It’s Just A Subsciption!

Recently, several Christians that I know, announced they were canceling subscriptions to their streaming services. One such man Yves,* shared his reasons with me. He and his wife live a very busy and active life. Their viewership of programming coincides with their desire to follow God. Therefore, the shows are few and far between. Of course there are Christian movies to be had on most streaming services but when Yves and his wife added up the number of programs that they found palatable it just did not make financial sense to continue paying good money for bad programming. 

Pastor Bradley* made the same decision. When Pastor Bradley watches most programming, it makes him long for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. The notions of love and marriage so askew. The lack of respect for parents, the elderly or even the police force seem front and center. Although it gives Pastor Bradley many ideas for his sermons, it just makes him sad to see how Hollywood and its’ ilk are reflecting God-rejecting values. It was an act of obedience to God to let his subscription go.

Then there is dear Vera* a woman well into her 80’s who can barely operate a computer or her mobile phone. All she wants to watch on television is the weather, old movies and to hear some of her favorite Christian pastors on their Sunday programs. Despite her inability to operate modern devices, she has great moral clarity on the current state of the news and entertainment industry. Even as she has begun a cognitive decline she can reason that paying for services that promote mostly ungodly values puts more and more money into the hands of people promoting such things. She shows a moral bravery in her desire to defund the immorality. 

All of these recent discussions made me kind of quesy. Why, because I have struggled with these issues my entire life. Trying to be in the world and not of it, takes a certain toll. You will not be popular at school, your job or in social circles when you explain that you are not watching that most bingeable of television series, or that summer blockbuster movie currently streaming. Try explaining the biblical principles to people ensconced in all that and you see downright persecution.

I experienced all of that as you have or will if you decide to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Following God imparts grace but it also requires actions. Faith without works is a dead thing. Everyday we have to actively make choices that support our status as spirit-filled, born again believers. Jesus bought us with a heavy price, his death and resurrection. Oughtn’t we honor that by living the truth? What is this particular truth that I am referring to?

The truth is we are in a vast, global spiritual war. The forces are good and evil. One of the weapons of choice in this war, are the news and entertainment. We can not join ourselves to evil. Yet, in the case of a streaming service, you are joining yourself to God’s opposition. Your monthly fee to these services gives you the disgrace of having every abomination before God touted and dignified. Even if you are only watching the Christian channels you are still paying the salaries of every abomination to God on the other channels. 

From the moment the first drop of grace fell upon my head, it broke my heart to see what could be a good television, movie or live theater production go bad by the addition of, and pivot towards anti-Christian promotion. It still does, but I know that where we are spiritually will naturally finds its’ place in our books, plays and scripts. Today, the entertainment industry is an all out war for the hearts and minds of everyone from birth to death trying to pull them away from the things of God. 

The factories of spiritual death put out record volumes of material which have ensnared even the most well-meaning christian believer who are not prepared for the power of this propaganda. Many of us let our spiritual weapons down at the end of a long day at work or with the kids. Sometimes, we just want some mindless entertainment to help us relax on the weekend. But, get this, there is no such thing as mindless entertainment.

The arrows hit their mark when our spiritual shields are down. As I write this post, I am closer than ever to stepping away from the remote for good. There are literally only 3 or 4 shows that I like and for that I am  bankrolling the enemy. As I share my spiritual struggle on this front I am inspired by Yves, Pastor Bradley, and Vera to finally do what I know is right and with that try to redirect my money and attentions to other more worthy pursuits trying to be all I can for the Lord. 

* The names have been changed but the stories are not.

Strange Fire

This past month or so, I have seen a lot of parent/child relationships hit the fan. It was inevitable that I would write about it. The state of the family is just not in a good state in Westchester County, New York or elsewhere. Take my friend Amy* from Chappaqua. She is truly a blessing of a friend. She is a godly, loving woman who often serves others. 

Amy has been a strong Christian presence in my life and when I need her help in any way, she is always there. It has always amazed me to think that it was Amy’s daughter who brought her mother to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Emily* started to study the Bible with a church group in college. She chose to get baptized and shared the Good News of Jesus when she was home between semesters. It is hard to believe that it is the same Emily when I see the way she treats her mother now. 

Does Emily think that her mother will be around forever, or does she just hate her that much? I have asked myself that question a lot. Don’t get me wrong, Amy isn’t perfect but Emily is also far from perfect.The stuff that Emily may be holding against her mom is mostly petty. Except that there is a divide as regards Amy’s born again beliefs. Emily has veered away from the faith and now attends a church that allows gay marriage and transgender naming days. She stopped reading the children’s Bible that Amy sent to her grandsons a few Christmas’s ago because she thought it was too violent. All of a sudden she is triggered by her mother’s biblical statements on life, love and war. Strange fire, strange fire!

Then there is Lawrence*. Lawrence has spent a lifetime working in the Youth Ministry of a well-known church in Westchester County. He has been passionate about teaching and equipping the next generation of young people to know Jesus and to content for their faith. He has had many challenges along the way, including financial and health issues. Yet, he has truly been gifted by God for this ministry and has earnestly sought to follow the Lord.

So, that is why it broke my heart to hear the news that his beloved daughter has decided to become a cloistered Catholic nun whose order makes chocolate fudge. It is not common knowledge at the church yet, but a family member needed to confide in me during this crisis. As you can imagine, Lawrence is feeling like a complete failure within his own house because his own daughter has turned her back on her  former bible centered, spirit filled relationship with Jesus Christ. Strange fire, strange fire!

Dee’s* problem with her daughter Chloe* feels almost like her daughter has joined a woke cult. She thinks she is a Conservative Christian but, she could only pass for one in her new state of California. In the rest of America except for the bi-coastal regions of the United States, she would be called a triggered, flaky, woke, neurotic, woman. Typical of that group is that she treats her pets far better than her parents. In her Gaia faith, it is all the same. Yet, in the Holy Bible there is a difference. Strange fire, strange fire!

“And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not. 

And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.

Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the Lord spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified, and Aaron held his peace.”-Leviticus 10:1-3

Within each of the above stories, I see the theme of strange fire played out. There is arrogance and a state of righteousness that all of these women feel as they go before the Lord. They feel certain that,”they have this” or that,”it is all good.” But, God knows the difference between the truth and a lie. He has imparted certain standards within a family setting, including the way we are to treat our parents. 

There seems to be an entitlement among these young girls that is mirrored in the story of Nadab and Anihu. Each of these girls claims they are a Christians or a follower of Jesus Christ. They are sure of it, so sure that just like Nadab and Abihu, they boldly go before the throne with their unorthodox offerings. Their social activist constituents obedience to God as far as they are concerned.

We seemed to be living in a kind of Nadab and Abihu world these days. Orthodoxy seems to have gone by the wayside and with it the clarity of the truth. The truth has been compromised and with that, some strange fire is being offered up to the Lord. 

* The names and some events have been changed to ensure privacy.