God's Newest Letter!!!!!!!!!!!!

One day God decided he wanted to write a letter to all his children that were misbehaving and mistreating one another. He wanted to let them know they were jeopardizing their eternal home in heaven. So he asked one of his angels to go to earth and make a list of all those who needed to get the warning letter.

The angel was gone for a long time, and when he returned he was in very bad shape, bloodied and bruised and broken wings. He reported that the list was so long that perhaps it would be better to send a letter to those who were obedient and striving to love their neighbors. God agreed.

So he sent another angel to collect the names of those who should receive that letter. The angel was only gone for a short time and came back in good condition. He presented the list to God. God took it and wrote the letter, and do you know what it said?

Good vs. Evil

Over on Myspace, a group exercise for blogging this week, the topic is Good vs. Evil. Here is my entry.

I assume that almost everyone thinks of themselves as good people, that they do more good than bad things. Most of us can rationalize away the things in us that we condemn or disapprove of in others. And most of us have an idea of what evil is, Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer & Adolf Hitler are representations! Two of those were mentioned in Tammy’s post. But we are not evil; at least, I am not!

However, if you read the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Roman Christians, you will find that in fact that there is none, good, no, not one. All have sinned and fallen short of God (chapter 3). The prophet Isaiah says that our sin separates us from God, that he turns his face from us because of the repulsive things we do. James tells us that if we are guilty of breaking one law, we are guilty of all. Because of his holiness God can have nothing to do with sin. But he is also merciful and has paid the price for our atonement. And there is no sinner so heinous that his or her sin cannot be removed by the gift of Jesus Christ.

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Book Review of HOUSE, by Farnk Peretti & Ted Dekker!

I love to read, but the horror genre has been off limits ever since I saw the original Psycho in 1960 and was scared to walk the three blocks to my home. I was 12 and I decided then that I did not want anything to do with such movies, stories, books, or even “fun” houses at the fair!

So I was surprised to receive a novel for Christmas, House, by Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker. My daughter, who gave me the book, knew that I loved This Present Darkness, also by Peretti, so she thought that I would like this one too. She said it was “Christian Horror.” I never knew there was such a thing!

I want to review the book here, and I hate to give away any of the drama in the book, but I am not sure how to give a good review without describing some of the key elements, so if you think you might want to read the book, maybe you ought not read any further in this post.

I entered the book with trepidation. I met Jack and Stephanie as they were on their way to a counseling session to try to salvage their marriage. Things had not gone well for them following the drowning of their daughter a year earlier.
Their trip took a detour that led to their being drawn to an isolated house that looked like an old Southern inn when they arrived. But it turned out to be anything but a place of cordial hospitality. Another couple, Randy and Leslie, also found themselves in the place that night. The four shared a night of unmitigated terror.

As the evening unfolded, the house seemed to be alive, with a mind of its own. It seemed to know the hearts of the four trapped inside by the machinations of the house itself and the villain, Barsidious White.

The story moves at a good pace and helps the reader to get a growing awareness that the personal guilt of the individuals was contributing to the animosity of the house toward the victims. I must admit that I can think of few things that are more horrifying and painful than having to come face to face with one’s hidden sinfulness.

The story allows for redemption and a victory of good over evil only if those trapped inside would indeed acknowledge the sins they had been covering up, while blaming others for their plight in life. Though the word is never used in the book, repentance is an absolute necessity if the sinner wanted to live another day.

Good does win out for some of the four, and though it appears the story is over, we leave the book with an awareness that the evil perpetrators were far from finished with their “game”.

The book has been recently made into a movie, released last November. I promise, I will not go see it. And I hope I do not have images appear in my mind in the night!

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