Nobody to Jedi

Greetings Warriors and Scholars.

Spoilers!

found on IMDB.com

Last month I and many around the world went to see Star Wars Episode 8:The Last Jedi. So much goodness in this movie! They took a look at the heroes journey from a different perspective and deconstructed it to show the dangers of seeing yourself as the hero. They showed us how Leia uses her Force powers. The take on Luke is not what we expected, but the Jedi before him did both run away when the Sith took power so that is example he had to look at.

One thing we questioned was the family and lineage of Rey.  Some wanted her to be Kylo's sister or cousin. Some wanted her to be a Kenobi. I wanted a weird mix of both. I wanted Luke to have met a girl, perhaps before meeting Mara Jade, who was from his home planet of Tatooine. I could imagine her eventually telling Luke that she didn't know her father. He had been a hermit or a "wizard" that people thought was really weird. You catch my drift? I had wanted her to be the daughter of Luke and the granddaughter of Ben Kenobi. 

Now, if Kylo Ren's story he told her checks out, she had been from a much more normal lineage. Her parents were drunkards. They sold her into slavery for booze money. Talk about rejection. This would be painful if true. For us as fans it means all our wonder about her being from a big lineage is gone.

However, there is a new, exciting thought here. If her lineage is of drunkards, then that means anyone can be an amazing, Force wielding power for good. You don't need to come from a family that has a history with the Force. You just need to be willing.

Jesus lineage was filled with both promise and obscurity. King David certainly makes for a great lineage. So do Boaz and Ruth. But what about some of the others? There is a prostitute in there. Some people we really don't know much about. We only know Mary and Joseph because they raised Jesus. Even His birth itself was in an obscure place rather than a palace.

Rejection and the Gospel are highly connected. Jesus experienced rejection from the religious leaders and on the Cross he shouted "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34). But in this rejection came the opportunity of salvation and healing. Isaiah 53:5 tells us as a prophecy about Jesus that "by his wounds we are healed." 

You might have come from a family that is dysfunctional. Maybe you feel abandoned by your family because you are in the foster system or adopted. Your life still can have amazing impact on the people around you. Rey saved the rebellion when they were trapped at the end of the film. That is fictional; imagine what you can do in real life. You can donate blood, serve in the armed forces, become a nurse or doctor. You can volunteer at your church or with a food bank. Make your life matter. Don't sit at home waiting for someone else to make your life matter. 

Jesus and the Happily Ever Sacrifice

Greetings Warriors and Scholars!

Found on IMDB.

I watched a bit of an episode of "The Librarians" from TNT the other day. Season 2, Episode 9: "And the Happily Ever Afters." The team was under a spell in a small town on an island all experiencing their idealized dream of a life. Flynn Carsen (played by Noah Wyle) had been off finding more artifacts and came home unaffected by the spell to find them all gone and the clippings book going crazy with a situation on the island.

He found them quickly but they were all held in this. He also found a fairy (played by Hayley McLaughlin) who helped him trap them and talk to them. What they found was that they needed to choose to give up the idealized life in order to be free of the spell and claim their true life back.

Do you have your idealized life? Do you have your happily ever after? Sometimes what we think is our best life is just a ruse. It might be really good things, but it is not what God dreams for us. Jesus himself said that we need to lay down our lives to find it.

"Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it." Matthew 10:39

There are the dreams we dream for ourselves, and there is God's dreams for us. His vision for who we can be and the adventures we can experience. Sometimes he gives us something else we had not thought of and sometimes He gives a thing we give up back to us, perhaps transformed in a way we had never thought of.

In the show they had to place talismans down to symbolically give up the fake lives, but Paul tells us that presenting ourselves to God "as a living sacrifice" is our "spiritual act of worship" and is pleasing to God (Romans 12:1).

We live in a world that says we should live according to our desires. That we must be subject to our nature, but Jesus tells us to give that to Him and to control our natures. One day we will even give the crowns we have earned by serving God back to Him, as a way of recognizing that it was all about Him anyway. 

Be a Hero or Take it Easy

Greetings Warriors and Scholars!

http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/teri-hatcher-and-kevin-sorbo-lend-90s-flair-superg-252427

Today my Mom and I caught up a little bit on Supergirl by watching last weeks episode (along with the musical crossover on Flash after that). Spoilers ahead!

In last week's episode, "Star Crossed" (yes we get the hint CW), Supergirl found out Mon-El was not just a resident or citezen of Daxam, but a prince of the planet. He had lied to her. In their discussion about this, she tells him:

"You just want things to be easy, Mon-El, but being a hero and falling in love, those are not easy things. They're hard, and they're messy, and they hurt sometimes."

She is so right. Jesus Himself warned people who wanted to follow Him that it was not easy. In Luke 9 a man comes and asks to follow Jesus, but Jesus has a warning: Foxes have dens, birds have nests, but the Son of Man (Jesus) has no place to lay his head. Jesus did not have a home. He never owned a house and He was often surrounded by crowds for a variety of reasons, which included such desires as being healed by Him and desires to trick or even kill Him.

Another time Jesus tells us that if we want to follow Him we must take up our crosses and follow Him. Now, a cross is not a fun device. It is a torturous device of death. He was telling us we would have to die to our own desires. This was repeated by Paul in Romans 12 when he tells us that we should be "living sacrifices" to God.

Later on that episode, Mon-El chose not to go with his parents. He told them to leave without him because Supergirl had changed him. He didn't like who he was before he had met her and he didn't want to take the easy way out. I had mixed feelings about this. I think it showed some growth on his part and maybe he still needs help growing, but I kind of wanted to see him go back to Daxam and change the culture there.

So the question for each of us is this...what do we need to give up for God? Is it a selfish desire? Is it a sin? Sometimes God even asks us to give up good things for Him. Not because they are bad but so that our priorities are focused on Him alone. He might give that back at a later point and He might not. As Job says, "He gives and takes away"(Job 1:21).

Following Jesus is not an easy task, but it is good. It is messy and sometimes it hurts, but it is good.

Hey, please go to this link here and donate to my campaign for going to the Christian Game Developers Conference. I'll be doing prayer appointments and using my teaching gift through the weekend.

 

K'un-Lun or the World?

Greetings Warriors and Scholars!

Found on IMDB.

Have you watched Iron Fist? I have. I do not feel that it deserves all the hate against it.

SPOILERS AHEAD.

Some of it I understand, but I think it was well done and I enjoyed the show very much. The show looks at many issues, including the 1 Percent controlling resources, drug addiction, and even PTSD.

In the middle of the season, Iron Fist (aka Danny) gets a visit from his friend, Davos, who came from Kun Lun to find him. His friend is angry that he left K'un-Lun unguarded but is also angry about something else: that Danny got up and left in the middle of the night without saying goodbye. Davos urges Iron Fist to come back to K'un-Lun an protect it as is normally the role of the Iron Fist. But Danny won't budge. He knows he has a role in NYC that needs to be fulfilled. Davos felt that the world was not worth fighting for. It was lost and they should not even try to save it.

In this we find a significant issue arising: that of removing oneself form the world, or being in it yet different. This is a debate that has gone on in the Christian community for a long time. In fact, there was a Jewish sect called the Essenes in the days that Jesus was doing His ministry that pulled away to a walled community top a hill and stayed there. Over the years there have been many "Orders" and monks that have build monasteries in rural places to get away from society.

Both sides have times when they get mad at each other. One side might accuse the other of being to worldly and not committed to relationship with Christ enough. On the other hand, the opposite side might accuse the monks/recluses of hiding away and not helping the world with problems and issues.

In reality there are certain uses for both if they are held in the correct tension. Jesus Himself moved in between both quite regularly. He often withdrew to lonely places for time alone with the Father and even spent 40 days in the wilderness fasting right before starting ministry. Yet he also spent time with people that the religious leaders would never hang out with. Tax collectors, "sinners", etc.

Keeping that tension involves a few things:

1. Keeping focused on Jesus and not on sin.

2. Working to help people around us and be a good influence.

3. Connecting with people who think differently than we do.

4. Time in prayer and Bible study alone and in groups.

I admit I have not been perfect at any of these three things. In all of them I have had times when I did well and times when I did poorly. Yet striving for a good flow of all this is important.

Considering what we found out at the end of the season, I think we shall see Danny having a hard time figuring all this out in the future. I think even in The Defenders we will see him dealing with this issue more.

Identity and Powers

Greetings Warriors and Scholars.

Legends of Tomorrow progressed a new theme for this season, one of an identity crisis. Spoilers if you have not yet watched this season.

The team itself faced it as they found their leader missing when rescued from time by Oliver and Nate Heywood, a historian. Rip Hunter had scattered most of the team when the ship was damaged while stopping a nuclear incident. He then went somewhere in time and chose to keep himself hidden from them. Basically, they lost their leader. When you don't have a leader, your team suffers. Another reason the team had such an identity crisis was that individuals were facing so many questions.

Heywood wanted to be a hero in the footsteps of his grandpa and had a rough first meeting with him when they met the JSA. He then gained powers but then had to figure them out.

Ray Palmer lost his suit after a Japanese warlord took it. Without his suit he was questioning his role on the team and his use as a hero. He even went to the point of trying to become Captain Cold. That persona did not fit him at all.

We also had another run in with a young Professor Stein. After seeing his future self and realizing that time travel was real, he lost himself in his studies. To a point that it was damaging his marriage quite heavily.

In most of these cases, you have people basing their value on their equipment and skills and knowledge. They all lost sight of the real truth. These things all come out of our identity; they do not shape it. As a Christian, I find my identity in my savior. In following Jesus I am forged and granted skills and powers (a.k.a. spiritual gifts), though not the same as those you see in comic books.

From an early point the church struggled with the concept of viewing our identity in skills and knowledge. Paul often wrote against Gnosticism, which was trying to affect the church with the lie that if you have special knowledge you are more special or important. Many in the church got overly focused on having certain spiritual gifts (a.k.a. powers). We have a whole chapter dedicated to warning us about the over-emphases on speaking in tongues.

You see while spiritual gifts are great, useful and sometimes extraordinary, our view of them can be skewed by our worldly desires. What did Paul say about worldly desires and objects?

"More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ," Philippians 3:8, NASB

Our abilities and our desires will never fulfill us. They are part of us but they can not define us. They don't have that power. Even our roles don't really define us. Often times we define these things but scripture makes it clear: Christ is our fulfillment. Hobbies, roles, even gifts from Christ will never be able to fill the place in our lives meant for Him.

As we follow Jesus, He will fulfill us. As He fulfills us and trains us to love each other and Him, through what we often call the Fruit of the Spirit, we become better at handling all these things. Our hobbies do not necessarily get lost, but they often become part of God's mission for us. Our skills and powers are used for that mission. But overall, the one single fulfilling aspect of life is Jesus Himself.

 

Galactus and Jesus

Greetings Warriors and Scholars

Found at marvel.com

Galactus. The name rings fear in trillions of minds throughout Marvel Comics. He is a planet eating giant who sends out a herald to find him planets to consume. When Stan Lee and Jack Kirby first came up with him, they wanted an undefeatable villain for the Fantastic Four. At that time Stan would give Kirby a story and Kirby would draw it so Stan could then pen in the dialogue. For this character Stan had specific directions: "Make them fight God."

The Fantastic Four first meet the Silver Surfer, who was Galactus' herald at the time. Eventually, when Galactus gets to earth, they have no ability to stop him. Nothing they try works. They decide to get Silver Surfer on their side, but not even he is not capable of stopping Galactus. He has to reason with Galactus. Somehow, he does reason with him and Earth is saved, but not without a cost. The Surfer is banished to Earth, no longer a herald for the giant consumer of planets.

God really is more powerful than we can imagine. He created us. He created the universe itself and the tiniest atom in our cosmos. His words to Job:

"Brace yourself like a man; I will question you and you will answer me. Where were you when I laid the Earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surly you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone--while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? Who shut up the sea behind doors when it burst from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, when I said, 'This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waves halt'?"  Job 38:3-11 NIV

Many people see God with a harsh tone. As if He is waiting to punish us or is always angry with us. But this same God that spoke to Job, who loves us immensely, does not come to consume our planet for energy. He is no villain. He doesn't come to steal, but to reason with us.

"Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool." Isaiah 1:18 ESV

The NIV says "let us settle the matter." He does not come with fear and devouring as His goal, but with compassion and hope. When Jesus spoke, early on in His ministry, at a synagogue in Nazareth, he quoted Isaiah 61:

"The Spirit of the Lord has come on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Luke 4:18, 19/Isaiah 61:1,2

Jesus then said "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. (Luke 4:21)." Jesus then did just that. He healed the blind, the deaf, and the lame. He brought hope to all who would listen. He challenged the pharisees that were holding people in a rigged expectation filled with extra laws. He comes not as a conqueror but as a friend and healer.

The Flash, Revelation and Tragedy

Greetings Warriors and Scholars!

Did you see this weeks episode of The Flash?! This was a treasure trove of what the Geekpreacher would call Geek Theology.

www.cwtv.com

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD

Our good friend Barry Allen finds himself inside the Speed Force itself. But that isn't all. Someone wants to talk with him. It first takes the appearance of Joe West, but Barry knows it isn't Joe. "We were there in the beginning when the first particles came out in the Big Bang and we'll be there...in the end." Barry realizes this is the Speed Force itself talking to him. Barry pleads for the Force to send him back to help his city, but is denied. He is instructed to go catch some black figure so he starts running.

In this episode the Speed Force acts very much like God: It takes human form just as Jesus took human form. It talks about being around in the beginning and in the end which is similar to God's promise of being the "Alpha and Omega". Similar to the account in Genesis 1 and connective with the concept of the Trinity, the Speed Force refers to itself in plural saying "we..." regularly. Finally. its reason for taking human form is communication. It wants to discuss things with Barry and even help him grow as a person. Jesus had two reasons for human form: redemption through the cross and communication through teaching and healing.

Through the episode the Speed Force takes several human forms: Iris, Barry's dad, even Barry's Mom. As it turns out, this was all to help Barry deal with his Mom's death. You see, he was so focused on finding the real killer (which he succeeded in doing) and in protecting his city and so many other things. Somehow he managed to be motivated by the death of his Mom but not fully grieve for her loss. This is what the Speed Force wanted to help him with. Do you have any issues from the past you have not dealt with? A few years ago I had to do deal with something. It had been 9 years since an incident that happened, which was shortly after my Grandma passed away. When I told a friend of mine about it she turned around and walked away from me. Somehow I did not deal with the pain of that action/moment for 9 years. But, when I did deal with it, God was there with me. As I prayed over it and cried, God released the pain and brought me to a place where I was more free and I think more mature as well.

The Speed Force, while in the form of his Mom, shared something: in this life you will always have tragedy. It wanted to make sure Barry was ready mentally and emotionally to deal with tragedies throughout the experience of life and of being a hero. This is another great connection. Jesus warned us that there would be persecution and difficulty as a Christian. In John 16:33 Jesus tells us:

 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Tragedy is part of life, yet Jesus is prepared to walk with us through it. There is a story in which someone comes to Jesus asking to be His follower and Jesus responds: I have no den. I have no place to lay my head. Simply put, following Jesus does not mean you will have zero pain. In fact, sometimes just because of life and sometimes because of your choice to follow Jesus, you will have difficulty. But Jesus is here with us to walk with us through this all.

Holy Week or Nerd Week?

Greetings Warriors and Scholars.

This is quite a week, isn't it? There is a lot going on in both the faith community and the nerd community. A busy, crazy week for sure.

I have just finished the second season of Daredevil on Netflix. I have something in mind I'm saving for later inspired by this, but my first impressions are pretty positive. I think they furthered the MCU along pretty well. I am excited for "Dawn of Justice" to come out this week. Can you believe they are putting that out on Easter weekend? That is wild. I also have multiple things going on Saturday. Nerd Chapel is going to be at the Grand Rapids Toys and Collectibles Expo and then I'm going to a game day at a friends house.

http://julian80.deviantart.com/art/JESUS-AND-SUPERHEROES-446610810

It could be really easy for all of us to get off track this week. I think I already have been in some ways. I probably will go to the movies this weekend, if I can figure out the time and find someone else to go with me. Yet I do feel like it is easy for me to focus so much on all our enjoyable media that I lose sight, even if temporarily, on what this week really is about. Let me remind us.

Jesus didn't just come to teach. He didn't just come to heal. He came to bring a whole new reality to the universe. He came to die and be a sacrifice that would change everything. All those times we get excited because heroes are changing things in our stories? That is just fiction. This is real. This is what changed the world and is continuing to change it.

Admittedly, I don't have any personal traditions for this week. I have collective traditions such as helping with tech on Easter morning at my church. I often will read parts of the Holy Week story through the week or just sit down alone at some point in the week to read it straight through. Sometimes traditions help honor what we need to remember and sometimes we get caught up in doing traditions just so they are done. It is different for each person and I don't know what works best for you. Although I will say this: do not miss Easter morning. If you can, attend a Good Friday service as well.

This week, as we remember the sacrifice and victory of Christ, let that be forefront in our minds. Even while we watch Batman and Superman fight on screen and while we get excited for the Flash to come meet Supergirl next week or watch Daredevil. Keep Christ in mind. Remember He has set quite an example for the heroes in your mind. He has won not by beating up others, but by healing and taking the big blow himself.

The King is Risen. He is risen indeed.

Jesus' Apprentices

Greetings Warriors and Scholars!

 http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/The_Sorcerer's_Apprentice?file=Fantasia-disneyscreencaps.com-2363.jpg

Sunday night I watched The Disneyland 60th Anniversary tribute. As I processed how they were celebrating the lifework of a man of amazing imagination, I started to think about something. It happened during a performance they showed of the Los Angeles Philharmonic performing a piece of Fantasia. The piece was "The Sorcerer's Apprentice". We all remember this one, right? Mickey Mouse is cleaning for a sorcerer and he decides to use a little magic, bringing a mop to life and having it do the work for him. He gets swept up in the craziness of what seems to be dream and in the end finds his mentor back with a nasty look on his face.

How easy is it to feel like God is that way? We think he just wants us to do chores for him with a seat watching Him work. Now, admittedly, watching God work is amazing. And even being asked to do a chore for the King of Kings should come as an honor to us. But what if God has more in mind than that?

"I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you." John 15:15

Jesus doesn't just see you as a droid to fix things around the house. He wants us to be His friends. Notice how much He has shared with us? "for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you."  Everything. Not some stuff. Not a few things. Everything.

Jesus taught us a lot. Just read the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters 5-7 or his many parables found throughout Luke. But Jesus taught us more than that. He was speaking with men who had lived with him for years. These men had watched him heal people of blindness, feed thousands, and even meet serious needs when he was tired and ready to rest.

Jesus doesn't look down at us in anger as if we are messing with powers we know nothing about. This is amazing considering how undeserving we often are of Him. He sees us with all the potential we have for good. He doesn't miss out on our weaknesses. No mentor ever does. But He sees the full picture of what you can be and what you are now.

Today, I ask you to do a simple thing: ask Jesus to show you the potential He sees in you. This might include good things you can accomplish or current sin you can overcome. Don't expect His vision of who you can be to be an easy one. Do know He has so much more for you than the Sorcerer had planned for Mickey Mouse.

"The Husbands of River Song" (a guest post by Joe Vanderstelt)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/doctor-who/12065602/doctor-who-christmas-special-river-song-recap.html

SPOILERS! (seriously I'm just saying that because it's Doctor Who) 

First a little history, River Song is a thief with patience or an archaeologist. Her and The Doctor both travel through time and space mostly in different directions. They are married but that's complicated because they don't follow the same path through time. You might need a flowchart.

The episode revolves around River Song not recognizing the The Doctor. You see River rightly believes that The Doctor can only have 12 regenerations, but "a thing" happened and he has regenerated past 12. She is unaware of the 13th (current) Doctor, she is looking for one the past 12. Even though she gives him the nickname "The Damsil", she is looking for help from him and cannot find it. She cannot see what is literally right in front of her, right next to her in her time of need, but I'll get to that. 

First let's talk about two men. Two walking down a road when another man joined them, the two men also didn't recognize who he was. At one point River was to wrapped up with what she was doing, including getting drinks to failed to see the obvious. We give her a little break, The Doctor does keep changing appearances, and the man who joined the two men we are told also changed appearances. So I think we need to give them a little break.

The two men were followers of Jesus, on their way to Emmaus, shortly after Jesus was crucified. It was Jesus that joined and for whatever reason they were "kept from recognizing him." River was kept from recognizing The Doctor because she believed The Doctor could only regenerate 12 times. Maybe, like River, they were to caught up in them selves or limited by their own understanding. 

Jesus was a popular name back then, just as “Doctor” can refer to many professions. I wonder during the conversation were the two men on the road like “wow Jesus, you really get it” to the man that joined them.

After displaying some knowledge of the inner workings of TARDIS (The Doctor's ship) River says “you are good” and The Doctor responding with “yes for a Doctor.” I can just see Jesus saying “Yes I do understand what you are telling about Jesus”. On and on the conversations go till, like The Doctor, they get to a point where he says something like "Seriously?" with a look of utter amazement that they are getting seeing who is with them. 

The Doctor, while river doesn't recognize him, goes though some interesting stages. First we see his response to her being married to someone else, Hydroflax. It's not exactly as simple as that, you might need a bigger flow chart. Then the interesting parts come. River is not just talking about, she is going to murder Hydroflax for a jewel he has in his head and is asking The Doctor for help. Seeing River in a way he might not approve of The Doctor ask "Is this what your like when I'm not...?" and them they are discovered. River reveals she is doing it because Hydroflax is evil and she will do anything to stop him. How would God see if God were with us right now? Would he see you or me as the murderous selfish type or the type that would do anything to stop evil?

After some Dr Who type fun we find The Doctor and River laying in the snow being threatened by Hydroflax's live head in a gym bag. Yes it sounds ridiculous, it is. That's why we find The Doctor and River laughing. I would like to think that if Jesus was with us he would spend time like this, laughing at the silly things and enjoying the relationships. "I can't approve of any of this, but I haven't laughed in a really long time" – The Doctor  

I'm going skip past the parallels of River telling The Doctor, not knowing it is him, that she is going to steal the TARDIS and The Doctor saying "He'll know" and God knowing everything. 

What would it be like having an honest conversation with God not knowing it has him? When the The Doctor sees River reading from the diary he gave her, notices she is sad, and asks about it. She responds with "the man who gave this to me is the type of man who would know exactly how long of a diary you would need." Seeing the sadness The Doctor responds with "He sounds awful". Then River proceeds to tell the The Doctor, the man she loves, that he is nobody special. Have you ever had those thoughts creep into your mind or said them? That Jesus/God is no one special? How would it feel if someone you loved said that about you? 

In crescendo of the episode we find River and The Doctor in some danger from some followers of Hydroflax. The Doctor so far has done everything he can to help, save, and protect River and she has still does not see that it is him. The followers are going to use River as bait for The Doctor, claiming "Your the woman he loves". The Doctor is actually standing right next to her at this point in time. Rivers responds truthfully "the doctor does not and has never loved me." "You are the woman who loves the doctor" someone claims. Did you catch that? the change in direction. "Yes I am, I've never denied it." You ever feel like River that your love is one directional? Or that God doesn't care?

"When you love the Doctor, it's like loving the stars themselves. You don't expect a sunset to admire you back. And if I happen to find myself in danger, let me tell you, the Doctor is not stupid enough, or sentimental enough, and he is certainly not in love enough to find himself standing in it with me!" - River 

Then sometimes all it takes is a few words. 

"Hello, sweetie." - The Doctor 

A lot of people talk about footprints in the sand. That's not what this is, and doesn't seem to be how God operates most of the time. It's not God carrying us through troubled times, it's God in the person next to us helping us. Standing there beside us in our times of need, when we do things he can't approve of. God's always with us how have you been "kept from recognizing him."?

Written by Joe Vanderstelt, a gamer, capable tech geek, and Whovian who is following Jesus.

Character Study: Rey from The Force Awakens

Greetings Warriors and Scholars.

How are you today? Well, by now you have probably seen "Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens". I've seen 3 times so far with different people. I am still waiting to work out a time for my Mom and I to go see it. Warning, spoilers ahead.

Found at www.starwars.com

Today I want you to consider Rey. Daisy Ridley has certianly gripped our hearts with her stellar performance of this new character. What can we, as Christians, learn from her story? We find her living a rather difficult lifestyle. Collecting parts from old Imperial ships that were destroyed in some sort of battle years before this to get food from a very untrustworthy fellow. I almost feel like she is a slave.

Jesus once told a story about a good Samaritan who helps an injured Jew that was ignored by religious people, who seemed to have authority, passing by him.  We soon learn that Daisy has the heart of a good Samaritan. She hears the whistles of droid BB8 when another scavenger is trying to take him for parts. Not only does she help him there, but she reluctantly agrees to take him with her for a while and moves on to get him back to the Resistance.

Her experience in the inn run by Mas is quite interesting. She has a vision showing herself on Jakku as a little girl being left behind by someone and sees many other things. Her dream points to quite a legacy and a future, but she is terrified by it. All she wants to do is run back to Jakku as she is convinced her family will come back there for her.

Thus, we have one of the most teachable moments in the film. Mas comes to speak with her. "You won't find fulfillment in the past anymore. Your family is not coming back there and you know it." This moment is about holding on to what is behind us. A similar moment is mentioned in the first verse of the song "Beyond Belief" by Petra:

We're content to pitch our tent when the glory's evident
Seldom do we know the glory came and went
Moving can seem dangerous in this stranger's pilgrimage

Read more: Petra - Beyond Belief Lyrics | MetroLyrics

We have a choice to move or not. If we move, the adventure might be larger than we can possibly imagine. If we stay, it is nice and comfy. Unfortunately, Rey did not get to choose, not at that time. She was captured but that led to it's own moments.

Kylo Ren was interrogating her. He even showed her his face. But, she was much stronger in the Force than many people he had used it on and he did not get much out of her. This was our first notion that she has the Force, aside from the vision. This is the first time she really uses it.

Then she showed more Force ability. She escaped using a Jedi mind trick on none other than James Bond. Yes, that was Daniel Craig in Stormtrooper armor, one of many cameos in the film. Oh, and this troopers designation was JB-007, but back to our story. She reconnects with our heroes and soon ends up meeting Kylo Ren again.

I found it interesting what happens as she fights him in a lightsaber duel. He offers to train her in the Force and then she looks surprised. She had not even realized what she was doing this whole time. Back when she had talked with Mas, she had been told to be calm and open herself up to the Force. This is exactly what she does. She closes her eyes and briefly calms herself...and then she comes back with all the power of the Force. The rest of the fight is amazing, wasn't it? What she could do when she knew it was the Force she was using was spectacular.

Just like the Force, God has given us an amazing gift. His Holy Spirit. That comes with a vast array of powers and abilities. Just read 1 Corinthians 12:1-11. Jesus Himself said we who follow Him would do more amazing things than He did (John 14:12).

Rey does choose to go on to amazing things. In fact, she goes on the mission to find Luke Skywalker. We do not yet know what she will learn from him, but think about finding a man you once thought was a myth, a story. How would that feel? Maybe you feel like Jesus is a myth. Many people think that way. In my experience He is real, powerful, loving and trustworthy. He'll do what is right by you, but not necessarily what you want. Will you go beyond belief?

The One Story Worth Spoiling!

Greetings Warriors and Scholars!

Christmas is coming! Yep, just a few days away. Presents will be wrapped in nice paper only for the paper to be ripped apart. Many will attend Christmas Eve or Christmas Day services. What is your families tradition? My brother and I are always busy on Christmas Eve. We run tech for our church's services which is a full day of work for us. 4 services in all. Christmas day is a day for resting and relaxing.

I was thinking this morning about spoilers. We have all been very concerned about spoilers for Star Wars, right? For me the movie was spoiled a little bit. A student in a class I was subbing for (last class of the day on Friday, mind you) ruined a detail for me. A rather important detail. There are certain things, such as movies, that we are careful not to divulge to much information about.

Bethlehem on the night of Jesus birth was not so worried about spoilers, though. The town was bustling with travelers for the census, shops, Roman guards, and more as a few shepherds walked around very excited telling everyone all the details about the biggest event in history: God had become man and was born in a stable.

Did you ever experience something and everyone you talked to wanted every detail? Maybe it was a trip you went on or a funny story about a goofy person in your life. Shepherds were not the most popular people in that day. It was a big deal for them to be the first to hear the news of the Messiah being born. They might not have been used to people wanting to know the details. Admittedly, I wonder if at some point in the night they felt like someone with a UFO story might feel. If someone just was not listening to them. But that is not what we are told by Luke. Luke 2:18 tells us all who heard it were amazed at what they were saying. This was a big deal. Angels and the Messiah in the tiny village of Bethlehem. That big news has changed the world more than any other story. More than Star Wars or even Romeo and Juliet.

Just so we are clear, the Christmas story is one you don't need to worry about spoiling. Tell as many people as many details as you can! Get the word out. Life has changed because God has come among us.

Hook and Gray

Greetings Warriors and Scholars!

Last night I watched a few shows with my Mom, including The Librarians and Once Upon a Time. Interestingly, both of these shows focused on darkness or sin in our lives in some form. Some spoilers ahead.

Found on the "Once Upon a Time" FB page.

In Once Upon a Time, we find a town panicking as multiple Dark Ones approach townspeople for what you might call tagging them. They are all given a mark targeting them to be pulled down into the Underworld. You see, the Dark Ones can only stay if they are replaced by someone in the Underworld. Somehow, Emma gets through to Killian, who is now one of the Dark Ones. He pulls all of the darkness, from all of them, into himself in an attempt to gather it into one place to be destroyed. I won't tell you here if it worked or not.

Found on "The Librarians" FB page.

We see a different take on sin in The Librarians. They come across a club where people are stricken with consequences of actions they did not commit or experience. A girl who is walking with her friends is thrown several yards and injured as if being hit by a car. A boy almost dies from a drug overdose without taking any drugs. As they investigate this club they meet Dorian Gray. Dorian has taken his ability to pass his consequences on to others and digitized it, using pictures taken of people in the club. He used his own vanity to gain immortality. This way he can live as long as he wants and do whatever he wants with no consequences. There were some other antics to enjoy in this episode, but I won't ruin them for you.

Darkness does exist in real life. You know that, right? We call it other things. We call it "mistakes" or "poor decisions" and once in a while we are honest and call it "sin". The good news for us is that we don't have to worry about beating the darkness. Jesus already did that.

"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:6-8

Jesus chose to be more like Killian (aka Captain Hook). He accepted a painful death on the cross. Killian deserved the punishment. He had spent years pirating and killing. Jesus had not. Jesus didn't kill anyone or steal from anyone. He chose to come to Earth, give us some instructions about love and respect and responsibility, and then he accepted death to take our spiritual consequences and give us what we don't deserve: access to God the Father and an infilling of the Holy Spirit.

God is not going to settle for us living a life of sin with no consequences. Jesus did not die to turn you into Dorian Gray, but to enable you to repent. Later in Romans, Paul says: 

"What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning to increase grace? BY NO MEANS! We are those who have died to sin, how can we live in it any longer?" Romans 6:1,2

I do think there is a difference between spiritual consequences and natural consequences and I do think we still have to face the natural ones. The Book of James is quite honest about natural consequences of our actions. This repentance thing isn't easy, but reliance upon God helps a lot.

I encourage you to read all of Romans 5 and 6 as it pulls together our faith with Christ's work on the cross to show how we can receive cleansing from Him to live in righteousness.

Confusing Deeds of Saving

Greetings Scholars and Warriors.

This season of Doctor Who has been very interesting (I almost used "quite interesting" but I didn't as that has the opposite meaning in Brittain as here in the US). I think it is confusing to see who he saves and who he doesn't save. Time after time we see the Doctor saving people, and sometimes people he shouldn't save. Other times he is accused of ignoring deaths.

Found at www.kasterborous.com

Think about it:

He went back to save Davros, whom he knew would create his worse enemy.
When facing the ghosts he seemed to try hard to save people yet was accused of allowing some to die.
He saved Ashildr/Me (Maise Williams) even though he felt he was breaking rules.
Then, he worked to redeem her when he met her later on.
He told soldiers this last episode to kill as few Zygons as possible, even though they were starting the war.

I think we get way more confused by God's salvation. We look at the death in the world and we think He isn't doing enough. We hear stories of people's lives changed by Him and wonder "why that person and not my friend/brother/etc.?" In both cases, God and the Doctor, the subject of our confusion is doing a lot more than we can see.

Think about what we have done since God created our species: We have lied to each other and tried to lie to Him. We have cheated. We have damaged the planet He put us on. We have killed each other and blamed God for death/suffering that comes from our own poor choices. We have a terrible track record. Some claim He is doing nothing for those in droughts and natural disasters.

No news station is going broadcast huge stories on God's miracles of salvation. They don't talk about that. When someone is healed of cancer miraculously, you don't find TV cameras trying to film it. The news just won't show us that part of life. We could come up with a lot of excuses and blame for this, but that won't help.

God told Moses in Exodus 33 that he would "have mercy on he whom I will have mercy". In other words, God won't let you decide his plan of salvation. But here is the amazing thing...God does want anyone who is willing to come to Him. Jesus called for the "weary' and the "sick" to come to Him (i.e., those who were filled with sin and would admit it). During Matt Smiths reign as the Doctor he once said that he had never met anyone who was unimportant. That is how Jesus will respond if you tell him you are unimportant. If you ask for salvation for your friend, well, God wants that to. But he won't force it on your friend.

Those who are around the Doctor have to choose between trusting him or not. "Me" had to make the same decision at one time. She had been living a life of crime after the Doctor had given her a way to live for a far longer time than she would have gotten. At first she chose to ignore her life as Ashildr and use the Doctor to help a dangerous alien. Then, when she realized she was helping with an invasion, she changed.  We have the same choice with God. We can either work with Him in salvation just as a parent expects a 5 year old to help clean their room, or we can throw a tantrum and see what it gets us. What will you choose?

A Lesson from Ultron

Greetings Scholars and Warriors.

Saturday was a fun game night. We were 3 people and one of us could only stay for a short time, but it was a good time. Games played include Viceroy, Smash Up, and Splendor. The next game night is Nov. 14.

Found at www.comicbookmovie,com

Well, on to our thought for the week. As many others did, I purchased the blu-ray version of "Avengers:Age of Ultron" the day it came out. Mostly because I knew Best Buy would raise the price soon after that.

As I watched it again, something Ultron says to Vision at the end of the movie stuck with me. "Tony Stark wanted a savior, but settled for a slave." I found this to be a profound poke at humanity.

I think we do this a lot. We ask God to save us from famine and disease and war, but either we won't give up the things that lead to these (i.e. selfishness and greed) or we treat God as a slave to do our bidding rather than a hero to help us. I wonder if that is one of many reasons why we don't see as many miracles in our world a midst the terror and horrible things that go on.

As Jesus performed miracles there were a few responses to it. Some followed Him. Some thought he was mad although I am not sure how you can think someone is mad when they do something miraculous right in front of you. Others accused His followers and Him of drunkenness.

If God did raise someone from the dead right in front of you, would you actually follow Him? Do you actually want a right relationship with God, even when that means submitting to Him, or are you looking for a slave to make life comfortable?

Attaining to be Spiderman

Greetings Scholars and Warriors.

wallpapers.net

Yesterday I read an article by www.comicbook.com about some recent comments by Andrew Garfield. He was discussing his 2 Spiderman films and how he felt about his role in them. When he was asked what he learned from being Spiderman, he said this:

"Well, nothing, because I was never Spider-Man. Because Spider-Man's a fictional character. He's not real. [laughs] You know what's funny, to give you the vulnerable answer, I thought I was going to be Spider-Man, you know?"

"I was the actor that I am. The person that I am. Struggling with trying to match up with something that I'd elevated so high in my mind. Elevated beyond what I could attain, what I could achieve. The great thing is, that's what Peter Parker was doing as well. Peter Parker created this symbol that he couldn't live up to. It was never enough. He never felt enough, and I never felt enough."

I feel like this happens to humans every day. We set a certain standard that we seek to live up to but just can't hit the mark. We have fictional ideas of what it means to be human. Fictional ideas of what it would mean to be ourselves. We create our own symbols that we can't live up to.

In reality, God's standards are not much easier. Did you know that in the entire Old Testament Daniel is the only person that never has a negative report? All those heroes we focus on such as David, Abraham, Noah, Joshua. They all made bad choices at one point or another. Noah was a drunkard. Abraham lied about his marriage out of fear. David had an affair. All those great heroes failed at some point or another to live up to greatness. Then when you get to the New Testament, you have Peter who often stuck his foot in his mouth and Paul who terrorized the Church before Christ intervened in his life.

Jesus was once asked if attaining the Gospel was impossible. Read the story in Matthew 19:16-30. Jesus had talked with a rich person. Jesus asked him about various laws and he was like "Yep, done that. Good there. Got that." But then He said this: "sell all you have and give to the poor, and follow Me." Then, this rich man went away sad. Jesus then commented: "It is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of Heaven. It is easier to put a camel through the eye of a needle." His disciples were shocked, "Then how can any of us achieve this?" Jesus response was simple: "With God, all things are possible". Jesus then goes on to describe a wonderful experience in eternity for all His followers.

We fail to live up to standards because we do it alone. Jesus called the weary to come to Him. To find rest and hope and help. We have this silly idea that we have to achieve our standards all alone. But we DON'T. Jesus would rather walk with you through it all. Ask Him for help. It might not come in the form you expect, but He will provide help. You just need to accept it. There is no shame in admitting that you need help.

Daredevil, Violence and Protection

This last weekend was crazy for me. Saturday was International Tabletop Day and I hosted a location for it at my church for a local gaming group. On Friday I binged through Daredevil. Yes, I watched all 13 episodes in one day.

I have seen at least 2 posts written using Daredevil by other Christians this week, one on Ministry Matters and another by Costumers for Christ. One of the topics being discussed is violence and the Christian life. Not whether or not we should watch Daredevil (which has some violent scenes) but how we as Christians should feel about violence in general. I feel like we tend to be so scared of violence that we forget how often it is needed to bring hope to people.

In one episode, Daredevil goes to rescue a child from kidnappers and he does get very violent in the rescue, far more than Jesus would want. Yet...would Jesus leave a child in such a situation? Does love sometimes call for violence not for the sake of violence but for the goal of rescuing and protecting people? Now, I think if a man had come to Jesus and said "these guys are holding my child and I can not rescue them because their strength to much for me" Jesus would have done something about it. He might simply have teleported the child out of there or used another miracle to rescue the child without violence; but Jesus would not have refused to act.

Nobody should want war and killing and hatred. Yet, we do want to stop those who do love to use such ends. Right now a group called ISIS is spreading war and hatred. There have been some reports that some men from the US have gone over to join in the fight against them of their own accord and without being sent by any government. I do not know these men's hearts. I don't know if they feel warfare is their life or if, like the Machine Gun Preacher, they just hate seeing violent men take advantage of people.

One of the groups I enjoy supporting is International Justice Mission. These guys go into hard places to rescue people being held as slaves either for sex or for labor. Some of them are simply working on the legal side of things or help find safe counseling for the victims but some of them are former cops who participate in raids. I'm talking about men who go in with guns drawn and bullet proof vests to rescue these women, men and children from slavery. This is dangerous work with a strong possibility of experiencing violence. Sometimes, they are able to go in when there are no guards around and get the women out without fighting, but not always. Actually, this work is fairly similar to our first view of Daredevil's work in the series.

There is such a thing as righteous indignation and I think we need to respect it but also control it as it can get out of hand easily. There is also a calling and a preference for grace and peace in dispelling arguments. In our walks with Jesus, let us show respect for both of these and use peace far more than violence.

Tuvok's Help or Jesus' Help?

Greetings Scholars and Warriors.

A few days ago my Mom and I were watching some Star Trek Voyager. We are slowly going through the series and currently in season 2. One of the episodes we watched was regarding a murder on the ship.

Found at tomdurham.com

As Tuvok was investigating it, he quickly found the evidence and got a confession from the murderer, a man who had been part of the Maquis crew. With all of this completed, something still bugged Tuvok. He could not understand why the man had done this atrocity. All the guy said was that the crewman had looked at him wrong. This troubled Tuvok so much that he actually chose to mind meld with the murderer. As a result of this, the murderer received more ability to control his impulses, but Tuvok was left rather off. Soon, the doctor had to get involved and complete a series of treatments on Tuvoks brain. These treatments left him with none of his mental shields around his emotions. At one point, he almost killed a man.

I found this to be an interesting view of sin. Ever since Adam we have struggled to make sense of a world filled with horrible atrocities. We often find ourselves asking "Why?" just like Tuvok was asking. And just like the Maquis man, we often get caught in sins we are not proud of and need some sort of repression help to deal with them.

Jesus came and spent time with people just like this Maquis man. People who were caught up in sins like drunkenness and non-marital sex. Unlike Tuvok, as Jesus helped them, He didn't fall prey to their sins. Hebrews 4:15 tells us:

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.

We can get our help from Jesus with no worries. He has experienced temptation and won against it so He is able to lead us. When He was praying in the Gethsemane, He fought against temptation so hard he was sweating blood. To contrast that, his disciples were busy sleeping and not praying. Even after he had encouraged them to "pray so that you will not fall into temptation" (Matthew 26:41). Simply put, we were not there for Him when He both needed us and wanted to help us. We should be there for each other.

Acts quotes Proverbs 27:17 in this:

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

We saw the principal of cooperation and support throughout this episode. The Doctor did all he could to help Tuvok. Captain Janeway was more interested in seeing the murderer be reformed than in seeing him be punished (not that she ignored punishment). The next time you see someone struggling with a sin, be patient with them. If someone comes to you, just pray for them or with them.

No on should be afraid to ask for help dealing with sin. Often our strange Christian/American culture is good at shaming people over sins. Jesus isn't.  He is good at helping. We should follow in His steps. Maybe you need someone to pray for you. Maybe you need someone to bug you from time to time to get you on track.

Pursuing the Present

Greetings Scholars and Warriors.

How many movies are you looking forward to in 2015? How many movies did you see in 2014? New Years is a time of looking back and forward in the same moment. We enjoyed a lot of change in the Transformers movie verse and in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) this past year. We have been watching as things are developing for 2015 with Jurassic World, the MCU, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and several other movies. We also look at other things in our lives, though. More practical aspects of life.

How interesting is it that we celebrate the Birth of the Saviour at this same time? We celebrate the one who gave the most for us and to us as we evaluate ourselves and our future.

Jewish leaders did not always put 2 and 2 together very well. They spent a lot of time looking back at scripture, but they were not looking for God to change them. They wanted a political change and were infuriated with Jesus for changing other things. Jesus defended Himself in John 5.

"You study the scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life." John 5:39-40

These leaders were far more interested in looking back than at looking at their present. They certainly did not understand how the future was supposed to look (although we should admit that we don't understand the future well either).

Think about the disciples. They were a very different group from the Jewish leaders. They were "unlearned Galileans". They were fishermen with a tax collector following a carpenter who had put the religious leaders to shame with his knowledge at just 12 years old.

Jesus certainly did not disrespect scripture. In Matthew He said that not even the tiniest stroke of the OT would disappear. He wanted the leaders and the people to see that Scripture pointed to Him; but He was doing something new. Something they were not expecting. Instead of changing the world of politics and nations, He came to change the world of the heart; knowing that all worlds change when that changes.

As we change years, what are you looking toward? What are you looking back to? How is Christ at work in your heart right now? How can you cooperate with His work? Your best life will be found in Jesus, not in any other thing or person in your life.

A Good Lingering!

This past month has been really busy. I have participated in The Journey to Bethlehem (see my last post) programmed and run lights for a large Christmas program at a church with a full rock band doing TSO songs and some acoustic and a Capella acts. I have also been working at the local mall selling calenders and games. Then on Christmas Eve I ran lights for the Christmas Eve services at All Shores Wesleyan Church, which consisted of a folky acoustic styling.

Needless to say, on Christmas Day I was pretty tired. And yes, we did have family over to our house so I got to do some cleaning before they came.

After all of this I chose to spend Christmas Day away from my computer and specifically away from email and social media. I feel like we often rush through Christmas. We get our gifts, spend 1 hour at church on Christmas Eve talking about Jesus, and run around between family events and parties.

I have heard mixed reports of what the Church as a whole has done with this focus in the past. One has suggested that the early church spent very little focus on His birth. They were more concerned with His resurrection. Another suggests that, at some point in time, there were groups that would spend weeks focusing on the birth of Christ.

Through this season I have tried to keep up with a reading plan from All Shores reading short scripture 6 nights a week. Some weeks I have done better than others and sadly this week was one where I didn't keep up as well.

I want to encourage you to do a couple of things as time moves away from Christmas 2014:

1. Don't move to quickly. Take some time to ponder Christ's birth this week. I know it isn't easy to make time for things, but don't just move on with an attitude of "I did that, now let's go to the next thing"

2. At the same time, keep Christ's ultimate mission in mind. Jesus came to "seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10). In Luke 4 He quoted Isaiah 61 for his mission statement:

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."

3. Seek to join Jesus in His mission.