Daddy, Are Superheros Real?

I'm not sure how the conversation started, but my daughter asked me this question the other day. Being the storyteller I am, I whispered that she had to keep a secret; and that I was a superhero. That started a multi-day journey of her asking me 1,000 questions about what I did, what my powers were, and who were the villains that I had caught. It is time that I will never forget. It made me start to think about the question. Are Superheros real?

I read an article discussing the ten highest grossing films in 2017. An overwhelming 80% of them were about a superhero. Good vs evil, light vs darkness. Everyone was clamoring to see a supernatural savior. So what does that say to you? A large portion of society is wanting to escape a fantasy world. It shows we have a deep longing to be saved, and an innate desire to be the one who saves others in distress.

But do Superheros exist? They most definitely do! They don't wear capes or masks. They don't wear their underwear on the outside of their pants. No, real superheros wear uniforms. They are the fire fighters, the police officers, and the men and women of the military. They are doctors, EMT's, and yes even Pastors. They are all mostly people that have accepted the calling to save others. Their goal is to save other people's lives, protect them from the evil in this world, and even sometimes at the great cost of their own lives. But are they the only Superheros that exist?

Can anyone be a Superhero? A teenager can be a Superhero. That few minutes you took the other day to talk to the kid no one speaks to makes you a Superhero. Just that morning they had made the decision to end their life, but your kind words changed their entire world. That lady in the grocery store that just dropped all her groceries and you helped her pick them up. She looks like she's about to lose it because she just found out her child is deathly ill. Your kindness allowed her to momentarily forget her pain. The happiness and smile that your visit to that lonely elderly man lying in his hospital bed, makes you a Superhero.

You see, the basic criteria for being a Superhero is Love. Showing someone sacrificial love and taking their needs into consideration above your own makes you a Superhero. It also makes you Christlike. 1 John 3:16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. Just like Superheros, Christians aren't promised prosperity in life. They are called to lay down their lives as followers of Christ.

It says in John 13:34-35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Our love for other people should stand out in stark contrast to everyone else. We should seem as something otherworldly in our compassion for others.

Christ was the ultimate superhero. His sacrificial love was bestowed to all of mankind. It was given to those who hated him as much as those who loved him. His sacrifice was given to all. He paid the ultimate price of his life while bearing upon himself every wrong thing that every person would ever commit. Philippians 2:6-8 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!

If we could show to each other even a small fraction of the love Christ showed; we would all have the ability to be Superheros. May You Be Blessed With Peace And Understanding.

Fear Or Fear Not?

It's virtually impossible to go a day without hearing from or about someone who is fearful, worried, or anxious about something. Whether it be fear of what people think of you, not having enough money, being away from home, failure, sickness, or losing a loved one. We all long for more of God's peace in the midst of the stresses of our lives.

"Fear not" is the most repeated command in the Bible. It has been said that there are 365 "Fear nots" in the bible; one for every day of the year. Lloyd Ogilvie in his book Facing the future without Fear says there are 366 "Fear nots". One for every day plus leap year. There is actually only 103 occurrences of that term in the Bible. But not being fearful is spoken of more than 500 times.

God wants us to be reminded more than everyday to not be fearful. To trust Him in the situations where we in our finite minds aren't able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  The Psalms are the Bible's great soul book, meant to train us to respond to all of life's situations and difficulties through prayer and trust in the Lord.

In Psalms 56, David has been seized by the Philistines and he starts to become afraid, but instead he sets his vision on his Lord and Saviour. He praises God and his word to all of us to "Fear not".
When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, In God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me? 

You see you must understand; without a belief and trust in God, that tunnel will always be dark. Is you heart right with God? Have you put your belief in Christ? Have you called out to him for salvation? Once you have been liberated from sin, you are giving a guiding light to shine a path of joy through all of life's problems. The outcome may not always be what you hoped or even prayed for. But know this; even in the hard difficult outcomes of life, He truly does only have the best interest of His children at heart. It may not be today, or tomorrow, or even for years down the line. At some point you will look back and see that trial in your life made you even stronger.

What fear is trying to take hold of you right now? What threat or trouble are you facing? Watch and pray as David did. "When I am afraid of _____________, I will trust in you, and you will light my path out of the darkness." Matthew 6:25-27  “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”

May You Be Blessed With Peace And Understanding