My family went to see a really great movie on Friday night. We had seen the previews of The Incredibles on television and a few movies and thought it would be an entertaining movie to see. What's more, we felt that it may actually be worth the price of admission! In Ankeny, our hometown, the theatre had several rooms dedicated to this movie and was showing it with 10-20 minutes between start times. That's a good indicator that this movie is going to be big.

We sat down and let the trailers go by, and then it began. It started out 15 years in the past, with Mr. Incredible (AKA Bob Parr) driving to some important event. As he travels across the city, he runs into several emergencies of various dangers and saves the day with his strength and durability, constantly checking his watch for something important that he cannot be late for. Eventually he arrives to his destination, and marries the girl of his dreams, one Elastigirl (Soon to be known as Helen, AKA "Honey", AKA "Mom".

Shortly thereafter, the public decides that they don't need "supers" around any longer and begins an outcry against all super heroes, including our hero in the movie. Apparently, the statement Mr. Incredible made to a man he rescued from a suicide attempt didn't sink in, "After some counseling, you'll thank me." The public decries the lesser woes of being rescued and having bumps and bruises, as if not being rescued would have been better.

Fifteen years later, Bob and his wife have adopted civilian identities and retreated to the suburbs to live normal lives with their three kids. Bob is working as an insurance claims adjuster, longing all the while for the glory days of saving the world with his super hero friends on a regular basis. Out of the blue, a mysterious communication summons him to a remote island for a top-secret assignment and he goes out to enjoy the life of being who he truly is once again. What he fails to do, though, is include his wife in the assignment or even tell her what's going on. All she knows is that he is a happier person and a better husband and father.

Eventually, she finds out that Bob has been saving the world behind her back and takes the kids with her to rescue him from a cleverly laid out trap. I won't give away any more of the story than I have already, but I must say that this movie is a hit for all ages! It is rated PG to allow some violence, even assumed death, but I believe this movie will be yet another hit in the Pixar family and one that you will want to see again and again.

It was heartening to see a movie about a family that had struggles, but overcame them without threatening separation or divorce. The father was not some mindless self-centered goon. The mother was neither a wallflower nor a "take charge because the father wouldn't" mom. The kids had real issues as well, but obeyed their parents with the knowledge that the rules of their parents were not open to debate, nor were they unfair. The family operated with love and attention to each other's needs even before they used their powers in tandem. Ultimately, the father led by serving his family to an increasing degree and the mother was supportive of him in his even larger role in the family.

Much like the society in the movie, we have chased our only hero out of the public eye and tried to domesticate the hope for mankind. Only when we realize that our Lord is the only hope we have, will we allow Him to be the Lord over our lives, and that only happens when we acknowledge His presence among us and the things that He has done. By this admission, we reduce ourselves in our minds and increase the glory of God, and then we find that the protective hand of our Lord may not always be to our comfort, but it is always to our good.

One final thought about the movie. It weighed in at just under two hours in length, and Ben didn't once ask to use the restroom. That means that it can captivate a young child as well as a big kid such as myself. Take the family and go see The Incredibles!

Yours in Christ,

Today's Reading is found in Mark 15:42-47, Matthew 27:57-61, Luke 23:50-56, John 19:38-42, Matthew 27:62-66, Mark 16:1-8, Matthew 28:1-7, Luke 24:1-12, Mark 16:9-13, John 20:1-18 and Matthew 28:8-15.

Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus are two very interesting characters. They kept their faith hidden when Jesus was popular and the Pharisees were enraged, but when their employers had achieved their supposed victory, they came forth and boldly requested the body of Jesus. This made their faith in Him impossible to keep secret any longer. What faith these men expressed!

I'm going to take an unexpected turn here, as most of you are likely expecting me to discuss the final victory of Jesus rising again, defeating death and the power of sin forever. I've read ahead a few days and want to set Peter up a little here.

Throughout the ministry of Jesus, Peter has always come across as headstrong. He was a strong man, good in a fight, and quick to rely on his sword. You'll recall him getting out of the boat with Jesus, then looking down in disbelief that he could defy the laws of physics. He also had heard what Jesus had been telling him about the true purpose of Jesus' last days and yet he single-handedly drew his sword and attacked a Roman soldier who did have backup. He went for the soldier's head, so we know he wasn't kidding around! But it was his sword that did the fighting, not his faith.

He always seemed to be just a little off the mark, asking questions that many of us would ask in his position if we weren't too embarrassed to ask a "dumb question". His questions have helped countless people understand Jesus better, so we shouldn't think any less of him. And in this reading, he went rushing to the empty tomb. Why? I have to say that, with his history, he was probably outraged about a possible grave robbery or a case of somebody disturbing Jesus' remains. He wasn't quite there yet in the faith department, but God wasn't done with him yet, either.

Today's Reading is found in Luke 24:13-43, Mark 16:12-13, John 20:19-23, Mark 16:14, John 20:24-21:25, Matthew 28:16-20, Mark 16:15-18 and Luke 24:44-49.

Three times Jesus appears in this reading, and each time He gives evidence of His life, despite the horrible death He had experienced just days before. At first it was walking and talking, and shortly eating was added to the wonders that proved His renewal. Thomas was one disciple that needed to experience this first-handed before he would accept the fact, however. Jesus gave him the physical proof that he required. Jesus loved him enough to allow him to believe after he was able to see, and then corrected him by blessing all who have not seen and still believe.

Let's visit Peter again. I mentioned yesterday about how his headstrong ways had guided him and how they really made him look like a disciple that just didn't "get it." He eventually found that his human frailties weren't enough to sustain him when things got truly difficult. As a result, he even denied Jesus three times when his faith in his sword was waning and his human frailties were exposed to the nerve. He was scared and that's not something you usually say about Peter. To make up for three denials, Jesus asked him three times if he loved Him. Peter had been fishing on his own side of the boat long enough. It was time for him to follow Jesus and walk in His ways. And a promise was made to Peter and to us. Jesus is there with us to the very end of the age!

Today's Reading is found in Mark 16:19-20, Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:1-2:47.

Acts begins with the final days before the ascension. The followers of Jesus had many questions and expectations and He needed to be sure everyone was on the same page before His return to the right hand of the Father. His last instruction was to spread His message of redemption to the ends of the earth. I do love the next part. The men are looking up at the sky where they last saw Jesus and a voice comes from behind them. I'll put this in my own words, "First you seek the living among the dead and now you are scanning the skies! Come on guys! Jesus will return in the same manner that He left, and until He does, you need to follow that last instruction He gave you. What are you waiting for?"

And then we see Peter start to develop as a true leader. The Bible doesn't really say here, but I no longer picture him carrying a sword where he goes as he did before. I could be wrong in this, but my impression is that he has learned to lean on God after his recent ordeals rather than his own sword arm. He was the one who brought up the fact that with Judas gone, another disciple needed to be added to the eleven to make twelve again. Peter also probably gave the strongest welcome to Matthias as well, for that is the act of a leader.

The Holy Spirit came upon them all at the Pentecost and wonders began happening. There were Jewish people throughout the city that had been visiting for a time and many of them did not speak the same language. Speaking in tongues was done for a time to communicate the word of God to the Jewish people who didn't understand what the sacrifice of Jesus meant and they needed no interpreter. There are some cases of Speaking in Tongues today, but all of these that I am aware of are done with people that all speak the same language anyway, so I am slow to believe that this current practice originates with God.

Today's Reading is found in Acts 3:1-5:42.

Just as Jesus had infuriated the teachers of the law with His message, Peter and John began doing the same thing here. Of course, it's difficult to crush a popular movement, especially when they have physical evidence of their good intentions. I'd say that a lame man singing and dancing in the crowded temple area constitutes good intentions, and the attention this brought to the apostles must have seriously threatened the religious leaders.

As they knew they had botched their attempts to stop Jesus, they decided to nip this issue right away and they had Peter and John arrested for the night and then warned them to speak in Jesus' name no longer. The response they got was perfect. They, as priests of the temple, were told that God would be obeyed, not men. They then did the right thing for the situation. They prayed together about their situation and then boldly continued.

I'd like to comment about the selling of property to help the apostles here. These sales were voluntary and not a requirement for what they were doing. Every so often, though, a person would decide that they should help the movement in a dramatic way and sell their property. This was never imposed on anybody. The couple who died after holding back on the proceeds of their sale did not die because the full balance wasn't given. They had lied to God about the money they withheld as they tried to increase the opinion others had about them.

The matter of believers preaching Christ resurrected continued to escalate until Gamaliel came up with a brilliant plan to let the men go. If their purposes were for their own gain or of their own doing, it would ultimately fail, but if God was behind it, it would flourish. He couldn't have been more right as well see shortly!

Today's Reading is found in Acts 6:1-8:1.

The food distribution was becoming too much of a chore for the apostles, who had first-hand knowledge of the wonderful story they were telling and the work with the food was starting to impede their true task, which was the message. To take care of this, they selected seven men to take that job over. These men are sometimes referred to as deacons. This distribution of duties was very successful and is repeated in many churches today.

Stephen was the first man to be martyred for the church, and it's important to note the peace in him when this happened. He knew that death was defeated and his place was secure through Jesus. The Holy Spirit also gave him peace and joy to assist him in this horrible experience. Much like his Savior and Lord, Stephen died without resentment and forgave his killers during the process.

This action also marks the first appearance of Saul at the very beginning of Saul's persecution of all Christians. We'll read more of him shortly and the study of this man will last for the next few weeks.

Today's Reading is found in Acts 8:2-9:43.

When I first read about the church being persecuted and scattered, I felt very bad for them. I started to look at this from another angle, though. Saul's persecution caused the apostles to branch out from Jerusalem, where everybody had heard the Good News and the message was spread to other regions of the world. In a way, Saul was working to keep the church spreading, which was exactly what Jesus commanded before He left. This spreading caused people in neighboring lands to come to Jesus as the gospel spread like wildfire!

Saul saw himself as the firefighter to quench this ministry and was traveling wherever he needed to fight it. One such journey led him toward Damascus, where he planned to capture any believers and send them to Jerusalem as prisoners. Blinded by an encounter with God on the way there, he arrived and waited further instruction. He got more than he bargained for, though. His restoration gave him the faith to join the people he had persecuted and he began the journey of his life's true calling.

In just a matter of days, his calling caused his life to be in danger and a night escape from the city was what saved him from meeting God before his chosen time. We won't stop hearing of Peter just yet, though.

Today's Reading is found in Acts 10:1-12:5.

Up to this point, all of the people included in the church were Jewish, or were at least circumcised. Peter was reluctant to change this practice, but God intervened in a vision showing that God could make the unclean clean. This helped the spread of Christianity, as it would soon be called, and the blessing of Jesus was extended to all. This did raise some questions from the circumcised believers, but Peter explained all that had happened and they were satisfied.

The first martyr of the original twelve disciples was James. Herod (the son of the same Herod who killed John the Baptist) had him killed by the sword. Herod apparently listened heavily to the cheers of his citizens, as he quickly arrested Peter, holding him with four squads of four soldiers each. Sixteen men to guard one man! This is evidence of Peter's importance to the people spreading the word and the determination to stop this religion before it got completely out of hand.

Weekly Link Bible.org Bible.org is a site with a vision to Attain the knowledge of the Son of God, Become a mature person in Christ, and be Competent to teach others. They plan to do this by leveraging the power of the Internet to provide people and ministries worldwide with universal access to the NET Bible and other trustworthy Bible Study resources. At first, I was a bit skeptical about a NET Bible. I wondered if this was some new paraphrase designed exclusively for the internet, hence the name. A little searching, and I discovered that NET stands for New English Translation, just as NLT is New Living Translation and NIV is New International Version. It is being completed by more than twenty biblical scholars who are working directly from the best currently available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. I can't say that I am completely sold on the NET translation, but I haven't read very much of it. In other words, the jury hasn't even been selected. For now, I plan to study from the New King James Version, but I did want to introduce you to Bible.org for the many resources available through this site. http://www.bible.org

I hope you enjoyed this e-zine. If you know anyone else who would enjoy this newsletter, please forward this e-mail to them or direct them to http://www.coffeeswirls.com/weeklybible/
Thanks for sharing my goal of reading the Bible in its entirety this year!