I get squeamish when I see people get injured. I rarely watch television because so many programs are like a feeding frenzy of this type. The crucifixion is but one more example of how I have shied away from looking too closely. I was too much of a coward to watch the movie, The Passion of the Christ, until it was shown at my church last year at one of the events I never miss, so I watched it. Even so,
The words of a Negro Spiritual I learned as a youth go “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” The song describes the cruelty Jesus encountered step by step when he was crucified. It isn’t easy to truly think about the crucifixion in detail. We like the cleaned up versions found in children’s storybooks better than reality. Somewhere in my recent activities it occurred to me that I needed to spend more time in the presence of that sacred moment when Jesus
Adam and Eve were created to live forever. Because they chose self – to go their own way, they had to die. All of mankind has followed in the footprints of Adam and Eve, choosing to go their own way. Some turn back to their Creator, but not all. Our mission in life is to learn to die to self and learn to give control of our lives back to God so we can live with him forever. Father God, help us learn
Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4 (NIV) This verse came to my attention at one of the down times in my life. I prayed for relief from serious financial problems as I clung to this verse believing God was going to send an angel down a moonbeam or something to rescue me, yet the problems continued. An answer eventually came four years later, but there was going to be no easy out. As
John 4:4-30 Click on this link to read the passage. You may select your preferred version of the Bible after the link opens. What a scandal! Jesus, the holy man everyone was talking about initiated a conversation with a promiscuous Samaritan woman. Didn’t Jesus know the three-strikes-you’re-out rule? Jews don’t socialize with Samaritans – strike one. Jews should snub promiscuous people – strike two. Jewish men don’t go out of their way to speak to women – strike three. Jesus