God’s New Year
The other week ago I kept singing a song in my mind called “A new day.” I wrote the song many years ago. Then when I turned the page on the calendar and saw when Passover was, I realized that it was God’s New Year that I was celebrating in my mind. God told Moses when the New Year started, and on the 14th day of the first month was Passover. (Exodus chapter 12 in the Scriptures).
Today is Passover, and I wish you all a belated Happy New Year according to God’s calendar.
The other day, soon after sunrise, I went for a walk to the park and found myself singing “Have I told you lately that I love you.” So I thought maybe I should do that song next on my website. It is one of my old favourite love songs from a long, long time ago. I remember hearing my mother sing this song when I was about six years of age. I picture myself sitting in the sunshine playing with my dinky toys in the dirt as she was singing in the kitchen. As a teenager I remember hearing Jim Reeves singing this song, and now as an old man I think I like the Elvis Presley version the most. After my walk to the park, I checked the back yard to see if I could see any dead cats. The night before, I heard terrible sounds of cats fighting. Why are they fighting? I don’t know! So the next day I was searching all day to see who all sings this song, and I never even looked at the world news. Then that night my wife told me that someone tried to kill Donald Trump. What is wrong with people? Why can’t everybody just live in peace? Why can’t we all just be happy to be alive, and make the best of our lives? Lots of the famous people have grown up poor, and did their best to make something of their lives. So I think love is better than hatred, and hope you all enjoy living and loving!
This song reminds me of when I was a kid. Every few years went on vacation to a nice warm climate by the sea. It was so exciting to see and hear the waves pounding, and to the smell the lovely sea-breeze. There is nothing quite the same as the “holiday spirit.” No more school, no more worries. We had pocket money every day to enjoy the sun, the surf, the sand and the soda pop pop! The pretty girls were everywhere. At the roller rink, I skated to the song: “Like a tiger” by the fabulous singer Fabian. There are so many things that still burn strongly in my memory from so many years ago. Stop and smell the roses on the way! Don’t worry, be happy! Forget the cares of the world. Just be free! It was so much fun being a kid.
I heard “Love letters in the sand” by Pat Boone, and have a number of versions of him singing this song, where people have added beautiful pictures and videos. This is definitely one of my favourite love songs. So many people love to sing this song, so I have added many other singers, and have tried to do them alphabetically. I hope it makes you happy. This song makes me happy.
When I was a little boy growing up in Salisbury, Rhodesia, I remember my mother singing lots of her favourite love songs while she was busy in the kitchen, and I heard them while I was outside playing with my toys. Songs like: When it’s Springtime in the Rockies, A kiss is still a kiss as time goes by, I’m an old cowhand from the Rio Grande, On the Isle of Capri, Down Mexico way, Be a little forgiving take me back in your heart, I’ll be loving you always, Don’t sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me, and many, many more.
Then she got saved, and sang songs like: The lily of the valley, I tried the broken cisterns Lord, and Happy day that fixed my choice, etc. Then she wanted to get filled with the Holy Spirit, and as the preacher was on his way to pray for her, my brother and I were naughty, and she spanked us, and ended up in a very bad mood. When Pastor Price prayed for her she went into some kind of dream where she was in the sea, and the waves were coming over her. Then she felt she had drowned. (When she was young her daddy drowned in Illovo Beach, South Africa, while saving a girl from drowning).
Then it seemed like, far away someone was speaking in tongues. That person just kept on and on speaking in tongues for a long time. Then she got curious as to who was doing that. When she woke up, she found it was herself speaking in tongues, and she was lying on the floor! The pastor said she had a mighty baptism in the Holy Ghost.
Many years later when we were having house meetings in Bulawayo, every now and then she would speak in tongues, and expect someone to do the interpretation. But there was no interpretation. When I was a teenager I remember going with my mother to a ‘Keswick’ meeting somewhere outside of Bulawayo. There were about a hundred people there from all different churches. Then during prayer time, mother started speaking in tongues! I thought: “No mother, don’t do that here! These people don’t believe in that sort of thing!”
After the meeting, when we were outside, I remember seeing Pastor Bob Beatty speaking to my mother. He was a missionary from America. She told me later that he was asking her what languages she spoke, etc. Apparently she was speaking in some African language that he had learnt, to minister to a particular tribe in Rhodesia. Some years later, in the early 70’s, I remember Bob Beatty inviting me to sing at a mission station somewhere near Gwelo.
In the late 70’s I remember Pastor Marks inviting me to sing at his church outside of Que Que. I remember the church building being next to the main road between Bulawayo and Salisbury. There were banana palms behind the church, and the pastor’s house behind the banana palms. Before going to that church, the Holy Spirit impressed upon me the words of the Apostle Paul in the Bible. “Let him that speaketh in tongues, pray that he might interpret.” (1 Corinthians 14:13). Then I realized that my mother should have asked the Lord for the interpretations when she spoke in tongues. She had the anointing on her, so it was her responsibility to do the interpretations as well, and not expect someone else to do it.
In one of the meetings, I invited people to come forward for healing. I seem to recall there were six people. The last person I prayed for was a woman. I laid my hands on her shoulders and prayed for her. Then she started speaking in tongues. So I said to her: “Now, give the interpretation.” There was a bit of a silence. Then she said: “The Lord has forgiven your sins.”
Straight after that I gave an invitation for people to received Jesus Christ as their Saviour, and about twelve people came forward.
The next morning, my wife and I were sitting in their living room talking to Pastor Marks, when the phone rang. We heard half the conversation. Apparently some woman who was in the service the night before, was asking Pastor Marks what languages the other woman spoke when I prayed for her. He explained that she spoke English and a bit of the local African language, then he asked her why she was inquiring. She said that last night the woman spoke in Hellenic, and with her being Greek, she understood what she was saying. So he asked her what she had said, and she replied that she spoke in Hellenic, then she said the same thing over again in English!
So Pastor Marks explained to her what happened on the day of Pentecost, how the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, and spoke in various languages the people knew, who had come to Jerusalem from all different parts of the world. (Acts chapter 2, in the Bible).
Many times since then, the devil has attacked me, telling me that my sins are not forgiven. Beloved, the devil is a liar. Keep serving God, as best as you know how, and we’ll meet again on the streets of gold, in a land where we’ll never grow old!
When I was a teenager I loved listening to a record by Trini Lopez as he sang favourite love songs to a “live”audience. With a “live” audience, I knew that what I was listening to was the “real thing!” I longed to be able to be like him, and sang some of the same songs.
I heard about Santa when I was a little boy growing up in Southern Rhodesia. I also heard about the snow and the reindeer, etc. However, it was the middle of summer in our country, and I remember hearing people say it was “A 100 degrees in the shade.” (Fahrenheit). Yet I heard about Santa, and the snow, and the reindeer, and the chimney, etc. Our chimney was too small for anyone to come down, and we never had any snow in our country, and we didn’t have any reindeer either! So it all felt like “fairy stories!”
Churches are also into all the “fairy stories.” There is no such word as “Christmas” in the Bible. That word may also be taking Christ’s name in vain, because Jesus never gave authority for his name to be used in that way. Jesus never gave authority for the use of his name in the word “Christian” either. In fact that is opposite to what Jesus taught. Jesus said: “Many shall come in my name saying ‘I am Christ’ and shall deceive many.” (Matthew 24:5). When I was a kid, I too was deceived. I read in the Bible that the disciples were called “Christians” first in Antioch, but some ‘unknown person’ is not a credible witness. (Acts 11:26). Jesus said: “By the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.” (Matthew 18:16). King Agrippa used the word “Christian“ right in front of Paul, but Paul never used that word. (Acts 26:28). King Agrippa is not a reliable witness either. His ancestors tried to kill baby Jesus, they killed John the Baptist, they killed James, and wanted to kill Peter. Peter is the only disciple in the Bible to use that word “Christian,” and he uses it in connection with persecution. “If any man suffer as a ‘Christian’ let him not be ashamed, but glorify God on this behalf.” (1 Peter 4:16). Peter got beaten by the leaders of Israel for believing that Jesus was the Christ. (Acts chapter 5). He got imprisoned a few times, and Herod wanted to kill him. (Acts chapter 12). Peter said: “Love the brotherhood.” (1 Peter 2:17). Jesus means “Saviour” and Christ means “Messiah.” There is only ONE Saviour and ONE Messiah, and that is Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Faith in that name can cause the lame to walk, and dance with joy! (Acts chapter 3). All my life, I have basically had three teachers: 1. Church people. 2. The Doctor of the Bible School. 3. The Holy Spirit. I choose to follow the Holy Spirit, even though church people get very angry with me at times. I don’t want to tell any lies to try and please people, I want to go to heaven one day! All liars are going to go to the lake of fire! (Revelation 21:8). There is also no such thing in the Bible as December the 25th. There is nothing in the Bible about the shepherds being with their sheep on a cold winter’s night. A Rabbi on the internet said that the sheep in Israel only have babies in the springtime.
I am of the opinion that Jesus was born in the springtime in Israel. Let me give you my reasons. In Exodus chapter 12, God himself told Moses that His New Year starts 14 days before Passover. Then one year later at Mount Sinai, in Arabia, (Galations 4:25), God told Moses he must erect the tabernacle on the first day of God’s New Year. (Exodus chapter 40).That was when the glory of God came down from heaven into the tabernacle. When Jesus got born, the angels sang: “Glory to God in the highest.” When Jesus got born, that is when the glory of God came down to earth in the form of a baby. “A body hast Thou prepared me.” (Hebrews 10:5). We met a preacher that went to heaven and back, and he said that Jesus was born at Passover, and died at Passover. I have never been to heaven and back, so I didn’t argue with him, but it was in the “springtime” that Jesus got born, not in the winter.
The Romans believed in the sun-god, and when the days got shorter in the winter, they thought that the sun-god was dying. So, 25th of December is the day of the re-birth of the sun-god according to Pope Gregory’s Calendar. Sun worship is death penalty in the Bible. (Deuteronomy chapter 17). When the Israelites were in Egypt, God made the sun go dark, to show the Egyptians that the sun is not a god. (Exodus chapter 10). So beloved, I urge you to follow the teachings of God as found in the Bible, and forget all the pagan stuff that comes out of Rome. Paul even wrote to the church in Rome and said to them: Be not conformed to the world (Rome), but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2).
Jesus told the religious leaders of his day that their traditions made the word of God of none effect. (Mark chapter 7). Most people seem to be very bound by their traditions. They make their traditions higher than the word of God. Beware. One day there will be a day of judgment. There are only two places to go: the new earth or the lake of fire. (Revelation chapter 21).
I have a new website called Free online Bible comics, if you would like to check it out.
I came across Janey Kirk the other day, and she sings a lot of my favourite love songs. She is sometimes joined by her daughter Carla and other people in her performances. She seems to be a vibrant personality, and I hope you enjoy these selections.
I hope you have enjoyed some of these favourite love songs by Janey Kirk, and for those in her country, I hope you are still enjoying attending her performances.
I also have other websites, if this website will not show the comic, you will find it on this website: https://countrygospelandbible.com/
