Digging in Deeper: 1 John 2:15-17

“Do one love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions – is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does the will of God remains forever.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

When filmmakers set about their craft, I am increasingly convinced their primary source material is the stories they grew up with. Having finally been given the opportunity by virtue of position or technology to tell and retell the stories of their childhood in a way that makes them more real, as well as to pass on a love of these stories to the next generation, they take it. This is why superhero and adventure movies generally have long been such a successful genre. Young people love them because those are the kinds of stories we are drawn to naturally as kids. Older people love them because they enjoy seeing the stories they grew up with brought to life on the big screen (and increasingly the small streaming screen). One of the latest Disney offerings is the series, Ahsoka, from the Star Wars universe. By all accounts it has been absolutely fantastic. I wouldn’t know because I haven’t watched any of it yet even though I am most excited to do so. But its release has set me on a journey that will eventually end in my watching the whole thing. This journey has been taking me through another popular entry from the Star Wars franchise which has given me the chance to reflect a bit on the worldview of Star Wars more generally. The intersection of that and the Christian worldview is what I’d like to explore for a bit with you this morning. Let’s dive in.

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Digging in Deeper: Haggai 2:12-14

“‘If a man is carrying consecrated meat in the fold of his garment, and it touches bread, stew, wine, oil, or any other food, does it become holy?’ The priests answered, ‘No.’ Then Haggai asked, ‘If someone defiled by contact with a corpse touches any of these, does it become defiled?’ The priests answered, ‘It becomes defiled.’ Then Haggai replied, ‘So is this people, and so is this nation before me–this is the Lord’s declaration. And so is every work of their hands; even what they offer there is defiled.'” (CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the principles that lies at the heart of much modern thinking about religion and morality is that good things should happen to good people, and bad things should happen to bad people. In fact, the question of why bad things happen to good people is of great enough interest that it has been the subject of more than one book-length treatment. What God communicated to the people of Israel through Haggai here doesn’t resolve the issue by any means, but it does offer some good food for thought to folks who are pondering on it.

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Digging in Deeper: John 14:6

“Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter

We want options. Lots of them. The more the better. We want cars with bells and whistles. We want television service with a million channels. We want restaurants with huge menus and buffets with over 100 items. One of the worst feelings in the world today is having no choice about something. As a result, this is one of the hardest things Jesus said. Can we make it any easier? 

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Morning Musing: 1 Corinthians 15:19

“If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter

What’s next? Do you ever wonder that? Avengers: Endgame just came out this past weekend. It completely destroyed every box office record and will likely go on to make the most money of any movie ever. It won’t be close. And, with eleven years of build-up and 22 mostly excellent movies leading up to it, that really shouldn’t come as any surprise. I’ve been waiting for it to come out since before I had kids. But now that it’s out, the question most everybody is going to be asking is this: What’s next?

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Morning Musings: Ecclesiastes 9:11

“Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Thanks to the influence of Eastern religious movements in this country, we have a fairly common phrase for when something unfortunate has happened to someone.  It comes in many forms, but the simplest (and cleanest) statement is this: “That’s Karma.”   Read the rest…