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Our hearts are broken for the people of Israel who have endured such great atrocities inflicted upon women and children and the elderly, slaughtered mercilessly. I also pray for those who seek peace, including believers in Jesus in Gaza, who will inevitably suffer as a result of Israel’s justified actions in defense of its people. (What else can Israel do but retaliate and try to bring justice to the perpetrators of these terrible crimes? What would the U.S. government do in the same circumstances? What would we want them to do?)

It is Hamas that has done this, a terrorist organization, and if there was a way to punish Hamas, and only Hamas for this, it would be ideal. But that would be like saying in World War II one should wage war only against the Nazis, not against the people of Germany, which included many who did not support the Nazi government, though there were, unfortunately, many who tolerated it. 

My heart breaks for innocent Israelis and innocent Palestinians, but for sure any chance of peace in the Middle East, at least in the near future, has been decimated by the horrific actions of Hamas against innocent men, women, and children. Gavin Ortlund writes, “There is some evil in this world, like what Hamas terrorists are doing, that is hard to account for apart from belief in supernatural evil (demons). God, protect the innocent and break the teeth of the wicked (Psalm 58:6).”

I have met genuine believers in Christ in Gaza and in Israel. Let’s pray for those Christians, and their influence on those around them. Pray that in the midst of tragedy—and the further tragedies that are almost certain to follow—hearts would be turned toward Jesus, who is not only King of Kings, but also the Prince of Peace. 

In his article “Rachel weeps for her children: Israel’s fight is our fight as well,” Al Mohler writes,

The cumulative shock, grief, and horror experienced in Israel over the last few days is unspeakable and incalculable. The anger is palpable and justified. The righteous wrath of Israel is now to be unleashed, and difficult days lie ahead. We pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Among the residents in Gaza are Christian believers, trapped in a war started by Hamas and now prosecuted by Israel. We pray for those Christians even as we pray for Israel. Some of these believers are also victims of Hamas and its ideology.

A brother in the U.K, Gavin Drake, has a written a helpful article on “What’s happening in Israel and Gaza, and how should Christians pray?” He explains some of the history of the Gaza strip, and writes:

There are two evil positions: one is to be so pro-Israeli that you want to see Palestinians crushed, the other is to be so pro-Palestinian that you want to see Israel destroyed. Peace will only come to the Holy Land when Israelis and Palestinians – Jews, Muslims and Christians – feel secure and live in justice.

…In Psalm 122, King David extols us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. That has never been more important.

Many people are thinking about prophecy right now and wondering if these events are a specific fulfillment of any particular biblical prophecies. Biblical scholar Chad Bird addresses, “Is Psalm 83 predicting events in Gaza and Israel?” and reminds us to be responsible with our treatment of the Scriptures.

We know for sure Jesus is going to return, and we long for His return, but we don’t know when it will happen. Sometimes it is obvious when biblical prophecies are being fulfilled, but often there is such out-of-context speculation that the same passages have been cited as being fulfilled dozens and dozens of times by different events. 

Click here to read more from Randy Alcorn of Eternal Perspectives Ministries

Alcorn, Randy "Pray for Israel and Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem" Eternal Perspective Ministries October 13th, 2023 https://www.epm.org/blog/2023/Oct/13/pray-israel-jerusalem

The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to demonstrate God’s love
in a tangible way to children in need around the world. Through this
project, Samaritan’s Purse partners with the local church worldwide to
share the Good News of Jesus Christ and make disciples of the nations.
Within our congregation, MCC has been supporting the mission of OCC
for many years. Globally, more than 209 million children in more
than 170 countries and territories have received an Operation
Christmas Child shoebox. Tens of thousands of volunteers from local
churches around the world partner to present the Gospel of Jesus
Christ at festive outreach events where children are surprised with
these shoebox gifts.

This is Great News indeed, however, have you ever wondered where
your boxes go from here, and what is the eternal impact?

Christians in receiving countries are trained and equipped to share the
Good News of Jesus Christ in a child-friendly way at outreach events
(over 70,000 events were held in 2022), where children receive a
surprise shoebox gift, along with The Greatest Gift booklet.

The booklet shares Scripture passages and the message of salvation,
that the Lord Jesus is God’s Greatest Gift. The booklet is used in 97
languages, with more translations in process.
In addition to the Greatest Gift booklet, children are invited to attend a
12-lesson discipleship program called The Greatest Journey, where
children learn to follow Jesus and tell others about him! At the
graduation ceremony, they receive a certificate and colorfully
illustrated New Testament in their own language. More than 17.4
million children have made a decision to accept Jesus as their Savior
during the course. Many are now praying and sharing their faith with
family and friends.

For more information about the Greatest Journey discipleship program,
visit: www.samaritanspurse.org/tgj
What can I do today to help support the mission of Operation
Christmas Child?

•  Collection week is November 13th – 20th . Please plan to pack at
  least one shoebox to be donated!
• Pray over the shoebox for the recipient child, that they will learn
  about Jesus Christ, make a decision to accept Jesus as their Savior,
  and that they will spread the Great News with friends and family! 
• Volunteer to work a two hour shift at MCC collecting boxes from
  our community during collection week. Sign up here to volunteer:
  https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0B4FAFA82BABFF2-
  44726319-mccoperation

“Let the children come to Me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.”
Mark 10:14, ESV

Please reach out to Lisa Young Lemelin with any questions @ 505-917-2999.

With Holidays ahead of us it is a great time to ask ourselves if we are sharing a hospitable spirit with those around us.  Read more below from Tim Challies on the Christian character of being hospitable.

Today we will look at what it means for an elder—and for every Christian—to be hospitable. We will also see why God elevates this trait to such high importance.

Paul tells Timothy, “an overseer must be…hospitable” (1 Timothy 3:2) and echoes this in his letter to Titus (Titus 1:8). The Greek word for “hospitable” (philoxenon) indicates a love for strangers. In the day before the Holiday Inn, Christians were expected to extend hospitality to other traveling believers or itinerant preachers. They were to feed them and to provide them a place to sleep apart from dirty, dangerous, and unsavory inns. The word is naturally expanded to include other forms of hospitality. But at heart, it indicates a willingness to invite others into your home for a short or extended stay.

Why is there such emphasis on this trait? Alexander Strauch explains by saying, “Hospitality is a concrete expression of Christian love and family life. It is an important biblical virtue. … Giving oneself to the care of God’s people means sharing one’s life and home with others. An open home is a sign of an open heart and a loving, sacrificial, serving spirit. A lack of hospitality is a sure sign of selfish, lifeless, loveless Christianity.” Hospitality is a tangible, outward display of godly character.

An open home displays Christian love but it also enables it. Hospitality creates opportunities for relationship, for discipleship, and for evangelism. It creates a natural context for modeling marriage, parenting, and a host of Christian virtues. While we are to teach others what the Bible says, we are also to demonstrate what it says, and we do that by inviting people into our homes and into our lives.

Is it only elders who are called to share their lives and their resources by opening their homes? No, this call goes to all Christians. While the Old Testament law places great emphasis on caring for and protecting the sojourner, this care for strangers is made even more explicit in the New Testament. Peter writes to all Christians when he says “Show hospitality to one another without grumbling” (1 Peter 4:9) and Paul tells the whole congregation in Rome that they must “Seek to show hospitality” (Romans 12:13). The author of Hebrews says, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (Hebrews 13:2). Paul instructed Timothy to extend the church’s benevolence to a widow if she “has shown hospitality” (1 Timothy 5:9–10). Jesus taught that we will be judged on the basis of our hospitality, for when we love and welcome others we in fact love and welcome him (Matthew 25:35–40).

Strauch concludes, “Hardly anything is more characteristic of Christian love than hospitality. Through the ministry of hospitality we share the things we value most: family, home, financial resources, food, privacy, and time. In other words, we share our lives.”

Self-Evaluation

So, how about you? Would others say that you are hospitable? Engage with these questions and be honest with yourself and with God:

• How many people from your church have you invited into your home for a meal? When was the last time someone stayed the night?
• Do others come to you when they need help, or do you give the impression that you don’t want to be bothered?
• Is your family intentional about welcoming others into your home, even if they are different from you or if they make you feel awkward and uncomfortable?
• Why do you fear welcoming others into your life and your home? What promises has God given you that you can cling to for hope, peace, and assurance?

Prayer Points

Take heart in the truth that the God of the weak and the outcast welcomes you—and pray to him for his help in these ways:

• I pray that you would fill me with your Spirit so that my life bears fruit through loving deeds for others.
• I pray that I would hold loosely to all that you have given me and to know that my home, my food, my time and everything else belong to you. Help me to be a faithful steward of all of them.
• I pray that you would give me boldness to welcome others as you have welcomed me.
• I pray that the motivation of my heart would be that, through loving others, I might express my love for Christ. Please give me great joy and freedom in hospitality.

Challies, Tim "The Character of The Christian: Hospitable" Challies February 11, 2016 https://www.challies.com/articles/the-character-of-the-christian-hospitable/

Fall is historically the beginning of awards season for movies, when Hollywood releases its “prestige” films in hopes of striking both critical and box office gold. Sadly, the trend for prestige and arthouse fare is envelope-pushing explicit excess, sexual deviancy, moral decadence, and sometimes outright nihilism.

It’s understandable that many Christian and mainstream family audiences desire counterprogramming: movies that are high quality but also hopeful, thoughtful but also enjoyable; movies you don’t feel awkward about watching with Christian family and friends.

For discerning audiences looking for an edifying film to watch this fall, either at home or in the multiplex, here are seven ideas for your consideration. Not all the films on this list are appropriate for all ages, and most of them aren’t “faith-based” or even faith-adjacent. But they’re all entertaining, uplifting, and commendable.

A Million Miles Away

This is a classic “overcoming great odds” inspirational tale, telling the true story of José Hernández, the first migrant farmworker to travel to space. It’s based on Hernández’s autobiography and celebrates the virtues of strong family, healthy marriage, education, and perseverance to achieve seemingly impossible goals. Directed by Alejandra Márquez Abella and starring the tremendously talented Michael Peña in the lead role, the film is a refreshing spotlight of Latino American culture and values. Grab some tissues and enjoy this wonderful film at home with your family. Rated PG. Watch on Amazon Prime Video.

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.

Based on Judy Blume’s 1970 youth novel, Kelly Fremon Craig’s new film adaptation was released earlier this year in theaters and is now available to rent online. Like the book, the movie explores the awkwardness of puberty and fraught dynamics of middle school life for preteen girls, yet it does so more tactfully than other coming-of-age films. For parents of preteen girls who might relate to the 11-year-old titular protagonist (played by Abby Ryder Fortson), this PG-13 movie could be good conversation fodder.

As its title indicates, the story also involves interesting spiritual elements, as Margaret (whose dad is Jewish and mom grew up Christian) seeks God in prayer often amid her everyday struggles. The film’s theology is muddled, to be sure, but it’s refreshing to see a child’s pursuit of God occupy such a central role in a mainstream movie. Rated PG-13. Available to rent. 

The Covenant 

Another film released earlier in 2023 (sadly missed by many audiences) is Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant, now available to rent. Set during the Afghanistan War, the film examines the relationship between U.S. military personnel and the Afghan interpreters who risked their lives to help them. Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim shine as army sergeant John Kinley and interpreter Ahmed, and their cross-cultural brotherhood is the heart of the film.

As the title suggests, The Covenant examines the concept of committed relationships (in this case friendship) and the debts we owe when sacrifices are made on one side of the relationship. In telling a specific story of wartime camaraderie, the film offers good fodder for discussions of grace, guilt, and the gospel. Rated R for language and violence. Available to rent.

Dreamin’ Wild

This movie came and went in theaters this summer with little fanfare. But it’s one of my favorites of the year. Directed by Bill Pohlad (Love & Mercy) and starring Casey Affleck, the film tells the true story of brothers Donnie and Joe Emerson. They made a home-studio-recorded album (Dreamin’ Wild) in the late ’70s when they were teenagers, but it didn’t really find an audience until it was discovered by an antique record collector three decades later.

It’s a fascinating story of the ups and downs of a creative life but also of the gift of family and the ways we support each other in dreams that live, die, and live again. Affleck has never been better, and I particularly loved the scenes with his onscreen father, played by Beau Bridges. Rated PG. Available to rent on September 26. 

LOLA

The most artsy film on this list (and probably not everyone’s cup of tea), LOLA is nevertheless one of the most original (and enjoyable) films of 2023. The microbudget film cleverly combines elements of the “found footage,” sci-fi time-travel, and alternate history genres. It packs a lot of intriguing images and ideas into its short, 79-minute runtime. Without giving too much away, the film’s plot revolves around a pair of sisters in 1940s England who discover a way to intercept radio and TV transmissions from the future.

The film works on one level as an amusing WWII alternate-history spec fiction. But on a deeper level, it asks timely questions about the dangers of trifling with technologies for short-term gain without considering long-term consequences. It’s like a thought-provoking episode of Black Mirror but without the TV-MA explicit content. Available to rent. 

Ordinary Angels

Written and directed by Jon Gunn (screenwriter for Jesus Revolution and American Underdog), and produced by the Erwin Brothers (Jesus Revolution, I Can Only Imagine), Ordinary Angels is the latest example of the rising bar of quality coming out of the faith-based filmmaking community. The film stars Christian actor Alan Ritchson (Fast X, Reacher), who sometimes posts faith and apologetics videos on YouTube, as well as Oscar-winning actress Hilary Swank.

Based on a true story, the inspirational movie follows a widowed father named Ed (Ritchson) who’s trying to find money to pay for medical treatments to save his critically ill young daughter. Swank plays a Good Samaritan, Sharon, who comes alongside Ed to help raise money. In less capable hands, the story might have turned into a saccharine Lifetime movie of the week. But Gunn and his talented cast bring a commendable nuance and artistry to the story, even as they allow its goodness to be uncomplicated. Rated PG. Theatrical release TBD.

Surprised by Oxford

I was a big fan of Carolyn Weber’s memoir, Surprised by Oxford, when I read it a decade ago. In addition to painting a beautiful portrait of Oxford and narrating a page-turner romance, Weber’s book recounts her Christian conversion story, which unfolded in a manner not unlike that of C. S. Lewis (hence the title’s nod to Surprised by Joy). It’s a brilliant book, full of drama, so the most surprising thing about Surprised by Oxford being adapted as a movie is that it took 10 years to happen.

The second most surprising thing? It’s a faith-friendly film that’s actually good. The film will be released in limited theaters later this month (check your local listings), and I hope it finds an audience so that more films like this are made. Not rated. Limited theatrical screenings begin September 27. 

McCracken, Brett 7 Edifying Films to Watch This Fall The Gospel Coalition September 14th, 2023 https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/7-edifying-films-fall-2023/