Superman Returns (2006)

Look, Up In The Sky. It’s A Bird. It’s a Plane. It’s Superman!

Something is wrong on planet Earth. The world is turned upside down and  people from every walk of  life are looking for someone to fix it. People are looking for a super man.

Regardless of whether the crisis embodies the failures of the public school system or our looming economic and social collapse, our 21st century problems seem so insurmountable  that only a super man can solve them. The documentary Waiting for Superman (2010) by Davis Guggenheim and Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns (2006) both echo an age old, oft-repeated collective cry for help.

We’ve Been Here Before

Every major catastrophe — Europe’s Black Death, the Civil War, the Holocaust, World Wars I & II, 9/11, the Sumatran tsunami — has revealed the character of two types of people: those who hang their heads in despair and those who look up to God for answers and guidance.

Ironically, as the world twists itself into a ball of societal and political confusion, humanity is unwittingly setting the stage for a coming world leader who will ultimately be its collective undoing.

We are  shallow, superficial creatures who regard “image” as everything. Empty slogans elect “leaders.”  We listen to  Hollywood celebrities to tell us how to dress, how to think, how to live. The blind are leading the half-blind. It is a very carnal, fleshly way of life.

In the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel, the contrast is drawn between the flesh and the spirit. The embodiment of this comparison can be seen in the lives of two kings: Saul and David.

But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. 1 Samuel 16:7 NKJV

The nation of Israel wanted so much to be like the other nations who had kings that they ignored the warnings of God through the prophet Samuel. The main deception involved Saul’s looks – tall, dark & handsome.  Saul “looked” like a king. But he was ultimately rejected by God because he was a man of the flesh and did things his way.

Saul Tries to Kill David by Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld

David, the shepherd boy, grew up to become the anointed king with a heart for God. This love was evident in the way he responded in crisis and in the way he worshiped. While both David and Saul were sinners by nature, David understood his sinfulness and his life displayed a pattern of humility and repentance before God. David’s ultimate destiny in the resurrection will be to rule his people once more in Israel during the thousand year reign of Christ.

Saul was an impetuous, self-centered king who had little regard for the ways of God.  His life ended tragically on Mt. Gilboa.

The Coming World Leader in an Age of Deception

Yes, the world is crying out for a savior.  Not to save them from sin, but  one who will promise a  utopian, enlightened existence on a planet free of  war, bad economies, archaic rules, God, and narrow minded Christians.

The coming world leader will look good, speak well, be charismatic and have all the answers. He will be simultaneously in place of  (misrepresenting, counterfeiting)  and against (in opposition to) the true messiah whose first appearance was just over 2,000 years ago. The world is ripe for this Man of Sin.

Let no man deceive you by any means; for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that Man of Sin be revealed, the Son of Perdition. 2 Thessalonians 2:3

The Bible goes out of its way not to give a physical description of Jesus. But we do find this in the book of Isaiah:

For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form or comeliness; and when we shall see him, [there is] no beauty that we should desire him. – 1769 Oxford King James Bible ‘Authorized Version

Antichrist’s  characteristics are the polar opposite:

Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 2 Thessalonians 2: 9-12

The Protestant Reformed Churches in America website explains Antichrist preferred method of communication – the lie:

Antichrist goes about his business by speaking the lie. II Thessalonians 2 says that he comes “…with all deceivableness of unrighteousness.” Revelation 13:12  says, “and he spoke as a dragon….”Revelation 17  tells us that he was a false prophet, a prophet being one whose calling it is to speak and to teach.

The armies of the world may have guns and tanks and bombs to bring people into submission; but the power of speech and ideas is a mighty power. In his initial attempts to destroy the cause of God, the devil used a serpent to deceive the woman with crooked speech: “You will be like God.” Now he uses a “dragon” who speaks crafty, lying words. His speeches will be heard by millions who will hang on his persuasive rhetoric. The content as well as the form of his speech will attract. Like most false prophets, he will even be sincere and passionate. But he is a liar. He adds dashes of truth to the mix, so that his lie tastes like truth. He will use all the right catchwords, using the language of the church, even throwing in a Bible text or two. But he is the ultimate Liar, and will deceive many.

He will use every tool available: school teachers, politicians, news broadcasters, artists, musicians, scientists and doctors, lawyers and businessmen. All will be pressed into the service of Antichrist to deceive men. But especially he will use those whose calling it is to persuade and to teach — men who claim to be preachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

What is this message that has such power to deceive? What is it that is preached by the now-apostate churches once rooted in true Christianity, that stirs up mankind to this ecumenical worship? What gospel will attract the hordes of men and women? What good news will knit the souls of such diverse peoples and nations and tongues?

The gospel of Antichrist is humanism — the happiness of man, the glory of man, the peace and prosperity, the health and wealth of man. The number of the beast, do not forget, is 6-6-6, the number of man.

We live in an age of deception. And its getting worse by the day. Who can trust the mainstream American media to report news that is unbiased and apolitical? Who can trust that Congress will abide by the rule of law as outlined in the Constitution? And its going to get worse before it gets better. But there is hope. His name is Jesus Christ.

In the book of Matthew, Jesus holds a private briefing with his disciples who want to know what will be the sign of his coming (again) at the end of the age.

4Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,^a’ and will deceive many. 6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains.

9“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

30“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. Matthew 24 [NIV]

The Son of Man – The True Super Man

Christ on the Cross by Francisco Zurbaran (1627)

Chuck Missler is fond of describing the Bible as a love letter, written in blood on a wooden cross in Judea. The Lamb slain from the foundation of the world is Jesus Christ. His blood sacrifice in our place (atonement) is sufficient to cover the sins of the entire world. Unfortunately only a very few will by faith avail themselves to this “cure” for sin. They will choose to embrace the counterfeit.

Who will you choose?

Is the Book of Eli in the Bible?

That’s the question my brother asked during a recent visit. To be honest, his question caught me off guard.

You see, our conversations about Jesus or anything even remotely related to the Bible have always ended in ridicule,  sarcasm and a touch of animosity -- with me being the target of it all. Since our talks have only scratched the surface of his spiritual belief system, I have no idea of what he thinks will happen a nanosecond after he crosses over into eternity. For all I know he has made plans to be buried with Oprah in a giant sarcophagus.
Oprah Invites Hundreds Of Lucky Fans To Be Buried With Her In Massive Tomb

Yet, the fact that he asked if the Book of Eli was in the Bible gives me hope.  I have come to believe that it’s not the people who mock or ridicule my faith that I should be concerned about; it’s those who never say a word who are the ones in the most danger of dying without Christ.

An Epistle, Known and Read of  by All Men

The IMDB synopsis of The Book of Eli describes Denzel Washington’s character as “a mysterious man who walks around a destroyed world carrying a book he believes can save humanity.”  Eli spent 30 post-apocalypic years reading and studying the Bible. By the time Eli reaches his destination, he has ingested enough Bible to dictate scripture word for word from Genesis to Revelation.

It was Eli’s dedication to God’s word that led him to commit the entire Bible to memory. Those of us who call ourselves followers of Christ are often sorely lacking in Bible knowledge. You would be shocked at the number of professing Christians who have never even read the Bible all the way through from Genesis to Revelation.

Why is Bible study important? Because we are being “read” every day by our family, friends, co-workers, and strangers. When our actions don’t match our profession, how can we possibly expect others to even want to know God? The only way our actions have any hope of matching our profession is if we operate from a foundation of sound doctrine. That can happen only when we spend time with God meditating (chewing) on His word.

The Book of  (your name here)

So, what are people reading when they look at you? At me? In all honesty my “book” started out as a tragedy. The first chapters cover 30 years of misery. There was a lot of lying, stealing, cheating -- you name it. Then, the plot thickened. Jesus Christ pursued and won me at 31. The tide turned. The princess was rescued and became engaged to her King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

But The Book of Brenda is far from over. There are others that need to be told about the King who is coming so they too can experience their own personal happy endings, new beginnings and forever be in the Lord’s presence.

My friends, the Bible is a book that can save humanity. But you have to read it and meditate on it and pray for the Holy Spirit to give you the wisdom to understand it. Then, by faith, you act on what you’ve learned. Line upon line, precept on precept, here a little, there a little. It all takes time.

But the beautiful thing about this process is that no matter how many times you journey through those 66 books, God will always have a fresh word for you. It is an eternal book written in eternity.

How will your book end?

It’s Not What Happens in Life – It’s How You React That Matters

I have been fired from 4 jobs since I became a Christian. The first time it happened, my employer framed it as “not renewing my contract.”  The second & third occurrences were “budget cuts.” The last time was the result of an ugly outburst stemming from my refusal to do something that I thought was unethical.

The issue here is not the firings per se, but rather my reaction to each event.  These events occurred over a span of 16 years. During the time of the first incident, I called a contract attorney to advise me of my rights. After the last incident in which my boss flew into a rage and fired me on the spot, I smiled and said “God bless you”,  gathered my things and chose not to gossip about it or try to vindicate myself.

By choosing to keep my mouth shut, I was able to clearly see God’s hand in directing my steps. My choice to keep it to myself also softened my heart and enabled me to forgive.

A Cross and A Yoke

Our human desire is to avoid suffering at all costs.  We also demand immediate vindication when wronged.  But for all of us who call ourselves followers of Jesus Christ, there is this issue of covenant integrity.

This church age covenant with God carries with it a pledge to deny ourselves. As a partner with God, I am told to deny all wrong desires that hinder God’s purpose for my life.

When Jesus asked us to take up our cross and follow him, he was not being poetic. When he asked us to take his yoke upon us and learn from him, the Lord was showing us that as we accept the burdens, adversities, and realities of evil that exist in this world – and respond with Biblical doctrine  – we would be able to live a life of integrity.

Since our learning will extend beyond this temporal life, we are to exercise our will in line with doctrine and react to life’s challenges in ways that are mostly counter intuitive and require positive volition.

The Nature of the Cross

The true cross is not a shiny trinket to be worn around our necks. It cost Christ in blood, sweat and tears. It was a 6 hour struggle of cosmic proportion during which his body, soul and spirit suffered.

Corpus Hypercubis by Salvador Dali

Lambert Dolphin has written a provocative piece on exactly what happened on the cross in space-time:

When contemplating what really took place on the cross in the divine transaction between God the Father and God the Son, we must not think of the sufferings of Christ, terrible as they were (beyond our comprehension), as if they were constrained to a “mere” (endurable) three hours of absolute time.

Human beings are basically spirits, and spirits are connected to the eternal dimension. Jesus was not like us in another sense: He had known no sin and suffered the additional revulsion and destruction of being changed from a perfect man into a loathsome, repulsive creature God could not look upon. He became sin by absorbing evil into his own person.

In Authentic Christianity, Ray Stedman makes note of the phrase “the Lamb that was slain from before the creation of the world”:

Now the cross occurred at a precise moment of history. We know when the Lamb of God was slain. But the Bible says it occurred before the foundation of the world. How can a historical event which occurred at a certain spot on earth, in the biblical reckoning be said to have occurred before the earth was even made?

The passage does not say that the Lamb was foreordained to be slain before the foundation of the world, but it says he was actually slain then. Surely it means that the cross was an eternal event, taking place both in time and eternity. In time, it is long past; in eternity, it forever occurs.

Another profound result of the atonement is articulated by Arthur Custance in Time and Eternity: Creation and the Theory of Relativity:

God strikes from the record those occasions of failure and disobedience and judgment which eternity might have otherwise recorded to the discredit of each one of us, that even the times which occupied them are eliminated also, as though they had never been.

It is as though God would never give to our enemies or to Satan the opportunity of asking what were we then doing. There will be no “thens” except those which have been redeemed and for which we will gladly render an account.

The wasted times will not be on record to bear witness against us; they will have ceased to exist. But they will not merely have been removed out of hand they will have been purchased.

There are times which we can redeem (Ephesians 5:16), but those which we cannot redeem, the Lord will have redeemed for us.

The Ascension of Christ - Salvador Dali

Spiritual Maturity & Self Esteem

The way to achieve the spiritual maturity and self-esteem made possible by the cross of Christ is through self-denial. Self-denial is not something we can accomplish on our own, in our natural strength. It can only be achieved through the  knowledge of and obedience to God’s Word (Biblical doctrine) by the power of the Holy Spirit.

On the way to developing spiritual maturity, you will have to resist the urge to assassinate someone’s character. You will have to struggle against trying to vindicate yourself. You won’t demean and belittle people because they don’t share your politics.  You won’t try to retaliate against your boss because she fired you. You learn how to cast your care upon God; the ultimate vindicator of those who love him.

Spiritual maturity is a grace entitlement that is settled and established in the plan of God and put on display in a culture that has no place for divine viewpoint.

As I mature in my Christian walk, I develop a spiritual self-esteem rooted in joy and happiness. Bible doctrine makes me aware of who I am in Christ, helps me accept my covenant responsibilities and develops an inner sense of destiny.

It will cost you something when you take your cross and follow the Lord. But, in an age of negative volition, the life that pleases God will be a life of integrity, substance, peace and joy that will stretch out into the ages to come.

First, they act appalled when non-Christians smoke pot, curse, have sex outside of marriage, live together without being married, drink and – you name it. Secondly, they cower into a fetal position whenever a non-Christian mocks or challenges their faith.

I don’t understand why we would expect people to act contrary to their nature. If the Bible is true – and it is – we should accept that people who have not been born again will behave like their father. Like father like son (or daughter).

1 John 3:10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

John 8:44
You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and stayed not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

This is not to say that Christians never do any of this.  We do. But the difference lies in the fact that we have chosen to put our faith in Christ’s redemptive act on the cross. Chuck Missler describes this act as a love story written in blood on a wooden cross, erected in Judea two thousand years ago.

Once a person is born again, the vestiges of that old sin life will begin to fall off over time as we cooperate with the Holy Spirit. We won’t have to “try” so hard to “be good.”  As God works through the Spirit to transform us into children of light, righteous living becomes as natural as walking.

Knowing this, we should be bold as a lion in sharing the truth of the Gospel, no matter what the cost. If we believe that people who die in their sin will spend an eternity in hell, what does it matter if we are called names or ridiculed a work?

I am convinced that people are looking for a faith that is real; an authentic faith in Jesus Christ that has the power to do the miraculous. Friends, you may be the only gospel your friends and family will ever read. Are you giving them a politically correct version of the Gospel,  or are you courageous enough to tell the truth – regardless of the consequences?

This world is passing away. It is like a vapor. All the more reason to take as many people to Heaven with us as we can. Please think about this the next time you excuse yourself by saying it’s not polite to discuss “religion” with people who don’t share your beliefs.

True Christianity is more than a religion. It is a meaningful relationship with the Most High God and carries with it the grace gift of eternal life.

Make it like it was
The way it used to be
When I hungered for Your love constantly

Make it like it was
It was easier for me
I know You’re able to make it like it was
Written by: Carvin Winans

I can tell when I’m off track spiritually. That’s when I am most prone to misinterpret my surroundings.

Take the song “Make It Like It Was” – a Billboard 100 hit for Regina Belle in 1990. At the time I was living life as a carnal Christian and I thought this was a beautiful love song. I was half right.

A few years later the song popped up on my iPod and I listened with different ears. To be honest, it shocked me to realize that the person Regina Belle was singing to wasn’t the man of her romantic dreams, but God.  How could I have been so wrong?

Losing your first love

When the Apostle John was a captive on the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea, he was “in the Spirit on the Lord’s day and began to see visions.”  These  revelations were given to him by the Lord Jesus through an angel.

"St. John the Evangelist on Patmos" by Titian

The first part of the book of Revelation (the unveiling of Jesus Christ) is specifically addressed to the seven churches of Asia Minor. They were selected because they not only represented churches that existed in that day (around 95 A.D.) but were also representative of all churches throughout history; the entire “church age” from beginning to end.

Although John received revelations about what was to precede the Second Coming of Christ, the title of this last book of the Bible is singular: Revelation. It is all about Jesus Christ, and it is his self-revelation; given to him by God the Father to reveal to his servants.

The Lord had something specific to say to each church. I am focusing on the church at Ephesus because Jesus describes it as the church that had left its “first love.”

It’s interesting because this was also a church Christ commended for its deeds, hard work and perseverance. But, as the late Pastor Ray Stedman observed:

These Christians were activists. They were not couch potatoes. They took their faith seriously and they put it to work. They witnessed; they labored; they ministered to human needs. They helped the downcast and ministered to the homeless and outcasts of society. They were busy people, continually working, and our Lord commends them for that.

Map: 7 Churches of Revelation

Second, their doctrine was orthodox. Jesus commends them highly for this: “I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles, but are not, and have found them false.”

Their faith was well defined and well defended. They did not run after every theological fad that came along. They examined them as to whether or not they were true.

They checked up on what was being taught and they strongly opposed some of the teaching that was being presented by some of the itinerant speakers of that day.

But still, the thing the Lord had against this church was that it had left its first love.

At a certain time you would find me on my knees
asking You to supply all my brother’s needs

Now it seems the needs are a secondary thing
And it truly makes me wonder what’s really happening

Make it like it was
The way it used to be
When I hungered for Your love constantly

Make it like it was
It was easier for me
I know You’re able to make it like it was

The Ephesians were warned to repent and do the first things or the Lord would remove their lamp stand; their light. They would no longer be salt & light to the culture around them.

Now when I compare, there’s really no comparing
I just want it the way it used to be

Just the thought of living without Your love
Makes me ask that You make it like it was

This is what happens to us – to me – when we veer away from the first things we did as new Christians. When I was first born again in 1985, I couldn’t get enough of the Lord. I couldn’t wait to get home to open my Bible and find out more about who he is and why he loves me so much.  I couldn’t help but tell everyone about him because I had never experienced unconditional love before. And I smiled a lot. It’s what you do when you’re in love.

Then, after a while, we start to drift. Ray Stedman explains the process:

There are always symptoms, signs, of this happening. Here are three of them: The first one, visible at first only to the individual, is the loss of the joy and glow of Christian life. It soon becomes humdrum and routine. You begin to feel like you have heard it all already. Even the church service loses its impact. It seems mechanical, routine, dull and drab. That is a sign you are beginning to lose your first love.

Second, you lose your ability to love others. One of the great revelations of the Scripture is that the reason we love others is because we have first been loved ourselves. When we lose that consciousness of the wonder of Jesus’ love we also lose our awareness of others and find our love for them fading. It is difficult to love.

Then, third, we lose a healthy perspective of ourselves. We become more and more important in our thinking. Instead of what the Lord wants and what will please him we begin to think of what we want and what will please us. Gradually, we become sensitive and touchy, unable to bear criticism. This begins to make divisions and often schisms in a congregation. Individuals in the church are no longer interested in evangelism. They are no longer concerned about those around them without Christ, but are focused on themselves, their own comfort, their own pleasure. Self-centeredness sets in.

What’s the cure?

Just do what you did in the beginning, and you will re-ignite the flames of passion for the Lord – your first love. Once the fellowship returns, the world will right itself and it will be like it was before you left your first love – Christ.

John 3:16

Make it like it was the way it used to be
When I hungered for Your love constantly

Make it like it was
It was easier for me
I know You’re able to make it like it was

Make it like it was

Dear Pastor,

I have been attending your church for several years now. Your sermons have really entertained me. Every Sunday I have left service with a smile on my face and a skip in my step. But that feeling doesn’t last and I sense that something is wrong.

During the week I try to maintain a positive attitude, but sometimes life just gets too hard to cope with and I don’t know what to do. The economy has me scared that I will lose my job. There is tension in my marriage and my children don’t even want to go to church any more. They say it is pointless. I am finding it hard to argue with that.

At this stage of my Christian walk I should know how to live out my faith in a practical, effective way. I should know what it means to engage in spiritual warfare. I should know what to do in a crisis; but I don’t.  When things get hard I just fall apart. To be honest, part of the reason I feel so helpless is because I never learned these things in church.

I mean no disrespect Pastor. I am just being honest with you. I know that it is my responsibility as a follower of Christ to read my Bible and to obey God. I know I am supposed to know how to answer skeptics when they challenge my faith. I don’t know how to do any of that. If I am being completely honest with you, I don’t even know what’s in the Bible because we never actually pick it up on Sunday mornings. We “watch” Bible verses on the big screen. I couldn’t find Obadiah if you paid me.

Don’t get me wrong. Your sermons are great. I love hearing those funny anecdotes about your family and how it ties in to a scripture verse. The problem is, you never teach the word of God. You never ask us to pick up the Bible and go through it line by line, verse by verse.

I have tried reading scripture at home, but some of the ancient stuff in the Old Testament sounds archaic. Frankly, the God of the Old Testament sounds like an angry God. The New Testament is easier to read, but I still don’t understand how to take God’s words from 2,000 years ago and apply them to a 21st century life. You’ve never taught us how to do that.

I could go on, but I think you get my drift. Pastor, could you please – from now on – just teach us the Bible? If we could start in Genesis and go through it word by word and line by line it would really help me.

If you could explain the Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic root words as you go along, then at least I could leave church with meat instead of milk. And please, please help me understand Heaven and Hell. Are they real and how can I know for sure?

The Heavely Hosts by Gustave Dore

What about Adam & Eve and how their sin in the garden that was in Eden affects the world – and me – today?  What is sin? We hear about it a lot in church but no one has really explained it.  Is there anything to learn from all of those genealogies in the Bible?

Temptation and Fall of Eve by William Blake

Like I said Pastor, I mean no disrespect. I’m just frustrated. I don’t mean to blame you. I just need help.

Love,
A Frustrated Lamb