Secret Millionaire Goes to Skid Row

This video was very touching and eyeopening to me in many ways.  The three ministries that he went to work with were all very different, but at the same time each one was filling a need in the Skid Row area.  Each one of the ministries had a moment in the show that gave me goose bumps and here they are.  The first man with the hat shop was giving everything; the moment that  made me see how much he gave is when he took the shoes off his own feet to give to the man with no shoes.  The Alexandria House was one of the most touching stories on the show, I think.  It was amazing to see all that they provided for the women and children who can often be forgotten even though God calls us to the widows and orphans and He loved  the children just like the Alexandria House does. The street basketball was a great group that helped to keep kids out of trouble by giving them something to do. I agree with the millionaire when he said that it was a group that would have impact in the long run, even more so than the present.  I think the most eye-opening part of the show was seeing the need.  Realizing that over 90000 homeless go out into the streets of Skid Row every night blew me away.  Also seeing the need in the Alexandria House, that they had around 300 people call a month needing housing, but they could only provide nine until someone was stable enough to move out.  I think Skid Row is sometimes lost in the glamour of other parts of LA, but after seeing this and learning more about it from Jeremiah and Sarah, I see the great need.  While there is great need and it is a dark and seemingly hopeless place, it is great to hear of stories like these and Jeremiah's that show the light in all the darkness.

Dont Waste Your Life

A thought provoking question I came across in chapter 6 was if someone saw my life would they be able to see a drastic difference in the way I live from the way they live.  I would like to say that it would be so obvious that I was Christian by my lifestyle but i dont know that that would be completely honest.  Honestly when I look at my life there are areas I think that I do pretty good in but there are also a lot that I dont.  One area I struggle in is being kind to family.  I know they will always love me so I tend to vent on them but also i know that is not fair to them and that I dont always do it in the most respectful way, and God calls us to honor our parents.
Another point that was touched in this chapter was how we use our money.  John Piper starts this section by telling us that its not a small thing Jesus spent much of his teaching time teaching on money then he gave us a lot of verses as examples.  Out of the many I think one that particularly spoke to me right now is Luke 12:15.  I am at a stage in life where i may not have the money to give but this verse reminds me its not just money but everything and that there are other things in my life that I can give up now to get into practice for when I do have money to give.
I love his picture of the Queen Mary in wartime and in peacetime.  It made me think of a question I have been asked before, "When was the last time you cried for the lost people in this world that are going to hell?"  Think about all the stupid reasons you cry or throw a pity party when in reality our hearts should be in constant agony for the lost and constant desire to do what we can to bring Jesus to them.
In my personal opinion one of the biggest problems with tv is that time wasted watching it.  Time that you could be doing something productive but rather you sit and listen and watch the garbage that fills our secular world.  Three ways tv has negatively influenced me are through the way people treat people sometimes on shows, the general waste of time, and lastly one the book pointed out and I thought very true was the greed wrapped up in the commercials.  The one that most affects me  is the waste of time.  I spend time watching tv that I should be spending studying and meditating on  God's Word.
Again this is one  of those that I want to say I spend more time with God than technology but in reality I dont.  This is very eye-opening to compare the two and look at what they are showing nonbelievers.  I need to be more rooted in the Word of God than in the wasteless garbage on tv and the time I waste on facebook or whatever the bottom line is that I need to spend more time studying and meditating on God's Word, but not just that then applying it.

Why Is the Gospel of Love Dividing America???

The movie LORD Save Us From Your People was very eye opening and was not meant to be a movie you just simply watch but rather one that evokes a change in yourself.  The biggest thing he did was went to different people and just started conversations with them about all sorts of things involving the faith and what people think of Christians.
It was very eye opening to see what people thought of Christians and what Christianity is.  Some said the church  was hypocrisy and others said that they felt hated by Christians rather than loved.  What does all this mean for Christians?  It  means we need to make sure we show every person in this world the kind of love that Jesus Christ showed homeless, poor, prostitutes, and tax collectors.  Especially gay  people they  perceive us as hating them which many do but we need to love them.  As the movie said you dont have to legitimate their actions to love them.  We dont have to say that being gay is ok or right but we must hate the sin and not the sinner which Christians so often get this mixed up rather they admit it or not. One person even said maybe we  should go back to calling ourselves  Christ-like instead of Christians and maybe we would remember.
I  loved the quote, "the church is the whore and also my mother."  It is so true we are so evil and unfaithful  but the church and God is still where I find my strength and will love  me not matter how many  times I leave it in the dust for something worldly.
There is also a part that talks about the relationship between government and religion.  Many good points were made on this topic in the video.  One man made a great point saying I dont think the integration of religion and government is wrong but we have to know they probably wont ever line up. Another thing to think about is a quote that said Religious freedom is the opposite of a Christian nation," just think about that one for awhile.  It's so true.  One man made me think when he asked if Jesus would be a republican or democrat and he said democrat because he saved me.  I laughed it was funny but it was a good reminder  too that we dont deserve near as much as we think we do.
Although that is  just a short overview of this jam packed movie there are a  few last quotes/ thoughts to leave you with...
      Where is Christ in the Message?
      There is always the rest to every story.
      Compassion should be given not earned.
      Loving kindness works.
Just think about these things ponder them and really let them change every aspect of your life if some of these things dont make you think about what you do and what the Church does than I dont know what will because these are powerful thought provoking ideas that stem from this movie.  It is scary to see where our faith has gone but remember the conversation starts now so begin it.

Jesus Camp

     Jesus Camp is a documentary that came out in 2006.  The video follows the lives of three kids who attend Becki Fisher's camp and revivals.  Throughout the video they express to the viewer their opinions and views of things with in the Christian church.  Some of the things they express I tend to think are positive and i agree with while others I dont; therefore, I would like to compare and contrast some of these views.  Four of the main areas I would like to look into are:

1.  Using kids

2.  God's will

3.  Brainwashing?

4.  Scared to believe

USING KIDS

     This first area of the movie is one that I tend to agree with.  I agree that kids are a great place to start when looking to the future.  Not only are they still workable and usable, they are the ones that will rise up as the next leaders of our houses, churches, and nation.  And it is the responsibility to raise their children in a way that would glorify God and that will bring him glory in the future.

GOD'S WILL

     The movie often would show them praying over things asking God to make them work.  Two specific examples are them praying over the soundboards, lights, and powerpoints telling God to make them work and another is when one of the girls was bowling she prayed that God would make it a strike.  This one point that I disagree with them on.  I think that praying in this way can be a form of not trusting God's will but rather saying you know what it is and youll tell Him instead of the other way around.  I wouldnt have a problem with a prayer stating that God's will happen over this weekend and that he would use each of the technologies to bring him the most glory or for the girl to pray that she can do her best and thank God for whatever the result.  I think that this view on God's will would be very confusing to a child.  They are raised to think that God will do whatever you tell him so what if he doesnt, is he just not powerful enough or was there a mistake in his hearing?  But if you just trust God with His will for you than you know that everything happens just the way he has planned for it to.

BRAINWASHING?

     While brainwashing could be a reasonable argument in this case I would tend to say that in a sense it is, but you have to be careful when you say this because we also tell our kids our beliefs and would want them to believe them right so are we brainwashing and just dont see it as clearly because ours isnt as extreme?   I would say that while yes we tell them what we believe and what we want them to believe we would be open to them hearing other views in the church and also even worldly views knowing that they are not always true.  I see this with the Harry Potter they say that it is a sin that will earn you a golden ticket to hell if you read or let you kids read it.  I think this is an example of them closing out the world so that no other views can enter their minds for them to think about.  So depending on the view and definition of brainwashing you use changes whether I think what they are doing is brainwashing or not.

SCARED TO BELIEVE

      This is my last and final point although I could make hundreds.  I think that at points they are scaring the children into believing, speaking in tongues, and doing other actions.  I think that one example I see of this is when Becki says that she is going to use the type on her powerpoint that looks like blood dripping from the words.  I think the video portrayed this, but maybe they really do a good job of explaining it to the kids rather than just scaring them, but there just wasnt enough time in the movie to show this.

So there are some things I agree with and others I do not but overall it is a very interesting movie to look at and think about in relation to just what all of it means and their purposes for the things they do.



    

Dont Waste Your Life...Chapter 3

BOASTING IN AN ELECTRIC CHAIR???
Sounds kind of odd right. But as Christians this is what we are called to do just its the cross, a more brutal form of punishment than the electric chair. Galatians 6:14 says tells us what our one passion in life should be and that is boasting in the cross. So you ask does that mean you boast in nothing except the cross, no but everything else you boast in must be in the cross as well.  We must first hang ourselves to that cross, make it our one true passion then from that every other thing in our life must be centered.

GALATIANS 2:20
     I have been crucified with Christ.  It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.  And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

How does it make sense that the "I" in this passage is both crucified and lived?  It doesnt make sense if you leave it at that but thank goodness God knew what he was doing and didnt leave it at that.  This "I" has something very special, he has Christ, he was crucified with Christ and has been taken over by Christ.  The "I" now lives only through the flesh of Jesus Christ the Son of God. The I that died was not covered and consumed with Christ but the one that lived is consumed and passionate about Christ.

LIVING BY FAITH
Right now in my life there are many areas that I dont completely live by faith.  I struggle at times with having control over things in my life, which means there are certain things that i would like to think that i can control whether or not we move, my call in my life and many more.  One area that I am currently doing well in is peace which is ironic that if i struggle with control how can i have peace with something I've given to God?  I think it is because once i give it to God I can have peace  but getting to the point that I can give it completely to God without trying to change it or worrying about it is were I struggle.

Walk the Aisle...

Walking the aisle is a fairly common practice in some churches and many camps.  My church is does not do altar calls, but we do go to Falls Creek and they do, so I am familiar with them to some extent, but I never knew the history of them.
This practice started long ago and and still continues today.  Originally it was designed as a way for the broken sinner to make their brokenness known and receive one-on-one consolation for it, but it has gradually become a controverserial subject.  One thing that caught my eye was Charles Finney's use of it.  Finney was convinced that it was a way in which preachers could force revival on the lost.  I disagree with this reasoning for doing it, because no one can bring revival except God.  I also think that often times a person can walk the aisle and get the false impression that saved them, also people often can be pressured into repeating the prayer the speaker says without them coming from their heart, which also can make people think that they are saved just because they said the prayer and walked the aisle.  Like I said my church does not do altar calls but I have been to situations in which they are done.  I actually have walked that aisle and this is where I can see that it was good, but I was a Christian and it was God pulling me not just pressure from the speaker which can so often be the case. It was good because it was not something I wanted to do, I did not want to draw the attention to myself, but I felt God tugging at my heart and it gave me a choice to either listen or not and it was a simple situation in which I practiced following God's call even though I didnt want to, and after doing it I received many resources relating to my call to missions in which I went down to signify.
I think that they are ok but they dont save people and I think that can be confusing to a lost person, so it must be clearly explained.  Also I dont think the preacher should put so much pressure on it that people think they have/need to do it, but that the only reason people would do it is because the LORD has convicted them.

Assignment #8

It is always interesting to look at the way the world and television shows portray the Christian faith.  The "Grill Chesus"  Glee episode was very interesting for the part I saw.  I was only able to see the second half, so I probably did not pick up on as much as I could of.  I noticed that at points some quotes would be right on but then shortly after it would be contradicted or would be changed into something a little off.  One of the quotes that I thought was really good was when the little lady playing chess said that God doesnt mess up and I agree with that but then you dont really feel that this is all taken to complete honesty.  So to answer your question I do agree with some of the points but many of them were a little off.  The grilled cheese thing for me as a Christian was kind of eye opening about the bizarre places that people find their faith and it gave me a reminder of the things people encounter and think in life and how they handle them and how I could better help them.  One final point that I was noticed as a Christian watching it was that it seemed like Kurt was turned off to Christianity because of the way Christians treated him because he was gay. I dont agree that being gay is right in any way but I think that being gay is a sin that they struggle with just like any other sin that people struggle with, and i think that if they come to get help we should help them break away from their sin.  So, I think that I would have noticed more if I had been an avid Glee watcher or if I had seen the whole show, but there were a few things about the way they portrayed Christianity and also things this secular show showed me about things we do as Christians that may need to change.