She Said Yes! (Colossians 1)

She Said Yes! (Colossians 1)

Colossians 1.10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God [niv]

On 20th April 1999, Cassie Bernall, a junior at Columbine High in Littleton Colorado, was a typical teenager having a typical day, when a couple of her classmates trained a gun on her head and asked if she believed in God. She said "Yes". Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold pulled the trigger and shot her in the head. They went on to kill another 12 students and a teacher and injured 26 others before turning the gun on themselves.

Christians all around the world were impacted by the news of Cassie's death, with many calling her a modern day martyr. In the wake of the Columbine shootings, many Christian teens began asking themselves tough questions like, "What if it were me?" Many saw the possibility of dying for Christ as attractive. The idea of martyrdom became popular.

Helping this along were merchandisers who saw this as a great business opportunity. Cassie's last words, "Yes, I believe" have been immortalized on everything from key chains and t-shirts, to bracelets and coffee mugs.

While I stand in awe of those who have laid down their life for the Gospel of Christ, we need to be careful not to turn martyrdom into something that it isn't. Yes, dying for Christ is an honour, but so is living for Him. I think dying is easy, it's faithfully living for Him, day after day which is a harder thing to do. In fact the most amazing thing to me about Cassie's story, wasn't how she died but rather how she lived.

May we live a life worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him in every good work and growing in the knowledge of Him.

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The World Will End December 21, 2012! (Mark 8)

The World Will End December 21, 2012! (Mark 8)

Mark 8.31 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. [nkjv]

2012 will be a big year. On 31st January 2012, the second largest near Earth object, 433 Eros, will come close to Earth's orbit, making it visible with the naked eye. July 27th sees the Olympic Games underway in London. On November 6th Americans go to the polls to re-elect President Barak Obama, and on the 21st December 2012 the Long Count Calendar of the Ancient Mayans comes to an end, with many predicting cataclysmic events signaling the end of the world as we know it. Those of us who remember the media build up to Y2K will no doubt approach this imminent apocalyptic event with a great deal of skepticism.

Adding to the hysteria is a movie released later this year titled simply 2012. Although I approach movies like this purely for entertainment value and of course the special effects, I couldn't help think as I watched the trailer, "If I knew that my life would come to an end tomorrow, would I change the way I am living today?"

It's a fair question, one well worth consideration. Generally we choose not to think about it unless confronted by the death of a friend, sickness or giant asteroids plummeting to earth. I recently came across a post by a man named James. He had just undergone quadruple bypass surgery and asked himself the same question. I like what he had to say.

Jesus knew He had limited time on this earth. His ministry life was only three years, yet in that time He changed not only history but also eternity. When you know the value of time, life becomes purposeful, priorities shift and people become paramount. People become more important than careers. The health of relationships trump the pursuit of riches. I've never heard anyone say on their deathbed, "I just wish I had spent more time at the office!"

Unfortunately most of us tend to procrastinate. I am a procrastinator. No end date on a project means another day up my sleeve to hold off completing it. There is always tomorrow!

But what if there wasn't? What if today was all I had. How would I spend it? Who would I spend it with? What conversations would I have?

As Christians, we don't fear death but we do have a responsibility to be good stewards with the time God has given to us. Let's make a renewed commitment to make today count.

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