Here we are. It's the 10th of May. School is about to be over for the 2021-2022 year. Graduations and proms in many cities have already occurred and the countdown to summer has begun. Family vacations are being planned and a myriad of activities are being scheduled for those who get a break from what was a really hard year of gaining and giving education. 
In some circles, the opposite is occurring. Crops are being put in or in some instances, early harvests are beginning, regardless this is the peak season for our farmer friends. Landscape companies are on full alert as the grass is growing and the summer onslaught of weeds is sprouting. Those who work in resort areas or around lakes are preparing for the increased traffic from tourism that inevitably finds its way to them. Summer camp workers are beginning their pilgrimage to the places they will call home for the summer as they get prepared, physically and mentally, for their charges.
In some ways, I guess this is descriptive of any time of the year. Some folk's work is increasing while others may be easing up a bit, regardless of the season in which we find ourselves. Our work lives, and to be honest, our lives in general, are filled with such cycles. These peaks and valleys provide the balance we need for the lives we live. They keep monotony at bay.
So let's get ready for the summer. If you like it at 100 degrees with a heat index, this is your time of year!!! If you don't just wait, wind chills are just around the corner! Regardless of your preference, celebrate this time of the year. In the words of a great song...."we will stand tall, face it all together..."
Released at 0:07 BST (British Summer Time) on October 5, 2012, as a part of the Global James Bond Day, comes, in your humble blogger's opinion, the best James Bond Theme ever. It was released as part of the 50th Anniversary celebration of the premiere at the theaters of the movie Dr. No, which introduced the global movie-going public to the super spy, James Bond. (As an aside, there is another anniversary that you will want to be a part of coming up soon here at Tuesday's Musical Nots...keep checking back for more details!)
"Skyfall" was written by Adele and Paul Epworth, with orchestrations by J.A.C. Redford. It would become the first Bond theme song to ever win an Academy Award for Best Original Song. ("For Your Eyes Only" received the first nomination, but did not win). It was also a radio and retail favorite as it saw its peak at #8 on Billboard's Hot 100, becoming Adele's first single to debut in the top 10. With sales of over 7 million, "Skyfall" has become one of the best-selling digital singles of all time.
Following in the footsteps of Casino Royale's theme, "Tuesday's Musical Notes - "You Know My Name" (Chris Cornell)", "Skyfall" was not released on its movie's soundtrack. Unlike its predecessor, "Skyfall" was only ever released as a single. It also joins the aforementioned, "You Know My Name", as well as, Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Writing's On The Wall" (Sam Smith) and Tuesday's Musical Notes - "License To Kill" (Gladys Knight), in the list of James Bond theme's receiving the Tuesday's Musical Notes treatment.
One of the appeals of "Skyfall" is that the song fits so well with the movie. It is that unique song that combines lyrical content and musical score to fashion a vision for what is about to take place in the film. It seems that there are very few movie themes that accomplish this.
In Skyfall, Bond's adventures eventually take him to his boyhood home, where he finds the neglected ruins of his past. It seems you never can go home with the expectation of it being as good as you remembered...
"This is the end..." Today we find our journey through the Bible coming to the book of Malachi, the final book of the Old Testament. It is not however the end of the Bible, nor our series on the great stories of the Bible. While we have explored many different interesting aspects of the Biblical narrative, the culmination of all that we have encountered is about to come to fruition..."hold your breath and count to ten..."
Malachi was a contemporary of many of the prophets of Israel that we have already discussed. He was one of the remnants that returned to find the countryside of his homeland in ruin and the temple destroyed. While Malachi saw the construction of the new temple completed, he also saw that the people were not returning to the God of that temple in the manner that they should. It seemed you can take the captive away from Babylon, but you can't take them away from themselves or the influences of their captivity. The corruption of the folks went all the way to the priests of the new temple who had completely followed the practices of worship of false gods of the Caananites who had inhabited the land before them and the worship they observed during their time in captivity. They were stealing from people AND the temple and allowing promiscuousness to be perpetrated by their ranks. They were so displeasing to God. Especially, in the face of God fulfilling His promise to return them to the Promised Land. God announces His discipline on them in the early verses of Malachi.
The priests were not the only ones who were maligning God with their actions. Sin in the family structure was running rampant with divorce and promiscuity again being the norm instead of the exception. Some of the strongest words against divorce are given in Malachi 2:16 NASB/AMP/KJV. Malachi equates divorce with other "violence" that the Israelites were participating in. That is how strong God feels regarding the sanctity of marriage. He equates the separation of married couples with violence.
Malachi then segues into the prophecy regarding a messenger that will "clear a way before me." (Malachi 3:1) Be watching for this character as we move into the New Testament in a couple of weeks. Malachi concludes his writing with a message regarding tithing (giving back to God, in this instance 1/10 of the resources), as well as the importance of Scripture. The Scripture of those returning would have been the Torah as well as the Prophetical writings that the Israelites would have collected through oral tradition and scrolls.
The final chapter of Malachi is all about a future time where the evil will be punished and those who have followed God will be blessed. Malachi delivers this prophecy in language that is similar but different from the other prophets we have encountered choosing to focus less on the "gloom and doom" for those being punished and more on the things to remember to keep them faith-filled and the blessings of those who have been faithful. In other words, when they "...feel the earth move again" they can be prepared to "...hear my heart burst again" as they prepare to see the redemption of the world come to pass.
Malachi addresses many topics that are important for folks in our time to read and reread. Divorce, tithing, the importance and inerrancy of Scripture, and being faithful are all things that today's Western Church needs to hear and allow them to permeate into their lives. But they are also messages to which preChristians should be exposed. This shows them that Christianity is "peculiar" (1 Peter 2:9 NASB/AMP/KJV). This shows them the importance of the structure of the family, This shows them how much God cares about them as He can become a part of their day-to-day life.
The short book of Malachi can show them that when they are having a cycle "...where worlds collide and days are dark..." there is hope in a God who loves them and provides the opportunity for a future where "... you will go forth and frolic like calves from the stall." (Malachi 4:2b) Ultimately, Malachi gives us the impetus to declare to God..."Where you go, I go. What you see, I see. I know I'd never be me without the security of your loving arms, keeping me from harm. Put your hand in my hand and we'll stand." When folks come to this point, because of who God is and who we are in Him...sure, let the Skyfall...
Loving HIM by Loving You,
randy
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