Easter Every Day

Most Christians were active on the internet this past Sunday because it was Easter.  I saw blog entries, emails, and a whole bunch of comments and posts on Facebook.  But my wife said something that made me think, and made me hold off on posting about Easter until now.  She wondered why people get so excited about Easter and then go back to putting God second the rest of the year.  And she has a great point. 

Now please don't get me wrong.  Christ's resurrection is the keystone of Christianity.  If Jesus has not risen from the dead then all of our other beliefs are false as He wasn't actually the son of God and everything he said can be called into question.  Easter is the celebration of this resurrection, and so should be a big celebration for us as Christians.  But how many people focus on Easter and ignore the other 363 days of the year (I'm not counting Christmas, which is also usually a big focus)?

Think about it for a minute.  We sing, celebrate, and praise God on Easter above all other days.  And well we should!  But if we put Jesus on the back burner the rest of the year, how much does Easter really mean to us?  What significance is His sacrifice if we go around practically ignoring it most of the year?  And how much of a miracle is a risen savior if we're not remembering that every day?

I'm as guilty of sin and forgetting God as any other person.  But I'm hoping that I'll keep the Easter spirit alive in my heart all year long.  Try it yourself.  Live Easter every day.

Go Where The Rain Is

Let's say that you're thirsty.  I mean, spending-a-month-in-the-desert-and-dehydrated thirsty.  You haven't seen any rain to quench your thirst and cool you down.  You look up and see some rain on the top of a mountain.  You could sit there where you are and wait for the rain to come to you, or you could make the difficult climb and go up the mountain and to the rain clouds.

What do you do?

If you sit there and wait, it's easy and little effort, but the rain may or may not actually come down to where you are.  If you climb the mountain it will be difficult and exhausting, but you know that you'll get the rain.  You're dying of thirst, so do you sit there or climb?

Faith and our relationship with God are like this.  Sometimes it seems like we're in a drought and wonder where the spiritual rain is. Where are the blessings?  Where is God?  We can see others being blessed, so why not us? 

Well, why are you sitting there waiting for it to happen?  Make the difficult journey and go to where the rain and the blessings are.  Walk closer to God and climb the spiritual mountain.  Sitting around won't do anything, so you have to change what you're doing.

Anyone up for some mountain climbing?

Rubber Band

I heard this on the radio as I was getting ready for church and thought that it was worth sharing.

"Faith is like a rubber band.  It's only useful when it's stretched."

Think about that! It's very true.

Consequences Of Sin

I think everyone realizes that sin is bad, and we all know passages such as "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23).  But I wonder if people really and truly understand how far-reaching the consequences of sin can be.  In my own extended family I've had the unfortunate "pleasure" of seeing this for real.

In my wife's family there is a married couple who have four young children.  Over the last couple of years the wife has had multiple affairs and has lied to cover her indiscretions.  Yes, this is bad, and an obvious breaking of God's commandment against adultery.  Even simply the lies are against God's Word.  She has been very selfish in her actions, and though her husband hasn't always been the best of people and the most attentive spouse or father, he hasn't gone to the extent that she has. But let's look at the spiral this has caused.

Her children are being pulled between the parents and are being affected by those stresses.
Her mother and father have had their jobs affected by the stress of dealing with her.
Her hidden sin has affected the church around her.
Her Christian witness has been ruined and she cannot effectively serve in church.
Her family doesn't trust her at all.
Her sister doesn't want to be around her.
And that's just the beginning.  At a quick count I can think of at least 13 people in her immediate family alone that have been directly impacted by her poor choices and sinful actions.

God has set up "rules" and guidelines, defining certain actions as sinful.  This isn't because He wants to be a dictator and run our lives.  It's because He knows that these actions have far-reaching consequences and can destroy not only us but those we know and the lives we touch.

Before you act selfishly and act against God, really think hard about who you are really affecting.  It's more than just yourself.

Christians Unfit Foster Parents?

Recently a court in England denied a couple the right to foster a child because of their Christian beliefs.  Seriously!  Read about it here.

But Lord Justice Munby and Mr Justice Beatson ruled that laws protecting people from discrimination because of their sexual orientation "should take precedence" over the right not to be discriminated against on religious grounds.
They said that if children were placed with carers who objected to homosexuality and same-sex relationships, "there may well be a conflict with the local authority's duty to 'safeguard and promote the welfare' of looked-after children".

Ben Summerskill, chief executive of Stonewall, the lesbian, gay and bisexual charity, said: "Thankfully, Mr and Mrs Johns' out-dated views aren't just out of step with the majority of people in modern Britain, but those of many Christians too.  


But the Christian Legal Centre reacted to the ruling with dismay and warned that "fostering by Christians is now in doubt".
The organisation said the judgment "sends out the clear message that orthodox Christian ethical beliefs are potentially harmful to children and that Christian parents with mainstream Christian views are not suitable to be considered as potential foster parents".

You know, I realize that Christianity is under attack and more and more people discriminate against Christians.  But this is getting ridiculous and rather frightening.  Basically this case was looking at religious rights versus homosexual rights.  And the judges were rather firm in saying that homosexuality trumps religious rights.

We need to pray and pray hard.  Stories like this are becoming more common as the teachings of the Bible are called into question and considered intolerant and hateful.  If we're not careful we are certainly on the road to Christian views being against the law and considered hate crimes.  Christians need to stick together, seek God, and pray for our world.

Lust Or Love?

Here's a weird question.  Do you love God, or do you lust for him?  Bear with me for a second on this one. 

Let's look at what the two things are.  Think about lust first.  That's usually used in a sexual connotation, but can be used for any strong, overwhelming desire.  Related to God, that's good, right?  But how long does lust last?  Normally it's something intense but brief.  You lust, have the feeling fulfilled, then move on.  Lust isn't lasting, and won't sustain a relationship.  Eventually the lust fades and then you find other desires.  Lust implies primal feelings that are beyond your control and don't involve a lot of thought.

Love can be passionate and deep, but it's also thoughtful and long-lasting.  True love is something that grows with time, not fades (as lust does).  When you lust for something you usually feel for it with a specific part of you (mental or physical).  When you love something you do it with all of yourself.  Love sustains you for years or a lifetime, and becomes something that you build your life around.

Now look at your relationship with Jesus.  Do you strongly desire Him, pray and have the prayer answered, and then get distracted by other interests?  That's lust.  Do you want to spend time with Him and get to know Him better?  Do you want Him in your life in both good and bad times?  That's love.

Which is it with you?

Astromechs For Jesus!

This past weekend my family and I were at ConNooga in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  We were there mainly to represent our group, Fans For Christ.  But of course with us being geeks we had fun looking around and talking to people. 

One of the groups I've talked to for a few years is the R2 Builders Club.  These are people who as a hobby build their own astromechs as seen in the Star Wars movies.  I've been fascinated by them and thought it would be so incredibly cool to have one of my own.  Because one droid can cost a few thousand dollars or more (depending on materials and complexity), my wife has said I couldn't do it.  But this year our FFC table was right next to the R2 Builders, so I got to talk to them even more and get to know them personally as well.  My wife met some of their wives, and she finally gave me the okay to join.

Woo-hoo!  So now I'm going to slowly start the process of working to build my own droid, specifically R2-B1 (briefly seen in The Phantom Menace). 

 This is going to involve work, time, and money, but I'm really looking forward to it. When I'm done, I'll have a functional, mobile R2 unit.

However, I was also thinking "why am I doing this?"  What is the ultimate purpose?  And most of all, how can I use this to glorify God?  Yeah, that seems a bit odd, but I want to use this hobby to witness to people for Jesus or somehow draw attention to our group, Fans For Christ.  One way I can do this is have the droid at our FFC table, which will of course bring people over to us out of curiosity. But I also plan to look for other ways to use R2-B1 as a witnessing tool.  How?  Haven't figured that out yet as this only came to me yesterday, but I don't plan on giving up on it.  If God has allowed me to meet other Christians doing this and has softened my wife's heart (thanks, darlin'!), then I need to give back to Him and find a way to use it for His glory.