THE REFRESHING

Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh...how refreshing. I don't know about you...but on a hot summer day...when the sun is beating down upon your brow....every inch of your body is covered with sweat... your mouth is dry and feels as parched as a desert during a dry spell....I need REFRESHING. Why? Because I am no longer FRESH. This of course applies to my physical being...but...it also applies to my spiritual being.

FRESH: (1) recently produced, obtained, or grown; newly made (fresh coffee) (2) having ORIGINAL strength, vigor, quality, tast, etc. (not salted, preserved, pickled, spoiled, rotten, stale, worn, soilded, faded)
(3) no known before; new, recent (4) original, spontaneous, and stimulating, (5) cool and refreshing; invigorating (6) brisk; strong; said of the wind

REFRESH: (1) to make FRESH by cooling, wetting, etc [rains refreshing parched plants] (2) to make feel cooler, stronger, more energetic than before, as by food, drink, or sleep (3) to replensish, as by new supplies; renew (4) to revive or stimulate (5) to become FRESH AGAIN; revive


QUESTION (for everyone except Wayne Berry): Who is the KING OF ROCK AND ROLL? Did you say Elvis Presley? Good guess...but WRONG.

A lot of you seasoned Ruminators know that my Dad...influenced me greatly by letting me listen to a broad range of musical styles. Glenn Miller (Tuxedo Junction), Woody Herman(Woodchoppers Ball), Pete Fountain (Licorice Stick), Brook Benton and Dinah Washington (Rockin' Good Way, Baby, You Got What It Takes), were just a few of the musical styles I would enjoy. Of course, I was only six years old when I was listening to this mish-mash of music. In 1957, while my little playmates were grooving to Mary Had A Little Lamb...I was rocking with the warden in the county jail... doing the JAILHOUSE ROCK with the "King of Rock and Roll". From 1957 until 1967...I listened to, read about, watched movies by ELVIS. In 1967...in Nashville TN...at RCA Recording Studio...Studio B...I met Elvis. What was an abstract experience for years...became a concrete reality...I was finally in the PRESENCE OF THE KING. It was an electrifying, surreal expereince. After it was over...and the KING went into the studio to record...on the way home in a car with my friends...I BROKE DOWN AND BEGAN TO WEEP. Why? I was in the presence of someone that I idolized and worshipped from AFAR...and I had been one foot away from him...even to the point of touching his...blue suede boot.

Back to the original question...who is the KING OF ROCK AND ROLL? No...it was not ELVIS...but it was CHUCK BERRY.

Say WHAT?!? That's right...Chuck Berry. He had the moves...the lyrical content...the guitar riffs...the sensuality...he had it all... except in 1955...you could not declare a black man KING of anything. Elvis...was next in line.

What does all of this have to do with THE REFRESHING. You've got me. It's nothing but another cheap trick to talk about JESUS.


Jesus is the "KING OF KINGS...THE LORD OF LORDS." (I Timothy 6:15). Over my 55+ years... I have been in the PRESENCE of many people. Some famous...some infamous. I've knelt at the feet of Elvis (actually I dropped my pen and picked it up...and while I was down there...I touched boots)...I been prayed for by the "spiritual gurus of the preaching circuit...I've had brushes with a presidential wannabe and rock stars (Johnny Rivers). I've met a man who was a gourment chef, artist, and master of horror...Mr. Vincent Price. I've met Phil Keaggy (my favorite guitar player multiple times...BUT none compares with being in the PRESENCE of the KING OF KINGS...and the LORD OF LORDS...Jesus the Christ...the Anointed One.

Every other brush with greatness...were fantastic experiences...but not one of them left me REFRESHED. To be honest with you...after the intial experience...there was a sense of emptiness...BUT with JESUS...I always come away REFRESHED.

One of my favorite verses in the Bible (and I've got a lot of em)...is found in Acts 3:19.

A man had just been healed that had been lame from his mother's womb. For years people had carried him along...set him down a the Gate called Beautiful...and he would beg for alms. Peter and John passed on Jesus to him...and he was healed. Peter took the opportunity to proclaim the fact that it was Jesus who healed and not them. He then underscored what had happened..."And on the basis of FAITH in His NAME...it is the NAME OF JESUS which has strengthened this man whom you see and know; and the FAITH which comes through Him (Jesus) has givne him this perfect health in the PRESENCE of you all." (Acts 3:16)

Peter then underscores how they can enter into this experience...
"Repent therefore and return, that you sins may be wiped away, in order that times of REFRESHING may come from THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD." (Acts 3:19)

REFRESHING...does not come from being in the presence of Elvis, Chuck Berry, Billy Graham, or any other earthly king or idol (American or otherwise). REFRESHING comes from the PRESENCE OF THE LORD.

QUESTION: How can I get into the presence of the Lord?

1. Repent (change of heart, mind, attitude, direction)
2. Return (via the door=Jesus=D.B.R...Death, Burial, Resurrection)

Are ya feeling a little parched in your soul?

Drink up.

Love
Rodney