I recently saw a commercial for The Signature Series DVD of Walt Disney's Pinocchio. (I'm really not sure how this differs from the Gold Classic, the Walt Disney Platinum Edition, or any of the myriad of releases on VHS, but I digress...) In this humble bloggers opinion, Pinocchio is the scariest of the Disney Classics. That whole turning into a donkey thing....oh yeah, you got the shivers too!!!
Regardless of the scary parts (the swallowed by a whale thing wasn't all that peachy keen either) the 2nd animated feature fillm by Disney introduces one of Walt Disney's most endearing, well used, and beloved characters, Jiminy Cricket (the consipiracy theorist in me wants to point out that this insect has the same initials as my Savior...coincidence...I think not!) Jiiminy Cricket acts as the conscience to Pinocchio as he is finding his way to being a "real live" boy. With the exception of a few scenes, Jiminy is always with Pinocchio. No matter where Pinocchio traveled, Jiminy Cricket was advising him in making proper choices. As Pinocchio let his conscience be his guide he seemed to not worry about anything, for there was always something there to remind him...
This song has quite the history:
Originally written by the hit makers Burt Bacharach and Hal David in the early '60s
Recorded as a demo by Dionne Warwick in 1963
Hit #49 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964 with Lou Johnson's recording
Dionne Warwick covered the song in 1967 on her Windows of the World album and as a b-side of the #65 single, "Who Is Gonna Love Me"
Peaked at #27 with the 1970 recording of "Always Something There to Remind Me" by R.B. Greaves ("Take A Letter Maria")
Covered in 1983 by the band Naked Eyes. This release would peak at #8 on the Billboard chart and make Naked Eyes an overnight sensation.
With its 57ish year history, "Always Something There To Remind Me" has show the resiliency of many of the songs birthed from the 60's. (Wonder if today's music will do the same?) The Naked Eyes version continues to be heard on '80s rock stations. Their last album was 2013's Fuel For The Fire and as late as 2014 Naked Eyes continued to tour with other 80's bands.
The song is the remorseful tome of a person who has lost love, yet is reminded of them by every thing they see. The singer is reminded of their past romance by the city streets and cafe that they frequented when the couple was together. The realization that forgetting is going to be very difficult causes them to ponder, "How can I ever be free? You'll always be a part of me! oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh"
Perhaps this song has caused you to remember things that are a part of what made you who you are. I hope this has not caused you sadness, for our memories can stir powerful emotions. Find your happy place already!!!
What the song reminded me of was the eternality of human beings. (Yes, I know...my spell check has the word highlighted, but it is MY blog right?) There will be things in our life that we wish we cold forget, however, there are so many more that we should continually remember! Each of us is gifted with people, places, and situations that are cause for incredible joy!!! So let your conscience be your guide and go down the pathway of the good stuff! All of life's experiences combine to make us who we are. This "who we are" is all we have to carry into the world that exists after our bodies cease their existence. What will always be a part of you?
We have mentioned in previous blogs (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Desperado") that the least understood person of the Trinity is Holy Spirit. It seems that very little teaching is done in churches in regard to this third person of the Trinity. Some of this could be the fact that it is hard to wrap our minds around the preconceived notions we have of ghosts and spirits. The connotations of such otherworldly beings is usually malevolent and to place Creator God and Savior Jesus with what our mind conjures up when we see those words complicates the matter.
Holy Spirit is seen from the origin of what we know as our universe. In Genesis 1:1-2 New American Standard Bible/ The Message paraphrase of the Bible parallel we see the Spirit of God moving as a part of the creation story. Holy Spirit permeates the entirety of the Bible as we see Him moving through various folks lives in the Old Testament and then see His glorious manifestation in the lives of those who believe in Jesus. For a more thorough conversation regarding Holy Spirit in the Bible please click here: "The Study of the Holy Spirit" from bible.org
Our difficulty in understanding Holy Spirit is that so many folks hold to the conclusion that Holy Spirit and our conscience are the same. I confess to you dear friend that I am not scholarly on the topics of Holy Spirit or what we refer to as our conscience. However, as I see it, we are born with the awareness that there is a difference between good and bad, and right and wrong. This awareness, this conscientiousness, if you will, allows us to maneuver through our lives for the most part being "good" people. Our conscience kicks in with tension and indecision, when we choose to do wrong things. This moral compass is something we were blessed with at birth and at times can be something with which we struggle.
Holy Spirit, on the other hand, is reserved for God to do His work among people. He is not your conscience. He is God. To equate them as the same thing is to malign God and grieve Holy Spirit, which we are instructed never to do. In fact, the only sin that the Bible says is unforgivable is the rejection of the obvious truth of who Jesus is as revealed by Holy Spirit. (The Gospel of Jesus according to Mark 3:20-30 NASB/The Message parallel, The Gospel of Jesus according to Matthew 12:22-32 NASB/The Message parallel) The revelation of this truth occurs as Holy Spirit draws mankind to Himself. Holy Spirit can reveal Himself through preaching and evangelizing, however, I think He reveals Himself and draws people to Him in innumerable ways. Regardless of how, every person ever born will encounter Holy Spirit and His call to belief. If a person rejects the "wooing" of the Spirit, this sin condemns them to an eternity apart from God.
For the believer, Holy Spirit acts as Comforter, Teacher, Admonisher, Mentor and as someone who is always there to remind you about what God has done in your life. As we "daily work out our salvation" (The Apostle Paul's letter to the Church of the Phillipians 2 NASB/The Message), we never desire to be free from Holy Spirit's work in our lives and we can rest in the assurance that He will always be a part of us...oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh....
'Til Tuesday,
Serving HIM by serving you,
Randy
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