Follow Me - Music & The Bible

Listening to Muse lately, this song seemed to be a logical one to look at.  It's a wonderful song, yet if you listen to it as more than just a person offering to help you, it can transform how you hear it.  Instead, listen to this as prophecy - that the protection is from God.  The song then tells another story.  The scripture is going to come from Isaiah, John, and Psalms. And here is the music for today!

The song is about following and having faith. It is about finding strength and emerging from the darkness. You can get a feeling from John 8:12 about emerging from the darkness to follow the light.

"Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life"

This is a pretty powerful statement to put out there. This song helps to be a reminder that we yearn to be protected from the things we cannot protect ourselves from. It is an offer of safety.

"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."

This is about recognizing our own weaknesses and putting trust that God will take care of us.  That we will not be deserted.  We will not be forgotten.  When we are afraid, we can seek refuge in The Lord.   Psalms 56:3 reminds us of this, with the words

"What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee."

When you're scared, when you fall down, when these things happen you can still be brave.  Follow and trust in the Lord and you will be safe.  When all your strength is gone, you will still be taken care of.   Just follow.  All that is asked is that you follow and you will be saved from the darkness, saved from being alone.  This is a covenant - a promise that by putting your trust in the almighty, you will be protected.  You will be saved.  What more could you ask for?  If you weren't sure before, try listening to the song again, and see if you hear it differently than you did before.  I find it fascinating how new ideas can be attached to something and give it new meaning.  Well, that's the music for today!  If you have any requests, I'm willing to give anything a try.

Dust in the Wind - Music & The Bible

For my second entry into my Music & The Bible series, I've decided to go with "Dust in the Wind" by Kansas. The scriptural reference I'll be using with the song is from Genesis. Not the band, though I may now have to find a verse from Genesis to use with a song by Genesis...but I digress. The music!

So, here we are.  All we are is dust in the wind.  In Genesis 3:19, we are reminded of this with the words

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

Because we came from dust, we shall return to dust.  And in that sense, all things that came from the Earth shall return to the Earth.  Whatever money you have, whatever power you have, it can do nothing to stop the inevitable return to the Earth.  Everything is dust in the wind.

But can't we walk away with something more?  This is also a reminder that our time is precious.  We cannot buy more time.  We can't use power to stave off the inevitable.  We must simply live the best we can.  Now, if you read my last post, you'd also know that all things pass away.  But don't distress, because death too will pass.  Though it may be a certainty that we die, we will also live again.  It is that our life here is destined to return to the dust from which we came.  The body that is born of this world will die in this world.  It is the spirit that lives on.

Don't fret about wealth, power, fame, glory - those things will also someday be dust, forgotten by time.  Our bodies may just be waiting to return to dust, but our souls live on.  This is our eternal grace, and it is this finite existence here that this song reminds us of.  An important message to take from all of this is that we need to do the most with what we have - because we won't always have it.

All Things Must Pass - Music & The Bible

I decided to start out my "Music & The Bible" series with a song that has been on my mind lately. The song is "All Things Must Pass" by George Harrison, off of the album with the same name. The scriptural references I'll be using will be from Matthew & Revelation.  Now, for the music!

So, I'm going to be using the King James Version for a lot of these, not because it's my favorite, but because the wording is often more poetic, and is more common to find phrases from it than other versions.  Matthew 24:6 states

"And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet."  

We also have the passing of death itself in Revelation 21:4 with

"And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."  

I've been thinking a lot about such things, and the song itself is a masterpiece in letting us know that things will get better.  We just have to get past the tough times.  Through Matthew we learn that it is not the end - but that these things must come to pass.  Like all things in life, they will pass.

This is an idea of the negative things passing away.  That bad things will happen, but they will pass away so that good can return.  This thought is a strong one, that if we are patient, and have faith, all our troubles will pass away.  Even fear of death itself will come to pass.   We must push on.  I like to listen to this song and remember that no matter what happens, the hardships we face will fade away.  Things won't always be this grey.  The darkness only stays the night-time. We can take this message, and remember the daylight will return.  Even in our darkest hour, we can have faith that we will be returned to the light.  No matter how bad things get, they cannot stay bad - for all things must pass away.

No Diggity

Well, I don't know why I haven't written much lately. Writer's block? Who knows. I haven't been sleeping well, and work has had me stressed. Warcraft has been a nice escape. I've been running a farm. It's almost like my Warlock got old and retired. Not yet.
Well, I've been watching a lot of anime. Some good, some so-so. They are about to start me on new drugs. And might change my sleeping meds. Allergies have been making things worse.