Fireproooooooooooooooof!

Saw the new movie last night and it was truly well-done, for an independent, shoe-string-budget, non-hollywood, overtly Christian movie. I had some minor quibbles about the pacing and plot elements, but overall it was thoroughly enjoyable AND had a great evangelistic message as well as a pro-marriage, anti-porn overtones. WonderWife also enjoyed it, and she does NOT like Christian movies almost as a rule (although she did like Facing the Giants, which I think was a major factor in her wanting to see Fireproof), although she also had minor quibbles. I think the producers chose wisely when they decided to just make the best movie possible and not try to Hollywoodize it.

Also, it came in at #4 for the weekend, with more than 6.5 Million in box office sales. Not bad, I'd say, but, then again, who am I to say? Even if it got $0, the producers did what they are supposed to do as Christians in this field, and so God will work through it either way. At least now they can make more movies. Just imagine a WELL-DONE Christian comedy, or SF epic, or fantasy, or superhero movie. Anyway, I'm adding Fireproof to my favorite movies.

Working out - physically, spiritually...

Earlier this year I decided that it was time to own up to the fact that I am a fat man. 8 years of being happily married and well fed, coupled with a desk job, had created a 240-pound behemoth terrorizing the north shore. Sure, I was still more muscular than the average 240-pounder (hey, I play SOFTBALL! That's, like, a SPORT and stuff! Not like that Nintendo Wii thing, cheaters!) but still, 240 pounds are 240 pounds, and I'd like to be playing with my kids in ten years without accidentally crushing them, so my wonderful wife (henceforth, WonderWife) got me an appointment with a personal trainer at the local gym place. Step one - so far so good.

So I meet my trainer and he turns out to be a nice guy with a peculiar accent and a very foreign-sounding name (I'll leave his true identity out of it, if you don't mind), which is okay with me personally but gets me wondering what his religions convictions are like. Training sessions are usually quite intense, so we don't get to chit-chat much about personal things, until September rolls around and he tells me that he is fasting for Ramadan. That cleared up the "religious conviction thing" pretty quickly, and we were able to talk a bit about Islam and contrast Christianity, but I haven't been able to outline the Gospel to him yet. But we've struck up a pretty good friendship and it should be easier to both talk to him about it and get time when it will be easier to talk about it [witnessing between reps can be difficult - "So (huff), do you (puff) consider your- (huff) -self to be (puff) a good (huff) per- (puff) -son?" "What? Sorry. I was counting your reps...4 more - PUSH IT!" ]

Another thing about the gym - and maybe every gym is like this but I'm only familiar with this one - is that the yoga stuff is pushed like it's mandatory. They have signs all over the place, sometimes advertising hindu teachers' seminars, and yoga for kids (!), when no other religion is at all noticeably present. (I know some people think that yoga is just an exercise routine, but even Hindu yogis will caution that the religious aspects and the exercise aspects cannot be separated. Some believe it is akin to "meat sacrificed to idols" and should be tolerated by Christians who don't choose to practice yoga, but it's much more like sacrificing the meat to the idols, which we are definitely not supposed to do) I think I need to address the situation sometime in the near future. I've already had to talk to my 7-year-old about what it really is when he was offered the kids yoga classes. Yikes!

Lastly, I've come to sense a strangeness about the gym atmosphere. This is all stuff that I hypothetically could be doing on my own, around the hose, and getting things done, but it would be much less directed. The cost of the trainer's appointments and the time and energy sunk into each one could arguably be better spent elsewhere. I am getting results, which is better than no results, but I find myself looking toward the time when  can never go there again because of the atmosphere of physical vanity and the sense of running (or riding a bike, or climbing stairs, etc.) and never going anywhere. It seems almost metaphorical for current culture - always moving and never getting anywhere. So I feel like I need to break the cycle at some point and start something on my own to keep physically fit. It truly does tie into your mental and especially spiritual health.

This being my second post I'm sure not many people are reading it yet, but if you do and you'd like to feed back on any of these issues I'd like to hear from you. Please be advised about a few things, just so you'll know not to comment on them - I have no problem with a person who is a Muslim but I have a huge problem with the religion itself. The same thing for Hinduism and/or yoga practitioners. I have studied each very much over the past five years and have lots of resources if anyone wants more information about them. My take is that, without a truly repentant faith in Jesus Christ, everyone is lost in their sins, and that goes for many who call themselves 'Christians' as well. Also, if you are an active gym-user and get a lot out of it and find adequate time for everything else in your Christian walk, more power to you. I don't think the whole gym system is evil in and of itself, although maybe I'll elaborate on my changing feelings toward it in a future post. I'd like to hear your thoughts, though.

God Bless You

LAW
I. The biblical way of presenting the Gospel is by
   A. Using the Law (the Ten Commandments) to show a person that they cannot measure up to God, and thus
   B. Addressing the conscience – everyone knows that lying, murder, etc. (or at least one of the Commandments) are morally wrong,
        1. So you’re not arguing with them about what good and bad is (thus bypassing the intellect) and
        2. You are not playing on their emotions to get them to make a rash decision, even if it’s the “right” one.
          3. By addressing the conscience correctly, the intellect and the emotions will be addressed obliquely
    C. The Law cannot save anyone, as we all fail it, & no one can fulfill it.
   D. Its use is to show us that we are sinners.
        1. The wages of sin is eternal punishment, a righteous judgment by a Righteous Judge.
            a. This is not used as a scare tactic, but should introduce a healthy fear into the sinner

II. For Christians, the Law becomes those things that we gladly do in service of our Lord and Savior, not because it can save us.

GRACE - Once a person is humbled then we can
I. Introduce the Gospel to them-
   A. Who Jesus Christ is (God the Son)
    B. What He did on the cross
        1. What His propitiation means (appeasement; “paid the price”)
        2. What His atonement means (reinstated to harmony and unity)
    C. What God’s Grace is
    D. How to access it
       1. Repentance
            a. True conversion
        2. Faith
            a. The absolute basics of the faith
                i. An accurate understanding of Who God is;
                ii. An accurate understanding of what the Gospel is; and
                iii. An accurate understanding of what the Bible is
    E. What making Christ both their Lord and Savior entails and
    F. What effect all this will have on their life (faithful works).