Lincoln, Life of Pi

Both movies will be nominated for multiple major categories during the Golden Globes and Academy Awards season. Though both movies are over two hours long, they kept my attention and interest throughout.
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Go Ahead. Make My Day

Dirty Harry’s classic line “Go ahead. Make my day”  is one of the best Hollywood movie lines ever. Check out the super cool extended 4 min clip, or the 12 sec clip.

How might we paraphrase this? “You think you can push me around? Try me.” “Don’t mess with me. If you do, you’ll lose.” “You think, you’re tough. You haven’t met me yet.” If you can pull it off and mean it, it is downright scary, especially with a smile or a smirk.
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Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation

This is the (abridged) Proclamation of Thanksgiving by Abraham Lincoln on Oct 3, 1863:
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Believing Grace, Practicing Law

Saved by Grace; Function by Law. I know that I am saved by Grace (Eph 2:8-9), but somehow I functionally and practically operate as if I am saved by keeping the Law: by reading my Bible, praying, preparing sermons and Bible study, discipling and mentoring others, blogging, repenting of my sins, loving, serving and praying for others and for ways to advance the kingdom of God, attending prayer meetings, Bible conferences, weekly worship services, etc. Though I believe in Grace, I functionally default to the Law daily. I wake up every morning as a Pharisee. Though I want to extend Grace to others, my default is to give them some Law, such as work harder, read your Bible daily, participate more, have a specific goal for your life, don’t be selfish and self-centered, overcome yourself, don’t go see Breaking Dawn Part 2, etc. What exactly am I doing?
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What 2nd Gens Need From Their Dad

Barnabas Piper, son of John Piper, wrote about 7 Things a Pastor’s Kid Needs from a Father. I sent it to my four kids and asked them how I measured up (or did not). They love me and perhaps that is why they did not respond. So I evaluated myself. The seven things a kid needs from their dad who is a pastor, shepherd, Bible teacher, or missionary are:

  1. A dad, not a pastor.
  2. Conversation, not sermons.
  3. Your interest in their hobbies.
  4. To be studied.
  5. Consistency from you.
  6. Grace to fail.
  7. A single moral standard.

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Sexual Temptation

You always notice someone in church, or in class, or at work, but you will never tell anyone. How do we Christians overcome the ever present temptation to lust and to fantasize? Even if we strictly avoid inappropriate sexual contact, how do we overcome the wild imaginations of our minds, and the allurement of sexually explicit pornographic images freely accessible on the internet? Do we just “Say No” to free sex, porno, nudity, strip clubs, etc, as we say No to drugs? Do we say, “Be like Joseph who overcame Potiphar’s wife who demanded sex from him day after day”?

Here is a quote from C. S. Lewis from Mere Christianity in his chapter on Sexual Morality which may be helpful:
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