Month: October 2026

During part of the 1960s through the 70s there were singing groups like the Turtles, The Birds, The Monkeys, The Beatles, The Eagles, Bread, America, The Bee Gees, and others whose voices we heard over the airwaves.  Many groups had something in common: songs that were melodramatic, story-telling like, and soft or easy on the ears.  One group was almost on its way out when the sound of the vehicle practically saved their lives. 

I once heard on a Casey Kasem broadcast, that the sound of their car, inspired The Bee Gees to write the song, Jive Talkin.’ Some years later, feeling they were not moving ahead in their career, their manager asked if they knew how to sing falsetto.  They did.  Knowing so, drove them to the top to produce what is considered the best Disco hit of all time: Staying Alive. 

People everywhere were hooked on their hit, while fans wondered how they went from mellow yellows, to electrifying artists.  From I Started a Joke, Massachusetts, and Lonely Days, etc. to To Love Somebody, etc. no doubt, they had changed.  Their sound was different.  Their voice had changed.

As we go through life maybe moving from Brooklyn to Massachusetts, and tired of feeling like a joke, God wants us to listen to His voice instead of the one that sounds like everyone else’s in a group. Crowds tend to have one voice, one battle cry. 

When blind Bartimaeus, in Mark 10:47, heard Jesus was passing by, he cried, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. Many rebuked him, but he cried all the more, Son of David, have mercy on me.”  When Jesus called him over, he tossed his cloak! He knew his life was about to change!

Heed His voice! Maybe go falsetto! Toss your cloak-your bad habits (your hangouts), etc. GET RID of THEM!               Acknowledge that your life is about to be transformed.  You’re about to hit a high note! Your buddies won’t recognize your voice!  But you’ll hear the Shepherd’s voice (John 10:27)!    You’ll no longer sound like the masses; no more jive talking!  With Jesus in your heart, you’ll be at your best staying alive every day.

“My son, give me your heart; and let your eyes delight n my ways” (Proverbs 23:26).

God Bless!
Sam

Lou Rawls sang that song so good! Maybe you were there! It’s the 70s and you’re either chillin’ at home, or out partying with your gals.  Maybe you’re on the dance floor grooving away.  You have all kinds of thoughts on your mind; schooling, job interviews, calling that pesky guy hitting on you, etc.  You’ve been rubbed the wrong way by your pain-y parents and right now, you just want to bask in the deepness of Rawls’ voice.

Hearing that song places you right where you were 50 years ago!  You can smell the perfumes, colognes, the food, even the atmosphere.  You can even read your thoughts from so far back!  It’s amazing!  Listen again:

“You’ll never find…it’ll take the end of all time/someone to understand you like I do/…But I’m the one who loves you (ooh, oh)/And there’s no one else! No, one else.”

But as that was your world back then, God says the same words to you today!  Right now, in Jeremaih 31:3, He says to you, “I have loved you with an everlasting love;”

We shall never be loved by ANYONE more than what He loves us! 

At this very moment, you might not be wearing your dancing shoes, you might not feel like singing.  You might not even care about the false words some Romeo texted you.  Your heart might be in your belly; your tears streaming down your cheeks, and you might just want to be left alone…After all, those days of fifty years ago are gone.  Those moments are no more; they’re glimpses of better times.  They were our youth.  They shaped our lives.  In them we planned our weeks and months.  But now, we’re living in a different world. 

Maybe you need to hear those words again!  “We’re living in a different world!” 

Times have changed. And those lyrics from long ago, as great as they were, and as good as they sounded, should be replaced by similar, but better ones!  You should be seeking to hear them from God’s lips.  You’re in His heart.  You’re on His mind. He’s waiting to personally tell you how much He loves you!

Listen to His words:

“For I am the LORD God, besides me there is no other” (Isaiah 45:5). And,

“Who shall separate us from the love of God?  Shall trouble or hardship, or persecution or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword” (Romans 8:35)?

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38,39).                                                                                                                                                                                                     To move on in life, we need a new beginning!  Start anew where you are with God in your life! 

Like the late Keith Green sang, “You can run to the end of the highway and not find what you’re looking for/No, it won’t make your troubles disappear…To find yourself, you have to start right here.”

Great poets and singers have poured out their hearts with heart-stirring, heart-clinching lyrics pulling our emotions in certain directions-sometimes with legit intentions, but God has got something better!  While a man/woman can vow to never leave us, their words may not always hold water!  Since Jesus is the WORD, His words are forever; And, YES! His Word (Jesus), does hold water (Isaiah 40:12)!

Go ahead, bask in the deepness of His voice, for “He thunders marvelously” (Job 37:5)!  Get dancing!

God Bless!

Sam

The word express has a few meanings and multiple usages. For example, remember New York’s express trains?  Sometimes in a mad dash to catch the express, one might end up getting a local one.  Locals, for example, might go to 14^th Street, 21^st, 28^th, 34^th, 42^nd, etc. while an express train would skip less-populated stops and shoot from 14^th Street to 34th.  This was especially crucial if you needed to get, say, to 168^th Street in the Bronx and wanted to get there straight from around 81^st Street.  A few key stops versus a ton of small ones where the trains had to slow down, stop, open doors, (sometimes to empty stations), close doors and restart.

Express works great when one’s in a rush.  But express also portrays something explicit such as, “I expressly told you not to go.”  Or, “You need to express your thoughts more clearly.”  That reminds me of the song, Express Yourself (Charles Wright & the Watts 103^rd Street Rhythm Band, 1970).

Here’s a different meaning for the word: “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.  After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven” (Hebrews 1:3 NIV).

The King James version reads, …“The express image of his person…”

In other words, Jesus is an exact image of God, the Father.  That’s because He’s God in the flesh. Born as such so we could see Him and relate to Him as a human.  It’s easy to rationalize, “God can’t relate to me! He’s way-up there! What would He (The Father) know?  After all, He’s a Spirit!  But in taking on human flesh, He can relate to our shortfalls.

Since we are made in His image, we need to treat others as if we were standing in His presence; with reverence.  Since God knows and understands all things, we can express ourselves to Him!  Go on, tell Him how you feel.  You can go “Local” with Him; meaning, take your time; enjoy the view. Don’t take the express!

God Bless!

Sam

Remember that movie with Will Smith?  As an enemy of the state, you will be pursued by every agency out there!  Everywhere you go you will be watched; your every move monitored.  Relentlessly, you’ll be tracked.  Your life will be turned upside-down.

In the movie, Will Smith unknowingly, comes into possession of evidence/knowledge of something that a corrupt agency is after.  Without his knowledge, a ‘target’ (so-to-speak), is placed on his back. From then on, he’s on the run.

Same with us! We like to think we’re ‘cool’ with God; that we’re fine in his eyes.  But that’s not how it is from His perspective.  Before coming to Christ, we were dead (spiritually-speaking); in our sins and trespasses; meaning, we didn’t know Him as Savior or have His forgiveness. Read on.

“Because of our sins, we were dead in our spirits.  But God gave us a new life, because we are united with Christ.  Yes, God has saved you because he is so kind” (Ephesians 2:5 EASY).

Definition: As spiritually dead people, we were not God’s friends as we might think!  Actually, we were (are) His enemies.  WHY? Because a spiritually-dead person can’t do what God created him to do: to honor Him and serve Him in righteousness.  Even our best works or attempts are futile without turning our lives over to Him.  Our BEST efforts are like “filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6 KJV).

But God has had His eye on you!  Though an enemy, He’s got His angels (His messengers), seeking you out!  They know your every move!  You can say, a “target” has been placed on your back!  Now, you can come to Christ, or continue to run; It’s up to you.

  “You know my sitting down and my rising up; you understand my thoughts from afar” (Psalm 139:2). 

He’s pursuing you out of love to take something you may not know you have in your possession-a sinful nature!  Satan is the real enemy-yours and God’s.

God WANTS YOU TO COME HOME!

“If while we were yet enemies of God, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more,” having been reconciled shall we be saved through his life” (Romans 5:10)!

Once found, you’ll be saved from damnation! You’ll no longer be an enemy of God; but His friend (John 15:15)!

God Bless!
Sam