What were you looking for, Peter? Were you looking for bread with all the rest, and so you followed this man, Jesus, because you knew that he could provide it? It seems there was something more in you, but even you did not know what it was.
I have pains and sorrows just as others do. / I go to Jesus and say the words my Lord spoke to His Father in the garden, / “Take this cup from me.” / With a noble spirit I think a second thought / “Yet not my will but thine be done.”
Mine’s not hallelujah / The song I’m asked to sing / For silence calls / In echoing halls / And bells refuse to ring / So if you hear the chorus / That rises in my heart
My Lord, for you I present endless bounds of grandeur. A magnificent cathedral with high steeples and heavy wooden doors leading within. The bells ring out mightily to announce your arrival. Candles on the altar; their flames flicker and tremble in your presence. Clouds of incense rise to the Heavens; prayers from the faithful ascend [...]
"As the deer longs for running streams, so my soul longs for you, O Lord." Psalm 42:1 Whether they acknowledge it or not, everyone can relate, in some capacity, to the longing described in Psalm 42. We experience normal daily desires for things like more freedom, better weather, more friends, or a different job. But [...]
Is there anything more lovely than songbirds in sun-brushed boughs / Or soft beams that first awaken dreams and make the streams to run / Is there anything more beautiful than wildflowers on the hill / That pierce the steep with purples deep and violet in the sun / Yet what could be more joyous than nighttime ‘neath dazzling skies / As singsong flames and fireflies frame forests with their glow...
Here is a proposal: simple but profound. It is actually impossible for us to avoid sin, insofar as avoiding sin is our end. A careful thinker will probably narrow his eyes incredulously at hearing this. After all, "impossible" is a strong word...
Unlike the blood of animals, which cleansed man externally, the blood of Christ cleanses man from sin internally. If the blood of animals had the power to cleanse the flesh, the author of Hebrews writes, “how much more shall the blood of Christ..."
What were you looking for, Peter? That day out there on the lake, what were you hoping to find? You were a fisherman searching for fish. You worked all night, dropping nets into the dark, hoping to find something you couldn't see. Every time you threw that net...
“When Joseph was dying, Mary sat at the head of his bed, holding him in her arms. Jesus stood just below her near Joseph’s breast. The whole room was brilliant with light and full of angels. After his death, his hands were crossed on his breast, he was wrapped from head to foot in a white winding sheet, laid in a narrow casket, and placed in a very beautiful tomb, the gift of a good man.”
