March is known as a month of madness. We can honestly see why it would be called that. Weather-wise, March holds more diversity than any month. It is indeed the month that averages are set. The average high in the state of Arkansas for March is 64 degrees. We attain said average by having a high temperature of 92 on one day and 31 the very next day. It seems we can go from flooding to drought in a matter of days. 
We can see tornadoes to potential snowfall in a matter of hours. Layering our clothes to be comfortable is a necessity during this month of the dreaded time change. (Please congress, make it stop!!! We know that legislation exists...this is one of those bipartisan issues with which you can score votes! but I digress...) March is also heralded as the month that the earth begins its annual pilgrimage to all things green, and all manner of allergies rear their ugly heads. The dichotomies in this month bounce around like a basketball, which brings us to the other madness of this month...
The respective conference and NCAA basketball tournaments begin in earnest this weekend, capping off with the selection of the field of 68 that will participate in the biggest, most maddening showdown in all of sports. I must confess to a love of this time of the year. In a typical year, I only follow the sports teams of my beloved Arkansas Razorbacks ("Go Hogs!!! Wooo Pig Soouie!!!" who are expected to be a 9 seed in one of the regionals of the big dance), but this time of the year I check all of the scores for upsets and to see who in the SEC may be advancing. I even...gasp...watch the occasional Oklahoma or Texas game just to size up the competition for their entry into the conference in the future. My disdain for all things Kentucky, Duke, UConn, and Texas usually oozes out as I chuckle at their losses and sigh at their wins. There just must be something about March because, during the regular season, I pay very little attention to how these teams to which I have an aversion perform. But here comes March, and I hope, cheer, and fuss at the refs hoping that my actions will cajole outcomes of my favorite teams to go my way...
As far as I know, Gordon Lightfoot (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "If I Could Read Your Mind" (Gordon Lightfoot)) has never had anything to do with the NCAA basketball tourneys. He has however written some of the most enjoyable music in the last 50 years. Beginning with his eponymous 1966 outing and going through 2020's Solo, the 85-year-old Canadian singer-songwriter has amassed 19 studio albums. Four of these records went into the Top Twenty on Billboard's Album Chart. 46 singles came from those recordings. Four of them went into the Top Ten on the Us singles charts, including the #1 smash "Sundown". For fans of the song and just in case you were wondering, "The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald" peaked at #2.
Lightfoot was a staple on Canadian charts and found his way into multiple top-ten performances for both albums and singles. He also crossed over into the US Country charts with "Sundown" peaking at #13 on that countdown.
Today's featured song is from Gordon Lightfoot's 6th studio album, the 1971 record, Summer Side of Life. It is a departure from the trademark sound he had established on previous recordings, opting for a more acoustic sound instrumentally and more reflective in the lyrical content. The title track and one other single, "Talking In Your Sleep" were the only singles released from the album.
The third track from the record Summer Side of Life is "Go My Way". It is a brief ode of encouragement to a loved one. It highlights the overall feel of the rest of the album and is a nice relaxing journey proposing that if you follow, everything will be all right. Where have I heard that before...Oh Yeah! Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Follow Me" (Uncle Kracker)
"..Go my way and I'll take you by the hand..." seems reminiscent of another source...
These passages from Matthew and Mark are some of the most well-known in all of Scripture. Jesus has risen and appeared to over 500 people including at least on 2 occasions the apostles. That is quite the amount of witnesses to an event. Combined with the other tangible evidence of Jesus' crucifixion, burial, and resurrection accounts from the apostles and other disciples, any logical person can come to only one conclusion that looks something like this...The Culmination of The Case for Christ 2017 (with subtitles), (2017) - The Case For Christ movie
So what's next? Jesus had told the apostles and other disciples some specific things before His crucifixion. From their initial calling by Jesus when He said, "...Follow Me..." (Mark 1:14-20 NASB/AMP/ESV/KJV) to his final words to them in our focal Scripture for today, "...Go therefore and make disciples..." Jesus is telling His followers a simple "Go my way".
The apostles had been with Jesus for most of 3 years. They had been witnesses to the miracles He performed, saw His compassion for the poor and downtrodden, listened to His teaching, (sometimes through Scripture, sometimes through parables), celebrated Passover with Him, and had intimate conversations regarding the kingdom and what exactly His way is and how His way is manifested through Him. The Gospel of Jesus according to John, a fisherman, chapter 14, verses 1-6 NASB/AMP/ESV/KJV The apostles and disciples had been witness every day to what the way of Jesus looked like. Take a few minutes and review the last couple of months of The Notes to get more detail on all that we have explored on Tuesdays. In Jesus' final conversation with them, His encouragement is to "Go My Way".
Going Jesus' way isn't an easy path. Look into the book of Acts (Yup, that's coming up here at Tuesday's Musical Notes) and you will see that Jesus' way is fraught with challenges and at times intense persecution, including following Jesus in death. Jesus' family, half-brothers, and half-sisters were some of those He revealed Himself to after His resurrection. The most prominent of these was James who would come to know Jesus as Savior post-resurrection. James went on to pen a letter to believers that is now one of the books of the New Testament. James, writing to those believers who had scattered from Jerusalem because of the persecution says this of Jesus' way, "... Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials...",
"Go my way, it's the only way to go. If things aren't workin' out you'll be the first to know. Come on along and together we'll go..." Remember what Jesus has endured over our last few weeks together. He did that so that you and I can have a restored relationship with God. A relationship that was broken in Eden and has the potential to be restored because of His actions at the cross. You choose. Restoration can be yours. An eternity future filled with love and praise can be your path. But you have to listen to Jesus as he encourages you..."Go my way..."
'Til Tuesday
Loving HIM by Loving You,
randy
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