20 years ago, people were taking some weird things seriously. Music I mean. Like, I Just Died in Your Arms Tonight, by the Cutting Crew, The Boys of Summer by Don Henley or Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing. By today’s standards these all rest as lame relics from a lame period in music history. For me though, these and many, many others from their period are juicy treats of melodious cheese. Seriously, I can’t get enough of the stuff. People make fun of me all the time. Sometimes I might be driving with a new friend or something and my ipod’s shuffling will land on something like How Am I Supposed to Live Without You by Michael Bolton and I happily let it play through enjoying each and every synthesized note. Usually my passenger gaze at me in disbelief. But I can’t help it. I just think the era produced so much cool music. I know it’s cheesy, I know. But I’m alright with that.

Yesterday, I was driving, listening to the radio. That’s not something I normally do. I’m usually listening to a CD, or the ipod or nothing at all. The radio and I just usually don’t really get along. Well, on this occasion, I’d left the ipod at home, the only CD I had was a sermon from church I’d already listened to and frankly, I was getting tired of listening to my own thoughts. That really only leaves one option: the radio.

On the radio, through a poor reception, came Blink 182’s First Date. Easily a high school favorite of mine, although by today’s standards its already starting to show heavy signs of wear and tear. The aging of one of my favorites got me thinking, 20 years from now what will be the morsels of lame music history that I hold on to as nostalgic gems? So, I decided today to present my hypothesized list of 10 songs, in no particular order, that I believe will age well. The songs that will become the 80’s of tomorrow.

1. All the Small Things by Blink 182
2. How to Save a Life by The Fray
3. You’re Beautiful by James Blunt
4. California by Phantom Planet
5. At Your Funeral by Saves the Day
6. Hotel Yorba by the White Stripes
7. My Love by Justin Timberlake
8. Somebody Told Me by The Killers
9. Sweet Escape by Gwen Stefani
10. Hands Down by Dashboard Confessional

I have to admit, that was more difficult list to compile that I thought it would be and there were some really near misses. I probably could have made that a much longer list, but in the interest of brevity, it’ll stay at 10 for right now. So what are your 80’s songs of tomorrow?

Not that I’m an expert, but I thought it good to share some practical ideas to help improve your study, or devotion time. These are all things that I have found useful in my own experience. Of course there are no real rules to study and devotion preparation, but I think there are some things that can help. I sometimes use all of these together, but more often just employ some of them, depending on my situation. Almost none of these are my idea; most of them came from folks far my qualified than myself to instruct. Consider each carefully, perhaps you will find good fruit in them just as I have.

1.Devotion is a lifestyle, not an activity.

Among the first mistakes I made when learning to spend time with the Lord was to think that I could section my time with him off into some portion, which is then defined as a “devotion”. But as a Christian, than makes little sense. I have been brought back to life, and my whole life is now in Christ. I cannot consecrate only a thirty-minute portion of my day to the Lord, but all day and every day. When I am in that mindset, I am best suited to tangibly spend time in a devotion. If I have only a short time to go deep into God in his Word, then I will not get very far. But if I have all time to go deep, then the time I spend specifically with his Word, I will go very deep.

2.First thing in the morning is best.

I’ve gone back and forth and I definitely don’t always do this, but I think that the church fathers throughout history were onto something with this one. “I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning” (Psalm 59:16). I’m convinced that this is not just an antiquated idea that it is good to be up early in the morning and bad to be up late at night, but I think there is an important principal embedded here.

Some of my most fruitful days begin with my mind and heart in the Word. To begin my day, first thing, with the Word of God helps set things on a course of godliness. It helps to ripen conviction for sin and helps me to notice approaching sin before it has passed and guilt can set in. In addition to that, my comprehension of the Word is improved. I, like many, am generally not a morning person. I’ve said many times before, that if I read first thing wouldn’t get much out of it. But therein lies a mystery, because I do. Almost always.

3.Consistency is key.

I’m a pretty firm believer in that we sabotage ourselves when we are convinced that every time we sit down to study or devotion that our minds and hearts must be blown away. I think this expectation mostly just breeds discouragement. While we should always attempt to approach scripture with a tender heart ready to be impacted, the fact is, sometimes (for some, even often) we just won’t. If this fear, or expectation, prevents us from even beginning to sit and read, or pray, then the enemy has already gained a foothold.

When folks who are discouraged or struggling with their spiritual life come to me, or around me, with complaints like that, my advice is always the same. I tell them to read the Word consistently, regardless of the way they feel. Even if that is only as much as one chapter per day. Just don’t miss a single day, keep reading the Word. Feel no further obligation beyond whatever has been decided. In my own walk, in times of struggle and discouragement, this has frequently helped to bring me back to good spiritual health.

Always read the Word every single day.

4.Stay organized.

I know a lot of folks who have very little organization in their study and devotion. In study I think this is more important, but the principal works in devotions too. Many jump around, or use the close-your-eyes-and-flip-to-page approach. You’re not going to go too deep into scripture if you’re just randomly picking stuff to read. It’s unlikely that you’re going to get too much out of what you’re reading, or even worse, you might string together the wrong set of verses and come to the wrong conclusion about scripture and God altogether. I used this approach at one time and it was rarely, if ever, fruitful.

Develop a pattern of some kind. It doesn’t mean you can’t break out of the pattern sometimes, but something general to keep you organized. Maybe it’s one chapter per day, from the same book, until the book is done. Then move onto another book. I know some people who read one whole new testament book every day for a week, then move onto another book. Some people go through a bible reading plan, like bible-in-a-year, or a chronological plan. One of my favorite methods I call A-B Days is reading through the Old Testament on “A” days, then reading through the New Testament on “B” days. It’s all good stuff, just stay organized.

5.Keep a journal.

Some people feel like keeping a reading journal means writing down insightful, inspiring, or profound thoughts based on what you’re reading. That’s just not true. You might sometimes write things like that down, but that’s not always the point. Sometimes when reading scripture, you’ll come across something that just doesn’t make sense to you. That’s okay. You shouldn’t feel obligated to understand right then and there. But you do a disservice to yourself by just forgetting about it. Keep a journal that will allow you to jot down questions, or scripture that doesn’t quite make sense to you. Even if you don’t actively seek out answers, you’ll be surprised how many questions are answered just by continuing to read scripture. Keeping a journal can also help you stay consistent, even if every entry is something as simple as “4/24/08 – Today I read Ephesians 4:1-11”.

6.Get a grasp on theology.

Theology is not something man-made. It’s not a box that people put God into. Theology, good theology, comes from scripture, it is the whole of scripture. It is some understanding of God, and for hundreds of years the Church has learned about it and taught it. Today, it stands to help you learn. Time may simply not permit you to read huge chucks of scripture every day and because of that, many biblical concepts may seem muddy to you. Do you want to know what scripture says about suffering? Learn something about the theology of suffering, and it will help make reading the bible and seeing for yourself what it says about suffering much easier.

You can find trustworthy theological resources at Monergism, Banner of Truth and Desiring God, just to name a few.

7.If your environment is too loud, use white noise.

People make fun of me for this one one all the time. But it really is useful. If you can’t go somewhere quiet, use white noise. After a few minutes of listening to it, it’ll blend into the background and you won’t even notice it anymore—you also won’t notice the TV in the other room, or the radio on in the kitchen.

Here are a few you can download for free. You just need a way you can loop them; like an ipod or windows media player. Each one of these mp3′s is about 30 – 45 seconds long and is set up to loop seamlessly.

• Blow Dryer
• Running Shower Water
• Vacuum Cleaner Running

(right click, save-as to download)

8.Read out-loud, or listen.

In very long texts, like Old Testament stories, or long winded treaties, such as Romans or the Corinthian letters, hearing what is written may help you to connect larger ideas in the text. For example, in the book of Ephesians, you’ll find many intricate and beautiful ideas. However, in reading quietly and slowly, you may miss the larger theme of encouragement. I have found in listening to the bible on CD or reading it out-loud to myself, it’s much easier to pick up on the larger themes.

I’ve found this highly affording MP3 bible in the ESV version, under 20 bucks.

9.Use study tools!

There are tons of awesome resources available for free, or very inexpensive. When there’s something you need some help understanding or grasping more clearly, make use of the tools that some good organizations make available for free. Here are just a few that you ought to give a shot.

• Commentaries: Well studied men of God have gone before you, and much like asking your pastor today, they can help to give insight into the meaning of a verse or several verses. While no one person can be the end all of all understanding—except for Jesus—they can help. If you want printed material, check out Monergism for some good printed stuff.

  Try: bibleclassics.com, bible.org for some free commentaries.
  

• Bible Dictionary: Some stuff we’re not going to understand as well unless we can grasp some of the cultural stuff surrounding it. Want to know why John is always talking about “vines”, it might help to know something about ancient Roman agriculture. A bible dictionary can help. In print, I have the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, under 20 bucks.

  Try: NETBible for a free online bible dictionary.
  

• Online Bibles: Using a digital bible can make study much easier. Especially when it comes to cross references. You might find yourself reading something that reminds you of another passage you read recently. Using a keyword search will make it easier to find the verse you’re looking for. Plus, some digital bibles have a vast number of translations available making it easy to line them up next to each other.

  Try: biblegateway.com on the internet, or e-sword for your desktop. You can also check out this article on making biblegateway even esier to use with firefox!
  

• Interlinear Bible/Lexicon: Sometimes the depth of meaning of scripture is diminished in translation. The Greek language has way more words than English does. I’m not a Greek scholar and you probably aren’t either. But that’s alright, to help us out with that are Lexicons and Interlinear bibles. They can help us to understand the original language without having to know it. It won’t replace actually learning Greek or Hebrew, but it will help the rest of us. In print Lexicons can get pretty expensive.

  Try: Crosswalk.com for a free interlinear bible and lexicon.

10.Under no circumstances should you be without your bible.

I had a friend a while back who I really admired. He always carried a backpack, even if he was just going to 7-11 or something. Sometimes all that he would have in it was a notebook and a bible. Eventually I adopted the practice. You’d be surprised how often you end up having to wait in line somewhere, or sitting at a red light and think of a verse you need to look up. For these occasions and more, it’s indispensable to carry a bible with you everywhere. Think about it, of all the things you won’t leave your house without: cell phone, wallet, keys, ipod, whatever, and yet you leave home the sword of the Spirit? (Ephesians 6:17). So my advice is to carry it with you everywhere, at all times. Even if it’s not often used, it will you keep a mindset of constant readiness, and that is of ultimate importance.

One of my favorite things about music is when it can actually place pictures in my head. Sometimes I’m in the pictures, sometimes I’m not. Sometimes it’s in first person, sometimes third person. But regardless, when songs can paint a vivid picture in my head that I can not only see, but also feel, I’m almost always sold. Regardless of the genre of music, I will almost certainly love it. Now, within that there is something that I call “epic” music. That doesn’t necessarily mean music for huge battle scenes in movies, although sometimes maybe, rather they’re songs that tell you that you’re listening to or experiencing something really important. Now, more often than not, neither of the two is happening, but when a song makes it seem that way, I call that song “epic.” These are my top ten favorites. Although modified slightly for variation.

 

10.) Sit in the Middle of Three Galloping Dogs – Silver Mt. Zion

            Album: He Has Left Us Alone

Silver Mt. Zion: a conglomeration of musicians from various other projects, probably most notably Godspeed You Black Emperor. Sit in the Middle has a heavy emphasis on violins, so in terms of sounding important, they’ve already got a leg up. With the exception of a recitation of scripture from 1 Thessalonians 5:5-7 in the beginning, there are no words at all. The combination of a persistent drum roll sound and mounting tension in the violins, this song easily tops its competitors who didn’t make the list.

 

9.) Window Seats and Last Wishes – Cool Hand Luke

            Album: So Far EP

Cool Hand Luke wont even play this song live—let alone any songs from this CD. The CD’s just really old, and they’d probably say it isn’t any good. But this song, the closing song, is quite a jewel. It follows a formula not unlike other bands it its genre, but finds itself at such a wonderful crescendo. “One more day, lord” says the singer over and over again, as he tells the story of a man who squandered his life away.

 

8.) The Adventure – Angels & Airwaves

            Album: We Don’t Need to Whisper

This song always gets me. There’s such anticipation in it, and although I’m almost certain they’re not really there, I can’t help but hear some serious Christian undertones. There’s a great feeling of new beginning in this song, like arising from a bunker after a major battle has ended and seeing that although everything is destroyed, there is hope.

 

7.) You Always Say Goodnight, Goodnight – Juliana Theory

            Album: Emotion is Dead

When I was in high school, I loved the Juliana Theory. This CD was one of my favorites in fact. This song, it’s long with a melodic build up and eventual chorus of what seems to be angry people shouting something I’m still unsure of. But the point is, listening to this, it seems at any minute something life changing could happen.

 

6.) In The End – Linkin Park

            Album: Hybrid Theory

Linkin Park is one of those bands that I think is really underrated. My best guess is that it’s because they came out somewhere around the same time as Limp Bizkit, which was a huge joke, and so kind of by proxy they were also a big joke. Plus, it didn’t help that they were doing the whole rap-rock thing too. But this song, as poppy and delicious as it is, also has this really profound feel to it. It’s easy for me to picture a scene something akin to that last scene in Armageddon where Bruce Willis is about to die.

 

5.) The Latter Rain – Zao

            Album: Where Blood and Fire Bring Rest

Ah, Zao, nearly the only metal band I still enjoy. This album was released before the onslaught of pop metal and hardcore that in many ways it bears great resemblance to. The difference is it came before most of it. Laid under a swelling instrumental chorus, words are spoken, “a sword is drawn, unsheathed bringing legions of demons to their knees by the knowledge of a covenant prepared before the earth itself still so many choose to warm themselves beneath the blankets of deception… I pray that the winds and the rain of that which is latter will bring clarity and understanding to Your infallible Word let the lack of knowledge that destroys us be lifted in Your name.” Then, with wonderful drama the singer screams, “rain,” repeatedly.

 

4.) I Will Always Love You – Whitney Huston

            Album: The Bodyguard Soundtrack

It’s the last weekend of the senior year at high school. The couple has been dating all four years and now they’re going to different schools. If this song comes on, they’re almost definitely going to have sex. Not because it’s especially sexual, but because it says something we love is coming to an end and makes us mourn it. Delightful.

 

3.) Ecstasy of Gold – Yo-Yo Ma

            Album: Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone

I know, this is a soundtrack is was made to sound epic. But this one as rendered by Yo-Yo Ma, sends chills down your back. Just try not to drive too fast in your car and imagine that your on horseback racing to stop tragic event from unfolding.

 

2.) Knights of Cydonia – Muse

            Album: Black Holes and Revelations

I think this band got it right. Practically any song on this CD could have made this list, but this song stands out; mostly for its length. But also, an almost tribal beat on the drums and a weird fuse of eighties metal guitar “chugs,” and words like, “don’t waste time, or time will waste you” keeps my mind making weird assumptions about what strange and sister plot I’ve fallen into.

 

1.) I Want to Love You Forever – Jessica Simpson

            Album: I don’t know 

Every note in this song, ever melody, every ridiculously cheesy lyric all cumulate to scream in your face that this is the last song you’re ever going to need to hear. You won’t even need to press repeat, or play it again. This song tells us that everything that we could ever want in music has just been fulfilled and we can go about our lives never hearing another thing again if only we’ve heard this song. You have to hear to believe it. But you’re warned, all music thereafter may gravely disappoint you.