Who Are You Looking For?
Scripture: John 20:1-18
We have a little saying in our home, ironically we can’t remember where it began, but it gives us a small laugh in our home every time we say it.
You know those moments when you walk into a room and totally forget why you went there? You’re pretty sure you went to get something, but have no idea what it was. Somewhere along the line, Bev heard something somewhere that walking through doorways makes you forget things.
So when we walk into a room and forget why we are there, we simply shrug and say “Well, I guess I went through a door.”
It happens to everyone, probably on a regular basis. You are in one room, you realize you need something from another room. You get up and walk into the other room, but on your way you totally forget what you are doing. In the process, you’ve probably thought about 100 other things, 10 of which are likely things that are important that need to get done; like groceries or laundry or to call someone. And by the time you get to the kitchen, you just stand in the middle wondering why you’re there.
What do you do? You go back to the other room and try to remember what it was you were doing, then you try and piece it all together retracing your steps, and most of the time you do remember, but there are those occasions where you just never figure it out. read more…
Review – God’s Not Dead: A Light in Darkness
Earlier this month I was selected to watch God’s Not Dead: A Light in Darkness (aka “God’s Not Dead 3”)
I’ll be honest, when I sat down to watch it, I feared for the worst. Sequels are often disappointing, and I was worried this would be one of those low budget Christian cheese factories the world has been inundated with lately.
I was pleasantly surprised though.
In the movie we follow Rev. Dave as he tries to save his church after a fire and public pressure to shut it down completely. As we see Dave fight for his church, we also see great stories of struggle which we all feel from time to time, and the need to trust God in the chaos.
No one is free from the struggles of life, and through the movie we see how lives cross and pain intermingles and often overwhelms us.
Life is not a bouquet of roses, and the latest installment of God’s Not Dead does a great job navigating relationships for a movie with a great message the whole family can discuss.
I recommend you see it if it’s in your neck of the woods, or wait until other options become available if it doesn’t come your way.
The King
Scripture Reading: John 19:16b-22
Have you ever had one of those days where you jump out of the bed in the morning thinking, “This is going to be the best day ever!” And for the most part, it tends to be true… that is until you end the day late at night in the Emergency Room of the hospital. Have you ever had one of those days?
Sadly, I have. I remember being on vacation a number of years ago and we were going to spend the day at the beach, we were going to visit friends, we were going out for a nice meal, all good things! And we did all those things too.
But then when we got back from the lovely day, I ended up needing to go to the ER because I had a kidney stone attack. From late in the afternoon the pain slowly increased until I couldn’t take it any more. At first I thought I had pulled a muscle or something like that because I had been throwing the kids in the water. But it was clear later, this was not the case. It kind of put a damper on all the great things we had spent the rest of the day doing. read more…
Movie Review: I Can Only Imagine
Earlier this month I was invited to take part in a screening of I Can Only Imagine coming out this weekend. I know this song well, as many others do. It is a powerful song my Bart Millard of MercyMe which touches you in the heart.
Bart has finally shared the full story behind the song, which includes his own personal story of struggle and acceptance and how his family played part in it all.
This movie is a powerful story of redemption and healing and is portrayed by a strong cast. J. Michael Finley plays Bart in his first movie role. Not just his first starring role, but his first ever movie role. Dennis Quaid plays an excellent character as Bart’s father, among the many other well played parts in the movie.
If you know the song or not, I strongly recommend you go see this movie. You’ll be touched by a powerful story.
The Truth
Scripture Reading: John 18:28-40
Photo by http://www.sxc.hu/profile/_cheese
Last week we when we left Jesus, he was being interrogated by Annas, the high priest. When Annas couldn’t get anything out of him, they sent him to his son-in-law Caiaphas. Well, Caiaphas couldn’t get anything out of him either, so this week they have sent Jesus to the palace so he would be judged by Pilate.
Now when I say they couldn’t get anything out of him, I mean they couldn’t get him to say anything which would incriminate him. They were looking to find him guilty, but weren’t having any luck in finding evidence to back their claims, other than the fact they just didn’t like Jesus very much.
The Jewish leaders are now hoping Pilate will take care of their problem for them.
The funny thing is when Pilate asked them why they sent Jesus to him, asking what his crime was, they don’t actually give an answer. They simply say, “Why else would we be here if he weren’t a criminal?” read more…