Talents

My family and I went to the Laff Stop last night to watch our friend, Mary Sarah Gross, perform in a talent showcase event. It was great fun hearing all the various people sing on stage, like American Idol up close and personal, without the snippy comments from judges. We got to spend time with Mary's family and friends, which was great since our schedules rarely allow us to get together. Mary had a role in my movie "Spirits Among Us." She did a great job and was a joy to work with, I am hoping to have her in future productions.

What I thought about as I sat there was, "while many people are sitting around watching television, these people work hard to develop their natural gifts so they can entertain other people. They didn't just let their talents lie dormant in the ground, they put in hours and hours of hard work to develop and nuture them, and then had the guts to get up on stage and perform in front of an audience." I am impressed by people who are driven to develop and use the talents that God has given them. He has given each of us something. His desire is that we figure out what that is and do something worthwhile with it. I love being around people who are doing something good with the precious time and gifts God has given them.

The photos here are a few that I snapped during the event. The first one at the top of the post is of Mary.

Playing "Dress Up"

Finally, while driving to work a couple days back, God revealed to me what the "Armor of God" passages in Ephesians 6:10-18 mean to me. For years I have read commentaries, participated in Bible studies, and watched/heard others "praying on" the armor of God. I never, ever felt like I understood what it meant.

Does it mean that every day you wake up you "put on" the full armor of God by saying to God that you are putting on "shoes of peace, belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, etc?" Or do you "pray it on" someone else by loudly and emotionally proclaiming it in prayer as you use your hands to mimic the acts of putting on each piece? Is it something that you just thank God for providing, and remember He provides it all when you encounter a struggle? Is it a magic formula that you "pray on" as needed to give you victory over circumstances? I have heard and/or seen all these and more. None of them "worked" for me. Sometimes it was like playing "dress up." I still was not satisfied that I "got it."

Here is what it means for me:
Belt of Truth: Practice truth in all that I do and say
Breastplate of Righteousness: Do what is right in God's eyes, according to His word
Shoes of Peace: Seek peace, not conflict or conquest, in my relationships and encounters
Shield of Faith: Do not lean on my own understanding, but believe in God's plan, purpose and soveriegnity.
Helment of Salvation: Always remember that I have been saved by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and as a result I have an eternal relationship with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
Sword of the Spirit: Use the power of God's word (truths and promises written in the Bible) to have victory in battles.

So, if I am slack in any of those areas, I have left open a vulnerability to the attacks of evil. If I am faithful in practicing truth, righteousness, peace, etc. then I have strong protection against the schemes and tactics that Satan uses to trip me up. Now I "got it" because God "revealed it."

What does the photograph have to do with any of this? Good question. I just felt like putting up a photo of the Camaro I used to own. I miss it.

An Ark to Build

We watched "Evan Almighty" last night. That movie has some good, and Biblically sound insights. As I watched the movie I realized that we probably each have our own "Ark" to build. Evan, like Noah, decided to embark on a very difficult task which took him away from his own plans, exposed him to ridicule from everyone, and had no guarantee to be necessary at all. He did this all simply because God told him to, so he did what he knew God wanted him to do. I think God has plans for all of us, and some of them will put our love of Him to the test.

At this point I should explain that the photograph is of me holding up what is probably my first of several "arks." Not everyone thought I was completely sane when I took precious time away from my successful engineering career, and most of my recreation time, to start a career making Christian movies. Making movies for God is considerably easier (and easier to explain) than building a huge boat in the middle of a desert, but it is definitely not "the easy way out" for me. It is simply what I know God wants me to do, so I do it. My movie is now in distribution, I have a handful of packaged copies to prove it, and it is available for sale or rent at various outlets. This is very exciting and encouraging to me. I believe you can detect some level of enthusiasm in the photo.

It was hard work for me, but God is making it fruitful.

Right now people can rent it at NetFlix or buy it from PopularChristian. I will post links for the other sites when they get there copies.

True Beauty

My wife and I have been watching a new “reality” show called True Beauty. The contestants are very good-looking young people who think they are vying for the position of “most beautiful” based on physical appearance and how they perform various modeling-related activities. What the three judges are looking for is actually inner beauty, which is largely based on the contestants’ behavior when they don’t know they are being taped by hidden cameras. In judging inner beauty, the judges basically focus on the contestant’s integrity and how they treat other people. It is a simple, fairly predictable show, but I enjoy it and it actually has some redeeming value.

What I am learning from this show is aside from the obvious shallow, ego-centric, self promoting ugliness that is often found in people (physically beautiful or not), that everyone has some unattractive characteristics. I realize that most readers will respond to my last statement with something to the effect of “Duh!” What I am trying to articulate goes a little deeper. True beauty doesn’t come naturally. Ugliness comes easily and naturally. For non-believers, becoming beautiful requires will power, a willingness to make changes to bad thoughts, bad words, and bad actions. For believers, the Holy Spirit continually perfects us, if we pursue Godliness. We also have to exercise will power to make changes, but even the strongest will power is weak when compared to the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. I see much of my unattractiveness in the behavior of some of the contestants. This makes me see two truths to a greater depth than before:

1. I need to continually ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to me those areas in which I need improvement
2. I need to have more patience with people struggling with their own imperfections

On a funny note, I heard it once said that “Beauty is only skin deep, but ugly goes right to the bone.” That statement is intended to be humorous, but it hits on something which I believe is true. There is some ugliness beneath the surface of everyone, and a preponderance of ugliness will eventually make its way to the surface.

The photo is one of many that I have taken of our children. You can see more by visiting my very old website at the following link: http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/Paradise/1368/index.html

Conundrum Continues

This post is to provide further information in response to comments made about my previous post, “Controversial Conundrum.” It is important to note that the conundrum I wrote about only applies to Bible believing Christians. It is also important to note that although I have picked scripture references to support the beliefs stated here, that true understanding does not come from a scripture here and there, but a thorough reading of the Bible and the interpreting ability provided by the Holy Spirit (John 14:17, Corinthians 2:11-14).

So, with that stated, here we go.

In reference to my observation from the Bible that God created the world and all life on it, that Adam and Eve brought sin into the world, that death is the result of sin, and therefore there was no death on earth before the first sin.

The comment, summarized:
Maybe the Bible was not meant to be interpreted literally, maybe it is full of metaphors.

My response:
The Bible does contain metaphors, however the beliefs that God created the world, Adam and Eve sinned, and sin brought death to the world are fundamental to the Christian Faith. These are literal Bible truths, not metaphors. The relation between sin and death, and the original sin, are the reasons that Jesus Christ had to die for payment of our sins. Here are the references related to these beliefs:

God created the world and everything in it: Genesis 1:1, Job 38:4-11, John 1:1-3, Exodus 20:11

Adam and Eve were real, literal people: Genesis 4:1-2, 1 Timothy 2:13-14

The first sin came through Adam and Eve: Genesis 3:1-20, Romans 5:12,1 Corinthians 15:21-22

Sin brought death to the world, and Jesus’ death was required to pay for it: Romans 5:12-15, James 1:15, Genesis 2:17, 1 Corinthians 15:21-22

In reference to my following two observations:
1) If one believes that God created the world and all things in it, then any science that does not support that is not revealing truth-so it is flawed science.
2) If one believes that sin and death entered through the first man, then it is not possible to also believe that many years of death led up to the development of man (as held by the general theory of evolution ).

The comment, verbatim:“And maybe God would not appreciate us focusing in on the Bible so exclusively that we discount logical conclusions about the world around us.”

My response:
God gave us brains, and there is nothing in the Bible that indicates we should not use them. The Bible does state we should seek wisdom, but that we have to be careful and not depend entirely on our own understanding. The Bible makes it clear that observation of nature should point to God as its creator, and that people that deny existence of God are not demonstrating wisdom. Here are the references related to these beliefs:

We should seek wisdom: Proverbs 3
We should not depend entirely on our own understanding: Proverbs 3:5
Observation of nature reveals God: Romans 1:18-20, Job 12:7-10
To deny existence of God is not wise: Psalm 14:1

The photo is of an interesting combination of footprints. From my very brief research it appears legitimate, but I want to dig into (pun intended) these types of findings more before finalizing any conclusions.

Controversial Conundrum

I don't usually use big words like "conundrum" but I thought it was appropriate for this post dealing with the situation where people find themselves with "an intricate and difficult problem."

The difficult and intricate problem I am speaking of is encountered when people who are Christians state that they believe in the general theory of evolution as the basis for the origin and development of life. The reason often stated for this belief is “because it is based on valid science.” Before going further, I must admit that I did not see a problem with God using evolution to create life, until I gave it some critical thought.

Before explaining why I believe this is a conundrum, I should explain what is meant by the phrase “general theory of evolution.”

The general theory of evolution holds that our earth and all life on it was created by gradual changes, beginning with non-living matter and leading to the diverse system of life that we see on earth today. The transformation of non-living matter to living organisms and the subsequent gradual changes were driven by a combination of random, undirected activity, mutations and natural selection. This theory holds that there is no evidence that a creator (intelligent life form) directed the origin and development of life on earth.

Why do I believe this is a conundrum? There are two primary reasons.

First, if one is a Christian, then they believe in the God described in the Holy Bible, and that the Holy Bible is divinely inspired-that everything in the Holy Bible is true. Christians must believe that God created earth, plants, animals, and people because it is clearly stated in the Holy Bible.

Valid science involves using the scientific process. The scientific process in its purest form eliminates subjectivity. It uses objective data to prove or disprove the validity of a concept (hypothesis). Valid science reveals truth. Any scientific theory that does not reveal truth is flawed, it is not valid science.

So, if one believes that God (a creator, an intelligent life form) created the earth and all living things, that means they consider it to be a truth. The general theory of evolution does not indicate creation of life by a creator. Since this theory clearly does not indicate what Christians hold to be true, can a Christian consider the general theory of evolution to be true, or consider it to be based on valid science?

Second, according to the Holy Bible, death was introduced by sin. Therefore before sin was committed on earth, there was no death on earth. Adam and Eve committed the first sin at some point after their creation, and therefore after the creation of all living things on earth. The general theory of evolution depends on natural selection. Natural selection is the survival of the fittest, and the death of the least fit. Death had to occur for many years prior to the first sin being committed on earth for the general theory of evolution to be true. Can a Christian believe that the general theory of evolution is true when it contradicts what the Holy Bible states concerning the original sin, and the relationship between sin and death?

Sowing, Destiny

Here some quick food for thought. I don't believe in the "Power of Positive Thinking" in that my positive thoughts have some form of power to transform the physical world around me. I have had people respond to one of my pessimistic comments say something to the effect of "words are powerful, by saying something (negative) you may make it happen." Well, that is not exactly true, but thoughts and words are powerful in that they affect people. For example, I can sit in my office thinking that my client will give me a cherry project in Australia and it won't increase the chances of that happening. But, if thoughts of working in Australia are on my mind, and while having conversations with my client I bring up my interest in it, that will increase the chances of it happening-provided the client has such an opportunity available.

I think this quote from today's commentary from Greg Laurie accurately sums it up:
"Sow a thought, reap an act; sow an act, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny."

So, I must be careful with which thoughts I sow because it does, through a long chain of events, have the potential to shape my destiny.