Daily Devotion (March 7, 2025)
(This may be a little long and redundant in some places, but I wax a little nostalgic this morning.)
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.In 1965 Jackie DeShannon’s song, “What the World Needs Now is Love, sweet Love” came Out. I was around 13 years old. I had my transistor radio and went around listening to either WDAK or WRBL radio. The era was a transition from the “Golen Age of Radio to the era of “Top 40 Radio.” Rock ‘n’ roll defined this period. It was also the demise of AM radio. It is difficult to define the period of music to the generation of today. But I need to get away from nostalgia to where we ae today.
The 1960’s were the golden age for music. Many popular bands were formed during this time that helped shaped the direction of America. We saw the coming of the Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, The Supremes, The Temptations, The Byrd’s, The Who, Simon &Garfunkel and CCR (Anyone know who this group was), and maybe one of my favorites, “Bob Dylan. We learned a lot about life through the songs of the sixties. Unfortunately, we learned some bad things about life. Protest over Viet-Nam, drugs, “free love” and I could go on and on. The sixties were a double-edged sword.
The music and movements carried profound truths and vibrant energy. We learned about love, but it was not the John 3:16 love. I love music. Music does have a profound impact on us. Satan does a good job in using music to pull us away from God. Jackie DeShannon was right, the world needs love. But the world needs a John 3:16 love. We need to allow the love of Jesus Christ dwell up in our lives. The music of the sixties was great. The lyrics were not so great. I will take John 3:16 and it’s theology and philosophy over the Sixties music any day.The sixties were a period of creativity and innovation in the music industry. It was a decade of turbulence and moral challenges. We can learn from the Bible the importance of music. It has the power to inspire, teach, and influence. It can either draw us closer to God or pull us away. We learn about love through music???
I would choose to learn about the John 3:16 love from the Bible than from a secular godless world.