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Showing posts from September, 2010

What Does the Cross Mean to You?

I got to thinking the other evening during my personal devotions about what the cross means. I have been guilty of just seeing "the cross" and not what the cross really meant to Jesus, and therefore to all humanity. The Pain of the Cross: Betrayed by one of the inner circle... Denied three times by another in the inner circle... Spit on.... Slapped and mocked... Beard pulled out... Crown of thorns driven into His head... Beaten beyond recognition by a whip (flesh torn out at each lash, yanked across the flesh -- not just the skin)... Ridiculed by participants, taunted to see if He could tell who was doing the taunting... Murderer chosen to be released over Him... Sentenced to death by crucifixion... Made to carry the cross beam of His cross, until exhaustion forced soldiers to make another carry it for Him... Nailed to the cross through His hands and feet... Mocked while on the cross... Took the sins of the world on Himself... Forsaken by God! It is finished! Death...Dark

Cotton - The Fields are White

"Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh the harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on he fields; for they are white already to harvest." John 4:35 I pass this cotton field every day on my way to/from work, and since the cotton has been maturing, the Bible verse from John 4:35 keeps playing through my mind. Yesterday afternoon I stopped and went out to the field to take pictures. The cotton was bursting from the pods, but the cotton stalks were brown and dying. There were also weeds growing up through the cotton plants. Some were pretty, and others were tall grasses. That reminds me of Matthew 13:26 and 30, "But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also...Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn."

Prayer Can Result In Change

What is happening in our country today? Crime is rampant, government is out of control, people are living for themselves... How can things change for our country? II Chronicles 7:14 says "If My people, which are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land." Genesis 18 shows Abraham arguing with the Lord. Beginning in verse 15 the Lord decides to tell Abraham that He is going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham's nephew Lot and his family lived there. In verse 22 Abraham stood before the Lord and began asking if there were fifty righteous people in the city, would the Lord destroy it? The Lord said no. Abraham went further and asked if there were forty-five, then if there were twenty, and finally, if there were only ten, and the Lord said, "I will not destroy it for ten's sake." God heard the pleas of Abraham and responded i

It is well with my soul

This morning on the way to work I was remembering a song I have known all my life, "It is Well with My Soul" by Horatio Spafford (look it up on Wikipedia -- fascinating story on this song!). I remembered how several years ago I was going through my divorce and it was a month before our hearing date. I was depressed and worried about the outcome and what would happen to me and to our two sons. During this time I played the piano for my church, and I needed something special for a Sunday offertory. I found a beautiful arrangement by Marilyn Ham for "It is Well with My Soul." Although the piece was difficult for me, I learned the song. Even though I learned the song specifically for a Sunday special, the song meant a great deal to me during my divorce and I played it quite frequently and with a lot of passion, even if lacking in skill. The song helped me keep my problems in perspective. Over the past several years this has become my favorite piece of music to play, a