Do it write.

A good blog of mine comes around only 2-3 months.  I'll tell you now.  I could write anything, write about anything.  I can tackle a passage of scripture or I can analyze a situation.  It doesn't matter.  I used to write poetry too.  That was big for me in High School.  I used to go to poetry readings at Barnes and Noble, and it was awesome because I wasn't privy to the stuff that I got into later in life like Keruac, Bukowski or E. E. Cummgs, T. S. Elliot.  I kept it real and I kept it interesting.  In that situation ignorance was truly bliss because I had no benchmark, no standard to apply myself to constantly.  It was freeing to know that I had unconditional acceptance amongst the league of crappy other authors and poets.  Occasionally, sponsored writers or guest poets would dive in trying to show us how it was all done, but they were the misfits, because we ran stuff there.  It was great.

Later I got into reading fantasy novels like the Dragonlance books.  Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman showed me the ropes, among other greats like R. A. Salvatore.  I'm sad that I can't write fantasy like I used to, I had a real knack for it.  Full exploration of verbalizing one to one combat and gut wrenching depictions of gore and injuries were my specialty.  I guess my heart left it though, I got in a little too deep with the fantasy stuff... ha!

So why do I tell you all this?  Why do I waste (possibly) my time and your time to flesh out these little glimpses of my past as a writer.  Well, I guess two things are important here:

1.  I never write unless its authentic.  By the way, a good tip for writers is this; I don't mean that if you don't feel like writing you don't write at all.  That's posing, and its undisciplined.  If you sit, write fifty paragraphs and erase them all, paragraph fifty one will be fabulous.  

2.  I can't promise to be a blogger that "regularly updates".  That's one of the tips they give you to increase blog traffic.  Sorry.  That's pressure I just can't handle.  That's something I just don't feel is write.  In as much as writing is intentional, for me it has always been familiar to the analogy of pregnancy and birth.  Writing can't be produced before its time, and something my professor said to our class the other night rang so true; taking the things you want to write about and sitting with them, letting them age.  How sublime!  That's something our culture can't understand.  In our task-obsessed, conquer and fall, done in five minutes world there's no room to let things sit, or let things age; to allow time to perform its due task.  

I could go on and I should go on, but I feel like this is enough for right now.  Keep writing, even if you're not getting it right.  Or write.  Even if no one gets it or you don't get any praise.  Hope this helps.

"Hey look, I'm just a ham and egger."

-Rocky

Living in the Garden of Delights

Here's an excerpt from the sermon my Pastor preached last Sunday.  I'm not exactly sure how to explain what a service at King's Gate is like, but I can tell you it goes something like this...

"That (Eden) is the only time in the Bible when the Kingdom of Heaven was totally manifest. It was in the Garden of Eden. God was there. His presence was there 24/7. God, Adam and Eve had constant communion with You! There was a river with four arms and the four arms, the four tributaries of this river expressed the qualities of the kingdom. It expressed flow, it expressed fruitfulness, it expressed abundance, it expressed joy. It was the garden of delights, because that expresses, that illustrates what the kingdom of heaven is like. It gives joy, there's abundance, there's authority and God says in the Kingdom, you will take authority over everything. Listen to what I'm gonna say now: When God allows chaos, its because He wants to manifest His kingdom."


Now, there's eons that I could ramble in fruitless attempts to unpack the meaning of what all of this actually says, but I want to say one basic thing, and dwell on one basic conclusion from all of this, and that is that I live in the Garden of Delights.


How  many of you reading this believe that your life is awful I wonder?  How many of you feel like your life is a nightmare rather than a dream come true?  


That's something I used to say to myself a lot.  I used to feel like my life was so bad, that it was like a nightmare, except there was no waking up, it was simply something I had to deal with.  But the truth is that I couldn't have been more wrong!  The moment that I received Christ, the moment that God imparted His Holy Spirit into my body, I became one with the God of the Universe.  Our souls collided.  There was an explosion!  And what once was sinful flesh that would be destroyed before God, was absolutely EMPOWERED with the Blood of Jesus to withstand the entrance of the Holy Spirit into my frame and AT ONCE..... 


I was in the Garden of Eden.


The Garden of Delights.


And I never want to leave.

So I think that's what it means.

Worst-Ship

Sometimes it's hard to go to church.
There are scores of reasons behind this statement.... I mean the physical aspect, ya know, maybe general fatigue.  Or maybe you're just not feeling well and need to stay in bed.  Sometimes people don't want to spend a couple of hours in sub-par seating because it runs amuck on their lower back.  To name a few.

Sometimes there are time constraints.... ya know, maybe a conflict of scheduling.  You double booked, you're cutting it close to something else going on on Sunday.  Moms? Soccer practice maybe?  Who knows, there's many issues with time and sometimes, a full 2 (or in some cases 5-8) hour block is too big of a commitment.
And it's not like we can just pop in and out; once we're in we're in.  That's it.

But here, at this last stop of church going difficulty is the most daunting of all.  Sometimes, the spiritual disconnect is so vast, the mood is so wrong, the feeling of obligation... infinite.  Sometimes, we just don't have it in us.

Sometimes we sin.
And therefore, we are not fit to go to church.
(I might get to this later.)

Let's go deeper, shall we?

Sometimes we get hurt, maimed even or so sorely disappointed at church folk, church ways, whatever it may be about those numerous rows of seats has gotten to us in a way that brings us to the point of no return.  Sometimes all hope in this setup, this prayer/worship/announcements/sermon/prayer/ditch setup has completely run dry..... we've completely run dry.
And then where do we go?  This is the House of God we were going to, not some shabby church that Joe Schmoe down the street that doesn't know as much as me goes to.  I mean, we had an awesome experience with God there, or this is some place that God moved in the past.  This is where they're speaking my language and making my moves but something about it is disconnected.  Or something about me isn't connecting like it used to.  Sometimes we come in, and we plop down on the seat, almost forced down by the heaviness that we wear over our shoulders.  And we survey the list of our most recent activities looking for the action tripped the gate of iron bars in front of our soul and kept it imprisoned.

What happened?

While I can't reiterate enough that we see in part and we will see in whole I maintain that I can't do much in explaining the spiritual reality we're touching on here.  But there is something.... and it's ruining our Sunday morning.

We have found something that we are clearly not in control of.

We've been tricked by this idea that experience dictates absolute reality.  I tend to think that it's the chief dilemma of our time.  Despite the information on the table, or what we can be absolutely sure of, a profound enough experience can trump anything we think we know.  But mentioning all this leads me to one simple concept; How much of our conclusions are experienced based, or dangerously misinformed by our experience.

What if the Bible says that you are unconditionally loved and accepted, and every day of your life up until that day has said the exact opposite.

See what I mean?

I'm gonna go ahead and assume that I have at least one person still rolling with me here by this point.
See church is funny like this... it's the great equalizer.  All people, big and small, face one direction and worship one God in the same way.  Your distinctions and features are no longer factors that can alter an outcome.  All focus is supposed to be on the King of Kings.  Maybe this is where we lose it.
All the same, worship is a unifying force.  It's the bond of all creatures to their God and King.  It's the age old tool of mortal man to reach out to His creator in expression, in sentiment, with feeling.

And worship can either key you in, or keep you out.

So know that we've outlined the problem, let us come to the solution.
No matter what church, how innovative your tradition or how unique your church model, I'll wager you do the same thing every Sunday.  In one way or another.
You walk through the doors and you know what you're getting (to an extent at least).
The spiritual disconnect comes from a method of connecting with God that is not fit for this time and place that you are currently in.  You may not need to stand there, with arms raised... you may not need to lift up a shout.  You may need to stop a while, and listen.
You may need some time to be known.
Rather than know.

Still rollin' with me?

The point is that worship becomes a system that we can bank on, or a formula to produce a desired result, I guarantee the Holy Spirit will pull the E-brake on that thing so quick your head will spin.  If that's what you want, of course.  I'll put it this way, as a kind favor to us, the Holy Spirit will not allow himself to be controlled, or manipulated.  Instead, He'll run across the room and make you chase Him.  He'll make Himself scarce until you wake up and realize your operating on just flesh and bones.

HE'LL LEAVE THE CHURCH AND TAKE YOU OUTSIDE SOMEWHERE.
Where did he go?  The street corner?  Maybe the 7-11?
One thing we know, He's moving and shaking us, and in more ways than just throwing us on the floor and making us vibrate. (as cool as that is!!!!)  What are you gonna do when you're using Times New Roman and the Holy Spirit is using Helvetica??

What if, for one Sunday, God wants you to take a break from glorifying Him? (yeah, you heard me!!!) What if he wants you to quiet down and have a seat, so He can sneak up behind your soul and tell you what's wrong (cuz I guarantee, you don't even know.) What if God has work He has to do, and He needs the Sunday morning time slot, but nooooooo, these hands need to be raised and I'll be darned if Sunday morning, I'm not looking like I'm getting my picture taken on the Great American Scream Machine!

Forgive me, I'm not making fun of worship by the way.  If you know me personally you know I'm the biggest hand raiser out there... sometimes just one hand (kinda subtle but powerful)  Sometimes both arms, biiiiiig praise!

Sometimes I just sit and cry up until the point of making a total scene in the middle of church because that's all I can do.  Because I think of the lost, the hurting, the broken and what are they worshiping?  Sometimes I think of a Christian who did me wrong, and yet here I am, in church again, at risk for getting hurt. Stupid me.

Sometimes, it's just about me and God, and where we've been and where we're going.  And that's why I go, no matter what.  Because God's got something new for me every day.  And every day He wants to show me, all I need is a fresh set of eyes.

An Ounce Of Evidence...

I rarely post stuff like this, but when I do, I believe it holds some merit.

Here's where I stand on apologetics and other scholastic endeavors of that caliber; I believe there is a call, even a requirement for the Christian (in a balanced and purely inquisitive approach) to study the finer points of his or her faith as they see fit so long as they handle such a task carefully, with respect for other viewpoints and with an ultimate submission and appeal to the truth of God's word.

You see, we can talk about our differences so long as we protect the dignity of other people, value convictions through we might not share them, and ultimately respect each other's humanity at the end of the day.  This is a peek into my own personal struggle. I have a nasty habit of thinking I'm better, or more enlightened, or more sophisticated than someone who believes that the 1611 KJV is superior to other versions.  This spite may partly exist because the KJV only assertion insists that it has an undue superiority and in the very fabric of its claim, discredits my personal practice of faith as it relates to my choice of Bible translation.  Regardless, more is demanded of me than being nice to people so long as I think they deserve it.  Anyway, check out this video which gets into some of the basic points of Bible translation.  Be careful!  You might learn something!  Also, this features a really young, 80's fabulous Dr. James White, President of Alpha and Omega ministries, when he still had hair!! I love it.  Let's check it out!

Well, there you have it.  I love the John Ankerberg show, even though the setup is a little unfair.  I mean John Ankerberg basically destroys any viewpoint that he disagrees with before the objection's very eyes.  Then they're given a thorough cross-examination.  But I digress...

It's all educational.  And an ounce of evidence is worth a pound of presumption.  My one question to KJV only proponents would be, where does all the presumption come from?

The short answer in my humble opinion: Religion.  Other parts of this interview show the KJV only side arguing that if someone wanted to fully understand the Bible who didn't speak English, they would have to then learn English (and, also King James English) and then they could finally, clearly read the word of God!  I'm sorry, but that's absurd!  AND, if you don't mind it sounds like another faith tradition's treatment and understanding of how divinely inspired scripture works... (ahem.... ISLAM).  You know Muslims believe that if you want to read the Qur'an, you have to be fluent in Arabic before you even get started, don't you? Sorry Penguin Classics, your version of the Qur'an is merely a frolic.  Whoops, sorry, I digress again.  In other parts of the episode, the KJV only side then concedes that someone could use the NIV or NASB, but if they did it would have to be a starter version that would eventually help them reach the KJV. And then only at that point, would you truly be reading God's Word.  Here we see an eerie reflection of Catholicism's great mistake of keeping scripture locked up in Latin, far away from the lay person to access.  What if an institution that governed the church mandated that KJV be the only translation, and all others be destroyed... what would happen?

I'll tell you what would happen.  The lay person would lose access to the truth of scripture.  Why? Because language inevitably changes through time.  And give or take a century or two, the KJV can be completely outmoded and incompatible with contemporary society. What follows next is that we would have a church with the same mindset that it had before the reformation, before Tyndale, before anyone broke the chains of religious, institutional Christianity that reserved the Word of God for the spiritually elite!

I guess I've allowed myself to say this much about it because, there lies a real issue with how we view God's word, and the biases we bring to it beforehand.  The rabbit hole goes much deeper, but I've said enough.  In my Biblical Foundations For Worship class, the point was brought up that when man encounters God, he instantly constructs an altar.  Peter never wanted to leave the mountaintop, as a matter of fact he wanted to live there, or at least build a temple!  When the King James Version touched the lives of so many people through so many amazing preachers with it's amazingly constructed language and beauty, who would ever want to let it go???  Nostalgia, and a fidelity to a moment in time where man met with God exists to create a bond of traditionalism so strong, you'd think it could never be broken. And nothing can break it, but the Spirit of God.

One day... we'll realize that God wants to do something new with us.  He's not a boring, repetitive, unoriginal Dad.  He's got new stuff, every day.  New translations, new evangelism techniques, new worship songs.  He's so cool, and an awesome designer of new stuff.  We need to give Him the chance display His creativity, and when we see it, and marvel at it.... we'll walk away just like Him. Then we'll have something new for the world that will change their hearts and bring revival.

Wounded? Again? Read this.

A revelation recently came upon me concerning the seemingly endless process of being wounded, being brought into the wound, and being restored.  What I mean by "endless process" is that if you think about it, people will never stop being harsh, unforgiving, merciless creatures.  Or put it this way; you have a whole lifetime ahead of you and if Christ has been recently restoring you from some pain, it may have crossed your mind that whatever hurt you so bad that you needed the power of the Holy Spirit to recover from it, may happen again.  You may have discovered that wounds from your childhood that have changed your life for the worse are only constrained to that time, and more wounding had happened after that and there is probably more wounding to follow.

So how can we ever live abundant life?  How can we ever be restored if we'll just get slapped back down into wounding again?  Is there ever a time that the past can be just that, and have no bearing on your future?

There are a couple of directions that I'd like to come at this with but I'll start by answering this question with a preliminary question: Which do you feel is more powerful, the wound or Jesus?

Now I know you know the answer to that question, but how do you feel in response to that question?  Do you feel like every prayer you've ever offered to the Lord about forgiving someone who betrayed you or overcoming a fear of a certain type of person has fallen back on the floor, unanswered.  Perhaps you nobly referred back to the book of Job and said, "Look at what God allowed Job to go through." acknowledging the providential purposes of God and touching off your deepest doubts with well-meaning but useless spiritual ascents.

You see, Jesus has more power than your wound, and in reality He healed your wound on the cross, long before the wound even occurred.  That statement isn't meant just to lay in the crypts of theology though, it is a challenge to your faith and whether you believe it or not.

That's just one way I'd like to talk about this.  It is a good introduction, however, because you
  CAN NOT move further in this blog or even think about healing in general without the bare requirement of faith in God's ability, and willingness to do it.

As for how God heals your wound that is another matter entirely which I don't have the time to work on right now.  But suppose you've been healed or restored.  And you just came out of a time in your life that was dominated by a proclivity to choose sin over God because you felt you didn't have any choice.  And now the pain of unforgiveness, personal wounding, assault on your character (whatever it may be) is at your door again.  What do we do?

First, I'd like to build establish this idea from a foundation of truth.  You are a King AND a Priest  in God's Kingdom. (Rev. 5:10) You are redeemed from sin (Eph. 1:7) and you have power!!! (Acts 1:8)  The last one I'd like to emphasize the most.  The power of God is at work IN you!! (Phil. 2:13)  All these things considered, and hopefully existing as a full blown reality in your life, you are now able to engage a potentially wounding situation and turn it into a moment when God's power can be realized, established and His Kingdom restored to the Earth.  You, and Me... we have this great responsibility, this terrifying opportunity to be an ambassador and warrior of the Kingdom of God.  Problems inevitably are coming our way. I don't care who you are at this moment, in the days to come, you will have hardship.  That is undeniable, inescapable... whatever... it must happen!  And when it does... how will you react?  Will you retreat into the wound you're trying to heal?  Will you activate the power of the flesh (by trusting in it's methods and results)?  Or will you stand against it and hand Satan his attempt to wound you right back to him, saying, "No thank you, I'm clean because of the word Jesus has spoken to me." (John 15:3) and give him a little smile.

You see, we're called to overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:21)  I know in the context, Paul is talking about our actions, but I'd like to point out that this ideology applies on the broadest spectrum possible.  Consider the cross!  God, overcame evil, the pure evil of sin with His good.  Take that idea to whatever level you'd like to, it works on every one!  But here is my point, you are not called to take a beating for the devil and smile, YOU ARE CALLED TO MAKE SATAN FALL LIKE LIGHTNING FROM HEAVEN!

Let me ask you this, what is your role in the kingdom?  Are you a whipping boy for other people, Satan, God and most of all yourself?  I only know how that goes because I've lived it but I'd like to say please show me this in scripture.  Show me, just once where it says that the purpose of our lives as followers of Christ, necessitates our crushed broken attitudes and downcast faces instead of living as people of destiny.

Two examples:  Recently, someone in authority over me was demeaning my character.  They were talking to me like I was stupid and coincidentally I struggle with the lie that I'm a stupid, incapable, immature kid.  Honestly, when people go there, my gut reaction is simply to withdraw.

"Nope. This is getting too serious and I can't let this wound go any deeper.  They're touching on a place that I just can't deal with, I'm afraid of what might happen or how I might react."

 etc.

The plot twist was when I chose not to be afraid anymore.  After that, I chose not to agree with what they were saying and do what my fears were telling me.  Not only that, I disagreed with who they were saying and believing they were and I assigned the power of God and the dignity back to them which Satan was trying to steal from them right there.  Do you know how badly the devil lost at that moment?

Not only did he not wound me, but he failed to activate and empower the wounding of someone else.

The other example could simply be said that someone was tyrannically ranting at me and instead of cowering and closing up while they were doing (my fear being that I didn't want them to get any angrier, and I myself didn't want to get angry and have my sin take over like theirs was) I then denied every false claim they were making, calmly, respectfully, and offered to pray right there.

These examples aren't here so you can know how great I am, I'm trying to communicate a moment of remarkable success in my life for your benefit, that isn't by my power, but the power of God. If you've read all I've said, it's plainly in the Bible anyway.  On top of that, I don't want to be an open throbbing wound my whole life, that's not what God died for and that's not how the kingdom of God works.  If Satan is being aggressive, YOU CAN BE AGGRESSIVE.  I mean to say that you can be aggressively loving, humble and you can proactively defend the truth of God not just in the political arena, or in the philosophical arena, but in your personal arena when things start getting crazy and Satan tries to rule stuff that's not his.


"the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force." (Matt. 11:12)  Do you now see what this means?  Jesus isn't priming the disciples to take on the Roman army.  If that was his intention then what a fail!  No, this means that evil will take over, gladly, if you sit back and agree with it until you live a life of defeat and consistent dismay.  And the Kingdom of Heaven needs warriors of love, not people who look at sin and say, "Well, there goes the neighborhood!"  No!!! It's your responsibility!!!! Don't let Satan take burn you out, insult you, tear down your character and convince you that there's nothing you can do about it.  Fight back.... the way Jesus intended: With loving, foot washing, joy, courageous hope in others, unrelenting faith in the Father and his plan, and by atmosphere transforming, evil shattering self sacrifice, to the point of death.

(Note: There's a caution I carried, throughout the writing of this entry to avoid the danger of triumphalism, meaning, I didn't want to paint an unrealistic picture of the life Jesus intended.  People (preachers especially) tend to paint a redeemed life as being untouchable and free from any pain.  That's not what I hope to communicate, pain is in the process, but many times pain can be transformed into goodness in that crucial moment, often referred to as the "Kairos" moment, which is a moment that doesn't rely on actual time, but is a time, if that makes sense. Triumphalism in its practice also tends to have disinterest or disregard for other viewpoints, concerns and commonly carries the freight of an agenda.  It's not observant or cautious, and if this blog is properly understood, it can lead to the most observant and most cautious ways to deal with the pains and woundings of life, not only by coming out unscathed, but with more people better off than they would have been before, while evil intentions were behind it the whole time.  The ultimate redemption: an evil will leading to an evil action hoping for destruction, but being intercepted, received with love, engaged, not run from and producing a Godly fruit.  Evil, producing Godly fruit.  That's right.  It can happen. Hallelujah.)

An Array Of Good Movies

I was recently formulating an inventory of movies that relay the concept of life-transforming discipleship.  The pouring in of a guide to the younger, unseasoned disciple.  The common thread in many of these movies is the helplessness of the learner and the total control of the teacher.  The confusion of the disciple in trying to tie down the methods of his teacher and his eventual development as his unforeseen potential reveals itself through affliction.

There are so many truths packed into each one of these movies.  I'll do my best to summarize each one, but the experience that film can portray is sometimes unparalleled.

Here's the rub:

The Karate Kid 3
Good Will Hunting
Scent of a Woman
The Last Samurai
The King's Speech
The Empire Strikes Back

I'm sure the list goes on.... I'll add more as I remember, but some of these movies are so key.  In the Karate Kid 3, Daniel-san is in the midst of spiritual warfare.  Mr. Miagi has one interest; teaching Daniel virtue, integrity and inner resolution.  The enemy, Terry Silver, has one goal... To destroy Daniel in hopes of injuring Mr. Miagi.
This movie happens to be my favorite.  This movie demonstrates spiritual warfare to it's core.
The truth is Satan can't touch God.  God is God and of course Satan's creator.  There's nothing that Satan can do in the realm of harm to the God of the universe.  Satan knows, better than we do, that he is a created being under a Holy and powerful God.  So what does he do with all this hatred? He lashes out at the prodigy... the image bearer. God's workmanship. I could go on and on about the parallels in this movie, but you have to just watch it.  On top of being a dead-ringer to the story of God, it's an amazing close to the Karate Kid saga.  Unfortunately, The Next Karate Kid starring Hillary Swank was the first in many unfortunate reboots, and should be discarded from all our memories entirely.

Then there's Good Will Hunting.  This movie is gospel for a seemingly infinite amount of reasons.  The main character is a disturbed, trouble maker from south Boston named Will Hunting. The movie's name is GOOD Will Hunting for heaven's sake!!! How can we miss this gospel? This kid can't go two days without getting into a fight on the streets, and eventually it gets the best of him when he hits a cop and goes to jail.  One out of many counselors and therapists sees the potential, not in his ability, but in his character.  Sean Maguire, a fellow Bostonian sees the wounded, scared and disillusioned delinquent and knows that Will Hunting is capable of being more than a performer.

Scent of a Woman marks the story of Charlie, a softy, college kid that lands the job of babysitting an army corporal.  Little does he know, he's about to receive the ultimate experience in manhood.  This movie perfectly captures the experience of graduating from childhood into adulthood.  The whole movie, Charlie receives these unforgettable lessons about how most people in the world are pathetically fake.  From Frank Slade's arrogant family, to the boyfriend of the random girl in the restaurant, the formational concept in this movie is not about proving who's right or who's wrong, but more in line with being wrong, with integrity. This is an important lesson for the Kingdom of God.  We need to realize that without Christ, we are all wrong, and even after we receive Christ, we can be wrong, and our flesh still is wrong, and we need to be sources of grace to ourselves and the world around us when it all comes crashing down.

Frank Slade's speech at the end of the movie is an incredible representation of Jesus fighting for us in the courtroom of our accusers.  So many times, the Devil pins us down under accusations with concepts that if carefully thought out, hold no weight yet sound fierce, and pan out to be more emotion and intimidation than legitimate truth.

The Last Samurai explores the heart of the wounded warrior. (Do I sound enough like John Eldredge or do I need to wax more extravagant).  Nathan Algrin has an alcohol problem, and is extracted out of his element by a much more seasoned and centered warrior... from the enemy's forces no less!  Instead of his enemy in battle destroying him, his enemy teaches him, restores him, and nurtures the poet balance that is present within every warrior.  This is so true of Jesus! While in the midst of horror, Jesus teaches us about beauty.  In the presence of pain, He shows us the reality of God's love.  Jesus grants us power under the banner of great restraint.

King George the 6th cannot make a speech to save his life in a world that is not communicating by radio.  His success depends on the ability that is his greatest weakness.  In The King's Speech, Colin Firth plays a King in the making that refuses to accept his mantle of royalty and that trusts more in his weakness than in his potential to grow. "Berty" also has the heart of a servant and a devotion to what is right over a devotion to self-service, made evident in his brother.  The counselor to counseled relationship is awesome.  Unmistakable, at certain parts, for the way Christ deals with our uncertainty, our rejection of His encouragement and our fatalist assumption of all things being lost, the King's counselor Lionel Lougue demands that he relate in unassuming, friendly terms that force royalty to humble themselves.  The wonderful paradox of this movie is that Lionel's counsel to the King emphasizes humility and equal standing with all men, while reassuring King George's total qualification to rule a country, even a country at the brink of war.

So much like Jesus.  To bring us down to bring us up.  Jesus says in Mark 10:42-45

“You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. ⁴³ But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; ⁴⁴ and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”


Perfectly capturing the ethic of Jesus, I say.  


The Empire Strikes Back has one thing that keeps me comin back for more every time.  
The revelation of Yoda as one of the most powerful Jedi's of all time.


He's green, he's short.  He clearly has no lightsaber... he may not even have any known enemies.  But by spending a little time with him, you know that he can take down armies.  How?
With wisdom.  With practiced strength that flows from a direct, unfiltered connection to his source of power.  Luke is in an unmistakable phase of questing, fascination and discovery of his own powers.  Little does he realize that these things, if unchecked, can turn into an obsession and rule his future as a Jedi, eventually turning him to the dark side with the promise of more power.  Yoda's central theme is that his looks and approach break every perception that Luke has for what a Jedi should be and move Luke into a oneness a solidarity that align morals and action in a way that has him speaking life into his own father, DARTH VADER, in the next movie.  Luke tells his own father, the resident master of the force in the galaxy, "Search your feelings father, there is good in you, I know it."  And Luke's commitment to the truth about the dark side, the Jedi way, and refusing the power granted by moral sacrifice gives us a glimpse of the finished man that can come about when allowing Jesus to break our perceptions and show us a way that is so unpopular, it's actually totally unheard of.


There are more, much more lessons to be learned from these movies and other movies.  Dutch is another good one.  Blind Fury with Rutger Hauer, a great one.  A blind vet takes on his best friend's kid to show him that the world isn't safe and that selfishness is the safest form of living there is, resulting in self-defeat.  It goes on and on and on.  


Then there's our story.  Someone, much much greater than us has swooped in as if from nowhere.  His words have challenged and tried us to the point of total confusion.  His Spirit has kept us in the game by way of total attraction to His person.  At the moment of our utter desperation and imminent failure, he has entered the situation uninvited and saved us, rendering the enemy powerless.  We are Daniel-San, we are Charlie, we are Luke... only it's Jesus that comes and opens our eyes. We need rescue.

That's all for now.  Check out this clip from Scent of a Woman.... we live in an unfair world, but we have a lawyer that argues our case.... PERFECTLY. In addition to that, He validates us as people, fully restores us, and contends for the person that is hidden beneath the fallen man.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dH4p9BQ3V9o

I Just Want To Celebrate!

I was feeling really down when I woke up this morning.  Sometimes the fact that I don't fit in as well as I'd like to at work, or in life, what have you, kind of gets me down.  Then I prayed about it and I said, "My Dad will tell me what to do."

Like 40 seconds later I had that stupid "I..... just want to celebrate" stuck in my head by Rare Earth.  Never really gave the song that much credit, it had always been a song I kind of overheard while I was at quick check or something.  But this song was in my head until I couldn't take it anymore, so I got the Youtube song up, partnered with the lyrics, and look at what I found.

Thanks God! I'm celebrating right now!!!

I just want to celebrate another day of livin' 
I just want to celebrate another day of life 
I put my faith in the people 
But the people let me down 
So I turned the other way 
And I carry on, anyhow 
That's why I'm telling you 

I just want to celebrate, yeah, yeah 
I just want to celebrate, yeah, yeah 
Another day of living, 
I just want to celebrate another day of life 

Had my hand on the dollar bill 
And the dollar bill blew away 
But the sun is shining down on me 
And it's here to stay 
That's why I'm telling you 

I just want to celebrate, yeah, yeah 
Another day of living, yeah 
I just want to celebrate another day of living 
I just want to celebrate another day of life 

Don't let it all get you down, 
Don't let it turn you around and around 
And around and around 

Well, I can't be bothered with sorrow 
And I can't be bothered with hate, no, no 
I'm using up my time by feeling fine, every day 
That's why I'm telling you I just want to celebrate 
Aw, yeah 
I just want to celebrate yeah yeah 
Another day of living, yeah yeah 
I just want to celebrate another day of livin', yeah 
I just want to celebrate another day of life 

Don't let it all get you down, no, no 
Don't let it turn you around and around, 
And around and around, and around 
Around round round 
'round and around round round round 
don't go 'round


Here's the youtube clip... please run this song through your speakers, buy from the itunes store... whatever... just blast it, it's great!!