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| We call it Good Friday....but the day we celebrate is the most awful event in all of history - our Lord and Savior was crucified on a cross like a common criminal on this day. So how can we call it "good"? I'm glad you asked! We call it "good" because in that one awful moment in history - the world was saved. We call it "good" not because He suffered a horrific death we can't even imagine, but because our Hope is in the fact that it did not end in death. Oh, He died alright - was buried in a tomb - in grave clothes - for 3 days......but He did not end in death. Our Good Friday is the day we know He defeated sin and death - and though we mourn for a day at the cost He paid for our sins, we can't help but also rejoice knowing that He conquered the unconquerable! He defeated sin and death for us and He made a way for us to follow Him - all the way to heaven.......because 3 days after He died, He rose again!!!! That is why Good Friday is "good"! Not because He was crucified and died, but because He rose again! He died for my sin - all of it, every stupid, sinful thing I have ever thought, done, and spoken, in my past, present and future - all of it - He died for me and for you and we call that "good" because in 3 days from today - we will rejoice at His Resurrection. Because His death didn't end in death - and neither will ours, (those who have trusted Him for their salvation). I would never be able to be 'good' enough on my own to be able to stand before God and say 'let me in because I was a good person'. I know what kind of person I am and I am anything but 'good'. Oh, on the outside I might seem good to another person, but inside, I am well aware of my shortcomings and my sin - and so is God. So I cannot, I will not, trust in me to stand before God. My only Hope is to trust in Jesus. Trust that what He said and did is Truth. Trust that when He was crucified on the cross, it was to pay the penalty for all the sin I have lying inside me. I trust that His death paid my debt. (God says the wages of sin is death. So there is a penalty to be paid), but He loves us so much, He didn't want our death to end there either. So He sent His Son to pay our penalty, (die in our place), and then, because He is a powerful and merciful God, He raised His Son from the grave to be with Him forever - and now Jesus has secured a place for us in Heaven too. Forgiving all those who ask and put their faith, (trust), in Him that the payment He made on our behalf was sufficient to make us able to stand before God. I could never do anything or add anything to what He did because I am full of sin. He was pure - with no sin in Him at all. I trust Him - and all the more each day as I come to know Him. My prayer this Good Friday and throughout Easter, is that as you read this, you will place your faith in the God who Saves. He is faithful and He will forgive and He will save you from a death you do not want to end there. Please ask Him.....today is the day of your salvation! Halleluiah!! He is Risen! | | |
| Ok so the writer's block has been cleared and I completed my thesis and did quite well on it! So ok, now that I have my advanced TESOL certificate it is on to the second portion of my coursework - Teaching English to Children! I'm almost done with this one - just have 5 lesson plans, a template for lesson plans and a final essay and I'll have that certification also. Soon as I'm done with that one I'll start on my last certification which is for teaching Business English. It'll be a 'grand slam' if you will......or maybe a 'triple threat'?  Anyway, its been a great experience but I have to admit I want to put everything into practice now...I don't want to wait until September. But I trust that God has everything well in hand - I will keep putting one foot in front of the other and let Him take care of the direction! | | |
| I am so close to finishing my TESOL certification.......except for one little thing - my thesis! I am stumped at what to write about. I have researched several different things and when I try to write something out about them, I get stuck after the thesis statement! I can write a good a thesis statement, I just have nothing to back up my argument!! I don't know how to do this and I'm getting very frustrated!! But I have to figure something out, because my future rests on it.....my future in teaching English to speakers of other languages....which I'm hoping to start in July and continue for at least 2 years! Ugh.....help! | | |
| I was at work on my lunch hour and decided to pull up the Bible Gateway site and do a little light reading while I ate. I don't know why I thought reading God's Word would be anything like light, but nevertheless......it was a good portion of scripture for me. Verses 14-18 were especially wonderous to me. I do rather get caught up in the confusion about suffering. Why do we have to suffer - why is suffering good for us? Why does God like it so much He sent His Son to suffer too? What I realized is that we were already suffering - the moment Adam and Eve ate the apple, we've been suffering. God didn't cause suffering, we did. And not only do we suffer, we fear death, too because suffering preceeds death. You know death.....the fear of the unknown...... So, God came into our suffering world to suffer with and more importantly for us so that we don't have to fear any more. We can know where our death will take us before we die! We will still suffer for we are no better than our Master but we don't have to fear in our suffering. So why is suffering good for us? It draws us to God. Who in their suffering does not look up and ask why? Looking up is a good first step to seeking God.....and whoever seeks will find, (He promised us that). Suffering isn't fun, God didn't cause it, and we can still be at peace in it, if we know the One who suffered and died for us....the Lord Jesus Christ. | | |
| I am quoting this from one of Beth Moore's bible studies....I forget which one, but it is so good, I just want to share it with you. Step 1: It begins in thought (David thought about Bathsheba as he saw her across the way) Step 2: Then moves to word (David asked his people about her, inquired about who she was) Step 3: And then to deed (David summoned her and when she appeared, they carried on an affair) Do you think that God knows about the 3 steps of sin? He tells us He wants us to meditate on His word day and night. Maybe it's because He knows that what we think about, is what we will talk about and also what we will do. Thought, Word, Deed! Yeah, I think he knows about the 3 steps of sin - and now you do too! | | |
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