Out with the Old, In with the New

Happy New Year, everyone. In this time of resolutions and reflections, let's remember the grace and forgiveness that is available to those who seek it in humility and faith. Let's just hope our repentance lasts longer that our resolutions usually do.

For the Concerned Christian Parent

With the big day for presented just a day away, what is the concerned Christian parent to do? If you don't want your children exposed to the dark aspects of life presented in the popular video games of today? Certainly, Christian-themed games have been around for nearly two decades, but the current ones are not the bland fare of generations past. Ominous Horizons, Catechumen, and Joseph's Story are just three of the popular games that combine 21st Century gaming and a 1st Century message.

Book Review

Girl Meets God, by Lauren Winner. This amazing little story is the spiritual memoir of a young woman raised in a mixed family (lapsed Baptist and modern Jewish) who converts to Orthodox Judaism as a teen, then becomes a Christian in her twenties. Winner is a bright woman who writes clearly about the struggle to find her place in God, and then in the Body of Christ . Her struggles with the Christian body and sub-culture struck me a must-reading for young Chrstians (both meanings of that phrase apply.) According to an interview in Mars Hill Review, Winner is currently writing a book on chastity, a subject that she touches on a bit in this work. I am looking forward to it.

The Wonder of Advent

It's a time of anticipation of the coming light, a time of hope for the coming king, and a time of wonder of what God had wrought on our behalf. It is Advent, the season wherein we anticipate the coming of the Messiah. It should put is in the same frame of mind that the God-fearers two millenia ago had in their time of oppressoin. They never lost faith in the plan that God had laid out for them, and recognized it when it came into being. This site has some interesting lessons and thoughts on the coming season. I encourage you to come to this season as a child, as Jesus calls us to do.

Individuals in Community

It is a fundamental conflict. Christianity is the most individual of all the world's religions -- your family, community, nation, etc . . . has no effect on your soul. "Whosoever" is the key word, in that anyone can come to Christ regardless of group affiliation, and anyone can be apart from Christ regardless of group affiliation. And at the same time, we are part of this mysterious thing called the "Body of Christ." We do not act like one body all the time if ever, but we are told that we are. It is the great mystery of being a Child of God. As an individual, you are called into the most intimate community that could be. It is a very strange thing.