MY BLOG POSTS

I always get a laugh out of my Spam folder. It is filled with comments from folks who speak some language other than English trying to sell products that nobody wants. I’m pretty sure they write what they want and put it in one of those translation engines, then copy and paste it here. Along with their very long website.

So, today, I wanted to share with you some of the “spam-tastic” comments I have gotten. If you read them in a Yoda voice, it’s even more fun…

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• my partner and i take these products just about every whereby! it’s terrific on them, most desirable Mulberry Bags previously! love it!!!!
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• It’s appropriate time to make some plans for the future and it is time to be happy. I’ve read this post and if I
  could I wish to suggest you some interesting things or suggestions.
• I say to you, I certainly get annoyed while people consider worries that they just don’t know about. You managed to hit the nail upon the top and also defined out the whole thing without having side effect , people could take a signal. Will probably be back to get more. Thanks
• Magnificent web site. A lot of helpful info here. I am sending
  it to a few friends ans additionally sharing in delicious. And naturally, thank you for your sweat!

Christians need to know what is in the Bible. We need to be reading it, studying it, meditating on it. Not just at church on Sundays, but on our own every day.  “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Heb. 4:12)  Jesus used Scriptures to defend himself against Satan’s temptations in the desert. The apostles used it to demonstrate that Jesus fulfilled hundreds of prophecies concerning the Messiah.

We need to know God’s word because “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” (2 Tim. 3:16)

There are many wonderful Bible study aids out there, books that act as teachers and help you better understand what you are reading, what it means, and how it applies to your life. Below are some of the ones I have found most helpful. There are many other wonderful studies out there — please leave a comment and let me know of some of the ones you have tried! Find one that works for you, but find one! Dig in and really study this Living Word!

This books teaches you how to study the scriptures on your own – giving you the tools to pick up any book in the Bible and understand it.

There are many books in this series – Romans is pretty heavy, so if this is your first Bible study, you might want to start with a smaller book…Philippians is one of my favorites!

I used this one in preparation for writing Right Where I Belong :) She has several in this series. They are terrific!

These are best done in a group. Many churches have Beth Moore studies going year-round. She has many, and they are fabulous!

I have been part of Bible Study Fellowship where a whole school year is spent on just one book at a time. Phenomenal studies! And I am currently in the Amazing Collection where we are studying through the entire Bible in two years. I have loved that, too. It has forced me to get into books I haven’t read in years.

There are many great resources out there for students of the Word. So if you’re not currently studying God’s magnificent, inspired, life-changing Word – no more excuses!

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Tim. 3:15

Good Friday – the day Christians remember Christ’s work on the cross.

But what, exactly, is that cross? What does it mean? And is it really important?

I see the cross everywhere – in earrings, on necklaces, in children’s craft projects, even as decorations on flip flops and magnets on cars. None of that is bad, necessarily, but I fear that we are so accustomed to  seeing the cross that we have forgotten what it actually represents, what it means. It has become merely a symbol of our faith. But it is so much more than that.

On Good Friday, Jesus was led to his execution. He was sentenced to a death so horrendous that it was reserved only for non-citizens of the Roman Empire. Not even the worst Roman citizen would have to endure this. And he was sentenced for one reason:

Because he claimed to be God.

He wasn’t killed for being a good person, for being a wise teacher, for hanging out with tax collectors and prostitutes. He was killed because the Jewish leaders of his day found his claims to deity to be blasphemous. They did not believe he was the promised Messiah. And they understood – rightly – that that is exactly who he was saying he was.

But Jesus was the Messiah. He was God in the flesh, come to earth. He lived a sinless life, qualifying him to be the only one who could pay the penalty for our sins.

Sins separate us from God. But God loves us, and he doesn’t want us separated from him. And so he sent his son to die the death that we deserve so we can have eternal life with him.

And that is what Jesus did on the cross. He didn’t just suffer excruciating physical pain, he also bore on his body the sins of the world. I can’t even begin to comprehend that.

And he did that for us. Because he loved us so much.

Today is the day we remember that death, that price that our Savior paid for us – for all who believe on him.

So while cross necklaces and magnets and decorations are highly visible this time of year, I want to be careful that I’m not forgetting what it represents, the magnitude of the work done there. The cross is more than a symbol. Because Jesus chose to go to the cross, you and I  have the opportunity to choose Him, to choose eternity with Christ, to choose a life with Christ here on earth.

If you haven’t made that choice, yet, make it right now. Make this a truly Good Friday.

This week, Christians around the world are looking forward to Easter — Resurrection Sunday. We are talking about Jesus, watching films about Jesus, reading stories about Jesus.

Yet, many people don’t really know who Jesus is. Some say he was a good teacher, a kind man, maybe even a prophet. But those definitions fall short of who he was. In fact, CS Lewis says it best when he argues:

“A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic–on the level with a man who says he is a poached egg–or he would be the devil of hell. You must take your choice. Either this was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God.  But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.”

Jesus was crucified because He claimed to be God – a capital offense to the religious leaders of his day. Blasphemy. Except, of course, that Jesus wasn’t blaspheming. He was speaking Truth. In fact, one of the many statements that upset those religious leaders was when Jesus stated, “I am the way, the Truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)

This statement offended people two thousand years ago, and it offends people now. One way? Isn’t that narrow-minded? Arrogant? Unfair? And, sadly, too many Christians have backed away from this Truth, have watered down the reality of who Jesus is in an attempt to make him more “likeable” to the masses.

But Jesus doesn’t need to be made likeable. He doesn’t need us to make excuses for Him. He doesn’t need to be repackaged into some Dr. Phil that makes people feel better about themselves. Jesus doesn’t need our help.

We need His.

People can choose to believe anything they want about Jesus. God gives us that freedom. But that doesn’t change the reality of who Jesus is: God in the flesh. He came to earth, not to make people feel better, but to provide forgiveness for the sins that keep us separated from Him. He offers eternal life  to “whoever believes on Him.” (John 3:16) But he doesn’t force that belief on anyone. It is a gift. A free gift.

If you want to know more about Jesus, read the Gospel of John. Don’t read books about the Bible. Read the Bible. See what Jesus said, what He claimed, what He taught, how He lived and died. See Jesus for who He is – not a madman, not a fool, not a great human teacher, but God in the flesh. And wake up Sunday celebrating that reality, falling at His feet and calling Him Lord.