Posts

Do You Mortify?

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Hmm...really something to ponder.... ~ WGN

Guardians of the Galaxy Rules!

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Yes, I must say that Guardians of the Galaxy is a summer great and arguably the best one out. I really enjoy the story, the action, and the effects. I can never count myself as one of the longtime fans of the comic, neither have I ever owned an issue, but I those who are could say it met all expectations for something that went from print to the big screen. Something that really grabbed me about the Guardians story is it tells of misfits who came together and did something great in saving the galaxy from evil. Starlord (Chris Pratt), a happa alien human kid growing up in1980s but taken from earth to some distant galaxy to be raised as a thief. His solace is the ever so awesome mix tape given to him by his mother. Gamora (Zoe Saldana), a female assassin working for the story’s nemesis Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace). Gamora seeks to find a way to get out of the business and make up for all the wrongs done in the past. Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), the byproduct of some crazy gen...

Avoiding the Snare of Paganism in Spiritual Warfare

I find a danger for every believer is to cease seeing the world as a Christian, through God’s eyes, and revert to seeing the world as a pagan. This can happen when one buys into some kind of dualism wherein God and Satan are misconstrued as equal but opposing forces. Stories are told of demons possessing God-like powers to levitate objects, change the weather, materialize at will, morph into various forms, bring the dead to life, and even procreate demonic human hybrids. Other stories tell of people getting demonic possessed and become unwilling participants in the committing all sorts of evil. Satan is, however, the chief of all the demons, whose power trumps them all. But this kind of demonology is really pagan as opposed to biblical Christianity, albeit these pagan ideas have crept into the church. God and Satan are never to be considered equal and opposing forces. God is eternal without beginning or end, but Satan is a created being. God is in control of all things, but Satan ...

Idel Words Exposing the Heart

Jesus Christ said, “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment” (Matt. 12:36). [1] I’m struck by the real weight the spoken word can have. Not that we speak things into existence, but what we do say tells a lot about who we are. This is evident given the Lord’s own explanation of what He just said: “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matt. 12:37). It is the heart that drives what we profess and proclaim from our lips, and words spoken reveal the condition of our heart (Matt. 15:18, Luke 6:45). Vile and spiteful things are good indicators of sinful and broken heart. Jesus’ point about the careless word is intricately woven together with what He taught on the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. In the context of Matthew 12, the Pharisees spoke evil of Christ. They said He performed His miracles by the power of Satan, which showed their existing disposition towards H...

The Story of the Woman, Child, and Dragon

Revelation 12 is one chapter in the Bible that really grabs the attention. It is an apocalyptic vision of a woman, a child, and a dragon. Each is described with otherworldly features. The woman is clothed with the sun, rests her feet on the moon, and wears a crown of twelve stars. The dragon is colored red, has seven heads, ten horns, seven crowns, a tail that sweeps away stars, and water spewing from its mouth. The child is destined to rule nations with an iron rod. There are angels who battle against the dragon. The earth even helps the woman and child in their distress. This is really fantasy imagery, which sparks the imagination! The vision story of the woman, child and dragon should never be taken in a wooden literal sense. Hank Hanegraaff notes, “The apostle John does not want us to believe that dragons are real, nor does he want us to believe that a dragon’s tail could sweep a third of the stars out of the sky. Instead, he wants to understand the reality of the devil’s ‘cunni...

ALLAH ONLY FOR ISLAM?

I came across this article the other day: “ Malaysia's top court: ‘Allah’ for Muslims only .” It was quite the provocative headline, and ruling, which censored the use of “Allah” for God in Roman Catholic newspaper articles, as clarified in “ Malaysian court to Christians: You can't say ‘Allah ’” This might never really strike a chord in many American evangelicals, as a good number of them would may very well get a bit nervous and perturbed at hearing someone referring to the deity revealed in the Scriptures as “Allah,” albeit Allah has be used among many Arabic speaking Christians (See, for example, “ Allah Does Not Belong to Islam .”) What is also unsettling is an example where the court tells the press what words can be used in publications. (This might be just another American idea too, unless there is something universally true about free speech.) ~ WGN

Godzilla’s Redemption

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Recently I had a chance to catch the current reboot of Godzilla, and I really enjoyed the whole story. Loved the roar and nuclear breath effects! I say it made amends for any shortcomings in the1998 movie. One of the interesting twists in the 2014 plot is the exploration of irony, particularly human attempts to destroy the very thing that would save them from their own destruction. In the current reboot, Godzilla is awakened by man in 1950s, and man tries to exterminate the behemoth with nuclear weapons. Man’s attempts fail and Godzilla goes into hiding. Man is unable to control this massive force of nature. Two other Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism (MUTO) are also awakened—one male and one female with the impulse to reproduce. They feast on nuclear radiation, attack with electromagnetic pulse bursts, and threaten the existence of man. It is Godzilla who come out of hiding to battle and destroy the two MUTOs, which brings balance back to nature. The irony is that man...