Hyssop

Don’t know what hyssop is? Then you’re not alone. I first time I stumbled across it was in John.

“A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.” John 19:29

Hum. That was interesting. At first I just thought John was adding detail to his account because he was there. Then, I stumbled onto the word again a few days later.

“[First Passover] Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. None of you shall go out of the door of your house until morning.” Ex. 12:22

This caught my attention. Jesus’ sacrifice often ties into the first Passover, when the angle of death passed over the houses with the lamb’s blood. So, what is the connecting between the first Passover and Christ’s death? What is hyssop?

Hyssop is a common herb which grew in Bible times. Common varieties grow to about two feet tall and spread about a foot. It has beautiful purple blue flowers and a strong mint smell. If you have ever seen or grown catmint, hyssop looks somewhat similar. Hyssop was often used as a cleaning agent and was widely used to clean sacred places such as temples.

At both on Passover and Good Friday, a cleansing and forgiveness of sins was taking place. In both cases, someone else was taking our place and met death. In both cases, hyssop was used, and our sins were cleared.

In Palms 51:7, David cries out “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean!” If you have accepted the forgiveness of Jesus, then you have been cleansed with hyssop! By the blood of the lamb, death was satisfied. Our sins were gone. We are clean!

Source: http://www.hannahscupboard.com/ST-hyssop.html

The More I learn

The more I learn about God, the more I see how perfect He is. The more I see how perfect He is, the more I see how sinful I really am. The more I see how sinful I am, the more I see how much I desperately need His grace.

What Kind of Monster are you?

Ok, so you may be wounding why we’ve been talking about these two old books. So what, you might say. Who cares about books written in the 1880s? Well, the reason I brought up the story of Hyde and Frankenstein is because one of these stories is true.

Which story do you think it is? Which monster describes mankind? It can’t be both. Let’s look at the fundamental differences between the two:

Hyde

• Man is inherently evil
• Evil (sin) controls us and leads to death
• Individual is responsible for his wrong actions
• Man can’t save himself

Frankenstein

• Man is basically good
• Society turns him evil, and therefore is responsible for his wrong actions
• Man can save himself

As you can see, both monsters can’t be true. So, what kind of monster are you? Comment your answer.

The Separation

The garden of Eden was literally heaven on earth. Adam and Eve were in the presence of God. God walked with them in the garden. How cool is that! Imagine going on a walk with the creator of the universe.

It all ended with a lie. Did God really say…? Adam and Eve bought the lie, and ate the forbidden fruit, the fruit God commanded them not to eat.

For the first time in history, Man had disobeyed God’s commands. Sin entered the world, and Man was separated from the presence of God.

An important fact about sin: sin separates us from God. God can’t be around sin, so when we sin, we are setting away from God. It isn’t until heaven when we are sinless that we will be 100% in the presence of God.

Spicy Shrimp

The hot plate of shrimp looked delicious. The smell curled into the air. It would taste wonderful, Jenny* thought.

One problem: Michelle had ordered the plate of shrimp, not Jenny.

As we all waited for the rest of the food to come, we played a card game. As a part of this game, everyone but the narrator has to close their eyes.

I was the narrator. Everyone else had their eyes closed. I looked over at Jenny; her eyes were wide, her mouth open, and she was fanning herself. Then, she grabbed her drink and started drinking quickly.

I started laughing. I knew what had happened; she had taken some shrimp. Michelle had order spice shrimp, and it burned Jenny’s mouth.

This story made me thing about what happens when we sin; often, the sin we did will turn us in, and we’ll be caught. Jenny would have saved herself the embarrassment if she’d kept her hands to herself. I wonder how much guilt and shame we could avoid if we simply avoided sin. After all, if there’s no crime, we can’t get caught.

*Name has been changed.

To Miss the Mark

We often define sin as doing something wrong. Though this statement is true, the full definition of sin covers much more.

The definition of the word sin is to miss the mark. The mark of what?

I enjoy target shooting with my rifle. The goal, of course, is to hit the target. To hit the target, I must be very focused, line the target up, hold still, pull the trigger gently, etc. Now, it miss the target is a whole lot easier. I could barely miss the target, or I could be shooting the other direction! Either way, it’s a miss.

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) notice this verse didn’t say “we’ve been wrong” but “fallen short”

So if sin means to miss the mark, what mark are we shooting at? What’s the target? God’s standard and His will.

Whenever we disobey or do something outside God’s will, we sin. Sin is not only doing something wrong; it’s not doing what God commands.

“Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins”—James 4:17

Sin is going against God’s commands, whether it be lying or not loving our neighbor. Think about it. Every time we choose not to be kind, or loving, or be Generous, we are sinning. It’s easy to think “I’m not doing anything wrong!” but are you doing what’s right?

Two Wolves

Once, a pastor went to an Indian tribe to share the gospel of Christ. After a few months, the whole tribe accepted the gospel with great joy and passion.

One day, the pastor came to the home of the chief.

“Ever since we have followed Christ,” the chief told the pastor. “I feel a battle going on inside me. It’s like there are two wolfs fighting within me. The first, the white one, is the new truth of Christ. The other, the black one, is the old beliefs and our old wrong ways. They are fighting within me.”

“Which one wins?” the pastor asked. The chief smiled.

“The one I feed the most,” he answered.

The wolf

In Alaska/Canada, they used to hunt wolves. They found a method that worked every time and was very easy to set up.

The hunter would take a knife or razor blade with frozen blood on it. He would take the blade, set it firmly in the ground and leave. The wolf comes to the blade because he can smells the blood. He then starts licking the knife trying to get the blood off. As he is licking the blade, the ice numbs the wolf’s tongue; he can’t feel anything.

As the wolf licks the blood off, the blade cuts the wolf’s tongue, but since his tongue is numb, he can’t feel the cut. He tastes blood from the cut, and keeps licking, trying to get more blood from the knife. The knife continues to cut him and he keeps licking off the blood. Finally, he bleeds to death.

This story is a picture of sin.

At first, sin seems harmless.

“Just try a bit. Just test it. One try wouldn’t hurt anyone.”
So you try it; you taste it, and it tastes good. You try it again, and it still tastes good. So you do it again and again, not knowing that it is numbing it. You are numb to your guilt, God’s voice, and better judgment. You become so numb you don’t even realize the sin is hurting it. Slowly, it sucks the life from you, so slowly you don’t realize it is happening. You get use to it, as if it was normal. Slowly, the sin kills you.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. —Romans 6:23 (NIV)