Man of the Year

So, my wife and I watched the movie, "Man of the Year" last night. It has Robin Williams as a political satirist who runs for president and accidentally wins. The fact is, it seems a little absurd but what he does and says in the movie is everything that it seems the American people want to hear out of a presidential candidate. He's honest and isn't subject to lobbyists or special interest groups. He actually wants to listen to the people and stop repaying campaign contribution favors. It reminds me that recently in South Carolina they passed some intense legislation requiring insurance companies to cover treatment for autism. It was passed by their houses and then, vetoed by the governor. Then, the veto was unanimously overriden by the congress of that state. Whose name is "mud" at the end of that scenario. Gov. Perry just signed similar but less intense legislation in TX but was really expected to veto it. It was rumored he was being lobbied heavily by the "Big Business" reps. What sucks, is that the movie is right. A lot of politicians get in bed with these lobbyists and have to deliver favors in the end; things that are not in the best interest of the people. It seems that the last few presidential elections are routines of picking the lesser of two evils. Why can't we actually have a candidate that we might consider the, "Man of the Year." Maybe the people that would fit those qualifications don't want to tarnish their reputation by becoming president.

Matthew/Mark

So, I wanted to put a post about this while it was still pretty fresh in my brain. I've finished reading Matthew and am moving on to the book of Mark. It's an interesting transition. The things that stand out to me in Matthew are all the parables telling the same thing; you have to be ready at all times and the repetition of being put out where there is, "weeping and gnashing of teeth." I've gotten through the first three chapters of Mark, now, and Mark just really jumps into the adult life of Christ. He also tells some of the same stories as Matthew and the same references to Jesus being able to read the thoughts of the Pharisees and asking them if it is easier to do good or evil on the Sabbath or if it is easier to tell someone their sins are forgiven or to actually heal them. A lot of this is familiar because they're used over and over again. There is one underlying theme, though, that I've just picked up on in my reading. It's the impression the people have about Jesus. In the first chapter or two of Mark and I can remember seeing it in Matthew, the people listen to Jesus and think of him as someone whom actually speaks with authority, "not like the teachers of the law." So, he speaks to them in a way that they have never heard AND they can tell that, by the way he speaks, that there is something really special about his relationship with God. Also, I'm sure because of this impression, he's turned into a superstar. Maybe that's the origin of "Jesus Christ: Superstar." Anyway, it talks in Matthew and already in Mark about how big the crowds were and how hard it was just to get near Jesus or even see him. It talks about him having to, not necesssarily flee the crowd, but having to keep himself moving and finding different places in order to be able to speak to them. Some of the imagery, to me, conjures up the media and fans swarming the entertainment stars of today so much that they can't hardly move, go out in public or, at times, even leave their house. That's Jesus. Why can't we be like that today? He may not be in bodily form today but that doesn't stop the Elvis "freaks" or any of the other fanatics who "worship" their dead heroes; and Jesus isn't dead he's alive! Do we have him as our background on our desktop? Do we have a Jesus screensaver? This train of thought reminds me of a book I read parts of a few years back called, Jesus Freaks. It's a book about Christian martyrs. I highly recommend it.

Interesting Information

Those of you who blog, may or may not know about a thing called Analytics. It's a neat little thing that you can set up for your blog that tracks how often people visit your blog and where they are located. Since this blog is new, hardly anyone knows about it but I checked my Analytics today and noticed that I have quite a few visits from Henderson, TX. I was telling my wife and she noticed she had the same thing. We can't remember if we even know anyone from Henderson. So, whoever you are, leave us a comment and let us know what has attracted you to our blogs. We'd love to find out.

The Great Game of Red Rover

So, I was reading Matthew 20 earlier. There's a lot of interesting things in this chapter, including the mother of James and John(not Irene) asking Jesus for her sons to sit at his left and right hand in the kingdom. It was in this section that Jesus reiterated his statement, "So the last will be fitst, and the first will be last"(Matt. 20:16). It's funny because this always makes me think of a line that you stand in, like a lunch-line at school. The last will be first, so, the last person in line gets to move to the front and the first person to the end. Anyway, today has changed forever in my mind what my impression is of this "line." It's not a front-to-back line but a side-to-side line like in the game, Red Rover. We've all joined hands and are calling to those on the other side, "Red Rover, Red Rover let _______ come over!" As we show each non-believer that our bond is unbroken and add them to our team, our team rejoices for each that we have added to our number. We added another to our number this morning at our church. A member of our church baptized his daughter and the church rejoiced with smiles, applause and I even witnessed a sweet tear of joy. May we keep calling them and adding them to our number!

Matthew 11&12

So, I was reading these chapters of the gospel, Matthew, earlier. It's really interesting to see the main two points that Jesus makes in these chapters. First of all, he talks about John the Baptist who is in jail at this time. He essentially says that John is the best there is on earth. At the same time, he says that the least in Heaven is better than John. So, what does that make us? He also begins his teaching of the Pharisees what it really means to follow God. He's trying to show them the downfall of their dogma. What I also see is this stubborness of the Pharisees that, even though they see him perform miracles, their answer is a plot to kill him. It reminds me of the Catholic conspiracy theorist of this age that say that the Catholic Church would get rid of anyone who might try to discredit the deity of Christ. That even if there were proof, they would deny this so as to hold on to their power. An interesting parallel there that makes it not so far fetched. Of course, for me, I feel Christ too much in my heart for there to ever be proof that he did not do the things he did and IS not who he proclaimed to be. Food for thought.