Melodic Mondays
Those of you who know me know that I love music even though I am not musical myself. I listen to good music as often as I can. It is beneficial to the brain, valuable to the vocabulary, and strengthening to the soul. Isaiah 12:2-3 is a lovely passage that includes this soaring statement of surety: “The Lord JEHOVAH [YAHWEH] is my strength and my song.” This could be translated, “God is my mountaintop and my music.” Yes, He is! Each Monday, I want to study this subject and suggest a song to listen to. Anyone reading this devotional has easy access to any song. (I am an exception because I do not go on a computer or other information device.) If you do not like my suggestion (and we all have different tastes), you can think of or search for one that speaks to you. Then, it can become a source of encouragement throughout the week.
What is likely an early Christian hymn, recorded in the second half of I Timothy 3:16, gives us some insight into the music of first-century Christians: “God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.” The expression “preached unto the Gentiles [literally, nations]” reminds us of the huge divide between Jewish and non-Jewish people at that time. Early Christians overcame this mutual antipathy by insisting that salvation was available to all. Paul rejoiced in “the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference” (Romans 3:22). The hymn “In Christ There Is No East or West” comments cogently on our oneness in Christ. We will listen to a version by Tony Alonso.