Verses of the Day for me

“All mankind is stupid, devoid of knowledge; Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, For his molten images are deceitful, And there is no breath in them. They are worthless, a work of mockery; In the time of their punishment they will perish.” -- Jeremiah 51:17-18

Greatest Sin in History

Have you ever wondered what the greatest sin in the history of the world is? That question is answered in John Piper’s small book “History’s Most Spectacular Sin”. Piper is a Pastor for preaching at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The book was written for anyone who can read. It is a book that answers a question most people are curious to know the answer to.
To answer the question, “what is history’s most spectacular sin?” we first need to know what sin is. Sin is what a person does when he is not satisfied in God. Therefore the question could be asked in the following way; at what point in history was a person least satisfied with God. To answer the question simply, the brutal murder of Jesus Christ. The following summary of each of the points in the book will talk about the murder of Jesus Christ.
The night Jesus had the last supper, Satan entered Judas. Judas offered to betray Jesus to the Pharisees for money. Judas was an evil man, like the rest of mankind, before Satan entered into him. He was a thief and a lover of money. Satan used Judah’s evil desire, love for money, to lead Judah’s into betraying Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, knowing that the death of Jesus Christ would result in Satan being defeated.
That poses a question; why would Satan try to do that which would lead Christ to final victory? The reason why Satan wanted Jesus to die was that Satan could not stop Jesus from going to the cross. He decided to at least make the death of Jesus Christ as brutal, painful, and heartbreaking as possible. In Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus is being tempted by the devil, and Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.” Satan tempted Jesus in all things, and Jesus never sinned because He is God, and He cannot sin. Satan realized that, so trying to make Jesus turn from the cross was useless, because Jesus wouldn’t fall for any of the devils temptations to turn from going to the cross.
Where was God this whole time? What was He doing at the time of History’s most spectacular sin? Long time before Jesus died there were prophets used by God who said evil men would reject Jesus when he came. God, through the Prophets, promised many things that would happen so they had to be fulfilled, because God cannot lie, and everything he says will happen. God planned for Jesus to die. In Isaiah 53:6, 10 it says “All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him... the LORD was pleased to crush Him (Jesus), putting Him to grief.” Everything that happened to Jesus, when he was mocked, spit at, betrayed, denied, behind it all was Jesus’ own Father who loved him with an infinite love.
Why does this matter to you? Well, if God was not the One behind what happened to Jesus, Then mankind would all perish and go to hell for eternity. Because on the cross Jesus took the punishment that we deserved, He died in our place so we can be reconciled to God.
Works Cited
Piper, John. History’s Most Spectacular Sin. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008. 1-16

You Know You Are Russian When:

You Know You Are Russian When:
1. You had to share a room until you were 21.
2. You try and reuse gift wrappers, gift boxes, and of course aluminum foil.
3. You are standing next to the two largest suitcases at the airport.
4. You arrive one or two hours late to a party - and think it s normal.
5. All your children have nicknames, which sound nowhere close to their real names.
6. You know someone with 20 kids
7. You talk for an hour at the front door when leaving someone's house.
8. You can fit 10 people into a civic
9. Your parents never throw anything away and if you by some chance manage to get something to make it to the garbage can… it mysteriously appears back where it was again.
10. You have lace curtains.
11. You have lace tablecloths.
12. You have or had rugs on your walls.
13. Your mom tells you you're too skinny even though your 30 pounds overweight.
14. Girls can't have boyfriends when they are 17 but they have to be married at 18.
15. Your parents tell you not to care what your friends think but they won't let you do certain things because of what other 'brat'ya' and 'sestri' will think.
16. You or your relatives have at least five gold teeth in their mouth.
17. Either you or 40 of your relatives drive a Civic, Eclipse, Camry, BMW or Accord.
18. Your car windows are tinted twice the legal limit.
19. Going over 100 mph is routine.
20. You're driving on 2 tickets and don't remember what your license looks like.
21. You've been driving without a license for 2 years.
22. You say "lets meet at 9″, you actually mean "I'll wake up at 9, take a shower, eat, watch tv and meet you at 12″.
23. You stand around in circles of friends for an hour deciding what to do.
24. After leaving a restaurant, it actually means you're going outside to the parking lot to talk for another hour.
25. Your uncle/dad fixes cars from the auction.
26. You drive a car bought from an auction. (which u will later sell and make a hefty profit off of unsuspecting American buyers).
27. You know your a new Russian immigrant if you wear church shoes with jeans, shorts, or slacks… while playing volleyball.
28. You know you are a new Russian immigrant if you tuck your shirt in your shorts.
29. At least 5 of your relatives are named Volodia, Yura, Olya, Oksana, Nataliya or Tanya
30. All of your CDs are burned, or u bought them at a Bazar for 2 bucks a piece.
31. You can make pirog in 18 different flavors.
32. You get kicked out of every go kart, theme park, and anything potentially dangerous.
33. When you work at construction site.
34. You have five leather jackets and matching gloves.
35. You keep your stash of cash under your mattress instead of a savings account.
36. Twelve of your friends get into a movie with only one ticket.
37. Your house is full of foreign medicine that is probably illegal here.
38. You sing at every party you go to.
39. Your mom recycles plastic cups and plastic plates, and sandwich bags by washing them.
40. You don t know how to use a dishwasher.
41. You use grocery bags to hold garbage.
42. Your dad has butchered a pig or lamb.
43. You keep leftover food in your fridge in as many numbers of bowls as possible.
44. Your kitchen shelf is full of jam jars, varieties of bowls and plastic utensils.
45. You eat bread with everything.
46. You don't celebrate Halloween.