Partakers.Net is the photography blog of Bea Kennedy. Here you'll find my latest pictures, links to my Etsy shop and my Photoshelter gallery, random life snapshots, and thoughts about following Jesus Christ. Please feel free to join the conversation.
The name Partakers.Net comes from the Bible verse in Hebrews 3:1, which says, "Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus . . ."
Some songs are so associated with certain memories that bringing up one automatically brings up the other. So tonight, I came across this video of John Denver, Johnny Cash, and Glen Campbell singing Rocky Top, I was immediately transported to the basement of our house in Independence, Missouri, where the three of us (my cousin Beverly was living with us at the time) would spend hours and hours playing guitar and singing. Not just Rocky Top, but pretty much anything by John Denver, Neil Young, or Pink Floyd. I still miss her.
An American minister was preaching in Portuguese as a guest pastor at a church for the Brazilian community in the borough of Queens in New York City. At one point, he proclaimed, Jesus está em nossa meia! and received a puzzled reaction from the congregation. He was trying to say, ‘Jesus is in our midst’ (Jesus está em nosso meio!), but instead it came out as, ‘Jesus is in our sock!’
Let’s just hope I don’t do what one poor soul did and ask for a poopy pretzel instead of a coconut pretzel. LOL
Jesus didn’t come to give us miracles . . . . He came to give us himself. Michael Card
In class we’ve just been talking about John 11 where Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead after he had been in the grave for four days. I still find it fascinating that everyone believed that Jesus could heal Lazarus from sickness, but nobody thought he could do anything about it once he had died. This is the miracle that directly led to Jesus’ crucifixion, and, once again, when it was his turn to die, no one expected him to rise again, despite the fact that he had told them many times and in many ways that he would do just that. But the main point Michael Card made in the sermon from which the above quote is taken is that, on the day of Jesus’ death, the greatest miracle of all was that there was no miracle. Jesus healed when he chose to heal, and did miracles when he chose to. Each one was meant to point to Jesus as the promised Messiah. Yet when the crowd mocked him and said — “He saved others. Let him save himself. Then we’ll believe.” — there was no miracle. No angels came to take him down from the cross and zap the ones who had done this evil to the Son of God. This day Jesus performed no miracle.
Michael Card wrote a song for his grandfather some years ago. At the beginning of the song, he attached a small clip of his grandfather, who was an old time gospel preacher by the sound of it, reading John 12:24. Imagine hearing that voice as you read Jesus’ words below:
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and DIE, it abideth alone: but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit.
I love listening to that old recording of an old preacher who knew just what Jesus knew and just where he would have put the emphasis when he spoke those words himself.
As Michael closed his message on today’s program, his song Immanuel was played. As we prepare to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, I close with those words:
A sign shall be given A virgin will conceive A human baby bearing Undiminished deity
The glory of the nations A light for all to see Hope for all who will embrace His warm reality
Immanuel Our God is with us And if God is with us Who could stand against us Our God is with us Immanuel
For all those who live in the shadow of death A glorious light has dawned For all those who stumble in the darkness Behold your light has come
Immanuel Our God is with us And if God is with us Who could stand against us Our God is with us Immanuel
So what will be your answer? Will you hear the call? Of Him who did not spare His son But gave him for us all
On earth there is no power There is no depth or height That could ever separate us From the love of God in Christ
Immanuel Our God is with us And if God is with us Who could stand against us Our God is with us Immanuel
