26 Feb, 2008
Do you think the best actor won at the academy awards?
"No Country for Old Men" lived up to its front-runner status at the Academy Awards Sunday night, winning Best Picture and getting nods for adapted screenplay and director for the Coen brothers, and supporting actor for Javier Bardem.
Daniel Day-Lewis won his second best-actor Academy Award for "There Will Be Blood."
Marion Cotillard rode the spirit of Edith Piaf to Oscar triumph, winning the best-actress prize as the French singer in "La Vie En Rose" over favorite Julie Christie, who had been expected to a second Oscar for "Away From Her."
Cotillard tearfully thanked her director, Olivier Dahan.
"Maestro Olivier, you rocked my life. You have truly rocked my life," said Cotillard, a French beauty who is a dynamo as Piaf, playing the warbling chanteuse through three decades, from raw late teens as a singer rising from the gutter through international stardom and her final days in her frail 40s.
"Thank you life, thank you love. And it is true that there are some angels in this city."
photo & story courtesy movies/msn.com, 2/24/08
Godly or just acting?
Oscar night in Hollywood!
Matthew 23:25-28
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean.
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. 28 So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. (ESV)
In today's God's Story scripture, what is Jesus condemning?
You might say that Jesus did not like actors! Now don't misunderstand. Look at the following definition:
HYPOCRISY, HYPOCRITE(S) acting a part in a play; pretense of piety; pretender; false or godless; feigning to be what one is not
Jesus loved stories. He was the greatest story teller ever! But, Jesus condemned anyone who made a habit out of acting like they were Godly on the outside, but were full of corruption, selfishness and worldliness on the inside.
He used the illustration of a cup. If you and I are living our Christian faith only as a show for others, we're like a new clean mug on the outside while the inside is full of a lifetime of Starbucks' stains.
We need His forgiveness to get cleaned up on the inside. Then our faith in Christ will be genuine.
Marion Cotillard and Daniel Day-Lewis won awards for acting like other characters.
Jesus will not give us any awards for acting, but He will give us Heavenly rewards for living out His character in a sinful world.
How can we connect today's God's Story scripture to our lives?
- Thank God for giving us His Holy Word. Thank Him for the practical teaching that the words of Jesus provide you. Take a couple of minutes to let His Holy Spirit point out to you any ways in which you have be guilty of "acting" like you are a sincere follower of Jesus, while there is sin inside your heart and mind that need God's forgiveness. Right now, admit them to God and thank Him that the blood that Jesus shed on His cross will forgive you completely! Ask His Spirit to help you be devoted to Christ, both inwardly and outwardly, every day.
- Every day this week, pray for the strength to live as a genuine follower of Jesus, not a religious actor (hypocrite).
- Write in your journal a list of ways you tend to be a hypocrite some times. Review it regularly to let God's Spirit remind you to be real.
- Whenever you watch a movie, let it be a reminder to never be an "actor" in your faith. Remember, it's not about religion - it's a relationship with Jesus!
How can we connect today's story, God's Story scripture and our story to others?
- When you see others "acting" like they are Christians, be careful not to judge, but rather pray for them and let Jesus remind you to be authentic yourself.
- When you see others who truly are acting out a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, affirm them.
- When you encounter people without Christ who are turned off by the hypocrisy of people who call themselves Christians, don't get defensive. Rather, admit the fact that followers of Jesus blow it often and need forgiveness. Ask if you can tell him or her a little bit of your story.
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