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Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture


Evil is all around us in this world. You don’t have to look for it. It’s right there – right in front of you. You see it all the time. Are you overlooking it because you don’t want to get involved ? As a believer and follower of Christ it is our duty to call out evil for what it is.

Many of us once promoted and celebrated evil in a previous life – back before our Lord & Savior rescued us from the darkness – back before we became born again. Now we are mocked, ridiculed, and persecuted by the world for calling out evil. You know if the world is persecuting us then we’re moving in the right direction – towards God’s light and away from Satan’s dark. The Bible says that everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ will suffer persecution. (2 Timothy 3:12 NLT)

Satan – who is the god of this world – has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ – who is the exact likeness of God. (2 Corinthians 4:4 NLT)

Going back to the meme above and its Scripture – Isaiah 5:20 – I like how the New Living Translation states it, but to place it into a better context I also like the verse before and after it. Collectively here they are:

They even mock God and say – “Hurry up and do something ! We want to see what You can do. Let the Holy One of Israel carry out His plan, for we want to know what it is.” What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter. What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes and think themselves so clever. (Isaiah 5:19-21 NLT)

If you wish to learn more about the God I know then stay tuned to #SundayScripture. Tomorrow it’s #Top10Monday, as I present my personal Top 10 hits this week that honor our God Almighty on the radio.

Thank you for reading my blog for this day, and may:

The LORD bless you, and keep you.
The LORD make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you.
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. AMEN.

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

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1970s Blogging Music Radio

My Top 5 Hits RETRO – 1976

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 5TH Friday of the month, so it’s a special, as I go back 45 years ago. Here it is – for the week ending Sunday October 31ST 1976:

  1. “If You Leave Me Now” – Chicago
  2. “Disco Duck” – Rick Dees & His Cast Of Idiots
  3. “Rock’n Me” – Steve Miller Band
  4. “The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald” – Gordon Lightfoot
  5. “A Fifth Of Beethoven” – Walter Murphy & The Big Apple Band

There it is – the surprise # 1 smash on the Billboard Hot 100 from 45 years ago. It spent a month at # 2 after its single week at # 1. It was also a Top 10 smash all across Europe and “down-under” in Australia and New Zealand.

When I was a teenager during the early-1980s I wanted to be a Top 40 deejay when I grew up. I wanted to be like Casey Kasem and Rick Dees, or even Dick Clark. I also wanted to be a Meteorologist. Then I figured that I could be a radio deejay who gave weather updates 3 or 4 times per hour. Neither one of those childhood dreams came true; although, as a blogger here I am in the weekly hit music chart business, and I occasionally write about the weather. So there’s that. #LivingTheDream

Next Friday on RETRO I’ll go back 15 years ago to November 2006.

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

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Blogging Driving Music Scripture Travel

Tamiami Trail

#TravelThursday continues, and in this edition we visit Florida’s Tamiami Trail.

If you read #SundayScripture and #Top10Monday last weekend then you’ll know that I’ve returned from another Florida road-trip. I drove 563 miles in just under 50 hours.

Last Thursday I drove to Tampa where I saw MercyMe, Micah Tyler, and Sam Wesley LIVE in concert at the Amalie Arena downtown within the Channelside district. It looks like they are making that area from Port Tampa Bay westward past the Aquarium and the shopping, dining, and entertainment area to the Arena more pedestrian-friendly with less vehicular traffic, the use of streetcars, safer and more visible crosswalks, and wider sidewalks. The area is heavily under construction, and it will be so for another year or two. It should look really nice once it’s all done. I like that area a lot. It’s actually fun to attend an event at the Amalie Arena and walk around and sightsee along the way. You can spend all day #Channelside.

The next morning (Friday) I got on Florida’s historic Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41 between Tampa and Miami). (Tamiami is pronounced “TAM-ee-AM-ee”.) It’s the preferred alternative highway for me along Florida’s Gulf Coast – mostly because I-75 is frightening.

I made a pitstop at a friend’s house in North Port at the southern edge of the Greater Tampa Bay area. He retired and moved there a little over a year ago. When he told me that he and his wife were settling in North Port I had never heard of it. Of course now (due to recent real world events) much of the world now knows about North Port. It’s a rapidly-growing city about 85 miles south of downtown Tampa. Its population has more than tripled since 2000, so people are flocking to this expanding corner of Southwest Florida.

I continued on further south along the Tamiami Trail into the Fort Myers area. My pitstop for Friday night was Estero – a newly-created incorporated village about halfway between Fort Myers and Naples. It is home to the worldwide headquarters of the Hertz Corporation, and it is also home to the Hertz Arena – home of many shows, concerts, and sporting events year-round. (That’s where I saw Casting Crowns and Matthew West LIVE in concert.) I’ve attended 11 events at that arena over the past 11½ years. It is my favorite arena.

The next morning (Saturday) I continued along the Tamiami Trail through Naples, and then eastward through the Everglades to the other side of the state. It intersects with Florida State Road 997 near the eastern edge of the Everglades. (We know it locally as Krome Avenue.) Krome takes me due south – back home into Homestead.

Join me next #TravelThursday as we visit another location on the face of this earth.

They keep you safe on your way, and your feet will not stumble. You can go to bed without fear. You will lie down and sleep soundly. You need not be afraid of sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked, for the LORD is your security. He will keep your foot from being caught in a trap. (Proverbs 3:23-26 NLT)

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

Categories
Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 10 Hits – Week 245

Every Monday I post my all-new Top 10 Christian hit music chart based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay from the previous week. It’s the continuation of a weekly hobby that goes back 40+ years. Here’s this week’s chart:

COUNTUP MINISTRIES FOR THE WEEK ENDING SUNDAY OCTOBER 24TH 2021 WEEK 245
TW LW WKS SONG TITLE ARTIST / SITE
1 1 15 What If
[4TH week @ # 1]
Matthew West
2 2 4 Promised Land TobyMac
3 3 13 House Of The Lord Phil Wickham
4 6 2 When You Speak Jeremy Camp
5 7 2 My God Is Still The Same Sanctus Real
6 4 9 Promises Maverick City Music
7 5 11 Thank You Lord Chris Tomlin Ft. Thomas Rhett & Florida Georgia Line
8 8 5 Relate for King & Country
9 9 4 Stand In Faith Danny Gokey
10 10 3 Come What May We Are Messengers

# 1 This Week In:
2020 – “Rise Up (Lazarus)” – Cain
2019 – “Fear No More” – Building 429
2018 – “Only Jesus” – Casting Crowns
2017 – “Word Of Life” – Jeremy Camp

MATTHEW WEST – Yesterday on #SundayScripture I revealed that I saw him LIVE in concert in Southwest Florida this past Friday night. He opened for Casting Crowns; although, he is worthy of being a headlining act on his own with a catalog of nearly 20 years of hits. I’ve only known him as a singer for the past 245 weeks, but he’s done amazing over these past 4 years and 8 months. “What If” is his 6TH hit, and 4TH # 1 smash. (His other 2 hits peaked at # 2.) This is his 124TH week on my chart – and 19TH week at # 1. I got to sing and dance (at my floor seat) to “What If” as Matthew sang it LIVE as the 3RD hit of his set.

CHART BUSTING just outside of my Top 10 this week is the new one from MercyMe. It’s “On Our Way”, and it was intended for Sam Wesley, as he cowrote it. But his dad – Bart Millard – loved it so much that he wanted it to be a MercyMe song. So he let Sam sing on the song and receive credit (and compensation) for doing so. Now it’s a Christian Top 20 hit from coast to coast, and it feels so good with its uplifting sound. Sam performed it with his dad and the MercyMe band LIVE in concert, and our Tampa audience was dancing along.

This blog is # 36 worldwide on the Top 80 Christian Music Blogs and Websites in 2021 chart. Thank You for including us Feedspot !

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