In recent days, I have found myself navigating further and further away from the "news". I think part of that is, well, a trust issue, but the flipside to that is that I rarely watch the "evening broadcast" on any of the networks and find their consideration of "tonight's top headlines" to align with the priorities of my life. 
Inflation is something of which to be aware, it impacts everything, however, there is very little that I can do to move the numbers in a favorable direction. I mourn the loss of GDP. In some ways, it mirrors the lack of "making things" in the United States as it seems we have priced ourselves out of the market for profitability, even in growing food. Yet again, it seems that I am incapable of developing policy that would instigate a resurgence of the United States being industrious.
I seem to remember about 5 years ago when the "headline" was that folks thought $15 per hour minimum wage was a good idea. So much so, that they were protesting in favor of it. Well, we live in a time where many employers have begun paying that wage as a result of not having enough workers after the pandemic. This causes higher prices for providers of goods, which in turn get passed on... The conspiracy theorist in me thinks there is a link in all of this led by a "shadow" organization, but we won't delve into my paranoia today.
It seems that nothing short of the miraculous will aid us in our desire for...
With subtle nods to the Christmas season, we bring to you today's featured song. (No, we don't have any of our Christmas decor up, nor will we until the day after Thanksgiving, to each his own.) "Better Days" even appears on the 2020 Goo Goo Doll Christmas album It's Christmas All Over. The Goo Goo Dolls do a great job in balancing the positive year-round messaging of the song with a hint of Christmas as a service to the world by providing this song as a lead into the season of celebration. It is an upbeat song about the possibilities that lie ahead and the fact that some are working towards making things better for everyone. "...So take these words and sing out loud..." Plus any song that encourages singing tops the charts in Notesland!
"Better Days" peaked at #36 on the Hot 100 but went all the way to #3 on Billboard's Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks chart.
Possibly, this great song was buoyed by its increased usage on television. "Better Days" came at a time when the southeast portion of the United States had been inundated by Hurricane Katrina. In the aftermath, ABC and CNN chose to use the song as a lead-in bumper to their coverage. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition used it for the special "After the Storms" episode. It was also used in 2006 in the pilot episode of the CBS drama Jericho. In 2008, another CBS drama, Cold Case used the song as the first of six songs in its season finale. NBC also took up the song as the theme song for their 2010 show, Who Do You Think You Are?
Not surprisingly, many "Better Days" has been utilized as a sports anthem. From the WWE to the NFL, as well as the NHL the song has been used in a variety of ways. In one twist, the Orlando Magic uses "Better Days" as a song of hope after the basketball team loses.
The days in which we live could sure use a revival of the song as it seems that nothing short of the miraculous can lead us to "Better Days".
In the Notes continuing exploration of the great narrative accounts in the Bible, we have come to the life of Jesus. Over the past several weeks, we have attempted to stay chronologically accurate as we have seen Jesus grow from the baby in the grotto, to beginning His ministry and gaining disciples. For the next couple of weeks, we step aside from the chronology to focus on 2 specific aspects of Jesus' ministry; His miracles and His parables.
One doesn't need extensive theological training to understand that the life of Jesus was made known to His world, as well as to ours, by the miraculous things that Jesus did. The extraordinary began with turning water into wine at the marriage celebration in Cana. (remember, we are talking 1st-century water, probably not the Mountain Valley Spring Water we have today) (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "It's A Miracle" (Barry Manilow)).
From here, the Gospels; Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, provide a narrative of over thirty instances of the inexplicable things that Jesus did. We could take the next year and break these down for you, but we think it is sufficient for you to check out this great article that provides the details. "What Miracles Did Jesus Perform?" March 29, 2019, christianity.com
Our focus passage today is the Gospel of Mark. It includes the highest number of all of the Gospel accounts of the miracles that Jesus performed at 22. For those on the receiving end of these supernatural occasions, one would imagine that there were certainly "Better Days" ahead for them after their meeting Jesus. Even by today's standards with our instant communications and app-filled existence and other unbelievable things happening daily, these events are plausible only by having the faith that the Bible describes throughout its pages, especially as described by Paul. "Now faith is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen."
Some may question why Jesus chose to operate in such a manner. Why did Jesus choose to heal some and not everyone? What was His purpose for performing the miraculous? We have a few ideas we would like to posit.
1) The miracles of Jesus provided attraction. This is NOT the main reason that Jesus did them. In fact, on many occasions, He told those who were receiving the miracle not to speak of it. The word however got out about The Word and many came to Jesus to be healed of their afflictions. My thought is where were all of these folks when the Sanhedrin were questioning Jesus?
2) The miracles of Jesus provided needs. Whether the needs were for sustenance, demon removal, or resurrection, all of Jesus' miracles provided for a specific need of the recipients. By doing this Jesus' compassion for people was highlighted as His followers realized that Jesus knew intimate details about everyone that received a benefit from His actions.
3) The miracles of Jesus provided teaching. As Jesus gained disciples, He used His miracles for teaching moments. Yes, the disciples needed to gain a better understanding of who Jesus was, but they also needed to understand how much God loved every person created in His image. They needed their eyewitness accounts of the seemingly unbelievable to inspire and inform the future that they would be facing.
The healing, raising from the dead, and removal of demons also served as lessons to Jesus' adversaries about who He was and what their role in fulfilling His mission would be. While they saw Jesus as a challenge and threat it was impossible to refute the good things that Jesus was accomplishing and how the folks of the region were responding to Him. Perhaps it even caused them to research their Scripture better to see if Jesus' claims were legitimate. Regardless, they wind up on the wrong side of the conversation as ultimately they did just what Isaiah described they would do; reject Jesus despite all the things that they saw.
Today, many around the world who have heard the name of Jesus associate Him with the miracles He performed. This is important, however, if all they see is the sensational aspects of Jesus' works, they are missing out on the compassion, the desire for restoration, and the capacity to forgive sins in these works. The forgiveness of sins ultimately was Jesus' mission to the world in the first place, thus providing those who choose to accept His forgiveness a whole lot of...Better Days.
"...So take these words
And sing out loud
Cause everyone can be forgiven now
Cause tonight's the night the world begins again..."
And sing out loud
Cause everyone can be forgiven now
Cause tonight's the night the world begins again..."
'Til Tuesday,
Loving HIM by Loving You,
randy
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