Post 14--Is this Hollywood's 'Year of the Bible'?

Post 14--Is this Hollywood's 'Year of the Bible'?
 
Hello, I’m back after many months.  Been doing a lot of things during this time, but mainly busy writing, publishing and distributing stuff I have either written or translated. (Also snuck in a month-long RV trip from Vancouver BC—Mountain View CA for family reasons.) I have finally completed the major writing projects of my life and am now more ready to be serious about shorter stuff like blogs and magazine articles. That implies a promise to be more faithful in serving you with my blogs. Might you have heard this promise before?!

As to those writings, I will tell you more about them in future blogs. In the meantime, do yourself a favour by checking them out at < www.lulu.com >, where you can not only see them but actually purchase them—for the grand price of $00.00 each! Just keyboard in my name as <jan h boer> and you’re on your way to a great reading experience.

I will explain that 0 price later, but in the meantime, just take advantage of it. Let me assure you it’s not because they are worthless or of poor quality. They are indeed priceless—with pun fully intended.                            

For today, I am treating you to an article published by Dr. Jim Denison in his newsletter on the < Denision Forum on Truth & Culture > that you can access on  <   comments @denisonforum.org > of January 20, 2014. Here goes with many thanks to Dr. Jim:

The movie Son of God premieres on February 28.  The film is taken from the History Channel's hit 2013 miniseries The Bible.  Noah will hit theaters in March, with Russell Crowe in the lead.  Debuting in April is Heaven is for Real, in which Greg Kinnear plays a father whose son claims that he went to heaven.  In December, Christian Bale will play Moses in Exodus, while Mary will debut that same month.

And there's more to come in 2015.  Will Smith may direct a Cain and Abel movie, while Brad Pitt may play the title role in Pontius Pilate.  Is Hollywood getting religion?

Probably not.  Only two percent of those who work in the movie industry go to church.  Woody Allen, who recently received a Golden Globes lifetime achievement award, once said he would tell a believer, "poor thing, you really are deluded."  Angeline Jolie says, "There doesn't need to be a God for me."  Bill Maher calls religion "insanity by consensus" and claims that "all religious people have a neurological disorder."  Bruce Willis is convinced that "modern religion is the end trail of modern mythology."

Why, then, are we seeing so many biblical movies?

You thought immediately of money, and you're right.  Mark Burnett and Roma Downey's The Bible was the third most-watched cable series or miniseries last year; its DVD was the fastest-selling disc in the last five years.  The Ten Commandments and Ben-Hur together made more money than Avatar, The Dark Knight, and Transformers, combined.  As Hollywood continues looking for blockbusters, it knows it will have a ready-made, ticket-buying fan base if it brings biblical stories to the screen.

But I think there's more to the story.  Consider Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City.  When Tim Keller started the church in 1989, there were only nine thousand evangelical Christians in all of central Manhattan.  In the 25 years since, nearly 100 new churches have been planted and the faith population in one of the most unchurched cities in America has nearly quadrupled.  Keller speaks to 5,400 people every Sunday.

What's their secret?  "Most people believe that Redeemer has grown because of our commitment to intellectual life and our sophistication," Keller says.  "That's not it at all.  Our core message is simply the grace of God in the gospel.  I integrate into every sermon the grace of God in the person of Jesus.  Everything else is ornamental."

This hunger for the God of grace is universal.  How could it not be?  We were designed to need food, and will hunger for it until the day we die.  In the same way, we were designed to need our Designer: "Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord" (Deuteronomy 8:3).  Jesus told his disciples, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work" (John 4:34).

Your soul is hungry for the same food—what will you feed it today?  The next person you meet is just as hungry as you are—what will you offer him?

Post 13--Should Vaccination Be Compulsory?

There’s been a flu epidemic in BC recently that Government health authorities are trying to counter with vaccination, preferably of everyone. My wife and I have taken the shot annually since my return to BC in 2001. 

However, there are those who refuse the offer; some for religious reasons; others, for personal reasons.  Just a few days ago, a hospital worker in Grand Forks, BC, was fired for refusing vaccination. His reasons were personal: he does not believe it is effective; a person should have the right to refuse. He also rejected wearing a mask, for it gives him a feeling of suffocating (Vancouver Sun, 24 Apr/2014). 

There are also some Christian denominations that reject vaccination, seeing it as human unbelieving resistance to God’s protection. It so happens that the fired employee and some of those denominations come from the same stock I do: Dutch emigrants.  Hoekstra, that employee, does not appeal to religion, at least, not in the report I have read, but he does display that Dutch stubbornness and insistence on principles come what may, for which my people are well known. At least one of those refusing denominations are of the Dutch Reformed family of churches, of which I, too, am a member, though one less conservative. So, I should be well wired to understand their rejection of vaccination.  Understand, perhaps, but agree, no!

If you study the lives of the members of such a denomination, you will find that all through their lives they take precautions against all sorts of threats and dangers. They intervene in the course of both nature, God’s nature, and technology at many fronts. They have brakes on their bikes, cars and farm machinery to prevent accidents.  Why then no intervention to prevent sickness?  I suspect they subject themselves to medical surgery. I am sure they intervene in the darkness by the use of electricity. As a fellow Reformed Christian, as wired as I am, I simply do not understand their selective refusal to intervene. 

As to Hoekstra, he perhaps should have the personal right to refuse vaccination, but only under a certain condition. The authorities did right when they fired him and prevented any further contact with hospital patients and staff.  In fact, he and his fellow objectors, along with their live-in families, should be quarantined in their homes so as not to infect and endanger the general public. They should be isolated till the epidemic has past. 

I am no specialist in health issues, but I do know that refusal to accept polio vaccination in certain Muslim regions has led to the recurrence of that disease.  Recurrence only in countries where the people refused to be vaccinated. Would Hoekstra argue that this is a coincidence? Come on. Spare me.  

Modern medicine is a precious gift from God. It will not do for us to despise or reject it, even though it has its problems. Abraham Kuyper, a role model to many Reformed, would regard medical science as part fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to lead us into the truth and, in fact, that we will do greater things than He Himself did (John 14:12). 

Post 12--Ottawa Prayer Warriors

Post 12—Ottawa Prayer Warriors

In the churches with the term “Reformed” in their name, like the Christian Reformed Church and others, there has been a tradition of regularly praying for those in authority.  This is not for just any authority, but specifically for governmental authority, including the government itself. Whether this tradition is still adhered to faithfully every Sunday, I doubt. 

The tradition is based especially on the New Testament passage:

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, ...(I Timothy 2:1-4).

Now the language may not exactly be ours, but the meaning is quite obvious, it seems to me. We are all to pray for those in government, for we all know that the difficulties and temptations they face are many. The media make sure we are aware of them, particularly when they succumb.    

There is the National House of Prayer (NHOP) in Ottawa that encourages Canadians to so pray. In a recent circular, the Director, Rob Parker, a Baptist, wrote about their expanding programme that I am going to share with you by quoting part of this document. He wrote,

Many people are calling this year “The Year of Open Doors” and there is indeed a sense of the Lord adding some new directions to the existing mandate of NHOP. For example:

Legislative Prayer Watch—In anticipation of connecting with each Province, we are creating a map of Canada, which will highlight all of our Provincial and Territorial Capitals and with the click of a button be able to see the top 5 Prayer Points for that province’s Legislative needs. These will be updated monthly with the goal of not only helping to benefit strategic intercession of that province or territory, but to effectively communicate this governmental prayer need to the entire nation. I’m sure we all realize that the Provincial “Door” is one that is certainly being targeted in regards to changing laws in our land. It is our hope that this initiative will be effective in raising awareness of what is legislatively taking place provincially and an effective tool for networking prayer nationally.

International NHOP – God seems to be addressing the need to begin to formulate a template of seeing the model of NHOP become duplicated in various nations. India, Burundi, Rwanda, Holland, Ukraine, Germany, England, China and some others, are all real possibilities of seeing this happen. We are now anticipating international interns to begin coming to NHOP for three months to learn first-hand the strategies that God has shown us here in Ottawa. This is exciting and there is much more I could say about this, but just a note here; last year the International Prayer Co-ordinator of Aglow spent a few days with us and she shared that she has never seen this model anywhere else in the world. Interestingly, Aglow International have recently launched a prayer focus called “Capital Cities” and we have seen the Canadian Aglow, championed by Maureen Smith, bring greater and greater awareness of NHOP’s ministry in support of the Capital Cities initiative. Praise God!

Well, there you have it, a national prayer movement for governments, including provincial, now growing into an international campaign. I know some people disparage Aglow as fundamentalist and they may well be, but Nhop is mainstream with its doors open to all kinds of Christians.

Check them out at < www.nhop.ca  > or contact them at < info@ nhop.ca >.  You will discover that they have a surprisingly wide-ranging programme that includes visiting politicians and having a presence on Canada's Capital Hill. You will be intrigued.The rest is up to you.

Have a prayerful day!

Post 11--The Amazing Movie--Son of God

• Today I am sharing with you information about this amazing movie about Jesus, the Son of God.  Avail yourself of the info found below. I really can add nothing to it. 

  Except: Go watch it! I did.

  =============

  See SON of GOD in Theaters Nationwide Friday‏

Son of God Movie (share@sharesonofgod.com)

View this email in your browser

Watch SON of GOD in Theaters Friday! "The best I've ever seen." Rick Warren  "Engaging and compelling."Cardinal Wuerl, Washington DC "You'll be enthralled and inspired." Bishop TD Jakes "An epic work."Joel Osteen Share the love of Christ through the movie, SON OF GOD, opening in theaters nationwide this FRIDAY, February 28th. 1. FORWARD THIS EMAIL to everyone you know. 2. SHARE SON OF GOD on social media here or use these suggested social media posts (and images featured below). Gather your friends and relatives to see the movie opening weekend! Their Empire. His Kingdom. See @SonofGodMovie this weekend! http://bit.ly/SOGTickets #Godislove #SonofGod #spreadtheword Help @SonofGodMovie to be the first account EVER that the Pope re-tweets! Please tweet: Let his Holiness hear your voice - inspire @Pontifex to deliver his first ever retweet for @SonofGodMovie #SonofGod #spreadtheword 3. SHARE YOUR COMMENTS on the top movie review websites here. More resources and materials including trailers, leader commentaries, posters, flyers and more are available below. Thank you for your support to share the love of Christ through SON OF GOD. God bless you! Powered by LATEST NEWS "Son of God Soundtrack Reaches Top 5 on iTunes" Click here to purchase soundtrack "Francesca Battistelli Sings 'Write Your Story' on 'GMA'" Source: Good Morning America click here to read full article "Wary of Hollywood's Noah, Christians Back Son of God Instead" Source: Breitbart click here to read full article "Son of God: Church Leaders Buying Out Theaters for Screenings" Source: Hollywood Reporter click here to read full article "Son of God: Actor Diogo Morgado Talks Responsibility of Jesus Role (Video)" Source: Hollywood Reporter click here to read full article WATCH THESE NEW VIDEO RELEASES Jimmy Mellado, Compassion International's President and CEO, shares what Compassion and the Son of God movie project have in common, a strong belief in the power of Jesus and a deep desire to share His love with the world. Watch here. "The Mission" is an exclusive 22-minute special about the Son of God movie. Click here to watch and enter password: soglightworkers. Post New Social Media Images: Access our FREE SON OF GOD Faith Resources:

ABOUT THE MOVIE From the producers of the record-breaking miniseries The Bible, Roma Downey and Mark Burnett, comes SON OF GOD, the first major motion picture on the complete life of Jesus Christ in nearly 50 years. SON OF GOD will be released by 20th Century Fox in theaters nationwide on February 28, 2014, featuring powerful performances, exotic locales, dazzling visual effects and a rich orchestral score from Oscar®-winner Hans Zimmer. "This epic masterpiece tells the world changing story of Jesus and inspires us to love and live for others just as He did." Santiago "Jimmy" Mellado, President/CEO of Compassion International "The best on-screen biblical account of the life of Jesus!" Dove Foundation "I believe the audience will be enthralled, encouraged and inspired..." Bishop TD Jakes, Potters House "Son of God is an engaging and compelling presentation of the story of Jesus, the Son of God among us. It is a joy to watch this film bring alive the pages of the gospel and help us see what those who lived at the time of Jesus experienced." Cardinal Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington DC "Son of God proves that when talent and passion collide, the outcome is spectacular. Every aspect of this production from the acting to the poignant storytelling is accomplished with excellence." Joel Osteen, Senior Pastor of Lakewood Church, #1 NY Times bestselling author "Brilliantly produced with stunning cinematography, a Hans Zimmer score and academy-worthy acting... Not since "The Passion of the Christ" ten years ago have I been this excited about a movie." Rick Warren, Senior Pastor of Saddleback Church and author of #1 NY Times bestseller A Purpose Driven Life "A gift worth experiencing!" Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, President of National Hispanic Evangelical Association Free Faith Resources: www.SonofGodResources.com Official Movie Website: www.SonofGodMovie.com

Post 10--Corrupt Politicians and Their Perks

        Post 10 

The

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (updates@taxpayer.com) is a privately funded and totally independent watchdog for Canada’s taxpayers. Well, perhaps “totally independent” is too strong a term,for it depends very much on contributions from ordinary citizens. But it is not beholden to government, politician or political party.

Today, they sent me a hard-hitting email that I am passing on to you for your consideration, support and action. Here goes:

============

This morning the RCMP laid fraud and breach of trust charges against former Liberal MP and Senator Mac Harb and former Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau.

In August, Harb resigned, pulling what’s known as “the Lavigne maneuver,” named after former Liberal Senator Raymond Lavigne who resigned from the Senate right before his conviction to ensure he wouldn’t lose his $67,600 annual Senate pension.

Harb is currently collecting an estimated $108,000 annual pension from his time as MP and Senator. Brazeau, despite being suspended is still accruing service as a Senator and if he makes it to January 2015 will be eligible for an estimated $32,000 annual pension once he turns 65.

We need to stop this.

Politicians who steal from taxpayers shouldn’t be allowed to collect a generous pension while in prison (as Lavigne did) or any time after for that matter.

The Revoking Pensions for Convicted Politicians Act (Bill C-518) is a private members bill put forward by MP John Williamson. It would take away the pension of any MP or Senator convicted of a serious crime, like fraud and breach of trust. And Mr. Williamson worded it so that any politicians charged and convicted after last June (like Harb and Brazeau) would lose their pensions.

However, rumours swirling around Parliament are that Bill C-518 could be defeated later this month.

We can’t let that happen.

That is why the CTF wants to turn the heat up on MPs, urging them to pass Bill C-518.

We’ve put together a new TV commercial staring former Senator Raymond Lavigne (our lawyers wouldn’t let us put any other Senator in the commercial) that we want to run on CTV News Channel and Sun News Network starting next week.

Watch the new commercial here: http://www.taxpayer.com/others/donate-today-to-put-this-ad-on-tv--

Bottom line: if we don’t want politicians who steal from taxpayers to collect rich pensions, we need to do something about it right now. Today.

Post 9--The Funeral Industry: Things to Watch For (2)

Post 9

I’m going to continue with the funeral industry today to alert you to things to watch out for. Remember the article to which I referred you in the previous post? I hope you took a look at it.  

For one thing, I hope you observed that there are people and organizations out there that aim to protect you from the sharks lurking in the industry.  There is, among others, the Professionals in Care Alliance (PICA) that alerts people to such sharks.  They have branches in various cities. Be sure to contact them if you sense problems. 

Darrell Peregrym, a Vancouver leader in PICA, said it’s time we paused to give serious thought about “unethical behaviour and disrespect for the dead” that is shown by “certain funeral home operators.” He tells the story of one “home” that suggests to their clients that the amount they spend is a reflection of their love for the deceased!  So, one family ended up paying over $25,000 with that motivation! A potential client of another “home” almost ended up with a total bill of $28,000!  Imagine that! The above “homes” were all parts of large chains. A resident of Cloverdale, BC, described the behaviour of the “chain homes” as “gouging.”  I cannot think of a better term.  

When one of the clients above turned to a “family funeral home,” the quotation was approximately one-seventh of that—in other words, $4,000.  Another client at still another family funeral home was quoted $2,300. 

BC’s Lower Mainland also has the Family Funeral Homes Association, a non-profit society that aims “to advocate on behalf of bereaved consumers.” So, there is help. 

I advocate that every family, but especially those that have seniors or sick amongst them, begin to explore the scene they will be facing sooner or later, beginning by accessing the above Association. Death is more sure than taxes. It has neither loophole nor escape clause. Prepare for it. Know what you need to know. Save your family the pain of making decisions under stress in ignorance. 

When you are faced with this certainty, remember these lines in one of the stanzas of Amazing Grace:  “You have no less days to sing God’s praise than when you first began.” Give that some serious thought. Amazing, indeed!