What can you do?

Greetings Warriors and Scholars!

Happy summer! This summer is going by really fast.

Earlier this week my Mom and I continued our viewing of Stargate SG-1. One of the episodes we watched that night was "Maternal Instinct" from season 3. In this episode, they find out that Apophis is back with the army formerly committed to Sokar. He had attacked Chulack in his search for his child, a "harsesis" who has been hidden from him so he does not use the child as a new host and then gain all the knowledge of the Goa'uld. In their search for the child, the team goes to Keb, a spiritual destination for older Jaffa who are done fighting.

Here, they meet a monk and Daniel goes into a long discussion with him about many things. The monk, who never gives us a name, tries to get Daniel to use his mind to do things but is also talking about a "Oma Desala". At first Daniel thinks this is just a phrase for mother nature, but we later find that she is what would later be described as an "ascended being". Daniel realizes that his tricks of controlling small flames and moving things with his mind were not him at all. It was all Oma's doing. She then fights the army for them and takes the child away to safety.

Although there are obvious Buddhist parallels in this story as they use a similar setting and phrases by the monk are similar, there are some significant parallels for us as followers of Jesus as well. Jesus told us about a "Counselor" he would send us. This Counselor is known more commonly as the Holy Spirit. During the Old Testament He often came upon men and women God had called out for very special works but after a day we call Pentecost the Holy Spirit came upon all who follow Jesus.

In 1 Corinthians 12 we find a description of what we often call the Gifts of the Spirit. These are abilities God chooses to dispense to us through the Holy Spirit and yes I do think they can be called super powers. We learn a few things here:

• The Holy Spirit gives gifts as he chooses to all who believe.
• The gifts include "miraculous" things such as healing and "mundane" things such as administration.
• All gifts are given for the common good, not for show-boating.
• There is no formula to what gift(s) you get. 

Most importantly, we understand that these gifts all come from the Holy Spirit. If you are unsure about your gifts, I recommend 2 things. First, pray about it. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you your gifts and to empower you to serve. Second, ask other believers who know you what they think your gifts are. There are some online spiritual gifts surveys out there that can be uses as tools to help you discover it, but that is not the first place I would start. 

Daniel did not light a candle with his mind or have any super powers. It was Oma Desala doing that. But in real life the Holy Spirit does make Himself and some gifts available to us as we serve Jesus. What can you do?

The Asgard and the Holy Spirit

Greetings Warriors and Scholars!

I have been watching Stargate SG-1 with my Mom lately. We just started season 3. Now you might remember in Season 2 there was an episode where Col. O'Neill interacted with a "headsucker". From this interaction, a large cache of data was downloaded into his head. He started speaking in Ancient rather than English and it was to much for his head. He would do things he didn't understand and it was overwriting his brain to the point that the doctor feared for his life.

Eventually he used the information in there to create a device that enabled a one-time trip through the stargate to an Asgard planet in another galaxy. The Asgard realized his situation and downloaded the info from his head so it would not endanger his life. In his conversation with them, he learned they had studied Earth and humans. "What did you learn?" he asked. "You have great potential." Eventually, the Asgard, especially Thor, begin a relationship with Earth, and specifically the SGC, that assists and even trains SG-1 and others. We even see an Asgard named Hermiod working on the Tau'ri vessel known as the Daedalus in Stargate Atlantis.

Jesus knew we had great potential. He spent years teaching thousands and even mentoring 12 men. But He wasn't done there. He promised a helper. A comforter. Enter the Holy Spirit.

"But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you." John 14:26

Now, the Holy Spirit had been working before this. He had been with various prophets and kings of Israel, such as David and Jeremiah. But this was different. Eventually he came on a day known as Pentecost. This was about 50 days after the Resurrection. If you read through Acts you will find many instances and anecdotes where the Holy Spirit gives guidance and brings hope and healing. But He also oversaw the writing of Scripture, including both Old and New Testaments.

But The Holy Spirit did not stop there. He is available for you and me. When we need wisdom and help dealing with sin. When we don't know what to choose. Listening to him is not something that comes easily for everyone. Just like any other relationship or skill it takes time and development. But Jesus and the Holy Spirit and the Father are available. However: you have to respond.  Here are a few helpful hints:

Don't expect every leading to be comfortable. He will ask you for things outside of your comfort zone. Deal with it.

Recognize that Prayer is a time to listen as well as talk. Often He will prompt you with an idea during prayer. Prayer is more than reciting a list of wants and needs. It is a conversation between you and God.

Expect the Unexpected. I remember watching The Amazing Spiderman 2 in the theater. The end, where a kid steps up in a Spidey costume right before Spiderman arrives, was a teachable moment between me and the Holy Spirit. "See that, when you step out in my name, I'll move." He might speak in other ways as well. It might be through a song or when you are walking your dog.

Back from Europe

Greetings Scholars and Warriors.

Sorry I missed SEVERAL weeks in a row of blogging. My computer decided to give me issues while I was in Europe so I was not able to get blogs written very easily.

FEDCON!

Fedcon  in Dusseldorf, Germany, was amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed the panels, cosplays,  and conversations. This was my first European con so it was definitely more of a leap of faith, especially being in a nation with another language. What I found was that there are many English speakers at this con. In fact, when all the American actors were up on stage for panels, they were not using translators. Only a few panels were in German; most were in English.

Here are a few pictures:

 

 Trekkies were there in abundance.

Stargate was well represented as 3 actors from the franchise were present. David Hewlett (Dr. Rodney McKay in SG-1/Atlantis) was amazing on stage.

 I was so excited to walk up to this cosplayer and say "Tek ma'te Master Bra'tac!" I got to talk with him a couple times over the weekend. Very outgoing guy.

 Although comics were not really a main focus, you did have a lot of comics based cosplayers at Fedcon.

 Do you think I like Stargate? This cosplayer was doing a Nox. I think the Nox are only found in 3 episodes of SG-1 (out of 200+ episodes).










My lesson from Fedcon is this: don't let cultural walls, such as a language barrier, scare you when you consider attending a con. I was not to concerned about language barriers because English is widely spoken around the world. Certainly it is not the only barrier and some cons might be harder than this one when it comes to that issue, but a nerds can always find ways of connecting when we are together.

Also, I want to thank the Guthries, who are trying to start a new section of Fans for Christ in Europe, for hosting me and letting me tag along with them. It was a great experience and they are a great family to spend time with.

For anyone interested in FFC Europe, go here on FB.


Slovakia

While in Slovakia I had the pleasure of joining with Youth with a Mission (YWAM). I had spent many months with them previously as a student at a Discipleship Training School. I did not come for an organized event or program this time but instead just came to spend a few weeks helping out around their new facility. I did a lot of weed whacking, some painting (which I wasn't very good at) and just provided an extra set of hands around the facility.

The 3 weeks in Slovakia were an interesting situation. I was the only single surrounded by couples for most of it. I am not complaining as there were some great couples there. It took a little more self management for me. I just had to pray about some things and watch my attitude. Even with being a 5th, or 15th, wheel I still had a great time. What I learned was to enjoy the people around me and pray about my feelings/thoughts as I worked through them.

I strongly recommend the DTS program that YWAM runs. I did not always agreed with some of the teachings, but I still learned a lot. Admittedly,, YWAM takes some getting used to if you do not come from a charismatic background, but I grew a lot during my DTS. YWAM Slovakia is still working on their website at this time.

Kheb and Christ

Today is  flurry of details as I get read for the Church service at Grand Con. I am excited for what God is going to do as we come to worship Him and step closer to Him.

How recently have you read the story of Jesus meeting with the Samaritan woman? He was resting next to a well and she came to find water for her household. The story can be found in John 4. Jesus asks her for some water, as he does not have any way of getting it. In their conversation a couple things stand out to me. Today we look at Jesus provision for us and next time we will look at their discussion of worship.

First of all, Jesus was coming across lines here. Men did not speak to women and Jews did not associate with Samaritans. So this was a huge moment as Jesus met with her and broke down these walls. He also revealed that he knew about her sin, but was still interested in talking with her and spending time with her. Jesus tells her "If you knew who I was, you would ask me, and I would give you living water. You would never be thirsty again; indeed this water would lead to eternal life."

In trying to imagine how she felt, I think about SG-1 visiting a monk in an episode called "Maternal Instincts". Daniel Jackson and the team are looking for the Harsesis, a son of Sharee/Amunet and Apophis that has all the knowledge of the Goa'uld. They come to Kheb, a place where people are welcome to come and learn to ascend to a different plane of existence.  

Found on the Stargate Wiki

Daniel Jackson has quite an experience talking with a monk and eventually meets an ascended being he eventually comes to know as Oma Desala. As Daniel tries to learn their ways, he gets frustrated (although not as much as O'Neill does). The guy keeps using confusing sayings to express his ideas. Daniel soon realizes that they are so much more than he ever thought and that there is so much out there he does not know about. As he sees this, a Goa'uld army gets closer and closer, but when they arrive the ascended being destroys all of them, and even gliders, with lightning. Daniel finally realizes what they were saying: The Harsesis child is better off with us. But more than that SG-1 was opened to a whole new perception of the universe.

Jesus is saying that he has far more to offer than we can hope or imagine. More hope, joy, lessons, protection, mind blowing ideas and experiences than we will ever understand. Sometimes we get frustrated by Jesus. Looking at some of His sayings in John (i.e. "I am the Bread of Life" or "watch out for the yeast of the pharisees) we feel a little bit lost. His disciples sure did! But Jesus has so much love, mercy, and even deep truth just waiting for us! He just wants to walk with us through all this and show you what He has for you.

Fun God and Eternity

Stargate is my favorite television franchise by far, although Doctor Who gives it a run for its money.  I am not sure how I feel about the reboot of Stargate coming in a few years because I think that they could have done so much more with the SG-1/Atlantis/Universe situation.  With devices that could take them to thousands of planets in multiple galaxies and ships together they could have gone almost anywhere.  But yes, I am excited that SG will continue in some form.


Sunday night I was watching an episode of SG-1 called "Crystal Skull" they visit a planet with a huge cavern in a giant pyramid.  Inside this pyramid is a crystal skull similar to one Daniel's grandfather had found decades ago in Belize.  As they episode progresses they eventually meet a race of giant aliens that are in the form of a mist.  At one point they show the creature in the back ground circling around like a kid or a young girl twirling.  It seemed he was just having fun.

http://stargate.wikia.com/wiki/Crystal_Skull

This made me think.  It made me wonder if God ever takes a gaseous form like this and whip around for fun.  Seriously.  Why can't God do silly things for fun?  He made the peacocks and sea horses and all sort of silly animals.  How often do you see a cloud in a silly shape?

One day we all face eternity.  I am looking forward to the discoveries of eternity with God will hold.  Who knows what facets of Him we will see and explore!  Maybe the reason the angels and creatures in Heaven call out "Holy!  Holy Holy! Lord God Almighty!" so often is because they are always seeing something new in Him.  Maybe somethings in His being never lose their newness. More than likely it is both.  There is always something new to find in Christ and His qualities never lose their newness.  We can even start now.  "If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9) 

And then, for a few drops of yummy in the amazing cake and frosting God is...what else in the universe will we see that we don't know about?  As I have said before, God is filled with endless wonder!  I hope you have accepted Christ and will be joining us in this exciting adventure of eternity.