ghost-buster?

Halloween. It's the time of the year when people don on costumes and try to out-scare one another (unless you're wearing the Disney Princess costume). It's the time of the year when kids run to and fro knocking on every door for candy. It's the time of the year when the old ones run up and down the stairs every time the bell rings. Spirits are alive (no pun intended) with Jack-o'-lanterns, trick-or-treating, ghost stories, and haunted houses. I got startled myself the other day when I was greeted at the front door by a hanging skeleton with a cape (I know, what a wuss). Tonight, people will be dressing up as witches and warlocks, skeletons, vampires, zombies, and of course, ghosts.

Now we know that witches and warlocks are, in a mild sense, real. There are people who practice black magic. We also know that vampires are real. It's all recorded in just the greatest book ever written--Twilight--NOT! My apologies to Stephenie Meyer. Pastors indiscreetly poke fun at others too, you know. Anyway, at least to my knowledge, we know that vampires, zombies, and the walking dead are not real. But how about ghosts? Are ghosts real?

I, for one, believe that ghosts exist and I have 2 reasons why.

1) I have never seen a ghost but I've heard stories from friends who've seen ghosts and who see ghosts on a regular basis. Now they could just be telling a good story or trying to scare me but who would do that to a pastor right? OK, fine, they would do that to a pastor. But when my friends retell of their ghost sightings, I can sense that they're serious about it. They have nothing to gain from lying to me and if it's just a joke, it has been on for too long now. But how about the Bible? Does the Bible say anything about ghosts?

2) And this is the second reason why I believe in ghosts. Jesus himself indirectly alluded to the existence of Casper, the friendly ghost, and his buddies. After resurrecting from the dead, Jesus appeared to his disciples. The disciples "were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost" (Luke 24:37 NIV, emphasis added). Jesus assured them that he was not a ghost by saying, "Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have" (Luke 24:38 NIV, emphasis added). Jesus didn't say to his frightened friends, "No, you shouldn't believe in ghosts. They're not real." Instead, he indirectly confirmed their existence by saying, "Ghosts don't have flesh and bones. And since I have flesh and bones, therefore, I am not like one of them ghosts." And so in a nutshell, I guess that's why I believe in ghosts.

Happy Halloween!

sin is like skittles

I was passing by the living room the other day when my eye caught this hilarious Skittles commercial on TV. Check it out below. I find sin to be just like this.

Sin is like Skittles. You think it's "awesome" at first. But then you realize in the end that it will just mess you up. How many times have we traded that incredible relationship with God with something awesome, cool, selfish, pleasurable, and down right opposite of what God wants? And in the end, it just messes us up. It's about time we stand up to sin get right with God.

a passion statement

When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden, their eyes were opened wide and they realized that they were naked! So what did they do? They couldn't exactly head to the nearest Wal-Mart and buy a shirt and jeans. They did what they could. They sewed fig leaves together as clothing. And as punishment for their disobedience, God threw them out of the garden.

Sad story isn't it? But God is not without love and mercy. Before kicking them out, he gave them leather jackets to clothe themselves with (OK, I know, the NIV says "garments of skin" but I like to think of them as leather jackets anyway). This goes to show God's almost unbelievable grace and mercy despite the wrongs we do to Him. God wasn't just making a fashion statement here. He was making a passion statement. God is passionately in love with us despite our sometimes (or for many of us, oftentimes!) bad behavior.

Fig Leaves and Leather Jackets is a blog that will deal with anything and everything Christian. From everyday faith to extraordinary faith. From households to churches. From worship to leadership. From politics to pulpits. And of course, from fig leaves to leather jackets.