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Originally uploaded by stevenarens

This picture to me tells a story as most do. It speaks of the greater days gone past, the current state of our country and our future, although sometimes uncertain.

It points towards a better tomorrow and an eternal hope.

Something to say for accuracy

Well I always use the excuse that I am not a math major, I went to art school. It’s a joke at best because we know that artists throughout the ages have been intellectuals and able of many different disciplines in life. So although I am not smart enough to figure this one out on my own, I am glad somebody was!

If you want a quick read on this check the last paragraph.


Thomas Nelson New Open Study Bible
Excerpt…

THE CHRIST OF DANIEL

Christ is the Great Stone who will crush the kingdoms of this world (2:34, 35, 44), the Son of Man who is given dominion by the Ancient of Days (7:13, 14), and the coming Messiah who will be cut off (9:25, 26). It is likely that Daniel’s vision in 10:5-9 was an appearance of Christ (cf. Rev. 1:12-16).


The vision of the sixty-nine weeks in 9:25, 26 pinpoints the coming of the Messiah. The decree of 9:25 took place on March 4, 444 B.C. (Neh. 2:1-8). The sixty-nine weeks of seven years equals 483 years, or 173,880 days (using 360-day pro-phetic years). This leads to March 29, A.D. 33, the date of the Triumphal Entry. This is checked by noting that 444 B.C. to A.D. 33 is 476 years, and 476 times 365.24219 days per year equals 173,855 days. Adding twenty-five days for the difference between March 4 and March 29 gives 173,880 days.

Napoleon credits Christ

This is an excerpt from Jesus Among Other Gods, a book by Ravi K. Zacharias …

Jesus Among Other Gods: The Absolute Claims of the Christian Message
By Ravi K. Zacharias
Published by Word Pub., 2000
ISBN 084991437X, 9780849914379
195 pages

Yet, in an extraordinarily staggering statement about Jesus Christ, Napoleon said something that is almost unexcelled by any political leader. I quote it at length because of its incredible insight. I only wish I had had it with me when I met with these generals. Napoleon expressed these thoughts while he was exiled on the rock of St. Helena. There, the conqueror of civilized Europe had time to reflect on the measure of his accomplishments. He called Count Montholon to his side and asked him, "Can you tell me who Jesus Christ was?" The count declined to respond. Napoleon countered:

“Well then, I will tell you. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne and I myself have founded great empires; but upon what did these creations of our genius depend? Upon force. Jesus alone founded His empire upon love, and to this very day millions will die for Him. ... I think I understand something of human nature; and I tell you, all these were men, and I am a man: none else is like Him; Jesus Christ was more than man. ... I have inspired multitudes with such an enthusiastic devotion that they would have died for me ... but to do this it was necessary that I should be visibly present with the electric influence of my looks, my words, of my voice. When I saw men and spoke to them, I lighted up the flame of self-devotion in their hearts. . . . Christ alone has succeeded in so raising the mind of man toward the unseen, that it becomes insensible to the barriers of time and space. Across a chasm of eighteen hundred years, Jesus Christ makes a demand which is beyond all others difficult to satisfy; He asks for that which a philosopher may often seek in vain at the hands of his friends, or a father of his children, or a bride of her spouse, or a man of his brother. He asks for the human heart; He will have it entirely to Himself. He demands it unconditionally; and forthwith His demand is granted. Wonderful! In defiance of time and space, the soul of man, with all its powers and faculties, becomes an annexation to the empire of Christ. All who sincerely believe in Him, experience that remarkable, supernatural love toward Him. This phenomenon is unaccountable; it is altogether beyond the scope of man's creative powers. Time, the great destroyer, is powerless to extinguish this sacred flame; time can neither exhaust its strength nor put a limit to its range. This is it, which strikes me most; I have often thought of it. This it is which proves to me quite convincingly the Divinity of Jesus Christ.”

The Wolrd Needs to See Us Broekn

The world needs to see us broken, gone are the days when I sold "perfect Christianity." Christianity that sells the world we are perfect or there is some way to be perfect. Because we are not and because I am not. We do not need to present a much more perfect way, a divine walk a prosperous lifestyle. We need to show them we are loved and we can lead them home. I think at base level we need to comfort, we need to forgive we need to let the world know we are forgiven. We need to let them know they are loved.



We are broken vessels, we are repaired and used by the Master's hand. We are broken and whole all at the same time. We are divorced, if not from our spouses from Jesus... before we get saved. After getting saved we are still broken, we are addicts, we are defunk, we are filled with Grace, Truth and Life. We are a contradiction.



We struggle and we need to show them that. We to need to acknowledge that we get it wrong, daily. We need to be open to see people as they really are, where they are at and meet them there. We need to realize and be willing to admit we need Jesus before the world will ever admit they need Jesus.




We live for Him, we get it wrong, He still loves us and that is the matter. We could not love Him otherwise. We need to show them we love a God who loves us. We love the good Samaritan... We love Jesus. We need to not stand in judgement and say we are better or even different. The difference is Jesus not us. CONSOLATION... Not PERFECTION - not in the sense of being sinless - Perfection in the sense of being made complete with the Father through Jesus Christ His Son.



We need to tell the world that. We need to show the world we are human. We need to show the world we struggle. Sin does not have dominion over us, how...

Grace and the power of the Holy Spirit. Mostly it is the blood of Jesus and His life in us the hope of glory!

July 9th 2008

T-Shirt Design idea:

"We matter both ways..." via Angela Hughes

I matter

E=MC2

Then Angela said "we matter" can be represented in three different ways:

We matter E=MC2
We matter to God = place of value or worth
What's the matter = an emotional state (usually negative)

I put a sign by my fig tree today for Debbie Melito's sister who lives caddy corner behind our house, she travels through our yard on her way to Debbie's house just down the street. Our fig tree is really abundantly producing this year and I put a sign up with the following scripture to encourage her to enjoy some of the figs too. God's heart is for us to help take care of others and to be a blessing.

Leviticus 23:22 And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God.

There is always a reward for serving the Lord and honoring his commands. See this scripture that popped up when I searched online for the Lev reference.

Deuteronomy 24:19
"When you reap your harvest in your field and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be for the alien, for the orphan, and for the widow, in order that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.

I want the LORD to bless me, and he has. I want us to be a blessing to all people the LORD has called us to bless.

Mal 3:12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.

Mt 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

Mt 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Ro 4:17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.Ro 4:18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.

Ga 3:8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.

Re 7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

Ps 86:9 All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.

Ps 72:17 His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed.

Ps 67:4 O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.

Ps 22:27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.

Wow

I Like Flat Coke

I remember as a kid going to my dad's house to visit. Usually a weekend stay, sometimes a Saturday cook out or family get together. One of the things I remembered in my own home tonight was ... flat coke.

See dad used to buy the cheap brand of cola and they oftentimes had that "not so fresh" and watery taste. They would usually come from half empty bottles that sat for long periods of time in between use.

Dad and his household used fruit juices to mix their cocktails and so the colas often sat for a day or two etc...

So here I am tonight drinking a glass of flat cola that was left next to my plate since dinner. That was around 9:00PM it is now 1:30AM.

I have not thought of or had that familiar taste in well, since I was a kid visiting my dad's house.

It struck me how the unpleasant and often overlooked things in life, even the minuscule slight annoyances can be triggers later on to become awesome memories.

Even if it is, flat coke.

I miss my dad; he's been gone now about 6-7 years. Every once in a while I get a nudge from God that he's there, I also get those moments when I feel like his son. I can't wait to see him again!

Proverbs 10:7 The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.

I lost my Son

This was an idea to show that God can relate with the grief we have over losing someone, including as a result of a tragedy or being the victim of a heinous crime. This case is a result of being falsely charged and executed.

I lost my son.

I watched him die.

There is nothing harder than burying a child, even if he was the age of a man. He will always be my son.

I watched the court prosecute him. The crowd demanding public execution. The magistrate wringing his hands…wringing his hands.

Then the final verdict, guilty. The crowd roared.

My son had watched his friends leave. At his arrest they fled. They abandoned him.

Some hid in the crowd pretending not to know him.

Then they led him away. The guards mocked him, taunted him and beat him. Over and over they beat him. In front of me.

He winced in pain, I could not do anything. I cried a deepest cry, inside. The pain, the anger. I was beside myself. My son. He winced in pain. They whipped him. Scores of flesh fell from his bones. The lines on his body, the bruises, blood everywhere. He winced in pain.

I watched as they led him away, they punched him and shoved him. He fell again and again. They spit on him and pulled out his hair. They ripped his beard off of his face.

The blood, he winced in pain. He shuddered. I shuddered, I held my head, I closed my eyes, yet I couldn't look away. I could still see him. My son.

He carried the very instrument of death for the officers. They mocked him, the crowed thronged upon him, yelling at him, and some cursed him. They spit on him again and again.

My angered roared. My sadness sickened. My depression great. My son, my son. I felt he was innocent. I knew he was innocent of the crimes they accused him of.

The blood spattered, he fell to his knees. The cross drove thorns in his back, what was left of his back. Bones exposed, muscles hanging, was he even a man?

They threw him to the ground. They hammered and laughed. They yelled in delight. They spit on him, they hurt him. My son.

I saw him struggle, to breathe.

They strung him up. They put him between two others. They were killing him. I watched. I felt numb, shocked.

They gave him vinegar when he cried for water. They laughed; they wanted to prolong his suffering.

The blood streamed down the cross, then seeped into the dirt. It cried out My name.

His mother watched, she stood at the edge of the crowd, where he could see her. In horror she watched the death of her son.

Some friends were there, most would not come forward to speak or be seen. I saw them watching my son die.

He cried for me, I could not do anything, but look away. It was almost too much to bear.

The darkness, the dank, the vile and the destructive. The sin, the death. He felt it all. My Son.

The weight of everything belonging to everyone even the world itself, the very thing He created. The people rejected him, the very ones He created.

With one last declaration he gave up His ghost. His body went limp. The blood spilled and flowed. Broken, poured out. His head went down.

It grew cold, the sky grey, the thunder roared, the earth shook, my anger burned.

The guard stuck him with a spear just to make sure. Water and blood streamed from his chest.

They killed my son. I watched the whole thing, yet couldn't do anything.

That day I buried my son.

Will you come honor my son?

Romans 5:19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

Joh 8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.

Isa 40:22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: