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<!--Generated by Squarespace Site Server v5.11.5 (http://www.squarespace.com/) on Thu, 29 Jul 2010 22:23:28 GMT--><feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"><title>Tears In Rain</title><subtitle>Tears</subtitle><id>http://www.tearsinrain.us/tears/</id><link rel="alternate" type="application/xhtml+xml" href="http://www.tearsinrain.us/tears/"/><link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="http://www.tearsinrain.us/tears/atom.xml"/><updated>2010-04-07T15:27:53Z</updated><generator uri="http://www.squarespace.com/" version="Squarespace Site Server v5.11.5 (http://www.squarespace.com/)">Squarespace</generator><entry><title>Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi</title><category term="Good Friday"/><category term="Thoughts"/><category term="redemption"/><category term="sins"/><id>http://www.tearsinrain.us/tears/2010/4/2/agnus-dei-qui-tollis-peccata-mundi.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.tearsinrain.us/tears/2010/4/2/agnus-dei-qui-tollis-peccata-mundi.html"/><author><name>Mark Johns</name></author><published>2010-04-02T12:59:12Z</published><updated>2010-04-02T12:59:12Z</updated><content type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[<p>It's pretty common at this time of year to contemplate the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in terms like "The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." While this is true and that was His mission, set for Him before time began, it really doesn't mean anything to me. The fact is, I can't begin to understand what the sins of the world means. I know what sins are, and it doesn't take a Biblical scholar to know that the world is utterly depraved, and has been since Adam let his wife get tempted, instead of standing in the gap for her. But the scale is too big to get my head around. One death is sad, a whole family dying is a tragedy, but 100 million deaths is just a statistic. (That's the estimated total lives lost in World War II, civilian and military, all countries)</p>
<p>What I can understand is that Jesus Christ was the only sacrifice that could pay for all the sins of all the world, for all time. He is God, and He is the only one with a bank account big enough to write that check. God is also the only one with the right to demand such a payment, for such crimes. King David spoke truly when He said, "Against You have I sinned." He sinned against Uriah and Bathsheba, and Nathan, and the nation of Israel as well, but his true debt was to God.</p>
<p>If this were the only thing to think about on Good Friday, it would just be another religious footnote, like Purim. We would be marking a mighty deed done by God on our behalf, and that would be fine. And hollow. And empty. Because none of us can comprehend the scale.</p>
<p>So lets scale it down to something we can all understand. To quote David again, I must say, "Against You have I sinned." And I have. I have also sinned against my parents, my children, my friends, my employers, my wife, my girlfriend, that guy in the parking lot I don't even know ... And you all have done the same. This is is the nub of the matter: If I were the only person to ever sin, so my debt was the only one that needed to be paid to satisfy God's justice, Jesus Christ, the Son of God would still have humbled Himself to become a human being, and eventually die, broken, to pay my debt. The sacrifice would have been the same, although from our point of view, the debt is smaller. That's because we 'think of sin but lightly.'&nbsp;</p>
<p>On this Good Friday, contemplate that 'Agnus Dei' not only came to 'qui tollis peccata mundi', but He would have done it for you alone. It's personal with Him. It should be personal with you, too.</p>]]></content></entry><entry><title>Million Meals for Haiti</title><id>http://www.tearsinrain.us/tears/2010/3/10/million-meals-for-haiti.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.tearsinrain.us/tears/2010/3/10/million-meals-for-haiti.html"/><author><name>Mark Johns</name></author><published>2010-03-11T05:59:05Z</published><updated>2010-03-11T05:59:05Z</updated><content type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[<p>Genesis took their turn at packing meals for Haiti this week. This was shot at the end of the night at Heartland. It was a very long day for Aaron, who was a table leader for Auburn's turn at packing meals.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<a href="http://www.tearsinrain.us/storage/vid/genesis.mp4" target="_blank">Genesis Packing Meals</a>
I'm proud of Aaron, and glad to see Kyle having a good time.]]></content></entry><entry><title>Entitlement and Free Web Services</title><id>http://www.tearsinrain.us/tears/2009/10/25/entitlement-and-free-web-services.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.tearsinrain.us/tears/2009/10/25/entitlement-and-free-web-services.html"/><author><name>Mark Johns</name></author><published>2009-10-26T03:31:29Z</published><updated>2009-10-26T03:31:29Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[A screed in which the author expresses an opinion regarding the people who feel that changes made to Facebook are the equivalent of Mark Zuckerberg killing puppies in their front room, and Twitter service outages are the same as a failed bypass surgery.]]></summary></entry><entry><title>St. Paul Lutheran School 8th Grade Trip 2007</title><category term="2007"/><category term="Chicago"/><category term="Class Trip"/><category term="Family"/><category term="School"/><category term="St. Paul"/><category term="Video"/><id>http://www.tearsinrain.us/tears/2009/9/23/st-paul-lutheran-school-8th-grade-trip-2007.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.tearsinrain.us/tears/2009/9/23/st-paul-lutheran-school-8th-grade-trip-2007.html"/><author><name>Mark Johns</name></author><published>2009-09-24T01:14:04Z</published><updated>2009-09-24T01:14:04Z</updated><content type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[<p>I put this slideshow together from the pictures Aaron and I took during our trip to the Windy City. It rained, but everyone had a lot of fun.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><a class="offsite-link-inline" href="http://www.tearsinrain.us/storage/vid/8thgradetrip2007small.mp4" target="_blank">Slideshow Movie</a></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>]]></content></entry><entry><title>IT Jack of All Trades is not a good career move.</title><category term="Job"/><category term="Thoughts"/><category term="employment"/><category term="failure"/><category term="marketing"/><category term="networks"/><id>http://www.tearsinrain.us/tears/2009/9/14/it-jack-of-all-trades-is-not-a-good-career-move.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.tearsinrain.us/tears/2009/9/14/it-jack-of-all-trades-is-not-a-good-career-move.html"/><author><name>Mark Johns</name></author><published>2009-09-14T16:53:01Z</published><updated>2009-09-14T16:53:01Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[I'm a Jack of all Trades in the IT world. Which means my wide experience in a variety of businesses and industries, and my broad set of skills should be very attractive to employers.
The truth of the matter is that without a college degree, or being under the age of 30, or purchasing Microsoft Certifications, a Jack of All Trades is unemployable.]]></summary></entry><entry><title>Politically Homeless ... and Loving It</title><category term="Politics"/><category term="Thoughts"/><category term="politics"/><id>http://www.tearsinrain.us/tears/2009/9/8/politically-homeless-and-loving-it.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.tearsinrain.us/tears/2009/9/8/politically-homeless-and-loving-it.html"/><author><name>Mark Johns</name></author><published>2009-09-08T19:44:12Z</published><updated>2009-09-08T19:44:12Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[In my previous post, I talked a bit about my evolving political sensibilities, and how labels seem to become increasingly useless. This is a mish-mash of my opinions that support my assertion that I am homeless, in a political sense. I'm not entirely happy with any of the current parties or ideologies.]]></summary></entry><entry><title>Labels Considered Harmful</title><category term="Politics"/><category term="Thoughts"/><category term="conservative"/><category term="labels"/><category term="liberal"/><category term="politics"/><id>http://www.tearsinrain.us/tears/2009/9/8/labels-considered-harmful.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.tearsinrain.us/tears/2009/9/8/labels-considered-harmful.html"/><author><name>Mark Johns</name></author><published>2009-09-08T14:26:02Z</published><updated>2009-09-08T14:26:02Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[The evolution of a political life. Where I've been, where I am now, and why labels are useful at first, but ultimately harmful.]]></summary></entry><entry><title>Helplessness in the face of pain</title><id>http://www.tearsinrain.us/tears/2009/8/26/helplessness-in-the-face-of-pain.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.tearsinrain.us/tears/2009/8/26/helplessness-in-the-face-of-pain.html"/><author><name>Mark Johns</name></author><published>2009-08-26T19:40:58Z</published><updated>2009-08-26T19:40:58Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[How do I deal with the helplessness I feel in the face of the pain I see in a friend?]]></summary></entry><entry><title>Who gets the credit for our accomplishments?</title><id>http://www.tearsinrain.us/tears/2009/8/7/who-gets-the-credit-for-our-accomplishments.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.tearsinrain.us/tears/2009/8/7/who-gets-the-credit-for-our-accomplishments.html"/><author><name>Mark Johns</name></author><published>2009-08-07T18:58:12Z</published><updated>2009-08-07T18:58:12Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[We accomplish things all the time, but who really deserves the credit? We are the tools and raw materials. God is the artisan in everything we do.]]></summary></entry><entry><title>Finality and Consequences.</title><category term="Thoughts"/><category term="closure"/><category term="consequences"/><category term="grief"/><category term="hope"/><category term="regret"/><id>http://www.tearsinrain.us/tears/2009/8/5/finality-and-consequences.html</id><link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="http://www.tearsinrain.us/tears/2009/8/5/finality-and-consequences.html"/><author><name>Mark Johns</name></author><published>2009-08-05T15:58:38Z</published><updated>2009-08-05T15:58:38Z</updated><summary type="html" xml:lang="en-US"><![CDATA[I never really gave much thought to the idea of closure, until now. I've also been processing the consequences of our choices, good and bad.]]></summary></entry></feed>