Good News

We got some good news yesterday. We were originally planning on a Dordt summer ministries scholarship of $1000 to supplement our income for the summer. Well, we got an email from Dordt and ended up getting a $400 summer ministry scholarship. This was a little disappointing, but Erica reminded me that not only is this $400 we didn't have, but that God will provide in other ways (indeed she is my better half...). Last night I received a business scholarship for $600, which brings that right up to $1000:) We also heard from our friends that they would like to sublease our apartment for the two months we are going to be gone. This way we won't have to pay rent for a house we're not living in. God is good!

Jeremiah 29:10-12
10 This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

Passion Week

There is a part of me that really doesn’t like passion week. While it is a beautiful story of a God’s love for his children, so great that he would send and sacrifice his own, I just have a hard time with it. I hate to admit that I am the reason that Jesus died. From my own self-righteous, humanistic approach, I don’t like the dependency that it causes. For without God, I am truly nothing. Without him, I have no gifts, no abilities, NO LIFE. It is easy to look at the cross and say, “yep, Jesus had to come and die for their sins because they keep on sinning.” For those people. But me, He died for me? This realization causes a response on my behalf that I am not sure if I am comfortable with. It cause me, well it humanly obligates me to do something out of response. If someone took a bullet for me, I would no doubt do whatever it took for the rest of my life to ensure their happiness. However, someone took 4 nails and a spear to the side for me, took on hell itself, will ultimately crush Satan, and here I stand like this is no big deal. I cannot simply blame my sinful nature, because even my sinful human nature would respond differently than I have if a friend today did all that just so that I could have life. It just doesn’t make sense, and that is what makes passion week a bit uncomfortable to me. The crucifixion of Christ was not necessary. He didn’t have to do it. But he did! He died for me, for us, and for all the crap that we would do so that he could make up for it with his own sweat, his own blood, and his own tears. And here we are living our comfortable lives like it’s no big deal, just a free pass to heaven. This makes me uncomfortable.