Moving

I have decided to move this blog to tumblr.com. Tumblr offers a better format for this blog I believe. There are several different methods I can use to share the "whispers" I get, from simply posting quotes, to sharing images that might inspire some grain of truth from God. The URL will stay pretty much the same, just changing the hosting site. The new URL is whisperzofwisdom.tumblr.com. Over the next couple of weeks I will be working on moving over some of my previous posts while adding new posts, so be sure to bookmark or follow the new location.

Sons of Encouragement Series by Francine Rivers

Behind the men who shaped history are the heroes who quietly changed it forever.

In this five-book compilation of the Sons of Encouragement series, New York Times best-selling author Francine Rivers illuminates the lives of five Biblical men who stood behind the heroes of the faith and quietly changed eternity. Aaron, ...Caleb, Jonathan, Amos, and Silas each faithfully sought after God in the shadows of His chosen leaders. They answered God's call to serve without recognition or fame. And they gave everything, knowing their reward might not come until the next life. Each story includes a six-part Bible study, perfect for individual use or group discussion.

Facebook page

Order a copy

Enter contest to win a complete Francine Rivers Library!

The Father-God Complex

I would like to share with you a “whisper” which I received just a couple weeks ago. To do this I have to share with you my story, my whole story, a story that I don’t often share. I am not embarrassed to share it, but it is a difficult story to share.

I don’t remember much from the first few years of my life. I’m sure I cried a lot and made my mom change a bunch of dirty diapers, but memories from this time just simply do not come to mind. However, I can tell you that when I was only two years old my mom left my biological father. She likes to tell me the story about her little two year old boy who stood up to his father, screaming “Don’t hit my mom!”, as he came after her with a bat the night she found out he was cheating on her and she decided to leave him. My mom married again and I had a new father, though my biological father still had joint custody. While I do not remember any of these occurrences, I do know that there were times where I stayed with my biological father and his new wife and twin boys. When I was about six or seven, it was discovered that my biological father had been sexually molesting the twins. At this my mother was given sole custody and my biological father had to sign over his rights of me. Through the years my new dad, the man who raised me, was a good dad, even giving me three brothers and a sister to play with. We did all the fun father-son stuff and he took care of me and my siblings like a father should, but by my senior year in high school things took a turn for the worst.

My mother had stopped smoking several years before and came to the point where she did not want him smoking in the house. So he set up a place out in our carport where he spent most of his time. If he wasn’t sleeping or working he was out in the carport. He quit spending much time with us as he was always out in the carport. This caused a chasm to build between my parents and my mom decided to once again leave my dad. There was no need for me to stand up to this father, but unfortunately his anger turned toward me. He blamed me for the divorce, saying that I talked my mom into leaving him. I never talked to him again in 8 years. Shortly after the divorce he even lost contact with my siblings. Unfortunately, about three weeks ago, Greg Brumley found himself in the hospital on life support for about a week and his life ended on January 19, 2011. The loss of my father didn’t really affect me as we had been so estranged over the past 8 years, but unfortunately my brothers had taken a negative approach to dealing with the loss. In their anger over his neglecting us, they came to feel that it served him right, that he had brought it on himself, and they were not dealing with the real feeling of loss for their father. It was in the conversation I had with my youngest brother that God once again whispered some wisdom to me. This is the whisper I would like to share with you today.

That “whisper” was about the direct connection between our relationships with our fathers and our relationship with God. In my discussion with my brother, God revealed to me that because these relationships are directly related, Satan looks to destroy the bond between a father and child because in so doing he can also destroy the bond between the heavenly Father and his children. If you have a bad experience with your earthly father, then the chances are slim for the idea of God being your Father to appeal to you. This realization brings with it two instructions; one for fathers obviously, but the second is for their children.
For those who are fathers, or plan on being fathers some day, it is imperative that we do a good job because we are or will be the earthly image of God as Father. Ephesians 6:4 sums it all up: “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” Fathers are given the direct instruction not to infuriate or enrage their children, because in so doing they will warp a child’s image of a father thus warping their image of God. By destroying a relationship with his children, a father literally destroys the relationship with his children and God. Instead, fathers are called to bring up and build up their children in the ways of the Lord, and by doing so a child’s relationship with God can grow exponentially. A father is the first rung in the ladder that leads to a relationship with God. So we can see how important it is for fathers to stay strong in their faith and be diligent in rearing their children. But the burden doesn’t fall solely on the father.

Back up a few verses and you will find that Ephesians 6:1-3 tells us “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” Not much I can really say to sum that up, it’s pretty straight forward. But this cannot always be done, as in my case where both of my fathers failed to do as they were instructed. I know you’re thinking “But Zach you seem to have a good view of God as Father. You seem to have a pretty good relationship with God.” Some of you might even be thinking to yourself “My dad didn’t hold up to his end of the bargain either, and I’m not sure I care too much for the image of God being my Father. What can I do to fix that?” Forgiveness. About three days before my dad actually died God came to me with another “whisper.” As I lay in bed trying to sleep He told me I needed to forgive my father for how he had hurt my mother, how he had hurt my siblings, and for blaming me for it all. I prayed to God right then and there and told Him I forgave my dad, and as soon as I did a huge burden had lifted. By forgiving a bad father and giving up that pain you hold because of that relationship, Satan loses his foothold in tearing apart your relationship with God. When you no longer have a bad image of a father, God can show you what a real father should be like, and that He has been that for you the whole time.

I realize that this whole time I talked about the importance of the father-child relationship, but that is only because of the dominance of the image of God as our Father in the Bible. The reality of it is however, that God can be whatever to whomever as is needed in a given situation. What I mean is that if someone is in a situation and they need a mother figure, God can be a mother figure. If someone is in a situation where they need a brother, then He can be a brother. Sister, friend, grandparent, whatever; God can and will be whatever you need Him to be. I bring this up to say that in reality all relationships are important, because a bad relationship creates a bad view of what God is. So while my main focus was on fathers, there is a lesson to be learned by everyone. Be careful about how you handle your relationships because in them you are being an illustration of God.

Mission of God

A common misconception that many have when thinking about missions is that it starts with us, the church. The idea is that we bring others to God, and God doesn’t necessarily play a role in the mission other than being that ultimate goal. This misconception has been so off the mark that even a belief system arose known as Deism. In the belief of Deism one believes in God and that he created the universe, but has little to no involvement with the way it ultimately turns out. Basically He built and wound the clock, but after that the clock works on its own. This morning I want to share with you the idea that God is a missionary God and just how off the mark we can be when we think that mission work is totally our doing.

First of all I want to show you that God is a God on a mission, or a missionary God. To start this off I can begin the same way Moses began the book of Genesis. “In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth.” Here in the very first line of the Bible we see God on a mission. As we read on we see that every day God embarks on a new element to His mission to create the world, until he comes to His ultimate goal of creating man. At this point He does take a break as we read that on the seventh day He rested, but this is not where God says goodbye and leaves us to our own devices. Shortly we find the story of the fall of man and God’s mission changes from creating to redeeming. We see this mission in several stories throughout the Bible. The story of Noah tells how God rid the world of its wickedness and saved a family of righteousness. The story of Moses tells how God saved a nation from the wickedness of Egyptian enslavement. Jonah tells about God sending a man to redeem a corrupt city and the book of Amos is drenched with God promising the redemption of His people. All these stories show us that God’s mission is now the care and redemption of His creation.

John 3:16 tells us that “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” God’s concern is for the world and His mission is turning to the world to care for and redeem us all so that the world will once again have the perfection in which He created all things. God is so taken up in this mission that He was willing to send Jesus to die so that His mission could be one step closer to being accomplished. This was not God’s final action either. Next came the sending of the Holy Spirit to guide this now “redeemed” world to the acceptance and practice of redemption. But this is not the end of the line for our missionary God. He uses another tool to accomplish His mission, the church.

Ephesians 2:10 tells us “We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” This scripture should change the way we look at mission. Instead of thinking that mission work starts with the church, this scripture shows us that God has laid out His mission and we are the instrument with which He carries those plans out. We were created to carry those plans out. This idea is further illustrated in 1 Peter 2:9-10, using the Message translation, “But you are the ones chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a holy people, God's instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted.”

These passages show that in the field of missions, the church is not the sender, but rather the church exists to be sent. This also leads to the realization that the church exists for those who are not members of it. The church is a servant community, meant to reach out to others. Philippians 2:5-8 tells us “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!” Jesus himself even said in Matthew 20:26-28 “Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” We cannot view ourselves as elite, though we have been chosen by God, and we cannot view ourselves as truly set apart, though we are not of this world, because our very existence and reason for being is to serve those who have not yet answered the call. Our thoughts should change from creating church-centered missions in which we look to accomplish a goal of filling our pews and being the ones bringing others to know God to being mission-centered churches which strive to participate in God’s mission of caring for and redeeming His creation. This means that church should no longer be viewed as simply a place to go and praise God, but as we disperse we should look to serve God in the opportunities He gives us everyday to serve others. I want to close with that thought and offer the invitation to come for prayers or baptism, but I have one more thing to present to you after we stand and sing.

Not only are we called to serve God and others in our communities, but world wide as God’s concern is for the entire world. John 3:16 doesn’t say that God so loved Texas or the USA, but that “God so loved the world.” And it says in both Isaiah 56:7 and Mark 11:17, “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” The Let’s Start Talking Ministry is a ministry at the heart of this part of God’s mission. I want to let you know that this year the KFC Ministry will be sending 4 teams (16 students, including myself) who have taken up the call to serve others in Germany, Brazil, Thailand, and possibly Malaysia through the LST Ministry. I mention this because we need your help. Dedicating ourselves to raising funds for the LST Ministry is one of the first and biggest “missions” we engage in. Part of our fundraising involves meeting two deadlines, one of which is having half of our funds raised by Feb. 15, while the other is having all of our funds raised by April 15. I would like to bring this to your attention and ask that a donation be given your consideration.

You can make a donation two ways. The first is to go to www.lst.org/2011projects/zaachary to make an online donation to my personal web page or go to www.katsforchrist.com, select LSTU, select Current Projects, and browse the teams and individuals you might like to donate for. The second is by mailing a check, with the name of a student in the memo line, to:
Let's Start Talking
P.O.Box 99321
Fort Worth, Texas 76199-0321

Questions Christians Hope No One Will Ask

So I know it has been over a month since my last post. I apologize. I have been really busy with work and trying to finish school and all that good stuff. Unfortunately, this has meant that I have not been listening too closely for a new whisper.

But today is your lucky day! I have another book to suggest to you guys. It is called The Questions Christians Hope No One Will Ask by Mark Mittleberg. I have not actually read the whole book. I managed to get a free preview on my wife's new Kindle, and so I have only read the forward, introduction and first chapter, however I am very very VERY interested in reading the rest and I had a very deep urge to push this book. I can only explain that as God wanting to get the word out just a little more about this book.

Let's Start Talking Donations

Two years ago I went to Kiev, Ukraine for three weeks and absolutely fell in love with the Let’s Start Talking ministry and what God is doing through them. I have once again committed to a LST summer project. Sharing my faith and the story of Jesus with others has now become a passion for me. I am contacting you to ask that you help me meet my fundraising goal of $3200 to benefit this ministry. LST has several deadlines set up to help me reach my goal, the first of which being $300 by December 15.

I will be spending another three weeks this summer in a country abroad, sharing myself, my faith, and the story of Jesus with people who are eager to come and listen. I have total faith in God to help me reach this goal. A donation of $150 will cover one day of my project. If 32 people donate just $100 we will easily reach this goal. If you work for a donation matching company, a $50 donation then becomes $100! And don’t forget that every donation is tax deductible. Every dollar helps and every donation is a blessing not only to me, but also to those who I will be sharing Jesus with this summer. Below is a link that I would like you to follow if you have a few minutes.

This link takes you directly to my personal LST donation page where you can securely contribute to LST on my behalf. http://www.lst.org/2011projects/zaachary

More information about LST can be found @ their website, www.lst.org, or check out some awesome videos of past projects @ www.katsforchrist.com

Serving a Proud God

Lately I have had this strange urge to look into the topic of pride. It all started after I saw a quote from C.S. Lewis that reads, “According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is Pride. It was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.” But after reading that, I was reminded of a Bible class lesson I had @ LCU about 5 years ago, in which the teacher made the argument that God is a very proud God, however, the pride of man is a far cry from the pride of God. This morning I want to first off look at some of the ways we express pride that the Lord Himself frequently does, but then I want to show how His pride differs from that which we ourselves experience.

I call the first expression of pride the “I Am Expression.” This one phrase “I Am” can be a very potent expression. “I am the President of this or that company.” “I am the captain of this or that team.” “I am the preacher this morning.” All these phrases express a pride in the speaker’s position, and with that comes an unexpressed demand of respect. We should be careful about the way we use these “I Am” expressions. But God Himself uses these exact words simply for His name. EXODUS 3:14 On several other occasions God claims “I Am the Lord your God, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” This is a phrase that we hear regularly throughout the Old Testament. In my study, it seems to me that every other verse in the book of Leviticus ends with the phrase “I AM THE LORD.” Jesus even plays on this claim in the book of John. John 8:58 says “"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" And in John 10:30 Jesus makes the claim that He is God. However, back in John 8:50 Jesus says I am not seeking glory for myself.” In that same verse, Jesus does however prove to us that God is a prideful God when He says “but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge.”

The second expression of pride I believe is the “That’s My Name Expression.” If we look closely at our lives, we are always trying to make a name for ourselves. We want people to hear or think of our names, and have a certain picture of who we are. Most of us strive to build a good name for ourselves. Actors, Athletes, and Businessmen are very concerned with their names, and very often their names can become very popular/valuable. Consider a plain t-shirt or a simple pair of shoes. Print the name of a famous athlete, Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan for instance, along with their endorsement and you have a product that every one wants, and is worth about 10-20x more than it was before. Autographs boost the value of common, mundane items. Names carry a great deal of pride.

Unfortunately God doesn’t care about your name, He only cares about His. Consider Abram and Jacob. God changed both of these men’s names. GENESIS 17:5, GEN. 32:28 Think about the stories and the histories these men had, but God didn’t care about the names they had built up for themselves. He changed them without any reservations. But consider God’s consideration of His own name. EXODUS 3:15, 20:7, 33:19, LEV. 19:12. God takes His name so seriously that in Lev. 24:16 it reads “anyone who blasphemes the name of the LORD must be put to death. The entire assembly must stone him. Whether an alien or native-born, when he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death.” That’s some serious pride in a name if you ask me.

But now I want us to look at what exactly the “Pride of the Lord” looks like. Much like joy, love, and everything else, man’s version of pride is a far cry from that of the Lord. In the case of pride, it tends to get us into trouble more than it gives us the result of greatness which we are looking for. Like C.S. Lewis said, it leads to every other sin and it was through pride that the devil became the devil. Look where pride got Moses, Samson, even Adam and Eve fell to a small seed of pride. Through the “Pride of Man” many people become alienated and oppressed. But the “Pride of the Lord” lifts people up and helps those in need. The difference between the “Pride of Man” and the “Pride of the Lord” is that Man prides himself for himself while the Lord prides Himself for His children.

Consider the Israelites story in the book of Exodus. In Exodus 5:2, Pharaoh claims that he does not know the Lord. But in Exodus 7:5, 14:4, and 14:18 God says that He is doing these things so that the Egyptians would know that He is the Lord. Joshua 4:24 says “He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God." And Joshua 1:9 says Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." How much more peace this claim brings knowing that God has so much pride in Himself that all the peoples of earth would know and fear Him.

The reason God cares so little for our names and so much for His is because He places His name on His children, making their names greater than they would be without Him. Remember our example of athletes, products and endorsements. God endorses us. God’s name is so great because of the great pride He has taken in building it up that He can take a worthless product, a sinner like me, and make it worthy of righteousness through His name. God does not want us to misuse or profane His name because He does not want to disgrace us when He places His name on us.

Pride is dangerous. As human beings we are incapable of practicing it like God does, and therefore we twist and tarnish its true beauty. Back in John 8:54 Jesus says “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.” 2 Cor. 10:17-18 says “But, "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.” I argue that it is good to have a little pride, but that pride need only be in God. Consider the Israelite army as they take the land of Canaan. After every won battle the victory cry was “FOR THE LORD!” Consider the men who marched around the walls of Jericho. It was not by their marching that the walls fell and they may have had a sense of pride in their victory, is was not in their marching, but in the fact that God was with them and would do mighty works for them. We should only express pride with a phrase like “I am a child of God,” and also in actions that will help build up His name. Only through our pride in God, through our desire to glorify Him, can we ourselves be glorified by Him.

May The Force Be With You - Episode VI - Christian Jedi Training: Life-style and Service

The final episode of our study. Again, this excerpt is from Star Wars Jesus: A Spiritual Commentary on the Reality of the Force by Caleb Grimes.

"Lifestyle is a discipline. Most of you reading this book, myself very much included, have way more than you need to live, and [we] indulge ourselves with pleasures great and small. Consider every bit of extra in your life, which is most of our life-style,something we are held accountable for using resources rightly or wrongly when we face judgement. This applies even to our entertainment. Slow down in the enjoyment of what you imbibe, avoid excess, live simply, and remember that there is no try, give until it hurts, do not accumulate treasures on earth. What does this mean for each of us? Each person must determine this individually, but it could be very exciting, mysterious even, how the extra can be used for the welfare of others. One of the biggest extras many of us have is information. Giving of this information to help our neighbor is a good way to live, even this sharing takes building friendships and relationships. The Jedi lived very, very simply in an age of plenty."

"Along with this is a commitment to service. This is one external that distinguishes a Jedi from a Sith. Do your religious or political leaders serve themselves? One of the great problems of this world is that authority figures serve themselves. Some governments serve themselves by showing preference for a friend's company in giving out contracts. Others take outright bribes and kill for power. Many religious leaders exalt themselves. Part of a Jedi's life-style is service because this is evidence of selflessness. There is something about self that tends to lead us astray. For this reason, the way we live, the way a Jedi lives, is to be seen as a discipline."

May The Force Be With You - Episode V - Christian Jedi Training: Worship and Meditation

The following is a continuation of Caleb Grimes' Star Wars Jesus "[99] The Spiritual Disciplines of the Force."

"Worship: Suffice it to say that Yoda is right, we are luminous beings. We need worship to recharge our luminosity and to express that light in voice, the position of our bodies, and in the position of our spirits. Think of worship as having the same benefits as exercise has for skin; sweating unclogs the pores and helps the skin to breathe just as worship unclogs the pores of our spirit and helps it to breathe."

"Meditation: We get the idea Luke is meditating as part of his training on Dagobah, and we see Yoda on a kind of meditation cushion in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. This is the practice of getting a clear signal, so to speak; it is hearing what God is trying to say to you so that you can do it. Yoda says 'You must clear your mind,' and this means you must empty your mind of all the garbage, which to to my experience is best done by confession and maybe even counseling, then filling it with God's known words to us from the Bible. What happens when Luke has the right frame of mind? Success, as in Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. What happens when Anakin does not have the right frame of mind? Insanity and failure, as happens to Anakin in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith."

May The Force Be With You - Episode IV - Christian Jedi Training: Prayer and Bible Reading

For the next three "episodes" I will be reproducing entry number 99 of Caleb Grimes' book, Star Wars Jesus, entitled "The Spiritual Disciplines of the Force."

"Prayer is like reaching out with your feelings. Prayer is like listening to the midiclorians. Prayer is what happens when you are calm; at peace. Prayer is like connecting to the living Force, feeling it flow through you. It comes to this: do you want to talk to the Creator or not? This discipline is odd in that it is perfect in the first moments you ever do it yet it takes a lifetime to perfect the art and attitude of prayer."

"Bible reading, analyzing and memorizing are analogous to Jedi training. Here is where you learn the character of God through the words of God. 'I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you' (Psalm 119:11). When shiny things - words, ideas, people, etc. - tempt you away from the light side of the Force, God's words to you in the Bible help you stay centered and focused. How do you know what is true versus what is not? How do you recognize a cult? You start here, with God's revelation of himself to us. This must be similar to how a Jedi learns of the Force in the first place."

--Grimes, Caleb, Star Wars Jesus, "[99] The Spiritual Disciplines of the Force", pg. 248

May The Force Be With You - Episode III - What about the Dark Side: Anakin, Palpatine, Satan, and You

I feel that in the last couple of entries, I have established a strong comparison of the Star Wars idea of the Force to Christianity's idea of the Holy Spirit and how viewing the Holy Spirit much in the same way as we do the Force can actually shed some light on the mystery of the Holy Spirit. As we understand that the Force is a supernatural life-force that works freely in the lives of the characters in the Star Wars mythology, we also understand that our Holy Spirit is much the same, freely working in our lives, guiding and instructing us. At the same time however, we know that there are a select few characters who are actually able to use and bend the Force to do their bidding. These characters are Jedi and Sith. This realization brings us an appearant flaw in my comparison, which some may have already discovered.

This flaw stems mostly from a surface level understanding of the Star Wars mythology and story. On the surface, our realization of the difference between Jedi and Sith is that there are two sides of the Force; the Light Side and the Dark Side. This discovery suggests that the Force itself is actually good but at the same time evil. You can see where this assumption is a really bad deal when comparing the Force to the Holy Spirit. This, however, is really only a surface level assumption about the Force. In the Star Wars story, the Force is never revealed to us except through those who use it, Jedi or Sith, so therefore, as we dig a little deeper we realize that the Force itself is not inherently good or evil, but those who use it do so in a good or evil way. The same rings true for the Holy Spirit.

Allow me to explain it like this: You are Anakin, Satan is Emperor Palpatine, and the Holy Spirit is the Force. In Episode I: The Phantom Menace we are introduced to Anakin, a young boy, full of innocence and hope, void of any understanding of how the Force is working in his life. By the end of the film we find that he is destined to be the most important Jedi in history and he begins his Jedi Training. Episode II: Attack of the Clones is where our story starts to take a turn. It is established that Anakin is doing quite well in his training, but we start to see a dangerous trait growing inside him. Pride starts to creep up in him as he becomes more aware of his importance in the future of the Jedi and his exceptional skill with the Force. Anger also starts to take control as we see in Anakin's slaughter of the Tuskin Raiders after the death of his mother, and a thirst to know more rises as he begins to feel that he should be able to do more. In steps Emperor Palpatine, a Sith Lord hiding in plain sight of the Jedi Council. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith sees the decline of Anakin as Emperor Palpatine slowly begins to twist the young Jedi's views of the Force and promises him the chance to learn so much more about it than a Jedi could teach. Anakin falls for these promises and chooses to use the Force for evil and becomes known as Darth Vader. In Episode VI: Return of the Jedi Darth Vader makes another decision to save his son and once again use the Force for good.

This is totally our story. We start out innocent and unaware of the sin in the world. Then as we become Christians, we find that we are very important in the future of our world, and we gain the use of the Holy Spirit. However, becoming a Christian does not guarantee our eternal goodness. Enter Free Will and Satan. The choice to use the Holy Spirit for good or evil is ours. In his book Star Wars Jesus, Caleb Grimes uses the example of Mother Teresa and Hitler to show this choice. While Mother Teresa used her power to help and serve others, Hitler used his power to kill and destroy without remorse. They both had a great power and influence, the difference lies in the way they used them. Much in the same way that there is a choice to be Jedi or Sith and to use the Force to those respective beliefs, we have the choice of how we will use the Holy Spirit. William Shakespeare put it this way; "Even the Devil can site scripture for his purpose." (Merchant of Venice, Act 1, Scene 3) Good and evil do not lie within the Force itself, but the choices we make in how we use it.

May The Force Be With You - Episode II - Obi-Wan, Philip, A Eunuch, and Luke: Lessons In Following Directions

In my last post, I made the connection of the Force from Star Wars to the Holy Spirit of the Christian faith, in an attempt to better understand the Holy Spirit, by discussing the way they both guide their respective believers down the paths on which they need to be going. In this post I want to build on this idea of their similarity by discussing their ability to instruct those who will listen.

Obi-Wan, Philip, A Eunuch, and Luke: Lessons In Following Directions

I want to start this discussion by directing you to the account of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch which can be found in Acts 8:26-40. Here we follow the travels of Philip as he goes about preaching the good news of Jesus in Samaria. Philip is given his first direction in verse 26. He is told to go to the desert road which leads from Jerusalem to Gaza. Upon following this order from the Lord, Philip meets the Ethiopian Eunuch, who happens to be unsuccessfully trying to study the book of Isaiah. A second order is given by the Spirit here. "Go to that chariot and stay near it." As we read on we see how Philip is able to help the Eunuch to understand the things that he is reading and studying. A third command is followed in this story, though the command itself is not expressed in the account. As we come upon verses 36-38 we see the Eunuch obeying the Spirit's command to be baptized.

We see this same story in the climactic battle of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. We find ourselves gripping the edge of our seats as the forces of the Rebellion take on the seemingly impossible task of destroying the Empire's ultimate weapon: the Death Star. Swarms of Y-Wings, X-Wings, Tie Fighters, and Tie Bombers fly through the narrow corridors of the surface of the Death Star. The target of the Rebellion, and their only chance of defeating the Empire, happens to be a thermal exhaust port that is only two meters wide. Our hero, Luke, finds himself within shooting distance, and his computer guided targeting system is locked on the target. Just as Luke is about to pull the trigger, a familiar voice speaks to Luke. "Use the Force, Luke. Let go, Luke. Luke trust me." The voice is Obi-Wan's, but we all know that he has become part of the Force. Luke turns his computer guided targeting system off and does as the Force has instructed. The proton torpedo goes straight down the exhaust port and the Death Star is destroyed.

The idea here is that only by following their directions were the three men able to accomplish their missions. We get the sense that the Death Star would not have blown up had Luke used the computer guided targeting system instead of the force. We also get the sense that Philip would never have helped the Eunuch had he not gone down the road he was told, or gone to the chariot as he was instructed. And the Eunuch could not have been saved from his sins without following the command to be baptized.

The Spirit instructs us every day. Some would call this our conscience. We all have that voice inside our heads that tells us when we should do this thing, or when we should not do that thing. It is imperative that each one of us should follow those instructions so that we can accomplish our ultimate mission in life; to know and be known by God. Caleb Grimes describes it this way in his book Star Wars Jesus, "Like Luke in the trench, however, our abilities will always be limited. We must use the Force to 'practice being sure of what we hope, and certain of what we do not see' (Hebrews 11:1)" (pg. 72). Grimes also uses the words of God in Proverbs 3:5-6 to equate to Obi-Wan's instruction to Luke: "Lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge me, and I will make your paths straight." Not only is it important for us to listen for the guidance of the Spirit in our lives, but we must also follow the instructions which the Spirit gives us if we are to accomplish that which is impossible by our own doing.

May The Force Be With You - Episode I - Old Ben (Obi-Wan), R2D2, C3PO, and Jesus: Adventures in the Desert

So I didn't expect to take so long between these blogs. Anyways, here's the first installment of my comparison of Star Wars and the Bible. As the title implies, I want to focus on the Force. This will actually be my main focus, and through it I will make a few comparisons of elements from the movies and the Bible.

Through the reading of Star Wars Jesus by Caleb Grimes, and an study of the Holy Spirit at church, I happened upon an epiphany: The Holy Spirit is like the Force! The Holy Spirit is always a tough topic in church. More often than not, we tend to shy away from talking about it because we have so much trouble understanding it. When we do talk about it, the discussion tends to go in all sorts of directions and so we really never pin down a better understanding of what the Holy Spirit is. The Force however, is easy to understand. If you've seen the movies at all you have at least a basic understanding of the Force. Well if you think about it, The Force and the Holy Spirit are really along the same lines. And, at least for me, the Holy Spirit becomes a little easier to understand. Consider this as we compare the two.

Old Ben (Obi-Wan), R2D2, C3PO, and Jesus: Adventures in the Desert

After being jettisoned in an escape pod from a Rebel ship, R2D2 and C3PO are found wandering through the desert in an attempt to locate a man by the name of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Their mission seems hopeless (as C3PO is more than happy to point out) and once the Jawas appear, our droid friends seem done for. However, the Jawas, somehow, bring the droids to exactly the right person to help them find Obi-Wan. It seems like coincidence, but when you consider that the Force is involved, coincidence looks more like design. Following the droids purchase by Luke Skywalker's uncle, R2D2 shows his loyal determination to his mission, and runs off into the desert of Tatooine. The following morning, Luke sets out to find the lost droid, and gets himself into some trouble with some Tuskin Raiders. Just as it looks like the end for our future Jedi, a man named Old Ben miraculously appears and scares the Tuskins away. This again may seem very coincidental, but let us not forget the role that the Force plays in the Star Wars universe (let alone the major role it plays in the life of a Jedi). It would seem more as if the Force had led Old Ben into the desert, and directly to Luke and R2D2. These events seems oddly familiar to the story of Jesus and his journey through the desert.

Found in Matthew 4, Jesus is led into the desert by the Spirit following his baptism, much like Obi-Wan. On his journey through the desert, Jesus encounters Satan, an encounter that would mean doom for any other human (mirroring the arrival of the Jawas on the droids' desert journey and the Tuskins attack on Luke). Through the guidance of the Spirit, Jesus overcame the temptations of Satan and sent him away defeated (and I would argue that Satan left a little fearful, much like the Tuskins ran away after the arrival of Obi-Wan).

Much like the Force guides characters in the Star Wars universe, the Holy Spirit is a guide to our world. It guided Jesus through the desert, Paul on his missions to preach to the Gentiles, and leads us today in our walk with the Lord. In his book, Caleb Grimes states "Coincidences, as we perceive them, are often the way God brings about the possible"(26). In the next entry, Grimes says "Being mindful of a succesion of events, or things perceived as coincidence, is a good way to listen to God and become wiser; to learn to take those paths that He is directing you to take"(28). It's all about letting the Spirit work through you, and guide you along your path to an eternity in heaven.

My next entry will go a little deeper into this idea of the Holy Spirit being like the Force by looking at the way they instruct and perform. Until then, May the Force be with you.

Star Wars, The Bible, and Me

A comparison for those of us into "hokey religions and ancient weapons."

If you are like me, (and I know that most of my followers are), then you have seen every Star Wars movie about 500 times and we could probably all get together and reenact every scene if we wanted to. We make Star Wars references in just about every situation we get ourselves into every day, whether its waking up in the morning and feeling like Han Solo after being frozen in carbonite, or taking on a task as impossible as shooting a thermal exhaust port that's only two meters wide. A lot of you may also have a deep rooted faith, much like myself. Well this is the blog for you, actually I think I'll be doing a short series of blogs, in which I will be comparing several elements and scenes from Star Wars to elements and scenes from the Bible.

I haven't come up with these comparisons all on my own. Currently I am reading a book called Star Wars Jesus by Caleb Grimes in which he has done much the same thing. These readings have inspired me to think about the connections found between some of the Star Wars elements and elements of my own faith. I'd even make the statement that by looking at some of these things through the lens of the Star Wars mythology, I actually get a little bit clearer picture of different elements of my own faith which I never had much of a grasp on before.

Anyways, I am using here one of the sneakiest tricks Hollywood uses; The Teaser. Thats right, you get no real material, just a promise that more is to come. Maybe it will keep you coming by to see what's happening. So here is a little taste of what is to come. I started this blog with a quote from Han Solo. Some of you got the obvious reference to religion, but you may be wondering about the ancient weapons. Han Solo was talking to Luke Skywalker as he received some Jedi training for the first time. The ancient weapon as we all know was the lightsaber. In Ephesians 6, Paul describes the Armor of God, and in this armor is the "sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." And is Psalm 119, we find that God's word is "a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path." So we have a sword which is also a light, essentially giving us a lightsaber.

I promise that future posts will be a little deeper than the Bible being a lightsaber, but I told you this was only a teaser.

Re-Fuel

So this is completely random, but I thought it was a cool image to have about church and worship.

As I was listening to a prayer this past Sunday morning at church, something the guy said stuck out to me. He thanked God for the church building (which is not odd, nor the part that stuck out to me) for the convenience it gave us to come together and worship. It was the convenience thing that got me thinking that church is like a convenience store or gas station. Think about it. In today's automotive world, gas stations are a must. We use cars for just about everything and our cars need gas to run. Therefore we must make regular stops at the gas station so that we can go on about our lives. Church is the same way, I think. While we will all probably admit that we don't use our bibles everyday like we do our cars, most of us realize that we need God in our everyday lives. And a lot of us think that by going to church, we refill ourselves with God. So we go regularly on Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday evening so that we can keep our faith running.

Unfortunately, we tend to think thats all we need to do. We don't take our "fuel" and use it in the world. It's like we went to the gas station, filled up our car, and now we are driving laps around the place until we need to fill up again. That's not how it works. When we go fill up our cars, we drive away and use that fuel to go to the post office, go to work, go to the grocery store, etc. We even use that fuel to go on vacation. This is the way it should work in church. When we go to church and fill up with God, we need to take Him out into our lives, share Him with our friends, put Him in our families, and show Him in our attitude and actions.

Another cool image I got was about inside the gas station. If you go inside, there are all sorts of things we can get, like snacks and drinks. Church is like this too. Once you get inside you will find that there are classes and small groups to join, friends to make, ministers to talk to and get advice from, and a family who will stand with you in times of trouble.

So next time you go re-fuel, take note of what you do with it. Will you use it or just do laps until you need some more?

Take A Hike!

Hey everybody! I know it's been a while since I last posted something here. I've been quite busy getting married and going on a honeymoon, but I'm back and I have a pretty neat image to share with you (at least I think it's pretty cool).

For some reason I was thinking about the whole "straight and narrow path" thing and the image of hiking trails came to my mind. Some hiking trails can be pretty narrow and there is only one way to make it up the trail, unfortunately it's not the smoothest path, in fact it can be pretty difficult to make it up that trail. Then you have trails that pretty wide, and while these trails have their tough spots, it's so wide you can just go around them, no problem, easy peasy.

These are exactly like the paths of life. Tight spots and rough terrain are common in life. Everybody faces a broken relationship, financial hardship, uncontrollable urge, etc. We have to carve our paths through these obstacles. Now just like with those wide trails through the woods, it's better to take the easy way out and go around the obstacle, right? Nope. Jesus calls us to a straight path, one that plows straight through that obstacle. One that requires that we rely on Him to help us make it through. The easy way past a financial hardship leads to theft, scams, and even sketchier places and times. It's a lot harder to give up a few things (not our giving to others in need or to the church) and to remember that God will provide for all those who love Him.

Most hikers will even claim that they get a greater sense of joy and accomplishment at the end of that straight, rough path. Their reward is better than if the took the easy way. This is the same for us in life. If we take those easy ways out, we get a false sense of accomplishment and a lot of times we just get into more trouble. But when we keep on through our tough times and put all our faith in God, he rewards us more than we could or would even imagine. And in the end, if we've carved our path as straight as we can, we win the ultimate reward and the ultimate joy, a mansion in Heaven. So next time your out hiking, or the next time you hit "a rough spot in the road," just remember to keep going straight and put your faith fully in God cause He will see you through and give you more.

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." - Joshua 1:9

Peter, John, and Jesus

It's been a while since I've posted anything I know. I apologize. I have been very busy making wedding preparations for this coming Saturday. Anyway, I thought I could share an idea that popped into my head this morning (I guess technically it was yesterday morning) at church. There was mention of Peter's denial of Jesus and it got me to thinking. Peter gets a pretty bad rap for this. We are always pointing out how that is not the kind of Christian life we should lead. We should not fear the thoughts and feelings of others for having faith in our Lord. I think most Christians like the idea of being John-like instead. You know, the guy who drew his sword and chopped off the ear of a Roman guard attempting to arrest Jesus. Ya, we like that story, we should be more like him... or should we? While he made a stand in his faith, John seems to have gone a little too far. He seems a little too eager to fight. In fact, Jesus stops him before he can take out the whole group of guards, and replaces the man's ear.

Now I know this is the "church" answer, but Jesus is the one we should strive to imitate. He stood for God, knowing full well that people would hate Him, not caring how they felt about Him, but at the same time He didn't fight everyone to the death, swinging His "sword" wildly about, cutting those He was trying to reach. That's what being Christ-like is really. Letting the world know your faith, caring not if some hate you for it, accepting the persecution some may bring upon you, but doing it in a way that shows love and compassion for even those who are doing the persecuting. I realize this is no easy task, but I bet carrying the cross wasn't either.

God is NOT an American

So I was trying to figure out what to post up here this time. I had a couple of ideas, but then I read one of the other blogs I follow and the answer was revealed to me. It happens to be about a subject I have looked into before. Follow the link to read the blog by The unChurch, then make your way back here to finish mine (follow The unChurch if you like).

I agree with this 100%. God is not an American. We, as Americans, tend to think that He is. We like to think that He only cares about us and that's why our country is so much better than everyone else. Here's the thing, God is for all people of every nation. We all sin and fall short of the glory of God (Americans included) and Jesus died to pay all our debts (every other nationality included). As long as we put our focus on Him, He will take care of our needs, regardless of our nationality.

This is one of the things I like about Let's Start Talking. On a project, readers (native people) tend to be interested in American things at first, but the more they build a friendship with the worker (American), the more the conversations become about Jesus, and two people from different countries, often half way around the world from each other, can share one God, one Savior, and one Lord. He is everywhere, at all times, in all things. He has a kingdom all His own, and idea is to live in that kingdom, no matter where in this world we may live.

Let's Start Talking

The Let's Start Talking ministry is a ministry that I have been involved in and absolutely love and plan on being involved for years to come. On May 17, two of the four LST teams from Kats For Christ will be leaving the United States headed for Belgium and Italy, then on May 31 the remaining two teams will be headed to Germany. These teams, 11 students, have commited their summer plans to going overseas and giving their time to people they don't even know to help them with their conversational English so that these people will have a better chance of gaining better jobs and lifestyles in their countries. The LST ministry sends students all over the world to help people by offering free English practice sessions using a workbook derived from a few books of the Bible. By doing this, students not only get to share their natural ability to speak and learn a new culture, but they get to share their faith and the story of Jesus with people they would normally not come in contact with. It is an amazing ministry and I am so excited that we had such a turnout from the KFC. I ask that you pray for our teams, and all the teams from all over the United States, who will be leaving in these next few weeks. Pray also for the ministry and all those involved that God will do great things through each and every one of them. To learn more information about Let's Start Talking, visit their website at www.lst.org.

I AM SECOND

http://iamsecond.com/

These are their stories. What is yours? What makes you second?