The Jesus Games (How weird does this post title sound?)

You've probably heard of a movie, based on a book, called The Hunger Games which came out recently. If not, I'll sum the plot up: so every year in this future country, twelve kids are chosen from each area (called districts) to fight for their lives in something called the Hunger Games. They have to do this to pay for rebellion against the government (called the capitol).

So I saw this movie last Sunday and throughout the movie, I really saw Jesus in it. Many times I could relate a scene in the movie to what Christ did for us. Here's the first one: these children/teenagers had to fight to death due to a rebellion they had caused. We have to face the wages of sin which are death (Romans 3:23) because we have sinned, and rebelled against God. In the movie, only one person comes out alive. But in reality, none of us will survive the wages of sin. None of us.

The more main and prominent example is one that reflects Christ offering to take our punishment. So the contestants of the Hunger Games are chosen by a drawing. In the beginning of the movie, the drawing takes place. When her sister gets chosen to participate in this contest that could bring about her death, Katniss, the main character, steps up and volunteers to take her place. When we had to go face the punishment for our sin, Jesus said that He would pay our ransom.

So Katniss (who represents Jesus) goes off to fight. She's basically an underdog; kind of like Christ. I mean, when the Lord lived on earth He was homeless, broke, and an outcast. When Katniss is placed in the Hunger Games, she wins. The Hunger Games represents death. Katniss is like Jesus. So Jesus offered to be a substitute for us and He goes off to face death. Not only does He face death, but He beats it. He overcame Satan and the grave.

I was glad to see how a secular movie showed the gospel in disguise. I knew that these examples and metaphors would be an interesting subject to blog about (that's why I'm writing this post). And as you all know, this movie is extremely popular. So next time you think about or talk about the Hunger Games, be sure to associate God with it also.

The Gospel in 578 Words

What if I came up to you one day and asked  how you were doing with your relationship with God? What if I asked you how hard you were trying? What would your answer be? I hope you don't say you're trying. Why? Because if you are, you've already failed.

In John 5:39-40 Jesus tells the pharisees that they search the scriptures, for they think they will find life in them. But that is not the case. Life is in Jesus. Now let's take a look at these religious men of the day. They would do their best to follow the Law of God because they were deceived and believed that they could get right with God by their own works. That is a thing called religion.

The pharisees were deceitful and mistaken about the true gospel, and so is a lot of our world today. They did not understand that God didn't give the Law so that we could obey it; because we can't. The Law's purpose is that we fail. No one can honestly say that they haven't ever lied, stole, lusted, taken the Name of the Lord in vain and coveted. No one. Not even these "righteous" hardcore religious people.

We are all guilty of breaking the perfect, holy, and just Law of God (Romans 3:23). How then, do we seek and know Him? There is only one way: Jesus Christ (John 14:6). God loves you and me SO much that He gave up everything so that you could be in His family: His only beloved, begotten Son (John 3:16).

We seem to always be underestimating God's standards and thinking we can be made right with Him by our works. If you go to church every Sunday of your life, feed every poor person there is, and never cuss- but don't have Jesus- you still aren't reconciled with the Lord. There is nothing you can do to save yourself (Ephesians 2:8) and there is no way possible to earn grace through works of the Law (Romans 11:6)

If you have seen the viral video Why I Hate Religion but Love Jesus by Jeff Bethke, you will recognize when I quote some lyrics from this awesome poem-

Religion says do, Jesus says done

Religion says slave, Jesus says son

Religion puts you in bondage while Jesus sets you free

Religion makes you blind, but Jesus makes you see.

There is no prayer, no ritual, no practice, no pilgrimage, no life dedicated to an idol, and no good work that can get you into Heaven. Jesus did it all on the cross. Salvation can't be earned; only received. When Jesus was dying for you, He said "It is finished"(John 19:30). That means He did it all. Religion tells us to  be obedient so we can earn God's love, but the truth is that we are called to be obedient because the love of Jesus makes us want to be. Religion says that God will love us when we do something for Him, but Jesus tells us that we are loved now (Romans 5:8).

Remember that 1John 4:19 says that "We love Him because He first loved us", not "He loves us because we first loved Him". Redemption, bought by Jesus Christ, is a free gift. All you have to do is accept His gift that has no cost. Call upon His name and be saved (Romans 10:9). You are an imperfect person loved by a perfect God.

Lemons > Lemonade

Imagine you are walking into my house and you find a lemon and a glass of lemonade on my table. Which one would you choose? We all know that lemons are sour but lemonade is sweet. In this post, I will be writing about how lemons are better than lemonade. I know that sounds crazy, but let me explain.

The use of the word lemons here is a metaphor for trials, tribulations, hardships, difficulties, hurt and all that good-bad stuff. Now we know that lemons are really sour and taste awful, so why would that be better than lemonade? Lemons are healthier than lemonade so that's one advantage. Lemons are good for you, but lemonade is not.

To our foolish eyes, lemons are not good things, but let me tell you about my experience with them. About one year ago, I dated this girl whom I literally idolized. I remember March 5th, 2011, when she broke up with me. I cannot describe the kind of pain I felt. I cried for two hours and I wanted to die. But when struggling with that trial, I realized how broken I was. It was that experience that pulled me closer to God. I dedicated all that I am to the Lord and He took away that feeling of depression. If I had never went through that pain, I wouldn't feel the immense joy that I'm living in today.

Another lemon happened to me when I was on one of those ripstick things (google them if you don't know what they are) and I was going around the neighborhood with my friend Kenny. I got a call from my dad and he told me to come back to my two million dollar house. When I got there, I proceeded in sitting at our table with my other family members. There, my dad announced that he lost his job. At first I wasn't that shocked, but then it got really bad. We had to give up our high life where we could buy anything we wanted. I also had to move away from my awesome neighborhood that contained my really good friends. My family went from being rich to us barely being able to pay rent, and we might have to move into an apartment soon. But to tell the truth, I'm glad my dad lost his job and that I went through this lemon. Now I am more humble than I was, and that's the good that God could bring about through this situation.

I'm going to discuss one last lemon. I'm not really popular at my school. I have about five to ten people who will actually talk to me in a long conversation and show kindness to me. And even those people aren't always very good friends. I know many people are attracted to the idea of being popular, but I'm not. Why? Because I'm able to realized who my true friends are (the people who write this blog with me would be some of them). I know this really isn't a big deal, but sometimes I can hurt. But when it does, I can realize that God is using the pain to bring about His greater glory.

Now let's talk about lemonade. What is lemonade, in this metaphoric sense? Lemonade is any earthly pleasures, such as sex, drugs, partying, and money. But the problem with lemonade is that it's unhealthy for you. It's made with all this sugar that is really bad for us. However, we're attracted to lemonade because of its taste. At first we don't realize that the outcome of it will make us wish we had never given into it.

I remember that I used to bully people by things such as prank texting or prank calling. This is when you lie about who you are when calling or texting someone just for a laugh. I did this because I thought it was funny, but it did hurt people. I remember several instances when it got others really upset. It seemed fun at first, but then it made you feel awful. That's what lemonade does.

Another form of lemonade is lust. Like many guys, I struggle with this too. It seems really appealing at first, but then it fades away. Lust looks to you as if it's going to satisfy you, but it actually isn't worth it. At the moment you realize that you've treated a girl like an object and not the person who was made in God's image, you feel guilt because as a Christian, we know we shouldn't be doing that. The only thing lemonade does is destroy.

For those struggling with lemons, there is hope. Read Romans 5:1-5 and James 1:2-4 to see how good things can come from bad things. A verse that really helped me out was John 16:33 because it assured me that I could overcome the hardship in my life, because Jesus had overcome the world. Remember that Jesus promised that He would be with us always, even in times of trail.

Lemons are better than lemonade because they bring about a greater joy. All lemonade does is destroy you because it is unhealthy. I hope I have demonstrated this well. The outcome of lemons, which is something good, is far, far better than the guilt caused by lemonade. I'd rather stick with a love that lasts forever than a pleasure that lasts for five minutes.