Month: October 2020

My Top 5 Hits RETRO – 1985

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date October 30, 2020

Every 2ND, 3RD, and 4TH Friday of the month I post the Top 5 of one of my classic hit music charts based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay from either 15, 20, or 30 years ago this weekend (rotating each week).

It’s the 5TH Friday of the month, so it’s a special. Back in 1985 I was an 18-year-old USAF Airman Basic living in a dorm at Chanute AFB near Rantoul Illinois. I was there for technical training related to my future job. During those last days of October of 1985 I was still there, but I shouldn’t have been. You see I was held-back. While my 3 classmates moved on to their next destination I was still there with my instructor. I failed the final exam (barely). I didn’t study hard enough for it. Perhaps I partied just a little bit too much during the days and nights leading-up to the final exam.

So my instructor summarized the material of the past 12 weeks, quizzed me on it over and over again, and prepared me to take the final exam again. I passed it on the redo, and I was soon on my way out of that dorm, off the base, and on the road in my 1980 Chevy Citation. I drove 700 miles eastward across Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and into Northern Virginia (my home-of-record at the time).

These were the hottest hits in the land during that memorable 700-mile drive – exactly 35 years ago this weekend – for the week ending Sunday October 27TH 1985:

“Saving All My Love For You” – Whitney Houston
“Part-Time Lover” – Stevie Wonder
“Take On Me” – A-Ha
“Miami Vice Theme” – Jan Hammer
“Head Over Heels” – Tears For Fears

That was the longest solo road-trip of my life (up to that point). That was in my very first car that I didn’t get to keep long enough, as I would soon be on my way overseas to The United Kingdom. (That car would eventually be sold by my Dad.)

Big changes are coming to RETRO starting next Friday. I’ll be removing 20 years ago from the monthly rotation, and I’ll be adding 25 years ago and 35 years ago. My hit music chart began 35 years ago next month in England, and 25 years ago this month it was resurrected after a 3-year hiatus. The beginnings of both of these distinct eras are intriguing, and I’m looking forward to looking back at these music memories of my life.

It’s halftime my friends. I’ll be back on Sunday and Monday with 2 more blog posts for this weekend. Enjoy your Saturday. Thanks for going RETRO with me !

Tags 1985, Music, Radio, Top 40

Blogging Christian Driving God History Music Radio Travel

My Favorite Music Decade

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date October 29, 2020

Greetings my friends. It’s Thursday October 29TH 2020, and it’s the start of another 4-day weekend of blogging – today, tomorrow, Sunday, and Monday. I don’t blog on Saturdays. That’s my day of rest. That’s my day with God’s Word. I also don’t blog on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Those are just my days off from this blog. There are a few Tuesdays each year when I do blog for a special occasion. The next one will be in December.

I normally don’t blog about music on Thursdays because I already do so on Fridays and Mondays, but I’ll make an exception this week.

When I was in the Wichita Falls Texas area last month we were listening to 50s On 5 on SiriusXM in my Uncle’s big Ford pick-up truck. He’ll be 90 in a couple of months, so the 1950s were his decade for pop music. He was 18 to 28 back then, so he heard those great hits on some great old-fashioned AM radio stations. Every so often he would hear a song that he wasn’t too fond of, so he would switch it over to 60s On 6. From there he would switch it over to the Love music channel. That wouldn’t last long, as it was soon back to 50s On 5.

My brother is 45. His favorite decades channel is 80s On 8 – followed closely behind by 90s On 9. That’s what we listened to in his SUV while driving around the northeastern suburbs of Dallas Texas. Every so often he’d switch it over to 70s On 7 – knowing that it’s my favorite music decade.

I loved ’70s music back in the ’70s when it was brand new on the radio. I was 2 to 12 during the ’70s. I remember listening to Top 40 radio for almost as long as I’ve been alive. I remember those childhood years in Prince Georges County Maryland with my very first radio – listening to WWDC AM-1260 out of Washington D.C. – and also WPGC AM-1580 (and then later on FM-95.5). Those were the best pop music years of my life !

But then 1980 hit, and I all but abandoned ’70s music for the next 30 years. Top 40 music continued on, and the ’70s seemed so outdated to me. It also brought back some bad memories for me. I wanted to leave those behind forever.

But then something weird happened in 2010. After 3½ years of listening to only Christian pop, rock, hip hop, and dance music from the day of salvation – I started listening to a local South Florida “oldies” station that was playing ’70s music on my coworker’s radio at her desk. I began reminiscing about the decade that I had left behind. I soon went all ’70s all the time, and that lasted nearly 7 years until 2017. It was actually during those 7 years that my weekly hit music chart was on its longest hiatus since its inception 35 years ago.

I still listen to ’70s music today alongside Christian pop music. My two favorite radio stations are both nationwide – K-LOVE and ’70s On 7. My iPod Shuffles that I listen to at work contain 305 (my area code) of my greatest hits of all-time (interchangeable), and almost 40% of them are currently from the ’70s.

The music that used to remind me of the bad times of my childhood now remind me of the good times. There were so many happy days back then, and now I see the light. The memorable music was the soundtrack of my life and times as a toddler, child, and preteen.

Tags Music, Radio

Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Week 193

Every Monday I post my all-new Top 10 Christian hit music chart based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay. It’s the continuation of a weekly hobby that goes back 40+ years. Here it is – for the week ending Sunday October 25TH 2020:

TW	LW	WKS	SONG TITLE	ARTIST / SITE
1	1	9	Rise Up (Lazarus)	Cain
2	2	8	No Hold On Me	Matty Mullins
3	8	4	Jericho	Andrew Ripp
4	3	11	God So Loved	We The Kingdom
5	4	8	This Is What We Live For	Big Daddy Weave
6	6	3	Truth Be Told	Matthew West
7	7	4	Start Right Here	Casting Crowns
8	5	10	Who Am I	NeedToBreathe
9	9	8	Into The Sea (It’s Gonna Be OK)	Tasha Layton
10	10	3	You Keep Hope Alive	Mandisa Ft. Jon Reddick

# 1 This Week In:
2019 – “Fear No More” – Building 429
2018 – “Only Jesus” – Casting Crowns
2017 – “Word Of Life” – Jeremy Camp

Siblings Taylor, Madison, and Logan Cain spend a 2ND week atop my chart with “Rise Up (Lazarus)”. It’s also Top 5 nationwide at big-market Christian radio where it records more increased plays (+229) than any other song on the chart (by far).

Check out the official music video for “Rise Up (Lazarus)” below, or over on YouTube. It was filmed at Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California.

My biggest climber this week is courtesy of Andrew Ripp. He’s up big – 5 notches to # 3 – with “Jericho”. He also cowrote “Rescue Story” with Zach Williams – a # 1 smash from earlier this year.

This concludes another weekend of blog posts. I’ll do it again this upcoming weekend – with 4 new entries on Thursday, Friday, Sunday, and Monday. I don’t blog on Saturdays. That’s my day of rest.

Your likes, follows, and comments are always appreciated. Thank You for being part of my online ministry to share God’s Good News and win souls for Christ through His music. I’m also on Twitter and Flickr.

Be blessed my friends ! May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Tags Blog, Christian, KLOVE, Music

Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture Television

Sunday Scripture

Post author By Chris M. Day
Post date October 25, 2020

Last Sunday I preached a full sermon (about 35 minutes) to my church family on John – the Apostle – the Elder.

Here’s an excerpt from that sermon:

John continues – on why the truth and love is so important to him, and why it must be important to us as well:

I say this because many deceivers have gone out into the world. They deny that Jesus Christ came in a real body. Such a person is a deceiver and an antichrist. (2 John 1:7)

Sounds like a lot of people today in this world and of this world. There are false teachers everywhere. They deny that Christ came in a real body. This mislead believers. They distract believers. They try to pull them away from God and His Kingdom.

There are even false teachers inside church buildings today. You must verify what you hear from a teacher – from a preacher – from a pastor – from a televangelist. You must verify what you hear with God’s Truth. If it doesn’t sound right to you – then verify it with God’s Truth. God’s Truth is flawless. God’s Truth is the Word.

In the latter portion of the Gospel Of Matthew Jesus predicts future events. In red letters:

Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in My name – claiming – ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. (24:4-5)

Don’t be deceived by the imposters who pretend to know Christ – when they don’t. Or if they do know Him they intentionally say things that aren’t the Truth.

In the next few verses of Matthew – in red letters – Christ speaks of wars and threats of wars and famines and earthquakes. Sounds like 2020. Don’t be overwhelmed by these events. They will come and go. This is not the end, but the end is near.

Don’t follow the false prophets and the miracle workers who claim they are the Messiah. Jesus Christ is the One and Only Messiah !

I’m teaching out of John’s 2ND Letter, but in John’s 1ST Letter he writes about the false prophets that were in the new church at the time – as well as out in the world. He writes that we need to test them. In 2020 we should “fact-check” them. We must determine whether or not someone talking to us about God – actually has the Spirit that comes from God. Or – is their “Spirit” manmade ?

You know I watch a lot of TBN these days. Billy Graham’s classic crusades are on there each week. That’s what got me watching TBN in the first place several years ago. They’re a few other preachers and shows I watch on a regular basis. I’m always looking for new preachers and new shows. Sometimes I stumble across a new one, and I watch it for an episode or two or more, and I think to myself, “No – no – there’s something that’s not quite right with that. That goes against my learning. That goes against my Bible studying. I need to verify or refute that.”

They’re some preachers on TV who are in it for the entertainment value. They are putting on a show. They wanna be stars. They wanna be rock stars. I’ve visited a few churches like that – in-person – here in South Florida and over in Southwest Florida. It seems to me that they are elevating themselves above the people that they are speaking to. I’m turned-off by those types of preachers. When it comes to God – I don’t want to be entertained. I want to be educated. On Sundays I want to walk out of here smarter – and closer to God – than I was when I walked in here, and I do.

So John knows a thing or two about Jesus. He was with Jesus. He was one of the first to follow Jesus. John is called “the one whom Jesus loved”. He was 1 of the 12 disciples. He was a close personal friend of Jesus. He was there !

And so John writes to us in his letter that if a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body – that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus – that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist – which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here. (1 John 4:2b-3)

Jesus Christ came in a real body. God became flesh in Christ. He is both fully man and He is fully God. He is the Christ. He is the Son of God.

That’s the Truth then. That’s the Truth now. That’s the Truth forever. See when you have the Spirit of God within you – the Spirit teaches you the Truth – so that you can go and tell the Truth to others – so that you can spread the Gospel – so that you can evangelize. We are commanded to be messengers for the messages of the Holy Spirit.