At the Edge of Tommorow

"Come Find Me When You Wake Up!" -  From the movie "Edge of Tomorrow"

I was not sure if I would like the new sci-fi thriller movie "Edge of Tomorrow" but it was more than I had expected or hoped for.  It has humor, good acting, a strong story line, and great special effects.  All the elements of a good-sci-fi movie.  The movie is about an apocalyptic take over of planet earth by aliens.  Has anyone noticed that it seems like the earth is being hi-jacked by the enemy Satan while the church remains asleep or in a coma?  God is saying to the church again, "Come find me when you wake up."  It may take the death of the church before we see its resurrection.  We need a world-wide spiritual awakening where people more want God than what they think they can get from God.  Where people discover and learn that they are called into a great cosmic spiritual battle and if they do not wake up others, who will?  Fear is all around me but I sense the Holy Spirit calling me to fearless hope.  Wounded soldiers and abandoned people are all around me, can we find God's power in the midst of our weakness?  Maybe the church is on the edge, will it fall over the cliff or will it rise up to being a church at the edge as it ministers to a whole new generation of people who seek an authentic robust faith that is more real than the illusions of this world system.  Only tomorrow will tell!

Surprised by Scripture

"We do not read the Bible the way it is; we read it the way we are" - Evelyn Uyemura

This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday and I am reminded of Jack Deere's book "Surprised by the Power of the Holy Spirit."  We all tend to be surprised by God, Jesus, and even the Bible at times.  N. T. Wright new book, "Surprised by Scripture," engages Scripture with contemporary issues like science and faith, the problem of evil and idolatry, and issues like politics and the end of the world.  I suspect it seemed like the world was ending for the first Christians until Pentecost happened and nothing was the same afterwards.  God is creating a new world where heaven and earth meet and join together.

Wright rightly challenges how Christians compromise their faith when they split reality between sacred and secular, history from story, and earth from heaven.  These realities work together rather than being divided and fragmented.  The church needs a new awakening or as Wright says a new understanding of what God's new creation looks like.  Or as Wright puts its, "The Bible is not about the rescue of humans from the world but about the rescue of humans for the world" (p.32).  And if we are really going to listen to what the Bible says, doesn't the Bible more talk about us living under Jesus authority rather than simply the Bible flexing its own spiritual authority?  There are surprises at every turn so when it comes to the Bible, don't be surprised to get surprised!