Miracles From Heaven - a Review

A couple of months ago, I received an invitation to view an advanced screening of Miracles From Heaven in Little Rock.  Having not been familiar with the movie or its source (supposedly a true story), I was interested to at least investigate. What I discovered was that this movie was produced by the same folks that produced the film version of Heave Is For Real. This immediately kick-started the critic in me.  But, despite there being other suspect personalities, particularly of the Word Of Faith and hyper-spiritualist camp (most notably, T.D. Jakes), I was willing to at least "suffer through" the film for the sake of honesty.

So along comes yesterday eveing.  I took my elder daughter, Anna along as back-up.  We arrived a bit early, and found that Columbia/Sony really is pulling out the stops to promote this "Christian Faith-based film" (the reps' own words).  Not only were baggies with poster, pen, and other material (including the ubiquitous comment card and church sponsorship/promotion request), but they handed out pretty t-shirts!

On to the film:

Based on what is billed as a true story, the film retells the story of Annabelle Beam and her journey through a terminal diagnosis and what is considered a miraculous healing.  Annabelle (or Anna), middle daughter three Beam children is a vibrant youngster full of energy and life (and faith) when she get sick.  After weeks of ongoing vomiting, a swelling abdomen, many visits to the ER, and various specialists, receiving diagnosis varying from bacteria and viruses to lactose intolerance, mom gets desperate and finally pushes an ER doctor into digging deeper.  What they finally find is that she has a motility disorder. Basically her digestive tract is not receiving the signals from the brain and thus are essentailly shut down.  Young Anna is referred to the only pediatric Doctor specializing in this disorder (as yet incurable).  But this doctor in Boston (the Beams live in Texas) has a 9 month waiting list and Anna doesn't appear to have that long.  In desperation, Mrs. Beam takes Anna to Boston without an appointment, makes a desperate plea to the receptionist, but apparently comes up short. At dinner, they meet Angela, a waitress (played by Queen Latifa), who befriends them.  They have an adventure touring Boston with Angela as their tour guide, beginning a friendship that serves as a great help in the ongoing struggle. Sure enough,my he Pediatrician's office gets Anna in the next day and after a series of tests, the specific diagnosis is confirmed, and is the worst- the disorder might be manageable (the experimental medication has serious possible side effects and is not covered by insurance), and it only provides some quality of life, not a cure.

Things improve a bit for little Anna until she goes into serious relapse and in her faith actually says she wants to die so she can be go to Heaven where she won't hurt any more.

Anna is stabilized enough to go home to Texas.  Her older sister talks her into climbing the massive old cottonwood tree in their yard. An accident happens, with Anna falling 30ft.  A dramatic rescue ensues, Anna is rushed the the hospital where they find not only that she is nearly unscathed, but they find over the course of the next few days, her digestive disorder is gone.

Now- on to the nitty gritty-

This film is family-friendly from the point of the lack of violence, adult content, language, etc.

There is a great deal of positive in the film, with my personal favorite being the overall family dynamic where the parents and children have a very loving and self-sacrificing relationship. The film also does portray the very real battle people of faith have with the hardships that life throws at us (in the case of the Beam family thisnwoukdninclude not only Anna's sickness, but a new start-up business and serious financial issues made worse by the care costs for Anna).

But there is plenty of reasons to not endorse this film.  The film depicts several unscriptural theological concepts, including g out-of-body experience, trips to Heaven and direct verbal visits with God "in Heaven"). Even more concerning was a briefly mentioned, but blatantly-heretical moment (reinforced by the emotion of the scene) that implied everyone gets to Heaven "in their time".

I found it rather interesting that the Beam's church pastor was depicted (I'm sure unintentionally) as rather shallow in his preaching, and it even results in some church members making some off-handed judgments against the Beams (which contributes to Christy Beam "losing faith"), and thus withdrawing from church attendance.

The producers of this film are well-acquainted with tugging at heart strings, and you will likely need most of a box of tissues by the end.  What I found particularly interesting (and encouraging) was that my 11 year-old daughter easily identified the questionable theology, and herself expressed concern over the universalist statement.  I must say I am very proud of my own Anna!

Long story short, I am not going to discount the apparent fact that the main character was a very sick young lady, who was out of options, and who, after a terrifying fall, went into "spontaneous remission". For that matter, I have no issue with the assertion that life is a miracle, or that God works out small "miracles" all around us every day.  I firmly believe that God is still in the healing business. But when you ad I what a child "saw" and her supposed conversation with God in Heaven as as factual as any other observable fact, throwing in magic butterflies and out-of-body experiences and a promotion of universalism, I just cannot recommend the film. I will say, Martin Hendedson did an admirable job portraying Kevin Beam. Jennifer Garner at times was believable as Anna's mom, Christy Beam.  The young ladies playing Anna's sisters were adorable. Queen Latifa's character, Angela, is immediately like able, even if not very plausible. The other fun character is the pediatrician Dr. Nurko (played by Engenio Derbez).

Who Do You Associate With?

In my decade and a half in education, I attended many conferences and conventions, with the vast majority being music and band focused (logical, as I was serving as a band director at the time).  I am fairly certain that most of my friends still in that field would agree that there is value in conferences, but also you have to filter through and make decisions about what to attend and what not to attend. Indeed, if offered a conference that pushed an educational or music agenda known to be seriously flawed or even harmful to our students, a discerning educator would avoid that conference.

In the realm of church work, conferences have become a multi-million dollar business.  One can find "Christian" conferences on every angle and aspect of church work, methods, growth, and theology. These conferences are put on by denominational entities, publishers, ministry-related businesses, and many other groups. And just like in every other field, there are solid, biblical conferences, as well as those that push and stretch the definition of "Christian" to extremes. I have attended a few, and have a few ministry friends who love attending conferences. Yet a troubling trend is developing that begs for a whole lot more discernment from Christian leaders, especially those who take groups of youth (or adults) to many of these conferences. Discernment that begins, not with snazzy titles or catch phrases. Discernment that goes beyond glossy, high-energy promotional materials. We need a healthy dose of discernment regarding the reality of what is being taught or even promoted by said conferences.

Might I suggest beginning with a sincere look at who the promoters and organizers of said event are. Do they follow a biblically sound statement of faith and purpose? Is the event a profit-driven production? What is the core message (not the advertising catch phrase)?

As a pastor, I am constantly bombarded with advertising through every medium for conferences that cover every corner of ministry, and from many doctrinal and theological perspective. Sadly, many have underlying them, some troubling foundations.  First, who are the speakers? An extremely popular conference going on this weekend that several friends are attending called the Passion Conference.0, proudly features a Charismatic self-described woman preacher who espouses Word of Faith, name-it-claim-it theology (Christine Caine). Other popular conferences of late have featured similar slates of speakers from experiential, charismatic speakers with similar questionable doctrines mixed in with other, more reliable speakers. Many of our Christian leaders gladly take group ® young believers to these conferences, where they sometimes are taught that experience trumps genuine faith and obedience. Where consumerist church is demonstrated, and pragmatic/experience-based revelation is often more valuable than the Word of God, rightly proclaimed.

Don't get me wrong, we could learn a few things from some ministries that may be somewhat different than our own.  Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer published a book a few years ago titled Transformational Church.  In that book, the authors did research-based investigation of somnolence fastest growing congregations in the nation, examining the useful parts of what those groups were doing to impact their communities. They did not deal with denominational or doctrinal issues, but instead sought the functional things these congregations and leaders were doing that really made a difference. This book has a great deal of useful information, without a heavy promotion of the various theologies espoused by those studied.

But when one attends a conference, the speakers are under no constraints. How many churches our own association would invite a Charismatic, oneness Pentecostal, Word-Of-Faith preacher to be a guest preacher or to lead revival services? Yet would we will load up a bus and take impressionable young believers to be influenced by the same teaching?

At best, we present a form of stumbling block of confusion to our brethren. Much worse, we may actually be endorsing theologies and doctrines that fly in the face of Biblical Christianity.

Discernment...not just another big word in the a bible, but a command to believers, and particularly to Christisn leaders in the church, for the sake of the faith and our brethren.

What Do We Cling To?

In checking the church mail at the Post Office this morning, I encountered a gentleman who appeared to me to be 80+ years old and in bad health.  His voice sounded like a someone with a serious case of pneumonia, and indeed he was coughing almost constantly.  He also had an oxygen bottle "in-tow".  He was pleasant enough when I said hello.  He coughed and extended a hand to shake.  In the course of the short chat that followed, I learned that he was just over 60 years old and was a lifelong smoker.  He had a laundry list of reparatory troubles and I assured him that I would pray for him.  While fairly friendly, his attitude changed when I brought up church and the Lord.  He acted uncomfortable and it was then he decided it was time to go.

I watched as he climbed in his pickup truck with his mail and his little oxygen bottle, closed the cab door, and lit a cigarette.  My mind then turned this into an object lesson...

This gentleman was being destroyed physically by holding on to cigarettes.  Even at the point of constant coughing and the need to have oxygen all the time, he would not turn loose of that vice.  Exactly how much different is sin in our lives?

Sin is the ultimate root cause of death.  It was by the sin of one man that death entered in (Romans 5:12).  It is for sin that we all deserve nothing less than both physical death and spiritual death.  For far too many, the sin is more important than the sickness and death it brings.  Even professed "Christians" continue to hold on to certain sins that they perceive as maybe "less bad".  Particularly sad are those who, leaning on Jesus' words when He said that no-one can pluck His sheep from His hand (John 10:28), continue in glaring sin, seemingly unrepentant towards their actions and behaviors (or their inaction).  They seem to want to "continue in sin that grace might abound" (Romans 6:1).

And much like this gentleman I met this morning - whether a professed Christian or not, most - when confronted with the things of God - even the mention sometimes, causes them to recoil and either get angry or flee.

God's Word does not list "denial" as a method of overcoming sin in our lives. Only is clinging to Jesus Christ with all of our hearts, minds, and souls can we have hope of defeating that which is killing us eternally.  Only through the poured out blood of the Lamb of Christ can wash away our sins and cut the chains to our very slavery to sin.

It is only by genuine, redeeming faith (a gift from the Father, by His Grace) that we can, as Romans 8:37-38 tells us, be victorious overcomes.  But we must give up clinging to those things that are destroying us - give up the sin that we so desperately seem to want to dwell in - and instead, draw near to the One who gave His life on the cross of Calvary for you.  Cut the chains of slavery.  Repent!  Believe!

What are you clinging to?

What is a "Christian"?

After a recent question by a brother in a group I participate in regarding the definition of "Biblical Christianity", I thought- maybe we should dive even deeper, to figure out what a "Christian" is. This may seem like a rather sophomoric question, but I believe it is an important one. Whenever we see surveys reported that say there are x number of "Christians" in the US, what they don't tell you is that this is "self identified", and includes every denomination and "Christian cult" out there. Indeed this country has a lot of mpeoplr who will check the "Christian" box, but don't really even know what that means!

So, if we boil it down, what is a "Christian"? I mean this in the sense of the kind of Christian who is a brother (or sister) that Jesus said In would love as a sign that I am His.

This ties in with several theological debates, including Free Grace vs Lordship Salvation and Calvinism vs Armenianism.

Linguistically, to be a Christian would literally mean follower or imitator of Christ. Paul wrote that believers should be imitators of him as he followed Christ. This is why some early Christians were labeled "Paulitians"...followers of Paul.

So, does that mean that some one who acts as a sacrificial servant, seeking after then good of others is, because this is "Christ-like", a "Christian"? Jesus said in that a day is coming that many will stand before Him and list off all the good stuff they did in his name... And he will say to them "depart from me he workers of iniquity, for I knew you not".

So it would seem to mean that outward appearance isn't "it".

In the New Testament, we find examples of one " becoming" (or nearly so- king Agrippa) Christian... all hinged on one, single "event": a turning point when knowledge becomes faith, faith in the Son of God, not just in Who He was and is, but more importantly, what He accomplished through His death and resurrection., and by next logical and natural step- acknowledging His Lordship in and of our lives (Romans 10:9).

Any " Christianity" that leaves out the total faith in Christ Jesus, is but vain religion. It is but noise.

Or put another way- all the "Christian" stuff you do will be meaningless in the day you stand before the Judgment of Christ, for without genuine faith, He will say "depart from me... I never knew you (Matthew 7:21-23)! All our works are as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).

So,a " Biblical Christian" is someone who has responded to the Holy Spirit's drawing and the gift if faith, through Grace, in the Who, What, and Reality of Jesus Christ. All of this leading to, or resulting in, "living faith" as James wrote of.

Where do you stand? Jesus said "if you love me, keep my commands". Jesus said " by this they will know you are my disciples, that you have love one-for-another".

We can get hung up in the "how's" of salvation... Whether it is a "free-will choice" or if we are predestined by God unto salvation (with no choice). But ultimately, what is important is that you are either born-again, regenerated by Christ, imputed with His righteousness, and destined for eternal life, or you are unregenerate, and headed for eternal condemnation.

All the "good works" in the world don't make you a Christian. All the church attendance or religious activities don't make you a Christian. Only the Blood of Jesus can make you a Christian.

posted from Bloggeroid

Death Penalty and the Christian (and An Ironic Twist)

There is a great deal of controversy and debate over the death penalty/capital punishment.  Many well-meaning Christians point to the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross to pay for our sins.  They look to scripture that clearly says that we all deserve death for our sins.  Unfortunately, while scripture does say that the "wages of sin is death", the death is an eternal death, separated from God in Hell and the Lake of Fire.  We all will indeed die one day.

Others point to the Old Testament Law and its clear demands for death in a wide variety of crimes.

So what should our attitude be towards the death penalty?  Did Jesus' death somehow eliminate the "need" for capital punishment?  I submit that the Death Penalty is not just morally correct, but is biblical.  Further, the death penalty, applied liberally is not a violation of the US Constitution's prohibition on "cruel and unusual punishment" (8th Amendment).

In Genesis 9:6 we read “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image."

It would seem obvious that human life is extremely important to God!  Why?  Because we are made in His image.  God's word clearly identifies murder as grounds for being put to death.  If one were to read further, God even made provision to spare the lives of those who shed blood by accident or through what we might define as "justifiable" circumstances by today's terms.

Scripture also squarely places the authority to wield the sword in the hands of the government.  Even if we have a hard time seeing where "good" comes from our governments, God has ordained and empowered governments.

At no point has God removed or changed His mind regarding murder.  Some point to Jesus and His intervention when the woman "caught in adultery" was going to be stoned to death.  What most fail to realize, is that Jesus' statement “Let him who is without sin among yoube the first to throw a stone at her” John 8:7, was not an undoing of the Law, but was a conviction of the hearts of the men who were, in reality, testing Jesus.  They had hoped Jesus would argue against the law, but instead the Law was turned back on them - because of the hypocrisy they were demonstrating.  Where was the man involved?  It takes two to commit physical adultery!  Jesus was not condemning the death penalty, He was condemning hypocrisy.

But that brings us back to the death penally, applied through the laws of this nation and our states.  

The Old Testament law commanded the death penalty for several acts, including murder (Exodus 21:12), kidnapping (Exodus 21:16), bestiality (Exodus 22:19), adultery (Leviticus 20:10), homosexuality (Leviticus 20:13), prostitution and rape (Deuteronomy 22:24), and other crimes.

While God often did show mercy when death was the "due" (David's adultery and murder being one example), and the truth that every sin we commit should result in the death penalty because the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), ultimately the death due for sin is an eternal death, separated from God in an eternal Hell and Lake of Fire. This should remind us of how thankful we should be that God demonstrates His love for us in not condemning us (Romans 5:8).

But we must recognize that God gave the authority to apply the death penalty where appropriate.  And while Christians should not celebrate executions, we should not rail against it either.

This brings up one of the biggest ironies of all in my mind (or maybe it is hypocrisy?):  How many people are staunchly against the application of the death penalty, yet are just as energetic in promoting abortion.  Will we protect the blatantly guilty, while destroying the unborn who are the closest to "innocent" we ever are in this flesh?

Think about it.