ONE RING TO RULE THEM ALL

One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them,
One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.

If you are a fan of J.R.R. Tolkien, and the “Lord of the Rings”, you will recognize the above quote.  If not, it means nothing to you; however, I ask that you bear with me and continue reading.  Let me explain first of all, very briefly, the “One Ring”.  The “One Ring” was forged by the dark, evil, fallen lord Sauron at Mount Doom.  It was one of twenty magical rings.  Nineteen of the rings were made by elven-smiths.  The 19 rings were for the rulers of the various “people groups” of Middle earth.  They were intended to by Sauron to seduce the rulers to evil.  The “One Ring” had power over the 19, who were dependent on the “One Ring”. The wielders of the 19 could be controlled by the wielder of “The One”.  If “The One” was destroyed, the power of the 19 would fade.  With this limited information, even readers, not familiar with the “Lord of the Rings”, can easily see the allegorical potential within the “Lord of the Rings” book/movies.

Tolkien was a friend and contemporary of C.S. Lewis.  Tolkien was instrumental in C.S. Lewis’s journey back to his Christian faith.  Lewis had abandoned his faith after the death of his mother, becoming disillusioned by God’s failure to heal his mother.  They worked together at Oxford.  Both wrote fictional children’s books that are enjoyed by adults. C.S. Lewis wrote the the Chronicles of Narnia and Tolkien wrote the The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.  These books, which now have been made into movies, are considered by many to be children fantasy that have a deeper allegorical theme.  C.S. intended his fantasy as an allegory of the Christian faith.  Tolkien never did, even though the fantasy was a fight between good and evil in the fictional “Middle Earth”. 

Fantasy books are not new.  They have been around since at least the 8^th century B.C.  The Iliad and Odyssey are probably the oldest even though they are written as poetry.  100’s of fantasy books have been written just in the last few years. The most popular examples are The Harry Potter series, the Marvel “books”/movies and the Star Wars books/movies.  The struggle between good and evil, “good warlock” vs “evil warlock”, good wizard vs evil wizard, good super heroes vs evil super villains is the common thread in all of these; as well as spiritism and supernatural ability.  

Recently, I went to the latest Star Wars movie with two of my grand daughters.  Four of the 5 previews were fantasy/super hero movies.   It is not my intent to debate the “good or bad’ about these books/movies.  I do, however, want to discuss the inward “spirit awareness” or “the search for God” that dwells in each of us that draws us to these books/movies.  We want heroes. We enjoy the struggle between good and evil.  We like to see good defeat evil in fantasy and real life.  We yearn for the supernatural.

Paul encountered this, when in Athens, he came upon their altar “TO THE UNKNOWN GOD”

Paul wrote about it in Romans:

From the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what He has made. As a result, people are without excuse.

It has never been more evident than in the New Age Movement and the spiritism/spiritualism religion of today.   

Paul tells the Corinthians:

The god of this age has blinded the minds of those who don't have faith so they couldn't see the light of the gospel that reveals Christ's glory.

He tells the Ephesians that they “once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.” He then warns them:

we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places

Yet, in spite of this, It is sad to say that the “non-Christians” are more conscious of spiritual evil around us than most Christians. That is not to say that we deny it, but fail to recognize it when we see it. We fail to give credence to it.  We live in a world where satan is actively seeking to destroy the church, while the church primarily sits on the sidelines like spectators at some football game, ignoring their command to do battle against satan.  We know the final outcome and piously mouth the phrase, “God is in control, nothing happens without God’s will”.  Why pray “thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”?  Does God will “sin”.  Did He not tell us to “resist the devil”?  Did He not command us to “put on the whole armor of God”?  We ignore the warnings to the church in the only book of the Bible that has a specific blessing included in it’s introduction:

Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

Sadly, it is probably the least read book by the majority of Christianity.  It is the most controversial.  It is the most ignored.  It is viewed as allegorical by many.  Rarely taken literally.  When read, it reads more like a Tolkien fantasy novel.  Hollywood has made 100’s of fantasy movies, but none are more violent than what is written in the book.  None are scarier.  None visualize the struggle between good and evil clearer.  None more relevant.  The thing that sets this book apart from all other fantasy books, is that it is NOT fantasy.  It is real. It is happening.  It will continue to happen.

The Book of which I speak is “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.  To me, it is the most exciting, inspiring book of the Bible.  I challenge you to read it, study it and take it to heart, and be blessed.  Good will prevail, good will win; BUT more than that, GOD HAS WON, Satan has lost.  Every man will have to decide.  Every man will kneel; either in worship, adoration and in eternal victory, or in submission, surrender, defeat and eternal hell.

Jesus Christ, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  Philippians 2:6-11

 Let me close with my re-write of the quote that I started this blog with.  This is real, accurate and a matter of life or death:

One Lord to rule them all, One Savior to save them all,

One Spirit to bring them all, and in the heavens unite them all.

I pray that everyone, reading this, will join me, in joining with this Lord, Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord

For J.R.R. Tolkien fans:

Spinach Pie and Christmas Presents

What do spinach pie and Christmas presents have in common? Well, let’s start out by asking: Do you like Spinach pie?  I don’t; and the only person that I know who does is my son, Kyle.  We never ate it in our house.  He acquired the taste for it while working as a short order cook at a Coney Island restaurant.  It’s an acquired taste.  Now, how many of you like Christmas presents?  Everyone!  How many of you like “shopping” for Christmas presents?  How many of you like “wrapping Christmas presents?  The number is getting smaller. For those who do wrap presents, are you a Type A person, who is compulsive in the detail of the “wrap”.  Does every present need a bow?  What about a ribbon and bow?   Are all corners precise and tucked?  Any wrinkles?  What about wrapping the odd shape presents, like a football? I think wrapping presents must be an acquired taste that I never acquired, I cheat.  I use the big Christmas decorative bags from the Dollar Store.  Quick! Easy! and Beautiful!   Well let’s get to why I asked these questions.

We all like presents.  We all like things in nice neat packages.  We all organize our lives: work, play, eat, sleep, relax, etc.  Some more than others.  The same is true about our values and beliefs.  The last year and a half has brought this out for all to see in the political landscape.  It is easier to use labels than spend time debating and exploring our values and beliefs, especially when it concerns those with whom we disagree.  Labels carry baggage and are one way of saying that I think you stink without actually saying those words.  It is sort of like cursing, only is is more politically correct.

The same is true when it concerns our beliefs about God.  We have come up with titles and words that are found no place in the Bible.  They more often cause division rather than unity.  Many of the church doctrines have names that are not found in the Bible, such as the doctrine of the Trinity.  The concept is scriptural but the word is not in the Bible.  You and I will never understand the Trinity.  No preacher, teacher, will every explain it.  I do not mean to imply that these words or titles are evil.  They are what they are; but, don’t make a “god” of them. 

We have a built in desire to understand God.  We want to wrap Him up in a neat little package.  If you are Catholic, you have one image of God.  If you are Protestant, you have another.  If you are Baptist, you are a Protestant, with an accompanying image; different from that of a Methodist, a Nazarene, or Assembly of God.

How does this tie into Christmas?  Let’s look at scripture.  It is God’s special revelation to man.  From Genesis to The Revelations, God was revealing Himself and His Plan to man, in WORDS.  There are an estimated 774,746 words in the King James Bible.  These 774,746 words are an interpretation of 8674 different Hebrew root words and 5626 different Greek root words.  Can you grasp that. I can’t.  God chose those words carefully. He used 900+ names or titles to describe Himself and His attributes.  How many can you name?  Have you ever even tried to study the names of God.  No it is easier to use man-made names, labels or words.  WHY NOT LOOK AT WHAT GOD SAID ABOUT HIMSELF!

God said to the prophet Isaiah:

“my word that comes from my mouth; it does not return to me empty. Instead, it does what I want, and accomplishes what I intend.”

Jesus spoke these things concerning the words that He spoke:

Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Matt. 24:35

the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

John  6:33

Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

 John 14:10

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

 John 15:7

For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. John 17:8

Peter said to Jesus:

thou hast the words of eternal life.

John 6:68

The 774,746 words are special and we try to condense them into little packages to fit into our finite mind.  We use labels to separate the Body of Christ.  The same was going on in the Corinthian Church.  Paul rebuked them:

What I am saying is this: each of you says, "I'm with Paul," or "I'm with Apollos," or "I'm with Cephas," or "I'm with Christ."  Is Christ divided?

The Baby Jesus was the ultimate compact Christmas package, that God chose to reveal Himself through.  Paul told the Colossians:

For in Him (Christ) the entire fullness of God's nature dwells bodily. Colossians 2:29

Jesus told Philip:

The one who has seen Me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?  Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words I speak to you I do not speak on My own. The Father who lives in Me does His works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me. Otherwise, believe because of the works themselves.

At Christmas time, it is easy to fall in love with and accept the baby Jesus; but He did not stay a baby.  He did not come to be a nice cuddly baby.  He came because we needed Him.  He came to show us God’s ultimate love for fallen man.  It is not easy for fallen man to admit that he needs help, that all mankind is on a race to the grave and hell.  Jesus is not a nice present to think about at Christmas.   Christ came to die.  To die, that we might live!  Accepting and believing in the Babe at Bethlehem, without accepting Him as Savior and Lord, is a ticket to hell.  Millions of people leave the Babe in the manger and will suffer eternally for that. 

Babies are not threatening.  Babies don’t challenge our beliefs.  Babies need us.  They are dependent on us.  Jesus does not need us.  We need Him.  We give presents to demonstrate love to those dear to us.  Our heavenly Father did the same.

We like life to be orderly, predictable, simple.  That is why we like things and ideas wrapped in little boxes.  Well, if you want it simple, God made it simple.  Just look at Him, Jesus, His Life, His Words.  Forget the “Ya Buts”.  Forget what you don’t know!  Concentrate on what has been revealed.  So what if you can’t understand all the Words.  Just do them, even if they don’t seem to make sense.  If we could understand God in our puny minds, He would not be much of a God! Fallen man is lost, dumb, confounded, egotistical, proud, full of ourselves and on the fast track to hell. 

It does not matter if you think that God is the Baptist box, the Reformed box, the Catholic box or any other box made by men.  It matters whether you have Christ in you and you are in Him.  There is no box big enough for Him and least of all our minds are not big enough to comprehend Him.

God made it simple for us.   Just admit that we are lost, in need of forgiveness, in need of a Savior, accept the crucified, risen Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Then you will have true peace in Him and with Him!  There is no peace on earth or in heaven outside of Him.

For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

God's love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 1 John 4:9

Merry Christmas