Gone in Sixty Seconds

I've had many different jobs in my life so far. Most of them have been in the music field, but some have been in related areas. And while the title of this entry suggests otherwise, I have never been a car-jacker. No, something much worse... a producer of radio spots!

Yes, I've been one of those guys who help create those wonderful one minute messages that interrupt the flow of your favorite radio programming (and I've done TV spots, too!). For a number of years I would each day see the lines of a script declaring that 'now is the best time to buy', 'prices will never, EVER be lower', and (a personal favorite) the promise that 'no one will be turned down' (never mind the outrageously fast and often unintelligible disclaimer legally disavowing said promises).

So after basking in the warm afterglow of nostalgia for those days filled with announcers screaming over a generically rocking music track, I was thinking about all the places I now get to work. Every week I get the chance to help churches all around the Southeast with the musical component of their worship services. Alabaster, Argo, Asheville, Hoover, Jackson, Spring Hill, Tupelo... these cities all have 'branch offices' of a place where each week you can encounter the most important message any of us will ever hear.

For those of us in the throes of a personal crisis, be it physical, emotional, or spiritual, now really IS the best time to discover true Hope. The price? Never lower! And there are no forms to fill out, no talking it over with the manager in the back room to see if we can get approved, either. The cost of hope for the hopeless is FREE (in fact, someone else paid the bill)!

The best news is that whatever despair we are feeling can truly be 'gone in sixty seconds' or less. All we have to do is to trust in Christ! It seems too good to be true, but I'll just end this entry with 'the disclaimer' found in 1 John.

"If we claim that we're free of sin, we're only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won't let us down; he'll be true to himself. He'll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing."

This freedom can be found anytime and anywhere... it doesn't have to be in church. But it sure is a great place to start.

So... when? SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY!!!

GV