Fellowship

Those who can sit in silence with their peers, not knowing what to say but knowing that they should be there, can bring new life in a dying heart. Those who are not afraid to hold a hand in gratitude, to shed tears in grief or to let a sigh of sadness rise straight from the heart can break through paralyzing boundaries and witness the birth of a new fellowship, the fellowship of the broken. As my good friend and OT Professor Dr. Steve Hooks has said, the church should not be a house for the holy, but a hospital for the spiritually sick. The church is an organism, not an organization; a movement, not a monument.

Reflection

Others are watching you, wondering if your heart really belongs to God.  Do you know how they determine if you are truly His child?  They look for evidence of the relationship.  No one has to wonder whether or not I am married.  The wedding band on my finger tells the whole story.  The same should be said of the Christian journey.  The evidence is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self-control.

But these qualities of character do not simply appear, nor do they grow through the force of your will.  They are like fruit, and they grow into your life as a result of your being related to Christ.  You cannot bear this kind of fruit unless you are connected to the Lord.  When these qualities are blatantly evident in your life, God is glorified.  He wants everyone else to know that you belong to Him!  He is proud of you!  God carries your picture in His wallet.

Jesus summed up the key to developing these qualities.  His command to us is this:  Love others as He first loved us.  If you heed His teaching, He will help you develop the character traits that prove to the world that this Earth is not our home.

True Faith

One of the most frequent criticisms applied to Christians is that we
are "hypocrites." Many times this is simply a cheap shot. But,
sadly, sometimes we deserve this label. We can easily believe one
thing, yet do another. Or we might sweetly praise God's name in a
worship service, only to yell mercilessly at the driver who cuts in
front of us on the way home from church.

The issue of hypocrisy is as old as Christianity itself. Just a few
years after the church was born, James wrote a letter addressing the
problem of Christians who fail to live out their faith. In his letter
he offers practical advice for how our lives as Christians can reflect
well upon our faith, and, indeed, upon God.

Perhaps the most familiar section of James is the discussion of faith
and works in chapter 2. On a superficial level, James appears to
contradict Paul's teaching on justification by faith when he says that
"a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone" (2:24;
compare Galatians 2:16). But a more careful reading of James (and
Paul) corrects this misunderstanding. For Paul, genuine faith in
Christ will always be expressed in good works (cf. Ephesians 2:8-10).
Similarly, James claims that faith without works is dead (2:17).

Why does James emphasize the negative side of the discussion? He is
probably responding to a group of Christians who distorted Paul's
original teaching. These individuals claimed that it was sufficient
merely to affirm the truth of the gospel. Faith, for them, required
no active response or life transformation. In fact, their theology
provided a solid foundation for a life of blatant Christian hypocrisy.
James writes to correct their confusion. Both he and Paul would
agree that true faith will transform one's life and be demonstrated in
good works.

Not surprisingly, James's comments on worship emphasize its active,
daily-life implications: "If anyone considers himself religious and
yet does not keep a tight reign on his tongue, he deceives himself and
his religion is worthless" (1:26). What a tragedy that the same mouth
can both praise God and curse people created in God's image (3:9-10)!
To frame the matter more positively, if our worship is genuine the
experience of offering praise to God should transform the way we speak
and relate to others.

Furthermore, our worship must be expressed not only in praise to God,
but also in tangible care for people: "Religion that God our Father
accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and
widows in their distress" (1:27). Since God, who is full of
compassion and mercy, gives generously to us, we should do likewise to
others. This passage reminds us of what Jesus says in Matthew
25:31-46. When we care for "the least" in Jesus' family, we are
caring for Him! So, when we show love to orphans, widows, co-workers,
homeless, even those who have intentionally wronged us, God receives
our actions as offerings of love to Him. There is no greater goal
than to point others toward Christ!

Perspective

Christ is building His kingdom with earth's broken things.  Men want only the strong, the successful, the victorious, the unbroken, in building their kingdoms; but God is the God of the unsuccessful, of those who have failed.  Heaven is filling with earth's broken lives, and there is no bruised reed that Christ cannot take and restore to glorious beauty.  He can take the life crushed by pain or sorrow and transform it into an instrument whose music shall be all praise.  He can lift earth's saddest failure up to Heaven's glory.

Salt and Light

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."  Jesus, taken from Matthew 5:13-16 (NIV)

Considering that my last entry started with the Beatitudes, I figured it would behoove me to continue the journey.  You will note that there is a shift here.  The Beatitudes were written in the third person.  Now, in this passage, we have text in the second person plural.  In other words, there is a subtle shift here, from describing Kingdom character traits (v. 1-12) to what Kingdom people, what we as Christians, should actually do.

Please notice here, those reading who are my brothers and sisters in Christ, that we are called to be this salt, this light, this living, radiant energy that points the way to Christ!  I've said this at least once earlier, but it bears repeating: if someone is living outside of Christ, then they are living inside darkness!  There is no tolerance, no "grey area," no spiritual smorgasboard that will suffice.  Christ is all, and we are His body on Earth! Hallelujah!

The Definition of Serendipity

Most everyone, whether or not they are followers of Christ, are familiar with the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5.  What most do not know, however, is that in the original Greek, the word for "blessed" here literally translates into a short cry of joy.  The best way I could phrase it would be "You lucky person! You're doing what God made you to do!"  Keep in mind that we cannot pick and choose when this applies.  "Blessed" also appears in v. 11, where Jesus reminds us to be joyful "when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me."

Christ turned the world's accepted standards upside-down.  It is the poor, not the rich, who are blessed; the weak, not the strong, who are to be esteemed; the pure in heart, not the sophisticated and the worldly, who understand what life is about.  Righteousness, not pleasure or power or money, should be our pursuit.

My friends, happiness is not what we feel, it is what IS.  Happiness is not a goal, it is a by-product, controlled by our internal values and beliefs.  Happiness is what happens to us when we choose to follow Christ and allow His character to become a part of us!  That is why Paul explains in an amazing passage out of II Corinthians that we, "who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit" (3:18 NIV).  Not only do we glimpse God's glory now, but His Spirit is in the process of transforming us more and more into the glorious likeness of God.  

Soul-Baring Surrender

The author of Ecclesiastes is known only as "the Teacher" (Heb. Qoheleth [Koh-hey-LATE] ), although tradition and textual cues connect him with King Solomon.  The book contains a lengthy speech (1:12-12:8), preceded by a brief introduction (1:1-11) and followed by an epilogue (12:8-14).

The Teacher's message is a bracing confession of his struggle to find meaning in life.  His view of the world is often cynical and jaded.  His gut-wrenching honesty enlightens our own struggle for a purposeful life.  It also models for us how to be honest with God about our own doubts.  The Teacher's message may seem shocking to us, but it doesn't offend God.  God is more interested in the things on our hearts, however rough, than He is in the polished words we use to impress Him.  For all of his cynicism, the Teacher does not question his relationship to God or deny God's goodness.

Ecclesiastes also reminds us to cultivate humility before God.  We who know God through Jesus Christ and through the Bible must not forget how much bigger God is than our pint-sized conceptions of Him.  We must guard against undue self-confidence when we worship a God Who is free and sovereign.  His ways are mysterious.  Ecclesiastes is an antidote to the venom of glib platitudes and repetitious chatter in worship.  As the Teacher says: "Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few" (5:1-2).

The Teacher's message prepares us for the coming of Christ, the only source of true, lasting meaning.  How thankful I am that God has come in Christ to show me what life is all about and to deliver me from the quicksand of meaninglessness!

One Love, One God, One Way

Choices.  It seems our culture is obsessed with them.  Paper or plastic?  Interstate or back roads?  DVD or Blu Ray?  In Matthew's gospel, ch 7:13-29 Jesus introduces us to a foundational choice, one that I would venture to say speaks to the heart of Christianity itself.  Note that Jesus is using a dualistic approach here: two trees, two gates, two foundations.  Yes, our society is obsessed with having a multitude of choices, but true, Christ-following faith is no Baskin Robbins.  There are no "31 Flavors" of Religion that we can pick from that can get us on God's good side ( see my earlier posts on relativism if you want to delve deeper into this aspect).  God has come fully in the person and work of Jesus Christ.  Christ is not one spiritual guide among many religious gurus.  In fact, Paul writes that He is "the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.  For by him all things were created...He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy" (cf. Colossians 1:15-18 NIV).

Too often we overcomplicate the choice that is all too simple.  This really can be boiled down to asking a single, honest question:  "What is going to be my Authority today?"

In other words, Christ, or Culture?  The Word, or the World?  Self, or Sacrifice?  We're either being a shaper of society or we are being shaped by that same society.  We have to remember, dear friends--we are called to be the light in this dark world!  We are commanded to be this radiant energy that points the way to Christ!  Darkness is nothingness.  Darkness is the absence of Light.  If anyone is living outside of Christ then they are living inside darkness!  What are you and I going to do about it?...

Fwd: Eye Opener

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Arthur Nicewander
Date: Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Subject: Eye Opener
To: Mike Galusha <Mike.Galusha@delta.com>, Ryan Westafer <ryan.westafer@gmail.com>, "Mike &amp, Mary Galusha" <mjgalusha@comcast.net>, Mary Lynn Kirby <mlk1112002@yahoo.com>, Hugh Kirby <hughk@newhopebc.org>, Michelle Bonner <michellebonnermk@bellsouth.net>, Axal Plangeogoe <axalplangeogoe@yahoo.com>, Hunter Gillam <huntergillam@comcast.net>, Beth Gillam <bethgillam@gmail.com>


So I'm having my QT, when this tiny paragraph out of Paul's letter to the Galatian church decides to reach out and smack me upside my head:

"Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." (1:10 TNIV)

Did you catch that last sentence?  What motivates us to worship God? A sense of gratitude or a sense of guilt? A desire to respond to God's grace or a desire to earn it? It's just a humbling thing to have the Spirit lead me to a word that serves to reinforce what I shared with ya'll Sunday.  The deeper I delve into the things of God, the more I'm learning to surrender.  Not just what I'm comfortable with giving up. ALL of it. My frustration about my job. My worries about providing for my family.   My danger of letting my reason drown out my faith.

Saint John of the Cross, a monk from the 14th century, says it better than I can:

"The children of Israel did not find in the manna all the sweetness and strength they might have found in it; not because the manna did not contain them, but because they longed for other meat."

Father, I want to live a life that pleases You.  I want to walk through each day depending on Your power, looking for Your hand, listening for the still, small voice of Your guidance.  Use me for Your kingdom's purposes.  Nudge me into greater acts of faith.  Call me to a deeper level of trust.  God, soften my heart so that I can live worthy of Your calling and fulfill Your highest purpose for my life.

Knowing is Not Enough

"We know that we all possess knowledge.  Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.  The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.  But the man who loves God is known by God."  I Cor. 8:1-3 (NIV)

The Christian walk is progressive.  Once we are saved by placing our faith and assurance in the person of Jesus Christ, our journey begins.  We grow from that point onward until we are finally at home with the Lord, face-to-face in Heaven.  So how exactly do we grow?

Among other things, we grow in our knowledge of spiritual truths.  But here is a reality the Word warns us of: When we grow in our knowledge, there is an inherent danger of being "puffed up" (pride-filled) by that knowledge.

It sounds like a contradiction, I know.  You would think that the more knowledge we acquire about God, the more we would be like God.  However, knowledge on its own is not enough to make us more like the Lord.  It has to be accompanied by God's unconditional love, which the Holy Spirit produces in us (cf. Romans 5:1-5).

If we need any proof of this, all we have to do is take a look at the Pharisees from Jesus' day.  These men possessed more knowledge about the Hebrew Scriptures than anyone.  They knew each book verbatim and made a career out of "knowing."  They had a plethora of knowledge but lacked the love of God, so they became blinded by pride.  "We know everything there is to know, so how dare anyone try and teach US anything!"  The sad fact is that when the Son of God came to show them what they were missing, they were too proud to receive anything from Him.

Again, knowledge is a good, even a necessary thing in the Christian life.  Knowledge apart from the love of God is a very dangerous thing, which is precisely why we are warned to do more than just know.  We are told that if we want to have a positive impact and want to truly edify others, we must also love.  Saint Francis of Assisi said it best: "Preach the Gospel. If necessary, use words."

Friends, I urge you not to make the mistake of thinking your spiritual knowledge is enough.  Pray that you possess God's love in proportion to what you know about Him.  Put feet to your faith!

Distinctions

Just had to share this, as it seems the Lord has been laying this on my heart as of late.

It needs to be said that there is a difference in being a Christian and being a good person.  The most recent statistic I read said something that blew my mind.  One out of every four Americans claims to be a Christ follower.  That's 25% of our total population.  It seems to me that if this were indeed the truth, this country would be in a much better position emotionally, economically and spiritually than we are now.

Philip Yancey in his phenomenal book "Reaching for the Invisible God" shares an open letter he penned to God.  Though this is his letter, it perfectly captures my intentions in starting and continuing this blog:

" 'You sure don't act as if God is alive'--that's the accusation one of Pattie's friends made to her, and it has haunted me ever since, as a question.  Do I act as if You are alive?
    Sometimes I treat you as a substance, a narcotic like alcohol or Valium, when I need a fix, to smooth over the harshness of reality, or to take it away.  I can sometimes ease off from this world into an awareness of an invisible world; and most of the time I truly believe it exists, as real as this world of oxygen and grass and water.  But how do I do the reverse, to let the reality of your world--of You--enter in and transform the numbing sameness of my daily life, and my daily self?
    I see progress, I admit.  I see you now as someone I respect, even reverence, rather than fear.  Now your mercy and grace impress me more than your holiness and awe.  Jesus has done that for me, I suppose.  He has tamed you, at least enough so that we can live together in the same cage without me cowering in the corner all the time.  He has made you appealing, love-able.  And I tell myself that he has made me appealing and love-able to you as well.  That's not something I could ever come up with on my own; I have to take your word for it. Much of the time, I hardly believe it.
    So how do I act as if you're alive?  How do the cells of my body, the same ones that sweat and urinate and get depressed and toss and turn in bed at night--how do these cells carry around the splendor of the God of the Universe in a way that leaks out for others to notice?  How do I love even one person with the love you came to bring?
    Occasionally I get caught up in your world, and love you, and I've learned to cope OK in this world, but how do I bring the two together?  That's my prayer, I guess: to believe in the possibility of change.  Living inside myself, change is hard to observe.  So often it seems like learned behavior, like adaptations to an environment, as the scientists say.  How do I let you change me in my essence, in my nature, to make me more like you?  Or is that even possible?
    Funny, I find it easier to believe in the impossible--to believe in the parting of the Red Sea, to believe in Easter--than to believe in what should seem more possible: the slow, steady dawning of Your life in people like me and Janet and Dave and Mary and Bruce and Kerry and Janice and Paul.  Help me to believe in the possible, God."

Friends, calling yourself a good person and simply going to a church no more makes you a Christian than standing in a garage makes you a car.  It is a living, active relationship with a living, active person, the person of Jesus Christ.

True Evangelism

Evangelism as it pertains to social action should be the primary focus of anyone who calls himself a follower of Christ.  The reason I am so passionate about this issue is simply because I believe that the area of true evangelism is an area that the modern church is dangerously weak in.  The more I leave my protective "bubble" of home or even church and begin to get involved in the "real world," the more I find that the primary motives of the 21st century church have shifted drastically.  The cultural cancer of moral relativism, it seems, even has the ability to seep through even the most tightly sealed sanctuary doors.

"What is true for me may not be true for you."  Sadly this is a sentiment that is becoming more the rule instead of the exception in our society today.  There is a danger for us as Christians living in 2011 to want to make our faith comfortable, convenient and safe.  "Tolerance" is key.  We do not want to offend anyone with the message that Scripture contains.  It is due to this relativistic attitude seen within so many churches that the Biblical command of evangelism haa been strangled or even silenced altogether.  Instead of setting our sights on reaching the lost or making an impact within our own social circles, we choose to take care of "our own" first and let those "pagans" worry about their own souls.

In his book "Messy Spirituality," Michael Yaconelli also speaks to this very issue, accusing the church of giving in to moral relativism, of becoming self-centered rather than seeker-friendly.  According to the author, Jesus' willingness to evangelize the lost "scandalized an intimidating, elitist, country-club religion by opening membership to those who had been denied it" (pg. 47).  In other words, what we in the modern body of Christ have to realize is that not only is Biblical, saving faith loyal identification of Jesus, it also is transforming faith, and thus it always has social dimensions!  These dimensions can include loving one another, forgiving one another, giving restitution for wrongs done, or acts of compassion.  Please notice that last statement--ACTS of compassion.  True faith, and by extension true Christian living, will always involve action of some sort (cf. the NT book of James).

Nothing makes "church people" more angry than Grace.  It's ironic: we stumble into a party we are not invited to and find the uninvited standing at the doors, making sure no other uninviteds get in.  Then a strange phenomenon occurs: as soon as we have been included in the party because of Jesus' great love, we decide to make grace "more responsible" by becoming self-appointed Kingdom Hall Monitors, guarding the doors to the kingdom of God, keeping the riff-raff out (which, as I understand it, are who the kingdom of God is supposed to include).

Religious people love to bide behind their religion.  They love the rules of religion more than they love Jesus.  With enough practice, adherents to the "extremes" of Christianity, be they Legalists or Liberals, let the rules become more important than the spiritual life or the souls of the lost.  The tenets of their faith are much more vital than seeking to transform a wayward culture.

What those of us living in 2011 have to realize is that the spiritual life is not just about the rules and regulations, traditions and teachings, lectures and sermons.  Life with Jesus is meant to be LIVED, not smothered, dissected, inspected, or condemned.  Daily picking up our cross and following Jesus means that we need to desperately, passionately seek to transform the culture, not block it out.  We need to open our arms as well as our hearts to those who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and prove to them we truly care by our actions.  There needs to be an unwavering commitment to developing the mind of Christ, as well as a cultivation of said Christian mind.  Frankly, I believe with all that is in me that there needs to be an integration (rather than a separation) of faith and reason.

Thoughts on Philippians

How often do the circumstances of life determine the quality of our worship?  When things are going well, we find it easy to offer thanks to God.  When times are difficult, worship can be a struggle (to say the least!)  We wonder: "How can I worship God when my life is so hard?"

The apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians helps us answer this question.  His physical situation could not be much worse.  He is locked in chains because of his testimony to Christ (1:12-13).  Yet Paul fills his letter with worship, even with rejoicing (1:4; 2:17; 4:10).  How is this possible?  How can one who is suffering nevertheless "rejoice in the Lord"?

In part, Paul rejoices because of his "partnership in the gospel" with the Philippian church.  This congregation not only responded to Paul's preaching with faith but also joined in his evangelistic enterprise (1:3-5 + 4:15).  Furthermore, Paul exults because he knows that God will complete the " good work" He has begun among the Philippians (1:6).  On the day when Christ returns, they will be "filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God" (1:11).  Accordingly, Paul is able to rejoice in suffering because he looks ahead to the glorious day of Christ.  We too can worship with gladness when we lift our eyes above our momentary afflictions and focus on the innumerable blessings of eternity.

When we suffer, the vision of Christ's ultimate victory and glory sustains us and fills us with gladness.  After urging the Philippians to rejoice in the Lord, Paul invites them to think in new ways.  Though Paul would not advise us to deny the reality of our pain, neither would he support undue fixation upon earthly struggles.  Instead, we should turn our attention to things that are true, noble, right, etc.  In other words, we should occupy our minds with God and with His good gifts.  We are enabled to worship, no matter what our circumstances, when we remember all that God has given to us.  

"I find that God's gifts are on shelves one beneath the other and that it is not a question of growing taller but of stooping lower." F.B. Meyer (1847-1929)

"...That we have no more familiar object than God." Francis Malaval (1627-1719)

"Oh the blindness of men who, not having yet understood that they were created only for God, dare to think it strange that we should always think of God, and

Evening friends, followers and even subscribers: A bit of a short post this evening, as I only have my trusty phone. Just thought I'd share some great quotes.

A Surprise

So I'm driving home from work today, doing my normal commute, when out of nowhere this huge black SUV rides up so close to my rear that all I see are headlights.  Apparently, my going anywhere from 5-7 miles over the posted speed limit still isn't fast enough for this particular individual, who then proceeds to swerve into the oncoming traffic lane, flying by me doing at least 70 in a 55.  Though, to her credit, she slows enough to keep pace with me just long enough to give me the finger, as well as a few made-up gesticulations of her own, etc etc.  As if all this isn't enough, as metaphorical icing on my commuting cake, when she promptly cuts me off (directly ahead of me now, keep in mind)...her license plate reads:

BLVNHIM

All sarcasm aside (at least for this sentence) for those possibly not familiar with deciphering American license plate jargon, that particular masterpiece is meant to be read "Believe in Him."  Herein lies my problem. 

So, this person is claiming to be a Christian?  This young lady is telling the world (at least the world directly behind her in traffic) that she is "BLV'ing N HIM" yet her actions to me on the way home prove drastically otherwise.  

Hypocrisy is nothing new to the Church.  It bleeds like a Sharpie through an unsuspecting shirt pocket through much of the NT.  In fact, many of Paul's most important addresses to his early congregation center around this issue.  Paul writes his letter to the Galatians because they are abandoning their authentic faith in Christ under the influence of the Judaizers.  Having begun with the "grace of Christ," they are now "turning to a different gospel" (1:6 NIV).  Having started with the Spirit, they are living by "human effort" (3:3).

True faith is not "easy believism"--a superficial acknowledgment that the Gospel is true without any personal commitment.  Paul later writes: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (2:20).  Genuine faith, then, involves a comprehensive investment of oneself in Christ.  My traffic surprise on the way home this afternoon just serves to "drive home" this very important point...

A Lesson in Patience

So excited today...after another three weeks of waiting, today was finally to be the day when my wife and I found out the gender of our new arrival (due to be here January 15, 2012 give-or-take).  We get to her Dr.'s office, and after a good forty-five minutes of ultrasound, they determined that the wee one was "too mobile" to make any clear determination on the gender, and we ended up having to re-schedule yet again.

Keep in mind, this was the third time in this pregnancy that this had happened to us.  I was frustrated, to say the least.  My boss was bending over backwards with my work schedule, especially since as of last Friday we are down to one car for the whole family.  I worked it out to where I can finally be there with my wife on one of her Dr. visits (a rare thing in Retail, even more so now that my store is officially in "Holiday Prep Mode") only to be told to... wait.

Waiting.  Patience.  Delayed gratification.  It has always been said that "patience is a virtue," yet I have never met a person on this planet who enjoys being stuck in a long check-out line at the store.  I have never seen a military wife ecstatic when she hears that her husband will not be back in the States for another year (or more, depending on the conflict).  The funny thing is, Scripture tells us that Patience is one of the fruits of the Spirit.  Like it or not, God expects us, those who claim to be "little Christ's," to be patient...or at the least, to learn to develop the habit.

Strangely, spending my time writing about the Christian faith makes it no easier.  A friend once commented about Christians in general, "If you repeat anything to yourself often enough, you can believe it."  Is that what I do?  I go over and over the words, trying to get them just right.  But how can I know whether I truly believe them or am just repeating them to myself, like a telephone solicitor rehearsing a sales pitch?

George Everett Ross makes this same point, though in different words:

 "I have served in the ministry thirty years, almost thirty-one.  I have come to understand that there are two kinds of faith.  One says if and the other says though.  One says if:  "If everything goes well, if my life is prosperous, if I'm happy, if no one I love dies, if I'm successful, then I will believe in God and say my prayers and go to the church and give what I can afford."  The other says though: though the cause of evil prosper, though I sweat in Gethsemane, though I must drink my cup at Calvary--nevertheless, precisely then, I will trust the Lord who made me.  So Job cries: 'Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.' "

May we remember to be a patient people.  After all, the Lord is definitely that way with me, on an almost daily basis...

My Top Five "B" Movies of All Time

Greetings, all:

Per a good friend's suggestion, the following are what I consider in my humble opinion to be the five greatest "B" movies of all time (in no particular order).  Anyone who knows me well knows I adore all aspects of film and cinema, and will watch dang near anything I can get my eyes on (barring anything obscene, of course).  So without further ramblings, to my List we go:

No. 5:  "House of the Dead" (2003)

Why, Uwe Boll, why?!  An old friend and college room-mate of mine first introduced me to this celluloid disgrace, and I've regretted it ever since.  I can think of diseases I'd happily contract rather than being forced to watch this absolute piece of refuse.  No, really, it is THAT bad.  Acting?  My two-year-old has better acting skills...heck, Keanu Reeves from 1991 has better acting skills!  Plot?  Will not even go there.  Special effects?  Sure, if you like actual mid-90's video game footage spliced hand-in-hand during the movie because the so-called "writers" had a script with more holes than Swiss Cheese.  Bottom line:  AVOID AT ALL COSTS.  Don't say I didn't warn you.  Brings us to:

No. 4:  "The Incredibly Strange Creatures who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies" (1964)

One of the most famous "B" movies ever made, mainly because of its legendary title, which is arguably the best thing about it. Look, this movie is bad, no doubt about it... but the question that should be asked obviously is, is this movie so bad, it's actually good?  This guy's opinion?  A resounding yes!

Ray Dennis Steckler lies somewhere between Ed Wood, Jr and Russ Meyer for me. Wood made laughably bad genre movies that have continued to fascinate because of their campy silliness. His movies are still tons of fun all these years later. Russ Meyer was certainly not incompetent, but he created bizarre movies populated with strange, sex obsessed characters, who found themselves involved in twisted, often indescribable plots spouting absolutely insane dialogue.  Mercifully, this film is right in the middle of such a grey area, so to speak.  Definitely worth a look...next up would be:

No. 3:  "Simon Sez" (1999)

Dennis Rodman in the lead role.  Dane Cook in the lead supporting role.  I think I just contracted some rare form of terminal illness just by having to type those last two sentences.  Not even worth my time, let alone any of yours.  In at the number Two spot is:

No. 2: "Evil Brain from Outer Space" (made-for-TV, 1965)

This movie seems to be edited together from episodes of a serial -- it jumps from sub-plot to sub-plot, and introduces a whole raft of new characters without developing any of them. It's Shin-Toho Studio's entry in the Superheroes from Space genre, which puts it side-by-side with those MST3K staples, "Invasion of the Neptune Men" and "Prince of Space".

Plot is thinner than Donald Trump's toupee, characters are laughable at best, dialog is instantly cheese due to this being a Japanese import.  Watch this with English dubbing, of course, to get the best effect.  If you really, truly want to waste a couple hours of your existence on this planet, I can think of no better way.  Finally, the creme de la creme of "B" movies, the one I humbly believe put them on the map, the Grandaddy of them all...drum roll please...

No. 1:  "Plan 9 From Outer Space" (1959)

This is very much one of those "it's so bad, it's good" scenarios.  Again, I first discovered this gem of cinema history while in my dorm with one of my best friends...we bought a (rare) DVD copy out of the fifty-cent bin at one of our local Dollar stores around that year's Halloween.  We were wanting to keep in the spirit (see what I did there?) of the Season, and I happened to notice that it was Bela Lugosi in the lead role.  However, it wasn't until we got back home that I realized upon closer inspection of the back cover that it actually said "Almost Starring Bela Lugosi."  In what is now one of the most infamous moves in all of film editing, because Lugosi passed away before true production could be completed, the film crew used the same stock footage of him throughout the entire movie.  Yes, you read that right...  I've never had so much fun with a B movie, before or since.  Poor production values, terrible acting, worse directing, and film dialog that must be heard to be believed all combine to make this, in my opinion, the absolute best of the worst movies ever made.  As an example of just how bad the production value is, in a scene where the alien UFO's are descending to invade Earth, you can literally see the fishing line the Gaffer is holding, which in turn is holding up the (and I swear I am not making this up) automobile hubcaps that are the "UFO's".  Simply (albeit unintentionally) brilliant!

Trust me, there is so much more I could list about "Plan 9" that it truly deserves it's own blog...just know that this is a must-see in B movie history, and it deserves and to this day earns its place atop my list of the "Worst of the Worst".

True Peace!

In light of most recent events (read: the East Coast earth-shaker that took place around lunchtime today) I figured now would be as good a time as any to put some of my thoughts on paper (digital though it may be) concerning our concept of Peace.  As I've mentioned earlier, in our Small Group class at church we're working through an amazing book; namely, Ann Spangler's Praying the Names of God.  This week's Name is Yahweh Shalom, "The Lord is Peace" taken from Judges 6, the Biblical tale of Gideon.

"Peace" is a word that obviously carries around a lot of weight these days, especially in light of recent world events.  We all long for peace, but strangely enough the ancient Hebrew word here (shalom) means so much more than the absence of outward conflict or the state of reaching inner calm.  For one thing, it reminds us that the peace we all long for comes only from God.  True shalom cannot be found in material possessions, job security, off-shore bank accounts, or a good education.  If we are not careful, the blessings we crave can even turn into desires in disguise, robbing us of the peace we look for to begin with.

Friends, true peace, true shalom can only be found in the presence of the living God.  When our lives are shattered, nothing matters more than to be reconciled to God, Who alone can restore our broken relationship with Himself.  The great news of the Gospel is that God not only allows such restoration but that He seeks us when we are lost (cf. Luke 15:3-7). 











 

Musings

Just sitting here, hiding out in the break room at work before clocking in for the day.  One of my classmates in our Small Group at church said something this past week that's been stuck in my head ever since...are we "on purpose" for God?  As Philip Yancey puts so well, do we "step into the stream of His consciousness?"  I had to think about that long and hard...

It's an old saying now, almost a cliche, but still true...it's been said that "You (we) may be the only Bible some people will ever see."  That's something I have to remind myself of almost on a daily basis.  As I go about my day, as I perform my "same old routine" at work, as I'm stuck in commuter traffic driving on the way home, even as I interact and play with my two-year-old...am I letting my Light so shine?  Are you?...