Beta version of HeroQuest released

I have created a brand new site to house my computer game HeroQuest:

http://heroquestjava.wordpress.com

I’ve just released a beta version today, so stop by the new site to get it!

(For those of you who played the demo, you’ll want to get the beta version – all 14 quests are now in the game, as is the ability to save your progress in between quests!)

Say a prayer for the unborn today…

… but don’t stop with just one prayer.

After today, they’ll need all the help they can get…

Hail to the King

Finally, all the elders of Israel met at Ramah to discuss the matter with Samuel. “Look,” they told him, “you are now old, and your sons are not like you. Give us a king to judge us like all the other nations have.“

Samuel was displeased with their request and went to the Lord for guidance. “Do everything they say to you,” the Lord replied, “for it is me they are rejecting, not you. They don’t want me to be their king any longer. Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually abandoned me and followed other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment. Do as they ask, but solemnly warn them about the way a king will reign over them.”

So Samuel passed on the Lord’s warning to the people who were asking him for a king. “This is how a king will reign over you,” Samuel said. “The king will draft your sons and assign them to his chariots and his charioteers, making them run before his chariots. Some will be generals and captains in his army, some will be forced to plow in his fields and harvest his crops, and some will make his weapons and chariot equipment. The king will take your daughters from you and force them to cook and bake and make perfumes for him. He will take away the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his own officials. He will take a tenth of your grain and your grape harvest and distribute it among his officers and attendants. He will take your male and female slaves and demand the finest of your cattle and donkeys for his own use. He will demand a tenth of your flocks, and you will be his slaves. When that day comes, you will beg for relief from this king you are demanding, but then the Lord will not help you.”

But the people refused to listen to Samuel’s warning. “Even so, we still want a king,” they said. “We want to be like the nations around us. Our king will judge us and lead us into battle.”

So Samuel repeated to the Lord what the people had said, and the Lord replied, “Do as they say, and give them a king.”

- 1 Samuel 8:4-22

No one likes to be told they’re sinning

When Bethany and I got married, she was only 20 years old.  So when we visited my dad in Las Vegas a week before her 21^st birthday, we knew there was a possibility of trouble whenever we would go into any casino.  I don’t particularly care for gambling, but I knew that my dad would probably give me a couple of dollars to play a few games; at some point in the trip I was right, he did.  The Nevada gambling laws state that anyone under 21 is not able to even stand near a slot machine to watch someone gambling.  For the briefest of moments, Bethany lingered just a bit too long, and a guard approached us.  It was frustrating, it was embarrassing.  But in the end, it didn’t matter how we felt about it, we had to move on: we were pushing the limits of the law, and we knew it. 

There are times when we absolutely know that what we are doing is wrong or law-breaking.  (Going 5 miles an hour over the speed limit is technically breaking the law, if we want to get right down to it.)  There are other times when we don’t know we are doing something wrong or law-breaking, and when caught our natural response is, “I didn’t know!”  However, as most of us can understand, ignorance of the law excuses no one. 

Sin is, in essence, law-breaking.  I am a sinner.  I sin every single day, and I hate it.  And I really hate if someone else points it out to me.  In today’s postmodern (and post-Christian) world, no one else likes to be told that what they are doing could be considered a sin either.  A person’s guard immediately comes up and they become very defensive when any sin is called out.  This happens whether a person knows it to be sin, if they don’t know, or even if they say they don’t believe it is a sin. 

That last one is always interesting to me, and perhaps other Christians might be able to nod in agreement.  How is it that sometimes a person who doesn’t share my beliefs, an atheist for example, gets all upset if I tell them they are sinning?  Isn’t it just easier to say, “I don’t share that belief,” and move on?  I personally can do that to a Muslim who says I won’t go to paradise for not following Allah.  What is it about Christianity that gets people all riled up? 

“They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” – Romans 1:18-20, NLT 

Here’s the answer: We all know Christianity is true.  Deep down inside, we all know it’s true. 

Satan, the great deceiver, is always whispering into our ears with his oldest line, “Did God really say this was wrong?”  I hear it too.  And more times than I’d like to admit, I listen to him and fall. 

Today, I believe the world is at a critical moment regarding a specific sin.  It is by no means the greatest sin or even a “greater” sin, but it is sin nonetheless, and all sin leads us away from God and towards death.  This is unique, however, in that it seems to be one that satan is currently using to divide the world.  I believe we are very close to a time where the world will shun those who call this sin just that, sin, and they may face consequences for expressing it. 

The sin I am talking about is homosexual behavior. 

Even as you read that line, emotions rise.  This is a major, hot-button issue.  Some of you may have just moved on to another page.  Some of you might agree with me.  Some of you may call me many names, be they bigot, prejudiced, homophobe, hate-monger… the list goes on.  All simply because I stated homosexual behavior is a sin. 

Now I could sit here and explain that I don’t believe homosexuals should be treated like second-class citizens. I could explain that the countries who kill homosexuals are dreadfully wrong.  I could explain that I personally treat everyone the same because I know that we are all sinners in need of the Savior.  But none of that will really matter at some point in the near future.  All that will matter is my actual belief, and it will be a litmus test. The lines are being drawn by the sinful world that is no longer whispering, but shouting, “Did God really say homosexual behavior is a sin?” 

For those of us who stand by God’s Word and say, “Yes, He did,” despite the great love we may share, we will be branded as the intolerant ones (or worse), and there may be many types of backlash against us, first socially, then economically, and then… who knows?  Some in the church have already succumbed to social pressure, such as the Episcopal Church, and many more will follow.  I applaud my brothers and sisters in the Catholic Church for continuing to speak God’s Word clearly and with authority, as well as the countless other churches out there who stand for truth. 

You see, it’s not about Christian arrogance, finger-pointing, judging, or hate.  It’s not even really that “we want to be right.”  As Christians, we are trying to prevent people from perishing in hell because we love them.  There’s no gun to your head or knife to your throat, it’s not “believe or die!”  We’re just crying out to a fallen world that The Savior has come to take away our sins – and how can one know they need a Savior if they don’t know they need to be saved? 

You can think what you will about me, but I needed to write this for 2 reasons.  First, as a warning to my fellow Christians that at some point in the near future you will be forced to make a choice: The Truth or social acceptance.  The second reason was that I wanted a permanent public record of my choice: The Truth. 

Again, no one likes to be told they are sinning, but that doesn’t change anything.  God has standards, and whether we like it or not, we will all be judged according to His standards.  Will you accept His mercy, the death of Jesus, as payment for your sins?

HeroQuest demo now available!

After over a year of on-and-off programming, I now have a demo of my computer game HeroQuest available for people to test.

Head over to my HeroQuest page for the download link and some screenshots.

Hopefully, the full version will be available in a couple of months.

I would love to hear comments from people who try it out!