The Ransom That Cost It All

As we approach the holiday season this may seem like a unusual topic to discuss during this time of year. The death of Jesus is not usually mentioned during Christmas, shouldn't that be reserved for Easter?

Christmas, as wonderful as the celebration can be, still signals the birth of Christ , who was born to die. There are plenty of New Testament verses, some from Jesus Himself, discussing His ultimate destiny on earth, "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45) is one of many verses on this topic. From the moment sin infiltrated earth, God implemented His plan to purchase our freedom and free all creation from the effects of sin. Which brings me to one of my favorite Psalms, Psalm 49.

"Hear this, all peoples! Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, both low and high, rich and poor together! I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre." Verses 1-4 I find so interesting, check out the Psalmist exclamation points, illustrating the importance of the words to follow, and that this wisdom to follow is for everyone, with no exceptions.

Calling Out Your Name (by Rich Mullins)

 

"Ask for whatever you want Me to give you."

As a child I loved the story of God appearing to Solomon in a dream. Solomon had just been named the King of Israel (God's people) by his father, David. Solomon traveled to Gibeon, which the Bible tells us was one of the high places near Jerusalem, and offered over a thousand burnt offerings as a sacrifice to God. That night God appeared to Solomon in a dream and said, "Ask for whatever you want Me to give you." (1 Kings - Chapter 3)

I have often wondered if the story "Aladdin's Wonderful Lamp" which is part of the collection of stories in the book, "One Thousand and One Nights" was inspired by this scripture. An all-powerful deity granting the wishes of a mere mortal is a story that will always captivate our imagination. Which brings us to the questions, "What would you wish for if the Creator of the universe asked you what you wanted?"

Like A Rolling Stone

As a musician there are some songs that you just sit back in wonder at the construction and marriage of the lyrics and melody. Bob Dylan is one of those songwriters that can weave a story in a song with unprecedented skill. One of my favorite songs of his is, "Like A Rolling Stone." But before we take a look at those lyrics I want to share one of my favorite stories about the recording of that song.

A 21 year old studio musician showed up on the second day of production of the song, "Like A Rolling Stone." His name was Al Kooper and he was a guest of the producer of that session, Tom Wilson. His hope was to play guitar but he quickly realized that the current guitar player, Mike Bloomfield, was way better than he was. So when the organ player on the session moved off of the organ to record some piano tracks Al begged Tom to let him play the organ. Wilson responded, "Man you're a guitar player, you can't play the organ", but at that moment someone called Tom out of the room and Al saw his chance. He went into the studio, sat down at the Hammond B3 organ, and when Tom returned he yelled at Al, "What are you doing?" (Which you can hear on the raw tracks of the recording). However, Tom Wilson was a gracious man, didn't call him out and let him stay.