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Our friend at Transforming Sermons has updated his post about Forgiveness, check it out and tell him what you think. You can find his original posts here and here.
If you have not already add Transforming Sermons to your regular blog reading rotation.
Everything has to be extreme in the world now. We have extreme sports, extreme cars, extreme vacations, and even extreme tots at Sonic. What we seem to be missing though in society is extreme Christianity.
Extreme Christianity is not a sport, nor is it defined and covered by pop culture, mass media, and trendy magazines like many extreme things are. Even with all these difference though, Extreme Christianity does have a few things in common with the other extreme parts of society.
Extreme Christianity is a lifestyle, just like extreme sports, extreme cars, extreme travel, and extreme everything else is. Extreme Christians live their faith. It is their core, it is their driven force, it is their passion.
To be a Extreme Christian, just like to be extreme in anything else, requires a change in habits, relationships and priorities. The life of a extreme Christian is not understood by those on the outside. The choices of a extreme Christian do not make worldly sense. The priorities of the extreme Christians do not add up to onlookers. The relationships of extreme Christians are not defined by the same goals, topics, and habits of those that are in the world. This is the pattern of a extreme lifestyle. It is not one of rebellion, it is one of complete saturation in the activity.
Another similarity is in the areas of language and risks. With extreme lifestyles and extreme activities, comes new words, new phrases, new terms, new definitions, and new risks. Extreme Christianity has it’s own language and physical risks. People outside of the world of Extreme Christianity do not under the terms, language and structure of conversations between two Extreme Christians. They look at them like they are talking a foreign language, only catching the general direction and force of the conversation.
Along with this language barrier, there also comes a barrier in risk taking. Just like their worldly counterparts, Extreme Christian’s take risks (professional, physical, social, financial, etc) to pursue what they do. The risks do not seem to justify the reward for those outside of the extreme Christian community. There seems to be a disconnect between rational thought and the actions of a Extreme Christian.
So, maybe you are asking yourself are you a extreme Christian or not. Maybe you are saying - Hey I am saved, but I am not crazy. Maybe you are questioning yourself because you live in a nice house, your neighbors like you, your children have friends, you have never been tortured for God, and your employer allows you to work despite your faith. Well in the end the test of extreme Christianity is really simple. The test is are you doing what the world is not willing to do, are you living in a way the world does not, and are you living a life that is transformed and renewed by the power and presence of Christ. Not all extreme Christians are in prison, not all live in fear, not all are full time ministers, not all extreme Christians are in physical danger, not all Extreme Christians are pennyless. Extreme Christians are the ones that allowing God to work in their lives and follow Him where He leads, be it to the corner of the block or the corner of the world. In the end, Extreme Chrsitians do not have to be told they are extreme, they know it because they are living it and the world knows them by their actions, their words, their activities, and their ways, not by their self declarations of their lifestyle. Extreme Christianity pours out, it is not given out.
Christians need to worry more about how they are impacting society and less about how society is viewing them. Society will never understand the life of a extreme Christian, though most of society is more then willing to allow us to live that lifestyle as it benefits them, the community, and the world when the bad times come.
The father of the Mac (jef Rakin) passed away from cancer. Due to constant arguments and fall out between Rakin and Steve Jobs (Apple co-founder), Rakin left Apple in the early 80’s, but continued developing innovative machinces and user interfaces, though none were particularly successful despite their innonvation. The Canon Kat - learn more about it here, here and here - was what Rakin viewed as the next generation Mac but it never got effectively marketed or used.
Rakin’s other endevours include Innovative Appliance and Swyft (the company that developed the Kat for Canon). Though he, his ideas, and his other projects were never the market success that Apple Mac was, Rakin lived his life calling for improved designs and ideas in computer interfaces, with more power and less complexity for the user. Rakin’s voice in the computer world will be missed.
Rakin Center Press Release Regarding Jef’s Death
The Jolly Blogger has a movie update about the new C.S. Lewis movie series that is in the works. Looks like that it might be harder to get it made then originally thought due to the involvement of Disney and their attempts to improve and update.
Mozilla has updated FIREFOX, so as normal - DOWNLOAD. This takes Firefox to 1.01. This download is more critial then before because it patches the IDN security holes that exsist within all browsers other then IE. Surprisingly IE has solved this security hole, but Opera, Firefox, Netscape, and others.
We were preparing for our Sunday School lesson today and it lead us to begin thinking about a song from almost two decades ago. That song was Living In Ladodicea by Steve Camp, off His Fire & Ice Album, for those that owned it back in the day you probably also remember the cassette was a cool blue color. That song is still so truthfully and can serve as a powerful litmus test for the lives of Christians. The chorus to the song is -
The complete lyrics can be found here
Of course the basis of this song is Revelation 3:14-22 (NASB)
We need to fear becoming to friendly with the world, because if we do we will no longer stand for anything of God. We will not have strong views, opinions or any real faith. Our life will be lukewarm and good for nothing, as God can not use us and the world will still not embrace us as we are not fully committed to it / them either.
That was the problem the Laodociean’s had. They were wealthy, successful, well educated, and produced by fine wools and medicines, but they stood for nothing. They were at a trades cross road and they survived by being the enemy of no one and by agreeing with everything to passify the cities and forces that surrounded them. You know there are a lot of time in the lives of Christians that can be the described the same way. We have worldly success, but we have nothing of real value as we do not stand for anything in particular.
God’s call for us is to move closer to Him each day, not to move closer to the world. Yet, many times that is exactly what we do. We join in with the world by riding the tidal ebbs and flows of the things that come and go around us. We stand for little and flee from conflict at all cost. Standing for God is more of statement of hopeful intention, not a lifestyle.
God wants us to be strong and brave. He did not call us to shrink away. We command legions of angels, and nothing the world has can compare to what God has and is giving us. Do a exam of your life and decide what you are really standing for. Look over the following questions and see if their answers can help in the process.
How can a Christians best show the world their relationship with Christ? Is most of the church in Laodecia? Does Rev 3:16 challenge us, scare us, or is it just irrelevant in our daily lives? Post us and tell us what you think about this post, this blog, and how is God challenging and changing you?
Weather you agree or disagree with the war in Iraq, there are some things that even the presidents opponents have to admit that president Bush is having wide poltical success in the world. So far America has gone into two nations - Afganistan and Iraq. In one nation, Afganistan there is a freely elected government, that has a large degree of independence and is working with colliation forces to rout out terrorist. In Iraq you have a election that went better then most expected, and a government / society that though still violent is moving toward independence and freedom. This will be a long road, it took over 12 year for Japen after WWII, but it can and will occur.
Out side of these two nations you have Russian states long controled by Communism are moving toward freedom, some even electing free and independent governments. Libia gave up their nuclear weapons without a shot. Iran and Saudi Arbia are feeling internal national pressure to change.
The formly non commital UN and EU are now beginning to see the success that America has had and wants to be part of it. They are willing to commit to help train security forces and aid in reconstruction. The fact that there is billions of dollars in contracts and potential new deals for energy in most of these nations is helpful, but they basic truth is that the world loves winners and when you are winning friends find you.
There are still problems though, and there are large. The Chinesse are a force to be reckoned with. China is gets support, weapons, aid and help from the EU. This, added to the technology they gain from the US over the last decade, has made them a extremely strong and allowed their economy and nation to expand rapidly. The Chinnese have a large econony and money will always find a market. Their army is huge, and growing, as fast as their economy. The good news is some economic freedoms and personal liberites are expanding as well. Even with these changes, China is still a communist nation with huge civil rights issues, many toward Christians and other religous groups, and their track record of keeping their end of deals is not good.
North Korea is by far the most dangerous nation in the world. They have nuclear weapons, they will use them, and they are developing better delivery system by the day. They get their technology and weapons from China and until China puts pressure on them there will be no changes.
The hope would be that America, with a president that has shown himself willing to commit forces and use them, will make other nations change their policies with no more invasions and attacks. The purpose of having military force is to make it where you do not have use it and nations will act in ways to improve the lives of their citizens and be could international citizens where their neighbors can focus on internal situations and policies and not on their external forces.
Are Christian couples compelled by God to have children? That question seems to arise a lot in today’s world, so what are the feelings of the Christian blogosphere on this?
God ordained marriage to be between a man and a woman, honesty hurts sometimes people. He also ordained marriage to be a means of procreation. In the past God has ordained multiple wives for husbands, but as society changed so did the rules on multiple marriages within the church. Another change in marriage has been the change in rules of how a widow was to be handled, married by another brother, by the family after the death of her husband.
Our point is that as society and circumstances have changed so has God’s purpose and direction for His first ordinance - marriage. As society has changed so has the Christian view on children. Once a large number of children were needed to tend the fields, and flocks and be labor for the household. It was not uncommon for people to have 10 or more children then. Today however, in the western world, most people only have 1 or 2 children. The children of modern marriages are viewed as gifts from God, not extra field hands and labor.
Within the issue of Christians having children is also the issue of birth control. Some Christians agree and condone it’s use, others do not and condemn it, others condemn it publicly but use it privately.
The above issues and ideas have be debated and adapted and defined over time, but even with the passage of time, there are still many issues surrounding children and Christian marriage. In recent years however there has been a new issue though - Christian couples deciding not to have kids.
Is that Biblical? Can God call people to marry but not conceive (or at least try)? Can the covenant of a Christian marriage be fulfilled without kids? Should a Christian couple that does not want, or can not have, their own child be compelled to adopt?
What is the right view when it comes to Christians couples and children?
