A profound poem, a profound song and a profound thought.....Ever wondered how Absolom's hair could weigh so much?

Hello, all.....


I've been attending African American Churches a lot & have a new favorite poet!.....James Weldon Johnson.....He's an established figure in the Black Church. Technically, there are some doctrinal errors in the poem below, but you'd be hard pressed to find a more worshipful expression anywhere outside the Bible, itself. We need to be sticklers for Verbal Plenary Inspiration, but this'll give ya goosebumps! Having given that disclaimer, I appreciate his right heart of worship. 

https://youtu.be/d2nOk-50kXE

Periodically, Country Music stations in the 70's played the song below. Country Music fans then tended to be even more white/rural than now.....& the inner cities may as well have been a foreign country to people even a few miles away. So, urban topics were rarely thematic in that genre. The song below saddened me as a kid. Regardless of where you are politically, this will grab you. Because there will be future racially charged incidents, the Church needs to knock off the political bickering & unite immediately in accordance w/Micah 6:8 & James 1:27.......On Youtube, there are many videos of young black people, most of whom had probably never before even heard of Elvis, reacting to it w/great emotion. Please take some time to look for some of their videos after you hear this.....You can't unhear this song or what they say. 

https://youtu.be/6am8V5KNJ4A
In the Ghetto
​Elvis Presley

As the snow flies
On a cold and gray Chicago mornin'
A poor little baby child is born
In the ghetto
And his mama cries
'Cause if there's one thing that she don't need
It's another hungry mouth to feed
In the ghetto
People, don't you understand
The child needs a helping hand
Or he'll grow to be an angry young man some day
Take a look at you and me,
Are we too blind to see,
Do we simply turn our heads
And look the other way
Well the world turns
And a hungry little boy with a runny nose
Plays in the street as the cold wind blows
In the ghetto
And his hunger burns
So he starts to roam the streets at night
And he learns how to steal
And he learns how to fight
In the ghetto
Then one night in desperation
The young man breaks the rules
He buys a gun, steals a car,
Tries to run, but he don't get far
And his mama cries
As a crowd gathers 'round an angry young man
Face down on the street with a gun in his hand
In the ghetto
As her young man dies,
On a cold and gray Chicago mornin',
Another little baby child is born
In the ghetto
And his mama cries
Source: Musixmatch
​

Racism isn't the worst sin....nor abortion. Nor homosexuality. Nor.....fill in the blank. The lack of worship is. And our greatest ministry to God is not doing but just being. (Think of Martha & Mary....Luke 10:38-42). So, doing negative &/or positive things will not ultimately determine the kind of eternity we experience.....However, out of our being will proceed works prepared in advance. (Ephesians 2:10) We just step into them. What I love most about the verses preceding Ephesians 2:10 is that we only bring our destitution. But the good works of Jesus will come out of us like fountains overflowing....sometimes when we least expect it. (John 4:14).....A dog does not bark because it has to. It barks because it has "doggish" nature. As Christians, we don't do good works because we have to. They are automatic because we have the nature of Jesus Christ. 

The greater part of the American Church has gone off on various rabbit trails but Covid is clarifying us. Not all bad........Most everyone reading these are deep into ministry, but I encourage all to be frank when they hear whining about how bad things have gotten. To whiners of all political stripes: If you don't like what you see, then go serve somewhere. The government is doing the Church's job very poorly but does it out of necessity.

Pardon me as I shift from a serious topic & end w/a little humor.......I laughed hysterically when I saw this. This is what happens when sheep run from their shepherd. This is why sheep need them. Yes, a metaphor for the Church. This unfortunate ball of fur gave enough wool for 30 sweaters!!!! God obviously embedded humor in sheep. They sound like a bunch of old people whining & complaining when in a herd......ahem....the American Church.....(that's both the urban woke AND the suburban folk). ​

Poor sheepie....Bahhh. Bahhhh....When I saw this pic, it also made me think of Absolom.......C'mon. Admit it.....you always did a double take just like the rest of us every time you read about him.....because the Bible says that his hair weighed 200 shekels (6+ pounds) when he cut it & weighed it.....Well, there always seems to be an explanation, doesn't there?....I recently heard a sermon explaining that Abs put gold dust in his hair so that it would glisten in the sun. So, as Paul Harvey used to say....."Now you know the rest of the story"......If I were this sheep's shepherd, I'd name him Absolom. If he's a she, I'd name her Abby. Lol.

For celebrating creation and repentance in our nation.......so we can once again go out in large numbers to this nation & the other nations......

........Just another witness of His Glory