Events from Today

From what took place today in the Supreme Court, I was only reminded over and over of Romans 1:18-32…

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

God is still in control, but God is very clear in what sin is through His Word the Bible. I am not just talking about homosexuality, but all sin. God has given us, who are sinners, a clear explanation through His Word outlining what sin is. But He also provided a way to be saved from sin through His son Jesus Christ, who died on the cross and rose again for our sin. For Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

World War Z Review (spoiler alert)

When I went to watch World War Z, I was not thinking I was going to write a review about it but I couldn’t resist. It was the first movie that I remember being so excited for. Leading up to watching WWZ, it was the first time I had watched all the trailers and at least one trailer for five days straight leading up to my viewing. I have seen a handful of zombie movies: Dawn of the Dead, Shaun of the Dead, 28 days later, 28 weeks later, I am Legend, Zombieland,  and an all time favorite Pontypool. But out of all them World War Z was different. It was so different that even my wife liked it!

Out of all those movies I mentioned above I would not suggest seeing them and I would probably not see them again, except for I am Legend. But World War Z, according to my wife was “the most family friendly zombie movie I have ever seen.” I agree wholeheartedly.  World War Z had barely any language. There was no F-bombs dropped. There was no usage of Jesus Christ, but a couple of times God was said.  I believe there was only 5 to 10 swears in the whole movie. Compared to most zombie movies, this is really low on the swear count. There was no major gore but what I mean by that is zombies were not eating each other and people were not getting ripped apart with body parts all over the place. There are really only two major scenes of gore but limited visibility of the actual wounds are seen in the movie. There was no sex or nudity in the movie at all. Brad Pitt does have a family in it, but they are mostly in a safe place 90% of the movie.

My wife who hates scary movies, loved this movie and would watch it again. A funny thing in the movie is the three countries they refer to the most: America, Canada, and Israel. America was taken over quickly by zombies. Israel (God’s chosen people who He still has a plan for and the church hasn’t replaced) was the most fortified place and knew about the zombies a week before anyone else took action. And because Canadians are the nicest people in the world, Canada was the location of the safe place. I am Canadian and I thought that was nice and I apologize to anyone who is offended.

Remember, we all have different standards when it comes to movies. Please do not use this to justify going to see it even when your conviction is saying not to. Please do not come and blame me for your kids nightmares. Please look into the movie for yourself before viewing. Personally this movie will be an all time favorite of mine. I enjoyed this movie because it was clean and family friendly for a zombie movie.

What I probably will never understand though is, what is our fascination with zombies?

It is Finished by David Wilkerson

David Wilkerson was a great man of God who did amazing work for the Lord through Teen Challenge, World Challenge, and being a pastor at Times Square Church in New York City. Even though he suddenly passed away in a car accident in 2011, his work is still being read today.

It Is Finished by Wilkerson was about finding lasting victory over sin. Wilkerson helps understand what the New Covenant is all about and what Christ did on the cross and how that affects the New Covenant. In the New Covenant, God still demand obedience of His people. Yes, we are in days of grace, but God still commands u to turn aside from sin and purify our hearts. Through the New Covenant we are able to be free from sin, only through Jesus Christ. Wilkerson expresses our need for relying on the power of God to overcome sin in our lives. Only through His Word and the Holy Spirit working in our lives will we be able to overcome the power of sin in our lives. This work can only happen if we die to self, just like Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

What I liked about this book is that it provided a good healthy, refreshing look at what the cross accomplished on the cross. It reminded me that I have to die to self-every day, and let God be able to do His work in my life. It help me understand more clearly that since I accepted Christ as my Savior, I have victory over sin through Jesus Christ, and no other way will I be able to have victory like I would through Christ. It also reminded me of another book that I read called, “The Gospel Primer,” which is really similar to the first four chapters of It Is Finished.

I would encourage anyone to read at least the first 4 chapters of It Is Finished.

What I didn’t like about the book is the fifth chapter about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Wilkerson makes some strong statements in how we are supposed to be indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Wilkerson claims that we are supposed to tell the Holy Spirit to indwell us and come into our lives. He backs this up by scripture in Ezekiel when God commands Ezekiel to do this very thing. I believe that this was an isolated event between God and Ezekiel, and is not an example we need to follow.  This commanding the Holy Spirit to come into our lives is not an example given to us in Acts or in the New Testament.  This commanding the Holy Spirit can lead anyone down a very slippery slope of name it and claim it type theology, which is very popular today. No creation can command the Creator to do something. God sits in the heavens and does whatever He pleases. What I am not saying is that we shouldn’t pray to God. I believe the Bible tells us to pray to God and rely on Him and trust Him to see things done in our lives. Most of the time what we think God needs to do is something totally different than what God thinks we need.

I was given this book by Chosen Publishers which is a division of Baker Publishing Group for the purpose of the review.