Christians and Sci-Fi redone...

A few years back I posted this about Christians and Sci-Fi...

"People who know me know I'm a sci-fi guy. Often Christians don't go into the sci-fi realm because of different reasons and then announce that any believer who does like it and watch it is not strong in their faith "obviously." Really? The original Star Trek had Biblical references, on in particular I remember seeing was when they found a planet that was into sun worshiping. At the end of the episode it was Lieutenant Uhara that said, "not the sun, the Son of God!" It was an acknowledgement of God. Firefly had a Shepherd (pastor) as part of the crew, Babylon 5 recognized Christianity. Stargate had a character say, "There's only one God ma'am, and He don't look like that!" There are Christian sci-fi writers out there and I have a book of Christian sci-fi shorts. I keep waiting for a huge sci-fi on the level of a Star Wars of something to appear at the Christian bookstores, maybe even a Christian sci-fi movie... maybe some day.

Christianity and sci-fi can exist. Worried about aliens? Think they don't work with the Bible? Two thoughts on that - 1) Maybe there are aliens out there that we are not permitted to contact because we are fallen and they are not? 2) Firefly is the only sci-fi out there that doesn't use aliens, and a main character is a Shepherd/Pastor! Shiny! It is a series that has other themes that are not kid friendly so it's not a family sci-fi. Maybe someday we'll get something like Firefly that IS family friendly. The universe God made is so vast that it hold secrets we may never know until we get to heaven. "

I still agree with what I said then. Since then we've had The Avengers movie with Captain America saying, "There's only one God ma'am, and I'm sure he doesn't dress like that!" People try and say Left Behind falls into sci-fi, but not really. There were no lasers, not space ships, no laser swords, no visiting other worlds, no aliens, etc.

Now am I saying we need nonsense like this (see below)?

No. That's silly and irreverant to our Lord. What am I asking for? How about more of what CS Lewis did with his sci-fi trilogy? 

Now, for whatever reason, Christian publishers shy away from good sci-fi, the superhero realm, but they have started publishing the fantasy market more. But why no sci-fi or the superhero realms? The Bible has superheroes as we would call them - Samson and his divine strength, there was a prophet who was so fast he ran on water, teleporation, Jesus flew, angels with swords of fire, healings, and so much more. 

Those all sound like elements from good sci-fi and superhero stories - not that I'm saying the Bible is just a good story! Let's clarify that! All I'm saying is if that's what God can do in the Bible, then why do we shy away from stories in sci-fi, superheroes etc that depict similar things?

I long for the day when a Star Wars like movie is Christian based. We get movies that are Christian that are more than a War Room or God's Not Dead variety. I like those movies without a doubt, but how about something to reach the sci-fi and superhero guy in me and so many others? Look at the movies in the last number of years and they are dominated by things like The Avengers, Batman V Superman is next year, Star Wars is set to come back to the theatres in December, Star Trek is working on its next movie, Dr Who is going strong and has had showings in the theatres, and so on...

Maybe someone will have the nerve to make CS Lewis' trilogy into a movie run? I'm not holding my breath, but who knows?

Back to school...

Yes, it's that time of year, thinking about back to school, knowing it's happening for my kids and many others in a week's time...

Yes, that yearly tradition to make sure our kids are educated and will hopefully become the nest doctor, lawyer, pastor, teacher, computer tech, trades person, etc. This time of year the kids have mixed reactions - they want to go back to school but it's to see friends, not necessarily for the work. Some are bored so they do want the work. Parents are anxious because they've had their kids for 2 months, and now are giving them back to school. Some parents are first timers sending their kids off to school. Some home school so not a huge transition except a change in routine. All involved have some level of anxiety.

How to cope? Take it to the Lord in prayer. I know sounds like a cliche, but remember what God said in Phillipians 4:6, 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

So yes, in times like this the best thing to do is to hit your knees and pray to God for wisdom for yourself and your kids, pray that God would protect them daily and that they would make wise choices. Pray that as a parent your fears would be alleviated, knowing your kids are in God's hands. Pray for the teachers and staff at your kids' school, that if they aren't a believer that they might become one, and that they would instruct in a way that honours God.

Some people see school as free baby sitting for parents. Not so. As one who has been an educator in the system, this is the furthest thing from the truth. It's all in how it is approached. It should be a partnership with the parents, how involved you are as a parent will show up in how your child does at school. As Christian parents we should never just hand the kids over and let life go on. Invest in the school. Be on the school council, write notes to your kids' teachers. And did I mention pray? 

Have a great school year, God bless! It starts Tuesday Sept 8th!

Tree Top Trekking lessons

Okay, today there was Steve Jones, Todd Gale, Tim Maassarany, Pip Lucas, Cody Marshall, Terry Molinaro, Maria Lopez, Tim Van Dyk, and myself doing Tree Top Trekking at Horseshoe Valley Resort. 

What was it like? See below...

Well it was fun, scary at times, exhausting, and challenging to every muscle in my body! It was a team building day for LIFE staff and there were fun times and times of "Shhh! Don't talk to me!" as we concentrated on the task at hand. We came back all tired and feeling the effects! 

How did I handle the physical effects? 

Yep, hot tub! Soothed my aches and pains! 

Now on a serious note this team building day is important because as Ecclesiastes 4:12 says, Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. At LIFE we're a team, as Christians we need each other to get through the tough times of life and spur each other on.

Sometimes the road is tough, sometimes we're on a wire way up high all by ourselves and need a friend. A fellow believer can do this for us. Of course God is with us, but having the support of a Christian friend is always helpful too. We have a song that we play on LIFE called "We're In This Together" by Rapture Ruckus reminding us how we need each other. 

At the end sometimes we do need rest... like our hot tub, other times we need to completely withdraw and rest up like Jesus did, and pray.

A great reminder today from LIFE about the importance of each other, pushing ourselves to be better than we are, and trusting God to get us through!

When dreams die...

Ever feel like Squidward from Spongebob Squarepants?

Yeah, sometimes our dreams we had hoped would come true - didn't and we don't see them coming true any time soon. We may have done all sorts of training for a particular field or maybe had our hopes set on a particular life partner or how our homes would be as parents... then reality hits and it's nothing like what we dreamed.

Sometimes our dreams don't come true for many reasons - it could be a lifestyle of sin holding you back, it could be it's not God's will, it could be the wrong training, wrong choices, whatever the reason, we need to not dwell on lost dreams but focus on the future whatever it is that God holds for us. 

This is where the rubber meets the road - trusting God in ALL things, especially when it involves our dreams. Sometimes dreams need to die, sometimes they're just delayed, whatever the situation, we need to pray to God with all our prayers and petitions as Philippians 4:6 (NIV) says, Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Hard to not be anxious when it's our dreams on the line huh?

But here's the thing, when our dreams match up to God's then we will get the desires of our hearts. 

Easy to say, not easy to do right? I know from personal experience. Pray without ceasing and see what God won't do for you! To keep asking is not wrong either, look at the scenario Jesus presented about the woman who pestered the human judge until he relents and heard her case in Luke 18:1 - 8. Look at verse 6 - 8, 6 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? 8 I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” So here we see it's not wrong to keep asking, as long as our motives are pure.

Dreams are tough to lose, tougher sometimes to keep alive. Whatever area you're in, look to God for your dreams.

The Bible knew it first, nothing new under the sun...

In Hollywood we're seeing more and more reboots and sequels and so on...

From Star Wars to Batman to Spiderman to James Bond to Terminator to Dr Who, Godzilla, and Power Rangers we're seeing that Hollywood seems to be running out of ideas. But this is nothing new. The Bible said it first thousands of years ago...

 

Ecclesiastes 1:9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

It seems creativity stopped a long time ago. Makes sense because the true source of creativity - God - was rejected by mankind long ago. So this is why we seem to be getting movies that are rehashing a lot of material that was old. 


One day, God has promised everything will be made new, we see this in Revelation 21. It won't be recycled, everything will be brand new. Can't wait for that day can you?

How to scare your pastor in 5 easy steps

Okay a little tongue in cheek here, but humour me on this...

How to scare your pastor in 5 easy steps...

1) Tell him, "This is how we ALWAYS do this..." This phrase puts fear into a pastor's heart more than most others. It's not that I hate all traditions, but some need to fade away. To hear that phrase to a pastor means there could be a resistance to change whether it is music or the carpet or expansion or even the service order. Hopefully not, but you never know...

2) No pastor's office. Okay not that an office is a deal breaker, but if your church can't give your pastor a church office to work from and do counselling in, then what does that tell him and anyone he tries to minister to? 

3) Expect them to take a financial loss to come to your glorious charge! This is something I can't grasp. It's okay for a pastor to take a financial hit to come serve at the church, maybe sell a home for less than what he paid for it in the beginning just so that he can serve? Then when he doesn't do that be told he doesn't have enough faith? I disagree. We have to be financially responsible to provide for our families too.

4) You cannot have any outside income - you're our pastor, it'd take time away from us! Wow. Most won't say that to a pastor's face, but they expect it. There are a lot of underpaid pastors out there. Some have to take a part time job to supplement their ministry. Then when they do, the people get their noses out of joint thinking the pastor doesn't have enough faith. No. They don't have enough money for their family. Solution? Pay the pastor more or allow them to have that second income without harping on them.

5) Expect them to do everything. I once had a church jokingly say that to me in a potential position when I asked what they would like me to do. They laughed, but I could tell there was a line of truth to it... Oh... everything... Some churches put all their hopes on the pastor - preaching (given), to worship (somewhat expected to have input here right?), to programmes, outreach, visitation, and the list goes on and on... This is a sure fire way to burn out a pastor - expect them to really do everything and when they don't criticize them. 

To any potential churches out there looking for pastors, be careful of these items when looking for a pastor. Don't wait to give the fine print of your church until they're already there and serving - that can cause resentment. Just some food for thought. Do what you will with it... 

In Christ,

Pastor Andrew Robertson

What the rainbow REALLY means...

So yes, I am so tired of the rainbow being high-jacked. The real meaning of the rainbow is from Scripture. God created it to show a promise that He would never again destroy the earth by a massive world wide flood like He did in the time of Noah. Instead God talks about a day when heaven and earth will pass away by his design - plagues, famines, earthquakes, and more - just check out the book of Revelation for the details!

THIS is the REAL meaning of the rainbow. I just wanted to clarify that...