Thursday, February 19, 2004
The Real Hype Behind "The Passion"
I am including an article today from an email newsletter that I receive from Crosswalk.com. As I read the final few lines of the article, I was overwhelmed with the sense of a bigger purpose. God is already using the movie to further His kingdom on earth. The hype is not so much about the movie as it is about God. May it all be for His glory!
Mel Gibson's 'Passion' Already Big at Box Office
Charisma News Service
Mel Gibson, the producer and director of "The Passion of the Christ" -- a graphic depiction of the final 12 hours of Jesus' life -- defended the film this week during an hour-long interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC's "Primetime Live". Gibson told Sawyer that he simply tried his best to interpret the Gospels. "Critics who have a problem with me don't really have a problem with me in this film," he said. "They have a problem with the four Gospels." The R-rated film, which took $25 million of Gibson's own money to produce, "is already big box office," "The St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times" observed. Churches nationwide have already bought thousands of advance tickets and rented theater auditoriums for private screenings of the highly anticipated movie. Church groups started calling theaters last month, seeking to reserve tickets and work out rental contracts. The movie is scheduled to play on 2,000 screens. "We have not seen this level of activity for any movie, ever," said Dick Westerling, senior vice president of marketing for Regal Entertainment Group, which owns Regal Cinemas, United Artists Theatres and Edwards Theatres, the "Times" reported.
Mel Gibson's 'Passion' Already Big at Box Office
Charisma News Service
Mel Gibson, the producer and director of "The Passion of the Christ" -- a graphic depiction of the final 12 hours of Jesus' life -- defended the film this week during an hour-long interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC's "Primetime Live". Gibson told Sawyer that he simply tried his best to interpret the Gospels. "Critics who have a problem with me don't really have a problem with me in this film," he said. "They have a problem with the four Gospels." The R-rated film, which took $25 million of Gibson's own money to produce, "is already big box office," "The St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times" observed. Churches nationwide have already bought thousands of advance tickets and rented theater auditoriums for private screenings of the highly anticipated movie. Church groups started calling theaters last month, seeking to reserve tickets and work out rental contracts. The movie is scheduled to play on 2,000 screens. "We have not seen this level of activity for any movie, ever," said Dick Westerling, senior vice president of marketing for Regal Entertainment Group, which owns Regal Cinemas, United Artists Theatres and Edwards Theatres, the "Times" reported.
Wednesday, February 18, 2004
A Busy Day
Hit the snooze bar
Several times
Before swinging feet
Over edge of bed
Started off day
As many others
With morning routine
Routine etched in memory
Tried to avoid boss
Running late again
Hunker down in cubicle
Answer oodles of emails
Spend distracted moment
Reading email
Thinking about building house
Missing husband and children
Morning flies past
Lunch of leftover meatballs
Watch others eating
Suffer from lunch envy
Busy afternoon
Caught up in bureaucracy
Two number one priorities
Needed by yesterday
No time to break for coffee
Meeting at 3:00
Need to give status update
Appease the powers that be
Rush out to car
To wait in the traffic
Head to daycare for kids
Call husband on cell
Once home, kick off shoes
And melt into sofa
Breathe in deeply,
Slowly exhale
Get butt off sofa
Cook, eat, clean up,
Give kids bath
And get ready for bed
Thank God for today
For purpose and for hope
Pray for more of the same tomorrow
God willing
Several times
Before swinging feet
Over edge of bed
Started off day
As many others
With morning routine
Routine etched in memory
Tried to avoid boss
Running late again
Hunker down in cubicle
Answer oodles of emails
Spend distracted moment
Reading email
Thinking about building house
Missing husband and children
Morning flies past
Lunch of leftover meatballs
Watch others eating
Suffer from lunch envy
Busy afternoon
Caught up in bureaucracy
Two number one priorities
Needed by yesterday
No time to break for coffee
Meeting at 3:00
Need to give status update
Appease the powers that be
Rush out to car
To wait in the traffic
Head to daycare for kids
Call husband on cell
Once home, kick off shoes
And melt into sofa
Breathe in deeply,
Slowly exhale
Get butt off sofa
Cook, eat, clean up,
Give kids bath
And get ready for bed
Thank God for today
For purpose and for hope
Pray for more of the same tomorrow
God willing
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
Sanctity of Marriage
I think it hurts us that we do not have first-hand memory of the beginnings of our country. The early presidents were not only men of integrity and wisdom, but godly men, willing to pray for our country and its causes. These men asked God to help them act according to His will. In turn, the men based the processes and procedures of our country on God’s law and saw fit to include God in many aspects of early American life.
In recent years, we have started to forget our roots, our past, our cornerstone. The cornerstone upon which our society was built is being pulled from beneath us. Without that support, our society is falling helplessly down.
What started as a slow, small spiral has evolved into a more rapidly moving water spout, draining downward. Our society struck religion from the public square and from the schools. We are now seeing the results of that decision.
Our deteriorating society has decided to use the term marriage to describe a union between two same-sex individuals. Marriage has a significance that goes beyond a loving union. In the beginning, there was created a man and a woman. Believe in God or not, no person can deny that life is created from the union of man and woman. There is only proliferation where the loving union involves a man and a woman. A person is complete as both body and soul. Anatomy is a part of the body. Anatomy dictates whether life will be created as a part of a particular union. This functionality of a human being was given to us for a reason. From marriage stems life.
There is no denying that marriage has lost significance due to mistreatment of the institution. We have created the concept of the throw-away marriage. It is as big of an abomination to treat a marriage between a man and a woman in such a callous way as it is to include same-sex unions in the definition of marriage. It is no wonder that the judicial system, which has had so much exposure to the disrespect for the sanctity of marriage in divorce, would themselves regard marriage as nothing extraordinary.
In recent years, we have started to forget our roots, our past, our cornerstone. The cornerstone upon which our society was built is being pulled from beneath us. Without that support, our society is falling helplessly down.
What started as a slow, small spiral has evolved into a more rapidly moving water spout, draining downward. Our society struck religion from the public square and from the schools. We are now seeing the results of that decision.
Our deteriorating society has decided to use the term marriage to describe a union between two same-sex individuals. Marriage has a significance that goes beyond a loving union. In the beginning, there was created a man and a woman. Believe in God or not, no person can deny that life is created from the union of man and woman. There is only proliferation where the loving union involves a man and a woman. A person is complete as both body and soul. Anatomy is a part of the body. Anatomy dictates whether life will be created as a part of a particular union. This functionality of a human being was given to us for a reason. From marriage stems life.
There is no denying that marriage has lost significance due to mistreatment of the institution. We have created the concept of the throw-away marriage. It is as big of an abomination to treat a marriage between a man and a woman in such a callous way as it is to include same-sex unions in the definition of marriage. It is no wonder that the judicial system, which has had so much exposure to the disrespect for the sanctity of marriage in divorce, would themselves regard marriage as nothing extraordinary.
