April 19, 2025

Today is Saturday of Holy Week, the day after Good Friday, and tomorrow is Resurrection Sunday. Earlier today, I kept hearing the song, “Sympathy for the Devil” by the Rolling Stones, again and again in my head. Nice try. I think it’s amusing…that the devil would actually try to plague me with this scourge of a song. (The other day it was, “I took a Louisville hammer to both headlights” by Carrie Underwood – stuck in there). LOL. But this morning I just thought, “Nope.”…and I just kept redirecting my mind to sing, “I sing praises to Your Name, Oh Lord, praises to Your Name, Oh, Lord. For Your Name is great, and greatly to be praised!” Or the song, “Nothing But the Blood of Jesus”:

What can wash away my sin
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
What can make me whole again
Nothing but the blood of Jesus

[Chorus]
O precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow
No other fount I know
Nothing but the blood of Jesus

[Verse 2]
For my pardon this I see
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
For my cleansing this my plea
Nothing but the blood of Jesus

[Verse 3]
Nothing can for sin atone
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
Naught of good that I have done
Nothing but the blood of Jesus

_________________________________________________

Today may represent the day the devil thought he was in power, because today represents the day after Jesus died on the cross, and He was still in the grave, or so the devil and everyone else thought (He was actually already preaching to the lost souls of “hell” and those with faith in “paradise”). The devil thought he had won, for sure. Filled with nothing but foolish glee and elation, he was celebrating what he mistakenly thought was his victory over God. Finally!

Matthew 27:45-54 :

Jesus Dies on the Cross

⁴⁵ Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. ⁴⁶ And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” ⁴⁷ Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, “This Man is calling for Elijah!” ⁴⁸ Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink. ⁴⁹ The rest said, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.” ⁵⁰ And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.

⁵¹ Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, ⁵² and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; ⁵³ and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. ⁵⁴ So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

_____________________________________

The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat: But ooops! In the single greatest miscalculation in the history of the world, the devil was dealt a devastating blow. He was wrong. Turns out, God will not be mocked. And the devil, despite his jubilation at his false sense of triumph, was about to have reality slap him in the face. Because tomorrow, on Resurrection Sunday, the rocks are moved and the tomb is found empty. The cloths used to wrap Jesus’ body are found folded nice and neat, forever marked by what some say can only be explained as “extreme radioactive energy”, in place of His body, where He laid. But He is not there!

Matthew 28:1-8:

He Is Risen: Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. ² And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. ³ His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. ⁴ And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.

⁵ But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. ⁷ And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.” ⁸ So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

____________________________________________________

² And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it.

Talk about “Rolling Stones”!!!

In the song hailing the devil by the Rolling Stones, which probably sold some 20 million copies and was widely played on radio for years (and still is), the devil insists that he has puzzled mankind “by the nature of our game” (he’s fooled many), and that he also must be given the highest degree of courtesy and respect (Uh, no…I don’t think so). From Wikipedia, “Sympathy for the Devil” by the Rolling Stones: “Sympathy for the Devil” is credited to Jagger and Richards, though the song was largely a Jagger composition. The working title of the song was “The Devil Is My Name”, having earlier been called “Fallen Angels.” Jagger sings in first person narrative as the Devil (good job, Mick – you channel the devil really well. Your mother must be so proud), who boasts of his role in each of several historical atrocities and repeatedly asks the listener to “guess my name.” The singer demands the listener’s courtesy towards him, implicitly chastising the listeners for their collective culpability in the listed killings and crimes.” (emphasis mine)

Sympathy for the Devil by The Rolling Stones (partial) lyrics:

Please allow me to introduce myself
I’m a man of wealth and taste
I’ve been around for a long, long year
Stole many a man’s soul and faith

I was ’round when Jesus Christ
Had his moment of doubt and pain
Made damn sure that Pilate
Washed his hands and sealed his fate

Pleased to meet you (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)
Hope you guess my name, oh yeah (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)
But what’s puzzlin’ you (whoo-hoo)
Is the nature of my game, ah yeah (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)
Get down, damn it

Just as every cop is a criminal (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)
And all the sinners saints (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)
As heads is tails, just call me Lucifer (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)
‘Cause I’m in need of some restraint (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)

So if you meet me, have some courtesy (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)
Have some sympathy, and some taste (whoo-hoo, woo-hoo)
Use all your well-learned politeness (whoo-hoo, woo-hoo)
Or I’ll lay your soul to waste, mm yeah (whoo-hoo, woo-hoo)

Pleased to meet you (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)
Hope you guess my name, oh yeah (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)
But what’s puzzlin’ you (whoo-hoo)
Is the nature of my game, mean it (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)
Get down

____________________________________________________

Newsflash: As a Christian believer, I am the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). And if you’re a believer, so are you. There is nothing puzzling by the nature of our game with the devil and he will receive zero sympathy from me; or courtesy, consent, or cooperation, thank you very much. The song is disgusting. It may have been a staple of my childhood and B.C. years,

…but no worries – I’m not singing that song anymore. And never will again. Hallelujah. There’s nothing remotely entertaining about subjecting one’s self to the vainglorious, 100% untrue, finger-wagging of the devil.

I’ll pass, thanks.

Joshua 24: 15 – “But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Thank You, Jesus, for what You did for me on the cross.

1 Corinthians 15:20-22 – “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.“

(All who believe in Him, that is.)

The One Who Was, Who Is, and Who Is To Come. Praise His holy Name.

Revelation 1:8 – “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Exodus 14:13 – “Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today.”

James 2:19 – ^“You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.”