Daily Devotion

Salvation the Simple Way

Romans 10:9-10 ”If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” Salvation by grace, not works One of the first things a lifeguard has to do is help the victim calm down so he isn’t struggling against the efforts of the one who is trying to save him. Sometimes it take a blow to the head that either knocks the victim out or shocks him out of his panic so he can listen to the lifeguard’s instructions. If the victim struggles, or tries to help, it may endanger both his own life and the lifeguard’s. The best thing he can do is relax and let the expert in life-saving take over. Jesus did everything needed to purchase our salvation. He paid the death penalty we deserve by dying in our place. It’s all done except our acceptance of the gift God has so graciously offered us. You can receive Jesus into your heart right now. It’s so simple, you can hardly believe it. Just talk to God as if he were sitting right next to you. Tell him that you are sorry for breaking his standards of right actions and attitudes. Tell him that you believe Jesus is his Son and that he died for you. Ask him to forgive you and clean up your heart. If you’re sincere as you pray, you become a child of God forever the second you finish praying. If you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, try sharing Romans 10:8-10 with a friend who doesn’t yet know God. Before sharing, ask God to open your friend’s heart and mind to receive the wonderful gift of salvation. Show him/her right in the Scripture that all he/she has to do to have eternal life is believe and confess. Today’s Prayer: Dear Jesus, I thank you that you have made the plan of salvation so simple. I recognize that I am a sinner in need of a Savior. I do believe that you are the Lord and that God did raise you from the dead. I choose you as my Savior. I love you, Jesus. Amen.

Daily Devotion

My Life’s in Good Hands

Luke 12:6-7 “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” Who rules your life? Have you ever seen those bumper stickers that say, “God is my co-pilot?” If you want God to be in total control of your life, how can he just be the “co” pilot? Shouldn’t he be the Pilot? Watch lava sometime on T.V. As it flows it oozes into the smallest cracks and crevices of the earth. That’s the way our lives should be with God. Surrendering every crack and crevice of our life to God is hard, but that is what he asks us to do. God knows you better than you know yourself. In Psalm 139:2-3 it says “You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar…you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word comes out of my mouth, you know it completely.” Yep! God can read your mind! And He isn’t even a fortuneteller with a crystal ball! Consider these words from Psalm 139:6-7: “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.” God knows everywhere you go and everything you feel! God is closer than your shadow! Look at Joseph in Genesis 37-47. He was just a teenager when his brothers sold him into slavery. In Egypt, one bad thing after another happened to him, but he continued to trust God because he understood that God was in control of his life. Eventually, he became the second most powerful man in Egypt. Check out how God blessed Joseph for trusting in Him! Give God every crevice in your life: your friends, your music, the movies you watch, the books and magazines you read, your parents, the places you hang out, and your future. In Psalm 139:13 it says that he knit you together in your mother’s womb and his eyes saw your unformed body. Doesn’t it make sense to let the person that made you and intricately knows you have control of your destiny? The truth is, even if we don’t yield our lives to him, he’s in control anyway. You might as well give up, wave your white flag and throw your arms in the air. Don’t fool yourself. God controls your life, no matter what you think. Comfort yourself with this reality. Life will be much easier when you quit trying to swim upstream away from God and instead swim along side him! It’s mighty exhausting swimming away from Almighty God! Today’s Prayer: Dear Father, I praise you for breathing life into my unformed body. I thank you Lord for caring about the number of sparrows, and for caring so much more about me. If You, O God, can raise people from the dead, then you can certainly take care of me. God, I give you complete control of my life. Help me to walk in your ways. Please accomplish your purpose in my life. Amen.

Daily Devotion

No Competition Allowed

1 Samuel 5:1-3 After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then they carried the ark into Dagon’s temple and set it beside Dagon. When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! God is Jealous for our Friendship Today’s passage contains one of the funniest stories in the Bible. Between what we read about yesterday and today’s passage, the Philistines had soundly beaten Israel. Rather than being defeated because the Israelites had brought the Ark of the Covenant into their camp, the Philistines wiped them out. Then, they captured the Ark and placed it into the temple of their own god Dagon.

They probably assumed that the God of the Israelites was really wimpy and didn’t deserve their respect or fear. After all, they had demolished Israel on the battlefield in spite or the Ark’s being there. What they hadn’t counted on was another element of God’s character—His jealousy. God won’t share space with any other god. In fact, he proved that on the first night the Ark was in the temple of Dagon by knocking the idol of Dagon to the floor, making it lie face down in the dirt. We could say that Jehovah made Dagon “assume the position”, just like cops do to criminals when they arrest them. While this story is funny, it carries a very serious warning to us. God won’t share space in our hearts with any other person or thing either. It’s sort of like the way little kids make a big deal of being best friends. The ultimate threat when they disagree is “You’re not my best friend anymore.” God wants to be our only best friend. He wants for us to spend time with him, listen to him, enjoy him, and obey him. He doesn’t want for us to make him share our hearts with our friends at school or our video games and music.

That seems pretty selfish at first. If any of your friends demanded to be the only one you hung around with, you wouldn’t like it. In fact, you would probably stop being that person’s friend pretty quickly. But, God is different. He knows that the only way we can really have peace, joy, and contentment in our lives is to become what he made us to be—his best friends. When we try to make him share our hearts, he knows we’re heading for trouble. If we don’t act like his friendship is the most important thing in our life, we miss out on the greatest adventure we could ever hope for—the adventure of loving and serving the Almighty God who is the Creator of everything. Today’s Prayer: Dear Lord, please help me to keep the very best place in my heart for you. Help me love you and learn to be your best friend. Teach me how to talk to you, listen to you, and enjoy your company. Amen.

Monkey Science

Daily Devotion

A Spiritual Science Experiment

1 John 1:7 If we walk in the light, as he is in the light . . . the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. Fruit of the Spirit Suppose a student chooses to test the effects of light and darkness on the growth of seeds for a science fair project. He gets some marigold seeds from the store, plants them in four Styrofoam cups, and waters them. He places two of the cups in a dark closet. The others go into a sunny window. In a couple of weeks, the seedlings appear. For a few hours, the plants in the dark and the ones in the light are quite similar. Two tiny green leaves break through the soil and begin to grow. Within a couple of days however, the plants in the closet turn yellow and begin to die, while the ones in the light grow and get more and more leaves. The experiment proves that plants have to absorb light in order to have the energy needed to grow, bloom, and make seeds. The same is true of our spiritual lives. We need to live in the light in order to grow and become fruitful. Galatians 5:22-23 describes spiritual fruit as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These attributes are in stark contrast to the ones Paul listed as acts of the sinful nature: Jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambitions, envy, etc.

Let’s imagine a spiritual science fair project in which we try to become more and more kind. At first, we determine to observe how we act after a few days of listening to rap music that encourages rebellion and watching television shows that glamorize gang members who commit violent crimes. We may continue the experiment by hanging out with some kids at school who like to sneak around after dark to paint graffiti on the sidewalks in their neighborhoods. Would we become more kind or less kind after a week or so? Next, let’s imagine that we do exactly the opposite for a couple of weeks. We listen to music that encourages us to love others in the same way Jesus did. We read accounts of young people helping others through short-term missions projects. We watch uplifting TV programs and movies. We might even volunteer to paint some classrooms at the local community center or play games with the children who gather there after school. Would we become more or less kind after a week or so? Clearly, kindness could grow much better in the latter situation. We tend to become like the people we hang out with. So, if we hang out with mean and violent people, we will become increasingly mean. If we hang out with kind, generous people, we will become kinder. Living in the light means developing relationships with people who will help us become more like Jesus. We grow in godliness when we choose our friends based upon whether they have the kind of qualities God approves.

Those friends will be more likely to do what Jesus would and that will help us do the same. Good friends definitely help us walk in the light as Jesus is in the light.Today’s Prayer: Dear Jesus, you are the very best friend I could possibly ever want. You always love me and accept me. You even forgive me when I mess up. Please help me choose friends who will help me grow godly fruit in my life. Also, please me be the kind of friend who encourages others to become more like you every day. Amen.

Faith & Films

Looking for God on The Road

Imagine a movie that showed what the world would actually be like if the Church was gone. Gone as in vanished years ago. This movie would need to be heartbreaking, haunting and emotionally brutal. PG-13 ratings, step aside. Needless to say, it would masterfully portray loneliness, depravity and horror, a life so devastating that, in the words of Revelation 9:6, people "will long to die." The real challenge would be making the film believable while getting by with an R rating.

So what's the good news? In this seemingly godforsaken world, Yahweh, though often hard to find, would still be a major character. That, of course, presents all kinds of redemptive possibilities. But would, or should, such a movie ever be made? Inquiring minds may have their answer on November 25 when the highly-anticipated film, The Road, arrives in theaters.

The post-apocalyptic thriller, starring Viggo Mortensen (The Lord of the Rings trilogy,Appaloosa), Charlize Theron (Monster, Hancock) and Robert Duvall (The Godfather, The Apostle), is based on the 2006 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel byCormac McCarthy, the same literary giant who penned All the Pretty Horses. Hollywood adopted McCarthy into its royal family in 2007 when No Country won the Best Picture Oscar and three other Academy Awards.

Then there's The Road. Winning the Pulitzer is one thing, rivaling Stephenie Meyer's Twilight in international pop culture is another. When Oprah Winfrey championedThe Road as her book of the month in mid-2007, she started a chain reaction that continues to this day. As director John Hillcoat (The Proposition, To Have and To Hold), who's bringing the novel to the big screen, recently announced: "The Road is now the most translated fiction book in modern times."

In conjunction with Oprah's promotion of the book, the spotlight-shy McCarthy agreed to appear on her show, which marked the then 74-year-old author's first ever television interview. Raised Roman Catholic, yet tipping an agnostic hand, the writer explained howThe Road was inspired by his relationship with his young son John, who was born when McCarthy was 65. 

The result is a stunning love story between a father and his son set against the most horrific backdrop imaginable. The novel is also a vulnerable examination of a parent's fear of being unable to protect a child and, worse, leaving that child in an increasingly dangerous world.

A Message for the Church

Like The Passion of Christ, The Road's producers have tapped A. Larry Ross Communications to present 15 advance screenings for Christian leaders and faith-based media outlets. As the PR company's founder makes his convincing pitch to the faithful, his remarks offer insight into the comparative lack of anticipation within church walls.

"This will be a significant media and cultural event, coming out Thanksgiving weekend," says Ross, "an opportunity for the faith community to seize this as a catalyst to have spiritual conversations with either people who would go to a theater with them but not to church, or colleagues and coworkers who are talking about it. The power of The Road is not the answers given, but the questions asked."

If America's more conservative people of faith are going to sit through an apocalyptic R rated film, they usually want more than hope in the darkness and redemptive themes. They want answers. While The Road resonates with biblical prophecy in many ways and is easily the most realistic cinematic portrayal of an end times world yet, it hardly follows Revelation like a road map.

"The Road is a parable of how a child is born into this world where there is no kindness. And yet, he manages to find this and nurture this and even teach [his father]," explains Hillcoat as the director fields questions from a tiny gathering of Christian journalists. "Cormac McCarthy told me that if there's no spiritual dimension, then life is a vacuum and meaningless. He thinks that active struggle with faith is the key. This story is like the book of Job, it's just challenge after challenge after challenge." 

Where Is God?

The movie is based on the premise that 10 years from now, a major cataclysmic event takes place. Whether it's a nuclear war, a massive meteor strike, or continent-shifting volcanic activity isn't specified. The story begins a decade or so after that fatal blow and introduces what remains of America. Welcome to a cold world whose freezing nights are broken up by the amber light of day. Forest fires, earthquakes and ash in the air abound. Plant life? Dead. Animal life? Road kill. Humanity? Scarce.

The Road follows The Man (Mortensen) and his son, The Boy (Kodi Smit-McPhee), as they walk south on America's skeletal highways hoping to find the coast and, with it, warmer weather and perhaps even "good people" like them. To get that far, they'll need to find enough food along the way and avoid becoming food themselves. In this world, money means nothing, and ammunition is currency. Thievery, violence and cannibalism rule the day. The environment is so grim, some families even take their own lives. The Man, himself scarred by the suicide of a loved one, is not immune to such thoughts, a reality that his son knows all too well.

"This movie paints a very bleak picture of what life would be like without the Church," explains Phil Hotsenpiller, the teaching pastor at Yorba Linda Friends Church in southern California. An evangelical scholar of end-times prophecy, Hotsenpiller has authored a sermon series and small group discussion guide for The Road. Drawing parallels between the movie and Revelation 6-19, he says, "In my opinion, this is a man without God, who's in the middle of the Tribulation. It's like the Rapture has happened and the Church is gone." 

Hope in a Hopeless World

God's presence seems removed from the earth as well. But The Man makes a declaration that hints otherwise: "The child is my warrant. And if he is not the word of God, then God never spoke." These poignant words echo through the film as The Boy repeatedly challenges The Man to be compassionate to those in need, to be forgiving when they are wronged, and to be thankful when rare blessings emerge.

Though the author gave Hillcoat license to interpret the book for the screen as he saw fit, McCarthy did give him one directive: "Please keep as many of the story's references to God as possible." To Hillcoat's credit, he not only honored this request, he even added visual elements of faith that weren't included in the book. "Cormac sees this as a spiritual lesson, because he talks about 'carrying the fire,' the spirit," says Hillcoat, citing one of The Road's most compelling themes. The Man and The Boy assure each other on multiple occasions that they are "the good guys," who are "carrying the fire."

Thankfully, the movie is artfully filmed and tends to avoid gratuitous imagery in its presentation of utter human depravity. And while horrific doom constantly feels close at hand, actual scenes of violence are far and few between. When they do occur, they are haunting, especially those which the director chooses to let you hear but not see.

Though The Road concludes on a hopeful note—the fragile promise of community—detractors still exist. "There were a couple people who questioned whether or not The Boy is actually saved and redeemed at the end," says Hillcoat. "And Cormac was so thrown by that. He said, 'Of course! The whole point is The Boy made that leap of faith and was saved.'"

And the one thing viewers should take away from the movie? "What really matters," replies the director. Adds Hotsenpiller, "You really look at life through a different set of lenses. People become more important. Moments become more important. Being kind becomes more important. This movie will really have an unusual affect on people."

Rated R for some violence, disturbing images and language, The Road opens wide in theaters on Wednesday, November 25, 2009.

Check this one out GREAT flick!!!

Daily Devotion

Sheep or Savior

Hebrews 9:14 ”How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” Saved by God’s Grace Watching a two-year old get dressed is really a trip! The little guy knows he is supposed to put his legs into his pants. First, he tries putting his foot through the bottom of the pant leg. Oops! Then, he manages to get both legs into the same one. Can’t walk that way! After a dozen tries, he carries the pants to Mom, holds them up to her and says, “Help, please.” The Old Testament Jews were a lot like a two-year old getting dressed. They wanted desperately to please God. He had told them to kill sheep and goats as sacrifices for their sins, but they had to do it over and over again. Every year they took animals to the Temple, watched the priest kill them and sprinkle their blood over the people and on the altar. For a while, they felt forgiven. But, then they sinned again. They told a lie, got angry, maybe even cheated their neighbor out of some grain by holding their thumb on the scale. Before they knew it, they were feeling spiritually dirty. Jesus’ death on the cross was God’s answer to mankind’s cry of desperation, “Help me, please!” We all know that we break his standards in our thoughts and attitudes several times a day, let alone our stupid and rebellious actions. Since Jesus perfectly kept every one of God’s laws, he could pay the death penalty we deserve. God accepted his death as payment for us. When we accept Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf, God forgives us forever from all of our sins. He even cleanses our conscience, making us free from guilt and shame over our sinful actions and thoughts. In order to receive help getting dressed, a two-year-old has to give up doing it himself. He has to go to a “higher power” and ask for what he needs. We have to do the same if we want true and lasting forgiveness. We have to give up trying to please God ourselves. We have to go to him and ask for help. We also have to accept the help he has determined will do the job by placing our faith in Jesus as His Son and our Savior. Today’s Prayer: Dear Jesus, I’m sorry for all the bad things I do and think every day. So often, I’m rebelling against you and my parent in my mind, even when I’m doing what is expected of me. Please forgive me because Jesus died in my place. Clean me up and help me obey you from now on—from my heart. Amen.