The God of 'Exodus: Gods and Kings'

I recently saw Ridley Scott's Exodus: Gods and Kings. It's been getting a lot of flack lately from its decision to bring together an all-white lead cast to its portrayal of God.

Yes, the movie strays far from the Biblical source. For example, there's a lot of focus on the Pharaoh Ramses's love for his young baby boy. But there was one scene in the movie that really got to me. And that was in the aftermath of the 10th plague brought onto the Egyptians. (Will this count as a spoiler?) After Death kills the firstborn of every Egyptian household, Ramses, holding the dead limp body of his son, confronts Moses.

Ramses: Is this your God?! Killer of children?!

Sitting there in the theater I thought, "Ouch. Way to leave in the 'ugly side' of the whole story..."

Then today I came across this blog article. Excerpt below, but just go and read the whole article.

I never asked anyone these questions back then. I don’t think most Christians do. We don’t want to rock the boat. Maybe sometimes we’re afraid of the answer. We concentrate on the Gospels and letters to the Romans, take snippets from the nicer Psalms and embroider them on throw pillows. We skim over the “bad” stuff, the stuff we don’t understand, the stuff that doesn’t fit our modern sensibilities, until we almost forget it’s there. And then, when someone like Ridley Scott throws it up on the big screen for all of us to see, it hurts us — not so much because Scott made it up, but because he didn’t.

Soul Earthquake

Read this blog post: Soul Earthquake

I read it, and it shook me a little bit as I've been trying to figure out what to do about work, seminary classes, and ministry. One thing is clear. I love my life. And it terrifies me. Actually, not really. I might be slightly ashamed of my life. My life is comfortable. I love my wife and dog. My job pays well and has little-to-no stress. My home is cozy and pretty much has everything I want/need. And church stuff is going along well enough. I want to do and give more for the service of God and people. But I am not terrified enough of my lovely life to make any drastic changes that would upend what I have now. I am content...

Break

After 3 months, I'm done with my first official seminary class. 60 more credits to go...

Time to take a break for a couple weeks..before I start History of Christianity 2. The Protestant Reformation!

Winter is coming. All men must die.

The pictures above of a field of sunflowers were taken while apple picking at Seven Ponds Orchard. Too depressing? I'll end this post off with the next picture. Jovi is holding string beans!

Desiring God National Conference 2014

Jovi and I were excited because this would be the first time that we'd attend a conference like this with just the two of us. From Friday to Sunday, there was a lot of love for God's Word and especially for Romans 8, which, in John Piper's opinion, speaks of the greatest joy in the greatest chapter from the greatest book (i.e. the Bible) in the world.

From the Friday night session

Praise with Shane & Bethany Barnard

I hope they record an album together soon.

Saturday was 3 sessions of this. A lot of multi-coloured circling, connecting lines, and squigglies.

Take your pick...

In the Exhibit Hall were a bunch of really old Bibles that were just there, out in the open, to be touched. I touched this one.

On Sunday, between the closing of the conference and our flight back to NY, we had a lot of time. So we went to the Mall of America! (What else was there to do in Minneapolis, MN?) And inside the mall was Nickelodeon Universe, a pretty legit amusement park! I was very impressed. Only in America....wow!

Christianity's Uniqueness

Found this article from Challies's blog, Christianity's Uniqueness -  "In reply to the critics who claim Christianity was just a copy-cat religion among the ancient religions, it’s helpful to take a look at how an ancient adherent of these pagan religions viewed Christianity."

I'm still going through my History of Christianity class, but I've already gained an appreciation for these types of articles that look back (way back) into the Church's history. Actually that blog post gives an excerpt from David Bentley Hart's book Atheist Delusions, and I understood it completely! But what's super interesting is how he makes a parallel between some of the ancient pagan criticisms of the faith and a modern objection to the faith.

In what way can I best serve my neighbour?

In what way can I best serve my neighbour? I rarely, if ever, think about my work/career/vocation/calling in this way.

A second way of thinking about whether you should consider a particular vocation is in terms of your affinity, ability, and opportunity. Do you have an affinity for this vocation? How much does it interest you? Do you have the abilities to perform the functions required? And do you have the opportunity to follow that path where you are now? Or would it mean relocating? Or is it a matter of timing? Of course the levels of these 3 can change during your life. You may have to take time to develop your abilities. Specific job opportunities come and go. And you may find an affinity for something new you never felt before.

In bringing these two ways of thinking about vocation together, I believe that God can use your personal affinities, abilities, and opportunities to show you how to best serve your neighbour.

But sometimes, what God shows you isn’t what you had planned all along. Rather than joy and excitement, this can bring fear, uncertainty, and maybe even anger (towards God, yourself, or others). This is not what I had envisioned for my life! What about all the years I invested in my education, work experience,...?! What will my parents think?

I can only pray for grace today and seek comfort and wisdom in the Holy Spirit. Figuring out my calling or whatever future vocation is frustrating, but above all, I hope my life in Christ, today and always, honours God and extends love to my neighbours.