Author: Texas Gospel

Do you lean on your own understanding or ask God to reveal His word?

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FLOYD ROGERS, TEXAS GOSPEL CANADA VOLUNTEER

I’ve been told there are things in the Bible that are contradictory; therefore, they say the Bible is in error. Oddly enough, most of the folks who have said this to me also maintain that the Bible means whatever a reader wants it to mean, and this is where the real problem lies. If one believes Bible verses have no intrinsic meaning, of course readers can see “contradictions” if that’s what they want to see.  To be clear, this does not mean the Bible contradicts itself. It does demonstrate that if one falsely believes the Bible’s meaning changes depending on desire, then people who desire to find contradictions will do so. But does the Bible’s meaning change?

The Book of John tells us when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. Mark tells us, to you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that “they may indeed see but not perceive…” I believe these scriptures, and others like them, tell us that knowing God’s word is a gift.  I believe it’s the same as grace and faith. Ephesians says, For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.

By the way, the Bible isn’t unique when it comes to people quarreling over meaning.  Legal contracts, charters, constitutions, ALL have been misinterpreted to match people’s wants and desires. Isn’t this alone a good reason to ask God to open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in His law?

What are your thoughts?

Southern Gospel Pioneer Ed Hill Passes

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Daywind Records

Southern Gospel legend, Ed Hill has passed away.  Hill was one of the founding members of The Prophets Quartet in 1959.  He served as baritone and manager for the group for most of the life of the group.

Hill retired The Prophets Quartet in 1973, joining JD Sumner And The Stamps, in the baritone position.  This is the configuration of the group that served as backup for Elvis Presley from 1971 until his death in 1977.  Hill was responsible each evening at the end of the Elvis concerts for uttering that famous phrase, “Elvis has left the building.”

Ed Hill would go on to be a part of The Singing Americans, Masters V and finally The Songefellows Quartet.  He was inducted into the SGMA Hall of Fame in 2009.

Saying Christianity is one of many paths to God is self-contradictory

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FLOYD ROGERS, TEXAS GOSPEL CANADA VOLUNTEER

Have you ever heard someone claim that Christianity is just one of many paths to God? It’s a self-contradictory argument and one of which I was surprised to find a resurgence. Why is it self-contradictory?  Why is it repeated so often?

It contradicts itself because if Christianity is one of many paths, then it cannot be exclusive. Yet the Bible, the book that defines Christianity, tells us in Acts that salvation is found in no one else but Jesus. The book of Acts goes on to say there is no other name under Heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. The book of John tells us Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  There are many other scriptures that make it clear that Jesus is an exclusive path to God. If someone were to say they don’t believe in the Bible, then they profess that they believe Christianity is not a path to God. The Bible and Christianity are not separable.  Christianity cannot be one of many ways to God. Jesus is either Lord OF all or He’s not Lord AT all.

The claim that Jesus is just one path to God may be sprouting up now because it sounds inclusive. It also puts man in charge. It says we can pick and choose our God as if reality is some sort of cosmic buffet where we select our desires. That would be great if we created God.  But God created us. There’s only one creator of the universe. There’s only one God. And he offers you a way to know Him despite sins that you and all humanity commit. The path to God is through the blood of His son Jesus.

Will you accept his precious gift?

 

Poet Voices #1 on Texas Gospel Canada chart

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The members of Poet Voices have been singing Southern Gospel Music as a group since the quartet was formed by lead singer Phil Cross in 1991. According to the group’s Facebook page, its identity was strongly tied to the writing of Phil Cross and the group’s sound was considered, “progressive” at the time.

Poet Voices is based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and although performances have been slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the group recently recorded at Daystar Television Network for an episode of Gospel Music Showcase.

The group recently created a video of their latest song “I rest assured” for those who cannot go to a gospel show due to the corona virus threat. The video was made using social distance meeting software.

“I rest assured” continues to inspire audiences over the radio and online and takes the number one spot on the Mid-July Texas Gospel Canada Top 20.

Here is the Mid-July Texas Gospel Canada Top 20:

1 I rest assured Poet Voices
2 House of God Taylors
3 I see revival Crabb Family
4 The God I serve Karen Peck & New River
5 I will glory in the story Austin & Ethan Whisnant
6 Can I get a witness The Sound
7 When God says wait Browders
8 It never gets old Perrys
9 I believe the book Legacy Five
10 Walking through fire Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
11 When I turn to you Jason Crabb
12 Preacher’s daughter Pardoned
13 If God pulled back the curtain Nelons
14 Glorious God Lauren Talley
15 A song to remind you Steeles
16 The Healer hasn’t lost His touch Tribute Quartet
17 Days like this Martins
18 Love like I’m leaving Gaither Vocal Band
19 God has provided Himself a Lamb Mark Trammell Quartet
20 Keep on living Eric Horner

 

What happens after death and before the second coming

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FLOYD ROGERS, TEXAS GOSPEL CANADA VOLUNTEER

What happens to our loved ones after death? Are they “sleeping” until the second coming? For starters I think sleep is an obvious metaphor. The body is no longer functioning. But I would also suggest these questions have an assumption woven into them. They assume we are limited to time and space after we die.

Here are a few things to consider. Scientists say we perceive time, but we only have a vague understanding of it.  They say time and space are relative. It’s hard to imagine two different places where time is not the same, but it’s fact.  It’s also something for which if we couldn’t compensate our GPS system wouldn’t work.

2 Timothy 1:9 says, “… This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,” There are other scriptures that talk about a beginning to time. Given this alone we see that time is not eternal, it was created by God along with the universe. Luke tells us the rich man, after his death, asked God to send Lazarus to warn his family. That was AFTER his death, yet the second coming has not yet happened.  I think this is at least circumstantial evidence that we will not be limited to time after we die.

The science behind of all this is too much for me to understand, and I admit some of this is only an extrapolation from scripture, not scripture itself. So why is any of this important? Because it shows the limitations of our understanding, and how God and His creation are not limited to our understanding. Though we only have an idea of what heaven will be like, and only a glimpse of life after death, the bigger question here is, are you ready?