What is meant by the term "Last Resort"? Just as it is read, it means you final shot, the very last thing you would do in a seemingly hopeless situation, every last bit of strength you have to make a final stand. Well this also happens to be the title of ABC's recently cancelled show.
Normally I don't post stuff about TV or or pop culture on the web because there are more meaningful and eternal things of value. But this show ran it's full course and struck a deep chord in me. It's the story of a US nuclear submarine that was ordered to fire it's payload upon Pakistan. The captain of the boat saw how morally wrong this was and saw that Pakistan had done nothing to cause the slaughter of millions of innocent people. He refused the direct order and commandeered the submarine. But his original plan was for naught, because a nearby US destroyer fired upon Pakistan and the president of the USA declared the captain a terrorist.
The show takes you on a journey through the chaos. It depicts in accurate detail the ugliest, most dark, and vile human actions and how corrupt and fallen this race is. For example, plutonium was planted in Pakistan to create a "justifiable" reason for the US to nuke them, a drug lord doesn't receive his shipment in time and tells the hostages to pick someone to die and when he goes to shoot the girl, one of the guy hostages picks another guy to die and he is shot. There's treason, suicide, insanity, mass murder, torture, and every other thing the devil bathes in. But what you see that even though evil is reigning supreme, those who still have a heart and can see through the BS stood their ground fought the terrorists, and even when faced with the choice to shoot the captain because it was their Duty, their defending of their nation, they chose to take the bullet. To stand up to any and all evil. To not let even the supposed murder of one's wife to totally destroy him. As the captain in the show said when questioned with why he was fighting against the country that he so dearly loved: "I stand for my country and I love her. But I will fight against the corrupt institution that runs her. Don't you dare say they are one."
The thing that also got me was how one of the main characters just wanted to get home to his wife and she was doing everything to get to him. And when faced with the questions of why she wouldn't convince him to give himself up, she said. "I've had to share him every since I married him. He loves me and his country. Just like he would never give me up for anything, he would never sell her our either." Eventually, he is finally reunited with her through this long, heart-wrenching process only to see her supposedly "blown up" right before his very eyes. He goes on living with this demon that he had done everything and he still couldn't protect her. He broke down, he seemed as if he was about to give up all hope, but in the end, even when his cards were counting him out, he stood his ground and brought the true terrorists to justice. And of course he was reunited with his wife who was actually kidnapped.
So where am I going with all of this? I want you to realize that while many of us live in this blessed nation where freedom rings, God is known, and the name of Jesus is at least accepted, there is evil that reigns throughout the rest of the world and even right in our own backyard. And many a time we chose to ignore it because we don't want to deal with it. Being a Christian is not easy and seeing this is motivation to stand against the devil and his lies, to fight for what is right and don't just tolerate what is wrong. To take every foul abusive word, insult, slur, punch, slap, and kick that comes my way and turn the other cheek. Why? Because Jesus took it all. He drank death's cup dry and never once did He hurt another human being. As He hung upon that cross His heart broke and was filled with love for the very ones who mocked Him, beat Him, and killed Him. He died for sinners, He died for us all. And because He took that stand, He overcame the one thing that no one could overcome. That was death. And today He lives and cries out for His people to come back to Him. He desires all men to be saved. Can we take this stand?
"Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."~Matthew 5:10
" We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal body."~2 Corinthians 4:8-11
"Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses."~1 Timothy 6:12
"and do not give the devil a foothold."~Ephesians 4:27
"And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."~Matthew 28:20
Friday, January 25, 2013
Monday, January 21, 2013
A Traveler's Thirst
A Traveler’s Thirst
By Josh Watkins
Dare I dream of a
paradise afar?
A place to soothe my
weary soul,
A place where the sun
never sleeps and crystal waters rare.
Country born and
country raised,
but dwell do I in a
concrete zoo.
Oh to taste the
delicacies of a foreign land!
To excite my
shriveled tongue to a high degree!
Danger I fear not,
Courage I possess,
I thrive for
adventure.
How I long to soar
like an eagle,
The sky at my
command,
The wind, slave to my
power.
To be free, the world
to see,
This burning desire
that consumes me.
“Life is short” they
say,
to live forever is
but a myth,
a dream,
a fantasy.
Why waste it?
I only have one.
A ticket for the
world I shall buy,
To a foreign land I
shall fly,
Until that day, here
I will remain,
Dreaming under a midnight sky.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Adios 2012 and Hello 2013!
Another year in the books and it still feels like only a couple of months have gone by. It seems the older one gets, the quicker time flies. I still remember my early childhood years and those lazy summer days where I would climb a tree or lie in the grass and just stay there for hours on end dreaming of my future and days not far off. To an eight year old kid, it seemed like an eternity to reach every milestone. But now, if you blink, it's gone. To me it still feels like 2010 has just ended rather than 2012 breathing its last.
Around this time, many people create resolutions for the new year...and then in a week or two they break them and store them in the back of their minds until the next year. These are mainly to correct what they failed to do the year before. My idea of a resolution is to create and complete goals of things I want to do rather than things I want to do away with. With that note, let me reflect upon 2012 and revel in what 2013 may bring.
Normally when asked to recall a year, as soon as I hear the number, a different type of feel comes to mind. For example, when I hear the year 2007, I get really excited because that was an awesome year in my life. But when I hear the year 2005, I immediately get a feeling of disgust. That year was by far the worst year of my life. And if you were to say the year 2003, I would be in between conflict and mirth. As for 2012, let's just say it was a roller coaster.
The year started off better than I could have imagined. A number of problems I had just vanished. I went on vacation to North Carolina for a week with 11 other awesome people and had a time of my life. I was still in a one year Christian internship that was totally worth leaving school for a year and it would go through the summer. Now let me divulge on exactly what this was. This was a years worth of reading, studying, and learning the Bible. Four hours every day were committed to getting into the Word and discovering all its riches. The rest of the day was devoted to being with people, preaching the gospel, being with the church, and learning the Word on our own. There were 18 of us in Cleveland and around 30 total between us, Ann Arbor, and Buffalo. The ones I was with, whom I call brothers and sisters in Christ as well as friends, shared memories, experiences, and we all grew together with strong bonds of friendship and love. Then we got to see all our hard work pay off during the summer when we planned, served, and put on events for the young people. To make a long story short, the number of kids that attended Mountain Top and Interest Camps were much higher than they had been in the past. The Lord also did many amazing things this summer.
After the summer and the labor had ended, I was dreading the return to college. I didn't miss the 40 min commute every day, the 12 hour plus days of work/school combined, pointless papers, worthless general education classes, and obnoxious tests that determine half your grade even though you had an A going into the final. I'm not a fan of school, even though I will admit that it is very valuable and you are better off getting through it than struggling to find a job in the future.
The return to school began well and it was like I never left. But as the semester wore on, I found my self restless; wanting so desperately for the semester to end. It was like I was being suffocated in things that bored me, waned me, and consumed me. Then a number of things happened in a short period of time that pushed me over the edge...which hadn't happened since 2005. Did I tell anyone? Not really. I knew they were temporary problems that would pass and that the Lord would carry me through.
Finally the semester ended and winter break came and just relieved the school burden I was carrying. Along with it came the Rock and Empower. It's times like these that make me realize the things that matter and the things that don't. It's refreshing to be with all the other college age Christians whom I know and love dearly. However, there was a bit of an empty feeling that lingered about me. It was about the so many other ones who were not or could not be there; ones who had been there in years past, but not this year. I just want you to know I'm thinking about you, sometimes daily.
Now that 2013 has arrived, I am looking forward to what the Lord has in store and what new adventures this year will bring. I have a number of goals I'd like to conquer, one being to see the salvation of at least one of seven friends and another is to complete at least five things on my abnormally long bucket list.
I know not what the future holds. But this I do know. He is Lord today, yesterday, and forevermore. No matter how much my heart falters, all my trust is placed in Him. Storms will come, be they rough or be they drizzle, but every storm runs out of rain and every storm obeys its Master. Here's to the new year and to all the Jesus has in store. There is no one like our God.
Around this time, many people create resolutions for the new year...and then in a week or two they break them and store them in the back of their minds until the next year. These are mainly to correct what they failed to do the year before. My idea of a resolution is to create and complete goals of things I want to do rather than things I want to do away with. With that note, let me reflect upon 2012 and revel in what 2013 may bring.
Normally when asked to recall a year, as soon as I hear the number, a different type of feel comes to mind. For example, when I hear the year 2007, I get really excited because that was an awesome year in my life. But when I hear the year 2005, I immediately get a feeling of disgust. That year was by far the worst year of my life. And if you were to say the year 2003, I would be in between conflict and mirth. As for 2012, let's just say it was a roller coaster.
The year started off better than I could have imagined. A number of problems I had just vanished. I went on vacation to North Carolina for a week with 11 other awesome people and had a time of my life. I was still in a one year Christian internship that was totally worth leaving school for a year and it would go through the summer. Now let me divulge on exactly what this was. This was a years worth of reading, studying, and learning the Bible. Four hours every day were committed to getting into the Word and discovering all its riches. The rest of the day was devoted to being with people, preaching the gospel, being with the church, and learning the Word on our own. There were 18 of us in Cleveland and around 30 total between us, Ann Arbor, and Buffalo. The ones I was with, whom I call brothers and sisters in Christ as well as friends, shared memories, experiences, and we all grew together with strong bonds of friendship and love. Then we got to see all our hard work pay off during the summer when we planned, served, and put on events for the young people. To make a long story short, the number of kids that attended Mountain Top and Interest Camps were much higher than they had been in the past. The Lord also did many amazing things this summer.
After the summer and the labor had ended, I was dreading the return to college. I didn't miss the 40 min commute every day, the 12 hour plus days of work/school combined, pointless papers, worthless general education classes, and obnoxious tests that determine half your grade even though you had an A going into the final. I'm not a fan of school, even though I will admit that it is very valuable and you are better off getting through it than struggling to find a job in the future.
The return to school began well and it was like I never left. But as the semester wore on, I found my self restless; wanting so desperately for the semester to end. It was like I was being suffocated in things that bored me, waned me, and consumed me. Then a number of things happened in a short period of time that pushed me over the edge...which hadn't happened since 2005. Did I tell anyone? Not really. I knew they were temporary problems that would pass and that the Lord would carry me through.
Finally the semester ended and winter break came and just relieved the school burden I was carrying. Along with it came the Rock and Empower. It's times like these that make me realize the things that matter and the things that don't. It's refreshing to be with all the other college age Christians whom I know and love dearly. However, there was a bit of an empty feeling that lingered about me. It was about the so many other ones who were not or could not be there; ones who had been there in years past, but not this year. I just want you to know I'm thinking about you, sometimes daily.
Now that 2013 has arrived, I am looking forward to what the Lord has in store and what new adventures this year will bring. I have a number of goals I'd like to conquer, one being to see the salvation of at least one of seven friends and another is to complete at least five things on my abnormally long bucket list.
I know not what the future holds. But this I do know. He is Lord today, yesterday, and forevermore. No matter how much my heart falters, all my trust is placed in Him. Storms will come, be they rough or be they drizzle, but every storm runs out of rain and every storm obeys its Master. Here's to the new year and to all the Jesus has in store. There is no one like our God.
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