Report from Lanning Labs

Many long-time readers of SIO will remember that last september I switched my email service from Hotmail to Google's new service, Gmail (which is still in beta, for some reason). I promised back then to give a report on the service, and I am happy to say that I've used it long enough to offer some insight on the matter.

Now, as I figure it, most of us use email. Probably free email, or email that is somehow related to a website with paid hosting. There are still those AOL types out there, but if you ask me AOL is now a dinosaur. Anyways, for those of you in the free web email scene, Gmail is your best bet. It's fast, clean, simple, and yet complex. Its organizational capability is unmatched. Multiple replies get stacked together as conversations, and your sent email is also included. You don't put email into folders, you put labels on them which you use to sort stuff out. A star can also be put on important mail so it doesn't get lost in the pile. You never have to delete anything because you've got a gigabyte of space (recently Yahoo upgraded their offer from like 2 meg to 1 gig... I wonder why?). The address book is great, and you never actually have to open it because it shows you all the choices you have while you're typing.

So there you have it. Switch now. Oh, and if anybody needs an invite let me know. I have fifty invites to give out, or somesuch. Technology is moving forward. Are you being left behind? Oh, and for those who haven't noticed, I've changed SIO's site tracking service. I'm quite satisfied with the results. On an aesthetic note, this is now 2 posts in the same day. I think that is a record.

The Ultimate Price

Wounded teen says shooter asked students if they believed in God. What would your answer be? This is what it all really comes down to, folks. There are christians in many parts of the world who face this kind of threat every day.

Brevity is the Order of the Day

Casual dating. It's just no good.

Make Us Free

Over breakfast at Mr. Burger, a friend explained to me how he felt about Reformed churches. "They're too concerned about doctrine!" he lamented. His position is basically this: the only thing we need to know as christians is what Jesus said in his Sermon on the Mount. All this other stuff like Calvinism is way too boring and just divides the church. This is not the first time I've had a discussion with a "No Creed but Christ" type. To them, Systematic Theology is a dinosaur which snuffs out love and peace. The more ism-s you use when talking to them, the more disgusted they will become. Calvinism is something akin to National Socialism. I believe this is an infantile view of Christianity, and one which will never result in becoming more sanctified.

You cannot separate faith from knowledge. We are called in scripture to add knowledge to our faith (II Peter 1:5). In II Corinthians 8:7 we are encouraged to abound in all faith, utterance, knowledge, and love. I've recently been dealing with another group of people who can't seem to build their theology beyond the crucifixion of Christ. They might as well just cut John 3:16 out of the Bible, tape it on their refrigerators, and simply throw the rest away. Don't read this the wrong way: the saving work of Jesus Christ is the absolute foundation of Christianity; it has to be. However, the Bible tells us that our faith must grow.

Paul says this in his letter to the Hebrews, chapter 5:12-13: "For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe."

The “first principles” spoken of here are the basics: the saving work of Jesus Christ and his authority over our lives as our Lord. The “new birth” analogy is so strong throughout the New Testament, and it is no less applicable here. Even as an infant becomes a child and eventually an adult as exemplified by food that is required for nourishment, so must we as Christians progress from the simplicities of the faith to the complexities.

The Corinthians were in this position when Paul wrote his first letter to them, and we read these words in chapter 3:2: "I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able."

The Christian life has two parts: Justification and Sanctification. Justification is the act of salvation that God performs in our lives for the sake of His only begotten Son. Sanctification is the process by which we as Christians become more holy; become more like Jesus, the only example of perfect holiness. It’s progressive; we must never be satisfied with how holy we have become. We must continue the march toward perfection.

So how do we become more sanctified? In John 17 is recorded a prayer which Jesus offered on behalf of his disciples. In it he prays, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” So we see that the study of Scripture is the key to progressing in our faith. It is our calling as Christians to search it within and without, and not to just stop at John 3:16 or the Sermon on the Mount and call it good. The real challenge for us as fallen human beings is to take what we learn, especially regarding unity and love among the brethren, and apply it.

SIO Health Awareness Notice

The globally-aware staff of SIO would like once again to update everybody on the status of the dreaded Avian Flu, which is now threatening North Korea, a nation which has already been plagued by famine and other resource shortages. Futher bulletins as events warrant.

Crackling

Here's something that's always bothered me somewhat about entertainment venues. First off, let me say that I like music. I even like loud rock music - not all of it, but enough to qualify for a place in the "likes loud rock music" category. When I go to a place to relax with friends and have a beer or what have you, I like to have some music in the background. The trouble is lots of places play their music so ridiculously loud as to negate all pretense of conversation or enjoyment of what's going on. This leads me to avoid most places altogether. If I were in charge of this music, I would recognize the fact that it is just simply bad business to play music so loud and I would cease and desist from it entirely. I also should say that earlier this week I mistakenly walked into the phenomenon known as Karaoke. Picture a guy in his late fourties trying to sing Axel Rose. It was that bad. Worse, probably. I can't remember.

Dudzcom

So there was this guy and he was walking along one day and it was a really nice day and there was sun and stuff and he was walking and things were fun and he was happy and he was walking and whistling a tune and things were good and it was sunny and he was walking and he saw a ball point pen on the ground and thought 'well that's just my luck because I am in need of a ball point pen' and he was about to pick up the ball point pen on a sunny day and then the ball point pen ate him.

The Tough Questions

Answer me this. Why do guys have nipple hair? I mean, let's be honest here, folks. It just doesn't make any sense, physiologically or grammatically. If you didn't want to think about that today, try this on for size. You may notice that I've not commented at all on the Michael Jackson... thing. Well, that's for a reason. You see, I really couldn't give a crap about Michael Jackson.

As a matter of fact, when it comes to things that really matter, I would say that Wubble would have to be at the top of my list. Don't know what that is, do you? Naturally. Speaking of caribbean cruises, I really want to do one of those some day. A really long one. The one problem is my parents made me watch A Night to Remember too many times as a child and I'm simply scarred for life.

Insert Important Issue Here

Spring break is upon us; and for the third year I am not going anywhere. I got up today around noon or so and bummed about the house. That's probably how things are going to be going up until about Friday when my sister is getting married or somesuch, I'm not really sure. I think I'm a groomsman, too. I'll have to check on that.

Are you convinced about Bird Flu yet? Are you impressed that it's now called Avian Flu? Millions of southeast asian chickens are losing their lives as we speak in an effort to combat this deadly disease. I have completed the blueprints for a Bird Flu bunker beneath my house. I am also accepting donations to the building fund, and if you want safe haven when this horror hits the continent you'd better stay playing hardball with the Visa.