This week, I found that Job and I are alike in one respect. No, I am nowhere near Job's piety, and I have great doubts God would tell Satan, "Have you observed my servant Job? There is none on earth like him, blameless and upright." But in considering myself and my reactions, as the 'old man' fights the 'new man' on contentment issues, I see we had one similar flaw.
Throughout the Book of Job, Job protests that he had not sinned, almost challenging God to send 'an advocate' down to argue it out in court. But at the end, he sees God and changes his tune, humbling himself in dust and ashes. What changed? Just one thought process, and it's the same one I found in myself.
Without the gory details, I came to a point where I said, "I've pleaded for help, as You have asked. I have realized I cannot do it without you. Why am I not getting that peace?"
And then, I realized the little implied sentence I was leaving out, which fit neatly between, 'without You' and 'Why am I'. "BUT I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO".
I shouldn't HAVE to. It should be automatic, kicking in at the first sign of any trial or temptation, protecting me from sliding back into those same old thought patterns. Job was saying the same thing- "I shouldn't HAVE to be going through all this." A nicely hidden little thread of pride that simulates building a spiritual wall of concrete without rebar. It always crumbles and you can't see why from the outside.
And the answer from God is one and the same. "I am God, you are not. Should you question Me?" And it's just a statement- albeit a strongly worded one- because as soon as Job realized it, he repented and was COMPLETELY restored.
It always seems to come back to pride. What a devious enemy we have! I'd like to tell you I'm back on track, but that's going to take a further attitude change I haven't yet mastered- remembering that, while the fight is everyday, the victory is already won.
I have to honestly say, I was struggling to find the energy to even fire up the ol' Tardis tonight, but then I saw what happened where we were going- June 12th, 1976- and this story energized me. Here are excerpts from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazzette:
Three Rivers Stadium was like a Wild West showdown on June 12, 1976. "You only had to say the date," says former concert promoter Rich Engler. "I knew exactly what you were talking about." It was the day that ZZ Top and Aerosmith, who play together at the Post-Gazette Pavilion Wednesday, pulled into town with the World Wide Texas Tour -- hands-down winner for the city's craziest show ever. They had cattle, they had rattlesnakes on stage. I liked the package but it was weird because it was the roughneck-beer-drinkers-hell-raisers, and this American hair-type band that was a different form of rock 'n' roll. It kind of collided with the chemistry, not only of the music but the crowd. There were a lot of calamities." The calamities were Texas-sized. The front page headline the next day in The Pittsburgh Press was "250 Fans Injured at Rock Concert," many of them cut by broken glass "when bottle-throwing erupted." The medic on the scene treated people for eye lacerations, drug overdoses, a broken nose and a broken pelvis. A pregnant woman suffered severe burns on her leg when a cherry bomb landed on her lap. Fifteen cars were towed on the Fort Duquesne Bridge and just as many on the Parkway West. North Side residents complained of people parking on the sidewalks in front of their homes. "Vandalism and destruction at the concert reached levels never before seen in Pittsburgh," says (Raymond) Alsing, who now works as a field engineer for a computer company, "and there has never been anything like it since. Drug sales were rampant through the turnstiles entering the stadium along with anything else that wanted to come in. People were carrying kegs of beer in on their shoulders. Bathrooms were unisex, even though nothing like that existed then." "In the middle of Aerosmith's set," Engler says, "one of the ZZ Top fans risked his life to go over the high-tension, do-not-enter, high-voltage, danger, will-kill-you area, crawled in there, drunk as a skunk, and pulled the power level on Aerosmith -- and the whole stage went completely silent. The only thing you could hear was rat-tat-tat -- the drummer without any amplification. Everyone was stunned. The ZZ Top crowd was cheering and the Aerosmith crowd was booing."
Frankly, I think I'd rather watch Brooke Annibale live streaming from her music room...
"But no cows, I'm not doing cows!"
So welcome to Time Machine, where we'll be passing along greetings to POTMs America (appropriate for 1976!) because I'm way too lazy to come up with a good bit they had a previous engagement, being the Bicentennial and all, and instead will try to talk my sleepy self through the Panel, do a 6D on the fly, and share with you a divide on the crazy covers segment even worse than the one last week! Plus, three M10 debuts- which puts us 4 songs away from #500 to enter my chart- as we really kick off what is shaping up to be 'Cover Summer'! Mount your cattle (Alsing claims fans at PGP did just that, Engler denies it), and let's lope off to that first debut!
What might this be (in addition to the lead in for what might be the dumbest live 6D of all time)? Well, Amazon.com says it's a "Disney Alice In Wonderland wig and headband", and also that it is "Sponsored products related to this item", that item in question being the first lp by the band Alice Cooper, which goes to show you AI isn't all that. I was looking into this lp, Live at the Whisky-a-Go-Go 1969, and found that the live lp was pretty much cuts from their first lp Pretties For You. This lp was a cluster on the scale of the Pittsburgh concert above- according to legend, Frank Zappa was supposed to be producing the disc, and had to leave. He left his brother at the recording desk, and he recorded while the band rehearsed. When Frank got back, he declared the lp 'done' and sent them on their way with an album almost unlistenable except for the single (that went nowhere) then called Reflected that eventually evolved into the hit Elected. So how did I get to this story? Because Johnny Rivers recorded several songs at the WaGG, one of which was Secret Agent Man, which was co-written by one Steve Barri, a producer who co-produced this week's 6D victim- Welcome Back by John Sebastian, #5 without a Panel vote.
Yeah, I haven't got to the Panel yet, but first I want to intro the next M10 debut (since they're gonna be the only salvation for tonight's show). Michael Trotter, Jr, is a wounded war hero of two tours in Iraq, where he became known for his singing to the other wounded heroes. He started a music career, and along the way met his now-wife Tanya (Blount) Trotter, who'd already got some notoriety of her own singing in films like Sister Act II and on the R&B chart. They became an act calling themselves The War And Treaty- and their awesome latest single is at #9...
Okay, now the Panel. 20 songs, 60 stations, and including the first vote from Radio Mi Amigo at sea off Spain, who picked a lovely ballad called This Melody by Julien Clerc. The chart itself was a bit of a cakewalk- to draw even with the winner, I'd have to stretch the field to include everyone with more than one vote, along with three of the 11 one-vote wonders! But I won't put you through that- I'll contain the finalists to a mere 5 songs...
Hey, boss, get back from that mike...
Why?
Because you look like a slice of dead meat, man. Get some rest, an' let the King take over...
I remember the last time I did that...
I know, but I sent everyone else out for burgers, so there won' be no trouble. C'mon...
Alright, I guess you can do the Panel while I finish my malt...
Awright! Now, let's get this final five underway! First, here's Sir Paul McCartney... P: So formal! So no hard feelings about all the Beatles to-do... E: Wait, you were one of the Beatles? P: ... E: Oh, I'm just funnin' ya! What song do you have on the list? P: I and my mates- and my loovly wife, Linda- are at #3 on this week's chart with Silly Love Songs! E: Okay, next, let's bring in... wait, who are you, again? H: I'm Henry Gross, and my song Shannon is at #11... E: Is that about your girlfriend? H: No, it's about Carl Wilson's dog, actually... E: Uh-HUH. Next up, state yer name and hit... Bjorn Ulvaeus: Hello, we're ABBA from Sweden, and our song Fernando, is in the middle of a 14-week run at #1 in Australia... E: (to the girls) Hey, baby, m'name's Elvis, an'... Australia? Sweden? NOODLE!! N: The name, sir, is Nardole. N-A-R-... E: Lissen, you sure these guys is in the final? N: Yes, sir. They are very big. E: Okay, then, who's next? Diana Ross: I'm only here under protest, but I came because of you, Elvis... E: Say, yer that Supremes chick, ain'tcha? D: Well, I... E: Whut song you got, honey? DR: Uh, Love Hangover, at #1 this week... E: Okay, baby, let's keep this moving, anyone else? DM: Yes, I'm Dorothy Moore and my song Misty Blue is at #4.... E: Yew ain't singin' about the dog, too, are ya? DM: Er, no...
WHAT the hell are all these people doing here????
E: Why, meet yer final five! P: Say, what 'final' would this be, exactly? E: Like you don' know, ya won it a hunnert times!
Jeez, I can't move in here! Bellbottom will have a freak! Nardole, cue up the last debut while I get this straightened out!
N: At once, sir. Last week, Chris mentioned that the Jayhawks, currently climbing the M10 with This Forgotten Town had done a cover of Grand Funk Railroad's Bad Time earlier. 25 years ago, to be precise. And in keeping with the current theme of covers on the M10, it debuts at #7...
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Okay, so now that Elvis has killed us on time, let's hit the stat pack hard and fast. The big mover, the Beach Boys climb 20 from 61-41 with their cover of Rock And Roll Music; the #1s across the English speaking world include Canada with Silly Love Songs, South Africa with last year's American chart topper December 1963 (Oh What A Night) by the Four Seasons, as we mentioned, Fernando the #1 in Australia (and has been since April 5th), and in the UK, a parody of Brand New Key by the Wurzels, called Combine Harvester. If you don't know it, go grab a listen, it's funny!
And that crazy cover song?
Well, the famous version is actually the big hit- Dr Hook's Sharing The Night Together. But it was first done, 2 years earlier, by a pair of gentlemen whom we reviewed. The first was Lenny LeBlanc, who'd later be better known (just slightly) as one-half of LeBlanc and Carr. He was debuting with his first-recorded version at #97, while a just behind recording by "soul singer and country and western writer" Arthur Alexander was at #94 after 3 weeks. Our takes:
Arthur:
Chris: That arrangement is boss. I might like that better than Dr Hook's!
Laurie: Hated it. To me, the vocals didn't go with the song.
Chris: Wow, that's the farthest apart we can possibly get!
Lenny:
Chris: He sucks! I actually looked through the comments to see if it was recorded at the wrong speed!
Laurie: Yeah, I don't like that one much, either...
Deradoorian drops from 3 to 8 with Monks Robes...
Holding again at 6 in week #9, Maddie and Tae, I Don't Need To Know...
Last week's #1, You Can't Hurt A Fool by the Pretenders, down to #5...
The last non cover on the list, Jayhawks and This Forgotten Town, at #4, up one...
Badfinger and friends with Baby Blue up 7 to 3...
The Explorer's Club up 10 to 2 with Can't Find The Time...
...and the new #1....
...the Shacks with Smile Now Cry Later!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And the Panel picks?
Shannon and Misty Blue get 5% each...
Fernando got 4 Australian votes to come in with 6.67%...
Diana Ross grabbed 8.33% with Love Hangover...
But the winner, with 43.33%...
....Wings with Silly Love Songs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh, Lord, thank You for getting me through this....
E: Hey, whuddabout me? I helped...
Yes, you did, and you're expensing all the additional unrequested cameo's out of YOUR check!
E: That's what I get for helping! 1976 sucks!
Yeah, well, 1977 won't be your best year, either....
Hebrews 13 is one of those easily graphed out and broken down chapters, breaking into ten instructions in three different categories. Things to be: Mindful of Brotherly love (v1), Hospitality (v2), and Content (vv5-6); Things to pray about: For the persecuted (v3), your spiritual leaders (v7), and the evangels who take the Word to the world (vv18-19); and Things to Do: Honor marriage (v4), Avoid strange teachings (the author's stress, vv 8-15), giving to charity (v16), and obey your leaders (v17). If I wanted to, I could stop here at "go thou and apply". But I want to share with you how this chapter clobbered me.
I am currently in a stretch of OT that is seeing us working 56 hrs a week, mainly to help out our other plants that basically working night and day to sponsor Martin Truex Jr in NASCAR, in a decidedly ironic twist for me. And the part about contentment has been a struggle. Our VP, who can be somewhat of a Tasmanian Devil at times, has been down riding shotgun on us "because we're the best". Here is a pertinent bit of dialogue between us this past week:
Him: Hi, Chris, how the - are you?
Me: I'm here...
Him: Oh, come on, you can do better than that!
Me: Sorry, my enthusiasm has been beaten out of me by weekend work. Still trying to recover it.
The reason I repeat that verbatim is that when I got back to my station, I began thinking about what I just said out loud.
Enthusiasm gone. What can they do to fix that?
Nothing. The problem's in me. No contentment in the situation.
Why not? Because I don't understand contentment.
So let's figure out what we need to know about it. Start with the verse in our chapter:
Heb 13:5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." Heb 13:6 So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?"
Let's add to this Paul's definition in Phillippians 4:
Php 4:11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.
Php 4:12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.
Php 4:13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Finally, let's add a touch of 1 Timothy 6:
1Ti 6:3 If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness,
1Ti 6:4 he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions,
1Ti 6:5 and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.
1Ti 6:6 Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment,
1Ti 6:7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.
1Ti 6:8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.
1Ti 6:9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
Okay, that's a big touch, but it's important. So what do we learn about contentment here? In no particular order:
1- '...for I have learned...' This is NOT something that is part of your "Christian walk starter kit". It must be learned every day, by moving through situations that bring the opposites of contentment.
2- '...But if we have food and clothing...' We set our priority goods list here on earth a lot higher than God does. This world is NOT our home, and we should be willing to travel light.
3- '...Keep your life free from love of money..." This comes up in almost every mention of contentment; in fact, the next verse that I left off of Timothy was the famous 'for the love of money' verse. I think most people this might be the thing; for me, my coin is more, 'quit taking away my time off!' Basically, this can be anything that wants to take you OUT of the situation God put you IN.
4- '... I can do all things through him who strengthens me...' THIS CAN'T BE DONE IN YOUR OWN STRENGTH. You have to do this in HIS strength. If it feels impossible to do on your own, you're right.
5- '...He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth...' THIS IS ME. I have a lot of time at my station to tell myself stories just like this, imagining conversations I'll never have with bosses (hopefully), and I sometimes spend a good share of my thinking day telling them to go away. Usually I do good, but by the end of the day it leaves a big emotional knot.
6- '... for he has said...' The victory comes with remembering the promises of God. Charles Stanley and Michael Youseff said a couple of things this week that really helped here. Stanley: "Don't minimize the sin, but maximize the grace..." Youseff: "Don't believe in the defeat, believe in the victory!" Both of which are now written at my station to remind me how great the arms that I have available to lean on. And that is my takeaway from Hebrews 13.
Today is June 5th, 1975- the day the Suez Canal was re-opened, 8 years to the day since the Six Day War closed it. By this time, a convoy of 15 ships had been trapped in-between the two closed ends so long, they were basically covered in desert dust- and thus were known as "the Yellow Fleet".
You kinda gotta use your imagination on this one...
Welcome to this week's Time Machine, where we'll...
Hi!
Uh, Ray, you're supposed to wait until I introduce you...
But I got somethin' to say about the Yellow Fleet...
Oh, uh, what's that?
Did somebody pee on 'em?
Ah... our guest this week is Ray Stevens, and I hope he'll allow me to get through the headlines here, which includes the debut of 2 brand new singles to the M10- both of them covers of a couple of my favorite songs, both with a famous guest act assisting them! Also the 6D will give us the greatest hits of yet another writer you may not know...
I bet I know 'im!
I bet you do, but you know everyone, so...
No I don't. Who're you?
All that and more coming up. So let's kick things off by introducing this week's POTM, Ray Stevens!
Where? Where?
So, Ray, one thing I am curious about- you have some real God-given singing talent...
Thank you very kindly!
So why all the novelty stuff?
Why not? Besides, People will remember a good comedy song a lot longer than they would some of the so-called straight love songs.
And yet, I think Everything Is Beautiful and Misty are your best.
But in concert, they all wait for The Streak....
Sadly the world we live in...
I originally passed on Raindrops Keep Fallin On My Head in 1969, so they gave it to B.J. Thomas.
Is that after Bob Dylan turned it down? It was written for him...
But with a voice like that, you don't need silly lyrics, his voice is novelty enough!
So anyhow, here's what we do on this show...
I know what you do on this show...
Oh, good! So then, you'll be ready to do the lead up on our Panel...
Yer whut?
You said, you knew what we do here...
I'm not even sure where I am....
Sigh... While I explain to Ray the workings of his part in the show, let's listen to this first debut. True story- I was going to chart the a-side of this new single from The Explorer's Club- but then I saw what the b-side was. One of my all time favorites, a song that I've cried to from Orpheus, Rose Colored Glass, and Hootie and the Blowfish. With some help from the Barenaked Ladies' Steven Page...
Bare nekkid? Is Ethel with with them? YOU SHAMELESS HUSSY!!!
...here's the new song at #10...
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So this week, Ray, we had 20 contestants from 41 stations. Do you think you can focus long enough to do the lead in?
Sure, it's not like I'm Jim Stafford or somthin'. So one oddity is the fact we have 2 acts with 2 songs on the list! Not so odd that Elton John was one of 'em, with Pinball Wizard one, and Philly Freedom the other, but how about Pilot getting a US vote for Magic, and a Australian vote for January! Another is that hockey 'star'- actually, more of hockey goon- Dave 'the hammer' Schultz had a #1 vote from Philly for a dippy little lost love song called, appropriately enough, The Penalty Box. For those not in the know, Dave spent just over 7% of his NHL career IN the penalty box, so....
Well done, buddy! Now, the finalists are a light on votes bunch- one song got 6 votes, one five, and four others got three each...
Three whut?
Votes...
Well, I didn't vote fer 'em... leastways, I don't think I did...
No, Ray, the stations did. Now, I'm going to give you the list of finalists... you think you could read them?
Why don't I sing 'em?
Not in your contract, Ray, and Bellbottom is a stickler for the letter of the contract.
He does know he ain't real, right?
Yes, but in this context, neither are you, so it's okay!
Well, as long as that's the case, lemme have the list. Choose from.... America with Sister Golden Hair at #3... Freddy Fender with Before The Next Teardrop Falls at #1... John Denver with Thank God I'm A Country Boy at #2... Earth Wind and Fire with Shining Star at #9... Ace and How Long at #4... and The Captain and Tennille with Love Will Keep Us Together at #17 and flying up!
Jeez, I hope it's not the last one! I love that song, but Toni is way too clingy...
Just like Ethel was befer that basket bawl game...
Before we go down THAT road, let's play the other debut, at #7. Matthew Sweet, of Sick Of Myself fame, helps out Badfinger- yes, Badfinger, led by sole surviving member Joey Molland, in a great remake of arguably their best song- and definitely my favorite...
So our 6D this week, at #6 without a Panel vote, was yet another fave of mine- Grand Funk Railroad with Bad Time. It was on the lp All The Girls In The World Beware, which had just one song not written by the band, called Look At Granny Run Run, written lyrics by Jerry Ragavoy, and music by Mort Shuman. Shuman had a slew of hits with the lyrics of the legendary Doc Pomus, and a few with others as well. With all but one of these being Pomus/Shuman collaberations, here are the biggest hits of Mort Shuman!
11- Fabian, Hound Dog Man, #9 in 1959
10- Billy J Kramer and the Dakotas, Little Children, #7 in '64
9- This Magic Moment, Jay and the Americans, #6 in '68
8- Elvis, Little Sister, #5 in '61
7- Jimmy Clanton, Go Jimmy Go, #5 in '59
6- Dion and the Bellmonts, A Teenager In Love, #5 in '59
5- Elvis, Marie's The Name (His Latest Flame), #4 in '61
4- Terry Stafford, Suspicion, # 3 in '64
3- Andy Williams, Can't Get Used To Losing You, #2 in '63
2- Elvis, Surrender, #1 in '61
Hey, what the heck is that?
That means it's time for our crazy covers segment, where Laurie and I give judgment on a cover of a big hit we never heard before! And this week, debuting at #97 on the Cashbox chart, was Blood Sweat and Tears with a cover of the Beatles' Got To Get You Into My Life! It would get to #62 on the Billboards charts.
Laurie: It was okay... sideways for me...
Chris: This might be the widest difference we've ever had. I could listen to David Clayton Thomas sing the phone book (remember those?)! Big big 2 thumbs up and highest recommendation!
I can sing a phone book, too! Listen: Triple A... motor CLUBBBBBB!!! 555-
Thank you, Ray, we'll keep that act in mind for the Christmas Party, okay! Now let's look at the Stat Pack for this week. The charts across the English speaking domains saw Windsor Davies and Don Estelle with a rather odd cover of Whispering Grass at #1 in the UK... South Africa was topped, believe it or not, by Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn with As Soon As I Hang Up The Phone... as we mentioned, Pilot's January was tops in Australia (and heavily underrated here)... and Canada saluted local boys BTO with Hey You!
And here, the big mover was yet another all timer for me- this week's CB chart might be the all time best- with Wings going up 32 spots, 69 to 37, with Listen What The Man Said.
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So, what's next?
Well, Ray, it's time for me to give the rest of my M10 chart for this week.
C'n I help?
Uh, well...
Oh, wait! C'n I get a donut?
Yeah, why don't you go do that! Just follow the nice bald guy over there...
N: The name is Nardole. N-A-R...
And it's been really nice meeting you!
You too, Buddy? Say, who ARE you?
Ray, donuts, bald guy. FOCUS.
Oh, yeah... Say, Noodle, have you seen Ethel? She was wearing... well, that might not help...
Anyway, here's the rest of the M10...
The Rolling Stones drop 6 to 9 with Living In A Ghost Town.
Maybird inches up one more to 8 with Fried Dead Moth.
8 weeks on the chart for Maddie and Tae's I Don't Need To Know, back down 1 to 6.
The Jayhawks, who early on did a cover of Bad Time I'll have to look into, move 5 to 5 with This Forgotten Town.
Sass Jordan retreats 2 to 4 with High Road Easy.
Holding at 3, Deradoorian's former #1, Monk's Robes.
Shooting up from 8 to 2, the Shacks with Smile Now Cry Later.
And a second week at the top for...
...the Pretenders and You Can't Hurt A Fool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And the Panel picks?
The four who got 7.3% were Freddy Fender, John Denver, EW and F, and Ace.
At 12.2%- thank you, Lord- were the Captain and Tennille.
Which means the winner, with 14.6%, is.....
America and Sister Golden Hair!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Another all timer for me!
So tune in next week, where we'll have some, most, or all of America, in the spirit of 1976!
Haggai chapter 2- yes, a 2-chapter book- is meaty with prophecy and history, just the kind of chapter I love because I can go down all kinds of bunny trails. But I'm not going to do that, because it has a powerful, overriding message for us, as well.
I will give you a brief thumbnail- Haggai is preaching to the returned exiles of Israel, between what we would call Halloween and Christmas of 520 BC. He is in-between the foundation of the Temple laid by Ezra- now sitting idle because they've come up with every manner of excuse to delay working on it- and the renewed work started in the book of Nehemiah. His message is "get back to work!", but it comes in three levels, in three different prophecies.
Prophecy One, coming in late October, starts by speaking to their motivations. They built the foundation, and as it says in Ezra, the old-enough wept because even at the foundation, they could see it wouldn't be as grand as the First Temple. But what God says here is, it doesn't matter how GRAND the work is, as long as it's for HIM:
Hag 2:4 Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the LORD. Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts, Hag 2:5 according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not.
1- Work on!
2- My promises are yet in effect!
3- My Spirit is with you!
4- FEAR NOT.
Great for them, right? Now, put it above your work station.
The second prophecy, which like the third is around the middle to late part of December, is a bedrock principle of God's: When disobedience becomes obedience, nothing becomes something:
Hag 2:15 Now then, consider from this day onward. Before stone was placed upon stone in the temple of the LORD,
Hag 2:16 how did you fare? When one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten. When one came to the wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were but twenty.
Hag 2:17 I struck you and all the products of your toil with blight and with mildew and with hail, yet you did not turn to me, declares the LORD.
Hag 2:18 Consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Since the day that the foundation of the LORD's temple was laid, consider:
Hag 2:19 Is the seed yet in the barn? Indeed, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have yielded nothing. But from this day on I will bless you."
And that day is the day of obedience. Maybe not goods or wealth, but what you NEED will increase. This is a faithful promise, I know!
And the third, given the same day, is the promise of hope:
Hag 2:21 "Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I am about to shake the heavens and the earth,
Hag 2:22 and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms. I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders. And the horses and their riders shall go down, every one by the sword of his brother.
Hag 2:23 On that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, the son of Shealtiel, declares the LORD, and make you like a signet ring, for I have chosen you, declares the LORD of hosts."
Zerubbabel became a signet ring because, in his person, the sundered family lines of David's sons Solomon (the kingly line) and Nathan ( the priestly line)- the lines of Joseph and Mary, respectively- came together in one man. The evil that the evil men in the lines committed was purged, and the march towards the Messiah resumed.
But just to tie everything together, consider this: Last week in Habakkuk, we saw this:
Hab 3:14 You pierced with his own arrows the heads of his warriors, who came like a whirlwind to scatter me, rejoicing as if to devour the poor in secret.
And I had mentioned that, "even though He had his arrows and spears at hand- so mighty that even the sun and moon stopped to watch them- the evil men were destroyed by their own weapons." And here in Haggai:
...And the horses and their riders shall go down, every one by the sword of his brother.
Now some say that this is a fulfilled prophecy, fulfilled in Alexander's overthrow of Persia. And certainly, the armies of Darius fared so badly in the battles against the Macedonians that SOME of this did occur. But Haggai says EVERY one by the sword of his brother, and that is yet to come. And in that day, the House of Israel and the House of the Gentiles will at last be united BY that Messiah.
Just to remind everyone of two things: 1- if you're on furlough due to the lockdowns, you don't have to just sit home. 2- If you're working, there's more important things to life than Tracker getting all the boat covers...
First, Saturday....
"Gateway" from complex to The Plex
Ground Hog Road greening up
Robin with tasty worm lunch
If you click on this you might see the two different sizes of little yellow flowers
I thought I would do just a few landscapes, as it was so beautiful
Wild Raspberries almost in bloom!
Well, that's new
Look at that! He's almost smiling, talking to disc golfers... I think he might be at peace for the first time in a week!
Second of 2 dead somethings Misty found
A quick rest break
"Surprise on California Road"...
Back home, His Eminence and the Mrs visited
And a bit of Sunday...
"Hurry up! It's 10:40 and we haven't walked yet!"
Additions to an already squirrelly morning- we woke up to 2 of 'em, and a Chip, at the feeder
This is new, day 2
So much nicer to walk with her after she's been worn down by a rousing post-trash gathering game of "Put the doggie in the bag"
The rarer white flowers with the ubiquitous purple
Perhaps the biggest turtle I've ever seen at the swamp
IDK why they cut this small swath in the brush by the river- but, I know what I use it for....
Looks up at me as if begging me to get a shot of her in the water. 1.5 seconds later, looking down....
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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