My wife and I recently watched a movie about the battle between good and evil. Angels and demons fought over the lives of humans, and what could have been purely a love story was about more of the battle for our souls.
They included the basic elements of good versus evil, grace, forgiveness, and the power of love. These were masterfully portrayed.
However, I must say, I disagreed with so much of the theology of the film. They twisted basic understanding of good and evil and the character of God. They elevated the importance of angels and demons. They made the Universe out to be God.
That being said, I still liked the movie, overall.
It may have been theologically unsound with un-biblical ideas, but I thought it was okay.
There was this overarching theme of how important it is to love unconditionally and that we play important roles in each other’s lives.
I can hear all of the voices in the Christian realm complaining about its New Age-y messages and dangerous ideas, and all I can think of is “Would these people have reacted the same way as the Pharisees did to Jesus’ parables?”
I am in no way comparing a modern movie (with clear theological issues) to Jesus’ words, except to point out that Jesus told wild stories to get important messages to people … if they were willing to listen.
“And [Jesus] was teaching them many things in parables . . . And he said, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear.‘” Mark 4:2-9
Get to know wisdom better through some of the words at Proverbial Thought.
When Enoch had lived 65 years, he fathered Methuselah. Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters.Thus all the days of Enoch were 365 years.Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.
Genesis 5:21-24, ESV
And as they still went on and talked, behold, chariots of fire and horses of fire separated the two of them. And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it and he cried, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more.
2 Kings 2:11-12, ESV
Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:51-58, ESV
Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 4:17, ESV
He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
Revelation 22:20, ESV
Your soul deserves to be fed wisdom, so head over to Proverbial Thought!
It is time for another song! As much as I like this song, I cannot fully stand behind it. I disagree with part of its main point!
I do not care for the fact that there is no direct mention of God/Jesus anywhere in the song, but I can let that go knowing so many of their other songs do. I will look at this as an opportunity to get into secular radio stations to pique the interest of someone who may not believe in God, yet. That being said …
The song is Plumb’s “Don’t Deserve You”, which I find an excellently orchestrated song and one I would suggest many people listen to.
My issue is specifically with one (repeated often) line, “I don’t deserve your love …”
Here is my issue with it: If God created you, then He has declared you worthy of His love. Every single person on this planet not only deserves His love, but, as the song says, “You give it to me, anyway.”
I think that is one of the hardest things for us to fight in our world: convincing others that they can and should be loved. I think singing about it like this can be detrimental. However, putting these lyrics to music could be the very thing that helps some people repent of this thinking and turn to God and His love. This is why I still like the song! (The thing we do not deserve is His grace, but that is the very reason it is grace! It is giving something undeserved!)
May you grow in the love of Christ and come to understand how vast His love truly is for us!
Plumb – Don’t Deserve You
You’re the first face that I see
And the last thing I think about
You’re the reason that I’m alive
You’re what I can’t live without
You’re what I can’t live without
You never give up
When I’m falling apart
Your arms are always open wide
And you’re quick to forgive
When I make a mistake
You love me in the blink of an eye
[Chorus]
I don’t deserve your love
But you give it to me anyway
Can’t get enough
You’re everything I need
And when I walk away
You take off running and come right after me
It’s what you do
And I don’t deserve you
You’re the light inside my eyes
You give me a reason to keep trying
You give me more than I could dream
And you bring me to my knees
You bring me to my knees
Your heart is gold and how am I the one
That you’ve chosen to love
I still can’t believe that you’re right next to me
After all that I’ve done
[Chorus]
I don’t deserve a chance like this
I don’t deserve a love that gives me everything
You’re everything I want
Yesterday was my little brother’s 28th birthday. I still think of him as a junior higher, perhaps 13 or 14 years old. That is now half his age! I can barely believe it!
This past Thursday, January 9, was my 14th Re-birthday. It was 14 years ago I first knelt down and declared I believed Jesus is my Savior and the Son of God. I was only a couple years older than how I still view my brother when that happened.
This all got me to thinking about something.
Some friends and I had a conversation about conversations a while back. It was all about the exclamation “Really?!”
The full context of this conversation was focused around what one of us had heard about friendly conversation and this one word. Asking this word after a friend or loved one makes a statement is the same as casting doubt on the validity of the statement.
It is one thing if the conversation goes like this:
“I just won a million dollars!”
“Wow! Really?!”
Winning a million dollars is not a typical occurrence in daily life. Shock and amazement with a little bit of doubt makes sense.
But when the conversation is more like this:
“I lost my phone today.”
“Really?”
In this context, it can said as any of the following:
Anger: “How could you do that again?”
Sarcasm: “This is such a surprise coming from you!”
Astonishment: “This just happened?”
And many others.
The underlying theme is that saying “Really?!” denotes disbelief or mistrust, or at worst it denotes aggression or animosity. And to be fair, most of us use the term in such a way as to say “Tell me more!”
In Jesus’ Name. Really?!
You are probably thinking about how often you say “Really?!” to people, and, if you are like we were, you are attempting to justify your use of the term and explain that you usually mean “Tell me more!”
Let me then ask you this, Christian believer: How do you live your life?
Do go around claiming your connection to your church and as a good Christian, yet those outside the Church look at your example of love and light and think “Is this person really ‘blameless and innocent, [a child] of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16, ESV)
Put another way, do they look at your life and say “Really?! That’s a Christ follower?” And they want to stay away from God because of your example?
Or do you go around sharing the good news of Christ as you live out His commands of love and sacrifice? Do those outside the Church look at your example of love and light and think, “Really?! This kind of thing is true? Tell me more!”
Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test.
2 Corinthians 13:5-6, ESV
Fall in love with some wisdom with the words over at Proverbial Thought!
As a friend of mine likes to point out, the term “falling in love with Jesus” is not found in the Bible. It is more of an inference from Scripture with a mix of our own reading.
The point is that He needs to become our “all in all,” our everything, just like when we fall in love with someone.
12 Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our assurance firm until the end …
Hebrews 3:12-14, NASB
This will be short and sweet today.
Relationships are very important. The Bible is all about God’s desire for relationships with us through His Son!
Therefore, I encourage you today to encourage each other.
Call your friends and family to tell them you love them.
Share Christ with family and friends who may not know Him.
Lift each other up in prayer, and tell those for whom you pray that you are praying for them!
Be with friends (“in spirit” if need be) who need friends: an ear, a shoulder, a helping hand.
Just love those who are close to you!
Take the time today to show those who are close to you that you care!
See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?
Matthew 6:28-30, NIV
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
Romans 5:8-10, NIV
If we were to compare ourselves to plants, it is as though we are flowers. Not just any flowers, but weeds. Due to our sin, we are out of place and only take away from our environment. A weed is a plant out of context. Our sin puts us out of context with God, and all we are able to do ultimately is cause harm.
Something that is quite amazing, though, is that in the hands of an innocent child weeds can become beautiful flowers.
What is more amazing is that, though we are not worth much on our own and out of context, when we turn to God and trust Him, we look like beautiful flowers being presented to Him by His Son who has redeemed us. For at the end of the age, Jesus Christ will return to take His redeemed weeds to the Father:
I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.
Revelation 14:14-16, NIV
This is what Five Iron Frenzy is singing about in this song “Dandelions”.
Dandelions
In a field of yellow flowers
underneath the sun
bluest eyes that spark with lightning
boy with shoes undone.
He is young
so full of hope
reveling in tiny dreams
filling up his arms with flowers
right for giving any queen.
Running to her beaming bright
while cradling his prize.
A flickering of yellow light
within his mother’s eyes.
She holds them to her heart
keeping them where they’ll be safe
clasped within her very marrow
dandelions in a vase.
{chorus 1}
She sees love where
anyone else would see weeds.
all hope is found.
Here is everything he needs.
Fathomless your endless mercy
weight I could not lift.
Where do I fit in this puzzle
what good are these gifts?
Not a martyr, or a saint
scarcely can I struggle through.
All that I have ever wanted
was to give my best to you.
{chorus 2}
Lord, search my heart
create in me something clean.
Dandelions
you see flowers in these weeds.
Gently lifting hands to heaven
softened by the sweetest hush
a Father sings over His children
loving them so very much.
More than words could warrant
deeper than the darkest blue
more than sacrifice could merit
Lord, I give my heart to You.
{chorus 2}
Lord, search my heart,
Create in me something clean.
Dandelions
You see flowers in these weeds.
Gently lifting hands to heaven,
Softened by the sweetest hush,
A Father sings over his children,
Loving them so very much.
More than words could warrant,
Deeper than the darkest blue,
More than sacrifice could merit,
Lord, I give my heart to you.
Do we truly love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths? Maybe I can help with the mind part, at least! This is Daniel M. Klem, apparent poet, reluctant yet passionate Disciple (Peter?), and foolish man attempting to understand theology!
a simple man of God 