Bible Trivia Results Week 2

The final Bible Trivia results are:

1st- Andrew
2nd- Courtney
3rd- Bethany
4th- Jenna
5th- Ryan

You guys all got the correct answers. Great job! Andrew, if you would please send me your address and your choice of dog tag by posting another comment, that would be great. I will not publish it. Thanks for playing.

I have decided to expand this out a bit. Instead of creating a question every week, I have decided to make a question once a month. Hopefully, that would give everybody a chance to play. I may even extend the answering time to a week. Who knows? If you guys (girls) have any ideas, just drop them by.

Bible Trivia Question #2

This week's Bible Trivia Question is:

Who/What turned Solomon's heart away from God?


After answering the first question, the first question's answer leads to the second question.


How many did he have?



Hint: Answer is found in one of the OT historical books. You may use your Bible for this question.

I have come up with one new Bible Trivia rule. You may change your answer(s), but it may deduct your ranking. Say for example, Jimmy got the correct answer(s) on the first try. Bob, on the other hand, changed his answer(s) three times, but still got the correct answer(s). Jimmy will get a higher ranking than Bob. A change of answer(s) means another posted comment. You may change your answer(s) as many times as you like when you have not posted a comment. I am talking about a deduction from multiple comments. So, be extra careful. If you have any questions, please post a comment.

You must answer both questions to win the Bible Trivia Challenge. Have fun and I will post part three hopefully on Friday.

The Cross of Christ Pt. 5 - What Christ has Done for Me Pt. 2

Continuation of Part 1.... I tried to hide from the brilliant light, but it was too bright. A voice said, "Come." All of my chains fell to the ground, except my handcuffs. At that time, this unknown person led me straight to some other room with a gigantic video screen. "My name is Micah," he said. "Please sit down and try to make yourself at home." I was stunned. He led me here. Why? "We are going to watch two separate videos," said Micah. "One of your life and one of another man's life." I wanted to sprint out of there as fast as I could, but I was still handcuffed. What could I do? I thought. This man is a nut. Watch a video of my life. Yeah, like that would ever happen. "If you have any questions, just ask them," said Micah. The video began. First, I was extremely defiant of this being real, but I actually saw my life unfold before my very eyes.

Each scene characterized a past sin that I had committed. I began to feel the guilt well up within my soul. A lie, a hateful word, a lustful thought, a pride-filled action, a crude joke, a slanderous comment ; whatever it was... it brought back horrific memories. I was stunned and astounded that this guy had videotaped my life. My every word, thought, and action was brought to fruition. I could not even speak at all. "Any questions," asked Micah once the videotape ended. I shook my head in disgust and embarrassment, not wanting to speak at all. "Alright then, we will move on," Micah said. He started the second video. This video left me speechless and amazed.

The video began with a newborn baby lying in a manger. "Who is this baby." I asked. "You will find out." replied Micah. The baby was brought three gifts from wise men that are only fit for a king. "This baby is no more than a peasant boy and he is given kingly gifts from kings," I said. "That is not right." Micah did not answer. The video rolled on with the baby growing up into a fine young man filled with the Holy Spirit. Throughout this video, I was trying to catch this young man fall into a trap at least once. He never did. Instead, he grew up into an incredible man full of wisdom and stature always looking out for the needs of others. Wow, this is incredible. I thought. I would never be able to do that. As a man, he was tempted by the enemy, ridiculed by the Pharisees, hated by the Sadducees, loved by many, but he never fell into any trap of sin at all. He loved one thing and only one thing and that was his Father. He never wanted to disappoint Him.

Then, his earthly ministry was coming to a close. I had no idea what was in store for me at this point. "Who is this man?" I asked. "Haven't you already guessed, it is Jesus Christ." Micah replied. "Ohhhhhhhhhh, never thought of that. Thanks for the tip." I pushed the seat back and yawned, but something caught my eye about this Jesus. He was mellow for a human, but authoritative as a preacher. He always had his best interests out for the lesser people of the world rather than the high tech Pharisee dudes. Amazing. It came time for his betrayal. "What?" I yelled. "This guy is falling straight into the hands of the Jerusalem police." "He needs to run." Instead, he was arrested right on the spot after his betrayer kissed him. "Wow, I don't believe this guy," I said. "I am fully confused." Right then, I was thrust straight into the video screen. End of Part 2

The Cross of Christ Pt. 5 - What Christ has Done for Me Pt. 1

Ephesians 2:1-3, "And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience--- among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind."

God gave me this word picture a couple weeks ago and I will try my best to explain it.

Each and every person is born bound to the chains of sin. Since all have sinned, we have no way of escaping the death sentence of eternity in hell forever. We are dead in the trespasses of our sin and our ultimate desire is to carry out the lusts of the flesh.

The word picture began with myself bound in chains from head to toe. I had no way of escaping this prison. I was in the deepest, uttermost part of the dungeon awaiting my death sentence. I had done some terrible things. Lied to my parents and teachers, slandered my siblings, cared for the passions of the flesh more than anything else, loved the delights of impure desires, dwelt in the depths of fear, desired the puffed up ME, and dealt with other horrific passions; all characterized my life. I did not desire God. I did not want to please Him at all. Who cares about God? I was all alone, not even caring what laid ahead of me. Lonely without hope.

I tried to wriggle out of these chains a billion times, but they held me like a death grip. How will I ever be free? I thought. Then, I saw a little glimmer of light. Wow, that gave me hope. I started thinking of a way to get out of my hopeless situation. I did not know how to do it. The glimmer of light grew bigger. Then, I thought it is impossible for me to do it on my own. I need help. Right then, the door opened. End Part 1

I will finish Part 2 tomorrow.

Apology of Fight FOCA

Daniel, Elliot, and my Father....... I owe you three my thankfulness for helping me see something that I did not see. Fight FOCA is a petition that is fighting against the Freedom of Choice Act. I am against FOCA and I was mislead by my own confusion and my own sinfulness. The site is in opposition of FOCA and it is fighting for the rights that I would like to keep in this country. I am terribly sorry for misleading you guys and I pray that you guys (girls) can all forgive me. I don't know what I can do now. Thank you Daniel, Elliot, and my Father for helping me see that. I am sorry. :(

Final Results

Drum roll everybody, the correct answer is .................................................. D. Here are the final results.

1st- Rachel M.
2nd- Jenna
3rd- Courtney
4th- Anonymous
5th- Bethany
6th- Becca
7th- Josh
8th- J.J.
9th- Ryan

Thanks for playing. Next week, we will have an actual question.

Jenna, can I please get your address. Send a comment to me with your choice of dog tag. I will not publish it.

I will be posting Part 5 of my series tomorrow evening. Until next time, Soli Deo Gloria

1st Bible Trivia Game Ends

I will gather up the results and post them a bit later. Once I posted the hint, you all did fairly well. Great job to everybody on the 1st Bible Trivia game of this blog. Since we know who the first place champion is, the second place winner will also get a prize. Thank you to everybody who participated. Soli Deo Gloria!

Hint on Bible Trivia Question

Maybe I do have to give hints on the multiple choice questions of Bible Trivia. I was thinking of doing them, but then I thought that it would be too easy. Nobody has guessed the correct answer except for one person and that is my sister. I had to give her the hint. I will do the same here:

Multiple chapters; no more than three. 2 in the NT. 1 in the OT.

Hope that helps. Since my sister got first place, the person, who gets second place, will get the prize as well. Soli Deo Gloria!

Bible Trivia Prizes

These are the prizes for the Bible Trivia contest. The 1st place champion will get to choose one of the three dog tags. The front of the first dog tag picture is Joshua 1:9 with an American flag on it, the back of that same dog tag has the prayer of salvation on it. The next two pictures are the pictures from the second dog tag. The front of the second dog tag has a phrase that says, "Conquer the Fear," while the back contains the verse Joshua 1:9. The third dog tag contains the verse Luke 1:37, "For nothing is impossible with God," while the back has the prayer of salvation on it. These are the prizes for the person, who wins the Bible Trivia contest every week. I have about 75 of them- 25 each, so we may end up doing this for some time.

Bible Trivia Question

I posted the rules to Bible Trivia in the post below. Here is the first question:

In what chapter(s) of the Bible is this saying found: "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me."

A. Matthew 27
B. Matthew 27, Mark 15, Isaiah 53.
C. Luke 23, Matthew 27, Psalm 22.
D. Psalm 22, Matthew 27, Mark 15.
E. Isaiah 53, Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, John 19.


No Hints on Multiple Choice Questions. There will be a hint on the other question.

Bible Trivia Rules

I am going to try something new and interesting. Every Wednesday, I am thinking of posting a question or a multiple choice question of something in the Bible. I will switch the questions every week though, like one week, I will have a multiple choice question, and the next week, I will have a question that demands an answer. The questions may be tough or easy. The toughness of the questions will probably depend on a variety of different factors, but that should not concern any of my followers. Here are the rules for the game:

1. If you know the answer or think you know the answer, post a comment. I will hold all comments until a specific cut off point. That specific cut off point will be 7:00 P.M. Pacific Time on Friday. I will give a grace period of about an hour for those people, who don't know when it is 7 PT. Friends on the east coast, it is three hours behind you. Central time - 2 hours behind. Mountain time - an hour behind. Hawaiian time - two hours ahead. Alaskan time - 1 hour ahead. Friends from other countries- sorry, I can't help. Do you all get the idea though?

2. I will announce the winner on Saturday. They will receive some sort of prize. I will take a picture of the prize and post it on my site tomorrow.

3. To win, you need to comment the answer, as soon as possible, under the post of the Bible Trivia Question. I will give a 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and so on winner; so that no one feels left out. However, the 1st place champion will get the prize. We will see how this goes for a few weeks. If it gets too out of line, I will shut the competition done. Enjoy and have fun playing Bible Trivia.

I will post the next part of my series on the Cross of Christ in a couple days. Soli Deo Gloria!!!!

The Cross of Christ Pt. 4 - The Savior's Desolate Cry

I have been asking God how I should write this post because we have come to the climax of Jesus' main reason for coming to this planet...to bear the sins of those who despise Him. We have all despised Him. Been disobedient to our parents, lied to our parents, cheated on a test or quiz, had a temper tantrum, and/or been angry with someone; we all have done those types of things. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). That, in itself, makes us enemies of God. I will share with you what God has put on my heart.

Jesus, hanging suspended on the cross, is watching and waiting for God's ultimate wrath to be poured out on Him. At about noon, the sky begins to darken. It is a solar eclipse, but a supernatural act of God, (solar eclipses can only occur during a new moon. It is a full moon, because it is Passover). The doors of heaven are closed shut and God the Father is about to turn His back on His very own Son. Jesus is about to be treated like He was the worst sinner of all time. At this time, Jesus looks towards heaven and, all at once, God's full, righteous, and furious wrath comes crashing down upon Him. He is being treated like He committed the most heinous form of adultery, like He committed the most brutal murder, like He said the most slanderous comment, like He said the most hurtful lie, and on and on and on...it goes. Do you get the picture?

The one, who knew no sin, became sin for Us. He drank every last drop of God's wrath for our salvation, so that we might KNOW HIM. He cries in agony, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" He is doing it all alone. Have you ever felt alone? Nobody is coming to your aid. You don't have any friends to talk to. Don't forget that you have God. During this time, Jesus did not even have the Father. He was bearing our sin ALL BY HIMSELF. C.J. Mahaney provocatively says it in His book The Cross Centered Life, "Before being nailed to the cross, Jesus already knew what it meant to be forsaken; He had become intimately acquainted with being rejected or abandoned by men. Yet whenever it happened, He could always say, 'Though forsaken by men, I am not alone, for My Father is always with Me.' But not now. He who for all eternity has never been alone is now wholly abandoned." 1 Why? Because God is holy and just. He hates sin. Seeing the monstrous appearance of His Son is an impossibility for the Father. That is why the Father turned His back on His own Son. During the most lonesome part of His life, Jesus does not just feel forsaken; He was forsaken. We will begin to look at the most important words that Jesus cried out.

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me." What does that cry sound like to you? Happy, sad, desolate, forsaken, joyful, beautiful. To me, it sounds like a scream of utter distress and anguish over something so beautiful. This cry is one of the most despairing cries in all of Scripture. IT BREAKS MY HEART. You want to know why. Jesus cried this cry so that we may never be forsaken by God. I will say that once again. Jesus cried this cry so that we may never be forsaken by God. Hold that thought. Stop whatever you are doing and reflect on that thought for a moment. Jesus was forsaken by God, so that we may never be forsaken by Him ever. We are His. Nobody or nothing can pluck me out of His hand. I will never be forsaken by Him. Wow, that just boggles my mind. I cannot even fathom His incredible love for me, but I believe it with all my heart. I am accepted, because HE WAS FORSAKEN.

Philippians 2:5-11, "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Amen, So be it!

1 - C.J. Mahaney's: The Cross Centered Life Pg. 93

The Cross of Christ Pt. 3 - Christ's Physical Suffering Pt. 2

Last time, we finished off with the crown of thorns being jammed upon Christ's head. Now, we will finish the final half of Christ's physical suffering.

Part 2 - A continuation of Part 1.

Once the crown of thorns is placed upon Jesus' head, blood is starting to ooze from his brow as the thorns smash into his skull. Jesus feels the pain and screams in agony again. He can't take it anymore. The brutal flogging, the tearing off His cloak after His flogging, and the crown of thorns is too much for our Savior. The soldiers begin mocking Him in front of the many people willing to watch the agony of Jesus. The Son of God, enduring immense physical pain, watches the cheers, jeers, and cackles of the many onlookers, who are cheering for more. "Spit on Him 5 times," says an onlooker. Another citizen watching jeers, "Beat his head out of its skull." Jesus is humiliated, but he never retaliates. Isaiah 53:7 says, "like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth." He was silent. He endured the mockery in complete silence...never sinning once. Absolutely astounding. Something we could never do without God's grace upon our lives. I am thankful that He has poured out His grace upon my life. Praise Him!!! Continuing in Matthew 27:31, "And when they had mocked Him, they stripped Him of the robe and put His own clothes on Him and led Him away to crucify Him." Once again, the word stripped comes into play. The healed veins, arteries, and tissue are ripped open again. Jesus screams in pain. Blood comes pouring out in immense volumes until the soldiers place Jesus' own clothes back on Him. Once that happens, the soldiers lead Jesus on towards Calvary.

The Crucifixion

Our battered, bruised, and helpless Savior is forced to carry His own cross. The weight of the cross (around 30-40 pounds) is placing too much strain on our Savior. After his severe scourging and great loss of blood, Jesus can barely hold anything and, eventually, stumbles to the ground. The soldiers are irritated by the slow progress so they compel a man, by the name of Simon of Cyrene, to carry Jesus' cross for Him. Simon of Cyrene accepts and the death march continues to Golgotha. Finally, we are at Golgotha, known as the Place of the Skull. Jesus is thrust on the cross by the soldiers. One soldier begins nailing the first nail into Jesus' right wrist. Pound. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! Jesus screams in absolute agony. Pound. AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! Jesus screams again. Another soldier begins nailing the left wrist. Pound. Jesus screams. The third soldier nails a nail between both ankle bones. Pound. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! Once all the nails are set in place, the cross is lifted.

Death, by crucifixion, is usually suffocation. The victim would have extreme difficulty breathing, which could only be alleviated by pushing up with one's feet to take the weight off the arms. This one motion would cause severe pain in the feet, arms, legs, and back, causing the exhausted victim to slump down once again. Then, the process begins again until the victim eventually succumbs to suffocation. At this time though, Jesus has two enemies. The cross and our sin. One of them is far greater than the other. We will look at the far greater part next time. However, Christ labors as he tries to breath. Every breath that our Savior takes is a struggle, but he continues on through the toils of the crucifixion and our sin until he finally, breaths His last and yields His spirit. My main question now is: How did Jesus die? Did he die the natural crucifixion death by suffocation? Or, did he die from some other cause of death? Half of the answer is found when the centurion pierces Jesus side with his spear. Blood and water come flowing forth like a fountain from His side. When water is in the bloodstream, you have a problem. The heart was filled with fluid. That is why water came out with blood. The second half of the answer is found when Jesus started sweating great drops of blood in the garden. He was in extreme anguish that one of his capillaries burst, mixing sweat with blood. When any person is under this type of anguish, the heart is racing at abnormal levels. Some of that sweat dripped down into the bloodstream and started filling up Jesus' heart. You also see that some of his arteries and veins burst when he was flogged; filling the heart with more fluid. You add our sin on top of that and you end up with heart failure. Jesus died of a broken heart. I will close with this Sovereign Grace Hymn:

The Precious Blood

---

Words and music by Peter Gagnon
As recorded on Valley of Vision

Before the cross I kneel and see
The measure of my sin
How You became a curse for me
Though You were innocent
The magnitude of Your great love
Was shown in full degree
When righteous blood, the crimson spill
Rained down from Calvary

Oh, the precious blood
That flowed from Mercy’s side
Washed away my sin
When Christ my Savior died
Oh, the precious blood
Of Christ the crucified
It speaks for me before Your throne
Where I stand justified

And who am I that I should know
This treasure of such worth
My Savior’s pure atoning blood
Shed for the wrath I’d earned
For sin has stained my every deed
My every word and thought
What wondrous love that makes me one
Your priceless blood has bought

A crown of thorns, pierced hands and feet
A body bruised, and Mercy’s plea

© 2005 Sovereign Grace Worship (ASCAP).

The Cross of Christ Pt. 3 - Christ's Physical Suffering Pt. 1

Matthew 27:26-31, "Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered Him to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before Him. And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in His right hand. And kneeling before Him, they mocked Him, saying, 'Hail, King of the Jews!' And they spit on Him and took the reed and struck Him on the head. And when they had mocked Him, they stripped Him of the robe and put His own clothes on Him and led Him away to crucify Him."

We are going to be spending the majority of our time looking at these verses, but first, I want to start with the physical aspects of the garden. Remember, in Part 1, when I talked about hematidrosis. Hematidrosis is a rare physical condition, where extreme anguish or physical strain causes one's capillary blood vessels to enlarge and then, finally, burst, mixing sweat with blood. Jesus, under great emotional strain at that time, contracted this condition due to his anguish of foreseeing the Father's cup of wrath. His intense anguish led to this condition, which will also come to play in the final chapters of Jesus' crucifixion. Hematidrosis can be fatal when not treated.

Now, we are led into the following verses above, which lead us to the end of Jesus' trial with Pilate and the beginning of Jesus' scourging.

Traditional Roman flogging, known as scourging, was, by far, the worst form of cruel and unusual punishment at the time of Jesus. Victims were tied to a post and beaten with a leather whip. This was not just any handy dandy leather whip. This whip was interwoven with pieces of bone, pottery, metal, and any other hard device that would lacerate (tear) the flesh. The Roman soldiers, who were used to flog victims, were the strongest men in the empire. Now, you have a strong man hurling down his nasty whip upon our Savior. Can you see the word picture? Whip! Jesus screams in pain. Whip! Again Jesus screams in agony. Whip! Jesus cries out in absolute terrible pain. Over and over again - forty times. Jewish law commands 39, but Jesus was not even spared 39. At the end of the scourging, Jesus' back is lacerated, literally, in shreds of flesh and tissue. His bones are exposed and many of his organs, as well.

After the flogging, they put Jesus' own clothes back on Him. Since Jesus' back is torn to shreds and tissue is exposed, Jesus' clothes act like a bandage. The blood and tissue clots extremely fast when something is up against it. In this case, Jesus' clothes help the blood and tissue to clot quickly. This leads to verse 28, "and they stripped Him." That is bad news. They strip Jesus' clothes off of Him. Have you ever had a parent or some older person rip a bandage off of you and you were dreading the fact of having it torn off? This is exactly what happened to Jesus, but it was a bit bigger of a bandage. Jesus yelps in pain. The veins and arteries, that were once healed, have reopened to spill more blood. Jesus is losing blood at an irregular pace and death is fast approaching until the soldiers place a scarlet robe on Him. Jesus is relieved. Once again, this time, the scarlet robe is acting as a bandage. The veins, arteries, tissue, and pieces of hanging flesh are healing up once again. The soldiers start twisting together a crown of thorns. These thorns are not small rosebush thorns, but gigantic thorns that came off of a Jerusalem plant that grew along the outskirts of town. This crown of thorns was carefully twisted together and jammed onto Jesus' head with a Roman soldier's full strength. End of Part 1

No Horrific Content in Video

If you are concerned about the content of Christ's horrific sufferings being on the video, you do not need to be because there is none. See comment under the video post. It may help. I know that the majority of my followers have little brothers and sisters running around and may come up to watch the video. My main concern is that you do not need to be concerned and my comment under the video post may help. I hope you enjoy it and have a great rest of the day. Soli Deo Gloria!

Resolved Conference 2008 Trailer - Apple QuickTime Video

This is an excellent video. It is the Resolved Conference 2008 Trailer and it goes along with what we have been talking about lately. Enjoy and I will post Part 3 of the series tonight.

The Cross of Christ Pt.2 - Christ's Betrayal and Trial

The subject of Christ's betrayal and trial is a rather significant subject leading up to the crucifixion. Significant, in the fact of Jesus' response during his trial(s), and significant, in his endurance through every circumstance and detail leading up to the most horrific sight in human history. We will start with Christ's Betrayal.

The Betrayal of Christ

Beginning in the final scenes of the garden, Christ finishes praying and walks over to check on His disciples. Wait, we cannot forget a crucial part of what happened in the garden. Jesus, after seeing the cup of wrath prepared for Him, is deeply distressed and can barely stand up off of the ground. Remember the words from Luke in Chapter 22:43, "And there appeared to Him an angel from heaven, strengthening Him." These words come into play at this very moment. The Father gave Jesus enough strength to get up on his feet to walk over to His disciples because OF HIS OBEDIENCE. Jesus' submission to the Father gives Him an amazing display of strength that only the Father could have provided, which is why our obedience to God is key to knowing God's will for our lives. He will sustain us and give us strength like he did for His Son. However, Matthew 24:45-46 clearly portrays Jesus' restored strength, "Then he came to the disciples and said to them, 'Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see my betrayer is at hand.'" He regained His authority in God's perfect timing to be ready for his betrayal. See how God works in marvelous and mysterious ways! Wow, that is incredibly fascinating.

At this point in time, one of the twelve, Judas Iscariot, comes into the picture. This is one of the most sorrowful sights in all of Scripture. Judas Iscariot walked with Jesus for three years, heard his teachings, and still decided for his own selfish gain of claiming thirty pieces of silver to betray the holy and righteous Son of God. He learns better, in the end, by finally realizing he betrayed innocent blood. By that time though, sadly, it was too late. It just gives us a picture of how we should live our lives by applying the Scriptural principles that we learn rather than tossing them in the garbage and living the Christian life deceivingly. Anyways, Judas kissed (betrayed) Jesus and the Roman soldiers arrested Jesus without a fight. The important aspects of the betrayal reveal the true heart of Judas Iscariot and the amazing strength of Jesus.

The Trial(s)

Once betrayed, Jesus is led before the Council of the Sanhedrin. The interesting fact about this trial is the Sanhedrin is only supposed to meet in the daytime. They are meeting at nighttime to sentence Jesus to death before the community wakes up. Very deceiving task. However, they bring the witnesses out there and start falsely accusing Him. Jesus makes no rebuttal. (Isaiah 53:7). He is not answering to anything because he knows the Father's plan. That is strength. The endurance of strength, when falsely accused, is clearly portrayed throughout our Savior's being. He knew that this was His appointed time. The Father's wrath is fast approaching, but Jesus remains silent. Why silent? Hebrews 12:1-3, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, WHO FOR THE JOY SET BEFORE HIM endured the cross, despising the shame, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Amen, everybody. So be it!

God's Creation

After I locked up my chickens for the night, I looked out and I saw a very beautiful sight. It looked as if God had painted the mountains to the east a purplish color, surrounded by a pink sky. I was in awe of God's creation and stunned by the beauty of that one sight. I have seen other beautiful sights, but this sight looked totally different-- not a sunset-- a different sight. God painted a pink sky that was reflecting off the purplish colored mountains. So beautiful. Sorry, I forget to take a picture. I will take a picture of another beautiful sight and post it on my blog some other time. At that time though, I felt God's presence and was awed by such magnificent beauty. I am continuously amazed at God's majestic creation and am thankful that he created it for us to enjoy. How miraculous and amazing!

On another note, I will be posting the second part of my MiniBlog series on the Cross of Christ either tomorrow or Saturday. It just depends on my schedule. Alrighty then, 'til next time, Soli Deo Gloria!

The Cross of Christ Pt. 1 - Christ's Agony in the Garden

Luke 22:39-46 says, "And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. And when he came to the place, he said to them, 'Pray that you may not enter into temptation.' And he withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, 'Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.' And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, and he said to them, 'Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.'"

Everytime I read this passage, I get goosebumps and start trembling. I think I know why though. One reason this passage always gets to me is Jesus' complete obedience to the Father. Jesus, at the most stressful time of his life, foresees the cup of wrath that he is about to endure for our sins and repeatedly asks the Father to remove the cup from him. Jesus then repeatedly adds, not my will, but yours be done. Complete total obedience. He realizes that his Father has a plan, even though it is not the plan that he wants to experience.
At this time, Jesus, in extreme agony, is staring down the Father's cup of wrath and he staggers to the ground. Isaiah 51:17 shows us that the cup of God's wrath is the cup of staggering to those who drink from it. No wonder Jesus stumbles to the ground in deep distress. This cup of wrath is a detestable drink and those who look into it stagger to the ground. He also begins sweating great drops of blood-- a condition known as hematidrosis. We will talk more about hematidrosis in the physical aspect of Christ's suffering, but now, we see the Lamb of God continuing to pray the same prayer to His Father. Silence. Please remove this cup from me.

Here comes the second, last, and main reason of why this passage gets to me:

Jesus saw Hell opened up to Him rather than Heaven. Jesus' only thought at this time is the complete agony of being abandoned by His Father. He had perfect communion with the Father for all of eternity past and then this. In absolute terror, he continues to ask God to remove the cup from Him. Jesus had every right to throw the cup right back in our faces shouting: "This is your cup. You drink it. I am not responsible for this. It is your problem. You deal with it." But instead, with a shaking whisper, he says, "Not my will Lord, but yours be done." He comes to us, mucked up in our own sinfulness and utter helplessness, reaching out his hand to pull us out from the mires of sin. Amazing! Worthy is the Lamb and praise Him for everything that he has done for us. I will close with this:

Listen to this verse again for the very first time: For God so loved the world...that He is silent to His Son's agonizing appeal.
This is what bearing our sin means to Him-- utter distress of soul as He confronts total abandonment and absolute wrath from His Father on the cross, a distress and an abandonment and a rejection we cannot begin to grasp.
In this, our Savior's darkest hour...do you recognize His love for you?
C.J. Mahaney's The Cross Centered Life pg.81

God is God

Before I start my MiniBlog series on the Cross of Christ, I wanted to share with you all a poem that I wrote a couple years back. It is the one and only poem to my name and probably the last poem I will ever write. Here it goes:

God is God
By: Joshua S.

The beauty of a sunset
Glimmering across the waves of an expansive ocean.
The mystery of a universe
Shining bright with an infinite number of stars.
The majesty of a God
Creating all things for His glory and honor.

Beauty is astonishing.
Mystery is shining.
Majesty is magnifying.
Paradise is glimmering.
Creation is astounding.
God is God.

Introduction to the Cross of Christ

I am going to be starting a MiniBlog series tomorrow on the focal point of Christianity, which is the cross of Christ. Basically, I am going to split it up into six parts. Christ's agony in the garden, Christ's betrayal and trial, the physical aspect of Christ's suffering, the emotional and spiritual aspect of Christ's suffering, Christ's death on the cross and what it means to us as Christians, and, finally, Christ's victory over the power of sin and his resurrection.
This will hopefully be an impacting series that will give us a small glimpse of Christ's atoning death on the cross for the redemption of our sins. We can never experience the fullness of Christ's atoning death for our sins because of what are limited finite minds can handle, but we can experience a small taste of what he has for us. Jesus Christ came into this world to save us from our utter sinfulness and depravity. Worthy is the Lamb of God, who was slain and crushed on Calvary's tree for our salvation. Praise Him!!! I will end this post with the words to one of my favorite 21st century hymns proclaiming the cross of Christ Jesus. Enjoy!

"The Power of the Cross"
Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music

Oh, to see the dawn
Of the darkest day:
Christ on the road to Calvary.
Tried by sinful men,
Torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood.

CHORUS:
This, the pow'r of the cross:
Christ became sin for us;
Took the blame, bore the wrath—
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Oh, to see the pain
Written on Your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin.
Ev'ry bitter thought,
Ev'ry evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow.

Now the daylight flees;
Now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two,
Dead are raised to life;
"Finished!" the vict'ry cry.

Oh, to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death;
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.

FINAL CHORUS:
This, the pow'r of the cross:
Son of God—slain for us.
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross.

First Post

This is the beginnings of my blog. My purpose and plan for this blog is to bring honor and glory to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Without him, I would be destined to the place of eternal fire forever and a lost and hopeless wanderer. Praise him for bringing salvation to my soul and for drawing me to himself.
My other desire is to reveal a warrior's heart that is my heart. You will read specific blog posts that proclaim my heart for everything about God, the Bible, Creation, Heaven, Hell, Prayer, etc. My heart is an amazing witness of who I really am and I hope to proclaim my thoughts in a clear and concise manner that would glorify God. A Warrior's heart will be revealed in the following blog posts.
Most of all though, my greatest desire is to glorify Jesus Christ above all else. He should be the centerpiece of all our joy, thoughts, and praise. This blog was created to glorify Him and it will be used to glorify Him. PRAISE HIM!!!!! "Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen." Jude 24-25