WE READ HARRY but WE FOLLOW JESUS

by Desi Maxwell - (all his words...well worth copying!)
Thank you Ms. Rowling. Thank you for a riveting read in the Harry Potter series. Thank you for making reading so exciting. Thank you for sharing your creativity. Above all, I want to thank you for raising some of the profoundest theological and philosophical issues. Your stories start in Privet Drive but lead to public debate. I congratulate you on succeeding where most theologians and philosophers have failed. On the one hand your story lines have carried me off into the surreal world of wizardry at Hogwarts and beyond, yet on the other hand I have been brought face to face with the concrete issues of moral choice, selfless giving, true commitment and the struggle between good and evil. You have no idea of how many times Harry has afforded me the opportunity to talk about some of the most wonderful themes in the Bible, the story of the ultimate Chosen One.

I admit readily to wearing a decidedly Christian pair of specs. Ever since my English teacher in sixth form instilled a love of books I have found reading a thrill and literature a fascinating map of human thought. I never cease to be amazed and challenged by how authors raise the big issues of life and death that the Bible deals with. A book may be shelved under ‘fiction’ in the shop or library but the contents often wrestle with the hard facts that everyone must grapple with sooner or later in life. When I wonder why this should be I keep thinking about a fascinating verse in Ecclesiastes which says ‘He (God) has set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end’ (3:11). In other words there are some things planted so deeply in the human psyche that they are irrepressible. No matter how intensely the truth may be ignored or suppressed by non-believers, even whole-hearted antagonists, of Biblical teaching, there are things indelibly impressed within us as created beings. As humans we all have deep longings and, buried throughout the created universe, God has placed signposts to the ultimate source of meaning. With this in mind I want to share some of my reflections on the saga of Harry Potter. I am not suggesting that Ms. Rowling has written a Christian tract but, throughout her narrative, themes resonate with truths that speak of an even deeper mystery.




The Chosen One

What is beyond all doubt is that from infancy through to manhood Harry Potter is the focus of all seven volumes. In 64 languages, 365 million people have traced the history of Harry. While they may now be able to compile a veritable Who’s Who? of wizardry and other unimaginable creatures, they know that the spotlight has never moved off Harry.




The Mission

Harry is a man with a mission. Like Frodo Baggins in THE LORD OF THE RINGS, he has been chosen for a very special task. As the hobbit had been commissioned to destroy the ring, so Harry’s lot is to confront and destroy the Dark Lord, Voldemort. Toward the end of the last volume in the series, he says that the knowledge of how to destroy the enemy had been passed on to him by his old headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, and now ‘I’m going to keep going until I succeed – or I die. Don’t think that I don’t know how this might end. I’ve known it for years.’ (HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, p458) For those who have even a smattering of Latin from their school days they will recognize that the very name of the Dark Lord reeks of death. (Latin ‘mors’, ‘mort’ = death) Even you never had the blessing of a Latin grounding, you will identify the last syllable of Voldemort as the same as the first syllable of mortician, the one who handles death daily.




The Last Enemy

If Voldemort is the personal antagonist, the ultimate enemy of Harry, indeed of us all, is death itself. According to JK Rowling, death is a major theme in her writing. She says ‘My books are largely about death. They open with the death of Harry’s parents. There is Voldemort’s obsession with conquering death and his quest for immortality at any price, the goal of anyone with magic. I so understand why Voldemort wants to conquer death. We’re all frightened of it.’ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter#_note-25)




The Personal Pain

What is particularly striking in the last book of the series is the personal cost of the mission to Harry. Hermione and Ron may prove to be the closest of friends, Hagrid and others are willing to die for him but ultimately the task is Harry’s and his alone. There is a particularly poignant part near the end where ‘he yearned not to feel…he wished he could rip out his heart, his innards, everything that was screaming inside him’ (HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS p531)




The Final Victory

It would be rather surly of me to give away all the details of the plot and spoil the excitement for other readers, but suffice to say that Harry does come face to face with death. There is the inner agony that comes with being the chosen but there is an even stronger willingness to give himself up for the sake of others. Such self-sacrifice is a powerful theme and a key to the final outcome. If you have not read the book I shall not divulge the outcome but I can say that good does prevail.




Other readers will undoubtedly identify other themes but these five were particularly clear as I read through my Biblical specs. My mind kept toggling between the book and the Bible. In the latter I find the same five themes.




THE CHOSEN ONE – MAN OF GOD’S CHOICE

It has been said that the Hebrew writers of Scripture were the world’s first historians. They did not write about mythic giants, superheroes and heroines but told a story that involved ordinary people. The Bible is full of people, but running through its pages there is a very special line of men who are the men of God’s choice. From Abraham, through Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua and David there is a distinct line of chosen men on whom God’s spotlight focuses. The fact that they are chosen is not a reflection on their personal superiority to others but rather the emphasis is on their particular relationship with God himself. This line of chosen individuals comes to a climax and focus in the person of Jesus Christ, the ultimate man of God’s choice. It is hardly an exaggeration to say that everything in the Bible is about him. Either we are reading the Old Testament anticipating his coming or the New Testament interpreting his coming. Central to the whole unfolding drama in all its diversity is the figure of Jesus Christ.




THE MISSION – OBEDIENCE TO THE DEATH

Many terms could be mustered to describe the person and work of Jesus but if we were to be limited to only one then it would surely have to be ‘obedience’. Yes, Jesus showed love, power, mercy, grace, sacrifice and solidarity but above all ‘obedience’ is the rubric under which everything else may be subsumed. As the apostle Paul wrote he ‘became obedient to death - even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:8). Undoubtedly there was a certain historical inevitability to the death of Jesus, given his challenge to both the political and religious establishment of his day, but above and beyond this there was a clear theological indispensability. In declaring that he ‘must be killed’ (Mark 8:31; 9:31; 10:33) he was expressing something about the will of God rather than the plans of men.




THE LAST ENEMY – DEATH ITSELF

Paradoxically it was only because of his very submission to death that Jesus was given victory over death when God raised him to life. Yet the path to resurrection victory could not bypass the humiliation of incarnation, rejection, suffering and death on a cross. Such a route demanded a conscious commitment at every step and ultimately there was no one else who could take his place. In fact, in the Scriptural account many of his disciples were not as loyal as Harry’s closest friends. However, in Jesus, the one of his choice, God launched his full frontal attack on the last enemy and broke the totalitarian regime. Having shared our humanity, Jesus died to ‘destroy him who holds the power of death- that is , the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death’ (Hebrews 2:14-15)




THE PERSONAL PAIN – JESUS WEPT

So often the person and work of Jesus has been dressed up in theological language, that the raw agony of the personal pain has been lost. The shortest verse in the Bible, ‘Jesus wept’ (John 11:35), may also be the profoundest. Though Jesus felt the loss of his friend Lazarus as he stood at his grave, he also raged within himself. Few have put it better than BB Warfield when he wrote : ‘It is death that is the object of his wrath, and behind death him who has the power of death, and whom he has come into the world to destroy. Tears of sympathy may fill his eyes, but this is incidental. His soul is held by rage: and he advances to the tomb, in Calvin’s words…’ as a champion who prepares for conflict’ (THE PERSON AND WORK OF CHRIST, Philadelphia, 1950, p117)




THE FINAL VICTORY – DEATH OF DEATH

The outcome of this man’s conflict is one that I am free, indeed obliged, to tell you. As the man of God’s choice, Jesus Christ was not only obedient to the point of death but overcame the power of death. In him we find an answer to the ultimate threat.

I admire JK Rowling for having the courage to talk so openly about the very thing many people, and even churches, regard as a taboo. She has been willing to bring death out of the closet. We all fear death and like Adam, Voldemort and many others, quest for immortality at any price. Having pinpointed the enemy, it is even better to move from the fictional to the factual victory of Christ, now risen from the dead to reign for ever. Yes, we read of Harry but we may reign in Jesus.




Desi Maxwell Aug.13, 2007

click this title: Exclusive Religion. When will the penny drop?

When will the penny drop?
..And when YOU have the revelation…: “ah Jesus means......; I understand…So, it's not all about ME. “When I totally surrender self to Jesus, the son of God, who died to save me, I will inherit eternal life and at last will come home. By His grace, I will know the real reason to why I am here – it is all for a person, Jesus.”
Instead you say” you are too arrogant to me. You are saying you are better than I am. You worship an exclusive God. You say, you have superiority over me. Why can't you accept what I believe; accept MY name - that I do it MY way?”
I can UNDERSTAND this and I don’t blame you for not trusting Jesus. Look at what the gospel says – study it for yourself. Hear Jesus’s words, not mine. Go to the book of 1 John.
You may have heard the idea about all beliefs stemming from the same source (I think the Bahai’s may support this) –The picture of a mountain where the same water comes down in different streams, all round the mountain – from one source. The mountain picture demonstrates all religions do this. So, people naturally assume that if different religions believe in what they want, keep to themselves and care for their own, this is okay, and no one will get hurt and have mutual respect. But to have this picture and believe this must be correct – assumes you can see every stream, BUT you claim to see from God’s perspective! Look, you are not God! Don’t you see that a secularist is every bit as self righteousness as a moralist? Sooner or later it leads to division. Each group looks down their nose at the other.

Religion is a set of beliefs in the fullest sense – a set of answers to the big questions. Why are we here – what is right and wrong, what will fix the human race – what are the most important thing to be doing. Everyone can not prove the answers are right – so it is by faith..

Take Issues in the public domain like: – Education, Poverty, Divorce laws… social issues... You cannot leave your religious beliefs when you come into the public domain. You can not keep them out. It is hypocrisy to think the law can suit all on each issue. The laws that work depend on what your perception is on that particular issue – for instance, divorce. Whose needs are important? The family’s? The individual? The group? People have different views.
Everybody has a set of exclusive beliefs.
So, perhaps we ought to ask ourselves, which set of exclusive beliefs can produce peace loving, inclusive, reconcilable behaviour?
One strategy that deals with the divisiveness of ‘religion’, is to look at the things about the Christian gospel that are unique to Christianity.
A Christian’s belief is different from ALL other religions. It is unique. Three things this text tells us in John 1. It will take you into being an agent of peace.
1 The origin of Jesus’ salvation.
Every Christian spirit acknowledges that Jesus has come in the flesh and is from God (Not ‘born’ but ‘come’ – he was somewhere else before he came into the world. In Jesus, God came into the world.) Jesus is God.
2 The Purpose of Jesus’s Salvation
Other religions want to liberate you from the flesh. At birth – Jesus received the body. God redeemed him from the body. Transformation of this world – the is biblical vision is unique – we become a new person in Christ, when we are saved.
3. Method of Grace. Other religions say you have to be good, to perform the truth, love God etc. If God sees this then He will bless you and save you. The gospel does not say this. He loves us.
Not that we love God, but He sent His son to suffer for those who don’t love him, who aren’t virtuous. He came to die, and we are not saved by our performance.
Jesus is a saviour who died the death we should have died. Lived the life we should have lived.

Another argument you may have, what about love? – isn’t it important that we just LOVE one another – You say: "let’s not talk doctrine and the resurrection" .. but, sooner or later you will come up against a barrier, a conflict, a division. So you want LOVE to your stream flowing from the love mountain? – Unless your religious impulses, confess these unique distinctiveness of Christianity mentioned above, your spiritual impulses may enslave you and turn you to hate other people.

If you accept 1,2, and 3 above, you will turn into the agent of reconciliation and peace, that is for all mankind. Surrender to Him and the miraculous will happen. It won’t be easy, but it will be right – because He didn’t make us right, but declared us right by what He did on the cross.

It is all in the bible. Ask Jesus. He will help you by His spirit to know the truth.

Solomon shows we fall short

Last eve's bible study was on 1 Kings 11 (click the title above).
We learned that God had given Solomon a wise heart - at S's request. A thinking, willing, feeling centre... but as his years numbered and he became older, bit by bit, it was his heart that let him down. He had not only the Pharoe's daughter as a wife - but hundreds of others, who worshipped foreign Gods - and they persuaded Solomon to do the same. You will see 'hearts'mentioned in this first section - five times! Mark 7 - 21-23 says out of the heart comes 'evil from within'.. When we get older in our years, can't we just coast a little in life? - Haven't we learned things from our youth - can't we pass the batton? No old age brings even more challenges that we have ever faced! (This was a main point of our video from Dale Ralph Davies at Keswick last year). We face loss of health, spouse, cancer and death... Older people need ministry of God's people - They need prayer and care. Solomon turned away his heart - then his heart turned away from the Lord.... And Solomon had encountered God twice - in Chapter 3 of Kings 1 4-15 and Chapter 8 1-9 - when God said to Solomon: "Be faithful." This point is that all along God new what Solomon was going to do... and even this priviledged relationship, the intimate experience with God didn't guarantee the pure devotional relationship to God.
So what can we rely on? Well, in God's plan, He was setting the scene for the world - that through David (Solomon's father), - through David's line, would come a King, Jesus, who would be an atonement for ALL. God had this royal person in His sights, PLUS an atoning place - Jerusalem that was to come years later.. Jesus would fulfill the prophesies and overcome death and be the perfect sacrificial lamb. This is the anchor of our faith. Man has and had no power to overcome God's plan. God's promises remain! Jesus is waiting for you. He wants none to perish, but He also says that the gate is narrow and not all will find salvation. You WILL find it IF you look with all your heart, soul, body, mind - everything because Jesus is a jelous God and wants all of you. And He offers you santification for your sins. Don't listen to your feelings - and think - oh this is scary! - that is only a distraction - Satan saying beware, but don't listen to this! Repent, to the Lord, God, and know Him. Keep him close - because there's a lion that prowls.... Keep to his word (the bible), Keep praying - ceaselessly.

And you will experience joy like you never have before - and that experience will give you strength to go on and shelter under his wing, and bare the lighter yoke that the Lord offers.

"Watch you therefore, and pray, always that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man." - Luke 21 v. 36.
There is nothing to fear when the Lord is here.

The Lie Evolution

This title is acutally a title of a book by Ken Ham. We MUST think about evolution and not just accept it. Think deeper and question it. I find this topic surfacing in my mind once again.
If evolution has taken place our museums should be full of skeletons of countless 'transitional' forms. This is so obvious, and simple, yet it is NEVER a question that gets asked. We are so soon to accept a few mens views. Over one hundred years of intense searching only a small number of transitional candidates are touted as proof of evolution. If evolution has really taken place, where are the transitional forms? And why does the fossil record actually show all species first appearing fully formed, with most nearly identical to current instances of the species?
Even in the last few years I have noticed the BBC saying "Here is a scientist who has found a very rare fossil and this may be the 'missing link' and yet, none has been.. Don't you find it odd?
The idea - and this is all that it is, the 'theory' of evolution, proports that things develop by an (unguided) series of small changes, caused by mutations, which are "selected" for, keeping the "better" changes" over a very long period of time. How could the ability to reproduce evolve, without the ability to reproduce? Can you even imagine a theoretical scenario which would allow this to happen? And why would evolution produce two sexes, many times over? Asexual reproduction would seem to be more likely and efficient! I have taken some ideas from the Creation Science website - click on the title and be conused - if you are a believer in evolution! See also http://www.drdino.com/letting-god-create-your-day.php

Forgiveness

So, we read about Forgiveness today: If you follow the link about Peter Robinson and his wife, this is a sad affair, but nevertheless an example to all of us that teaches us about repentance and forgiveness. for we are all guilty of sin and can ONLY be redeemed by sincere repentance before Jesus. Pastor James McConnell is absolutely sound in his words to the press here. Doesn't it stir you, the reader, here, to think about your own sin. Veteran gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has described Iris Robinson as a "hypocrite" for having an affair. But can't Peter see that he, himself needs to repent of his own sin. Yes, me too! And grace is undeserved and scandulous - don't you like that? And do you, can you understand? And Jesus promises to help us, by His Holy Spirit to keep us on a road away from temptation, if we follow Him daily.

the pastor concludes to the press (follow link on title above)"We can only but pray for them and pray for them with great compassion as we would do for any sinner no matter what sin they have committed.

The Beauty of Holiness by Sylvia Britton

Dear friend Sylvia - you wrote this and I just had to copy ALL and paste today. May we all strive with God's will and His spirit within us for Holiness. And may we understand the true meaning of Holiness and why we are Christ followers in the first place. God Bless you this New DAY, the first on this year 2010. Sylvia writes:

“Holiness, not happiness, is the chief end of man.” Oswald Chambers

“No attribute of God is more dreadful to sinners than His holiness.“ Mathew Henry

“…but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:15-16

What is holiness? You probably already have some definition in mind. Definitions of holiness run the whole gamut from the hermit in a hair shirt, hidden in a remote cave, to a skirt wearing, bun capped dour woman, to those who refuse to apologize for wrongs because they don’t believe they are capable of sin all the way to legalism where there is a long list of things we must not wear, eat, drink, watch or touch. None of these things really defines true holiness.

Holiness is such a deep and multifaceted topic that I don’t anticipate being able to give it justice in a devotional. So for now, I hope to whet your appetite for more on the topic of holiness. I do heartily recommend that you begin a Bible study on holiness. The book The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges and the writings of A.W. Pink are good resources for further reading and contemplation.

In its purest form, holiness is complete moral purity. This is something that no human being has achieved or can ever achieve. So why do we continue to search after it? We continue to search because though God has made us righteous in Christ, He calls us to righteousness in our character. God has set the desire for holiness in the hearts of all His people. “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness” Isaiah 61:10.

The journey to personal holiness begins with a right view of God’s holiness.

God’s holiness is perfect. And our holy God is so holy that He is not even tempted to sin, nor will He ever tempt us to sin (James 1:13). God hates sin. Every time we sin either in word, thought or deed, we are doing something that God hates. (Psalm 119:104; Habakkuk 1:13)

Our God is a three-times holy God. So holy that Holy cannot adequately describe Him. Scripture uses the phrase “Holy, Holy, Holy” to describe God (Revelation 4:8; Isaiah 6:3). Until we begin to understand the holiness of God, we will falter in our growth toward holiness. The only way to understand His holiness is to grow closer to Him through reading His Word and prayer.

The journey to holiness continues with a right view of sin and a right view of God. One of the biggest roadblocks to living a holy life is our refusal to take sin seriously. In our minds we have divided sin into categories of serious sin and not-so-serious sin. We sometimes think of sins as “mistakes” instead of ascribing to those mistakes the moral weight they deserve in God’s eyes. We do this as if calling those sins mistakes they are not so bad and God will not judge them to be sinful. God does not categorize sin in that way. All sin separates us from fellowship with God. God hates all sin, not just some sin.

The holiness that we are called to, is what Jerry Bridges calls a “joint venture” between God and ourselves. Unlike the holiness He gives us that makes us fit for His salvation, it is not something that He will bestow on us without our effort.

There are two kinds of holiness; that which God gives and that which God calls us to. That holiness to which we are called is as dependent on our effort as anything we will ever do in life. God provides us with the impetus to live a holy life, the strength to live it and the arsenal to defeat sin in our lives, which includes the presence of His Holy Spirit.

So far we have established in this short devotional that;
·Holiness is perfect moral purity
·Sin is when we fall short of perfect moral purity in any way
·God is perfectly holy
·God hates sin
·God requires holiness in our character and daily lives.
·When we sin, God hates that sin
·There are two types of holiness; that which God gives us at salvation and that which He calls us to in our daily living.

Finally, the journey to holiness includes the daily living out of the life of Christ.

We are no longer slaves to sin, it no longer reigns in us, and we can defeat it. According to Jerry Bridges, God gives us the potential to resist sin; the responsibility for resisting though is up to us. There is no such thing though as instant holiness. Holiness is a continual journey, a constant battle and, as Jay Adams says. “It is by willing, prayerful and persistent obedience to the requirements of the Scriptures that godly patterns are developed and come to be apart of us.”

Have you stopped to wonder about why God saved you in the first place? So that you could have a great life? A place in heaven? There is a reason:

“God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before Him.” Ephesians 1:4 .

We were saved to be holy. Dear sisters, it is time for us to lay aside all those sins that beset us, to get serious about serving God and realize that our time here is but a moment, a blink, in eternity. To realize that God requires us to live holy lives and that He Himself will work with us to lead us into a holy life.

Holiness should concern us deeply and holy living should be foremost on our minds every day. It should disturb us and at the same time encourage us to obedience to read:
“Make every effort to ….. be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” Hebrews 12:14.

A.W. Pink describes the true faith in God through Christ as “…a faith which purifieth the heart.” (Titus 1:1) one which grieves over all impurity (Acts 15:9) and one which produces an unquestioning obedience (Heb. 11:8). Is your faith leading you in that direction?

The journey to holiness consists of a pattern of living life;
· Hearing the Word taught (Jeremiah 3:15) Go to church, listen to sermons and learn in Sunday School.
· Reading the Bible (Deuteronomy 17:19) You are blessed to live in a culture where the Bible is available to everyone. Read it daily, prayerfully.
· Studying scripture (Proverbs 2:1-5) A good study doesn’t have to be costly. Use your Sunday School material or ask your church’s pastor or Sunday School director for suggestions.
· Memorizing the Word (Psalm 119:11) Challenge yourself to memorize God’s Word. We sometimes forget that memorization isn’t only for children.

I would add one more thing to Dr. Pink’s list. Prayer and relationship with God. You cannot help but be changed if you are daily in His presence.

Ask the Lord to open your heart to His Word and His Truth that Holy Living is not optional for the Christian. Ask Him to show you the things in your life that are keeping you from living out the holy life a Christian is meant to live. What is keeping you from living a holy life?
Here are some scripture references to get you started on the journey to finding out more about holiness:

Ephesians 4:30
2 Timothy 2:21
1 John 1:6
Psalm 119:104
1 John 5:3
James 1:22
Galatians 5:16
Philippians 2:12

As a friend of mine commented, holiness is more about being than doing. My hope is that the women reading this will be encouraged and challenged to find out more about holiness and how to be holy. My fervent prayer is each one reading will begin to talk to God about holiness and ask Him to open His Word regarding personal holiness.

Remember that the journey to holiness only ends in heaven in the presence of God when we are changed into His likeness, but that His will for us is to continually strive toward holiness and remain faithful in our walk with Him.

Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. Psalm 29:2"

Thank you Sylvia! So this isn't just for women, but men. I pray the "holiness to which we are called is as dependent on our effort as anything we will ever do in life." - that this will be my and your 2010 manifesto as a Christian and any person willing to repent of all their sin and turn toward the true God for their salvation in Christ, to become a new person, shedding all their self each day to be renewed by his spirit. Amen