Full disclosure: Today's Musical Notes are a reprint from our email archive. Some of Tuesday's Musical Notes best moments are found in the early emails that were sent to friends and family. Today is one of those Notes. The feature song is near to our heart as well as near to our location. It documents a journey by writer Marc Cohn when he was struggling to gain success as a musician.
Marc Cohn's pilgrimage to Memphis to discover musical roots became the autobiographical song that we highlight today. Unlike many "story" songs, none of the characters or places in this song are fictional. W.C. Handy was a composer and musician known as "The Father Of The Blues". Next, there was Elvis...need we say more? Reverend Green is Al Green, soul artist turn Gospel artist/pastor at the Full Gospel Tabernacle Church in Memphis. And there was a Muriel, who played piano at the Hollywood. Her name was Muriel Wilkins and she played at the Hollywood Cafe, in Robinsonville, Mississippi. Marc Cohn did perform with her one evening during his trip to the south, ending the set with "Amazing Grace" one of the few songs in the set with which Cohn had a vague familiarity. Due to his Jewish background, Cohn's "gospel" experience had been extremely limited. Unfortunately, Muriel passed away 5 months before she would see the song about her spend 23 weeks in Billboard's Hot 100, peaking at #13.
The focus/inspiration of Marc Cohn's signature song is this visit to Memphis. He strolled the streets and after his "gospel in the air" experiences with Al Green and Muriel Wilkins Cohn found himself so energized and awakened that it felt as if his feet weren't touching the ground as he walked, figuratively walking with his feet ten feet off of Beale street.
I actually got to see Marc Cohn perform "Walking In Memphis" in 1992. I was at a sales convention and it was just after he won the Grammy for Best New Artist that year. It was a simple show, just him and a piano and it was very good. He has added 7 (including live and compilations) albums since his self titled debut, but none of his songs have ever caught the commercial acclaim that "Walking In Memphis" did.
He has however, had a very interesting "walk". He married ABC news journalist Elizabeth Vargas in 1999 and in 2005 was shot in the head during a carjacking incident in Denver after a concert. He survived the carjacking and after a period of convalescence continues to tour. He and Vargas divorced in 2016. He has seen "Walking In Memphis", successfully covered by Cher and the country group Lonestar while his version of the song continues to be popular on many radio stations nationwide.
Walk is a verb that can be used with or without an object. It can be used as a part of a verb phrase such as "walk off", or "walk out". It can be used as a noun to describe a person's character or life standards, their "walk" . "Walk through" or "take a walk" are both examples of how the word can be used as an idiom. You have probably heard that the ultimate test of multitasking has been the ability to chew gum and walk at the same time. Most movies about pirates include at least one scene of "walking the plank". As you can see this particular four letter word has many applications. One of which we would like to explore in a bit more detail.
According to Biblegateway.com, the word "walk", or one of it's derivatives, is used 390 times in the King James Version of the Bible. Its first use is found in Genesis 3:8 where God is portrayed as "walking" through the Garden of Eden. The final time it is found is in Revelation 21:24 KJV where the nations of the saved "shall walk" in the light of God's glory. I think it is exquisite that this word is found at the beginning of time and all throughout scripture to the ending of time. The Beginning, walking in the Garden, to the end, walking in Heaven.
Every person has a life path, a walk if you will, that they travel. While sometimes it may be easy to think of your own walk as lacking adventure, others may very well envy you for the life you have. Many of the 390 times God uses the word "walk" in His Word, He uses it in conjunction with persons of great faith, describing them as having "walked" with Him. Enoch's walk with God was so faithful, that God took him to heaven without experiencing death (Genesis 5:24 KJV). Noah's walk with God was so devoted, that he spent over 100 years of his life (Noah lived to be 950) to build a structure that would withstand a world wide flood. (Genesis 5-7 KJV)
As we continue through the Bible, we see time and again, men and women who show their faith in God by the way they live their lives. The ultimate example was Jesus, who was God in human form. ( Isaiah 9:6 KJV "a child is born, a son is given" the duality of Jesus' personhood (emphasis mine)) The patriarchs pointed towards Him, the apostles learned from Him, and eternity is being prepared by Him. He lived out the good works that God called Him to do because He was obedient to the Father's will. As Christians we are in Christ as God calls us to serve our fellow man. Our nature is such that we would not serve anyone, were it not for the strength and power we get from being in Jesus. This service is not just towards our Christian brothers and sisters. We are called to serve everyone. Sometimes this may mean a sacrifice that we don't understand. Is that faith? If you would like to know more about how to be "in Christ", start by reading the New Testament in the Bible. Find a version that you find easy to understand, (the New International Version (NIV), New American Standard Bible (NASB), and Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) are all good translations for you to discover what we are talking about)
Ephesians 2:10 KJV speaks about the walk we should have in Christ. The NIV translation puts it this way:
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Notice Paul relates that God has prepared works for us to do. He has done the prep work for us, now we have to go out in our "walk" and perform the work. As His handiwork you were created for specific things. Nothing is random in God's universe. He has prepared the resources, the situation, and YOU for specific activities. No one can do it like you can.
My dad and I once had a conversation about our chosen professions. (He was a barber, I was a retail store manager) I had come to the realization that God had called me to serve others through what my job was. At that time it wasn't a vocational ministry, but, as I shared with dad, I felt called to it as strongly as if I had been called to the vocational setting of a church. I continued to share that I thought God called each of us to our jobs to which he replied, "Son, I don't think God called me to be behind this barber chair my whole life." I was a little shocked by this statement from my father as this was the first time I had ever heard him speak negatively about his job and I replied, "Dad, do you realize the lives that you have touched in this barber shop?" (To this day, I still have people tell me the impact that my father had on them.) After he reflected on what I had to say, he replied, "I really had never thought of it that way". My father was the smartest man I think I will ever have the privilege to know. What may have seemed to be a "got one up on the old man" moment, wound up being a precious memory and learning experience for the both of us.
God prepares the timing, the situation, the people around us, and even prepares us to go about and impact the lives of others. Our responsibility in this is to be faithful to go about our walk, regardless of where it takes us. Our walk could take us to fairgrounds to prepare a meal and share a message, it could cause us to briefly pray for that cashier who seems to be having a rough day. As a worship leader, I would be remiss if I did not mention that our walk could take us into the choir loft or the worship band at a local church. It could also take us to the apartments across the street to make new friends and build relationships or to a feeding unit on the other side of the world to impact hunger for the day and impact the world for a lifetime. And it could very well lead to the vocation that impacts lives unbeknownst to us. Our response to all of this preparation? YES!!! I'll do it!
So friend, what is your background? What has God allowed you to do in your life that has prepared you for a moment such as this? Do you consider your skills and talents gifts for you to use in service of others?
You never know, God may be preparing you to take His message and do a little "Walking In Memphis" of your own.
'Til Tuesday
Serving HIM by serving you,
Randy
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