Hello, My Name is Inigo Montoya…

 
 Well, we’re getting close to the end, aren’t we? Thank you
so much for sticking with the series. I could go on forever with this! But I
won’t.
 
If you want to catch up, you can do it:
 
 
 
Now, let’s watch the clip first. DISCLAIMER:
There is a unsavory word involved here. 
 

A little back story, Inigo Montoya lost his
father to the six-fingered man. Murdered. Brutally. The rest of his life he’s
sworn revenge on this man who he believes destroyed his life. He’s a master fencer. And of course, because
he wants revenge, Vizinni has promised him what he wants most…IF he’ll do something
for him: help kidnap and kill the princess.
 
Things don’t go as planned, though. That’s life,
huh? And after Vizinni dies, Inigo is found at “the beginning” sitting in front
of his house, drunk, and carrying on because things just haven’t turned out his
way. The six-fingered man is lost to him. He has no reason to live.
 
But he remembers someone who was stronger, smarter, and more skilled than him. A man of honor. Westley. He knows he can’t go on without his help. Oh, sure, he thinks he’s going to help him with revenge. But Westley, who destroyed the man manipulating
Inigo, has something else in mind for him. He sees potential in Inigo.  (He’s going to make him ruler over a ship–okay it’s piracy but just go with the analogy here.)
 
Now, in this clip we see him getting his revenge
and he does indeed succeed (that rhymed, anybody wanna a peanut!) But it came
with a terrible fight. And he could have been killed, he was certainly injured.
 
“Do not
avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God’s wrath, for it is
written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.”  Romans 12:19 NET
 
I understand hurt. I understand pain. I
understand unfairness. I’m in no way saying those who have been victimized
shouldn’t feel angry or want justice. But I am saying that we have to give that
anger and that hope for justice in our case to God. Or we’ll grow bitter, like
Inigo.
 
Nothing escapes God’s eye. Even when it looks like
someone is going to get away with their crime on earth, they won’t get away
with it after this temporary life. That is guaranteed.
I’m saying that we waste our time on revenge.
Inigo had no wife, children or really many friends. The giant. And of course in
the end, Westley. But not Vizzini. He was using him for his own purposes.
 
The same way our enemy tries to use us. He takes
our pain and twists us into confusion, distracts us from truth, and fuels our
bitterness with his own false truth. LIES. He’s a liar.
But God sees in us something we may not. He sees
in us things others may not. We are not used up. We are not worthless. We
matter to God. We are valuable.
 
Oh we may be broken. But God is a FIXER. A
MENDER. And He wants to heal us. So we can become the person He already knows
us to be.
 
He is our Defender. Even when it feels like He’s
dropped the ball. He hasn’t. Westley himself says to Buttercup, “Life is pain,
Highness. Anyone who says differently, is selling something.”
 
Jesus said, “I have told you these things so
that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble and suffering, but
take courage—I have conquered the world.” John 16:33 NET
We have trouble. People have freewill and with
that comes their choices to hurt. To abuse. 
To murder. To steal.
 
But we also have the freedom to choose
differently. To choose hope. Life abundant. To get better. To be healed. To move
past the pain. To move into a purpose and destiny that will glorify God and
help others who may have been hurt in the same way.
 
 “There’s more to come: We
continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because
we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that
patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever
God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling
shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold
everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!” Romans
5:3 MSG
 
Oh what we miss out on, when we focus on the
pain and revenge. When we carry grudges and unforgiveness.
 
I don’t know about you, but I want God’s best. I
don’t want to miss out on all the good. I already know there’s a lot of bad.

Join me next Monday for I Wonder If He is Using the Same Wind

What are you focusing on?

 

photocredit/wikipedia

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Never Go Against A Sicilian!

Hey everyone, thanks for coming back for part 4 of The
Princess Bride series. If you’ve missed the first three, you can catch up:
Let’s watch the clip first!

Quite an interesting scene here isn’t it? Vizzini is adamant
he’s not a fool. He prides himself on his brains, his wits.

“First pride, then the crash— the bigger the ego, the
harder the fall.” Proverbs 16:18 MSG
I love Westley’s reaction, “Truly, you have a dizzying
intellect.” Sarcastic amusement. Vizzini goes on and on. Thinking about who he
believes Westley is. Deduction. Man’s logic, and in the end…trickery.
The battle of wits to decide who is right and who is dead.

“Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
    don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
    he’s the one who will keep you on track.

Don’t assume that you know it all.” Proverbs 3:5-6 MSG
I think many times we can pull a Vizzini. We base our view
of who God is on our limited knowledge, human reasoning and deduction and not
on the actual Word of God, thereby failing miserably.

We try
to figure out tough situations out on our own.  We take matters into our hands, leaning on our
own understanding.
Vizzini was at a crossroads of sorts. He had to figure out a
tough decision. Now for the sake of this clip, we know he’s the villain. We
know that Westley is the hero and needs to take him out. I’m not comparing
Westley to God in the sense that God gives us no way out situations. He doesn’t.

But we
all have hard decisions to make. And going on our own understanding always
leads to dire consequences.
We may not understand everything about God. We don’t. We
never will. But we don’t have to understand Him to trust in His wisdom and His
goodness. To trust in His promises that 
He will never leave us, never forsake
us, that He’ll always guide us, give us wisdom and help us navigate through
tough times and even tougher choices.
Because God…yeah, He always surprises us! Vizzini NEVER
expected poison in both cups. WE never expected it! And God answers our prayers
and guides us in ways we’d never expect either.
By putting the poison in both cups, Westley removed
Buttercup’s immediate threat and freed her from an enemy.
You never know how He’s going to do what needs to be done
for you either. But the surprise is always worth it!
“With God are wisdom and
power; counsel and understanding are his.” Job 12:13 NET

Which
character from The Princess Bride can you relate to most? Why?

Do you
ever struggle with trusting God? How do you get through it?



Join me next Monday for Hello, My Name is Inigo Montoya.

Through the FIRE Swamp!

Hey everyone! We’re halfway through our Princess Bride series! I hope you’re enjoying yourself. If you
haven’t read the first two, you can catch them by clicking on the titles below:
Now, we’re ready. Let’s watch the clip first! 

Ah the Fire Swamp! A frightening place to be, but a place
they must go through. Ever feel like you’ve been navigating through a Fire
Swamp? I know I have. One thing after another. Unexpected calamity. A huge
medical bill. A devastation in the family. You can insert your Fire Swamp Fears
______ here.
Buttercup feels overwhelmed. Things look dim. And then after
all that, she falls into lightning sand. Ever felt like you’re drowning in
quicksand?
Thankfully, we never have to drown. Like Buttercup, we have
a rescuer.
I love that old hymn, “My Hope is Built on Nothing Less.”
Than what? Jesus’ blood and righteousness. When darkness
veils His lovely face, I rest in His unchanging grace…

On
Christ the solid rock I stand…all other ground is…
Sinking sand.
Just when she thought she was in sinking sand, she was
rescued. And just when she caught her breath, another kind of evil came at her.
R.O.U. S. Ever feel like you have unusual-sized problems?
Giants? Yeah. Me too. But Westley gives her hope and comfort.
Buttercup says, “We’ll never succeed. We may as well die
here.”  Ever felt like throwing in the
towel and giving up?
Don’t!

“So we
must not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we
don’t give up.” Galatians 6:9 HCSB
Westley comforts her and gives her some confidence to face
the next battle. “No. No. We have already succeeded…” They know what to look for. And he leads her on.

“No,
despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who
loved us.” Romans 8:37 NLT
Then he takes what the enemy meant for evil, the flame spurt
i.e. fiery darts, and uses it against him. He works everything out for good for
Buttercup.
And God will do the same for you!

“And we
know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love
God and are called according to his purpose for them.” Romans 8:28 NLT

If you
had to go up against one of the three, which would you choose and why? Flame
spurts, lightning sand, or R.O.U.S.? 



Next Monday, join me for Never Go Against a Sicilian. 

photocredit/wikipedia

Never a Need to Doubt!

Welcome everyone to our second part in The Princess Bride
series. If you missed week 1, you can check it out HERE.


Here is the moment of truth. Buttercup has believed Westley
wasn’t who he said he was. But as he fell, she heard those familiar words
spoken to her.
As you wish…
And down the hill she follows her true love who she thought
was dead.
First off, let’s watch the clip! 

 I love this small clip of conversation. He’s alive and she
can do more than move! She can fly.

“He doesn’t play hide-and-seek with us. He’s not remote;
he’s near. We live and move in him, can’t get away from him!” Acts
17:28 MSG
Westley had been there the whole time rescuing Buttercup,
but she refused to see him. I bet if she’d really looked, she’d have recognized
his eyes. Now, I admit, Westley was playing a bit of hide and seek but all for
the purpose of testing his beloved. “Did you miss me? Did you think about me?
Have you fallen out of love with me?”
God often tests our hearts as well.

“the refining pot is for silver and the
furnace for gold, But the Lord tests the hearts.” Proverbs 17:3 NKJV
“I told you I would always come for you…Death cannot stop
true love, all it can do it is delay it awhile.”
Ever felt like God was far off? Uncaring? Unloving? You’ve
wondered where he’s gone? Especially when you’re living in the pits, with
heartache. Or in an out of control situation? Buttercup was grieved because she
thought her love had died. She was now being forced into a marriage and there
was no way out. Buttercup had lost all hope. In fact, she was contemplating
suicide and even attempted it (until once again Westley saved her)
He was there when she needed it. It was never too late.
Might have felt like it to her, but it wasn’t!
God has not abandoned you. He is not dead! He’s near.
“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” James 4:8 NKJV
Buttercup realizes just how near and real Westley is, and
she says, “I will never doubt again.”
To which he responds, “There will never be a need.”
Friends, you have no need to doubt your First Love. He’s
mighty to save. Mighty to rescue. He’s close. So very close. Feel His presence,
His embrace to your heart.
And know. You need never doubt again.

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***Join me next Monday as we venture into the FIRE SWAMP!

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Why do you think it’s so easy to doubt? 

Is This A Kissing Book?

 Welcome friends! Today is the launch of the new 6-week
series using The Princess Bride to
teach us some life applications and biblical principles.

If you haven’t seen this movie (and why haven’t you?), you
should. But it won’t affect anything other than you’ll see clips to a movie
that you should have already watched.

Without further ado, let’s watch the clip first, shall we?
Is this a kissing book? I think we go into reading the Bible
with a lot of misconceptions. I’ve talked about this before. (But I don’t like
the Bible!) You can read it HERE. But the Bible is very much like The Princess
Bride
.
Next clip!

The Bible is all about a great adventure. It’s about One who
loves so much, He fights, saves, redeems and would even (and does!) sacrifice His
own life for the ones He loves. It’s a special book. One that helps the sick become well. It takes our minds off our suffering and onto Jesus. We pass it down from generation to generation. It’s ripe with battles, fencing, fighting, torture, giants,
monsters, escapes, miracles…all for true love.


Doesn’t sound too bad, huh? 

“This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his
one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by
believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.” John 3:16 MSG


I think it’s important to have this in mind when cracking
open the Word of God. Every page. Every chapter is about Jesus and the GREAT
PLAN to keep us from the enemy’s clutches. Like Prince Humperdinck, the enemy
doesn’t actually care about us or love us. He’s a deceiver. A schemer. And his
plan is to kill us, given a chance.

BUT…

That’s not God’s plan. God’s plan is that we live. And
abundantly.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have
come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.” John 10:10 NET
The Bible doesn’t have to be dry toast. It’s all about
attitude and perspective when you read it. I think we’ll discover that a
kissing book isn’t too bad after all.

Next Monday join me for Never
a Need to Doubt!
 

What’s your favorite biblical story? Why?

photo credit: wikipedia