What Happens in Vegas...

You've heard the saying about what happens in Vegas, right?

Well the fact of the matter is that it just isn't true. Memories and experiences stay with us. You cannot walk away from them.

This postcard (found this week on PostSecret) is a reminder that we are designed with a conscience. While it is popular these days to say, "Live as you wish," and "Don't tell me how to live," the fact remains that each and everyone of us has morals that are written on our hearts. When we do wrong, we feel bad. God made us that way.

I don't know what this person did, but it is obviously eating them up.

How, here's the good news about God. He can relieve burdens such as this through confession and repentance. We can never clear our conscience by ourselves, but through being open with those we love and by trusting in God we can clean the slate.

Churches are sometimes good about preaching and practicing this and sometimes not so good. They forget that there are some real hurting people in the world who are afraid or scared to darken the doors of a church. And even if hurting people do visit church, they typically aren't going to march down to the front in view of everybody to confess their sins. That's often asking way too much out of someone who is struggling already. This is where a small group of people can be a lifesaver. In small community you can often talk openly about the hurts of life. Sometimes it boils down to a single trusted friend or married couple.

For a good example of this go to www.lifechurch.tv and watch the first of their series on SexEd. There's a good example there.

In the meantime the thing to remember is that you don't have to carry burdens alone in life. God cares. And further, He isn't going to laugh at you or turn you away. There isn't anything you or I have done that He hasn't heard before. He's pretty cool that way.

For believers I think we must be reminded to care about others. Sometimes we simply forget that life is tough and people need to see that faith makes a difference. How we live our lives determines if we really are people who live what we say we believe or not. When are people who live our faith it impacts people in an amazing way.

Bob