Just For Fun

OK, there is nothing particularly edifying about this post, it just cracked me up.

22 Essential Words for Writing Cheesy Christian Pop Songs:
by Joshua Harris

1. Mountain
2. Love
3. River
4. Ocean
5. Amazed
6. Imagine
7. Valley
8. Believe
9. Waves
10. Running
11. Deep
12. Shout
13. Stillness
14. Moment
15. Arms
16. Tears
17. Walk
18. Hills
19. Reaching
20. Waters
21. Joy
22. Peace

The Difference is Jesus!

The difference between the hell I deserve and the grace I enjoy is Jesus Christ.
He is God.
He did die for sinners.
He did rise in victory.
He is alive ruling from his throne today.
He is still at work in the world.
He will be with us forever.
And, one day we will rise to be with him, for him, and like him forever as all that will remain is to enjoy his grace together forever.

Mark Driscoll

Not Clever, But Clear

Pastor Mark Driscoll on preaching Easter:

My encouragement to all Christian preachers is to not get too fancy on Easter.

It is the day we want to be incredibly clear about the death of Jesus for our sins and the resurrection of Jesus for our salvation.

We do not need to be clever. We need to be clear.

And we need to add to that clarity a fitting and authentic excitement for the victory of Jesus Christ over Satan, sin, death, hell, and the wrath of God while calling sinners to be saved.

We Need A Savior

Last week Isaiah sent me a wonderful palm branch he made out of construction paper at Cubbies. On it was a very sweet note that made me cry. It just doesn't get any easier living so far away from each other.

I hung it in my kitchen right above Taryn's Picasso cow art project. :-) Every time I see it I smile....and think of Isaiah.

This week we had a flu bug hit us hard. I am now behind on everything, but most of all in preparing my heart for Easter. Today Isaiah's palm leaf made me think of Palm Sunday so I started some reading on it. I thot this was an interesting perspective:

"The truth must essentially be regarded as in conflict with this world; the world has never been so good, and will never become so good that the majority will never desire the truth." Soren Kierkegaard

On Palm Sunday, the Truth rode into Jerusalem on a donkey’s back. Although the crowds cheered the Truth, beneath the surface a conflict raged. The majority did not want the Truth that day, nor have they wanted the Truth on any day since that day. ~ Dr. R Pritchard

A sad thot - but what blessed me was Jesus example. To ponder that Truth went humbly yet confidently into their world - right among them - risking everything, because Truth in love brought their only hope.

Truth is not always winsome. It confronts where it enters, not necessarily by what it does but by the nature of what it is. But Truth must go there.

It takes courage to bring Truth into the center of our world today. It is still not welcomed but often confronted and rejected. But Truth must go there.

Truth is desperately needed because we all desperately need a Savior.

Passion Week

I just found this post by Todd Bolen, one of Taya's college professors when she studied in Israel. I am excited to incorporate this into my week...and to tuck it away for future reference.

A few years ago I went through and tried to pick the “fullest” account of each event and I created a list (doc). You can read through each day’s events either in a regular Bible or in a gospel harmony.