Peter Rabbit Preschool

Mar. 22, 2008

Easter thoughts

Last night I was up later at night, nursing the baby....it was after 11 pm and I was the only one in the family still awake.   I was tired, and instead of reading as I should have, I (mistakenly) turned on the TV and began watching the Headline News (CNN) while nursing.  I was very disturbed after watching a news report of police discovering and capturing a man  in Florida who produced internet video clips which gave instructions on how to molest children ages 1 month - 8 years of age.  The only graphics in the news report were some clips of the arrested man and others who also viewed this "manual".  However that alone was enough to get my emotions going!  As anyone would, the thought and reality of these acts are so incredibly horrible that it's enough to make one lose sleep thinking about it.   Even though I used to work as a child protective social worker for many years,  and have probably seen more than enough, I STILL can hardly believe it.   I really did lose sleep last night with images in mind of this one particular man (thankfully now in police custody).  There was a second CNN report, giving the results of a CNN poll asking Americans "what do you consider sinful?"   This report was CNN's attempt to pay tribute to the Easter holiday.  Apparently, according to this poll,  Americans still consider adultery sinful, but not pre-marital sex.   Among other things, one problem with this thinking (according to my understanding of Scripture) is a view of sin as merely being one type or another type of external behaviors.   How do I understand sin?  I found one part of a definition from the website of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church: "The problem is that Adam rebelled against the goodness of God and sought to use God's creation for his own glory. He loved himself more than God or his neighbor. In the fallen world (which resulted from Adam's sin) people pervert God's good gifts. God intended his creation to reveal his glory. Now people use it without any regard for him. God created everything to show how wonderful he is. But, because of sin, people use every gift without glorifying or thanking the glorious Giver (Rom. 1:20,21). Sin is truly pleasurable or people would not be so addicted to it. The problem is that the pleasure is temporary, and the addiction permanent, because sinners disconnect their quest for pleasure from their eternal Creator. He is the author of real enjoyment and true life. This is the reason he refers to us as "dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph. 2:1). Our sin has cut us off from the Source of spiritual life. We are like trees disconnected from their roots." It's worth reflecting on sin, I think, this Easter weekend, because it's only the work of Christ on the cross that saves us from our very sinful selves!   Though I continue to shudder at the likes of the man in custody described earlier, I need to remember that every particle of my own being is infused with sin.  It's only the grace of God which redeems that which is inherently broken.  Praise to His name for the life of Christ, who has conquered death and sin!    As I look in the face of our newborn baby and see his smiles, I can only hope, because of Christ.

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Mar. 29, 2008 - Speaking of Sin

Posted by Jazzcreations

First - that boy is too cute! ok, speaking of sin, I thought it was quite humorous (actually patheticly sad) that recently a Cardinal of our church published a list of "new sins". Among them were things such as failing to feed the hungry, care for the poor, etc. All those social responsibilities that I thought all along were a Christian's duty. I guess I was wrong - they weren't a sin until now! LOL

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