The Cistern

As a kid, I remember watching Mr. Rogers. First of all, that guy was a player. He had everyone in town looking out for his best interests. Not even Tony Soprano can hold a flame to Fred Rogers.One thing that Mr. Rogers did was teach us how to be “neighborly”. He even sang about it, propositioning everyone to “be his neighbor”. As silly as this may sound, Mr. Rogers knew what he was talking about. Jesus said something similar 2000 years ago: “Love your neighbor as yourself”. This brings me to my point. The command to love our neighbors not only has implications to what we don’t do to them ( i.e. cheat, lie, steal, curse, condemn, fight with etc.) but also to what we DO to them.
Our love for people around us, as well as Jesus’ command to spread the gospel, should be a compelling reason to tell others about Jesus. Look, if you really do buy into what Jesus tells us (He is the only way to true meaning, life, eternal joy etc.) then what is keeping us from talking with others about this Truth?

I don’t mean to tell people to make religious converts. I simply mean to say, that as Christians, we should have a heart for those who don’t know the Truth about Jesus. That following Jesus really is the best possible way to live. Our longing for their peace and prosperity compels us to speak up about Jesus.

This is the essence of being a “Missionary-Minded Christian”. We are all missionaries, and the Bible says that God has put us in this time and place for a reason. It is no accident that you know the people you know. As a ministry, we desire that all of our people behave as missionaries to the young adult culture of North Phoenix (this is where God has placed us, and he has gifted our ministry to reach this culture). But, alas, we all do struggle with “loving our neighbors”. We find it difficult to meet new people and to talk to those that we know about Jesus. I often wonder why this is. I believe that it boils down to either apathy or fear.Some of us struggle with an apathetic attitude towards others. We simply do not care for other people’s well being. We are not even thinking about it. So, we do not feel compelled to do what Jesus tells us to do (make disciples), because we have buried our feelings of compassion and love for our neighbors.
Others struggle with fear. Fear that we will lose a friendship, or that we will look like a fool when we bring up the issue of faith. To that, I would like to ask you, before you were a Christian, how likely would you say you were to “accept Jesus”? Do you think that you were a “good candidate” for hearing the gospel?

Often times we believe that “that person would never want to know about Jesus”. That statement denies the power of God. It means this: “God saved me, but I was easy. God could NEVER touch this person’s life in a powerful way”.

The understanding that God is all powerful plays itself out in our behavior with our neighbors. It enables us to say, “I don’t think this person will ever be saved, but I know that God is more powerful than I am, so I will talk to this person about Jesus and let God sort it out”.

God uses people like you and me to spread the gospel (think for a moment about who told YOU about Jesus. Did they do it ‘perfectly’?).

All that to say, remember to be intentional about how you live. You and I have been put in this time and place for a reason. We are called to make disciples, and at Encounter, we take that call very seriously. We believe it impacts the way that we live, think and pray. -Caleb Campbell

Check out this vintage video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuFhGR4QDd4

This old school video says that transformers are of the devil.

 The host doesnt like transformers, he is upset that they have violence, witchcraft and the words “killing” in them. 

 While I strongly believe that a parent is responsible for their kids, I also believe that violence, killing and witchraft are a part of this world. They are reality.

Just read the bible. There is mass killing, death, withcraft, demons, devils, etc…

Just because a story contains these elements, does not mean that it promotes them as wholesome.  We see in many stories evil characters that are conquered by the “good” hero.

Either way, I’m going to see the transformers movie when it comes out.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19374624/

 HELEN, Ga. - A former Marine killed a bear with a single blow — by tossing a log at its head.

The bear had snatched the family’s cooler from their campsite in a national forest in northern Georgia. The 300-pound black bear was taking its loot back into the woods when Chris Everhart’s 6-year-old son threw a shovel at it.

Everhart says the bear started charging, so he grabbed the first thing he could find, which happened to be a log from the family’s firewood.

Everhart lobbed the chunk of wood, hitting the bear in the head and killing it.

“(I) threw it at it and it happened to hit the bear in the head,” Everhart said. “I thought it just knocked it out but it actually ended up killing the bear.”

The close call earned Everhart bragging rights — and a ticket. Park authorities say he didn’t properly secure his campsite.

Can somebody get this guy on the phone for me?

Check out this article called “Safeguarding America from Christianity: Puritanism, Proselytism, and the MPAA” by  Greg Wright. It is an outstanding article on Christianity, values and movie ratings. 

Here are a couple of quotes:

 As to why christianity is getting taboo in america:

Second, the Christian heritage of our country only has a shelf life as long as the public memory of obscure religious phrases. Most Christians today couldn’t even begin to define “natural law” or how the doctrine arose; so when the words disappeared in the transition from the Production Code to the MPAA ratings, no one really noticed or cared.

Third, American society is less homogenous today than it was in 1934. Yes, America was always a melting pot—but it was originally a pretty European pot with pretty Christian ingredients. That’s changed a great deal in the last fifty years, so advocacy for “American family values” means something quite different from what it did when the Code was created.

Fourth—and this is a huge factor—the religious tolerance widely advocated in America today is becoming increasingly uneasy with exclusivist claims. Hence, the flap over Facing the Giants is not really about the film’s Christian content; it arises because Giants makes no bones about Christianity’s claim that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life—that no one comes to God except through Christ.