The definition of 'sin'

Another interesting message from Pr. Greg Boyd: Taking out the trash.

In this message, there is one sentence he says that really made me think. As always, you must leave your pre-disposal to accept what you have learned on your culture (inside and outside the church), and focus on the words of Christ.

Sin is anything that separates you from God.

Yet, in Romans 8:38,39, Paul says:

38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Some people may use the verses above to say that it doesn't really matter what sin is because it can't separate us from God, well... read the verse again. The verse talks about nothing can separate us from His love...

All of us sin, we sin all the time, yet nothing we do can makes God stop loving us.

Acts 10
34 Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.

God loving us does not equal God saving us.

Matthew 5
45 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

God loves me, He loves us, no matter what! Yet, salvation is way more than that... Salvation is believing... not believing in the sense of knowing and acknowledging Jesus. That is not it!, specially since even Satan acknowledges who Christ is (Matthew 4:1-11).

Salvation is trusting in Christ, is depending on Him, is realizing that without Him life doesn't make much sense, is repenting from anything that keeps you away from wanting to know Jesus more... that's salvation.

Think about it.

Where do I begin?

1. I work for a Top 25 technology company in the world, at least according to these guys.

2. Fedora 9 is out today!

3. I installed Fedora 8 on my Macbook Pro today... I didn't go with 9 because it's too new still. There are a lot of things working on it, the most important thing I haven't been able to get it working yet is wireless. I am trying it one more time tonight.

4. I currently have 7 items on sale on ebay.com. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

5. This weekend, my wife and I will be having a yard sale in our neighborhood. We spent most of last weekend going through stuff we want to get rid off, and throwing away trash... I cannot believe how much junk we had stored... and we just moved last year.

6. If you remember how much I paid for my good old 1992 Mercury Topaz last year, let me tell you, I just spent that much (and a bit more) just on dentist work today! Sigh.

7. During the first week of June, I am going to be taking RHS333, here at work. I am trying to build up on my RHCE.

8. I pushed a new version of rpmrebuild to Fedora 7,8,9 and 10 and EPEL-5 last Sunday night, it should start showing up on the distros sometime this week. I hope.

9. My wife and I have been working together on a new budget, and with 2 weeks past, I am very excited to say that it seems to be working. The premise of the budget is simply: minimize your debit card use.

10. A bit more about the 'house cleaning': During the past few weeks I have been feeling challenged to get rid of 'vanity' in my life. I've been trying to slim down my 'wants' and focus on my 'needs.' I am becoming more and more self aware of how privileged I am for having the opportunities I have, and to waste my resources on shallow things is nothing less than I sin... I think. With the world around us suffering more and more everyday, I want to keep focusing my strength and resources in making it a little bit better somehow.

And finally, for the big announcement of the day... When my family and I moved to NC, I made a deal with my wife, the deal was that we would try North Carolina for a year, and if it didn't work out, we would go back 'home' to Lynchburg. Well, we are laying it down in front of God and His perfect will right now because we do feel that Lynchburg indeed is our home.

With that said, there are all sorts of issues that we need to resolve which directly affects our plans to move back to Lynchburg or not. Our house being the biggest issue, we just bought it, and the way the market is, we don't know if it will be possible to sell... So, we believe, if it is meant to be, it will be!

I do not intend to find a new job, I really like my job, and as long as they will have me, I will stick around and do the best I can. The move would mean a bit more traveling, but not everyday of the week... a small price to pay, I think.

One of the main reasons we are leaning more and more towards going back 'home' is the fact that we miss our Church so much. During this past year, we've visited at least 5 or 6 different churches, and even though there were 1 or 2 that I didn't mind, they didn't feel like home to us...

So, if you do get to the end of this post, and you care at all, I'd ask for you to pray for us, that the Lord will show us clearly (as He has in the past) what paths we must take.

Happy Mother's Day 2008 (Day 54 Remixed)

Happy Mother's Day 2008 (Day 54 Remixed), originally uploaded by afsilva.

There is only one pretty child in the world, and every mother has it. ~Chinese Proverb

I was sick like that...

The above was my life, literally. I have to say that I am not 100% healed yet, but I've made a lot of progress to keep most of it at work.

What's a friend?

A friend is a creature who depends on you, and you on them. A friend is the one who is always there for you... independent if a friend is human or not.

Some people live a lifetime and never get the chance to experience true friendship.

Thanks Steve for letting us in, there isn't anything I can say that will make your pain go away, but if you need anything, you know where to find me. I am listening.

Now that we're men

Title inspiration:




Today, there are 4 of us. The 4 men of the Silva family are hanging out around the house, working, doing homework, watching TV and drooling :-)

I've just ordered some pizza for us. I am so hungry.

My wife drove up to Lynchburg, VA for work, and I've been working from home today. I got online at work a little after 6 AM, and stuck around until 4:30 PM. During that time, I had to feed the baby a few times, put him down to nap a couple of times, and take and bring the kids from school. It was mostly an A.D.D. day, but stuff got done.

It was a fun day, but I miss my honey :-)

Help The Cyclone Victms in Myanmar

Places you can donate:

* UNICEF and/or Disaster Relief International

* World Vision

* Save The Children

* Doctors Without Borders

"But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed" - Luke 14:13