Unconditional & Return to the Hiding Place

I wanted to highly recommend two Christian movies which have just recently been released. The first is "Unconditional":

 

 

The second is "Return to the Hiding Place", which is not released on DVD yet. They are, however, doing showings throughout the U.S.A. and will hopefully soon be releasing it. It won the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival "Best Feature Film" award.

 

 

Both of these films were absolutely excellent and extremely moving, and I would highly recommend them for families with children over 13 (or at that maturity level). I am so thankful for the number of distinctly Christian films that are being released these days.

 

I will be posting my senior pictures soon. As far as the post on college goes...I will have to postpone that until I finish with my paper assignment for the online class I am taking. So, look forward to that sometime in May.

 

 

Modesty

To my sisters in Christ, please take the time to watch the video posted below regarding modesty by CJ Mahaney. It is so important to know what our brothers struggle with regarding clothing.

Snow!

I am finally getting around to posting the snow pictures I took on February 16 of this year. We had about four inches of beautiful snow. It was the first snow we have had in several years, and the first in our new home. For the Northerners and those who receive frequent snows amongst my readers, please be patient with a snow-starved Southerner! Without further ado, behold the beauty of winter wonderland:

Measuring the snow accumulation.

 

Our home in the snow. I have waited a long time for this :)

Our backyard

The sun is setting

The barns

In the morning

An old piece of cotton equipment that is on our property....absolutely stunning in the snow

The pathway to the field behind our property

The field

 

Bundled up

Samson using the coat God bestowed upon him. He looks so much like a wolf :)

I hope you enjoyed these few snippets of our life here on our little farm. I am working on a post about college and hope to share it soon, if the Lord wills.

Generational Vision

I read Isaiah 39 this morning, and it struck me particularly poignantly. In Isaiah 38, King Hezekiah is sick and dying, so he calls out to the Lord. The Lord hears his prayer, heals him, and promises him 15 more years of life. Hezekiah praises the Lord for this blessing. Then, we get to Isaiah 39, which is directly after this, as seen by "At that time". The passage reads:

"At that time Merodach-Baladan, the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. And Hezekiah was pleased with them, and showed them the house of his treasures - the silver and gold, the spices and precious ointment, and all his armory - all that was found among his treasures. There was nothing in his house or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.

Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah, and said to him, 'What did these men say, and from where did they come to you?'

So Hezekiah said, 'They came to me from a far country, from Babylon.'

And he said, 'What have they seen in your house?'

So Hezekiah answered, 'They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing among all my treasures that I have not shown them.'

Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, 'Hear the word of the Lord of hosts: 'Behold, the days are coming when all this is in your house, and what your fathers have accumulated until this day, shall be carried to Babylon; nothing shall be left,' says the Lord. 'And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.'

So Hezekiah said to Isaiah, 'The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good!' For he said, 'At least there will be peace and truth in my days.'"


The thought struck me thus:

Hezekiah had been blessed with immense wealth and prestige. He had also been given extended years. He was one of the few kings who sought the Lord, and whom the Lord bestowed favor upon. The king of Assyria, who had conquered nation after nation, threatened to attack Judah. However, because this king mocked the God of Israel, and because Hezekiah sought God's protection, the Angel of the Lord wiped out 185,000 Assyrians. Thus, they never even attempted attack upon Judah. Hezekiah had it great. There was peace and truth in Judah.

However, Isaiah prophesied that times were coming, because of the sin of Judah, when Babylon would conquer them, destroy their land, and take them into captivity. He even prophesied that Hezekiah's own sons would be slaves to the king. This was terrible news.

At least, it would seem so. But instead of tearing his clothes and donning ashes, Hezekiah said, "This prophecy sounds good." What? Good? For some reason, judgement, captivity, and destruction don't sound too good to me. So why did Hezekiah say this was "good"? Because it wasn't going to happen in his time. He would get to enjoy pleasure, peace and prosperity for the remainder of his days. Who cares about what happens down the road when I'm gone? So long as it doesn't affect my happiness and wealth, I couldn't care less. Actually, I think it is "good".

This really struck me, and honestly, convicted me. So often, I do things for the here-and-now, when in reality, my decisions and sins affect generations to come. And, then, on a wider scale, I thought about our country.

Hezekiah was king of Judah, and he had no generational vision. If the leaders of a people have no generational vision, and refuse to look to the future consequences of ideas and policies, what will happen to a nation? If the men who have the greatest capacity to influence the direction of a nation to godliness and lasting happiness only think about today, what do we have to look forward to? Well, what happened to Judah? Instead of removing the high places, Hezekiah took the path of least resistance. He gloried in his state of peace and truth, and left the nation to crumble. Judah was destroyed, and the people taken into captivity, never to be the same.

Our national debt is out the roof - over 13 trillion dollars. We revel in sin: murder of the innocent, homosexuality, pornography, profanity, and perversions of all kinds. Children are being indoctrinated in the government schools, learning "tolerance" for all but Christians. False religions are rampant. We have too many "high places" to count. The next generation will indelibly feel the full effects of this gross system of immorality, and may well have very little of a nation left to fight for. And what is our response? We want pleasure in the here-and-now more than ever before. Women shouldn't be burdened with children, in fact, society shouldn't be burdened with children. Who cares about the unimaginable debt we have already incurred for our 1.87 children per family. Let's spend more, leaving our children to figure out the solution. No need for moms and dads to teach their kids, as Scripture commands, just send them off to a God-less institution to educate them. No, we have said what Hezekiah said in the face of looming national destruction, "It sounds good."

Even in perhaps less obvious ways, we often make choices every day that negatively effect the generations to come. I know I do. It isn't as if Hezekiah was some pagan king....no, he was a godly king, and yet he still failed to realize the importance - the vital necessity - of a generational vision.

What contributes to a healthy nation in the future? A godly nation in the present. Without the Lord our God guiding us, we are incapable of preserving anything, for we ourselves, apart from Christ, are doomed to destruction. He gives us the generational vision, because He has a generational vision.

Our founding fathers understood this well. In fact, the only reason we have a nation today is because they valued this principal so highly. The well-known speech of Patrick Henry bares this out:

--- "Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?"

I know this may seem impossible, but if God is for us, who can be against us? I also know I haven't done justice to this passage, but I had to share with you a little of what I learned. I couldn't believe how much God revealed to me through this passage.

I highly recommend listening to Generations Radio, hosted by Kevin Swanson, to understand more about a multi-generational legacy. You can visit the website, here. Or, you can listen to his sermons on Sermon Audio.

We just got snow yesterday, so I can't wait to share snow pictures with y'all!

Please, please, please leave a comment with your thoughts on this important topic.

We Have a Winner!

The winner of the giveaway for the two wonderful books "Stepping Heavenward" and "Ben Hur" is Kimberly at An At Home Daughter. Congratulations!

I will be posting some Thanksgiving and family photos soon, so stay tuned!

Giveaway!

To celebrate 5,000 page views on my blog, I am doing a giveaway. Since the last topic I posted was on books - distinguishing between good and bad - I thought a suitable giveaway would be two of my favorite books. These are both Christian fiction, and absolutely excellent. The first is "Ben Hur".

 

And the second is "Stepping Heavenward".

 

 

Here are the steps to enter and also receive additional entries in the drawing:

 

1. 1 entry - Leave a comment with the title of your favorite book. Please don't forget to leave your name and blog address (if you have a blog).

 

2. 5 entries - Follow this blog.

 

3. 5 entries - Blog about this giveaway. Leave the blog address in the comment.

 

Leave a comment for each of these steps you take. The giveaway will end midnight on January 21. I will draw a name January 22 and post who won. If you entered the giveaway, please check my blog on Tuesday of next week. I will also contact you with the information given in the comment (ie: leave a comment on your blog). Good luck!

 

 

 

Should a Christian Read Mystery Novels?

After reading the entire Sherlock Holmes series, which I enjoyed immensely, I began a search for another mystery series with a similar style - deductive and logical, not gruesome or mystery-turned-horror-story. I discovered the work of Agatha Christie, the world's bestselling author and mystery writer. She wrote many of her novels in the 1930-50 era. I decided to read one of her most famous works, "The A.B.C Murders," with the famous detective Hercule Poirot and his sidekick Captain Hastings. It was an easy read, very engrossing, and pretty clean; I finished it in two days time. The content was not gruesome, and the characters had fairly good morals, excepting the bad guys. No details were crude or inappropriate, and there were only a few "mild" profanities - the book was, by today's standards, very clean indeed. And yet, when I had finished reading, something stirred within - the Lord convicted me of several things. The question arose, "Is it God-honoring for a Christian to read mysteries, especially those centering on murder?" Not, again, that the book was inherently bad or wicked, if viewed from a purely "checklist" sense. Nevertheless, the Lord showed me several points that related to this sort of reading (and honestly, any reading we chose to do).
   
     First, several Scriptures came to mind, and as I searched through the Scriptures last night, more followed.

--"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret."   ~Ephesians 5:8-12

--"He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love..."    ~Colossians 1:13

--"This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin."    ~1 John 1:5-7

As evidenced in these Scripture verses and many more, we are called, as Christians, to live in the light. The Lord reminded me that reading about dark things, dark deeds, as a form of enjoyment is a very risky business. This is certainly not to say that we are never to read about anything bad, or any bad deeds. It is also not to say that we are never to read a mystery. One must be especially careful, however, where the focus of the narrative lies. Just because the book is about how a murderer was discovered, and even punished, does not mean it doesn't have a subtle delight in darkness. If the focus is continually on gruesome details or the murder itself, then the author may very well delight in darkness. If the detective is desiring for something to occur, some crime to take place - a very big problem in "The A.B.C Murders" - then they are delighting in darkness. I really appreciated the Sherlock Holmes series in this aspect: It laid out the problem (robbery, murder, ect) and then focused mainly on the logical solution to that problem. In this way, I did not get a pervading sense of dwelling on the darkness.

     Furthermore, the way the crime/criminal is viewed plays a critical role in whether the mystery is suitable. Does the detective condone darkness? Does he sympathize with workers of iniquity? Does he use methods of darkness (robbery, for example) to come at a solution? Where Sherlock Holmes may have lacked focusing on darkness, it, in many cases, condoned it all the same. This often takes the form of excuses. "I'll let the criminal escape, though justice would forbid it, because he really loved that lady and was simply ridding her of that nasty brother of hers." Or, "He wasn't really doing a wicked thing, he was just executing vengeance for a terrible wrong done him years ago." I am, of course, not talking of situations where the justice system of a particular nationality is perverted, so that honoring God means disobeying the government. There were no cases of the sort in any of the Sherlock Holmes series or in the Agatha Christie book. If the book causes you to sympathize with or condone darkness, then it is rejoicing in darkness, and has no part in the light. The Bible says, "You shall not murder." Period. End of discussion. Furthermore, the penalty for murder is capital punishment. Numbers 35:31 says, "Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death." The Lord is a God of justice. The book should reflect this fact. If it does give the proper perspective in this area, and does not in any way condone darkness, it may be plausible. Again, I am not implying that all mysteries are bad. Many of the Sherlock Holmes challenge the mind to reason and deduce, while not perverting justice or dwelling in darkness. These may have some value.

     Another point that is of definite import, which the Lord impressed upon me, is language. Is there really such a thing as "mild" swearing? Or can we say, "Oh, but there were only a few profanities," as though the Lord's standard makes exceptions? What are the Lord's standards regarding this? Many of the verses regarding darkness, listed above, apply to this issue. Another one is Hosea 4:2, "By swearing and lying, killing and stealing and committing adultery, they break all restraint, with blood shed upon bloodshed." (emphasis mine) Swearing, in this verse, is on the same caliber as murder. Using the Lord's name in vain, often viewed as less of a problem than profanity, is even more highly condemned in Scripture: "You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless, who takes His name in vain."

     I understand how difficult it is to find books that meet this criteria, but we must be set apart, for God has set us apart.

--"But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; once who were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy."    ~1 Peter 2:9-10

--"But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly; the Lord will hear when I call to Him."    ~Psalm 4:3

I speak these things as convictions from the Lord, and I know many will disagree. It is between you and God to determine what crosses the line from light into darkness. Not all mysteries do, certainly. Please remember, however, that if the Lord reveals something like this to us, and we disobey it, we are placing that thing higher than God. We love reading this book more than we love Jesus. This is a dangerous position to be in, my dearest friends. Until you deal with this area, the Lord will not reveal another to you. He reminded me of these Scriptures also:

--"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon."    ~Matthew 6:24

--"If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor."    ~John 12:26

--"And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."    ~Joshua 24:15

I have made the commitment, however difficult, to refrain from reading anything that dwells in, condones, or uses the language of darkness. Will you join me? I will be creating a list of good books to read, both fiction and nonfiction, sometime in the future, and they will be posted on this blog by summer.

Please, please, please leave a comment. I do so enjoy hearing from you!