Jesus Takes Care of the Rest

Keith Green

"You just keep doing your best, and pray that it's blessed,

and Jesus takes care of he rest!"

My senior year in high school (1976-77) I became friends with a dynamo of a freshman girl named Sandra Payne. She and her friends adopted me as their big brother (actually the 7 of them called me Snow White- but that's a story for another day!) and Sandra's family treated myself and my friend Steve as if we were relatives. It still, even some 39 years later, feels funny to call her Sandra. Everyone knew her as Punky. Punky Payne. Among the many things she brought into my life that year was my first introduction to what is now known as Contemporary Christian Music. She played albums for me by artists like Evie, Amy Grant and Keith Green. One of the Keith Green songs she played over and over was called He'll Take Care of the Rest. And just for Punky (wherever she may be) that song is my devotional for today!

Keith Green was truly one of the pioneers of early modern Christian music. As with most of his peers, he saw music as a ministry more than entertainment, and his concerts were often accompanied by some serious preaching. He and his wife Melody were the founders of Last Days Ministries. In 1982, while flying over some land that had been purchased for the purpose of expanding the ministry, Keith and 11 others were killed in a plane crash. His death at such an early age left an huge hole in the ministry of the church, and he is still missed today. He remains an inspiration to many of today's artists and ministers.  

He'll Take Care of the Rest was not one of Keith's best known songs, even back in 1977 when it appeared on his first solo album For Him Who Has Ears To Hear. It would have been easy to pick a more popular (yet still seldom heard in today's world) Green song, such as Asleep in the Light, So You Wanna' Go Back To Egypt or You Put This Love In My Heart. But He'll Take Care of the Rest holds a special place in my heart- in part because of Punky, and in part because it is a reminder that God often calls the unwilling to do the improbable. In many ways that feels like my story too. It is a reminder that God doesn't always call the equipped; sometimes God equips the called. Plus, this song is just flat out fun. So enjoy it, and then go check out more of Keith Green's story online.  You will be inspired. This one's for you, Punky. And just so you know- among the 7 dwarfs she was Dopey.  :)

Because of Jesus,

My Great White Whales

In the great book Moby Dick, the character of Captain Ahab is relentless in his search for the title character, a great white whale. His commitment is so complete that the term "great white whale" is often used to refer to anything we become obsessed with seeking and finding. When my son Will gave me a hand-me-down iPod several years ago and I began to collect old songs I had once had either on vinyl or old CDs, there were 2 old favorites I had difficulty finding. I have mentioned both on this blog before for other reasons, and I once owned both songs on 45 rpm vinyl. The first was an old youth group favorite originally recorded by Olivia Newton-John called Let Me Be There. There were dozens of ONJ songs on i-Tunes, but that hit from early in her career was nowhere to be found. I found a YouTube video, but my quest for the original recording went unfulfilled. But I never gave up the search. The other song was a late 70's one hit wonder by Toby Beau that we used to sing around the dishwasher at Quaker Lake Camp. My Angel Baby was an amazing song, but when I searched i-Tunes they had no listing for the band, much less for the song. Again, my search ended in disappointment. And though I never gave up the hunt, for several years I was denied my great white whales.

Then in December I again launched a search for my 2 missing songs. There was still nothing on i-Tunes, but when my search turned to Amazon I discovered they had added some new ONJ in their digital music, and Let Me Be There was among the choices. I was thrilled and purchased it immediately. One white whale down. Only moments later, after once again finding no listing for Toby Beau or My Angel Baby in their digital music, my search uncovered a rare and random CD called Hard To Find 45s of the 70s on CD, Volume 8. And there, at track #10, was my second white whale. I ordered it and it arrived just before Christmas. My search was complete, and the great beasts had been defeated. I was one happy camper!

There are few things that move me like music does, and even fewer things that can bring moments from my past into such clear view. Finding these white whales not only gave me a sense of accomplishment, but they transported me through time to some special places and great times spent with wonderful people. And I don't care who you are, that's a great day of fishing. 

Oh...and one more thing. Just in case you don't know that I have eclectic odd musical tastes, on that CD of 20 hard to find songs were 5 songs that were ALREADY on my iPod. But I did get to add Which Way Are You Going, Billy? and Kung Fu Fighting!!! Have a great Thursday, everyone!

Advent: Child of Bethlehem

Today is the 4th Sunday in Advent, and today we light the candle of Peace. Pease is a very complicated word in our world. There is so much violence all around us, and most people talk about wanting peace and praying for peace- but very few us actually work towards it. We tend to confine the concept to a large scale, to things like wars and riots and shootings, and when we think that way peace often seems like a wishful dream. On the hilarious old SNL skit that advertises a collection of songs called A Dysfunctional Family Christmas, one of the song titles mentioned is "Peace on Earth? Where?"  I think many of us would ask that question. And yet, today, we remember that the coming of the Christ-child was all about bringing us peace. Has God failed us?

Let's look at what we know. Hundreds of years before that night in Bethlehem, the prophet Isaiah announced the coming Messiah would be called (among other things) The Prince of Peace. When the angels appeared to the smelly shepherds they said to them, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth Peace and goodwill towards men." Jesus, in his most important sermon, said that those who work for peace would be blessed and called children of God. Peace is important to Jesus, and so many of us claim to be his followers. So where does it all go wrong?

I know you didn't ask, but here is my take on that question. When we think about peacemaking and praying for peace, we start in the wrong place. We pray for the big stuff, the major events, the real tragedies of violence- as we should. But that is NOT where peace begins. It begins in our hearts. God sent his Son on the first Christmas so they we could have peace in our relationship with God. With the coming of Jesus, a bridge was built and we were forgiven and forever connected to the Creator. The Christmas gift should bring peace to our souls. But it can't stop there. The earthly teachings of the Messiah focused completely on one word- LOVE. We are to love ourselves as God's creation; we are to love God with all of our strenght; and we are to love each other no matter what our differences and our circumstances. Peace is so often absent from our lives because we are just so bad at those three things. We dislike ourselves, which gives us bad attitudes and lots of feelings of hostility and jealousy. We are not fully devoted to following Jesus, so we miss out on his call to be radically different. And we seem to constantly be in search of new reasons not to love other individuals- or entire groups of people- in our daily lives. Peace begins with a relationship with The Prince of Peace and spreads through loving the way Jesus taught us to love. If we cannot forgive, overcome differences and face our fears in our families, our neighborhoods, our schools and our workplaces then we have no chance of being peacemakers on the world stage. None.

James Ward is a musician who (for too many reason to list here) also happens to have been a huge influence on my ministry. The first time I ever met James was 1982. He looked like James Taylor, but when he opened his mouth it was more like Stevie Wonder came flying out! That same year he released his album Faith Takes a Vision, and the first track was a song called Child of Bethlehem. I still break it out every Christmas. In it, James asks interesting questions. What is it we are allowing Jesus to be in our lives? Savior? Teacher? Prince of Peace? God sent his only son to die for us so that each of us would be transformed, and in turn would then be transformers of our world. For over 2000 years world peace has escaped us. But what about the peace in our hearts? My prayer today, with only 4 sleeps left before Christmas, is that we would commit anew to loving the way Jesus loved. That is the path to peace. Enjoy the song, and ponder the question- "Child of Bethlehem, will you be the Prince of Peace?"  Have a blessed Sunday.

My Deliverer is Coming,

The Vatican Rag

It's a Throwback Thursday, and today I am gonna' go WAAAAY back- all the way to 1965. The great Tom Lehrer recorded a live album called That Was the Year That Was, an album full of satirical songs about the big news stories of the day. As you see in the accompanying quote, Tom's music was a great inspiration for older artist like Ray Stevens and current heroes like Weird Al. Now before you get carried away with the old jokes, I was only 6 and don't remember any of his music from when it actually happened. I was in high school when Hank Semmler (the father of my friends Carl & Steve) introduced me to Tom's music. And I LOVED it. I memorized every song on the album, eventually bought the CD, and still have it on my iPod. Even as outdated as the actual news stories on which the songs are based are, many of the underlying principles behind the songs (while in many cases now considered politically incorrect) are still very relevant today. And most every song- no matter how many times I hear them- makes me laugh. But there is one song in particular that literally cracks me up every single time it plays- and that's the song I want to share with you today. It's called The Vatican Rag.

Let me begin by saying that this song does poke a little fun at the faith and practices of the Catholic Church in 1965, but that is not what makes it funny. I have Catholic friends for whom I have a great deal of love and respect, and they find the song hysterical too. In fact, if the entire Church wants to follow the lead of Pope Francis by actually believing the teachings of Jesus, then perhaps we would all be better off being Catholic in our own way! What makes this song so hysterical to me is not the Catholic part- he could just have easily have joked about Methodist or Lutheran rituals. The thing that makes me laugh is the way Tom lampoons the idea of our need to make church "relevant"  and to "sell the product." Remember, 1965 was before anyone had ever heard of things like seeker worship, contemporary Christian music or praise bands. The Catholic church was just beginning to allow languages other than Latin to be spoken in Mass. They were allowing new kinds of music, including some songs played on guitar. The humor here comes from Tom's suggestion that if the Church really wanted to connect with the world, then we needed to go all in and get serious about using popular music and embracing the culture in our worship. He then offers "a modest example." You can hear it below.

He may not have meant it to be, but the the song was pretty prophetic. In the years since we have indeed introduced modern music and practices into worship. Much of it is beautiful and very appropriate. Some of it has been just as silly as The Vatican Rag. The real question behind anything the Church does to be "relevant" is this: Do we do it to draw people closer to God, or do we do it to "sell the product?" In the nearly 50 years since this song was written, the answers have been decidedly mixed. But let's not over think this. Primarily this song is meant to be funny, And it is! I hope you enjoy it. And if you love it like I do, be sure to check out more of the album. I would especially recommend National Brotherhood Week, Pollution and Who's Next?  Hope you all have a great Thursday!

Surfer's Paradise

"And the junk's all free at the 7-11,

catch a perfect wave it'll take you to heaven

Bring your girl, bring your guy, 

make it on down to Surfer's Paradise!"

Welcome to Obscure Music Monday #4!  As I continue to take a look back at songs from Christian artists that stay in heavy rotation on my I-pod but that you may not have heard before, today we dig really deep!  The song is called Surfer's Paradise, and it was featured on a 1998 compilation album called Surfonic Water Revival.  The album was a tribute to the great surf music of the the 1960's, honoring artists such as The Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, Dick Dale, The Safaris and many others. The album was put together by the great Terry Scott Taylor, who also wrote the majority of the songs. It was dedicated to the late Beach Boy, Carl Wilson.  Artists appearing on the project included Smalltown Poets, The Insyderz, Plumb, Chuck Girard, Skillet, Plankeye, Daniel Amos, Randy Stonehill and more.  But our obscure song for this week was done by the pop/rock band All Star United and the legendary guitarist Phil Keaggy. I knew it would be my favorite track on the album before I ever heard it... 

If you don't know Phil Keaggy, you should.  He was a guitarist for the great blues/rock band Glass Harp in the late 60's and early 70's before converting to Christianity and focusing on the early years of what would become Contemporary Christian Music. How good of a guitarist is Phil Keaggy?  His 7 Dove Awards for best instrumental album aside, his name often comes up along with Clapton, Hendrix and others in discussions of the greatest guitar players EVER.  Ted Nugent once said, "I don't know what happened to that guy Phil Keaggy. He could have saved the world with his guitar."  Actually Ted, that was EXACTLY what Phil wanted to do- use his music to help people discover Jesus. Using Phil to play classic surf riffs and pairing him with the classic "beach party" sound of All Star United was brilliant, and the song just soars.  I was working in Kissimmee when Interlinc introduced me to the album, and I wound up buying numerous copies because youth kept stealing mine! The concept is simple- if you were a surfer who is also a Christ follower, then perhaps this is what your favorite beach in heaven might be like.  Perfect waves every day. There's no closing sign, and your tan never fades.  Surfing utopia. 

So today, take a little trip with me. Let's hit the beach. catch a wave, and remember that the God who created the oceans and the waves loves you and me.  Let's thank God for that- and for Phil Keaggy.  He's still out there trying to help save the world...

Because of Jesus,

"Feels Good To Be Forgiven"

"Jesus proved it and I have found,

you can't keep a good man down!

Oh, Oh...feels good to be forgiven!"

Welcome to Obscure Music Monday #3!  This ongoing series seeks to expose my readers to classic Christian music that you may have forgotten, or (more likely) never knew about in the first place!  Today I am happy to feature Eddie Degarmo and his classic solo hit, Feels Good To Be Forgiven.

Dana Key and Eddie Degarmo were pioneers of Christian rock music.  They began recording in 1978 and for over two decades recorded and toured together.  I have to admit to not being much of a D & K fan; their lyrics were often a bit heavy handed for my taste.  But they were quite popular in the early to mid 80's, with songs like Destined To Win, Six, Six, Six and Boycott Hell.  In fact, Six, Six, Six was the first Christian music video I ever remember seeing on MTV.  The video was considered tooo graphic and violent and was actually banned for a period of time.  Imagine that...  Eddie and Dana (who passed away in 2010) would go on to make an enormous contribution to Christian music in the 90's with the founding of Forefront Records- the company that gave us (among others) dc Talk and Audio Adrenaline. In the late 80's they each recorded their own solo projects, and I fell in love with Eddie's 1988 song Feels Good To Be Forgiven. It was bluesy, soulful, and had a message we can all relate to.  Who among us doesn't need forgiveness- from our families, our friends and our God?  And oh by the way- it does feel good to be forgiven, doesn't it?

As we count down the days to Good Friday, it is important to remember that Jesus' trip to Golgotha was not about betrayal or governments or faulty Jewish leadership.  It was about mission.  Jesus came to earth to die...for US.  Even thought we didn't deserve it and we don't deserve and we never will earn it, Jesus gave us grace, taking the sins of the world upon his back on the cross. He conquered our sin, and three days later he would conquer death as well.  Remember that this week.  And remember that Jesus died for YOU, too.  Forgiveness is yours. And it feels good to be forgiven!  "And if you're not sure you can sing along, look down deep 'cause something's very wrong..."  Christ is risen- He is risen indeed!

Because of Jesus,

Obscure Music Monday

"Death has been swallowed up in victory;

Death, where is your victory?

Where is your sting?" ~ 1 Corinthians 15:54-55

You all know how much I love music. Some of you know that I am a big fan of a lot of music that much of the world seems to be unaware of- much of which is Christian.  Over the next few Mondays I am going to be sharing some songs with you that are very meaningful to me, even if only to me.  I hope you will enjoy.

You may or may not not know James Ward, a talented musician, singer and songwriter.  But I do.  I can tell you a lot about James. In 1982 at the Youth Specialties convention in Dallas he was one of the featured performers, and he blew me away.  He was a skinny, James Taylor-looking white guy who could sing like Stevie Wonder.  A few years later he became the regular music leader at the YS conventions, and I always loved seeing James on the piano at those events.  He came to Greensboro, NC at my invitation sometime in the late 1980s and did a concert for the NC Yearly Meeting of Friends youth, knocking their socks off.  From that event I can tell you that James loves spiced, steamed shrimp, but gets nervous if you try to buy him ice cream too close to concert time.  In 1991 he did a New Year's Eve concert at Youthquake in Burlington, Vermont, and rang in 1992 with a bang.  His album Good Advice is #15 on my Top 50 CCM Countdown.  His Ain't No Rock was a standard youth group song at several of my stops, and I have performed his classic song Morning Sun at a couple of sunrise services.  In short, I am a fan.

One of the songs on the classic 1985 Good Advice was Death Has Ended.  Last week was a week filled with tragedy and questions for myself and many old friends.  I once said in a sermon that I wonder if God ever tires of hearing the questions "Why me?" or "Why not me?"  Death and illness seem so random, and we all struggle when loved ones meet their earthly demise- especially under tragic circumstances.  But the bottom line from scripture is this- Jesus has already beaten death for us.  Other religions are based on what you DO to make god love you.  Christianity is all about what has been DONE- by Jesus.  This song says that in an amazing way.  Close your eyes (there is no video, the picture never changes), crank up the volume, give it a listen, and don't quit on it halfway through.  It's like an 80s pop song and a rousing church choir anthem had a baby.  I promise you, we are about to have some CHURCH up in here...

"Thanks be unto Jesus, thanks be unto God! He has won the battle through the power of the cross!"  Death will lose.  Satan will lose. Easter is on the way.  AMEN & AMEN!!!

Because of Jesus,