Hollywood's "faith" bullcrap

The influence of Hollywood on our clothes and hair and even our social views goes without saying. Fine: tell me what to wear. Where I draw the line is on faith. The dumbest, most dysfunctional people on Earth telling me what faith is? No thanks. Hollywood loves to imply that faith in Christ is sort of a fairy tale that you can believe along the same lines as Santa Claus. From the History Channel to educational materials to historical literature, ancient historians are used to document ancient history such as that of the Roman Empire. What do the historians Thallus, Suetonius, Tacitus, and Josephus have in common? They are all used to document the history of Rome AND they all wrote about events surrounding Jesus of Nazareth. If the Bible did not exist there would be documents to examine about Jesus that are as strong as any document for the existence of Shakespeare. JESUS OF NAZARETH IS A HISTORICAL FACT. Believing Jesus' existence and miracles require no faith. If 500 people testified that you robbed a bank, you ARE going to jail. More than 500 saw Jesus alive after He was laid in his tomb. This is why Jesus asked Peter, "who do you say that I am?'  Everyone has an opinion on Christ; he was a teacher or he was a prophet or something else. The question is for everyone. You have to decide if He is the Son of God; not whether he exists. Real faith is more related to obedience. Science and Medicine have their beginnings in FAITHfullness to the truth of Christ's existence. Faith is following what you know is true. Faith is not believing that Jesus Christ is real; faith is believing that He will make you a whole person forever.

Seed of Good

Each time God finished his creative works He would say "it is good". He said it about everything that He made. I like to think of it this way- The SEED OF GOD IS GOODNESS. As He created living organisms, God set in motion a process by which all things reproduce themselves by seed. The fruit of the earth all comes from seed that thrives in the soil. And yet the soil is in decay. The nutritional productive part of soil is the decayed life of other organisms. Good from decay. Good from death. Life from Death. Isn't it amazing how Good springs up no matter how great the darkness? It is the theme of almost every tale, story, book or film. GOOD CAN'T HELP BUT SPRING FORTH FOR IT IS THE SEED OF CREATION. This was my thought as I saw the victims name plaque being assembled at the 911 Memorial Site in New York. 3000 families have a name on that plaque. Now 3000 families and a whole nation take pause at this plaque to meditate on life and death, the love of family, and their spiritual standing. Darkness took their loved ones and now Good rises from the plaza at Ground Zero. It was a place for commerce; now it is a place of reflection about the importance of family, the reality of good and evil, the importance of freedom, and a place of interaction with the Creator. Where there was death and darkness,  Love lives on there.                     The Poet Percy Bysshe Shelly wrote: Music, when soft voices die, vibrates in the memory-  Odors, when sweet violets sicken, still live within the sense they quicken- Rose leaves, when the rose is dead, are heaped upon the beloved's bed- And so thy thoughts when thou art gone, Love itself shall slumber on.

The Great Manager

Not a week goes by that you don't hear someone somewhere give thanks to God for His goodness, mercy, and love. And by the same token question Him for the existance of evil. Many say a good God cannot exist at all if in fact evil exists. I would argue that the existance of evil is one of the best arguments that the spirit world does indeed exist. Can evil be a product of the biological process? I think one of the greatest attributes of God is His ability to manage evil. TO DENY THE REALITY OF GOD BECAUSE OF EVIL IS IN FACT ONE OF THE GREATEST EVILS IN ITSELF. Evil exists because freedom exists. To deny God because of this is to deny Him for creating your free will; your center of life. The subject of HELL runs parallel to this topic; with the same questions and assumptions. Hell is in fact the final step in the "management" of evil. As I see it, Hell is a container that keeps the worst of evil occupied with it's own torment so it cannot operate and oppress. Different levels of torment or "occupation" are required for different levels of evil. God's mercy is evident in the concept of hell. God deserves the highest of praise that He can manage, tollerate, overcome , use for ultimate good, and finally contain evil when evil is part of free will. This is like seperating good from love. This is amazing! God is Amazing!

Eternity in the heart

Recently on tv I saw Episode 4 of the Star Wars movies. This was the first of the 6 and ends with Luke Skywalker and Captain Solo receiving medals for destroying the "Death Star". My heart leaps inside me every time when a movie ends with Good overcoming Evil. I can't begin to count how many times I have been brought to tears of joy when Good is victorious. I am sure it is the same for you. But why? For the answer there are 2 Bible passages that stand out. Ecclesiastes 3: 11 and Romans 1:20 confirm what we already know in our hearts; that there is more to life than the temporal. Ecclesiastes 3:11 seems to communicate our awareness that we are not done when we experience physical death. This is confirmed in the belief systems of every culture in the history of the planet. TO POSSESS ETERNITY IN THE HEART IN OUR SPRITUAL CONSCIOUSNESS IS TO ALSO POSSESS THE REASON FOR ETERNITY. The ultimate purpose for the creation is for God to overcome evil with good. This is the answer. This is why you connect so strongly to movies and stories with this theme. Eternity in your heart knows that God is good and good will prevail. You spend most of your time in life caring for your physical body. When you see good win your spirit is being fed. So don't hold back; let those tears fly! ; It is good for the spirit.

cannibals we are

Recently I saw a documentary about cannibalism. They explored cases from ancient tribal rituals to serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. The normal human reaction to such a thing is that it is possibly the worst thing that can be done by a human. I pondered this and thought ; aren't we all cannibals? Jesus Christ demonstrated with perfection a selfless life; full obedience to God's will. No one has done this perfectly since. The majority of us live a cannibalistic life. IN FACT OUR SPIRITUAL PERFORMANCE OF CANNIBALISM IS WORSE THAN SOME OF THE TRIBAL RITUALS I SAW ON THE SHOW. The Dieri people ate small pieces of their deceased relatives out of respect; to take some of that loved one into themselves. In my mind a far worse form of cannibalism is an addiction to pornography; the willing exploitation of someone's daughter for your own need to feel affirmed in your masculinity. What about sex with prostitutes, pedophilia, homosexuality, or for that matter casual sex in general? There is no regard here for the object of their desire. There is only a pleasing of one's own spritual appetite; a consuming of another for their own need. This reality of course does not just play out in sexuality. Most musicians are in a band to be seen for what they can do individually. Most employees are not concerned with the survival of the company they work for and most citizens of a nation are not concerned with the survival of their country. Most people hope they can "consume" and retire before anything bad happens. It is interesting to observe the Dieri; their sexuality existed in the family unit and they worked and hunted as a group for the survival of the tribe; Looks like we've come a long ways from the primitive days?

unconditional

Think of someone you love. What is it you love about them? (If it is their looks you will get over that soon enough). You really love the heart or soul or spirit of that one. You love the spiritual capacity of that one to love you in return. You love their gifting or talent. You are not in love with that mole on their back; and not in love with their character flaws: especially the self-centered side of them as you perceive it . NOW think of some things you love: there's music, animals, food, nature, and your sexuality to name a few. CONGRATULATIONS! You are in love with the mind and heart of God! He thought of and created all these things. You may not be in love with the "self-centered part of God" . The part of God that demands your obedience to submit to HIS plan of reconciliation. But you are in love with His mind- the mind that gave you the capacity to choose acceptance or rejection of His way; your own free will. What do you like on your sandwich? You are free to choose. Isn't it a beautiful thing? Who could have thought of such a great idea? I know! - God! Perhaps in seeing the flaws of loved ones or our ideas about God we are revealing our own greater self-centered flaw- our own inability to love unconditionally. Can you grow in your ability to love another human unconditionally? Congratulations! You are now acting like God. Now complete the cycle- love God unconditionally!

Heart is where the human is

Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed that grows into a tree. What does this mean? In essence it means that there is a great discrepancy between who you are now and who you will be when the "kingdom" grows to maturity. In matters of human behavior we are not yet the person we were created to be. Simply put; we are not our true selves. The person we are from day to day is a persona built to survive the rigors of a world that is out of line with God's wisdom. We must survive parents who are imperfect or outright evil; the pain inflicted by their sin and imperfection; and the fruit of our own sin which is largly a reaction to our own pain. (It's a mess ain't it!) It seems simplistic but we are what we have to be to survive. IT SEEMS AS THOUGH GOD'S MERCY IS PRESENT EVEN IN OUR SIN MANIFESTATIONS AND COPING MECHANISMS. We survive while the Holy Spirit is bringing us to Christ. In Psalm 139:8 David said "If I make my bed in Hell (sheol) your presence (God) is there with me. This cycle of sin and coping is what we are born into. The absence of the Holy Spirit means our genes are the suggestive "voice" of our behaviour. The bible calls this the "flesh". We are genetically wired toward patterns otherwise known as sin. The x-factor is the voice of God via the Holy Spirit. The bottom line: the condition of our heart is the dominate factor in where our humanity is and therefore who we are presently. Proverbs 4:23 perhaps summarizes volumes and volumes of psychology. It says that the heart is the center of life. Wow! Scripture that is thousands of years old once again astounding in its relevance.