Soli Deo Gloria
I had the idea to take two larger sticks and fasten them together as a cross and once again make a crown of thorns out of some of the thorny vines that we have in our yard's natural area. (I made a crown of thorns years ago and hung it on our front door during the Easter season)I placed the small cross in our yard...on a small bump in the landscape left over from where a hurricane once took out a tree. There is a rock sitting at it's base on the side of the mound. The crown of thorns hangs on the cross. It is nothing fancy-but then again, neither was the cross on which Jesus died.
As I fixed the thorny vine into a crown to place on my small cross, I was reminded at just how badly it hurt when poked by one of the thorns. (and how easily we bleed ) Different scripture verses and songs continued to go through my head as I worked on it. One of the songs was a new one from the Avalon CD that's chorus says:
There is a place where hope remains In crowns of thorns and crimson stains And tears that fall on Jesus’ feet Where joy and sorrow meet
and the last line of the song:
At the cross of restoration where joy and sorrow meet
Verses such as the one I used above....in the graphic...as well as being reminded of how these thorns are our curse....the curse God spoke (Genesis 3) concerning the earth being full of them....and just remembering how this all fits together-and just being overwhelmed again to consider it all . Seven Places has something on their first CD where they play a portion from Jon Courson's sermon talking about the Seven places that Jesus suffered on his body for our sins. One of those places is on His head-as the crown of thorns was pressed down. Jon Courson made the connection between our thoughts and those thorns...
So I came back inside and made this graphic from scratch of the crown of thorns in PSP. Do not see me, or the artwork, but see God who sent His only son-Jesus- to die for our sins and that rose again on that first Easter so that we could be redemned, cleansed from our sins-Jesus is indeed THE only way to
KNOW GOD
That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9
The Perfect Toy
I love this commercial.
Yeah...um....stay tuned..
