An Institutional Man

In the scene previous to this one, Brooks is wielding a shank and is on the verge of taking Heywood's life.  The reason?  He has recently been informed that he will be released from prison on parole.  To anyone outside the prison walls, and to most inside of them, this is a ridiculous idea.  Who would not want to be free from prison?  But if you were standing in Brooks' shoes, you might consider the same thing.

See, as "Red" (Morgan Freeman) said, Brooks is an institutional man.  After spending most of his life in prison, that is where he is most comfortable; and to practically begin life all over again after making one in prison seems detrimental to old Brooks.  As a matter of fact, it seems so detrimental to Brooks that he is willing to take a mans life to ensure that he doesn't have to leave the Shawshank prison.

Now, picture this.  A young man from the community begins coming to youth group.  After a while his best friend becomes the youth pastor.  He goes to every single service, even the ones that don't attract the younger crowds.  He does all the outreach projects.  He goes on all the trips.  Then, one night during the youth group, the youth pastor makes announcement that shocks this young man.  God has called the youth pastor and his family in another direction and he is resigning from the church.  The young man is heart broken.  So heart broken that he quits going to church.  This young man has become "institutionalized."

Whenever moments like this happen, and they do happen far too often across the United States, most people are surprised.  I know that I am.  We say, "How could he just quit coming to church like that, he loved church so much?"  And when we ask that, we answer our own question.  The reason that this happens is because people fall in love with the institution and routine of the church and not its kingly head, Jesus.

Love Jesus, then love the church.  If you try to love in the wrong order, you will end up like Brooks.  You will be an institutional man.

Jesus in a Box

I can remember quite well the first time I heard it.  I was at Falls Creek Camp and my youth group had just finished doing a low ropes team building course when the counselor said it.  "You can't put Jesus in a box."  The counselor was almost right.

Jesus.  Jesus is the Son of God.  He is also the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  He is the First and the Last.  Jesus is he Lamb that was slain and  the victor over death.  He is my healer and my Wonderful Counselor.  He is the Word.  The Creator.  Jesus is the Messiah.

The list above describes Jesus.  It is not an exhaustive list, but you can bank that Jesus is at least all of these things.  Why do I  make such a bold statement?  I make such a bold statement because the Bible describes Jesus that way.

Now, if you have studied any church history at all, you will know that one of the great battles the church continuously fights is the battle against heresies, or false doctrines.  Some of them are bold, some come in costumes, but what makes a heresy a heresy is they are taking Jesus out of the box.

I know that when people say that "You can't put Jesus in box" they often mean we can't make Jesus into what we want Him to be or we can't make Jesus less than who He really is by putting Him in a box that seems to suck away all of His power.  But, I can assure you of at least one thing.  There is one box that Jesus has to go in and cannot come out of.  It is the Bible box.

Storm Warning

“I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.”

Joshua 7:12

                Picture this.  It is hurricane season in the Atlantic.  You live in a nice beachfront house with a porch that leaks out onto the sandy dunes.  It is a beautiful Saturday afternoon and you are relaxing out in the sun’s warm rays.  And as you are relaxing in your fold-out beach chair and listening to the radio, an emergency broadcast screams across the radio waves.  It is to inform you that a hurricane is surely going to hit your town and the whole town needs to evacuate immediately.  Despite how frightening that situation may be, there is a situation much more frightening than that: not hearing the news of the coming storm and continuing your day like the next was going to be just as pleasant.

                Today, in the United States, a very common verse from the Bible is used to give people peace and comfort.  It is the verse “God will never leave you nor forsake you” (Joshua 1:5).  But like the person in the story above, many people who are told that are going to live their lives as usual and wake up the next morning to find a storm is right over head.  The reason that is so is because many people, when they are told that “God will never leave them or forsake them,” are not hearing the whole truth when it comes to that verse.  The whole truth to that verse is that God will not forsake you if you do not forsake Him (2 Chronicles 15:2).  People want to live their lives thinking they can live however they want and still receive the blessings of God.  But that is not true.  As you can see from the above verse, sin separates us from God.  Achan had stolen objects from Jericho that God had commanded the Israelites to devote to Him.  When Achan stole the devoted objects, the nation of Israel was exactly where they didn’t want to be: without God.

                Even though God shows us grace and mercy when we sin, there are still consequences.  One of those consequences may be God stepping away from the situation and letting us do it on our own.  Don’t let it happen.  You have been warned of the storm.

A Big Pink Elephant

What ever you do, DO NOT think of a big, pink elephant.  You are not thinking of a big pink elephant, are you?

I have heard it many times.  It goes something like this, "I don't listen to the lyrics, I just really like the beat."  Or, "I can watch it and it not bother me.  I can handle it."  These are the common answers people give whenever their music or movie selection is questioned.  The question I want to ask is: can you really?

Today, MTV will be airing a special entitled "Lady Gaga: Inside the Outside."  When I saw the preview for this special over the life of the increasingly famous and provocative Lady Gaga, I heard something that made me sort of laugh on the inside.  Lady Gaga preached.  Yes, she preached and she didn't even know it.  This is what she said:

My parents got me Stevie wonder…and the Beatles when I was younger.  Good choices Mom and Dad.  Don’t spoon feed me the Beatles and Stevie Wonder and Bruce Springsteen and Pink Floyd and  Led Zeppelin and Elton John and expect for me not to turn out this way.

Whenever I heard Lady Gaga say that, my mind went straight to Jesus' words in Luke 6:45.  "The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.  For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks."  The lesson of Jesus' words are simple.  People say and do according to what they think in their hearts.

Unfortunately, there are many Christians who do not heed the warnings of the Bible, which are sometimes conveyed unknowingly by people such as Lady Gaga.  Thinking that they can expose their minds to more and more garbage, via sight and sound, without any side effects, they do so until the spiritual poison they have ingested finally manifests itself in sin.  Don't overestimate your ability to sift through the impurities of the media.  What you see and what you hear is what you are going to think.  And chances are that if you fill your mind with poison, poison is what's going to come out.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8

So, did you think of a big, pink elephant?

Post Script: If someone tells you they just like the beat, ask them if they know any of the words.

Lent, Here I Come

Well, in less than one hour Lent 2011 will begin and I will be transported violently and pleasantly back to 1995.  No cell phones, only land lines.  No modern computers, only dinosaurs.  No car, only a peddle machine.  No debit, only cash.  No X-box, only the fathers of modern gaming.  To be honest, I am a little nervous.  But, I am just as excited.

So, until April 23, love God, enjoy life, and dream of 1995.

This Old Dome is Celebrating 1,000 Page Views

Ladies and Gentleman, the moment has finally come (and gone).  On February 15, 2011, This Old Dome celebrated its 1,000th viewing (1,005 as of right now)!  To celebrate such a grand occasion, I had my guys here at This Old Dome gather some statistics that I thought you might find at least a little interesting.

-This Old Dome has been visited by people in 10 different countries.
-The USA has been the home of the majority of our viewers, followed by Canada, South Korea, Slovenia, Germany, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Croatia, Russia, and Egypt.
-First post: November 12, 2010.
-Days to reach 1,000: 95 (I think) .
-Busiest month: December 2010 with 388.
-Slowest month: January of 2011 with 139
-Currently 28 blog postings (29 after this one hits the internet waves)
-Attempted postings: 34 (some just did not make the cut or were never completed)
-Most viewed blogs: 1) Justified- "No Pointing Fingers" 2) One Heck of a Question and T3) Megamind and Corporate Worship and Lent 2011
-Post with most comments: One Heck of a Question
-Greatest Accomplishment: Naming my basketball team after my blog.
-GOAL: Getting James Puckett to read at least one post.

Well, here's to 1,000 more!

Unbelievable

I usually don't do this, but today I want to direct you to a different blog where an unbelievable article has been posted by Albert Mohler concerning a fairly new "business."  Go to http://www.albertmohler.com/2011/02/14/adultery-incorporated-the-infidelity-industry/ and read this article about ashleymadison.com, a dating service to hook you up with a married person.

Once you read it, weep and pray.