As A Christian, Can I Panic About Ebola?

It's a situation I've been watching carefully, and it only recently seems to be something people are noticing. Studying epidemics is a sort of hobby of mine and has been for many years. I’ve been fascinated to study how different cultures – especially religions – react.

Take a very short trip in history with me, for a moment, to 1918, when the Spanish influenza was swallowing the globe. Only Australia remained untouched, as it cut off contact with everyone else, and it is estimated that anywhere from 50 million to100 million people died. The majority of those people were in the prime of their lives; the elderly and children seemed strangely untouched. Whole villages were wiped out. Cities became forced to bury people in mass graves because they were dying too fast to build caskets or dig proper graves. It was a dark time, and the line “bring out your dead” doesn’t seem so funny when you realize people were literally dropping their loved ones outside their doors, hoping against all hope that they hadn’t been exposed long enough to become ill themselves. All social events were banned, but one group of people stood out as defying this law: Christians.

Gathering together on Sunday, everyone wearing masks, many churches would set up chairs in the middle of the street and have their services. At a time when people were abandoning their own families and shutting themselves away, believers were finding strength in one another. This isn’t to say they were better than everyone else – because there were people who did amazing things without this form of faith – but they knew their hope lay in something other than remaining healthy. I have no doubt that there was fear in their hearts, wondering if they would die next, or a spouse, or a child, or a parent. It’s not as though faith makes things less scary, because they are scary, but it allows us to focus on something other than fear. We wouldn’t stand in the way of a rampaging elephant herd as a show of faith, so how should be think about this situation?

This is how I think about it: things like this - where one is so completely out of control - you feel more acutely, especially if you like order and predictability; however, there is nothing that works quite like an epidemic for bringing people face to face with eternity. It forces them to actively choose God or themselves in a way most wouldn't, because this culture is so lackadaisical and would normally enjoy the lukewarm feelings of disinterest or indifference. In a sort of strange way, I think these things are beautiful. It's amazing to see how striking the church can be in "such a time as this," where we can be unafraid and aware of the glory that awaits us if God chooses to take us up to Him. Even as one is completely aware of the danger, one can also be aware that – ultimately – our hope lies in something quite different than the next breath we take.

I'm thinking specifically of Romans 8:5-27, especially the last two paragraphs:

"For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

"But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

"Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father.' The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

"Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God."

2^nd Timothy 2:7 also comes to mind: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

We are in a fallen world, and our gut reaction will be one of fear; however, God gives us strength in Himself so that we can treat our fears differently and reach the world in its crisis, bringing others to share in our hope.

The Prostitution of Immodesty-Explaining the Battle of Lust

Modesty in clothing is one of those subjects of which I am most passionate. Let me bluntly explain why: I struggle with lust, and my husband does as well. This is one of the things in which we have fought together. It has put both the most strain and the most camaraderie in our marriage. I think it is the duty of women like me to explain the importance of modesty as best we can, so that other men and women can be understand on a less superficial level why it is vital to the life of Christian women.

First, allow me to explain how a person lusts.

Lust is not the immediate, uncontrollable, physical response to a man or women who is attractive. It is the purposeful dwelling on how they look (their breasts, legs, figure, etc.) and deciding to wonder what it would be like to have a sexual experience with them. This can be as mild as imagining them naked or more extreme – such as a forced sexual experience. It is to have mental power over them, and a lusting person almost always believes he or she could approach the object of their lust and have exactly what they desire.

Imagine building a habit of lust. Every person you see who is attractive or dressed sexually stays in your thoughts, fantasies, and you create opportunities to be around the person. You habitually “use” such people in your mind, without their knowledge, to maintain a sexual high. You begin to look for and hope to see people who are more easily fantasized about. You look for the short skirts, the shorts, the tight clothes, the unbuttoned blouse or shirt. You crave seeing people to arouse you. Once you’ve built this habit, it takes months to kill it, and you can never safely look at people again. You have to fight the desire, avoid the circumstances you once created, and try to recreate what you look for in people.

Having explained this, perhaps it makes more sense why I am so adamant that men and women do their best to be modest. When a person makes the decision to fight against lusting, it means changing a mental habit; as any habit, being forced to deal with what tempts you every day is exhausting, and the sexualized body is much harder to escape than cigarettes and alcohol. 

This is a personal fight for me, and it additionally is a passion for me because I fought to be modest before I married. Why should that make a difference? It means I won over my husband without the need to attract him sexually. Not only that, I fought for him. I still fight for him, and it hurts me when women only seem to care about getting superficial attention. Instead, it’s the easy way. Sometimes they say it’s because they need to do so to feel beautiful. I think they just aren’t creative enough to be modestly beautiful.

Though some may argue that scripture never mentions specific ways of being modest, it does say not to do anything which causes your brother to sin. In short, if you dress immodestly, you are sinning. Do you want to dress modestly? Ask someone (of your own gender or someone to whom you’re related) how you can. They will be able to tell you what makes keeping a pure mind more difficult. They know the difference between beauty and seduction.

Confession in the Church and Why It's Important

James 5:16: “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

I’ve been thinking about this verse the past week because of some things going on in my life – mainly because it was brought up during a Bible study. Confessions can be a touchy subject. We would rather not unload all our issues for other Christians to hear, thus maiming our image of perfection. Frankly, I’m not sure we always care to hear about what other Christians are struggling with, either. This is a sad truth, because we are hurting ourselves and one another.

Just to be clear, I’m not talking about confession to a priest. Although there may be a time for that, the verse I referenced is talking about the church as a whole. It also wouldn’t make sense, in terms of being able to pray for one another, to talk about our sins in secret. The whole purpose of confessing to others is so we can say: “Hey, I’ve really struggled with this sin, and it’s making my Christian walk difficult,” and know that not only will our brothers and sisters in Christ pray for us, but they will be there to support and love us. Maybe we could even keep one another better accountable, specifically asking, on a regular basis: “How has your fight against ____ been going?” There are many advantages to this way of communicating sin.

First, it reminds us that we all struggle with things – that we are, in a sense, equal. I remember confessing a sin to Benny, and he was relieved to realize that I wasn’t any more perfect than he was. If we could always see sin as something that everyone deals with, we wouldn't feel so alone.

Second, it doesn’t allow us to hide and bury our sins, which makes us responsible for amending. This is important, because hiding sin is dangerous, even if we confess it to God. Sometimes, we can confess to Him without really having the incentive to change. When we confess aloud to others, it makes us accountable for change.

Lastly, admitting you have a problem is a big part of recovering. I realize that’s a well known idea, but it’s well known because it’s so true. When I confess a struggle, it becomes easier to deal with, because I’m more aware of the ways I struggle and can be more on guard in avoiding them.

What does this mean for me? I wish it meant that the Christians in my life would understand why this is so important and begin gathering for this purpose. I already confess, daily, to my husband, but sometimes I wish I could admit to others the problems I face. It is uplifting to be loved by people despite your faults, and I yearn to share in the struggles of others. Why? Scripture commands this of me, and rightly so.

Galatians 6:2: “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

Waiting for the Wedding Night

A very good friend of mine posted this link, on Facebook, with the following comment:

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/09/14/staying-celibate-before-marriage-was-best-thing-ive-ever-done/

"This article is an excellent example of how the social construct of "virginity" can turn someone into a holier-than-thou asshole. It is also my expert opinion that this guy has a small penis."

Now, I rarely get into arguments on Facebook. It's not that I never write anything offensive, because I do quite a bit, I just don't see the point of making people angry when they already know, by the way I live, that I don't see eye to eye with them. Most of my friends are from the secular atmophere, and I've come to accept them, despite their faults, and show them Christ by my love. They know I accept them - not their sin - and it is this fact which has earned me friends of all colours. This type of article and sarcastic comment I would usually pass over, ignoring the inner contradictions, but this time, the issue was too important to me to say nothing. This was what I replied:

"First, I just want to say that this guy is an idiot. The article is badly written and offensive for the sake of being offensive rather than trying to simply explain why waiting is worth it. I mean, I waited; Benny waited… and our sexual relationship is anything but awkward. The wedding night itself wasn’t even airbrushed by anxiety or nervousness about potentially bad performance – on either side – because we were so excited to give ourselves completely to one another. The fact that we could enjoy that union without even considering anything like negative “Sex with _____was so much more satisfying” or even positive: “Man, he’s way better than ____.” We didn’t have a set of sexual standards in our heads that the other person had to meet, and it was a relief to both of us that we would never be measured, sexually, based upon the experience of the other.

Also, we are both so eager to please one another that we never think: “Wow, I wish I had more experience with lots of people so that I knew a lot of technique.” Actually, just having one another has meant that we are learning the needs, impulses, and pleasures of the other. Every day, we learn how to better please one another. It’s a really awesome gift, and I’m very glad I waited. I mean, even if I had just slept with Benny before we married, there would have been no awesome wedding night, because all the anticipation of waiting and the build of tension is lost.

I’m not condemning people who don’t wait, contrary to this guy. I mean, I think it’s a wonderful idea, and I think everyone should wait, but I understand that there are a lot of things that contribute to loss of virginity, and I can’t shun people for being human. I’ve done poorly in other areas that I’m not proud of, so I definitely am not better than them.

Mostly, this is what I think: sex is awesome, and it’s worth waiting for the perfect moment."

Attending an Antipodal Church

Now, just to clarify before I even start, this post is not meant to bash another church, theology, or even to say which one is right or wrong. I do have certain beliefs which will show, because it is inevitable that one often thinks he or she is right. I only want to share my thoughts on how it feels to attend a church that is founded on theology about as opposite of mine as you can get in the protestant group.

~~~~~

There are various things one will look for in a church. Some look for fellowship, others look for a good children’s program, some look for a specific denominational background. You can’t look for a perfect church, because if you happen to find one, you would ruin it by joining. When Benny moved to Appleton, almost a year ago, I told him I trusted him to pick a church for us to attend after we married. This, I knew, was to take a risk, because although we basically agree theologically, he paid a lot less attention to it than I did. You can imagine how nervous I was when he called me, excited about this church he had found and thought would be a perfect fit for us, and told me it was an Orthodox Presbyterian Church.

Don’t get me wrong, here. I’m not saying that I don’t like being exposed to other denominations. I’ve experience the worship and teachings of various ones, including – at least three full length services, often more – Nazarene, Baptist, Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Bible Missionary, Congregational, Evangelical, Methodist, etc. I was raised Wesleyan-Arminian in a non-denominational church. When asked what denomination I am, I always give the same answer: I’m Wesleyan-Arminian Congregational (not Roman) Catholic Baptist Nazarene Methodist. Is this a cop-out? Nope. I simply understand that my theology and how I follow Christ can be traditionally seen in each of those denominations, if not seen in the present time.

Why this explanation? Mostly to illustrate how different the church I was raised in is from the one I now attend. I went from a Wesleyan church to a Calvinist church (glad I knew my TULIP well…). I’ve attended close to two months of services in this church, now, and have had some thoughts on what I truly value in a church.

First, and most importantly, I value a church in which the pastor is a genuine shepherd. This means that the pastor has studied his doctrine and church history well and desires to impregnate his congregation with those doctrines and traditions which he believes have been fundamental. In other words, he believes firmly in what he stands on and desires to hold his flock to the standards which he believes God has biblically founded. A pastor who additionally pulls no punches is an excellent pastor to have.

Second, I value a church in which great importance is placed on the family. This can be seen in many ways, but it is always clear when the family is important to the church. Partly it is seen within the literal families but mostly in the blood-washed family. A church where there is clear fellowship, love, and a desire to serve one another is a church where I cannot help but feel blessed.

Third, despite of (or in spite of?) any differences in doctrine which may be present, it is clear that the people there yearn to serve God with all their heart, soul, strength, and mind. I believe that anyone who truly serves God and longs to serve Him better every day will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, despite what doctrines he may hold. Although I deem your doctrine is incredibly important, I do not believe it saves you – but nor does it keep you from the throne of grace. I follow God to the best of my abilities, and I believe that my doctrines are scriptural. I know many who differ in doctrine but live with that aim as well, thus I cannot condemn them but rather wish them many blessings.

Attending this church has been a challenge, in several ways, but I have found it to be a place of peace as much as the church in which I grew up. God is preached there. I don’t feel persecuted or hindered by the differences in such a way that I am unable to worship. In fact, I find the differences strengthening my faith and encouraging me. I am fed, for each of us comes knowing we have fallen short of the glory of God and desperately need His strength for every step to come.

In Christ.

Problems During "Coffee With Jesus"

I had a hard time deciding whether to write this or not, because I know there are a lot of people who really enjoy the comic strips “Coffee With Jesus.” Ever since they started to appear in my facebook newsfeed, I quickly found that they made me feel incredibly uncomfortable – and not in the good “thank you, God, for showing me the error of my ways and giving me the chance to improve” way. Instead, they seemed like closet hypocrisy.

I can already hear the protests. “Woah, Sarah. Aren’t you taking this a bit too seriously?” I don’t think so. You might argue that these are just joking around and that if I can’t take a joke, I should butt out. Well… that’s not the problem. All people know that there are some things you don’t joke about. Some jokes are bad in certain situations or with certain people (like wearing fur to a PETA meeting), and some jokes are never funny (such as jokes about spousal unfaithfulness and other various jokes with sexual connotations). I can get a joke. In fact, I probably have a greater range of humour than most people, but I know that some things shouldn’t be put into a circumstance that makes them lighter than they actually are. I try not to joke about serious spiritual matters, and I never want to make light of God.

Problem 1: “Coffee with Jesus” as a “comic” makes light of things which should not be made light.

Another person might say: “Well, sometimes you have to get a person’s attention.” I understand that sometimes you need a left hook, but this particular strip uses the left hook of offense. They are written to be offensive. If you don’t believe me, look up the earliest strips. They even deleted some of the oldest because they were too offensive. They may be more subtle these days, but they haven’t changed all that much. I realize that sometimes we offend people with our beliefs, but I deem that to offend anyone on purpose is a sin. Check out Matthew 17:24-7. This is the conversation between Jesus and Peter when Jesus says to pay taxes “lest we offend.” And in Romans fourteen, Paul talks about not doing anything which will cause your brother to sin or offend him. To offend a person is to cause strife, pain, and resentment. None of these things bring a person closer to you. If people are always feeling attacked by you, you have lost your witness.

Problem 2: “Coffee with Jesus” as a tool to teach by means of offense actually undermines your ability to witness.

The big argument: “It’s good to learn this way, because it brings Jesus down to our level so we can understand Him better.” I am all for learning more about Jesus. That is incredibly important in the life of any Christian; however, since when has anyone benefitted from trying to be equal to God? You might not look at it that way, but think about the way that these comics take Christ out of context. I’m sure that if He were on earth, he might very well drink coffee with us, discuss whatever we wanted, but do you think He would discuss things in such cavalier ways? When He was on earth the first time, He took witnessing quite seriously, and I don’t recall Him ever joking with someone: “Well, you just doubled your time in purgatory.” These strips portray Jesus stripped of the reverence and grace which He portrayed over two thousand years ago. Sure, He was sometimes angry and offensive, but He was a Man of grace and the comics do not portray Him in that light.

Problem 3: “Coffee with Jesus” puts Jesus level in status with me and portrays Him as a man without grace.

Those are my basic problems with the new “I’m a cool Christian” craze. Things pop up all the time that bother me, but this one actually gave me pause and made me concerned about the type of God we are portraying. I don’t think it’s wise to flaunt Jesus in any context, even if the intentions are well founded. I think these could be dangerous and undermining.

That’s all.

Intolerance and Love Don't Share A Bed

It’s one of those nights where I can’t sleep, because there is too much on my mind.

As some know, my biggest pet peeve is intolerance. It’s not something I advertise too much, because there is a lot of it, and I mean A LOT of it. What sort of intolerance am I thinking about? All sorts, but mostly I mean intolerance of another person’s religion/belief system. That’s a loaded phrase, yes, but has anyone else noticed how quickly some people tear down others who don’t believe like they do?

I remember once having a debate with someone whose beliefs were opposite of my own. Instead of arguing fairly and defending himself with knowledge, he instead ridiculed me because I was a ‘savage’ American and called me intolerant. This, needless to say, pressed the wrong button. I told him that I would not try to defend what I believed if he was so unwilling to put himself on the same level as me. If I had been in any way insulting of him, I wouldn’t have cared that he accused me of intolerance; however, I had done my best to defend what I was saying by quoting his own doctrine, and I was careful to never argue about him - only what he believed. This did not go over very well.

This is all to show that I see people in two parts: As a person and the way they live (Their doctrine). I am able to separate the two and not let them interfere with my contact with that person. For example: I will not let the fact that a person I know is gay interfere with me being a friend to that person. Isn’t the purpose of a Christian’s life to show love to men? I don’t think God specified and gave certain personality traits of people we should minister to. I have read nowhere in God’s word that I am to hate Muslims, Homosexuals, Thieves, etc.… I understand that I should not follow in their beliefs, but God does not teach intolerance.

Where am I coming from? A man once asked me if I hated him because he didn’t believe what I did. I was shocked that he could even think that, but he explained to me that he had received that reaction from other ‘Christians.’ This, quite frankly, angered me. I have heard similar stories of people with bad pasts being shunned in churches because they were ‘sinners.’ I want to go to that church and say, “Hey! I’m sure that you were born perfect and have every right to stick your nose up in the air!” Oh my GOODNESS people! Are we so wrapped in our own bubbles that we can’t see the world is hungry for love and acceptance?! I can’t even bring myself to call people who are so intolerant Christian’s. They are creating a stereotype for other people to put all Christians into. This is wrong, and it makes me angry. I should not have to defend my love of other people. I don’t care if someone is from a completely different world. I will love that person with as much unconditional love as God permits. Since God is omnipotent, I’m sure I won’t run out of it any time soon. I never want people to say I am intolerant. I am accepting of all just as they are.

If every Christian applied this idea to the way they lived, there wouldn’t be this stereotype for Christians to fight. People should know that we love them. If they did, perhaps then they would listen to us.

Another raving sermon from me to you. I hope this doesn’t offend anyone. It just is a topic that is very important and real to me. I want to be real with people… I hope you do too.

It is sad to see that I have horribly neglected my blog. I suppose it is because I realize that few people read it, if any, so I rarely write. However, it is a good way to relieve heavy thought and to ponder in writing.

I'm going to post a poem that I recently rediscovered in one of my lost notebooks. Enjoy!

When a heart is pained, where does it turn?
How invariably to the wrong place!

There are things which the heart must forget.

Turn not to happiness, lest your broken heart be crushed.
Let the heart be content with it's lot.

Be not stubborn and stuck in your ways, for the firm cannot be moved.
The heart will forget pain, so, farewell to Love!
One cannot exist alone, for they are symbiotic.

Love is pain, and let it be so!
For pain strengthens the best love.

The Love that is strengthened perseveres. Ah! To the very end!
For the scars of Life are a shield.

Let the arrows fly! Then the enemy draw it's sword!
For no one can hurt me! My heart has loved and known pain.

Let it always be so, now and forever.

This poem was written at a time when I realized that God seems to find the perfect way to mold me through whatever I go through. I realized that I had let pain take me and tried to turn to happiness, but it didn't work. When I let God use my pain to strengthen, and when I allowed myself to love again, I felt whole and invincible. In many ways, God has used pain to mold me into the person I am. I feel like Stonewall Jackson when it comes to this. When he was dying, he was asked if he would take the chance to go back in time - To change the past. He said he would not, because he believed that God's will was more important than his own. What a powerful concept! And one that I keep in my own heart.

God bless and keep you.
TM

In The Quiet of the Night

Sitting here in my room, listening to a Scottish lullaby, I am considering the reminiscence of another post I made, commenting on the affect a kind gesture can have on a person. I consider this yet again, as I consider another spur of the moment gesture I made. God continues to show me how to bless people through random acts of kindness. I've also had a great hymn going through my head all week, that might be unfamiliar to many, Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah. Perhaps this was my theme this week.

As I am preparing for my first week of college I consider this weeks theme. I will need God's hand on me as I enter "hostile" territory. Surprisingly I am not that nervous about this upcoming adventure. Actually, I am excited. It reminds me of the quote I used for my graduation letters. "The world is round, and that which seems like the end may also be the beginning." Powerful thought, and an interesting observation.

I have prayed a lot about this new beginning that is upcoming, and have decided on a theme. My verse will be Zephaniah 3:17 "The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you in gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah is my favorite minor prophet. I love the way he puts things. So clear, and yet with very subtle and mind blowing truths. This verse especially touches me, because of the thought that God rejoices over me with singing. It is humbling and lifting, and makes me want to serve God all the more. What blessing He is to me.

Guide me, O thou great Jehovah, pilgrim through this barren land.

I am weak, but thou art mighty; hold me with thy powerful hand.

Bread of heaven, bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more;

feed me till I want no more.

Open now the crystal fountain, whence the healing stream doth flow;

Let the fire and cloudy pillar lead me all my journey through.

Strong deliverer, strong deliverer, be thou still my strength and shield;

Be thou still my strength and shield.

When I tread the verge of Jordan, bid my anxious fears subside;

Death of death and hell's destruction, land me safe on Canaan's side.

Songs of praises, songs of praises, I will ever give to thee;

I will ever give to thee.

And my song for this week

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;

Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.

Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,

Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;

I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;

Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;

Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;

Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;

Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:

Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,

Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:

Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,

High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of Heaven, my victory won,

May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!

Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,

Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

My Favorite Contemporary Singer

Admittedly, he's the only one I listen to :) David Phelps, ladies and gentlemen. I'm not sure what to say about this great man of faith, except that you can see his faith in his singing, and you can hear it in his CD's. Enjoy!

Just Do It!

Tomorrow I celebrate my 19th birthday. It's hard to believe that I have lived so long! If not for the love of Christ I would not be here today, nor do I think I would want to be.

I watched, for the first time, Mel Gibson's "Passion of the Christ." I didn't watch it when it first came out because I felt unready for it. I can't explain this, but it is simply truth. But for several weeks I have yearned to watch it. I wanted to remember. Sometimes I think the story of Jesus' sacrifice becomes simply that; a story. I never want Christ's sacrifice to become unimportant to me. You might say I never want to be a fake Christian. So many Christian's seem afraid to realize the great reality of the crucifixion. When I was not even ten years old my church, as a group, delved into the crucifixion itself, to see how it worked. I was fascinated by what I learned. I found it more horrific than I had even imagined.

A common mistake in films and portrayal of the crucifixion show the nails through the hands of Jesus, when in reality the nail would have had little purpose there. They were actually driven in directly below the wrist, so that the bones of the arm would hold the nail into place. In the hand, the nail would have slit through the skin and in between the fingers, eventually releasing a badly misshapen hand.

The position of the body, with the arms held out and the feet nailed to a block, allows the person hanging to breath in, but not to exhale. If you want to breath out you have to push up with your feet (Which have nails in them! I can only imagine the pain of this simple task). Then you can exhale. But just try to imagine the pain. Your bones have probably come disjointed because of the loose hanging, and your muscles clench and tighten as you struggle for breath. Your body is pressed against unfinished wood that splinters into your already ravaged back. As you weaken you can no longer push yourself up for breath, and you eventually die of suffocation. If you, however, live too long for your torturers taste, your legs can be broken, to shorten the time spent in dying.

In Jesus' case, he died before the soldiers started breaking legs, to fulfill the prophesies of the Old Testament. But just to make sure he was dead the soldiers, "Pierced His side." Or His heart. Blood and water gushed out. This shows that He did not die of suffocation, but of heart failure, due to shock and constriction of the heart because of fluid in the pericardium (The sack that contains the heart and beginnings of major blood vessels). What a terrible way to die! And yet, our Savior did that.

I do not understand how someone could hear this story and not be touched! And I did not even mention his torture beforehand! The horrible whipping that tore his flesh until he was unrecognizable! (Isaiah 52:14 and Isaiah 53) The mocking and beating of the soldiers! The humiliation of his mock robing and crowning, and the eventual carrying of the cross for over 600 yards, while still bleeding and bruised.

Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made;
I see the stars. I hear the rolling thunder;
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee;
How great Thou art. How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee;
How great Thou art. How great Thou art!

And when I think that God, His Son not sparing,
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in.
That on the cross, my burdens gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sins!

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee;
How great Thou art. How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee;
How great Thou art. How great Thou art!


This story fills me with love for my Savior. I challenge you to spread it! Tell people that nothing they have suffered even compares to what Jesus did for them; out of Love! We are so blessed!

Heavenly Father, I Magnify Thee.
Heavenly Father, I Magnify Thee.
I love Thee, adore Thee,
I bow down before Thee.
Heavenly Father, I Magnify Thee.