(John 8:32)  And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 

            (John 8:33)  They answered Him, We are Abraham’s seed and were never in bondage to anyone. How do you say, You will be made free? 

            (John 8:34)  Jesus answered them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Whoever practices sin is the slave of sin. 

            (John 8:35)  And the slave does not abide in the house forever, but the Son abides forever. 

            (John 8:36)  Therefore if the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. 

 This passage like all scripture, can only truly be understood with the Holy Spirits help. If one is not washed in the blood by receiving Jesus as the one and ONLY Son of God; there by clinging to Jesus as their only hope of salvation, then that same person can not hope to even remotely understand the words of God which is what scripture is… the inspired word of God. It takes God’s own spirit to understand the things of the spirit. 

                (1 Corinthians 2:11)  For who among men knows the things of a man except the spirit of man within him? So also no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 

Freedom is another word that is greatly misunderstood. Americans even as small children are taught in the public school system that they live in a free country. What they are not told is that America only offers a limited freedom. A conditional freedom if you will. Now granted America is more free than most other countries but freedom remains a word that is abused and misunderstood. 

God on the other hand, knows and perfectly understands what real true freedom is. Jesus was talking about freedom to the religious leaders of His time in John chapter 8. The word of God is actually quite full of passages on freedom. God through Jesus His Son, offers the only perfect truly free freedom available anywhere at anytime. True freedom can only come about as long as there is true love present. Love is the main theme while freedom is a by product of that love. 

When a person has a measure of love, that person has a measure of freedom. God through Jesus, offers perfect complete unconditional love and therefore an unconditional freedom as a by product. Only in perfect love can there be true freedom. One may think that the wild creatures are free. After all who tells the coyote or any wild creature what he can and can’t do? Is the bear or elk taxable? Can anyone enforce the so called laws of society on the wild creatures that God has made free? No! They do as they want don’t they! Or do they? In truth, they seem free but they are governed and controlled by fear. Sin has corrupted their world just like the world of men.  

 Take man and sin out of the equation and yes they would be totally free. One can see a measure of freedom in nature, but man has control of the earth and sin brings fear, so in this present world their is no such thing as true freedom. Only the kind of freedom Jesus was presenting in the scriptures is obtainable while sin is on the earth. What is sin you ask? Sin is knowing in your heart what you should or shouldn’t do and then choosing not to obey this awareness. Sin is outright rebellion against what we know to be truth and love. Sin is rebellion against God. 

                (James 4:17)  Therefore to him who knows to do good, and does not do it, to him it is sin.   

Now that we know what sin is, what in the world is true freedom? The answer to that can only be found by knowing God through Jesus Christ. Oh! why is this you might ask? Because we have already explained that freedom is a by product or result of true LOVE and perfect true love is only found in God. So no one can ever hope to enjoy or perceive freedom without first obtaining true love. Just think about this for a while. It doesn’t take to much thought to reveal the fact that the more a person has love for someone the more they grant that object of love freedom. Remember that old cliché, ” If you love something, you set it free.” On the opposite side of this thought one can clearly see the more hate and sin there is on the earth, the more we lose our freedom. Ever since September 11th (actually we have been losing our freedom ever since mankind fell away from God) in this country we have been steadily losing our freedom due to terrorist and other sinful activities. The more people stray from truth and love and the more they stray from their creator, the more they will continue to steadily lose their much loved freedom. 

It is that simple. Jesus back in His time was explaining this to whoever would listen. All mankind is a slave to sin until we come to repentance and embrace Jesus Christ’s’ teachings. True freedom can only be found in God and through God. If you do things and say things that you wish you hadn’t, then it is obvious that you are a slave. Otherwise why did you do it if you really didn’t want to? You are a slave to sin! There is no other explanation for this. No one can be free outside of a Holy power that brings us to true liberty. There is a power that is available through knowing Christ. Power? Yes! Power! If we truly believe in Jesus and commit ourselves to Him by making Him Lord, we can truly know this power. This power is none other than the Holy Spirit of the living God. Who is this Spirit? He is the Spirit of LOVE.

            (1 John 4:8)  The one who does not love has not known God. For God is love. 

            (1 John 4:9)  In this the love of God was revealed in us, because God sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him. 

            (1 John 4:10)  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation concerning our sins. 

            (1 John 4:11)  Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 

            (1 John 4:12)  No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwells in us, and His love is perfected in us. 

            (1 John 4:13)  By this we know that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 

            (1 John 4:14)  And we have seen and testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. 

            (1 John 4:15)  Whoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him and he in God. 

            (1 John 4:16)  And we have known and believed the love that God has in us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. 

            (1 John 4:17)  In this is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, that as He is, so also we are in this world. 

            (1 John 4:18)  There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has torment. He who fears has not been perfected in love. 

            (1 John 4:19)  We love Him because He first loved us. 

            (1 John 4:20)  If anyone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar. For if he does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 

            (1 John 4:21)  And we have this commandment from Him, that he who loves God should love his brother also. 

One can see by these passages that the only way to have this Holy power is through knowing Jesus thereby knowing God who sent Him. That is why the world and everyone in it is a slave outside of Christ’s’ power. No one can be good. No one can love his neighbor with true love. Everyone finds themselves constantly doing all matter of evil things. This is the slavery Jesus was talking about at the beginning of this article. Everyone who sins is a slave to sin. It is only by coming to God through Jesus Christ and in that union that one can ever hope to have love for his or her fellow man and thereby live a life of liberty and power. If one has the Spirit of God dwelling on the inside, then that same person has the power to resist all forms of evil and slavery. 

            (John 8:36)  Therefore if the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. 

This kind of freedom is absolutely wonderful! But even most so called Christians (believers in Christ) only have a measure of this freedom. Why? Because the only way to live in this freedom is to live in Christ. This is a constant everyday renewed dwelling in the presence of God. This kind of freedom from sin that Jesus was taking about is a here and now, in the ever present presence of the Holy Spirit. A constant communing with and an ever present fellowship with Jesus. When believers let idols and other loves cause their once passionate love for God to wax cold, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit is broken and instead of experiencing freedom they find themselves once again in slavery to sin. 

             (Galatians 6:7)  Do not be deceived, God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows, that he also will reap. 

            (Galatians 6:8)  For he sowing to his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh. But he sowing to the Spirit will reap life everlasting from the Spirit. 

True freedom can only be enjoyed and experienced through the constant fellowship and dwelling with Jesus through a vital ever present union with the Holy Spirit. When one walks in Christ, the same operates and lives in a fellowship of Holy Love. It is only through and in this Holy Love that one is free from sin and death. 

This is why the world a part from Christ cannot know true freedom or love even though they fight and strive to obtain it all the days of their lives. America only has a measure of freedom. An empty shell or look a like kind of freedom. Freedom can only be obtained by a God fearing culture. Men and women in America enjoyed more freedom back when this country was birthed than they do now. We have not lost our freedom due to an explosion of population. We have lost our freedom because of a constant departing from a God of love and His truth. This and this alone will be the undoing of this nation. the more we turn away from God’s gift of love found in Jesus Christ the more we will find ourselves lost in darkness and slavery. 

When I was a young man I was deeply hurt when I found out that America was not really a place of freedom but a place of idolatry and sin ruled by men who had strayed from their roots. I was rudely awakened by this apparent lack of freedom when I found out I couldn’t just go out and build a log cabin in the forest like my ancestors enjoyed. Now I know that I was ignorant to my time but I thought we were still free on public lands. I believed what my teachers told me in grade school when they told me America was free. Well needless to say my brother and I had to pay 100 dollars to the sheriff for cutting down trees. I remember it hitting me in the stomach hard that we were not really free anymore. 

Since then I have learned more about the true freedom that is found in Christ Jesus. I am able to comfort myself in the fact that someday when sin is reckoned with, and the earth again belongs to God, I will be able then to build a log cabin out in the woods and enjoy a physical life of freedom as well as freedom in the Spirit. I now know that first the earth has to experience spiritual freedom before bodily freedom can be witnessed. Finally, it is important to mention here that only when a person knows Christ and therefore knows love experientially, can one know true freedom and offer it to others. A free person in Christ will always prefer and honor someone else above oneself. Freedom is nullified when one demands his or her way. When we are not living in love, we are not free but rather in slavery to sin and death. 

True freedom then is living in constant fellowship with Holy Love who is God. It deserves mentioning here that it is possible for one to be in chains and locked away in a deep dungeon and still be the most free person on the earth!! God be glorified! Amen! Jesus come and restore freedom to our hearts.

I had suffered from heartache and drew from my Western roots while composing this song. I guess one could say that rather than writing an accurate rendition of real life experience in my current era, I was caught up in the moment of composing this particular song involving a what if scenario.

What if I had been born back in the early 1800′s? What would have been my reaction to a broken heart? I found myself composing the melody and lyrics from a drifting outlaws perspective who once again, found himself all alone.

Life was…according to history, quite harsh in the famous western era. I imagined myself back then and guessed the outcome. I suppose while writing this song, I traveled back in time! I felt the icy cold knifing it’s way into my bones as I plodded along the empty outlaws trail. I viscously wiped away the embarrassing tears birthed by the depth of heartache that was now griping my soul. Gone was all hope of having the good life, of having a beautiful woman to share life’s drama. Down…down I plunged into bitterness and anger as I listened to the harsh winter wind howling with its foreboding voice. All along, knowing the angry mob from town who represented the law were not very far behind me and most likely any moment might catch me in my vulnerable condition.

Bitterly I wiped away more tears… “Icy Cold Love” is a song birthed from the spirit of the west.

I had another dream. In this dream a great storm was approaching. It was all over the news and was being broadcast via all sorts of available media be it TV or Radio. Everyone was aware of its fast approach. Many were trying to dig in quickly but there was a sense that it was to late for many. Everyone was in a panic state.

I found myself in my families’ home. I don’t know whether this was symbolic or not. There was a feeling of impending dread. There was the tendency to look out the window and watch with utter horror and fascination as the storm rolled in. I could see the greatest, darkest, most awesome black cloud rolling and moving over the land. At one point when it was over what looked like some sort of manmade structure like a large-scale factory or small town or something, it suddenly was hit by a violent wind from the cloud that literally flattened everything to the ground with such force that I knew no one could survive that.

I could hear, even though they were miles away, human beings screaming and wailing in fear of the approaching storm but it was too late for many of them. As I was watching in horror with living fear welling up in my stomach, I heard a voice speak plainly and with authority not once but twice until I obeyed to sit quietly on the floor. In other words, to be quite and be in humble fear of what was approaching. There was the feeling that my family was all there and we all got very low to the ground in a humble fear of the wrath that was now upon us. I was looking at my brother and he at me when just as suddenly, when you thought the black cloud was going to hit, it dissipated and broke up to let the sun start shinning again. The great terrible wrath ended and we were spared.

I looked at my brother and asked him if he had heard that voice telling us to sit down on the floor and be quite? He white faced with the whole experience, looked back at me and nodded his head with the shock of it all still on his face. I was then very vexed in my spirit with many questions toward God. Questions like: Why were we spared? Why were we set apart? I asked these questions because I knew it wasn’t because there was anything good about me. I had been sinning against God just like anyone else.

These words came back to me as I was waking from this dream, “If there is but ONE righteous person left in a family, I will spare the entire family!” I was of course deeply humbled and grieved at the way I had been living, knowing it wasn’t because of me that we were all spared. As I was still waking slowly and returning to an aware state, I found myself screaming in my mind and heart (more like wailing in my spirit) that I was so sorry for failing my God. It was then just before the dream entirely faded that I asked the question, “Why am I so sinful? Why did I forsake the right path?” It was these words that filled my mind suddenly, “Three things remain, Faith, Hope, and Love. The greatest of these is Love!”

It was then I knew as I lay there awake now that the reason many fall and have fallen from righteousness is due to this common scenario: first we lose Hope in our hearts, then after losing all hope, we soon lose Faith in anything good ever happening to us and for us, then finally when our faith is weak and all but gone, we find that we have lost most if not all the Love we once had deep in our hearts and so we plunge into darkness and sin. Bitterness, unresolved pain, and utter hopelessness remains in our hearts in place of the once quite faith and hope that indeed ALL things work for our good if we would just trust the ONE true righteous and JUST GOD to bring fairness to our lives. Deep down in that hidden place we all know that HE does exist but we believe the lie that HE does not care and we lose Faith that HE will make all things right someday if not in this life, the next.

When we start to lose all hope that He does in fact care and that He will make things right, we naturally shrink back from the work that it takes to keep ourselves in Faith, Hope, and Love. If we lose Hope of his justness and complete fairness, we start to fall into the lie the evil one tells us that nothing will ever be right and good in our lives so we might as well just enjoy all those nasty selfish things we wish we could do. Like sexual fantasies we know deep down are just plain wrong and the looking out for ourselves first even if it hurts others. When we lose Hope of things ever being made right, we join the group that lives only for self. We have bought that age-old lie that says, “If we don’t take care of ourselves first, no one else will that’s for sure!” And when we walk down this path of hopelessness for a while, we start to lose Faith that our lives will ever change for the better and we believe that none of our dreams will ever happen. We start to die.

Down, down we plummet until we have become so embittered by it all that we finally lose that small deposit of innocent childlike unconditional Love that we were all born with. That small token of love from the FATHER OF LIGHTS! We feel like and believe that no one REALLY loves us so why should we love anyone else! Everyone hates us and doesn’t care at all about us so why should we care about them!

How about this one: “I have been slowly dying for a long, long time and no one even notices, so why should I notice or help anyone else!” When we lose the love that GOD has given us, we are only nice to those who happen to be nice to us and even then it is shallow. We only show kindness to those who are at the moment being kind to us. Because of the bitterness and unfairness of it all, we are only friendly to others if there is something in it for us and we can benefit from it. Sound familiar? The world is obviously full of people who have lost their Faith, Hope, and Love. Only these three ingredients from heaven will stand in the end. Everything else will die! So if we find ourselves caught in this never-ending journey to the center of the earth, destination HELL, and Without GOD, it is most likely because we have given in to one of Satan’s oldest and most ruthless tricks! If he can get us to believe that GOD doesn’t really care about justness and righteousness, if he can get us to swallow hook line and sinker that GOD doesn’t really LOVE us, then he has put a great gap, an unreachable abyss between God and us. Without God there is no Hope. There is no Faith or Love period.

When Jesus came, He came as a bridge between God’s loving truth and us! The truth that He does care about us so much that He used his own son Jesus to show us how much He still loves us deeply. So deeply that Jesus took our eternal punishment on His own shoulders. All we have to do to receive this is simply accept it as truth and therefore believe it. When we start to believe this, we supernaturally somehow start to get some Hope and Faith back. We find ourselves believing again in Love. God’s love comes shinning back into our wounded hearts and we start to come back into the light of truth. The truth that God is a God that deeply cares about His creation and that God is a God of complete fairness even though this world is unfair and cruel. If we can believe in Jesus, God’s truth, we can again have a renewed Hope that sooner or later everything will be made right. Eventually ALL things will be reckoned with. Someday, even if not in this life, we will be made completely happy and completely whole.

Simply put, it boils down to this one fact, Are we going to believe in God’s truth or the devils lie. Right now down here it’s all too easy to believe the lie because of our unjust circumstances we find ourselves trapped in and so we struggle with sin and disobedience to what we know down deep. It’s so easy right now to lose Faith, Hope, and Love because of the wrong done to us, and the wrong we do to others. But if can just somehow hold on and believe in the truth about God, the truth that Jesus can and will save us in the end, we can have renewed energy in the Hope that we are LOVED.

This Faith in something that we don’t yet see, can and WILL bring us safely back to our FATHER OF LIGHTS, back to the great lover of our souls. Jesus Himself said that our sin is our unbelief in Him and what He came to do. He didn’t even mention our sinful acts. He simply said that our sin is our unbelief in Him. So please hold on child! Hold on to your Faith and Hope! I know full well how difficult and impossible it seems most of the time. I too struggle with sin and disobedience. I too feel like I can’t go on. Even if all we can do is lay there in our beds and plead in our minds, “Jesus please save me!” because we are so shut down and bleeding, that we can no longer say it with our lips, He HEARS us! If we could only hear Him, He is whispering back to us, “Child I already have saved you! I died in your place! My very own life and blood has satisfied ALL God’s righteous anger toward your disobedience and sin. Believe in me child! I can make you white as newly fallen snow! I can renew your Faith, Hope, and Love.”

Soon and very soon, Jesus will return to this old lump of earth to see how many have held on to their very own measure of Faith, Hope, and Love. He loves us, He surely does. Just believe child! Make a choice today!

I like to think of Jesus so loving, kind and true, that somehow when I think on Him it makes me loving too.

Jesus had a presence about Him. His presence was the presence of the Holy Spirit of love. He walked with God the Father in everything He did and said. He did not at any time offend the Father.  He was always at all times pleasing to the mighty ancient of days. If you hung around Him you could not help but be influenced by His powerful loving presence.

His presence exposed darkness. He was the light that came down from heaven to shine into the hearts of men for a season. If you were a person who deeply desired goodness and righteousness,then you would be drawn to the light even if it exposed sin that might be hiding. Even if the light of His love uncovered things that brought you shame, you still were intrigued and drawn to repentance if you somewhere loved goodness and love more than you loved yourself and sin.

But those who loved darkness and wanted to keep on sinning, were deeply offended and angered by this Jesus.  They were repelled by the light because it exposed the disease and death lurking in un-repented hearts. Hearts that secretly loved and were drawn to the pleasures of sin.

Jesus was not one who compromised just to fit in. He got all His support and love from His Father in heaven. He was not one weak in character. He found His food and fulfillment in doing the will of His beloved Father. He was the ultimate Father pleaser. His joy was in seeing the Fathers joy. He set His heart like flint in determination laying His life down for many. He was one who knew what it was to be obedient even if it meant His own death. He did not give in to the temptation of selfishness because of His faithfulness and loving devotion to His Father. He died because of this love.  Love for us and love for His Father. His love brought about His death. He died in our place so we wouldn’t have to die. Love will always bring about death to self and give life to others. It is not directed inward it is directed outward.

Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. He is still all these things…. He still lives and can never be killed again. He is the Lord of both heaven and earth. His death conquered sin and death once and for all. Now we are not held captive by the power of sin. We have a choice to make don’t we. It is quite simple really.  Either we embrace God through a relationship with Jesus,  or we run from God and push away the worlds only true example of complete pure love. Jesus is the only way,truth,and life. NO one comes to the Father except by the blood of Jesus Christ. He said come….. follow me.  How do we do that? We follow His example that He set while on the earth. Read all about it in the four gospels. He was obedient even if it meant dying. He lived for others not for Himself. He was loving,kind and true.  Where did He get His power to do all this? From His daily relationship with His Father in heaven. God is love.

We cannot give love if we first do not receive it from the source of Love.  Many can not give because they are trying to by pass God’s only example and means to the Himself.  You or I cannot live a life of love and truth if we reject Christ. If we repent and ask Jesus to forgive us,and invite Him to live in us,He will come and make His home in our hearts. It is then His power that sets us free and enables us to live a life pleasing to the Great Ancient of Days.

Did you know that if you are one who has not rejected Christ,then not only is your name written in heaven but Jesus Himself is your very own brother. Yes! Jesus said this in Matthew 12: 50 “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?” Who ever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother,sister and my mother.”

Jesus is the faithful loving friend that we all desperately need. Do we want to be like Him? Then just be with Him and we will be like Him. He is strong even if we are weak. Call out to Him brother….sister….

Warnings from The Lord:

Time is short, and all business must come to an end for those who belong to the God of heaven. We will be cut off from the worlds dealings. Those who belong to their maker will not be able to buy or sell. In short this means we people of God will not be able to live life as we did. This means people who are the Lords will be forced to be nomads. It is time to live by faith and faith alone. We say we trust in God,but do we? It is all to easy to trust in ones bank account and not Jesus today. That is soon to change. Soon we will not be able to even have a bank account unless we deny Christ. Today I see many many Christians not taking any steps toward separating themselves from the worlds money system. They are under the deception that they will be rescued by the Lord Jesus before anything terrible happens to them. My bible says no such thing.

Mat 24:3 While He was seated on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately and said, Tell us, when will this take place, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end (the completion, the consummation) of the age?
 
Mat 24:4 Jesus answered them, Be careful that no one misleads you [deceiving you and leading you into error]. 

Mat 24:5 For many will come in (on the strength of) My name [appropriating the name which belongs to Me], saying, I am the Christ (the Messiah), and they will lead many astray.
 
Mat 24:6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not frightened or troubled, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.
 
Mat 24:7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in place after place;

Mat 24:8 All this is but the beginning [the early pains] of the birth pangs [of the intolerable anguish]. 

Mat 24:9 Then they will hand you over to suffer affliction and tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 

Mat 24:10 And then many will be offended and repelled and will begin to distrust and desert [Him Whom they ought to trust and obey] and will stumble and fall away and betray one another and pursue one another with hatred. 

Mat 24:11 And many false prophets will rise up and deceive and lead many into error. 

Mat 24:12 And the love of the great body of people will grow cold because of the multiplied lawlessness and iniquity, 

Mat 24:13 But he who endures to the end will be saved. 

Mat 24:14 And this good news of the kingdom (the Gospel) will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then will come the end. 

Mat 24:15 So when you see the appalling sacrilege [the abomination that astonishes and makes desolate], spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the Holy Place–let the reader take notice and ponder and consider and heed [this]–[Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11] 

Mat 24:16 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains; 

Mat 24:17 Let him who is on the housetop not come down and go into the house to take anything; 

Mat 24:18 And let him who is in the field not turn back to get his overcoat. 

Mat 24:19 And alas for the women who are pregnant and for those who have nursing babies in those days! 
Mat 24:20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 

Mat 24:21 For then there will be great tribulation (affliction, distress, and oppression) such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now–no, and never will be [again]. [Daniel 12:1; Joel 2:2] 

Mat 24:22 And if those days had not been shortened, no human being would endure and survive, but for the sake of the elect (God’s chosen ones) those days will be shortened. 

Mat 24:23 If anyone says to you then, Behold, here is the Christ (the Messiah)! or, There He is!–do not believe it. 

Mat 24:24 For false Christs and false prophets will arise, and they will show great signs and wonders so as to deceive and lead astray, if possible, even the elect (God’s chosen ones). 

Mat 24:25 See, I have warned you beforehand. 

Mat 24:26 So if they say to you, Behold, He is in the wilderness (desert)–do not go out there; if they tell you, Behold, He is in the secret places or inner rooms–do not believe it. 

Mat 24:27 For just as the lightning flashes from the east and shines and is seen as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 

Mat 24:28 Wherever there is a fallen body (a corpse), there the vultures (or eagles) will flock together. [Job 39:30] 

Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. [Isaiah 13:10; 34:4; Joel 2:10-11; Zeph. 1:15] 

Mat 24:30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and beat their breasts and lament in anguish, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory [in brilliancy and splendor]. [Daniel 7:13; Revelation 1:7] 

Mat 24:31 And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect (His chosen ones) from the four winds, [even] from one end of the universe to the other. [Isaiah 27:13; Zechariah 9:14] 

Mat 24:32 From the fig tree learn this lesson: as soon as its young shoots become soft and tender and it puts out its leaves, you know of a surety that summer is near. 

Mat 24:33 So also when you see these signs, all taken together, coming to pass, you may know of a surety that He is near, at the very doors. 

Mat 24:34 Truly I tell you, this generation (the whole multitude of people living at the same time, in a definite, given period) will not pass away till all these things taken together take place. 

Mat 24:35 Sky and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. 

Mat 24:36 But of that [exact] day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 

Mat 24:37 As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 

Mat 24:38 For just as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, [men] marrying and [women] being given in marriage, until the [very] day when Noah went into the ark, 

Mat 24:39 And they did not know or understand until the flood came and swept them all away–so will be the coming of the Son of Man. [Genesis 6:5-8; 7:6-24]

One can see in the above text given by Jesus in sequential order, that the great tribulation comes first, then Christ comes later…

What will Christians do when they find that they must either denounce their faith or not be able to work and buy food in the markets like they once did. Perhaps some will have a remarkable faith in their Lord Jesus.

But why would the men and women of faith talked about in Hebrews (Hebrews 11:35-38) be required to die for their faith if we of today can escape suffering or death. Would this be fair for God to allow. NO! God shows no favoritism.

Heb 11:35 [Some] women received again their dead by a resurrection. Others were tortured to death with clubs, refusing to accept release [offered on the terms of denying their faith], so that they might be resurrected to a better life. [1 Kings 17:17-24; 2 Kings 4:25-37] 

Heb 11:36 Others had to suffer the trial of mocking and scourging and even chains and imprisonment. 

Heb 11:37 They were stoned to death; they were lured with tempting offers [to renounce their faith]; they were sawn asunder; they were slaughtered by the sword; [while they were alive] they had to go about wrapped in the skins of sheep and goats, utterly destitute, oppressed, cruelly treated– 

Heb 11:38 [Men] of whom the world was not worthy–roaming over the desolate places and the mountains, and [living] in caves and caverns and holes of the earth. 

This generation will not escape the fiery trials that test the faith whether it is pure or not. There will be many who will fall away from the love of Jesus because of the love of ones comfort and life.

Oh faith will indeed be tried seven times over. Only those who love Christ more than they love their own lives will come out pure and undefiled. Many lovers of God will die for their faith during this time of testing. And many lovers of the flesh will live and denounce Christ to preserve it. 

Scary times lie ahead. There will soon be no more laughter and joking among God’s people. Only the quite inner joy of knowing where true safety lies will remain in the days ahead.

In fact, if the Lord himself did not cut these days short no human flesh will survive. The anti-Christ movement is on the rise! Watch and be ready…

God’s love has all these qualities.  The Spirit of God known as the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of love.  The very embodiment or essence of love itself.  When the Holy Spirit is present and leading,  these above mentioned traits are present in action.

How does mankind measure up to this kind of love?  After giving careful thought to what love is,  one can see we as people fall short of this perfect Godly love. 

The amazing thing about love is that it has to be passed on or bestowed upon.  Only the Father and the Son have love within themselves or self-sustaining love. 

For even as the Father has life in Himself and is self-existent, so He has given to the Son to have life in Himself and be self-existent.
(Joh 5:26)

The scripture is plainly talking about Jesus here.  No one besides the Father and the Son have self-sustaining or self-existing life or love within themselves.

Love is the light that shines in the darkness of men and women hearts.  God is light and God is love.

And this is the message [the message of promise] which we have heard from Him and now are reporting to you: God is Light, and there is no darkness in Him at all [no, not in any way].
(1Jo 1:5)

  He who does not love has not become acquainted with God [does not and never did know Him], for God is love.
(1Jo 4:8)

In Him was Life, and the Life was the Light of men.
(Joh 1:4)

The life this scripture is talking about is the love of God.  This life is the Holy Spirit.  Only the Father and the Son have this self-sustaining Spirit of life.

That said,  why do we men and women act like we have love within ourselves apart from God?  No one has 1 Cor. chapter 13 kind of love in his or her life apart from the presence and indwelling Spirit of the living God.  No one can have this Holy Spirit of love without first accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and savior. Jesus is love.  He is the exact image of God the Father.

[Now] He is the exact likeness of the unseen God [the visible representation of the invisible]; He is the Firstborn of all creation.
(Col 1:15)

If we reject Jesus,  we are rejecting love.

We try to love,  we try to live good lives,  we try very hard to be selfless in our giving but we always fall short and come to an end to our patience and caring for others.

The reason for this is obvious.  We do not have a self-existent love or life within our beings.  We are not the life giver.  We are not the life sustainer.  We are not love. 

God is love.  He is the life giver.  Anyone who tries to live a life of pure perfect love apart from the indwelling and empowering love of the Holy Spirit will fail miserably.  This is a truth of God’s word and this truth plays out in our everyday lives.  We all fall short of true love,  God’s love. 

We cannot love like God if we are not receiving love from God himself.  This truth although simple,  has eluded many of us through the ages. 

If we took a human baby from the moment he or she were born,  and never gave or directed our affection and love towards this child,  this infant would grow up without the ability to give love because it did not receive it.  He or she would become an unfeeling and probably hateful person.  If we have never received love then we cannot give it.  You cannot give what you first have not received.

Understanding this truth,  one can clearly see why this world is in the state it is in.  The more we fall away from God who is perfect love,  the more we are seperated from God’s kind of love.  We become self-centered,  selfish people instead of 1 Cor. 13 kind of loving people. 

Even many in the church do not have a grip on these truths.  If we did we would understand that we must first go to Jesus and accept His love.  We must truly learn how to receive His love and friendship in everyday life.  When we learn how to receive His love and affection,  Then we will be filled with His Holy Spirit of love and start loving our neighbors like we know we should.

You can’t give what you never got.  Jesus is here for us if we just learn how to let Him love us.  I am always amazed how hard it is for most of us to receive a complement from someone.  We find that we push love away from us.  We do not know how to receive love anymore. 

We need to learn from a child.  Little children know how to receive love and praise from someone else.  They smile and usually express some kind of gratitude either in words or action.  They clearly do not reject love when it comes their way no matter what kind of person it was who gave it.  Little children are not judgmental.  They can walk over to any kind of person even if that person doesn’t look very nice and express an interest in relationship. 

Jesus said, ” unless you become like a little child,  you can by no means enter into the kingdom of God.  What is this kingdom of God?  I am sure it is a kingdom of love.  God is love remember.  Some of us have forgotten how to receive love therefore we cannot give it either.  We have been so busy trying to protect our hearts that we forgot to let someone love us!  That’s right.  We need to let down our walls that keep everyone from our hearts and let the light shine in. 

Jesus is that light.  He is the only way, truth and life.  Without Jesus,  no one can keep the love they thought they had.  None of us can hold on to love.  It is the vapor of God.  It is the light of God.  God’s love cannot be stored up in some kind of energy holder.  If we are not continually letting His love fill us up and shine into our hearts,  then we are dwelling in darkness and eventually we will find ourselves totally lost in selfish doom and death.

 That said the answer to our problems in this world is not in giving only but first learning again like a child to receive what ever love and attention someone might be trying to shine into us.  God is love and His love is continually shining down on us from some unknown or unappreciated source.  All we need to do is stop rejecting Him.  We need to stop rejecting Jesus.  Jesus made it possible to have forgiveness since He paid the penalty for our sins.  All we need to do is quite rejecting His love and trust completly in His love.  It’s only after accepting what He did for us that we finally come back to that humble childlike heart of receiving His love again.

Jesus gave His life so we could be forgiven and embrace God’s love again.  So the next time someone says to you, ” you look nice today!” or ” I just wanted to tell you that I have noticed all the nice things you do for others.”  just receive the love and let it soak in and make you smile back.  Don’t say, ” Oh I don’t think I look very nice today at all!”  or don’t you dare let the complements bounce off by saying, ” Oh it was nothing really!”  But rather,  be like a child and smile warmly and say, ” why thank you for noticing me!”

If we could start to learn how to receive God’s love,  we would find ourselves being constantly filled up so we can pass it on to someone else.  Love has to be passed on.   Love is God’s very Spirit.  Anyone who rejects Jesus is really rejecting God’s ultimate show of love.  If we reject love then we are rejecting life.  Only death is left.  Only darkness and loneliness.  So let us embrace God’s love.  Let us receive God’s gift.  Jesus died so we could have love.  His Holy Spirit of Love.

 This particular song was written out in a South Dakota livestock barn. I had finished up calving and lambing for some friends and was feeling the need to express some disturbing thoughts so I grabbed my old guitar and started strumming a tune. Sometimes a song is birthed from many years of pondering deep feelings that linger on like a constant subconscious dull toothache.

 This was one of those songs. Even though it was a sobering one, I somehow felt better getting it off my chest. I don’t think I am the only one who has felt as this song suggests. Sometimes life seems to funnel you down this long empty corridor and for a long time you feel like you are not able to change this path you find yourself on. Feeling helpless like a tumbleweed being driven by the unforgiving wind.

 If you have ever felt what this song suggests, then you understand it’s context.

Lonesome Heart Lonesome Soul is a soulful musical score with a western flavor.

(Pursuit of happiness)

The Declaration of Independence

IN CONGRESS, JULY 4, 1776

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. #1 –That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. –Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

#1

I agree whole-heartedly with the founding Forefathers declaration. It is indeed the God given right (the right to choose is God given anyway…) in this country to obtain “certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” And no one person or government has the right to annul (take away) these self-evident (or obvious) rights. Tyranny (dictatorship) is evil. Freedom is Godly. But… and it’s a big but, this declaration has been misused and abused by the American people through the centuries. Just because we have the right to choose doesn’t mean that we are going to choose rightly.

What do I mean by this statement? Well let’s take a look at what Jesus says on the matter.

Mat 16:21 From that time forth Jesus began [clearly] to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders and the high priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised from death.

Mat 16:22 Then Peter took Him aside to speak to Him privately and began to reprove and charge Him sharply, saying, God forbid, Lord! This must never happen to You!

Mat 16:23 But Jesus turned away from Peter and said to him, Get behind Me, Satan! You are in My way [an offense and a hindrance and a snare to Me]; for you are minding what partakes not of the nature and quality of God, but of men.

Mat 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone desires to be My disciple, let him deny himself [disregard, lose sight of, and forget himself and his own interests] and take up his cross and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying, also].

Mat 16:25 For whoever is bent on saving his [temporal] life [his comfort and security here] shall lose it [eternal life]; and whoever loses his life [his comfort and security here] for My sake shall find it [life everlasting].

Mat 16:26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life [his blessed life in the kingdom of God]? Or what would a man give as an exchange for his [blessed] life [in the kingdom of God]?

Mat 16:27 For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory (majesty, splendor) of His Father with His angels, and then He will render account and reward every man in accordance with what he has done. Amplified version

NOTE : (what he has done while in the body, with the life that God has given him)

One can clearly see by looking at what Jesus said, that if anyone wants to follow his example in life, he or she must deny (original greek word G533 [aparneomai] means to abstain or disown) themselves, their own pursuit of happiness, and all self-interests, pick up his or her cross (a picture of death to self) and then come and follow Him. This sounds like it is pretty much against the good ole American dream doesn’t it. To choose life according to Jesus is to pursue the Son of God even if it means self-denial.

Mat 16:22 Then Peter took Him aside to speak to Him privately and began to reprove and charge Him sharply, saying, God forbid, Lord! This must never happen to You!

Peter was believing in the American dream.

Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. In other words, Peter was rebuking Jesus an saying, ” Look Lord, your not speaking very pleasantly here! Come on don’t talk like this. What do you mean your going to suffer and die! What kind of talk is this! God wants us to prosper! Come now no more negative talking.”

I am sure Peter thought he was in the right and so he was very bold in taking Jesus aside and chiding Him. Peter thought like most of us, that we should pursue happiness for ourselves. This is what life is about isn’t it? Self gain is important isn’t it? Pursuing happiness for oneself? God forbid that we should willingly suffer or die even! After all that seems to be what most of humanity is after…pursuing dreams, our happiness and living the good life.

Well according to God’s words on the matter, a self-centered (pleasing self) life does not seem to be in our best interests after all.

Luk 16:19 There was a certain rich man who [habitually] clothed himself in purple and fine linen and reveled and feasted and made merry in splendor every day.

Luk 16:20 And at his gate there was [carelessly] dropped down and left a certain utterly destitute man named Lazarus, [reduced to begging alms and] covered with [ulcerated] sores.

Luk 16:21 He [eagerly] desired to be satisfied with what fell from the rich man’s table; moreover, the dogs even came and licked his sores.

Luk 16:22 And it occurred that the man [reduced to] begging died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.

Luk 16:23 And in Hades (the realm of the dead), being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom.

Luk 16:24 And he cried out and said, Father Abraham, have pity and mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.

Luk 16:25 But Abraham said, Child, remember that you in your lifetime fully received [what is due you in] comforts and delights, and Lazarus in like manner the discomforts and distresses; but now he is comforted here and you are in anguish.

Luk 16:26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who want to pass from this [place] to you may not be able, and no one may pass from there to us.

Luk 16:27 And [the man] said, Then, father, I beseech you to send him to my father’s house–

Luk 16:28 For I have five brothers–so that he may give [solemn] testimony and warn them, lest they too come into this place of torment.

Luk 16:29 But Abraham said, They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear and listen to them.

Luk 16:30 But he answered, No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent (change their minds for the better and heartily amend their ways, with abhorrence of their past sins).

Luk 16:31 He said to him, If they do not hear and listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded and convinced and believe [even] if someone should rise from the dead.

Looking at Luke 16: 19 I think it is clear that the rich man was living in habitual merriment. The word revel in the amplified text means ” to indulge, to have fun.”

Now God is not against having fun. All through the old testament one can find examples of how the Lord very much wanted great celebrations to happen in the Israelite’s encampments. (The source of this merriment though was towards God and not self-seeking)

1Ch 16:10 Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord!

But what the Holy Spirit is wanting to reveal here is this…

When we as people pursue (strive for and work towards) our own happiness first, we get trapped and ensnared in a life of self-indulgence. Which is idol worship. An idol is a substitute or replacement for God.

This is why there are so many broken marriages resulting in broken homes. If any person seeks or pursues their own happiness over God who is love, the end is an ultimate divorce of love. No love = No family

Rather, our own happiness should come last in the order of things. the pursuit or striving for of our own happiness is wrong. Others will suffer if we engage in such practices.

Jesus said in Matthew it is difficult for a rich man to enter heaven.

Mat 19:23 And Jesus said to His disciples, Truly I say to you, it will be difficult for a rich man to get into the kingdom of heaven.

Mat 19:24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go into the kingdom of heaven.

But why is this? Because of the very things we have been talking about. A rich person in most cases, but not all, got where he or she is because they pursued their own happiness regardless of who it hurt. There are many of us humans who grew up in a home void of love because the parents were to busy with pleasing self. Pursuing the American dream as it were.

In fact, some feel guilty before the Lord so they appease their own conscious by giving their neglected children material things. When I was growing up we didn’t have to much but we had some family love for each other. Not so with other kids I knew. They had all kinds of cool stuff but they didn’t have much if any love in their home. How utterly sad. Oh there is a price for the pursuit of happiness. It’s easy for a rich person to miss heaven.

Unless we deny ourselves (self-fulfillment) pick up our cross and follow Him, we are not worthy of Him.

Mat 10:38 And he who does not take up his cross and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conforming wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying also] is not worthy of Me.

Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. king James Version

In other words, we are told to pursue God and His kingdom. The word seek here means in the original Greek ²²¹²(ze?teo?) to desire, to plot, to go about or be about, to enquire. The word desire in our language means to long for or to have an appetite for. One of the replacement words in our language for “seek” means to pursue.

And that is what this topic is all about…

It seems the American Dream is misguided.

Mat 16:23 But Jesus turned away from Peter and said to him, Get behind Me, Satan! You are in My way [an offense and a hindrance and a snare to Me]; for you are minding what partakes not of the nature and quality of God, but of men.

Jesus was speaking plainly that Peter was only concerned for the things of men (life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness) and not on the things and nature of God. You see to do the will of God above all else many times and most of the time means to deny one self.

Jesus was obedient even unto death. To do the will of His Father in heaven was more important than life itself.

Phi 2:8 And after He had appeared in human form, He abased and humbled Himself [still further] and carried His obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of the cross! [amplified version]

Doesn’t sound like the word of God promotes self-gain does it? In fact it warns against it.

1Titus 5:6 Whereas she who lives in pleasure and self-gratification [giving herself up to luxury and self-indulgence] is dead even while she [still] lives.

Jam 5:1 Come now, you rich [people], weep aloud and lament over the miseries (the woes) that are surely coming upon you.

Jam 5:5 [Here] on earth you have abandoned yourselves to soft (prodigal) living and to [the pleasures of] self-indulgence and self-gratification. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.

Here in another place it gives us the blue prints of how we should approach life having the right attitude.

1Pe 4:1 So, since Christ suffered in the flesh for us, for you, arm yourselves with the same thought and purpose [patiently to suffer rather than fail to please God]. For whoever has suffered in the flesh [having the mind of Christ] is done with [intentional] sin [has stopped pleasing himself and the world, and pleases God],

1Pe 4:2 So that he can no longer spend the rest of his natural life living by [his] human appetites and desires, but [he lives] for what God wills.

The Holy Spirit of Christ makes it quite clear that we ought not to live to please ourselves but to do the will of God.

Joh 4:34 Jesus said to them, My food (nourishment) is to do the will (pleasure) of Him Who sent Me and to accomplish and completely finish His work.

Our lives are to be offered up as a sacrifice to Him and His purposes, rather than of ourselves and self-interests.

Rom 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.

Selfish ambition is at the root of everything evil.

Jam 3:16 For wherever there is jealousy (envy) and contention (rivalry and selfish ambition), there will also be confusion (unrest, disharmony, rebellion) and all sorts of evil and vile practices.

So you see to pursue and work toward ones own happiness is very dangerous and usually leads to all sorts of evils and bondages. Godly love loves even to it’s own hurt. It denys self every time when confronted with the choice of serving self or God, who is love. Love does not demand it’s own way. It is not self-seeking.

1Co 13:5 It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].

The indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The fulfillment that God’s indwelt Spirit brings is the only way to live and keep ourselves from this evil self-seeking spirit that tries to take us captive. If we put off or deny the old sin nature (pleasing of self) and do not put on (give ourselves over to and be filled with)the Spirit of God, we will be empty and unhappy having no joy.

It is vital to pursue the living God then after forsaking self. If we do not then we will eventually become weary of well doing and fall back into our past lusts of pleasing our flesh. It is the indwelling of Christ that is our only hope of glory.

Col 1:27 to whom God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the nations, who is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Literal translation version)

We were created to experience God in His fullness. To find joy in His presence. To be utterly filled with His glory.

Eph 3:19 [That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!

His father, working in the yard, saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, he ran toward the water, yelling to his son as loudly as he could. Hearing his voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his father. It was too late. Just as he reached his father, the alligator reached him. From the dock, the father grabbed his little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war between the two.

The alligator was much stronger than the father, but the father was much too passionate to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, heard his screams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the alligator. Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal. And, on his arms, were deep scratches where his father’s fingernails dug into his flesh in his effort to hang on to the son he loved.

The newspaper reporter who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, “But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my Dad wouldn’t let go.” You and I can identify with that little boy. We have scars, too. No, not from an alligator, but the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret. But some wounds, my friend, are because God has refused to let you go. ~ copied from a friend!

Whether or not someone is country, is hard to define now days. Language with its many definitions is constantly changing and is being re-defined everyday. Country music started out as a WAY of life not some genre or style of music. Country music was born from America’s back country rural farm and rancher type people, not city folk. The roots of country music came from hard working people who were generally poor and had little or no entertainment but to sit in the shade after a long hard days work on the front porch or wherever and express his or her soul of ordinary country life lived everyday in the form of music. Most of the instruments used back then were homemade guitars, fiddles, banjos, mandolins, and what not. Over a period of time, music of this nature developed into a genre or style and became very popular. The genre, “Country Music” was born.

Now days just because someone produces a certain sound or style, they feel they are country. The problem is… that certain sound has evolved over the years into something entirely different than it’s roots, not only the music but also the lyrics. Country music is no longer clearly defined as country. There has always been a rift and lack of understanding between country people and city people. Country people feel they are more closely in touch with the land and therefore feel more of a simple down home connection with nature and the earth with it’s way of life. City folk commonly do not have the same connection with the country way of life and therefore do not feel or express their souls with the same style of music. Consequently, Country music and city music have been mostly very different in lyric style and musical score. Now that most feel it’s all about the style or genre instead of a way of life, the true definition of country music has been lost. Genre’s and musical categories are subject to constant change…not so with the country way of life. The country way of life and its people change very slowly if at all.

Because of this, the genre or style of country music has changed dramatically as more and more city people have gained access to the country music industry. It takes lots of money to produce music and push it over the airwaves. City people seem to have more of the green stuff so naturally the style of country music has been altered by people who were born in the city and have very little real connection with the original grass roots country music sound. Like it or not, this is the TRUE definition of COUNTRY MUSIC!

Austria:

1 Graham Rodger We’re Gonna Be Alright
2 Joan Rochette Need Me Tonight
3 Bonita Mercer Til Myself Comes Back To You
4 Billy Currington People Are Crazy
5 Neil Andrews They Found Love
6 Johnny Lyon & Willie Nelson Old school
7 Eric Church Love Your Love The Most
8 Stella Parton Family Ties
9 Kacy Fox Nobody’s fool
10 Eddy Gee Couldn’t sleep at all
11 Ben Gonsioroski Everything Turn To Love
12 Allen Karl Then I Met The Master
13 Brooks & Magee One Of Kidman’s Men
14 Rachel Cristaldi I Found Me
15 Mark McLelland God Did It
16 Phillip Clarkson In The Arms Of Someone New
17 Hermann Lammers Meyer & Lois Johnson First of May
18 Caroline Freeman Walking With Jesus
19 Beck Hobbs Kiss My Ashes
20 Andreas Oscar Back To Paris
21 Ernie Oldfield Key Of Your Heart
22 Wolfe Milestone Where my truck stops
23 Tim Chesney Drivin’ Down
24 Michelle Wright I’ve forgotten you
25 Family Heritage Drifting So Far
26 Big Bob Young Bury Me In Dixie
27 LaRue Roberts Together Again
28 Jeanne Turner Last of Our Days
29 Hal Willis & Laura Clapp Theres Somen About Texas
30 Shane Wyatt Whole Lotta Love
31 Terri Clark I Wanna Do It All
32 Matt Stillwell Shine
33 Zane Lewis Come with Me
34 Brad Paisley & Keith Urban Start a Band
35 Amber Digby A Man I Hardly Know
36 Billy Keeble The Memory
37 Leona Williams & Justin Trevino Yearning
38 Carl Belew Silent Partner
39 Lee Ann Womack If These Walls Could Talk
40 Clint Moody If I Could Only Fly

Switzerland:

1 Gail Russell Sosefina
2 Slim Dusty – Anne Kirkpatrick I Haven’t Changed A Bit
3 Dean Holman I Don’t Want Anyone Around Me
4 DeLon Bible
5 Brian Letton I Saw A Man
6 Joey Allcorn So Say Goodbye
7 Darlene Olson Want Me Like I Want You Tonight
8 Brad Cole Come Home
9 Justin Grant Drink More Beer
10 Tracy Killeen Back There
11 Anna Reif My Honey Needs No Money
12 Melissa Bajric Too Long Between Drinks
13 Billy Wyatt Arizona Heart
14 The Little Stevies The Two Loves Of His Life
15 Nicole Gordon Do You Think About It
16 John Dartnell You’re The One
17 Denny Russell The Wire & The Wood
18 Michael Gray Cross-Country Tree Climbing Drunk
19 Christina Haywood Here They Come Again
20 Billie Tarascio Send Me
21 Delilah Clark Take Me Home
22 Brenda Loomis & The Blue Coyote Band Running Through My Mind
23 Ben Gonsioroski Memories
24 Cindy Shelton Never Live Without You
25 Brad Paisley Then
26 Conny Lee Absence
27 Darius Rucker Alright
28 Marie Hodson Cowboys love Texas
29 Slim Whitman Wheel Of Hurt
30 Tanya Tucker f/ Jim Lauderdale Love’s Gonna Live Here
31 Graham Rodger We’re Gonna Be Alright
32 Joan Rochette Need Me Tonight
33 Steve Oliver Mama’s kitchen table
34 Vannatta Put Gas In My Diesel
35 Robert Clarkson Lookin at the world through a windshield
36 Doug Bruce What I’m Drinkin About
37 Alecia Nugent Don’t Tell Me
38 Dailey & Vincent Head Hung Down
39 Carrie Hassler & Hard Rain Faith And Hope
40 Lee Ann Womack Solitary Thinkin’

Triplestrand Productions wants to keep the momentum going so Ben is releasing two more singles for Nov. 2009 Gee Wiz… think what could happen if Ben had a little promotional funds under his belt! The more money you have the more you get sent to radio stations. Such is the modern country music world.