A Prayer from Mars

A Prayer from Mars

by | Feb 28, 2016 | Popular Culture, Prayer

Picture

The Martian, the recent award-winning film starring Matt Damon and based on Andy Weir’s best-selling near-future sci-fi novel, has been called one of the best true to science sci-fi films in decades.  If you haven’t seen the film, consider doing so (and realize this blog post may give some plot details away).

In the film, NASA astronaut/botanist Mark Watney  (Damon) is left for dead when the crew of an exploratory Mars mission has to evacuate their insecure surface structures and lift off to escape a fierce storm.  The crew reluctantly break orbit and begin the journey back to Earth while unknown to them Watney recovers and sets about the daunting task of surviving with limited food, water and oxygen.

The botanist’s efforts are successful in that he begins to raise a crop of potatoes in a controlled environment and in so doing he becomes the first person to colonize the Red Planet – the first Martian. When he is eventually able to make radio contact with Earth, the rest of the crew decide against all odds to “turn their ship around” and return to Mars for Watney.

Christian commentators have been quick to point out the similarity of the story with the Parable of the Lost Sheep, and it is not an unfair comparison as religion does appear in the book on which the film is based even though Hollywood has obviously scrubbed most of the religious references. Director Ridley Scott is known as an atheist who applies his beliefs to his films, but one surprising reference to Christianity does survive (like Watney on Mars) in the film and I’d like to look at that here.

The reviews I have read of this film agree that Watney does not ever pray in the film (although his character does pray in the book), but I disagree.  At one point in the film, in order to survive, Watney has to somehow produce water for the crop he attempts to raise. He has hydrogen and oxygen available and knows he can produce water if he can initiate the necessary chemical process through the use of fire. Unfortunately, all the materials available to him are NASA flame-proofed, but Watney eventually finds a source of help. Finding a crucifix left in the emergency evacuation by one of his crewmates, Watney carefully shaves off some pieces from the base of the wooden cross and uses them to initiate the combustion which produces the water he needs for life.

It is at this point that Watney prays. It is not a formal prayer and is one that we might easily miss, but after he takes the wood from the crucifix to enable him to survive, Watney looks at the Christ figure and says  “I figure you’re OK with this, considering my circumstances …. I’m countin’ on ya.”   Perhaps the producers left this in the movie because they thought it might seem tongue-in-cheek, but they did well. It is a prayer and it contains all the basic attributes of a successful prayer for help. First, it acknowledges God by the very act of addressing him. Next it expresses a heartfelt need – in this case, of survival itself (“considering my circumstances”) – and finally, it expresses trust in God (“I’m countin’ on ya”).

Watney’s simple prayer is ultimately answered, and the movie has a good resolution. It’s a very worthwhile film (despite some occasional unnecessary language) and one that you can ponder.    The film is done as a study in human ingenuity as the astronaut takes on the  seemingly-impossible task of returning from certain death.  But the film also, unwittingly or not, makes the point that those who find themselves (in this case) millions of miles from home and without any obvious chance of survival somehow do find it natural and even easy to pray.  Beyond that, the film is a perfect “water of life” metaphor. It is the Christ figure that provides the water of life (John 4:14) which ultimately makes Watney’s survival possible.

Does Love Really Cast Out All Fear?

Does Love Really Cast Out All Fear?

by | Feb 21, 2016 | Love

Scripture in Focus:  “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear …” 1 John 4:18
 
This scripture provides a classic example of the importance of context in understanding the Bible, and the problems that come when we forcibly remove verses or parts of verses from their setting.  Taken out of proper context, the words “There is no fear in love” are often quoted as a kind of spiritual “rabbit’s foot” or good luck charm – a mantra suggesting that if we have  enough love, we will have no fear. 

But if this is the case, real life experience would indicate that none of us has enough love. We can be filled with love for God and fellow humans, but still find we are afraid of heights, or roaring lions, spiders, snakes, or whatever else might cause us fear.  The answer is clearly not that we need to love heights or lions more, but that we need to see what exactly the fear is that love casts out.   The apostle John gives us the answer if we look at the context in which “there is no fear in love” is found:

“This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love” (1 John 4:17-18).

The context makes it immediately clear that John is talking about judgment and how we can have confidence on the Day of Judgment (vs. 17).  He tells us that in this regard love casts out fear because if we truly love God and others, we will have nothing to fear in judgment. That this is the only fear John is talking about is made doubly clear when we look at the rest of verse 18 – where John tells us “… perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment …”  It is the fear of judgment and resulting punishment that love cancels out.

Now this understanding of the proper context and meaning of 1 John 4:18 does not leave us without encouragement in the area of fear.   A simple word search in a Bible concordance or on a Bible website will show that there are a great many verses affirming that believers need not live lives of fear. We may still be afraid of heights, and maybe even of snakes or roaring lions (Psalm 34:4, 56:3), but many of the psalms show that God’s love for us can help cancel out fear of men (Psalm 27:1), disaster (Psalm (1:5-6), or uncertainty (Psalm 23:4) in our lives.
​
A wonderful scripture to which we can turn in this regard is 2 Timothy 1:7 that “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”  Here, in fact, Paul contrasts an attitude of fear with that of the love that comes from the Spirit of God, a concept that is not so different from the way many people use 1 John 4:18 – but it’s so much better to use a verse that means what we think it means, even when we look at in context. 

Promises within a Promise

Promises within a Promise

by | Feb 14, 2016 | God

Something to Think about:  Genesis 28:15:  “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

​It’s a beautiful scripture, but it is so often quoted out of context (for example, on social media) that we get used to it and often miss the depth of the promise.  In context, God not only promises to watch over Jacob, but also makes a number of other promises to the patriarch.  Although the words were spoken to a specific individual, many other scriptures show it is reasonable to take them as our own if we, like Jacob, are walking with God and allowing him to work his purpose in our lives.

But if we are going to apply these words to our own relationship with God, why not spend some time thinking about the fullness of what they show.  Rather than allowing ourselves to see the scripture as just a group of words with a single positive message of divine protection or care, why not break them down and focus on the fact that they contain not one general promise, but four very specific ones:

(1) God’s presence (“I am with you”), (2) God’s preservation (“I will watch over you”), (3) God’s restoration (“I will bring you back”), (4) God’s promises (“what I have promised you”).

Take a little time to think on what each of these promises can mean in your life – if you feel they apply to you, why not apply them fully!

Your Family in Africa

Your Family in Africa

by | Feb 7, 2016 | The Church & the World

PictureISS Infographic: Africa in 2016


We live in a world which always seems to have a war raging somewhere, and problems everywhere else, so it’s easy to begin to lose track of what is happening on all the continents. At this time, most world news headlines relate to the complex and perilous situation in the Middle East, and so it’s especially easy to miss what is happening  elsewhere – but as Christians we do need to notice.

The Africa-based Institute for Security Studies recently released a summary of the problems in Africa as we go into 2016.   The graphic above summarizes this report, and we should notice that it does not consider ongoing problems of famine, disease, malnutrition, human trafficking,  and other issues – simply current political problems. 

Africa is a huge continent (for a graphic representation of just how huge, see our blog post here), and the first thing we need to see is just how widespread the problems are over that massive landmass. According to the ISS, there are crisis hotspots in twelve countries with major problems ranging from ongoing terrorist activity to all-out war.  To put this in perspective, if twelve states of the United States of America were experiencing these levels of crisis and anarchy, most Americans would regard the situation as virtually apocalyptic.

The kidnapping of 276 (still missing) Chibok schoolgirls by the Islamic Jihadist and terrorist organization, Boko Haram, in Nigeria in 2014 resonated around the world (#BringBackOurGirls), but this event was only one of hundreds of ongoing kidnappings, killings and attacks being perpetrated by this and other groups in Africa – many of which never make it into the news in the Western world.
  
The cost for everyone affected by this ongoing violence is terrible, of course, but we need to be particularly aware of its effect on members of the Christian faith.  Christians are the primary target of much of the violence and persecution in many of the crisis hotspot areas – and remember a “hotspot” in Africa is not just a “spot,” it may be an area of thousands of square miles.  In some areas Christians are being attacked daily, with as many as three churches a week being burned and destroyed.  Our prayers for believers in these areas are needed just as much as for those in the Middle East who are suffering in what are often better reported circumstances.

Notice also that the ISS graphic shows the high number of elections in many of the affected countries in 2016, and we can pray that those elections will result in better acceptance and protection for Christians who are endangered by the widespread problems.  Overall the situation in Africa is worse for Christians than it has been for many years, and the problems are growing almost everywhere.
  
So if you are part of the family of Christianity (1 John 3:1-2, Ephesians 2:19-22), think about the responsibility to which our faith calls us – to have concern for suffering members of that family  (1 Corinthians 12:25-26) and to help them (Galatians 6:10). We need to be aware of the situation and remember to pray for and support our family in Africa. 

Are You Avoiding the Prophets?

Are You Avoiding the Prophets?

by | Jan 31, 2016 | Bible Study

Picture

The question asked in the title of this post turns on BibleGateway.com’s  year-end analysis of the most popular verses and chapters among the site’s 160 million plus visitors during 2015. 

​The list of most visited verses was of itself perhaps not very surprising  (the top five verses were John 3:16, Jeremiah 29:11, Philippians 4:13, Romans 8:28 and Psalm 23:4). More illuminating is the chapter by chapter graphic produced by BibleGateway showing exactly which Bible chapters saw the most search traffic.

That chapter by chapter chart showed clear visitor focus on the  Gospels and Epistles, on Genesis, Exodus, Psalms and Proverbs. But even though the numbers show a much greater focus on New Testament books compared to those of the Old Testament, there were some noticeably neglected areas within the Old Testament itself.

As BibleGateway’s Andy Rau wrote in a recent Christianity Today article (which you can read here): “There’s a particularly noticeable engagement gap regarding the books of the Old Testament prophets, whose words and actions are connected to specific (and lesser-known) moments in the history of Israel.”

This apparent neglect of prophetic writings is also reflected in the fact that the Book of Revelation appears to be BibleGateway’s least visited book  (or certainly one of them) in the New Testament.  

Why would the Bible’s prophetic writings be relatively neglected by millions of Christians in this way? The answers are probably complex.  Certainly many find the symbolism and verbal imagery utilized by some of the prophets to be somewhat daunting and difficult to understand.  Prophecy can seem like an almost alien literary genre for those unused to reading the Bible, and many shy away from the prophetic books for that reason alone.  In other cases people have been “burned” by unsuccessful modern interpretations of prophecies and by the commonly perceived “wild eyed and mystical” nature of the prophets themselves.

Yet despite whatever reasons people may have for avoiding them, the prophetic books of the Bible are unquestionably worth the investment of the modern Christian’s study time.  The Hebrew prophet or Nabi was not just a deliverer of oracles of impending or distant events – the prophet was primarily a spokesperson for God who delivered many kinds of messages. Think about just three types of messages found in the prophetic  books that you may not have considered as much as you might:

1) The prophets are the unequaled commentators on social justice in the ancient world.  A great deal of what many of the prophets have to say is regarding social problems of their day that are just as real in ours.  Read Amos 5:7-24 for just one example.

2) The Old Testament prophets speak constantly to God’s covenant relation with ancient Israel.  The prophets were the spiritual “marriage counselors” addressing problems of  the divine husband-wife community of that covenant.  Their inspired advice is often just as relevant  to  our relationship with God today, even if the details may be different. And yes, some of what the prophets say is good marriage advice on the human marriage relation level too (Malachi 2:14-16). 

3) Not all prophecies are of doom and gloom!  Many prophecies speak of restoration and renewal of the human relationship with God (see Isaiah 60, for example), and these find their apex in the many predictions of the promised Messiah.  Just reading all the Old Testament messianic prophecies can be tremendously illuminating and  faith strengthening.  If you have never hunted down these prophesies in the Old Testament, at least work backwards by reading the New Testament  and checking the scripture cross references or notes of your Bible (use a version on BibleGateway if your Bible doesn’t have them). Whenever you come to words regarding the Messiah in quotes, read the cross referenced passages in context, looking at the section of Scripture in which they appear.  You may be surprised  how much more the prophets say regarding Christ that did not find its way into the New Testament quotations.

These points are not meant to diminish the lasting value of other things found within the prophetic writings – including even the darkest oracles delivered against people and cities long disappeared. We understand that all Scripture was inspired and is of value (2 Timothy 3:16-17), but we don’t always read the Bible keeping that in mind. 

If you are new to reading the prophets, try starting  with one of the minor prophetic books – ideally Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament. Take a look at the article “Malachi: A Story of Love and Legal Proceedings” on our sister site here, then try reading Malachi and judging how much of value you found within the book.  Or take a look at the Jonah story from a new angle by reading our article “A Tale of Two Prophets” here, then read Jonah and Nahum.

If you have read the prophets before, but have neglected reading them recently, give them another try.  Setting up specific goals for study – such as looking for the three points mentioned above – can help demonstrate just how much of value there is in these amazing books.
​
In the Christianity Today article we mentioned earlier, Andy Rau urged BibleGateway  visitors to give the prophetic books some time this year. We agree.  It’s invariably an investment of time that is amply rewarded.   In fact, if you read them, you may wish you hadn’t avoided them as long as you did.