A new album by Amy Grant was released today. Somewhere Down the Road contains a song that I first heard on KLOVE radio last week as part of a pre-release promotion titled Better Than a Hallelujah.
The picture included in this post will take you to a video on YouTube with this song and the associated lyrics.
Better Than a Hallelujah is my pick for Inspirational Song of the Week.
Enjoy!
Holy WeekThis week you’re likely to see a purple draped cross displayed outside many churches and often in the sanctuary. Frequently seen during Lent and the weeks preceding Easter Sunday, the purple drape has significance.
Along with blue, scarlet, and crimson, the color purple is used to describe hangings and fine materials. Long ago, the dye needed for this color was extracted from a particularly scarce family of shellfish which made it quite valuable. Purple, then, became a symbol of royalty and riches due to the scarcity of its dye.
During Jesus’ time there was one way a carpenter let the contractor know a job was finished. A signature, so to speak.
Imagine a hot afternoon in Galilee. Jesus has completed the final pieces of a job he has worked on for several days. The hair of his strong forearms is matted with sawdust and sweat. His face is shiny with heat. He takes a final – and welcome – drink of cool water from a leather bag.
Then, standing to the side of his work, he pours water over his face and chest, splashing it over his arms to clean himself before his journey home. With a nearby towel, he pats his face and arms dry.
Finally, Jesus folds the towel neatly in half, and then folds it in half again. He sets it on the finished work and walks away. Later, whoever arrives to inspect the work will see the towel and understand its simple message. The work is finished.
Christ’s disciples, of course, knew this carpenter’s tradition. On a Sunday of sorrow, three years after Jesus had set aside his carpenter tools, Peter will crouch to look into an empty tomb and see only the linens that the risen Lord has left behind.
A smile will cross Peter’s face as his sorrow is replaced by hope, for he will see the wrap that had covered Jesus’ face. It has been folded in half, then folded in half again and left neatly on the floor of the tomb. Peter understands. The carpenter has left behind a simple message with this cloth. It is finished. (This section is an excerpt from the book, The Carpenter’s Cloth, Sigmund Brouwer.)
As you reflect on your faith this week and what Jesus did over 2000 years ago, be reminded that the reason you can be free of the chains of sin is because Jesus finished what he came to earth to do on the cross.
“After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already been accomplished, to fulfill the Scripture, said, “I am thirsty.” A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine upon a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth. Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.” John 19:28-20
“It was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening approached, Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate was surprised to hear that he was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already died. When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave the body to Joseph. So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joseph, saw where he was laid.“ Mark 15:42-47
“Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus’ head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.“ John 20:1-8
Other Posts Related to Easter and Holy Week
I came across this today and thought it was pretty cool. Thought that many of you’d be interested, especially if you’re on Twitter.
Here is the source of the data.
What are you trying to give up during Lent?
This morning I added a new set of scriptures to the listing on the Scriptures page of the website – Scriptures of Encouragement.
Below are just a few of the more than 35 verses that are on the list.
The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. Luke 18:27
Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9
God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. Psalm 46:1
The Bible is full of God’s promises. Read about some of them…. and be encouraged!
Many of us enjoy watching what happens on the basketball court during March Madness, the annual NCAA basketball tournament. This year’s tournament, that started on Thursday, has seen several favored teams lose in either the first or second rounds.
Some of you may know that a big upset occurred this past weekend as the 9th seeded Northern Iowa Panthers beat the number 1 seeded Jayhawks of Kansas in a thriller, 69-67. Many sportscasters had Kansas as the favorite to win the overall tournament. President Obama picked Kansas to win as well. However, the young men of Northern Iowa pulled off a big upset.
Today, during an interview of Northern Iowa’s coach, Ben Jacobson, the coach made it a point to say that it’s in the preparation for the game that the game is really won. He made this point three times. He told the folks on CBS who conducted the interview that it’s the practice that prepares his players to be able to play the kind of games that they play. I think most any coach would say the same thing about the importance of the preparation period.
It’s also in the preparation times of our faith that help us to be able to handle the tough times, the trials, of our lives. When I was diagnosed with prostate cancer over three years ago, I wrote an article for the local paper about how my faith was a anchor in this health storm of my life. My faith was able to be an anchor during this storm because it prepared me to cope with the adversity that cancer can bring to one’s life.
My “preparation” was hours of quiet time with God. It was hours spent reading the Bible. It was hundreds of Bible study sessions with my small group of men. It was hundreds of thoughts thinking about God and his nature and his truths. It was hours spent in church listening to pastors teach the Word of God. These things along with many others prepared me to get through my trial.
It’s in these same ways, and many others, in which we all are better prepared to live the game of life that we all find ourselves in. And life certainly can offer many trials, but it’s in the trials of life that we have an opportunity to grow and become better people. It’s in the trials of life that we have an opportunity to grow closer to God.
The more prepared we are for our trials, through living out and practicing a strong faith, the better able we’ll be to handle those trials, just as Northern Iowa was better able to play, and win, their game with Kansas on the basketball court.
What was the last big trial in your life that your faith prepared you to endure?
What aspect of your faith helped prepare you the most for this trial?
The Lord is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes. He is close to those who trust in him. Nahum 1:7
I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. Jesus in John 16:33
These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. 1 Peter 1:7
Web Page - Stress, Health and Faith – Understanding the Connection
Over the past few days I’ve been reflecting on how I might simplify the message I’ve been writing and speaking about. My thought has been that the more concise I can articulate this message, the easier it will be to explain to others and for them to understand. With that in mind, I thought I’d share this condensed version with you.
As I’ve pulled this together, all my senses have been engaged. I’ve been sipping on a few cups of great tasting coffee, listening to the trickling of the water in our small fountain, hearing the birds chirp, listening to a playlist of soft, instrumental Christian music on iTunes, feeling the warm spring air as it breezes through an open window, and seeing the bright sun shine on the trees and flowers in the back yard. It’s been quite an inspiring morning and early afternoon!
This is, I believe, the essence of the faith and health connection:
I want Jesus to be at the center of everything I do…. to be my source of strength that gets me through life.
Through him I have the the confidence, the hope of eternal life…. not only after I die but to experience a full life while I live now, day-to-day.
Listen to this song, Be My Centre, to be reminded of what Jesus wants to be in your life.
The folks at OnlineChristianColleges.net have put together a listing of 100 Twitter accounts that send out near-daily tweets of inspiration for believers. You might find a few you’d like.
Enjoy!
100 Twitter Feeds for Daily Inspiration
It’s taken a little longer than I had hoped but I’ve finished recording the first of several sets of affirmations that is now available for download.
This first set is a compilation of 25 scriptures that promote health and well-being. Each scripture has been personalized, using the pronoun I. The affirmations are spoken twice followed by a pause to allow you to repeat the affirmation. The MP3 files have been recorded in both male and female voices. You’ll hear my voice on the male version and my wife’s voice on the female version. This first set is seven minutes in length.
Listen to a few sample affirmations .
Visit the Products page to download the set of 25. The cost is 99 cents.
Read this earlier post about the value of affirmations and the technique of personalizing scripture to make them.
Deep-Rooted in Christ. The Way of Transformation, published by InterVarsity Press, is the first book I’ve read by Joshua Choonmin Kang. I don’t imagine it will be my last.
Throughout the book, Kang uses the metaphor of our spiritual lives being like the life of a tree. As healthy trees and other thriving living plants require nourishment and the right kind of conditions, so our lives require the best possible spiritual conditions and disciplines to be in place if we are to be able to live the abundant life that God desires us to have. Kang skillfully writes about such conditions and practices.
Here are two passages taken from the book:
“Our spirits are living; they need care, attention and cultivation. Then they’ll bring forth healthier, more gracious results.”
“How do our souls grow? Our souls thrive on silence. When does our spirituality build a deeper root system? When we make space for silence; in the quiet they revel and grow.“
The book is broken into 52 short readings of three to four pages. The combination of Kang’s simple writing style and the profound truths about which he writes makes this book a very easy read. It would probably be best read one section at a time with additional time spent meditating on the scriptures that are referenced and on the truths found in the section. I, however, found his material so easy to read and so interesting and relevant to my vocation that I read the book in four sittings. Surely I’ll be rereading the book again at a much slower pace very soon.
And as I finished the book I found myself saying, “If I could implement what he (Kang) has written about, my life would be more fruitful and I’d be so much more effective as a disciple for Christ.”
Kang’s target audience is those in ministry. He writes about his insights of biblical truths that will help people grow in their faith and that will subsequently help them be more effective in ministering to others.
Deep-Rooted in Christ is a valuable read. For that reason, I’ve suggested it be on the recommended reading list for prospective life coaches who are enrolled in the Christian life coach training and certification program at Christian Coach Institute. As well, churches might want to consider using it as a book study for their lay ministers.
Learn how to become a certified life coach. Read all about Christian Life Coach training at Christian Coach Institute.
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