Plastic Jesus

I have an issue with "fake..."  Fake attitude, fake happiness, fake family, fake faith, fake Jesus.  I'm sure it's because I've met too many people in my life who completely false:  

• They act nice to you... but talk nasty about you when you walk away.
• They pretend to have it all together (making me feel like a dolt), but really they are falling apart... just like the rest of us.
• They pretend to be "THE BEST" spouse, parent, friend, associate, leader, whatever... but really, they are beyond flawed and their relationships are a disaster.
• They pretend to be a Christian... they talk big, but walk small.... clutching their "faith" in a tightly-held fist and waving it front of everybody.  But their faith is fake... plastic... like the little Plastic Jesus they grasp.

I've posted several videos by IgniterMedia on this blog - largely because they "get" everything I'm thinking.  This one about "Plastic Jesus" is no exception:

Stop pretending!!  You don't have to be the PERFECT person/spouse/friend/parent/child/etc.  You just have to be YOU... flawed, screwed-up, YOU.  Because believe me, all of your friends are flawed and screwed up too.


I am a HUGE Buffy the Vampire Slayer fanatic... as in I own all of the episodes, have action figures, posters, and other prop-replicas... scary, I know!  One of my favorite episodes is called Earshot.  In this, Buffy is tainted by a demon's blood and is suddenly able to hear everyone's thoughts... all of the time.  She overhears what she thinks is a plot to murder kids at school and finds herself in the school's bell tower with one of the school nerds who is brandishing a high-powered rifle.  This is an excerpt from her speech to him (before she disarms him):


JONATHAN
Stop doing that!

BUFFY
Doing what?

JONATHAN
Stop saying my name like we're friends.
We're not friends. You all think I'm an
idiot. A short idiot.

BUFFY
I don't.I don't think about you much at all.
Most people here don't. Bugs you,
doesn't it? You've got all this pain,
all these feelings and nobody's
paying attention.

JONATHAN
You think I just want attention?

BUFFY
No, I think you're in the bell tower
with a high powered rifle because you
want to blend in. Believe it or not, Jonathan,
I understand. About the pain.

JONATHAN
Oh, right. 'Cause the burden of being
beautiful and athletic, that's a crippler.

BUFFY
I'm sorry, I was wrong. You are an idiot.My life happens very occasionally to
suck beyond the telling of it. More than
I can stand sometimes. And not just me.
Every single person down there is
ignoring your pain because they're way
too busy with their own. The beautiful
ones, the popular ones, the guys that
pick on you... everyone.

If you could hear what they're feeling -
the confusion, the loneliness... It looks
quiet down there. It's not. It's deafening.
Everyone has struggles... Everyone has pain...  You don't have to pretend that "everything is perfect" when it's not.  Jesus was the only "perfect" one... and His life was full of hardships and pain!
The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Psalm 9:9-10

Learn it... believe it... God is a refuge - a place of safety and comfort.  You don't have to pretend anymore.  He will help you.  He understands.  And if you really looked around, you'd see that all of your friends are also dealing with their own issues too.
Why settle for the illusion provided by the Plastic Jesus when you can have the real thing?

If Jesus Had Twitter...

Igniter Media is one of my very favorite Christian video groups - their stuff is AMAZING!!  This Easter, they created a video called "Follow" that tells of the crucifiction as if Jesus was on Twitter.  I'm not as much of a Twitter fan as Facebook... but they're similar enough! ;)  Considering Facebook is my homepage (I'm a total FB junkie!), this video really spoke to me!! :)  I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did - and I hope your Easter was full of laughter and fun and a moment or two of gratitude for the sacrifice made by our Savior.  He is RISEN! :)


PS - This video has sound, so be sure to pause the music at the bottom of this blog so you can hear it!

:) Mags

Come Awake!!

I LOVE IgniterMedia's videos - they are just amazing and touch your heart. Yesterday I watched their latest one, "Come Awake!" and I can't get this song out of my head:




Like the video says, "I don't know where you are.... But I know what you can become." Christ is here for each and every one of you - COME AWAKE - and let Him in. He will work miracles in your life.

Today at church, a man from our congregation stood up and gave his testimony. Included were his difficult struggles with alcohol and drugs and included more than one visit to prison. This man "looked" like you and me. And while our own demons may be different/easier/lighter/worse/deeper, everyone has times where sin gets the best of us. Everyone had times where they feel unworthy of love... or like no one can possibly understand what they are going through.... This video reminds us that there IS someone who understands. Someone who has LIVED through the human trials and tribulations, pain and suffering... Someone who not only died a painful death - but who CONQUERED death to rise from the grave.

COME AWAKE.
Let Him in.

He will work miracles in your life... and the potential is endless.


♥Mags

I Found God In Regret...

IgniterMedia (authors of "The Don't Song" and "Proof") are quickly becoming some of my favorite inspirational people. They're released a new video "REGRET" which lists regrets that people have had over the last year (people they polled). You can watch below:

"We often mark our pasts by the regrets we have. Whether its trials we encounter, the disappointments we endure, or the unhealthy habits we foster, we each have lingering regrets in our lives. We allow ourselves to be burdened by our pain, scars and shame forgetting that Christ came to set us free. ~IgniterMedia

I couldn't have said it better myself. :)

Whatever your regrets over the past year, you do not have to hold onto these burdens any longer. Today is a new day - and you can start fresh in making decisions that honor Christ, that show you are a good Steward of God's blessings, that put your priorities in order.

How will you honor God today???

I Found God in Proof...

Over Christmas break, our family watched all three of The Santa Clause movies. My favorite part is in the first one where Bernard, the elf, explains to Tim Allen's character why children can tell he's Santa when he doesn't even believe it himself. Bernard says,

"Seeing ISN'T believing...

BELIEVING is SEEING."

Isn't that true about faith? Faith is believing in something you cannot see, hear, or touch - yet believing all the same. And once you believe - your eyes are opened to all the proof that you were looking for in the first place. Watch this video to see what I mean:

Open your heart. Then open your eyes.

You will "see" what you've been looking for this whole time.

Jesus summed it all up when he cried out, "Whoever believes in me, believes not just in me but in the One who sent me. Whoever looks at me is looking, in fact, at the One who sent me. I am Light that has come into the world so that all who believe in me won't have to stay any longer in the dark.

John 12:44-46 (The Message)