It's time for Tuesday's Musical Notes!!! (Did you just hear a trumpet fanfare?) Does the above trip seem far-fetched? Does it even seem possible? In the next few minutes, we hope to take you down this incredible road. It is a road that is similar to some of the great music videos of the '80s...it tells a fascinating story. Well, at least some of the video's of the '80s told a story...fascinating...you be the judge. Here's one of those stories in the form of a video trilogy. From 1986, here's Mike + The Mechanics...
"Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground)" Mike + The Mechanics from the 1986 album Mike + The Mechanics
One of those songs was "All I Need Is a Miracle", the #5 chart-topper from the eponymous 1986 debut album. It would be one of the most optimistic songs that Mike + The Mechanics would release. With a catchy musical soundtrack and lyrics that were instantly easy for the listener to relate to, "All I Need Is A Miracle" would be the one single that Rutherford would continue to rework and allow others close to him to cover. It would be re-imagined for the Hits album and then reformed again with a newer incarnation of the band for the 1999 album Mike + The Mechanics (known as M6 by fans so as to not be confused with the '86 release of the same name). Genesis bandmate Phil Collins would cover the song at concerts as part of the "Turn It On Medley" (Genesis - "Turn It On Medley").
Many
associate the miraculous to the great stories of the Bible. Depending on the internet search engine, you can quickly find lists of those events that are considered miracles in the Bible. The Bible's
existence is a miracle unto itself as some of its books were penned 4000-5000 years ago, In it we read stories of creation (Genesis),
deliverance (Exodus), provision (Exodus-Joshua), and sacrifice
(Matthew-John). As children, we are told the story of the salvation of
Noah and his family on the ark, the passage through the Red Sea on dry ground by the Israelites, and Jonah surviving in the belly of a large
fish. Through these stories it is easy to be curious as to why we don't
see the dead brought to life or fire fall from heaven today. Tuesday's
Musical Notes concedes this theological debate to the enumerable
websites that have thoughts on the subject. We however, we implore you
again to consider the idea of perspective when considering the
miraculous, before pronouncing that God doesn't work in this manner
today.
The
Notes would like to offer this thought regarding the miraculous in both
the Bible and our modern day. Mankind was created to be in the
presence of God eternally. In a perfect garden called Eden, the man
Adam and his wife Eve, made a decision to betray the Creator by breaking
the one rule He had given them in the garden. Just one rule. This
disobedience immediately caused the perfected state that Adam and Eve
existed in to be destroyed. They were no longer perfect. A perfect God
cannot be in fellowship, or contact, with the imperfect, so Adam and
Eve were cast from the garden and began lives outside of the plan that
Creator God had for them. God continually saw for the needs of those
who called on His name, but his intimate relationship with man was now
broken. The Old Testament proclaims the story of God continually
drawing mankind back to himself through His Word and men of character
that would boldly proclaim His Word. These prophets would also foretell
of the biggest miracle the world would ever see. This miracle came in
the form of a baby. As we stated before, birth of any child is a
miracle, but Jesus' birth was a miracle injected by the incredible love
of God. God, the Father, sent God, the Son in the form of a man to
announce the fulfillment of the Old Testament proclamations through a
young woman who was a virgin.
Jesus' earthly life would serve as the way for God to reconcile man to Himself. Jesus would allow Himself to be falsely accused, ridiculed, tortured, and then killed as a sacrifice to bridge the gap between God and man. It was the most brutal form of capital punishment known to mankind ever and Jesus allowed Himself to be given up, so our relationship with God could be restored through HIM. The story does not end at Jesus death, however. The miracle hit parade continues as three days after Jesus was crucified and died, He physically arose from being dead and was seen by many people. He counseled with His disciples and then was gathered up to heaven where He sits right now, asking God to forgive us for the things that we do that are sin.
From those twelve disciples sprung up a following that numbers in the millions today and encompasses the whole world. This is the true miracle...God loves us. Even when we are thieves, liars, sexually promiscuous (same sex AND opposite sex), and murderers, God loves us. He loves us so much that He made a way for our relationship with Him to be solid forever. That relationship is only restored through Jesus. He is THE way, THE truth and THE life. No man comes to Father God except through Jesus, the son of God (John 14 New International Version of the Bible, The Message Paraphrase of the Bible). Later in John 14, Jesus promises that God, the Holy Spirit, will come and dwell in the heart of every believer. Holy Spirit guides the follower of Jesus through the temptations and trials that this world will use to cause the relationship with God to be damaged. Holy Spirit provides comfort and hope for another miracle that God will do when He sends Jesus back to earth as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Those who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ will be restored in their relationship with God, never to have it broken again. So friend...do you believe in miracles? Do you believe the story of Jesus found in the Bible in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (if you've never read the story, begin here: Matthew 1 NIV, The Message). You can have your relationship with God restored and live with Him forever in heaven...all you need is a miracle.
'Til Tuesday,
Serving HIM by serving you,
Randy
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