I’ve revised my strumming and picking handout for Pachelbel’s Canon so that the song should be fairly easy to learn even for people who are trying to learn to play the guitar on their own.
Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
Archives For Discipleship
A Dios el Padre (O God Our Help in Ages Past)
Oh, Dios es bueno (God Is So Good)
Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
You can now listen to and practice along with the melodies of the following Spanish hymns:
Cristo me ama; Sagrada es el amor
Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
1. Do a chord inventory by looking through the whole song and noting all the different chords that are used. Learn how to finger any chords that are new to you.
2. Practice changing from chord to chord in the song. Think about how to make each change in the best way.
Remember that normally the left hand finger that stops the string for the lowest sounding fretted note in the chord needs to be put down first. This will mean putting fingers on the bass strings in a chord before fingers are put down on treble strings (or putting all fingers down at the same time).
For example, changing from Am to G: G has a finger on the sixth string, so that finger needs to go down first, followed by the finger on the fifth string before the finger on the first string is put down.
3. Practice strumming through the song according to the basic rhythm of the song given by the time signature. For example, you would strum 4 times in each full measure for a song in 4/4.
4. Keep track of any hard sections of the song where the chord changes are difficult. Isolate those sections and practice changing back and forth between the chords in those sections.
5. For chords that are hard to play, try simplifying in one or more of the following ways:
a. Ignore the bass note of the slash chords and play the basic chord. For example, play Am instead of Am/G or A instead of A/C#.
b. Try playing just the melody note for hard chords, especially if they do not last very long. For example, instead of playing an e°7/Bb chord that lasts for only one beat (or a shorter time) in a measure, you would play just the melody note of the chord.
c. For a series of fast chord changes, try playing one of more of the chords as a pinch chord by pinching your right hand thumb and three fingers (i-m-a) together in one smooth motion. The right thumb will sound the lowest bass string in the chord, and the three fingers play the treble strings.
6. When the chord changes become smoother, practice strumming the chords according to the actual rhythm of the melody. For example, a measure in a 4/4 song that has two quarter notes, a dotted quarter note, and an eighth note would be strummed with down strums on beats 1, 2, 3, and on the and of beat 4.
7. For chords that are played when a melody note lasts for more than one beat, try filling in after strumming or pinching the chord on beat 1. Quickly and repeatedly alternating the bass note with one of the notes on the treble strings is a good way to fill out such places in songs.
8. When you can strum through the song well according to the rhythm of the melody, work on picking through the song. Try different picking patterns to see what sounds best.
(This PDF provides more information, including examples with chord diagrams)
Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
La escala cromática es una escala básica de guitarra que cada guitarrista debe aprender. La escala se toca en las seis cuerdas al aire (a excepción de la segunda cuerda) y en los primeros cuatro trastes de cada cuerda.
La escala comienza en la sexta cuerda abierta. Después de tocar las notas en los primeros cuatro trastes de la sexta cuerda, la quinta cuerda se toca abierta, y así sucesivamente.
La imagen de la derecha muestra la escala cromática en el diapasón. La imagen izquierda muestra la partitura de lo que toque cuando toque la escala (la escala comienza con el tercer compás, después de dos compases iniciales).
Usted puede escuchar la escala tocando y práctica junto con él: La escala cromática (en el audio, dos compases iniciales proporcionan el tempo para la tocar de la escala).
Por favor, hágamelo saber si usted tiene algún problema escuchando el audio de la escala.
Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
By using various capabilities of BibleWorks 7, Microsoft Office Word 2007, and Microsoft Excel 2007, I recently created a unique resource that should prove helpful for learning the Spanish vocabulary words with marked accents that occur 50 or more times in the Reina-Valera 1960 New Testament (R60NT).
Using BW7, I generated a list of the 25,733 words that occur in the R60NT and their frequencies. Pasting that list first into Word and then into Excel, I created a spreadsheet in Excel that listed all the words in one column and their frequencies in the next column.
Sorting that list by frequency, I produced a list of the 1186 words that occur 50 or more times. Using various macros that I created[i] in Microsoft Visual Basic 6.5 in Excel, I then identified the 259 words that have a marked accent on them.
Each word was then analyzed to determine the following:
—Length of the word
—Syllables in the word
—Diphthongs in the word
—Which vowel was accented and its exact location in the word
—Final letter, final two letters, final three letters, and final four letters of each word
By sorting this data, I produced the following listing of the words that categorizes and alphabetizes[ii] them by number of syllables, word length, accented syllable, vowel accented, and final letters (1-4, as applicable), respectively:
Analysis of Words with a Marked Accent That Occur 50 or More Times in the R60NT
One Syllable:
| Letters | Words Alphabetically by Accented Syllable, Vowel, and Final Letters |
| 2 | dé sé mí sí tú; él |
| 3 | más |
Two Syllables:
| 2 | oí |
| 3 | acá noé iré qué así oyó; día mía oíd mío río oír aún |
| 4 | judá allá dará hará será dirá está daré haré seré josé esté allí leví sacó echó dejó tomó miró juró pasó mató cayó huyó jehú; cuál amán cuán joás amén país león amón saúl; días míos ríos sólo cómo; ésta éste |
| 5 | habrá podrá quedó mandó llegó habló halló llamó reinó entró sentó llevó; labán harán serán verán dirán basán están jamás demás harás serás dirás atrás rubén quién belén botín simón varón según algún jesús; dónde; ángel árbol éstas éstos |
| 6 | saldrá pondrá tendrá vendrá pondré; jordán moisés hebrón ningún; cárcel |
| 7 | tendrán vendrán pondrás tendrás |
Three Syllables:
| 4 | aquí esaú oído |
| 5 | caerá josué subió salió abrió hirió murió envió; había hacía decía tenía venía maría impío aarón; seáis elías caído; oídos |
| 6 | tomará estará lavará comerá morirá vivirá jehová traeré jericó durmió cubrió volvió habitó apartó; canaán caerán además efraín cabrío faraón simeón nación visión; hagáis estáis habéis sabéis tenéis haréis seréis habían decían tenían josías traído judíos impíos cuándo; líbano límite músico número; ídolos |
| 7 | llevará volverá enviaré neftalí entregó levantó comenzó; estarán comerán jonatán capitán satanás tomarás también manasés después porción reunión absalón salomón corazón; prójimo; cámaras cántico séptimo jóvenes púrpura; ángeles árboles |
| 8 | engendró preguntó destruyó; benjamín; tendréis; príncipe |
| 9 | destruiré; príncipes |
Four Syllables:
| 6 | isaías |
| 7 | edificó sucedió; alegría todavía oración |
| 8 | extendió; profecía posesión; comeréis jeremías zacarías; altísimo espíritu; imágenes ejército |
| 9 | levantará descendió respondió; jerusalén aflicción bendición expiación maldición salvación; levántate; ejércitos apóstoles |
| 10 | discípulos |
| 11 | destrucción |
Five Syllables:
| 8 | ezequías |
| 9 | aconteció; sabiduría; sedequías; acuérdate |
| 10 | generación; tabernáculo; primogénito |
| 11 | congregación |
| 12 | levantándose |
Six Syllables:
| 11 | abominación |
I hope that this resource will help me and others to master the vocabulary of the R60NT and thereby in some way better minister to Spanish-speaking people!
[i] These macros are revisions of macros that I had originally created (with much help from my brother-in-law, Dr. Satya Narimetla, to whom I am very indebted for his help with that project) several years ago in a similar study of all the accented words in the Greek New Testament.
[ii] The words are alphabetized in this “reverse” way: by the last letter, last two letters, last three letters, and last four letters, respectively (as applicable), and then by the starting letter.
Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
Writing probably sometime between 85 and 95 AD, the apostle John penned at least eight “pastoral” epistles (3 John; Rev. 2:1-7; 8-11; 12-17; 18-29; 3:1-6; 7-13; 14-22).[1] Both from a canonical standpoint (they either constitute [3 John] or are found [Rev. 2-3] in the final two books of the Scripture in its present canonical order) or a chronological standpoint, these epistles comprise the pinnacle of God’s revelation that is specifically directed to those whom He has appointed to lead His churches (3 John 1, 9; Rev. 2:1, 8, 12, 18; 3:1, 7, 14).
Because of the many disputes about the exact nature of the book of Revelation and about how it should be interpreted and applied, not a few pastors, teachers, and other church leaders have been dismissive at least to some extent of the theological value of John’s final seven epistles to these church leaders. Such an interpretive stance is a serious mistake and deprives them and their people of a wealth of theological and practical revelation, as demonstrated by the following brief survey of some theological insights provided by these epistles:
Theology Proper and Christology
Jesus profoundly emphasizes to the churches that the Father is still His God (3:12). He also stresses repeatedly that He is God’s judicial agent (e.g. 3:2 and 5). Both of these truths have received insufficient attention in contemporary theological thought, especially in works that are directed to pastors and their congregations.
Pneumatology
Jesus ends every epistle with a directive to heed what the Spirit is saying to the churches (2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22). These statements underscore the personality of the Spirit and His supervisory role over all the churches. Pastors must instruct their people diligently about these truths.
Angelology
Jesus speaks explicitly about the devil/Satan to three of the pastors (2:9, 10; 13 [2x]; 24) and warns of his work of persecuting them (2:10). Pastors who make light of the reality of possible direct satanic attack on them and their churches thus do not have a correct viewpoint about the Christian life.
Soteriology
Jesus reveals that the salvation of believers will only be complete when He will confess before His Father and before His angels that they have overcome (3:5). Pastors must challenge their people regularly about such aspects of the ultimate salvation of believers and what is necessary for receiving it.
Ecclesiology
Jesus confronts two of the seven pastors about their tolerating false teachers within their own churches (2:14; 20-23). Because the latter specifies that the pernicious influence of a false teacher was promoting fornication and the eating of things sacrificed unto idols among believers, it is clear that Jesus wants his leaders to be concerned not just with false teaching about “the gospel,” but also with false teaching that misleads believers about their morality and their exercise of Christian “liberty.”
Eschatology
Jesus sets forth a profound promise of international authority that He will give to those who overcome (2:26-27). Even more profoundly, He declares that He will grant to overcomers to sit with Him on His throne (3:21)! Lack of pastoral emphasis on such truths deprives believers of crucial God-intended motivators for them to overcome. Pastors must emphasize eschatological truths to their people, even as Christ does in each of these letters.
Based on this sampling of the vital theological and practical value of the final seven Johannine “pastoral” epistles, we should all be diligent to profit fully from them!
Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
I have been studying Spanish musical terms and resources fairly intensely for several weeks now. My latest Spanish guitar piece provides the melody of Oh Dios, socorro en el ayer in my revised number format. The song and an explanation of my revised format are available in this PDF.
I would appreciate feedback especially about any errors that might need to be corrected in the Spanish explanations of the format of the piece.
Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
The truth is that injustice is a reality in this world. Leaders often make unjust laws. Judges often issue unjust decisions. Crooked deals are made in political chambers and courtrooms alike. The hands of leaders are too often filled with violence, not justice. The sad truth is that this is the case not only in the civil sphere but also in the church. The church is not beyond the influence of unjust politics or self-serving injustice. Injustice is a reality.
Injustice, like all sin, is not a superficial problem of a few wrong decisions here and there. Injustice, like all sin, is systemic in nature. It is the fruit of fallen human nature. Injustice is rooted in the human heart when that heart is still in the womb (see 51:5). It only takes the right conditions for the seeds of injustice in our own hearts to produce that hideous fruit. So while we are grieved at injustice in the world, we are not surprised . . .
Injustice will be avenged one day, not by us as humans but by God himself . . . On that day we will experience in fullness the truth that it does pay to live for God because God is the just judge of all the earth.
This day of ultimate judgment still lies in the future (Rev. 20:11-15). Until this day comes, the unjust can repent and find mercy and grace to experience the forgiveness of their sin. The delay of God’s justice demonstrates his kindness, tolerance, and patience, which are intended to lead the unjust to repentance.
As those who have repented and experienced the love of God in Christ, we now live to see justice established in this world to the degree that it is possible. We begin by rooting injustice out of our own hearts, homes, and churches, so that we will be fair and compassionate in all our dealings, even as our Father in heaven is fair and compassionate.
—Comments on Psalm 58:1-5 by Mark D. Futato, The Book of Psalms in Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, 7:201-202.
Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
With a little more than 3 ½ months to go in 2012, I have made it through the book of Psalms 15 times. Today, I finished going through the Psalms in the LXX.
I am also nearly halfway done reading through the book again in English. After I finish that reading, I will need to read through the book 9 more times this year to reach my goals of 25 times through the Psalms in 2012 and 50 times overall.
I hope to set aside one day later this year, probably on a Saturday, and read through the whole book on that day. As God directs, I am also thinking of trying to read through the book in Spanish once by the end of the year.
Praise God for this marvelous book!
Copyright © 2011-2025 by Rajesh Gandhi. All rights reserved.
