"And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread. And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands and his feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them. And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things". (Luke 24, 35 - 48).
This was not one of the hymns that we had at Church today - I couldn't find the ones that I wanted to share. It is Saint George's Day tomorrow here in England, so we had a very jaunty hymnn in honour of that, but I could not find a video of it anywhere online to share, nor even the words.
Well, Courageous was ... BRILLIANT. Yes, I did cry - lots - but I think you would need to have a heart of stone not to. It was such a moving, but relvant film, which resonated with us in so many ways. It worked on every level and there were messages for everyone - not just fathers! Papa Bear was very moved indeed by it, not just because of the strong command from God for fathers to be bold enough obey His commands and serve Him as providers to their families, standing up for truth and integrity, honesty and commitment, and as fine examples to the next generation, but also because there were many parallels in that film that we could relate to - the worries about money and work, bereavement, the relationship between a father and his son. But there were many other messages in that film aside from the main one. Some of the other themes that the film portrayed were the role of women in supporting their husbands to be God's servants, protecting the hearts of children as they grow, the difficulties male Christians face in a secular world where having a faith can be seen as a weakness, the challenge of standing up and being different - because that is what God has commanded you to. There were many others besides that I don't have time to write about - but we will be watching the film again soon with Cubby and Little Bear. We were sure they would find it as inspirational and moving as we did. We went to bed yesterday feeling uplifted despite the poignant moments in the film that had me not just tearful but actually howling! It was a wonderful evening - watching that film not only drew us closer to God, but to each other too, and I felt so proud of my wonderful husband, knowing that he is indeed serving our Father God just as he has been commanded - with just as much courage and determination as the men featured in the film.
