Bible:
Paul the apostle’s letter to the Romans, chapter 3 vs 25, and chapter 5 vs 9:
“… God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement (reconciling us with God), through the shedding of his BLOOD… Since we have now been justified (acquitted) by his BLOOD, how much more shall we be saved from God’s anger through him!”
Bible:
Peter the apostle’s first letter, chapter 1 vss 18-19:
… it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed (bought back at a price) from the empty way of life… (of) your ancestors,
but with the precious BLOOD of Christ, a LAMB without blemish or defect.”
Dylan:
“Well I’m saved, by the blood of the Lamb…”
Bible:
Paul letter to the Philippians chapter 3 verses 12 to 14:
“… Not that I have already reached the goal, or am already perfect, but I make every effort (lit. “press on”) to take hold of it…
I do not consider myself to HAVE TAKEN hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward (pressing on) to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.”
Dylan:
“Well I’m pressing on, to the higher calling of my LORD…”
Bible:
Matthew the apostle’s gospel, chapter 10 vss 29-31:
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
Bible:
Psalm 139:17-18: “God… how vast the sum… of Your precious thoughts are! If I counted them, they would outnumber the grains of sand…”
Dylan:
“… I can see the master’s hand
in every leaf that trembles, in every grain of sand..
I come to understand
That every hair is numbered like every grain of sand…
Like every sparrow falling, like every grain of sand.”
Is Robert Zimmerman of Hibbert, Minnesota, still a believer? God only knows. Literally. And him.
I pray often that I will see 82-year-old Jewish-heritage Bob in glory. I’d love to chat with him, and I’m going to ask him to teach me how to write tunes and lyrics. Full disclosure up front: I’m a raging, tragic Bobcat. Have been since I was about 12. I love him.
I have all his records (although I’ve thrown out some of the rubbish ones). I think some of his songs are especially bad, but many others are my soul home. My lovely wife Chiq doesn’t understand why. She likes Tay Tay.
But she graciously and self-sacrificially deigns to listen to him in the car with me, and at home, and when I’m cooking, and on holidays, and in the bedroom, and when we’re travelling… Poor thing. The supreme sacrifice. Very long-suffering.
If I’m feeling low, I hop in the car and crank up a fave Bob album (rock or country, not his folk or jazz) to the max, and within TEN SECONDS, I’m good again. It’s uncanny. The volume of happy chemicals rushing around the body must be enormous.
Songs like “High Water’s Rising”, “Blind Willie McTell”, and “Cold Iron’s Bound”… O. M. Gosh. He’s my happy place, my Model Car shop, Bunnings Garden Centre, and Epcot Centre all rolled into one.
I think he’s the best lyricist, composer and arranger of rock, country and fusion, in the world. (And he’s not even a guitar virtuoso- he has basically only played rhythm, not lead, over his seven decade career. And not even rhythm any more since his arthritis worsened- just piano and harp these days.) I even find his voice inoffensive.
And I know that he’s allegedly not a very nice chap. He’s certainly not very forthcoming on stage, like Elty, Paul, or Freddy. Adele, Kylie, or Paul Kelly. When I saw him live it made me cranky, it was so WOEFUL. He didn’t even TALK the lyrics like he usually does. That would have been fine.
Instead, he screamed all the words and arranged every song so heavily and weirdly that it sounded like heavy metal. I couldn’t even recognise most of the songs and have no idea what his playlist was. What a rip off.
But if he ever comes again, I’ll DEFINITELY go and see him. Wild horses couldn’t… Even I have to scrimp and save and fly stand-by economy somewhere close to see him, like Perth, SE Asia or NZ – and stay in a backpackers.
*Still the Lord’s?
People are always asking if Bobby’s still a Christian. They try to look for clues, attempt to wring tiny bits of meaning or suggestions out of snippets of his lyrics- or a fraction of a sentence he might say in one his (extremely rare) interviews. Megalitres of critical and fan ink have been spilt over the question. I find it a tad annoying to be honest.
Because, Lord has told us everything we NEED to know about everything (including Bob’s telationship with Him, or otherwise). And He hasn’t revealed this to us about Bob, so we can’t know, don’t NEED to know, and shouldn’t keep trying to work it out.
And anyway, even if I COULD know, and I discovered he WASN’T a brother in Christ, what would I DO with such a piece of information?
Start praying for him. When should I have been anyway?
Or, if I could work out that he WAS a Christian brother? STOP praying for him, because, I’m not worried about him anymore, because “once a Christian always a Christian”?
I think not. We ALWAYS have the privilege of praying ongoingly for Christian brothers and sisters. Because, we all need it. Sin is a great deceiver, and can all too easily drag us away from Messiah, Hebrews chapter 3 vs 13:
“But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” (the last period of history before Jesus returns), so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”
I just think we need to pray for His Bobness every day- because it’s the best POSSIBLE thing I can do. We often think it’s a last resort: “Oh well, at LEAST I can pray for him, cause I can’t do anything else.” But it’s not a last resort. We can make it our FIRST resort.
Because, it is the best, most sensible, most powerful thing to do, because God’s the only one who can do anything about it. And He loves Bob- He died for Him. He’s even a bigger tragic than me. And He’s been to ALL his concerts- omnipresent as He is. He’s even seen the ones that soared (that I haven’t). Jealous much.
But, one thing we know for sure: in the middle of his 1978 grueling world-wide tour of Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and North America, Robert surrendered to Jesus…
Tomorrow: “Converted Bob”
Prayer:
Our Gracious God and loving Heavenly Father,
You tell us in Jeremiah: “If you will not listen to Me, My innermost being will weep in secret because of your pride. My eyes will overflow with tears, for you, my flock, has been taken captive.” Please help us and Bob to listen to You, and not be taken captive.
We do not want You to have to weep for us,
Amen
Dear Heavenly Father,
In the words of Jeremiah, “Please help us (and Bob) to take a humble seat at Your feet, for Your glorious crown is on Your head.” Because this is Your desire- what You have planned, purposed and willed for us,
Amen.
Dear God of all creation and all creativity,
Please help us, (Bob, and other entertainers, performers and creatives I have a burden for………….) to be Your faithful, consistent people.
For the fame, praise, and glory of Your name,
Amen
Xavier Badosa/Flickr