The voyage–is long, waves high, storms pitiless but my helm is held steady...

Today, right now, with the cross before me, I embrace this magic moment with a heart on fire. Leave all the rest behind, because tomorrow I may exist no more, or I may exist yet again. To God be the glory. Don't live apathetically.

O Lord of the oceans,

My little bark sails on a restless sea,

Grant that Jesus may sit at the helm and steer me safely;

Suffer no adverse currents to divert my heavenward course;

Let not my faith be wrecked amid storms and shoals;

Bring me to harbor with flying pennants,

Hull unbreached, cargo, unspoiled.

I ask great things,

expect great things,

shall receive great things.

I venture on thee wholly, fully,

my wind, sunshine, anchor, defence.

The voyage is long, the waves high, the storms pitiless,

but my helm is held steady,

thy Word secures safe passage,

they grace wafts me onward,

my haven is guaranteed.

This day will bring me nearer home,

Grant me holy consistency in every transaction,

my peace flowing as a running tide,

my righteousness as every chasing wave.

Help me to live circumspectly,

with skill to convert every care into prayer,

Halo my path with gentleness and love,

smooth every asperity of temper;

let me not forget how easy it is to occasion grief;

may I strive to bind up every wound,

and pour oil on all troubled waters.

May the world this day be happier and better because I live.

Let my mast before me be the savour’s cross,

And every oncoming wave the fountain in his side.

Help me, protect me in the moving sea

Until I reach the shore of unceasing praise.

-The Voyage, Prayer from The Valley of Vision

Will The Real Jesus Please Stand Up!

Remember when movies about the Bible were considered cheesy? But you watched them anyway and they were pretty good?! Now they seem to be more cinematic, very appealing & riddled with visual effects, some depend more on the VFX than the context of the story. Bible films aren't new, I'm sure we've all seen the 10 Commandments and many Jesus' films. However, this year be prepared! A trend has hit the theaters with Bible films! A lineup is waiting for you with Jesus, Mary and even Noah! It's ironic how each portrayal and rendition of the characters and stories have been developed towards our liking. The Jesus's keep getting more handsome, the Mary's more attractive and apparently the Noah's are getting buffer–or becoming more like a gladiator than a servant of God. What baffles me is the Bible's description vs. Hollywood's depiction. Take Isaiah's description of Christ:

He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows,and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Isaiah 53:2

Essentially, the real Jesus, whom existed in an era of no photography (which is very interesting to me and loving of our Father, because we would most definitely forsake the Man and worship the pixels) was a man in which other men were ashamed of. A man who was unappealing, unattractive & filled with pain. I don't want to be a debbie downer about the Bible movies, and I'm not saying to watch these films is inherently sinful. I Just want to remind you that these films, they're not Scripture, and it's not Christianity. If you're going to watch them, take them for what they are, movies, not a hermeneutic to Scripture. Be cautious in allowing a movie to give you "better biblical understanding". That would be like depending on Peter Jackson's adaptations of The Hobbit to provide a clear understanding of the books. Many Tolkien disciples would shudder at the sound of that! Everyone agrees that the best way to understand any story is to go directly to the source and read it yourself. Like wise, Christianity isn't understood on the big screen, it's understood through Christ. And Christ is known through Scripture, lived through sinful men & women, who've been redeemed by Christ who humbly follow Him to the end. His word gives life, not a movie, His people paint His love, not a studio production armed with pixels and shadows of lights projected to a screen to stirr you emotionally for a dollar (or 10). They may serve their purpose for our amusement–but that's the danger isn't it? Christ is not an amusement, He is musement. They are nothing more than films for amusement. They are made because they make $$$$. The film industry are experts at manipulating stories to pull our emotional strings. We pay them to feed our emotions, as if we don't have a healthy dose of feelings, or perspective, or something. If pulling our feelings makes the industry profit, they will do it. So I'm writing this as food for thought. Rather than be fueled by shadows on the wall, go out into the world and do something for real because of Scripture. Be fueld by the Holy Spirit, not a movie. Find someone to pray for, find a shepherd to serve, preach the Magnitude of Christ–that is far greater than any Hollywood film–even with all their VFX, it can't compare with the reality of someones passion for Christ! To God be the glory!

For your amusement: