Gospel

Pinocchio’s Downfall and Redemption

The Christian faith is the fabric with which Western literature is woven. Great writers like Andrew Klavan and philosophers like Jordan B. Peterson clearly see it.

The classic, Pinocchio, is no different. The classic 1940 Disney animated movie, based on a classic novel, centered on Pinocchio, a wooden puppet who was given life at the request of his creator, Geppetto.

Geppetto loved Pinocchio, and Pinocchio loved Geppetto. At the very outset, you see a parallel with scripture, where God created Adam and gave him life. God loved Adam and Adam loved God.

Had Pinocchio been content to be loved by Geppetto, and to find his value there, Pinocchio’s story would have been one of endless bliss. Alas, Pinocchio wasn’t satisfied with Geppetto’s love.

Pinocchio had an intense desire to become a real boy. This desire, coupled with his desire to be like all the other boys, would lead Pinocchio down a path of misadventures which would separate him from Geppetto and create unnecessary suffering.

The first misadventure happened when Pinocchio was lured away from his walk to school by a character named Honest John, who persuaded Pinocchio to join his puppet show. Pinocchio’s decision to follow John’s temptation landed him in the show, but also a bird cage, and set up a chain of events that would see Pinocchio on a ship to Pleasure Island.

On Pleasure Island, Pinocchio befriends Lampwick and begins to indulge in bad behavior on the false promise that there would be no consequences for such behavior. When Jiminy Cricket tries to intervene, Pinocchio spurns him, prompting Jiminy Cricket to leave.

However, once Cricket discovers the horrible truth of what is going on at Pleasure Island, he returns to deliver Pinocchio right as the curse was beginning to turn him into a donkey.

At this point, Pinocchio realizes he had it good all along and sets out to reunite with Geppetto, a journey that takes him back home, and even into the belly of a whale. (Shadows of Jonah in that scene.)

What we learn from Pinocchio is that our downfall is often caused by unthankfulness, our desire to find meaning and pleasure apart from our creator, and our misplaced pride in ourselves.

Pinocchio loved Geppetto, but wanted more. Likewise, Adam and Eve loved God, but didn’t want to live under His authority. Their decision to seek their own divine nature by eating the forbidden fruit saw them expelled from the garden, and rendered as mere mortals who would have to face death.

We also say we love God, but all too often we seek pleasure and fulfillment everywhere but God, and often, we wish to cast His authority off from our lives. Our consequence is destruction in this life, and absent from repentance and faith, eternal condemnation before God.

As Pinocchio faced excruciating consequences as a result of seemingly harmless choices, we often find ourselves in bad situations caused by seemingly insignificant choices that took us further from God’s presence. Thus, scripture compares us to sheep, saying that “all we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his on way, and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)

And finally, as Pinocchio found healing and reunification by turning his heart back to Geppetto, we find healing and reconciliation with God by turning from our sinful ways and trusting Him for salvation.

The Christian faith really shapes Western Literature, and why shouldn’t it? Both Christianity and literature contain the stories of who we are.

So, when you find yourself dissatisfied with life and wanting more, be careful. Seek healing and fulfillment with God, and not from the pleasures of this world. Otherwise, you may turn into a donkey and find yourself in the belly of a whale.

But seriously, we forfeit so much peace and endure so much unnecessary suffering simply because we don’t trust God enough. Have faith. Turn to the Lord. And find fulfillment in Him.

Agents of Distraction: How We Wander from God

In this message, Pastor Leland Acker discusses how multiple, seemingly small decisions made to please ourselves lead us away from God. Scripture reference is Isaiah 53:6, which says, “All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way, and the LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

Is The Butterfly Effect Really a Thing?

Some of the most intelligent people in the world subscribe to “The Butterfly Effect” theory. The theory goes as follows: One insignificant event can create a chain reaction that results in major events down the road.

To illustrate this, the statement is made that a butterfly flapping its wings in South America can create inclement weather in New England. Profound? Yes. True? Absolutely not.

First, the scientific aspects of the illustration do not work. The idea that a butterfly flapping its wings creates a series of disturbances in its airspace that send ripple effects through the atmosphere not only violates the laws of physics, nothing like that has ever been observed.

Furthermore, the idea that one small insignificant incident in your day created a chain reaction that set off a life changing catastrophe later also flies in the face of logic. Rather, the consequences that impact our lives are more routinely caused by a series of decisions that led to their inevitable conclusion.

So, what’s impacting your life is not so much the butterfly effect, but rather the domino effect, where one decision leads to another, which leads to another, which ultimately leads you to the place you are… whether good or bad.

It’s that concept that the prophet Isaiah spoke to when he said, “All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way, and the LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

Going astray, turning each one to his own way, is the process of our making a series of sometimes inter-related decisions that lead us away from God and down the path to destruction. No one sets out to destroy their lives, but through these decisions, destruction results.

No one sets out to gain 300 pounds, but a series of inter-related bad diet choices leads us there.

No one sets out to declare bankruptcy, but a series of bad financial moves will land you there.

No one sets out to destroy their marriage, but a series of selfish choices will lead you to divorce.

No one aims to go to Hell, but a life of living for self and rejecting God will leave you there.

The good news that Isaiah 53:6 presents is that God redeemed us from the destruction our sin brings by laying the judgment of sin on Jesus Christ. In essence, God is stopping the next domino from falling through Jesus who stood in the gap when He went to the cross.

Wherever you are in life, God can redeem you from it, setting the stage to welcome you into His perfect Kingdom. The question is, will you set up a new line of dominoes, a series of good decisions borne out of faith in God and not your own rebellion?

Asking for a Sign

In Isaish 7, the Lord promised Ahaz, an unGodly king, that He would protect the him and his kingdom from a pending invasion. The Lord then invited Ahaz to ask Him for a sign. In essence, God extended His grace and provision to Ahaz, who rejected it out of his own pride.

In this message, Pastor Leland Acker shows how this fits into Isaiah’s theme of reasoning with God, and how we can align ourselves with God in our lives so we can experience the peace He offers.

Reasoning with God

In Isaiah 1:18, God says, “Come, let us reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”

As we discussed last week, to reason with God means to come to the Lord, allow Him to convict you of your sin and correct your sin, and then God will cleanse you and forgive you of your sin.

In Isaiah 6, we see what this looks like, as Isaiah has his reasoning moment with God.

The Road to Redemption: The First Step…

When you find yourself beset by fear, anxiety, regret, sadness or anger, you may feel overwhelmed. In this message, Pastor Leland Acker points out that to overcome the anguish in your life, you need to find peace in your heart. This message, taken from Isaiah 1:18, shows us how to do that.

Jesus? Or Yeshua? Beware the Name Game

What was the name of Christ? When people approached Him on the street, how did they address Him?

It is becoming more popular among fringe groups in the Christian movement to try to differentiate between the names “Jesus” and “Yeshua.” Such groups advocate using “Yeshua” over “Jesus” in a supposed effort to align more with the name His family and disciples used. However, their doctrine distracts from the Gospel and causes unnecessary division among Christians.

The thing to remember when it comes to this issue is that the culture in Israel during Jesus’ day was a multilingual culture. Aramaic was the language spoken by the Jews living in the Holy Land, while Latin was the primary language of most Romans occupying the area. However, the international language of the day was Greek, which was not only used by world travelers, but was often the language of the market place.

As is the case with multilingual societies, names are often spoken differently. Take the culture around the Texas border, for instance. A young man may be known by His Spanish-speaking neighbors as “Juan,” while being referred to as “John” by his English-speaking neighbors.

The name, “Jesus,” is the English pronunciation of the Greek name, “Iesus,” which is the Greek pronunciation of the Hebrew name, “Yeshua,” which, pronounced in English would be “Joshua.”

Similarly, “Jesus” in Spanish is pronounced, “Hey-SOOS.”

The pronunciation changes from language to language, but what remains the same is the Christ to Whom the name refers, and the meaning the name conveys.

In Matthew 1, Joseph was told to name Him “Jesus,” because “He shall save His people from their sins.” The name (in Greek, Hebrew, English and Spanish) means “The Lord is Salvation.” Salvation is the Lord’s mission, and it is the very essence of His character.

The Lord came to seek and save that which is lost. Furthermore, He came to redeem and restore us, preparing us to enter into His eternal Kingdom.

One of the great tragedies of the digital age is the temptation to take alternative viewpoints in an effort to differentiate ourselves from others. We all want to be the smartest person on the internet, and a thought leader in the faith.

To do this, we often feel that we have to find a deeper truth that no one else has noticed. Then, we must leverage that to build a following.

This is not only tragic, it is sinful. This is the same thought process employed by the Pharisees in Jesus’ day, as well as the same process employed by false teachers.

The tragedy of the whole thing is that the Gospel gets completely lost in the exchange. When we lose focus on the Gospel to leverage a lesser known (and often illegitimate) doctrinal stance, we deviate from the message Christ gave us. We miss opportunities to see souls saved, we miss the redemptive power of Christ. Worse, we fail to fulfill the mission of Christ.

Christians have referred to Christ as “Jesus” for hundreds of years. Had this been offensive to God, we would know by now.

So, don’t get caught up in the name game. Praise the Lord, and fully believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Embrace His redemption, and look forward to the day He returns and establishes His Kingdom on Earth. And help others to come to experience His salvation and redemption.

That the Works of God May Be Manifest…

In John 9, the Apostle John continues his mission to demonstrate to us Who Jesus really is by recording the miracle of the healing of the blind man. John opens by telling us that this man was born blind, that it was Jesus who saw him, and he recorded the conversations between the apostles and Jesus concerning the man’s condition.

There was a thought process in Israel during Jesus’ day that if good things happened to you, God was pleased with you. If bad things happened, God was angry with you.

In the case of the blind man, what happened? Was God upset with his parents? Or with a future sin this man would commit.

Jesus answered, “neither,” saying that the man was born blind so that the works of God would be manifest in him.

From this passage, we see that the Lord sees us. We then see how God works in our lives, and we see the timeframe by which God works. For more, check out Pastor Leland Acker’s message posted above.