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.

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.

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.

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.