their land. Joe 3:20 But Judah shall be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem to all generations. Joe 3:21 I will avenge their blood, blood I have not avenged, for the LORD dwells in Zion."
Get it? He's not blind he hasn't paid you back-yet.
Due to illness- an illness you can read about here - The wonderful Time Machine I have set up- but not typed up- will be run next Friday in its entirety, including topical references to said illness. Sorry to disappoint, but the boilers just don't have enough coal in them today.
A lone man looking for means of expression in a tsunami of information. Seeking truth justice and the American way in the perspective of a Nixon conservative. And the Commissioner of the free world's smallest and best fantasy football league.
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