I came across this song by Rebecca St. James and loved it! When I searched for it on Youtube I found that she put the music video up. The song is incredible on its own, but the imagery in the video adds even more to it. (Watch on YouTube)
Lyrics:
For all the times I’ve failed You, Lord Forgive me For all the ways I’ve fallen short Lord, forgive me now God, I’m so in need of grace I fall upon my face Forgive me
You see the tears fall down my face Forgive me Take my fear, Lord, take my shame Lord, forgive me now Purify me, make me new Like only You can do Forgive me now
Lord, we come to honor You We are forgiven We bring our love and thanks to You We are forgiven now
God we praise You for Your grace Before You we are raised Forgiven God we praise You for Your grace Before You we are raised Forgiven Forgiven
These are some pics taken when Kripa, Maria and I hiked to Moonshine Falls (in Caesar’s Head State Park). It’s a nice, moderate hike through some pretty forests. There are plenty of unofficial campsites along the trail as well. Although the hike is moderate, there is one place where you have to cross a small river on a cable (see pics). However, the river can probably be crossed without using the cable if you don’t mind getting your feet a little damp.
Moonshine Falls is not very spectacular, but there is an overhang behind the falls, and a pool that’s 3-4 feet deep at the bottom. It’s not a place to go if you’re looking to get a great view (I’d recommend Raven Cliff Falls for that), but it would be a nice place to take the kids to play and give them a sense of adventure. There are still some barrels and things left over from when people used to make moonshine there.
These are some pics I took of Raven Cliff Falls. There are also some pics from the overlook at Caesar’s Head State Park. There are two ways to view Raven Cliff Falls, and these pics are taken from the first view point. The second view point is from a suspension bridge over the falls, but I didn’t have time to make the whole loop.
More info on the hike can be found here: http://www.sctrails.net/trails/ALLTRAILS/Waterfalls/Ravencliff.html. It’s a 2-mile hike (one-way) to the overlook, and 4 miles to the suspension bridge. It’s a pretty hike with a pretty view, and it’s not strenuous at all, so it’s a nice place to take the family, or even to go by yourself if you have a little time to kill.
Pics from a trip to Sliding Rock and some random waterfall up in Pisgah National Forest this summer. Guests of honor were Kripa & Kushal. Chauffer was Leigh. Tour guide was Josh Spiers. Random person hanging around in the back seat and making faces at everyone else was Caraleigh.
I just finished reading “The Case for a Creator” by Lee Strobel, and it’s a fascinating read. He concluded his book with an extended quotation by Alister McGrath’s book “Glimpsing the Face of God.” I liked the quotation so much that I decided to post it on my blog. I hope you guys enjoy it as much as I do!
“Many have found that the awesome sight of the star-studded heavens evoke a sense of wonder, an awareness of transcendence, that is charged with spiritual significance. Yet the distant shimmering of stars does not itself create this sense of longing; it merely exposes what is already there. They are catalysts for our spiritual insights, revealing our emptiness and compelling us to ask whether and how this void might be filled.
Might our true origins and destiny somehow lie beyond those stars? Might there not be a homeland, from which we are presently exiled and to which we secretly long to return? Might not our accumulation of discontentment and disillusionment with our present existence be a pointer to another land where our true destiny lies and which is able to make its presence felt now in this haunting way?
Suppose that this is not where we are meant to be but that a better land is at hand? We don’t belong here. We have somehow lost our way. Would not this make our present existence both strange and splendid? Strange, because it is not where our true destiny lies; splendid, because it points ahead to where that real hope might be found. The beauty of the night skies or a glorious sunset are important pointers to the origins and the ultimate fulfillment of our heart’s deepest desires. But if we mistake the signpost for what signposted, we will attach our hopes and longings to lesser goals, which cannot finally quench our thirst for meaning.”
I was glad to find these two videos on Youtube today; they are videos of a debate between skeptic Tim Callahan, author of "The Secret Origins of the Bible," and Dr. Gary Habermas, one of the world’s foremost scholars on the Resurrection of Christ. In this debate they discuss whether or not Jesus’ resurrection was a legend that grew out of earlier pagan myths about gods or godesses who died and rose again.
The reason that I was glad that I found these videos is because this is a "hot topic" today. I have met many people who are under a vague impression that there were a lot of myths of gods who were killed and then rose again after three days, and Jesus was just another one on the list. These people were invariably told this by some university professor, or they heard it in some movie, or a friend told them, or they read it in a book, or something like that. No one seems to know dates or times or names.
I have done some reading on the subject and I am convinced that the reason no one knows dates or times or names is because they do not exist. It is true that there were several resurrection myths in pagan religions, but they post-date Christianity. The question is, "Who influenced who?"
I discovered this song earlier today and I love it! I’ve been listening to it all day. Check it out…
Lyrics
Verse 1 And now the weak say I have strength By the spirit of power that raised Christ from the dead And now the poor stand and confess That my portion is and I’m more blessed
This is a lecture that Dr. Gary Habermas gave at UNC Chapel Hill, on April 11, 2007. Dr. Habermas was raised Christian, but became a religious skeptic. For over 10 years he "faced uncertainty about key Christian claims and searched other religious and non-religious systems, especially naturalism. Dr. Habermas eventually converted to Christianity because of the Resurrection of Jesus. As I have heard him say many times, "Christianity stands and falls on the Resurrection…if Jesus rose from the dead then He was who He said He was, and Christianity is true; If Jesus did not rise from the dead then Christianity is false". He is now a world-renowned scholar on the Resurrection.
