What's Wrong with The Golden Compass?

With holiday movie releases just around the corner, we need to be careful what we watch, and what we allow our children to watch. The Golden Compass, set to release this weekend, is being marketed heavily and is gaining a lot of buzz among the general public. When lines between faith and fiction are blurred and when fantasy paints a dark picture—should Christians watch such movies? And more importantly, how might watching these movies affect our children?

Kellie Copeland, daughter of Kenneth and Gloria Copeland and children’s minister at Eagle Mountain International Church, explores this topic in her article titled, The Golden Compass—Pointing Children in the Wrong Direction. Take a few minutes to read what God placed in her heart about what we should and should not consider entertainment. Click here for the full article.

God bless you, and remember…JESUS IS LORD!

Are You Ready for Bigger Things?

"You...enlarged me when I was in distress." Psalm 4:1 AMP

Did you know that the hermit crab looks for a shell that fits him, then lives in it till he outgrows it? At that point he has to scurry along the ocean floor and find a bigger one; it's a process that repeats itself throughout his entire life. Are you clinging to something that no longer fits you, just because it's easy and familiar? David said, "You...freed me when I was hemmed in and enlarged me when I was in distress." To develop and grow spiritually you must be willing to move out of your comfort zone and deal with a little 'distress.'

What worked for you yesterday may not work today. Maybe it's a job you've outgrown, a relationship you need to reexamine or a behavior you need to change. Regardless of what it is, never become so 'settled' that you can't let go and move on when you need to.

Patience and persistence are admirable, but they won't work in situations you've outgrown. Instead of hanging in and trying harder, at certain points you have to stop and ask yourself, "Is this situation good for me?" If you're not sure, ask God for

"an understanding mind [to]...know the difference between...right and...wrong" (1Ki 3:9 TLB).

His Word says,

"If you need wisdom...ask [him], and he will [gladly] give it to you" (Jas 1:5 NLT).

When God says it's time to move on, it's because there's another shell out there that will fit you even better. But you can't take occupancy till you vacate the old one. So how about it - are you ready for bigger things?

Press In

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly...." (Colossians 3:16)

Things in this old world aren't getting any better, and in recent times, the Holy Spirit has been speaking an urgent message to my heart. He's been saying, "Press in. Draw into a more intimate relationship with your heavenly Father. If you don't, you won't make it. If you do, you will see more glorious outpourings of God than you can imagine."

That message isn't just for me. It's also for you--and for every other believer on the earth today. We are in the last of the last days of this age. Jesus is coming soon. It's an exciting time, but it's also a dangerous time. Those who don't do what the Spirit says, who don't press into the Lord, are going to go from disaster to disaster. But those who do will defeat the disasters and turn them into glory, in Jesus' Name!

Your first step in drawing closer to God is to realize that you know God first in His Word. Time spent meditating in the New Testament is time spent with Jesus.

Most people don't realize that. So, instead of getting to know the Lord through His Word, they try to know Him through their feelings and that just won't work.

Letting the Word dominate your thinking is to allow the Holy Spirit to have control over your mind. As you do that, your feelings will eventually fall in line.

Remember this: John 1 tells us that Jesus is the Word. That means, when you spend time in it, you're spending time with Jesus. When His Word is dwelling in you richly, then Jesus is dwelling in you richly too!

Don't go from disaster to disaster. Take those disasters and turn them into glory, in Jesus' Name. Press into Jesus. Press into the Word and you'll make it through these dangerous days just fine!

Scripture Study: John 1:1-14