So, I know I have a habit of letting Music and Youtube videos do my talking for me...and I'm sure the majority of yall have seen/heard this story/song...But I like it, so I'll post it, tell me whatcha think.
The Revolution is on it's way...
How He Loves- John Mark McMillan
Verse 1:
He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realise just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.
Pre-Chorus:
And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us so
Chorus 1:
Yeah, He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
Yeah, He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.
Verse 2:
We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
A Second Look Pt. 2
"Jesus Wept" John 11:35
Now I know you're probably wondering what i'm getting at, and that's completely understandable, because when I first felt like this should be my next verse I was at a complete loss of ideas, but then I thought about what I find misleading about this verse...and the answer hit me.
Nothing.
There is nothing misleading about that verse...I also feel no emotional purpose to this verse. Which just isn't right; So I decided to look at it in context.
17On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18Bethany was less than two miles[a] from Jerusalem, 19and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21"Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."
23Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
24Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."
25Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
27"Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ,[b] the Son of God, who was to come into the world."
28And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. "The Teacher is here," she said, "and is asking for you." 29When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
32When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."
33When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34"Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied.
35Jesus wept.
36Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"
37But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?" -- John 11:17-37
So when Jesus wept he was thinking of his dear friend Lazarus, whose death he could have prevented had he been there. I do not believe that he was crying because he wasn't there to save Lazarus, he could have done that from anywhere. In my opinion, Jesus wept because he missed Lazarus, showing that he does in fact love us. Whether you believe it or not if the God of the Universe (that's right, the Universe) will cry because he misses a friend who lived on Earth, a mere human of his own creation, then he surely loves us the same.
--Jared
Now I know you're probably wondering what i'm getting at, and that's completely understandable, because when I first felt like this should be my next verse I was at a complete loss of ideas, but then I thought about what I find misleading about this verse...and the answer hit me.
Nothing.
There is nothing misleading about that verse...I also feel no emotional purpose to this verse. Which just isn't right; So I decided to look at it in context.
17On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18Bethany was less than two miles[a] from Jerusalem, 19and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
21"Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."
23Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
24Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."
25Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
27"Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ,[b] the Son of God, who was to come into the world."
28And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. "The Teacher is here," she said, "and is asking for you." 29When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him. 30Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.
32When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."
33When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34"Where have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied.
35Jesus wept.
36Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"
37But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?" -- John 11:17-37
So when Jesus wept he was thinking of his dear friend Lazarus, whose death he could have prevented had he been there. I do not believe that he was crying because he wasn't there to save Lazarus, he could have done that from anywhere. In my opinion, Jesus wept because he missed Lazarus, showing that he does in fact love us. Whether you believe it or not if the God of the Universe (that's right, the Universe) will cry because he misses a friend who lived on Earth, a mere human of his own creation, then he surely loves us the same.
--Jared
Thursday, September 4, 2008
A Filler.
Due to the late hour I am facing on a school night I do not have the time to make my next post but that will be done within the next two days. However I will post my favorite song's music video with lyrics...it's pretty inspiring in my opinion, tell me what ya think.
"Give me Your Eyes" -- Brandon Heath
Looked down from a broken sky, traced out by the city lights
My world from a mile high Best seat in the house tonight
Touched down on the cold black tile Hold on for the sudden stop
Breath in the familiar shock Of confusion and chaos
Are those people going somewhere?Why have I never cared?
Chorus:
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
The one's that are far beyond my reach
Give me your heart for the once forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see again again yeah yeah
Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide whats underneath
Theres a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
Too ashamed to tell his wife
Hes out of work Hes buying time
Are those people going somewhere? Why have I never cared?
Chorus
Ive Been there a million times
A couple of million eyes Just moving past me byI swear I never thought that I was wrong
Well I want a second glance So give me a second chance
To see the way you see the people all alone
Chorus (x2)
"Give me Your Eyes" -- Brandon Heath
Looked down from a broken sky, traced out by the city lights
My world from a mile high Best seat in the house tonight
Touched down on the cold black tile Hold on for the sudden stop
Breath in the familiar shock Of confusion and chaos
Are those people going somewhere?Why have I never cared?
Chorus:
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
The one's that are far beyond my reach
Give me your heart for the once forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see again again yeah yeah
Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide whats underneath
Theres a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
Too ashamed to tell his wife
Hes out of work Hes buying time
Are those people going somewhere? Why have I never cared?
Chorus
Ive Been there a million times
A couple of million eyes Just moving past me byI swear I never thought that I was wrong
Well I want a second glance So give me a second chance
To see the way you see the people all alone
Chorus (x2)
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
A Second Look. Part 1
"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
--Proverbs 27:17
This verse, while simple and common is one of my favorite verses, I wouldn't be surprised if you were to agree. However, since most all of us have heard it we tend to take it at face value and miss the deeper truth.
This post won't be too long because most of the verse can be taken at face value, but I believe that there is a little deeper point that is commonly overlooked.
First let's look at this first part, "As iron sharpens iron,"
"Iron was an innovation that had a powerful effect on every area of the ancient world. It’s strength and sharpness set it apart from all the metals at that time. With iron, a culture could make both effective daily tools to sustain their lives and superior war instruments to expand their influence" (http://newironmedia.com/tools-that-shape-culture-a-biblical-perspective)
According to this source, in the times that this passage was being written, iron was one of the STRONGEST and most EFFICIENT minerals at its job. I believe that the use of iron in the passage was not a coincidence. If you are going to sharpen another person to make their faith stronger then you yourself must be strong in your faith. If you are going to try and help a brother or sister grow in faith and you aren't strong then you may end up dulling or weakening them. So as iron must be strong you must also be STRONG and EFFICIENT.
then "one man sharpens another."
I was talking about it earlier, the main point of this verse is that we must help each other grow stronger and more confident in our faith. While the Word of God will indeed make us stronger we need the help of our peers...and who is your peers peers? You! We must help each other grow in our faith but we must also be strong to help others, it is a chain. Strong friend "A" will help you grow stronger so that you may help Friend "1" grow stronger that Friend "A" can't reach.
So that is week 1, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns don't be afraid to spill your thoughts =)
God Bless, Jared
--Proverbs 27:17
This verse, while simple and common is one of my favorite verses, I wouldn't be surprised if you were to agree. However, since most all of us have heard it we tend to take it at face value and miss the deeper truth.
This post won't be too long because most of the verse can be taken at face value, but I believe that there is a little deeper point that is commonly overlooked.
First let's look at this first part, "As iron sharpens iron,"
"Iron was an innovation that had a powerful effect on every area of the ancient world. It’s strength and sharpness set it apart from all the metals at that time. With iron, a culture could make both effective daily tools to sustain their lives and superior war instruments to expand their influence" (http://newironmedia.com/tools-that-shape-culture-a-biblical-perspective)
According to this source, in the times that this passage was being written, iron was one of the STRONGEST and most EFFICIENT minerals at its job. I believe that the use of iron in the passage was not a coincidence. If you are going to sharpen another person to make their faith stronger then you yourself must be strong in your faith. If you are going to try and help a brother or sister grow in faith and you aren't strong then you may end up dulling or weakening them. So as iron must be strong you must also be STRONG and EFFICIENT.
then "one man sharpens another."
I was talking about it earlier, the main point of this verse is that we must help each other grow stronger and more confident in our faith. While the Word of God will indeed make us stronger we need the help of our peers...and who is your peers peers? You! We must help each other grow in our faith but we must also be strong to help others, it is a chain. Strong friend "A" will help you grow stronger so that you may help Friend "1" grow stronger that Friend "A" can't reach.
So that is week 1, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns don't be afraid to spill your thoughts =)
God Bless, Jared
Monday, September 1, 2008
I'm Back; and "A Second Look"
Hey guys, sorry for my leave of absence over these last month, I've had a few distractions due to school and whatnot, but i'm back! and I've been struck with inspiration from a friend of mine's note on Facebook. He (whom I will keep unnamed) used the Facebook Application of Notes to put his thoughts of the well-known Bible verse Genesis 1:1 ("In the Beginning God created the Heavens and the earth.") because he believed that Christians, on a large scale, take for granted the verses that we have always been taught since Vacation Bible School.
When I read his note I began to think of his opinion....and how it totally made sense. I mean, sure I believe John 3:16 and that God did create the universe...but do I add as much importance to those truths as I should? For crying out loud, God created the UNIVERSE, not just a lego town, not just a AP English project, He created the entire UNIVERSE: me, you, them, the grass we walk on, the sky we stand under, the stars we gaze at, the Grand Canyon, the NIV, the NLT, the KJV, He created it all. Yet people shrug this fact off as a minor truth that has just always been accepted as a "yeah, and...?" kind of thing. We need to get a grip!
So that is my basis for this New Series of Blogs i'm going to post.
Tomorrow I will be starting "A Second Look" with John 3:16 and will continue on with the series through next Monday.
Until then, God Bless and don't be a stranger =)
Jared
When I read his note I began to think of his opinion....and how it totally made sense. I mean, sure I believe John 3:16 and that God did create the universe...but do I add as much importance to those truths as I should? For crying out loud, God created the UNIVERSE, not just a lego town, not just a AP English project, He created the entire UNIVERSE: me, you, them, the grass we walk on, the sky we stand under, the stars we gaze at, the Grand Canyon, the NIV, the NLT, the KJV, He created it all. Yet people shrug this fact off as a minor truth that has just always been accepted as a "yeah, and...?" kind of thing. We need to get a grip!
So that is my basis for this New Series of Blogs i'm going to post.
Tomorrow I will be starting "A Second Look" with John 3:16 and will continue on with the series through next Monday.
Until then, God Bless and don't be a stranger =)
Jared
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