I love epic war movies. From movies like "Gladiator" and "Robin Hood" to "Braveheart", "The Patriot", and "Troy", they all strike a chord in me at some level. The fighting and the cinematography is always interesting, but I like the stories to most, which I've discovered actually have very little variation. Generally, our hero starts out on top of things, whether he's a lead general for the Roman war machine or a respected war veteran, he's got everything going for him. At some point though, things take a sharp downhill turn, and this is usually at the hands of our primary antagonist. Our hero then begins his new quest that carries throughout the rest of the movie, his quest to get revenge on the one who caused his troubles. This quest culminates in our hero coming face to face with his enemy, battling him, and in the best cases, killing him, thereby exacting his revenge for the misery that was caused.
If you think about it, Christian's live out their own versions of this story almost on a daily or weekly basis. The trouble is that we don't fight against other people; we fight against our own sinful nature, the wretched thing that we're stuck struggling against until we die because while we are new creations in Christ(2 Cor. 5:17), we are still here on Earth, exposed to things that tempt us to act against God's will. Not only do we struggle against our own nature, we fight against the very legions of Hell, who are bent on making our lives difficult and causing us to fall (Ephesians 6:12). These aren't things you can see or feel most of the time, though they are real and have made manifestations through possession. More often, they are the source of those little things that anger you so much; that bad customer who seems to complain about everything you try to do, the person driving forty miles per hour in the left lane of the highway, the creeping doubt of your salvation. All these things are meant to trip us up so that we forget about God and fall away.
But just like no warrior goes into battle unprotected, God provides us with all the armor we'll need for our struggle. We're given a helmet,belt, breastplate, leg guards, a shield, and a sword, all provided from God himself (Ephesians 6:13-17). All this armor comes from within ourselves, from the knowledge of who God is, what He's done, and what He says He will do for us. It's meant to serve as protection from the schemes of the devil and his minions, shielding us from their strikes. Moreover, we're not meant to fight completely alone. We're supposed to be surrounded by our brothers and sisters in Christ, who are there to help us break from from sin and pray for us as we go through our battles (Hebrews 12:1 and Ephesians 6:18).
However, when the final battle comes and we're facing our primary antagonist, our Commodus if you will, they can't fight for us. We have to rely on God to work through us and empower us to defeat the enemy. If we try to do it alone, we will fail. We might think we can beat it on our own, but the fact is that we really can't. The only way to make the victory stick is to have God help us, and this is where a lot of people falter. They charge into battle relying on their own strength, get knocked down, then look at God and ask what happened. God is meant to go before us and behind us, surrounding us in His protection not so that we can claim the victory for ourselves, but so that we can say what God did for us.
So Christians face battles on a regular basis. We struggle against ourselves and against the world and the legions of Hell itself. Oftentimes we can't see our enemy, but we know they're there because our walk is faltering or being challenged. The only way to win these battles is to put on your armor and ask God to enable you to win this fight, to go out and face your worst enemy with no fear because you know God is with you, and He will not let you fall. That is the battle Christians face.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
Born This Way-A Sinner
"Born This Way"- Lady GaGa
It doesn't matter if you love him, or capital H-I-M
Just put your paws up
'cause you were Born This Way, Baby
My mama told me when I was young
We are all born superstars
She rolled my hair and put my lipstick on
In the glass of her boudoir
"There's nothing wrong with loving who you are"
She said, "'Cause he made you perfect, babe"
"So hold your head up girl and you'll go far,
Listen to me when I say"
I'm beautiful in my way
'Cause God makes no mistakes
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way
Don't hide yourself in regret
Just love yourself and you're set
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way
Oh there ain't no other way
Baby I was born this way
Baby I was born this way
Oh there ain't no other way
Baby I was born-
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way
Don't be a drag -Just be a queen
Don't be!
Give yourself prudence
And love your friends
Subway kid, rejoice your truth
In the religion of the insecure
I must be my self, respect my youth
A different lover is not a sin
Believe capital H-I-M (Hey hey hey)
I love my life I love this record and
Mi amore vole fe yah (Love needs faith)
Don't be a drag, just be a queen
Whether you're broke or evergreen
You're black, white, beige, chola descent
You're Lebanese, you're orient
Whether life's disabilities
Left you outcast, bullied, or teased
Rejoice and love yourself today
'cause baby you were born this way
No matter gay, straight, or bi,
lesbian, transgendered life,
I'm on the right track baby,
I was born to survive.
No matter black, white or beige
Chola or orient made,
I'm on the right track baby,
I was born to be brave.
I was born this way hey!
I was born this way hey!
I'm on the right track baby
I was born this way hey!
I was born this way hey!
I was born this way hey!
I'm on the right track baby
I was born this way hey!
__________________________________________________________________________________
So the first outing and I go with Lady GaGa. Like I said, they won't be typical. This song basically glorifies being exactly who you are with no restraint, no regrets, and no remorse. Everyone was born their own special way and "God makes no mistakes" so just live your life and be happy.
There are parts of this song that are actually theologically sound. God really doesn't make mistakes when He makes people, He has crafted us from birth(Psalm 139) to be exactly like we are supposed to be, down to our thoughts and flaws. The problem with this is that He is now working with contaminated equipment, our sinful flesh. When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, she sentenced man to a life lived completely in sin. God had planned for our lives to be easy, for us to have full access to the entire Earth, stewards made in His image that would reside on Earth and be chief over His creation, answerable to Him. We messed that up and God punished us by causing us to have to work for our food and for women to have pain during childbirth, along with many other problems for mankind and the Earth itself (Genesis 3).
So now we're created as sinful creatures, born of Adam and Eve and forced to bear the curse God called on them. We are born this way, we have no choice but to be sinful. No one is without sin (Ecclesiastes 7:20, Romans 3:10). It doesn't matter how good of a person you are or how drastic your sin might be; if you never curse, never drink, and waited until you were married to have sex but you take personal pride in that or are currently having sex out of marriage while shooting up heroin while uttering a curse word every other sentence, you are a sinner. There is no good or bad sin, it's all sin to God and it cannot be in His presence so we cannot be in His presence. God creates us in our mother's womb, but we are born sinners into a fallen world that will eventually be wiped away, as will our sinful selves. But there is an out, a way we can be forgiven, and it's through the only perfect human, who was also God incarnate, Jesus.
Jesus was born of a woman immaculately, perfectly clean, without sin. This was accomplished by Jesus being God, who is incapable of sin, as well as man, so He could redeem mankind by being the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Prior to Christ, the only way to achieve any kind of cleanliness was to make sacrifices at the temple, but Jesus would be the first and only perfect sacrifice, and His death on the cross was the price to cover the whole world's sin. We are all still born sinners, but now we have a way out, confessing our sins and proclaiming Jesus Christ as our lord and Savior. 1 John 1:9 says that if we confess our sins, God forgives us and purifies us from all unrighteousness.
The moment you proclaim Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are completely forgiven of all your past, present, and future sins. God knows what we've done, what we are doing, and what we will do, so He is able to look at these sins and instead of seeing us as guilty sinners deserving death, He sees His son's blood covering our failures. It doesn't matter if your biggest sin in life is one curse word a year or if you've been living life as a homosexual for fifteen years, you will be forgiven, no if's, and's or but's. The only thing God asks in return is for your devotion to Him, which is shown through or changed life. God desires us to serve Him with our lives, and we should also desire to serve because of our gratitude for His forgiveness(Romans 12:1). This doesn't mean we won't sin again, nor does it mean we are free to continue sinning once we ask for forgiveness. We are meant to repent of our sinful ways and run full speed towards God. He made us, He knows our faults, and if we trust Christ as our Lord and Savior, He forgives us.
So Lady GaGa has some good points in this song. It doesn't matter who we are, God made us as He wanted to make us, but we are all born sinners. The only way to receive forgiveness for our sins is to trust Christ as our Savior. Once we receive Christ, we are called to repent of our sinful nature and follow God.
I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading that, but beyond the enjoyment, I hope you got something out of it. If it touched you in some way, or you have any other questions, feel free to leave a comment. If I can help you personally I will, but if I can't I will put you in touch with someone who can.
Love in Christ
It doesn't matter if you love him, or capital H-I-M
Just put your paws up
'cause you were Born This Way, Baby
My mama told me when I was young
We are all born superstars
She rolled my hair and put my lipstick on
In the glass of her boudoir
"There's nothing wrong with loving who you are"
She said, "'Cause he made you perfect, babe"
"So hold your head up girl and you'll go far,
Listen to me when I say"
I'm beautiful in my way
'Cause God makes no mistakes
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way
Don't hide yourself in regret
Just love yourself and you're set
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way
Oh there ain't no other way
Baby I was born this way
Baby I was born this way
Oh there ain't no other way
Baby I was born-
I'm on the right track, baby
I was born this way
Don't be a drag -Just be a queen
Don't be!
Give yourself prudence
And love your friends
Subway kid, rejoice your truth
In the religion of the insecure
I must be my self, respect my youth
A different lover is not a sin
Believe capital H-I-M (Hey hey hey)
I love my life I love this record and
Mi amore vole fe yah (Love needs faith)
Don't be a drag, just be a queen
Whether you're broke or evergreen
You're black, white, beige, chola descent
You're Lebanese, you're orient
Whether life's disabilities
Left you outcast, bullied, or teased
Rejoice and love yourself today
'cause baby you were born this way
No matter gay, straight, or bi,
lesbian, transgendered life,
I'm on the right track baby,
I was born to survive.
No matter black, white or beige
Chola or orient made,
I'm on the right track baby,
I was born to be brave.
I was born this way hey!
I was born this way hey!
I'm on the right track baby
I was born this way hey!
I was born this way hey!
I was born this way hey!
I'm on the right track baby
I was born this way hey!
__________________________________________________________________________________
So the first outing and I go with Lady GaGa. Like I said, they won't be typical. This song basically glorifies being exactly who you are with no restraint, no regrets, and no remorse. Everyone was born their own special way and "God makes no mistakes" so just live your life and be happy.
There are parts of this song that are actually theologically sound. God really doesn't make mistakes when He makes people, He has crafted us from birth(Psalm 139) to be exactly like we are supposed to be, down to our thoughts and flaws. The problem with this is that He is now working with contaminated equipment, our sinful flesh. When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, she sentenced man to a life lived completely in sin. God had planned for our lives to be easy, for us to have full access to the entire Earth, stewards made in His image that would reside on Earth and be chief over His creation, answerable to Him. We messed that up and God punished us by causing us to have to work for our food and for women to have pain during childbirth, along with many other problems for mankind and the Earth itself (Genesis 3).
So now we're created as sinful creatures, born of Adam and Eve and forced to bear the curse God called on them. We are born this way, we have no choice but to be sinful. No one is without sin (Ecclesiastes 7:20, Romans 3:10). It doesn't matter how good of a person you are or how drastic your sin might be; if you never curse, never drink, and waited until you were married to have sex but you take personal pride in that or are currently having sex out of marriage while shooting up heroin while uttering a curse word every other sentence, you are a sinner. There is no good or bad sin, it's all sin to God and it cannot be in His presence so we cannot be in His presence. God creates us in our mother's womb, but we are born sinners into a fallen world that will eventually be wiped away, as will our sinful selves. But there is an out, a way we can be forgiven, and it's through the only perfect human, who was also God incarnate, Jesus.
Jesus was born of a woman immaculately, perfectly clean, without sin. This was accomplished by Jesus being God, who is incapable of sin, as well as man, so He could redeem mankind by being the perfect sacrifice for our sins. Prior to Christ, the only way to achieve any kind of cleanliness was to make sacrifices at the temple, but Jesus would be the first and only perfect sacrifice, and His death on the cross was the price to cover the whole world's sin. We are all still born sinners, but now we have a way out, confessing our sins and proclaiming Jesus Christ as our lord and Savior. 1 John 1:9 says that if we confess our sins, God forgives us and purifies us from all unrighteousness.
The moment you proclaim Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are completely forgiven of all your past, present, and future sins. God knows what we've done, what we are doing, and what we will do, so He is able to look at these sins and instead of seeing us as guilty sinners deserving death, He sees His son's blood covering our failures. It doesn't matter if your biggest sin in life is one curse word a year or if you've been living life as a homosexual for fifteen years, you will be forgiven, no if's, and's or but's. The only thing God asks in return is for your devotion to Him, which is shown through or changed life. God desires us to serve Him with our lives, and we should also desire to serve because of our gratitude for His forgiveness(Romans 12:1). This doesn't mean we won't sin again, nor does it mean we are free to continue sinning once we ask for forgiveness. We are meant to repent of our sinful ways and run full speed towards God. He made us, He knows our faults, and if we trust Christ as our Lord and Savior, He forgives us.
So Lady GaGa has some good points in this song. It doesn't matter who we are, God made us as He wanted to make us, but we are all born sinners. The only way to receive forgiveness for our sins is to trust Christ as our Savior. Once we receive Christ, we are called to repent of our sinful nature and follow God.
I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading that, but beyond the enjoyment, I hope you got something out of it. If it touched you in some way, or you have any other questions, feel free to leave a comment. If I can help you personally I will, but if I can't I will put you in touch with someone who can.
Love in Christ
Introduction
Welcome to my new blog, The Stones Will Cry Out. It is a Christian blog that is based on Luke 19:40, where Jesus tells some Pharisees who were complaining about the disciples loud praise during his triumphal entry that if He told them to be quiet, "the stones will cry out". Taken literally, this could mean that the stones had a resonance of some kind, but I'm going to use this as a figurative starting point to establish this blogs purpose. The stones were of the Earth, God's creation, and Jesus was saying that the very structure of Earth would praise Him if His people didn't. I also think that this can be extended into our everyday life, where things that don't necessarily mean to praise or glorify God still do.
This is what this blog seeks to do, take things from the secular world like music, movies, or books and apply them as ways to see God or learn principles of Christianity. At times these will be fairly obvious, other times though it might be something out of left field that you have never even thought of in a Christian context that now has a new spin. I want this to be viewed as a stand alone blog for seeking people, but I also feel like ministers could use this to find new connections and interesting sermons.
I am not a preacher, nor do I possess any divinity or religious studies degree, so the terminology and concepts might seem basic to those of you who are, but I hope you still get something out of this.
Above all, my goal is to use this blog to glorify God and bring honor to Him.
This is what this blog seeks to do, take things from the secular world like music, movies, or books and apply them as ways to see God or learn principles of Christianity. At times these will be fairly obvious, other times though it might be something out of left field that you have never even thought of in a Christian context that now has a new spin. I want this to be viewed as a stand alone blog for seeking people, but I also feel like ministers could use this to find new connections and interesting sermons.
I am not a preacher, nor do I possess any divinity or religious studies degree, so the terminology and concepts might seem basic to those of you who are, but I hope you still get something out of this.
Above all, my goal is to use this blog to glorify God and bring honor to Him.
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