The Comic Book Guru Reviews: Doctor Strange

How to remain objective when Marvel Studios continues to hit every movie out of the ballpark?

Doctor Strange is another Marvel property I am not too familiar with.  It has been in this last year that I started reading Doctor Strange material in preparation for this movie.  However, Marvel has continued to show their intestinal fortitude in taking their unfamiliar properties like Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man, and now Doctor Strange and making them stand their own ground in the shadow of the Marvel titans like Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor.

Was Doctor Strange the best Marvel movie released?  No, not when stacked up against Captain America: Winter Soldier and Civil War.  However, it stands apart from these tales in the fun it has with its story and characters, and the changing of the genre from superhero action to sorcery-tripping magic.  There are not complicated fight scenes with the hero throwing down with some krav maga; however, it is replaced with cerebral fighting.  The tagline Doctor Strange has been using of “open your mind” is a must to watch this because if you enter into this movie expecting the same as what has come before then you will be disappointed.

Marvel continues to score high on their casting choices.  Robert Downey, Jr., is Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man.  Chris Evans is Steve Rogers a.k.a. Captain America.  Now Benedict Cumberbatch is indeed the Sorcerer Supreme Doctor Strange.  Cumberbatch is always a fantastic actor to watch on screen and to watch him embody this role of one of Marvel’s weirdest characters is a treat to watch.  Seriously, Benedict Cumberbatch could have just spent two hours on screen reading the Harry Potter books and I would be okay with it.  Add to the cast of Doctor Strange with Serenity actor Chiwetel Ejiofor as the future Strange villain Mordo and those two alone could carry the whole movie.  Ejiofor provided a solid mentor role for Doctor Strange, and with the limited time he had showed the potential for villainy he will soon inhabit.  I foresee Ejiofor’s Mordo becoming a great Marvel villain in line with Tom Hiddleston’s Loki.  He’s that good folks.

The story was straight-forward, and although the effects were trippy the story stayed consistent throughout the film.  There can be some minor complaints about the film’s film played by Mads Mikkelsen; however, the clever way in which this film ended the conflict between protagonist and antagonist was fresh and in line with Doctor Strange.  There have been a lot of complaints about Marvel’s weak villains in comparison with the strong heroic characters; however, when there is only one villain in a 2-2.5-hour movie, the villain will rarely get a chance to shine brighter than the hero.  However, like Loki is enough time is given for the villain to develop then this complaint becomes invalid.  I foresee that with Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Mordo.

The Inception-like effects were exactly as promised.  I loved the action sequences with the buildings folding in on themselves and the characters fighting on planes of existence that makes Penrose’s “Impossible Staircase” somehow easy to transverse.  The opening fight sequence between Tilda Swinton’s The Ancient One and Mads Mikkelsen’s Kaecilius and his disciples set the stage for the type of fighting this movie would introduce into the Marvel Universe.  I can only imagine the mind-blowing fight scenes Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange will bring when he collides with the Avengers in later films.

This film was everything I wanted Doctor Strange to be and then some.  Marvel shows no signs of slowing down as they continue to introduce newer and lesser known characters.  I am excited for the release of Black Panther, Captain Marvel, and of course Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2.

This film is kid-friendly with only minor language issues.  There is one decapitation scene but it is shown through shadows and not directly visualized.

Overall, I enjoyed Doctor Strange.  There were some life lessons in this film that I was able to apply in my current personal life.  When a fictional story can relate to the viewer, it just surpassed the realm of normal film.

Surrender your ego.  Open your mind.  Go see this movie.  You will not be disappointed.

Relationship Advice from A Divorced Man

You read it right.  I am a divorced man.  I’m about to be twice divorced.  So, what kind of relationship advice could I possibly give? 

In my experiences of failed relationship, I hope to provide some tips that will help you to either start a real relationship, or to improve the one you have.  After all, if we don’t learn from our mistakes, or the mistakes of others in this case, then we are doomed to repeat them.

1.     Make God the center of your life before you even think to start a relationship.  This is really quite simple but so many people miss this.  If you do not have a relationship with God, then you cannot have a relationship with someone else and expect God to be at the center of it.  A relationship is about making sacrifices and having faith in someone other than yourself.  That should start with God. 

2.     You are not a savior.  The concept of if you date someone you will be rescuing them is what has put most people in the worst type of relationships.  It put me in a bad relationship with someone in Missouri, and because my second wife thought I needed saving she pursued me.  People do not need to be saved through a relationship.  You are not Jesus Christ.  Only Jesus can save.  You cannot.  Stop it.  DO NOT pursue someone who is incapable of saving themselves, or at the very least initiate their own rescue.  DO NOT try to save someone from a domestic abuse situation unless they come to you for help.  When they come to you for help, help does not mean starting a relationship with them and fighting their abusive spouse.  DO NOT go to someone who is hurting from a failed relationship and think you can help them by trying to start a relationship with them.  You are not a savior.  In fact, repeat this phrase at least ten times with me:

I AM NOT A SAVIOR.
I AM NOT A SAVIOR.
I AM NOT A SAVIOR.
I AM NOT A SAVIOR.
I AM NOT A SAVIOR.
I AM NOT A SAVIOR.
I AM NOT A SAVIOR.
I AM NOT A SAVIOR.
I AM NOT A SAVIOR.
I AM NOT A SAVIOR.

3.     Get to know someone before you start the dating process.  We are in a day and age of social media where most social interaction is completed by sitting behind a computer screen or a smart phone device and sending messages out into the cyber-sphere.  My second failed marriage started because my soon-to-be-ex-wife saw my posts on Facebook lamenting the failure of a relationship I had just gotten out of and felt the need to violate Rule #2.  We went on one date before we became intimate thus violating the rule after this one (keep reading).  We didn’t start getting to know each other until long after a sexual relationship had been going on.  All the baggage we both had was slowly unpacked in a chaotic fashion as we both never dealt with it beforehand, nor gave one another leeway to deal with it. 

Best advice is to break this vicious cycle.  I am not knocking online dating sites but before you start a relationship with them, learn how to become their friends first.  Take a few dates, or a few multiple dates to get to know that person.  Because everything about social media is fake.  I try to be as authentic as possible on Facebook but it is a clever disguise for the real me.  Until you meet someone face to face, and continue to socialize with them face to face, you will never know the real person by the posts they put on Facebook.

4.     Sex should not be the reason a relationship starts.  This is a major issue in today’s sex-whenever-you-want-it society.  One night stands, walk of shame, pushing your boobs against someone.  We think sex is the priority.  My second marriage started out with sex and it failed because after that is achieved before marriage vows, what is left to achieve?  After my first marriage ended, I went wild.  I thought the greatest comfort would be found in a woman’s bosom, any bosom.  What I found out after the act had been done and the woman left, and what I can look back on now, is that I felt more alone.  Sex is personal.  It’s a revealing of our insecurities and vulnerabilities.  There is a connection established when two bodies meet and it can’t be broken even if you never see that person again.  Sex should never be the foundation of a relationship. Sex is merely the shingles on the roof.  That is all.  I dare say sex should not even be the main reason for a marriage to last.  Sex in marriage should be a continued expression of a married couple’s love for one another.

Notice I keep saying married couple in regards to sex.  Sex should never be done unless you are married.  A man should not be hunting for sex nor should a woman just be ready to give it up at the drop of a hat.  Have more self-respect and self-control than that.  If you can’t control your hormones, then what else will you be unable to control.

5.     There is no competition in a relationship, and neither are you the prize.  There should no competition held in starting a relationship.  You should not have to feel like you are competing against multiple contestants for the affection of someone.  Real dating life is not that stupid show called The Bachelor in which idiotic women compete for the affections of one person.  It is quite simple.  Either that person is attracted to you or they are not.  So, stop wasting your time if it is clear there is no mutual attraction.

Don’t regard someone as a prize.  Don’t relegate someone to a position that’s relevant to a prize you win at those rigged carnival games.  That’s a person you’re talking about with real feelings, a real heart, and real emotions.  They don’t want to be treated like a trophy.  They want respect, or at least a real person does. 

6.     Don’t pursue someone who has just ended a relationship or suffered a break-up.  I have been separated from my wife now for almost six months.  We have barely started the legal process for divorce.  I am in no way ready to start another relationship, nor to be toyed around by some people who think I should understand their affections toward me.  Let me make this clear, and this is usually the feelings of every SANE person who is just now going through their own break up, we DO NOT understand nor DO we care.  I am too busy dealing with my hurt, trying to readjust to my new single life, and trying to be a single-father of three to worry or even notice if someone is attracted to me.  Stop pursuing us.  We are too busy right now.  Especially stop pursuing us if several hints and statements have been made.  I have posted on Facebook within the last six months that I am in no way interested in dating again for the foreseeable future.  Yet some cannot get that through their heads.  And my ex-wife says I’m unreasonable yet several clear statements have been made.

If someone is coming out of a relationship, then I must ask why would you pursue that person?  It cannot be for your heart because those whose hearts have just been broken are not ready to care for your heart.  My only conclusion is that is not someone’s heart you are pursuing but rather their anatomical feature.  Please read #2 again before proceeding.

7.     Don’t use a person’s baggage against them.  Your spouse may have come from a broken childhood.  They maybe suffered abuse from their previous relationship.  They might be distrustful, have anger issues, and don’t want to share their feelings because the people whom they once trusted already betrayed them long before you came into the picture.  During the courting process, you start getting them to open their feelings and they spill everything to you.  They are starting to trust you so for the love of God DO NOT use it against them later.  I told my second wife everything, and I do mean EVERYTHING about my childhood.  Stuff I didn’t even tell my first wife I told my second one.  What happened?  During our arguments, she used it all against me.  Threw them at me like daggers.  Even called me by my mother’s name to incite my anger.  No man will ever trust a woman again after going through that, and no woman would either.  See #4 in this case and understand why we cannot trust anyone again from our hearts.  Anyone who even thinks to pursue a relationship with me will not only have to contend and be trusted with my baggage from my childhood, but now must deal with the baggage from my second marriage.  So why pursue people like me?  Refer to #2 if that is the reason, then see #4, and then come back to #5.

8.   Communicate!!!  Learn how to communicate.  Learn how to listen.  If you can’t talk without yelling or suppressing the other person, then DO NOT bother pursuing a relationship.  If you cannot listen to someone, and I mean true active listening then do not pursue a relationship.  Talking to one another will be like having a conversation with a brick wall except that conversation would be increasingly productive.

      Understand that in an argument no one is right.  You are both wrong because the issue being disagreed upon was not dealt with before it became an issue.  So, swallow your pride, suppress your arguments, and allow one another to explain why they did what they did.  If you want to be always right, then you should not be in a relationship because you never will be always right.  In fact, you probably should not be alive because you are never right in this lifetime.

9.     Encourage one another.  You are in a relationship to build one another up and support one another.  Do not tear down one another.  Provide each other with kind and loving words.  Don’t blow smoke up your partner’s fifth point of contact.  Instead be sincere with one another.  Support their dreams, and if you must be realistic about the pursuit of each other’s dreams, be tactful about it.  I love sarcasm but sarcasm should not be the main method of communication.  Sarcasm is like a loaded weapon: you need to know when to use it and when not to use it.

10.  Have friends.  Just because you are married to or in a relationship with your best friend does not mean you forsake all your friends who came before the relationship.  Do not prevent one another from still hanging out with those friends unless said friends are trying to come in between you two.  Do not isolate one another from your friends.  Do not hog all your partner’s time.  Having interactions with one another’s friends can save your relationship, and even make it flourish.  Find friends you can hang out with as a married couple, but also have those friends you can spend alone time with.

One warning on this friend deal.  If married then a husband should not be spending alone time with a female friend, nor should a wife be spending time alone with a male friend.  I don’t care if said male or female friends are married to other people.  DO NOT DO IT!  Never plant a seed of doubt in your partner’s heart and mind about your loyalties.  Also, limit the time you spend with your single friends.  They are living a single life.  It will conflict with your relational life.  If they can’t do things with you that would not jeopardize your relationship, then limit your time with them.

Speaking of having friends, do not pursue a relationship with someone you consider a good friend unless you think it will truly be worth it.  The loss of a friendship that could occur if the relationship turns sour may not be worth it.  I know it would not be for me.  There is a woman whom I do have a crush on.  She went to high school with me.  She has been a true friend during this difficult stage of my life.  She is beautiful, funny, and passionate.  However, losing her friendship would not be worth it to pursue a relationship.  What if went wrong?  What if it turned ugly like my second marriage did?  I would lose not only a relational partner, but a long-time friend.  You should weight that.

There are my ten suggestions for you.  Put God first, don’t be a savior, get to know someone in real-life, don’t have sex with someone right away (in fact wait until marriage), stop competing for someone’s non-existent affections, don’t pursue someone if they are healing from a recently ended relationship, don’t use a person’s past against them, communicate, encourage one another, and have a social life outside of the relationship.  Take it from someone who has had two failed marriages.  There is a reason I share these things because they have been mistakes I have made or they have been made towards me.

What about me?  Another relationship in the future?  Perhaps not.  I know for myself a relationship with another woman is out of the books for the foreseeable future.  It will require a “Jesus on the Road to Damascus” moment for me to change that.  There are maybe three women I would even consider dating but my friendship with them is more important (see Rule #10, third paragraph).  Relationships are only worth it if both parties can give more than just their bodies.  Right now, I am not able to give anything to anyone except for my fatherhood to my children.

Happiness Is Not A Myth

It's crazy how I can finish writing something yesterday only for it to be challenged by so many different angles this Sunday morning.  Yesterday I posted about how happiness is basically a myth, and that God does not say we will be happy.  Today I was challenged by listening to the message from Pastor Andy Stanley via podcasts, and by my own pastor Ben Scroggs on the peace and joy that God wants us to have.

Truthfully, I have been pretty numb this past week.  Not feeling any hurt from the pending divorce and custody issues with my son, nor feeling any anger, nor anything for that matter.  Just numb.  Ever been there?  I think perhaps my mind and body just sort of shut down; dulling itself for a time before it became too much for me. 

I truly want God's peace to reign in my heart and I think that is what will make me happy.  I do stand by what I stated on yesterday's blog that I don't believe happiness will be found in sexual pleasures or seeking a relationship with another woman.  I also stand by the fact that I am damaged when it comes to intimate relationships but I know I can be good friend.  I do care for others; and because of how I grew up and all that I faced as a child, my heart continues to go out to those who suffered like I did.  I have a heart for caring, and I want to serve others.

My brother-from-another-mother John Scroggs and I were talking today during after-church lunch.  He was talking about tithing and how it does not just involve tithing money but also are time and gifts.  We talked about our gift of writing.  I love to write.  I aspire to be an author someday.  I want to write a fantasy fiction novel, then write some devotional books, and then just teach writing.  However, I want to also share my thoughts through the written word to others so it will help them.

Life is not meant to be lived alone.  We are to help one another; uplift each other.  As iron sharpens iron so too we should sharpen one another as the verse in Proverbs states.  That is what I hope my writings does for others.  That is what would make me happy and bring me peace.

I have to constantly resist the urge to hate my soon-to-be-ex-wife.  I resist by praying for her whenever the urge to be angry comes at me.  That is what will bring me peace is by praying for her and seeing God work in her as He has been doing in me. 

I guess happiness is not a myth.  It's just not as cut and dry as some people make it out to be. 

Happiness Is A Myth

I have been silent for awhile on my blog, and on Facebook.  In fact, I deleted my previous Facebook account and went two or three weeks before activating a new one again.  I took the time to process some things, and there is still a lot more to process.  The one thing I am tired of is everyone telling me what I need to do to be happy.  It is time to set the record straight here.  Happiness is a myth.  Even in the land of America where our forefathers told us we have the right to pursue happiness, it is a myth.

Truthfully, if it takes another person to make you happy then you are not happy.  You are a parasite.  You are a leech who sucks the life of others for your selfish gains and then detaches in pursuit of another person to latch on to.  This has been me.  My second and final marriage was nothing more than me leeching of someone to make me "happy".  She never did because truthfully I was not at peace with myself.  I was not happy with myself.  When you are not at peace with yourself, when you cannot love yourself, then how can you love others?  How can you be at peace with someone else in your life?

I was faced with the opportunity of deciding whether to pursue a relationship with someone I do care about.  She has been a friend to me since the end of my first marriage.  I decided that friendship was more important than a relationship.  I seem to hurt those I seek a relationship with.  Because of my tendency to hurt others, I hold back from admitting my true feelings towards a high school classmate who I think is the most beautiful woman in the world, and whom has been a great friend through this trial of mine.  Her smile lights me up and yet I would not sacrifice our friendship to pursue a relationship because she has been hurt too much already, and I don't want to add to that.

I still love my first wife, and we are good friends.  Yet I would not ruin that friendship in the hopes of rekindling our marriage.

I am guarding my heart now more than ever.  I am guarding my body now more than ever.  When my first marriage ended, I threw God and my purity out the window in pursuit of the flesh.  I won't do so this time.  I won't cave in to the notion that there is only one life to live and I just do what I want.  That is not living.  That is nothing more than running from yourself; running and hiding from your own personal hurt.  Getting drunk or getting laid or giving in to wild abandon does not solve problems, and it is not the way to live.

I took a drive earlier today to think about everything in my life that has gone wrong.  It has centered around my pursuit of women.  I am not saying relationships are bad, but they are poison for me.  I cannot be a husband, but I can be a good friend.  And I would rather be a friend and never have intimacy than to have intimacy and lose my friends. 

The Bible does not promise us happiness.  It says there is joy in God.  That joy is a promise of hope that no matter what we are going through-difficult times or the best of times-we can be assured that God will see us through and it is not the end.  We are not always going to be happy but we can always have joy.

So please, I know my friends mean well when they say I should be happy and I should not give up.  But you don't know what is best for me.  I do.  I know I am tired of hurting, and I am tired of hurting others.  I am tired of fighting for love that is just not possible for me.  God loves me without condition, which is far more than what others have loved me for.  God gives me joy, and pursuing Him wholeheartedly is the best thing I can do.  I can't do that if I am distracted by the flesh.

So with that I say I cannot wait to get this divorce over with because it will be the last time I get divorced.  I am choosing now to harden my heart against the idea of marriage.  It will take Jesus appearing to me like He did to Apostle Paul on the road to Damascus to get me to change my stance.  I cannot do the sex game again, and I cannot put my heart out on my sleeve once more only to watch it get crushed again.

If My People...

Ephesians 6:12-13 states, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (NKJV).

This is a world lost in darkness.  All across the world it seems like more and more violence erupts.  Leaders killing their subjects, religious zealots killing in the name of their gods, civilians rebelling against the authorities, and those sworn to protect us shooting first and asking questions later.  We do not see each other as God’s children but rather as races.  Whites, blacks, browns—classified by the color of our skin and where we came from.  We are divided, and the devil is laughing.

The devil laughs mostly at the Christians—we group of people whom God entrusted to spread the Gospel of His Son Jesus Christ unto all the world.  Instead, we are too busy being caught up in the war of race, greed, and political divide.  How can we rebuke the devil in the name of Jesus Christ when we use the devil’s weapons of warfare?

How many posts have I seen by my fellow Christians that plays the race card game?

Have you not read Galatians 3:28?

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you ARE ALL ONE IN CHRIST JESUS” (NKJV, emphasis added).

How many posts have I seen by my fellow Christians that entice citizens to rebel against the authorities—police officers, politicians, and the like?

Have you read Romans 13:1-7?

“Let EVERY soul be subject to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from GOD, and the authorities that exist ARE appointed BY GOD.  Therefore, whoever RESISTS the authority RESISTS the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves” (1-2, NKJV, emphasis added—make sure you read all the way to verse 7 in your studies).

How many mean-spirited posts have I seen by my fellow Christians towards one another?

Have you not read Ephesians 4:31-32?  Romans 12:16-21?

Ephesians 4:31-32 states:

“Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.  And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (NKJV, emphasis added).

Romans 12:16-21 states:

“Be of the same mind toward one another.  Do not set your mind on high places (quit having an ego—you’re not always right), but associate with the humble (you should be humble as well).  Do not be wise in your own opinion.  Repay no one evil for evil.  Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.  If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.  Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.  Therefore,

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (NKJV, emphasis added).

On and on I could go.  I am not trying to be judgmental but rather hold my fellow brothers and sisters up in accountability as we should do with one another.  The time for bickering like the world has got to stop, and it starts with me—it starts with you.

How do we change the world? 

First we accept that there is nothing we can do for the world.  It is on a direct course to destruction since the time God breathed this world into existence.  Instead we need to love our neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31).  By loving those around us, it will encourage them to love others, and then it will spread like wildfire.

Those who practice hate know the wildfire effect to be true.  Just look at the mess that these riots cause.  What starts out as maybe a planned peaceful protest soon erupts into looting, beating, and acting like the criminals they swore the innocent never was.  This is because in their hearts is hatred, and it will not be contained.

Love is greater than hate, for it was Love whom stepped up before God and said, “Don’t punish them Father for what they’ve done.  Punish me.  I’ll take it all for them.”

See?  That is love.  That was Jesus Christ.  He is the one we are supposed to emulate; not the world.  We are not to loot, riot, scream at the leaders, nor call for their heads.  We are to be like Jesus.  If Jesus did not do it then we should not do it.  Remember, Jesus lived in a time where there was a more oppressive government than what we have now.  Yet Jesus did nothing against them.  Who are you wanting to be like today?

Second, we as God’s people must follow the Bible.  Not the writings of George Washington; not the philosophies of John Locke or Thomas Jefferson, but the spiritually written Word of God.  No if’s, and’s or but’s about it.  Either you believe in God and follow His Word, or Christianity is a religion for you so as to make you feel good about yourself.  It’s that narrow of a line (Matthew 7:13-14).

Third, we must realize that since this war we fight is against supernatural force there is only one way to fight it—prayer.  2 Chronicles 7:14-15 states, “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.  Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place” (NKJV).

Notice it did not say “if My people will protest”, or “if My people will vote”, or even “if My people will take up arms”.  It said if God’s people (those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior) will humble (key word there—humility) themselves and pray.  You see, we have to stop leaning on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5).  We have to trust in God.  We don’t trust Oprah or Dr. Phil nor Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, and so on.  We trust in God.

“Oh but Josh, whatever will we do about there being a black, Muslim-looking President in the White House?”

What does the Bible say to do? (Psst… It says to pray for him by the way.)

“But-but Josh, what about the wicked authorities in place over us?”

What does the Bible say to do?

“Oh but-but-but…”

What does the Bible say to do?

If you want to make a change then we must do what Matthew 7:33 tells us:

“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (NKJV, emphasis added).

We are too busy worrying about the wrong things.  Jesus tells us in His Gospel as observed by Matthew that we need to put the kingdom of God first and foremost on our priority list.  That is it. Everything after that is already taken care of.  Who do you trust?  The politician others elect in the White House and you are forced to follow?  Or the Lord who gives you a choice to either follow Him or be of the world?  Where is the real freedom here?

I don’t have all the answers.  I really don’t.  What I do know is when I put God first in my life, all my worries and anxieties lessen.  My fears and uncertainties decrease.  Instead of hatred towards others there is only love, and I pray for them.  That is but a handful of things that occur when I put God first.

If God’s people would only pray…

What Say You

Tell me there is no God and I will look at you and say, "You just don't get it."

You are blinded by the gods of this age, blinded by your self-conceived notion of logic that unless the light of Jesus Christ reaches you, unless you come to fully understand love, you will never understand how I can believe in God (2 Corinthians 4:3-6).

You do not know the week I have had struggling with my depressed sense of self-worth, listening to the lies of loneliness and despair I thought were behind me.  Culminating to Friday night and Saturday where broken I kneeled before God begging Him to deliver me.  Begging Him to accept me as I am.  Through love God already did.

Allow me to explain to you that there are no coincidences in life.  As I was struggling with my self-worth, I came across a movie last night on Netflix called "Ragamuffin" based on the life of country music artist Rich Mullins.  Rich Mullins has always been a favorite singer of mine.  His songs are authentic and after watching his biography I can now understand where he was writing his songs from.  He was writing from a perspective that he was not perfect.  He was broken.  He struggled with his demons.  He wanted to be loved.  He wanted to be better.  Finally, Rich Mullins realized that God loved him just the way he was.  I watched this movie and cried silently for I was seeing my own life displayed on the screen before me.

Rich Mullins was a student of Brennan Manning who wrote "The Ragamuffin Gospel".  I listened to Brennan Manning this morning on the way to church talk about God loving us the way we are and not as we should be.  Here I am struggling with my own self-worth, beating myself up once more this past week for my past sins which God has wiped clean already.  Feeling guilty for my failures and struggles this past week.  Forgetting that God still loves me.  He doesn't expect me to be perfect.  He expects me to continue towards perfection.  The Apostle Paul said "we press on toward perfection" (Philippians 3:14), not that we have obtained it.

Enter this morning at church and a sister in Christ walks up to me encouraging me I am not alone in my struggles.  That none of us are perfect.  We all struggle with the flesh and we all make mistakes, but the difference is we keep pressing forward.  Sinners quit.  They throw their lives away lost in the enslavement of their selfish desires.  Christians keep moving forward even when we fall down.

She only knew I was struggling because I made one post on our church app.  Otherwise, her saying the exact same words that God had spoken to me through the movie and Brennan Manning's message was not planned.  She said what God wanted me to hear.

Then the worship team sang songs about "come as you are", and how much Jesus loves us.  Our pastor sang "Jesus Loves Me, This I Know", which was the exact same song the movie "Ragamuffin" featured.  How are these types of coincidences possible?  They're not.  God is planning life.  He is speaking through His people.

Then the Pastor delivers a message God placed upon his heart and guess what?  It tied everything in my life this past week together.  From me struggling and not letting go of certain things I need to, to surrendering and trusting in God.  God spoke through the Pastor to remind me once more what God had been dealing within for the last week or two.  I did not call my Pastor to let him know what I was struggling with.  We did not organize this.  God speaks through us; He moves through us.

These are not coincidences.  In fact, how can one say they cannot believe in something unseen like God and yet you put your trust in coincidences, luck-these things that are unseen and not proven.  Yet God has proven Himself time and time again.  Yet we are blinded by the darkness of this age, too wrapped up in our own logic to see Him.

God's timing is perfect.  He placed in my life different circumstances to help me to understand that God loves me just as I am.  God loves me through my struggles and mistakes.  He loves me and it is out of that love that I want to be better.  It is out of that love, and God's proof of His love that makes me want to forsake my flesh; makes me want to make better choices.  Not because God is forcing me to but rather because I love Him and I want to press forward towards the mark that Jesus Christ has paid for.

Today, those who are nonbelievers will read this and continue to say, "I don't get it."

You're right.  You don't, and you won't unless you understand what true love it.  True love is that a perfect, righteous, and holy being God became flesh and died upon the cross for our sins.  True love is that the Son of God died for us, the imperfect us.  He didn't wait until we had achieved perfection.  God didn't wait until we had met legalistic requirements established in a Board of Trustees meeting creating church by-laws for membership.  God sent His one and only Son because He loves us as we are and He wants us to be with Him.

Today I pray your veil will be removed and you will be able to find the same God I have found-the God of love, the God peace, the God of my heart.

Stay Alert! Stay Alive!

For the past seven days I have been tired, exhausted.  It has been difficult for me to wake up on time and yet difficult to fall asleep at night.  This morning I slept through my alarm causing me to be late for work.  I am at work now on my lunch break as I type this and I am fighting sleep.  Have you ever been that tired?


When I was in the US Army, during training missions and then during Iraq deployment there were times we were forced to stay awake more than 24 hours.  Our non-commissioned officers and officers would tell us to stay awake for the enemy likes to attack when we are tired.


"STAY ALERT!  STAY ALIVE!" 


That was the motto during those long nights guarding our posts.


This past week as I have been exhausted physically and mentally, I noticed that is when the enemy of my soul-the devil-makes his move to attack me.  Filling my heads with thoughts that are contrary to the promises and blessings God has made and given to me, Satan uses my fatigued mind against me.  It is in our most tired state that we must remain vigil against these attacks.


Luke 21:36 states, "Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man (NLT)."


Jesus told his disciples this and then in the next chapter Jesus finds his disciples asleep instead of praying for Christ's upcoming trial. Jesus came down from his place of prayer to find his disciples fast asleep, and after waking them up said, "Why are you asleep?  Get up and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation (Luke 22:46, NLT)."


Satan knows when we are tired that we are more susceptible to temptations.  When we are not alert, when we are not vigil because we are weary from the trials of life, we are weary from all that we have to deal with, or we are just weary because we are not going to the Well of our souls for nourishment and replenishment regularly, that is when we are most vulnerable to attack from the enemy of our soul.


Just like in the military, soldiers are most vulnerable to an attack when they are tired, fatigued, and do not remain vigilant.


"Be on guard.  Stand firm in the faith.  Be courageous.  Be strong," (1 Corinthians 16:13, NLT).


Even when we are most tired, worn out from all that life has thrown at us, it is then we need to remain vigilant.  The enemy comes for you.  He waits when you think all of life is figured out, or when we are most tired.  Yet it is then we need to stand strong and continue praying at all times.  Ephesians 6:18 tells us to "Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion.  Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere (NLT)."


Are you tired today?  Pray.


Have you been tired?  Pray.


Are you feeling weak?  Pray.


Don't sleep.  Don't ignore the attacks.  Don't give in.


Pray.


Stay Alert! Stay Alive!

Forgiveness

I have been trying to desperately when I first wake up in the morning to seek God first before I do anything. At times though I fail because my body is weak, and when I do not get enough sleep it can be a real struggle to wake up right when my alarm sounds in the early morning. I found myself this morning in that struggle. After being up until 0100 hours (1:00 AM to you common folk), and needing to leave my house by 0900 to get to church a hour away on time, I neglected to wake up early and spend some first time with God.

I am thankful for the hour drive though to church because it gives me time to seek God as I am driving. Now I believe in being led by the Spirit, but while I am driving a car it would behoove me to split my attention on God and traffic. So there is no comparison between being able to kneel in my private place with no distractions other than the sounds of my house, and devote my full attention to God. However, there are times you just need to seek God right where you are at even with all of life's distractions.

Before pulling out of my garage this morning, I shot a quick video for Facebook about forgiveness. I quoted Book of Matthew 5:23-25 about ensuring you seek reconciliation with someone who has something against you, or you against them. The verse reads:

23. "So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, 24. leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God. 25. When you are on the way to court with your adversary, settle your differences quickly (NLT)."

God wants us to forgive others, and He wants us to seek forgiveness from others. Sometimes that forgiveness does not come right away from others, but we need to be quick to offer forgiveness, or make amends. Yes, even when we have been hurt by that person we should seek forgiveness.

After I posted that video, I was praying to God while driving to church. Suddenly, I really could not come up with the words to say to God because I got stuck on forgiving others. See, here I was presenting my "gifts", or prayers to God and yet He started talking to me about forgiving my soon-to-be-ex-wife.

Yes, I am hurt she left me. Yes, I am hurt she does not want to work this marriage out and instead sought a divorce lawyer right away. I can take that hurt and continue to be angry as I have to the point where I can barely stand to be around her when we exchange our son, or I can show the same love that God has shown to me and apologize to her, tell her I forgive her, and tell her we need to move on for our son's sake.

I fought a few minutes, resisting texting to her and telling her I forgave her. Yet God was reminding me of what I just posted earlier that day on Facebook about letting go of grudges, forgiving others, seek amends with our enemies. As I said on the video, we should forgive others despite the hurt the hurt they have caused us because we seek God to forgive us despite the hurt we have caused Him.

I drove in silence for a few more minutes before sending a message to her. Then I left it in God's hands.

That's all we can do. Sometimes, we just need to reach out to them and let them know they are forgiven and then leave it in God's hands to work on our enemy, our adversary. Forgiveness does not always mean that person can come back in our lives, but the grudge that had burdened our hearts can now leave our lives so we may present ourselves to God without fault.

The love we show towards others is important to God. After all, this is why it is written to "love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.' And, 'Love your neighbor as yourself,'" (Deut 6:5; Lev 19:18). Our brethren are our neighbors, and the same mercy we want from God upon us we need to show to others. This issue is so important to God that He even instructs us to cease praying to Him until we have made peace with our neighbors.

I know I am not the only one who has been hurt by someone we thought was close to us like a brother. Maybe a friend, a family member, or even a spouse hurt us. Yet we are called to show mercy because we would want mercy from others, and we seek it from God.

By the way, after I sent that text I was able to pray to God with peace in my heart and without hesitation. Because I had read Matthew 5:23-25, God silenced me and I listened to His Word, and after fulfilling His Word, I was able to come back and continue praying to God the rest of the way to church.

The Comic Book Guru Reviews: "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice"

This review will be spoiler free, or as spoiler free as I can make it. I really don't know what to say about Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Is it as bad as the critics made it out to be? No.

Is it as epic as comic book fans wanted it to be? No.

Therein lies the problem. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice falls somewhere in between.  If movie ratings had purgatory BvS would exist there.

Let's just get this out of the way. I am not pointing a negative light on BvS because I think Marvel movies are better. Marvel cannot be compared to DC and vice versa. The comic book companies have always been vastly different on print so they should be portrayed different from one another on the silver screen as well. Marvel has always been about their heroes being portrayed as if they actually exist while DC have always had their heroes grounded in mythology.

What makes me sort of indifferent to this movie is that the movie is just indifferent to the story it was trying to tell. It had no identity, and unfortunately for Zack Snyder who did his best to accomplish what Warner Brothers told him to do, it was perhaps too much to handle and too much at one time.

The pros:

I will eat my words and say Gal Gadot made an excellent Wonder Woman for the brief time she was on screen. When her casting was announced I was a skeptic. I believed a more muscular woman like Gina Carano should have played her. However, after seeing Gadot portray Wonder Woman that is no longer the case. Gadot played Wonder Woman as tough but also elegant and graceful. 

The action scenes were ripped straight from comic book stories. There were many different imageries that recalled past issues of DC Comics. Perhaps this movie was definitely a truer adaptation of comic books than Marvel has been with their films.

The CGI was not that bad at all or distracting. It wasn't as dizzying as the CGI in "Man of Steel". The CGI creature Doomsday actually turned out better than I thought.

Ben Affleck killed it as Batman. There are a few times when an actor will forever be associated with their comic book counterpart. Robert Downey, Jr., is forever Tony Stark aka Iron Man, Ryan Reynolds is forever Deadpool, and Ben Affleck is forever Batman. I will go on record to say that Ben Affleck is perhaps the most accurate and truer portrayal of Batman we will ever see on the big screen. Nothing against Christian Bale's Batman, but Affleck-to quote a scene from Frank Miller's "Batman and Robin"-is "the [expletive] Batman!"

The cons:

With that said about Batman, Superman is completely overshadowed by Affleck and also by Jesse Eisenberg's Lex Luthor (more on this atrocity in a minute). Superman is barely in it really when compared to the aforementioned millionaires. The movie starts with Batman and Lex Luthor before even showing Superman, and that's pretty much how the movie continues. 

DC and Warner Brothers continue to portray Lex Luthor wrong. I have never liked Gene Hackman's portrayal, and honestly Kevin Spacey's portrayal in the failed "Superman: Returns" was an impersonation of Hackman. Jesse Eisenberg's portrayal comes off as if Heath Ledger's Joker and Jim Carrey's Riddler had a love child together. Eisenberg is distracting in the scenes he is in and not in a good way. The fact the movie featured him more than Superman frustrates me.

The title was misleading. The movie should have just been called "Dawn of Justice". Batman and Superman barely throw down, and the catalyst to get Superman to fight Batman was weak on the writers' part. I don't know if Warner Brothers wanted "Batman v Superman" in the title because they knew "Captain America: Civil War" would be coming out the same year or they just have no clue how to title their movies. I'm going to believe the former because the latter makes them sound dumb.

Overall, the main problem I have with this movie after seeing it is the same problem I had with it before seeing it. There is just ways too much too soon with no character development. Where Marvel took their sweet time to roll out The Avengers, DC tries to come out swinging quickly and fails. I'm not saying their DCEU is dead before arrival (because I'm not dumb like the critics are), I'm just saying DC/WB should have taken their time as well. Superman should be the center of the DCEU like Tony Stark was the center for MCU. DC should have either made another Superman movie to further develop Henry Cavill's Superman, or go straight to establishing Ben Affleck as Batman so he can be the Tony Stark of the DCEU. Instead, poor Cavill really does not get a chance to shine here as much as Affleck.

The rush to Justice League cost them meaning that a lot of plot and character development got thrown to the wayside. However, if you just view "Dawn of Justice" as the bridge between the wide gap of "Man of Steel" to "Justice League", then this movie does its job.

Is it perfect? No. Is it horrible? No. Will you like it? Probably.

Should you take your kids to see it? It's pretty safe although there were some curse words uttered by the heroes (particularly Batman), and of course there's violence. There's one sexual suggestive scene between Amy Adam's Lois Lane and Clark Kent, but barely that. Your kids may ask why they are in the same bathtub.

Final verdict:

The Comic Book Guru says save your money for "X-Men: Apocalypse" or more importantly "Captain America: Civil War". "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" is a decent bridge to Justice League, but is unable to hold its story and characters. I think the solo DCEU films will fare much better. I'm actually excited about the Wonder Woman solo film now since it will take place in World War I. If they make a Ben Affleck Batman solo film I will be excited for that as well. DC definitely needs to get Superman out there on the forefront like the Russo's did for Captain America or their ship will sink pretty quickly.

Don't Leave Me

"Don't leave me."

Those were the words said to me as I held this elderly woman to my side; sitting with her as her life was escaping from her mortal shell. 

I had come to know this elderly woman, a former teacher in my hometown only a few weeks as she entered into my care.  Truth be told, she didn't want to be in a "nursing home", and recognizing her discomfort my co-workers and I worked hard to make her feel at home.  I established a repertoire with her family particularly her son who interested in my veteran status from the military.  I took it upon myself to communicate with her family more than I normally would, and I made sure this woman was taken care of by the staff at the facility I worked at. 

So on her final day, as we were working together to restore her functional independence, I was reminded of just how fleeting life can be.  In a span of fifteen minutes, she went from being full of life and ready to work hard in therapy to passing from this life and into the next.

James 14:4 says, “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes (NIV).”

I never in my life witness that verse played out before me.  One minute she was performing her occupational therapy; the next minute she was begging me to not leave her side.  She leaned on me sitting on that therapy mat as her spirit prepared to depart the mortal vessel it had inhabited for a lifetime. 

As I returned her to her wheelchair and transferred her care to the nurse on duty, I didn't realize it would be the last thing she would say to me. "Don't leave me."

Life is precious, but is short. Psalm 144:4 tells us that are lives are like a fleeting shadow.  The Bible says our lives do not even cover the span of God's hand.  100 years of a human life is but an eye blink from God's eternal face.  We like to think we have tomorrow but we don't.  We are never really sure.  We cannot even be sure of life in the next second let alone 1,440 seconds-24 hours. 

When her passing was announced, I reflected upon life and my own personal journey.  I had to ask myself once more the same question I have been asking myself as of late: what am I doing with my life?  What do I consider important?

To this woman, going home was what she placed of value.  Now whether she meant her earthly home or her heavenly home I guess now that is answered.  What was not on her mind for her life in those last few moments was who was president, how much money she had, or all these so-called important issues everyone else seems focused on.  She just wanted to live and do whatever it took to go home.  At first it was endure physical rehab but then it became to simply surrender to God.  And she did, and as much as it shook me it also was beautiful to watch.

What is important today to you?  Is it a government which will fall as all of them do?  Is it money that can be burned or lose value in a blink of an eye or a bad decision made by those "in power"?  Is it that sexual conquest you have been planning for sometime now without any regard as to how that encounter will affect the both of in the future?  What is important to you?

Her family told me she loved me.  She trusted me.  She put her life in my hands.  They shook my hand, some hugged me, and they all thanked me.  I had to thank them for in the short time I knew her and in those final moments she reminded me of what is most important in life: love.

Jesus told his disciples, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39 NIV).’”

The Apostle Paul would explain this further when he wrote in Galatians 5 that the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love, and in 1 Corinthians 13 he wrote, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love (NIV).”

See, there is no amount of wealth that can replace the love of my wife.  There is not a governmental authority alive who can take my life away and the love I have for my wife, my children, my friends, my family, and for life in general.  We can spend our lives passionate about that which is fleeting, which crumbles like rocks into dust; or we can spend our lives investing in our love towards God by investing in our love towards others.

I choose the latter.  I choose to spend my life investing in love; love for God and love for others.  I choose to spend my life being vulnerable to the risks love brings but knowing it is worth more than a bag full of gold.  That is what I choose because love is eternal.  Patriotism, wealth, reputations, fame, all these nonsensical things is not eternal.  They are as worthless as dust on the furniture.  Love is forever; love is eternal.  Love is worth your investment.  Love begs you, "Don't leave me."

Until next time...

Expression of Love

The Apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 5:6, "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value.  The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love," (NIV).


Now the words circumcision and uncircumcision were in reference to the Jewish custom of circumcising their children eight days after their birth.  This was done in accordance with God's command (Genesis 17:10-14) as a covenant between the Jews and God, and also as a sign that the Jewish people were set apart from the pagans of the world.  In a larger context, circumcision represents God's law in that God's people had to follow the law to be pure with Him.


However, when Jesus arrived on the scene He became the fulfillment of God's law.  As Pastor Andy Stanley of North Point Church in Georgia stated it was if everything in the Old Testament pointed to Jesus.  The Apostle Paul, who had been raised a Jew named Saul and had been a Pharisee, or religious leader of the Jewish religion, reminded the gathering at Galatia that because of Jesus, it no longer mattered if one was circumcised or not because that would no longer separate them from the world.  What would separate Christians from the world was their faith expressed by loving one another.


What does that mean for us?


Well, I think our biggest problem in life in regards to our relationship with God is we spend so much time worrying about if we are following God's "rules" that we become discouraged when we slip up and sin.  Perhaps though if we spent more time loving others we would not sin.


Think about this way.  Do you want to be hurt by others?  Do you want your spouse to cheat on you?  Do you want someone to kill you?  Kill your loved one?  Do you want someone to verbally berate you or someone you love?  Do you want to be mistreated? 


I would hope the answer is no, and if it is then we should not want to do the same to others.  Not because it is required of us by an unseen being, but because we have love for one another.  You see, love compels us to treat others with more respect and courtesy than perhaps we give ourselves.  That's why Jesus tells us to love others as we love ourselves, if not more (Mark 12:30-31).  If we love someone we would not commit sin against them.


It is not just that sin separates us from God because we break His "rules", or His law.  Sin separates us from God because we have violated that love for others.  Sin is not just a transgression towards God for when we sin it is usually against others.  Think about it.  If we commit adultery does it just involve us?  No.  It involves the person we commit adultery against and the person we committed adultery with.  We hurt our spouse and we also hurt the person we committed that sin with.  That is why we are all connected, and the actions we commit to, whether good or bad, has consequences toward one another.


This is why Jesus tells us that if we are trying to get right with God but still have transgressions, or grievances against someone, we are to leave God and go make right with that person (Matthew 5:24).  God can wait, and He wants to wait because He wants us to be right with one another.  Being right with one another will mean we are right with God.  There is not a special sacrament or ceremony or obedience to the law that can trump our love towards one another.  It's not the act of Communion or feet washing that makes us right with God, it is our love towards one another.


It is that simple.  In the last few months I have been searching for what it truly means to be a Christian.  Well, it means to show love toward those around me.  If I love my wife then I show it, and I make sure she knows it.  I make sure everything I do is for her and that my love is expressed in everything I do for her.  If I love my children then the same thing applies.  I do everything for them.  A stranger on the street needs me to love them and express that love to them.


I am not seeking personal reward or recognition.  I am not doing it because it will make me feel better about myself.  I am doing it because I love them.  Doing things like ceremonies or sacraments is not expressing love to anyone or God.  It is just so you can feel better about yourself.  However, loving someone, helping someone out of love; well, that is greater than any sacred thing you can do.  In fact, loving others is sacred.


Until next time...

Wish List for 2016

My Top 10 Gift List Ideas for 2016:

10. The Walking Dead Trade Paperback (TPB)

9. Deadpool and Cable TPB

8. Game of Thrones Season One and Two on BluRay (DVD acceptable)

7. A new car (preferably a small size pickup truck-won't make the same mistake I made in 2012)

6. A clean garage so I can then have...

5. A weight bench/squat bench combination (thinking Gold's Gym equipment)

4. A sleep number bed

3. Star Wars: The Force Awakens on BluRay (DVD non-acceptable unless it is included with BluRay)

2. Watch Deadpool February 12 in theaters

1. Watch Captain America: Civil War in theaters

Dodging the Bullet

I had an interesting conversation last week concerning military service.  We were discussing my time in the military and he mentioned he was called up to serve during the Vietnam War but dodged the draft. At first I thought he was joking, then I thought he was serious, but he was actually joking.  In truth, he was supposed to be drafted but before he left for training, he was out drinking with his friends and somehow broke his entire foot.  He voiced regret of not being able to go despite how he felt about the Vietnam War.

I started thinking about it.  I really have no problems with those who would dodge being drafted.  Yes, I believe it is a definite honor to serve in the military, and I am better off having served my time.  I also believe it would be better if every able man were to serve at least two years in the military.  However, I maintain it should be a volunteer force because typically, though not always, those who volunteer are more willing to do what needs to be done versus those who are dragged into something they never wanted to be part of in the first place. 

My true problem are those who willingly volunteer for the military but then try to get out when the number is called to deploy to war.  It is something that has always bothered me because no matter what excuse one can dream up, the individual should know the primary purpose of the military is for war. 

Trust me, I heard it all during my time in the military.  I have heard people say they only signed up for the free college money.  I cannot count the number of people who tried to get out of their enlistment or commission when the unit I was serving in received our deployment orders because they thought they were only in for the college money.  

I do not believe in the term "conscientious objector" because, again, history tells us what the military is all about.  One time I understood completely when a soldier in my brigade refused to carry a weapon in Iraq.  He was originally from Egypt, and he believed that raising arms against the Arabs in Iraq would be the same as raising arms against his own brothers and sisters.  Since he had been a skilled surgeon in Egypt, he was able to still deploy with our Brigade as a combat medic because he had a necessary skill that was required.  

However, Christians from America who join the military and then plea "conscientious objector" on the basis of the Bible stating "thou shalt not kill" first don't understand that verse and its meaning, and also show stupidity.  Again, they should realize what the military was about.  However, guess what?  I heard that excuse as well.  Ironically, I was a Christian minister in Washington State while serving in a combat brigade.  I could not tolerate hearing other Christians use that excuse.

The issue here is when someone volunteers to be in the military, then they should know what they are getting into.  The days of using the excuse of "the recruiter lied to me" are long gone with the accessibility of information on the Internet.  Heck, even before the advent of the Internet, there really was no excuse for "not knowing" what one was getting into.

I was glad a fellow soldier did not deploy with us to Iraq.  He had willfully volunteered to join the Army as a Combat Medic, but once we arrived to Fort Lewis, WA, he started to find ways to somehow get released from the Army.  Finally, after some minor criminal acts, he was left behind while we deployed to Iraq and dishonorably discharged.  No one in the unit had any respect for this guy and were more than happy to see him leave.

Just to be clear, I was not the model soldier.  I had my share of issues with authority figures receiving two Article 15's for Disrespect to NCOs.  However, I accepted I had screwed up and continued to fulfill my committment.  There were times I did not pull my weight but I think my continual persistence finally won my comrades over and they started pushing me to be better.  The point is even someone as weak and anti-social as myself found a way to make it but I would never have given up.  I would never have broken my oath to serve.  After all, what is a person if they are not able to keep their word?

I do recognize there are times that are extrenuating that would cause a person to not be able to fulfill their oath.  A good friend of mine left the Army because of a family emergency of which the Army refused to recognize.  Another friend had to be discharged due to medical reasons beyond her control.  Those type of situations I am not talking about.  I am talking about straight up breaking one's contract because they do not want to do the hard work.  They just wanted the benefits of wearing the uniform or they just couldn't grow up.

Bottom line, if you volunteer to serve than you serve.  That means you do what you may not like to do but you are honor bound to fulfill.  Do your research before even agreeing to talk to a recruiter.  Do not be naive like I was when I joined (I'll discuss that another time).  Know what you are getting into before you get into it.  Trust me, it is better never to bother joining than it is to join and then try to get out because you simply never wanted to be there in the first place.

Untii next time...

Peaceful Easy Feeling - A Tribute to Glenn Frey

It was the summer of 1995, the worst summer of my life.  I was 16 and I had just been thrown out of the only home I had ever known by a step-father who was divorcing my mother, and after a few choice words from her son, he wanted no more to do with me.

After completing my freshman year of high school, I was bouncing around from house to house with my mother.  I was lost, hurt, and scared of the possibilities of never finding stability again.  Yet somehow in that time of darkness I found peace in the music of the Eagles.

Before 1995, I only had a slimmer of of knowledge of who the Eagles were.  I had heard some of their songs most notably "Desperado" and "Take It Easy" but only because they had been covered by Country Music singers Clint Black and Travis Tritt respectively.  I barely remembered "Hotel California".  However, when my mother's boyfriend (ugh) purchased a VHS copy of "The Eagles: Hell Freezes Over" tour and played it on his VCR, I sat there in front of that TV and found some peace.  I became hooked, and the Eagles easily became my favorite all-time band.

I hate to admit it, but even with all my years surrounded by church music since the fall of 1995, the music of the Eagles has been more spiritual of an experience to me than any so-called Christian music.  The lyrics speak to me, the rhythm and music strummed by the strings of the guitars are glorious to my ears.  Whenever an Eagles song comes on the radio, time for me stops and everyone and everything around me disappears.  Just ask my wife.  Short of streaking across my field of vision nude for all the world to see, there is nothing that can shake me out of the trance I am in when the Eagles start playing.

They mean that much to me.  Their songs like "Desperado" speak to the wandering soul within me, "Peaceful, Easy Feeling" reminds me of a God who won't let me down, and "Hole In The World" reminds me of the damage that blind hatred can do to one another.  Their song "The Last Resort" reminds me of paradise lost and how we have truly hurt this world.  I can't say enough about their music.

I dreamed of seeing the Eagles live in concert but timing and finances prevented me from it.  Now I realize I may never get to.

As I was washing the dishes earlier this evening, my wife texted me informing me of the passing of co-founder Glenn Frey.  When it comes to The Eagles, Don Henley and Glenn Frey are the heart, soul, and mind of the group.  Losing one is like ripping a wing off of an eagle permanently grounding it for life.  

I know many argue about the egos of Henley and Frey, but no one can argue the music these two made together.  Many of the songs that became Eagles hits were written by these two.  Yes there are others in the Eagles like Joe Walsh, Timothy Schmidt, and at one time Don Felder; however, without Henley and Frey the Eagles would never have soared.

Glenn Frey brought a hard edge to the soft, melodic tonality of Don Henley.  Frey could belt out that Detroit steel, street sound only to head down South and give us some country.  Frey was a singer, guitar player, keyboardist, and song writer.  Don Henley called Frey an encyclopedia of modern music.  Frey, along with many of the other members of the Eagles, represent a true renaissance of a musical artist that is rare to find in today's synthetic, pop, sing-by-the-numbers formula being forced through the radio.  Frey was talent, and I dare say other than Henley and Walsh, few could dare touch Frey's level of genius.  I even enjoyed some of his solo work particularly "You Belong to the City".  There was just something primal and rough about that song that reverbrated within me. 

I popped in my DVD of "The Eagles" Farewell Tour I" this evening and watched the whole concert with my wife and 2-year-old son Liam.  I cried as the Eagles belted out "Hole In The World" because there truly is a hole in that group, and in my life that can never be filled.  However, like Frey sung, there is a peaceful, easy feeling.  Frey was suffering from multiple medical conditions but he no longer does.  The Desperado has ridden his last horse, he's seen his last Tequilla Sunrise.  

I can go on and on with every song title he has helped to write to send Glenn Frey off, but I think I have said enough.  Music can truly speak to the soul, and Glenn Frey's music did exactly that.

Soar high Eagle, go and rest in music; direct that great symphony in the sky.

Know Your Role

The People's Champion, the Great One, the Rock used to tell his wrestling opponents to "know your role and shut your mouth."  

While I won't tell people to shut their mouths, perhaps it is time we re-examine our role in relationship with our servitude towards God. 

In John 8 starting at verse 2, an adulterous woman is brought before Jesus by the Pharisees and a challenge was made. In verses 4-5 the Pharisees state, 4. "Teacher," they said to [Jesus], "this woman was caught in the act of committing adultery. 5. In the law Moses commanded us to stone such women.  So what do you say (HCSB - all verses will be from this version unless otherwise stated)?"

Now Jesus did not answer right away.  Instead, the Bible states Jesus stooped down to the ground and started writing in the dirt.  Finally, in verse 7 after much persistence by the Pharisees Jesus answered, "The one without sin among you should be the first to throw a stone at her."

Verse 9 states that one by one the Pharisees left with not a stone cast at the woman being accused. 

Many people use this event as the lesson that no one is to judge others because of their sin, and while they are technically right, do they know why it is not our place to judge sinners?

The answer lies surprisingly in the statement made by the Pharisees to Jesus when they said "in the law [of] Moses".  The law the Pharisees were referring to concerning adultery is found in Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22-24.  Both verses do contain condemnation for people caught in adultery.  However, the Pharisees were wrong in that the adulterous woman must be stoned, but we will get to that point soon.  Also wrong were the Pharisees in attempting to carry out the judgement against the woman and for tempting Jesus to do wrong as well.

The law of Moses was for the children of Israel to follow in order to keep themselves pure as this was a time before Jesus' crucifixion and thus no grace existed for their sins.  The law gave very strict guidelines on moral conduct.  To enforce it, God appointed 70 elders who would be the judges (see Numbers 11:16).  They were called the Sanhedrin.  It was appointed to the Sanhedrin to serve as judges and to enforce the law of Moses.  This authority was not given to anyone else.  Keep that in mind.

At some point two influential entities came to power within the Jewish religion: the Sadducees and the Pharisees.  These were not groups appointed by God (like the Sanhedrin had been) but rather formed from positions of power and of tradition practiced outside the will of God.  The Sadducees were of the rich class while the Pharisees were of the middle class.  The Pharisees were considered representatives of the common man not unlike today's Democrat Liberals.  The Sadducees were more political and sided with Roman occupation, thus earning the scorn of the common people.  The Pharisees were more religious and opposed Roman occupation, therefore earning the praise of the people.  Because of support from the people, the Pharisees had major influence over the Sanhedrin.

So why is all this information important to the adulterous woman event?  Because in the account, the Pharisees challenged Jesus on whether or not the adulterous woman should be stoned.  They used the law of Moses as their reasoning.  However, because Jesus knew the law of Moses (He had written it after all for Jesus was there in the beginning; see John 1), He knew this was a trap.  

If Jesus had said she should definitely not be stoned then the Pharisees would accuse Jesus of defying the law of Moses and thus discrediting Himself.  Remember, Jesus said he came not to replace the law but to fulfill its purpose.  Defying the law would strike that statement down and thus Jesus would lose His validity.  However, if Jesus had said "yes" to stoning the woman, then the Pharisees could accuse Jesus of performing the duties that He should not perform as they were only for the Sanhedrin to perform.  Also, the Pharisees knew full well that the adulterous woman was not punishable by being stoned to death unless she had been engaged to one person and yet had sex with another man (see Deuteronomy 22:23-24), thus Jesus would be supporting the illegal stoning of her.  The Pharisees thought they were being clever.  However, Jesus is the Son of God, and He is the author of cleverness.

Jesus turned the challenge around against the Pharisees.  At Jesus' statement of whoever is without sin throw the first stone, if any of the Pharisees had casted that stone then they would be usurping the Sanhedrin, losing the influence they had on the judges and thus losing the support of the people.  If they wanted to maintain their position with the Sanhedrin and maintain the support of the people, they had better know their roles and stay within the confines of their role.  

Jesus' statement of whoever is without sin to cast the first stone was a direct challenge to the Pharisees because not only were they purposefully misquoting the law of Moses in front of many witnesses and at the risk of losing their validity, but they would also be in violation of that law for performing the appointed duties of the Sanhedrin.

This serves as a challenge to us today; God's people, those saved by accepting the gift of Jesus.  God is the appointed Judge, and the judgement lies with Him.  To condemn others because of their sin would be to usurp God and that is sin upon itself far greater than the act of adultery.  Just as the Pharisees were not the Sanhedrin and therefore not allowed to perform their duties, so too are we not God and should not perform any responsibility that lies solely with God.

What is your role in God's Kingdom?  We are to be Jesus to others.  We are to be a lighthouse guiding the lost ships in.  We are to be an example of God's love to others, and if our light shines so bright because of the love we exercise towards others, then we will fulfill the Great Commission.

Know your role, and leave God to do His role.

Until next time...