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.
Every year about this time, the various forms of media try to stoke fear about the fact that it is hot in summer. They should instead be warning about God’s righteous judgment (II Peter 3:10-13). The Bible is clear that such judgment will come upon this earth and upon individuals. Mark 16:16b warns, “He that believeth not shall be damned.” II Thessalonians 2:12 says of the Antichrist’s followers, “That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” Because money and power blind so many to the truth about Jesus, I Corinthians 1:26 reminds Christians, “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called.” Isaiah 1:18 promises, “’Come now, and let us reason together,’ saith the Lord: ‘Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’” A story song that captures all of these Biblical elements is “Red Clay Halo” by Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlins. Earthly poverty and sin, both symbolized by the red clay, give way to heavenly reward through a personal faith in Jesus.