This week I had "one of THOSE days"- you know, the kind where everything is a little test of what you know God wants you to do, but you don't catch on quick enough to act out. Swarms of little things that you try to fend off, give to God one by one, until you finally screw up. And then, you (or at least I) say to God, "Why do You set up this life to be one big test, until you fail- and then do it all over again the next day?"
And then, God says to you (or at least to me), "There was only one test- you passed that when you gave your life to Me. The rest is refining."
Refining?
"Yes, refining. and in refining, you have some days that you melt smoothly, and some days that you pop and sizzle."
I sure seem to pop and sizzle a lot...
"Well, you have more things to refine out of you those days."
So this morning I decided to look into Biblical refining, and noticed more often than not, our refining is likened to that of silver. So I looked into silver refining, and I quickly found a story that made me realize there was more to the story than a little "pop and sizzle":
Refining Silver Some time ago, a few ladies met in a certain city to read the scriptures, and make them the subject of conversation. While reading the third chapter of Malachi they came upon a remarkable expression in the third verse: "And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." One lady's opinion was that is was intended to convey the view of the sanctifying influence of the grace of Christ. Then she proposed to visit a silversmith and report to them what he said on the subject. She went accordingly and without telling the object of her errand, begged to know the process of refining silver, which he fully described to her. "But Sir" she said, "do you sit while the work of refining is going on?" "Oh, yes, madam," replied the silversmith; "I must sit with my eye steadily fixed on the furnace, for if the time necessary for refining be exceeded in the slightest degree, the silver will be injured." The lady at once saw the beauty, and comfort too, of the expression, "He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." Christ sees it needful to put His children into a furnace; His eye is steadily intent on the work of purifying, and His wisdom and love are both engaged in the best manner for them. Their trials do not come at random; "the very hairs of your head are all numbered." As the lady was leaving the shop, the silversmith called her back, and said he had forgotten to mention that the only way that he knows when the process of purifying is complete when he sees his own image reflected in the silver.... --Author Unknown
A story that is beautifully amplified by Psalms 12:6:
Psa 12:6 The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.
Seven of course meaning completeness. But I looked further, and here are some things you might not have known about silver refining.
-Rarely is silver the biggest component of the ore. In fact, you are lucky if you find as much as 2 %. You wonder at the trials you get put through? You are 98% work in process!
- Only 25% of ores are mined and refined FOR the silver. Most ores, anything good like silver is just an afterthought. Lesson: any sinner might have some good deeds. God looks for the 25%. Only with us, it's a lot less, sadly.
- EVERY ore has sulfides. Sulfides= sulfur= brimstone. We all are sinners- we all have hell to be burned out.
- Many have iron pyrite- fool's gold. And you can't tell for sure without the processing...
- Most are ores of one of three metals. Lead, Copper, and Zinc. Lead is soft, bends, and is poisonous. Copper is biostatic, meaning microorganisms- life- cannot grow on it. Most Zinc (remember the end of the story?) has a dull finish.
So if the question is, "Why do we have days like this?", the answer is it's part of our refining. If the question is, "Why do we need refining so much?", the answer is because what God wants to bring out is not only rare in the world, it is rare IN US. But the smart question, here in the USA, should be:
"How is it that others suffer so much more than me?"
The answer has to be, God has a finer thing to make of them. Food for thought, especially if you are complaining about "one of THOSE days."
Today is March 29th, 1962- and it is announced that British politician and poet Sir Ian MacDonald Horobin would be raised to a lifetime peerage. But...
About two weeks after, he declined the peerage, mumbling something about 'not up to the pressure of the position.' I didn't think being a member of the Lords was all that pressure packed. But...
About a month after that, he was arrested for assault on young boys while an MP from Oldham East. Not only did he admit to it, and to the charges that he had a 17-y-o lad procuring for him (and described as his virtual wife), but...
Horobin admitted ten charges of assault in July 1962, and was sentenced to four years imprisonment. Horobin had told the secretary of the settlement that his relationships with boys had been going on for over 40 years and described homosexuals as "...us poor devils who are born like this; nothing can change me. It is natural for us to love boys in this way." (WIKI)
I'll just leave that right there...
Horobin the horrible
AND with that, we move on to more normal and pleasant pursuits, on this week's Time Machine, including a look at who the M10's biggest labels are, a visit with the Marcels, and how about a "live" 6D (yes, I hadn't got to it yet again, so I have no idea what's going to happen!) Never fear about Ian- there'll always be a spot for him on the BBC....
*******************************************
All right guys, call out your names!
Cornelius: I'm "Nini".. Ronald: I'm Bingo... Gene... Richard... ...and I'm Fred...
Alright. So I was just reading that Blue Moon was actually kinda one song grafted on another?
Nini: Well, we had walked to the studio in this big snowstorm, and Stu Phillips felt sorry for us. Gene: Colpix liked us, but Stu wasn't s'posed to work with no one but the Skyliners... Fred: So he hid us out till the coast was clear. We did a demo set of songs, and there was this one that Stu liked my base line, but not much else. Nini: So he wanted me to sing Heart And Soul to it, but I didn't know Heart And Soul. Then he suggested Blue Moon, which was an old Rogers and Hart musical tune. And that one I knew, and the rest was history. Richard: Yeah, Murray the K couldn't play it enough!
So that's how it went from slow to fast...Okay then, here's the list, do the one-vote wonders first. 14 contestants from 37 stations.
G: Ah'll do the first one. Chubby Checker an' that little girl Dee Dee Sharp was at #6 onna Cashbox charts with Slooooow Twistin... Bingo: Don and Juan have a great one with What's Your Name, it's at #5... R: Ace Cannon was at #25 with Tuff... Fred: Bobby Darin had got to #22 back in February with Multiplication... N: John D Lowdermilk was at #75 with Thou Shalt Not Steal...
TM fans might remember that John is the guy who wrote what became the Raiders' big hit Indian Reservation...
G: That's real good, son. Now, a little girl named Debbie Woods didn't even make the charts with Just One More Chance... I guess she never got it, huh?
"No, I sure didn't..."
B: Larry Finnegan had a song called Dear One at # 33...
R: The Everly Brothers were at #28 with Cryin' In The rain...
"Looks like we're beat again..."
F: Ah'm afraid so, fellas... and Johnny Crawford has the last of the one-votes with Patti Ann at #47.
That leaves us with five finalists for the five of you!
G: You all get ta choose from Shelly Fabres with Johnny Angel at #13... B: Paul Anka with Love Me Warm And Tender at #14... N: Elvis has Good Luck Charm at #10... wonder if'n it'll bring him any luck? R: That little Dee Dee Sharp is on here again with Mashed Potato Time at #15... F: ...an' this week's number one song- Bruce Channel and Hey Baby!
Thanks guys! So the top ten took yet another beating... but that doesn't mean Bruce has this wrapped up! In fact, it was a 2-song race... and if you're good, I'll trim it down to those two in a bit.
**************************************
Okay, so let's try that "live" 6D- and it's two weeks in a row for Connie Francis...
I don't know that I like that...
Sorry, dear, but Don't Break The Heart That Loves You- despite being at NUMBER TWO- got ignored by the Panel. It was written by Benny Davis, who had among his many scores 5 "#1s" (remember our story about the pre-1940 lists), such as Gene Austin's Carolina Moon (1929), Eddie Cantor's Margie (1921), Al Jolson's Angel Child (1922), Chasing Shadows by the Dorsey Brothers (1935), and way back in 1917, Goodbye Broadway, Hello France by the American Quartet. In 1961 he started working with Connie, and I don't know if it's a record of not, but when Don't Break hit #1 soon later, it made 27 years between #1s!
Davis also wrote the perennial hit Baby Face, which hit #3 for Art Mooney in '48, and #14 in '75 for the Wing And A Prayer Fife And Drum Corps. Their lead singer was one Linda November- who also was the singing cat in the old Meow Mix ads!
In addition, she won a CLIO award for singing in the famous Mean Joe Greene Coke Ad!
*************************************************
Well, that went well! Now, how about our two debuts this week- back to back! At #10, for the first time since March of 2016's Hourglass, here is Indianapolis sister act Lily and Madeline...
...and at #8... well, I was half asleep when I stuck this in the shuffle, and when I listened to it awake, I said, "That sounds like the guy from Dinosaur Jr! " And I was right! From his 2018 solo lp Elastic Days, here's J Mascis...
************************************
So I decided to see how the "label race" on the M10 was going. For those of you not in the know, the real world label race is down to the Big Three- Universal, Sony, and Warner, and all the labels they gobbled up- plus the many indy labels, which hold 12% of the US market. On the M10, these are the top ten-
10 (tie)- Carpark- they bring us Dent May and the Beths, and have 6 hits on the M10.
10 (tie)- Universal's main label, mostly represented here by the Jayhawks, also 6 hits.
8 (tie)- Big Crown- this would be the Shacks, and claim 7 hits.
8 (tie)- RCA- a Sony label; Cage The Elephant and Nothing But Thieves have hit here, to the tune of 7 hits.
6 (tie)- PIAS (Play It Again Sam)- an indy who boast Lucius and Agnes Obel, with 8.
6 (tie)- Fat Possum- a indy that is led on the M10 by Melody's Echo Chamber, with 8.
5- Sony's main label, along with Sony Legacy, which claim Leonard Cohen, Willie Nelson, and Dami Im, among others, 9 hits.
4- Warner's main label and Warner Nashville, who brought us the Black Keys, Adam Lambert, and Jana Kramer, among others, 10 hits.
3- Sub Pop- need I say more than Beach House? How about Cullen Omori, J Mascis, and Frankie Cosmos? 12 hits. They are 51% indy, 49% Warner.
2- Polyvinyl- Alvvays. Anna Burch. 13 hits.
And 1- Columbia, with 19 M10 hits, and a stable of labels (let alone artists) that would stun you.
If you took Paul Anka, Dee Dee Sharp, or- yes, the number one by Bruce Channel- you are out. If you took Elvis or Shelly, you still have a chance.
I knew 28 here and 13 in the UK. The Panel had a trio on the UK chart this week- finalists by Paul Anka at #23 and Bruce Channel at #12, along with the Everlys at #16. The top dog in England was the instrumental Wonderful Land by Cliff Richards' Shadows.
Big mover was our buddy Mr Acker Bilk with Stranger On The Shore, zooming up 31 from 88 to 57.
The Shirelles claimed the #62 in '62 with Baby It's You; the Chantels boned out at #101 on Cashbox (better than the #118 they got on Billboard) with Here It Comes Again.
****************************
And now, the rest of the M10:
illuminati hotties move up a spot to #9 with I Want To Keep Yr Dog.
Three-week #1 You're Not Alone by The Dig slides from 4 to 7 after 8 weeks.
A pair of one-notch-up songs: The Black Keys Lo/Hi to #6, Weezer's High As A Kite at #5.
Pure Bathing Culture gets pushed out of the way, down a spot to #4 with Devotion.
The hot tray this week is Idlewild's Dream Variations, up from 9 to 3.
The top two hold- barely. The Japanese House at #2 with You Seemed So Happy; and the top song for a second week...
Anna Burch and St Adalbert!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And our panel winner, by a 32.4% to 21.6% margin....
Shelly Fabres and Johnny Angel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank Bob Elvis was on vacation this week... Next week, only a pretty face will save me from his wrath in 1963!
I had a titanic struggle where to go with D this week, but as usual, God gave me the clue where to go in something I ran into quite by chance. Deborah was a judge of Israel, and her main story is in Judges 4-5. For those not in the know (as her main story isn't the point I'll be chasing), Deborah lived in an era of Israel's history before they were united as a kingdom, with the phrase over and over, "Every man did what he saw fit" being used in the book. The highways had fallen into disuse due to banditry; even the city gates weren't secure- and one commenter notes that this is the reason she judged from a secure place ("She used to sit under the palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim", Judges 4:5). Israel was under the thumb of one Jabin, a Canaanite king in Hazor (North of the Sea of Galilee in Napthali territory), who had 900 iron chariots, against with the Israelites were basically defenseless ("When new gods were chosen, then war was in the gates. Was shield or spear to be seen among forty thousand in Israel?" Judges 5:8).
She was also a prophetess, and God instructed her to give the order of battle to a man named Barak. Barak refused to do it without her, whereupon she let him know this would cost him the glory of the victory. Meanwhile, a neighbor friendly to Jabin and his general Sisera named Heber the Kenite ( a supposed father-in-law of Moses descendant) let Sisera know where the Israelites were, and away he went. But Barak and Deborah carried the day by God's might, Sisera fled back to Heber's camp. And there, Heber's wife Jael let him hide in her tent till he fell asleep, and then she put a tent peg through his head.
There are a ton of ways to take this story. The irony of the man Heber contributing to the enemy of Israel's attack, and his wife ensuring their victory. The interplay between the confident Deborah and the not-so-much Barak. And why was it in Chapter 5, the tribes of Reuben, Dan, and Asher REFUSED to fight? But I found the most interesting thing was how Deborah was both a prophet and a judge. Now there have been a ton of prophetesses in the Bible; the Rabbis list seven special prophetesses that God raised up in Israel: Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Huldah, and Esther. But there was one comment in the Summarized Bible by Keith Brooks (1919):
It is a sure mark of apostasy in a nation when a woman is found in the place of leadership.
And he may have had a point; after all the only other leaders of Israel that were women were Jezebel (and we all know how SHE was), and Athaliah, who was basically the same with less fame. So how was it she was a Judge? And what does this mean for Paul in 1 Timothy 2:12?
1Ti 2:12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.
Before I gave the matter much thought, I noticed an article in the Christian Post called, "What does the Bible really say about women being pastors?" By Bob Edwards. In it he has an interesting take on the above passage:
Some also misinterpret 1 Timothy 2:12, to be saying that women may not “exercise authority” over men in the church. However, the word translated “exercise authority” in Latin and English versions of the Bible was repeatedly used in 1st century Greek to refer to someone who was responsible for someone's death. In the writing of Philo of Alexandria, for example, being an “authentes” was connected to causing death by embracing a false knowledge (“gnosis”) of God (see Philo’s “The Worse Attacks the Better").
Using similar language, Paul prohibits “a woman” from “authentein andros,” possibly referring to a false teaching that would be responsible for the death of a man. The woman is compared to Eve in 1 Timothy 2:13-14, who was deceived and gave the forbidden fruit to her husband, who ate it and then died. Early Gnostics completely misunderstood the creation account found in Genesis. They taught that the serpent was a messenger from God, and that Eve did a good thing when she shared divine “gnosis” with Adam. In 1st Timothy 6:20, Paul warns Timothy to guard the gospel against profane babblings that are falsely called “gnosis.”
He also points out several examples of NT women in what would seem to be leadership roles, and one that I found interesting was a certain couple from Acts 18:
18:2 And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them,
Act 18:3 and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade.
Now all seems well here, but every OTHER time the couple is mentioned...
Act 18:18 After this, Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of the brothers and set sail for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila. At Cenchreae he had cut his hair, for he was under a vow.
Act 18:26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
Rom 16:3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,
Rom 16:4 who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well.
2Ti 4:19 Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus.
Priscilla (or Prisca) gets the top billing, just as we saw two weeks ago 'Barnabas and Saul' become 'Paul and Barnabas'. He further goes on to point out that the words that he used on himself for teaching or exhortation he also used for ladies like Priscilla, Phoebe, Lydia, not to mention Timothy's Mom and Grandma. When it came to 99% of the duties a pastor might have, Paul by his actions showed he had no problem with women doing them. That 1% was being the actual head of an individual church- what we would call the pastor.
Bob Edwards, though, doesn't quite go with that distinction in his article, summarizing, " Does the New Testament support women being “pastors” in the church? Yes, when read in its original language and context, and not confused with fallen human traditions, it most certainly does." HOWever, I also found an article called, "Women Pastors: What does the Bible Teach?" by Richard R Melick Jr, on the SBCLife page. They note that there are duties specific to pastors and not to teachers, lay leaders, etc, that are not for women to do:
Someday neither the church nor the family will operate with such economic subordination. Marriage is only an earthly economy (Matt. 22:30). The church is the bride of Christ and will have a corporate beauty in the image of God (Eph. 4:11-16; Eph. 5:25-27). Perhaps this, too, is analogous to the Godhead since someday "God will be all in all" (1 Cor. 15:28). Prior to the eternal state, however, there is a demand for functional organization. The organization prescribed for churches pictures God's functional organization in the Godhead. Therefore, based upon these texts and models, a woman's spiritual service is to be in those roles assigned her by God. These do not include the role of pastor.
So in this article, the stress is on the ORGANIZATIONAL, administrative functions- the "final say" on things, and the direction to take the church. THAT I can live with. Does that mean that a church with a large amount of female teaching and leadership is bad? No! Does it mean a woman being a pastor is bad? Apparently. So how does this fit in with Deborah and her being a Judge?
Well, think of it this way. God could have very well had Deborah lead the armies of Israel. But her actions show that she saw God's will as her staying OUT of the fight:
Jdg 4:6 She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali and said to him, "Has not the LORD, the God of Israel, commanded you, 'Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking 10,000 from the people of Naphtali and the people of Zebulun.
Jdg 4:7 And I will draw out Sisera, the general of Jabin's army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops, and I will give him into your hand'?"
Jdg 4:8 Barak said to her, "If you will go with me, I will go, but if you will not go with me, I will not go."
Jdg 4:9 And she said, "I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman." Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh.
And even then, the woman who "got the glory" wasn't her. She was more than willing to do all that God asked, and it WASN'T the whole job. Perhaps the "sure sign of apostasy" wasn't Deborah's leadership but the man's UNWILLINGNESS.
Today, I remove us form the world of gloating Republicans and crying news medi- er, Democrats and movie "stars", and bring you the latest variation on my Newspage GO! series. We will go a-hunting for the dumbest thing to be found on each front page. Realizing of course that I am writing this Monday for Tuesday release, so some settling of contents may occur.
So without further do-do, let's have the first contestant!
FoxNews: Headline: Perfume company boss sorry for worst fragrance title ever
Not only is this a "not-fit for front page story"- as most of Fox's output has been of late- but the story itself is even dumber. Outside of references to animal (or human for that matter) bowel secretions, what is the flat worst thing you might name a perfume these days?
The owner of a Russian perfume company has apologized and pulled a fragrance from its shelves after coming under fire for its offensive name: “Sexual Harassment.” Nikolay Eremin, who runs Nimere Parfums, the small firm which named and sold the scent, called the naming decision “not thought out” in an apology he penned on Instagram.
I suppose the easiest joke is, "Is 'Nimere' Russian for Nimrod?" (Note: How about 'it's his name spelled backwards', which is oddly appropriate.) Next would be the, 'so what exactly does THAT smell like?' No clue what that would be, although they will be re-releasing it under another name. Early candidates, I imagine, include "Chernobyl Nights", "Eau De Cholera", and "Hitler's Ass".
CNN Headline: Mom of 5 donates her uterus
Mind you, I chose this because I vowed to stay away from politics- even though "What Was Mueller Thinking?" was a great set up to a punch line. The first thought I had was, wouldn't it be a little used to be any good? Perhaps not, but add in that this was not an ordinary 5-child family: The first was adopted after being diagnosed with what amounts to "I don't know why, but you seem to be infertile." Then there was an "Oops, I got pregnant", then an in-vitro attempt that sprang into twin girls, and finally yet another 'Oops, I'm pregnant'.
So basically this is an all's well that ends well story with every sort of ending imaginable. Maybe not DUMB, but definitely a feel-good, no matter how they got there.
BBC Headline: Bohemian Rhapsody opens in China, minus all the gay bits
So forgive me for asking, but wouldn't that essentially be turning this:
into this?
Moscow Times Headline: Russian Teacher Forced to Step Down Over ‘Prostitute’ Dress
In yet another, "Let's see what they post on their private pages" case, Prim and Proper Russians (who have no problem with "Shirtless Putin" everywhere), forced a teacher to quit over the following New Year's Day pic:
Among the comments on the outfit were, “Only prostitutes dress up and take pictures with heels and a dress above the knees, and all for show! Who are you trying to lure?”, “stain on the reputation of the school” and said that her behavior encourages “pedophilia.” (from the School Director). She was to be fired immediately, but parents who weren't all that upset with the clothing forced them to keep her. She quit though, after her FELLOW TEACHERS made her feel like crap.
Sounds to me like the "school director" wanted something he(?) didn't get. Either that, or she (?) and the other teachers in the school's employ formerly lifted weights for East Germany.
Japan News
Headline: Tokyo District Court finds dual surname ban constitutional
Okay, so this is the humor equivalent of "slow news day". But I do find it amusing, both in that they actually have a law banning married couples from not having ONE surname, and that somebody actually sued based on " emotional pain they suffered due to the law provision." Apparently, Japanese who marry foreign nationals are exempted from this, and the court ruled that this dichotomy "does not violate the constitutional guarantee of the equality of all of the people."
In the 2015 ruling (establishing the law), the top court said that the custom of married couples using the same family name is well established in society and it is reasonable that family members use the same name.
So if it's so reasonable- why do you have the law?
Xinhua Headline: Across China: Cloned police dog starts training
There you see the highly honored (and named something too long to type in) doggie whose genes were turned into what they hope will be another highly honored doggie, with the much easier name of Kunxun. The Chinese believe that a cloned doggie will significantly trim the 4-to-5 year training time "and save thousands of Yuans", which makes me wonder just how cheaply they can clone a doggie- and how long it will be before they start cloning loyal proletarians...
News(dot)Com(dot)au (Australia) Headline : Captain's Five Words That Had Us Worried
You might know about the cruise ship who had to get the guests evaced by chopper last week because both engines died on them. This, not surprisingly, is about that. You wanna take a guess at what those five words were?
Anybody?
"SEAL ALL WATER-TIGHT DOORS"
Yup, that would be the five...
Times Of India Headline: Avoid saying these 7 things to your child at the dinner table
If there is anything more annoying than News-au's fixation on the "Married At First Sight" TV show, it's the continuing stream of "ads you have to click off to see anything" on the TOI. Still, I came down to this one and wondered what those seven phrases were- and no, Cpt. Obvious, one of them wasn't "Close all water-tight doors".
They were...
“You can have dessert if you finish your veggies”
“You are so fussy”
“Eat a few more bites of your food”
“You would not like it”
“Try this, it is good!”
“Good that you finished all your food!”
“Look at your sister, she finished her food”
Which pretty much cuts dinnertime conversation to, "How was school today?"
Deutsche Welle (Germany) Headline: German bike helmet ads labeled stupid and sexist
And they have a point. Observe.... keeping in mind this is a PSA from the Transport Ministry...
Not sure if this will play with the imbed. BBC gives about a million instructions, and they are none of them pointing you to your specific case. If not, go to this link.
I shared this on FB with the following comment:
Put this into your mind: 1.11 BILLION live in nations whose life expectancy wouldn't get you social security. A chunk of that larger than the US population won't live on average as long as I ALREADY HAVE. You have the ability to help your brother as Jesus commanded.
This is going to be kind of a "live" post, as I am trying to work something out for me that might be helpful to all. This morning, I had the thought that maybe I wouldn't struggle so much with bad thoughts and temptation if I found a way to be able to apply at a moment's notice the ideas of Paul in Philippians 4:8:
Php 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
So my thought was, can I get down to the essence of these eight things, and simplify them to the point I could use them as a "quick list" to meditate on? And that is the process I am 'talking out' right now.
TRUE
This is both the simplest and the hardest, because as you check the commentators, they assume it simple and spend little time on it. But if you break down the Greek, it literally means "the opposite of concealed." One commentator that was helpful was Albert Barnes:
The word true refers here to everything that was the reverse of falsehood. They were to be true to their engagements; true to their promises; true in their statements; and true in their friendships. They were to maintain the truth about God; about eternity; about the judgment; and about every man’s character. Truth is a representation of things as they are; and they were constantly to live under the correct impression of objects.
Wow. True in everything, true about everything. What am I concealing today that I shouldn't, and how do I bring it to light?
Quick list word: OPEN. What do I need to be open about today.
HONEST
This one is harder even on the face, because "honest" is not a good translation of either the Greek or the way it was applied. The Greek means something you can revere, or adore; thus coming to us as "venerable" or "honorable". But it was more in meaning; it was a term the Greeks applied to the things of the gods. Barnes puts it thus:
The word, therefore, does not express precisely what the word “honest” does with us, as confined to dealings or business transactions, but rather has reference to what was regarded as worthy of reputation or honor; what there was in the customs of society, in the respect due to age and rank, and in the contact of the world, that deserved respect or esteem. It includes indeed what is right in the transaction of business, but it embraces also much more, and means that the Christian is to show respect to all the venerable and proper customs of society, when they did not violate conscience or interfere with the law of God...
So here, I need to look at what in my interactions with society denote character in myself. I could use respect as my key word, but I'd rather use Esteem, as it leads me to something more. One of the many translations used the word noble. So here, how do I act nobly, how do I esteem what is proper around me.
JUST
This one is mostly straightforward. One translation calls for "upright", and that is about as good a quick word as any. How do I keep myself fair, upright, faced with the trials of the day.
PURE
Another pretty straightforward concept; Barnes makes a good connection between this concept and the ways of treating your fellow Christians Paul taught in 1 Timothy:
1Ti 5:1 Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren;
1Ti 5:2 The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.
1Ti 5:3 Honour widows that are widows indeed.
It would be easy to say, "treat everyone as family", but for a lot of us, we'd have to add, "but not MY family". This is beyond blood. We have to strip the baggage and the "what's in it for me" out of it, and attach the "what can I do for you". At first, I thought that holy might be my quick word; but looking at it this way, Family or Give might be better. I think I'll go with Family.
LOVELY
At first I thought this wasn't a good translation, but it's really not bad. The Greek would be something like, "moving toward friendly", and the commentators added two concepts that helped me. One was the idea of "something that excites love"; the other was "something that is dear to anyone". The blue sky, the happy puppy, the new-sprung flower. But apply it towards the people you meet. My quick word here is Dear- as in, how can I show that someone is dear to me?
More and more, this seems like a process to get through the day, doesn't it?
OF GOOD REPORT
The Greek sort of brings you to "well spoken of", but one commentator warns that that is not the way they applied it:
Only here in the New Testament. Lit., sounding well. The kindred verb is commonly used in an active sense. Hence not well spoken of, but fairspeaking, and so winning, gracious (Vincent's Word Studies)
So more being that "speaks well" of yourself or your group. One translation used the phrase, "of good rumor", and that make be the best way to look at it. What am I doing to start a good rumor?
VIRTUE
This one kind of took me aback because the original Greek is associated with "manly, manliness". But not in the way WE look at it. It is more about applied strength, because if you chase it down far enough, you hit the concept of lifting up, of raising. So here the quick word has to be Uplifting, but in a way that reminds me that I have to use my strength to lift it.
PRAISE
The commentators agree that these last two Paul changed tense on (from 'whatsoever' to 'if there be any') because he was considering what "society" considered "moral", and thus they were to Paul both linked terms and vague terms. As John Gill put it:
'and if there be any praise'; that is praiseworthy among men, and deserves commendation, even though in an unjust steward, Luk_16:8, it should be regarded.
Vincent puts it thus:
Lightfoot remarks that Paul seems studiously to avoid this common heathen term for moral excellence, and his explanation is very suggestive: “Whatever value may reside in your old heathen conception of virtue, whatever consideration is due to the praise of men.”
So we're talking here a life lived not seeking the praise of men, but AS IF seeking the praise of MORAL men. Deserves Praise is my keyword.
Now there is one more concept to consider here- "think on these things." The word for 'think on' means 'take an inventory', 'compute', 'make an estimate'. The commentators were at last united on their take on this one, and Robertson's Word Pictures puts this in just the way I was seeking to apply it:
Think on these things (tauta logizesthe). Present middle imperative for habit of thought. We are responsible for our thoughts and can hold them to high and holy ideals.
"Responsible". "Habit". This is what I am striving for: replacing the bad habits of my thoughts (and with them, actions), by making a new habit. A habit that will start with thinking on, taking an inventory of, being Open, showing Esteem, walking Upright, considering as Family, thinking Dearly of others, causing Good Rumors, Lifting others, and living as if Deserving Praise.
Today we hit March 22nd, 1961- and miss by one day the beginning of the Beatles opening run at the Cavern Club in Liverpool; but tonight we can see the 2nd of "nearly 300" regular appearances there! Mind you, this is pre-Ringo, so Pete Best will be on the drums...
"Cor, ya say it like it's a bad thing..."
Well, so I was told... Anyway, we have a SPECIAL Time Machine this week- in honor of Percy Faith's win last week, we'll be doing a couple of specials on instrumental hits! Plus two new M10 debuts, including the riotous return of Sarah Tudzin, the illuminati hottie! It'll be the Best... er, a great show!
Okay, so I found a site where a guy ran through the Billboard chart up to his current time- through 2002- and found that there were 222 top 20 instrumentals from the beginning of BBs chart to that point, and there are a TON of them that I just love! So what we are going to do is give you the top instrumentals of ME 2.0- by weeks on top combined of Billboard and Cashbox- and then, my PERSONAL top 10- and I'm still growling over how many I had to leave off! But we'll start that in a little bit! First off, debuting at #10 are/is illuminati hotties with their/her latest:
********************************************
So I have a 22-song, 42-station list for this week's Panel, on top of all the rest, so here we go with the one-vote wonders...
Much like last week, the chart positions are all over the board, and there are quite a few that JUST hit the Cashbox national chart! One of those is classical giants Ferrante and Teicher with the Theme To One Eyed Jacks, a western featuring and directed by Marlon Brando, coming in at #79.
The Shirelles version of Dedicated To The One I Love was in the top ten at #7.
Chubby Checker was at #2 with Pony Time... looks like another rough week for the top ten...
Kathy Young's Happy Birthday Blues was at #36.
Our hero Clarence "Frogman" Henry was at #42 with (I Don't Know Why) But I Do.
With a vote from a Canadian station comes Elvis with Wooden Heart- a song that wouldn't be released here except as the b-side to Blue Christmas, but was still at #107. It was #4 in the UK this week.
Carla Thomas's Gee Whiz was at #13.
Ernie K Doe debuted this week at #72 with his big hit Mother-In-Law.
Dinah Shore got a vote for a song that never showed up on CB, and peaked at #103 on BB- a song where she did nothing until the end but "doo-doo-dooo" called Ain't Down Yet.
Only at #130 here, Andy Stewart with a big UK hit (26 this week) called A Scottish Soldier. If you never heard it, worth a listen.
The String-A-Longs were at #6 here- and 8 in the UK- with Wheels- which BTW was on that instrumental list...
All I know about this one is I heard the song when I looked it up- Del Erickson with Two.
Another debut this week, Del Shannon's Runaway came in at #66.
Marty Robbins was at #3 with Don't Worry (and he didn't add, "be happy").
Brook Benton was at #16 with Think Twice.
Another debut at #86 was Steve Lawrence with Portrait Of My Love.
And the Shirelles again, with their #28 (and #5 in the UK), Will You Love Me Tomorrow.
And everything that's left is in the final. Of course, that's a relative term, as our winner collected 30.95% of the vote to run away with it! Choose this week from:
Louisiana Man by Rusty and Doug (Kershaw)... (Note: this song got two regional votes and a BB peak of #104...)
Elvis again with Surrender, the #1 CB song this week...
The Marcels with Blue Moon- which took this week's SECOND biggest jump, 34 spots from 49 to #15...
Jorgen Ingman with another instrumental hit, Apache, at #8...
And for only the 2nd time I remember, the #1 UK song, the Everly Brothers with Walk Right Back, here at #20!
"Oh boy, we getta do this again?"
"We gotta win first, rockhead!"
Gosh, I'm worn out typing! Here, listen to our second debut- at #9 with a bullet, here is Scotland's Idlewild... (Warning, this might be one of those "triggers seizures" videos...)
****************************************
All right, so by this guy's figuring, there were 26 #1 instrumentals in the Martin Era 2.0 (for any newbies, from the debut of Rock Around The Clock in May 1955 to the debut of How Deep Is Your Love in September 1977, because disco)... Cashbox missed just one of these, but as usual added 5 others. Plus, there was one of an iffy nature, due to Cashbox's early habit of combining all versions of a hit on one entry. That one would be Les Baxter's Unchained Melody, which got 7 weeks on CB combined with 2 other versions and within the ME2.0, but just 2 pre-ME 2.0 weeks on BB, so we left it out.
By combined weeks, here are the top ten instrumentals of ME2.0):
9 (tie)- Moonglow and Theme From Picnic- Morris Stolloff's orchestra, 1956, 3 BB and 2 CB.
9 (tie)- Patricia- Perez Prado and Orchestra, 1958, 1 on BB and 4 from CB.
6 (tie)- Lisbon Antigua, Nelson Riddle and orchestra, 1955, 4 BB and 2 CB.
6 (tie)- Calcutta, Lawrence Welk, 1960, 2 BB and 4 CB.
6 (tie)- Telstar, The Tornados, 1962, 3 weeks each.
5- Autumn Leaves, Roger Williams, 1955, 4 on BB, 3 CB.
3 (tie)- Tequila, the Champs, 1958, 5 each.
3 (tie)- Poor People Of Paris, Les Baxter and orchestra, 1956, 6 BB and 4 CB.
2- Love Is Blue, Paul Mariat, 1967, 5 BB and 7 CB.
And guess who wins this one?
Of course it's our POTM, Percy Faith, with A Summer Place ringing up 9 on BB and 8 on CB!
Now, if'n you want MY opinion- or even if you don't- how about MY personal 10 favorite instrumentals?
10- Mike Post, Theme From The Rockford Files, 1975, #10 for 2 weeks
9- The Ventures, Hawaii 5-0, peaked at #4 in 1969
8- Sleepwalk, Santo and Johnny (AKA the one song BB had hit #1 and CB did not), a 2-week #1 in 1959.
7- Love's Theme, Love Unlimited Orchestra (AKA the theme to every golf match played in the 70s), a week at #1 on each chart in 1973
6- TSOP (The Sound Of Philadelphia), MFSB (with the Three Degrees at the end), 2 weeks each in 1974
5- Wonderland By Night, Bert Kaempfert, 3 BB and 1 CB in 1960
4- Nadia's Theme (AKA Theme To The Young And The Restless), Barry DeVorzon and Perry Botkin Jr, #8 in 1976
The would-be 6D victim- Connie Francis and Where The Boys Are, at #4 without a Panel vote.
I knew 16 on CB and 10 in the UK, including that #1 by the Everlys...
"Did we win? did we win?" "NOT YET, stooge!"
The Biggest big mover was the Echoes with Baby Blue, up 46 from 96 to 50. It would continue to take good sized leaps until hitting the top 20, to slow down and stop at #15.
The first Latina to make the Rock and Roll HOF, as well as the first on American Bandstand, was Rosie Mendez Hamlin of Rosie and the Originals, who had our #61 in '61 with Lonely Blue Nights.
And might well make a dent in the Beauty Contest...
And it was the Velvets, a doo-wop group discovered by Roy Orbison, sitting at #101 with That Lucky Old Sun.
Charles Bradley moves up 2 to 8 with The World Is Going Up In Flames, as do the Black Keys with Lo/Hi at #7.
Weezer bangs their heads at #6, just a one-notch climb for High As A Kite.
Next comes the droppers- Leonard Cohen falling 3 to #5 with You Want It Darker, and last week's #1 from The Dig, You're Not Alone to #4 after 3 weeks at the top.
Pure Bathing Culture easily has its biggest M10 hit with Devotion at #3, up 2... and the rest also climb 2 as well.
Which means that The Japanese House is at #2 with You Seemed So Happy, and the new number one- her third...
Anna Burch with St Adalbert!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And our winner on the Panel? Well, if you took Rusty and Doug, Jorgen Ingman, or the Everlys, you got a whopping 4.76%...
"Did we win?" "For Pete's sake, NO!!!" "Oh."
If you took the King...
"C'mon, 30.95%..."
Nope, you only got 14.3%. So that means this week's winners are...
...the Marcels and Blue Moon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Next week, we play "where were you in '62?" (Answer: still about a month and a half away from my debut...)
So today, after much debate (and a couple of really screwed up stories) I have settled on Cain as our subject. Now, if you asked whoever wrote "Cain" for Wikipedia, he thinks the unanswerable question here is,
The narrative never explicitly states Cain's motive for murdering his brother, nor God's reason for rejecting Cain's sacrifice, nor details on the identity of Cain's wife.
The only one of these three that are valid theologically is the second one. Why did he kill Abel? God tells you just before he does the deed:
Gen 4:6 The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? Gen 4:7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it."
Gee, that was so hard. What was his wife's name? The Jews say it was Awan, but WHO CARES? If you think about it, he probably just called her, "Hey, Sis" anyway.
Now the middle question is valid, but common sense. But I will break it down for you before I get to what I think is the unanswerable question for real.
I have found, for me, there were three things I had to learn before I could advance as a Christian. Two of them applied to Cain. One is OBEDIENCE. Cain failed at this, obviously, even after God showed him the right way, and telling Cain he COULD beat it. The other is to be a GIVER, and not a taker. I had pointed out to me one very interesting point about Cain's name:
Gen 4:1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD."
One popular theory regarding the name of Cain connects it to the verb "kana" (קנה), meaning "to get" and used by Eve in Genesis 4:1 when she says after bearing Cain, "I have gotten a man from the Lord." In this viewpoint, articulated by Nachmanides in the thirteenth century, Cain's name presages his role of mastery, power, and sin. (Wiki)
Cain was a getter, not a giver. He came to God for what his sacrifice would net him. Abel was accepted because he knew what the truth was of sacrifice- atonement and obedience- and thus God blessed him. Also, you want to look at a certain phrase about the sacrifices:
Gen 4:3 In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, Gen 4:4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions... This that I highlighted tells us two things. First, you can't say, "It never says Abel killed the sheep", because it says "and the FAT portions". Which begs a question: Why the fat portions? We learned in the last series the fat belongs to the LORD. That was part of the Law that God handed down to Moses. So where did Abel get the idea? Because he had to have had an intimate relation with God. Interesting, isn't it, that we don't need to hear what God said to Abel because he proved it in his actions- while the story needed God's dialogue with Cain, because he wouldn't. One thing I just learned after typing the first draft of this post: If you feel God needs to speak to you and hasn't, perhaps you haven't went to Him first and listened.
There's another point at which I'd like to look at Cain...
Jud 1:11 Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished in Korah's rebellion.
Whenever I see sins or sinners lined up in threes, I think of 1 John 2:
1Jn 2:16 because all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
Pride is Korah's, and the lust of the flesh goes to "greedy Balaam". I think that the eyes had Cain- he saw the blessings that Abel received, and couldn't stand it.
Now that is all well and good, but let me show you my choice for the unanswerable question of the week:
Gen 4:9 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is Abel your brother?" He said, "I do not know; am I my brother's keeper?"
Gen 4:10 And the LORD said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground.
Gen 4:11 And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand.
Gen 4:12 When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth."
Gen 4:13 Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is greater than I can bear.
Gen 4:14 Behold, you have driven me today away from the ground, and from your face I shall be hidden. I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me."
Gen 4:15 Then the LORD said to him, "Not so! If anyone kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold." And the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest any who found him should attack him.
Gen 4:16 Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
My question here is, why is God showing the mercy of protection to an unrepentant sinner? The rich man in Hades couldn't get a drip of water! And yes, I do have something to share here. There was a source I hit- and I'll be darned if I can find it now- that claims it is possible to read 4:14 as Cain not complaining that someone will kill him, but expressing his hope THAT someone would kill him. And 4:15 was God saying, "You don't get off that easy!" I cannot speak for God; He may well have rehabilitated him and moved on. I don't see the evidence of that anywhere in the Bible, OT or NT. I guess the only thing we really have to go on here is looking at it from God's reasons: either He is showing mercy by protecting him from murder, or showing judgment by keeping him alive. Before, I said Abel showed his obedience in his actions- and we needed the dialogue between Cain and God because he WOULDN'T listen. Note that we are still having that dialogue. Some commentators claim that Cain's words in vv 13-14 are him being penitent. Given what I have just added, I think- my opinion- that he was just being whiney. "God, you are so mean, so cruel, to let this happen." So my money is on judgment, but it's not mine to decide.
Either way, the takeaway from his story is that we need to approach God as a giver. The other night, my son and I were discussing the concept of being a giver versus a taker. And part of it went like this:
He: I think that I'm a giver...
Me: but are you a giver just because you expect something back?
He: Well...
See, that's the hard part about it. It definitely got Cain. Does it get us?
************************************************
Now, I thought I might add a few of the other things that I stumbled onto that fall into the "Where did they get that?" category.
Most Jewish tradition say that it was Lamech ( the guy who declared he would be avenged 77 fold) who actually killed Cain, but apparently the apocryphal Book of Jubilees says because he killed with a stone, he was killed BY stones- a house collapsing on him. It also mentions his being 730 when he died.
Another tradition really makes me wonder at the logic of these people. It claimed that Cain was able to "build a city" (Gen 4:17) because by the time Seth came along (when Adam was 130 according to Genesis 5) Adam had been having a child per year, and those children had been having children, so that there were a few thousand people around by the time Cain got exiled. BUT, another tradition says that Seth married Abel's widow- although she was theoretically some 125 or so years older than him... or not. So if, Cain had enough people around to need a city, why was Seth, who presumably came around AFTER the death of Abel, the one who got to marry his brother's widow?
Then we have the wonderful stories about "Cain's REAL father", which make me wonder whether there was a Antediluvian National Enquirer. Candidates for the job the Bible clearly gave to Adam included: the fallen angel Sammael, the Serpent (making the apple the first "cigarette"?), or Satan himself (which is what I thought the Serpent was, but whatever).
Then you have the one that says the timeline for the murder was when Cain was15. Oh, and let's not forget what the "mark" was. That ranges from being lame (from a translation of the Greek Septuagint) to a horn in the middle of his forehead. But the dumbest story for me changes the whole meaning and reason of the story- that Cain and Abel had twin sisters, and Cain wanted the one that Abel married, being "more beautiful". Hello, twins?
