Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Angry, Angry, Angry - Francis Frangipane

I received the following message on facebook and just had to share it.  Will all that is going on in the country and people getting upset by the direction of our leaders, I felt this was such a soothing word.  I pray you are blessed by it like I was.

From the Ministries of Francis Frangipane: Angry, Angry, Angry
Friday, March 26, 2010 @ 9:35PM
By Francis Frangipane


It's hard to remember a time when people were more angry. A civilized person ought to be, first of all, civil. Yet, today there is no discourse, no respect for another's opinion, no reasoning together for the common good. I am concerned, especially for the church.

One may argue, "Our society is decaying. We should be mad." Yes, but we can be angry yet still not sin (see Eph 4:26). Of course, I feel anger that the underpinnings of our culture are being dismantled by unprincipled men. Our souls should be vexed at the darkening cloud of demonic infestation in our culture, especially when children are caused to stumble or the weak are exploited. If we don't take a stand, the advance of evil ultimately means more people will die without Christ. So, if we are angry, it does not necessarily mean we have sinned. It can simply mean we care.

I am not surprised by the increased anger. My concern is that, unless this anger regenerates into something more redemptive, more Christlike, we will not see our world renewed. Indeed, anger that does not awaken in us redemptive action ultimately degrades into bitterness and unbelief.

A Two-Pronged Attack
While hell advances into our world on many levels, I want to discuss two primary areas. The first manifestation is brazen, widespread and alarming. For example, a corrupt law gets passed or gang violence breaks out; or it might be that a beloved public figure is scandalized. It's on the news and people are talking about it. The shock waves caused by this demonic intrusion smash against our hearts: we're disappointed, offended, stunned and, often, outraged. In this state of mind, hell launches the second area of attack. There is no newscast featuring this next stage of warfare. On this front, the devil does not come openly flaunting himself, but quietly. In seething whispers he stirs the pot of our discontent until it boils. Ultimately, where once the heart of the Christian was full of faith and love, now bitterness, hatred and malice churn in the souls of God's people.

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Our God is Greater - Chris Tomlin

When I need to get my perspective adjusted, I find myself listening to this song.  Our God is Greater puts everything back into alignment for me.  If you are feeling low, confused, forgotten, try listening to this song and watch your prospective change.

Our God is Greater...he is for us!  He helps us.  He hears us.  He is with us.  What can stand against this Great God we serve as we serve Him?

Thursday, March 18, 2010

the Power of Forgiveness

I pray you take a minute to view this clip.  It is moving and encouraging at the same time.  It is painful to watch and yet, I know the end will bless you. We all have issues that we need the loving hand of forgiveness to comfort.  May the peace of God enable you to walk in forgiveness. It is a choice and so worth the decision.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Great God - Ricardo Sanchez

Just happened upon this link...Great God by Ricardo Sanchez.  It will pick you up and has an interesting middle eastern rift in it.  Again, as many songs the Lord brings across my path, this one just stirred me.  Put me into a place of great praise.  He is Great.  His Ways are Great.  His Works are Great.  He is Great in all the world.  His Power is Great.  His Strength Great.  He is worthy of all the Praise.  Glory, Glory, Glory...He is Worthy!

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

the REAL Face of Jesus

I saw this ABC News clip about an upcoming documentary called, The Face of Jesus which would be airing on The History Channel.

 The team starts with the Shroud of Turin and from it they begin to find and process their data.  They know the person who was wrapped the Shroud was crucified.  They know the body of that person had a wound in the side with coincides with where the bible says Jesus was lanced while hanging on the cross (John 19:34). This body is covered with scourge marks from a Roman flagrum (example can be seen in image with the orange background) also called a cat O nine tails (example can bee seen in image with the pink background) and this lines up with the Shroud having approximately 120 marks where this "whip" wounded the person who eventually would be buried in the Shroud. The are several scriptures that talk of Jesus being beaten for us and there are also scriptures that were foretold by the Prophet Isaiah that the messiah would be beaten as well.  (See Isaiah 52:14 and Isaiah 53:4-5 in the old testament and then see John 19:1 and I Peter 2:24.)

The backside of the Shroud (the Shroud was wrapped from the feet of the body up the back of the person and then over their head, covering their face and then down the front side of the body ending again at the feet) is covered in blood stains from the top and back of head indicating this person suffered from injuries that would align with wounds caused by wearing a crown of thorns.  Again, this lines up with the biblical account of the death of Jesus. (See John 19:2)

The technology used in the History Channel documentry was fancinating and incredible.  They needed to pull a facial image from this thousand-year-old cloth and recreate it in 3D.  This was extraordinary.  The image in the Shroud is so subtle that a person really has to stand back about 10 feet or so to be able to connect all the markings in the fabric into something that is recognizable.

No one has ever taken this flat piece of cloth and tried to reconstruct it the way that it would have when it hung over the corpse of Jesus.  They took all the data they could and then began the reconstruction process of a 3D image.  They go into the process of  trying to reconstruct things like the eyebrows of the corpse as they were missing from the Shroud (the image is so faint) and they knew that the person had eyebrows so they used the added science need with forensics to create these. It was fascinating as they showed the steps that were used and the time that was involved in the creating of this documentary.  A follow-up story by ABC News 2  the next day actually shows the image above and gives another quick overview of the whole process.  If you are interested in purchasing the actual show you can at: History Channel documentary.  In the end, the showed this image, what they say is the face of the Shroud of Turin and many think is the face of Jesus Christ himself.

 I also understand that there are many another "faces of Jesus" found from taking the Shroud and starting there.  The BBC has done their own recreation as well as a British Team reconstructed his face.   I found a site entitled the Real Face of Jesus with some more information if you are interested.  I felt I would also share, as you know, that there are numerous images of what people think Jesus looked like so therefore nothing is iron-clad but there are is much interest as ever in what our Savior looks like.

The Face of Yahshua is a better clip of the Discovery Channels two part series but not as inclusive as these: Part One and Part Two.  A fact sheet regarding the Real Face of Jesus is full of information that you may find informative.  And finally, here is a series of images that show the different faces of Jesus found on YouTube called "the True Face of Jesus".

My personal favorite image is the image of the face of Jesus that the History channel has just released. I tend toward toward that one but I wanted to fair and balanced in all the information out there.