When we don’t feel like the life-giving person God says we’re purposed to be, Jesus knows better.
I love watching movies. They are a fun, easy way to decompress and be entertained.
Some might view sitting in front of a screen, whether it’s a gigantic wall in a theatre or a modest sized glass pane in the living room, as passive activity.
One movie experience with me will quickly change your mind.
I am a very active participant.
I talk back at the TV, scream in the scary parts, and laugh with a snort a few seconds after each joke.
Yep, that’s me behind you — popping in crunches of crispy, buttered popcorn in between every scene.
I’ve found that drama doesn’t only flicker through light passing through celluloid.
No, it turned up one morning when Light shot through the pages of Scripture.
I was struggling through a season of feeling isolated with some baggage I had been carrying. It was a tough week, as I seemed to trip over the same old insecurities that lingered from bad experiences in the past.
It was one of those weeks where you feel like things just never seem to change. I can never change.
You know the feeling?
When you talk yourself into thinking everything is just rotten?
My life is heading nowhere… I’m a horrible parent… No one wants to be my friend…
It was in this deflated mode that I found myself sitting in a room full of coffee-woken attendees of a workshop, Meditate on Scripture, led by Christian author Jan Johnson.
We were asked to practice, right then and there, one of the primary methods of meditating on Scripture: the Movie Method.
The Movie Method
The Movie Method involves reading a passage several times, by putting ourselves in the scene of the story, and taking on different characters’ perspectives, absorbing all the sights, sounds and textures.
The purpose was to zero in “our” character, the one that speaks to us.
Okay, I get this, I thought. I looove movies!
We were given a very familiar passage to ruminate on.
It was the story of the father who brings his son, possessed by an evil spirit, to Jesus and cries out, “I do believe; help my unbelief!”
My Character
As I disappeared inside myself to meditate on the text, I thought that I had already found my character.
It was obvious. I was like the father who didn’t have enough faith, right?”
“No.” God answers.
Fifteen minutes into our quiet time, Jan interrupts us and says, “Now that you’ve read the passage for yourself, I want you to ask God what He wants you to get from the story.”
Diving back into the Word, I whispered, What do you want to say to me, Lord?
As I read again, one word caught my heart: corpse.
The Bible says that when Jesus commanded the spirit out of the boy who was deaf and mute, the exorcism was so violent, “the boy looked like a corpse to many.”
My lips trembled as I was cut to the core: I was the corpse.
I’ve tried to drive out my demons. They’ve thrown me to the ground, terrified me, gnashing it’s teeth, taking away my words.
I’ve been rendered mute and deaf.
I did not feel like the life-giving person God says I’m purposed to be. I wasn’t the beautiful fruit-bearing, flower-budding spirit I felt I should be.
Jesus knew better.
Others, including myself, may have been fooled by my corpse-like features.
Just One Touch
Jesus knows we’re not dead.
One touch from Him, freedom and beauty pours out of us, bringing us back to life.
As we hear our Shepherd speak gently, we won’t be able to stop the words. We’ll hear His whispers, singing, and conversation, spilling out in everyday life.
Stories will arise out of our moments and memories.
We will be strengthened and fed, to our heart’s delight.
We will have our fill and more, to love once again, to share and laugh.
“Many said, ‘He’s dead.’
But, Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet,
and he stood up.” Mark 9:26-27
Those who thought us dead once before will be amazed.
They will see us stand and smile, with the hand of Christ, clasped in ours.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17
[I was given the opportunity to write today's post for the the clients, counselors and friends of the Port Orange Counseling Center's Prayer Circle on Facebook, by way of Faith Barista friend, Russell Holloway. This post is cross-posted on his blog, Bullets & Butterflies.] SUBSCRIBE NOW to get updates from FaithBarista delivered directly in your mailbox via email (click here) or RSS (click here) news reader.
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21 Comments
1. I love movies too!
2. You should have been an actor. I acted for a while back in the day, and it was all about “finding who the character was”. You would like it!
3. I was watching a movie with some friends this past weekend, and one of them said to another, “you’re not a movie talker are you?” hehehehe. One loved to interact with the films, and the other DID NOT!
4. The message of your post is great! There are many times I feel dead as well. Good thing Jesus sees me differently!
As a movie fan myself, I can totally relate to this. What powerful words, Bonnie. You suck the wind out of me, but you always make me smile, too.
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“My life is heading nowhere… I’m a horrible parent… No one wants to be my friend…”
This has been my theme song recently, Bonnie.
Thanks for the timely and terrific post. I will definitely be taking these words to heart!
Bonnie! Oh, how I love this! I was driving the kids to school, replaying the morning in my mind…it was a picture of me trying to read our daily (well, MOSTLY daily) scriptures to my family…one is cooking, one is trying to find her shoes, the other is playing the Wii….we need to stop and meditate. Truly savor each word…As I was at a stoplight, I briefly thought…what does it mean to meditate?…Ten minutes later, my car rolls back up my driveway and I fight the urge to stay away from the computer as I walk in my house…just ONE blog…I’ll just visit one…THEN I’ll clean….and so I came here……
And this was the answer to my very “under-the-breath-at-a-stoplight” prayer… 🙂 To see in a practical way, how to medidate on the words that God says. I can’t wait to share this with my husband.
I could also relate to the self condemnation you described. What a reminder that we are new in Christ…there can’t be a TRUE ressurection if there is no death…and I think about how often I expect God to ressurect my own heart, without me dying to myself and putting the past behind me.
NOW I will clean my casa! 🙂
“One touch from Him, freedom and beauty pours out of us, bringing us back to life.”
Yes.
Hi, Bonnie. I just recently discovered your blog and am so glad that I did. You do a great job of setting a tone that makes your readers feel like they’re sitting in a cozy coffee shop having a conversation with good friends. Thank you for your willingness to share and be vulnerable.
I love the “movie method.” A skeptic who has struggled with a lot of doubt through the years, I expected to identify with the father in this passage. But as I read the Mark 9 passage, I found myself identifying the teachers of the law. They were doubters too, but in a different way. They doubted because Jesus and his teachings didn’t fit their theological presuppositions. They doubted because Jesus broke their rules. They doubted because he hung out with sinners.
I found it kind of sad and astounding that the disciples and the teachers of the law were apparently engaged in a theological debate while this poor young man suffered. In my imagination, they were arguing over details – whether one should heal on the sabbath, whether the disciples had the authority to heal, whether this guy deserved healing to begin with. (I also kind of identify with the disciples, who tried and failed to heal the young man…and were reminded, as I often am, that it is God who brings about healing. He doesn’t NEED us, but he often USES us.)
But, as always, Jesus sees beyond the theological positions to the person. Like the teachers of the law, I know a lot about theology and apologetics, requirements and regulations.
My belief is always tested by a savior who breaks the rules.
Enjoying the blog. I too love movies. I wonder what would change if I could quote scripture like I can quote movies.
One touch from Him …
… is what I live for every day. The moments when I feel death’s fingers run across my soul—when I feel the sinful and worldly desiring me—I’m tempted to succumb in weariness. One breath from His Spirit reminds me that I am His, and I am able to rise up and overcome.
I often struggle with that negative spiral. It can be hard to remember that the view from where I sit and the view from where God stands are two completely different perspectives, and He’s the one with the full picture.
That’s an interesting way to meditate on scripture, thanks for sharing it, Bonnie.
@Maureen: I’ll try to be more quiet if we end up in the movies together. Try… 😉 Your Pt#4: Exactly how I feel!
@Billy: Back atcha! Ditto! .. We’ll have to fight for the back row seats, tho’. I go early, too. 😉
@Melissa: What a blessing it is to be that ONE blog! 😉 I was cleaning house today, too!
@Helen: We are in agreement, sister!
@Rachel: Welcome, Rachel. So great to have you here. Wow. Thanks for all your encouraging sharing. Honest and insightful.
@Greg: Hey, Greg! Great to have you here. I loved your comment: “I wonder what would change if I could quote scripture like I can quote movies.” How convicting (in a good way) is that?! I tweeted it today. Thanks for the addition to the post!
@Anne: Beautifully said, Anne! Thankfully true!
@Rebecca: It’s true. Thankfully, we have each other to encourage one another and just be there. Yeah – the movie method has really enriched my time in the Word. For sure.
2 Corinthians 5:17 is one of my favorite Scriptures…..
once again…….thank you for the amazing encouragement that was so needed today. It was the blast of fresh air and inspiration this slightly “dead” mama needed.
*~Michelle~*
Oh yeah, I talk to movies too. Sometimes they even talk back. 🙂
Oh, wow, Bonnie. This post is wonderful! What a wonderful exercise to put ourselves in the middle of God’s word as if we are one of the characters. Because we ARE one of His characters, aren’t we?
It is so hard to be in that cold winter season of loneliness. We are so fortunate that Jesus knows better. He knows that we’re not dead even when we feel like we are.
Thanks, Bonnie! I hope you are doing well!
@Michelle: 2 Cor. 5:17 is an on-going truth I always return to also!
@LLBarkat: I bet you can anticipate the lines before they’re spoken… 😉 With this group, looks like we’d have a lively movie party together! If only we lived near each other… popcorn party!
@Heather: “Because we ARE one of the characters..” What a great thought! I’m hanging in there, with a flare-up of RSI. Every word really counts, now! Thnx, Heather!
Thank you so much for this post. So encouraging as I seem to be walking through a season of “courpse-hood” (smile) Good to know I’m not alone, and that He is enough.
Looking forward to trying out the Movie-method!
Grace and peace,
aimee
“Jesus knows better.” Yes, he knows us better than we know ourselves. Such a blessing! I like your Movie Method. It sounds like a powerful way to deepen our understanding of the Bible and of our relationship with Jesus.
THis week. His touch. Freedom. Dancing in His grace.
A delight to be wrapped in His love with you today,
Sarah Dawn
@Aimee: You ARE not alone. That’s definite. So glad you’re here today!
@Lisa: Yes, the movie-method really enhanced time in the Word for me, allowing the Holy Spirit in Scripture that I already thought I was familiar with.
@Sarah Dawn: What a poetic greeting you gave! Thank you and welcome!
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