Black Sabbath’s Bill Ward and Led Zeppelin”s John Bonham rose through the ranks together

Dear Lord, on this Good Friday, help us to see the profound goodness in Your sacrifice. As we reflect on Your suffering, grant us the vision to recognize Your love and mercy at work every day in our lives.

8 Ways to Live Out Holy Week, Every Week

What Is Dayenu and How Can it Inspire Gratitude in Your Christian Faith?

Abrego Garcia was out of his cell, chatting with Sen. Chris Hollen over coffee in the café with a human rights activist during Hollen’s stay in El Salvador. Abrego is looking good, not tortured. Senator Van Hollen wants to bring him home, meaning to the USA. However, home is El Salvador. We have a clip […] The post Sheriff: Abrego Is “1000% MS-13,” Van Hollen: Bring Him Home appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Porcupines are prickly critters. We’ve all seen the results of animals tangling with adult porcupines and not coming out on the winning end. Although dangerous, porcupines are still adorable at any age, especially as cubs. Toby is a teeny tiny cub being bottle-fed by Christina’s Critters in Ventura, California. She has been monitoring Toby’s porcupine zoomies since he was two weeks old. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Wildlife Rehabber / Snake Relocator (@christinascrittersca) Toby is an eight-week-old African Crested Porcupine cub. When weaning is complete, he will live at the Born To Be Free Wildlife Sanctuary. The little porcupine is growing like a weed and sporting a natural Mohawk, but he still gets the zoomies. He always enjoys following the leader under his caretaker’s watchful eyes. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Wildlife Rehabber / Snake Relocator (@christinascrittersca) At eight weeks, Toby still gets milk feeding, but he also gets solid treats like corn on the cob. When he is happy, he does a little happy feet dance and gets a little stompy when frustrated. Because porcupines are members of the rodent family, they must eat certain hard foods to control the growth of their incisors. Proper weaning and diet maintenance are essential to Toby’s early cub care. And it gives us plenty of opportunities to see his adorable porcupine zoomies. Contrary to popular belief, porcupines do not “shoot” their quills. They will raise them as a shield when threatened. Chaos can ensue if an attacker (or a curious dog) penetrates the shield. When in captivity, the little animals accept some handling with relative safety, although Jeff Corwin did have to redirect one from nibbling on his fingers. It is best to look, speak softly, and back away slowly when encountered in the wild. Follow Cristina’s Critters and Born to be Free on Instagram for updates. Please share these adorable zoomies. You can find the source of this story’s featured image here. The post Tiny Baby Porcupine With Major Case Of The Zoomies Will Melt Your Heart appeared first on InspireMore.

Details matter—whether you’re working on your tax return, building a house, or counting electrons. The Gospel writers only include the most germane details in their accounts. Problems arise when we brush them aside or accuse the early church of embedding details within the narrative to give the Gospel accounts a more authentic feel. Let’s look afresh at the evidence for nails at the crucifixion and flesh out their redemptive-historical significance. Evidence for Nails John’s Gospel is the only one that explicitly mentions Jesus’s hands bearing the marks of nails: “[Jesus] showed [the disciples] his hands and his side. . . . ‘Unless I [Thomas] see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails.’ . . . ‘Put your finger here, and see my hands’” (20:20, 25, 27). Matthew and Mark are silent on the matter, but Luke includes a verse that probably implies the use of nails in the crucifixion: “See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see” (24:39; see also v. 40). In both narratives, Jesus uses the physical marks on his body as evidence for his physical resurrection. While ancient authors mention that individuals were sometimes tied to a cross (e.g., Pliny in Natural History), two of the four Gospels present a different picture: that nails pierced Jesus’s wrists and feet. One implies it, and the other explicitly mentions it. Note that the Hebrew and Greek words for “hand” can mean “wrist.” If the Roman soldiers merely bound Jesus’s wrists and feet, what physical proof would Jesus show to the disciples? Keep in mind, too, that when Jesus utters these words, he’s in his glorified body. Remarkably, his glorified body preserves marks of his death. These nail marks are a symbolic and public reminder of the price Jesus paid to bear God’s wrath and right humanity’s wrongs. Some argue that the early church created these post-resurrection accounts, but that line of reasoning merely kicks the can down the road. Why would the church fabricate such a claim? To make the crucifixion even more horrific? These nail marks are a symbolic and public reminder of the price Jesus paid to bear God’s wrath and right humanity’s wrongs. The apostle Paul even mentions nails used in Christ’s death: “[God canceled] the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (Col. 2:14). Of course, Paul is speaking symbolically of the believer’s spiritual debt being “nailed” to the cross, but the symbol’s power rests in the reality of Christ being physically nailed to the cross. Prophetic Significance of Piercing There are other reasons why it’s important that nails pierced Christ’s hands and feet. The emphasis, though, isn’t so much on the instrument (the nails) but the manner (the piercing). Three Old Testament texts situate piercing along a redemptive-historical plane: “Dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet.” (Ps. 22:16) “He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities.” (Isa. 53:5) “They [will] look on me, on him whom they have pierced.” (Zech. 12:10) Isaiah 53:5 is a well-known verbal prophecy that describes the Lord’s servant bearing God’s curse on behalf of the covenant community (see also Isa. 50:4–9; 52:13–53:12). Zechariah 12:10 is a verbal prophecy that concerns Israel’s repentance for their sins of persecuting the Lord’s anointed (see also Zech. 9:9; 13:7). The New Testament authors often draw from these two prophecies. John’s Gospel even quotes Zechariah 12:10 in 19:37—the piercing mentioned there, though, refers to the piercing of Jesus’s side (v. 34). These words for piercing aren’t unique in the Old Testament; they occur often in military contexts or in the context of punishing the wicked (e.g., Num. 25:8; Judg. 9:54; Job 26:13; Isa. 51:9; Zech. 13:3). But that’s precisely the point. Piercing is supremely ironic. If anyone should be pierced, it should be the enemies of God and Israel. Piercing is supremely ironic. If anyone should be pierced, it should be the enemies of God and Israel. It’s possible the prophecies of Isaiah 53 and Zechariah 12 are exhausted in the piercing of Jesus’s side, but Psalm 22:16 explicitly refers to the piercing of hands and feet. This verse describes how David’s enemies “pierced” or “gouged” his “hands and feet,” and it appears to be the only Old Testament passage that refers to the piercing of hands and feet. While the Hebrew text of Psalm 22:16 says “like a lion,” the Greek translation of the Old Testament that predates the New Testament and the Dead Sea Scrolls says “they pierced.” Indeed, the majority of English translations of Psalm 22:16 follow the reading “they pierced.” The point is that David’s enemies are like vicious animals who puncture his hands and feet. The picture is that the enemies “nip and bite, and in the process puncture the extended limbs.” Promise Fulfilled If you consult the cross-references in your Bible’s margins, you’ll see all four Gospels allude to Psalm 22 as they narrate the crucifixion (see Matt. 27:35, 39, 41, 42, 43; Mark 15:24, 29, 31; Luke 23:34, 35, 36; John 19:23, 24). Jesus even quotes verse 1 (“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”) in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34. Three of the four evangelists possibly allude to verse 16 as they describe Jesus being crucified between two criminals (Matt. 27:38; Luke 23:33; John 19:18). So when Jesus commands Thomas and the disciples to look at his “hands” and “feet” (Luke 24:39; John 20:20, 25), he could subtly be alluding to verse 16 since Psalm 22 features so prominently at the crucifixion. The early church was convinced that Jesus was nailed to the cross (e.g., Justin Martyr, Ignatius, Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Origen), and so are most contemporary commentators (e.g., Raymond Brown, I. Howard Marshall, Craig Keener, and Eckhard Schnabel). By preserving the details about nails that pierced Jesus’s hands and feet, we’re reminded that at the gospel’s heart lies One who is pierced, One who bore God’s wrath, so you and I can enjoy God’s favor.

Our home is at the end of a cul-de-sac, and it backs up to the only thin band of woods in the area. The neighborhood children are naturally drawn to the trees, which means there might be anywhere from five to twenty kids playing in our yard at any given time. Racing around on scooters or rollerblades, stomping up from the creek with muddy boots, or walking back from our tree fort shouting about the bugs they caught in a jar—it’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a neighborhood. But sometimes, the sight of all the happy kids running around pricks my heart in pain. Because of her disabilities, my daughter can’t visit the woods without my help. She can’t keep pace with the scooters in the driveway, and she can’t easily communicate about the treasures she’s found. Occasionally, my kids ask why their sister seems different from the other children in our lives. I’ll never forget the time my oldest asked pointedly, “Why did God make her like that?” It struck me like a gust of wind on a cold Iowa day, knowing this was the question I was looking to answer as well. Thankfully, the Bible isn’t silent on this topic. Here are four theological truths I’ve shared with my children to help them understand God’s design in allowing one of their siblings to have disabilities. 1. God made us all in his image. Genesis 1:26 tells us that when God created people, he said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” The words “image” and “likeness” speak of every person’s resemblance to God, giving all of us equal dignity and value. This means, no matter our abilities, we all carry the stamp of God on us. We’re not duplicates of one another, but because we’re a family, there’s a sameness (Gal. 3:28–29). Help your children see that just as every person in the family has different abilities and gifts, each is equally valuable and loved. 2. The fall affects everyone. At the same time, the world is broken. The fall affects everyone and everything. It’s not hard to help your child see this. A toy breaks when it drops to the floor, a sibling shoves to get a better view, the baby birds fall from the nest. Adam’s sin has affected everything—nothing is untouched. No matter our abilities, we all carry the stamp of God on us. Help your children see that disabilities, more often than not, are simply a result of living in a fallen world (John 9:1–3). Even in cases when disability or delays may result from abuse or neglect, we can teach our children to focus on having compassion for others rather than diagnosing who was at fault. Whether we know the reason or not, these things are a part of life east of Eden, and they’ll be with us until we go home to glory. 3. God is sovereign over how each of us was formed. When we explain that having disabilities is a part of a fallen world, it may feel like disabilities were passed out at random. But we know from Psalm 139 that God made every human intentionally and by his design (“For it was you who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb,” CSB). Help your children see that just as God intentionally chose their hair color, their shoe size, and what activities they’d excel at, he also formed every limp, every irregular organ, every stutter, and every eye that only sees darkness. “The LORD said to [Moses], ‘Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?’” (Ex. 4:11). 4. God is still good. Every chromosome, every gene, every atom—God commands them at his will. He makes no mistakes. God is still good and uses disabilities for his purposes. Disability is costly—emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Young children in particular don’t always have the maturity to filter their experiences. As parents, we can help our children see that God has a perfect purpose in creating their family as he did. When the disciples had questions about a man born blind, Jesus told them, “This came about so that God’s works might be displayed in him” (John 9:3, CSB). Or in Lazarus’s sickness, Jesus told his disciples, “It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it” (11:4). In both cases, Jesus points out that God is glorified through the disability. Sometimes, particularly for children, this can be hard to see. In our family, we talk about both the joys and difficulties of having a sibling with disabilities. There are times when they’ll need to slow down to care for their sister, interpret her vocalizations for friends, or go home early from a fun event so she can rest. As they lay down their lives for their sibling, God uses their sacrifice to sanctify and teach them about his love and their obedience. We also talk about all the wonderful ways their sister has blessed our family. We talk about how inspiring it is to watch her accomplish new things, her care for them when they’re hurt, and—perhaps my favorite—how joyfully she sings worship songs no matter where we are. She gives us a front-row seat to aspects of God we wouldn’t have without her. Help your children see God’s goodness to them and their sibling with disabilities. Living with Tension For siblings and parents, having disabilities is both joy and sorrow, sadness and celebration. As William Cowper wrote, “The bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower.” It’s a tension we must learn to live with. We don’t always know God’s exact purposes for his ways, but we can trust that our families can “count it all joy” and will be “lacking in nothing” as we walk this journey (James 1:2–4). My daughter gives us a front-row seat to aspects of God we wouldn’t have without her. As parents, we can emphasize God’s kindness, knowing that “for those who love God all things work together for good” (Rom. 8:28). This is God’s promise that gives hope to every member in the family who follows Christ. So the next time our children ask, “Why is she like that?” we can answer genuinely, “I don’t know why God chose this, but I trust God with it. God is good to us, and it’s part of his purpose for our family.”