Charizard Teach's Us a Few Life Principles

So, what could a fiery dragon teach us about the meaning of life? Well, my purpose in this blog is to show you using a Charizard our purpose and possibilities while on this Earth. One of the most frustrating things as a Pokemon trainer is this when your Pokemon have gotten too high in their level for where you are at and they become disobedient, the words the game uses to describe them as loafing around or turning away. This sucked! You would be in an important battle. The most important you've yet faced and your Pokemon won't listen. This is the topic I'd like to relate. Charizard is famous in the Pokemon series as being too experienced for Ash and in turn he would not listen and would just sleep. In fact the only times when Charizard would fight is when it was a against a foe that was an actual challenge. Over time and through Ash's love and efforts to help him, Charizard finally softened his heart and helped Ash and was loyal to him.

Well, I'd like to compare this to us. Sometimes we get the crazy idea that our way is better and is greater than God's way. We sometimes are like the Charizard who wouldn't obey his master's commands and in return risked losing his life. We need to listen and obey God's commands even though we may think we have a better way or that there is a more rewarding way. Charizard reveals to us that our purpose just like his was to grow and become stronger in fact the strongest we can be, and that way comes through obedience to our Master's commands. We can become everything that God wants us to become by obeying His commands. He will guide us and tell us what to do to become truly happy. Let's soften our hearts and be the dependable fighting monsters we can be. 

Who Could You Become

   

There is a difference in the principle of acting and becoming. Acting, is only good in movies and musicals. Being, is good in reality. So look at yourself and decide right now who you are and who you want to become. I'm not talking about what kind of job you'll have or what kind of car you'll drive or even what kind of family you'll have. I'm talking about when all of that is gone. Who do you want to be there? What kind of person are you going to be. If you are striving for the sole purpose of Christianity to become like Christ and be saved by His grace then this is the route you have to take. Christ charged us, "Be ye perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Take this however you want, but I take this as, "You really want to follow me? You really do? Then take up your cross and become like me." That's the whole point of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. For us to become Son's and Daughter's of God like Christ. True Son's and Daughter's. The kind that are going to live with Him.

This is what I would challenge you to do. Decide if you want to be like Christ and then do it. Don't act like it or give a hollow shell that might suggest you're Christlike. No rip that old self out and stick a new one in there. Change today. Don't give excuses. Don't tell yourself, "Oh I can't it's too tough." or "This is just how I am." That's a lie. To honestly believe that you can't change is to honestly not believe in Jesus Christ or His suffering and death which was in your behalf. So don't tell yourself you can't. Know that you can and know that there is always Someone there to help you.

Dude I Just Levelled Up!@!@!@!@

So the main goal in basically any MMORPG is to level up or advance in experience and progression. I really enjoyed these games for several reason, but this was a main reason. You could take a basic, run-of-the-mill character and with a little time, okay a lot of time and effort you could basically make him a great hero. So if we were to just look at the character progression alone we see this. In the beginning the character was weak, inexperienced and just wasn't the hero it wanted to be and knew it could be, but through determination and constant effort it progressed. It slowly, but surely increased. It gradually changed from the block of stone into a marvelous marble masterpiece. This wasn't done in the click of a mouse or the defeating of one foe, but through numerous triumphs and trials. I will now show you this relates to us and our relationship to God.

Just as the player behind the character doesn't want to stay as a "Noob" or an inexperienced player, but wants that character to become better stronger and more capable. So does our Creator want us to advance. He wants us to become better and stronger in the spiritual sense and in obedience to Him. And just like the games it doesn't come through one experience or through one small or even great action, but through an immensity of diligence and perseverance. Now it is by Christ that we can reach our full potential or "Level Up", but He has asked that we put forth our effort and show our love for Him by keeping His commandments. This is the way He has given us and this is the way He walked, this is evidence of His unshaking and unfailing love and trust in Our Father when He said, "not what I will, but what Thou will." (Mark 14:36)

Team Rocket's Blasting Off Again!



Team Rocket Blasting Off Again

Okay so now that I've roped in the fans of Pokemon and those who just like my blog. I have been pondering the philosophical potential of Pokemon and have found yet another correlation between the beloved Gospel of Jesus Christ and Pokemon. Well, as in every great story, there is always an antagonist as popular or as strong as the protagonist. Well, in the case of Pokemon that antagonist is Team Rocket. So for those of you who aren't familiar with them let me give you a better understanding of what Team Rocket's pretty much sole objective is. It is to capture and steal Ash's Pikachu. They do this by coming up with plans and cunning inventions to try and apprehend Ash's Pikachu. So this is their purpose or at least Jesse and James' purpose. May I suggest that the world of Pokemon and our world aren't too different we too are faced with an enemy that is after something a lot more precious than Ash's Pikachu. That is our happiness.

The antagonist in this situation is Lucifer, the diabolical one. He is constantly coming up with snares and traps to hopefully lure us off of our path to happiness. He does this with several things like drugs, pornography, and disbelief. These things can form addictions that impede our progression and dull our spiritual sensitivity. But, there is an Answer or better yet a Weapon that will destroy those traps and that Weapon is the, Word of God. In Helaman 3:29, it says this about the Word of God, "Yea, we see that whosoever will may lay hold upon the word of God, which is quick and powerful, which shall divide asunder all the cunning and the snares and the wiles of the devil, and lead the man of Christ in a strait and narrow course across that everlasting gulf of misery which is prepared to engulf the wicked." So this is the answer or at least the way we can avoid this miserable state. By reading the scriptures and applying them daily.  

When Ash Ketchum Turns His Hat Around It's About To Go Down!

So I can remember watching tons of sweet cartoons growing up, but the one that made me who I am today is Pokemon. Yes, the show about the little fighting creatures, you know Pikachu and Charizard! Well, okay it didn't exactly MAKE me who I am, but it was a big part of my youth. But, something that I kind of stumbled across that someone else had pointed out was that every time in the show when Ash Ketchum would turn his hat around it meant business! It was always the best part of the show. The camera would zoom in on him and in an epic fashion he would turn his hat around like you wouldn't believe. But, what made it the best was you always knew he was going to fight with everything from that point forward and it would make a great battle with which Ash would almost always come out victorious.

Well, this can be likened to our lives. When we are faced with the "battles", whether they be family problems temptations or even struggles that seem too hard for us to handle we need to be like Ash and in a sense turn our hats around. When this happens we need to ask the Saviour to help us and to give us the strength and sometimes the strategy we need to overcome these obstacles. I know that Jesus Christ live and loves . 

Do You Love Me?

Out of all the biographies and accounts of the different ancient prophets and apostles I have recently come to really appreciate Peter's history. If we can think back to one of the earlier contacts between Christ and Peter we find that Peter was in his boat and was casting his nets in the Sea of Galilee because they were fishers. (Mark 1:16) And then Jesus says to Peter, in a sense, "Leave all that you are and what you have been and come follow me and I will make you into what you are supposed to be." Then it says, "And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him." (Mark 1:18). I think it's interesting that they didn't just leave their net's behind to later pick them up again. Instead, they renounced and completely abandoned their former selves in hopes of become true disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. So throughout all of the gospels we find that peter excels in some points and falters in others just like any normal or even above-average human being. But, after Christ's crucifixion the disciples are kind lost a little bewildered and are not too sure what they are supposed to do now. Peter being the chief apostle is the one who is supposed to have the ideas, well he thinks about it and says, "You know it's been fun. It's been a wonderful 36 months, but I guess we'll just go back to what we know. I'll go back to fishing with James and John." Well, they do.

 Peter, James, and John go back to being fishers and one night they are out on the Sea of Tiberias and are trying their hardest to catch some fish. But, sometime in the morning, because you go fishing when it's dark, they were still trying to catch something and they've just been having awful luck and they are exhausted and are almost done, when they see a Man on the shore by a fire and the Man asks them, "Have you caught anything?" They answer sadly, "No we haven't." The Man was Jesus and He said to them, "Well, try the other side of your boat and you'll have some success." So they do they throw the net's over the right side this time and low and behold they got a catch a massive catch at that. A catch so big they couldn't get it into the boat, it's a miracle in itself that the net didn't break. But, in probably shock and awe they look at that Stranger who had given the great advice when John the Beloved says, "Peter... It's the Lord." Immediately Peter jumps into he sea and swims to the shore, when he get's there he finds that the Lord had been cooking them breakfast. A long tiresome night with no food and the Lord provided, but after eating and some small talk the later looks at Peter and asks him, "Peter, do you love me more than these fish?" Peter, probably chuckled and was like, "Of course Lord." Jesus then says, "Then feed my lambs." But, he didn't stop there he again asks, "Peter, do you love me more than these fish?" In some form of confusion Peter probably hesitantly answered, "Well, yes Lord I just told you I did." Jesus answers, "Then feed my lambs." Again Jesus asks, "Peter do you love me?" In what had to be a desperate plea to show the Saviour of his true love he answer's, "I love you more than everything, you know that." Jesus then gives him an answer that changes Peter forever, "Then feed my sheep. When I called you to follow me and forsake your net's I wasn't talking temporally I meant forever! You need to become what I intended you to become. Which means no more fishing."

Sometimes we fall into the same situation as Peter, we are changed or asked to change in what we think will be temporarily when in fact those changes were meant to last forever, to permanent. Christ intends for us to become like Him and that doesn't come through a quick fix. It takes a lifetime. We need to forsake the things which Christ has asked and follow Him not only with our feet, but with our hearts. As we do this we will find greater comfort and greater peace from Him who gives it. This isn't to say we will never experience trials after we decide to follow Him, in fact it is the opposite. We need to expect trials and expect that we will overcome them through the Lord. Let's not just wish or want, but become what we can be and what the Lord needs us to be.