Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Signs Of Life" (Journey)


Welcome to Tuesday!  According to your GPS, you have arrived at your destination safely!  Have any detours along the way?  We are certainly glad that you chose to come to this special place where music is discovered and celebrated!  We know that you are tired from the long journey and want to encourage you to relax while your place is prepared.  To make your stay here as pleasant as possible, we suggest you remember the following tips:  1) listen to all of the music.  That seems simple enough, yet it seems that some choose to blitz through the content and not take a moment to savor the delicacies that are offered.  2) read everything.  Even if you think it is a familiar song, it has been our experience that every time is like the first and there are always new things to learn.  3) Click...every...link  We understand that your time may be limited, however, to achieve the full Tuesday's Musical Notes experience you must go down a few trails that might seem challenging and time-consuming.  We promise your time is of the utmost importance to us as well and we would not include anything on your excursion that we thought would be distracting or seem like less of a priority to your time.  4) Explore.  There are many other opportunities for you here at Tuesday's Musical Notes.  You can use our search engine to see about a favorite musician or song or scroll through The Notes' over 500 entries to ensure the maximization of your overall experience with us.  Thanks again for choosing Tuesday's Musical Notes as your destination today.  And now as we do each week, here is a little welcome gift to start your time with us today.  Enjoy!


Ok, yes, you have us there!  It isn't "Separate Ways" (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) (Journey)), or "Wheel In The Sky" (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Wheel In The Sky" (Journey)).  It isn't "Don't Stop Believin'" or "Any Way You Want It".  "Signs of Life" is the 3rd track from the first Journey album that did not feature long-term vocalist Steve Perry (1977-1998) on lead vocal and Steve Smith(1995-1998, 2nd time with the band) on drums.  "Signs Of Life" didn't even make it as a single from the Arrival album. (There were only 2 ("Higher Place" and "All The Way", neither of which charted in the top 100).   

"Signs Of Life"  didn't find its way to radio, or even streaming success due to the lackluster sales of Arrival in comparison to Journey's catalog.  Arrival was the first album by the band in over 24 years that did not go Gold.  Despite that, it peaked at #56 on Billboard's 200 album chart. Diehard fans liked the album as "Signs Of Life" and the other tracks still have that Journey vibe and arena rock feel that was the root of the 80's successes of the band.  Perry's replacement, Steve Augeri, had just enough of the "Perry sound" to satiate fans of the band. 

Proving that they don't need to be on life support, Journey continues to tour incessantly and has released 4 albums since Arrival...well, arrived. The most recent is the album Freedom, released this year (2022) by original band member Neil Schon as well as Arrival bandmates Deen Castronova on drums and Jonathan Cain on keys.   (Arrival - Journey full album youtube.com) Thus providing proof that the band Journey at nearly 50 is definitely showing Signs of Life...


There has been much that Jesus and His followers have experienced as they continued their transit to Capernaum from Jerusalem. If you need a refresher, just visit the last several weeks of The Notes.  You can find them on the left-hand side of your screen under September and October.  Today we bear witness in Scripture to another event that only the disciple John records.  It seems that miracles happen in Cana.  (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "It's A Miracle" (Barry Manilow))  

Jesus' reputation was spreading quickly due to the teaching He was doing about Himself, repentance, and the coming kingdom.  He was building relationships through people's lives and restoring hope to a region that was sorely in need of a promise.  When coming into Cana again, Jesus is met by a royal official, probably a servant of Herod, the Roman-appointed ruler of Galilee.  This official had a son who was dying.  He came to Jesus in desperation seeking healing for his son.  The next moments of the encounter may seem like Jesus is frustrated as He replies, "Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe."  The official reiterates his plea for Jesus to go with him to heal his son.  Jesus then  tells the man, "Go, your son is alive."  Why didn't Jesus go with him?  I think the next part of the Scripture brings some insight. 

John records, "The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went home. "  Did you catch that?  The royal official, who in all likelihood could have demanded and ordered Jesus to accompany him to the boy...believed.  He then went home to be with his boy.   As they watched the official leave, the folks who witnessed this exchange did not know the outcome nor would they know the results until later if some of them ever did.  They did know, however, that this official of the government expressed his belief that what Jesus had said was true.  

Can you imagine the journey home for the official?  When he left to get help from Jesus, his son was dying.  As he went back, he went with the confidence that what Jesus had said was true, his son was alive.  By the time he made his arrival home, his son was not only showing signs of life but there was so much excitement about the son's recovery that the official's servants met him with the news!  The aristocrat asked his servants when the boy began recovering, and in what I would imagine wasn't a surprise to this nobleman, (remember he...believed) they told him the precise moment that Jesus said..."your son lives", nearly 24 hours prior.  The nobleman's belief is amplified and his entire household believed as well.  This is becoming a trend with Jesus.  

 "Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe."  It seems that we are not unlike those folks in Cana.  We live in a cynical world that needs the miraculous to provide credibility to our faith.  Even those who profess Jesus have asked for signs and wonders to support our belief in troubled times.  I am guilty as charged.

But what do we see from this nobleman?  John says that Jesus proclaimed something and the man believed.  We aren't told of the official's upbringing, his church, or Sunday School Small Group attendance.  We are only told that he had a family and household who were desperate for a solution to their need.  Their immediate, yet temporary, need was the healing of the official's son.  Their future, yet eternal, need was for salvation from their sins.  Here, like the thief who hung beside Jesus (more soon), we don't hear about the servant of Herod's repentance and how he went about evangelizing the entire region.  One would surmise that those things could have occurred, yet John doesn't record them.  John keeps it simple, "The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went home."

How about you friend?  Do you believe the Word that Jesus is speaking to you through Holy Spirit?  Are you looking for a solution to the immediate?  Jesus offers that as well as an unfolding of what your eternity future could be.  

If you have never believed in Jesus, show some signs of life today by listening for His ever-present pleading.  His message hasn't changed.  "Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand".  

If you are a follower of Jesus, how do you show your signs of life?  Are your eyes open to the immediacy of needs all around you?  Could you be the sign or wonder that causes someone to believe and secure the permanence of their eternity?  Friend, how are your signs of life?

'Til Tuesday,

Loving HIM by Loving You,
randy

 

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Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Day After Day" (Badfinger)

Plato is credited with saying, "Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.” From my vantage point, that pretty well sums it up.  With a few exceptions, music is important to most of the population of the world.  Now don't get me wrong, we all have preferences. 

Some genres are readily embraced while other styles are relegated to their region of the world and populace.  Regardless of the language we speak, music tends to communicate in a way that surpasses the linguistic boundaries that may exist.  In short, we all gotta have some music in our life!

That's why Tuesday's Musical Notes exists.   Every Tuesday we attempt to explore the heart of a song and discover some trivial tidbit that accentuates our musicological studies.  We fuel our passion for all things note-enhanced by finding out the driving force behind the lyrics and the legato.  And then we sort through the 64th note runs to discern if perhaps there might be some duality to its rhythmic or rhyming substance that has never been considered.  Then voila!  A Tuesday's Musical Note is birthed into the internetosphere and straight to your favorite device.  We hope you enjoy our meanderings down musical highways and introspective byways as we remember finding out about you...


The name for the band Badfinger was inspired by the "bad finger boogie" line of The Beatles'  (Tuesday's Musical Notes - The Beatles) 1967 single "With A Little Help From My Friends".  (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "With A Little Help From My Friends" (The Beatles))  They were originally signed as The Iveys but renamed themselves after releasing their first album and signing with The Beatles label, Apple Records. Badfinger became the most successful of the acts signed by Apple Records.  They produced one album under the band name The Iveys and 4 under Badfinger with Apple.  3 of the 5, all as Badfinger,  made the top 100 album charts.  Their success as a band and the traction they were gaining lost its luster when The Beatles broke up in 1970 and began the dissolution process of the Apple label which was finalized in 1974.   

Between 1969 and 1981 Badfinger released 15 singles from 8 albums.  The highest charting of these singles is today's featured song "Day After Day" which peaked at #4 on Billboard's Pop Singles chart.  It was produced by George Harrison (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "The Light That Has Lighted The World" (George Harrison), Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Got My Mind Set On You" (George Harrison)) who also played slide guitar on the track.  It also features Leon Russell on piano and received its final mix from Todd Rundgren after Harrison left the Straight Up project to produce his Concert For Bangladesh album.

"Day After Day" reflects on having gotten to know someone and then missing them so much it makes you look out from a lonely room and lonely gloom.  With its upbeat, pop-infused music, and sad reflective lyric, the song is the perfect example of the dichotomy that music provides so many times over history and affirms its necessity in our lives as it represents an irony that exists between the life we live and the soundtrack we sometimes choose to support it as we go about day after day.  The normality, the day-after-day routines,  of what we do is enhanced by the music regardless of whether it reflects how we are feeling at the time.  

Needless to say, our innate desire to have music surrounding us has not always been the case.  Historically, the conventional activities by which life is perpetuated were not accessorized with the blessing of tuneage.  There have been times when the motivation to serve and taking the time to find out about you was all that needed to be fulfilled.


The beauty of the Gospels that tell of Jesus is that they give us what we need to know in the narrative explanation of Jesus' life.   Each account takes the life of Jesus and puts it in the lens through which the writer saw the world.  Some stories are amplified by a single writer, like John's account of the woman at the well, which none of the other Gospels record, and some are amplified by the fact that all 4 of the Gospel writers record, albeit again from their perspective, events that took place.  As we continue our examination of Jesus' life, we will see both on display.  

We must also remember that while the Gospels give us what we need to know about Jesus, John records that the world could not contain the books that could have been written about Jesus' life.  John 21:25 NASB/AMP/ESV/KJV

If you read too quickly, you miss one of those moments early in Jesus' ministry where the Gospels all account for what would seem to be a standard task by that of one who is considered a rabbi, or teacher.  Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John all record a small passage that I think has great insight into Jesus' life and ministry.  They all record that when reaching the region of Galilee, Jesus began to teach in their synagogues.  That makes sense for a teacher, yet it was well-known that Jesus was the son of a Carpenter.  His educational level alone would have precluded Him from ascending to the ranks of the priests who usually inhabited the pulpit, if you will, of the religious gathering places in the area.  His credibility came from the miraculous events that occurred in His journey from Jerusalem to Galilee.  Word had gotten around about this itinerant preacher who was able to heal the sick and turn water into wine.  The spectacular provided credence and curiosity to Jesus being able to speak in their churches.  

Why is this emphasized by all of the Gospel authors?  This seminal moment in Jesus' life would have been an occurrence that was not out of the ordinary for a priest, or even a scribe of the time.  My conviction is that these recorders of Jesus thought this event to be important for a couple of reasons.  

First, even though Jesus was God in human form, it was a matter of great importance that the folks of Galilee knew that He wanted to know who they were.  Jesus wanted a relationship with them that was more than just a "what miracle can we see Jesus perform?" surface-level affiliation.  He wanted them to realize that He wanted to go "deep" with them on everything.  Their lives at that moment, and their lives in the future.  After teaching "repent for the kingdom of God is at hand", Jesus wanted them to understand that He cared for them far past what they had ever experienced from the religious leaders of their time.  

Secondly, Jesus wanted to show them from Scripture about Himself.  He taught from Isaiah and the other prophets.  He spoke about darkness and light.  He revealed the truth about Himself in ways that they could understand and accept, should they choose to do so.  He built relationships to provide a necessary bridge for the messages He was preaching.  While the Gospels don't overtly tell us what the reaction of the synagogue attendees was, one can surmise that just like people today, some accepted Jesus' message and others did not.  

The big takeaway from these small passages is that Jesus went about day after day doing those 2 things, building relationships and preaching the Gospel about Himself.  Sounds like a good example for the modern-day believer to follow.  For the lost as well as the redeemed we should go about, as my pastor says, "Speaking the Gospel into one another's lives."  Suffice it to say that both relationship building and Gospel preaching were demonstrating what Jesus was saying to the folks then and us now..."...I give my love to you..."


'Til Tuesday,

Loving HIM by Loving You,
randy

 

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Tuesday, October 11, 2022

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "You Don't Miss Your Water" (William Bell)

Previously on Tuesday's Musical Notes...

"October has arrived!!!     Homes are decorated...   ...waxing nostalgic...gas up the Camaro, pick out the right cassettes...   Lemmy Kilmister...Ozzy Osbourne...#28...   The song resonated with the public...   ...coming home can be poignant and reflective...   ... the beginning of something new.  "Times have changed and times are strange, here I am but I ain't the same..." 


And now Cross & Kin productions is proud to present Tuesday's Musical Notes...starting...right...now...

Welcome to Tuesday and Tuesday's Musical Notes!!!  We'd play theme music here, but we haven't come up with just the right chord progression yet.  Maybe soon!  We're so excited that you decided to click on what we think is one of the most thought-provoking blogs about music in the internetosphere!  It is our extreme hope that you discover new music, find out something you didn't know about classic favorites, get more info on artists whose music you enjoy, and perhaps, maybe, just maybe, procure something about yourself in the process.  

Each week we spend some time researching the song that will be the focal point of Tuesday's Musical Notes.   Every so often we discover a new song ourselves and are instantly engaged in finding out all that we can about it and the artists who write, perform, play on, and produce the said song.  This week is a perfect example of such a song.  Even if you know the song, you'll soon discover why we migrated in its direction, but for now, sit back and enjoy a classic soul selection from an artist we gratefully just encountered.


According to Google maps, Tuesday's Musical Notes is coming to you just under 2 hours from where some classic soul music was recorded in  Memphis, Tennessee.  In an abandoned movie theater, Stax Records was founded and Southern Soul was invented.  The movie theater served as a recording studio and later on, its vestibule and concession stand served as a record shop.  Most importantly it became the hub of a fierce competitor for the source of soul in Detroit, Motown Records.  

Stax was founded by Jim STewart and his sister Estelle AXton from which the label's name was derived. (Yup, Grammarly hates the capitalization for emphasis).  It fast developed a unique sound that Detroit found difficult to replicate as it was an amalgam of different southern sounds including country, gospel, blues, and of course soul.  Stax boasted of its house band Booker T and the MG's which included one of the country's first and most diverse musical band lineups featuring white folk and black folk, making music together and this was the 60s!  Stax took that model and framed it as the blueprint by which it would make some of the world's best music and would draw a host of artists, most notably the aforementioned Booker T, Sam and Dave, Isaac Hayes, The Staple Sisters, and Otis Redding. 

One of Stax Records' earliest artists was singer/songwriter William Bell.  Like many of his contemporaries, Bell began young by singing in church and becoming a fan of the Gospel groups of the 50s.  He was one of the first signees to Stax Records and recorded several singles before going into the military including his debut single, "You Don't Miss Your Water", today's featured song.  

Bell's biggest accomplishments, however, would come as the writer on several well-known hits.  He authored the blues classic, "Born Under A Bad Sign" (covered by nearly everyone!), the #1 R&B hit from 1976, "Tryin' To Love Two", and believe it or not, Bell wrote the 1986 hit by Billy Idol, "To Be A Lover".  Most poignantly, Bell is known for penning the memorial song, "A Tribute to a King".  He collaborated with Booker T and wrote this in honor of his friend and co-Stax artist Otis Redding, who had died in a plane crash.  Bell was supposed to have been on the same flight that took Redding's life, but foul weather resulted in the cancellation of Bell's show.  

"You Don't Miss Your Water" became a B-side for the single, "Formula of Love", which didn't get much attention.  When DJs flipped the record and played "You Don't Miss Your Water", sales began to grow.  Ah, the days when you could hear an artist's complete repertoire of music on the radio...but I digress.  "You Don't Miss Your Water" peaked at #95 on the pop charts and was later released (after Bell's military service) on the Stax album The Soul of a Bell.

Incredibly, I have never encountered "You Don't Miss Your Water" even though it has been covered by a diversity of artists that would make Stax Records executives proud:  Wendy Rene, Otis Redding, Percy Sledge, The Byrds (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Turn, Turn, Turn" (The Byrds)), Taj Mahal, Jerry Lee Lewis, O.B. McClinton, Peter Tosh & The Wailers, The Good 'Ol Persons, Brian Eno, and The Triffids.  Musicians on the record were also a litany of greats:  Jesse "Spooky" Butler – organ, Donald "Duck" Dunn – bass, Howard Grimes – drums, and Marvell Thomas – piano.  Many modern performances by Bell also include musicians Booker T. Jones and the Memphis Horns.  

Many have surmised that "You Don't Miss Your Water" was written about heartbreak in Bell's life over a woman. The reality is that it was written while Bell was on a concert tour in New York and penned as a response to Bell's homesickness.  He wrote it upon his return to Memphis and recorded the song thinking he was making a demo.  His misunderstanding led to his career being changed and Bell becoming one of the patriarchs of Southern Soul music.  It's amazing how one's misconception of a situation can bring about dramatic changes in their life.  


As we observed last week, Jesus was on a journey between Jerusalem and Nazareth, His hometown, where He did not receive a warm welcome.  This trip would ultimately result in Jesus and His disciples traveling on to Capernaum, where He was welcome.  Capernaum would consequentially become the home base for Jesus' ministry efforts.  

The route from Jerusalem to Nazareth for most devout Jews was not a straight line.  The prejudice at the time would cause most Hebrew travelers to journey around Samaria, a land where many of the inhabitants were a mixture of Jewish folk and other nations.  This made Samaritans "unclean" in many of the priestly views and the cause of great concern to those who would associate with them.  

Samaria was also the region where the Northern Kingdom's capital city was located.  It would be easy to surmise that some of the tensions remained between the Southern Kingdom inhabitants in Judah and their northern brothers.  It was a land that the most devout Jew avoided at all costs.  But not Jesus.  He took a straight line right through the middle of the "forbidden" land and interacted with the people as He went.

Most notable is the familiar story of the "woman at the well" that we see in John's Gospel.  She is a woman who was seeking physical thirst quenching even though her spiritual well was very dry, she was definitely missing her water.  The disciples had left Jesus alone beside a well outside of the city while they went to acquire food for the remainder of their journey.  It seems the necessity to eat was more powerful than any of the prejudice the disciples may have felt.  

While Jesus waits for them a woman approaches to draw water from the well.  Instead of shunning her or keeping her from drawing water, Jesus stays to visit her.  By doing so, He violates so many of the written and unwritten moral codes of His day.  She is a Samaritan AND a woman.  To those in her community, she was probably not a woman who had a good reputation either, but Jesus takes the time to visit with her.  The woman knew of the social restrictions that Jesus was impinging on and asked Him why He would bother.   Jesus replies, "if you only knew who you were talking to, you would be asking me for living water".  She observes that Jesus has nothing in which to carry water so she inquires further into what He is saying.  She asks if He is greater than Jacob, whom the Samaritans rightly also considered a patriarch.  Jesus then unpacks the "water" that He provides.  He explains the ramifications of drinking His water and that eternal life is the big win from drinking it.  She wants some of this water and boldly asks Jesus for some.  

Jesus turns the conversation here away from Himself and back to the woman and her lifestyle.  Jesus calls her out on her multitude of relationships and provides her a pathway to worship the God of both the Jews and the Samaritans.  This worship comes from a place of the Spirit and truth.  She confesses her knowledge of the Messiah and her desire to see Him come.  Jesus then reveals to her that He is indeed the Messiah.  


Upon the disciples' return, they find Jesus speaking to the woman, yet do not say anything to Him about the encounter.  The woman left and went to the city telling everyone about the One she had met and the things that He had said.    The disciples attempt to get Jesus to take nourishment, but He is in a place of complete contentment because of His obedience to His mission.  

John records that many in the city believed in Jesus based solely on the testimony of the woman.  There must have been something very different about this woman as she tells her city about Jesus.  Her testimony is considered credible and engaging and the folks want to know more. When they eventually came to where Jesus was, they implored Him to stay with them.  Jesus stayed for 2 days ministering to them and many more believed.

I don't know about you but I have gone through some periods in my life where I was missing water.  No, we weren't under a boil order or a severe drought.  It just seemed that my well was dry.  It's at those times in our lives when we sit and wonder, how in the world could this be?  Our wonderings cause us to get even thirstier. What we don't realize is our wandering is what brought us to that thirsty position.  It's at those times when we need a refreshing drink of life-giving water.   That water is available by coming back from our wanderings and getting closer to God, through Holy Spirit.  We do this by enveloping ourselves in His Word and surrounding ourselves with His people.  

Or perhaps you've never had a drink of this water.  Perhaps you are much like the woman at the well and think that you've done too much bad and Jesus would never want to associate with you.  Go back and watch that clip from The Chosen.  Time and again in the Gospels, Jesus asserts that He wants ALL people to come to Him for salvation, His living water.  It doesn't matter what your past may be.  It matters what your future will be.  Don't find yourself in a position to miss His water.  His well never runs dry and you won't be thirsty ever again.

'Til Tuesday,

Loving HIM by Loving You,
randy
<><

 

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Tuesday, October 4, 2022

Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Mama, I'm Coming Home" (Ozzy Osbourne)

Here we are.  October has arrived!!!  The brutality of the summer heat is being replaced by the crisp, cooler evenings and "do I wear long sleeves or short?" mornings.  The time expanse between sun up and sun down is decreasing.  (Regardless of the old phrase, the days don't get shorter now do they?) 

While Autumn begins in September, it seems like it takes October to bring our minds up to speed and get wrapped in all the changes around us. Homes are decorated with shades of orange and Halloween accouterments and beautified by the odor of pumpkin in everything.  Well actually, it's a butterscotchy kind of thing, but I digress.  

Perhaps I'm waxing nostalgic, but it seems that every year about this time, I am reminded of traversing back and forth to college, my home away from home back in the 80s.  Many of my friends weren't able to go home due to finances, the sheer distance away, or the consecutive weeks those of us in the marching band was engaged in pregame and halftime performances for football games.  Go Hogs!!! Depending on the schedule, it seemed that every other week or so, I gas up the Camaro, pick out the right cassettes and make that phone call where I would say...


Written by Motorhead's bassist/vocalist Lemmy Kilmister, "Mama, I'm Coming Home" is the only top 40 solo hit for Ozzy Osbourne (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Crazy Train" (Ozzy Osbourne)).  Surprisingly, "Mama, I'm Coming Home" only got as far as #28 on Billboard's weekly countdown.  The song did go all the way to #2 on the heavier rock chart, Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks.  

Ozzy did peak at #8 however, on the Hot 100 2 other times, both in collaborative efforts.  Once in the duet, "Close My Eyes Forever" with Lita Ford (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Close My Eyes Forever" (Lita Ford with Ozzy Osbourne)) and once as a featured artist on the single "Take What You Want" with the band Post Malone's.  

Many have surmised that the song was written about Ozzy's wife and manager, Sharon. Others say that it was about his period of lucidity after going through rehab and getting clean.  Since Ozzy didn't write the song, while valid for where Ozzy was in 1991, we find either interpretation, incomplete.  Kilmister probably had some of Ozzy's struggles in mind, yet he would have infused his own experience of being in a rock-n-roll band into the song.  While probably not biographical for Ozzy or Lemmy's part, there were certain lines in the song to which both of them could relate.  

The song resonated with the public for that same reason.  Let's face it, for many coming home can be a poignant and reflective endeavor.  It can bring many things including the beginning of something new...


Above is a perfect example of what is called the "Harmony of the Gospels".  The perspective of each of the Gospel writers is on full display as they tell of the same account.  This provides credibility and more complete testimony to this moment in Jesus' life.  These harmonies are some of the most beautiful and profound in all of Scripture as they provide the insight that we need to navigate Jesus' example to us.

Jesus comes home.  Well, at least the region of His home.  And no, the Gospels don't explicitly detail Jesus seeing His mama on this trip, but it stands to reason that He would have.  Just like everything else Jesus did, this homecoming had a purpose.  It was now time for Jesus to begin the ministry for which He had been sent.  This would lead to attention, scrutiny, and accusations that would ultimately result in salvation for those who believe.  Yup, you guessed it.  More to come...

John tells us that the Pharisees had heard about the baptisms occurring with Jesus' preaching surpassing those of John the Baptist.  Jesus left the area around Jerusalem and headed for home.  John elaborates on events that occurred during this trip and we'll visit in detail about that next week.  You don't want to miss it!

Luke provides light into Jesus' homecoming by telling of Jesus reading the scroll including Isaiah's prophecy regarding Himself.  Jesus had been teaching in the synagogues and was garnering a good reputation among the people.  He comes home to Nazareth and preaches on Isaiah, specifically Isaiah 61:1-2 NASB/AMP/ESV/KJV  I find it interesting that Jesus stops with "...to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.".  In doing so, He was revealing Himself as Messiah, even though His listeners, didn't quite seem to get the magnitude of all that encompassed.  As Jesus continued to expound on His "message for the day", the light bulbs seemed to turn on in the people of Nazareth's heads as they questioned, "Aren't You Joseph's son?"  Everything was good until this point.  Jesus continues by telling them that the miracles He had performed in Capernaum would not be done in Nazareth as a prophet is not welcomed as He is coming home.  This infuriated the folks and they attempted to through Jesus from a cliff only to have their efforts thwarted by Jesus who calmly walked through their midsts and headed on His way.

Mark is similar to John in his representation of Jesus going home.  He simply states that Jesus went home and began preaching repentance and belief because the kingdom of God is at hand.  That's a simple message that believers today should be breathing into the lives of others. 

Matthew tells of Jesus coming home to Nazareth and then going to set a home base in Capernaum. Matthew also refers to Isaiah as prophecy is fulfilled before his eyes: Isaiah 9:1-2 NASB/AMP/ESV/KJV  Matthew then tells the same message that Mark did about Jesus.  He preached repentance, belief, and the coming kingdom of God.  

So as you can see, there was much that happened when Jesus came home.  We see in the narratives His relocation from Judea to the place He was raised.  We also see some of Jesus' first messages whereby He revealed Himself as Messiah and was reviled by the people of Nazareth because of it. We also see the fulfillment of 700-year-old prophecies coming to life right before peoples' eyes.  But most importantly as we see Jesus coming home, we hear a very important, life-altering message:  repent, turn away from those things that aren't pleasing to God or that you place in front of your worship of God, believe that Jesus was sent to be the ultimate sacrifice for those things from which you are repenting, and be prepared as the kingdom of God is at hand.  

"Times have changed and times are strange, here I am but I ain't the same..."  Please friend let the message of Jesus coming home, repent, believe, and prepare be your anthem as you declare a slightly different lyric...Father, I'm coming home! I'm coming home!! I'm coming home!!!

'Til Tuesday,

Loving HIM by loving You
randy
<><

 

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