Beware of Lions

Gene Roddenberry had it wrong.  In his vision for the future, man inherently were good.  Sure there were the odd few "evil" people out there, but in the end, the basic goodness of mankind would win the day.  As a philosophy or religion, it's called "humanism."

Man is inherently evil.  That's why Roddenberry fails.  That's why the democratic party fails.  They assume mankind's basic goodness.  Time and time again, it's been proven the rule-- not the exception... that mankind, at his basic core, is selfish and self serving.  He's a lion, looking to feed himself.  Sure there are nice lions, but int he end, a lion will be a lion.

At the core of the Kingdom of God that Jesus preached about is a servant mentality-- being a servant to God, not mankind.  The killing of that internal lion.  The Apostle Paul writes that that lion has to be killed everyday.  For those who call themselves Christians, if you disagree with the above premise that man is inherently evil, I offer Romans 7:19.  Paul writes "I practice the evil I do not want to do."  That's present tense.  And it's coming late int he life of the guy who wrote a lot of the New Testament.

So it's a Lion versus Servant smackdown.  At least for the Disciple.  Those who don't follow and serve Jesus, really don't have that internal conflict.  The fight to kill the lion.  Everyday.

It's a daily choice.  Sometimes minute by minute.  Live for lion.  Or live for the servant.

Hello Lydia

My friend Tim Williams told me about an interesting principle yesterday-- one he called the Lydia Principle. What he said was that a minister talked about Lydia from Acts and how she was a person who rose up in that area and was a catalyst for Paul.

So I looked it up this morning. Acts 16 is the only place Lydia is mentioned. In verse 13, Lydia is among a group of women that Paul is preaching to. He went to this area hoping it was an area of prayer, but found a bunch of women instead. Lydia was a dealer in purple cloth. A business woman in a day and age where that looks to be extremely rare. It also said that she was a woman (before this encounter with Paul) who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul had to say that day.

That day she was saved. And this new believer talked the man himself, Paul, into staying at her house. It says in verse 15 that she persuaded him.

So now Paul had a home base-- a Headquarters for the work and ministry done in that area. A woman rose up that became a huge help to Paul's ministry.

Later, when Paul and Silas were beaten and the Lord saves them from the jail (and the jailer converts), Paul and Silas went to Lydias, where they saw and enoucaraged the brothers. And then left. Again, clearly, the place of refuge, of support, is Lydia and her house. This business woman.

Now what my friend was talking about was praying for the "Lydias" in the arenas that we're walking in to with the movie "The Imposter." Praying that in radio, someone will rise up that can help us-- be a support. That someone or several in the arena of Church Exhibition will be there to become a base of support. And later, as we move toward the home DVD of "The Imposter", that there will be a Lydia or two who will help us.

I'm adding something to my prayer this morning. I'm praying that God does indeed prepare the way and prepare the hearts of potential Lydias as we walk down this trail and that Imposter can speak a healing and freeing message to it's audience.

What's "The Imposter" about anyway?

Paul writes about the two of me-- the Flesh (Ego) and the Spirit me. There is nothing good or redeemable for the Flesh. But it's a daily battle to die to it. When I let the Flesh live, it's not the real me-- it's an imposter. If the Apostle Paul had to die daily to his flesh, chances are we all do. So yes, *I* am the Imposter. So are you by the way. Unless you're dead. I mean, like, for real. Literally, not figuratively.

So unmasking the Imposter is to kill the Ego and live life in the spirit. Live for God's purpose, not my own selfish, carnal desires. At the essence, that's the message of this movie. It's not as easy as pushing a button, or walking down an aisle. It takes a daily vigilance. An everyday decision to die and to live. Die to the flesh, live for His purpose.

So this movie is about Pretenders. Not just the lead character Johnny C. I believe that God wants us to walk in Truth... It's not always pretty. Not always comfortable.

Maybe you got some other things out of the movie. If so, I'd love to hear what The Imposter said to you.

Did Paul's Tents Have a Really Cool Branded Logo?

So you want to be a Christian filmmaker? You want to make money to support yourself. So is this a job? But it's Christian-- therefore its ministry as opposed to being a job? A career? This falls into what I call:

Ministry versus Tent Making.

Paul had an incredible ministry. And I'm sure his non-profit organization paid his salary some of the time. And Paul Evangelical Association probably had a call center in Damascus raising gifts. But I digress. Actually, what we do know is that, at times Paul *worked* so that the people he was ministering to would not have to support him. He did this also to set an example (which I don't think is followed much today).

2 Thess 3
6 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we give you this command in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ: Stay away from all believers[c] who live idle lives and don’t follow the tradition they received[d] from us. 7 For you know that you ought to imitate us. We were not idle when we were with you. 8 We never accepted food from anyone without paying for it. We worked hard day and night so we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 We certainly had the right to ask you to feed us, but we wanted to give you an example to follow.

Okay, so we know Paul was a tentmaker. I bet his tents were good. He worked night and day. And on top of that, he ministered.

There are some that have a ministry of making films for Jesus (stories). I think of the Kendrick brothers at Sherwood. They have a salary paid by the church. Clearly, making movies is part of their ministry. They work hard. They don't have to go get tentmaking jobs during the day and make movies at night. The body at Sherwood works and then tithes and from this, they can provide for their family.

My situation is different (not better or worse-- no value comparison here). First, my ministry is not telling stories. My ministry is discipleship. My family, the crew, the people around me. I don't believe a story (movie) can effectively disciple. I think it can raise questions. I think it can make a person think. I don't think a movie has the power to save anyone. So my ministry is not the films. Now if God decides to use a movie of mine for His ministry, then fine. In the meantime, I must work hard at whatever He puts in front of me to do.

So yes, at this point in time, my movies are my tentmaking. I'm sure Paul worked hard on his tents and sold them for what they were worth. I do the same here. I'm sure his tents ministered to people as they slept in them out of the rain and cold.

"The Imposter" has a powerful message directed to us in the church. Let's get back to the Author of Truth and pull down the masks we carry in front of our faces. I know I have some pretty serious ones. So do buy The Imposter and benefit from the rain it keeps off you. And maybe at some point, the merge of moviemaking and ministry will blur. Or maybe not. Whatever my Master decides is fine by me. I've got some more tents to sew. See ya.

Waging War

As France fell in the early days of World War II and Britian stood alone, many people wanted to seek compromise with Hitler and save their lives and maybe their freedom. Winston Churchill, newly appointed Prime Minister laid out his program with one of his famous speeches.

"You ask, what is our policy? I will say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against this monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalog of human crime. This is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can only answer in one word: Victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory there is no survival."

In my life, my Ego (flesh) is Hitler. I can seek a policy of compromise and appeasement, or like Churchill, I can make a line in the sand that will never, never be crossed. With the resolution and determination of the British Prime Minister, I can say to my flesh, I will wage war with all my might, no matter how long and hard the road may be. For without victory there is no survival.

This war will not be over until the day my flesh perishes. But this will be my policy-- to daily wage war against it. I Cor. 15:31 - Paul dies daily.