Three years ago tomorrow, Nathan arrived, and things haven’t been the same since. I’ve learned a lot about life, priorities, ministry, and God.
I can’t believe he’s 3! It’s crazy. I remember it like it was yesterday (Check out the video from his first day). It’s unbelievable how one person can change your life.
Plus, being a dad is a huge responsibility.
I just hope I can be a good role model and a great friend for him. But it’s a huge job.
Consequences for Children who Grow up without Dads:
63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes–U.S. D.H.H.S., Bureau of the Census
85% of all children that exhibit behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes–Center for Disease Control
80% of rapists motivated with displaced anger come from fatherless homes–Criminal Justice and Behavior, Vol. 14, p. 403-26
71% of all high school dropouts come from fatherless homes–National Principals Association Report on the State of High Schools
70% of juveniles in state operated institutions come from fatherless homes–U.S. Dept. of Justice
85% of all youths sitting in prisons grew up in a fatherless home–Fulton County Georgia jail populations & Texas Dept. of Corrections
Being a dad is the most important job in the world. I just pray I can be a good dad for my little boy. He deserves it.
I think most of the people who read this through a feed reader or online should be able to respond to this, but I’m looking for suggestions for good commentaries on the gospel of John. Got any suggestions? Leave a comment. Thanks.
I wonder if anyone will leave a comment. Please leave your favorite commentary series or your favorite commentary on John.
The account of the resurrection in Matthew 28 sounds crazy to me. The author seems to be talking out of his mind.
“There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.”
You know how things get skewed when you are excited? I imagine that the account is somewhat like that. I can imagine that the author was flustered, trying to put into words what he had seen, saying, “There was an earthquake, and then, there was an angel. He looked like lightning. He was glowing. His clothes were as white as snow. All the guards were like dead men.”
Unfortunately, we usually tell it with a monotonous tone of voice, as if we’re not excited to hear it. One day, I want to see someone burst into a church service with the kind of excitement that I read in that passage. “You’re not going to believe me, but here’s what I saw.”
That’s the craziness of the resurrection. It’s wild. It’s unheard of. It’s something that will change your life radically. It changed the lives of the disciples who were scared out of their minds in Matthew 27, and now in Matthew 28 (and Acts), they went on to change the world. That’s what the resurrection can do to you.
On this Saturday before Easter, I thought I would post some quotes I’ve read about Jesus. They go well with the video I posted yesterday.
Here are seven quotes about Jesus that I have found useful or thought-provoking in the past.
“The Jews tried to keep Christ contained within their law, while the Greeks sought to turn Him into a philosophy; the Romans made of Him an empire; the Europeans reduced Him to a culture, and we Americans have made a business of Him.” – Unknown
“Even those who have renounced Christianity and attack it, in their inmost being still follow the Christian ideal, for hitherto neither their subtlety nor the ardor of their hearts has been able to create a higher ideal of man and of virtue than the ideal given by Christ of old.” –Fyodor Dostoyevsky
“Jesus of Nazareth, without money and arms, conquered more millions than Alexander the Great, Caesar, Mohammed, and Napoleon; without science and learning, he shed more light on things human and divine than all philosophers and scholars combined; without the eloquence of school, he spoke such words of life as were never spoken before or since, and produced effects which lie beyond the reach of orator or poet; without writing a single line, he set more pens in motion, and furnished themes for more sermons, orations, discussions, learned volumes, works of art, and songs of praise than the whole army of great men of ancient and modern times.” – Philip Schaff
“I am an historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history.” –H.G. Wells
“As the centuries pass, the evidence is accumulating that, measured by His effect on history, Jesus is the most influential life ever lived on this planet.” –Historian Kenneth Scott Latourette
“Socrates taught for 40 years, Plato for 50, Aristotle for 40, and Jesus for only 3. Yet the influence of Christ’s 3-year ministry infinitely transcends the impact left by the combined 130 years of teaching from these men who were among the greatest philosophers of all antiquity.” –Unknown
“A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God; or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.” -C.S. Lewis
It’s Good Friday, the day when we remember Christ’s suffering and death on the cross. Here are some of my thoughts on what the cross means to me.
Demonstration of ultimate sacrifice: (Philippians 2:1-8) If the King of Heaven and Earth could sacrifice that much, I ought to be able to sacrifice myself for the lives of others. I ought to pour myself out in service to others as Christ did for me. What must I do to sacrifice for others?
Expression of incomparable love: (John 15:13) Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. God loved me enough to send Jesus to die for me; I ought to be able to love others even if I don’t agree with them, and even when they hate me. What can I do to express love for others in every moment?
Complete forgiveness of sins: (Matthew 6:12, 14; Luke 23:34) Jesus forgives completely. It’s not a partial forgiveness, and I must forgive others. In my life, what must I do to forgive others? How can I forgive others?
Undeserved gift – keeps me humble (Galatians 6:14) – I cannot boast about anything because I have done nothing to deserve what God has given me. I have failed in every attempt to please God. It is only because of His love and the cross that I can do anything. What must I do look beyond what others “deserve” to be more like Jesus?
Example of total surrender: (John 3:16) “In our surrender, we must give ourselves to God in the same way He gave Himself for us – totally, unconditionally, and without reservation” (Chambers, March 13). God’s surrender is an example to me of what my surrender to Him should be. How can I surrender myself more to the One who surrendered Himself completely for me?
It’s interesting that there was nothing said at our church last Sunday about it being Palm Sunday, but I still thought a lot about the arrival of Christ in Jerusalem the week before his crucifixion. I was reading John 12, and I came across something that I had probably seen but never noticed before.
In short, I want to be like Lazarus. Read these verses: “So the chief priests made plans to put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus” (John 12:10-11, NIV).
Imagine that your testimony or ministry were so strong that people wanted to kill you. Imagine that your teaching were so effective and your testimony so bold that so many people were believing in Jesus that people wanted to murder you for it. What a testimony! What a ministry!
Lazarus wasn’t just enjoying the blessings that Jesus had to offer him; he was living life full on for Jesus. He had every right to live like that. Jesus had saved him from death. He had called him out of the grave. He was no longer dead, but alive through Jesus Christ.
Isn’t that the same thing that we claim as Christians? Don’t we claim that Christ has rescued us from death? The life that we now live we no longer live in the flesh. We live it by the Son of God who loved us and gave Himself for us.
But we choose to live in mediocrity, timidly accepting life as it comes. Or we oppose everyone and repel them. The people wanted to see and be with Lazarus.
Think about the show that Lazarus was. He was once dead. I mean, people would come from miles away to see him. And he was drawing all sorts of people to Christ because of his testimony.
What about us? What are we doing to cause a stir like Lazarus?
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
