Thoughts on Holy Week: Consecration

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Consecrate – make or declare something sacred; dedicate formally to a religious or divine purpose.

Holy Week is a time to fully devote ourselves for a specific religious purpose, which is celebrating the death, burial and resurrection. Old Testament priests were consecrated for their service in the tabernacle, and all the congregation of Israel consecrated themselves for three days before meeting God at Sinai. That time of preparation for a special encounter is exactly what Holy Week is about. Like the Advent season before Christmas Day, Holy Week is a period of time during which we prepare for a special worship celebration. We take special care to draw near to God (James 4:8) as he draws near to us. Continue reading →

Thoughts on Holy Week: Prayers of Jesus

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Jesus prayingThe Bible records several different occasions on which Jesus prayed. He taught the disciples to pray, though the Lord’s Prayer is something of a misnomer; we should rightly call that the Model Prayer or even the Disciples Prayer. Jesus always spent extra time in prayer before a big event, sometimes praying all night. He regularly went out alone very early each morning to pray, and even though he had some harsh words regarding public prayer we have a few of his prayers recorded, including the High Priestly Prayer of John 17. But every year at this time there is always one in particular I come back to. Continue reading →

Thoughts on Holy Week: The Gospel of John

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JohnThe synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark and Luke – tell the story of Jesus’ life in a narrative form. Everything in Mark can be found in either Matthew or Luke, and many events can be found in all three. The Olivet Discourse, for example, occurs during Holy Week and begins in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. John’s Gospel is different. Continue reading →

Thoughts on Holy Week: Hindsight is 20/20

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hindsight-rear-view-future-past-road-mirrorThere is an old saying about Hindsight being 20/20. Thinking back on past events allows a clearer perspective than being in the midst of the present. It’s easy to imagine how we might have handled a particular situation, or to criticize others for what they they did wrong. It has to do with perspective. Being in the heat of the moment is not the same as looking at cold stats. Watching a game from the stands offers a different vantage point than being on the field. It also takes away pressure to perform, adrenaline rush and the intimidation factor of the opposing team. Your team always win when you coach from the recliner. The same is true when watching the game film. We’ve all heard people say “I wish I knew then what I know now.” Continue reading →

Happy Monday

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What Mondays are like: 

Mondays are like thatYes, this is Holy Week and we will be spending extra time studying the final days Jesus spent on earth and preparing to celebrate the resurrection. I considered skipping a week of Happy Monday. However 1) Mondays are the highest traffic days on The Master’s Table because of Happy Monday. 2) I believe this is true:

make happy

And away we go… 

Continue reading →

Thoughts on Holy Week: The Human Experience

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star trekThe original Star Trek cast was an ensemble group of races and nationalities. Among them was the half human half Vulcan Mr. Spock. The conflict of the Spock character allowed the writers to explore some aspects of just what it means to be human. His desire was often to deny his humanity and become fully Vulcan, which he found difficult due to his human nature. Star Trek the Next Generation introduced us to Lt. Commander Data who, though a sentient being, was technically not even alive. The android character constantly worked to become more than his programming, finding that some aspects of humanity were always beyond his grasp. Data explored what it means to be human as he struggled to be more human, while Spock had worked to be less so. Continue reading →

Palm Sunday

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HosannaHosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Today is Palm Sunday. This day on the Christian calendar we celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and the beginning of Holy Week. Please refer to this post from 2010 as I just don’t think I can do any better. Perhaps this week I can write some new things as we prepare for Easter.

 

How Do You Saturday?

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Screenshot 2014-04-12 at 3.49.04 PMDo you get a late start on a beautiful weekend day like this, or get up at the same time to the usual morning routine? Is your Saturday filled with yard sales, grocery shopping, kids at home from school or do you get the chance to genuinely relax? And what about the Internet?

I don’t follow stats like I used to, but the trend used to lean toward less active views over the weekend. Hopefully there are more exciting things going on and everyone is out and about; could also be more people just stay in bed all day. If you’re online and still looking for a break in the routine, here’s a couple of fun suggestions.

Saturday Ramblings at Internet Monk – a collection of stories and tidbits that didn’t make the regular cut during the week. There’s usually a paragraph or so on each and linkage to original sources. Kind of a mixed bag of leftover goodies.

Saturday Morning Cereal at Storyline Blog promises to be the best of the Internet from the past week. I’m afraid this link is to the best of the Internet from the week before because this morning’s cereal seems to be late. I hope they haven’t decided to scratch that feature just when I got around to promoting it.

Are you blogging any special Saturday things we need to look into? Share in the comments.

Useful Links

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links Yesterday I updated the blogroll. That’s a list of blogs that I read and you might enjoy as well. Beneath the blogroll is another list of links. Rather than blogs those are resources useful for Bible study, research and passage look-up. Some of those sites I use on a regular basis, others “as needed.”

Speaking of websites I use, check out the new look of Our Daily Bread. The interactive calendar feature makes finding a particular devotion easier than before, and you can now login and post comments.

God is Near: Spoiler Alert!

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Spoiler Alert

Spoiler Alert

Earlier this week I revealed a book in the works that should roll off the press in the next 10 -12 weeks. This has been a long time coming. In January 2011 I posted Where is God? I actually thought about deleting this post before the book came out; a good poker player doesn’t show his hand. But we’re not talking about poker, we’re talking about sharing the Gospel. Continue reading →