Chuck Berry: "No Particular Place to Go"

I'm sure guys can empathize with the man in this song. The seatbelt, which he called a safety belt, ruined a perfectly good romantic evening. Click here to hear the song.

The warning in James 4:13 and 14 (Bible in Basic English) applies to us all when we expect things to work out like we planned. "How foolish it is to say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into this town, and be there for a year and do business there and get wealth:' When you are not certain what will take place tomorrow. What is your life? It is a mist, which is seen for a little time and then is gone."

Many people who were mentioned in the scriptures made the mistake of boasting about what they'd accomplish. The book of Ester is all about an attempt by Haman to murder all the Jews in the kingdom ruled by Ahasuerus. But every time Haman tried to get rid of Mordecai, who wouldn't bow to him, his efforts backfired.

Esther 7:9 (BBE) tells how Haman's final solution fatally backfired on him. "Then Harbonah, one of the unsexed servants waiting before the king, said, 'See, the pillar fifty cubits high, which Haman made for Mordecai, who said a good word for the king, is still in its place in Haman's house.' Then the king said, 'Put him to death by hanging him on it.'"

Moses supposed his Israelite brethren would understand when he killed an Egyptian taskmaster. As Stephen told his hearers in Acts 7:25 (BBE). "And he was hoping that his brothers would see that God had sent him to be their saviour; but they did not see." So he ran for his life and was in the desert forty years.

Perhaps disobedience ran in Aaron's family. Leviticus 10:1 and 2 (BBE) tells of the tragic deaths of his two sons when they thought to honour the Lord incorrectly. "And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their vessels and put fire in them and perfume, burning strange fire before the Lord, which he had not given them orders to do. And fire came out from before the Lord, burning them up and causing their destruction before the Lord."

Mind you, there are also good outcomes, A certain beggar at the temple expected Peter and John might give him a coin or two. Acts 3:6-8 (BBE) reads, "But Peter said, 'I have no silver or gold, but what I have, that I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up on your feet.' And he took him by his right hand, lifting him up; and straight away his feet and the bones of his legs became strong, And, jumping up, he got on to his feet and went into the Temple with them, walking and jumping and giving praise to God."

If Christ doesn't change our plans by arriving on Thursday, I hope to post about how people forget those who are down and out.

Edwin Collins: "Guess We Were Young"

I must admit that today's rock music doesn't appeal to me. It all sounds the same. Neither do singers harmonize much anymore.

Thanks to a UK friend who sent me some free CDs which he found in his Sunday papers, I herd this song which was released in 2019. Check it out here.

Like the young lovers in the song, we all make mistakes when we're starting out in the faith. In my case, it was handing out tracts. Nobody I gave them to wanted to  read them. I wasted a fair bit of money handing those out and having them get crumpled and tossed back at me.

One biblical example is that of Simon who made a foolish request. Acts 8:18-21 (Bible in Basic English) reads, "Now when Simon saw that the Holy Spirit was given through the touch of the Apostles' hands, he made them an offering of money, saying,'Give me this power, so that when I put my hands on anyone he may get the Holy Spirit.' But Peter said, 'May your money come to destruction with you, because you had the idea that what is freely given by God may be got for a price. You have no part in this business, because your heart is not right before God.'" Since he was blind to God's generosity, the Lord blinded him for a season.

As the gospel spread, some folks hadn't yet heard about the Holy Spirit. Acts 19:4-6 (BBE) tells about a group of believers who only knew what John the Baptist taught them. "And Paul said, 'John gave a baptism which goes with a change of heart, saying to the people that they were to have faith in him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.' And hearing this, they had baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had put his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them; and they had the power of talking in tongues, and acting like prophets."

Paul certainly had his hands full with one church. His first epistle to them made them sorry but it also corrected their foolish actions. We see that in 2 Corinthians 7:11 and 12 (BBE). "For you see what care was produced in you by this very sorrow of yours before God, what clearing of yourselves, what wrath against sin, what fear, what desire, what serious purpose, what punishment. In everything you have made it clear that you are free from sin in this business. So though I sent you a letter, it was not only because of the man who did the wrong, or because of him to whom the wrong was done, but so that your true care for us might be made clear in the eyes of God."

If Christ doesn't come to collect us by Monday, I hope to post about the foolishness of overconfidence.

Nilsson: "Jump Into the Fire"

Another rock singer who never enjoyed much fame was Harry Nilsson. Even so, he did release some fascinating music and he had a five-octive vocal range. Check out one of his lesser-known songs here:

Since Harry didn't say what we are never free of, I'll write about it here. Nothing is hidden from God Almighty. As Psalms 139:11 and 12 (Bible in Basic English) tells us, "If I say, 'Only let me be covered by the dark, and the light about me be night;' Even the dark is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day: for dark and light are the same to you."

To we who believe in Christ, this is comforting. But the wicked fear the presence of the Lord. Even when God used the Romans to punish Jerusalem in AD 70, his wrath was frightening.

As Jesus was being led to be crucified, he prophesied this in Luke 23:30 (BBE). "And they will say to the mountains, Come down on us, and to the hills, Be a cover over us."

Likening the Judgement Day to net fishing, Christ warned his audience in Matthew 13:49 and 50 (BBE) about that time. "So will it be in the end of the world: the angels will come and take out the bad from the good, And will put them into the fire: there will be weeping and cries of sorrow."

We also read about the future of wicked people in Revelation 19:20 (BBE). "And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet who did the signs before him, by which they were turned from the true way who had the mark of the beast, and who gave worship to his image: these two were put living into the sea of ever-burning fire."

We anticipate Christ's return but Satan's people dread it. If our Master hasn't arrived by Saturday, I hope to post about blunders made by people in scripture.

Led Zeppelin: "Your Time Is Gonna Come

This legendary band of the late sixties and early seventies put out some of the finest rock music ever heard. This song is one example of that. It's about a man who warns his girl that he'll leave her if she doesn't stop cheating on him. Listen to it here:

This song reminds me of a cruel supervisor at Jericho Hill School for the Deaf and Blind. After many complaints from us and after the school superintendent found her missing from the dorm one night, she was fired on February fifth, 1970. What revenge that was for all her mean words and heartless actions toward us!

Christ's harshest critics were, of all people, the Pharisees. Instead of recognizing him as the Messiah, they had him crucified.

We read in John 7:33 and 34 (Bible in Basic English) how he told the temple leaders their time would come. "Then Jesus said, 'I will be with you a little longer and then I go to him who sent me. You will be looking for me, and you will not see me: and where I am you may not come." Of course they didn't get his ultimate meaning that he would be in heaven and they would be in hell.

Neither did they figure that Jeremiah 29:13 (BBE) applied to them. "And you will be searching for me and I will be there, when you have gone after me with all your heart." No wonder the Pharisees missed that metaphorical boat.

Judgement Day will be a time of great horror for those who feign belief in our Master. As he described it in Luke 13:24 and 25 (BBE), not all who say his name will spend eternity in heaven. "Do your best to go in by the narrow door, for I say to you, A number will make the attempt to go in, but will not be able to do so. When the master of the house has got up, and the door has been shut, and you, still outside, give blows on the door, saying, 'Lord, let us in'; he will make answer and say, 'I have no knowledge of where you come from.'"

If Jesus hasn't returned by Thursday, I hope to post about how we can't escape God.

It's A Beautiful Day: "White Bird"

This one-hit-wonder group out of San Francisco released this song in 1968. I assume the meaning of this song is that we must "fly," taking advantage of the freedom offered to us. Listen to this beautiful song here.

How sad it is that the gospel is freely available to many people but they ignore Christ's magnanimous offer. John 10:9 (Bible in Basic English) reads, "I am the door: if any man goes in through me he will have salvation, and will go in and go out, and will get food."

In the song, I assume the door of the golden cage is wide open. Otherwise how could the white bird fly?

But like that bird, we hesitate to proclaim the gospel. Paul's protege had his share of timidity. Even so, Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 1:6 and 7 (BBE), "For this reason I say to you, Let that grace of God which is in you, given to you by my hands, have living power. For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of self-control."

Even so, there are times when we believers are afraid. Psalms 55:5 and 6 (BBE) reads, "Fear and shaking have come over me, with deep fear I am covered. And I said, 'If only I had wings like a dove! for then I would go in flight from here and be at rest."

We need only pray and trust in Christ, difficult though it might seem at the time. As we read in 1 Peter 5:6 and 7 (BBE), "For this cause make yourselves low under the strong hand of God, so that when the time comes you may be lifted up; Putting all your troubles on him, for he takes care of you."

And as our Master gave us an example, we read how to trust in the Father in 1 Peter 2:23 (BBE). "To sharp words he gave no sharp answer; when he was undergoing pain, no angry word came from his lips; but he put himself into the hands of the judge of righteousness:" So must we do.

If the one we trust in hasn't returned by Monday, I hope I can post about how wicked folks will be recompensed.

Stories: Brother Louie"

Racism is evil. I'm certain almost every one agrees. So a group called Stories did their part in 1973 to oppose racism in a song. Check it out here.

We know that the Bible isn't racist, even if some atheists say so. They claim their opinion is true because some racists wrenched Bible verses way out of their context to prove their point.

Certainly we genuine Christians ought not to be racist. As Paul wrote of our salvation in Galatians 3:28 (Bible in Basic English), "There is no Jew or Greek, servant or free, male or female: because you are all one in Jesus Christ."

Revelation 7:9 and 10 (BBE) also shows that heaven is filled with people from all over the planet. "After these things I saw a great army of people more than might be numbered, out of every nation and of all tribes and peoples and languages, taking their places before the high seat and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, and with branches in their hands, Saying with a loud voice, 'Salvation to our God who is seated on the high seat, and to the Lamb.'"

While Paul was waiting in Athens, he told the Greek philosophers about their "unknown god" and how he assigned places for all races. Acts 17:26 and 27 (BBE) says, "And he has made of one blood all the nations of men living on all the face of the earth, ordering their times and the limits of their lands, So that they might make search for God, in order, if possible, to get knowledge of him and make discovery of him, though he is not far from every one of us:"

Though Israelites were told not to mingle with gentiles, it was to protect them from being paganized. But this doesn't apply to us Christians. 

Peter certainly learned that lesson about gentiles in Acts 10:46 and 47 (BBE). "And they were talking in tongues, and giving glory to God. Then Peter said, 'Will any man say that these may not have baptism who have been given the Holy Spirit as we have?'"

If Christ hasn't drawn all races of Christians to himself in the air by Saturday, I hope to post about a beautiful song and how we need to step out in faith.

Talking Heads: "Life During Wartime"

What an interesting song about war this is. Instead of decrying the carnage and brutality, David Byrne imagined what daily life would be like in a failed state. Survivors would be concerned with finding food and keeping safe. Things like records and speakers would be very low on the priority list of people in such a situation.

Listen to this song here:

We Christians are living in wartime but it's a spiritual conflict. After Paul listed the weapons we must put on, he gave the reason we fight in Ephesians 6:13 (Bible in Basic English). "For this reason take up all the arms of God, so that you may be able to be strong in the evil day, and, having done all, to keep your place."

Armies are often commanded to hold their position or to advance. Paul urged his prodigy to keep moving forward in 1 Timothy 6:12 (BBE) when he said, "Be fighting the good fight of the faith; take for yourself the life eternal, for which you were marked out, and of which you gave witness in the eyes of all."

Fighting a war, like competitive sports, takes great effort. As Paul likened both in 1 Corinthians 9:24-26 (BBE), "Do you not see that in a running competition all take part, but only one gets the reward? So let your minds be fixed on the reward. And every man who takes part in the sports has self-control in all things. Now they do it to get a crown which is of this world, but we for an eternal crown. So then I am running, not uncertainly; so I am fighting, not as one who gives blows in the air:"

Neither must we forget the afflictions we suffered before, as Hebrews 10:32 (BBE) admonishes, "But give thought to the days after you had seen the light, when you went through a great war of troubles;

The finish line of faith is also what we must keep in mind. Philippians 3:14 (BBE) is Paul's end goal. "I go forward to the mark, even the reward of the high purpose of God in Christ Jesus."

If we don't reach that finish line by Thursday, I'll point out the stupidity of racism.