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.

It's Everywhere

I currently attended a local comic book convention called X-Con. It was great and I can't wait to go back again. What I really loved about this year was they had Sam Jones, the 1980's Flash Gordon!

I didn't get my picture with him, but I was able to attend his panel. The thing that surprised me the most was his consistent reference to prayer and letting God be part of your decision making process. He told us several stories where he and his wife prayed over a job and their prayers were answered. He talked about being humble and it being important to have Gods' hand on things when you make decisions.

All of this talk about God being involved with decisions reminded me of Matthew 6:33, "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need." Sam Jones ended up with a career in security that allows him to travel to conventions and do his acting gigs while maintaining full time status. That's not an easy thing to come by and is a reminder to me that God watches over those people who follow his commandments.

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

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.

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.

Oh, Day 9-oh

My brother and I watch this shout caster named Day 9 {a.k.a. Sean Plott}. He casts about Starcraft and in one of his videos, he proceeds to tell us about a life lesson which he calls: Kittens and Ninja Stars.

***Warning, there is some language***

If you watched the video, and you should, you can see that Day 9 talks about a realization that is actually Biblical in nature.

Namely, that we are made for fellowship and that our emotions will fool us.

Although he is missing the key ingredient; he doesn't fall short of a full pie when he talks about being there for a friend. That actually caring for someone like a beloved family member {Proverbs 17:17, Proverbs 18:24} is what gets the point across that their is friendship, and therefore Love, here. Romans 12:5 goes on to say it even more completely, "so it is with Christ's body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other." We are all one. When one of us gets a ninja star we should react as though it was our body being hit and give aid immediately. We should be there to build defenses and help each other dodge.

In this battle we can't let our emotions fool us {Jeremiah 17:9). Even when we emotionally can't stand a person, we get up pull the ninja star out, dress their wound; and in doing so, get that much closer toward what God was saying about Love. We are to love our enemiesMatthew 5:44, Love God, Mark 12:30 and Love your neighbor as though they were youLuke 10:27.

At the end of the day are you someones ninja star or kitten?

More verses showing the idea of support for each other:
Hebrews 10:25, Romans 12:10-21,

Genesis 27 - Favoritism, Death and Hippies

In which we discuss proper parenting/family dynamics, curses, blessings and brothels.

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!