I was having a conversation with a member of my life group last night. We were talking about something unrelated to this post, but in the course of that conversation I realized something. The Christian faith has been transferred from one generation to the next by the personal witness of those who have been changed by the power of the Gospel. Continue reading “Will Hunting and the Experiences that Shape us”
Tag: From the Movies
Reflections on a Motion Picture | “Out Of Bed You Daisy Head”
The movie Sister Act is a great movie. I know there maybe some who would not agree. And that would be alright. I have watched the movie many times over the last few years. There are a couple of scenes in particular that really speak to me as it relates to faith and the living out of faith. Continue reading “Reflections on a Motion Picture | “Out Of Bed You Daisy Head””
20 Seconds Of Insane Courage
My family and I were enjoying some time together and we rented We Bought A Zoo. I have to tell you, this is not my type of movie. Not something that I would go out of my way to get, but when you have little kids you get movies that they can watch too. (Warning: Even though it is PG there is some cussing in it. So just be aware.)
The title gives away the premise of the movie and I do not want to spoil the plot because you need to get the movie and watch. But, there is a moment when the main character, Benjamin Mee, and his son, Dylan, are talking about Dylan’s crush. He has messed up and missed an opportunity to build a relationship with Lily. Benjamin’s advice was so good that I had to say something about it.
Just think about it. How long is twenty seconds? Count it off…
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That really is a lot longer than you think. And there are so many ways that we could apply this. But, the one that comes to mind is that this is plenty of time to share Jesus with someone. Something can be said that can provoke the hearer to consider someone they may never have taken seriously before.
Evangelism has never been one of my strong areas. It is something that I have to consciously work at and do. I can feel my heart rate increase, my blood pressure start to rise. I get sweaty palms and the uncontrollable urge to say something stupid. None of these things are excuse enough for me to fail in doing the single more needed thing in the life of those that do not yet know Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Twenty seconds. A small window to make a very big difference because you just never know. Just some thoughts from a pretty good movie.
Word to the Wise | “Carpe Diem”
In the movie Dead Poets Society, Robin Williams played a literature teacher in an all boys’ school. Mr. Williams wanted the students to learn from the lessons of history the dead poets wrote about. His message? Carpe Diem—Live the Present.
Mr. Williams’ point was that TODAY is the only day we have. The dead poets had their day and their say. Dwelling on the errors of the past, or fretting about the unknown future is a hindrance to our enjoyment of God’s gift for today. We can live with an eternal purpose (Seek God’s Kingdom), or we can live for a temporary purpose (self aggrandizement). When we seek God’s kingdom, God will work for us. When we seek our own aggrandizement, we are on our own. I suggest that we:
Learn from the past. Plan for the future. But, for goodness sakes, live today for God as if it was your last one on this earth.
Carpe Diem.
Pastor Luis Scott
Ambassadors of Christ Fellowship
(03/05/09)
Word to the Wise | “The Need for Single Mindedness”
In the movie The Last Samurai we find a scene in which Tom Cruise is fighting an expert samurai with a wood sword. He is getting beaten by the expert even though he had demonstrated progress. The son of the hero in the movies tells Tom Cruise: “You have too many minds.” He meant to say that Cruise was not focused. He was thinking about the opponent, the crowd, himself, etc., but that he was not focusing on the task at hand—to win.
The Bible says that a “double minded man is inconsistent in ALL his way” (James 1:8). In this passage James is specifically making reference to the person who prays with doubt. That is, they are not sure that their prayers will be answered. He is double minded.
We can have double-mindedness in many areas of our lives. A person, for example, may believe that he should attend church on Sunday, but they also enjoy sleeping until noon on Sundays, or they prefer to watch a movie, or just relax looking at the lake. Regardless of their purpose, as long as we prefer more than one thing at a time, we will have the tendency to choose the least beneficial.
The solution to double mindedness is singleness of purpose. To finish the previous example: In our house there is no debate whatsoever regarding Sunday morning. On Sunday morning we will go to church because that is what the Scott family does. It is the most beneficial and connects us with God.
Pastor Luis Scott
Ambassadors of Christ Fellowship
(03/02/09)