Dearest friends,
Greetings to you in the name of Christ Jesus our Lord and in the name of believers everywhere. Praise be to God for you and for His ministry through you.
It occurs to me that although I have written and spoken to many of you about our Lord and your walk with Him I have never taken the time to visit you in this place, a place where you spend an increasing amount of time. I can see by the way you speak and by your actions that you strive to follow our Lord’s example in every way. Still, imagine my surprise when I heard rumour that when you visited Internet you became an entirely different person…completely unrecognizable as a follower of Jesus seeking to glorify Him through your lives.
My first response was "this cannot be!" and "surely you are speaking of some other person, one who has not yet come to understand the saving work of Christ?" but with the reports came a desire to see for myself and so without notice I packed what little I needed and journeyed to Internet with the sole desire to prove your naysayers wrong.
I am sorry to say I have found little to bring back with me in the way of evidence of a fruitful journey on your part. I saddened to the depths of my heart but this is nothing in comparison to the pain our Father has as He journeys with you through this place.
In many ways you are worse than you once were (and you know I can say this because I too have walked a darker path in a sunless land and have come out into the bright saving grace of Jesus). There is a myth of freedom here in Internet that covers a more hideous lie which is bondage to darkness and depravity the likes of which the outer world has yet to see.
Where once the sin was in thought it has become action in Internet. Where once lust reigned in the heart it has become the secret ruler in pornography, webcams, illicit and hurtful chat in the small hours of the morning when the world sleeps and you forget who walks with you and what Spirit aches within you.
You have created idols in webpages dedicated to celebrating the the shadow realm. Your sites play music that seeks to tear down God and unleash chaos. Your pictures speak of a hidden desire.
MSN handles that speak of a different person who desires to tempt and be tempted. Where you are clean amongst flesh you are filthy in Internet as though you could create an alternate persona. As though you could separate yourself from your shadow and send it to thrive in cyberspace.
I know you and have seen you confess that you would NEVER walk into a store and steal a box of software, a DVD or a CD but in Internet the rules seem to be changed and all is available to the cunning.
This is a test by which we are measured – who are we when we think no one is watching? What do we do when we think we are alone?
You cannot separate yourself into two. You are one being – body, mind and spirit. God is not absent in Internet but He stands ready to redeem wherever you go. His grace is there as much as here. Do not seek to replace flesh and flesh community and fellowship with the cold touch of electrons – seek only to supplement.
Internet is God’s realm as much as the town. Your life there and here are the same. God’s desire remains the same no matter where you roam. This place can be beautiful and you, first and foremost, should shed God’s light in all things. Be bright for Him in this place. See, He sets a standard for you which is beyond the world’s but for the sake of the world and you are called to be its bearers.
So I close with my hope for you which is God’s hope too – that you be Christ in all places, world and net, but know that you cannot serve two masters (as you have heard). I will pray for you always and in all things and pray for me as well in the same way, as I journey to Internet from the world and back.
The blessing of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit be with you always and in all ways.
His Servant.
Harnessing Chaos 
As I said last night, one of the best things you\’ve written.
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Wow, so convicting. The principles written to other churches long ago about idols and about our worship – which we sometimes deem useless because we don\’t have stone gods on our shelves – are brought home to us here in 2006 as we see that we still struggle with the same temptations as the early church once did. To have clean hearts and minds before our God when its easy to hide in the shadows and be someone different.
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