Recently, I voted in the New Zealand elections.

…reluctantly, I might add. My parents had to drag me to the voting booth, kicking and screaming. I don’t even think I filled out the form correctly. I only read later that you were strictly supposed to tick the box, not colour it in–I will never know if my vote was valid or not. The whole idea seems ridiculous to me, that my vote could be opposed by someone else who had no idea and choose the funniest name.

Democracy to me, is largely the ability to give the greatest illusion of power to the people, while the top tier of government stays about the same.

There are great many obstacles in my mind that don’t really match up in my mind. To summarise:

(1) I think Shane Claiborne says it best when he argues that the world we engage in is at odds with the Kingdom we live in:

“Today the logic goes something like this: ‘Calling a ruler Son of God is out of style. No one really does that nowadays. We can support a president while also worshiping Jesus as the Son of God.’ But how is this possible? For one says that we must love our enemies, and the other says we must kill them; one promotes the economics of competition, while the other admonishes the forgiveness of debts. To which do we pledge allegiance?” More Here...

By Nic Don at Theopolitical

“Powers,” “Principalities,” “gods of the nations,” and “elemental spirits of the universe,” though not necessarily evil, are prone to distort God’s purposes for them. They can corrupt and enslave humanity (Isa. 42:17; 45:20; Gal. 4:9; Eph. 2:1-3; 6:12; Col 2:15). Sin is thus not only an individual matter, but involves groups, nations, and structures. Such organizations can have a “spirit” that incite persons to do evil they would not have chosen on their own. Governments, military forces, economic systems, educations or religious institutions, family systems, and structures determined by class, race, gender, or nationality are susceptible to demonic spirits. Human violence toward each other, enmity between peoples, the domination of men over women, and the adverse conditions of life and work in the world – these are all signs of the sin in humanity and in al creation (Gen 3:14-19; 4:3-16; 6:11-13; 11:1-9; Rom 8:21).

From Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective, Article 7. Sin, Footnote 2.

Yesterday was Easter Sunday and as all those who regularly go to church know, Easter Sunday is the one day of the year when the church is packed and you have to go to church more than 15 minutes ahead of service instead of right when service begins. I arrived early and, as I sat down to wait for church to begin, two other guys sat down beside me.

Now this is where it becomes a very sensitive issue. Today in Homily, the Father talked about how even though Jesus knew Judas was going to betray him, he still welcomed him into the garden and paradise with a kiss. He welcomed a sinner.

After the Sabbath, as the first light of the new week dawned, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to keep vigil at the tomb. Suddenly the earth reeled and rocked under their feet as God's angel came down from heaven, came right up to where they were standing. He rolled back the stone and then sat on it. Shafts of lightning blazed from him. His garments shimmered snow-white. The guards at the tomb were scared to death. They were so frightened, they couldn't move.

The angel spoke to the women: "There is nothing to fear here. I know you're looking for Jesus, the One they nailed to the cross. He is not here. He was raised, just as he said. Come and look at the place where he was placed.

"Now, get on your way quickly and tell his disciples, 'He is risen from the dead. He is going on ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there.' That's the message."

The women, deep in wonder and full of joy, lost no time in leaving the tomb. They ran to tell the disciples. Then Jesus met them, stopping them in their tracks. "Good morning!" he said. They fell to their knees, embraced his feet, and worshiped him. Jesus said, "You're holding on to me for dear life! Don't be frightened like that. Go tell my brothers that they are to go to Galilee, and that I'll meet them there."
- Matthew 28:1-10 (Message)

Victory belongs to the one who has died and has risen, and on this day, people of all walks of life turn -- or return -- to the church to celebrate Jesus' resurrected life.  This day is a great opportunity to participate in the Sunday services at your local church, and we here at Revelife hope you will be in attendance to experience fellowship, worship and teaching. More Here...