O-Dark-Thirty

I found this in my archives. It's now a guest post by Elizabeth Bernhardt. Darling Daughter, this was the best Father's Day gift ever!  I love you! Dear Old Dad. Dear Dad, For all those times that you have… Taken the time to talk to me Shown me a book that was really great Encouraged me in areas I felt I was bad at Given me an honest assessment of myself Stayed up all night to help me with that science project Put things into perspective Consoled me after a crushing loss Given me drawings and stories Done something so funny I had to laugh Showed me that grownups are human too Played a game with me Cooked dinner for me Given me drawing lessons Given me writing lessons/critique Flipped me into the pool Let me pound on your Back Corrected me after I did wrong Praised me after I did right JUST BEEN A DAD… Because, after all, aren’t those the things that really matter?  Thank you, not for being a father, because anyone can be a father. Thank you for bei...

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost speaks of two paths. It's a famous poem. Even if you don't like poetry, it's worth reading. Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. When Jesus surrendered Himself to die on the cross, two paths em...

Some objectors to Christianity express concern about the "other people" in the world, whether it is "the man on the mountaintop" or just those who never have the chance to hear the Gospel of Jesus. "So what is God going to do about them?" they ask. "Is a loving God going to condemn people to Hell who never had the chance to hear the Gospel?" Quite frankly, I had the same issue when I was younger. We don't know everything, but we do know that God loves all men and wants them to come to Him. You know what? Believing in God means that I trust Him. If I don't trust Him, I can't follow Him. Trusting Him means that I believe God will do the right thing. In fact, that's part of His nature, and without that characteristic, we aren't talking about the same god. Now that I'm older, I do have an answer. You can ask God when you get there, but He's going to ask you a question first.  He isn't going to ask ...

The Apostles were dismayed and brokenhearted, for their Master and friend died on a Roman cross. They knew the Sanhedrin orchestrated the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. The terrified Jewish leaders eliminated the single biggest threat to their continued leadership of Israel, and they used the Roman occupiers as their weapon. The High Priest thought he killed Jesus. You cannot kill God. The Roman cross did not kill Jesus. Jesus gave his life up. When he declared "It is finished", Jesus meant that the debt for sin was paid. God gave us the greatest gift we never deserved. God gave us forgiveness. Someone needed to tell the Apostles that God's ultimate forgiveness was in the cleansing blood flowing down the cross on Good Friday. So on Easter Sunday, Jesus, the Christ, rose from the dead. The grave could not hold him. Death could not claim him. Jesus is Everlasting Life, the Savior, our Lord, God made man, the Way, the Truth, the Son of God, the King of k...

Jesus died. The lives of the Apostles changed irrevocably. Never again would they walk with Jesus, expecting an exalted place in the new kingdom after the restoration of Israel. I'm sure they shed copious tears, for their Master,  their friend and their hopes. The followers of Jesus hid from authorities, afraid their fates were inextricably tied to the fate of their Teacher. They were right.

Easter. Easter is the most joyous of events in Christendom. Easter should be the greatest event for all mankind, but it doesn't work that way. We only have to look at the original Bible account to see why the world thinks of bunnies and not resurrection. On Palm Sunday, according to John 12, the world celebrated the coming of the Messiah to Jerusalem. The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the king of Israel!" Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him. Now...

We are born selfish. God knows this, as do all parents.  Marriage is not a contract, as society would have you believe. A contract states that one party will do something for the other party, who in turn has certain obligations. A contract is binding as long as both parties do what they said they would do. A marriage is a covenant. In a covenant relationship each person pledges to do what they are supposed to do. God entered into a covenant relationship with Abraham, which is fortunate for Abraham and for us. The covenant God gave certain promises and Abraham answered with promises of his own. Abraham and his descendants (us) break those promises all the time. God, however, remains faithful to His covenant. Here’s the point. Marriage can NOT be selfish. The Marriage covenant says that you will put the needs of your spouse above your own. That sounds so simple… … but if you are reading that and have the slightest twinge of “See, I told you so! You are supposed to be ...