How to Find God in a Horror Movie

This may seem counterintuitive but bear with me as I explain.

Horror movies may seem like the bane of good Christian values, but like an onion it has layers. Peel back the surface, you will find that there are inherent values and a lesson to be learned by those who seek it. When you see a horror movie you come face to face with the worst mankind can come up with. In the movies, the devil is on earth, the dead come back to life, and society as we know it crumbles. Cynical viewing aside, a horror movie can be a morale about the injustice in this world. A simple truth that bad things happen to good people. Horror movies bring that to the forefront of our minds. Like Job, we are forced to reconcile that our power is limited when compared to the all-mighty. We don’t know everything. In the story of Job, we are shown that bad things happen to good people. We are humbled because our power doesn’t match God’s power. No one is perfect like God. We can struggle to comprehend the concept that bad things happen to good people. A good horror movie brings that struggle to the forefront. He knows all and we know little compared to him. We find God in horror movies by accepting our limited understanding when compared to the Almighty.

 Then Job replied to the Lord:

 “I know that you can do all things;
    no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’
    Surely I spoke of things I did not understand,
    things too wonderful for me to know.

 “You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak;
    I will question you,
    and you shall answer me.’
 My ears had heard of you
    but now my eyes have seen you.
 Therefore I despise myself
    and repent in dust and ashes.”

Prayer: Dear God, please bless us with your wisdom. Help guide us as we confront injustice in this world. Help us to put our faith in you lord. Help us to understand our shortcomings. Help us to grow. Help us to love. Guide us when life is cruel when we stumble and fall. Lift us up with your loving hands. In your name we pray, Amen.

Charles Kendeigh (reprinted from 2021)

Creation's Beauty

 

And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food. Genesis 2:8-9

I know God created these mums when I see them in fall.

Having been raised on a Nebraska farm, I always appreciated the vegetation around me whether it was for beauty or for food. I worked in the fields, gleaned corn and gathered the cattle with my horse Queenie. My mother always had a vegetable garden with multiple flowers. I can picture that garden in my thoughts. These mums that come alive in my yard each October give me the same warm feelings I had on the farm. My granddaughter studied this summer in Oxford, England. It warmed my heart when she brought home this small sign. She saw “garden” and thought of me.               

But soon they rebelled and were driven from the beautiful garden. Genesis 3:24.                                 

Creation’s beauty waits to thrill us and instruct us. Our loving Father wills it so. But creation will be fully restored soon, and soon, and “the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing” Isaiah 35:1-2

Prayer: I pray to God our Father today, be with those who have lost their homes and gardens in the war or the hurricanes. Thank you for the first garden of Eden and all the geraniums, hibiscus, roses, hydrangeas, daisies and other flowers I can grow in my garden. I think of you, Lord, when each of these has its season in my yard. Amen.

Sandra Hilsabeck (photos above shared by Sandra)

Praise the Lord

Praise the Lord! I will give thanks for the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. Psalm 111:1 

Words from Psalm 65

They who dwell at the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs; You make the sunrise and the sunset shout for joy. Psalm 65:8 

Words from Hebrews

Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe. Hebrews 12:28 NIV 

The Price of Our Peace

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.  We all, like sheep have gone astray; each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:5-6

The prophet Isaiah addressed the Jewish people around 700 B.C., during the time that they were in captivity in Babylonia. They were displaced and miserable. Isaiah was reminding them that they needed to turn away from their sinful ways and back to God, who had promised to send a messiah to save them. Isaiah seemed to know more about the future savior than anyone, and he accurately foretold the suffering that Jesus would endure in order to save God’s people. But while the Jewish people had to wait hundreds of years for their messiah, and many did not recognize Him when he appeared, we have the advantage of knowing “the rest of the story,” as told in the New Testament. By sending His son to earth, God proved how much He loves even His sinful people, and we have only to believe His promise that our faith in Jesus Christ will lead us to “the peace that surpasses all understanding.”

Prayer: Gracious and loving God, as we prepare to celebrate His birth, we thank You for the mercy You have shown Your sinful people by sending Jesus to live among us. We thank You for the peace that comes with our faith in the Trinity, and we pray that others will find such peace as well. Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done. Amen.

Judith Keller (reprinted from 2016)

Complaints Not Allowed

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe. Philippians 2:14-15 (NIV)      

Our society has become fractured and polarized, with individuals criticizing others about almost every topic possible. A number of years ago, I heard about a book called “A Complaint Free World.” The author, Will Bowen, is a minister and he suggested trying to break the habit of complaining by going 21 days in a row without complaining. He even suggested wearing a bracelet and moving it to the other wrist each time you complain. It doesn’t take a specific kind of bracelet, but a search for “complaint bracelet” on Amazon.com returned 166 items. 

I haven’t tried it, in part because I doubt whether I’d last more than one day. There are days when I think I might spend most of my time moving the bracelet.   

We have a lot of synonyms for “complain”: beef, bellyache, carp, crab, croak, fuss, gripe, grouse, growl, grumble, moan, mutter, squawk, wail, whine, and yammer. And then there are related words, like protest, quibble, fret, stew, worry, bemoan, bewail, deplore, and lament. There are at least 29 references to complain or complaints in the Bible. 

The thesaurus lists several “near antonyms,” including accept, bear, countenance, endure, tolerate, applaud, cheer, and commend. But there’s only one antonym listed: REJOICE. 

It’s easy to complain, bellyache, growl, mutter and whine. If it’s not the weather, it’s that driver who just cut you off, or the sales clerk who was a little short with you, or the price of gas, or the co-worker who just gets on your nerves. 

But how easy is it to rejoice? It shouldn’t be that difficult, should it? We can rejoice because we are able to worship together, to give thanks to God for our blessings, to know that our prayers are heard and answered. We can rejoice in the fact that Jesus died for our sins and paid the ultimate sacrifice so that we can have eternal life. The next time you find yourself complaining about something, why not stop and, instead, rejoice in the risen Lord.

          

Prayer: Dear God, we ask for your help in changing our habit of complaining. We have much to rejoice about, yet we find it easier to grouse about the little things that irritate us. With your help, we can work to shine like stars in the universe and exult in the knowledge that you are our savior. 

 

Robin Hadfield (reprinted from 2018)