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.
Several years ago, we listened to the old Gospel song “A House of Gold” by Hank Williams, Sr. It warns of the tenacious trap of materialism: “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is [a] root of all [kinds of] evil: which while some covet after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (I Timothy 6:9-10). Peter 3:10-13 clearly teaches that all of the material things that we value so highly “shall be dissolved” (verse 17). The original rendition was one of my father’s favorites. We have also included a version by Larry Sparks (who played with the Stanley Brothers) and the Lonesome Ramblers. It includes an extra verse, in keeping with the tradition of folk Gospel music.