The Better Part, week #56

 

This week's FB posts:

The Better Part, Day # 262:

 

 

I'm studying for next Wednesday on the blog the passage in Matthew with the official with the dead daughter, the woman with the flow, and the 2 blind men. And it struck me: None of them said, "Lift this curse of death/illness," or "strike down this sin that caused this". They all asked the same thing- "Heal me; make me whole." And their prayers were answered. And I thought about how I pray about MY sin; always "remove this sin", never, "Lord, make me whole." Another case of seeing things the way God does, and trying to follow it in prayer.

 

 

 

The Better Part Day #263:

 

A couple days ago, Franklin Graham asked for prayer for Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Not because he supports his warlike actions, but because a) All leaders are in God's hands, and B) to ask God to give him wisdom and desire to keep from starting a war in Ukraine.

 

I might have known that within hours, liberals who never picked up a Bible in their lives were wondering if he had lost his mind or turned traitor against the USA. Um, guys, the answer is c) He did what Jesus tells us to do: Pray for our enemies, pray for all men, Pray for the leaders in this world.

Those of you that THINK you know the Bible, you might want to get a better handle on what it teaches before you criticize.

 

The Better Part, Day #264:

 

I recently started a new read of the book of Job, and something caught my eye which hadn't before. It involved 2 things that Eliphaz first told Job:

 

The first- Job 4:3 Behold, you have instructed many, and you have strengthened the weak hands.

Job 4:4 Your words have upheld him who was stumbling, and you have made firm the feeble knees.

Job 4:5 But now it has come to you, and you are impatient; it touches you, and you are dismayed. 

 

Just like Satan said- take God's hedge around him away, and see him fall apart. Because Job knew how to check all the boxes, but he didn't Know God! However, his mistake was the same one that Eliphaz would make next:

 

Job 4:6 Is not your fear of God your confidence, and the integrity of your ways your hope? 

 

See, here lies the problem: As long as it was something that Job could DO- prayers, sacrifice, etc- he could CONTROL his relationship with God. This is why he wanted so badly to talk it out with God, present his case- and the idea that God was a near-equal, someone he could convince- was why God let Satan do what he did in the first place.

 

God doesn't want us to "do" to be right with Him. He wants us to humble ourselves.

 

 

 

The Better Part, Day #265:

 

Jos 1:16 And they answered Joshua, "All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.

Jos 1:17 Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the LORD your God be with you, as he was with Moses! 

 

As David Jeremiah mentioned today, Joshua must have had some "Yeah, sure"s going through his mind when he heard the part about obeying him like they did Moses. The lesson here, just like I believe it is in Job, we aren't as good, holy, etc. in the eyes of others as we are our own- including God's. It makes me wonder if God's whole soliloquy about Job to Satan was a little tongue in cheek- just enough truth to get Satan going, but nowhere near the whole picture. 

 

Of course, the fun part of that was, Satan's anger accomplished making Job exactly what God said he was- and Satan never caught on (?)!

 

 

 

M10 Show week #13

 

Elvis:  Boss, what took ya so long?  I got food ordered on the way an' everything!

Well, I came up with a neat idea, and the research took a hot minute, but I'm ready now.  Our feature this week came from me thinking about our recent #1, Beach House's Pink Funeral.  I asked myself, "I wonder how many songs with colors in the title hit #1 on Cashbox in the Martin Era 2.1 (1960-79).  Well, turns out the answer is 19- and we're gonna count them down, based on weeks at #1, tie breaker being weeks on the chart, and any other tie is broke by ME.

Gee, you coulda said, second tie breaker is... oh, I dunno, somethin'...

Could have and didn't- as you pointed out, I was delayed enough as is!  Now, 10 of those songs had but the one week on top, and I'll do them next, weaving the others in as we go!

19- Yellow Submarine, Beatles, 1966- in fact, 4 of the songs came from 1966!- 1 week at #1, 10 on the chart.

18- Paint It, Black, Rolling Stones, 1966, 1 and 11.

17- Lil' Red Riding Hood, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs, 1966, 14 weeks, one at #1.

16- Song Sung Blue, Neil Diamond, 1972, 1 and 14.

15- Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Elton John, 1973, 1 and 15.

14- Crimson and Clover, Tommy James and the Shondells, 1969, 1 and 15.

13- Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress), the Hollies, 1972, 1 and 16.

12- Green Tambourine, the Lemon Pipers, 1968, 1 and 16.

11- Nights In White Satin, the Moody Blues, over three separate attempts but the final one in 1972, 1 at #1 and 20 on the chart.

And 10- Bad Bad Leroy Brown, Jim Croce, 1973, 1 and the most weeks at 22.

Oh, so yer countin' names in colors, too, huh?

Sure am!  I was stretching HOW the color was used, as long as it was a color.

But ya left Rose Garden out...

Sure did, because, well, roses are red.  Anyway, how about cuing up our lone debut this week?

Why not?  Here's an act that ya remember ifn' you liked the 80s, and they got a brand new disc called The Tipping Point, coming out in a few days!  At #10, this is Tears For Fears...

 

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Okay, so let's alternate the rest of the way.  You do a color song, I'll do an M10!

That's burnt, man!  #9 color is Nino Tempo an' April Stevens with Deep Purple, 1963, 2 at the top and 16 on the chart.

9 on the M10, dropping 3, The Record Company and Never Leave You.

#8 color is the Ozark Mountain daredevils an' Jackie Blue, 2 at the top and 19 on the chart.

The last of the big five on the chart, The Explorers Club falls to 8 after 9 weeks with Tragedy.

#7 color is the Fifth Dimension an' Wedding Bell Blues, 1969, 3 at the top an' 15 on the chart.

Lucius moves up 3 to #7 with Next To Normal.

#6 color is Blue Moon by the Marcels, 1961, 3 at the top an' 15 on the chart.

Best Coast climbs a pair to #6 with Leading.

#5 color is Bobby Vinton an' Blue Velvet, 1963, 3 at the top an' 15 on the chart.

Matt Berry holds at 5 with Alone.

#4 color is Herman's Hermits an' Mrs Brown You Got A Lovely Daughter, 1964, 4 at the top an' 12 on.

4 is our mild surprise of the week- Envy Of None up 3 with Liar.

#3 color is SSgt Barry Sadler, an' The Ballad of the Green Berets, 4 at the top an' 15 on.

3 and holding for Maddie and Tae and Strangers.

#2 color is Bobby Vinton an' Roses Are Red, 1962, 4 at the top and 17 on.

2 and holding for the song that started all this, Beach House and Pink Funeral.

And the biggest song with a color inna title....

 ...Paul Mauriat an' Love Is Blue!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 7 weeks at the top an' 18 on the charts!

 

Well, I can't top that, but with 4 weeks on our chart and 2 at the top...

 

 

 

...the Cactus Blossoms, with Jenny Lewis, and Everybody!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Food's here, see ya next week! 

Wednesday Bible Study: What Jesus asked, Part 6

 

This week in Matthew 9 is about faith.  Three separate needs expressed to Jesus before He finally asks His question...

 ...and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"

 

First, the things that were asked about.  A death in the family.  A decade-long health problem. Blindness.  Are your problems on a par with these?  Maybe yours are; mine, Praise God, are not, right now.  And yet, people had come to Him, believing He could make a difference.

Second, how they asked the boons.  I mentioned this in a Better Part post:  They didn't come asking, "Remove this..."  They placed the faith AHEAD of the situation...

Mat 9:18  While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, "My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live." 

Mat 9:20  And behold, a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment,
Mat 9:21  for she said to herself, "If I only touch his garment, I will be made well." 

 

 Mat 9:27  And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, "Have mercy on us, Son of David."

As in many times with Jesus, if we look backwards, we gain insight.  Jesus's mercy comes first this way.  I am currently reading through Job, and it struck me this trip through that God INITIATED the discussion of Job with Satan.  Job's catastrophe didn't start without God's mercy, and that mercy led him to a deeper understanding of God- THAT is the goal.

And that mercy led the woman to action- she reached out to Jesus.  A minor thing, almost unnoticed- but He notices every prayer.  If we look at another version of the story, we see this more clearly:

Mar 5:28  For she said, "If I touch even his garments, I will be made well."
Mar 5:29  And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.
Mar 5:30  And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my garments?"
Mar 5:31  And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, 'Who touched me?'"
Mar 5:32  And he looked around to see who had done it.
Mar 5:33  But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth.
Mar 5:34  And he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease."

His Disciples couldn't perceive the touch, they thought it impossible to determine; but Jesus knew all along.

Finally and firstly, we come to the ruler- and what does he do?  He KNEELS in humility before Jesus, and then expresses to Him that he knows Jesus rules even over death.

 ...and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?"

 

Lastly, let's look at the reactions.  Not those of faith, but of unbelief.  The ruler's family and friends had no faith; so prior to Him even acting, they rejected Him...

Mat 9:23  And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion,
Mat 9:24  he said, "Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him. 

 

We saw how, when Jesus had acted almost unnoticed, the Disciples (and the rest of the crowd) failed to perceive it.  And when he brought sight to the blind, we see one more part to the story...

Mat 9:30  And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, "See that no one knows about it."
Mat 9:31  But they went away and spread his fame through all that district.
Mat 9:32  As they were going away, behold, a demon-oppressed man who was mute was brought to him.
Mat 9:33  And when the demon had been cast out, the mute man spoke. And the crowds marveled, saying, "Never was anything like this seen in Israel."

And here, as Jesus healed not the physical body but the spirit...

Mat 9:34  But the Pharisees said, "He casts out demons by the prince of demons." 

 

Those who choose to reject Him will always find a way to excuse it; whether their excuse is one a reasonable unbeliever would make (like laughing at Him because the child WAS dead), or the most illogical available ("He casts out demon BY demons").  But those who step out faith-first might just receive something special.

 

 

Monday mish-mash

 Just thought I would let you in on the interesting- to me, at least- events of the weekend and today.

First, the NASCAR racing season began this weekend, and both Laurie and Misty had new drivers!  Laurie's new guy...

...yep, her new boy Austin Cindric wins the Daytona 500!  And how about Misty's new guy?

...yeah, that's her guy, Harrison Burton, about to land on his top, flip back over, and land on grandson Isaiah's guy.  Not such a good finish.

I was updating my reams of useless information on our hockey teams also this weekend.  While doing so, I watched (via live scoreboard) as two of our worst teams- my Riga Prizma from the Latvian league, and Laurie's Manglerud from Norway- did the nearly impossible.  Riga Prizma, coming in at 2-28 and sporting a 17-game losing streak, won on Saturday- and did it with a shutout, 4-0!  Then, in a repeat of the impossible, Manglerud- who won their opener this season and then lost 20 straight, coming in to Saturday at 3-34- THEY got a win- and a SHUTOUT win, 3-0- and to top it off, they beat my son KC's team, Lillehammer!

Monday, my boss returned from a several week's absence.  It seems his intestine decided to grow INTO his abdominal wall and got clogged.  He's roughly half the man he used to be, and I told a co-worker it will be a few months before I can call him 'fathead' again...

Monday, we surveyed the world post-snow, after a couple of 50 degree F days...

"Hey, where's the white stuff?  How am I supposed to get 'snow-nose'?

This wasn't particularly fun...

Yet another hole washed out of the south-end asphalt...

Lovely buckled ice on the river.  Misty stepped up on the ones washed ashore and about crapped when it tilted on her...

M10 show week # 12

 Okay, so we are going to do things a bit backwards, because of an idea to spice things up I had...

Elvis:  More backwards than usual, boss?

Oh, Completely!  In fact, we start out with this week's new #1 song, the Cactus Blossoms and Everything, moving up one spot!

Well, folks, that's the show!  Thanks for coming by...

Now, just hold on.  The reason I did this is because the Cactus Blossoms got their claim to fame by performing on an episode of the TV show Twin Peaks... and I thought, I wonder what our other acts this week did on TV!

Hmm... this has promise... What about Beach House?

Beach House, who slips to #2 after a week at the top with Pink Funeral- as well as moving to #14 all time with the song at #9, ESP- They have performed- as have many of our acts- on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.

I dunno him.  I hit the sack at 10 PM sharp!

 

I kinda gave up on late night myself after Leno.  That brings us to #3, a second week for Maddie and Tae and Strangers.  They performed on an episode of Disney's Girl Meets World, as well as on Jimmy Fallon's late night offering.

I ain't seen that one, either!

 

If it was down to shows I watched, they'd have to beat Bobby Flay, get killed on NCIS, or sing Oh Canada at a hockey game!  Next is The Explorers Club, holding at 4 with Tragedy.  Their old song Forever has been featured on a plethora of TV shows, including How I Met Your Mother, Bored To Death, and The O.C.

At least I heard'a How I Met Yer Mother...

 

Of course, I've already mentioned that Matt Berry, at #5 this week with Alone, has extensive British acting credits, but he also did an lp in 2018 with nothing but Television themes, including those of Top Of The Pops, Are You Being Served?, and Doctor Who!

Hmm, might haveta check that out later...

 

The Record Company, up 2 to #6 with Never Leave You have also made the late-night... and early morning... rounds, appearing on Colbert, Conan O'Brian's TBS gig, and CBS This Morning.

Unfortunately, Envy Of None, at #7 with Liar, is too new a project to have any TV chops to speak of.

Where's this Colbert guy when ya need him?

 

If I ever need him, I'll let you know.  Our first debut of the week is at #8, and they were the house band on a show called What Just Happened??! With Fred Savage, which apparently is a parody show purporting to be the Aftershow for a program that doesn't actually exist...

That makes my head hurt!  Who is it?

 

Why it's our old friends, Best Coast...

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And our remaining debut at #10 is also an old friend, and their TV claim involves performing a duet with Jackson Browne on the last episode of the Cameron Crowe vehicle Roadies!  Here is- Lucius!

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An' that's it for another week!  See ya on the tube, Tee Hee!

Wednesday Bible Study: What Jesus asked, Part 5

 

At our next stop, the people, in a pair of their own questions, asked, "What of the old religion?"  Of course they didn't ask it directly, but in questioning Jesus's actions...

Mat 9:9  As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him.
Mat 9:10  And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples.
Mat 9:11  And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"

Mat 9:14  Then the disciples of John came to him, saying, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?"

Here's the thing:  The old religion under the Pharisees had devolved into two things:  Putting up at least a pretense of holiness, and adherence to ritual.  But Jesus's question went to the heart of what He was trying to accomplish:

Mat 9:15  And Jesus said to them, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. 

Now let's tear this down. The religious leaders had made religion a "me" thing, instead of a God thing.  Their desire in religion was to follow the rules, and look better than the next guy doing it.  But Jesus answered their first question by showing them what GOD had in mind for faith:

Mat 9:12  But when he heard it, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.
Mat 9:13  Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." 

Jesus took this from the book of the prophet Hosea...

Hos 6:5  Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light.
Hos 6:6  For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

The goal from now on was to bring sinners to repentance. But while the evil were admonished in this, the righteous didn't get the application, which led the Disciples of John to ask basically the same thing.  The Pharisees were given an Old Testament answer that told them, "You should be smart enough to KNOW this answer, and be DOING it."  The sincere seekers of knowledge got an explanation...

Mat 9:15  And Jesus said to them, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.
Mat 9:16  No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made.
Mat 9:17  Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved."

This time, I put Jesus's whole answer, because it all goes together.  Point at a time:

Jesus is the Bridegroom, and He is creating the Bride- His Church.

The old religion had become a worn garment, an old wineskin.  A new faith was required.

Trying to serve God the old way was only going to drive man farther from God.

To preserve one's soul, he would have to put himself in the NEW wineskin.

There is a point where even a church becomes to legalistic, too overburdened with ' dos and don'ts', and in effect you worship the rule, the tradition, the ritual, instead of God.  Let me take you to someone who knew the difference:

2Sa 6:14  And David danced before the LORD with all his might. And David was wearing a linen ephod.
2Sa 6:15  So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouting and with the sound of the horn.
2Sa 6:16  As the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, and she despised him in her heart...

2Sa 6:20  And David returned to bless his household. But Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, "How the king of Israel honored himself today, uncovering himself today before the eyes of his servants' female servants, as one of the vulgar fellows shamelessly uncovers himself!"
2Sa 6:21  And David said to Michal, "It was before the LORD, who chose me above your father and above all his house, to appoint me as prince over Israel, the people of the LORD--and I will make merry before the LORD.
2Sa 6:22  I will make myself yet more contemptible than this, and I will be abased in your eyes. But by the female servants of whom you have spoken, by them I shall be held in honor."

Every time I see a Catholic friend on FB post a article about playing the right music at church, or the "right attitude of the hands while praying", I think of this.  And I think of another time Jesus spoke to the leaders...

Mat 23:23  "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

Jesus's new Church was to be a church of application, not ritual; a faith aimed at God, not at man.

More Bunny Trails

 

So, tonight as I went tumbling through my mind for post material, and I remembered a comment I saw on a FB post tonight (Monday).  The original post pointed out (and I did not fact check, but sounds reasonable) that today the Berlin Wall has been down as long as it was up.  The comment I saw 'speculated' that if we'd have just set Patton loose on the Russians, there never would have been a Berlin wall.  I said to myself, "Well obviously one of us doesn't know how bad the Red Army outnumbered us at that point."

Turns out, it was me.  An article based on a statistical survey of the war says that the Red Army and the USA were roughly even-strength at that point.  In fact, it went on, we still overestimate the size of Russian conventional forces.  As of now, Russia has only the 5th biggest active duty army in the world.  Total forces- with reserves and paramilitary forces- drops them to 6th, although it does manage to pass us (which they don't in active military).

Vietnam claims 5 million reservists- outstripping #2 South Korea by 2 million, and 6 times the US reserves.  Still, the 'butts in the barracks' numbers drop them to 8th and 9th.  The top ten are: China, India, the USA, North Korea, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, South Korea, Vietnam, and Egypt.  Not surprising how many bitter enemies meet on the list: North and South Korea, China-India, India- Pakistan, China-Russia, Russia-USA.

The top five are the only ones with million-man active forces, with Pakistan's actives only 3/5ths the size of Russia.

The site lists six nations with no army at all- however, they do not count Andorra, Liechtenstein, Monaco, and Kosovo (which I do) and DO count Palestine as a nation (which I don't).  I also don't see any mention of the "flyspeck island brigade" (18 island nations between the Caribbean and South Pacific/Indonesian area, and other bodies of salty water), as well as Bhutan, Cyprus, Eswatini, Zambia, Djbouti, Benin, San Marino, Bosnia-Hercegovina and those warlike bastards of the Vatican.

I'm especially disappointed they missed the Vatican, 135 roughnecks armed with halbards and other such anti-terrorist weapons.

I really shouldn't make fun of these guys; in 1527, they had their own Alamo, at a place called the Teutonic Cemetery in Rome.  It was during the War of the League of Cognac, with the Pope joining with France, England, Venice, and Florence.  It was an Imperial Army of about 14,000 German mercenaries who preferred Pilsener to cognac, 6,000 crack Spanish troops, and an undetermined band of Italians of various stripes who were there for the chicks.  Facing them were about 5,000 militia (read: cannon fodder) and 189 Swiss Guardsmen.  Like Col. Travis's men, they fought valiantly but were hopelessly outnumbered.  Emperor Charles V (who already held the biggest empire in history, if somewhat loosely) had his men led by the Duke of Bourbon (a lot of booze in this story!), a big dope in a bright white suit that quickly got him picked off by Benvenuto Cellini, who was better known as a sculptor and author than a warrior.  (Incidentally, it served the Duke right; legally, he was supposed to be an underling of the King of France, whom he was fighting against.)

After the good (?) Duke got knocked off, his troops, supposedly commanded by a guy named Phillibert (who wasn't listened to- and with a name like Phillibert, why would they?), went on the rampage, taking the walls and sacking the city for three days despite Phillibert's stern pleas to "Please refrain!"  A handful of Guardsmen made for St Peter's to draw the rampaging army-for-hire and were massacred; but it left 42 survivors get the Pope to safe ground down a still existing tunnel.

At this point, King Francis of (where else?) France managed to bribe Henry VIII with a gross of turkey legs to help him out.  Henry was still looking for his shipment of gravy to go with the legs when Francis's army got hit by the Imperial army, the plague, and a mercenary admiral who cut a better deal with Charles and got whooped.  Negotiations were set up between Francis' Mom and Charles's aunt (who were sisters in law), and left the war to the troop-less Pope, who was making ready to kiss the Imperial butt at that point, and the two republics, who were definitely seeing themselves at the wrong end of a very big stick.

The Guardsmen?  This is when they said to themselves, "Methinks we are better suited to look good for the the tourists," and just about abandoned actual fighting for a few hundred years.  Besides, with all that cognac, pilsener, and bourbon going around, what's a guy to do for a little brandy and a big, drooly dog?

"Duh!  Ya haf to 'head for da mountains'!"

Super Bowl musings

 

As I type, we are about 2 hours from what I am 'legally constrained' to call "The Big Game".  And judging from the playoffs leading to it, it could be a big one. Fanwise, I am basically a 'disinterested neutral position';  I'm not heartbroke whatever the result- unless I can't find a channel from which to escape halftime.  I'd like to see Stafford and the Rams win it, just to see the Ford family look like even bigger idiots for trading him, but whatever.

I am stuck in an area where the "proper" fan jumps on the Bengals wagon; and my FB feed is about 70-30 between "Go Bengals" and "Not watching the halftime. Ugg, rappers!"/"I don't like football."  I find it amusing that most SM feeds on a typical SB Sunday are "Go Team X"ers obliviously posting rah-rah pictures, Football haters posting their stuff as if they are the Elite judging from above, the "Duh, I just watch for the commercials" crowd who haven't yet noticed that ad quality has been dropping for at least ten years, and the sincere snackers spreading their gospel of quick and easy recipes.

Me?  My sole preparation has been making $8 worth of DraftKings bets (and you can bet I'll be ecstatic if OBJ gets named MVP), with a possible payout of $52.95 (along with a hockey pick that might pay $3.10). (NOTE:  Never mind on the hockey bet, all ready lost that...)

 

Right now, though, I finally got done following my girls on Oklahoma Softball (won 9-0), and am going to sit down and watch some of Puppy Bowl XVIII. A Chihuahua  named Chorizo just scored.  Hope you enjoyed, or ignored, successfully!

The Better Part, Week #55

 

Two weeks of FB posts...

The Better Part, Day #255:

 

Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 

 

Did you catch this? The lukewarm church is the only one in which Christ is on the OUTSIDE, knocking. Small wonder a lukewarm church will put up meme after meme about their church and against the Bible, but nary a word about the Savior...

 

 

 

The Better Part, Day #256:

 

A friend on MeWe recently posted a meme: "Religious Freedom: What you believe is not the problem. What you think I should believe is the problem."

 

All well and good until the day of judgment and you think, "But nobody told me!" is an acceptable excuse. Christians don't tell you our faith because we want brownie points, we are trying to save you from Hell.

 

 

 

The Better Part, Day # 257:

 

My pastor said something that made me see a whole passage of the Gospel a new way. In fact, to get the whole lesson out, I'll have to do this over 3 days- and I won't get to what he said until the end. You see, the lesson is, "What are the problems with following traditions over the Bible?" And I think you'll see that it doesn't matter if the tradition comes from a Pharisee, a "Church Father", a false prophet, or a cult leader.

 

The first part comes from Mark 12:35-37, where Jesus asks about the passage in Psalms 101:

 

Mar 12:35 And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, "How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David?

Mar 12:36 David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared, "'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.'

Mar 12:37 David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?" And the great throng heard him gladly. 

 

The Scribes- the traditionalists- who couldn't quite conceive of the Messiah being God, had always just left the passage in Psalms at, "the Messiah will be the Son of David"- in other words, a direct descendant of David. Let me point this out to you- if Matthew and Luke could trace Jesus back to David, you can BET the Pharisees had, too. And this passage explained that the Messiah would be greater than David- more than a man.

 

But they just chose to ignore it. In the same way the Sadducees cut out everything after the Books of Moses, The scribes picked and chose, and this is the first power that tradition gives you- the power to "plead ignorance."

 

 

 

The Better Part, Day #258:

 

The second part of, "What holding to traditions of man gets you", involves those experts of men's traditions, the Scribes....

 

Mar 12:38 And in his teaching he said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces

Mar 12:39 and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts,

Mar 12:40 who devour widows' houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation." 

 

Now, verse 40 there will play a big part in tomorrow's finale. But for a moment, focus on verse 38. Pastor Denny mentioned that he never wears Pastoral robes- he won't even answer to the honorific 'reverend'- because he wants to give no occasion to pride. I'll take this a step further- where do scribes get off wearing ANYTHING fancy, when even the High Priest only wore his "Sunday best" once a year?

And that's the second thing favoring tradition over the Bible gets you- greater opportunities at self glorification. Not to mention that greater condemnation which goes with it.

 

 

 

The Better Part, Day #259:

 

 

The third part of our story is what's commonly known as the "Widow's Mite". An old widow put to shame the scribes dumping big amounts of their excess into the treasury when she put less than a penny- all she had in the world- into the collection.

 

 

My pastor noted how often this is used to drum up 'sacrificial giving', but said, "That's not the point of the passage!" Truth of the matter is, by the Law of Moses in Leviticus- which they claimed they lived by- widows, orphans, and foreigners who accepted the faith were EXEMPT from giving to the Temple. However, the religious elite had managed to manhandle scripture to such a point that they had made her OBLIGATED to pay- thus Jesus's comment yesterday about 'devouring widow's homes'.

And that is the third power that following man's tradition gives you- the ability to ignore, rephrase, or otherwise mutilate the clear directives of God's Law.

 

 

 

The Better Part, day #260:

 

 

Rev 4:6 and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal...

 

 

So the next thing I didn't know before came from Jack Hibbs today, about this sea of glass- it's solid; why is it solid? Because it is the heavenly model for the bronze 'sea' that was where the priests had to wash their feet before approaching the tent of meeting. When Jesus was washing Peter's feet. He said, "Once you are washed, you don't have to wash again, but only your feet"- and this is symbolic of once you are saved, you don't have to get 're-saved' after every sin, just ask forgiveness.

 

 

And once in heaven, their is no more sin, and no need to ask forgiveness- the sea can be solid, since no one has to wash in it anymore!

 

 

 

The Better Part, Day #261:

 

 

I have never had (with one slight exception) a dream that was anything but my subconscious re-translating what was on my mind. Well, another exception is when I have left a crack for Satan to bug me about past guilt. How delightful after such a night to hear Charles Stanley saying, "When God forgave your sins on the Cross, He forgot all of them. If you choose to rub them in your nose later, it's your choice, not God's will..."

M10 Show Week 11

 

Elvis:  So what's up for the show today, Boss?

 

Well, with the way the bottom of the chart keeps getting leapfrogged and kinda going nowhere recently, it got me pondering songs that shot up like the proverbial bat, and then flamed out.  One such we've had recently was the Elton John/Dua Lipa acoustic version of Cold Heart- which came in at our #4, spent a couple weeks climbing to 2, and fell off like a rock. (Even though Billboard has it slipping but one notch to #11 this week.)  And that got me thinking about the chart history of the biggest flame-up, flame-out in history- which I'll get to after I tell you we have one new debut on this week's M10, and one new #1- but it's reign is already threatened!

Before we dig in, let me tell you about this song I am referencing.  It might never have gotten this far elsewhere in the Martin Era- and certainly would get no traction in today's cancel culture- but this was 1966.  The singer- a man whose real name was Jerry Samuels, but whose Pseudonym was where the trouble started.  On Cashbox, this song hit the hot 100 the week of July 23 at number 20, and leapt to #1 the next week.  On Billboard, it came in at #50, and the next week leapt to #11.  

Cashbox dropped it to #2 the next two weeks, then 4, then 11, then 30- and it was gone, a #1 song with a 7 week run.  Billboard was a little more normal (if such could be said about this song)- climbing from 11 to 5, then 3... then back to 5, to #37, and gone.  What the heck happened?

Well, stations across the country started getting complaints- and the two biggest audiences, WMCA and WABC in New York, pulled it off their playlists the same week it hit #1 on CB and #11 on Billboard.  And it still hit #1 on their charts, despite not being played!  And who was complaining? Not the fans of the song- one even rented an airplane to fly a protest banner!  The complainers were doctors and nurses, the ones who served in the mental health field.  If you're old enough, you've figured out the song I'm talking about... if not, or you are and your memory is going out like mine, here it is...

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So if they tell you,"The problem is, no one has a sensahumah, like they did when we wuz kids...", not everyone did.  Should we have over this song?  Maybe not.  When I get to a time where I don't feel like singing the chorus about three times a week, I'll let you know.

I don't know, Boss... seems like a touchy subject...

Oh, yes, it is.  But, in my defense I give two pieces of evidence.  One, how is it that no one complained when Helen Reddy hit #1 three times singing about women who weren't exactly in Copious Mentus?  The other is, I will listen to the woke crowd, music chapter, when somebody tells me how one of the most popular songs to this day saluted one of the biggest segregationists of all time- and I've watched black people sing along.

Uh, yeah.  You look out the window an' check for torches an' pitchforks, an' I'll play our debut this week.  It's hit #2 for the 'Acid Jazz' man, Matt Berry...an' it comes in at #7.

 

 

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And the rest of the gang...

 

10- Matt Berry again, falling 3 with Summer Sun...

9- Envy Of None, up a spot with Liar...

8- The Record Company, up one with Never Leave You...

6- Beach House with ESP, down 3 after nine weeks and the #21 spot all time...

5- Manchester Orchestra and  Lucius with Inaudible, down one after 9 weeks and the #24 spot all time...

4- The Explorer's Club after a week at #1 and Tragedy...

3- Up 2 for Maddie and Tae and Strangers...

2- a big 4-spot jump for the Cactus Blossoms and Jenny Lewis and Everybody...

And at #1...

....Beach House and Pink Funeral!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for stopping in and listening!

Wednesday Bible Study: What Jesus asked, Part 4

 

The next two questions are in Matthew 8-9, and cover three separate stories:  The storm on the lake (8:23-7), the demon possessed men (8:28-34), and the paralytic healed while the scribes scoffed (9:1-7).  Two questions, linked by a one word response: Go.

It should be the most chilling thing you can hear from God: Go.  Not 'go out and make disciples', but, 'go, and don't come back.'  And those who received this, they did not get a question.  But they are a link between those that did.

 

 

So in the first story, Jesus has gotten His disciples into a boat to cross the lake.  But while He sleeps, a storm comes up...

Mat 8:24  And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep.
Mat 8:25  And they went and woke him, saying, "Save us, Lord; we are perishing."
Mat 8:26  And he said to them, "Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?" Then he rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. 

The phrase, "of little faith', I was surprised to see translated thus even in the literal translations, as Strongs translates it as "incredulous"; however, a further breaking it down makes it "puny credence".  So these were men introduced to who Jesus was and who He claimed to be- they had a little knowledge.  Enough to cry out to Him in their hour of need.  But faith?  That was weak; they rode with Incarnate God, and still feared.  Knowledge of Jesus should draw us closer to Him, and increase our trust in what He could do.  If we know Him, there is no need to be afraid.  

I read a chapter of Proverbs every day.  One of my favorite sections is:

Pro 4:7  Wisdom is the main thing; get wisdom, and with all your getting, get understanding. 

To trust Him, you have to get to KNOW Him.  

Then they encounter the demon possessed men.  There is something here to notice about pure evil:

Mat 8:28  And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way.
Mat 8:29  And behold, they cried out, "What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?"

The demons KNEW Him.  They had nothing like faith; what they had was total fear in His presence.  They recognized His power, but had no repentance.  This has nothing to do with the men possessed; freed of the demons, they witnessed of Jesus to the unbelieving multitudes.  But note:  Jesus had but one thing to say to the demons;

Mat 8:32  And he said to them, "Go." So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. 

And the unbelievers?  They said the same thing to Him:

Mat 8:34  And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region. 

 

I've mentioned this before: this is the demon Legion we learn in the other Gospels; and I don't see how that THAT many demons get into a man (or two men) without a lot of help from a demon-worshipping village.

 

 

But now, we go back across the lake, and we meet a group of people that are basically, the opposite of the Disciples.  They have next to no knowledge of who Jesus is; but they have great faith in what He can DO.  They've heard of His miracles, and come to seek them in their lives.  But Jesus doesn't give miracles alone- He wants us to see that faith MUST be combined with knowledge.  Thus, instead of what they thought He would say- and apparently, what the crowd thought He would say- He told them:

Mat 9:2  And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven." 

Because His true purpose was to heal the soul, not the body.  Perhaps we can infer that, from what comes after, they looked around at each other and said, "Sins are forgiven?  What sins? and what about his legs?"  We don't know.  Because we get interrupted by the final group, and the final question:

Mat 9:3  And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming."
Mat 9:4  But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts?
Mat 9:5  For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise and walk'?
Mat 9:6  But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins"--he then said to the paralytic--"Rise, pick up your bed and go home."
Mat 9:7  And he rose and went home.

The scribes- the so-called religious experts- should have, by this time, realized who Jesus was.  They had the knowledge available to them.  But they had their pride, their place in society, in the way; and thus, they reacted a lot like the demons.  They rejected what Jesus was to men.  But unlike demons, Jesus had something He was willing to teach them: That man's problem is sin, and no solution can be had that doesn't start with the REMOVAL of sin.

This, too, reminds me of Proverbs, and it should have reminded them.  Because of their unbelief, what was 'good advice' in Proverbs became a prophecy for them:

Pro 1:24  Because I have called and you refused to listen, have stretched out my hand and no one has heeded,
Pro 1:25  because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof,
Pro 1:26  I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when terror strikes you,
Pro 1:27  when terror strikes you like a storm and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. 

 

 

The closer of the story shows us the difference between the crowd that is willing to seek God, and the crowd that is not.  Remember the demon-town rejected Jesus out of fear and disbelief?  But THIS crowd...

Mat 9:8  When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men. 

So let's line up our takeaways here:

-Faith and knowledge go hand in hand; faith opens the door, and knowledge closes it against fear.

-Demons have no choice in their destruction- YOU DO.  Don't be among those who hear Jesus say, "Go."

-Jesus came to heal the part that matters; the flesh may benefit, but eternity is ALWAYS His top concern.

-The scribes basically said, "I'm not willing to give up my ____ for this," and thus missed what was right before their eyes.  And the wisdom they'd worked with all their lives, for a thousand years, became a dust-covered Bible they never opened.

For me, I'd rather be questioned about fear than about evil.  Fear is an ignorance that can be remedied through learning.  Evil is a choice that can't easily be unmade.  How about you?

M10 Show week 10

 

Here at Music Central, we continue to be snowed in, but we can still have tunage!  This week, Billboard posted their 'greatest hits that got to #2 but not #1', so we'll be looking at Martin Era members of that club, as well as playing our 2 new debuts!

Elvis:  Hey, how's come I had to dig out the Tardis, an' you took a nap?

Imaginary snow needs imaginary shovels, King!  Our opening debut at #10 is a Canadian supergroup, founded by Andy Curran of the band Coney Hatch (whom I haven't run into before, but were an 80's power band with "ear splitting concerts"), with vocalist and indy folkster Maiah Wynne, and former Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson.  Together, they and their new lp are called Envy Of None; and the single at #10...

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Pretty good stuff, boss!  Hot chocolate?

Nah, I'm good, but help yerself!  So yesterday, Billboard did their 100 greatest #2 songs of all time.  Which, of course, because of thew 2020's, 2010's 2000's, and 1990's, include a lot of members that I just don't know...  and in many cases are better off for it.  However, I am more than happy to round off to ME years and give you what is left of the list- a top ten, at least.  And here they are!

 

10- Ferente and Teicher, Exodus

year: 1961

The BB chart: #39

stuck behind: Bert Kaempfert, Wonderland By Night

9- John Lennon, Woman

 year: 1981

the BB chart: #35

stuck behind: REO's Keep On Loving You and Blondie's Rapture

8- Laura Brannigan, Gloria

year: 1982

the BB chart: #33

stuck behind: Lionel Ritchie's Truly and Toni Basil's Mickey

7- The Jacksons, Dancing Machine

year: 1974

the BB chart: #31

stuck behind: Ray Stevens, The Streak

6- Chubby Checker, Limbo Rock

year: 1962

the BB chart: #27

stuck behind: The Tornadoes, Telstar

Whew, bud, let's take a quick break!

Good idea!  Why don't you give them this week's M10 #s 9-7 and play the debut at #6, whilst I get some H2O...

Sure!

9- an' stuck here, the Record Company and Never Leave You...

8- an' down 2 for Eddie Vedder an' The Haves...

7- an' down from numero two for Matt Berry an' Summer Sun...

An' our debut at #6, with some help from a lady name 'a Jenny Lewis, the second hit fer The Cactus Blossoms...

 

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Feels like a #1 comin' on there...

 

That's what I said, Big Buddy!  And now, the rest of that Billboard greatest #2s list, Martin style...

5- Village People, YMCA

year: 1979

the BB chart: #24

stuck behind: Chic's Le Freak and Rod Stewart's Do Ya Think I'm Sexy

4- England Dan and John Ford Coley, I'd Really Love To See You Tonight

year: 1976

the BB chart: #23

stuck behind: Wild Cherry's Play That Funky Music

3- Jim Reaves, He'll Have To Go

year: 1960

the BB chart: #15

stuck behind:  Percy Faith's Theme To A Summer Place

 

2- John Cougar Mellencamp, Hurts So Good

year: 1982

the BB chart: #8

stuck behind: Survivor's Eye Of The Tiger

And at #1.............................. 

 1- Foreigner, Waiting For A Girl Like You

year: 1981

the BB chart: #7

stuck behind: Olivia Newton-John's Physical and Hall and Oates's I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)

Nice job, boss!  An' now, here's the rest of this week's M10...

5- up two for Maddie and Tae an' Strangers...

4- stuck at #4, and now the #35 all time M10 song, Manchester Orchestra an' Lucius with Inaudible...

3- also stuck here, an' now the #27 song all time, Beach House an' ESP....

2- Also Beach House, up 3 with Pink Funeral...

And still at the top fer week numero two... 

 

 

...The Explorer's Club an' Tragedy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Great job!  Go have another cuppa cocoa, and I'll tell everyone, see ya next week!

A Tale of 2 walks

 Here is a walk Tuesday Afternoon- 50F, almost balmy for February...

"Hey, the snow's all gone!  How'm I supposed to get a snow nose?"

It kinda looks like "after the battle", but actually "Lull before the storm"

water water everywhere

Bye, sun, last we'll see you for a while

That recycle bin is new...

Nothin' doin' at the Swamp...

...except these guys, singing for attention.

That crack seems new, too...

Misty finds a track verrrrry sniffworthy...

Neat runoff pattern in the mud

Looks like another dead tree interrupted the disc golfing...

Trail through the woods is a LOT of ice... I don't know about this...

Misty sips a new trail of water eroding a fall through the asphalt

Stone trail is ice, mud trails are slop.  And yet, disc golfers...

Wow, slog through that or cut across the soccer pitches?  I say, "B"....

"By all this deer poop, I think we aren't the only one picking "B"...

Okay, that was Tuesday.  Snowmageddon '22 hits Wednesday midmorning, continuing up to about 10 PM.  I dig Laurie out a path and a spot in the lot, she gets home about 20 past 11.  Now, I give you 9 AM Thursday, after about 6 hours of round 2...

Our car, after 10 hours of additional snow