The Portrait of You and Dorian Grey

I have been listening to a lot of politics lately and one of the main themes coming from everyone seems to be deception. It made me think of the the movie The Picture of Dorian Grey. When I was young, I watched the 1945 film version of this story. Basically, a young man desires to always be as beautiful as he is at that moment. He makes a deal with the egyptian gods for the portrait to age. Little did he know that the portrait he kept hidden in his room would show all his sins as well.

Inside his private world, this portrait hung. He could take it out and look at it. He could see his past mistakes, the passage of time and who he had become. Dorian was deceptive and uncaring the whole of his painted life. His heart and mind had grown cold and selfish. What he needed was a change of heart and mind. Ultimately the way to fix the problem of Dorian and of the world is to radically change the wills and hearts of those who live here. From desiring selfish things, to desiring good and freedom for our neighbor.

This can only be done with faith in Jesus Christ. Why is this? Because he is the one who can see the paintings of our heart. In 1 Samuel 16:7 it says, "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. A man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." His love changes our desires. Instead of deception, truth. Instead of desire for what others have, we desire more of Him and good to others. Instead of the must haves in life, a greatful heart blooms for what we do have. Jesus is the one who can see the portriats of us all, place your trust with him and he'll lead you to freedom every time.

A Dragon of a Prayer

I've been, how should I say it?... Devouring Christopher Paolini's Inheritance Cycle. It is what you would think about dragon books. Dragon and rider are connected, they have to learn how to work as a team, they have to save the world.

Through all of that though, what really got to me was this part of the book:

They enveloped each other within the folds of their thoughts, holding each other with an intimacy no physical embrace could replicate, allowing their identities to merge once again. Their greatest comfort was a simple one: they were no longer alone. To know that you were with one who cared for you, and understood every fiber of your being, and would not abandon you is the most precious relationship a person can have...

In that moment, while I was reading, it immediately brought to mind prayer. Prayer is the way we talk to God, we are told to, "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17), that when we pray we are to give thanks; to come to Him with everything that we are. Our worries, our plans, our loves and our troubles. When I pray, I am enfolded in His love, held by Him in an intimacy that no physical embrace can even dare to match. I am folded within the Loving arms of God, and in prayer, I am no longer alone. I am merged with Him and have that most precious of relationships. I am understood, cared for and totally belong. Never neglect prayer for the small things of this world. We are created for this type of relationship; one only found with Jesus Christ. Believe He is, all that He says He is, and you will have the ultimate relationship better than a Dragon and her Rider.

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.

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.

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!

Forgiveness in a Jurassic Park

Last night a group of friends and I sat down and watched Jurassic Park. My husband has never seen it and we all decided that it was time. I haven't seen this movie in about 10 years, so I forgot some of the elements that were in the movie itself. One such element was the pairing of the use of Gods' name in vain and a curse word. For me, this is an unaccpetable thing. However, I completely forgot it and told my husband he would Love this movie, that it was great! That he would love it!

This is kind of what forgiveness looks like.

This movie would have never made the cut for viewing if I had remembered those words were in there. But since I didn't, I did nothing but praise it and encourage others to participate in it. God wants us to forgive each other the same way {Colossians 3:13}. He says that when He forgives, those sins are as far away as the east is from the west {Psalms 103:12}. He forgets they were ever there and praises us, participates in our lives and sends others to do the same.

Genesis 32 - We, are, worms! We’re, not, worthy!

In which Jacob fights an angel, Jacob gets renamed, we discuss Gods personal assurance and how we don’t always rely on it.

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!

The Highlander Extrapolation

In Ephesians we see Paul setting up for us the peace, love and togetherness that Jesus Christ wishes for us all to have.

Paul, when describing the way we become one with Christ and all He offers, uses the word quickening.

Every good movie geek knows, "there can be only one"! And there is only one God who gives Himself; not only in a physical manner, but who comes to join with us in our everyday life. Who gives us the gift of Himself, His memory, His Power and His Love. Just as some immortals offered themselves to Duncan McCloud giving him the gift of themselves; so Jesus did for each and everyone of us. There is only one and his name is Jesus!

Warning! Sarah dies... nothing else happens

3XODU5 doing another Geek roundtable on Genesis 23. We bash Michael Bay a bit.

Going Charlie X on God

Charlie X is a Star Trek episode where this kid Charlie has telekinetic powers and is able to make things happen for him just as he likes.. or else.

Many times we try to do the same thing in our relationship with Christ. We try to take the helm, like Charlie sitting in the Captain's Chair, we try to manuever things in our lives to go where we want them to. We block messages {like Charlie did when Uhura was trying to recieve a message from Command}, we break people {sometimes emotionally and sometimes physically, poor Spock got his legs broken}, we try to manuever around until it all gets too much. The ship gets too big and there are too many people to manage all in our own power.

Proverbs 3:5-7 basically says that we should lean on God for all of our navigation. Otherwise we end up just like Charlie; overwhelmed, disliked, always upset, begging for help and ultimately ending in heart break. In the end all the destruction we cause can be reversed by Jesus. Just like the aliens who reversed what Charlie did; Jesus can restore all that we lost or have broken {1 Peter 5:10}. God should always sit in the Captain's Chair.

42 - The Answer to Life, The Universe and Everything

In the Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy a group of pan dimensional beings built a machine called Deep Thought and put it to the task of figuring out what the answer to Life, The Universe, and Everything is. It takes Deep Thought 7 and a half billion years to come up with the answer; 42. These beings are sent away by Deep Thought, left to ponder the significance of 42 and sent on a quest to find The Ultimate Question. In the end of it all the beings were left more confused than they had been before. They left with no answers from the God they had created to tell them the secret to it all. The thing that was supposed to be full of all wisdom and knowledge gathered by the people couldn't really answer the question. Much like ourselves; the people sought wisdom in the wrong place. They made themselves an idol and were sent away by it. Jesus, on the other hand, says, "However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them." John 6:37. He seeks an everlasting relationship with everyone. Let us be careful that we do not trust anything to teach us more that we allow Christ. Let us remember to spend time with Him. His call is sweet and exciting! Filled with the possibilities only dreamt of by man in his wildest imaginations. The Answer to Life, The Universe and Everything is not a number that must be chased, but a relationship that must be possessed. We must dive in and experience the true wonders of the universe that only the creator of that universe can show us!

Sticking Together

I've recently been sick. As a result, I have been firing up the good old Netflix and watching Star Trek: The Next Generation while fighting sleep and and my fever. I was watching The Naked Now {Season 1 Episode 4} when something Jean Luc Picard said struck me as something you find all throughout the New Testament. Here is what he said:

"I put it to you all; I think we shall end up with a fine crew. If, we avoid temptation."

You can see many of the concepts in The Bible presented in his show. The one that is present in this episode follows along with the ideas found in Mark 14:38 and Luke 22:40; "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." Reading 1 Corinthians 12:20-25 you can see as Christians we are the crew of the Enterprise. We are all on a mission to boldly go where no one has gone before, to seek out a new life with Christ. Every Christian around you is your ship mate on the same mission; using our jobs in either command, engineering, counseling, security, or sciences to support each other. In this episode the crew of the Enterprise got out of their drunken haze with focus and the knowledge that what they were doing would save everyone from falling from the same fate as some. In the end they had to stick together and find the way out of their temptations. Just like 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. " Christ is here to support us through out temptation, to make sure we don't give in, to be sure we see the way out and run to it.

Missing Steve Jobs

It sometimes takes me awhile to process things. The other day I was sitting and thinking about the iPhone 5 and wondering what Jobs was going to say at the next key note speech. I had to realize that someone else was going to do the key note and present to the world what Apple Computers was going to be doing next. I'm not particularly an apple fan, but I realize the way the technology and design has changed things. I did look forward to his key notes and all the energy he put behind his project. It was his baby, and you could tell every time he was on that stage. Something I was surprised to see was this quote by Jobs:

It struck a cord with me because it reminds of the ideas found in Matthew 6:27-34 and James 4:13-14. These basically say that we shouldn't worry about tomorrow because God has it all in hand. We should be focusing on the important stuff. The stuff we are called to do, the stuff we are made to do. When Christ spoke about what God loves, He spoke about obedience, Loving God above all others and loving one another. Those are the important things in life. Those are the things that when faced with death we should be wondering, "Did I do it right?" or "Did I do it enough?" Are we living as if the commands of Christ are important or are we worried about the failures or the teasing or the loss?

Jobs kept going in his chosen field even after set backs and loses. Are we as Christians willing to do the same? Are you? God does help us in any situation we may come across; and I would venture to say, that in the grand scheme of life and everything there is to it, following Christ is much bigger than creating a company that changed the way the world looks at computing and communication. The change that Christ is after is the creation of loving and willing hearts; the creation of a called people who know His voice and answer to Him. Can you hear His voice? Will you answer to Him?

Dune - The Sleeper Must Awaken

In Dune Leto Atreides is talking to his son Paul about what it means to be a ruler. He told Paul the there comes a time in every mans life in which the "sleeper must awaken". It's a point where a person says, "I will cast off playing like a child and stand for what is right". A point in which you take up responsibility for your actions and move to the call that God has placed in your heart. Leto was preparing Paul for his time of rule; knowing that he would probably not be present long.

In a way, this is exactly what Christ did for us. He knew His time here was coming to a close and with His life and death; provided everything we needed. Even after His ascension He provided us with a teacher, a guide and healer; The Holy Spirit. Some of us as Christians are sleepers. We live our everyday lives much as everyone else. We do not take up the call to go and tell people the good news of Christ. We do not reach out to those unlike us in style or mind set. We do not live, we sleep like the dead comfortable in our boxes surrounded by the dirt we know.

Christ calls us to more than just our comfortable day in and day out lives. Ephesians 5:14-16 says, "... This is why it is said: "Wake up, o sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Be very careful, then, how you live- not as unwise, but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." Awaken sleepers, your Father in heaven awaits your cry to Him to go for him!

Pride of the Apple Jack

Recently I've fallen victim to the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic virus that is sweeping the internet. As I watch this show I realize the reason why it entrances me to the extent it does is because they are first and foremost morality stories. In Episode 4: Apple Buck Season; you can see the lesson of humility that is also taught in The Bible. Apple Jack tries to harvest the whole farm after her brother gets hurt and can't help her. In her pride she refuses the help that is offered to her twice and refuses to listen when other ponies tell her that she should get help. At the end of the episode she basically ends up falling down and asking for help when Twilight Sparkle insists upon giving it to her.

In The Bible Proverbs 16:18 states "pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall." In this case both happen to Apple Jack. When helping Rainbow Dash with her flying she can't concentrate enough to land on the X to launch Rainbow into the air and perform her incredible feats of dare devil flying. When she goes to help Pinkie Pie create wonderful muffins, she is so tired she can't understand what Pinkie is saying and only gets half of the ingredients. What we end up with is earth worm, soda and potato chip muffins instead. When she tries to help Fluttershy with rounding up the baby bunnies, she ends up scaring them all into a stampede that devastates Ponyvilles flowers and crops.

Apple Jack tries to do it all herself and fails miserably. Proverbs 13:10, "Only by pride comes contention: but with the well advised is wisdom." During the whole episode Twilight Sparkle is trying to tell Apple Jack that she needs to let them help her and it becomes an argument between the two of them. Apple Jack standing on her pride and Twilight Sparkle trying to get her to accept what is right, and take the help.

When you rely solely on yourself you cause trouble, disaster and unrest. As Christians we should be careful we do not become like Apple Jack toward each other. 1 John 2:16 says this, "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." Be careful Christian that you don't have your Apple Jack moments. When you need help, ask for it. When help is offered, take it. Just like in the end of this episode where all the ponies became closer through their work, you become closer to your Christian brothers and sisters through help and dedication to the Love found in Christ for each other.

Why church is great; even when your DATA

In Star Trek: The Next Generation the character DATA can do just about anything. He figures out all the things the humans scratch their heads at. He's super fast, super smart, super strong and super efficient. He only lacks one thing: emotional capacity. DATA, although given an emotion chip, chooses to live without it. He chooses to make his best friend Jordy LaForge, instead of the ships computer. He chooses to learn from the flawed humans he works with and does not understand. In essence he chooses to fellowship with others who aren't like him and who never will be. How does this bring us to the church? The word church comes from the word ekklesia, which basically means a gathering of people called out to a purpose. As Christians we are called out to love God, love others and love your fellow Christians. 1 Corinthians 12:21-27 says it the best: we all have different jobs and are all different, but we all belong with and to each other. Even if you can do it all yourself, you benefit from being together. Just like DATA who chose to stay himself an:d gain friendship through dedication and essentially, love. We are the same as DATA, even when we think we can do it all, the people Christ puts in our life enriches and grows us. So, church is good, even if your DATA.

A Little Christ in a Faerie Tale

While watching an episode of Jim Hensons' Storyteller called The Three Ravens, I heard a line that describes the Christian walk perfectly. The line was this:

"...and the girl who kept faith and had but one face for everyone was rewarded with sons and brothers and sweetheart and a crown."

The princess in story of The Three Ravens kept her faith and was rewarded with all her heart desired. She was rich in family and rich in monetary means. Her hearts desires had been met and her needs surpassed; all by keeping her faith. As Christians we have a similar promise given to us in Matthew 6:31-33 and Luke 12:31-32. They basically say, seek the kingdom of God first and all your needs will be taken care of and that it is Gods' "good pleasure to give you the kingdom." (Luke 12:32).

Keep the faith as steadfast as the silent girl trying to free her brothers. The Great I Am sees your dedication and rewards you "with sons and brothers and sweetheart and a crown."

Dune "Fear"

Let us paint the picture of fear.  Biologically it's something built into us to give us an understanding of our past pains.  Fears is often caused by a memory of pain, either our own or someone elses'.  Watching Frank Herberts' Dune brought all the old ideas of pain that I used to have back.  Much like the ideas in the movie about pain and fear, I also believed that it was something I could control.  That I could repeat something however many times and the fear would just vanish. My beliefs, however, never rang true.  The more I tried to control my fear the more it grew inside me.  At the time  I even tried the Bene Gesserite mantra for fear:
                                                I will not fear
                                               Fear is the mind killer
                                               I will face my fear 
                                               I will let it pass through me
                                               Where the fear has gone there shall be nothing
                                               Only I will remain.
As silly as that sounds when you live your life without Christ and His nurturing care you will try anything to keep your emotions in check.  After becoming a Christian I learned that fear will not longer have a hold on me.  1 Peter 3:14 says, "But if you suffer for righteousness sake, happy are you and be not afraid of their terrors, neither be troubled."  Such an odd statement can only be followed if I understand that, "The Lord is in the midst of you, He is mighty, He will save..." (Zephaniah 3:15-17) and that He "will help me and I will not fall to my enemies." (Jeremiah 39:17-18 paraphrased).  Once I understand this concept I stand on the solid ground of Christ.  Like Muad'dib I stand boldly and declare the things that are true.  With Christ I say:
                                                 I will not fear
                                                 Fear is conquered through Christ
                                                I will give my fear to the Lord
                                                I will let Christ flow through me
                                               Where the fear has gone there shall be love
                                                Only Christ will remain.