Category: Movie Monday

Don’t lift yourself up

I am always asking God to reveal new things to me; especially when I read or watch something for the umpteenth time. This time it was Prince Caspian the second book in The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.

I never realized it before but Prince Caspian is symbolic of what happens to us when Jesus lives in us. Caspian is the son of the king and the rightful heir to the throne but he goes about obtaining the throne by seeking to restore peace between all and by not trying to do it all on his own. Instead he looks to Aslan, who represents Jesus for help and the counsel of others who have served Aslan.

We are the same. We are heirs to the throne of heaven with Jesus, because of his sacrifice. But the only way we can take our place with him is to believe in him and serve him.

When we serve God and others he lifts us up, higher then we could ever be if we tried to lift ourselves up.

but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
    they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31


Photo by Rachel Pfuetzner on Unsplash

Claim Your Identity

The enemy will taunt us with our worst fears to discourage us from becoming who God has intended us to be. The Return of the King movie depicts this when Aragon uses the seeing stone to fight Sauron by claiming his identity as the heir to the throne. Sauron replies by trying to scare him with the death of Arwen. The enemy’s biggest weapon is fear. Fear of what if, of what might happen. But you can’t put your trust or your faith in what if.

You can put your faith in Jesus and draw your strength from your identity in him. The enemy can’t have a hold on you, if you don’t let him. We fight fear with truth. The enemy says you are ugly, God says you are beautiful. The enemy says you are weak, God says he will be your strength. The truth of who God has made us to be is our strongest weapon, but we have to know it to use it.

Jesus modeled this in his forty days in the wilderness. The devil tried to temp him to take the shortcut, to compromise God’s plan to achieve his goals quicker. But Jesus used the word of God the truth to fight and reassert his identity.

When we die to our selfish desires and let Jesus live through us we become like him. Read the scriptures about Jesus, know who he is and what he said and did. Isaiah 61 is one of my favorite passage describing what Jesus came to do and be. Read it and let the Holy Spirit teach you who he made you to be in Jesus.

Hope in darkness

We can find hope in some of the worst circumstances, if we look for it.

Jesus is that hope. He can do anything, no matter how impossible we think a situation is.

Bart Millard of Mercy Me shares his story in the the movie I Can Only Imagine. His inspiration for the song that inspired the movie was his dad. Bart never believed his dad could change. But to his surprise, when he was at a low point, when his band looked like they had lost their chance at success, Bart went home to repair his relationship with his dad and found a changed man when he arrived. The one person he thought could never change, had come to believe in Jesus and become the father he had always hoped for.

God is always full of surprises and when we place our hope in him he does more then we can ever hope or imagine, even in the bleakest circumstances. What impossible thing are you asking God for?

God Answers Prayer

In the movie I Can Only Imagine Bart’s dad was horrible to him as he was growing up and he left as soon as he graduated high school, to pursue his career in Christian music but just before his band made it big, he went home to patch things up with his dad and God answered both their prayers. Bart returned home which was his fathers prayer and his father had accepted Jesus and he finally had the dad he always wanted. 

God answers our prayers  but sometimes the timeline doesn’t always happen when we think it should.

My mom raised me as a Christian but I decided to abandon God for 6six years in my early twenties and live life the way I wanted.

This broke my moms heart. She prayed years for me to return to my faith in God. She watched for years as I made stupid, selfish choices all in the name of finding what I thought would make me happy.

But what I found instead was disappointment and a constant longing to feel loved, accepted, valued and wanted.

By worldly standards I had what appeared to be a good life on the outside, a good job with consistent promotions and a long term relationship. But in reality I had a job that pulled me away from friends and family and an emotionally abusive relationship.

I was miserable trying to find happiness on my own.

Eventually I hit rock bottom and decided to give my life back to God.

Keep praying for your family and friends, continue to love and support them and always keep the door open for them. You never know when they will make the decision to change their life.

Photo by Samuel Martins on Unsplash

Seek to Know God

‘All I want is that you seek the lord and that you trust him.’ (Courageous 2011)

That’s all I ever want for anyone. Because in seeking Jesus we get to know his character, how much he loves us and that he can be trusted.

How many of us get our perception of God from others. We all have had our perception of God influenced by someone either in a good or bad way. But how many of us really seek to know him intimately, to learn his character for ourselves and make up our own minds instead of what others tell us.

That’s my hope with this devotional that we would see God for who he is and seek to know him more intimately and deeper then you even have before.

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

Let Jesus be the change

‘Just because someone stumbles and loses their way doesn’t mean their lost forever’ (Charles Xavier X-Men Days of Future Past 2014)

I was that person that stumbled and lost their way. But I had friends and family that we’re there ready and waiting to help me find my way back when I was ready. But it had to be my decision, my choice.

We can’t force people to change; because if we try and even if they seem like they are changing, its not really change. Because its not their choice. I know its hard to watch others make bad choices, but we can’t force them. Forced change is always worse; because they are still going to be opposing you on the inside or resenting you.

But if we present options and support. When they are ready, they may make a change and they will know who to turn to.

Praying for them is also a big part but our prayers should not be God please change them or make them see that I am right. But God help me to see them as you see them, help me to love them as you love them.

Most of the time in order for someone to change we need to change too. None of us are perfect and we all make mistakes even with the best of intentions.

When we lived in Tennessee our Pastor would say ‘come as you are and let Jesus mess you up.’ Isn’t that what we all did? We came to Jesus with our junk and mess and let Him change us. So why don’t we encourage others to do the same?

Photo by Ross Findon on Unsplash

Nerves are good for leaders

“I don’t think I’m ready” ~Prince Caspian 

“It for that very reason you are” ~Aslan

Often when we don’t feel ready to do what God calls us to. It’s then that we are ready, because it’s that insecurity in ourselves that makes us dependent on God. So it’s God working through us, not our own abilities, so we cannot boast in ourselves but in him alone.

One of my teachers when I first started preaching, reminded me that nerves are good when preaching, because it keeps us conscious of God, his will, his words, his power and his direction. If we were completely confident in ourselves. We would have no need for him. But it’s because we know our own imperfection and instead find our confidence in him, that we can shine him best.

Don’t let nerves hold you back from what you know God has called you to, instead use those nerves to depend on him and REFLECT God to others, not ourselves.

Who are you?

If someone asked you, who you are? What would you say? Would it be your job title? Who you are in relationship to others? Or would it be something else? What if all of it was striped away; your job, your friends, your family, everything. Who would you be? What would define you? Would it be characteristics or attributes? Or would you not know?

If it was just you on an island by yourself alone with nothing to go back to, no home, no friends, no family, just you. What would you cling to? What would make you, you?

For me it’s God. I am his, no matter what. He’s where my identity comes from. I’m his kid and that where I draw strength, confidence, comfort and identity from. Because like Job in the Bible even if everything was stripped away from me. I’m still his, and no one and nothing can take that from me.

As believers in Jesus that’s what we get, an undeniable sense of identity and assurance of who we are, God’s children.

If we read Ephesians chapters 1 and 2; we can see who we are because of our identity in Jesus.

We are chosen, blessed, belonging, forgiven, loved, adopted, wanted, favored, showered with grace, a gift to God, delighted in, saved, lifted up, given new life, a member of God’s family, a citizen of God’s country.

And if you are not yet a believer you can be. You can have that same assurance in your identity by just believing in Jesus love and sacrifice and allowing him into your heart.

Fight without Fear

In Prince Caspian, from The Chronicles of Narnia, Lucy gives a perfect example of how we as believers in Jesus should feel when we feel outnumbered and surrounded. Confident and unafraid.

Because it’s easy to feel overwhelmed when we focus on what is around us or even just in front of us. But when we remember God is always with us it changes our perspective.

We become like Lucy, a child facing an army with just a dagger, oh and of course the God of the universe to fight for us. We can have complete confidence because God loves us, he fights for us and if we trust him, he will take care of everything. Nothing should phase us, because God is with US!

You shall not fear them, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you.’ Deuteronomy 3:22

Find your identity

I’ve mentioned dieing to self, having an intimate personal relationship with Jesus, and being a willing vessel. All of which are essential to our lives as Christians. But what does that entail? What does it mean? It means that we let God lead. We look to him to tell us what to do and say, when to do and say it and to provide all that we need to do what he asks us to do.

Sounds scary right. And it would be if God is distant to us. If we don’t really know him. Then of course trusting him sounds scary. But he is the one person in the universe who we can trust for everything. Because he is love and his loves is patient and kind. It does not envy, or boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. It does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. His love always protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres.

Want to know more about finding your identity is Jesus. Watch or listen to this video.

Love doesn’t hurt

When we’re hurt by the people that are supposed to love us or ashamed of the scares they left, it leaves us afraid to be loved by anyone else. Because to us, love hurts. But that’s not love.

Just because people in our lives who were supposed to love us, didn’t, doesn’t mean that is what love is.

Love is patience and kind, its not rude or self seeking, its not easily angered and does not keep a record of wrongs.

God is love.

And He would never hurt us, neglect us, abandon us or stop loving us.

He is always there, always wanting and waiting to be with us, to love us and take care of us, if we let Him in.

Give God a chance to show you His love, I promise you won’t regret it.

If you already know God’s love share it with a kid who needs it. Check out Royal Family Kids

Love and respect can’t be forced

We can’t change other people. But we can choose how we treat and react to other people.

I recently watched a great movie on Pureflix called ‘How to train your puppy husband‘ I thought it would be funny as we have two dogs I am training and I would never train my husband. But it reminded me of an important lesson.

We can’t change other people, but we can choose how we treat and react to other people. When you’re training a puppy you are actually modifying how you treat and react to what your puppy does.

You should never try to train or change your spouse. But you can change how you treat them and react to them. We are to love God and love others as ourselves. So think about how you would like to treated and treat your spouse that way. If you want to be loved and respected, love and respect them. You can’t get what you don’t give. When has demanding, berating and manipulating ever really resulted in exactly what you wanted.

Forced behavior is never really what we want, what we want is for others to do things for us because they want to, so we must do that for them. If we want others to care for our needs and wants, we need to put the other person first and care for their needs and desires.

Love and respect can’t be given by force.

The Love Dare

The Love Dare is a fantastic book that helps you to put your spouse first before yourself as all good marriages should. But I will be the first to admit that it is easy to put the other first when your feeling good, and things are going well. But it is so much harder when things are hard and your not at your best.

Marriage isn’t about just the good times, it about how you handle the hard times. It’s about sticking together and loving one another even when you don’t feel like it or even want to. Marriage is a commitment for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health. That means you don’t bail when things get tough or you don’t care for each other at the moment, because the moment will pass and things will get better.

But that doesn’t happen by accident you have to have God at the center of your marriage. Because if your happiness and well being depends on another person you will never be fulfilled. Only God can do that. Only he can truly make you feel 100% fulfilled.

When you get your identity from God, you draw on him for strength, perseverance and perspective. To see things from the perspective of the other opens the barriers you may have put up as a defense, and when you trust God to guide you, you can drop those barriers to bring reconciliation.

How we fight

How do we fight for our families? Prayer!

Sounds wimpy and ineffective. No.

Praying is the second best thing you can do. Loving them is first.

But if you love them you pray for them.

Prayer is what my friends and family did for me when I made bad life choices.

And prayer is what I do for my friends and family that I love and even for the people I can’t stand. I pray for them!

I pray for God to show them His love for them.

Prayer is a conversation with God.

Prayer is where I hand my friends and family over to God and say I can’t change them but you can.

Prayer is where God changes me and my view or perspective of those I am praying for. Prayer is where He shows me how He sees them.

Prayer is how God changes me

Prayer is how we fight


Don’t quit

I grew up as a Christian, but I had periodic God encounters, instead of a relationship with him. So I quit for six years. I didn’t have an everyday relationship with God, I just went from experience to experience and fended for myself in-between.

That is no way to live, of course I sought other alternative, because I didn’t really know him. I knew about him and had a few amazing moments with him, but I didn’t know him.

But once I realized I couldn’t do life without God, I began that journey into a daily relationship with him. That’s what matters, that’s what makes the difference, that everyday conversation with him.

God compares our relationship with him to marriage. You wouldn’t have much of a marriage if you didn’t at the very least talk to your spouse everyday. So how can you have a healthy relationship with God if you don’t talk to him everyday.

I don’t mean for this to feel exhaustive. Because having relationship with God is anything but, because he is the one the fills us up, restores us and makes us new.

So no matter how tired, how exhausted or even how unwell you feel you can always talk to him, because he is enough in our weakest moments he is all we need.

Hearing God

I often talk about listening to God, and following his direction, but how do you hear God? Below is a great movie with real life testimonies about hearing the voice of God. I pray you blessed and encouraged by it.

Be a miracle to someone

The Christmas Candle is a great movie about miracles in many different ways. (I know it’s not December yet.) But God does provide miraculous miracles of helping and provision and sometimes we are the miracle to someone else.

As Thanksgiving is fastly approaching I want to encourage you to look outwards instead of inward, with your thanksgiving. Who are you thankful for? Is there something you can do for them that we be a miracle for them?

Talk with the Holy Spirit and let him lead you to someone you can be Jesus too and bless them with your help, time or service.

You never know the impact you can make till you let Jesus be a miracle through you.