Hey there! It's Tuesday and time once again to journey to faraway places, perhaps even to a land of ice and snow!!! Where we find ourselves today is a good place filled with music and meditation, pounding beats and pondering lyrics, and life change. It's time, it's time, did he just say it's time? It's time for Tuesday's Musical Notes! Brought to you today by the letter "L" and the number "3"... Oh, and yes...we ARE going there...
and since we love all things, Marvel...
Thor versus Surtur - from 2017's Thor - Ragnarok (caution this is pg-13)
It was the beginning of a new decade. The '60s had ended with protests over a war that continued to rage in Vietnam. Popular music began the new decade with a slow abandonment of progressive rock and the embrace of a heavier, thumping sound, which became known as Heavy Metal. It also ushered in the beginning of the original hairbands. The leading band in the new decade of metal and hair would be Led Zeppelin.
The dawn of the new decennium found Led Zeppelin touring Iceland, Bath, and Germany. The tour stopped in Reykjavik, Iceland which served as the inspiration for "Immigrant Song", a throwback to Norse mythology and the time of the Vikings. After receiving some criticism about the tour, Robert Plant said this about the song,
"We weren't being pompous ... We did come from the land of the ice and snow. We were guests of the Icelandic Government on a cultural mission. We were invited to play a concert in Reykjavik and the day before we arrived all the civil servants went on strike and the gig was going to be canceled. The university prepared a concert hall for us and it was phenomenal. The response from the kids was remarkable and we had a great time. 'Immigrant Song' was about that trip and it was the opening track on the album that was intended to be incredibly different." (Welch, Chris (1994). Led Zeppelin. London: Orion Books. p. 55. ISBN 1-85797-930-3.)
Six days following the Reykjavik concert, Led Zeppelin would perform "Immigrant Song" for the first time as part of the Bath Festival.
"Immigrant Song" peaked at #16 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in the year following its release. It comes in at #7 on Rolling Stones' "The 40 Greatest Led Zeppelin Songs of All Time" I confess that I was surprised that "Stairway to Heaven" was NOT #1 (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Stairway to Heaven") Check out the entire ranking here: ("The 40 Greatest Led Zeppelin Songs of All Time" - Jon Dolan, Patrick Doyle, Rob Tannenbaum, Will Hermes, Douglas Wolke and Brian Rafferty from the Rolling Stone collectors edition, Led Zeppelin: The Ultimate Guide to Their Music & Legend ).
"Immigrant Song" has even been parodied... well sort of... Tim Hawkins - "Shout to the Lord"
Looking closely at the lyrics of "Immigrant Song" one would quickly determine that it is a war song of domination from a Viking perspective, not a treatise on immigration. However, its title does serve as the springboard into Tuesday's Musical Notes view on the topic of immigration, especially in light of our current governmental debate regarding the topic.
Dictionary.com defines the word "immigrating" as: "to come to a country of which one is not a native, usually for permanent residence." Please remember this for future reference.
The Bible has some distinct procedures to follow when interacting with "foreigners". Most of these come from the Old Testament and refer to how the Children of Israel are supposed to treat and trade with those who are not Israelites.
There is even Biblical precedent for walls to be erected to protect specific cities from those who would wish that city harm. One only read the book of Nehemiah to see the construction of such a wall around Jerusalem. 31 times in the New King James Version of the Bible's 10 chapters that make up Nehemiah is "wall" referenced. (Nehemiah - New American Standard Version of the Bible/ The Message paraphrase of the Bible/King James Version of the Bible parallel).
We hope you see that the construction of Nehemiah's wall has much more to do with the rebuilding of the nation of Israel's faith in God than it does the actual protection of the city. The wall is the physical focal point, while the determination and rebuilding of the spiritual foundation of the city is the main overriding point.
Please understand that we are in favor of anything that will protect our nation, more specifically our family, from ANY illegal activity that may immigrate across our borders. We are the Nehemiah to our families. We have a responsibility to protect them from things that would cause harm. The first thing we can do to protect them is to firmly establish their worldview and provide a faith basis in God and His Word, the Bible.
While the immigration debate in the United States continually affects those who live in border towns and those who purchase the contraband that tends to cross borders, the debate has now begun to impact the lives of our citizens who are not close to the borders nor do they participate in the purchase of said contraband. This effect has taken on the form of government workers who are not allowed to work or get paid, the current government shutdown. All because our leaders won't agree. My folks would have whipped me if I had ever acted like our Representatives and President!
The Bible has this to say about leaders:
This deserves to be read again: Proverbs 16:18 NASB/The Message/KJV
Proverbs 16:23-24 NASB/The Message/KJV (Specifically for the President and Speaker Pelosi)
And as a baseline to treat all people, those native-born, immigrant, Senator, Representative, and President, Jesus said this: The Gospel of Jesus according to the disciple Matthew, chapter 22, verses 34-40 NASB/The Message/KJV
So solutions to the shutdown and immigration exist. Our leaders must embrace something other than themselves, or a solution will never be reached in either case. Love God, love other folks. If we (including our elected officials) will allow this to be our perspective our problems can be faced and solved without us acting like children in a room full of toys.
So let's begin the solution with us:
Tuesday's Musical Notes would like to encourage you to pray for those folks who are laid off from work due to the shutdown. Pray that they will have the resources they need to provide for their families, or that they go find a job that isn't held hostage to the desires of politicians who have an agenda.
Tuesday's Musical Notes would like to encourage you to pray for the oppressed folks in other countries who see America as a "promised land" and would like to legally come to our shore to find better opportunities to provide for their family.
Tuesday's Musical Notes encourages you to pray for those who do illegal things along our border. Pray that the Holy Spirit will convict them and change their heart. Pray that they will find a way out of their current situation and turn towards God, rather than a country as their salvation.
Tuesday's Musical Notes would like to encourage you to pray for the safety of little children who have no say in where they may sleep tonight or what their destination maybe tomorrow.
Tuesday's Musical Note would like to encourage you to pray for YOUR elected officials, from dog catchers to the President. (If you haven't voted, still pray...but really if you don't vote, you shouldn't complain) Pray that loving God would be their highest priority, and pray that they allow their love of God to dictate the decisions and the interactions they have with regard to the operation and laws of our country.
Tuesday's Musical Notes would like to encourage you to pray that the Holy Spirit will reveal Himself to you and you will be freed from the nationalism of this world and realize that your native land is in heaven.
And in reference to our definition above, yes, dear friend, we are ALL immigrants. There is an eternity future that awaits that is based on the decisions we make while passing through this world. There are lyrics that express this sentiment much better than I ever could. Ponder these things in YOUR heart, is this an expression you can make?
"This world is not my home I'm just a passing through
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore
Oh Lord you know I have no friend like you
If heaven's not my home then Lord what will I do
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore"
My treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore
Oh Lord you know I have no friend like you
If heaven's not my home then Lord what will I do
The angels beckon me from heaven's open door
And I can't feel at home in this world anymore"
"Ah, ah!" (Think Robert Plant...)
'Til Tuesday,
Serving HIM by serving You,
randy
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