My Devotionals.

     "Time with Me cannot be rushed. When you are in a hurry, your mind flitters back and forth between Me and the tasks ahead of you. Push back the demands pressing in on you; create a safe space around you, a haven in which you can rest with Me. I also desire this time of focused attention and I use it to bless you, strengthening and equipping you for the day ahead. Thus, spending time with Me is a wise investment. 

     Bring Me the sacrifice of you precious time. This creates sacred space around you--space permeated with My Presence and My Peace." - Jesus Calling

     I was convicted after reading this latest entry in my devotional earlier tonight. Often I go about my day without stopping to give God my time, knowing that He is always with me and I always have prayer on my side. God understands that our days are busy and that our time is precious, but we should not use take advantage of this understanding. 

     In this busy and corrupt world, any time we can spend with a pure and righteous God is valuable. We shouldn't just pray every now and again though; yes, praying is good, but He wishes that we spend more time with Him, quality time. Any time spent in the presence of God should be worthwhile and not spent thinking about the petty things in life. 

     With all of this said, push back the demands of modern life and just sit down with your Savior. God wants nothing more than to spend time with you so you can share in the joy of his everlasting love. Take some of the time that would otherwise be spent flitting around worrying and rest in His presence. Any time you can use to worry He can use to bless you if you will only let Him. 

God, 

     

     You understand the stresses of this world. You understand that in this world, our time with You can become strained though You do not intend it to be so. Lord, calm our hearts. Let us know that though we ought to set aside time for You, that we can spend every moment in Your love. 

Amen.

There is Power in the Image of God!

     On the way to volunteer for my churches rummage sale set up I was listening to the radio. As the car started the first thing I hear is the lady on the radio talking about how we were created in the image of God and how this image held power. Though she was speaking on not letting fear into the house hold, I wish to center my talk this morning on this idea that there definitely is power in the image of God.

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in out image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

27 So God created mankind in His own image,

in the image of God He created them;

male and female He created them.

28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

29 Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.

31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

     God made us in His image to rule over the land, to rule over the birds in the sky and fish in the sea. God intended us to be the stewards of His creation. The image of God is one of power and this is evidence. If we were beings of lesser power then we wouldn't have the ability to rule. Though intelligent, if we were to look like, say a cow, then even though our intellect may out match any other beasts, we would not have the power to rule. God intended us to be beings of power, beings of influence.
     Perhaps this is why we have such a strong influence upon each other. The most haunting images among ourselves is seeing harm fall upon a fellow human being. We have power over one another. We alone possess the power to stand up to one another, we possess the control because God has given it to us. Yes, we can be trained as animals, however, the allowance of thought and therefore, the ability to break these bonds are the tools our creator gave us.
     We lead. God gave us the power to lead. We are given the will to lead one another. God leads us spiritually so that we may lead each other physically.
     And perhaps most important, we are given free will to choose. Though given a pure example of perfection, we are given the ability to choose to follow...or not. Even in the Garden we were given the free will to follow. God planted the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil allowing us to have the free will to either eat from or not to eat from that tree. Though strongly encouraged to not choose the fruit, and even given the ultimatum that if we did we would be kicked out, we used that free will to commit the very first sin.
     Though we are allowed free will and we use it freely and against God Himself, He loves us regardless. God granted us power as we are His creation in His own personal image. We are given power over ourselves as well as all of His creation, just as long as we are humbled by Him and follow.

Not in the Name of the Doctor (Series 7 Finale Theory).

*SEVERE SPOILERS AHEAD! PROCEED WITH EXTREME CAUTION!*

"The Name of the Doctor" (Final Moments)

     Now, usually I don't post works like this. However, at the end of the latest installment of Doctor Who, we witness the Doctors big secret, and in light of all the theories popping up, I simply wish to share mine. 

     "What I did, I did without choice." 

"I know"

"In the name of peace and sanity."

"But not in the name of The Doctor."

     These are the words spoken just before the scene closes, Matt Smith walks off with Jenna-Louise Coleman in his arms, and John Hurt turns around. Ok, let's analyze what we know from this scene: 

- The Doctor has more regenerations than we yet know about. 

- This new regeneration has done something terrible that somehow violates what The Doctor stands for.

- The actions this regeneration did, he did so without having a choice in the matter. 

- The new regeneration is not known to Clara who, as we see in a previous scene, walks into the time-stream of The Doctor to save him from the Great Intelligence. 

- This new regeneration is one that The Doctor we know is trying to forget. 

- The Doctor has a violent and vengeful streak that does not seem to make any sense given what we know he believes in. 

     One theory surrounding this event is that John Hurts Doctor is a new regeneration, that is to say, a regeneration that happens post-Matt Smith. I would say this is false in that Smith's Doctor seems to know who he is. Thus this theory is logically incorrect as The Doctor is usually (that is until this episode) strongly opposed to traveling along his own timeline. 

     Another theory concerning Hurts Doctor is that he is somehow Doctor number 0. This theory postulates that the Doctor did something horrible that caused him to have to leave Gallifrey in the first place, later taking up the title of The Doctor as a promise to heal the galaxy. This theory though is proven incorrect as it is accepted that William Hartnell is accepted to be the very first Doctor, no previous regenerations coming before him. 

     The third theory is a theory concerning Hurt being the real ninth regeneration of The Doctor. This is the theory that I personally buy into. The theory states that Hurt is the Doctor that fought in the time war; that he is the regeneration that takes place in between the eighth and ninth Doctors. This means that nine is ten, ten is eleven, and eleven is actually twelve. The theory goes on to state that the action Hurts Doctor did without choice, to preserve peace and sanity, is destroying Gallifrey and locking the time war off from the rest of the time and space. This action would be against the name of the Doctor as he is a man who stands against violence, relying instead upon logic and words to ease tense situations. 

     I personally believe that he is the 9th Doctor. You see, when people go through traumatic experiences, their minds possess the power to block out the memory so that it doesn't haunt them and inhibit their lives forever. I think a version of this happened to him. Hurts Doctor fought in the time war and did what he had to rather than what he had promised himself and the universe. Rather than fight with words and logic, he realized that both sides of the war were never going to stop, so he destroyed both and locked the time war away so it wouldn't effect anyone or anything else. He is the Doctor that broke his promise of healing. The Doctor realized that if both sides were to continue, they would rip apart the whole of time and space, so he did what he thought he had to: he destroyed them so they wouldn't destroy anything else. 

     This theory would seem to allow compensation for such incidents where the Doctor showed a violent streak that didn't seem to fit his character. Such times would be in series 1 when, upon finding out about the existence of a Dalek he thought dead, The Doctor snaps and attempts to destroy it with an alien weapon found in the alien museum the event happened in. Rose would later have to talk him down. Another event is during the final moments of Tennants Doctor. Donna's grandfather gives the Doctor a gun, and rather than refuse it, he takes it. Later we find The Doctor in a stand off between the returning Gallifreyan court and their president, Rasilion, and the ever insane Master. Two enemies The Doctor had thought dead, both coming back against him. In this moment the Doctor raises the gun to Rasilion then alternating to the Master. The Doctor claims to despise guns, yet in this moment he uses it to try and fend off his two supposedly fallen enemies. In these, and many other moments, the violence and vengeance of Hurts Doctor shows through. Previously, we had no standing for why The Doctor seemed to become violent, yet now there seems to be an example of reason. 

     In the scene posted above we see that Clara has no idea who this regeneration is. She becomes increasingly worried as she explains to The Doctor that he is the eleventh Doctor. She has absolutely no idea who this man is though the only other person than herself is the other regenerations of the Doctor. This can be explained. When Clara walked into The Doctors time stream, she did so to help save the Doctor from the Great Intelligence who had begun to kill the Doctor at every moment in his time stream. However, she never helped Hurts Doctor, which doesn't seem to add up. I believe the reason for this to be that his regeneration is time locked. 

     Hurts Doctor was the Doctor that fought within the time war, which he time locked. When Clara helped all of the Doctors, she could not have helped this Doctor as she could not go into the time war. All the events of the war (including himself) being locked within. This would also explain why we have never heard the Doctor explain about his secret. The Doctor seems never to explain about himself until it is absolutely necessarily, life or death necessary.  If Hurts Doctor is a regeneration locked within the confines of the time war, then there wouldn't seem to be any scenario where The Doctor would need to explain about him. At the end of The Name of the Doctor, we see Smiths Doctor explaining about his secret because he realizes that he is about to become an integral part of his life once again. 

     I believe Hurts Doctor to be the actual ninth regeneration, the regeneration that fought within the time war. At the conclusion of time war, The Doctor destroys Gallifrey and his people, committing genocide. The destruction of Gallifrey was the decision made without choice, yet also against the promise he had made to himself and the universe. The promise to be a healer and wise man to all in need. 

 "What I did, I did without choice." 

"I know"

"In the name of peace and sanity."

"But not in the name of The Doctor." 

     

The New Look

     Those of you who know me know that I am a firm believer in the idea that pages like this ought to change something occasionally just to keep things new and interesting. So, with this being said, what do you think?! I've updated the page to a new format and added a photo of the Doctor, Amy, and the TARDIS after an episode from season 5. So, please! Let me know what you think by commenting below!

Cataclysm

     The power that brought Christ back from the dead resides in all who accept Him as their Savior! We fell to our desires and reveled in sin, but when we called out as one, He heard our pleas. The Lord sent His one and only son to sacrifice Himself so that we may live within His kingdom forever. His love for us is unmatched, no worldly expression can begin to explain His passion for our lives. Jesus knows every detail, you don't even need to say. He holds you when you weep and picks you up when you fall for He loves you more than anything He has ever created. We are His most prized possession. We are the love of the world. Jesus is king and we are His bride.

Cataclysm

Christian Identity.

     In the light of recent happenings with famed Christian metal vocalist of As I Lay Dying, Tim Lambesis, I wish to speak on the importance of identifying ourselves in Christ.
     As people, and especially to us in this younger generation, it is becoming increasingly easy to let ourselves become wrapped up in the latest big artist. As this happens, we begin to identify with this person as a form of our own identity. We read about their daily lives, not noticing that while doing so we begin emulating it. We constantly look to others as a models for what our lives should look like, not realizing that we shouldn't be basing our lives off of anything from this world.
     I am close with some people who are confessed "metal heads," who were legitimately let down (not to say they were reliant upon him for identity) upon reading about Tim Lambesis fall into what we here will call "major sin." The confessed Christian had been a beacon of light for many young Christians who wished to be apart of the metal scene yet keep their faith. He showed many thousands, no-doubt, of young Christian "metal heads" that it was indeed possible to have a strong faith in Jesus Christ yet participate in the metal scene. Needless to say, with his fall came much disappointment.
     In this dark time though I would like to offer some consolation. There is a much bigger person to keep our hope in. A person who will never fall to the sins of our broken world, a person who knows you personally and loves you deeper than the oceans. As followers of God we ought to keep our identity in Him. He is our perfect example of life and will never reject you, even when you reject Him. Our Lord sent His only son to live a perfect life and die upon the cross so that we could have eternal life with our Father. This is not given permission to sin, but a consolation that in sin we are forgiven.    
     Why keep your person in a sinful, Earthly being when God gave us the ever perfect example of life? Why be disappointed in the fall when you can be exuberant in the return? You can be disappointed, however, remember that people are sinful regardless of their status or faith. Love the sinner, not the sin.
     I know that my prayers go out to Tim as he faces his fate and that he realizes the error of his ways. I don't condone what has been done, but I pray that as Lambesis walks in the coming years that he comes back to his former faith and repents of his sinful actions.

Jesus: The Doctor.

     A lot of the time when we think about Jesus, we think about the teachings He gave and, of course, His sacrifice for our life. In the grand scheme, these things do tend to overshadow what I want to talk about today, however, that doesn't mean this is less important. Because we tend to think about Jesus sacrifice, we oversee His healing and miracles.
     While on Earth, Jesus went around to different cities proclaiming His word and healing those who would otherwise go unseen. These healing miracles were just that, miracles. The lepers of the world who would have gone unnoticed except by the priests who would condemn them, the blind who would never see, the demon possessed; Jesus would heal any and all who sought His light.
     The sick were seen as the lowly. They, not always, would go unloved and unnoticed by society, that was, until Jesus came. Even though no one in their right mind would touch the Lepers, Jesus gladly touched them and healed them. Rather than shrug away, He would stretch out His hand and cure the unsightly of their blemishes, making them just as beautiful as the most handsome prince.
     Even Jesus sacrifice was a healing. By sacrificing His own body on that cross, Jesus healed us with His blood, painting us white as the snow. We often see Jesus as a teacher, but He is so much more. Jesus, friend, father, brother, teacher, healer.

Monster - The Almost