Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "True Colors" (Cyndi Lauper/Phil Collins)

Thank you! Спасибо!  Merci!  Danke!  Dziękuję!  Mersi!  Terima kasih!  Дякую!  Obrigado!  Thank you! (with a United Kingdom flair!)

The above greetings represent the top ten countries that have viewed Tuesday's Musical Notes since its inception in May 2012.  (Check out the archives to the right of the screen to see if your favorite song has traipsed down the pathway to Notesland!)  This November has been dedicated to showing our appreciation for your continued support and readership each week.  For the past three weeks we have revisited the beginnings of Tuesday's Musical Notes by reprinting (with a few tweaks) blogs that were a part of a weekly email sent to friends and family as a means of encouragement.  Since the last Tuesday of May in 2012, Tuesday's Musical Notes, the blog, has been seen by thousands of music lovers and truth seekers around the world.  It is with incredible gratitude that we say Thank You!!!  

On this last Tuesday of November 2017, we once again venture into the not so far away place that was 2012. (Wasn't the world supposed to end?  2012 - Movie trailer) 

Welcome to Tuesday's Musical Notes!!!   Добро пожаловать!   Bienvenue aux notes musicales de mardi!!!   Willkommen zum Dienstag es Musical Notes!    Zapraszamy do nut wtorek!   Dekwa pou mizikal Madi a laprès   Selamat datang ke Nota-nota muzik Selasa!!   Ласкаво просимо у вівторок музичні ноти!!!   Bem-vindo às notas musicais de terça-feira!   Welcome to Tuesday's Musical Notes!!!  (British accent if you please!)
  



Time for a Tuesday Musical tune up.....here's the notes!

Cultural revolutions come in cycles.  At times it seems that cultural norms change at a slow pace, while at other times, there is a difficulty in keeping up with the briskness of change.   As we look at the current cultural landscape, it is easy to see that we may very well be in the midst of one of those brisk periods now.    

Sometimes these adjustments to the norm are good, and sometimes......yikes!!  It seemed that the 1980's displayed many of the indicators of a similar culture change.  This was a time when you could just about get by with wearing any kind of clothing or hairdo.  Boundaries were in place only to be passed completely through.  Oh, the 80's...

One of the defining matrons of that time and style was a girl who just wanted to have fun.  She featured family members and professional wrestlers in her music videos and won the Grammy for Best New Artist in 1985.  Her first album, She's So Unusual, has been rated 6x platinum by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), with sales of over 6 million worldwide.  Her newest album, 2016's Detour, debuted at #29 on the Billboard 200 and #4 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. You read that right...a Country album...maybe the world is ending...

 Looking at her entire body of music, it is easy to see Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors".


"True Colors" was the last #1 hit for Cyndi Lauper.  The song has resonated with people all over the world and was the impetus for the True Colors Fund, a humanitarian effort to eradicate homelessness among LGBT youth. (Shouldn't homelessness be eradicated for everyone?...a topic for another time perhaps...) The foundation and song spawned 2 tours featuring Cyndi Lauper in 2007 and 2008.   "True Colors" also proved so popular that it was covered by Phil Collins in 1998 for inclusion on his greatest hits compilation.



On any given Sunday in America, many people will gather together for worship.  Unfortunately, only about half of the people who are listed on those church's membership rolls are in attendance.   "I see your true colors.."  

I was watching a television news show the other day and was glad to hear about the hosts' beliefs regarding Jesus.  When the Biblical passage John 3:16 came up, they couldn't quote it.  "I see your true colors...."   

Please don't think that I am judging these folks.  I am one of them,  but so are you.  Each day of our lives we are faced with decisions.  Whether we realize it or not, people all around us, some we don't even know, watch us as we make those decisions.  They see what we decide and our motivations for making the decision.  "I see your true colors....."

Paul's letter of encouragement to the Corinthian church explains it much better than I can.  2 Corinthians 3 English Standard Version of the Bible/The Message paraphrase of the Bible/King James Version of the Bible parallel   Look closely at verse 18, 

“And we all with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.”

The key phrases in this passage for me are  "transformed" and "one degree of glory to another".   

dictionary.com defines transformed as, "to change in condition, nature, or character, to convert."  I have yet to see someone at the point of their salvation transformed immediately into a person with the character of Jesus.  Yes, we all make mistakes.  The difficulty arises when we ask forgiveness for those mistakes and then continue to repeat them, and by doing so we don't embrace the next degree of glory through repentance. 

What is the next degree of glory to which Paul refers?  I think it is that next step of transformation that we take when we truly repent of the sin in our lives and embrace the grace and love of God instead of the despair and hatred of this world.  Some would call this spiritual maturity.  It is our opportunity to show our "true colors".  It is our opportunity to show who we want to be in Christ.  It is us becoming one step closer to the image of Jesus that we so deeply desire.  This kind of lifestyle will definitely get the attention of those around us.  "see your true colors shining through..."

In the book, Dug Down Deep, author Joshua Harris has some interesting quotes regarding Christians showing their "true colors".  He states,  

" If we don't love what Jesus loves, if we don't want to be like Him, then maybe we've never met Him".  (Does Jesus love homeless LGBT teenagers? this topic is not in the book, but I digress...again perhaps another time...)

He goes on to say, 

"The way we live proves the reality of our salvation."  (Ouch!!!  Я не могу.  Aïe!!!   Autsch!  Ojej!   Ouch laprès  Ouch!!!   Ой!  Ai!!!   Ouch!!! (is it time for tea?)

Both of these statements made me wince the first time I read them.  We have often times heard that our true character comes out when we think no one is watching.  I'm not sure that I buy that.  I think our true character is a conglomerate of how we are all the time.  Every day of our lives is an opportunity for us to show Christ, yet so many days of my life, Christ is not seen.  We can't do the work of transformation by ourselves and praise God, we are not supposed to.  Holy Spirit is the only being that can transform.  God, acting in the person of the Holy Spirit, renews us daily,  forgives us forever, and emboldens us to fight the flesh at every turn.  Our part, be renewed, be forgiven, and be bold about proclaiming the Gospel or when faced with temptation. 

There are so many "good" things that compete for our time, money, and energy.  But God wants "great" things for us.  He wants that "next degree of glory" life that we can have if we invest in our relationship with Him.    The power of Holy Spirit enables us to choose the "great" things of God and move to that next degree.    The choice is always ours.  "You with the sad eyes, don't be discouraged, oh, I realize it's hard to take courage in a world full of people you can lose sight of it all and the darkness inside you
can make you feel so small...But I see your true colors shining through, I see your true colors and that's why I love you, so don't be afraid, to let them show.......Your true colors......true colors shining through....."  Through Holy Spirit's transforming power, your true colors are more radiant than a rainbow...


'Til Tuesday

Serving HIM by serving You,
Randy

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