A GLITCH IN THE MATRIX

There are tons of biblical and kingdom references in the movie The Matrix. In the second Matrix movie, Agent Smith’s license plate is “IS 5416”, which refers to Isaiah 54:16 from the Bible, and it says:

“Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.”

Perfect! Agent Smith and the connection to Isaiah 54:16 is nothing short of genius on their part. While the Wachowski brothers were entertained by the scripture, I suspect they didn’t heed it as evidenced by the fact that the Wachowski brothers are now the Wachowski sisters. Ouchski!There seems to be a lot of that nowadays.

According to religionnews.com it’s the most shoplifted book in the world. I’ve had several stolen from my car when I was younger. I’ve had prisoners use it’s pages as cigarette paper. I’m talking about the Bible and the lack of value we as a society have for it.

MISTAKEN IDENTITY

Are there mistakes in the Bible? There was in 1631. Two London Bible printers accidentally left the word “not” out of the seventh commandment, which then read, “Thou shalt commit adultery.” You can buy a copy for $90k on Ebay. It’s something akin to The Queen James Bible, but for those who like to sometimes “self-identify” as not being married at all.

The newly produced Queen James Bible, also known as the Gay Bible, has been reproduced with only a very few select verses altered–the ones that relate to homosexuality. There is a growing market for such a book.

The homosexuals are not the first ones to cut and paste their own versions of the written word. They are actually in respected company.

Thomas Jefferson created his own Bible out of scraps from the New Testament in order to focus on the moral teachings of Jesus of Nazareth and intentionally left out anything that had to do with miracles. He didn’t want a Bible with the impossibilities of miracles, and especially a resurrection. In other words, like so many in our day, Jefferson was willing to value tiny parts of what Jesus said as long as it didn’t confront his destructive behavior or disbelief. Reminds me of the church lady from Saturday Night Live: “How convenient.”

LIVING THE LIFE

What’s real is that people are going to live however they want to live, and I am fine with that for the most part. I truly mean for the most part. I am not okay with some things: don’t assault me, don’t try and stop my car in the middle of the highway, don’t terrorize my family or my friends, don’t take away my freedom or my property, don’t persecute me because I’m a Christian, don’t tell me what I can or cannot think, and don’t tell me what I can and cannot say.

 

I’ve noticed that people who have no respect for the scriptures are the very people who would be happy to do those things to me and to everyone who doesn’t agree with them. Their hatred for the scriptures is an objection to calling selfishness good. The opposite of love is selfishness and this is what people who hate the scriptures call love.

Self indulgence, self identification, selfishness at everyone else’s expense. Anything “self” other than self control because that would require selflessness, which is what the scriptures say the love of God is all about.

I don’t feel like it’s my job to fix anybody or control anybody. I’m known for who I stand with not against. I am not better than anybody. I am responsible for helping people, of any people group, whether they believe what I believe or not. I am responsible for hearing the cry of victims and fighting their cause, for feeding the hungry, for loving and protecting children, for restoring people who have been outcast, and for doing my part to advance and make better every single thing I come in contact with. I am to answer evil with goodness, have mercy on people, and make a tremendous selfless difference in the lives of people I may otherwise never know. I love truth. I love Justice. I love hope and transformation.

I know this life, I live this life, I teach this life because these are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ and the values of the scriptures. Value for the scriptures makes everything better and a hatred for them makes everything worse.

SMOKING HOT

By the way, on that prison thing I was telling you about in the first paragraph; I had been giving away little bibles and found out they were using the super thin pages for rolling paper. So I began to make them promise that they wouldn’t.

“I can’t do it, Pastor.” A brave young man told me. “I’m bad addicted to smoking and I ain’t gonna lie to you.”

“Okay.” I told him. “If you promise me you will read this before you use it, I will still give it to as long as you promise me you will read every single word and read it out loud.”

He said, “Yes, Sir. I promise.”

I told him to smoke his way through the book of John and read the red letters.