The Quotable Susan

Easter Quotes

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."  2 Corinthians 5: 21 (NIV)

“Most of the descriptions of the victorious life do not match the reality of my own. Hyperbole, bloated rhetoric, and grandiose testimonies create the impression that once Jesus is acknowledged as Lord, the Christian life becomes a picnic on a green lawn; marriage blossoms into connubial bliss, physical health flourishes, acne disappears, sinking careers suddenly soar … The New Testament depicts another picture of the victorious life: Jesus on Calvary. The Biblical image of the victorious life reads more like the victorious limp." --Brennan Manning from his book, “The Ragamuffin Gospel”

“Grace is not cheap; it’s free. To us it is offered freely but it is not cheap. It cost Christ everything.” --John Michael (my husband)

“The cross is tiny physically but in the scope of the vastness of the universe, it dominates everything.  That is why the universe is so big –so that it can be a stage for the cross.” --Jack Miller World Harvest Missions, “Sonship” videos

“The foolishness of the cross means that ministry is essentially and irreducibly scandalous and there is nothing you can do about it. There is nothing you should try to do about it. We can’t manage scandal, we must bear it.” --Dr. Albert Mohler President of the Southern Baptist Seminary

Interesting Bible Facts about Easter

The Kidron Valley

According to John 18:1, when Jesus traveled to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray on the night before he was crucified, he crossed the Kidron valley. The Hebrew word, Kidron means dark or black. The valley got its name because the temple was directly above this valley and as the animals were sacrificed, their blood ran out of the temple and into the Kidron Valley, turning the ground black as it dried. Isn’t it amazing to realize Jesus passed through this valley on his way to the cross? I wonder what went through His mind as he stepped on the black ground. I wonder if He pictured my face–and yours?

Judas

According to Matthew 27:3-7, after Judas betrayed Jesus for just 30 pieces of silver, Judas felt remorse and tried to give the silver back to the chief priests and elders. In doing this, he threw the silver into the sanctuary of the temple. The chief priests bought a potters field with it.

Interestingly, thirty pieces of silver was the price stated in Exodus 21:33 for the life of a slave. Zechariah 11:13 foretold this: “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.’ So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw to the potter in the house of the Lord.”

Prophet, Priest, and King

Jesus He was Prophet, Priest, King, the great intercessor, the perfect lamb, fully God yet fully man. We know He was a priest and king but how was He a prophet? As a prophet, He occasionally acted in classic prophet manner. The prophets often dramatized situations. Hosea married a harlot to illustrate Israel’s infidelity, Jeremiah hid his waistband in a rock and came back to find it ruined to illustrate God’s destruction of the pride of Judah and the pride of Jerusalem (Jeremiah 13:1-8.) Just read the 4^th & 5^th chapters of Ezekiel and you will see many such dramatizations. When did Jesus act in similar prophet fashion? When He broke the bread and drank the wine illustrating his death and resurrection. This upcoming event (found in all of the gospels, see Luke 22:19-20 as one example) was not explained by a sermon as much as a drama.

 

Confessions of a Prayer Warrior

“I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one.” John 17:11(NIV)

This passage is from a prayer Jesus prayed at the last supper. He was praying for His disciples and other followers yet to come. He prayed that we, His followers, would be one just like He and the Father were one.

Becoming one with other believers is not always easy, especially if those believers live in a strange land, speak a strange tongue, and have different customs, languages, and even skin color from you. When my parents served as missionaries in Nigeria, they and the other missionaries worked at becoming one with the people among whom they lived and ministered.

When I was eight years old, I made a profession of faith in Jesus and wanted to be baptized. Being a doctor, my father felt he should not be the one to baptize me, but desired instead to have me baptized by a minister. Though there were other missionary ministers he could have asked, he chose to ask Reverend Asaju, the hospital chaplain. Here is the man’s response as written in a thank you note to my parents which they still posses.

In a letter dated, 11/12/67 from Rev. Asaju , the chaplain of the Baptist Hospital Ogbomosho.  Address: Ogbomosho Baptist Hospital, Ogbomosho Nigeria, Po. Box 15.

Dear Dr. & Mrs. T. K. Edwards,

            The occasion of yesterday afternoon was one of those I will never forget in my life for the meaning it has for me and for the cause of Christ in this land.

            Your daughter was the first American Baptist Missionary I had the privilege to baptize. The most important thing about it is this – that oneness in Christ you preach is practicalized. That is you prove to us that you do not say by mouth that you love the Nigerians but you demonstrate it. May the love of Christ continue to flow through you to many more in this land as you dedicate your lives for the service of our Lord, Amen.

                                                                                                I am,

                                                                                                     Sincerely Yours,

                                                                                                             D.A.Asju