101 I have restrained my feet from every evil way, That I may keep Your word.
102 I have not departed from Your judgments, For You Yourself have taught me.
103 How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.
105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.
When we think about rules, some people might say that sounds legalistic - but we know that God has certain absolutes - commandments that are found throughout the Scriptures. To break those commandments is called sin. Christ gave us the power to overcome sin by applying His truth and His power. So, as we grow in God's grace, we take His truth and personalize it, not tailoring it to suit our desires, but tailoring our lives, in the Spirit, to follow God's desires.
In 2nd Timothy 2, we see Paul's exhortation for Timothy - and us - to be strong in God's grace and
not to keep it to ourselves. We can read:
1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
If you were asked to name the top movies worldwide, according to the box office grosses, as listed on the Box Office Mojo website, certainly you would probably put a Star Wars film or Avengers near the top. You would be correct. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is actually #3 behind Avatar and Titanic. Avatar has grossed over $2.7 billion dollars. Avengers: Infinity War is at #4, having also vaulted over the 2 billion dollar mark.
But, in the #5 position, one that may not come to mind: until this weekend, the most recent installment in the Jurassic Park franchise - Jurassic World, having grossed over $1.6 billion worldwide. And, the latest is Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is debuting this weekend.
One of the common threads between Infinity War and Fallen Kingdom is one of the lead actors, Chris Pratt. And, one of the unique characteristics of Pratt is that he talks about God - publicly.
The most recent example of this is at this past week's MTV awards show, a pre-recorded presentation that actually occurred over the weekend. Pratt was given the "Generation Award," and in his acceptance speech, he shared nine essential rules for life. The Boston Globe offered this critique:
Now, back to Pratt's rules - the Globe reports that the speech had "more than 1 million views on Twitter as of Wednesday morning."
Let's highlight those that have a direct or indirect spiritual connection, according to Faithwire:
Rule #2: “You have a soul. Be careful with it.”
+++++
In 2nd Timothy 2, we see Paul's exhortation for Timothy - and us - to be strong in God's grace and
not to keep it to ourselves. We can read:
1 You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
2 And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.
If you were asked to name the top movies worldwide, according to the box office grosses, as listed on the Box Office Mojo website, certainly you would probably put a Star Wars film or Avengers near the top. You would be correct. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is actually #3 behind Avatar and Titanic. Avatar has grossed over $2.7 billion dollars. Avengers: Infinity War is at #4, having also vaulted over the 2 billion dollar mark.
But, in the #5 position, one that may not come to mind: until this weekend, the most recent installment in the Jurassic Park franchise - Jurassic World, having grossed over $1.6 billion worldwide. And, the latest is Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is debuting this weekend.
One of the common threads between Infinity War and Fallen Kingdom is one of the lead actors, Chris Pratt. And, one of the unique characteristics of Pratt is that he talks about God - publicly.
The most recent example of this is at this past week's MTV awards show, a pre-recorded presentation that actually occurred over the weekend. Pratt was given the "Generation Award," and in his acceptance speech, he shared nine essential rules for life. The Boston Globe offered this critique:
God, life advice, and bathroom humor all in one speech? Only Chris Pratt could pull that off.
The “Jurassic World” actor accepted the Generation Award at the MTV Movie & TV Awards Monday night, and he used the opportunity to offer the next generation nine essential rules to live by.In digesting these rules, I will say that a couple of them would lose points on family-friendliness. Oh, by the way, Plugged In from Focus on the Family, has announced it will no longer use a ratings system in its reviews of entertainment. A blog post explains that, "We realize that the family-friendly plugs have been a tool that many of you have utilized to help you make decisions. But because of our commitment to help encourage discernment, critical thinking and attention to the specifics of your family’s sensitivities, we’ve decided to make this significant change."
Now, back to Pratt's rules - the Globe reports that the speech had "more than 1 million views on Twitter as of Wednesday morning."
Let's highlight those that have a direct or indirect spiritual connection, according to Faithwire:
Rule #2: “You have a soul. Be careful with it.”
#5: “It doesn’t matter what it is. Earn it. A good deed. Reach out to someone in pain. Be of service. It feels good and it’s good for your soul.”
And #6 - on MTV! “God is real. God loves you, God wants the best for you. Believe that, I do.”
#8: “Learn to pray. It’s easy, and it is so good for your soul.”
And #6 - on MTV! “God is real. God loves you, God wants the best for you. Believe that, I do.”
Finally, the ninth rule: “Nobody is perfect. People will tell you that you are perfect just the way that you are, you’re not! You’re imperfect. You always will be, but there is a powerful force that designed you that way, and if you are willing to accept that, you will have grace. And grace is a gift. Like the freedom that we enjoy in this country, that grace was paid for with somebody else’s blood. Do not forget it. Don’t take it for granted.”
So, there you have it - before introducing the rules, Pratt said: "I’m going to cut to the chase and I am going to speak to you, the next generation,” adding, “I accept the responsibility as your elder. So, listen up.”
So, there you have it - before introducing the rules, Pratt said: "I’m going to cut to the chase and I am going to speak to you, the next generation,” adding, “I accept the responsibility as your elder. So, listen up.”
That show went out to over 3 million viewers on 10 networks, according to Variety, up 21% from last year, and it was streamed 83 million times.
So, Pratt injected truth consistent with the Scriptures in at least five out of his nine rules - that's really pretty good. He spoke of taking care of the soul, including doing good deeds to others, being involved in service. He also was very direct about the love of God and his belief in it. He mentioned prayer - also good for the "soul." Plus, his final, all-compassing declaration - rule #9 - encouraging the next generation to realize they were "designed" in a certain way and that they should receive grace.
We can consider the principles upon which we live our lives. The Bible can help shape our convictions, and we can be challenged to make sure that we are walking in obedience. There are three short phrases I want to share.
Got a platform? Use it. We can consider the areas of involvement to which we have been called - spheres of influence, if you will. God has strategically placed us in areas of service, which can be areas of proclamation of His truth.
Got a message? Share it. But what are we going to share? We can be prepared to share the bold truth about the love of God, who wants to bring people into salvation through His Son. We can also share from our own life experience. We can be purveyors of hope in Christ and reflect that in our demeanor and actions.
Finally: Got a lesson? Teach it. Life experience. We can consider what God has done in our lives, the effect that a walk with Jesus has had on us, how we have been changed. We can reflect on instances of His faithfulness and we can be faithful to relate how we have seen Him move.
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