Loss of Powers

Last night I watched some "Heroes" episodes including "The Eclipse, Part 1".  In this episode all the characters with powers lose them.  Hiro can no longer teleport or pause time.  Matt can no longer hear thoughts.  Sylar loses his hunger and can no longer push items with his mind or use any of his abilities.  All the powers are gone.

In the Body of Christ we have what we call "Spiritual Gifts".  But let's be honest about this, shall we?  They are indeed super powers.  1 Corinthians 12 tells us that they come from the Holy Spirit and are assigned according to His purposes and pleasure.  They include powers to work miracles, heal, powers of knowledge, wisdom, distinguishing between spirits.  Paul lists many things but does not say that his list is exhaustive.

This begs a question, though.  If you were to lose your spiritual gift.  If God took away the Spirit-powered abilities that help you with your mission for Him, how would you feel?  Would you be ok with that?  Is JESUS HIMSELF enough for you?

While Matt struggles with his goal, Hiro says that this is part of the heroes journey.  That a hero must learn to live without powers and to complete his mission with whatever he has aside from them.  IF God chose to test you this way, would you be ok with it?  Would you press on or give up?  Do you even know what your powers are?  If not, pray about it and ask people who know you well what they think your gifts/powers are.

Jesus once said that we should not celebrate that we have powers, but that we should celebrate that our names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. We should celebrate Jesus, not our abilities. 

Monsters, Giant Mechs, and Respect

Greetings Explorers and Skeptics alike.

I hope you have had a great week.  Two days ago I FINALLYYYY got to see Pacific Rim.  IT WAS AMAZING!  I had so much fun and it was such a great combination of monsters, giant mechs, creativity, freshness, and even some thought provoking points.  Yes, I am about to talk about something in the movie.  There is a bit of a spoiler here.

There was a moment when Becket is about to go to train/meet his new partner.  Mako is in the hallway with him and had received orders from Stacker not to come along.  Becket is frustrated and says "You don't have to live in constant obedience to him" (not an exact quote, but very close).

Her response is amazing.  "It's not obedience, it's respect."  (I believe that that is an exact quote).

I remember a guy who was attending a church I went to who was upset about the idea of following Christ because he felt that we were all "puppets" and nothing more.  Although he did attend church and Bible study for many months, I am unsure if he was really looking for Christ or if he was just looking for a club to belong to.  If you are outside the church, try to look out from our perspective.  Put on our shoes for a minute.  We may seem to be puppets, but we are far more to Christ than that.  He died for us.  Would you die just to have puppets?

We live for Him out of respect for Him.  In John 14:23 Jesus said "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.  My Father will love him and we will come and make our home with him."    Jesus said this after being asked why he was only showing himself to a few and not to all.  Essentially he wants us to participate with Him in showing himself to all.  So he doesn't expect blind obedience merely because we have to, but because we want to cooperate with Him.  2 Peter 3:9 says "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.  He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."  He isn't up there like a puppet master, but like a captain training a new crew for a voyage.  Watching to see who is really lining up with His goals and his direction. Observing who wants a job or who wants to be part of His team...His family.

Stacker did give Mako the opportunity eventually.  Even though he had reasons not to.  Sometimes we feel like puppets.  But this is not the case.  Sometimes God is just waiting for when we are ready or for other movements to happen on the game board of life. Our patience in waiting will one day be rewarded, but we are not to move on our own without His direction. 

I have not really introduced myself well yet, so here's a go at it.  My name is Eric Anderson and I am 31 years old.  I enjoy board games such as Twilight Imperium, Settlers of Catan, Munchkin Quest, etc. and collectible miniature games such as Monsterpocalypse, Heroscape and Star Wars Miniatures.  My favorite 3 science fiction franchises are (in no particular order) Star Wars, Doctor Who and Stargate.  I have a bachelors degree in Biblical Studies and Christian Education from the Fort Wayne Campus of Taylor University. 

My life adventures have taken me to China, the Middle East, and much of Europe as well as a few parts of the eastern US.  (Yes, I really do need to get out west more!) 

My reading so far this summer has included: Unnamed by Christ Travis,Spiritual Leadership by J. Oswald Sanders as well as Avengers Vs X-Men, part of Avengers Plus X-Men, and both volumes of JLA:Age of Wonders.

As a teenager I loved Joshua 1:9: "Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you, wherever you go."  This verse was very helpful to me in the times of feeling alone.

I do not understand why God does things the way He does or where our free will ends and His Decisions begin, but I trust Him.  I find that He walks with me through difficulty and although He doesn't always give me what I want, He always provides what I need and he answers my prayers, even if it means saying "no" or "not yet". 

 

Xavier and Solitude

So in Episode 1 of Nerd Chapel on YouTube, I taught on Psalm 4 and mentioned that solitude is a major facet of Xavier.  You can watch the video here.  I mentioned the end of X-Men:First Class and how Magneto's anger had pulled him away from Xavier and the effect it had on mutant kind.

Now think about how Professor X handled things.  When Moira tried to shoot Magneto, because he was threatening both the American and Soviet fleets, Magneto blocked the bullets.  In  that moment he was filled with anger toward mankind for the way they treated mutants, especially after both fleets had fired on the beach they were on.  One of the bullets that Magneto deflected in his anger hit Xavier.  Thus he would end up in a wheel chair for his whole life.

Now Xavier could have taken control of everyone around and coordinated their abilities to attack Magneto and maybe overpowered him.  Then he could have kept all of the group together.  Instead, he let Magneto leave with those who wanted to follow him.  Now, maybe some of the others were angry also, but they were not letting that fuel them.  They didn't want to hurt mankind, but to protect people of all kinds and use their powers for good.

Xavier was at peace, even after being shot.  He wasn't allowing himself to be driven by anger.  When the fleets fired on the mutants, Professor X wanted Magneto to deflect the attack, but not to harm the navies.  He didn't want mankind to have more reason to fear mutants.  He didn't respond to any attack with anger.  Xavier does care about self defense, but he hates harming others.

The second section of the book "Reaching Out" by Henri J. M. Nouwen talks about moving from hostility to hospitality.  He discusses a rich view of hospitality as allowing "gifts" to be shared between host and guest (in this context stranger) as equals.  You see we have this idea in our modern culture that people are out to get us.  Now that is sometimes the case, but most often they are not.  We end up building problems that would not be there originally and we miss out on joys.  Think about it.  If Abraham had not welcomed the 3 strangers (Genesis 18), would he have been blessed by God (who was one of the 3 strangers) with the joys of his son Isaac?  If the two men on the road to Emmaus had not welcomed a stranger to walk with them, they might not have experienced his explanations of recent events and the realization that he was their Risen Savior, Jesus (Luke 24).  Then, if we can get amazing gifts from strangers by being hospitable, how much more can we get from our close friends and family?

What does Jesus teach us?  Love your enemies.  Pray for those who persecute you.  Jesus wants reconciliation, not war.  Do you need to take some steps to deal with anger better?  Anger is not always bad.  There is even a form of anger we often call righteous indignation that is good.  But we are warned in Psalm 4, "In your anger do not sin." You can start by asking Jesus for help and confessing the ways you've sinned in anger.  Maybe you need to find someone to talk to about your anger. 

Treasure Quest of a Different Kind

Greetings and welcome to the blogosphere portion of Nerd Chapel. 

Today I challenge you to consider a favorite of Nerds everywhere: treasure.  We have movies, video games, television shows, and even table-top games that are focused around it.

Beyond that, we have our own treasures in the shapes of collections.  Whether your collection includes books, blue-rays, miniatures, comic books, or what have you, there are always lots of treasures out there in nerd culture.  Jesus talked about treasure.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be."  Matthew 6:19-21

I have a nice collection of the game "Star Wars Miniatures" by Wizards of the Coast.  But you know what?  Some of  my "minies" are tired.  They aren't damaged much, but they aren't quite in as good of shape as they once were.  Treasures in heaven don't get old like that.  But how do you build up these treasures?

Three ways come to mind for me:

Service:  How can you help out in your community?  How you spend your time does show a piece of your treasure.  I am on the tech team for my church.  Also, look for small ways to help out around you.  I go swing dancing from time to time, and a couple of times when we were outside, I was able to help move some things off the dance floor and help set up the donation tent. 

Sharing Truth:  Look for natural ways to share Jesus in conversation.  I was flying back from China one time and was in the Hong Kong airport.  I came across a booth where they were looking for feedback.  In the conversation I went to pull something out of my bag to show the college kids working the booth.  In the process, I pulled out my Bible to get at it.  They saw my Bible, and started asking me questions.  One of them asked "So, why do you believe in this?"  I couldn't ask for a more natural or open door than that!  So, I simply shared how Jesus had walked with me through difficulty. 

Generosity:  What are your financial priorities?  Giving is important.  In fact, if we don't give, we are actually robbing God.  Read Malachi 3:6-12.  Start by giving to your local church and spread from there to supporting trustworthy mercy/justice organizations and/or missionaries.  Maybe you can help a friend a little bit?

I challenge you to go on a treasure hunt of a different kind.  Hunt out opportunities to build treasures in Heaven, where it will last for eternity.  All 3 of these ways are important, but I encourage you also to be generous relationally.  Look for people who need friends around and just be there for them.