MUSICAL
Rules Of Civility #8: "At play and at fire it's good manners to give place to the last comer, and affect not to speak louder than ordinary."
In other words....make room for everyone and use your inside voice...
"The Voice" The Moody Blues
The origins of so many great musical acts can be traced back to the time range of the mid to late 1960's. Many of your favorites bands possibly just popped into your memory. Acts like The Beatles, The Mamas and The Papas, The Byrds, Sonny and Cher, et al no longer exist except on "oldies" radio due to internal strife, musical differences, lack of chart success, or the death of a band member. In contrast some acts from this period [Genesis, The Rolling Stones, The "Bobs" (Both Dylan and Seger), The Beach Boys and Chicago] have achieved popular success by continuing to release records and tour in support of that music. When you think about it, in the next decade many of these "durable" acts will have been in existence making music for over 50 years. That is staggering when you consider the stress of world wide tours and the continued pressure to make music that is popular to a new generation of music aficionados every 2-3 years.
One band may not come to your mind immediately. They have "flown under the radar" so to speak in the music industry and have never had a released single go to #1 on the charts. They continue to tour with 1 member of the original 1964 lineup and 3 from the band make up of 1966. Their highest rated single was 1968's "Nights In White Satin" which went to #2 in 1972, four years after its initial release. The re-issue of their 1968 Nights In White Satin album caused the sales of the single of the same name to sky rocket thus providing The Moody Blues their first and only top 5 hit. The Moody Blues have had 2 albums, 1972's Seventh Sojourn and 1981's Long Distance Voyager, attain the Billboard #1 spot for album sales. This combined with relentless touring during the 70s and 80s have provided these "Singers In A Rock and Roll Band" with "The Voice" to continue speaking to the next generation of appreciative fans.
What kind of voices do we read about in Scripture? How is God's voice depicted? What happens to those who do not heed "The Voice"? The Bible is replete with passages regarding communication between God and man. In Numbers 22:30 a voice was given to a donkey to provide a warning to Baalam, one of the Bible's really bad guys. The poetic books of the Bible, especially Job and Psalms, refer to the power of God's voice as these passages compare The Voice to thunder. (Job 40:9; Psalm 29:3; 77:18; 104:7). Elijah experienced God's voice in a much different, but no less powerful way. (1 Kings 19)
You may be thinking, "I believe the Bible's depiction of how God spoke to His people, but I am not sure how or if it happens in our times". Rest assured that you are not alone in wondering how God speaks to Christians today. We hear speakers on television and leaders in churches say that "God told them" to do specific things. This raises another question: "Why does God speak to them and not to me"? The first thing we have to realize is comparing ourselves to other Christians only proves to be a frustrating exercise and has the potential to illicit pride. Secondly, we must also be in a position to listen for God when He speaks. Do you have a consistent method of reading the Bible? It is, after all, God's Word. He is using His own Word to communicate truths to us every day if we will read the words and the listen closely to what His Spirit communicates to us. Third, we are made in the image of God. Our ability to discern right from wrong, our conscience if you will, is one aspect of how we are made in God's image. This "spiritual" aspect enables God to communicate with us, especially as the Redeemed, through impressions, events, and thoughts. "Understand the voice within, and feel the changes already beginning." Finally, if you examine how God communicated in the Bible you will see that an audible voice, while present at times, was utilized with less frequency than what many perceive. For a good perspective of how God speaks to us today, please read Rebecca Barlow Jordan's article: 8 Ways God Speaks To Us Today
So what do we do when we hear God speak? There is a hymn chorus that addresses the answer to this question: "Trust and obey, for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus.......but to trust and obey." Don't allow the cynicism of our world to keep you from having the child like faith to listen to the Father as He guides and directs us. Then utilize that faith to put into action what we've been told to do by...."The Voice".
'Til Tuesday,
Loving HIM by loving you,
Randy
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