On a Sunday when the inspiration just wasn't there to start, be sure to pay attention to the last one- the reminder that God is still with me, taking joy in obedience.
The Better part, day # 171:
Spent the morning reminding myself over and over: I don't need to know the things I cannot understand; I need to understand the things God wants me to know.
The Better Part, Day #172:
One good sign we have a Living, Loving God: When you pour out your heart over something one day, and a pastor virtually reads God's reply out of the Bible the next...
The Better Part, Day #173:
Today was one of the more discouraging days of work I've had in a while. At 3 pm (right after last break) is when I usually do my "prayer group" praying- for our Summer prayer group and missions at Emanuel Community Church- but I was in such a state, I knew I needed help with me first.
As I poured it out to God, He had me think about that about 90% of my discouragement came because of one thing- my past. Growing up, I was taught a good faith and moral perspective on the macro- level; but there were things on a more subtle level of morality- work ethic, perseverance, unselfishness- that didn't quite start taking till later, and those faults bent my attitudes in a bad direction.
As I realized this, I realized that these were the kinds of things I needed to pray about for the schoolkids that our prayer group is focusing on this week- and everyone else's kids, too! That one realization turned a day Satan was winning on me to one that God won for the kids. Our God is an awesome God!
The Better Part, Day #174:
Psa 17:13 Arise, O Jehovah, go before his face and bow him down! Deliver my soul from the wicked, by Your sword,
Psa 17:14 from men, by Your hand, O Jehovah, from men of the world whose portion is in this life, and their belly You fill with Your treasure; they are satisfied with sons, and will leave their riches to their babes.
Psa 17:15 As for me, in righteousness I will look upon Your face; when I awaken, I shall be satisfied by Your image.
That last line caught my attention this morning...as the commentators explained, and I suspected, the meaning is not in awaking from sleep, but from death to the new life. A reminder that what the worldly man sees as his gain will pass with his life on earth, the Christian will have his reward forever.
Hi, gang, and welcome to the second time through the cycle on our "Last Legs of Time Machine" tour...
Elvis: You're really gonna call it that?
Why not? We're in 'jumping the shark' territory as it is! Anyway, the draw this week was for 1962, 1963, 1969, 1970, and 1977- and because this is the second time through, this time I'm drawing favorites from not just the top 10, but the top 20...
'Bout had to if'n you aren't repeating any from the first rounds...
Very true, oh King! And this week we have on hand the generals of the Raiders, Paul Revere and Mark Lindsay!
Gentlemen, good to have you aboard!
PR: Good to be here... good to be anywhere, I guess!
Now, Wiki says, "Revere was the energetic comic relief, the madman of rock and roll, in contrast to the teen idol look of Lindsay."
Elvis: He 'bout had to be comic relief, with a last name like....
Elvis, shh!
PR: Are we really gonna dig out those gags? I got so tired of that, I was ecstatic when the record company wanted me to drop my real last name and just go by Revere...
ML: I agree, seems a little juvenile...
Well, now you know why Elvis is OUR comic relief! Honestly, I never really watched your act myself- I was a wee lad- but perhaps you could come on-
ML: Wait, no one said anything about performing! Our costumes...
...I was going to say, you could come on our Halloween bash, I've been considering a "costume party" theme anyway! You'd be perfect!
EP: Yeah, you could come as a giant...
ELVIS! You're about this close...
EP: Sorry, boss...
While I discuss with my partner here what is actually permissible around here, let's watch our first debut! It was a hot 100 hit in 1969, but last week was the first time I heard it! At #10, here is Sagittarius...
**********************************************
So, guys, this week we ended up with 14 songs out of those five years, and because of diving a little deeper, they hit their respective years' hot hundreds a little lower than last time through the cycle. Never the less, I have three I'm saving for the final, two that get saved for the 6D and Overseas If You Please, and the remaining nine are yours to present, in order of where they hit their hot 100s!
PR: Man, that seems like a lot of work...
Elvis: What, I thought you were good at announcin' stuff! What happened to, "The British are comin'?"
ML: I hate to say it, Paul, but he has a point. Don't be a...
PR: Not you, too, Mark??!
ML: Sorry. Here, let me do them...
#99 in 1963 was Judy's Turn To Cry by Leslie Gore...
Oh, look! At #94 in 1970 was my Silver Bird!
PR: What? Gimme that list!
Okay, so #92 in 1977 was Ariel by Dean Friedman ...
#80 in 1963 was Doris Troy and Just One Look...
#71 in 1969 was Ruby Don't Take Your Love To Town by Kenny Rogers and the First Edition...
man, this is a lot of work!
ML: Here, let me do some more...
#66 in 1963 was Kai Winding's Orchestra with More...
That would be my favorite in the bunch...
ML: #65 in 1977 was Helen Reddy and You're My World...
#47 in 1962 was Claudine Clark and Party Lights...
PR: Hey, gimme the list back!
ML: There's only one left we can do...
PR: Whatever! The #35 in 1970 was Mungo Jerry an' In The Summertime! The end, for now!
Uh, yeah, thanks guys! Let's go right out to our 6D list! Horace, here you go, no fanfare!
Horace: Very well, and I think you'll find that using some respect instead of all the shenanigans this show tends to drift into will find a more appreciative aud... Good Heavens, what is that young man doing?
Aw, don't have a cow! It's only blanks! BANG! BANG!
HB: Sigh. Anyway, this week, we will be reversing our usual course to save for the end the truly astounding record that lies there! Our 6 degrees song, which made neither the Billboard or Cashbox year-end charts for 1969, was country legend Roy Clark and Yesterday When I Was Young. Clark came to fame as the winner in both 1947 and 1948 of the National Banjo Contest, which helped him get a regular part in the touring band of soon to be star Jimmy Dean. While Dean fired him from the band in 1957 after 3 years of excessive tardiness, Dean still invited him on the Tonight Show during a week he filled in for Jack Paar. Despite the fact that his Yesterday was his most famous hit, his only #1 on the country and western charts was 1973's Come Live With Me.
That song was written by the famous duo of Felice and Boudeaux Bryant. In the course of what might have ended up a list of their biggest hits- which upon reflection is a path we traveled once before- we discovered one of their songs set a unique record. That song was All I Have To Do Is Dream by the Everly Brothers. On the week of June 2nd, 1958, this song became the only one to top ALL 6 of the current Billboard charts- Country and Western, Rhythm and Blues, and Pop, both sales and airplay on each- simultaneously! Bravo, gentlemen, bravo!
Elvis: I can't believe those dummies managed that!
Now, just because I have fun with them on my bits doesn't mean they're dummies- any more than you are!
Elvis: I know, but- wait, are you sayin' you play me like I'm a dummy?
PR: Ha! Now that's comedy!
Before this becomes a shooting match, whatsay we play our second debut! At #9, here's M10 stars illuminati hotties, with some help at the end from Buck Meek:
So now, right before I announce your top three, here's Paul and Mark with the Overseas If You Please!
ML: So the other bottom song- not on the CB hot 100 of 1963, but #66 on BB- is our other country crossover, Johnny Cash's Ring Of Fire. In his honor, we have the top songs this week in 1963 around the world. Paul?
PR: In Australia, we have Johnny O'Keefe and the rockin' Move Baby Move. Canada had Just One Look; New Zealand had the recent stateside #1 by Kyu Sakamoto, Sukiyaki. And in England, it was fat boy over there with Devil In Disguise....
ML: And the big mover this week from those five years belongs to John Lennon as the Plastic Ono Band and Give Peace A Chance, up 47 spots from 76 to 29.
Nice job, fellows, and congrats for being one of the few acts that were SUPPOSED to be on the show this summer that actually WERE on the show!
Before we proceed to the "devil in disguise" over there giving the M10, and my announcement of the choices you get for this week's winner, let me update the all-time songs of M10 summer leaderboard: Since we forgot to mention it last week, Sass Jordan's The Key pulls into #22; This week, matching Lalena at #38 is Market And Black; matching Big Sur at the new #50 slot is Slow Down! And now...
Your choices this week for the winner-
From 1963, Jan and Dean's Surf City;
From 1962, Little Eva and The Loco Motion;
and from 1977, Alice Cooper and You And Me!
Okay, King, you're up!
Okay, I gots the rest o' the M10 fer ya...
8- Maneskin falls 4 with Beggin'...
7- Redspencer up 3 with Big Deal...
6- The Ventures up 3 with Theme From A Summer Place...
5- down 3, Gerry Rafferty's Slow Down...
4- down 3 from the top, Griffith James and Tennis an' Market And Black...
3- up 2 for courtship. and Fuzzy...
2- the big jump from#8 for the Black Pumas an' Wichita Lineman...
And a new #1....
...Weezer's 2nd chart-topper here, Tell Me What You Want!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nice job, buddy! And now, our winner...
Jan and Dean were #26 in 1963...
Alice was #25 in 1977....
So this week's winner- #7 for the week and #15 for the year of 1962....
.....Little Eva and The Loco-Motion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tune in next time, God willing, for 5 new years, Little Eva's grand re-appearance ( I hope), and more fun!
For a moment this morning, I thought that maybe the "Drive-by" theme should be Foghat's Slow Ride, but when you consider Jack Hibbs takes 4 Sundays to cover 2 verses in 2 Peter, a roughly 4 chapters a post average ain't bad! Today we start in Chapter 49, which really hammers home the life of Jesus, some 700 years before His advent on earth.
Isa 49:1 Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The LORD called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name. Isa 49:2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow; in his quiver he hid me away. Isa 49:3 And he said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified." Isa 49:4 But I said, "I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the LORD, and my recompense with my God."
Verse 3 kind of puts you into a quandary whether this is about a nation or a person, but lets look at why this is about Jesus:
First, the call is from A PERSON (Jesus) to the 'coastlands'- a term generally used for the pagan nations beyond the scope of Israel's day-to-day.
Second, Jesus has been extensively described in the New Testament as the Word, 'sharper than any two-edged sword', and was hidden in mortal flesh.
Third, the problem for Isaiah and his ministry is the people WEREN'T laboring at all, let alone in vain, this was Jesus looking at the Cross, and how many were going to reject it and Him.
So having set the tone, what else can we draw about Jesus from this passage?
For one, His mission to save the world entire, and the success that mission will someday have...
Isa 49:6 he says: "It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth." Isa 49:7 Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation, the servant of rulers: "Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you."
For another, the rejection by Israel of Jesus:
Isa 49:13 Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth, O mountains, into singing! For the LORD has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted. Isa 49:14 But Zion said, "The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me." Isa 49:15 "Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Isa 49:16 Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.
Note the last verse: Despite what the 'believers' of ancient times thought, Jesus died for the Jews as well. Yes, He engraved us with nail holes. And that comes with a promise:
Isa 49:24 Can the prey be taken from the mighty, or the captives of a tyrant be rescued? Isa 49:25 For thus says the LORD: "Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken, and the prey of the tyrant be rescued, for I will contend with those who contend with you, and I will save your children. Isa 49:26 I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh, and they shall be drunk with their own blood as with wine. Then all flesh shall know that I am the LORD your Savior, and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob."
The next chapter starts with some of what Jesus would go through, along with His resolve:
Isa 50:4 The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. Isa 50:5 The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward. Isa 50:6 I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. Isa 50:7 But the Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.
Chapter 51 condenses the story: Reminding Israel of her beginnings, telling of the coming salvation, and the power with which God has led them, promising that one day the spiritual blindness caused by their lack of faith would be lifted, and used to judge the nations.
And as the start of 52 trumpets the return of Israel to faith at the End of Days, it concludes- as do we for this week- with one further description of Jesus that they were destined to ignore...
Isa 52:13 Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. Isa 52:14 As many were astonished at you-- his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind-- Isa 52:15 so shall he sprinkle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand.
Get that last line... God telling Israel they HAVE been told, and they should have understood.
Today, Charles Stanley was talking about frustration- a subject I definitely need to listen on. My morning began in frustration and was continuing on. Before he could finish, of course, a work "emergency" occurred. But 2 things I do know: One, Stanley pointed out that perhaps, frustration is another way that God is using to get my attention about something. And 2, I considered that most of my frustration starts at a root cause of not being where I NEED to be in my walk.
The Better Part, Day #167:
A sermon I was listening to mentioned some kind of meeting in Davos where George Soros named evangelicals the one thing standing in the way of the "coming reset." True? I don't care. There are only 2 things about George Soros and his ilk I need to know: He can't change my mind about Jesus, and He can't overthrow my God. Everything else he does is just digging his own grave.
The Better Part, Day #168:
This goes good with my Wednesday Bible Study posts on the blog. From Jack Hibbs on the benefits of prophecy: "We've seen the end of the book, we know it's going to come out great, despite all the things happening around us. It's the announcement that takes the edge off!"
The Better Part, Day #169:
Psa 4:1 To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of David. Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!
When I read this this morning, it made me think of the connection to Paul, telling us how Jesus gives us the breastplate of HIS righteousness... and then David Jeremiah mentions that one of the great things about the Bible is that it "backs itself up"- and I saw that this was an example!
The Better Part, Day# 170:
That moment when you realize all of your, "God, why didn't You..."s were answered with, "I did. Why didn't you follow through?"
A lone man looking for means of expression in a tsunami of information. Seeking truth justice and the American way in the perspective of a Nixon conservative. And the Commissioner of the free world's smallest and best fantasy football league.
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