Could You Believe?

A friend asked me not that long ago, "if people really believed in heaven and hell, would they live the way they do?" OUCH! That one hurt. =( It was a reminder that I really needed, though... It is important that what I do matches what I say.
I was listening to Could You Believe?, by Twila Paris, this morning and it made me think of that conversation.

Here are my favorite parts of the song...

He was a friend to sinners
He was a gentle man
Beautiful, humble master plan
His voice could pierce the darkness
Quiet an angry sea
I hear Him saying follow me

I look in your eyes and I tell you these things
But somehow I know that it’s hard to believe

Could you believe if I really was like Him
If I lived all the words that I said
If for a change I would kneel down before you
And serve you instead
Could you believe if I stood here transparent
And through me you could see his eyes
Could you believe if you saw right inside
Me and there was no disguise

Could you believe if I was really like him
If I lived all the words that I said
If it was clear that I held in my heart
What I know in my head
Could you believe, could you believe
Looking at me, could you believe
Could you believe?

~ Twila Paris

His Blood be on Us and on Our Children!

I read through the gosepl of Matthew last week and I came across a phrase that I had never noticed before.

So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves. And all the people answered, His blood be on us and on our children! ~ Matthew 27:24-25

The people did not realize what they were actually asking for, but in their ignorance, the requested the one thing they really needed.

The blood shall be a sign for you... And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you... ~ Exodus 12:13

It's easy for me to forget that I too am guilty of putting Christ to death and so this verse was a good reminder that the one thing I need cost Christ His life.