When Joshua was dividing the land among the 12 tribes of Israel, Caleb was 85 years old and he went to Joshua and said,
Joshua 14
6 Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite said unto him, Thou knowest the thing that the LORD said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Kadeshbarnea.
7 Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadeshbarnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart.
8 Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the LORD my God.
9 And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children's for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the LORD my God.
10 And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive, as HE said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old. (85-years-old)
11 As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in.
12 Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said.
13 And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance.
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Long ago, my pastor at Word of Faith church loved to tell how Caleb said he was 85 and said, "Give me this mountain!" Even while old, Caleb was ready to fight for another mountain. And that mountain was given to Caleb.
Recently, in September, 2023, God gave me a dream showing me I was being given another very big assignment.
I wondered about this "big" assignment. I'm almost 86. I can't walk much. I rarely even leave my house. I work daily on the assignments I have been given in the past: blog (2015); books (Amazon in 2015); Podcasts starting the first week in February, 2020 ... now, another "big mountain" ?
Like Caleb I was glad ... I just wondered how it could be and what it would be. But I readily said in my heart: "Yeah. Bring it on."
I believe I know what the assignment is: King Saul disobeyed God and ended up having God take away the kingdom as a result. Evil spirits came on Saul and the Holy Spirit departed from Saul. His servants knew something that would help king Saul and in this scripture they tell this to Saul.
I Samuel 16
14 But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.
15 And Saul's servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.
16 Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well.
17 And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me.
18 Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the LORD is with him.
19 Wherefore Saul sent messengers unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, which is with the sheep.
20 And Jesse took an ass laden with bread, and a bottle of wine, and a kid, and sent them by David his son unto Saul.
21 And David came to Saul, and stood before him: and he loved him greatly; and he became his armourbearer.
22 And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight.
23 And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
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I began to realize that instrumental music played well, had the power to cause evil Spirits to depart. People often listen to music when stuck in traffic and it helps them to endure the traffic. When I was traveling in the 1980's, church people would pick me up at the airport where a meeting was scheduled and take me to my hotel. During this time, I noticed that almost always the person who came for me had been playing the radio in his car. (The radio seemed to be of help to him.)
Music has great power to affect the emotions of man.
(We see how Saul was helped when David played skillfully, "And the evil spirit departed from him.")
Would listening to skillfully played instrumental music (classical music) be helpful to the church?
I wondered and I began to pray about this.
I know the times will grow increasingly difficult in the days ahead on this earth. In fact Paul said the time would come when the time would be "perilous".
2 Timothy 3 (Paul warns the church)
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
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I began asking God if HE wanted me to do this? We could probably set up a second blog on on provider, Podbean, and play classical music on that blog.
Why classical music?
Classical music usually is only instrumental (as David played on his harp before Saul.)
Classical music is very abstract sound without images. So no one is singing about their lost loves, making listeners remember things they should not remember.
Popular music is often contrary to scripture:
Philippians 3 (The apostle Paul says,)
14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
15 Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
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After thinking and praying about playing classical music on our blog to help Christians which have torments caused by devils, I kept going back to the example of Saul and David and how when David played skillfully on his harp, the evil spirit fled from king Saul.
And I heard: "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." (I Thessalonians 5:21)
So on September 12, we began playing classical music on a section of our daily blog: "Jesus Ministries Exhortations"
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Pam found a website which provided large numbers of compositions with an archive of performers from the beginning of period of time when sound recordings were made in the early 1900's, as far back as examples of the opera singer, Enrico Caruso, 1909 recordings.
I was fascinated with these, getting to hear him and others. I didn't know there were any examples of recording that early.
This gathering of music often has 50 to 100 or more recordings of the same composition so a musician could compare the actual performance style and interpretation of the music artist!
The cost to subscribe to this anthology was only $20 for 3 years. classical-music-online.net
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We rented, for $109 per year, a second provider which hosted a second website for us thus allowing us to present the written exortations from the Bible and the Classical Music on the same blog daily!
And we began publishing classical music compositions daily starting with Beethoven's Symphony No. 5. on September 12, 2023.
I listen to our new blog through the day each day and have found it helps me to slow down a little and focus better, even while reading the Bible. Often thoughts come from devils which try to pull us away from Bible and get us to "do something important." (Apparently those evil spirits flee from us as they fled from king Saul when David played his harp. I Samuel 16)
When I have a trying day, I find I can play this music and begin to relax!
I find it very helpful.
As things grow worse in the world, I believe it will be especially helpful to us.
And while I used to want to see what was going on by looking at the evening news and troubling myself, I find now I often even forget the news is on!
The fruits coming from listening to classical music are good fruits for me.
Prove all things; hold fast that is good. (I Thessalonians 5:21)
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