Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Close My Eyes Forever" (Lita Ford with Ozzy Osbourne)

 Welcome.  You've found your way inside the best blog in the whole wide land.  We hope that music's on your mind or it will soon be.  Hear that? It's such a haunting tune you just can't get out your head.  What are we supposed to do? We'll just keep reading.  It's a blog about the music.  With a twist, we will explain.  It's a blog about the Master.  He is the One unchanged... 

It's Tuesday's Musical Notes comin' atcha with the best that music has to offer and a thought or two that was never intended by the songwriters/performers...but can be construed, at least in Notesland...  Today we feature an accident coming from a heavy drinking episode in the studio that resulted in the biggest solo hit for both Lita Ford and former Black Sabbath frontman, Ozzy Osbourne (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Crazy Train" (Ozzy Osbourne)).  We better spin the video before your eyes start drooping...

"Close My Eyes Forever" - Lita Ford with Ozzy Osbourne from the 1988 album Lita

As stated, this 1988 duet would be the biggest hit for Lita Ford and Ozzy Osbourne since his departure from Black Sabbath.  There can be some confusion regarding the song as most times the remix version of the song (see the single cover above) is used when references to the song are made, however, it isn't a remix in the vane that many consider "remixes" as the only difference between the two cuts are the sound quality editing.  

Ford and Osbourne had knowledge of one another as Ford had been engaged to Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi and at the time of recording her album, Lita,  was also being managed by Osbourne's wife Sharon.  

"Close My Eyes Forever" is one of THOSE rock and roll songs.  Written in an alcohol, possibly drug-infused blur by two gifted individuals, it would become a signature song for Ford who continues to use it in concerts.  It came a year after her #12 hit "Kiss Me Deadly" and would be the biggest track for either of the heavy rockers (peaking at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100, essentially keeping Lita Ford one-hit-wonder status and establishing Osbourne's iconic stature into the next millennium).  As happens so many times in the world of popular music,  seems once they got the track recorded and the video produced, nothing remained the same...

Deuteronomy 34:1-8 New American Standard Bible/The Amplified Bible/King James Version of the Bible parallel

One thing you may have noticed as we have explored the great stories of the Bible is that there is a couple of recurring themes.  First, God's plan is for man's redemption and restoration to perfection with Him.  Secondly, man tends to buck against God's plan at every turn before God's discipline brings about a spirit of repentance and return.  Finally, not to be Debbie downer but it is reality, even the heroes that we have encountered close their eyes forever.  With the exception of Enoch, (Genesis 5:24 NASB/AMP/KJV), Elijah (2 Kings 2:1-12 NASB/AMP/KJV), and Jesus (The Gospel of Jesus according to the tax collector Matthew, chapter 28, verses 1-8 NASB/AMP/KJV, The Gospel of Jesus according to the apostle Peter's disciple Mark, chapter 16, verses 1-13 NASB/AMP/KJV, The Gospel of Jesus according to Dr. Luke, chapter 24, verses 1-49 NASB/AMP/KJV, The Gospel of Jesus according to the fisherman John, chapter 20 NASB/AMP/KJV) every person we have explored in the Bible has a point in which they close their eyes forever. (BTW, Easter, Resurrection Sunday's celebration is THIS Sunday.  Go love and celebrate with your church family or find a church family to love and celebrate with)   But does this closing of our eyes really last forever?

In our focal Scripture for today, we read about the death of Moses.  He has followed in the footsteps of the patriarchs of Israel as a leader with whom God has a personal relationship.  Much like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, Moses has had a daily encounter with God and while he too made mistakes, Moses' walk with God accorded him with the position to be held in high esteem by the Israelites and God.  So much so that when Moses died, God is the One who buried him.  The Bible doesn't record any other instance where a man was buried by God in this fashion.  Just Moses.  But that's not the rest of the story.

We've mentioned in passing that this weekend many in the world will celebrate Easter.  This is a holiday where believers, commemorate the fact that after he surrendered to a torturous death and was buried in a sealed tomb for 3 days, Jesus returns to life and conquers death and the grave.   The Gospel accounts above all testify to those who saw Jesus physically alive after His crucifixion and burial.  Holy Spirit testifies to that fact in the lives of believers every day without our having to see Jesus' physical body.  Jesus truly is God with us through Holy Spirit's indwelling in us.  

Because of Jesus' resurrection, we think our featured song today goes wrong.

In recent years, I have noticed that I long for the time of day when my head hits the pillow and I can sleep.  Getting older perhaps has played into this and I suspect occasional afternoon naps may become a part of the routine in the coming years.  Another thing I have noticed, more acutely, is how time passes while my eyes are closed.  It seems I no more close my eyes than I'm roused from my slumber to get the day started or get a continuation on the day (naps, remember?).  It has caused me to wonder if this seeming immediate passage of time is what the Bible talks about when it refers to death and dying as "sleep/sleeping".  

For Moses and everyone else who has ceased to exist in this plain, will it all remain unchanged?  For loved ones who are no longer with us, is time passing or does it all remain the same?  I am becoming more convinced that this alliteration to "sleep"  plays into the fact that time passes in a moment while we are "sleeping" and that when the end of time occurs, we will be roused from our "shut-eye" time to experience either heaven or hell.  That time lapse between our physical death and waking up for eternity will seem instantaneous, thus the reason Scripture reflects death as being an immediate transition to judgment or paradise.  

Paul puts all of this ideology together in his excellent chapter about resurrection in 1 Corinthians.  Paul's first letter to the church at Corinth (1 Corinthians), chapter 15 NASB/AMP/KJV  So you see friend, we don't really close our eyes forever, in fact, it will seem like no time at all to us or those who have gone before us.  We either die and seemingly wake up the next instant or Jesus returns and much happens in the blink of an eye.  

One of the beautiful and miraculous things about our God is that He doesn't force an eternity with Him on us.  He provides the Way, through Jesus, to join Him in the everlasting.  We choose.  Heaven is in the palm of His hand and He's waiting there for you...what are you going to do with your eternity?  We don't close our eyes forever, we will awake and change...

'Til Tuesday,

Loving HIM by loving You,

randy

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Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Remember the Time" (Michael Jackson)

Welcome to the best day of the week!!!  That's right,  it's Tuesday and it's time for another edition of your favorite blog and mine...Tuesday's Musical Notes!!!  We gather together on Tuesdays to celebrate music and learn a few things about the iconic artists and incredible songs that are the soundtrack to our lives.  And...maybe, just maybe a few things about ourselves in the process.  Let the introspection begin!!!  (Bet you've never read that statement with so much enthusiasm...)

With over 450 blog entries, we think we have just about covered the entire gamut of the musical genre... just about.  We know of a couple of styles that are waiting on that just right Tuesday to spring them on the denizens of Notesland!!!  But in the meantime, we keep heading down the pathways to enlightenment with the windows down and the volume on 10!  So let's get started on this wonderful day by going backward and reflecting on the past as we...

"Remember the Time" by Michael Jackson from the November 26, 1991 album Dangerous

Peaking at #3 on Billboard's Hot 100, today's featured song is the second single from Michael Jackson's eighth studio album, Dangerous.  This album would come nearly a decade after Thriller (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Thriller" (Michael Jackson)) and find Jackson capitalizing on the success that had made him a superstar.  

You may have recognized a few of the faces in the mini-movie that was the official music video for "Remember the Time".  Eddy Murphy, Iman, The Pharcyde, Magic Johnson, Tom "Tiny" Lister, Jr., and Wylie Draper (who died shortly after the video premiered and played Jackson in The Jacksons: An American Dream movie) were all featured in the Egyptian themed, dance-filled interpretation of the song.  

Depending on the source, "Remember the Time' was either written in tribute to Diana Ross, Jackson's lifelong friend and mentor, or Debbie Rowe, Jackson's 2nd wife and the mother of his two oldest children.  Regardless of its inspiration, "Remember the Time" beckons us to reflect on the past and remember those we have loved and why we loved them.   Remembering can be a Dangerous exercise but done correctly, it can be a source of great wisdom and insight.

Numbers 26- Deuteronomy 30 New American Standard Bible/The Amplified Bible/King James Version of the Bible parallel

Or check out this 7:48 video for a recap of the above 40 chapters.  You might find it quicker, unless your a purist who wants to read everything...which is ok, we just thought we'd save you a bit of time...

Deuteronomy - The Bible Project

Ok, so in our recap of the great stories of the Bible, we have gone through the creation of the earth, the destruction of said earth via flood, mankind's salvation as Noah and his family got the notion to "Rock the Boat" (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Rock the Boat" (The Hues Corporation), a promise given, a new nation birthed, that new nation enslaved, that slightly less new nation freed, and then that same nation taking a page from Wal*Mart's management guide (at least it was there when I was an Assistant Manager in the late 80s), as they proceeded to LBWA, or leadership by wandering aimlessly...  

The Israelites are on the precipice of the promised land.  We now embark on Israel's "Remember the Time" moment as Moses recaps all that God has done right and all that the nation has done equally wrong.  Remember that Moses is speaking to a new generation of Israelis.  None of the previous generations were allowed to enter the Promised Land because of disobedience at the beginning of the journey.  (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Spies Like Us" (Paul McCartney)).  With the retelling of their nation's story,  Moses intends for the sins of the past to be remembered and not replicated.  In the New American Standard Bible translation, the word "remember" is found 15 times in the book of Deuteronomy.  ("Remember" word search at biblegateway.com )  When words or ideas are repeated in the Bible that repetition tends to denote the importance of what is being said.  

Moses attempts in these chapters to have them remember the relationship they have had with God over the last 40 years and that their future can be different if they will remember His provision, mercy, and grace..."Do you remember, when we fell in love, do you remember the time, when we first met?"  Do you remember the time, when the Red Sea was split open?  Do you remember the time when I gave you manna and quail?  Do you remember the time when the ground had some of you for lunch?  Do you remember that your clothes and shoes didn't wear out after 40 years in the wilderness?  Do you remember that I freed you from your slavery and have brought you to this promised land?  "I bet you remember"...

Our memories can serve us in similar ways.  Friend if you are a believer, do you remember the time before you met Jesus?  Do you remember how your life changed after you met Him and surrendered your life to His Lordship? 

Friend if you have never taken the opportunity to explore this Jesus, who the whole world (whether they realize it or not) celebrates 2 times a year (Christmas and Easter).  Now is the time to plant a memory. 

Where do you begin?  Read the Bible.  It is the true "HIStory" of our world.  

For immediate effect, start with Jesus in the New Testament books of The Gospel of Jesus according to the tax collector, Matthew, The Gospel of Jesus according to Mark, a disciple of the Apostle Peter, The Gospel of Jesus according to the physician, Luke, and The Gospel of Jesus according to the fisherman, John.  These are regular folks telling a miraculous story.   

The references that we use here at Tuesday's Musical Notes all come from the biblegateway.com website. There are also many free Bible apps available for your smart device as well as reading plans those apps can suggest.  If you really want to go old school, new jack swing, get a physical copy of a translation that you can understand.  Tuesday's Musical Notes recommends the New American Standard Bible.  

Regardless of translation or digital vs. physical copies, as you read the Bible, open your mind and heart.  Holy Spirit awaits to assist you in the processing of the demonstration of God's Love as He remembers the time when He fell in love with you and what He was willing to do to express that love.  We can't say this enough.  The Bible is God's way of communicating to us about His love for us.  The entirety of the Bible is God's way of communicating with us so that one day we can celebrate as we..."remember the time" for all eternity with Him.

'Til Tuesday,

Serving Him by serving You,

randy

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Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Talk to the Animals" (Rex Harrison as Dr. Dolittle)

Greetings and felicitous salutations on this third day of the week!  We would like to welcome you to a blog unlike any blog on the internetosphere, Tuesday's Musical Notes!  It is unique in that it is the only blog in existence to combine the best in musical interludes with a balance of microscopic introspection.

Tuesday is here and there is no time to waste!  Expediency is the mantra today!  Open eyes, ears, and minds are a necessity as we explore the potential for possibilities never postulated!  Why we could even find ourselves in a realm where it's normal to have a little talk with the animals...

"Talk to the Animals" from the 1967 20th Century Fox Motion Picture Dr. Dolittle

Written by Leslie Bricusse ("Goldfinger", "You Only Live Twice") and recorded in 1967 by Rex Harrison (The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, My Fair Lady), for the movie Dr. Dolittle, "Talk to the Animals" won an Oscar for "Best Song" at the 40th Academy Awards.  It also garnered enough attention to be nominated, but not included, for the American Film Institute's AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs.  It was covered by the likes of teen heartthrob Bobby Darin, Bing Crosby, Herb Alpert, The Chipmunks, Roger Moore on The Muppet Show, and surprisingly, Sammy Davis Jr. who had been fired from the movie as Rex Harrison thought the "song and dance man" was wrong for the role of Bumpo, a character who never made it to the final cut of the movie.    

Dr. Dolittle was not a commercial (it lost over $11 million) or critical success despite its showing at the Oscars in 1968.  Proving that the "Academy" can be persuaded, the movie's distributor, 20th Century Fox, provided 16 nights of free screenings of the film which included dinner and champagne.  Consequentially Dr. Dolittle was nominated in 9 categories and won 2, (Best Song, Best Special Visual Effects) thus bolstering the movie's appeal.  One imagines that if you attended more than one of the screenings, there is the possibility that the champagne might have the "Academy" talking to the animals as well!

While not to the same level as Dr. Dolittle had with the animals he encountered, many folks have animals that they care about.  Do you have a pet?  Do you speak to them?  There is intrinsic communication that occurs between pets and their owners.  Dogs and cats especially find their way into our hearts and seem to understand what we say to them.  Even the cattle on the farm where we lived understood our voices when it was time to eat and followed our direction when we were transitioning pastures or trying to keep them out of the corn patch.  But have you ever heard an understandable voice come from one of those domesticated critters?  I sure haven't. 

The Bible has several "animal" stories scattered throughout its pages.  In the Genesis account of creation, Adam provided the names of all of the animals that God had created.  It would seem that communication of some form to those animals would be necessary if there were to be an understanding between Adam and the rest of God's animal creation.  That communication, while eluded to early on, comes into its zenith in chapter 3.  We've covered that scene well in Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Don't Know What You Got ('Til It's Gone) (Cinderella).  Noticeably, the serpent/snake spoke to Eve and later God spoke to the creature to curse him.  So at least in this instance, having a coherent conversation with animals actually occurred in the Bible. 

Later in Genesis, Noah would have by necessity had a close interaction if not direct communication with all of the animal kingdom as they sailed together on the good ship "Saved by God". (Genesis 7 New American Standard Bible/The Amplified Bible/King James Version of the Bible parallel)   

While the birth narratives of Jesus do not explicitly name animals being present, one would imagine that the grotto where Jesus was born had its share of domesticated critters as the Bible tells us that the Baby was laid in a manger, a feeding trough of the time. (The Gospel of Jesus according to the physician Luke, Chapter 2, verses 1-20 - NASB/AMP/KJV)  With these and other mentions of our grunting, squeaking, and squawking friends, one would imagine that God has a role for them to play in His redemptive story.  

As we journey through the great stories of the Bible we now come to one of the most often told stories in children's Sunday School, the story of Balaam and his donkey.  

Numbers 22-31 NASB/AMP/KJV

While the donkey talking so Balaam can understand him tends to be the "vocal" point (sorry, couldn't resist) of this story, the takeaway is much larger than one's ability to walk with the animals, talk with the animals...and them talk back!

Israel is on the precipice of receiving the Promised Land from God. One of the rulers of the area, Balak, is having none of it.  He sends his minions to hire a diviner/prophet of the land of Beor (Peor) named Balaam to curse the Israelites.  He hoped that these curses would lead to Israeli impotence in the process of invading the land.  After the henchmen's arrival, Balaam (who seems to worship whatever god is most expedient at the time) seeks out guidance from the One True God who initially tells of Israel's blessed status and denies Balaam the opportunity to go to Balak. The lackeys report back to Balak that Balaam is not coming causing Balak to restart the process. This time God instructs Balaam to accompany the party sent by Balak, but Balaam is restricted to only say what God tells him to say.  

We aren't given the specifics, but somehow Balaam makes God angry as he departs for his rendezvous with Balak.  God determines to destroy him by posting "the angel of the Lord" in his pathway.  The donkey Balaam is riding balks as it sees the angel that has been hidden from Balaam's vision and begins to turn down a differing pathway.  Balaam guides the donkey back to the path via beating and the angel blocks this passage as well.  The donkey is so intimidated that it avoids the angel by getting as close as possible to a vineyard wall and in the process crushes Balaam's foot.  The angel once again repositions, this time to a place where there is no viable passageway.  Balaam is furious and lays into the poor donkey with the most savage punishment thus far.  The Bible then says that "the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey".  In his furor, it seems that Balaam doesn't have the rationale to realize he is talking to the donkey he has ridden his entire life and the donkey is talking back.  Reality returns once God opens Balaam's eyes and he sees the angel.  The angel explains that because of Balaam's reckless and contrary ways, he would be dead now if it wasn't for his trusty donkey.  

We don't hear from the donkey again, but one imagines if we did that he would have an interesting story to tell.  If God had opened his mouth again, perhaps the donkey would tell about how Balaam didn't curse Israel like Balak had desired, instead, Balaam sent blessings on the nation of Israel as God desired.  In fact, Balaam blessed Israel 3 times.  Each blessing came from a differing physical location overlooking the new nation.  Balak was incensed and demanded Balaam leave before he blessed them anymore.  But Balaam's work was not complete.  He continued the positive discourse a portion of which includes a prophecy of Jesus.  That's right, this pagan diviner, prophesied that a "scepter would rise out of Israel" (Numbers 24:15-19 - NASB/AMP/KJV)  Thus bringing the ultimate blessing on the new nation.  

As an aside, we mentioned the Balaam worshiped whatever god might be to his advantage.  We think it is interesting to note that the Bible never denies the existence of other gods.  It does however exclaim with each passage the preeminence of the One True God, the God of Israel.  

If God opened the mouth of Balaam's donkey, he would continue to tell of Balaam's deceit and trickery as Balaam tried to salvage his reputation and probably some of the remunerations of this "blessing" event.  Balaam would later tell enemy nations how Israel could be tricked into apostasy by being enticed into sexual encounters with the native residents.  This seems to work as the Israelites commit the heresy of Baal worship in Numbers 31.  More Israelites are killed in the discipline that follows.  God instructs the Israelites to destroy the land of Midian for their part in bringing Israel into the idolatry experienced at Peor.  Because of his culpability in the process, Balaam is caught up in the wave of retribution and is subsequently killed alongside the Midianites.  

Balaam is a character that is not held in high regard in the New Testament as well.   2 Peter 2 - NASB/AMP/KJV  reviews his story as an example of a false prophet.  Balaam is listed among other incorrigible folks in  Jude - NASB/AMP/KJV.  Finally, Balaam is referenced as one who provides stumbling blocks to God's people, in the letter to the church at Pergamum in Revelation of Jesus Christ, chapter 2, verses 12-17 - NASB/AMP/KJV.   

This pagan prophet was used by God to bless the people of Israel but that did not make him a good man. The things he did could not redeem who he was.  Sadly, Balaam was much like we are.   When faced with our own moments of the miraculous, we are so blinded by wanting to do things our way that we don't see the angel that is right in front of us, nor do we realize who or what may be talking, because we aren't listening...

Just like Balaam, the good things we do cannot redeem who we are. There is hope, however for our selfishness.  God desires to speak to us and He doesn't need animals to do it.  He's already spoken volumes ON a cross and IN an empty tomb.  He wants to speak this Gospel, salvific message into your life today if you will let Him.  

God is waiting in your pathway.  Open your eyes to see Him.  Open your mind to accept His forgiveness.  Open your heart to feel His presence.  Open your life to the change that only He can give.  That is the true miracle...a changed life.  

Don't wait for a grunt, or squeak, or squawk from an animal, He waits to talk to you!!!

'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving You,

randy 

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Union of the Snake" (Duran Duran)

 Welcome to Tuesday!  It's time for The  Notes!  We're not running for office so we don't need your votes!  

There will never be ads and we don't ask for money.  We simply tell stories and try to be funny.

We explore things you know, and some things you don't.  We try to be positive, go negative we won't.

Stories read here or stories read there.  Stories so truthful, there's never a care.

Stories that encourage, enlighten and engage.  

Stories about life from the past AND our age. 

A perfect example is today's story of old, introduced by a song from a record gone gold.

(In fact, it's gone platinum, but we struggle to rhyme, we promise to do so much better next time!)

Today is a Tuesday, there's so much at stake, let's get it all started, make sure you're awake...

"Union of the Snake" by Duran Duran from the November 21, 1983 album Seven and the Ragged Tiger  

Peaking at #3 on Billboard's Hot 100 and #43 overall for 1984 is today's featured song from Duran Duran.  It was the first single released from the Seven and the Ragged Tiger album and the ninth overall single for the band.    It was one of 10 top ten singles for the band whose most recent release, their 15th, has been announced to be coming in 2021 and will feature the current 4 member line-up of Simon LeBon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, and Roger Taylor (not related), all of whom have been members of the band since the height of their popularity.

"Union of the Snake" was released during the zenith of the band who were heavy in the rotation at MTV.  It was one of the first of many videos by the band to feature eclectic costuming, makeup, and sets.   The video also caused a bit of controversy in the fact that the unique "story" video for "Union of the Snake" was sent to MTV and other music video outlets a full week before its release as a single to radio and retail, causing radio stations around the world to panic as they envisioned the prophecy of "Video Killed the Radio Star" (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Video Killed the Radio Star" (The Buggles)) coming to fruition.  Proving once again, that anything that has to do with a snake, usually ends up with a reputation of some sort.

As we have been following the Bible chronologically, we come to one of the most strange stories included in the Old Testament.  We catch up with the Israelites approximately 38 years after the spy incident (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Spies Like Us" (Paul McCartney)).   As God promised, an entire generation of the people had died because they had not taken the land when God told them.  While the previous generation may have died out, their stubbornness and predilection towards sin did not.  Anyone hearing a hissing sound???

Numbers 21:1-8 - New American Standard Bible/The Amplified Bible/King James Version of the Bible parallel

It seems that nearly every time there is a victory over their enemies, the Israelites very quickly blow the opportunity for the celebration by their disobedience. (Mirror moment for me...how about you?) They are beginning the entry into the promised land and go to battle with the inhabitants of the land, the Caananites.  The Bible says that they "utterly destroyed" this nation and journeyed on.  They had been previously told by their distant relatives the Edomites (descendants of Esau, Jacob's (Israel's) brother) that they could not pass through the land of Edom, so they ventured around and grew impatient at how long it was taking them on their journey.  One would think that after having been in the wilderness for 38 years a couple more years would be a cinch, but remember the pattern and habits of insolence and arrogance that these folks have had since they departed Egypt.  It seems as though they just won't learn the lessons God is trying to teach them.  (Mirror moment 2.0)  

The Israelites were done with the manna, they were done with traveling, they were done with Moses and most importantly, they were done with God.  (Ooops. Mirror moment trifecta!)  .  The same God who heard, saw, and accepted the sacrifices the Israelites made also heard, felt, and was angered by their complaints.  And once again, their complaints were on the climb, moving up, it's gonna race through the borderline.   "We would have been better off in Egypt!!!"  Ummm, how would these folks know what Egypt was like?  Most of the "slaves" had died off.  This generation began repeating what they had only heard from their ancestors proving again that the nostalgia of their past is always better than the reality of their past.  

Once again, God is angry.  The Bible says nothing about Moses getting the opportunity to intercede for them this time.  It seems that almost before their complaints were finished, a slithering, fiery group of serpents came and started biting the folks.  Many more people died.  And then reality kicked back in.  The rest of the Israelites went to  Moses, admitted their sin, and begged for the union of the snakes to stop.   Moses intercedes.  This time God commands that Moses make a bronze serpent and put it on a pole.  He told Moses to have the people look at the serpent.  Those who did would be healed from their snake bite. 

So...God had Moses make a figure out of bronze that would heal people?  One may ask, what is the difference between this bronze snake and the golden calf?  Aren't they both idols made from the hands of man?  The simple answer is yes.  And the opportunity for idolatry from this snake on a stake comes into play later on in Israel's story.  Here's the difference.  The golden calf was a man-made object that was intended as a substitute for God.  (Despite what Aaron said...Uh...I just tossed their stuff in and out came this calf...moo)  But in the case of the bronze serpent, the object is a source of healing that God commanded to be made.  It was meant to be a reminder of man's sin and God's redemption from that sin.  In fact, many Bible scholars have posited that the bronze serpent hanging from a staff was emblematic of Jesus' victory over Satan's shenanigans in the garden.   Here's an article that embellishes that point:

The Bronze Serpent and Christ - Nicholas T. Batzig - October 2, 2009 - feedingonchrist.org.

There are many sites to see if you journey to the Holy Land.  One of those is Mt. Nebo where sits a sculpture commemorating God's redemption of the Israelites in this story and Jesus' redemption of all mankind.

Mt. Nebo - seetheholyland.net

Interestingly, in His conversation with the Pharisee (religious rulers of the time), Nicodemus, Jesus even referenced the bronze serpent incident and the similarity that His life would have to that event.  Jesus' conversation regarding the events of Numbers 21 comes right before the most often quoted passage of Scripture ever recorded, John 3:16.  Nicodemus would have been very familiar with the passage of Scripture and the healing aspects that would be apart of that narrative.  Thus solidifying Jesus' message regarding the new birth and how much God loved the world.  

Just like the Israelites suffered from a fiery serpentine invasion, we succumb to the union of the snake of our sins.  Just like God provided a way of healing and escape from certain death to the Israelites, He provides a way of escape for us through Jesus.  

Jesus was born to a virgin.  Lived a similar life to you and I, except He never sinned, He was perfect.  He began teaching about the Kingdom of God being fulfilled through Himself.  This drew the ire of the "religious" folks of His time.  He healed the sick.  He caused the blind to see, the lame to walk, and the leper to become whole.  He loved everyone He encountered without condition.  Because of this love for those of the past, His contemporaries, and those of the future, including you and I, Jesus became the sacrifice to God for the sin of all men.  No more did Israelites or anyone else have to shed the blood of animals to appease God.  The ultimate sacrifice was given by Jesus laying down His life.  He did this because He wants a relationship with everyone forever.   He was falsely accused by the religiosity of His time and was convicted of the crime of blasphemy against God.  He was sentenced to die via crucifixion, the most inhumane form of capital punishment ever invented.  His body was taken down from the cross and placed in a tomb on loan from one of His disciples on Friday.  However, on Sunday, when His mother and other ladies were going to attend to the final death preparations, His tomb was found empty.  He was alive and seen by many people in the days that followed.  He ascended to heaven in the sight of His disciples where He promised to intercede for you and me, just like Moses did constantly for the Israelites,  until our time to enter eternity comes.  

We have an opportunity to spend that eternity with Him.  The One who loves us without condition.  But just like the Israelites, we must first gaze at His cross.  Not a casual glance, but a deep, soul-penetrating, life-altering look at a tortured body given on our behalf.  

Our response to that look?  We must confess that we do wrong (remember those mirror moments?) and break through the borderline of our sin (repent, turn away from the wrong in our lives).  We must accept that He did this for us to resume and restore a relationship that He began in the garden.  We must believe that He is God.  We must love Him and everyone else.  We must go about telling everyone we know the Good News that Jesus lives and how his living has impacted our lives.  Today is the day for you to break through the borderline of your doubt and sin and accept Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life.   He is waiting to forgive you.

There you go, friends!  We're glad you stopped by! 

'Tis time to go now! We gave it a try!

We've come to the end, and that is our take!  

We learned much together from the snake on a stake!

'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving You,

randy

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Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Water" (The Who)

It's just another treasured Tuesday, (woah, woah), no way it is a blues day, (woah, woah), joy is the rule day, (woah, woah), my read "The Notes" fun day, (woah, woah), just another treasured Tuesday...

Welcome to a place where Tuesday is celebrated!  Why you may ask?  Once upon a time record labels, movie studios, and even some book publishers would release new material on Tuesday.  I just so happen at the time to be the manager of a...you guessed it music, video, and book store.  So while Tuesdays were super busy days, they were also exciting, as the store took on new products and our guests came in (sometimes they waited outside until we opened) anticipating their favorite bands, actors, or author's newest creations.  So, here at Tuesday's Musical Notes, we celebrate our treasured Tuesdays!!!

Another of the ways we celebrate this auspicious day is by coming to you live (well as live as we possibly can via a blog) with Tuesday's Musical Notes.  What is Tuesday's Musical Notes you may ask?  Filled with inquisitiveness today, aren't we?  

Tuesday's Musical Notes is a weekly blog about music and how it can relate to every aspect of our lives.  We feature a great song each week and then explore its nuances, its subtleties, and its trivia.  We then apply it to our lives with the best resource of which we know.  We all need to have an application to our lives from somewhere...Here at Tuesday's Musical Notes, we consider the best reference resource for our lives to be the Bible.  We realize that the words from Scripture can calm storms, ease stress, educate by example, provide nourishment in the desert of our lives, and ultimately lead us to the One who sacrificed everything to have a relationship with us. 

Let's face it, this life is very much like a desert sometimes.  There are times when we need something that will quench our parched thirst after roaming through a wilderness.    We Need Water...

"Water" by The Who - the flipside of the September 23, 1973, single "5:15"

Fresh off of the success of their rock opera Tommy, The Who (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Baba O'Riley" (The Who), Tuesday's Musical Notes - "My Generation" (The Who) embarked on another rock opera project called Lifehouse (Lifehouse (rock opera) - wikipedia.org).  Pete Townsend (guitar) ( Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Let My Love Open the Door" (Pete Townsend)), Roger Daltrey (vocals), John Entwistle (bass), and Keith Moon (drums) would soon find that following up the success of Tommy with another thematic project would be more difficult than they thought.  It was so involved and tedious that just the planning for the project would cause a nervous breakdown for the principal songwriter and visionary behind the Lifehouse project, Pete Townsend.  

"Water" was one of the songs intended for the Lifehouse, yet was discarded from final inclusion on the track listing. "Water" found its way to the flip side of Quadrophenia's single, "5:15". Many of the other songs that were to be included in Lifehouse found their way into other of The Who's projects, including Who's Next, which would wind up being the follow-up album to Tommy.  It seems that this particular "Water" was not satisfying enough to quench the thirst The Who had for follow-up fame and fortune.

In previous Musical Notes, we have encountered the foundling nation of Israel, the descendants of Jacob.  His 12 sons, had gone to Egypt, prospered, then were subjected to slavery under the dynasties of the Egyptians.  They finally achieved their freedom through miraculous, "Only God Can Do This" actions.  Once obtaining said freedom, they began the painstaking task of creating a new nation while attempting to follow God.  Sometimes the times were good, other times, the Israelites proclaimed they would have been better off in Egypt.  Mind-boggling right? 

God blessed the leader of the Israelites, Moses, with a one-on-one relationship.  This was a relationship reserved for only a few of the Biblical patriarchs (Abraham in particular).  This served the Israelites well, especially when they were insolent towards God and disobedient to His instructions.  Moses would intervene and remind God of the promise He had made to the Israelite patriarch Abraham regarding the land and the nation that would inhabit it.

We come now to another instance where the Israelites were dissatisfied with their situation and they began to get thirsty...they had already ensured that a generation of folks would die in the wilderness because of their reluctance and unfaithfulness, and now they make Moses so mad that they mess it up for him too...cue Numbers 20:9-13:

Numbers 20:2-13 New American Standard Bible/The Amplified Bible/ King James Version of the Bible parallel

Miriam, Moses' sister, had just died.  There is a pretty good chance that Moses had a great relationship with Miriam as she was the one who followed the "basket case" of a boy down the Nile.  Chances are that she also assisted Moses' mom in the care and raising of the child Moses even though he was considered the son of the Pharoah's daughter.  Her death more than likely hit Moses pretty hard.  In his grief, he now has to deal with..."Why did you bring us out here to die?  We would've been better off in Egypt!  Why didn't we rebel with Korah and let the earth have us for an appetizer? (Okay, so I embellished that last part, but the thought was there.)"  The Bible said they "argued" with Moses and Aaron, Moses' brother (also Miriam's brother who would share in Moses' grief)  What did Moses and Aaron do?

Lesson #1:  Moses and Aaron sought God.  In the midst of sorrow, with the crowd taunting and complaining, Moses and Aaron went to the One on whom they knew they could depend.  God had been faithful time and again.  Moses and Aaron went to seek God with the confidence that He would come through again.  God is waiting for you to seek Him.  Have confidence in Him.

Lesson #2:  Regardless of where you are, God provides for your needs.  God answers Moses and Aaron and He instructed them to go and speak to the rocks.  After this action, water would be provided.  At this point, Moses and Aaron would have seen enough from God and been around God enough to know that obedience was their part of the solution.  It was not incredulous to Moses and Aaron for God to tell them He would provide water, where there could not possibly be any.  God also provides for you in this way.  

Lesson #3:  Even those who have the closest relationship with God, can be disobedient and damage that relationship. Notice that in this instance Moses and Aaron didn't beg God to save the Israelites as they come into His presence.  They did not intercede on behalf of the nation this time.  They were there for instructional purposes only.  And they were given a pathway to obey.  However, partial obedience IS disobedience.  At first, Moses obeys and takes the staff of God.   Moses' emotions then get the best of him as he finally was fed up with the Israelites.  Moses also goes so far as to indicate that it would be he and Aaron providing the water out of the rock as he disobeys God and strikes the rock instead of speaking to it.  Yet, even in the Israelites AND this time Moses' disobedience, God is faithful.  Water comes out of the rock and the Bible says it comes out "abundantly".  

Final lesson:  God provides for our needs even when we are disobedient, BUT there are circumstances and discipline that are meted out due to our unfaithfulness.  Whatever Moses' rationale for striking the rock, he was disobedient to what God had commanded.  Later on in the Bible, the wise King Solomon will write:  "For whom the Lord loves He disciplines, Just as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights." (Proverbs 3:1-12 NASB/AMP/KJV).  And in the New Testament, the Apostle Paul will reiterate this fact by writing a portion of a letter regarding obedience and discipline. Hebrews 12:1-17 NASB/AMP/KJV

Dear friend, do not mistake this world for anything more than the wilderness it is.  This place is not where we are to spend the eternity of our lives.  There will be times when you are so thirsty, you don't know if you can take another step.  Remember, the God that made you loves you. He knows what our needs are.  Sometimes our idea of "need" doesn't align with the reality of what God knows is the truthful necessity in our lives. He is the God who is faithful in those times of grief, stress, and need.  He alone is worthy of our praise AND our obedience.  He loves you so much that He provides living water from a well that will never run dry.  Jesus (God, the Son) says this water is so refreshing that we will never be thirsty again if we drink it.  The Gospel of Jesus according to the disciple John, chapter 4, verses 7-30 NASB/AMP/KJV 

So what do we do?  As believers, we love folks enough to introduce them to the source of the water.  Because there is a world out there crying out..."we need water, good, good, water"

'Til Tuesday,

Serving HIM by serving You,

randy  

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