by and copyright 2010-2011 Jacob Andrews

(lines 1, 8, 9, 12, 16, and all repetitions thereof are taken from Andrew Peterson’s song Mary Picked the Roses. Which, ironically, I'm not  the biggest fan of.)

Mary picked the roses
One bright morn in spring;
Put them in a basket
In the house to bring.
Felt their silky petals,
Smelled their sweet perfume;
Mary ( Read more... )

 And Moses took the wagons and the oxen, and gave them unto the Levites. Two wagons and four oxen he gave unto the sons of Gershon, according to their service: And four wagons and eight oxen he gave unto the sons of Merari, according unto their service, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. But unto the sons of Kohath he gave ( Read more... )

The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

Whenever I walk by a statue of Mary (and I go to a Roman Catholic school and live in a pretty Catholic neighborhood so there are quite a few), the prayer I pray (not to or ( Read more... )

 "The ideal Israel is a community of forgiven penitents, faithfully embracing God's covenant and worshiping him according to the rites he appointed; this is the community that can bring light to the whole world."
-ESV Study Bible commentary on Psalm 51:18-19

But ye are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye ( Read more... )

Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.
(Exodus 19:5-6)

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew ( Read more... )

This is the first in a series of posts (probably three) on Noah's Ark.  The first can be found here.  The second should be posted next Friday (the 21nd), and the third next Monday (the 24th).

I'll start out this post with the question I ended the last one on: since Noah's Ark isn't hte only ark in Scripture, which ark should we be looking for?  To ( Read more... )

This is the first in a series of posts (probably three) on Noah's Ark.  The second should be posted next Friday (the 21nd), and the third next Monday (the 24th).

Last Spring a group of Turkish and Chinese explorers claimed to have found Noah's Ark.  At
( Read more... )

Luke 15:4 says:

What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?

What does it meant to "leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness?"  Is there a sense in which God leaves believers in a wilderness in order to win an unbeliever?  ( Read more... )

What is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? what is thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us?

My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.
His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are curled, and black as a raven.
His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, ( Read more... )

(It's so cool I cited it in MLA)

"The concluding words of the Tanak [in the Hebrew order], "Let him go up" (2 Chr 36:23), express the hope that God's people will return and rebuilt[sic] the temple at a future time. The purposes of God avowedly await completion. A more iltimate return of the people of God is anticipated, for Chronicles was written ( Read more... )