"Weird Al" Yankovic - White & Nerdy

Someone else's perspective

As a Christian, and especially as a summer missionary with Child Evangelism Fellowship, I have always thought a lot about the unsaved person praying to receive Jesus Christ as his/her personal Savior. We usually call it a "profession of faith" because the prayer itself doesn't save you--you must first understand that you are a sinner and the Jesus died to take the punishment for your sin, and that He came alive again. Personally, my mom led me in the "sinner's prayer" when I was almost 5 years old, but I don't actually remember that day. Does that mean I wasn't really saved then or that it wasn't meaningful to me? No! It means most little boys don't remember what happened when they were 4 when they are 10 or older. I know I am saved and going to Heaven because of what Jesus did for me, and I accept it. I know the Holy Spirit is within me because I see how He works in my life.

I have been reading Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist 1 by Michael J. Fox. It is a very interesting read, and I feel that I have much more understanding and respect for stem cell research. Part Three of the book is titled "Faith," and I was very interested in what the actor who played Marty McFly had to say about his personal views. He is a faithful husband and loving father who seems to be generally moral, and he believes in a higher power who is looking out for him, but he apparently never saw the need to accept Jesus as his Savior from sin. Growing up he had a friend named Russ who came from a Christian family. Here is an excerpt from the book:

"He reminded me that during a New Year's party, 1972 into 1973, in our friend Rusty's basement, I had accepted Christ as my personal savior. Myself, I was a little fuzzy on those details. I remembered that I had a deep and spiritual interest in Rusty's rapidly developing big sister Karen, a born-again herself and a major player in the crusade to win eighth-grade souls for Christ. Anyway, it seemed to have had more of on impression on Russ over the years than it did on me."

It made me kind of sad to read that, but everyone has to make a personal decision. Maybe Michael will come around, but being a relatively good person doesn't cut it--salvation comes through Christ alone!

1 Fox, Michael J. Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist. New York: Hyperion, 2009.

Chosen

Green Lantern is different from other superheroes because he wasn't born with superpowers or aspired to become a hero--he was chosen.

Kal-El (a.k.a. Clark Kent, Superman) was born on the planet Krypton shortly before it was to explode, so his parents Jor-El and Lara sent him to Earth where they knew he would have special abilities because of the yellow sun, Sol. They wanted him to be a hero on Earth and carry on their legacy. Because of his powers he knew what he was meant to do. He could be compared to Moses or Elisha, or even as a type of Christ.

Bruce Wayne (a.k.a. Batman) saw his parents killed right before his eyes when he was a young boy, so he devoted himself to bringing justice to Gotham City. He worked hard to make himself a superhero, and he might be compared to a scribe or Pharisee.

Hal Jordan was a test pilot, which was a pretty cool job, but he had no aspirations to be like those "capes." It was the Green Lantern ring that chose him and gave him the power to be a superhero. Now this is just an analogy, so don't take it too seriously, but those of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior were also chosen in God's eternal plan and foreknowledge to live for Him, and we have the Holy Spirit to empower us to carry out God's will for us.

"They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them. But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light." (1 Peter 2:8b-9 NLT)

Guess what! Season 10 is the last season of Smallville!

Apparently Tom Welling spilled to some people that season 10 is going to be the last season of Smallville, and I guess he's been given a hard time about it, but it's not like it's any secret. Smallville has already been going longer than anyone expected it to, and it can't go any longer because it's time for Clark to be Superman! I suppose Clark could go a few more years without being called Superman, but he was supposed to be able to fly when he was 18, and he's already 23 and still not flying. When they made the "No Flights, No Tights" rule when the show started in 2001, I don't think they expected it to still be running 10 years later. They probably didn't anticipate including other members of the Justice League, either, but that was a great decision. Superman without other superheroes is kind of boring, but he's a great leader for the others because he is the conservative one who brings balance to the team.

I am a loyal fan of Smallville, and I've been watching it ever since I saw "Bo Duke" was playing Jonathan Kent. I think it would be great if the show continued with Clark as Superman working with the rest of the JLA, but it can't be Smallville any longer than another season, because Metropolis is his city. Smallville is just where he grew up, and he's all grown up now!

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I have been learning about the importance of a credit report, and it reminds me of my salvation. Even though I, like you, have sinned, Jesus Christ paid for my sin with His death on the Cross, so now there is no sin on my record. Anything done through me by the power of the Holy Spirit is credited to my account. My record is clear no matter what, but I want to live to match my record!

Someone said that the Bible says God will not hold it against you if you did not have a chance to know about him, but I'm pretty sure the Bible does not say that. God does not send anyone to hell--we are all already going to hell because of our sin, and only by accepting Christ's sacrifice for sin are we saved from hell to go to heaven. God has revealed himself to the world through his creation, and the law of God is written on our hearts (i.e. we know right from wrong), so there is no excuse. I believe the punishment for those who have heard the gospel and rejected it is greater than for those who never heard it, but only those who have accepted Jesus Christ alone for there salvation will go to heaven--so it is very important for those of us who know him to share the gospel with the whole world!

True Story!

I understand that the products you buy at Walmart are more likely to break, even if they are the same brand, than the same product bought anywhere else. For instance, Mongoose is a good brand of bicycle if you buy it in a bike shop, but the ones sold at Walmart are lower quality. In addition to that, the people at Walmart who assemble the bikes are not professional bike assemblers, so good luck.

I bought a watch at Walmart almost 2 years ago and I really liked it and had no problem with it, until this weekend. A friend of mine who used to work at Walmart was explaining how scientists at Walmart take otherwise good brand name products and figure out ways to make the ones at Walmart cheaper. Just as she finished saying this, my watch spontaneously broke apart beyond repair! What's up with that?!? I guess I'll just have to look at my cell phone to know what time it is until I find a place that sells quality wristwatches.

Free Comic Book Day

I know I'm a little behind, but today was the first time I ever went to a comic book store on Free Comic Book day, so I didn't really know what to expect. Would I have a choice of any one comic book for free, would there be a selection of free comic books to choose from, or could I get lots of free comic books? It turned out to be a combination of B & C--there was a table on which there were a lot of free comic books to choose from at one's leisure, but the rest of the comic books in the store you still had to pay for. There were also discounts on used comics, but it's too much work to sift through them all. I got a good selection of free issues that I wouldn't have taken if they weren't free, and I bought a few new issues, too. It was a fun experience!