The “Unofficial” Start of Summer!
We all know summer doesn’t begin until June 21, but this weekend was the unofficial start, and it sure seemed like summer!
There was the anticipation of find more here
Clinging to the Cross!
Easter: When we celebrate Jesus death on the cross, His burial, and His resurrection. The empty tomb is foundational to the Christian faith. The empty tomb is Easter. But oh, how we love the cross! continue reading here
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Good Friday
When I was a child, Good Friday was a unique day. About three o’clock in the afternoon, most of the stores and businesses closed and people went to church. The afternoon was a somber one. We’d come home and after dinner we’d color Easter eggs and begin to look forward to Sunday!
Today, Good Friday is not much more than a day on the calendar. People may or may not Read More Here
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Was It All For Me?
Jesus, when you stumbled under the weight of the cross, was that the moment you felt the weight of my sin? Did you question the Father: “Her?”
Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. – Isaiah 53:4
Jesus, when they cracked the whip and the metal shards pulled the skin off your back did you feel the pain of my hand as it spanked my child in anger.
He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. – Isaiah 53:5
Jesus, when the soldiers yelled and taunted you, did hear the sharp sting of my words as I talked down to my co-workers, siblings, parents, grandparents, husband and children?
He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. – Isaiah 53: 7
Jesus, when the crowd called out “Barabbas!” did you hear me go along with them rather than be identified with you?
He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. – John 1:0-11
Jesus, when they thrust the thorns into your brow, were you repulsed by the number of times I thought I deserved more, or better, or different than the things you had given me?
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. – Isaiah 53:6
Jesus, when they drove the stake into your feet, did you experience the pain of my disobedience? Did you hear me defiantly say, “No, I won’t go there!”?
He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross. – 1 Peter 2:24
Jesus, when they nailed your hands to the cross, did you think about the times I refused to serve your children because I had other, better, things to do?
He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels. – Isaiah 53:12
Jesus, when the sky was dark, was it my shame that blocked the sun?
God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light. – John 3:19
Jesus, when you heard the scoffers, was it my voice you heard yelling out of control as I demanded obedience from my children?
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. This includes you who were once far away from God. – Colossians 1: 20-21
Jesus, when you said, “It is finished!” were you revolted by my thoughts that I didn’t need a Savior?
No one is righteous – not even one. No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. All have turned away… – Romans 3:10-12
Jesus, when you died, and they laid your body on the cold slab in the darkness of the tomb, did the weight of my guilt press down upon you?
“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” – Romans 5:8
Jesus, what can wash away my sin?
Nothing, but the blood of Jesus!
For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.” – Hebrews 10:10
(All Scriptures are from the New Living Translation)
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Religion vs. Science?
I saw a post similar to this on Social Media recently:
It caused me to ponder what was being communicated. And, I have to agree with the person who posted it. Who wants a “religion” that breaks people down just so that it can lift them up? Not me! And to what does it lift us: a commitment to try harder to be good, better, or perhaps best? That’s not for me either.
But, I did an inventory:
Am I broken? No, I live in a broken world that will chew me up and spit me out. It will use me and then discard me. I have experienced that. I have also experienced holding the hands of friends who’ve lost a child, a husband, a job, self-respect, marriage, home, you name it. I have comforted other friends who’ve been broken by abortion, rape, incest, and even satanic religious ceremonies. We live in a broken world. It breaks people.
Am I flawed? Who isn’t? Ask anyone, especially the person who loves you the most, if you have any flaws. You do. I do.
Am I sinful? It’s so much nicer to ask “do I make errors or mistakes?” Yes. I do. Sometimes I lie, cheat, put myself above others, envy, or wish another person ill will. I confess, I’ve even said, “I could just kill her/him/them!”
Am I dumb? No. I have a degree. I teach. I study. People come to me for advice. I am most certainly not dumb. Well, in some areas I am, don’t ask me about math.
Am I weak? I am very strong willed! But, yes, sometimes I am weak. I cry when I miss my dad. I cry when I think of my children moving hundreds of miles away. Sometimes I don’t want to get out of bed and face the day. I don’t have all the answers. I shy away from having to say hard things to people. I can’t open pickle jars anymore.
Am I nothing? No. I am a teacher. Writer. Mother. Wife. Sister. Daughter. Friend. Cousin. Mother-in-law. Grandmother. I am something. I make a difference in other people’s lives.
Then, there’s the science side. Science answers questions, but it doesn’t give me value or worth — except that the elements of my body are worth $4.50, (we might round up to $5 if you count my skin). There is a mathematical formula for beauty, but I don’t think my face measures up. I know my body doesn’t.
How can science tell me I am full of wonder? How do you measure wonder? And, potential for greatness? How can that be measured and on whose scale? Smart? A great learner? Not everyone is smart, not everyone can learn.
To those of you who have been beaten down by “religious” people, please accept my apology, and allow me to tell you about the God of the Bible. I’d like to add a page to the post I saw:
Psalm 147:3 – He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
Hebrews 10:14 – He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.
Psalm 103:12 – as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our sins from us.
James 1:5 – If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 – [Christ’s] power is made perfect in weakness. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
Romans 8:32 – He did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things.
Personally, I don’t want “religion” or “Science” to be my God. I have the God of the Bible for my God. He doesn’t break anyone so that He can lift them up. He even promises:
A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out – Matthew 12:20
Marcia Furrow 