LESSONS FROM THE MAN ON THE OTHER CROSS

 CLICK HERE FOR THE LESS THAN 2-MINUTE YOU TUBE VIDEO ON WHAT THE THIEF ON THE OTHER CROSS  AT THE CRUCIFIXION OF JESUS CHRIST 

AND WHAT IT MEANS TODAY

TEXT: LUKE23:42-43

SCREENSHOT FROM YOUTUBE SHORT

LIFE LESSONS FROM MOSES AT THE ROCK

The words "self-control" or "self-discipline" are mentioned many times throughout the Bible....and for good reason. They are actually put there for our own benefit, as we see from this very important lesson from the Life of Moses. This account, which occurred during the Exodus and is mentioned more than once in the rest of the Bible, speaks to a human emotion which, if we are not careful, can literally destroy us.

In Numbers Chapter 20, in the Torah (first five books of the Bible), we see almost two million Israelites in major distress in the barren desert. There was no food or water for miles and miles.  They are almost to the end of the forty years of wandering in the desert for not just disobedience against God, but complete rebellion. A trip that took between 2-6 weeks from Egypt to Canaan became 40 long years for a reason. 

The millions of Israelites had not only had it with the incredible God Who had fed them from the heavens with manna, brought water once before from a rock, parted the Red Sea and more, but they had it with Moses as well. Moses was at the end of his wits and went into the Tabernacle to meet with God, face to Face as he always did. They were wrong, of course, but that never stops those who lack Faith, when it is needed the most. A worried and stressed out Moses did what He always did in these times - he ran to seek the Lord.

Here are the instructions which God gave Moses, when the latter desperately sought His help: 
"Take the rod; and you and your brother Aaron assemble the congregation and speak to the rock before their eyes, that it may yield its water. You shall thus bring forth water for them out of the rock and let the congregation and their beasts drink." (Numbers 20:8)

Here is what Moses actually said and did, as he returned to the multitudes: 
"...and Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. And he said to them, “Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?”  Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank. (Numbers 20:10-11)

Here are the results of Moses' words and actions: 
"But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” "(Numbers 20:12)

Here are the facts as culled from these four verses above:
Number 1: Moses (and Aaron) were so overwhelmed by the giant of a problem they faced, that seeking an audience with God was the only answer. 

Number 2: God had the answer to the dilemma, as He always does, and gave Moses extremely clear instructions on how to get water to his people below.

Number 3: Moses was so filled with rage, while it is very understandable on a certain level, that he let his anger and temper overrule his usual sense of obedience to God and he acted irrationally. 

Number 4: By the aforementioned irrational act and momentary lack of righteous judgment, the Lord shortened Moses' physical life and did not allow him to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land.

What can we learn from this? There are some huge life lessons.

Lesson 1: There is nothing wrong with becoming very upset at a situation which seems virtually impossible to overcome.  It is one thing for we, flawed humans as we are, to find ourselves in difficult temporary fixes (financially, health-wise or otherwise). It is a whole other thing to thought to be responsible for everyone else.

How does one face these insurmountable odds which Moses faced, in order to look after the literal physical survival of two million plus people? He did the right thing- he ran to the Lord. We too, must go to God. We must NOT only go to the Lord in prayer and supplication as Moses did, but we go HUMBLY and flat on our faces! By doing this, we are acknowledging our complete inability to do anything except recognize the hopelessness of our own weaknesses.

LESSON 2: When we approach the Lord, in all humility in our utter helplessness, and we surrender all to Him, He will answer. When the Lord responds with specifics, it is to our benefit to take note of EVERYTHING He said to do - not just in the letter of His command, but in the spirit of it.

Sometimes the Lord will respond directly to us, that He is in control and has our massive problems in His capable Hands. Sometimes He will respond by sending help via others. Sometimes He will deal directly with the giants in our lives, Himself. Our part in this relationship, is to be constantly looking for His divine Hand in our lives, with the expectant Faith that He can and sometimes, will do, exceedingly above and beyond what He said He would/could do.

LESSON 3: Remember it is NOT about us. The fatal mistake which Moses made was equating Himself with God. Look at his statement again, just before he STRUCK the rock, instead of SPEAKING to it as the Lord instructed. Moses said "“Listen now, you rebels; shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?” Who is this "we" of which Moses spoke? He was not speaking of he (Moses) and God.  Moses stood in front of the multitude of people and made it look as if he and Aaron were the ones who were supplying the much needed water! He completely ignored what God told him to say and temporarily forgot Who sent him, Who he represented and Who gave the water, to begin with.

Moses enjoyed an access with the Lord, which only the disciples and the Apostle Paul could boast of, as we read in the New Testament. Therefore, he, most of all,  would be held more accountable than those to whom he spoke. The Bible mentions that to whom much is given, much is expected (Luke 12:48).  Then James 3:1 tells us "let not many of you (us) become teachers (pastors, leaders etc.)...knowing that we will incur a stricter judgment".

We Christians, of all people, should be very careful that we do not allow our close relationship with God, through Christ, to allow us to let our guard down and sin. We will be held to account! Attributing words which God did not say as being from Him (as in "God told me to.....fill in the blanks") is just completely ignoring His direct command and to make it look as if we have the power to some miraculous event.  When we do this, we not just dishonor the Father, but usurp His Glory, and thus commit a form of idolatry, by bringing attention to ourselves as the "source of some divine power". This serious error is deadly, as Moses discovered.  Let us all learn from to not do likewise. Let us exercise more self-control and discipline ourselves to be aware, at all times, of our surroundings and especially, of God's expectations of us, His people.

"UNTOUCHED" - POIGNANT, GRITTY, GRIPPING (INDIE MOVIE REVIEW)

Where can you find an dynamic $100,000 (approx. according to IMDB)

budget movie with some fairly well-known talent and an extremely exquisite setting, AND get quality, intensity and a powerful pro-life message? The answer is: almost nowhere!  Well, all of these things can be found in UNTOUCHED - The Movie (2017). Excellent casting by Executive Producer Angelique Chase, a well-known actress led to a phenomenal job with her team in maximizing resources to produce the best Indie film I can remember seeing.

Based on a true story, UNTOUCHED takes place in a small town around beautiful Savannah, Georgia where a troubled, but wealthy attorney, Mitchell Thomas (played by Chip Lane of Sponge Bob Movie; Abraham Lincoln vs Zombies etc.) is called on to reluctantly represent the teenage daughter of a local pastor. The teen, Jacqueline, was charged with the murder and abandonment of her aborted child, in what first appears to be an open and shut case. This case, however, is the engine which powers the deeper story behind this well-written movie.

Indie films on smaller budgets do not have this high caliber of courtroom drama, with its clues of what lies behind the troubled soul of the main character - Mitch Thomas. He is the son of the very uppity, yet classy Eleanor Thomas who actually owns the law firm. Eleanor Thomas is played by the ageless Simone Griffeth, who is just barely tolerant of this heavy drinking, unkempt (but expensive clothes). Eleanor also has her own issues, having given up a personal life, in order to maintain control over her thriving law firm.

What makes this movie grow in intensity is the supporting cast of great characters, fortified by a flawless performance by Jenn Gotzon Chandler as prosecutor Reece James; Chelsea Caldwell as Lauren Haddad and Christopher Watson as Taylor Gant, Thomas' trusted friend. The drama deepens as both Mitch the attorney and Gant, his police officer friend, start investigating the story behind Jacqueline's abortion and arrest for murder of her unborn child. 

The parallel story line is woven perfectly by circumstances and one particular scene especially featuring Jenn Gotzon's prosecutor character and actress Sandra Elise Williams starts to reveal the real reason why Mitch drinks so heavily, overshadows the murder case as far as getting to a defining moment, in Mitch's character development. 

This Indie film is so very compatible with those with the really big budgets due to a very clever screenplay, a cast who is completely all in for the long haul and some gritty lighting. As beautiful as Savannah, Georgia is, the dark reality of the plot/subplot comes across with atmospherics created by the producers. The fact that some of the main people involved are Georgians help in creating an authentic aura about UNTOUCHED. The cinematography is just so well done as well as the primary musical score.

UNTOUCHED THE MOVIE - recommended for those seeking to understand interpersonal relationships, forgiveness and the importance of love and life. Life in the sense of not just being pro-life but the value of others' lives, no matter what their socio-economic backgrounds.

MOVIE WEBSITE (CLICK HERE)

BUY UNTOUCHED HERE (AMAZON.COM)

JENN GOTZON

ANGELIQUE CHASE

CHIP LANE

MOVIE REVIEW: "LITTLE BOY" - BIG FAITH!

ROMA DOWNEY/MARK BURNETT & EDUARDO VERASTEQUI EXCEL IN BRAND NEW JOINT VENTURE.

One of the most warm, inspiring and real movies of early 2015 was the Roma Downey/Mark Burnett (The Bible, AD The Series) with Eduardo Verastegui movie “Little Boy”. Verastequi, who played the youthful Father Crispin in his own movie, is best known for his popular (in evangelical circles) movie “Bella” (2006) and "The Butterfly Circus" (2009).  All his movies have faith and family messages, themes and sub-themes. “Little Boy” had a tremendous amount of humor as well! Set in 1940’s World War II Southern California, Little Boy is the younger of two boys of the all-American male with the white picket fence, beautifully kept middle-class home and lovely wife, who works very hard with his hands  at his own auto mechanic shop. He is drafted and called off to War, during the time in California, when President Franklin Roosevelt had put over 110,000 Japanese-Americans into internment camps. This fact will be significant as the storyline of “Little Boy” progresses.

The amazing and stunning fishing village where this story unfolds is actually in Baja California, an area untouched by all the crazy stuff now associated with mainland California. Someone I know, who was associated with this movie, communicated some of the excitement of the making of this film at the time, as well as afterwards, which I remarked at what a beautiful place it would be to live now! It is that, for sure!. The idyllic setting of this  ocean-front “American” hometown, belies the intense interplay between this lively 8 year old Pepper Flynt Busbee, who is apparently doomed to be vertically challenged and just about a third of the adults and kids in the town. Pepper and his dad James Busbee (Michael Rapaport) spend a huge amount of father/son quality time together, a purposeful statement of times when men were men; family was community and life was much less complicated.

That simple existence actually covered up some of the dark nature of the soul of men: hatred; racism; bullying; greed; adultery and more. The latter came in the form of the town medic – Dr. Fox who was played by Mall Cop himself, Kevin James. Dr. Fox used the occasion of James Busbee being sent off to war to commence intentional flirtation with Mrs. Busbee in order to seek her feminine favor.  Pepper was bullied by the grossly overweight only son of Dr. Fox for just about everything, but especially for being short. Hatred was the soft underbelly of those who hated others who did not look like themselves.  When Pepper and his mother reached out to the hard-crusted, even unlovable Japanese-American Hashimoto (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), the hatred against this man for the simple crime of being of Japanese descent at the time of Pearl Harbor and Internment Camps, turned to violent racism which ended with the older Busbee boy in jail.

This movie, its beauty, settings, the period clothing and well financed production quality (a $20 million dollar budget),  showed the perfect dichotomy between God’s Creation and perfect condition and man’s sinful nature. Here is where Verastegui shines in all his movies – he introduces Faith. Not just any Faith, but faith in the only God of Heaven – the God of the Christian.  Faith is the only bridge between man’s depraved human nature and the immaculate perfection of God, and as we know, that was fulfilled at the Cross, where Jesus Christ gave His life.  

While “Little Boy” is not a movie for anyone looking for major theology, what the film’s authors did was present the directives of Christ in the form of a list of items which Pepper had to accomplish, in order to show his faith. These good works did not nor do they save anyone, but they do showcase the faith which under-girds the execution of these works to the Glory of God. If there is one major shortcoming it is this - I do not recall the Name of Jesus mentioned once in the entire movie. For me, an evangelical sold-out Disciple of Jesus Christ, that is huge and prevents this movie from a five star rating, in my view. Faith without Christ is no faith at all. The list which Father Oliver gave Pepper IS based on Christ's Sermon on the Mount, which a knowledgeable viewer can figure out, however, as it came from the leader of the local parish.

Some of the best lines though were spoken by Hashimoto who sought to encourage the under-developed Pepper Flynn to not measure how short he was from the (top of his head) to the floor, but from (the top of his head) to the sky! But the biggest encouragement which a persecuted man, could give to a tormented soul was when Hashimoto told the Little Boy that "nothing's more powerful than the will to face one's fear and to act....in the face of the enemy". This is courage. When the viewer of this film combines with this type of courage with the Faith which grows, even from the small mustard seed, there is no stopping such a person in the daily conduct of life! In my opinion, this is a huge sub-theme of the movie as it rises to a wonderful conclusion.

There are some surprising turns in this gorgeous movie. One of them is the surprise reason for Pepper’s dad survival of the brutal Japanese prison camp in the South Pacific. The other was the coming of the town to a realization that “a little child” shall lead them, when it comes to “mountain-moving” faith. Being that it is set in Southern California, the home of so many old Spanish Catholic missions (San Juan Capistrano, Mission Viejo etc.) the classic feel which the producers sought literally came through.  The other actors/actresses in “Little Boy” were just as outstanding. From Kelly Grayson (Tyra) to Ali Landry (Ava) and author Cheri Majors along with a man who started Pepper off on his (at first) misguided journey of faith with unbiblical magic arts – Ben Eagle (Ben Chapin), each contributed mightily to the color and feel of the film.  Even the name of the main production company- Metanoia Films - for “Little Boy” has meaning.  The word “Metanoia” is the biblical Greek word for Repentance! This sort of repentance is the same which leads to a transforming change of heart and mind which, then leads to salvation of the soul!

In sad and seamy horrid times, this cinematic delight of a film  will lift your spirits after the 106 minutes of watching it. It will warm your heart and if your faith needs strengthening, it may even do that as well!

RATING: FOUR OUT OF FIVE STARS

“Little Boy” was co-written and directed by Smithsonian Institute Award winning director Alejandro Monteverde.