Agabus (mark adams)

JOS, Nigeria – Rioters armed with machetes slaughtered more than 200 people including a 4-day-old infant, residents said, less than two months after sectarian violence in the volatile region left more than 300 dead.

The violence in three mostly Christian villages Sunday appeared to be reprisal attacks following the January unrest in Jos — when most of the victims were Muslims, Red Cross spokesman Robin Waubo said. State officials did not comment on the cause of the latest attacks.

The bodies of the dead lined dusty streets in three villages south of the regional capital of Jos, local journalists and a civil rights group said Sunday. They said at least 200 bodies had been counted by Sunday afternoon.

via Machete-wielding rioters kill 200 in Nigeria

Someone once commented that an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind. That is why forgiveness is the only solution to the world’s problems — forgiveness, not as a substitute for justice, but as a means for justice. Peace must be rooted in the forgiveness of God, for it is by his sacrifice that there is unity with God and peace among humans.

“It is finished,” cried Christ. No more a sublime pronouncement has been uttered in history. It is Christ saying, “I take upon me the punishment of sin; it is my eye that is plucked, it is my hand that is cut off, it is my life that is taken.” To insist upon an eye for an eye, to make war upon ones neighbor is to place oneself outside the realm of justice. There, no peace is possible, for there is no means for achieving it outside God’s forgiveness. What is left is an endless cycle of violence. Its end is only Christ.

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

Now when Jesus was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? For this could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor.” But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me. In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it to prepare me for burial. Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.” — Matt. 26:6-13, ESV

The gospel proclaims the life and ministry of Christ Jesus, but, in this instance, it does much more: “Truly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”

I can scarcely read this passage without writing about it, without wanting to talk about this woman’s passion. I am moved. I am unsettled. And so I should be. As Jesus prepared himself for the cross, no one knew or understood the ordeal he was to endure. Only this woman knew. Only this woman acted.

She was compelled, moved by the Holy Spirit to approach Christ in his hour of need, to bathe his feet with tears, to pour perfume upon his head, perfume so costly that it cost her everything. Was it worth the cost? Was it wise? Every sensibility is affronted: “This could have been sold for a large sum and given to the poor!”

What it is to do a beautiful thing for the Lord! To abandon oneself entirely! To act rashly! This is the ministry we are called to. This woman served Christ, she served him. Naked, she clothed him. Hungry, she fed him. Sick, she cared for him. Whenever this story is told, it will be told in memory of her. And for these reasons:

We are to share in Christ’s sufferings.

We are to care for those whom he loved.

We are to be like this woman, who gave all, lost all, and gained Christ.

Then, too, shall the story be told in memory of us, not as our due, not as the price for our loyalty, but as our confession, a summation of who we are. By this confession we live, move and have our being. All of life, all of faith is understood in knowledge of Christ Jesus and him crucified. It is our total purpose.

The story of this woman is told in all four gospels. That is significant. Here, Christ is teaching generations of believers what it is to be a Christian. It is serving him. The extent we are to offer this service is total; it encompasses our entire being.

As I contemplate the anointing, I am impressed with this woman’s sense of purpose. She would not let the opportunity to serve Christ pass, no matter the cost, no matter the consequences. Be she misunderstood or cursed, she was determined. Thus, also us should we be.

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

James Jurado, the worship leader at my church, maintains a music site featuring independent artists. You are invited to become a part of that scene, voting on and critiquing the music of those artists. It’s a unique idea, and I hope to have some of my own music placed on the site, once I get it recorded.

SongJury.com features mostly Christian artists, though the scope is not necessarily limited to Christian artists or exclusively Christian songs, but it is altogether enriching. If you’re not inclined to vote on the music, you can also simply download it for free. There’s a lot of good music at SongJury.com, and the artists are more than eager for you to discover it. I think everyone should have a bit of independent music in their collection.

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

Originally posted 2009-01-09 21:18:41.

One hundred thousand people have watched Angie Jackson’s abortion. Late last month, Jackson posted a video of herself to YouTube, recorded after she took RU-486, a medication used to end pregnancies. “I found out about a week ago, Saturday, that I was pregnant,” the 27-year-old mom from Florida explains in the two-and-a-half minute clip. “For a variety of reasons, including very high health risks for me, I’m having an abortion. Right now.” Jackson also tweeted her experience, detailing the cramps and bleeding she experienced.

Jackson says in the video that she wants to “demystify abortion,” to show it’s “not that bad, not that scary.” Perhaps her largest accomplishment has been setting off a media frenzy. The story of the woman who is live-tweeting her abortion has traveled as far as the United Kingdom and Australia and has been featured on ABC’s World News, earning Jackson an outpouring of accolades and denunciations—and a few death threats.

via From Town Halls To Twitter: The Long, Rocky Road To Destigmatizing Abortion

Abortion-rights activists complain that it is inappropriate for pro-lifers to display pictures of aborted fetuses, but here’s an interesting turn: a woman blogging about her abortion, as it happened, in order to destigmatize the procedure. There’s something perverse about this behavior, something unsettling. Already, “AngieAntiTheist” (her YouTube screen name) has received death threats for making the video, recorded as she consumed RU486, which she calls an “at-home medical abortion-by-pill.” I won’t begin to justify the actions of those making death threats against her, but neither will I accept that abortion is simply a medical procedure. If she wants to talk about her abortion, well, let’s talk.

The idea that it is OK for a woman to video record her abortion, but it is not OK for a pro-life advocate to talk about what abortion is — that somehow a woman’s right to choose is impinged — is intolerable. So let us see pictures of aborted fetuses, perhaps even a video recording of an abortion procedure.

Angie Jackson’s “abortion-in-progress” video:

“This is nothing to childbirth, compared to labor, compared to, for me and my risks, late-stage pregnancy. This is the best choice, and it’s not that bad.”

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

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Inspirational.

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

Johnny’s latest album is out.

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

Sometimes we find meaning in the mundane. In church one Sunday I observed the following exchange between Guy Denues, a long-time member of Mountain Bible Church, and Charlie, his 20-year-old son –

“Hey, Charlie, your mother and I will be cutting wood later today.”

“Cool,” he answered.

Then, Charlie went over to his friends, saying, “Hey, guys, my family is going to be cutting wood this afternoon, so I won’t be able to hang out with you until later.”

Notice that Guy did not tell Charlie to alter his plans for the afternoon; he simply noted what needed to be done. Charlie could have gone out with his friends if he wanted to, but he chose to cut wood. Why? If he wasn’t commanded to do so, why did he choose to alter his plans? Later, I asked Charlie. He replied, “They’re my family.”

I tell this story to illustrate a point: the work we do for the Lord is not motivated by the desire to gain something — salvation, reward, honor — but because we have gained so much. Love expects nothing, but gives all.

Read the rest of this entry »

© 2010, Mark Adams. All rights reserved. For inquiries press here.

Originally posted 2008-12-04 16:45:33.