As we begin to approach the time of the year western civilization uses to celebrate Easter, my mind begins to meditate on the sacrifice of God’s one and only son. What exactly was accomplished with that sacrifice? Many modern day theologians assert that Jesus did nothing more than die a martyr’s death for the poor and the destitute. They argue that His death was more a political act than a spiritual one. When Christians use the phrase “Jesus died for you”, is that all that happened on the cross? Would folks understand that because of our sin he had to die? Jesus atoned for the sins of those who would believe. As believers we should greatly rejoice in His death. Without the death of the one perfect man Jesus Christ, humanity would have no hope of being reconciled to God, and man would receive his just reward in hell for his sin. In the coming weeks I want to write about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as we go into the Easter season. As I conclude this posting I will offer somewhat of a secular world view of the Jesus the Martyr. One of my favorite bands to come out of the Seattle grunge invasion is Soundgarden and below is a video of one of their songs “Jesus Christ Pose”. It’s a song about celebrities and their use of martyrdom symbolism to attract and make some sort of statement. Some of the images may offend. They use some abstract depictions of the cross.
“How Great I Art”, “To Me Be the Glory”, “Great Is My Faithfulness”, and “I Need Me Every Hour” could be the hymns of choice based on a 
often struggled with understanding the command for believers to lift up intercessory prayers for all the saints. Since God is sovereign, in control of all things, why would we need to pray on behalf of others? This has especially been at the forefront of my mind because my mother and Robin’s mother are both undergoing cancer treatments. We have been praying quite a bit for each of them lately. So why pray if God is sovereign?
we think about are resolutions for the new year. Some of the more popular resolutions are exercising and eating right, followed by a plethora of others. I think the common theme for most of them is starting a habit or a consistent activity that is better for us. I believe God not only has given us the knowledge that He exists and the knowledge to know right from wrong. But along this same line of thinking he has given us the knowledge to understand what is good for us and what is harmful. He has definitely given us this knowledge through His commands in His perfect scripture.
erienced the internal struggle the apostle Paul speaks of in Romans 7:15.
he world’s foremost outfitter. The drive wasn’t too awfully bad. It was only about 5 hours and I basically did it with only one stop for fuel and a sandwich.
ds from church. It was an evening that we looked forward to and the expectations were exceeded in my estimation. We all went to a nice out of the way family Mexican restaurant. The food was delicious and very filling. They serve great enchiladas that are available with an assortment of fillings, one of which is cottage cheese. I had the beef and cottage cheese because I like cottage cheese but I’ve never had it on an enchilada. It was very good, and I ate every bite of it. After dinner we went to the theater to see The Guardian movie with Kevin Costner and Ashton Kutcher. The film took the time to develop the main characters which seems to be missing from most of the latest movies being made. The movie was well enjoyed all around and the evening was a big hit.
consumed by evil perpetrating that evil on another human being. This week outside a Walmart in Putnam, Conn. two armed men attempted to rob folks waiting in line to purchase the newly released PlayStation 3 gaming system. In the attempt one man was shot because he refused to give up his money. Locally, last night (Friday) a man was shot and killed in North Omaha. Most of the world lives in fear that they will be the next victim in a evil terrorist attack.
Upon This Rawk 