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Bible Blogging Christian Church God Ministry Scripture

Sunday Scripture

Greetings my friends. It is Sunday January 02ND 2022, and this is the day that our LORD has made. Let us rejoice. Let us be glad in it. Let us celebrate this great new day of believing, following, trusting, loving, and being more like our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.

It’s the start of a brand new year. My hope for you is for 2022 to be greater than 2021.

Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold – I am doing a new thing. Now it springs forth. Do you not perceive it ? I will make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. (Isaiah 43:18-19 ESV)

Last month I preached a full sermon to my church family. I preached on being “Holy & Redeemed”. It’s based on 1 Peter 1:13-23. For the last 2 #SundayScripture editions I’ve presented an excerpt of that sermon. Let’s continue on with Part 3:

You know if there’s a general overall theme of the Book of Leviticus – it’s this – God is holy. (God is holy.) God must be regarded as holy. God must be treated as holy. God’s people (that’s us – you and me) – we must be holy. Because of who God is – He is the LORD. Those who follow Him (that’s us) become His holy people. We are sinners; yet, we are His holy people. We are holy because of our personal relationship with God. Well – what do you mean by that Chris ?  Well I’m glad you asked. Let me explain further:

If we believe Him. If we follow Him. If we trust Him. Then He’s within us. We are holy. We were once ordinary, but now – we are extra-ordinary. When God declares a place to be holy – it is because He is there. Just like all of those years ago when the LORD said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the entire community of Israel. You must be holy because I – the LORD your God – am holy.” (Leviticus 19:1-2)

Like Israel of the Old Testament – a type and shadow of the church – today’s church – our church – it shares a special relationship with God. It is God’s church. This is God’s church. This is the house of our Lord. He is here. He is there. He is there. Our God is in this place. This place is holy. And we come to this place every Sunday from all over the local land to praise and worship our Lord. We are holy because He is holy.

That guy – you know that guy – he’s a nice guy. He does nice things for people around him. He’s trustworthy, and loyal, and helpful, and friendly, and courteous, and kind, and obedient, and cheerful, and thrifty, and brave, and clean, and reverent. Why – he’s like a Boy Scout. He may be all of those things, but if he doesn’t believe, and follow, and trust God – then he is not holy. Only God in his heart can make him holy.

By the way – in case you were wondering – I was a Cub Scout, and a Webelos Scout, and a Boy Scout for about 5 years from age 8 to 13.

So set yourselves apart to be holy, for I am the LORD your God. (Leviticus 20:7)

God called on the people of Israel to be holy, for He had rescued them from their bondage in Egypt. You know the story. Moses raised his hand over the (Red) Sea, and the LORD opened-up a path through the water. The Israelites walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground, as the water stood-up like a wall on both sides. (Exodus 14:21a,29)

God rescued the Israelites from the control of a cruel and foreign nation in Egypt – a nation that served other gods. Now they were to live as God’s people in the new land to the east to which He was bringing them – through the water.

God rescued us from bondage to sin and death. We weren’t rescued through the Red Sea, but we were rescued from the pit of despair – out of the mud and the mire. When we were rescued from the darkness, and we accepted God’s hand – it was the dawn of a new day. Light was coming in from the east. The God of Hope had arrived.

I’ll continue this sermon next #SundayScripture. If you wish to learn more about the God I know then stay tuned. 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) 2022 Christopher M. Day, CountUp Ministries

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1980s Blogging Holidays Music Radio Travel

My Top 5 Hits RETRO – 1986

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. But since #RetroFriday wasn’t presented last week (due to Christmas Eve) – I’ll go back 35 years ago for this edition. Here it is – for the week ending Sunday December 28TH 1986:

  1. “Dreamin'” – Status Quo
  2. “The Boy In The Bubble” – Paul Simon
  3. “Reet Petite” – Jackie Wilson
  4. “C’est La Vie” – Robbie Nevil
  5. “Open Your Heart” – Madonna

What a memorable last weekend of 1986. I actually flew home from London England to Washington D.C. a few days before that Christmas to spend some quality time with my family after missing the previous Christmas (and two Thanksgivings) with them.

Paul Simon’s “The Boy In The Bubble” was a great song off a great album – “Graceland” – which I owned in cassette form. Like “You Can Call Me Al” before it – I memorized the lyrics of “The Boy In The Bubble” after hearing it numerous times on the radio – British radio. Both singles were far more popular across the European continent (and Australia and New Zealand) than they were stateside. “The Boy In The Bubble” was a # 16 hit in the Netherlands and a # 26 hit in the United Kingdom. On my own personal chart it became a # 1 smash in January 1987.

Here’s the official music video, and I still know its lyrics to this day:

Next Friday on RETRO I’ll go back 15 years ago to January 2007.

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 Food Holidays Military Shopping Television Travel Weather

My November Vacation 2021 Road-Trip

#TravelThursday continues now with Part 5 of my 7-part blog series on my recent 18-day road-trip between South Florida and North Texas.

Last week I left-off on Day 9 within the eastern portions of the Dallas Texas Metroplex (Collin County). I visited the Military Heritage Collection Of North Texas military museum, and then from there I visited the “Dallas” TV series museum – the Southfork Ranch. It was an interesting combination of military history and television history, and it was very appropriate in that I discovered the “Dallas” TV series in England in 1986 with my military dormitory buddies. It was “must-see-TV” for us back then.

Here’s what’s even wackier. During our guided tour of the Southfork Ranch, one of our tour guides went around the room and asked where each person or couple was from. I responded “Miami”, and a couple on the other side of the room did the same. We eventually met up outside on the front grounds of the mansion following the conclusion of the guided tour. The couple were actually from Homestead (same as me), and the guy worked at Homestead Air Reserve Base (same as me) for the same Wing. He left / retired a few years ago, and he and his wife moved to the Dallas Texas area. We actually knew some of the same people on base. #SmallWorld

After I returned back to my brother’s and sister-in-law’s house on that Friday afternoon I did not drive my car again until the following Friday morning. I enjoyed the day-to-day routines with my family, and we did the normal things that we always do during the week leading-up to #ThanksChristmasGiving – our traditional combined Thanksgiving and Christmas. One of my favorite things to do is something that goes back some 40 years, and it’s as simple as shopping with my brother. It’s also a good workout keeping-up with my brother in the stores.

On Day 16 of my road-trip – Friday November 26TH 2021 – I departed my family’s house for the start of the long drive home, but first I had to let my defroster melt the coat of frost off my windshield and rear window so that I could see. On that frigid morning I took the backroads of the local area over to U.S. 69, and I took that to I-20. On the south side of Shreveport Louisiana I got in one last meal at Whataburger.

Fun Fact: The nearest Whataburger is about 380 miles from my home.

After my early-lunch at Whataburger I proceeded onto I-49, and I took that to Alexandria Louisiana. From there I took backroads and old U.S highways through the rest of Louisiana, across the mighty Mississippi River, through Natchez, and over to Hattiesburg. I pretty much traced the same route eastward, as I took westward 2 weeks earlier.

I arrived at my hotel destination on the west side of Hattiesburg right around sunset that night. On that day I drove 523 miles, so that’s 1,974 miles on this road-trip so far.

And that’s where I’ll end Part 5 of this 7-part blog series. I’ll continue with my road-trip adventures and experiences next #TravelThursday. I’ll reach Florida next week, but how deep into Florida will I get ?

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

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Blogging Christian God Ministry Music Radio

My Top 21 Hits – 2021

59 hits created 52 weeks of Top 10 Christian hit music charts based on personal preference and influenced by radio airplay. Here it is – my Top 21 hits of 2021:

RK PK WKS SONG TITLE ARTIST / SITE
1 1 27 Fires Jordan St. Cyr
2 1 23 Yes He Can Cain
3 1 21 Every Step Of The Way Cade Thompson
4 1 20 What If Matthew West
5 1 27 Gospel Song Rhett Walker
6 1 18 Help Is On The Way (Maybe Midnight) TobyMac
7 1 15 When We Fall Apart Ryan Stevenson Ft. Vince Gill & Amy Grant
8 1 14 Say I Won’t MercyMe
9 1 14 Good God Almighty Crowder
10 1 12 Into The Wild Josh Baldwin
11 2 13 House Of The Lord Phil Wickham
12 2 14 Truth Be Told Matthew West
13 2 14 Child Of Love We The Kingdom Ft. Bear Rinehart
14 2 11 Out Of My Hands Jeremy Camp
15 1 9 On Our Way MercyMe Ft. Sam Wesley
16 2 11 Thank You Lord Chris Tomlin Ft. Thomas Rhett & FGL
17 1 9 Promised Land TobyMac
18 1 11 Be Alright Evan Craft X Danny Gokey X Redimi2
19 2 13 God Who Listens Chris Tomlin Ft. Thomas Rhett
20 2 12 Come What May We Are Messengers
21 2 9 In The House Crowder

# 1 For The Year In:
2020 – “Almost Home” – MercyMe
2019 – “Nobody (But Jesus)” – Casting Crowns Ft. Matthew West 
2018 – “Do It Again” – Elevation Worship
2017 – “Broken Things” – Matthew West

JORDAN ST. CYR – An unknown in 2020 – he became known in 2021 with his sleeper smash of the year – “Fires”. It entered my chart on the 4TH week of 2021 in January, and it slowly reached the top in its 14TH week. But its chart run was only half-done. After 3 weeks at # 1 its slow descent began, and it finally slipped-off my chart after 27 weeks at the start of August. “Fires” is (by far) my # 1 smash of 2021, and Jordan’s future is bright. His “Weary Traveler” is my current # 1 smash.

RHETT WALKER – Another long-running sleeper smash in 2021 was Rhett Walker’s “Gospel Song”. It tied with “Fires” for most weeks on my chart in 2021 at 27. It was on from April to October. Rhett is no debut artist. His “Believer” was a # 4 hit in December 2019, and a couple of his early radio hits from 2012 and 2013 – “When Mercy Found Me” and “Come To The River” – still receive occasional radio airplay. But “Gospel Song” dominated the airwaves in 2021.

MERCYME – My # 2 artist of the past 254 weeks – MercyMe – scored my # 1 smash of 2020 with “Almost Home”. Its follow-up – “Say I Won’t” – and its follow-up – “On Our Way” – both hit # 1 in 2021 (for a combined 11 weeks) and appear on my year-end chart. MercyMe have appeared on every year-end chart – aside from 2019. (“Even If” was my # 2 hit of 2017, and “Grace Got You” was my # 2 hit of 2018.)

MATTHEW WEST – My # 1 artist of the past 254 weeks – Matthew West – makes it 5 years in a row on my year-end chart, and this year (like last year) he places 2 hits on it – including “Truth Be Told”. Its 26 weeks on my chart straddled both 2020 (12 weeks) and 2021 (14 weeks). It was my # 18 hit of 2020 and my # 12 hit of 2021.

CONCLUSION – My Top 21 Of 2021 chart was compiled by awarding 10 points for each week at # 1, 9 points for # 2, and so forth and so on down to 1 point for # 10. The points were then added, and the hits were ranked. There were 14 # 1 hits in 2021, and all but the current one (Jordan St. Cyr’s “Weary Traveler”) made it onto my chart above. It was a great year for positive and encouraging music on the radio that told the story of God and gave Him all of the glory. What a great chart to represent His music. Let’s continue to praise and worship Him as we go forth into 2022.

This concludes my month-long series of special blog posts on Wednesdays. Starting in January weekends return to starting on Thursdays with 4 blog posts each weekend. #TravelThursday and #RetroFriday close-out 2021 this week.

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