The Empty Tomb – A Poem by Annie Johnson Flint

 

The Empty Tomb

A Mohommedan once said to a missionary:
"We have our Prophet's tomb to show,
but you have nothing."

Earth's Meccas and the faiths of men
Hold but a corpse within a tomb;
Each weary pilgrim's journey ends
At some sad shrine of grief and gloom.

Earth's prophets rest, in silence wrapped,
Dust in the dust from whence they came;
By Death's chill wind their torches quenched,
No more to kindle into flame.

Earth's priests in solemn splendor sleep,
Ashes to ashes, robed and stoled;
Their chanted prayers forever hushed,
Their altar fires forever cold.

Earth's kings in state and glory lie,
In crypts of porphyry encased;
Their names and deeds, in marble carved,
Time's blurring touch has half erased.

No mausoleum built by man
Entombs our Prophet, Priest and King;
Our love no pilgrimage need make,
No fading votive garlands bring.

No death could kill, no guard could keep,
No seal could stay, no grave could hold
Immortal Life in mortal clay;
No darkness could the Light enfold.

Our Prophet's word shall come to pass,
Our Priest is interceding still;
Our King shall reign forevermore,
While heaven and earth shall do his will.

"No grave to show"? This is the stone
On which the temples of our faith
Rise higher than the mosques of Ind;
Our Living Lord has conquered Death!

Annie Johnson Flint

Revelation 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Hebrews 10:12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; 13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. 14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

Thought from the Past - What Is Easter to them? Is It About the Resurrection or A Carnival?

 

I wanted to repost this item that I wrote a couple years ago as it is still applicable.

What Is Easter to them? Is It About the Resurrection or A Carnival?

I also thought it would be good to add a link to this thought provoking article at The Berean Call.  It is saying a similar thing from a different perspective.

The “Jesus” the World Loves

The Thousand Word Project – Purple Splendor

Some Amazing Wonders of Creation

 

Lightening with volcano eruptions – very stunning!  Not something I’d ever want to see in person, though, at least not close. :-)  It gives one a small appreciations for what it must have been like when God rained fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah.  Some people believe that may have been a volcanic eruption.  Whether it was or not, the destruction of the very wicked city of Pompey was definitely one.

Psalms 104:32  He looketh on the earth, and it trembleth: he toucheth the hills, and they smoke.

Indian Pipe Plants intrigue me.  They are a rare plant that is not often seen.  You can read about them here and also here.  These two sites have some nice photos to enjoy. [Photo from Wikipedia.]  I think these pink ones are lovely.  God has given us so many mysterious and interesting thing to ponder in His creation.

 

Rafflesia – the Corpse Flower.  (Please disregard evolutionary chatter.) This flower – is it a plant, is it a parasite, what? – it is one of those things that shows us God has a sense of humor.  The largest known flower on earth that smells like rotting flesh and is hard for scientists to satisfactorily classify. :-)

 

Parrot fish are amazingly diverse and beautiful!  A real inspiration for art - and quilting! :-)  Sometimes I think that the Lord must have gotten a lot of pleasure out creating all these amazing creatures.
[Photos from Wikipedia.]

 

Waterspouts are another amazing phenomenon of creation.  They are mentioned in scripture.  My great-uncle and great-aunt had their house ruined by waterspouts twice.  In one instance the waterspout came off of Lake Victoria (Tanzania), took the roof off their house and dumped its water into the house.  I don’t know if they were home at the time.  It must have been a terrible mess.

Psalms 42:7-8  Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of thy waterspouts: all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life.

Hallelujah, What A Saviour!

 

Some music to edify you this Lord’s Day.

Isaiah 53:3-6  He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.  All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

There Is a Fountain Filled with Blood

Hallelujah, What A Saviour!

Are You Washed In the Blood of the Lamb?

Sew Happy Saturday: Claradan & Co. Handmade

 

My Australian sister-in-law and their two children have been making things to sell on Etsy.  I posted a button to their page awhile back, but since her cousin wrote up a very nice post about their business, I thought I’d just link to that today. :-) 

They are making a variety of items including homemade sewn things like bags and tissue pouches and puppets.  Clara is also taking orders for custom sewing and, as you’ll see from the following link, her skills are quite a bit more involved than the store items might at first indicate. One recent inquiry that I know of was for making Laura Ingalls style costumes, which is right up her alley. :-)  (I will see if I can get photos if she does that project.)

New Etsy Store: Claradan and Co. Handmade by Jo.

Again, the link to the store itself.  If you like small handmade things for gifts but don’t like to make them yourself, this shop is for you.  And the prices and postage are reasonable, I thought.

A Random Spring Day!

 

Lily of the valley shoots taken in Tenn.

This Afternoon I like the…
Smell of… rain last night!  We were so blessed to get some good showers without any hail!  There was some amazing hail not far from us!  I’m so thankful the Lord spared us our garden! 
Sound of… birds singing their sweet spring love songs. :-) 
Taste of… Philippine brand dried coconut.
Sight of… lovely, gorgeous, intoxicating spring greens!!!!
Feel of… fresh spring breezes.

Good Things about Today:

We had rain last night, so I didn’t have to water today as I’d planned. :-)  The weather is sunny and just pleasantly cool – something rare and of great value in Texas!

Things Already Accomplished Today:

I got two unpleasant jobs done that needed attention – scrubbing the grossness out of the dishwasher that had accumulated over time - and from bad soap; and dragging some fallen branches down to the brush pile which we hope to shred into good garden mulch “one of these days”. Maybe you could say I did three things because I also started the job of pulling up the dead, sprawling branches of purple spiderling plants in the yard. Texas has some amazing weeds. They say everything is bigger in Texas… Some things you don’t want bigger, believe me!

Things That Should Be Accomplished Today:

I still need to fold some laundry and plant a beautiful strawberry plant I bought yesterday.  I love strawberry plants that have pink flowers.  Pink flowers and strawberries from the same plant – how great is that? :-)

Random Photo from My World:

My husband took this photo of me earlier this winter.  Today it was sunny and springtime outside when I ate breakfast in front of my light. :-)  I use this artificial “sunlight” lamp from late Sept./Oct. through sometime in March or early April.  It helps wonderfully with my seasonal affected disorder!  It is not ultraviolet light, so there are no worries about skin problems, but it provides that light that is so necessary for our emotional well being.  There is a good reason why Jesus said, “I am the light of the world…”!

For me it is often easiest to eat breakfast in front of the lamp and so accomplish two things at once.  In fact, often I read my Bible during this time also because on the darkest/shortest days I use it for up to 45 minutes a day.  Our kitty does not usually join me like this, but that day she was being unusually social – for a cat. :-)  My husband sometimes joins me when he’s home, but he eats much faster than I do. :-D

Quote for Today:

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils…

…oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

- William Wordsworth

Verse and Thought for Today:

Genesis 1:31  And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good…

If God Himself looked at His creation and saw that it was very good, don’t you think that we also ought to take the time to look at His creation and see that it is very good? :-)