Hos 5:8-10 Blow the horn in Gibeah, the trumpet in Ramah. Sound the alarm at Beth-aven; we follow you, O Benjamin! Ephraim shall become a desolation in the day of punishment; among the tribes of Israel I make known what is sure. The princes of Judah have become like those who move the landmark; upon them I will pour out my wrath like water.
 

In The Year of Living Biblically A.J. Jacobs, general editor of Esquire magazine, writes, “Julie [his wife] always told me that things happen for a reason. To which I would reply, Sure, things happen for a reason. Certain chemical reactions take place in people’s brains, and they cause those people to move their mouths and arms. That’s the reason. But, I thought, there’s no greater purpose.”

“Two are better than one, because they can reap more benefit from their labor.” Ecclesiastes 4:9

Bible.org would like to announce the release of the Custom Verse of the Day Widget (VOTD). These are visual upgrades to this free tool you can utilize on your personal or ministry website(s). Now you have the choice on how they will appear.

Okay, I understand that each episode of THE BIBLE, the epic mini-series, began with a disclaimer which read as follows: “THIS PROGRAM IS AN ADAPTATION OF BIBLE STORIES. IT ENDEAVORS TO STAY TRUE TO THE SPIRIT OF THE BOOK.” But some of the synonyms for “adaptation” are “altered copy, revision, reworked copy, variation, alteration, and adjustment.” Such a word can be problematic when it comes to the Bible. When I first saw the disclaimer I hoped what it meant was “We took some artistic license with the texts, in order to provide a bit more dialogue and we had to leave some things out because of time limitation.” In some cases I think they made mistakes, even made major errors. For examples of those negatives, my dislikes and disappointments, please see my column entitled, “THE BIBLE miniseries: my perspective, part 1.”
    
But let me now turn toward the positive.
 

This week's table podcast is about the new pope. I interview two DTS professors and a Latin American Lutheran who all have much to say.
If you want to see the podcast it is at:
 
www.dts.edu/thetable
 

 
I have been a faithful church attendee since I was two months old, became a follower of Christ at four years old, attended Christian Elementary School, led Bible studies, and on and on. BUT, the first time I had the opportunity to talk to a child about salvation, I was a mess.

·      The average adult needs six to eight hours of sleep nightly.  
·      People who never take a one-day stop every week have higher rates of depression.

Alive.  Merriam-Webster defines the word as having life : not dead or inanimate;  still in existence, force, or operation.  Christians around the globe celebrated the fact of Jesus Christ’s resurrection yesterday.   We believe he’s still in operation, that those shriveled lungs breathed air again and that his scarred body walked out of the dark tomb into a bright middle-eastern morning long ago.  Hallelujah!  But what did Operation Jesus look like come Monday morning?  Christ didn’t immediately return to heaven but hung around for another 40 days, tying up loose ends as it were.   We can learn a lot about the heart of God from reflecting on how his Son spent his last days here.

Bible.org upgraded its search functionality a few months ago. As a result, users are finding the content they want much more efficiently. 

Hos 5:5-7 The pride of Israel testifies to his face; Israel and Ephraim shall stumble in his guilt; Judah also shall stumble with them. With their flocks and herds they shall go to seek the Lord, but they will not find him; he has withdrawn from them. They have dealt faithlessly with the Lord; for they have borne alien children.

 
It was the Sabbath.  This Sabbath was unlike any other.  Jesus had just been killed.  Peter had denied Jesus with his words, the rest with their silence.  No, this was not a normal Sabbath.  Fear and confusion were everywhere.  

Peter denied Jesus because he was afraid.  He was afraid for his own life and for the lives of his friends.  But more than that, Peter was afraid because all he had believed and understood was coming into question.  How could Jesus be both Messiah, and crucified?  How could Jesus be both King, and dead? 

Bible.org has a global impact. In 2012 the website alone reached people from 227 countries. Fifteenth on the list of most vists came from Kenya.

Africa

In April, Bible.org is serving alongside graduates of Global Proclamation Academy (GPA) for two pastors conferences in Kenya (Eldoret and Kijabe).

Quick Facts About Kenya:

We've been studying the book of Revelation at the women's Bible study at my church. And this spring, we've focused on Jesus' letters in the first three chapters. Did you know that Jesus wrote seven letters to Christians? WOW! Are the convicting and powerful. I feel like my life has been under a microscope!

Hos 5:3-4 I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from me; for now, O Ephraim, you have played the whore; Israel is defiled. Their deeds do not permit them to return to their God. For the spirit of whoredom is within them, and they know not the Lord.
 
Samaria, the capital of the Northern Kingdom, lies in the region of Ephraim.
 

 
On his last evening before the crucifixion, Jesus sat down among his disciples. Like every Jew in Jerusalem, they gathered around unleavened bread, bitter herbs, lamb, and wine as they celebrated Passover.
 

Warning!!!   This blog will offend someone!
What I’m going to do is share what I perceive is some of the many "flavors" of God that people have created as they have developed thier views and understanding of God and Jesus.   It’s really from personal experience, personal observation and a general understanding of people – especially in America.  So as I go through these various “flavors” please take in mind that these are just my opinion of how people perceive God and/or Jesus.  Here we go: 

A lamb appears in God’s narrative toward the beginning, throughout and is present at the conclusion.  The lamb in Exodus 12: 1-13 was the sacrificial Passover lamb. One lamb was sacrificed for one family. If your family was small you might share a lamb with another small family. It was a real live lamb that was slaughtered.

The last four weeks I have interviewed Reg Grant about Cultural Engagement and the Arts. This is a fascinating look at how media and story impact us. Tomorrow we release an interview with Naima Lett, an African-American believer who is an actor in Hollywood. She talks about the choices she faces about the parts she plays and how she conducts herself there.

I was crippled by polio at six months old, paralyzed from the waist down on my left side. In order to stand or walk at all, I was fitted with a steel-and-leather brace from hip to shoe. This brace provided the external support I needed to stay upright and to walk. I was blessed to regain some use of my leg, and my muscles slowly grew stronger. I was able to go to a half brace; then, when I learned to lock my knee, they took away the brace altogether because the strength and support became internal rather than external.

Resurrection Eggs seem to be one of the biggest Christian family fads for Easter. If you haven’t heard of them before, the concept is pretty simple. Twelve plastic eggs help as visual aids in retelling the Easter story. Each egg has an item which symbolizes part of the story. But before you go thinking… I already spent a bucket load of money on Easter baskets, and now you want me to get Resurrection Eggs too? ... here is a cheap and fun way to make your own.

How do you make the one of the most advanced free online Bible study tools better? With beautiful satellite maps.

"The Holy Land from the Heavens"

Ten years ago the Second Beta NET Bible was published. It was the first Bible to feature beautiful color satellite maps and pictures of the Holy Land. Absolute eye candy.

This is the week we remember what it was like for Jesus to count down the remaining six days of his life--triumphant parade, turning over tables, nightly walks to Bethany, final words with friends, banquets, betrayal, arrest, flogging, mocking, rejection, exquisite pain and finally, death. So much drama and richness of life in six days. And yet it was basically a death march. And more than anyone who has ever approached certain death, Jesus knew exactly how horrific it would be. What stands out to me as I focus on his story again this year: how Jesus endured. There are two ways to endure hard things.

“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!” (John 8:58).[1]
 
The World Religions’ Professor’s assignment read as follows: What’s the best word to describe Jesus? Prophet, Avatar (of the Hebrew God), or Bodhisattva?
 
Well, I was not going to be forced into the professor’s definitions....
 

 
Christianity would not exist if the resurrection of Jesus did not happen. His resurrection has made all the difference.
 

Hos 5:1-2 Hear this, O priests! Pay attention, O house of Israel! Give ear, O house of the king! For the judgment is for you; for you have been a snare at Mizpah and a net spread upon Tabor. And the revolters have gone deep into slaughter, but I will discipline all of them.
 

There's a message we're sending out about singleness and marriage: Singleness is just second best. No one is really saying this out right, but we are saying it all the time in other ways. We're trying to set up our single friends. We pray for those who are single like they need healing from a disease. We look upon them with pity. Sometimes we even relegate them to lesser positions of leadership because they are single.

One of the best parts of the ministry at Bible.org is giving valuable content away for free. Myriads of people from all over the world access the articles, computer tools, and the NET Bible.

While preparing for my message this week on Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem I was reminded that Jesus instructed his disciples to borrow the donkey that he would be riding into the city.  The King of the Jews, their Messiah didn’t own his own donkey.