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.
The traditional Gospel song “Drifting Too Far from the Shore” was first published a century ago. It uses the imagery of the sea, the ship, the shore, and the Savior (sounds like a potential four-point sermon) to speak about spiritual dangers in life. The Apostle Paul used a similar metaphor to warn us about the possibility of spiritual shipwreck: “This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; holding faith, and a good conscience, which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: of whom is Hymenaus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme” (I Timothy 1:18-20). The version by Emmylou Harris, backed by Vince Gill, has better sound quality than the rendition by the Stanley Brothers.