the dark knight

My brother rented the latest Batman movie, The Dark Knight and we watched it (several times) the other weekend. Though I saw the movie at the theater, watching it again made me unable to keep from writing a blog about it. There are so many great examples of things that can be applied to God’s love for us that I couldn’t keep my thoughts to myself.

1. Even when things looked the bleakest, Batman had not abandoned Gotham and was still going to come to its rescue. We sing a song in Xtreme called 'Rescue' and part of it talks about Jesus coming to our rescue because there's no one else through which we're saved.

2. While one person (the Joker) was able to wreak havoc on the city, one person (Batman) was able to save it. Romans 5:19 says, “Here it is in a nutshell: Just as one person did it wrong and got us in all this trouble with sin and death, another person did it right and got us out of it. But more than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life! One man said no to God and put many people in the wrong; one man said yes to God and put many in the right” (Message).

3. The value of life isn’t compromised, even if it means others losing their life to spare others. There are two boats on the water, one with convicts and the other with civilians. Both have a detonator to blow up the other boat but neither will pull the trigger, knowing they could be sealing their own fate. This may be stretching it a bit but Deuteronomy 30:19 says, “I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live…” (NKJ).

4. At the end of the movie, Batman takes the blame for Harvey’s actions in order to spare his name. Batman willingly is painted as the villain and bears the consequences that come with such a decision. Isaiah 53 talks about how Jesus took on all of our transgressions and sorrows so we wouldn’t have to.

5. The final scene of the movie is Commissioner Gordon’s son asking him why Batman is running away. He tells his son, “Because he’s the hero Gotham deserves but not the one it needs right now. So we’ll hunt him because he can take it; because he’s not our hero. He’s a silent guardian; a watchful protector…a dark knight.” Romans 5:6: “When we were unable to help ourselves, at the right time, Christ died for us, although we were living against God” (New Century Version).

rain

Two farmers prayed for rain but only one went out and prepared his field. God will send the rain when He’s ready. You need to prepare your field to receive it.

I was watching ‘Facing the Giants’ this weekend and this scene really stood out to me. The movie is about a football coach who is facing a losing season and possibly losing his job. He finally realizes he must surrender EVERYTHING to God, choosing to serve God no matter what things do or don’t happen in his life. He realizes he needs to give his absolute best to God and trust that with God, nothing is impossible. A man comes to pray over the school, laying hands on the lockers as he walks the halls and he tells the coach this parable of sorts. The point was that since the coach had been praying for God’s intervention, he needed to start preparing himself for the ‘rain’ that was sure to follow.

The same is true with us. If we go to God for something, we need to begin preparing our lives for the answer to that request. It would be like wanting to start a garden but doing nothing to prepare the soil; just expecting that by tossing some seeds on the ground, a harvest will soon appear. With us facing a new year, I want to make sure that I’m prepared for the rain that is weighing heavily in the clouds above me. I want to carefully till the soil in my garden, plant the seeds and wait for that rain. As soon as those clouds burst, I’m going to run through the rain, enjoying the downpour and watching as my garden blooms so I can reap the harvest.

I love this part of the movie because the principle is so true. If we’re only pushing ourselves to reach what’s average, we’ll never go past that. However, if we aren’t aware of when we cross that line, how much farther beyond will we end up going?

life changing?

Every once in a while I'll go through my e-mails, deleting ones that I don't need. I came across one recently that sounded like a good post. The topic dealt with the missions trip I recently went on and whether or not it could be deemed as 'life changing.' Carly was saying she didn't feel it was life changing for her because the phrase is so over used and sometimes associated with negative situations (such as a someone passing away or a relationship ending). I think for an event to be life changing, it forever alters your view on something or the direction your life is going. It leaves a mark on you that won't ever go away; leaves an imprint on your mind that can't be erased. When something is life changing, you have to re-evaluate everything you once took for granted and must decide if you'll remain on the course you're currently on, purposely not allowing the event to affect you or let it set you on a new course - either way, you're having to make a decision.

I replied with a lengthy response: "The one thing I realized when we got back is that I don't want to go back to how things were before the trip. I don't want to be so bogged down with...life that I fail to do anything but what's necessary to get by. I don't want to give up on my dreams simply because it would require too much effort to work towards them. The guy we heard Thurs. night was really good; it just seemed so relevant with us being at the dream center and then he's talking about dreams - I know after we left that service and for the rest of the trip, I felt God stirring some things within in me that I had either just about given up on or deemed too hard to strive for. Then with pastor's message on sun. - wow, I think we all can name one thing that is so ingrained in us but at the same time we are so scared to even take that first step forward. Yet God knows those dreams because He placed them in us and He'll give us the opportunities to bring them about if we're willing to entrust them with Him. I know all of us went to L.A. with different expectations and wanting to get different things out of the trip but for me, it was definitely having that sense of realization that my dreams can come true (wow, that sounds cheesy) if I'll continue to believe and not give up. I know you're at a different place in your life than I am but I'm sure you have dreams you want to see happen too, right? And sometimes we can either let circumstances or what others say threaten to discourage us as we work towards those dreams. I don't want any of us to become complacent and let the fire that was placed in all of us to fizzle out. It was an awesome week and though I agree with you about the life changing thing, it definitely impacted in so many ways and I'm so glad I went."

Was the missions trip life changing? I'm still not sure but I do know that I won't soon forget the experiences I went through and the people I met. The trip will always be a place where I stepped out of my comfort zone and stepped up for God.

2008

Every December 31, I like to reflect on the year, looking back on everything that transpired over the past 364 days and what I hope the coming year will hold. I'd like to take the time to highlight some of the big events from 2008:

1. Rock the City & Franklin Graham Festival - attending these events were both fun because of the huge crowds present at both and being able to witness so many people either returning to God or giving their lives for the first time.

2. Thanksgiving in July - while this event was trying and time consuming, it was also so much fun to see twenty-some people come together and fellowship. What will forever be etched in my mind is the whole turkey thing. I didn't know it takes several days to unthaw a turkey so we had to creatively thaw it...that's all I'm saying.

3. Xtreme Camp - getting away from everything for 4 days was so much fun. We definitely experienced our share of fun things but we also encountered God. The thing that stands out to me the most was our first night there when we came together for our first service. We began with worship but it ended up lasting for the duration of the service. I'd never felt God like I did then and I remember right before we walked up to the stage I went to one of the girls in my cabin who had started crying while we were praying together. I gave her a hug and told her, "God hears you and loves you so very, very much." She started crying again and that caused me to cry. I think that night was a time of healing and breakthroughs for teens as well as leaders.

4. L.A. Missions Trip - this trip included a lot of firsts for me. It was my first mission trip, first time on a plane, first time going to Disneyland and first time going completely across the country. The week was so incredible - it was a time of fun but also of out-of-my-comfort-zone moments, too. Meeting people from different cultures and backgrounds was probably what I will remember the most. Hearing accents from all over was so cool and being able to work alongside people I probably wouldn't normally cross paths with was the perfect example of brothers and sisters in Christ joining together under a common goal.

5. Graduating...Finally! - being able to finally be done with school is both a huge accomplishment and a transition. Knowing that I won't ever have to deal with papers or professors or deadlines ever again is a hard thing to comprehend but it's also a relief to have it behind me.

This has been a busy year but it's been good. Sprinkle in a two concerts (John Reuben and Pursuit of Red at Zuma), a few worship nights and some movie outings to finish off the year. While I'm glad things have slowed down a little bit, I'm also really excited for all of the "beautiful surprises" awaiting me in 2009. See you next year!!

brink

Have you ever felt you're standing on a precipice, daring to peek over the edge and gasp at the drop below? You want to cross the chasm separating you from the other side but there's something pulling at you, preventing you from making that attempt. Or maybe there's a door in front of you and try as you might, you're unable to open it. You turn the knob, bang on the door, kick the door - everything short of tearing it apart piece by piece. You know if you can just make it to the other side, you'll find what you're looking for but you have to first figure out a way to either cross the canyon or open the door...

It's as if you're on a plateau or stuck in neutral or find yourself in a monotonous routine that threatens to push you over that canyon. You can feel it in your bones that there's something big waiting for you on other side - the missing piece you've been searching for. It's as if you're being held back by some unseen force and you fight with every breath in your body to overcome and break free - to finally grasp the proverbial carrot dangling in front of you.

With a new year upon us, we all sit down to make new year's resolutions and other promises to ourselves that we more than likely will abandon shortly after we ring in the new year. We reflect on the past year and examine the things in our lives that we want to change - things we want to accomplish or experience. This is the time to gain our second wind as we struggle to overcome the things that we've battled during the year - the invisible hands that have been holding us back. With January 1 comes a fresh start for all us; a clean slate. We can choose to either continue to remain standing on one side of the canyon, staying where it's familiar and safe or take a risk and cross the distance by using the well-worn and fraying rope bridge. Yes, we may fall or have to stop along the way but "without risk you never fully discover who you are - who you can be."

surrender

While holidays are a great time for family and being able to momentarily forget about all the things we must accomplish and check off a to-do list, it's also a time of thinking of what could be. I tend to want to run ahead of God on some things instead of surrendering to Him completely. Though I know He has great things for me, I don't like waiting or not knowing what the next step will look like. While waiting on God is a really great way for me to develop that trust in Him, it's also really hard being able to only see a small part of the big picture.

I feel like a broken record since I know I've posted about this before but the whole concept of surrendering to God keeps coming back to me. I don't think we can truly understand the importance of giving God our plans so He can have the freedom to work in us and help us become who we're meant to be - how He sees us.

I'm a sucker for happy endings and I thought of the movie The Family Man when writing this post. Jack is given the gift of being able to see what his life would be like had he made a certain choice only to find out it's nothing more than a dream. He then has to decide if he wants to really have the life he imagined and then make it happen.

wrapped

I find it almost comical how far the world strives to blur truth from reality when it comes to holidays important to the Christian faith. Christmas is supposed to be about celebrating the birth of a baby who forever changed the world He just became a part of. Instead it’s about Santa and reindeer and presents and lights and all of these other things; it seems we’re so far removed from the real reason of Christmas at times. On the other hand, the world will also acknowledge the true meaning as they sing carols, proclaiming Christ’s birth. It seems that Christmas is the only time of year where it’s not infringing on personal freedoms or separation of church and state to talk about Jesus or sing about Him.

It can be so easy to become wrapped up in gift giving and all the other things we associate with Christmas that we lose sight of what it’s really all about. It IS about giving; God gave us the gift of His Son yet I think we sometimes feel like we have to spend all kinds of money, go on a hunt for the ‘perfect’ gift, cover our house with lights, decorate every inch of yard with inflatable characters along with plastic nativities (my favorite is Santa kneeling at the manger – don’t quite get that) and whatever else. What happened to family gathering together and simply enjoying the closeness and love provided by such an atmosphere? No matter how much money is spent on gifts, there’s no amount that can buy happiness. We’ve diluted Christmas down to money instead of the priceless gift we all received, if we’re willing to accept it.

I hope that we can disentangle ourselves from Hollywood’s picture of Christmas and refocus back on the real meaning. It’s like a box within a box. At the very center is a tiny box representing Jesus but it’s inside box after box that we sometimes forgets it’s there and even add another box to the many layers. Let’s take the time to peel away the layers and embrace the timeless story of a baby in a manger who is the perfect picture of love.