In Memory of My Friend

My friend, whose name will remain anonymous, died Monday, March 13, 2012 at the age of 62. He had been battling cancer all over his body and remained thankful for the miracle of finally experiencing eternity in Heaven doing nothing but praising the Lord.

The Indiana Jones of the Spirit

Today I’d like to start off with one of my journal entries from Friday, October 7, 2011. It reads as follows:

“I was on my way to school this morning spending time with God. I went through my iPod and decided to play the Christian song More Beautiful You by Jonny Diaz. As I listened, God threw a thought into my head. I seem to have once again forgotten the purpose of my Indy gear.The purpose? I’m the Indiana Jones of the Spirit.

My motive is different than that of any other cosplay.What are their motives? One motive, the motive of another Indiana Jones cosplay that I met about two or three months ago, was that he was just tired of people telling him what to wear. As for a majority of all other cosplays, the person is just a big fan. So yep… Mine is definitely different.”

Now allow me to share a line from a book I’ve been reading:

“It’s the Christian’s task to follow the example of Christ and bring the revelation of what each story means, what spiritual truth is calling out to the people from that story” (Skelton 79).

So, in this sermon, I will be doing exactly what Stephen Skelton spoke of doing in The Gospel According to the World’s Greatest Superhero. I will be teaching you how to be the Indiana Jones of the Spirit by comparing what the Bible preaches to the Indiana Jones trilogy. I pray right now that God speaks to you in a mighty way. I know that he spoke to me as I put this sermon together. Now, with all that said, why don’t we get started?

Seeking after the Lord

“Bow down thine ear, O Lord, hear me: for I am poor and needy. Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee. Be merciful unto me, O Lord: or I cry unto thee daily. Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee. Give ear, O Lord, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications. In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me. Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works. All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name. For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone. Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name. I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore. For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell. O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them. But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth. O turn unto me, and have mercy upon thee; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid. Shew me a token for good, that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, Lord, hast holpen me, and comforted me.”

-Psalm 86:1-17

Remember how Indy never stopped seeking after the Cross of Coronado (Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade)? Well, in a similar way, we should never stop seeking after the Lord our God. We should seek after Him both day and night. At all times God should be our all. Please, oh please, remember that!

Temptation

Indiana Jones is cautious of snakes, which in the Bible, represent temptation.To go even further, in the torch used by Indy to fight off the snakes in the original Indy film could very well be God’s word (Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark). Do you see a Bible story in there? Well, I see Matthew 4:1-11. That’s where Jesus used the word of God to fight off the devil’s attacks of temptation. Now, why don’t you keep that in mind the next time you see that particular scene?

Leave the Judging to God

Now, before I begin this next part, allow me to tell you that once again God has shown me that He really is there. You see, I told Him that I just couldn’t seem to remember where the scripture which I’m about to share with you was, and, sure enough, it was exactly where he told me to go. Anyhow, in the fourth Indy film, Mac warns a fellow KGB agent not to judge Indy by saying, “Don’t get clever, Boris! You don’t know him” (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull)! You mustn’t forget that the Bible warns us not to judge others based on their mistakes. The only one who knows enough to judge is God.

“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.”

-Colossians 2:16-17

Love and Forgive Your Enemies

Once again, in the fourth Indy film, Mac betrays Indy. Still, when Mac is brought face-to-face with death, Indiana is willing to do what he can to try and save him (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull). With that said, are you by any chance familiar with what happened during the arrest of Jesus? In Luke 22:47-51, Jesus is willing to heal the ear of the soldier brought by Judas to arrest Indy. Just remember that Judas was betraying the Son of God at the time.

“And while he yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that was called Judas, one of the twelve, went before him, and drew near unto Jesus to kiss him. But Jesus said unto him, Judas, bretrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss? When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword? And one of them smote the servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear. And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye this far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.”

-Luke 22:47-51

The Stripes of the Lord

For my final comparison, I would like to bring up the one Indy film not yet used, the second film. In it, Indy takes a beating from his very own whip. He does this so that the children of a tribal village in India may be saved (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom). Now, this comparison will bring up the whole reason that Jesus Christ was sent down to Earth. That reason? So that we may be saved of sin.

“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye we were healed.”

-1 Peter 2:24

I would like to thank you for your time. God is so grateful that you were willing to giving even just this tiny bit of your time to learn about Him. I pray many blessings over your week. God bless! Oh, and good luck at becoming an even better Indiana Jones of the Spirit!

Works Cited:

Skelton, Stephen. The Gospel According to the World’s Greatest Superhero. Eugene, Oregon, United States: Harvest House Publishers, 2006. 79. Print.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Paramount Pictures: 1989. Film.

Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Paramount Pictures: 1981. Film.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Paramount Pictures: 2008. Film.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Paramount Pictures: 1984. Film.

Call Me Jesus Freak

Hey, ya’ll! Before I even start, allow me to say that I really did not expect to be sharing this message with you today. I was asking God about what kind of things he would like for me to do, and he told me to send the following word out to the youth. So, just stay with me for a few. This shouldn’t take long.

Now, over the summer, I’ve been working on creating a better relationship between God and I. I want to become an even bigger Jesus Freak. In my past, everybody has just known me as Indiana Jones because I dress like him every day. However, you know what title I would rather hear come out of the mouths of my fellow high school students? That’s right… The Jesus Freak.

I was especially encouraged by a senior who graduated. No… She didn’t come up to me and say that I should become more serious about Christianity. I just saw the passion she held for the Lord and how she didn’t care about anything as much as she did about the Lord. It was a very extraordinary sight. I was determined to become like her. I wanted to be the one that everyone saw and knew as the Jesus Freak.

Don’t get me wrong. The reason I want for the world to know me as the Jesus Freak is this: I love God so much, and I want for others to see that love. I want them to see that love and say, “Wow! Really? God is that good? Hmm… Maybe I should give Christianity a shot.”

That’s my aim. I really want for it to be your aim, too. God is great and you should worship Him with true love for Him. Let the world see your forever burning passion for Jesus Christ. Yet, don’t forget to worship even when alone. For it is written in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “Pray without ceasing.”

So, what do you say? Will you become an even bigger Jesus Freak? I don’t know what your decision is, but you have my prayers. Even more importantly, you have the full love and support of God above. With that said, may God bless each and every one of you!

The Forgiven Route

When Route 66 was by-passed by Interstate 40, it lost the many travelers it had previously known and loved. Just like Route 66 is not the only road out there, Christianity is not the only religion out there. Let’s not let people by-pass Christianity and miss the opportunity to hear of God’s great forgiveness. Why? Because just like the good old fashioned Route 66 neon, God’s grace and mercy is forever bright and promising. As a matter of fact, the neon is nothing compared to the Lord’s forgiveness.

There are so many Bible verses that I could use to explain this grace and mercy that I speak of, but I will share the ones I feel the Lord urging me to cite. How about we open our Bibles to 1 Peter 2:24. There it is written, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” That is a powerful verse. It indeed is.

What it is saying is that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was sent down to Earth to carry our sins. As he held them, he was beaten, whipped and the nailed onto a wooden cross. He went through all the pain and torture just so we could be forgiven. Also, may I remind you that he was perfect and sinless. 100% of those sins he carried were yours and mine.

God cared for you, and he will always care for you. His love for you is unconditional. No matter what his love for you will never change. No matter how many times you sin, God will still be willing to forgive you. God bless, ya’ll.

Fear

Part 1

I was cutting the grass and saw some caterpillars, which I am highly afraid of. At first sight of them, I decided that I would just call it quits. It would be easy. My dad would mow the lawn, and I would just end up losing fifty dollars. Like I said, it would be easy.

Right then, however, my iPod started to play “Voice of Truth” by Casting Crowns. God used it to speak to me. I then decided to trust the Lord and step out of my comfort zone. I cited the song’s lyrics to my Savior as I followed Him through the job. Within no time, the part of the lawn in which I was currently working on was complete.

After cutting a while longer, I ran into even more caterpillars. That’s when the enemy tried to knock me down. Terrified, I asked my dad to do the rest. Yet, even then, Satan had failed to win. God was much too powerful.

As I walked away, I felt urged by the Lord to go back. I paused and looked back at my dad who was about to get started. Then, with complete trust in my Heavenly Father, I reclaimed the task. As I finished the yard, I commended the Lord on His victory by whispering, “Praise the Lord! It’s a miracle. Today, I have overcome my greatest fear.”

Part 2

Alright! The testimony was great, but now it’s time to go into the Bible. I will be using a friend’s explanation of two types of fear. I’m talking about the fear of God and fear of things such as caterpillars. Let’s begin.

I asked my friend for help discussing 1 John 4:18 because I did not fully understand what it was saying. God led me to this wonderful and gifted woman and asked that I cite her explanation. Anyhow, the verse reads, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment.He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” Once again, that was 1 John 4:18.

Now, here is how I misunderstood it. I did not properly define “fearing God.” This is how my friend explained it: “We are to fear sinning against God and breaking his commandments. However, if we do sin, Jesus is always willing to forgive us.” By the way, the way that fearing God came into my misunderstanding is that the Bible says that God is love.

Anyways, I will continue by sharing her explanation of both types of fear. First, I will need to read from verse 16 to 19. Here it is:

“And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgement: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.We love him, because he first loved us. (1 John 4:16-19)”

My friend said, “We are to fear sinning against God and breaking His commandments. However, if we do sin, Jesus is always willing to forgive us. His love is brought to completion and attains perfection with us, that we may have confidence for the day of Judgment; (with assurance and boldness to face him), so he who is afraid has not reached the maturity of love, it is not yet grown into love’s complete perfection.We have to strive daily to love the way Jesus tells us to.This is done by daily searching our hearts and renewing our minds.”

I think that what is said there is good enough to end with. I hope that it answers any question that you may have. I not only hope but pray, as well. May God bless, ya’ll. Oh! And remember that Jesus loves you! 

The Biblical Definition of an Idol

                What is an idol? Could an idol be a person… Or can we only classify a man-made statue as an idol? That is the reason for my presence today. I will be telling you the Bible’s definition for the word “idol.” So, sit on back in that comfy recliner of yours and read on.

                Let’s begin by tuning in to Exodus 20:2-3. There it says, “I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Basically, idols count as gods. We are to have no idols before the Lord.

                Now, here is where it goes to talk about an idol and the definition of an idol. In Exodus 20:4-5 it is written, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.” Well, there you have it! An idol is anything or anyone that means more to you than God himself. That means that a celebrity, an electronic and pretty much anything else imaginable can be shaped into an idol.

                With that in mind, make sure that you keep God your life’s number one focus. Don’t get lost in worldly luxuries. God loves you and wants for you to love him back. Just like the scripture above said, He is a jealous God. He wants you to love and worship him no matter what. The Lord is jealous for you.

Defining Love

                Love… Can you define it? Every man and every woman has a definition of some sort for it. The definition I go by? Well, believe it or not, I go by the Bible’s definition. Yet, before I give it to you, here are a few definitions that others, who will remain anonymous, go by:

·         “Love is when you sacrifice everything for a person, but it’s not because you’re trying to be selfish. It’s because you know that it’s the best for them.”

·         “My definition of love is when two people are meant for each other and get married.”

·         “My definition of love is when two people see each other at first sight and have a connection.”

·         “When you say love it means you care about somebody, you appreciate them… And that’s all I can say.”

                Now, why don’t we go ahead and take a look at the Bible’s description. If you would like to read along, then my Bible is the King James Version (KJV). I will now be opening up to 1 John 4:7-8 which states, “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love.” That is how the Word of God defines love.

                For those of you who didn’t understand word of that, don’t worry. Don’t worry because I will place it in simpler terms. What it is saying is that those who do not know God do not love and vice versa. Why? Because God is love. They are the same.

                That is why he sent His one and only Son down to die for our sins. For those of you who grew up for years in a Christian home, do you remember John 3:16? It is written, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” God loved us enough to send his “only begotten Son” to be murdered for the sins that only we committed. Jesus, God’s Son, committed not even a single sin. Still, he took the price of our sins.

                It is also why Jesus rose from the dead. His love was so powerful and so beautiful that even death itself could not keep Him from returning to us and, later on, back to the Heavenly Father. God is love. Love is not Cupid. It is not Cupid’s arrow either. God is love.

                I thank you for your time and patience. It has been a true blessing. Now, I want you to remember these closing words. Jesus is not only in love with you. That’s right! He is also the love in you.