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 JEHOVA [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.
Probably the best-known American Gospel song is “Will the Circle Be Unbroken?” Some older versions are entitled “Can the Circle Be Unbroken?” It is a story song that speaks of shared faith in Jesus and the certainty of an eternal reunion. I think of the three generations mentioned in II Timothy 1:5 (Lois, Eunice, and Timothy). They had joy on earth together, and now the unbroken circle has been established in heaven with even greater joy. Hundreds of renditions of this old favorite are available. I have long enjoyed the version by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Maybelle Carter, with the gifted Earl Scruggs on banjo. It well captures the hope that we have even in sorrow. My personal favorite rendering is by Gregg Allman. It is especially poignant because he recorded it about a year and a half after his brother Duane unexpectedly died in a motorcycle accident in Macon, Georgia. Many of the background singers in this version were from churches in Macon, giving the concept of the circle a powerful immediacy.