Why is scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz a zombie?

Answer: Because he’s looking for a braaaiiiinnn.

Zombies are so hot right now. Apparently the zombie apocalypse is upon us… I haven’t seen any zombie flicks myself because I’m a big chicken. I’ve been told Shaun of the Dead is hilarious and I kind of want to see that one, but its probably not going to happen. For now I’ll just stick to the zombies that Paul talks about in the Bible. What? You didn’t know? Check this out:

Paul tells us in Romans 7 that a Christian’s old nature is dead, but the weird thing is even though our old nature is dead; it keeps bothering us. Paul says “I have discovered this principle — that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this body of death?” Sounds like a zombie right? - A creature that’s dead but keeps coming back to life to bother us (and eat our brains).

In your typical zombie movie the hero generally carries a shotgun and often resorts to a baseball bat, axe, or other type of blunt instrument to defeat the hordes of the undead. (Well at least that’s what it looks like in the trailers).  Does Paul offer us a weapon to defeat our old, dead, zombie part which keeps springing back to life? He sure does! Though it taunts us; “go on, take the cookie… just park on the yellow line, everyone does it… oooo you are so bad for parking on the yellow line, aren’t you supposed to be a Christian?... God doesn’t love you anymore, see how bad you are…” and causes us to cry out like Paul “Who will free me from this body of death?” We can answer Jesus Christ our Lord!

So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. Your zombie problem has already been taken care of. Did Jesus die on the cross for sinners? Yes. Are you a sinner? Yes. Then He died for you and you are perfect in God’s eyes. He does not condemn you. He is always pleased with you, you belong to Him. You have been made alive in Jesus Christ.

From the Lutheran Files...

From C. F. W. Walther's epic lectures "Law and Gospel; How to Read and Apply the Bible"

"...the essence, of a Christian - that which makes a person a Christian - is that he knows how to seek his salvation in Christ and thus to escape the Law."

Paul says God's law has the power to condemn us because we don't keep it but when Christ died for us He freed us from the law's power.  He did this by taking the punishment we deserve for breaking the law upon Himself "Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin... if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."

Don't eat the French Fry

 

An excerpt from The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character and Achievement found on Mockingbird:

"You can tell people not to eat the French fry. You can give pamphlets about the risks of obesity. You can deliver sermons urging them to exercise self-control and not eat the fry. And in their nonhungry state, most people will vow not to eat it. But when their hungry self arises, their well-intentioned self fades, and they eat the French fry. Most diets fail because the conscious forces of reason and will are simply not powerful enough to consistently subdue unconscious urges."

The law is powerless to save you from yourself.  You need to be changed by someone outside of yourself.  "The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.  He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit." - Paul in his letter to the Romans.

 

Don't worry, be happy (or else)

From the November 2010 issue of Australian Vogue:

In the article “Happiness is overrated” writer Elizabeth Heathcote comments on positive thinking “My beef is less with the details of positive psychology and more with the way it functions. By lending academic credence to the idea that we can be better, shinier and happier if we just try, it has turned happiness into not only something we should expect, but yet another must-have commodity that you are failing if you don’t achieve”.

Happiness is a gift, a result of something good that has happened to us. We cannot manufacture it. It is pure gospel – something that is a result of something happening to us. When we try to turn it into law – something we must do, “don’t worry, be happy”, then we miss out on it.

Can I hear an Ephesians 2:8-10 out there people?

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

The Rodfather rulz

"A friend of mine was walking down a street in Minneapolis one day and was confronted by an evangelical brother who asked, “Brother, are you saved?” Hal rolled his eyes back and said, “Yes.” That didn’t satisfy this brother, so he said, “Well, when were you saved?” Hal said, “About two thousand years ago, about a twenty minutes’ walk from downtown Jerusalem.” This is the gospel message. It’s just as important for Christians to believe for their sanctification as it is for pagans to believe for their justification; for it is the same message, the same salvation, the same work of God. It’s just as important for the evangelical church today as it was for the reformers in the sixteenth century. Without this simple, but mind-boggling message, there is no hope, not for the sinner nor for the saint."

Dr Rod Rosenbladt (The Rodfather) on Gospel Coalition blog

I have Mantrol Issues

I did a lot of driving on the motorway last weekend and I saw quite a few policemen on the road. One thing I always notice with myself and other drivers is how everyone's speed drops by about 10km/hr at the sight of a police car. The sight of the law convicts us.

But what’s more interesting to me are people’s reactions to the amount of Police presence on our roads. Whenever there is a news item about speed cameras or Police check points, reporters always seem to be able to find someone who says “What a waste of taxpayer’s money. Why aren’t the Police going after real criminals?” It is easy to downplay our sin when it doesn't seem to hurt anyone.  "I'm in a bit of rush, why won't this guy get out of my way, I'll just overtake him, it's only a single yellow line."  But who knows when our next "little" offense will be ours (or someone else's) last?   In 2010 over 300 people died on New Zealand roads.  Many of the road deaths were caused by overall good citizens who in one crucial moment choose to be careless and break the law with devastating consequences.  Hence the Police concern about the issue. 

God’s standard for measuring our goodness is infinitely higher than our own. Jesus commands us to “Love our neighbour as ourselves”. If I truly loved my neighbour I would follow the 2 second rule, I would keep to the speed limit, I would drive to the conditions, I would not allow myself to be distracted by my mobile phone etc, etc, etc. But my actions show that I do not love my neighbour as I should, rather I love to rush when I am late and many times I feel like I am the most important car on the road. 

The Police will not forgive me for my traffic offenses (and rightly so.) I'll have to pay the fine,  but my offenses against God are much greater, with a fine too great for me to pay.  Its such good news that someone else has already paid this fine for me and I am no longer under Gods condemnation. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1-4)

For another article on the effect of the law on our behaviour: Steeler's James Harrison and the Law

The greatest treasure of all

So the Hub and I were watching obscure Disney movie “Treasure Planet” the other night and I had a law and grace moment.

(****Spoiler Alert****) 

Near the end of the film, would be hero Jim has just discovered the evil Captain Flint’s hidden booty. He climbs aboard a ship wreck lying amongst the gold and sees the Captain himself sitting there guarding his treasure. Captain Flint would be pretty threatening if it were not for the fact that he has no flesh on his bones. This guy’s been dead for a long time. Jim soon discovers that the whole place has been booby trapped and... cue the adventure of a lifetime!

Captain Flint had worked his whole life to gain all the treasure in the world and went to great lengths to stop anyone taking it but ultimately he lost it all; death took it from him. Jesus warns us about a man who stored up for himself great wealth on earth but he died with nothing because his riches were given away to someone else and he had rejected the greatest treasure of all; peace with God. 

How can you get peace with God? You can’t, Jesus got it for you by taking the punishment you deserve for you on the cross. Because of his death you can no longer be God’s enemy, instead He will adopt you into His family and you can be with Him forever. If you think that sounds like good news, you own a treasure no one, even death, can ever take from you.