Are You Streaming?
When “streaming” a movie over the Internet, the better the connection, the better the movie watching experience. Most today realize that Broadband (high speed) Internet connections provide users with much more enjoyable Internet movie experiences than the previous slower DSL, over the telephone line connections (Wikipedia[1]). Streaming a movie means that the viewer can start watching the movie instantly and as the viewer is watching the movie, the rest of the movie is being downloaded (buffered) in the background. With DSL, when the viewer started watching the movie, the download speed was too slow and the movie paused while more content was being downloaded. This led to annoying starts and stops and interruptions to the movie streaming experience. Broadband Internet connections eliminated those annoying interruptions in service by making it possible for the rest of the movie to be downloaded faster than the movie could be displayed to the viewer.
High Speed Internet connections have far reaching implications in our world. Today video conference calls connect people from all over the world. Streaming music services like Pandora and Spotify have eliminated the need for CDs. Free online podcasts have replaced $5 cassette tapes. Gamers experience the joys of streaming multi-player games through X-Box and Playstation, where people all around the world can participate in a video game and talk to one another as if they were all in the same room. Once a user experiences the benefits of broadband, moving into a home that lacks such access often becomes a deal breaker. Cities see the advantages of stimulating the local economy by providing city-wide broadband access as they attract new businesses. Home builders see the necessity of wiring the new projects with fiber optic, high speed lines.
Massive fiber-optic cables connect continents and governments and individuals, providing what some call “weapons of mass instruction” allowing freedom of expression to voices that would never have been heard in previous generations. Oppressive governments are losing control because of the free flow of information and ideas that empower the individual. The information revolution marches on and social structures are being radically changed. It is no exaggeration to say that more information is instantly available on today’s smartphone, than was available in a lifetime one generation ago.
Two thousand years ago, the ultimate “streaming” service was launched that changed the world. Millions and millions of people have subscribed to this service and their lives have never been the same. For reasons hard to imagine, some choose to un-subscribe and others fail to stay connected, to their own detriment. This streaming service is available around the world in every location, to “whosoever will.” It is a service that is available to young and old, rich and poor, the uneducated and the elite of society, to the religious and the irreligious, to the pastor and the pauper, to Billy Graham and Billy the Kid. The hosting provider guarantees un-interrupted service, zero downtime, no buffering, accessibility around the world, even to the remotest of locations and it is all made available, at great cost, for free!
The ultimate "streaming," I'm talking about is the gift from God that Jesus described as being "better" than if Jesus was still walking on this earth in bodily form. It is the power that is available to us through the person of the Holy Spirit who desires to inspire, and empower and enable His people to become more like Jesus every day. He is the never ending source of power, available for those who desire to live the abundant, victorious Christian life in a dark and dangerous world. He is also the comforter who comes alongside of us, the para-clete, who speaks into our lives and convicts of sin when we fall off course. He offers us the Fruit of the Spirit, that can transform any life.
There is no other streaming service that comes close in comparison, and it is available for free, by grace! Now the question is, "have you subscribed to this service?" If not, why not? What do you have to lose? You don't have to submit your email address, you just have to submit your will by faith through prayer and you can do it right now!
Are you streaming today?

[1] Digital subscriber line (DSL; originally digital subscriber loop) is a family of technologies that are used to provide internet access by transmitting digital data over telephone lines. In telecommunications marketing, the term DSL is widely understood to mean asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL), the most commonly installed DSL technology.
