10.18.2013
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The Baby Boom generation does not have much to show for itself
The Baby Boom generation does not have much to show for itself in comparison to the previous generation, or what many have called the World War II generation. They have been labeled “The Greatest Generation”. They went into battle to fight evil itself. They sacrificed everything in this cause. The toll extracted was enormous. They prevailed.
So as we the boomer generation age into the graybeards and white heads on the earth, what do we have to show for ourselves in this generation? Many would say self-centered absorption, excess, and ridiculous delusion. Probably true. But all actions have to be judged in absolute truth. I would say all absolute truth is found only in one source. God himself.
To see the face of God in the affairs of men in the so-called Baby Boom generation is found in one word, music. The music that flowed forth in the 1960s and 70s was a kaleidoscope of creativity. God released from the heavens His Spirit and inspiration. Did he authorize every music sheet? No. But all drank from the same well, good and evil.
I can cite two instances of musicians who drank from the good well. The first is a rock-n-roll band called Grand Funk Railroad. The lead vocalist and guitarist, Mark Farner said he was having a block writing new music for a forthcoming album. Before he went to bed that night, he said a prayer to God asking for inspiration to come to him for a song. He woke up the next morning and immediately wrote down the words he had in his head in about 15 minutes time. The song was titled, “I’m Your Captain (Closer to Home)”. It sent the band into a new stratosphere of sales. US Vietnam military personnel reported it gave them hope to get through their war experience. A Shea Stadium concert in New York City was sold out within two hours. Faster than the famed Beatles NYC debut in the US. If you listen carefully to the lyrics of the song, you can hear the impassioned plea and love of the creator God calling His children back to Him.
The second instance is from a lesser-known band. They were a Southern rock band called The Outlaws. In their debut album (1975), the tenth song of ten on the album was called “Green Grass and High Tides Forever”. The writer, Henry Paul has been quoted as saying he first set out to write a tribute to previous rock-n-roll legends like Jimmy Hendrix and Janis Joplin. It instead became a surreal experience like he was not writing the words, but dictating them. This song became a huge hit and was always played as their last song in live concerts. If you listen to the lyrics you can see a tribute to the creator God, and what His Love is saying;
“In a place, you can only dream of where your soul is always free,
Green grass and high tides forever,
Castles of stone, soul, and glory,
Lost faces say we adore you,
As kings and queens bow down before you.
Those who don’t believe me, find your souls and set them free,
Those who do, believe and know that time will be your key.”
Music is a tremendous gift from God to soothe the soul
It is just as it was in the Book of Psalms. King David under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Running around the room, dictating words to the scribes, and the lyrics to the musicians.
It has been said, “God does not exist in eternity without some form of music”. Whether it be a daybreak song of birds, a distant tribe in celebration, or a church choir.
“But these people don’t want to remember what happened long ago. The skies were there, and God made the earth from water and with water. All this happened by God’s word“. (2 Peter 3:5)
Music gives people hope for the future
“But now we are tired of this body. We want God to give us our heavenly home. It will clothe us and we will not be naked. While we live in this tent, we have burdens and so we complain. I don’t mean that we want to remove this tent, but we want to be clothed with our heavenly home. Then this body that dies will be covered with life“.
(2 Co 5:2-4)
lclioncross - The New Emerging Church Coming Down From Heaven 