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Tag: Star Wars
A Final Word about Skywalker / Star Wars Part V
I waited for a whole year to see what was going to happen as Rey stood there on that island, Luke having finally been found, and there she stands holding that legendary light sabre out to him.
That’s where they left me hanging for a whole year! This should have been a sacred moment! I was stuck in that sacred moment for 365 days! And when that year finally passed, and I sat there in the theater seat anticipating what I was about to see? What I waited a whole year to see! I did not expect Skywalker to treat that which was sacred as a profane thing! He cast it over his shoulder as if it disgusted him; as if it meant nothing! He cast it over the cliff as if to say goodbye to bad rubbish! And though we all laughed in surprise in that moment, after deeper contemplation, it was such a disappointing revelation of the mindset and spiritual condition of our hero.
Have we lost our sense of the sacred? Is the Lord’s Supper grain and grapes, or bread and wine? Are we still in a covenant of one Sabbath day a week, or has all become holy unto the Lord?
When did Jesus have Church? All the time! Where did Jesus have Church? Everywhere he went! And what does this reveal? Everything we do as unto the Lord is holy and sacred! And what does this mean? Cease from your own works and enter the Lord’s rest! A Sabbath!
“Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find REST for your souls.” Matt. 11:29
And what is the Sabbath day? A day of ceasing from “our” works to REST in Him! This is the life of FAITH we have been called to. It’s an ancient way in a modern day, but are we taught of the Lord? Have we grasped it?
I love what Brian Zahnd points out that the Lord’s Supper is not grapes and grain, but it is bread and wine. In other words, two products of which the involvement of man is required to produce, thereby signifying all that we do can become holy and sacred when we do it as unto the Lord. And we are called to play our part!
When was the last time you cracked open your light sabre and truly studied it? It’s after midnight, do you know where your Bible is? I hope you do. I hope you realize you have the power to transform the secular into the sacred, and bring beauty out of ashes, blessings out of curses.
Have we lost our sense of the sacred? Has God’s word become mundane to us? I am of the Skywalker generation, and this “Rey” is new to me, but what I saw of Luke in this last film left a bad taste in my mouth. If there is a new thing happening in the earth, I may be old now, but I still want to be a part of it.
The two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus did not realize what God was doing in the earth until Christ broke the bread and then suddenly disappeared, leaving behind “sacred bread on the table”. Jesus left them with a revelation of bread on the table! Not ordinary grain, but sacred bread! Then their eyes were opened and they simply had to run and go tell!
We have spent some time drawing analogies from our newest Star War episode. I hope you have enjoyed it. Who knows what they are about to do when Episode Nine comes out? We have our new hero in Rey, and probably some others we are about to meet. Lets hope they have a taste for the new wine, an ancient way in a modern time, because our old heroes seem to be worn out and dying off. But we are cut from a different cloth! Proverbs 4:18 >
“The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”
I hope you will take the time to go back over all 5 parts of our Star Wars Series, because I believe they have much to contemplate, and should not be cast casually over our shoulder as if a profane thing. Especially in this day we find ourself living.
Each of us can make a difference if we catch the revelation of living in the sacred. Ceasing from our own works, we enter His. We REST in Him, and walk on water. Amen.
Living in the “Less is More” / Star Wars Part IV
Learning an ancient way in a modern day.
When does less = more? Have we become money slaves? Living the “less is more” in a world preaching “more is better”. Rey has struggled her whole life just to get by. She has been a survivor, living by her wits. But now she is seeing a different way of living, a powerful way, but it is at odds with the modern Empire.
The Apostles were so proud of those temple buildings they showed Jesus that day. “Look at these magnificent buildings, Lord! Aren’t you impressed! Look what man has done!”
How do you think they felt when Jesus was not at all impressed? As a matter-of-fact, he even told them in a few years not one stone would still be standing upon another. Are you tired of all your “man-made stuff” yet, in an age when technology is offering so much pleasure? More and more pleasure! How do we learn this ancient way in our modern day? And what is this ancient way?
God is love.
Every time you take less, so someone else can have more, this is what God reveals as love. Every time you put some one else ahead of yourself, this is what God reveals as love. People accuse God of not being love if he can send people to a place called hell, but these people are going to discover what love really is on that day of judgement, because they are going to be judged by love, and they are going to be shocked at how guilty they are of what they have been accusing God of being. They accuse him of being cold and heartless, but they are the ones cold and heartless. God lifts up the humble.
I can’t get into this now, but I believe the last chapters of Revelation reveals a people who are not part of the Bride, or New City Jerusalem, but they go into eternity upon the “New Earth”. And who are these people? And how have they been judged? I call them the “Golden Rule People”. They are a people who have lived by God’s Golden Rule in their hearts even though they never had a proper understanding of Christ or the Bible. I intend to get into this soon, but the point here is… the path to God’s heart… whether it be as part of the Bride of the Lamb, or these New Earth / Golden Rule People…is a path of living love as God knows it to be.
Every one I talk to seems so caught up in the “newest thing”. These new things cost a lot of money. Many times the problem is not so much the “new thing” itself, as it is the money slavery the person enters into in order to have the new thing, and keep it fed! It is impossible to serve God and be the slave of money! How can it be anymore plainly said?
So what are you telling me, Grandpa White Feather? Are you saying I can’t have nice things? To your question I ask, When does less = more? The answer: When in service to God. But are you in service to God? Are you willing to learn and live an ancient way in our modern day?
Do you not think the Mark of the Beast (666) will be very desirable? It will bring such ease, convenience, and luxury to our lives! It will contain apps ready to fulfill your greatest pleasures! Constant entertainment and fun! Do you think you will be able to say “NO” to the pleasures of the flesh then, and not now? Your very survival will depend on that mark.
I have seen the hand-writing on the wall. I’m simplifying my life every way I know how to enter into a greater walk with God. The Apostles chose to stay with the One who put down their fancy buildings that day. He rained on their parade, but he had the words of life! (And they knew it!)
Our first love should be to the One who gave us life, our Creator. What is this illogical sinner mindset that rejects their Creator and embraces their destroyer? Why are so many people self-destructive? It can only be the evil selfishness in our own heart that we would chose the self-gratifying pleasures of darkness over the love life of Light! And for that we will be judged. We can take that to the eternal bank! I have decided Amreicanized Christianity is not for me. I’m fleeing it like the harlot I believe it is!
Rey is in over her head and probably knows it. If “the force” is not real…if it does not come to her rescue…if she fails to reach a certain degree of mastery…all will be lost. Hans Solo told her it is all real! But he never chose it for himself. Which type of person are we? Do we feel personally challenged by this ancient way in our modern day? If so, what are you doing about it?
“STAR WARS” Part III
So how does Rey develop her skills in the force without a teacher? How are these other young students to develop? What she seeks to know is very old. How will she learn an ancient way in her modern day? Do we not face a similar challenge?
Was Luke the last teacher? And was he even a fit trainer, after the condition he fell into? I’d say any training she has gotten so far has been very haphazard. Now Luke is gone but the student still wants to learn…to know…and to grow in this ancient way.
Rey somehow saved the Jedi Books! My mind is a bit foggy on that part. I don’t remember how she did it, but we catch a quick glimpse of them in the drawer on the Millennium Falcon. They have been hidden away and are in her possession. Is this how she will learn, through a slow page by page study of ancient manuscripts?
But there is this “inner heart” thing, too. Yoda explains to Luke that the true Jedi knowledge is in the Jedi themselves. It is not just contained in the Books. And therein lies my subject matter for this article, because I know this path Hollywood is alluding to. Many of us have felt something has been terribly wrong in the modern house of God, for Jesus himself warned you cannot serve two masters, and you cannot be the slave to money and serve God!
Not only have preachers and congregations become enslaved to money, but also pride, lust, pleasure, and almost every sort of wickedness creeping around in the house of God while hidden behind smiling faces boasting their blessings. The king has no clothes.
Some of us have left the modern church in order to save our faith, and now we’re seeking a “heart thing”. We know in every generation there are always those who see through the smoke and mirrors to find the true heart of God, and we seek that way even if we have to launch out on our own.
Since embarking on this spiritual quest, my constant thought has been how did the early church fathers live their Christianity, and what hath God actually said in our Jesus Covenant? In other words, what were the old paths? Not as far as living under the Law again, but what made a person a Godwalker? An Enoch type. What is the life that gets God’s attention and draws that powerful Presence?
“Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.” Jeremiah 6:16
Ask for the old paths…where is the good way…
I find I’m not the only one being drawn to such simple places, and there are others ahead of me, who are helping point the way. There are also those in the past who knew this way and lived it. Many of them wrote of it. And we have God’s word itself. In all of this I feel like a kid anxiously on a trail of discovering, knowing a great treasure is growing nearer every day! And we will be one of those places people can come, to find this living water.
Yoda was perhaps the oldest Jedi. (If this were true and not fiction, but as an analogy.) He likely had greater knowledge of the “old ways” than most. Many of us are searching books and reading teachers who have sought out these old ways, and oh the need for every true “Yoda” we can find to reconnect us to the ways Jesus and the Apostles first established, and we have somehow drifted away from. For some it has not even been a drifting, but it has been a headlong rush to see how modern they can be.
For all the “Reys” in this current church culture seeking to find the “old ways”, perhaps living as outcast in spiritual desert places while we pray; be encouraged. The God who sees all and is ever present will be our guiding star to this great light we seek. It is enough to know it is there, our heart tells us so, and we shall not be disappointed. It is enough to walk with Him, and day by day learn His ways, and see His power moving in the earth as in days of old. For in this modern time we seek to know a power very old, even the Ancient of Days!
Perhaps we have a drought of present day teachers able to lead us in these ways. But for some of us, we simply will not settle for less. Prayer is a mighty key to the heart of God. If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways... (The path is actually very plain.)
Jesus says, Walk with me. God says, Learn my ways. Holy Spirit says, I will teach you.
The power we seek is very old, but it does not age. A life of humility and prayer will open that door, but pride locks us out forever. There is a way that seems right to man, but the end thereof is death. This way we seek will not look right to man. Not the kingdom of man. But the humble heart does not notice as he falls over himself in his rush to a greater love than he has known. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
God’s word shines a bright light on the door of the way we seek. The bright light on “this door” is not stage lights. It’s another kind of light. It is not a question of whether we can find it, or whether we can know it. It’s just a question of whether we will enter it?
Rey tried to run from the Light Sabre in the beginning, but this old way kept calling to her, until she was fully committed, and “all in”. Jesus said no man comes except the Father call them. May we all hear the call, and enter in.
So where do we go from here? Will Rey find new fellowship in others who are hearing that same call? Will she succeed in learning ancient ways, or become distracted, give up, perhaps join the dark side?
You say, “No,”. She is our hero, you say. Rey is not the type to turn. No matter what the dark side, or the world, offers her, she would not give up. She must succeed. She has tasted something she simply must fulfill! But what of us? Can we say the same of us? Why are we so sure Rey will not be distracted, or defeated, but she will press through to the full knowledge of the force and defeat darkness? Are we so sure of ourself also?
You see, the fight between light and darkness is about all of us. It may be fiction, but it is not “simple fiction” because it is also real. It’s real when we put ourself in the shoes of these characters, and we ask ourself…where do I fit in this story? And how am I doing? Am I just a background character of no real consequence? Have I sold out to the Empire? Have I said it’s all too big for me? I will not make such sacrifices…I want no part of that sword? Or are you an upcoming Rey, who must not fail to find your way, in this modern maze of smoke and mirrors?
“STAR WARS” Part II
“The passing of the torch!” Is there an Awakening going on? Perhaps right under our nose, and we do not even know?
We have done much study from the book of Hebrews chapters 7-8 concerning the huge change God made through Christ when he shifted the priesthood from the Tribe of Levi, to Jesus Christ of the Tribe of Judah! This was a major move on the Cosmic Chess Board, freeing us from the Laws of Moses and connecting us to the grace, mercy, and love of Christ! This changed everything! (Unless you deny Christ, and then things are kind of the same for you. Sorry.)
We see this coming change being announced another way through the message and action of John the Baptist. It is only appropriate for the torch to be passed from the Tribe of Levi, to the Tribe of Judah, by a member of the Levite priesthood. Even though John himself didn’t fit the normal model, his parents did, and as such was of the proper linage to pass this torch. Did we realize what was happening as we read those scriptures?
As a young student of God’s word there is a lot we fail to see, I find it so very interesting when I see Hollywood put out movies which seem to parallel the truth. They are not the truth in and of themselves, but they parallel it in odd ways. I often think of when Jesus said, if man will not praise me, then the rocks will cry out in praise!
Is it possible Hollywood is occasionally preaching revelation, current spiritual events, without even realizing it? Sometimes I think it must be so, after all, we are all spirit beings whether we are saved, born-again, or not. We have a spirit connection to spiritual things. Writers, artists, creative people get “inspired”, and create something saying even more than they know. Suddenly, those with eyes to see and ears to hear, begin to notice, even though the producer may have no idea. They are living in the parallel, not the real. It’s kind of like fake news.
Is there an underground Church of people developing who are allergic to Americanized Christianity? I believe there is. The five wise virgins are awakening.
I’m not happy with everything Disney has done in developing the transition of STAR WARS, but I have very much enjoyed watching and pondering it. Are rocks crying out? Even at the end, when Luke’s famous light sabre suddenly explodes, ripped in two! Is that not a picture of what was happening when Jesus came the first time? The Law was being superseded by all those entering Christ through his cross! And now?
Will very similar conditions bring Christ back the second time, that brought him the first time? Were not the pharisee a type of the five foolish virgins? Should we not be checking ourself in God’s mirror?
So what does this mean? Do we not have a chance to be a part of God’s great move in our time? God’s perfect will and revelation is always available to anyone in every time, but we must recognize the move of God and jump on board if we want to be a part of it. Rey was very reluctant about her new developments, as her life takes on new pain and meaning. They always seem to go together.
It is my daily prayer for this strange thing God has me doing with the teepee, to be a part of God’s move in this day. I have been consuming books, and study in God’s word like a man who has been on the verge of starvation! In my spirit I feel such an urgency to be ready for something this spring, and I so want to be ready.
In the meantime, after two years of very mild winter in Indiana, this year has turned into an ice cold roaring lion seeking to devour anyone not properly protected. Much sickness is moving around as people wheeze and cough. In spite of all these things, including financial challenges too, nothing can stop a true child of God, and child of Abraham, from being a bright light in dark times!
Many of our Churches are so far in debt, money becomes an issue, and they are no longer free to preach the pure word of God. Satan has them right where he wants them. And so we see an Americanized Christianity in which much interest revolves around success and money, as they preach of the One who said “Blessed are the poor in spirit”, and had no place to lay his head.
John was a voice in the wilderness; a prophet, declaring the king of that time had no clothes! The heavenly clock is ready to drop the axe on a fruitless limb! (He declared.) Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand! Leave your indifference, become diligent and set a proper table for the Presence of God! And He will sup with you.
Poor Rey in all this STAR WARS story. She does not know what is going on with her. It’s as if her world is falling apart, and her life was already pretty difficult even before she began discovering some kind of force. Now she is in constant battle, and facing a foe with training, while she frantically scurries to put together the pieces of this new jigsaw puzzle! There is an evil beyond description rising, and who can stand against it? This nobody?
We just spent a year speculating as to who Rey was born from, in order to have the force. Only to find out she is but a commoner. Nothing royal about her at all, other than she is another living person with the potential to shine great light in dark times! The force is no longer a respecter of persons, it seems! A torch is being passed, a transformation is taking place, and all those who know His voice will find Him.
So she goes in search of her teacher, the great Luke Skywalker, only to find the great teacher hiding on an island and totally disenchanted with anything to do with the force! This poor girl! Can her path be anymore discouraging or impossible? And yet something in her hungers for this force, and so much so she will risk everything to grow in it! And then we see others too.
How are these new Jedi Knights being trained? As for the child of God, our Sword tells us we need no teacher other than the Holy Spirit in us. Now granted, the Holy Spirit uses others God has gifted and called to be teachers, but even if we’re separated like John on the Isle of Patmos, we can seek God! (And grow, be fruitful, shine great light.)
I couldn’t be more excited in my old age, to see what God is doing. I’ve been waiting most my life to see someone begin pointing out the king has no clothes. The big question now is, where do we go from here?
Teepee / Ministry Progress
Tumble Pigeon Farm Spiritual Retreat is currently a winter wonder land of below zero beauty. Located in Whitestown Indiana, this is what we have. But we still had Church last night in a warm home with friends and family, and we got into some really good discussion about Americanized Christianity.
I spent some time job shopping this week. My next move is to find a job closer to Whitestown and begin to spend more time living on the farm. But I need a space for my own and the Teepee is not ready for that yet. It’s too big a space to heat. It might not ever be my living space. It may be meant for spiritual “meetings”, in which people come together to pass the peace pipe (metaphorically) and seek more of God. Hopefully by this spring.
So until then, I have a tiny house inviting me inside out of the cold. It’s not much to look at, but with some work it will both heat and cool very nicely. It’s approximately 10×16, and maybe 5 foot 8 inches at its tallest point. I’m about 6 foot. So… I am excited at the next moves developing with Tumble Pigeon Farm, and also ministry opportunities. God’s word and God’s truth is getting out there, in many different shapes and forms. For all those who desire a greater walk with his Presence, God has rivers flowing for you to find.
I hope while you’re here, you will check out my first Star Wars article, there is much to say about our own battle to stand strong against the Empire, including the Laodicea Church! Just drop down one more article, and you are there.
“This Begins my Star Wars Series”
I hope to do a series using Star Wars for illustration. When the world labels you the rebel, and themselves the new standard, life can get hard. It’s never easy being the David facing the Goliath; but David had the favor of God, and he had skills.
God’s Church has always been the rebel against the World System, but what happens when the World System has crept into so much of the Church, that it has become more of the problem than the solution? That’s when you get someone like me, or at least what I perceive myself to be. I’m now a part of the fringe, on the outside looking in, because I no longer trust what I see inside the four walls.
A Church in bed with the World System becomes the Empire. The book of Revelation plainly reveals a harlot that rides the back of the beast. This harlot is without a doubt some form of a compromised religious system. And being a harlot, even as the Bible explains, in having sex, two become one! This compromised Church becomes part of the Empire, and those refusing to conform become outcasts, rebels, remnant people, David’s facing Goliath.
Warning: Spoilers may abound from here on.
John the Revelator found himself forcibly exiled to the Isle of Patmos. In his vision, Jesus himself does a report card on seven Churches, how they are doing, and warns some of them of having their lamp removed from the stand! Is John the only Christian exiled to this island?
Now be honest with yourself. Do you know your Bible and what God hath said? Do you know it well enough to do a report card on the Church you faithfully attend? Now be painfully honest, and how do you think your Church would do if Jesus gave them a test and then sat down to grade it? Are you at all worried the Empire has compromised your Church, and your understanding of what God hath said? Do you feel safe? Or might you be in danger? Might the Empire be all around you even now, they have lulled you to sleep, and the reality you think you’re living is nothing but Neo before the Red Pill?
Exactly what does your New Testament Bible say Church should be? I hope you have studied “for yourself”! That’s what I’ve been doing since leaving the Americanized Church, and I’ve been finding some surprises. So I’m a rebel, like Captain America becoming Nomad, and it seems my whole life has been a journey and struggle to this revelation!
So the point I want to make today is, after having a chance to ponder the latest episode, “The Last Jedi”, is…
I am struck by what miserable lives our heroes had.
I mean, we are looking at some pretty sad endings! Okay, it may be they had a few good years in there. Hans and Leia fell in love, got married, had a child, and then? What’s up with this child? He got something bad from his Grandpa? (Grandpa Darth.)
So…Luke becomes a teacher of the force and starts a Jedi School. Sounds good. For how long did that go well? But then Hans and Leia, perhaps in desperation, bring the problem child to the school. A lot is riding on Skywalker now. After all, the problem child, Kylo Ren, is family! He’s got to save this child. Guide him to the side of light. Both Hans and Leia are counting on him.
However, not only does Kylo go bad, but he destroys the school in the process, and basically brings everything back to where it was before! The current Empire System now has its Vader again! And evidently Luke is so broken and devastated by all this, he spends the rest of his life on this island! He dies on this island after doing one last good deed.
Hans had separated from Leia and gone back to his smuggling ways, a broken relationship, and a life of constant struggle to survive. Was this caused by the stress of the bad son? And Hans ends up dying, run through by the light sabre of Kylo himself, while trying to reason with him as his father! What a horrible ending! What a sad life after so great a victory many years ago, in which they all became legends!
Now Leia’s life is lonely, a broken mother’s heart, and she is in constant peril as the rebels are barely hanging on. It’s a weird thing that the only person who has actually died, is the only person still alive in the movie! Do I have a problem with that? Not really. It’s just odd when you think about it, and a little comical. But there is a new development bringing hope to this dismal picture: The force is no longer limited to just a few very fortunate people who happen to be born with a certain something in there blood!
In other words, a “Commoner” might get it! And Rey is living proof of that! If it were not so, the Jedi would be over! Finished! Defeated! Darkness wins with Kylo Ren! But up pops Rey, and she’s a nobody! What does this mean? It means a whole world of possibilities. Our “Force Universe” just expanded!
Suddenly, it’s not the person born rich, or with the right blood, or the college degree, or the handsome face, who might be the next hero! The force might be strong with anyone! It might not be the pastor of a big Church, or Bible College degree hanging on the wall whom God greatly anoints! But it might be a self-taught nobody, who God suddenly lifts up to stand against what has become the current Empire.
It might be just such a person who finally points out the king has no clothes! And people suddenly see! God’s always loved the David’s of this world.
But yes, standing against the Empire can be a lonely and difficult life. Your reward may not come until your Kingdom comes. Luke gave everything left in him to pull off that last feat of the force. Maybe he had lost a lot in his depression. He wanted the books destroyed. That would be like me wanting all Bibles destroyed! But I love my Bible! How could I be so broken to come to such a place? There, except for the grace of God, go I.
I wasn’t ready for Skywalker to go. I was so hoping, as he struggled to climb back on that rock, he was going to pull through, and play some part in leading a new batch of heroes! I did not get what I wanted when he vanished into oblivion. But isn’t that life? Are we not use to not getting what we want? It still hurts. It still disappoints. But we pick ourself up, look reality in the eyes and ask, what might now be?
Paul told Timothy that in the “last days” PERILOUS times would come. When I saw the end of Episode Six all those years ago. The smiling faces, the celebration, the victorious music. I thought good times were finally ahead for our heroes. I did not expect what we have seen happen. But…it’s really not about having a good time here, anyway, is it. It’s about which path leads to life, light, and the Eternal Kingdom which cannot be taken from us! Like people always say, there in a better place now.
This life really is not about what we have here, it’s about what we shall be there, because of what we chose to be here. Yes, it seems our heroes had a lot of heartaches, but they still stood against the Empire to the end, and chose to do right even in spite of whatever pain and sacrifice it cost them. Isn’t that what real heroes do?
To be continued…
Where does “My Road” Lead?
If someone spends a day with you, will they closer heaven be, when day is through? Am I a road others can walk? If so, what’s my merge with eternity? For all those I may lead, in the end, what will they see?
Two articles ago I wrote something entitled “Eternal Bricks”. That article became our Christmas Day devotions with the family. We always set aside a space of time on Christmas which is focused entirely on the reason for the season, as they say.
In preparation for that day, I bought six bricks and a can of gold spray paint. I painted those bricks as gold as I could get them! Then I took a black marker and wrote: “Made in the K. of G.” “Eternal Bricks”. I put them in a box and just before sharing the lesson, I walked around and had a member of each family reach in a pull out a brick. They did not know what was in the box till they pulled it out. All they knew was, Dad had just given them a brick! Whaaat?
I highly recommend reading that article, but here’s some more thoughts on the subject. I’ve been on a strange road with God, but I think it is only strange to the “American” form of Christianity. I’ve shared about the church of 800 that I left in shame, had to apologize for letting the Pastor down, and had to find myself a new vision and new name. As a result of all that, I find God is developing me into a road others can walk on leading to a different place than Americanized Christianity, of which I will be sharing details of very soon!
Over this Christmas some very interesting information just happened to drop into my lap concerning the church I left. I was not seeking this info, nor was I expecting it, but I was not surprised by it. God decided I was ready for the confirmation of why I left. I was informed by a member there, who came to my teepee to share in some Bible and fellowship, that the board had to send that Pastor away for three months of sabbatical and counseling! And “EVE” has had a lot to do with the strange struggles going on in that church. All I could think was, “Wow.”
This has been a repeating theme in my life, leaving a church because I did not fit, only to find out later that my spider senses were not wrong; and this repeating theme is what finally convinced me I had to find something different, something more true, because it is truth that sets us free. Evidently, in my old age, God wanted me to blaze such a trail.
Now let us examine ourselves, each of us. What kind of road are we? Where do we lead in God? Are we building with Eternal Bricks, and are we laying each brick with care? Or are we using bricks of mud and straw? A road that will not stand the test of fire, but will burn like a house of cards? Leaving us empty. The king has no clothes.
First of all, are we willing to be walked on? If we are, then it is likely we are building with Eternal Bricks, because only the cross of Christ at work in our life changes our heart to be such a person. I believe that was an important question asked in that first article. Are we willing to be walked on? Are we meant to be a door matt? Is that how you see Christ, as a door matt? No. But he is a path inviting whosoever will to walk upon.
It is more happy to give than receive, according to God. But only God working in us makes us comfortable, even happy, with that. The life of a Priest was and is a life of sacrifice energized by a flame of love burning in our belly. I believe God bakes those bricks in our own belly, in the fire burning in us, and we give birth to the Kingdom of God into the kingdom of man. Our life should be a road, a path leading to heaven, not a dead end street. If someone takes the time to walk with me for a day, by end of day we “both” should be closer to heaven.
I find it very exciting that we might be such a road. And my time has come to share what God has put in me. I’ve been the “team player” too many times now. I have finally learned my part in the “team”, the body of Christ, is to be a part of a rebel message growing who reject this American Christianity, for something going back to the early Church fathers. This is where I want my road to lead, and so too this blog site.
John the Revelator wrote of the beast and the Empire. There is a change coming in the force around us. There is an awakening, are you hearing it? Are you part of it? Very soon, perhaps tonight, or tomorrow, I want to write of my feelings after seeing the new Star Wars movie, and I won’t be worried about spoilers. I am anxious to do this. I am anxious to share things I have been seeing in God’s amazing Word, since I decided to leave the American Empire church. We will see if it’s time, if God will indeed release me to begin the writing and sharing of it. Very, very soon. I promise, it will not disappoint.
The picture I took of my Eternal Brick was not a staged plan. I knew I needed a picture. I looked for a good place to snap it. My wife already had this little table set up with the can saying “Despicable Me – Minion made”, and the other ornament standing there, a Precious Moments ornament, holding a kitten, having angel wings, and she bought it t a Goodwill. I sat the brick on top of the can and looked at the already prepared scene, and thought, what an interesting set-up. Somehow it seemed right, and my spider senses said, go with it! So I did.
I’m not really into those movies, but the word “minion” actually means a servant, follower, or underling. Someone serving a higher authority over them. You can decide if you think God set this picture up, and what it all might mean?
“Will Luke Teach One More?”
That is the question, and you will have to see the movie to find out, but we have a Teacher, Luke Skywalker; we have a powerful subject to learn, the way of the force; and we have a hungry student, Rey; but will the Teacher teach one more? It only takes one, you know.
In our last article we talked about Luke secluded on the island and compared it to Elijah and his cave. In some ways, the comparison still seems to fit. God asked Elijah, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Rey seems to be asking the same question of Luke.
After Elijah gave his little prepared speech, which he actually gave twice, after God asked him the same question twice, then God ordered him out of the cave and sent him on another mission, which also included finding his replacement. God even told him the name of the person to find.
But we note Elijah was not given a quick ticket out. That chariot did not show up for a while. So what was going on during that time period? Did his replacement need training? Was this depressed man hiding in a cave going to be able to rise to the need of a student?
We find Elijah locating his replacement, Elisha, in I Kings 19:19. He found Elisha plowing a field with a team of oxen. He happened to be the twelfth team of twelve in the field. So this is his student? This is the life he is use to, a farmer, and hard physical labor?
Verse 19 says Elijah walked over, threw his cloak across Elisha’s shoulders, and then simply walked away! Oh my. Elisha had to know whose mantle was now resting upon his shoulders. And there he goes, walking away! You better think fast, Elisha. Are you ready for such a mantle as this? Can you afford to let the Teacher walk away? Or do you need him?
It says Elisha left the oxen and ran after the Prophet/ Teacher. He asked the Prophet for time to say goodbye to his family. And the Prophet said, “Go on back, but think about what I have done to you.”
What I have done to you…
Think about what I have done to you.
Elisha immediately returned to his oxen, his livlihood, slaughtered them, and used the plow for wood to build a fire and sacrifice the oxen. Something in Elisha was ready for what the Teacher would do to him. In our movie, has Skywalker decided he will never do to another, what he tried in the past, to be the teacher?
It’s a powerful thing to be a teacher, and a great honor to serve in such a way. Depending on the subject, there may be many teachers, or only a few. There may be great teachers, and not so great. But the hungry student needs training for that which he desires to pursue, and the greater the desire, the more the student realizes the value and need of the teacher.
We invite the teacher to do something to us. Turn us into more than we are now, and this is the mastery of which I seek! How bad do you want it? How high do you consider the value of what this teacher teaches? His subject may not offer much in worldly gain, or an easy path, but it still has value? What is the value of what you seek? You must be convinced of its value for yourself. What are you judging the value based upon? Double check your motives, and choose wisely.
Bruce Lee loved being a teacher, and he was highly sought after. He broke down barriers in his quest to teach. He fought many battles, inspired many people, and even caused a movement. The power of a powerful teacher. Bruce taught a certain kind of fighting style, even the way of having no way. Jesus teaches a fighting style too.
For those of us desiring mastery in our Lord’s way, we have God’s Word, the Holy Spirit in us, and also many people God has called and gifted down through the ages to be teachers, mentors, and pastors of God’s Way. I think I need a second article on this, but in the meantime, choose your teachers well, and consider what they will do to you.
Rey knows she needs a teacher, but this one she has found may be badly damaged. Still, no one else knows what he knows. Who else can she go to? The dark side? Will he rise to teach one more?
How about you? Are you a teacher? Does your subject have true value? Will you rise to teach one more? Do you know what your subject will do to a person? Will it change their life in a powerful and worthwhile way? Us teachers will answer for what we do to our students. Let us teach well. Let us teach that which has true value, and let us pursue excellence!
Merry Christmas to one and all.
Dark Night of the Soul / Star Wars
I’M BACK FROM SEEING STAR WARS.
Obviously I can’t say much without causing spoilers, and I really hope not to do that yet. At least for a week. So… I don’t think I’m spoiling anything if we touch on Luke being on the island. It should be common knowledge, based on previous movie, and trailers of this movie, Luke has fallen into a “Dark Night of the Soul”. Ever been there?
But first… Did I enjoy the movie? “YES.” It does have some slow spots, but in the over all IT DOES DELIVER. And it sticks in your mind. I found it easy to conversate with my wife afterwards. Different thoughts kept coming. The show still rolls through my soul as I sit here pondering what I can share?
I have mentioned reading Brian Zahnd, someone new to me, and his point about Revelation being a book about living in a “super power nation”, contending with the worldly forces of “Empire”. Star Wars has always been about the downtrodden fighting overwhelming odds against a mighty Empire. The Bible has a lot of that. As a Christian I readily identify with the struggle these rebel forces must endure. But most of us here in America have not had to contend unto blood for Christ, not yet, but a few have. Ours is more a slow seduction, a poisoning of our soul, if were not wary.
It’s so easy to be swept away by Empire. If we have been raised in the Empire culture, we may not even recognize how many ways we have conformed to the pressures around us, shaping us, unless we take a good honest look at ourself in the mirror of God’s Word. And if we begin to live different than our culture around us, if we resist the pressures and fight back, forces will surely come to put us in our place, or render us silent.
In Revelation, those who follow the Lamb of God end up in New City Jerusalem. Those who follow the Empire, the Beast, end up in the Lake of fire. Are we a resistance to the Empire? Here in America, with so much emphasis on money and success, have we found that proper balance God will approve of, or have we raised a white flag, go along to get along, let the good times roll? Tough questions to answer, I know.
Luke was not one of those to be swept along by the Empire Peer Pressure. Not only had he been resistant, he had gone on to start a school, raising up others who had it in them to become a Jedi Knight, until something went horribly wrong, and he blamed himself. One too many horrible things happened, he plunged into dark depression, and decided to hide away from the world. Others had fought on without him. Now they needed him.
Hhmmm. Never stay too long in your cave. Elijah ran to a cave after Jezebel threatened to kill him. David found himself in a few caves. Sometimes we need a dark place to refocus, find direction, hear that godly whisper again. But be careful, for the dark night of the soul also lurks there. Many things may try to grip you in that darkness. Don’t turn to other things in your hour of need thinking they will help you. Just wait on the Lord. His voice will come. Be still and know he is God. He will send someone, or something, to lift you out of the fog. Wait it out in faith. Let the fog slowly clear. If you doubt not, the fog will clear, and his voice will come.
Once God helped Elijah get to the cave, he then asked him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Elijah explained how hard he had fought for the Lord, how he felt he was the only one left, and now they would get him, too. He was in a dark night of the soul, but God gave him some assignments anyway, got him back to work, and had him find his replacement. Elijah then left earth in a fiery chariot, not as a defeated soul dying alone in a cave.
This movie is not as predictable as others have been. I hope you enjoy it and get some good food for thought. It’s never easy resisting an Empire, especially if you live in it. Luke went to the island of his own choosing. John the Revelator was exiled there against his will, but it did not stop him. I can here God asking him now, “What are you doing here, John? Let’s see what we can do with this.”
Path Without End 