horror

The Shift

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

I took the opportunity to go to an actual movie theater to see the latest film from Angel Studios, who brought you The Chosen series. It was not what I expected — but in a good way.

In the back of my mind, I had the idea that it might be a quaint movie set in a small town where a waitress falls in love with an out-of-towner. I thought it might be in the rom-com vein with a vague Nicholas Sparks-ian vibe.

It’s more of a modern retelling of the book of Job with sci-fi elements thrown in. I recognized three of the actors from The Chosen, as well as Sean Astin from The Lord of the Rings movies and Stranger Things season 2 (we hardly knew ye, Bob).

It delves into how each of our choices, even the small ones, has multiple potential outcomes. Also, it shows that just as God allowed Job to be tested by suffering, so does he sometimes allow us to undergo the same.

If I had to pick out a theme, it would probably be that hope is stronger than fear or pain. As long as we hold on to hope and don’t lose sight of the goodness of God, we will emerge from suffering as refined gold or silver.

It ended up not being what I expected, but I think in the end it turned out better than I expected. If it’s a glimpse of the future of faith-based films, then I’m very optimistic.

Now go buy a ticket and go see it while it’s still in theaters.

https://www.angel.com/tickets/the-shift

Praying for Orlando

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

I, like so many of you, was horrified by what I saw on my social media feed. a gunman murdered 50 people in a night club early this morning.

Regardless of your stance on the LBGTQ community, we should all mourn the devastating loss of life. No one should celebrate when someone else dies. Ever.

Remember, each one of these victims was someone’s son or daughter, brother or sister,  aunt or uncle. More than that, each was an individual created in the image of God and therefore possessing inherent value. Each was someone Jesus willingly went to the cross and died for.

I’m praying for the families of these victims tonight. I’m praying that God can take what was meant for pure evil and turn it into something good. I know that in God’s plan, tragedy and loss will not have the last word. God’s story never ends with ashes.

I read a post that said that those that died got what they deserved because of their lifestyles. All I know is that I wouldn’t want to get what I deserve based on some of the choices I’ve made in the past. I don’t want karma. I want and desperately need grace.

Hatred cannot overcome hatred. Only love can do that. Only the love of God as expressed in the person of Jesus can do that. Only a kind of love that was willing to lay down its life for enemies can do that.

In response to so much senseless tragedy and horror, I say, “Come, Lord Jesus, come. Only You have the power to set things right again and to wipe away the tears from every eye and to vanquish evil and hate and the lies once and for all. Only you can make a happy ending out of so much sadness. Come quickly, Lord Jesus.”

 

Blessed are the peacemakers

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“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9)

Blessed are those who make peace, not those who wait for peace to fall into their laps. We have to work for peace sometimes. As crazy and contradictory as it may seem, we even have to fight for peace sometimes. We have to be willing to pray against the powers of darkness. We have to be willing to practice tough love when the easy thing to do would be to ignore the situation until it goes away. Sometimes peace making can be a bloody and brutal event. Just ask Jesus, who in order to make peace with God for us endured the cross and all the horror and shame there.

There are three types of peace: peace with God, peace with others and peace with yourself. I think that this verse is not so much about finding peace with God as it is establishing or reestablishing peace with others and with yourself.

The Message says, “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.” Jesus prayed for unity of believers above all things for His people. If there is unforgiveness or conflict, it grieves the Holy Spirit. It also is a bad witness to an unbelieving world. If we can’t love each other who we see every day, how can we claim to love a God whom we have not seen? How can anything we say be true if there’s no love to back it up?

Father, forgive me for the times when I was not brave enough to fight for peace and instead settled for truce or a cold war of lost opportunities and relationships. Help me to see that You want your children to love each other and forgive each other and bless each other. Send your Spirit to bring revival into your people so we can be the ones through whom You radically change the world.

As always, I believe. Help my unbelief.