Baring the Cross before 18

I recently found an RP from when I was actually still a teen. It was about a video game I gave (and still sometimes) a lot of my attention to. Attention that by the time I graduated High School I felt guilty for expending. You see the thing was we give so much of our attention to worldly things we forget about God. But that’s not the story here today, the story I’m trying to convey is that God is HERE amongst us. Moving through us. The Holy Spirit is a very alive and real part of who we are as Christians. We think of the Father as the large overseer on a cloud. The Son is very real to us, the Middle-Eastern carpenter who DIED on a tree for US (I just realized the irony of a carpenter dying on a tree but that is a whole nother blog post). But who is the “Holy Spirit”. Well it’s action is the Breath of God. Think about that... OK admittedly you are wondering what this has to do with Video Games. Well I went of on that tangent to explain about divine influence, yes, even over our video games. Kingdom Hearts has a story that mirrors the Christian Walk very closely, From A King who Made a sacrifice (who thought the little mouse had it in him) to a weapon that expels darkness (The Word of God is a Key if you think about it) and Love being the greatest power of all. (1 Corinthians 13) You see something that I thought I put too much of my time and effort into has the ability to be turned around and expose the Story of God in allegory. In fact the Bible is made up of a massive amount of metaphor. In fact Jesus himself spoke in parables that were stories that made his heavenly knowledge a little more Accessible. He told these stories to the general public, and then he explained their deeper meanings to his disciples in private. When you connect to people on the level they are familiar with, it is possible to help them see what you see. The infallible and undeniable love and grace of God. Ad so much more. So very Much More.

God is LOVE, remember that in a world seemingly trumped by hate that love conquers all. God knew you as he formed you in your mothers womb. He knew you ask you took your first steps. He knew you through your break ups. He knew you as you got your first job. And he'll know you when you stand before him. Because he first loved us. While it may seem like we are subjected to his wrath remember that if he didn't discipline us we would go right back to our old ways. God made us special and he loves us very much. And honestly that's all I need to keep going.

Faith like this is trying. Sometimes it's hard to whole heartedly put all you trust in a God you haven't seen. When science and reason and naysayers fill you with doubt. To give up your very real problems to a God who we fail to realize is very real in and of himself. The way seems dark but there is an ever present hope. The King of all kings knows your burdens and will help you if you take up his burden. Give up your inhibitions. Stop getting in your own way. Stop over thinking the miraculous power of God's unfailing love and infinite mercy. He's more than enough And at the end of the day our problems will be dwarfed by his love.

So my inconsistent posting nature may lead you to be ignorant to my blog writingsforchrist where I plan to write many kinds of Christian fiction. This includes but it's not limited to, original works (Disciples:Signs and Wonders), fanfiction (Harry Potter and the Crucified King), and poems. Now on that note I'm thinking about making a story about pokemon because i was thinking about how much time i waste on these games and how that time could be turned over to Christ. Well, in the future i hope to write a series of short novels (with accompanying parenting/teaching guides) that will help Christians tackle mainstream secular media with a Jesus oriented message mixed in for good measure. Think about if everytime you saw adorable yellow mice you thought of God... Radical right?

It might seem silly to consider that the savior of the world rose after 3 days of being 100% dead. Some have even taken it as far as to say this makes him a zombie. What they fail to realize is that the walking dead isn’t Jesus. It’s Us. Before Christ died we were slaves to our baser instincts. We are committed to our flesh. We spend our lives satisfying urges that Jesus showed through his life that we can overcome. The blood of Jesus rectified the covenent God had with man and allows us to be reborn. Not raised from the dead as brainless monsters obsessed with Flesh, but as Born Again People living with the light of the Holy Spirit within us. So it’s less of iZombie, and more of White Lantern Corps.

It's entirely too easy to take God for granted. We put him into a bottle and treat him akin to a genie. However God can do so much more than any petty Djinn could ever do. Remember how The Genie portrayed by Robin Williams listed in one of his rules that he can't bring anyone back from the dead? Guess what, God's been doing it for like ever. And while the most famous one is His Son Jesus Christ, we shouldn't forget the resurrections he's doing every day. Yeah, you read right, God is bringing the dead to life every day. When you pronounce that Jesus is Lord, and sincerely believe that God came to earth as a man to die on the cross for Your sins, you die. You die to the person who began that prayer. You die to your sinful nature. Suddenly you aren't the ragged vagabond who worshiped their own flesh. You die on that cross with Jesus and are reborn again as someone brand new. Now don't get me wrong you don't become perfect. But God now sees you as spotless because you are. And when you commit to Jesus he changes you everyday. This freedom, this mercy, this Love is unparalleled. God made you special, and He Loves you very much.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1‭-‬3 NIV

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:8‭-‬10 NIV

Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 1 Timothy 4:13‭-‬15 NIV