About
This is my public confession:
Jesus Is Risen
Originally started as “@PEACE’s Cool Christian Website” in 1997, this site is now nearly three decades old. What began as a teenage experiment in web design has become the open record of my walk with Christ, my convictions, and my craft.
I’m Matthew Edmund (Semrau)—Christian, writer, abolition activist, independent journalist, social commentator, functional artist, craftsman, and unapologetic Reconstructionist. I’m also neurodivergent, Reformed, and relentlessly curious. I live in Michigan, working with reclaimed wood and unfinished ideas, always learning and always building.
I started designing websites in 1997 using the web page builder from our ISP, The Internet Ramp (TIR). From there, I learned Netscape Composer, then HTML, CSS, and Dreamweaver. Today, I use WordPress and handwritten code to build what I need—online and offline.
For a few years, this site was “Christian Embassy One” (a story for another time), before becoming JesusIsRisen.org in the early 2000s. After the 2008 election, I created America, Humble Yourselves & Pray, which later took a back seat to Nullify Abortion. From 2014 to 2024, Nullify Abortion became my main focus as I finished my BA in Communication and worked full-time—until I became disabled by COVID-19 in 2021.
Now, I’m building a home business crafting functional art and furniture using neo-traditional woodworking with reclaimed materials, especially Japanese Yakisugi (charred wood) and Scandinavian Roslag Mahogany (pine tar preservative).
What This Blog Is
This site is my public confession: Jesus is risen—and that changes everything.
Every word and project here, whether theology, justice, culture, tech, or woodworking, flows from that reality. This isn’t a ministry or a business. It’s the ongoing record of my faith, my work, and my questions—rooted in Christ’s resurrection.
You’ll find:
- Essays and polemics from a biblical, Reconstructionist perspective
- Woodworking and functional art projects
- Honest reflections on faith, disability, neurodivergence, and life’s complexity
- Commentary on culture, law, and justice
- The story of a life built under the lordship of the Risen Christ
If you want to know why I do what I do, or why I care about what I care about, look no further than the empty tomb.