Our Mighty Substitute

It seems strange to celebrate the worst day in history. Truly, the day that Jews and Gentiles colluded to murder the Son of God eclipses (by far) every other horror in our broken, fallen world. And yet, it seems inadequate to call this Friday merely "Good," because (thus far in history) the only day greater than this was the day that Jesus emerged from the tomb, alive -- the day when Satan's greatest triumph proved to be his utter downfall. 

I love these words from Peter's sermon in Acts 2:

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it."

It was not possible for death to hold Jesus in the tomb! His resurrection was not so much a miracle as an inevitability (though it was, indeed, miraculous!). When God loosed the pangs of death for Jesus, He loosed them for all who would trust in Him as Savior. 

Instead of death, life.
Instead of despair, hope.
Instead of defeat, victory.  

Over the past few weeks, I've been reading Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross, a collection of essays written by theologians throughout history. Its bite-sized meditations have been good for the soul, so I'll include an excerpt from J.C. Ryle below:

 

Was He flogged? 

It was done so that 'by His wounds we are healed' (Isa. 53:5). 

Was He condemned, though innocent? 

It was done so that we might be acquitted, though guilty.

Did He wear a crown of thorns?

It was done so that we might wear the crown of glory.

Was He stripped of His clothes?

It was done so that we might be clothed in everlasting righteousness.

Was He mocked and reviled?

It was done so that we might be honored and blessed.

Was He reckoned a criminal, and counted among those who have done wrong?

It was done so that we might be reckoned innocent, and declared free from all sin.

Was He declared unable to save Himself?

It was so that He might be able to save others to the uttermost.

Did He die at last, and that the most painful and disgraceful death?

It was done so that we might live forevermore, and be exalted to the highest glory.

-- Excerpt from J.C. Ryle's commentary on Matthew, quoted in Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross

Books!

"Books!" said Tuppence.

She produced the word rather with the effect of a bad-tempered explosion.

"What did you say?" said Tommy.

Tuppence looked across the room at him.

"I said 'books,'" she said.

"I see what you mean," said Thomas Beresford.

In front of Tuppence were three large packing cases. From each of them various books had been extracted. The larger part of them were still filled with books.

"It's incredible," said Tuppence.

"You mean the room they take up?"

"Yes."

"Are you trying to put them all on the shelves?"

"I don't know what I'm trying to do," said Tuppence. "That's the awkward part of it. One doesn't know ever, exactly, what one wants to do. Oh dear," she sighed.

~ The opening lines from Postern of Fate, by Agatha Christie ~



I do so love Tommy and Tuppence! My deepest apologies to sweet Miss Marple and clever Hercule Poirot -- but really, Tommy and Tuppence are Agatha Christie's dearest characters. And having recently finished sorting out all our own books, I can fully sympathize with their plight in Postern of Fate.

Yes, all of our books are finally sorted -- and we even managed to go through and weed out the ones that we really didn't need or want. Painful, certainly, but rather cathartic in a way. Really, how many copies of the same book can one have? I confess, I still have a few duplicates, though! Some books are just too beautiful to part with, but one must have a knock-about reading copy, mustn't one? At any rate, the only books left in boxes are children's books, neatly stacked in the nursery and awaiting one final bookshelf to end their imprisonment.

Best of all? Our diligence in getting rid of unneeded books has paid off in a bit of empty space on some of our shelves. Which means that I don't have to feel guilty when I take my inevitable browse through the bookshelves at every antique and thrift store. *wink*

As Tuppence would say, "Books!"

Real Comfort

"There is nothing like staying at home for
real comfort."

~ Jane Austen, Emma ~

Many thanks to glamorous Maggy for graciously allowing me to take a snapshot of her. She owns a family that attends our church, and recently allowed me to come as "Substitute Servant" while her family was out of town. There's no doubt that this prissy feline is royalty -- she refuses to drink out of a waterbowl; instead she demurely dips a paw in and licks the water off to rehydrate herself!

Words of Wisdom From Writers

Good writing can be defined as having

something to say and saying it well.

When one has nothing to say,

one should remain silent.

Silence is always beautiful at such times.

~ Edward Abbey ~

Enough said?

On Music

Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. ~ Berthold Auerbach

If a composer could say what he had to say in words he would not bother trying to say it in music. ~ Gustav Mahler

Why waste money on psychotherapy when you can listen to the B Minor Mass? ~ Michael Torke

My idea is that there is music in the air, music all around us; the world is full of it, and you simply take as much as you require. ~ Edward Elgar



Its language is a language which the soul alone understands, but which the soul can never translate. ~ Arnold Bennett

When words leave off, music begins. ~ Heinrich Heine

Music is love in search of a word. ~ Sidney Lanier

Opera is where a guy gets stabbed in the back, and instead of dying, he sings. ~ Robert Benchley



When people hear good music, it makes them homesick for something they never had, and never will have. ~ Edgar Watson Howe

It is incontestable that music induces in us a sense of the infinite and the contemplation of the invisible. ~ Victor de LaPrade

Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent. ~ Victor Hugo

The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul. ~ Johann Sebastian Bach

Words of Wisdom From Writers

Proofread carefully

to see if you any

words out.

~ Author Unknown ~

Words of Wisdom From Writers

Men can only be happy

when they do not assume

that the object of life is

happiness.

~ George Orwell ~

Words of Wisdom From Writers

For first you write a sentence,

And then you chop it small;

Then mix the bits and sort them out

Just as they chance to fall:

The order of the phrases makes no difference at all.

~ Lewis Carrol, "Poeta fit non nascitur." ~

If you need a bit of nonsense to lighten your life, I recommend a good dose of Lewis Carrol's poetry! Here's the full version of "Poeta fit non nascitur."

Words of Wisdom From Writers

There are two kinds of people in this world;

those who think there are two kinds of people

and those who are smart enough to

know better.

~ Tom Robbins, "Still Life with Woodpecker" ~

Words of Wisdom From Writers

Good writing can be defined as

having something to say and saying it well.

When one has nothing to say,

one should remain silent.

Silence is always beautiful at such times.

~ Edward Abbey ~

Enough said!

Words of Wisdom From Writers

What I like best is a book that's

at least funny once in a while...

What really knocks me out is a book that,

when you're all done reading it,

you wish the author that wrote it was a

terrific friend of yours

and you could call him up

on the phone whenever you felt like it.

That doesn't happen much, though. ~ J. D. Salinger ~

This Life

I discovered this quotation today, and found it both refreshing and challenging. Its eloquence reminds me of poetry, and it certainly has the potency of poetry! I hope you find it as encouraging as I did.


This life, therefore, is
not righteousness but growth in righteousness,
not health but healing,
not being but becoming,
not rest but exercise.

We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it;
the process is not yet finished but it is going on;
this is not the end but it is the road.
All does not yet gleam in glory but all is being purified.

~ Martin Luther ~

The Inimitable Sairey

"Rich folks may ride on camels,

but it ain't so easy for 'em to see out of a

needle's eye."

~ Sairey Gamp, from Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens~

Words of Wisdom From Writers

Writers

will happen in the

best of families.

~ Rita Mae Brown ~

Words of Wisdom From Writers

In order to write a book,

it is necessary to sit down

(or stand up)

and write.

Therein lies the difficulty.

~ Edward Abbey ~

Words of Wisdom From Writers

"The very cheapness of literature is making

even wise people forget that if a book is worth reading,

it is worth buying.

No book is worth anything which is not worth much;

nor is it serviceable,

until it has been read,

and re-read,

and loved,

and loved again;

and marked,

so that you can refer to the passages you want in it."

~ John Ruskin, Sesame and Lilies ~

Words of Wisdom From Writers

The best time

for planning a book is while you're

doing the dishes.

~ Agatha Christie ~

Words of Wisdom from Writers

"To get the right word in the right place is a rare achievement. To condense the diffused light of a page of thought into the luminous flash of a single sentence, is worthy to rank as a prize composition just by itself...Anybody can have ideas--the difficulty is to express them without squandering a quire of paper on an idea that ought to be reduced to one glittering paragraph."

~ Mark Twain ~

Words of Wisdom from Writers

"Once upon a time in the dead of winter in the Dakota territory, Theodore Roosevelt took off in a makeshift boat down the Little Missouri River in pursuit of a couple of thieves who had stolen his prized rowboat. After several days on the river, he caught up and got the draw on them with his trusty Winchester, at which point they surrendered. Then Roosevelt set off in a borrowed wagon to haul the thieves cross-country to justice. They headed across the snow-covered wastes of the Badlands to the railhead at Dickinson, and Roosevelt walked the whole way, the entire 40 miles. It was an astonishing feat, what might be called a defining moment in Roosevelt's eventful life. But what makes it especially memorable is that during that time, he managed to read all of Anna Karenina. I often think of that when I hear people say that they haven't time to read."

~ David McCullough, "No Time to Read?"

With this in mind, I have brought along Sarah Morgan: The Civil War Diary of a Southern Woman on our trip. I've read part of it before, but never got to finish it. This time I am determined to read it entirely! It is so much nicer reading first-hand accounts than dry repetitions of dates and names.

And since Roosevelt had his hefty tome while crossing the Dakotas, I thought I should have mine, too!

I agree with McCullough -- there's always time to read!

Words of Wisdom from Writers

I try to leave out the parts that people

skip.

~ Elmore Leonard