A Story of Great Hope

Hello, my friends. Just a word of encouragement to you for your spiritual growth.

I discovered the video below while browsing YouTube, and it brought back many wonderful memories and a story I just had to share. I will make it brief.

When I was growing up George Younce sang bass for a well-known quartet that traveled out of my hometown. That is where I first encountered him. I remember seeing him on TV and at the Gospel concerts that his group held four or five times per year in that town.

Then, suddenly, one day he was gone. Poof. Vanished. Out of sight.

I did not know what had happened to him. The group for which he sang never said a word about it. They had a new bass singer on board as soon as George left.

In just a few short years, however, I heard a Gospel song on the radio, and immediately I recognized that bass voice. It was George! But the group sounded entirely different than the one where I got to know him. In fact, this group was different, so different in fact that I remember thinking at the time, even at my young age, that this would one day be THE group in Gospel music, the standard by which all others were judged.

Two of the main reasons for my prediction were, of course, that unmistakable bass voice of George Younce, and the other was a crisp, clear, strong lead voice of someone I did not know and had never heard before. I learned later that this lead singer's name was Glenn Payne. The group, of course, was the Cathedral Quartet.

Shortly the Cathedrals came to my hometown for a program, and George gave his testimony. He said that while he was with the other group he had strayed away terribly from the Lord and turned to alcohol. He said often he sang on stage half drunk. He said that at night on the bus, he kept an open container of whiskey by his bunk in case he got the shakes in the middle of the night.

But then Glenn Payne called from Ohio and said that the Cathedral Trio needed a bass. George said he told Glenn that he was "a mess" and not a very good spokesman for the Lord at the time. Glenn said it did not matter, to come on up to Ohio and he would help him get cleaned up. And he did. Then, Glenn and George made an agreement that as they embarked on this new venture together, they would do it "the right way," the Lord's way, and whatever success they may achieve they would owe it all to Him and would give Him all the glory and honor.

George re-found the Lord and his life totally changed. At that point George began writing Gospel songs. He didn't write that many, but let me tell you when he did, they were fantastic, moving, gripping.

One of those songs George wrote is featured below. It is a song about George's testimony, a miniature story of his life. It is titled, "I've Been Wrong." And it is about a man's conversation with the Lord when he comes to Him for forgiveness. The opening line is, "Lord, you know I've been wrong my whole life long..."

But then he describes the great hope that is available through our faith in Christ. I know this song is true. I saw it in George. The final chorus of the song proclaims that great hope, "Lord, I know, I know you care, you answer prayer, hear my plea, Lord save me."

Shortly after George wrote this song the Cathedrals sang it on the old Gospel Singing Jubilee that used to come on TV every Sunday morning across America. This is one of the earlier versions of the Cathedrals with Glenn and George, and Mack Taunton on tenor, and George Amon Webster on baritone and piano. I think it is a treasure. Hope you enjoy it.

If you ever look for me...

A brief devotional thought for today....

I have been in a deep contemplative mood as of late, and I have reached the point in life where eternal matters are of vast significance and claim an ever increasing amount of my free time.

Death does not scare me like it used to. I cling to "the Christian hope" that this world is but a shadow and that the real life is coming hereafter. Christ, thus, is becoming more real to me than I ever imagined, and in that place, where faith becomes sight, I shall see Him and be with Him eternally.

A line or two from a song will suffice:

If you ever look for me and don't find me here,
I'll be in heaven and I hope that I'll meet you there.
Then I thought about Mama and the songs that she used to sing.
She sang about Amazing Grace and the joy it can bring.

...words and music by Kevin Spencer.

Billy Graham to launch major national event this Fall

Famed evangelist Billy Graham, who turns 95 years old this year, will launch a major national event this Fall, an evangelistic campaign that he bills "The Living Room Crusade."

While Graham is no longer able physically to conduct his famous crusades around the world, he will use technological advances via video, the Internet, and other platforms, to launch a focused blitz to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those who may have never heard it.

Graham will speak to America and to the world right from his living room in Montreat, N.C. He states that this may well be his very last public crusade. Advancing age and Parkinson's Disease has greatly hampered the famed evangelist in his efforts over the past 15 years. But Graham states that the spiritual decay and deterioration of America in recent years has been particularly troublesome to him. He hopes that this last crusade will do something to turn the tide and act as a major first step toward bringing America back to its spiritual roots.

Although Graham's message from his living room will be a central feature of the living room crusade, the event will also feature archived clips from Graham's ministry, including historical footage from previous crusades around the world.

In addition, Graham will be interviewed by his Pastor as part of the living room crusade.

Graham now belongs to the First Baptist Church of Spartanburg, S.C., located in the foothills of South Carolina an hour away from his home in the mountains. Until he became ill and stopped traveling, Graham had been a longtime member of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas, which at the time was the largest Southern Baptist Church in America, with over 20,000 members, and was pastored by famed Baptist preacher W.A. Criswell.

So far, over 12,000 churches of all denominations have signed up to participate in the living room crusade. Graham perfected the practice of enlisting local churches in his evangelistic crusades through the years, believing that not only can the churches effectively get people out to the meetings but follow up on those who come forward and sign commitment cards at the end of each meeting. This way each person who made a profession of faith in Christ at a crusade meeting would be referred to a local church for follow-up and discipleship.

No specific date has been set for the event this Fall. But as the time draws closer, the information will be released by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

Hello there!

I'm still here, just been overwhelmed of late with things I am into. I have too many irons in the fire perhaps, but I have to do what I have to do.

And that brings me to today's devotional thought.

I get very very tired and weary. Worn out, perhaps, is the best term for it. I know most of you can relate.

At times the fatigue is so overwhelming that I am tempted to give up. But I cannot. I know myself too well. As long as I have life, breath, my mental faculties, and the ability, I have to speak out about the things I care about. And that means I will always be involved in the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ through song, teaching, and preaching. I will always be involved in the political arena because I believe it is a fight for the good and the right against evil. And I will always be involved in music ministry through the local church as long as I have the ability. I love directing music.

None of these endeavors bring in a lot of money. If I did these things for money, I would have quit long, long ago. There is simply no money to speak of in these things, at least not for me. But I have learned that submission to God's will is the ultimate thing a person should strive for. If it is His will for me to serve Him in poverty, then so be it. But I will never be silent.

And this brings me to today's scripture verse, "And let us not grow weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." (Galatians 6: 8-10).

And so my friend, keep holding on. Keep on keeping on. There are people who sorely need our message. There are people who need the "touch of the Master's hand." And there is a Heaven to gain, one day.

I have a couple of videos for you today. These have been posted in recent days, but the songs are from several years ago, not that long though, and I happen to think they are fantastic.

The first is from the Florida Boys in a live performance in Charlotte, N.C. It features the man who is perhaps the finest young bass singer in Gospel Music today -- Gene McDonald. Not only is he plenty low, but he can take a lead and sing it like a lead singer. He has that mellow quality to his voice that is most pleasing. And I happen to know that Gene is a fine Christian, having spent time with him and the boys on many occasions.

This one is called, "I Can, I Have, I Will." It is a real treat.


The next selection is also from the same program in Charlotte. Here the Florida Boys sing one of my favorites called "Sing Me a Song About Jesus." It features the finest quartet baritone who ever lived, Glen Allred. Enjoy...

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Hello, my friends, and I hope you have a very happy Memorial Day weekend.

Take some time to be with your family. Relax and enjoy yourself. And take several moments to remember with gratitude the great patriots of the past who gave their very lives to win, protect, and preserve liberty. Were it not for them we would not be here. More than likely we would be living in abject slavery. Some say we are headed for that anyway.

Wouldn't it be a shame if everything for which our forefathers gave their lives went down the tubes? The blood, the sweat, the hardship that they gladly and freely gave for freedom culminated in a country that believes that the rights of the individual are to be protected not only from government but from the majority of citizens. Are we to allow these freedoms to be celebrated only to stand idly by and allow tyrants to throw them away because we were not diligent enough to prevent shady politicians from encroaching on those freedoms?

As one of our Founders stated, "The price of liberty is eternal vigilance."

We must also remember that our Founders believed that freedom, liberty, are given to them by their Creator, not by man, not by governments, not by a majority vote. These rights are sacred because they came from God. Thus, any attempt to nullify them or obliterate them is illegitimate, ungodly, evil, and not to be tolerated.

Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, was not a pacifist. Yes, he preached and taught peace, but that peace must begin with each individual. He never stated that governments and/or groups of citizens are forbidden from waging war if their cause is right and honorable.

Any statement Jesus made concerning peace must be balanced with other statements such as, "I came not to bring peace but a sword." He was speaking specifically about the final war where He would triumph over all of His enemies. Evil, and those who perpetrate it, will be obliterated with the sword.

Pacifists and so-called "Christians" who obviously do not believe in the Word of God conveniently ignore those statements made by Jesus Himself.

Having said all of that, I do hope and pray that your Memorial Day is a sacred one. Bow your head and breath a prayer of thanksgiving that our forefathers believed that when Christianity, liberty, and all the values we cherish are under attack, we must take up arms to stop them. THAT is why we still live in at least what is supposed to be a free country today.

God bless you, and Happy Memorial Day.

Easter Blessings and The Hallelujah Chorus

A blessed Easter to all. We serve a living Savior. Because He lives I can face tomorrow. And because He lives, we, too, shall live.

I can find no other piece of music more appropriate for this day than "The Hallelujah Chorus" from Handel's "Messiah." And I can find no better rendition of the piece than that which was performed by Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra, along with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

I like the video of this in particular because it provides a black and white photo of Ormandy, known as "the little maestro," in action, conducting the orchestra as no other. He was a genius, a child prodigy who grew up to conduct what became known as the finest orchestra on earth, the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Here you will hear what became known as "the Philadelphia Sound," which Ormandy perfected, that emphasized the smooth woodwinds and violins, violas, and cellos, and when he used brass he chose to smooth out the sound with the use of the horn muffle, called "the trumpet mute," so as to minimize the shrillness that often accompanies brass instruments. The result is a velvety balanced musical experience that is as near perfection as humans can achieve.

The tradition is that the audience stands while the Hallelujah Chorus is presented. This is in homage to the fact that upon hearing the piece for the first time, King George II was so moved emotionally that he rose to his feet. And when the King stands, everyone must stand.

So, here is my Easter gift to you. The great Eugene Ormandy conducting the great George Frederick Handel's "The Hallelujah Chorus." Enjoy, and God bless!

Good Friday, 2013

Good Friday is one of the two holiest days in Christianity, the other being Easter Sunday. As beautiful and meaningful as Christmas can be when we focus on the birth of Christ, even that does not begin to approach the sacredness of Christ's crucifixion on a Roman cross on Good Friday, and his subsequent resurrection from the dead on Easter.

I can only say I am overwhelmed by it all. Sometimes it is just too sacred, too holy for words. During those times, I turn to music. The video below captures the meaning of Good Friday in song. Please listen to it. It is a thing of beauty, featuring one of the finest lead singers in the business, Josh Garner, along with the rest of the Florida Boys. It's titled, "For God So Loved."