A Christian Mom’s Review of the movie, “Son of God”

Posted by Joy on Mar 5, 2014 in Blog | 2 comments

Yesterday, we had been cooped up in the house too long from the ice/snow storm so we ventured out and decided to watch a movie.  After seeing Frozen more times that I want to admit, Bryan and I decided to take our nine year old and our 11 year old with us to see the movie, Son of God.

Ok, now remember this is a PG 13 movie!  My son, Sam (who is nine), dramatically said more than once, “I cannot believe y’all are allowing me to watch a PG 13 move!”  So, our reputations as parents were on the line.

Unlike the Passion of the Christ (which Mel Gibson directed years ago), Son of God is a depiction of the full ministry of Jesus, not just the hours leading up to the crucifixion.  Son of God highlights stories such as His birth, when He walks on water, the healing of the paralytic and when He overturns the money-changers’ tables at the temple.  Son of God focuses more on the love God has for mankind than the suffering of Jesus at the cross (although there was suffering and a gruesome view of the crucifixion process).

Before we went to watch the movie, I did an internet search and found good and bad reviews of the movie.  I read many critics’ reviews discussing producers Roma Downey and Mark Burnett and how they are “New Age” Christians.  One blogger warned Christians not to go see this movie because the producers had embedded a skewed reality of the life of Christ from what the Bible teaches.  I also read reviews that this was a movie Christians should support.

After watching the movie, here are my takes:

It’s a good movie.  I’m glad I went to see it and I am glad I took my kids.

Some things I wish the producers would have done differently:

• Context of Scripture:  Some scripture is out of place.  When Jesus is speaking, several times the verses used are not in their proper context.  One example is on the road to Calvary.  Jesus drops the cross and Mary runs out to help Him (which is not in scripture) and He says to her, “With God all things are possible”.  Scripture from Matthew 19:26, but not used in its proper place and time.

• Judas:  There is some speculation about Judas’s motive.  Judas is portrayed as someone who did not really mean to turn Jesus in to the authorities.  Instead, he is seen as one who wants to work out issues between the religious leaders and Jesus.  As if he is a peace-maker.   The scene with Jesus and Judas at the Last Supper is not accurate and when Jesus is being sentenced, Judas dramatically throws the money back at the religious leaders for all to see.

• Mary Magdalene:  Now, we know she was with Jesus and his disciples a lot, but in the movie she appears to be with them most all of the time.  She is present with them on the boat when Jesus walks on water and she is seen cooking for them at various times.  If you did not know better, you may assume that she is included as one of the 12 disciples.  As a side-note, I do not recall seeing her in the scene at the last supper.  I would like to watch it again and look closely for that.

• The tomb after the resurrection:  In the movie, there were no guards at the scene and no angel.  The movie shows the stone broken in two, not just rolled away.  Also, only Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb on the third day, (scripture says the other Mary was also there, Matthew 28:1).

• Some great stories were left out:  It would be extremely difficult to shorten the life of Jesus to just over two hours, but my heart ached when I did not see Him washing the disciples’ feet at the Last Supper.   They also cut short The Great Commission.  In the movie, Jesus only said a portion of it.  Leaving out particularly, “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

If you choose to take your kids, talk with them beforehand about what they will see and explain that there are some things in the movie that are not found in scripture.   

As far as the age limit goes, I think you have to judge your child’s maturity and their knowledge of the Bible.  There are bloody flogging and crucifixion scenes, and they show the feet of Judas as he hangs himself from a tree.

Sam held on to Bryan’s coat during the movie.  I saw him cover his eyes with it several times, especially during the crucifixion scenes.  Ellie (who is 11) seemed to have no issues with those scenes.

One important point:  This movie is no substitute for reading and studying God’s Holy Word!

If you take someone to see this movie who is not a Christian, bring along a Bible to give to them.  Tell them this movie is just what it claims to be—a movie!  It has flaws.  It has inaccuracies.  Tell them that the truth about Jesus is found in the pages of God’s Holy Word.

For what it’s worth, I liked the movie.  I think they did a nice job.  I wish the producers would have changed a few things to make it more Biblically accurate, but overall, the message of the Gospel is clear.

God sent His son Jesus into our broken world to die for our sins.  He was crucified, buried and dead.  He defeated death and rose up out of that tomb!  He is the way, the truth and the life.  He loves you and He wants you to know it!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Joy

Stuff and Fluff!

Posted by Joy on Feb 27, 2014 in Blog | 1 comment

When I was a little girl, I was…well….let’s just say that I was not the most organized child on the planet. Now this picture is not an actual photo of my bedroom as a child, but I can remember days when it looked similar to this!  I did not keep my room as nice and neat as my Mom preferred, but I did have a cleaning method that I used when I needed to clean my room in a hurry— “stuff and fluff.”  Yes, I was really good at it too!  I would take everything that was on the floor and shove it under my bed.  Dirty clothes would end up in my drawers, or stuffed in my closet.  My room could go from disaster to spotless in under 10 minutes.  

There was one major problem though—my Mom was a lot smarter than me and she knew exactly what I was up to. She always found my mess.  She would help me drag everything out from under my bed and in my closet and she would declare it “Clean Joy’s Room Day”.  Once all the items were exposed in the middle of my floor, boy was it really a mess!  Mom would help me throw away the junk and organize the things I needed to keep.  Three hours later….voilà…things were back in their right place.  I remember once my room was nice and neat, Mom would leave my room for a few minutes and walk back in like she was seeing it for the first time.  She would act so surprised to see such a beautiful room.  She would go on and on about how wonderful it looked and I remember feeling so happy. 

Sometimes in our walk with the Lord, we act as if He does not know about all of the mess in our lives.  We are sinners.  We do things that are wrong and against His will.  We have thoughts that are displeasing to Him.  We often go days, weeks or even longer without confessing our sins to Him.   On the outside, we look pretty good, but on the inside, we are a dirty mess.  My friend, you and I can be assured that even though we do a pretty good job at hiding our sins from others…..God sees it all.

“My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes”.

 ~Jeremiah 16:7

Do you have sin in your life that you are trying to hide? Is there a bad habit you know you need to confess to God and seek His help with? Remember my friend, just like My Mom knew I was shoving all of my mess under my bed, God knows each and every sin you and I commit. We cannot hide it from Him.

God urges us to get right with Him. Over and over again in His Word, he tells us to confess our sins and turn back to Him.  He desires for us to live righteous lives. The best thing you and I can do is to confess each and every sin, ask Him to help us turn away from it and ask Him to help us get things in order.

If you have sin you need to deal with, ask God to help you get rid of the mess so you can get busy living out His will.  He’s got a plan for you!  Don’t miss it!

Grateful for you!

~Joy

Feeling far from God?

Posted by Joy on Feb 20, 2014 in Blog | 1 comment

We are people who are broken.  We have broken relationships, broken dreams, broken down bodies, broken down cars and the list goes on.  Life is not a fairy tale.  Life hurts.

Sometimes, our fellowship with God is broken too.  Most of us experience seasons when we feel extremely close to God.  We also experience season when we feel far from Him.  God desires for us to know Him and to enjoy fellowship with Him (Jeremiah 9:23-24).  He desires for us to walk closely with Him as we live out our faith (1 John 4:6).

When you and I feel far from God, we need to remember that our sins affect our fellowship with Him.  When we receive Christ as our Savior, we belong to Him and nothing can separate us from His love (Romans 8:38-39), but sin inhibits our fellowship with God.  When I am caught up in sin, whether it is private or public, my heart is not focused on the things of God.  Instead, my heart is focused on myself and what feels good for me.

When our fellowship with God is broken, we need to repent, turn away from our sins and turn back to Him.

Take a look at a few verses we find related to repentance:

• “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”  Luke 15:7

• “Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?”  Romans 2:4

• “Because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.” (Rom 2:5)

• “Should God then reward you on your terms, when you refuse to repent?”  Job 34:33a

• “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Pet 3:9)

• “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.” Revelation 3:19

• “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  1 John 1:9

One Greek word used for repentance is metanoeo which means “to change one’s mind and purpose, as the result of after knowledge.”  Repentance means we see our sin.  We feel guilty for our sin.  We hate our sin.   Saying, “I’m sorry” and continuing to sin again and again is not true repentance.  True repentance is yielding to the work of the Holy Spirit by turning away from sin and returning to God.

If you feel far from God, I want you to know that there is a way to get back into a right fellowship with Him.  Here are some things we learn from scripture:

• Get alone with God  (Mark 1:35)
• Approach His throne with a humble heart (1 Peter 5:6)
• Listen for the Holy Spirit (John 10:27-28)
• Confess your sins to Him (including those private sins that no one else knows about) (1 John 1:9)
• Cry out to Him (Psalm 18:6)
• Make necessary changes and turn away from your sins (Acts 3:19)
• Turn back to God by seeking after Him with all of who you are (Deuteronomy 4:29)

God is faithful to forgive and He can restore!  Restoration is found down the road of repentance.

Thankful for you!

~Joy