Grave Clothes: Faith Part Trois

Let's start with the scripture: John 20:1-9 (Please Read)

¹Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. ²So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!" ³So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. ⁴Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. ⁶Then Simon Peter, who was behind him, arrived and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, ⁷as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen. ⁸Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. ⁹(They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.)

Faith Part Three

OK! It's finally here: Faith Part Three! (clapping, cheering, people passing out from the sheer excitement)

I'm taking serious license with this post. The seed of this blog post is not an original thought, but I've tended to it with my own insight (and that of the Holy Spirit) so as to grow it into something that is mine. So...bear with me (this might be bad). The focus from the above passage is on verses 6 and 7 (highlighted in blue above).

So, the question I'm asking is: Why did Jesus leave behind his grave clothes?

The grave clothes are a silent testimony saying quite simply: "I have overcome." Christ conquered the grave, and stepped away from it completely. Jesus was resurrected; so why would a living man wear the clothes of a dead man. Death was His past, and he left it neatly (folded up and everything) behind Him.

Are you Wearing Grave Clothes?

This is a question you need to ask yourself. There are two situations in which we acquire grave clothes:

1. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with... (Romans 6:6) - In this way, grave clothes are the person we used to be, and the things we used to do when we were dead spiritually.
2. Two months ago I was sick, now I am healed. Fear of disease = grave clothes. Last year "Sally" was in a bad relationship, she broke away. Fear of intimacy/distrust of men = grave clothes. Grave clothes = any remnant or piece of something conquered that signifies or identifies you with the thing conquered.

I'm dealing more with situation 2. Christ beat death; He overcame the grave, and when He left the sepulcher, He left everything having to do with it behind. We have to be the same way! When you have been delivered; or when you have overcome something, the very FIRST thing you should do is take off your grave clothes. In fact, I bet if we were listening...we'd hear God tell us to remove our grave clothes. Why do I say that? Because He's done it before:

⁴³...Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" ⁴⁴The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go." (John 11:43,44)

First, take OFF the clothes! Second, "Let him go." Be free!

So, it begs the question: If we are alive (those who are "new creatures" walking in the newness of life), why are we still wearing our old grave clothes?! That's on the overall spiritual tip (i.e. Situation 1). Situation 2: when issues, situations, failures, etc. that we have overcome and been delivered from (by the grace of God) still crop up in our life, still pop up in our thought-processes, and paralyze us with fear. We are still wrapped up in the grave clothes of the past and it keeps us from truly living.

For me, the grave clothes are the car accident I had when I was 8, and the brain aneurysm I beat 2 months ago. Accident = overcome. Aneurysm = delivered from. Grave clothes? Still on. Why? Well, it's because I never quite stopped being afraid, and never stopped worrying. And when you're afraid, it's because you have set aside your faith. And in that situation, you default to what you think is sure: math. We already had a blog about God and Math (check it out if you never read it). Think about it: mathematical forecasts are based on historical data. I've been looking at historical life data, and forecasting out the remainder of my life. But instead of seeing deliverance (which is also a part of my history), since my faith is set aside...I see more problems. But like I've said before: 1+1 doesn't always equal 2. My situation tomorrow is not predicted by yesterday's failures, illnesses, or whatever.

So what can I do? I've got the grave clothes on. How do I get them off? You guessed it! Faith. Know this, faith is fear's arch nemesis. But faith can only help us if we use it. Up above, I said that faith was set aside. The scripture refers to faith as our shield. It can only protect you, if you're holding it up. Fear is of the devil. Therefore, it is only fitting that fear, which is powerless against faith, has to trick you into letting down your defenses. The devil is full of tricks. Don't be tricked.

I leave you with these two hot verses:

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." I John 4:18 (KJV---I like this one)

Perfect Love is this: that Christ died for us. Love is the fruit of the Holy Spirit, and fruit has a period of time before it is ripe. But I will cast my cares upon the Lord, focus on His perfect love, and watch fear abate as I am perfected in love. Knowing this:

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."--(Philippians 3:12,13,14)

FIN

Rest of 2010 Movie Review: I'M SO EXCITED!!!

Disclaimer: This post has a LOT of links, so remember: right click, open in new tab or window

As many of you know, I am the HUGEST movie buff. Last year, I watched every Oscar-nominated film prior to the airing of the awards show. And that was the year there were 10 nominees. I thought An Education should have won the top prize, but I'm not bitter.

So this Fall movie season is shaping up to be something awesome, and so I wanted to share my top 5 favorite fall trailers with you all, and hopefully...those of you who are in my neck of the woods will accompany me to a few shows:

Never Let Me Go (click link for trailer) - I'm very excited about this for three reasons:

1. Carey Mulligan - This is who I believe was robbed for An Education. She deserved her Oscar! Maybe this is her second chance. Two years in a row...let's see her nominated. Plus...you know how I feel about short, snazzy haircuts!


2. Keira Knightley - Have we seen this chick since Atonement? I've loved her in movies for years, and am excited to see her take another crack at the big award.


3. Sally Hawkins - OMG! I love her! I love her! I love seeing Sally's career take off. She's moving from bit roles, to leading roles (Happy-Go-Lucky) , to important roles. She was also in An Education, and she's going to rock out this movie as Miss Lucy.

Not to mention, this is from the author of The Remains of the Day, which was adapted into a beautiful film that is one of my all-time favorites. I'm thinking movie night with the roomies... And on top of that, what are "donations"?! Smells like sci-fi, and I can't wait!

The Tillman Story

This true-life tale of the death of NFL star Pat Tillman looks REALLY thought provocative, and eye-opening. I love movies like that. I'm not big on documentaries, but I'll see them if I think it's going to really get inside my head. This documentary has that potential. This won't play in small towns like Toledo, OH or Valparaiso, IN so people in D.C. and Chicago should thank their lucky stars that they'll have the opportunity to support this film in theaters. The trailer alone sparks heated debate, but I'll save my opinion until I've seen the film in its entirety.

Conviction
In a word: Hilary.

Is the Swankster going for THREE?! First off, Hilary Swank is one of my favorite actresses. She's silver screen magic in my opinion (umm...ahem...The Core, 11:14, P.S. I Love You, The Reaping, and countless other trash notwithstanding). All my love for her comes from The Next Karate Kid, Boys Don't Cry, and Million Dollar Baby. The latter two messed me up! I've never cried SO HARD; I went to bed disturbed and with my thoughts all scattered. And those two movies, of course, were how she earned the TWO Best Actress Academy awards that she possesses. Two best actress wins at her age is phenomenal. She's phenomenal, and...she's going for three.

Due Date

Hey, I like comedies too!! Though this will not be in the Oscar race...not even on the sidelines of the race, it looks worthy of my $11. I mean, who doesn't love RDJ, and Zach Galifianakis has YET to let me down. Has he let you down? I mean, he's like a comic genius.

Black Swan

This trailer is NUTS! First of all, who has seen a bad Natalie Portman flick? Come on...who?! She picks and chooses wisely. She's not all over the box office, we see her once, twice, three times a year TOPS (and some years we don't see her at all), and every time it is a superb performance. I love psycho thrillers. I love psycho-sexual thrillers. And this looks like one of those two...WAIT! I saw a bad Natalie film, I'm not sure it's bad...but it bothered me. Maybe it was the subject matter (the Spanish Inquisition): Goya's Ghosts. Enough said.

Well, that's five, but I want to see Blue Valentine. Currently, there's not a good quality trailer available, and so I'm not even sure I want to see it, but it stars Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams. Ryan Gosling...I heart you! I mean, he's super hot, and a very romantic actor. Michelle Williams...have we seen her since Heath Ledger's demise? A little, but not a lot. It's nice to see her out working again!

Let's not play games, clearly I'm excited about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, but we don't have to talk about that at length...do we? DO WE?!!

I Was Weak with Laughter

It's not very often I find internet content that makes me cry with laughter. Not very often at all. However, tonight, I was blessed by one of my friends with a Facebook message urging me to read a series of e-mails between the owner of a lost cat and the graphic designer she wants to create a lost poster.


I laughed...a lot! So much so that my roommate asked me if I was alright. And I'm not! My stomach hurts now. But it was worth it. I hope you love it as much as me.

ALERT: This is crazy sarcasm. Sarcasm so heavy a person could be crushed beneath the weight of it. However, it's so deliciously witty that death by crushing may not be so bad. Click here to read the article.

Now wasn't that funny?

I love it because in the Facebook message my friend said "I thought of you when I read this, this is just our type of humor..." And it totally is, this is the kind of thing that used to make our DAY in college. Sadly, I don't get the opportunity to lay the sarcasm on this thick...ever! It's a gift being this sarcastic. I applaud this guy. Kudos!