Flash of Faith

I was catching up on The Flash, namely the episode Invincible. In a scene Barry is consoling Caitlin after her escape from Zoom. He says the line, "if the universe is with us, how could we possibly lose?" It sparked a memory for me of Romans 8:31, "What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?"

What happened in the rest of the episode also brought home something very true to the Christian life as well. Once we have this faith that gives us unwaverying confidence, people will immediately try to shut it down. Throughout the episode the team doubted his faith and came to be worried that he was over reaching. That not giving into fear, meant he had none. As he explained; it's confidence. He understood the task at hand was seemingly insurmountable, he forged ahead in faith instead. What Cisco describes as "walking on sunshine", is the simple faith that Barry has in the higher power of the universe/speed force.

As christians we have this same faith in Jesus Christ. When evil taunts you with being good (as Zoom did with Flash towards the end of the episode), when people doubt the abilities of God, when it seems that things in life are insurmountable; stop and remember that God is for us, who can be against us? Then move forward in faith.

A charmed choice

I'm going through my re-watch of the show Charmed. This witchy tele-novella can be a fun watch as it sifts through the many difficult choices that the chosen ones go through. Deep into the last seasons of the show I was watching an episode titled: Charmageddon. What I found interesting about this episode is it's answer to the questions, "Why do bad things happen?" "Why does God allow that person to do wrong/bad/evil if he has the power to stop them?" "Why do bad things happen to good people and vice versa?".

Once the sisters reach utopia they no longer feel conflict of any kind. This includes sadness, pain, anger and annoyance. Conflict can not be tolerated and those who create it are dealt with swiftly by a group of characters collectively called the Avatars. A loved one passes and they are just mildly concerned. They continue only with how they should happy because the other one has moved on to a better place. It is a world without free will. In the end they recognize that the way the world is set up, "The Grand Design" has to include all hardships or it's not living at all. It's a gilded cage. No longer can you decide your beliefs or destiny; it is chosen for you: the way of non-conflict. They realize that the battle between good and evil, the ability to choose; helps us understand who we are and what we truly believe. It helps us to grow in maturity and closer to God. It helps us to understand other people. To be a comforter to those who share our misfortunes and disappointments. When we are caged and stopped from this, we no longer have a concept of reality, we are robots only allowed to feel and act one way.

The shows answer, to allow conflict, pain, anger, sadness back into the world; is intrinsic to the nature of the world we live in. It's a world of guidelines and rules; a world created for a greater purpose other than having a great time and just doing what you want. In the bible God shows that we are warned and told of this reality often. Genesis 19 is a good example of this understanding. Two cities; Sodom and Gomorrah. Both dedicated to the idea of eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die; are destroyed after warnings for refusing to turn from that destructive ideal and follow God instead. In this same bit of world history, Lot and his family make a different choice: they choose to follow God and are warned to go out from the cities; thus saving their lives from this particular disaster. When I watched this episode it showed yet again how powerful choice is. That the choice to follow Jesus and believe in Him is something we all have so that it's real to us, so that it matters. Instead of being made to do it, we are allowed to choose which eternity we want, one with him or one without. Joshua 24:15 is famous for the last line, "but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.", but it is the beginning of that verse which holds also a key to understanding this design: but if you think it's hard don't do it. Do you think following God is harder than the eternal choice to live without Him? What doors will you open when it comes time to make the choices in life you must make? How will you live this life that God has given you?

The will to want what's real

*We had to take a hiatus while writing this one. As a result, it's a bit dated. Hope you enjoy anyway!!*

Happy New Year from Nerd Studies! All of us here hope that you had a great Holiday season. One of the new traditions of the year for us is watching the growing, How to Train Your Dragon series. We just enjoy it so much. Last years movie was the second one and among many other messages in that movie the message of Your Will is the largest.

There are so many examples from the way Stoic reacted to seeing his wife, to Hiccup learning that the will of some is unreasonable, to the babies who don't listen to anyone; the will of the characters themselves shows who they are and what they believe in.

In so many ways this is exactly what The Bible says about our will.

In Joshua 24:15 it talks about your will to follow God. The last part of that verse is the most quoted, "But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." It is the will of Joshua to serve God just like it's Stoic's will to be the best leader. It's Hiccups will that gets them into the messy battle that leads to the death at the end. It's the will of the dragons that eventually decides the Alpha.

In the end it's our choices that reflect our will. What are you showing people?

The choices we make, the changes we take

While looking at the list of books I have been reading I have found myself drawn more and more to coming of age stories. The understanding that the way things were at first are no longer that way. That things change because of the choices we make. That the choices we make now will effect even our life after this one.

Part of what drew me to Christianity was the emphases on having a choice. On everything that you do being your choice. That echoed as true with everything I had experienced in life up until then. That God wanted people freely choosing to be His and live His way, that His Love was based on His choice to create and be with us. This was a defining moment for me. In Joshua 24:15 The Bible says, "But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."

It's such a simple concept, but one overlooked by many people. The Bible says, "Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe." {Proverbs 2:11} This is taught to everyone by their parents and God teaches it to everyone who will listen. Such a simple concept, taught everywhere, but often overlooked when we live everyday life. It's time to choose who we will serve!

The Temptation of the Hobbit

I was able to see The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. It is an amazing and beautiful movie. It's always nice to see your childhood on the big screen done relatively well. While I was watching the movie, I was struck by one scene in particular. The scene where Bilbo viciously stabs the white spider that comes from up from it's hide away and is heading to pick up the ring. The part that struck me most is towards the end of the scene where he yells, "mine!". It's a very intense scene. But it made me think of how sin holds us the same way.

In the movie, Bilbo turns to the ring for reassurance and refers to it as his courage when talking to Gandalf. We do very similar things when it comes to the sins in our lives. We take our security from money and end up loving it, we call drunkenness "liquid courage" and people often times turn to inappropriate sex to feel loved and happy. When we are challenged on this, we say "Mine!" and defend ourselves in many different ways. In the end though, whoever tries to take our sin and help us to do better we are ready to stab. I know, because I've been there myself.

God provides a way out of every temptation that is here. 1 Corinthians 10:13, "The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure." With Jesus, we can drop our rings of power and walk away. We can let the webs of time take everything we thought we needed; because in the end all we need is Christ.

What Batman taught me

My brother and I were having one of many random conversations and we meandered to the topic of what comic books taught us. Being different people we learned different things and Batman is one of my most memorable.

Batman epitomized for me the ideal of taking a horrible situation and not letting it destroy you. If Batman had given into the deaths of his parents, he could have walked the path of bitterness. He could have walked the path of destruction and disease; creating nothing but fear and death in his wake (and I'm sure somewhere someone has written an alterverse where that is exactly what he did). However he didn't give into those things.

Instead he became The Caped Crusader. Fighting for truth and justice and for the cleaner streets of Gotham. In much the same way we can also rely on Christ to help us become The Caped Crusader for the people in our lives. Genesis 50:20 says, "But as for you, you thought evil against me; God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive."

Even when people do evil towards us, when we lose the things we hold most dear; we can hold to the knowledge that Christ works through us all for good. To save those who we don't even know yet, to give us what we lost, to work the plans that He has for us, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Once Upon A Faith Pt. 1

I've been watching Once Upon a Time on Netflix. Giving it, its fair shake; basically watching as much of the show as Netflix has. This shows' main message is the power of true love and faith. Which cannot help but bring me to The Bible and Christ.

There was a time in all of our lives when our faith did not exist. That other Christians running around believing in this book of stories, sounded just as crazy as Henry talking to Emma about the book. You may have felt sorry for them, or wanted to shake what you thought was sense into them; you may have even just tried to humor them. But then something happened, you found faith.

For Emma she had no faith until.. tragedy. Henry dies. But, it is his action backed faith that opens Emma's eyes. Just like The Bible says about our faith in James 2:17-18. Our faith is supported by the works that we do in obedience to Christ and what He says is right. When we obey and trust; our eyes are opened more and more. People believed Jesus when they saw His works, we now are encouraged and grow through works. Just as Henry kept his faith through trials and disbelief so must we. In the end we may lead an Emma to trust and obey and find the family they have been searching for all along.

Psyched Out

I don't know if you have heard of the show Psych, but I consider it a fun watch.

While enjoying the silliness I realized that this show is a good example of Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

Each episode starts with lessons or experiences that Shawn and Gus have when they were children. The episode then shows how that experience or lesson correlates with what they are doing as adults. They go through all the shenanigans and usually end up getting advice from his dad, and then solving the case. It's a good reminder for us that as we have our own children, or influence children, to be careful what you teach them. It will effect the rest of their lives.

Worf's Stand

Recently I was watching an episode of Star Trek: TNG where Worf makes a very unpopular decision. He refuses a blood transfusion to a Romulan. He believes that to help the Romulan would be giving aid to the enemy ; something totally against everything he stands for. Pushed, prodded, guilt tripped and made to watch the Romulan die, he still stands for what he believes.

Even when the culture around him, the government he has chosen to live under, and his closest friends disapprove; he stands firm.

This is a small picture of how we as Christians should stand for what Christ has laid out for everything (the universe, sexuality, you). Just like Daniel when he is thrown in the lions den in Daniel 6. We stand firm for Christ in our positions within friendships, cultures and the government we choose the live under, God will take care of the rest.

Fringe: Who are your choices for?

I've been catching up on Fringe. I missed so much the first time and I'm really enjoying catching up on it all. The broad message of the show is choices we make for Love.

Walters' choice for Love was to open up the fabric of space time. He based his decisions on the emotions he felt for his son and how it was to lose him. What he intended for good {save Peter from the disease that was killing him} ultimately cause destruction and pain to not only Peter but those effected by ripples Walter set in motion when he opened that tiny crack.

What Walter couldn't see was any other plan, but the one he had hatched. God always has a better plan for us. God says, "For I know the plans I have for you; plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." {Jeremiah 29:11} Sometimes we need to be reminded that God's Love is the only plan that comes out the best. Even when we think we have the answer sitting right in front of us, staying the course of God's plan for you leads to what you lost and more than what you've always dreamed.

As we can see in Fringe even our choices made out of something as noble as love can have disastrous consequences. This is why we must always "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness" {Matthew 6:33} so that the ripple effect in our lives becomes one touching all others with the hope and Love of Christ.

Friends: The Legendary Journey

I've finally finished my Hercules: The Legendary Journeys watch through. I have to say there are things that I didn't remember and as I watched Sorbo do his thing after three heart attacks/strokes; I was impressed. The one thing that struck me most about this show is how, even though Hercules was as strong as 10 men, he couldn't do it all without his friends. They were there for him through thick and thin. They were willing to give their lives to save his. They were understanding when he had to make whatever decisions he had to make and got on to him when he wasn't thinking straight. These are all characteristics of what makes a good life, good friends. The Bible says in Proverbs 1:10-18 to beware people who encourage you to do the wrong thing. To run from them. It says in Proverbs 18 that "a friend sticks closer than a brother." This show is a small picture of what life and relationships with Christ is like. Relationships that grow ever deeper. Until you know without a doubt; that these people will always be there for you. In hard times and the good times, we fold each other in Love that can only come from Christ. Remember as you go about your day to extend the Love of Christ not only to the lost and unresponsive; but to your fellow Christians as well.

Brightest Day and Blackest Night Con Nooga 2012 Sermon

Just a quick 'ello! To all my new followers, so happy to see you reading this. Please feel free to interact in whatever way you are lead!

For everyone's viewing pleasure: Brightest Day and Blackest Night Con Nooga 2012 Sermon

A new blog coming soon! Until then, enjoy!

The Sin of Galadriel

Sin. Mine's the Love of Money. Everytime God and I go through this particular sin together all I can see is the scene in Lord of the Rings with Galadriel.

Frodo offers her the ring and she is tempted to take it. To rule with the power that it possess. In the middle of the scene we have Galadriel, flush with power and declaring that we would have a Queen, beautiful and trecherous as the sea. Just the idea of the power burns through her so much that she is momentarily transformed into the powerful Queen of Darkness that she would become upon the acceptance of the ring. In the end, she is able to deflect the temptation for ultimate power and go with her people.

Galadriel shows in those few scenes the way sin burns through all of us.

We give in to the particular ring of power that holds us down. Be it the ring of money, jealousy, lust, love of something more than God, immodesty, pride. We can be glad {Matthew 5:12} just as Galadriel is, because not only is there always a way out of that temptation {1 Corinthians 10:13}; it matures us and moves us on to the next land of plenty and peace that awaits us.

Merciful Evil and it's Pretty face

In the Doctor Who episode, "Boom Town"; the last surviving member of the Slitheen family shows back up with a dastardly plan to essentially surf her way back to the area of space where she is from.

The conversation in this episode between the Doctor and the Slitheen is what struck me most. The alien was trying to convince the Doctor that she could be good. That she had changed.
"I promise you I've changed since we last met Doctor. A young thing, something of a danger. The blood lust runs high in our family, I would have killed her without a thought; and then I stopped. She's wandering around out there somewhere right now."

The Doctors response was classic:
"It doesn't mean anything. You let one of them go, but that's nothing new. Every now and then a little victim is spared. Because he smiled, because she's got freckles; 'cause they begged. And that's how you live with yourself. That's how you slaughter millions, because once in a while, on a whim, if the wind's in the right direction; you happen to be kind."

In the end she is still cruel. Just as Proverbs 12:10 says in the last part of the verse {or part b}, "but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel." Even in this spinning of the way she had changed, the slitheen was still going to kill the lady she spared, along with everyone else on earth, at the end of her master plan.

In the end even her kindest act was cruel. We are very similar to the slitheen in this way. We believe one good deed will cover all the bad ones we have committed. It's why we need a savior to save us from ourselves. It's why we need Jesus in our lives, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;" (Romans 3:23). God though gives us the same chance the slitheen had at the end of the episode: to start again. John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." A chance at a life with the one who says, "Behold, I make all things new." (Revelations 21:5)

Lessons From The Good Book

Dragon*Con 2009 Sermon, "Lessons From The Good Book"

I really enjoyed this sermon. It hits home and I never saw this in the character Book.

Jesus, Merlin and The Grail

I traveled down memory lane and watched the t.v. show Merlin starring Sam Neill (one of the better actors of his time, in my opinion). Netflix suggested to me that I also watch Merlins' Apprentice. Although the show makes no sense in reference to Merlin, it was enjoyable on it's own.

Toward the end of the second episode there is one quote that really reminded me of one of the core ideas from God in The Bible.

"I have never proved myself worthy. I can not do so now. I beg this gift of those who can not ask it. Undo this madness and do with me what you will." - Jack to The Holy Grail

The Grail restores the last few that were fighting for Camelot and there is a stirring speech that follows in which the character owns up to what Camelot started. He goes on to plead forgiveness, to ask them to quit the battle, go home, clean their wounds and begin a new day as citizens of Camelot.

This picture and quote is exactly the idea of salvation in The Bible. John 3:16, 30 "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... He must become greater; I must become less."

In the last few scenes of this episode Jack realizes that to have the pure heart that The Holy Grail {a.k.a. the cup of Christ} will support, you must humble yourself and realize who you are. Realize that it's loving your enemies {Luke 6:35}, putting others before yourself {Mark 12:31}, and relying on God for your rebirth/salvation/recreation {Proverbs 3:5-6} that makes you pure at heart. Not your past actions, not your own plans, and not your understanding of things. It's to give yourself up to God and let Him clean the madness of sin that runs rampant through ourselves. Then to raise up a new man walking beside Christ, forever!

Forbidden Warehouse

After reading Proverbs 10:22; it immediately made me think of Warehouse 13 and every other fairy tale story that I had ever read.

Proverbs 10:22 says, "The blessing of the LORD makes rich, and he adds no sorrow with it."

If you've seen any episodes of Warehouse 13 you know that it is expressly forbidden for any agent to use an artifact. Artifacts; no matter the good intentions or the good it appears to be doing, have down sides (usually death or dismemberment). The same, if you think about it, happens in fairy tales. When the main character tries to get a quick fix to their problem by using magic or talismans, etc. It usually has an unexpected outcome.

With Jesus, that never happens. He doesn't give you something and then slap you with a downside. He doesn't give you something and then have it back fire on you. He gives from His Love so there is no downside or unexpected outcome. Just the outcome that He says will always happen: you will know that you are Loved, that you are His, and you always will be.

Remember the Star Gate?

So, I'm finishing up my Stargate-a-thon and came across a very interesting phenomenon. I don't remember. I don't remember a lot of these episodes and I don't remember certain sections of certain episodes. Now that I've seen them though, it gives me a whole new appreciation for the shows and for Stargate.

Reading The Bible is kinda like that. If we don't refresh and remind ourselves what is in The Bible, we won't be able to remember it all. We could have heard the story thousands of times and still not remember everything that is important.

There are lots of verses that deal with remembering who God is and what He has done. Deuteronomy 8:18, Psalms 63:6, Psalm 77:11-15, Psalm 103:17-18, Psalms 105:5, Psalm 119:52 and many, many more.

When you go back and read what God has to say in The Bible you find new ideas that you haven't considered before. Just like watching your favorite t.v. shows over again, you remember the parts that you connected to first and every time since. You also gain a whole new perspective on what you thought you knew.

Remember to read your Bible and know what God has said and the mighty works He has done!

Love Christ like a comicbook

Just recently I started watching Stargate SG-1 again. It's one of my favorite t.v. shows that I go through once a year. Even if I work that day I'm pretty faithful to get one or two episodes in everyday.

For a geek this activity is nothing new. We all have our favorite show that we go through or favorite movie that we watch at least once a year. We go back and visit these characters that we have bonded with, the romances we connected with, the drama and intrigue that became so much a part of us. We raise our kids with it; we watch it with friends and family; we even have parties themed with it.

As geeks, we understand Love and Devotion to ideals that echo within us. Just as these shows touch us, The Bible should live in us and through us. In Deuteronomy 6:7 and 11:19 God says to teach your children His ways in everything that you do. Just like we would introduce our kids to Star Trek, Star Wars, Comic books and all other geeky wonders we should also no forget to teach them about Christ. The Bible teaches us to pray always; to have that continual conversation with Christ. Just like our conversations with friends and fellow comic bookers, gamers, movie buffs and collectors of all types. Jesus wishes the same camaraderie. God desires a passionate relationship with you!

3XODU5 guest post: Fasting and Spice and everything's coming up Beans

Genesis 25: In which we see that Abraham loved his first son, his twins are born The Con Man and The Red Son, names make Purple Kitty rage and fasting is where it's at!