No Pop-up Ads, Please!

I recently got an I-phone. I am probably one of the last people to join the I-phone club. And even so, I only got last year's model and not the new one. Hey, these things take time...

One of the things I enjoy on my new phone is the free games. I particularly love playing "Words With Friends" even though it often challenges these friendships when my opponent gets all of the great words right on top of the triple word tiles, (you know who you are), but my game rage issue is not the point of this post.

I notice that certain games on my I-phone are "free" but then when I actually download the game and begin to enjoy it, I am inundated with numerous pop-up ads. The ads are frustrating enough, but then some of them proceed to get stuck on my screen, and no amount of clicking on "continue" or the X seems to work, so I have to turn my phone off, and turn it back on, to eliminate the intruder.

Today I was thinking how often times Christianity seems to be littered with intrusive pop-up ads. What I mean is, we receive God's amazing and totally free gift of grace through his son Jesus. We are so delighted to have this new free gift! But just as we begin to "play" in this wonderful new Kingdom we have entered into, here comes those darned pop-up ads...you know the ones...pushing you to buy into something after you have already received all that you wanted for free! Every time I hear a preacher talk about our need to do something in order to truly be forgiven or healed or break a curse or whatever the current to-do trend is, (usually in order to sell their latest book), I feel the same frustration that I feel while playing Words With Friends.

If this is truly free, (which it is!!) then why are there so many annoying distractions vying for my attention? I guess the only way to get out of it when we are stuck in a pop-up ad is to turn it off, wherever "it" is coming from, and reboot ourselves with a good dose of Jesus. Aaah, I feel better already!!