Guardian of the Galaxy-Theological Review

Guardian of the Galaxy, or GOTG, was a fun, humorous action adventure comic book movie. Marvel has done an excellent job of mixing in different types of movies over their last few and this movie was completely different then the last movie, Captain America, that they brought out. The movie was rated PG-13 because of the language in it but there was very funny parts that were great and never required crude or the language to make it humorous. Overall it was an entertaining 2 hours that was creative and very imaginative. The movie would not fall out of the Philippians 4:8 framework so it can be view and enjoyed without much Christian compromise.

Now onto the theological review.
The biggest theological point that the movie tries to make is that bad people can do good things. The 5 main characters are all thieves, criminals, and some are even murderers. But they must band together to stop a bigger bad guy from destroying the galaxy. The movie tries to show that bad people can do good things and it even ends with the line from the main character, "so what do we want to do, good, bad or a little bit of both? A little bit of both". The movie tries to end with the fact that, in the end they are still bad people sometimes but they can do good things.

The Bible agrees and disagrees with this theological thought. Paul teaches in Romans that as bad people, sinners before Jesus, we can never do any good. We as sinner before Christ are totally depraved in our nature and our sin covers and reaches ever part of our being. We are not as bad as we could be as sinners because we could always be much worse. By the grace of God sin has gotten to our core and that is why we are sinners committing sins. Paul reminds us then in this sinful state we could never do anything good that would please and honor God because even the good we commit will still have sinful and selfish motives and driven by a sinner's core. This theological point from the Bible disagrees with the movie's thoughts about bad people doing good and honorable things.

But Paul in Romans also tells us that after we surrender our lives to Jesus and His control a part of our lives will still deal with sin in the flesh but now when we know Jesus and live in the power of the Spirit we can do good things and honor God. As Christians, still struggling with bad sinful things we can commit a good act that is praise worthy and honoring to God. So I am not sure I would say as Christians and knowing Jesus we are bad people because we have Christ as our identity, but we are a people that still can commit bad things. So with this Biblical thought there might be some agreement with the movie.

Overall we need to be aware of the fact that a sinner before Christ can never do good and a sinner after Jesus can but still struggle with sin.

Jesus the Shephard

Psalms 23:3
"He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name's sake"

This is a verse that most of us memorized as kids in Sunday School and is also part of one of the most famous passages of Scripture, the 23rd Psalm. But I have discovered that this simple sentence contains a full course of God's truth and teaching. There are 3 important things from this simple sentence that I would like to take a look at tonight and remind us of the importance of our Shepherd.

1)"He leads me". God guides us in our Christian walk if we can just look at and listen to Him. God through Jesus is the great shepherd and truly cares and loves His sheep. God through Jesus has made a covenant with us and through that relationship cares deeply and is committed to our well being. If we truly look and listen to Jesus, He has our best and spiritual heart in mind with every decisions and path He sets before us. Now I am not saying that God will speak audibly to us and give us a direct revelation on what we are supposed to do but God guides us. God gave us His word, His bride, and His world to help lead and refine us. Jesus is our guide in this life and if we let Him will bring us whole into the next life with no regrets. But the fact is we miss Jesus leading and guiding all the time because of our sin nature, the distractions of this world, and the influence of Satan. Jesus is still there though caring, loving, and nurturing us, waiting for us to get back on His path and follow the life He has called us to. Next time we feel lost and at a loss for what to do or where to turn, I bet Jesus is there waiting to lead us if we only stop and go to His word and find His path again. Jesus is the Perfect Shepherd so let Him lead.

2)"paths of righteousness" Jesus leads us only ever in paths that are right. Righteousness means doing what is right, in the sense of meeting all obligations and displaying all relevant forms of virtue, goodwill, and Biblical truth.So what happens when our paths and life get off of the righteousness track? It is not because of Jesus that we fell off the wrong path, it is because of us. Jesus will lead us perfectly and never cause us to stumble, trip up, or commit an act of sin. We do all that by ourselves. So next time when we find that life and the course that is being laid out is wrong and not right, find out what shepherd we are following. I guarantee that it is not Jesus the perfect Shepherd that is being followed. Jesus only ever leads us in the right directions and in the paths to our growth and betterment and righteousness.

3)"for His name sake". Here is the crux of the matter. Why does Jesus lead us faithfully and direct us perfectly into the paths of righteousness? The answer might surprise us because Jesus does all that not for us but for Himself. God cares first and foremost about His own glory and reputation. So that is why Jesus leads us as the Great Shepherd, for His own reputation and spreading of His fame. God's first passion is for Himself and in His amazing choosing and grace, He uses us in this passion. Wow! God uses me to worship and spread His reputation and that is the bottom line of Him leading me. We tend to get caught up too much in ourselves and think it is about us. We even think that about the cross sometimes, that it was about me and what Jesus did for me. That is correct to say but at the bottom line of the cross is the reputation of God and the spread of His glory. And this is why Jesus leads us in paths of righteousness, to spread His fame, glory, majesty, and reputation. So when we are not being led by Jesus and going our own way we might not be sinning but we are sinning because we are stopping the reputation of our Savior from being spread.

So the simple question is, "Are we spreading the reputation of Jesus by following His leading in our lives?"

Christian Tension

A few verses that God has shown me over the last week have illustrated tension in the Christian life that I think I have needed to be reminded of.

Romans 6:18
You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

Romans 6:22
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.

1 Peter 2:16
Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover up of evil; live as servants of God.

So we are free but yet at the same time we are slaves. That is very interesting, challenging, and important to think and pray about. I will not take the length to give a full explanation of what I think all this means but I believe it has a few very important things to remind us of.

Being free means first as Romans says we are free from the bondage of sin. This also means that we are free from the bondage to the flesh and the sin of being a dead person. We are free from our old self, the ball and chain that the life of a dead person brings. We are free from the bondage of this world and free from the deep seated desire in us to call this world home and settle in for a long stay. We are free from making our selves happy and having happiness as the only pursuit in this life. We are free from the desire and passion in ourselves for our own good at all cost and the drive of self. Being free sets us free in many ways and gives us an ultimate freedom that a person not in Jesus could have.

But this freedom in Jesus does come with a cost and that cost is being a slave as Romans and 1 Peter highlight. So what does it mean that we are slaves to righteousness and servants of God? Simply put this means we are now captive and slaves to our love, desire, and passion for Jesus. Having become slaves we now lives lives that are in love with the person who set us free and that is Jesus. We then live to serve Him and work for His mission. We live lives that are in love with Him and we become slaves to that love of Jesus so our lives are then centered around a life of service and holiness for Jesus. We become slaves and servants to our passions and pursuit of Jesus. Our life is full of works and acts of service and love in honor of Jesus. We join and are a part of Jesus' bride, which is visibly His church. We spend time talking with Jesus and spend time reading His words and commands to us. In a life of slave love to Jesus we follow His commands and continually live as a broken repentant person knowing that we continually need Jesus to set us free from our sin struggle and tension. We are free with Jesus but now become slaves to the love and desire and want of Him.

This is the amazing tension of the Christian life and it is a great reminder for us as we wake up each day trying to follow and honor God with our words and actions. We are free but at the same time should be slaves. Amen

Character of the teacher

Yesterday I discussed and took a look at the question of who is a teacher in the life of the church? Simply everyone who claims to love Jesus will be a teacher, but this raises another question then. That question is then what is the character that a teacher must exhibit. Before I give some thoughts on the character of teachers I have another definition of a teacher.
"To teach is to create a space in which obedience to the Truth is practiced".

But what about the character of a teacher? I believe that a simple way to say what the character of a teacher must be is in the acronym IMPACT. A teacher in the church and a person that cares about the spiritual formation of others in the faith family must be the IMPACT model. let me explain a little what each trait is.

Intercession must be the first trait. Every teacher must realize that they are standing between their learner and God. They must show and give the words of God to the learner and be the go between by explaining God's word, showing God's life, and be a living fleshly example of what God is calling all of His children to do.
Modeling must also be a trait of every teacher. Teacher not only teach by word but more importantly by deed and action. A teacher must show in action but what they do and do not do what it means to live as a follower and lover of Jesus.
Partnership is a trait that a teacher must posses to have any hope in reaching the learner. God has designed the faith family to be a community and group of people living together in the world. This means that relationships and partnerships must take place for learning to be had. Teachers must work together with their learners at their pace so they can live for Jesus the best.
Alertness is a trait that every Christian should have but especially every teacher. The world is a nasty dark place that fights against the church and Jesus. The teacher must be alert and not get sucked into the sin of the world and also be alert to how the world is deceiving others, especially the learners so they can reach the others with the greatest impact for Jesus.
Cultivation is a trait of the teacher that requires patience. Teacher must realize they are in it for the long haul and learning does not happen over night. Every person will learn at their own pace and living in this world is a struggle where sometimes we find ourselves stumbling forward. The teacher must spend the time through many different ways equipping the learner for service and learning of Jesus.
Time is a must in the life of every teacher. Time must be allowed and every teacher must have the time to invest in and train others. As was stated earlier, growth and Christian maturity doe not happen over night and every Christian, including most importantly myself, is still a growing learning Christian. Time is vital to pour into every learner.

The IMPACT model is a great place to start with the character of every teacher. But the best place for every teacher to start to look at for a good character trait is to look to the only perfect Teacher, Jesus. Jesus gives us the best character trait to resemble in a teacher.

Who is a teacher?

A question I have been thinking and praying very much about over the last month is, who is a teacher? Who are the people that are designed to teach in the life of the church? Who are those who are called by God to teach His children? How does the Pastor fit into the role of being a teacher? Who are the teacher's in the life of the church? These are many of the numerous questions I have been thinking and praying through.

The first place to begin I think is to define what a teacher is. I hope this definition that I had much help in coming up with is a great definition of what and who a teacher should be.

"To teach is to come alongside another in the power of the Holy Spirit, to seek an encounter together with the Truth, taking aim to perceive it more clearly, consider it more critically, embrace it more passionately, obey it more faithfully, and embody it with greater integrity".

Matthew 28 I think also gives a great example of who the teacher is supposed to be. Matthew 28 and the great commission is where Jesus commands His followers to go and make disciples, teaching people things that He said and baptizing them in His name. So by this command from Jesus a teacher is someone who makes disciples or as been said many times, someone who multiplies themselves.

So I think a simple answer to the question of who is the teacher, would be everyone that professes to be a lover of Jesus. Everyone who loves Jesus will desire to please Him by teaching others what He said, both inside and outside the church. This is what leads to multiplication and spreading the Gospel. This is what makes someone a teacher in the bottom line. Now I will say there are many levels of being a teacher going up from this simple command of Jesus. But it is the best place to start when asking the question of who is the teacher. The answer should be, I am the teacher and I am teaching others what Jesus said and how He asked us to live if we love Him. But this also will open upo to many more questions, which Lord willing I will try and explore this coming week.

In Honor of marriage counsleing

My beloved and I will be doing marriage counseling tomorrow with a great soon to be couple. So in honor of that I wanted to repost one of my favorite blogs from this past February.

Friends with Benefits

Before I start this off I want to disclose I got the title tonight from a recent book I read called Real Marriage by Mark and Grace Driscoll. I also want to state that as I am writing this tonight I am preaching to myself because I am in no way great at what I am going to talk about and have much room to grow. I pray that at the end of my life on the last day of my marriage that my beloved will say that I did well at this and grew much in this area.

"Husbands, love you wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her"-Ephesians 5:25

"Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh"- Genesis 2:24

Over the last few months God has placed the burden on me about what it means to be a Godly husband and man. God has put a desire deep inside me to be a better leader, lover, friend, rock, provider, heartbeat, and partner for my beloved. Many times over the last few weeks God has reminded me through friends, situations, and His word that I need to take a priority in my relationship with my beloved. And over the last 10 days or so God as chosen a certain area to pick on and really convict me. My friendship to my wife has been an area that God has chosen to focus me on. Here are a few thoughts I have discovered and a few ways that I can improve in this area of my one flesh friendship.

First lets start with a few questions I have asked myself over the last week to gauge how my "friendship" is with my beloved.

1)Who is the person that I think about first, last, and most during my day?
2) When I accomplish something or have something exciting in my life happen, who do I want to tell first?
3) When God shows me an amazing truth about Him or His word, who do I want to share that with most?
4) Who do I want to go see that movie with?
5) Who do I want to do a book study with?
6) Who do I need to repent to first in my life?
7) Who can I cry with?

These are questions I have asked myself over the last week as I have been convicted by the Spirit about my friendship with my wife. God has exposed to me the fact that my wife needs to be the answer to all of these questions because for better or worse she is the one friend I have that is one flesh and should know me the most. As the verse in Genesis says my beloved is my one flesh. That should be the closest relationship I have on this earth, she should be my best friend.

Our spouses need to be our best friends. I should be enjoying the times I spend with my beloved the most. Our relationship should be filled with laughter, love, crying, and joy. My beloved and I should be full of devotion for each other and the passion of our lives after God Himself, should be for the best of the other member. As the verse from Ephesians reminds me, I need to put my wife first in my life (after Jesus) and her needs, desires, wants, joys, and passions should be placed first in my life. My wife and our friendship should be the most intimate relationship I have on the earth. She should be the one person that is free in this life to challenge me when I am wrong, forgive me when I repent, and grow with me in my walk with God.

My friendship with my beloved should be the most needed relationship I have. She should be the one who should meet my needs first and if she cannot she should be the one to help me find ways to meet them. I should then be the one who meets her needs and takes care of her first and if I cannot help her I should find a way to meet them. This also shows that our friendship should be two ways and not just a one way street. Our friendship should be growing together and blessing others by our relationship and marriage. Because of our friendship others should be blessed, God must be glorified, and the gospel must be preaching to a world by word and deed. The world must also see the gospel at work in our friendship and desire to know the Jesus that is at the center of our friendship. My wife must truly be my best friend with many benefits.

This has lead me to then ask 7 different questions about my friendship with my beloved.

1) What are her needs, wants, desire, and passions?
2) How can I cultivate our friendship and grow together?
3) How can I be a better friend to her?
4) What should I be prayer for her more about?
5) How can I pursue her and make sure she knows it?
6) What activities can we do together that she would enjoy?
7) How can we glorify God more together and preach the gospel through our relationship?

I pray that God will challenges others in their one flesh friendship as He has challenged and convicted me.

Quotable Friday

2 important quotes from J I Packer from his book,  "Knowing God".

1. One can know a great deal about God without much knowledge of Him.

2. One can know a great deal about godliness without much knowledge of God.