Jesus is God!

Romans 9:5 is the clearest passage in the Bible that states without any confusion that Jesus is God.  "To them belong the patriarchs (speaking of the jews), and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen."

It doesn't get any clearer than this…Jesus Christ is God….God over all! And it is this same God who became a man in order to satisfy his righteous judgment against sinful and law breaking mankind, in order that we might be forgiven and brought back into a right relationship with him.

 

 

Resting

I was reading a children's book from the 1800's, one I will be publishing, that reminded me about an important principle of "rest and replenishing." In our busy lives it is so easy to forget to rest and be still. During this Thanksgiving holiday it seemed there was plenty of time to rest as I visited with family, friends, and…the TV. From football, to parades, to Hallmark holiday movies, to Chris Cringle, to Facing the Giants, to the food channel, to Rambo, there was something for everyone for as much time as one wanted to be entertained. When I am tired, I find that if a TV is available, I succumb easily. It is one of the reasons I do not have a TV in my home. I know that in my flesh I would do what I do not want to do (Romans 7). Moreover, we have been called by God to rest and replenish our strength, our creativity, our relationships, our goals, and our entire being…one day a week. When we take seriously this one day a week to rest and enjoy God, we will find the new week take on an entirely new dimension. Just as our physical strength is renewed after rest, if we would begin practicing resting with God, we will experience what Isaiah was conveying when he said "we would run and not be weary, walk and not faint"…teach us Lord, to wait.

 

 

Hope against Hope: Romana 4

One of my favorite chapters in the Bible is Romans 4. In particular I love this section:

Talking about Abraham and his faith, Paul writes, "In hope be believed against hope…fully convinced that God was able to do what he promised."

This is the essence of faith.

Dr. Stanley

Being Light in a Godless Age 
2 Timothy 3:10-16

According to Scripture, our world is headed for terrible times. Politicians
can't solve the problems. Neither can philosophers or philanthropists. Only
God has the remedy&lsqauo;salvation and transformation, one life at a time.

As ungodliness increases, believers will be greatly impacted. Paul warned us
to take precautions so we don't start following the dysfunctional choices of
the godless. One way to do this is by being sensitive to God's work in the
lives of His people. Timothy paid attention to the way Paul handled
adversity and made decisions. He could see that God delivered the apostle
from many tough situations, so the young man chose to emulate him. Like
Timothy, we're wise to observe those who are choosing God's way.

Another precaution is to notice the spiritual foolishness of those living
apart from Christ&lsqauo;and avoid their influence. They may be high achievers,
financial successes, or generous givers, but without Jesus, they remain
outside God's family. Their choices reflect man's priorities, not the
Lord's.

Finally, we must be committed to the Bible as our guide for life. God's Word
was written by ordinary men under His inspiration. He designed the
Scriptures to be profitable for teaching, correction, and godly living.

We are commanded to be ready on all occasions to speak the name of Jesus,
share what He has done for us, and relate His gospel message to others. When
we do, we will be like lights reflecting the truth of our Savior to a world
desperately in need of illumination.

In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley

Harvest of Hope

Our happiness is not God’s greatest concern…his greatest concern is our holiness. It is sometimes in our darkest hour that the seeds of faith sown with tears, spring up into a harvest of hope.  

 

 

Obscenity revisited

I just received a note from a friend that I think is worth sharing. The
first paragraph is my response to him:

Great stuff!!! I think I met this guy at a conference last March in CA…he's
not a Christian but was talking about the same stuff…you need to read the
Culture Wise Family and two others: Amusing Ourselves to Death and The
Disappearance of Childhood…wait! You must read The Death of the Grown Up…!!!
None of these are written by Christians except Culture, and to our
shame…please read these!!!
By the way, at that conference these elite guys, producers from Disney,
Paramount, and Fox were asked what can prepare our youth the most for a film
making career and they said, "Study philosophy and theology!" Also, I will
send you something that will quite blow you away concerning Harry Potter.
Wait till you read this!
Maybe we can get together next week while I'm in NY if our schedules
connect.
Mark

Hey Mark,
 
I've been enjoying your recent blog posts.  If you didn't already know, I'm
"JPC" who commented on your post about obscenity.  I thought it would put my
name when I signed in, but it just used my initials. Anyways, your posts put
me in mind of a book I read a few years back called "On Directing Film" by
David Mamet.  I remember at the time being impressed by many of his
observations--observations of a man who, for all I know is not a Christian,
but from love of his craft, comes to many of the same conclusions that we
would come to on moral grounds.  I just wanted to send along a few snippets
from his book that I think relate nicely to your recent posts--thought it
would be too long to post as a blog response. ;)
 
"...It is our nature to want to make sense of...events--we can't help it. 
The human mind would make sense of them even if they were a random
juxtaposition.
 
"This being the nature of human perception, the smart dramatist will use it
to his or her advantage and say, 'well if the human mind is going to do all
that anyway, why don't I do it first?  Then I will be going with the flow
rather than battling against the tide.'
 
"If you aren't telling a story, moving from one image to another, the images
have to be more and more 'interesting' per se.  If you are telling a story,
then the human mind as it's working along with you, is perceiving your
thrust, both consciously and, more important, subconsciously.  The audience
members are going to go along with that story and will require neither
inducement, in the form of visual extravagance, nor explanation, in the form
of narration.
 
"...If we don't care what happens next, if the film is not correctly
designed, we may, unconsciously, create our own story in the same way that a
neurotic creates his own cause and effect rendition of the world around him,
but we're no longer interested in the story we're being told...  'Yes, I
saw, but I don't quite know where it's going.  I'm following it, but I am
certainly not going to risk my unconscious well being by becoming involved.'
 
"That's when it stops being interesting.  So that's where the bad author,
like the countercultural architect, has to take up the slack by making each
subsequent event more diverting than the last; to trick the audience into
paying attention.
 
"The end of this is obscenity.  Let's really see their genitals, let's
really endanger the actor through stunts, let's really set the building on
fire.  Over the course of a movie, it forces the filmmaker to get more and
more bizarre.  Over the course of a career, it forces a filmmaker to get
more and more outrageous; over the course of a culture, it forces the
culture to degenerate into depravity, which is what we have now.
 
"...the nature of dramatic art [is] to tell a story.  That's all it's good
for.  People have tried for centuries to use drama to change people's lives,
to influence, to comment, to express themselves.  It doesn't work.  It might
be nice if it worked for those things, but it doesn't.  The only thing the
dramatic form is good for is telling a story.
 
"If you want to tell a story, it might be a good idea to understand a little
bit about the nature of human perception.  Just as, if you want to know how
to build a roof, it might be a good idea to understand a little bit about
the effects of gravity and the effects of precipitation.
 
"If you go up into Vermont and you build a roof with a peak, the snow will
fall off.  You build a flat roof, the roof will fall down from the weight of
the snow--which is what happened to a lot of the countercultural
architecture of the 1960s. 'There may be a reason people have wanted to hear
stories for ten million years,' the performance artist says, 'but I really
don't care, because I have something to say.'
 
"The film business is caught in a spiral of degeneracy because it's run by
people who have no compass.  And the only thing you can do in the face of
this downward force is tell the truth.  Anytime anyone tells the truth,
that's a counterforce."
 
Excerpts from "On Directing Film", by David Mamet, 1991
 
So I tried to be brief--that entire chapter is really great stuff.  I knew
you'd be interested if you hadn't already read it. :)
 
All the best,
Jesse
 
PS--I was also interested by your Harry Potter posts (I saw two of them).  I
read the series a few years back and actually thought that, if I wanted to,
I could write a book called "Christ in Harry Potter" or some such thing. 
Taking in the entire arc of the plot, I found much more that spoke to the
things we believe and hold dear than not.  Anyways, I thought it was
interesting... :)

 

violence--off stage behavior; or is it?

One reader of the blog below Obscenity--New Hope, raised an excellent point concerning the standard of violence on stage. How much is too much? Who sets the standard? First, from my research there is no doubt that graphic violence is harmful both to children and adults. In the "UCLA Television Violence Monitoring Report," children imitate modeled behavior as the observational learning theory suggests. Researchers found that young children who view violent episodes, store that behavior in their brain. When they are confronted with a similar situation in real life, there is a propensity to mimic the behavior that was once stored, but now activated in the forefront of their memory. 

 

Jeffrey G. Johnson of Columbia University found that teenagers and young adults who watch more than one hour of TV daily are more likely to commit acts of violent crime or react aggressively. His study found a link between violence and viewing any television, not just violent programming!

 

A report on four decades of entertainment TV found that there were about 50 crimes, including a dozen murders, during every hour of prime time television. This indicates that our children may see from 800,000 to 1.5 million acts of violence and witness 192,000 to 360,000 murders on television by the time they are 17 years old.

 

Lastly, the Bible is a good standard for how much violence is too much, and how ironic I use the Bible as a standard! Here we have someone cutting off someone else's head. We have a woman driving a stake through a man's head while he sleeps in her lap. We have a man cutting up his lover in twelve pieces and then mailing the parts to various places in the country! We have a man with a spear who stabs to death a husband and pregnant wife…it doesn't get any more gory than this! Now before the Bible loses all credibility for the standard of violence, it is important to note that in each of these cases the writer does not elaborate on the violent act. It is usually one sentence and the act is over. Furthermore, these scenes are not visual. They are left to the readers imagination; and if the reader's imagination is not already defiled with graphic and immoral violence, the reader or hearer will find the violent scene objectionable, reprehensible, and repugnant. Their conscience will not allow them to enjoy the scene.

 

Think about the man who cut up the woman into twelve pieces.  When I think of this act, it makes me sick to visualize it. But today with the Chainsaw Massacre (I've never seen this) I can imagine that there are many who have been desensitized to graphic violence. Most important is for us to understand that unnecessary and graphic violence breaks the aesthetic mood of the story.  And this at times may be necessary and the purpose for inserting a graphic scene such as the dismemberment of a woman. But note that the insertion is quick without any elaboration on the particulars. In case such as this, the "extreme" violence is to cause the reader to stop and think, not about the violent act, but why the writer has inserted it. An OT mind would not have been enjoying the gore as entertainment but pondering the theological reason for its insertion.  Ooops…I see I have been going on and on and on and on…hope this helps…

Mark

 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

JPC has left a new comment on your post "Obscenity--New Hope":

I never knew the root of the word "obscene"--an excellent approach to the age old (and frankly worn out) "sex and violence in movies blah blah blah" stuff I grew up hearing.

I would question your inclusion of violence, or at least putting it on the same level with graphic sexual depictions on screen. Often, violence is central to the story--be it a war story, or one of tough street life, or anything in between. Of course, many movies have proven that if a sexual situation is central to the story, that can *always* be handled without graphic portrayal.

Maybe I have answered my own question regarding violence--is the key *graphic* violence? But then, what is the standard for that? Suddenly we have entered into a "How long should the dress be" type of standard. One that constantly moves (at least generationally) and is almost always arbitrary, but not necessarily grounded in truth--only sensibilities.

Thoughts?

Publish this comment.

Reject this comment.

Moderate comments for this blog.

Posted by JPC to Word Is Out at 11/19/2009 5:55 AM

Profanity: Part 2

Part 2

Recently I had the opportunity to review a play at the Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope PA. The play started with a creative stage set and excellent opening singing. But it wasn't long before the aesthetic moment was broken with a loud use of profanity and a follow up of an obscene sexual moment between two characters. That was the end of the review for me… I had seen and heard enough to know that even though this was an award winning play, it did not become award winning based on true aesthetic values of art and decency. Our culture has been so lulled into accepting the obscene and profane that when it occurs on the screen or stage, there is no longer any reaction of disgust for what is clearly objectively objectionable. It is like the father who baked chocolate chip cookies for his kids and told them just before they bit into the still warm tantalizing cookies, that he had added just a tablespoon of their dog's poop into the recipe. Not a one was eaten and the lesson of what happens when we watch something though really good, but mixed with a few profane and obscene moments, is not only distasteful but harmful to our soul. Peter informs us of this trap as he writes that Lot's righteous soul was vexed from day to day by the things that he saw and heard. He didn't partake in evil activity, but by hearing and seeing his soul was grievously vexed. Maybe hearing and seeing is in fact…doing. Let's restore the values that made this country great and bring dignity back into our homes. All it takes is some backbone to stand up and walk out or to get up out of the chair and turn it off. Below is the second installment of what our culture needs to know if we are going to return to the principles that can once again restore God's grace upon us.


The word profane is Latin for "outside the temple." All that was unclean or impure was considered profane, or "outside the temple." Today we have brought the profane into our homes and our hearts which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. According to G.E. Veith, "profanity uses religious language in a way that desecrates or trivializes its sacred meaning." Though this will be surprising to many, profane language includes some of the most widely used phrases in our Christian cultures: Oh my God, oh my goodness, for goodness' sake, good heavens,oh heavens, oh my word, etc. Some of our early dictionaries give a list of profane language. The most powerful statement against profane language is found in Exodus 20:7, "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name." In Shakespeare’s day the word "God" was not used in the scripts of drama plays for fear that it might be used in vain. Today you cannot watch a G-rated movie or read a book without hearing or reading expression of "My God," "O My God," "My gosh," etc! Words are what brought the universe into existence. God places a high value upon words. So, "may the words of our mouth and the meditation of our heart be acceptable in His sight." I love what David wrote in Psalm 141 "Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!"

During one of the recording sessions at the Soundhouse, a studio in London, England, filmmaker David Hamby captured some great footage of The Basket of Flowers being filmed and infused it with an interview with Lamplighter Ministries president Mark Hamby as he discusses the scope and mission of Lamplighter Theatre.

Obscenity--New Hope

Part 1
Our culture has sunk into an immoral abyss without even realizing that they are close the point of self destruction. It will not be from muslim militants that destroy our culture, it will happen from our living rooms through the media propaganda and immoral content of programs that have so easily enticed us. The next two blogs I would like to devote some teaching on the concepts of Obscenity and Profanity. I was reminded of how serious this is in our culture when I attended a play this weekend at the Bucks County Theatre in New Hope, PA. It is ironic that the town is called New Hope. I was able to enjoy about five minutes of the play before my wife and I had to walk out. Everyone else was in hysterics and applauding after hearing the ultimate in profanity and the acting out of sexual intercourse on stage. Here is my first installment of how we can restore the years that the locusts have eaten.

Obscenity
The Greeks restricted violence and intimacy on stage, not because of their high moral standards, but because of their understanding of aesthetics and obscenity. The word obscene means “off stage.” Violence and intimacy were considered “off stage” behaviors. Intimacy is ordained of God for marriage, not for public eyes. Public intimacy is obscene, not because it is evil but because it is sacred. Moreover, when an audience is captivated by the dramatic involvement of the characters, violence and sexual content break the aesthetic mood. The memorable vicarious experience is now overshadowed and disrupted by shocking violence or sensual provocation. Capturing the interest of an audience aesthetically requires the pen of a skilled word-crafter; shocking the audience with a violent scene or stimulating them sexually requires no talent. We are losing our taste for aesthetic beauty, becoming immune to inhumane and violent treatment of others, and dulling our sense of compassion, imagination, and conscience. The warning here is not that these things are hurting our children, they are ruining the lives of adults and our ability to enjoy things that are pure and holy; the things that bring true enjoyment. So, may the words of our mouth and the meditation of our heart be acceptable in His sight.

Wanted to share this morning, but work got in the way

Every night before falling asleep, I write down my goals for the following
day. Upon waking, I read through the list in order to focus my energy on
what is most important. If this were not part of my routine, the limited
hours available would not be utilized effectively.

The Bible clearly teaches us to use our days wisely. Time is a gift.
Almighty God has given each person a span of days to live on earth. But our
life is fleeting and uncertain&lsqauo;James compares it to a vapor that "appears
for a little while and then vanishes away" (James 4:14). Time is also
irrevocable&lsqauo;we cannot hit "rewind" and undo anything.

Considering this, it is foolish to waste such a precious resource. But so
often, we do. Be alert to avoid these hindrances to living each moment fully
and purposefully: 

Misplaced priorities result in wasted opportunities. Our values will
determine the emphasis we place on each activity and the amount of time we
allot to it. 
Procrastination and perfectionism soak up valuable time that could have been
used to benefit the kingdom. 
Lack of concentration drains time of its potential. For example, we have to
train ourselves to focus on reading God's Word and not to get sidetracked. 

What values drive the way you utilize your time? Is there something that
keeps you from living each moment in a way that pleases the Lord? You will
never have a chance to live today again. Therefore, ask God for guidance and
direction so that you can live each day with intention.

By Dr. Charles Stanley

The Hitch-hiker?

Walter, this is excellent! Nicely written!
For those who are reading this blog, I am sharing a letter one of my staff wrote to the rest of our staff after I called him on the phone to tell him that I had just picked up a hitchhiker and told him that he could call the office and order five books for free. Walter's letter below is a good summary of what took place. If this sounds self serving and lifts me up on a pedestal, please know that I am truly a selfish person at heart and only picked up this hitchhiker in case he was wealthy and could give a large donation to the ministry! (ok, not really, but please excuse the high praise that Walter gives me...)

Wednesday November 11, 2009...The Hitchhiker

You are driving down the road at 65 mph (if your Mark it might be a little faster!) thinking about all the things that need to do; bills to pay, meetings and appointments to make, emails to send and leaves to rake. Just then the Lord places a hitch-hiker in your path--with a suitcase, of a different race, and he's big!

You sense God telling you to stop and pick him up...you have 2 seconds to make up your mind.

WHAT DO YOU DO?

If your Mark you stop and pick him up.
As he gets in the car he thanks you but instead of hearing "Your welcome," he hears, "Thank the Lord not me, because He told me to pick you up!"

Now that the focus of discussion has been set, within a few minutes you find out he is a backslidden believer who is desperately walking down the seemingly endless highway of life going nowhere fast. As he tells you about his life and misfortunes you start to realize how blessed you are, and your first thought is that you want to help this man...but how?

If your Mark you immediately think about how your life has been changed by the reading of the Word of God and great Christian books. So you offer some encouragement and a few life-changing books to the fellow...but with one exception! He has to be willing to turn off the tv for one month and if he's willing, he can call Lamplighter and receive a book a week for free. Starting with Jessica's First Prayer, then The Rescue of Jessica's Mother, then Christies Old Organ, then The Hedge of Thorns, and lastly Teddy's Button, Mark is helping this man get back on the path of righteousness with some clear direction and practical steps.

So, if you take his call when he calls in to order the books for free, please ask him if he's keeping his part of the bargain and has shut off the tv for thirty days. Will reading great books and not watching TV change this man's life? I guess we'll have to wait and see where the Lord takes this.

What a great experiment!

Great questions to ask yourself today.

What chapter of life are you in?
Has God laid it on my heart to help someone today?
What have I read lately that has drawn me closer to the Lord?
When is the last time I shared the love of Christ with someone?
When was the last time you took a second to pray for that person in your life who needs His love more than anything else? Sometimes this person will be walking with a suitcase down the expressway; other times, it may be our neighbor, a waiter, or the Starbucks coffee maker.

Perseverance

The Power of Persistence 
Philippians 3:10-14

Everyone desires success. Simply wanting it, however, won't guarantee
achievement. That's why many people fail to reach their goal; they encounter
hardship and give up. Let's discuss one characteristic needed to accomplish
what you set out to do.

Persistence is the combination of strong desire and willpower&lsqauo;it is the
capacity to stay on course in the face of difficulty and refuse to quit.
Paul exemplified this quality. He was passionate about sharing the gospel
with both Jews and Gentiles across the known world. Acts 20:24 records his
purpose, " . . . that I may finish my course and the ministry which I
received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace
of God." Though he encountered tremendous obstacles like shipwreck, prison,
physical punishment, and constant danger, the apostle never quit (2 Cor.
11:23-28).

What motivated Paul to persevere amidst struggles? First, he had a clear
God-given goal and trusted that the Lord would enable him to achieve it.
Second, the apostle felt indebted to share the life-changing truth of
salvation. Third, he knew the devastation awaiting those who do not know
Jesus.

Paul had his eyes fixed on his purpose, which he so valued that no
circumstance could deter him. Ultimately, he achieved what almighty God had
ordained.

The Father has great goals for our lives. Striving for anything less will
neither fulfill us nor achieve what God has planned in our life. Once His
direction is clear, we should passionately pursue God's purposes with the
Holy Spirit's strength and guidance&lsqauo;especially when obstacles arise. Don't
give up!

biblical teaching from Dr. Charles Stanley,

Cold Winter

How You Can Tell if the Winter will be Intolerably Cold

It's late fall and the indians on a remote reservation in South Dakota asked their new chief if the coming winter was going to be cold or mild. Since he was a chief in a modern society, he had never been taught the old secrets. When he looked at the sky, he couldn't tell what the winter was going to be like. Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he told his tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village should collect firewood to be prepared. But, being a practical leader, after several days, he got an idea. He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked, "Is the coming winter going to be cold?" "It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold," the meteorologist at the weather service responded. So the chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more firewood in order to be prepared.

A week later, he called the National Weather Service again. "Does it still look like it is going to be a very cold winter?" "Yes,' the man at National Weather Service again replied, "It's going to be a very cold winter." The chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect every scrap of firewood they could find.

Two weeks later, the chief called the National Weather Service again. "Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?" "Absolutely," the man replied. "It's looking more and more like it is going to be one of the coldest winters we've ever seen." "How can you be so sure?" the chief asked. The weatherman replied, "The indians are collecting firewood like crazy."

My Mom!

 

Yesterday, my 77 year old mom, a new believer, called me all excited to tell me that she only had a few more chapters left before she had read the entire Bible! I was so excited for her; what an accomplishment!

 

In the midst of all the depressing economic news coming from the media, there are still many believers who are excited about what God is doing in their lives. David in the book of Psalms reminds us that his people will never beg bread. We are challenged from the prophet Malachi, to test God and he will open the storehouse of heaven. In Jeremiah God says that his thoughts toward us are thoughts of peace and not evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes…"  oh, what a promise, what positive news! Broadcast that CNN and Fox News! Oh, if God's people would turn off the pseudo information fabricated by the media and tune in the positive messages of God's Word…to think on things that are true, and honorable, just, pure, and lovely…these are the things that will take our mind, heart, and spirit, out of the darkness and into the exciting light of God's promises that never return void.

 

God's promises are generating a new love and outlook on life for my 77 year old mom…these promises are available for all who seek Him with their whole heart.