Puny Gods

"There's only one God, ma'am, and I'm pretty sure He doesn't dress like that." ~Captain America

Moses brought the ten commandments to the Jewish people.  The first commandment is very clear.  "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:3 KJV)  The second commandment follows the first one very closely. "You must not make for yourself an idol..." (Exodus 20:4a NLT)  God was intentional in his instructions with his chosen people, telling them the first and foremost important thing is to remember God first and to honor Him.  This still applies to the new testament church.  We are to first of all, love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.

What gets in the way of loving God first?  I know most of us don't worship other deities.  We struggle with idols that interfere.  What is an idol?  Put simply, an idol is anything (object or person) that we focus on more than God.  This idol becomes what we think about or do all the time.  Some people idolize their work and are consumed with thoughts of increasing power and/or money.  Others dwell on thoughts of a loved one.  Whatever our idol is, we need to take command of it, and put it in its rightful place.  God is first.  Period.

Take a minute and view this scene from the Avengers.  This illustrates how the Hulk defeats what he terms, "Puny God."

Every time I find my thoughts dwelling on an idol, I just imagine the Hulk beating it up.  It's funny, but it works.

"They (Gentiles) demonstrate that God's law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right." (Romans 2:15 NLT)

Unity of Purpose

How did they become a team?

I hear this phrase being tossed around the corporate world: Unity of Purpose.  There are many images I get from that phrase, and most of it seem kind of, well, like a patterned buzz word with no meaning behind it.  I did have a moment of clarity when I saw the dynamic of the various superheroes of Avengers.  Each of the powerful heroes were used to working alone to manage the supervillains.  What's interesting is that until they had a single united purpose, they had no reason to work together, and largely fought among one another.

That didn't work.

It took the collective effort of each of the individuals to accomplish their purpose: the removal of Loki, the brother of Thor, and the saving of the world as we know it from his destruction.

What would be the singular purpose that unites the Church?  What crisis are we waiting for?  From what I see, we are caught up in our individual lives and not spending enough time in fellowship with others who could strengthen us.  Do we lack the ability to trust another with our deep thoughts and feelings?  Do we think we will hurt less if we walk alone?

Jesus didn't want us to walk alone.  Consider his prayer the night he was betrayed.  "I am in them and you are in me.  May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me." (John 17:23 NLT)

Jesus knew we could not do the work he gave us without having a unity of purpose.  He asked his Father in heaven for that gift of unity in the body of Christ for us.  This is perhaps best illustrated in Ephesians 4:1-16.  We cannot achieve maturity without the others who make up the complete body of the Church.  We need each other.

"He makes the whole body fit together perfectly.  As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love." (Ephesians 4:16 NLT)

Walking in Darkness

"Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me.  Since I live, you also will live." John 14:19

I'm taking a detour from my normal posts about Science Fiction to write down a vision I had many years ago.  I'm not sure why I keep going back to this, as I normally don't remember my dreams.  This one was so vivid, that I just felt compelled to write about it.

I find myself standing in a darkly lit room; large; drafty.  It's noisy and there are many people milling about.  They don't seem to be moving toward any specific place and there appears to be no exit from this place.  Just a dark room with people milling about.  I try to figure out what is going on, when I notice each person who is milling about carries a package.  It seems like a heavy package, and it has some kind of wrapping around it, like a gift.  The packages are identical, and every person in the room, milling about carries this package.  I look down, and I realize I am carrying that package too.  I ask someone what is in the package, and they merely look at me, and continue to wander.  The package is compelling.  I wonder what is inside.  I can't wait to open the package.  I find myself obsessing about the package and no longer pay attention to the people.  Then I notice I can't breathe under the weight of the package, and I put the package down.

Suddenly, I see a bright beam of light shining down into the middle of the room! It is a single beam of light.  I don't know why I didn't see it before.  It is so obvious to me now.  I want to go to the light.  I'm tired of wandering around in the dark.  So, I pick up the package and get ready to go to the light.  But, the light is gone.  It is dark again.  Where did the light go?  I am panicking.  I run to the other people and ask, "Did you see it?" But they just look at me blankly and continue to wander.  I want the light.  I want that light so much more than I have ever wanted anything.  I am saddened that it is gone, and I put the package down to get ready to sit down and cry, when the light reappears!

It dawns on me, that somehow, I was blinded to the light so long as I carried that package, but as soon as I put it down, I could see it.  I run to the light, now unencumbered and free.  Just as I get ready to get into the light, I look back.  There they were.  All those people, still burdened by that package they carried.  They could not see what I could see.  I then realize my responsibility is to help those people see the light, so that they may be saved.  I have to help them be free from the burdens they carry.

Let's explore some of the components of this vision.  Ephesians 5:8 indicates that we once were full of darkness, but now have light from the Lord.  John 3:19-20 says that God's light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.  All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed (NLT).  I think the people milling about were carrying the burden of sin, all wrapped up as a package they desired.  Because the sin package was what they focused on and desired, they could not see the light that is God.  They were blind.  What can we do to help people recognize God's light, when they are so consumed by sin?

How can we show them the beauty of God?

"But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants." John 3:21 NLT

Rebellion or Responsibility?

Luke prepares to fight the evil Emperor 

I know... two posts about Star Wars in a row!  Bear with me.  I'm a huge fan.

This morning in my Bible study, I was struck by some actions taken by disciples after the ascension of Jesus.  In the book of Acts, we read about Peter refusing to obey the commands of religious leaders, and then being thrown in jail.  We are taught as Christians to obey the laws of our land.  When is it ever okay to refuse?  Was Peter wrong to disobey?  Consider the law they disobeyed: they continued to teach in the name of Jesus, even after being warned.

This made me remember about Daniel's friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  They refused to obey the king's order to worship the gold statue.  They were ordered to go into a fiery furnace as punishment for this disobedience.  But, God protected them.  Why? After all, they broke the law.

The movie series Star Wars portrays many people disobeying the laws set by the evil galactic empire.  When we learn how evil the emperor is, we then acknowledge that the laws set by him were not laws to obey.  We then take the side of the rebels.  When the laws of the government in control contradict the actions of believers to share the gospel and worship the one true God, we have a responsibility to obey our God.  This means we may be disobeying the law(s) of our government.  The Bible warns us that in the end times, we will be martyred for refusing to obey laws that require us to renounce our Lord and savior.

It is important to know our leaders and know the laws they put into action.  We are held responsible for upholding those laws.  Be careful to know who we are voting to put into power.  There may come a time that those in power will seek to limit our ability to proclaim the gospel.  Will we be ready?

"So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord.  And don't be ashamed of me, either, even though I'm in prison for Him.  With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News." ~2Timothy 1:8 NLT

Wisdom and Understanding

"Yes, a Jedi's strength flows from the Force. But beware of the dark side. Anger, fear, aggression; the dark side of the Force are they. Easily they flow, quick to join you in a fight. If once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will, as it did Obi-Wan's apprentice." ~Yoda

Yoda is a central character in the Star Wars series.  We are first introduced to him in 1980 as a backwards creature in a swamp world that Luke stumbles upon.  Little did Luke know he was talking to the great Jedi Master that trained so many Jedi in his years.  He had disregarded him until he finally recognized him for who he is.  

Have you ever met someone and quickly formed an opinion of them (maybe based on age or appearance)?  When you took the time to get to know them personally, did your opinion change? I had the good fortune to meet and get to know several individuals like this.  I love finding out the hidden wisdom in each of these individuals' experiences.  There is so much we can learn from those who walk before us.  Why is it that I didn't pay attention to their lessons they shared when I was young?  Why is it now, in my middle years that I recognize and value their thoughts and feelings?

I have been going through the gospels and reading about the different people Jesus interacted with.  I am struck by the words of Simeon and Anna when they encountered the child Jesus in the Temple.  Both were aging, but still had the hope you see in children.  Both were so excited to meet the Messiah, whom they had waited all their lives.  What wisdom they had, if only the religious leaders had taken the time to listen!

Let's take a few minutes to sit down with the generation(s) before us.  We might be surprised at the lessons we can learn from their experiences.

"Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old." (Job 12:12 NLT)