The Christian Tetris Effect

Have you ever stopped to consider the amazing power of Tetris? It was invented over 20 years ago, and since then has dominated the world. It was voted the second best video game in history, and it even has a medical condition named after it! I'm serious - it's called the "Tetris Effect," and I'm willing to bet that some of you reading this suffer from this cybersickness.

Basically, the "Tetris Effect" happens when after playing the game for an hour or so, you still have the taunting little images falling through the brainwaves in your head - so you keep playing a mental version of the game. Another way it shows up is when you are at a grocery store and you see some boxes that might fit together better to make a row. I even heard of folks who will gaze at a beautiful downtown skyline, and instead of admiring the glass and steel human achievement, are instead thinking about how the buildings might be turned in a Tetris like fashion for a better position.

The most recent sign of the Tetris Effect showed up on (of course) You Tube. Two wildly popular videos pay tribute to the game in very bizarre ways. The first video is a clip from a Japanese game show where contestants have a huge wall with a blank Tetris shape approaching them at a pretty good pace. The contestants have to get themselves into whatever shape is coming their way to fit through, otherwise they get bashed into a pool of water...or some liquid...ewww.

The other video is a 'human Tetris' that has groups of people in different colored shirts coming down church pews just like the real version of the game. The player rearranges the groups of people so they can make rows and disappear.

Again, cybersickness at it's best.

The video of the church Tetris, though, really got me thinking. I sometimes wonder if God is a Tetris fan? What I mean is - maybe He's looking down at all the folks in church who just come and sit, and He'd love to rearrange them so they could fit together and accomplish something. The reason I think this might be true is because in the Bible there is an important part of the Christian life called 'spiritual gifts'. Here's what it read says:

God's various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. God's various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. God's various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful:

wise counsel

clear understanding

simple trust

healing the sick

miraculous acts

proclamation

distinguishing between spirits

tongues

interpretation of tongues.

All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when. (1 Corinthians 12:4-11)

Just like the different people in different colored shirts, every Christian is given a different special ability called a 'spiritual gift' from the Holy Spirit that we need to use at church and anywhere else we have an opportunity. When we don't use them, it's like a Tetris round where the pieces just fall where ever, and the game is over quickly.

So are you ready to pick up the 'Christian Tetris Effect'? Can you picture where you fit into your church or youth group with your spiritual gift? Here are some ideas for you:

Do you like to serve? Then find a place to serve!

Are you a good listener and encourager? Then let people know you're available!

Do you enjoy helping get things organized? Then let your youth leader know! (Believe me, he or she will be very glad to get some help).

The power of Tetris is great, but believe me, the power of learning where you fit in with your spiritual gifts and using them to help others is one of the greatest powers the universe has ever seen.

So are you ready to play?

Head: What you need to know about this truth

When a person trusts in Christ as his/her only hope of salvation, the Holy Spirit gives them a unique ability called a spiritual gift that should be used to help fulfill God's plan for the church and the world.

Heart: What you need to feel about this truth

You should feel amazingly special and responsible. Amazingly special because God chose you to accomplish a mission on earth through your spiritual gift. Responsible because this is one of the main purposes to your life, and you will be judged on how well or not so well you used your gift.

Hands: What you need to do about this truth

One of the best ways to have a discussion about spiritual gifts is to talk about how you would react in a specific situation. For example, if a server spills someone's meal all over the restaurant floor and a group of Christians are sitting nearby, each individual will react differently based on his/her spiritual gift. The gift of mercy responds by helping to clean up the mess, the gift of giving offers to pay for another meal, the gift of exhortation seeks to cheer up the server. The gift of administration delegates and organizes the whole matter to avoid confusion. The gift of teaching suggests some ways to make sure the spill doesn't happen again, etc. Your spiritual gift makes you sensitive to certain needs that others may not see. Another way to get educated and get help with discovering your spiritual gift is to complete a spiritual gifts inventory. Talk to your pastor, youth leader, parent, or a mature Christian adult about where to find one and how to interpret the results.

(Some resources from Dare2Share & SoulFuel)

Benjamin Button & You

"My name is Benjamin Button, and I was born under unusual circumstances. While, everyone else was agin', I was gettin' younger... all alone."

Can you even imagine? Being born really old, living life backwards, and then progressively becoming younger. In other words, the day that would normally be your last is your first, and the day that is normally your first is your last.

Confused? Well, Benjamin Button isn't. In the film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Brad Pitt's character is born as an extremely elderly person , and for almost three hours you'll see him go through a reverse aging process that will truly capture your imagination and make you wonder...what if?

What if everyone was born old with a destiny to die at their 'youngest' moment?

What if the 'older' I grew, the less people took me seriously?

What if I literally watched my friends get older than me and eventually have to, feed me? Or change my diaper.... ew!

The interesting part about this movie is the clear message that whether you go forwards or backwards in age, the end result is the same every single time...

We die. We expire. We 'pass on.'

And then what?

Statistics show that ten out of every ten people born on this earth will eventually have their life come to an end.

So have you given much thought to what's commonly known as the 'afterlife'?

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button should be a wakeup call to all of us on the subject of life, death, and most importantly - what's next?

At least that's the conclusion that an emergency room doctor named Maurice Rawlings came to. Not from a movie, but from eyewitness experience. According to his book Beyond Death's Door, those who have near death experiences later speak of seeing light, lush green meadows, rows of smiling relatives and tremendous peace. But what he found after interviewing 300 people immediately after being brought back from the near death experience is that nearly 50% reported lakes of fire and brimstone, devil-like figures and other sights hailing from the darkness of hell. He says they later changed their story because most people are simply ashamed to admit they may have had a glimpse of hell, they won't even admit it to their families.

Check out his conclusion:

"Just listening to these patients has changed my whole life. There's a life after death, and if I don't know where I'm going, it's not safe to die."

The great news is that you can definitely know where you are going, so that it actually is 'safe to die.' Think about it, the only way we could know for sure about what's on the other side of death is to hear from someone who had been there and came back. But more than that, we need someone who can give us more than just images and descriptions - because we need to know how to avoid Hell at all costs.

Read this... its amazing:

Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life.Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?" (John 11:25-26).

How about you? Do you believe this? The key thing to remember is that this promise comes from the One who died and came back from the dead - and He makes it clear that death is really not the end...rather it is the beginning of your eternal and final destiny. In other words, like Benjamin Button, your last day on earth is really your first in eternity.

So are you ready to choose your afterlife? No one in his/her right mind would want to go to hell, and no one in his/her right mind wouldn't want to go to heaven. The good news is that making sure it is safe to die is one of the easiest things on earth. You don't deserve it, you can't earn it, so give up trying and simply put your faith and trust in Jesus' death and resurrection as your only hope of salvation. The moment you do that, your afterlife in heaven is secure. The bad news is that if you haven't done that, it is definitely not safe to die because...

Believe me, you don't want to go there. Believe Jesus, and you won't have to.

Only you can decide where you go when you die, your parents can't make your decision, your grandparents can't, your friends can't... only YOU can. Just because you sit in church every sunday doesn't mean you're a christian... its the same as you can't park your bike in a garage and then expect it to be a motorcycle. If you have any questions on "How to choose your eternity" drop me an email, I'd be glad to talk to you about it. My email is PastorMatt@gmx.com

Head: What you need to know about this truth

The reality of an afterlife should cause us to put our trust in Jesus Christ as our only hope of salvation

Heart: What you need to feel about this truth

There are some things we should be afraid of - and one of them is a place of eternal judgment called hell. Remember, just because people don't believe in hell does not make it go away!

Hands: What you need to do about this truth

If you have not trusted in Jesus as your only hope of salvation, please don't wait any longer. If you have, this week, take some time to evaluate your life in light of eternity. Will you have reward for serving Christ, or will the Judgment Seat of Christ make you wish you had lived more faithfully for Jesus?

(some resources from Dare2Share & Soulfuel)

God is Txting U !!

?4U...did you even think four or five years ago that text-o-mania would hit the world and change the way we communicate? From brb to bff to bbl to ttylo, there are enough abbreviations being bounced off satellites to fill the universe and then some.. imho anyway! Based on the stat I read that indicated an average of 1 BILLION text messages are sent every week - which means that every six weeks or so there are more text messages floating around than there are people on the planet!

Of course I'm not telling anything you didn't already know. In fact, I bet you're texting right now - aren't you? I know this because I can multi-task-text-with-my-eyes-closed as well. The scariest is when people are driving and texting at the same time. That's when the most common message is this:

O no! I'm abt2 reck!

So all this talking of texting got me thinking. What if you and I could send a message to God? What would you ask or say to Him? Would He answer, or would He just ROFL?

Personally, I don't think he would laugh at us for trying to chat. God is a person, and He is absolutely crazy in love with His creation. Think about a time when you got a text from someone you really like or love...you got back as soon as you could, right? Same with God. In fact, He has already sent us a 'text message' that has 774,746 words and would take you a few days to read out loud.

Of course I'm talking about the Bible, and because it's not exactly a short message, I'd like to take a moment and throw in my two cents on what I think would be common text questions people might send to God, and what He would say in return.

Dear God - do You love me?

Ivenvr quit luv'n u & nvr will. xpct luv, luv, & more luv! (Jeremiah 31:3)

Dear God - will You ever leave me?

Ill nvr leeve u or abandon u (Hebrews 13:5)

Dear God - do You care about my future?

4 IK the plnz I have 4 u,"sez the Lord." Theyre plnz 4 good not 4 dzastr, 2 give u a future & a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)

Dear God - I feel so guilty all the time - can You help?

If you confess ur sins 2 me, im faithful & just 2 4give ur sins & 2 cleanse u from all wickedness. (1 John 1:9)

Dear God - do You ever think about me?

My thoughts about u r rare and beautiful! u'll nevr comprehend em! U couldn't even bgin 2 count em - anymore than u could count the s& of the sea. (Psalm 139: 16-18)

Dear God - I'm worried and sometimes scared...can You help?

Im leavin u w/ a gift- peace of mind & heart, & the peace I give is a gift 'da wrld can't give. So don't b troubled r afraid. (John 14:27)

See what I mean? The God of the universe loves you more than you could possibly imagine, and the best part is that He is in complete charge of the universe and knows everything about you. He is always ready and willing to listen to your cries, answer your prayers, and cheer at your victories. He has a picture of you on the screen of His phone, and He waits with delight for the incredible moments when you look up to Him in faith with a message.

The next time you text, remember the ultimate communication called the Bible, written by the hand of God Himself. I promise it will be d gr8st msg u evr read!

Head: What you need to know about this truth

God is a Person who longs to communicate with His children that he loves us, will never leave us, has a plan for us, has forgiven us, always thinks about us, and gives us peace in the midst of trouble.

Heart: What you need to feel about this truth

As one of God's children, feel unique, cherished, loved, and taken care of by the God of the universe!

Hands: What you need to do about this truth

Write a response to some or all of the 'text messages' sent from God. Also, let other people know about the good news that God loves them and wants to have a relationship with them through Jesus Christ.

(Some resources from Dare2Share & Soulfuel)