Free Stuff!!

In true Internet tradition, I stumbled upon a blog through a blog. The blog in question is flowerdust, authored by Anne Jackson.

It seems that Anne has a book about to be released, as well as a flippin' sweet giveaway contest going on right now through Saturday.

The giveaway is for Logos Scholar's Library, a collection of study resources, including Greek and Hebrew resources, different Bible translations, as well as certain commentaries, articles, and reference material.

So do yourself a favor and go comment here to enter. You have to chose your favorite Bible verse, and then maybe tell a story about said verse. The winner will be chosen randomly. If you win, that'd be awesome! If you don't, then you still get to read others talk about their favorite Bible verse, and why it is meaningful to them. So you get to enter an awesome contest, and read stories about how God is alive and active and speaking to us through His Book! Win-win-win, I say!

And since I mentioned my favorite Bible verse over there, I would be doing a disservice to not talk about it here, so read along!

Once upon a time, I had foolishly and very quickly decided that a certain girl might just very well be That Girl. At probably about the same time, she had decided that she was not that girl, and told me as much over the phone one night.

It sucked.

I moped around for a good long while after that, and one day found myself on the other end of town, just driving around. At one point I stopped, got out of my car, and walked for a bit. It was a park that I had come to a few times before, on the Thornapple River near the Cascade Dam.

I walked out towards the dam on the seawall (riverwall?), and just stood for a while. I was praying that God would tell me what to do, because what I was doing obviously had not worked out so well for me. I was broken, beaten, lost.

I asked for something, anything that would show me what to do, where to do, anything. I wasn't really looking for a specific path, I think now that I was just looking for God to show me that He did still have a plan, and that I was in it somewhere.

As I turned to return to my car, I kicked something at my feet. It wasn't very big, but it made a metallic clicking noise, so I knew it wasn't just a pebble. I looked down, and then reached down to pick up a small crucifix pendant.

As I picked it up and looked at it, a verse exploded into my mind: "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

Matthew 28:20.

Jesus had just been crucified, and his religious movement had seemingly failed. The disciples, who had given everything to follow him for the last three years, had absolutely nothing to show for it, except a fear that they were going to be next when the wrath of Rome and the Pharisees finally caught them.

But then they get a message to meet Jesus in Galilee, and so they go. They meet their risen LORD, and he sends them out to all the nations. He tells them to go and make disciples.

Not later, when you finally get all my parables figured out.

Not in a year or two, when Paul gets converted and stops chasing you around.

Not tomorrow, or next week, or next month.

Now.

And then He tells them that He will always be with them, until the end of the age.

Jesus says, "Go tell everyone you know about the way to Heaven. Go now, and don't worry about messing up. Don't put all your energy into getting the message technically correct. Just go show my love to the world. My spirit, my power and authority are with you. This is not about you, this is about me."

How encouraging that was and is for me still.

And, it was shortly after this that God brought my Bride and I together. And I'm telling you, it's better that it ever could have been with anyone else.

wingnut