WE TAUNT HIM, TOO

It's almost a week now. Since Jesus arose, well nearly 2000 years ago. But what a week it was! Beginning with Palm Sunday on His arrival via donkey colt to the masses singing His praises and calling Him King. Ending with His glorious resurrection!

But Good Friday, or God Friday, as I originally typed, but it applies as well. What do you think hurt our Lord and Savior the most on that day? The nails in the hands? the feet? the hanging there? the thorns piercing his head? the scourge prior to being placed on the cross? how about being spit on? or maybe the insults hurled at Him by the very people He came to save from eternal damnation?

After 2000 years, we can physically hurt Him no more. Did He feel the torture? Certainly. He was God, but also man. He could feel physical pain and mental torment. Don't forget his sweat was like drops of blood in Gethsemane. (Luke 22:44)

But we can and continue to cause Him pain today. By our taunting Him. Oh we don't mock Him calling Him King of the Jews in a sarcastically bitter tone. But we still taunt.

When we want to make our own god (a loving God wouldn't allow that, we say). Or when we place ourselves above God (why me, we question). Or when we place anything in our lives as having more priority (my family and friends are more important). Or when we have doubts (the world was created by the big bang).

And thousands or more thoughts or beliefs that our culture, our society, our natural sinful ways mis-guide us. We're human; we'll fail, you can count on it, but we must be attuned to the Holy Spirit who will lovingly tug at us, who'll nudge us back to ways that do not taunt our Lord and Savior.

He's already gone though enough pain for us. Let's spare Him any more.

HAPPY EASTER!!

Oh, you say I missed it? Nope. I'd never miss the best day of the year! Better than your birthday? Oh, yeah. Better than Christmas? Yessir. For on that Sunday morn, our Savior arose!!

And the world has never been the same. Proof. Proof that our Lord and God lives and reigns. And that He paid the price of our atonement for sin. While His birth, as magnificent as it was, certainly is something to celebrate, His resurrection, witnessed by hundreds is an historic event. Otherwise, all the leaders of His day, all those who put Him to death would have certainly denounced His resurrection. But they didn't.

Oh, in this day and age, there might have been spin put on the event. There might have been conjecture, traps, mis-spoken statements, down right lies, but come to think of it weren't there the same things back in Jesus' day? (Well, of course, every time, every generation is Jesus' time.) But the Truth came through.

And every Easter, we celebrate. As we should everyday. For He will reign forever and ever. And as scripture promises, we as heirs to the kingdom will live eternally with Him. All it takes is belief.

On our cruise ship, we celebrated both Palm Sunday and Easter. The Easter service crowd was very large in our non-denom or inter-denomination worship service. We filled up 2/3 of the main seating in the ship's theatre. It seems that many in the post-modern era can push aside most Sundays, but not Easter. It's just too important.

THE TWELVE TRIBES--THEY STILL EXIST

I'm one of those who sees people who remind me of others I know. Most of the time it's a physical similarity or two. Sometimes it doesn't take much as my wife can attest.

I've even seen statues that remind me of people I know. Once in awhile we agree on people who remind us of others. But usually CQ is the one to initiate the similarity and I agree most often. Not just to be amenable; I just really see the likenesses.

But when I state the obvious, CQ will likely respond in the negative. So what does it all mean? And what's this little bit of info doing on a Christian blog entry?

Well, one thing we both believe is that people today can still be traced to the twelve tribes of Israel. In other words, those from the tribe of Dan look a certain way and those Levites another distinguishable way. Don't ask us to draw up the stark idiosyncrasies; just believe us--they exist.

So when you get a glimpse of someone that reminds you of someone else, just remember this entry. I mean, we know we all sprung from one of the tribes a long time ago. Maybe we can trace our lineage to which one. That could start a whole new genealogical craze.

NO CUSSING WEEK--YOU GOTTA LOVE IT

The first week of March has been proclaimed No Cussing or Cursing Week in South Pasadena, CAL. I'm not sure what the difference between cussing and cursing is, but ever since Bill Clinton had trouble with "what the meaning of is, is," well, I guess it is time to watch one's words.

It seems that 14 year-old McKay Hatch started a club at his high school and currently has 50 members. There's also a No Cussing Club website. But when the proclamation was made official by the City Council, it made the national news scene.

And it's long overdue. Scripture tells us what comes out of our mouth reveals what's in our heart. So it is important what we say. And not just one week during the year. But it's one heckuva start!

The answer to the head scratcher from yesterday is nothing. It's perfect, too, that kindergartners got it. Something about having childlike faith and who belongs in the kingdom (Matt 19:14). But we adults seem to have to figure it out, make it harder than it is. It's all that simple. Believe, repent, obey. Well, the last one may not be simple.

A HEAD SCRATCHER

Making the rounds on the internet is the puzzling question answered correctly by 80 % of kindergartners and only 17% of Stanford grads. It goes like this:

What is greater than God, more evil than the devil, the poor have it, the rich need it, and if you eat it, you'll die?

After an hour or so, I got it. After an hour and a half at last night's Small Group, which includes an engineer, a Ph. D., and a psychologist, no one got it. Which certainly supports the Stanford alums. The kindergartners were, of course, represented statistically by me. Again, proving the study's validity.

And the answer is....

To be given in my next Christian blog entry.

THE GAG REFLEX

Every time I throw up, I think of how God provides. Now before you click off this blog, and/or think me blasphemous, allow me to finish.

Once when our granddaughter was ill with a stomach ache and had had to miss school because she was throwing up, her dad took the time to witness to her explaining how God created the gag reflex in our bodies that would allow the purge necessary for our feeling better. So when I have that malady, I think of our son's explanation. And I smile.

Far too many times, we allow a situation to pass without giving due diligence to the Creator. He deserves our praise for everything. He allows us to enjoy. He
watches over us in so many ways.

How many times have we grumbled about getting stopped by a red light, when God used that time to teach us patience. Or quite possibly to avoid a car wreck? Well, then if He didn't want us to have the wreck, do you mean He wanted someone else to have it? No, but He may have used that wreck because He couldn't get their attention any other way. Plus, free will works in there, too. How they all fit together is for another entry when maybe I'll have more answers than I do today.

But what I know is God provides. God loves us. God creates. When we praise Him, when we stop to minister to others, even by explanation, we are doubly blessed .