And everyone who lives on the earth will worship him [the beast], everyone whose name was not written in the book of life of the Lamb slaughtered from the foundation of the world. Rev. 13:8.
I received quite a shock in Singapore recently. A meeting of all the Adventist churches in the city had been planned for Sabbath at a large public venue. To make sure that the members did not forget, the mission leaders sent out text messages on Sabbath morning to remind everyone of the times and the particulars. I thought they were talking about e-mails, but someone explained to me that those messages pop up on the screens of mobile phones and that nearly all the members in the city had such phones (I didn't)!
This novel way of reminding members of a major meeting caused me to pay attention to a report about text messaging in the Philippines. It seems that the Manila area of the Philippines is the text-message capital of the world. Everyone there seems to have a cell phone--they are more ubiquitous than flies on a summer day. Even the poorest of people have cell phones, and they are constantly using them.
But because of limited resources, most of them cannot use the phone for talking--that is way too expensive. So they end up text-messaging one another...constantly. It is very common to see people everywhere waiting or walking, feverishly punching in their messages with some elaborate code and sending them off to all their buddies.
For a while text-messaging even affected the catholic Church in the Philippines. It seemed that instead of going to the priest in church to confess their sins, many Filipinos found a new and more time-effective way to confess their sins. They text-messaged their sins to the priest! The priest then sent the absolution back with the appropriate penance. The practice was convenient, but soon the horrified church issued a stern edict to stop it.
While we might chuckle a little bit at this convenience-store type of religion I wonder how many of us are "text-message Christians." Do we try to squeeze faith into our lives in order to meet the minimum daily requirement, or do we fit our lives around faith and seek God afresh every day with a personal and heartfelt devotion?
I am so glad that God is not a text-message Deity. He invested Himself in the person of Jesus. Instead of just punching in a few letters and hitting the send button, He gave of His time and sacrificed Himself in person. And that sacrifice affected things all the way back to "the foundation of the world." Such a God is worthy of more than just a casual response.
Lord, I see more clearly the depth of the investment You have made in me. I respond to You with a whole heart today.
I received quite a shock in Singapore recently. A meeting of all the Adventist churches in the city had been planned for Sabbath at a large public venue. To make sure that the members did not forget, the mission leaders sent out text messages on Sabbath morning to remind everyone of the times and the particulars. I thought they were talking about e-mails, but someone explained to me that those messages pop up on the screens of mobile phones and that nearly all the members in the city had such phones (I didn't)!
This novel way of reminding members of a major meeting caused me to pay attention to a report about text messaging in the Philippines. It seems that the Manila area of the Philippines is the text-message capital of the world. Everyone there seems to have a cell phone--they are more ubiquitous than flies on a summer day. Even the poorest of people have cell phones, and they are constantly using them.
But because of limited resources, most of them cannot use the phone for talking--that is way too expensive. So they end up text-messaging one another...constantly. It is very common to see people everywhere waiting or walking, feverishly punching in their messages with some elaborate code and sending them off to all their buddies.
For a while text-messaging even affected the catholic Church in the Philippines. It seemed that instead of going to the priest in church to confess their sins, many Filipinos found a new and more time-effective way to confess their sins. They text-messaged their sins to the priest! The priest then sent the absolution back with the appropriate penance. The practice was convenient, but soon the horrified church issued a stern edict to stop it.
While we might chuckle a little bit at this convenience-store type of religion I wonder how many of us are "text-message Christians." Do we try to squeeze faith into our lives in order to meet the minimum daily requirement, or do we fit our lives around faith and seek God afresh every day with a personal and heartfelt devotion?
I am so glad that God is not a text-message Deity. He invested Himself in the person of Jesus. Instead of just punching in a few letters and hitting the send button, He gave of His time and sacrificed Himself in person. And that sacrifice affected things all the way back to "the foundation of the world." Such a God is worthy of more than just a casual response.
Lord, I see more clearly the depth of the investment You have made in me. I respond to You with a whole heart today.
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