Hi there
Yay it's Easter! Hope you're being disciplined in your chocolate and hot cross bun consumption - how is it that we've managed to include over-eating in basically all of our Christian holidays?
Anyway, lots going on around Aotearoa this weekend... Check out our online guide for Easter Camps, music festivals and of course Jars of Clay in Auckland.
Speaking of which, we have a double pass to giveaway to the show. To win, be the first to email us with your full name (plus one friend) and answer this simple question: "What did Noah and a famous Jars of Clay song have in common?" Also, make sure you can actually get to the gig (your name will be added on the door).
Happy Easter and remember the amazing act Jesus did for you this weekend and try to pass that same love on to others.
Peace owwt,
E.
Top 5 on Ozzy Osbourne’s To-Do list for Rock 2 Wgtn
5. Remember lyrics.
4. Discover a new way to be controversial (cause the other one is getting a bit old).
3. Call Sharon.
2. Tell her about the dog poo I swept under the couch.
1. Look alert.
So Crazy Right Now
by Hayden Shearman
It’s the question plaguing the minds of every young, besotted teen in the country. How do you know when someone is into you? How do you know when to make the first move? And when, oh when, is the right time to ask if they want to “do coffee”?
We all know that, in a relationship, before venturing to another level you need to have some sort of assurance that the other person also wants to go there. It's that necessary gauge of affection in order to cover your bases against being shot down.
Decoding the signs
Do you remember your first kiss or the first time holding hands with your boyfriend or girlfriend? Do you remember what it took to get you to make that move? For most of us, getting to this point was all about reading the signs. Sometimes those signs can be obvious, like an open heart-to-heart D&M, but more often than not, the signs are obscure and need to be decoded. The problem is, none of us really have any idea how to decode them.
However, I do have some advice. Going entirely from my own personal experience, I think it's all about monitoring the level of craziness you see in the other person! Now, I don't mean looking for signs like frothing at the mouth or nervous twitches. The craziness I'm referring to here is how out of the norm they put themselves for you. Take these examples:
Instead of eating out at their usual Burger King or Yang’s Takeaways, they go to your favourite vegetarian, over-priced, under-sized-servings sushi bar for dinner.
Instead of curling into a couch to watch a DVD, they stand out in the cold and rain to watch your under-18s Wainuiomata 4th XV take on the Horowhenua D rugby team.
These are some pretty crazy things! Have you ever done something slightly crazy for someone else? Have you experienced someone doing something slightly crazy for you? Chances are, there's a reason!
Jesus got crazy at Easter
2000 years ago on Easter weekend Jesus did some pretty crazy things. To start off with, he prayed all night to the point that he was sweating blood. He was then arrested as an innocent man and chose not to defend himself before the authorities. He willingly submitted himself to beatings, whippings and public humiliation. Then he carried his own cross to a lonely hill where he would eventually die the most painful of deaths imaginable. And that wasn’t all, in his death he took upon himself the guilt and sin of the entire human race, so his Heavenly Father could do nothing but reject Jesus as he hung on the cross.
Imagine your boyfriend or girlfriend going through this for you. Knowing pain in every way, from their parents disowning them to blood coming out the very pores of their skin. Surely then, with such a crazy act being so far from their norm, you would know beyond doubt that they loved you with everything in them.
Jesus broke the norm
Being God (and therefore, all-powerful) if Jesus chose to, right there and then, he could have laid the smack down on the Roman soldiers who crucified him, the Jewish people who condemned him and the entire nasty world. Thankfully for us, however, he chose to lay aside his all-powerful-ness for a moment, so that he could exhibit another characteristic of his: being all-loving.
Philippians 2 says that Jesus, “who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing... he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!”
For Jesus, his death was stepping outside of his norm, getting seriously crazy, in an infinitely meaningful demonstration of his infinite love for you and me.
I remember the first time I bought my wife flowers. To me, they were impractical and expensive (especially since it was Valentine’s Day… 15 pingas for one rose, sheesh!), but as our relationship grew I realised the crazy act of buying flowers was a great way of communicating my feelings toward her. Now what Jesus did at Easter, two millennia ago, leaves my attempt at signalling love to my wife-to-be way in the dust. His death was the ultimate of crazy. And for that reason, I believe, was the ultimate demonstration of love – exactly what you’d expect from an all-loving God.
Is it time for you to take your relationship with Jesus up a notch? According to what he did at Easter, he’s crazy for you and is keen as mustard to take things to the next level.
2008 Easter Camp & Gig Guide
If you haven't decided what you're up to this Easter, don't despair that it's too late, because here's your guide to everything going down in Aotearoa this weekend. More »
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