Categories
Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Then Simon Peter drew a sword and slashed off the right ear of Malchus – the high priest’s slave. But Jesus said to Peter – “Put your sword back into its sheath. Shall I not drink from the cup of suffering the Father has given me ?” So the soldiers, their commanding officer, and the Temple guards arrested Jesus and tied Him up.

In Part 3 of my continuing sermon leading-up to Resurrection Sunday I continue from the Gospel of John – Chapter 18. And that’s Verses 10 to 12. Peter wanted to prove his devotion to Christ, so he set out to physically fight against the Roman soldiers and Temple guards. This utter rebellion completely went against what Christ had taught His disciples earlier that evening. He did not want them to use violence – to use weapons – in a spiritual battle. His disciples – then and now – are not to fight for His life, for He suffered for us. He gave His life for us, so that we can live.

As Christians we will be persecuted along this journey by those who don’t believe and follow Christ. Persecution is being mocked and ridiculed for who and what we believe. It’s discrimination against us and special restrictive laws for us. It’s physical violence against us. Many Christians around the world believe and follow our God in total secrecy to protect their lives, but that’s not what God intended for us. During His short ministry here in this world He protected His disciples, and He prepared them by teaching them how to depend on The Holy Spirit for protection and wisdom once He returns to the Father. We have that same unlimited power of the Spirit living within us – if we truly believe in the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ. Our 3-in-1 God is very much alive today, and God The Holy Spirit guides and directs us from within every step of the way towards eternal life.

I’ll continue this journey through John Chapter 18 – next Sunday Scripture.

All rights reserved (c) 2021 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

Categories
1990s Blogging Music Radio

My Top 5 Hits RETRO – 1996

Every Friday 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, 25, 30, or 35 years ago this weekend (rotating each week).

It’s the 2ND Friday of the month, so I go back 25 years ago. Here it is – for the week ending Sunday February 11TH 1996:

  1. “When I Come Around” – Green Day
  2. “You Oughta Know” – Alanis Morissette
  3. “Hand In My Pocket” – Alanis Morissette
  4. “Close To You” – Fun Factory
  5. “Be My Lover” – La Bouche

Punk Pop and Eurodance topped my hit music chart exactly 25 years ago. After struggling a bit during the Grunge era of the early-1990s Top 40 Radio was on fire during the mid-1990s here in the U.S., and I was part of that fun scene. I loved the Eurodance feel, and I could listen to it all day. That Fun Factory song – “Close To You” – was one of the best of them all – and also one of the fastest as far as BPM (beats-per-minute) was concerned. It clocked-in at over 120 BPM – perhaps even closer to 130 BPM. I danced to it a few times in the clubs. I got quite the workout !

Next Friday on RETRO I’ll go back 30 years ago to February 1991. I was serving in Operation Desert Storm at the time in Saudi Arabia, but I managed to produce a hit music chart over there on the pink desert sands.

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 !

All rights reserved (c) 2021 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

Categories
Blogging Driving Travel

2,000 Miles

This past Sunday afternoon as I was driving through the main entrance of my neighborhood following church service and church fellowship at Red Lobster I hit 2,000 on my odometer of my new car – in my 178TH day of driving it.

I previously hit 1,000 miles in my 116TH day, so it took me 62 days to drive the next 1,000 miles. That’s an average of a little more than 16 miles per day over these past 62 days.

I’ll reach 3,000 miles even faster than that. In fact I should do it in a little more than half that time. I’m forecasting the 3,000-mile mark on or around The Ides Of March (15TH).

I won’t be doing any driving in that area in the photo. We don’t have snow-capped mountains here in South Florida, and the “mountains” that we do have a couple hundred miles north of here along the narrow spine of peninsular Florida (the Lake Wales Ridge) only rise to about 200 to 300 feet above sea level. I’ll be driving along the southernmost portion of that spine during the next 1,000 miles.

All rights reserved (c) 2021 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

Categories
Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Week 208

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 – this week’s chart:

COUNTUP MINISTRIES WEEK ENDING SUNDAY FEBRUARY 07TH 2021
TW LW WKS SONG TITLE ARTIST / SITE
1 1 11 Every Step Of The Way Cade Thompson
2 3 13 Out Of My Hands Jeremy Camp
3 2 18 Truth Be Told Matthew West
4 5 7 Another In The Fire Hillsong United
5 4 11 Sparrows Cory Asbury
6 6 4 Say I Won’t MercyMe
7 7 3 Less Like Me Zach Williams
8 8 3 Fires Jordan St. Cyr
9 9 2 Next To Me Jordan Feliz
10 1 Battle Belongs Phil Wickham

# 1 This Week In:
2020 – “The God Who Stays” – Matthew West
2019 – “Maybe It’s OK” – We Are Messengers
2018 – “Gracefully Broken” – Matt Redman Ft. Tasha C. Leonard

It looks like Matthew West has been denied the top spot for just the 2ND time in his past 5 hits. His “Truth Be Told” slips a notch this week to # 3 after 5 weeks in a row at # 2. His “All In” was denied the top spot back in June 2018 by Elevation Worship’s “Do It Again” – which turned out to be the # 1 smash of the entire year of 2018. This year it’s Cade Thompson’s “Every Step Of The Way” – which spends its 10TH week in a row as my # 1 smash. It looks like it could be my # 1 smash of the entire year of 2021 !

Here’s the brand new official music video for “Every Step Of The Way”. You can view it below or via this YouTube link.

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.

All rights reserved (c) 2021 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries