The Sweet Slave Trade

THE SWEET SLAVE TRADE!
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Imagine someone stole you from your home in the middle of the night, carried you off to the shores of your homeland, traded you for goods to foreigners, and then you were sailed off to a strange place. Upon arrival to a foreign land, you’re taken to the nearest town market to be sold into slavery. As you stand at the end of a line, shackled alongside other citizens of your country, one by one you hear your fellow person being sold for what is basically pennies in today's economy.

When a purchaser finally approaches you and asks the seller, "How much for this one?” the response is..."This one is gonna cost you more than you probably want to pay. This one is worth $144 million!” Though you're in unfamiliar territory and your situation very dark, you can't help but be moved by the fact that such a high value has been placed on your worth. You begin to wonder what is so special about you. Your spirit is actually lifted a bit and you feel a smirk coming on your face. Then, to your absolute shock, the buyer pays the seller’s hefty asking price!

Upon obtaining a receipt for your purchase, the buyer makes arrangements for you to be put on the first flight back to his homeland. Paperwork has already been drafted which will establish you as a free citizen of his country. All you have to do is trust this sponsor and sign the paperwork he had prepared in advance. In a sense, you simply will have been traded from one slave master to another. Nonetheless, in the new land that awaits you, you will definitely be free. You find out later that this buyer is enormously wealthy and spends most of his time doing this very thing, at his and his father’s expense.

Photo by Nic Bothma/EPA

If you didn't know, the life and blood of the Son of God was worth far more than $144 million and that was the price paid to purchase you from the town market of the dark prince of this world. And the fact that such a price was paid should give you some insight into the unsurpassable worth ascribed to you by YHVH Himself. Pondering on this concept, the great King David wrote:

"What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him? For You have made him a little lower than the angels and You have crowned him with glory & honor. You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet…”
– Psalm 8:4-6 (NKJV)
This dominion was given to us by our Heavenly Father at creation in the Garden of Eden. However, in our human forefather Adam, we were stolen from our homeland and sold into slavery. We became slaves to sin and our cunning adversary, the devil (John 8:34; 2 Timothy 2:26).

Foreseeing our enemy’s craftiness, our “enormously wealthy” sponsor made travel arrangements for His Son to come to this foreign land while simultaneously drafting agreements (covenants) which will ensure our citizenship in His homeland. He then sends His Son to this world’s town market and purchases us from the slave traders (Satan & demons). What is asked of us is that we trust our new Master, sign His paperwork and then wholeheartedly follow His Son Yeshua (Jesus) to the airport to catch our flight to a new land of freedom and abundant life.

While there may be bumps along the road to get to the "airport" itself (e.g. 2 Timothy 2:1-13), this all sounds like an amazingly sweet slave trade to me!


"...I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me."
- Acts 26:17b-18 (NKJV)

Additional References: Romans 6:16-18; 1 Corinthians 6:19&20

DECEMBER 2015 IP2RR WINNER!

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE DECEMBER IP2RR $100 WINNER:


Shameka C. - Roanoke, VA

Next month's challenge question will be posted (LORD allowing) on Thursday, January 7th, 2016, no later than 6:50 p.m. CST (7:50 p.m. Eastern). Be sure to FOLLOW me on this blog, Facebook or Twitter and BE READY FOR THE IP2RR CHALLENGE!


Reminder/Hint: January's Challenge Question will be based on Chapter 5 of Rescuca: Savior of the Realm. Chapter 5 is entitled Secret Things: Critical Mass.

Listen to Rescuca: Savior of the Realm Audiobook Preview

DECEMBER IP2RR QUESTION - CHAPTER FOUR!

December IP2RR Challenge Question!
CHAPTER 4 - COMPLETED

QUESTION:

~ Chapter 4 of Rescuca contains an "axiom" which actually represents a verse from the Book of Romans (Chapter 6) in the Bible. Which numbered verse below (15-19) is the one in mention?:


15 - What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!

16 - Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?

17 - But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.

18 - And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

19 - I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.


To submit your answer: Use this post's comment option, the ip2rr.com Contact Form, or the contact form at the bottom of this blog.

Through a God-Lens ~ Movie Review

TRANSCENDENCE

I have seen the movie Transcendence a few times now. I've watched interviews featuring its director Wally Pfister and cast members Johnny Depp & Morgan Freeman. I've also read and watched movie reviews where people wail on the film for being things like "boring and bland" (see video below). All said and done, many viewers have said there is nothing terribly impressive about this $100 million budget film with a megastar cast.


However, viewed through what I call a "God-Lens," I think this movie is phenomenal! And the fact that it gets such terrible reviews by the general population is fantastically fitting as well. Here's what I mean:

Yeshua/Jesus...the very Son of God, was born in Bethlehem to a lowly carpenter rather than in a king's castle. He came serving rather than being served. Though rich, He became poor for our sake. Rather than overthrowing Roman occupiers who were oppressing His Jewish brethren, He preached that we should love our enemies. And instead of ruling and reigning from an earthly throne, He was crucified and killed.

Eliminate Your Enemy by Converting Your Enemy by Loving Your Enemy

Loving and serving is the warfare of Yeshua and NONE of this was what the Jewish world around Him expected. Instead, they awaited a conquering king who would finally put Rome in its place. This very disappointment probably contributed to Jesus being betrayed by one of his own followers (Judas). He was later denied by his right-hand man Peter. Before this, He was hated by the leaders of His people as they were envious and feared the control He might acquire (Matthew 27:18). This was all despite the many wonderful things Christ did for everyone, making this world a better place. All of this is SO applicable in the movie Transcendence!

Click HERE to visit Plugged In Movie Review Website!
[Spoiler Warning] In this movie, Will Caster (Johnny Depp's character) is easily a type of Christ and the concept of Transcendence itself can easily represent the Kingdom of God through the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. It took Christ dying for the Holy Spirit to become available to all mankind and the same thing happens in this film. Disclaimer: By no means am I endorsing certain actors, "Hollywood" itself or what can come out of it. I'm also NOT saying this symbolism was the movie writer’s intent. I'm merely stepping back & seeing the DNA of Yehovah, The One True God, in all of His creation; including themes that filmmakers put in their films inadvertently.

Back to the story:

The friends closest to Will don't believe he will come back from death. They lose hope and begin to give up until Will makes contact. Eventually, Will appears in bodily form to his followers. As the transcendent "god" of this movie, Will chooses a very humble and unassuming place to begin building his kingdom (Name: Brightwood). Instantly you see a poor and rejected population here. These people are later healed and transformed and then used to help recruit others to receive the same. This is the very nature of the Kingdom of God!

CONCLUSION

I could go on and on with the parallels one could draw from this film but don't want to spoil it for anyone else more than I already have. My recommendation for anyone watching Transcendence is this:

Rather than looking to be highly entertained by thrills (e.g. the great battle scenes of a conquering king), look to gain insight into how God actually operates. Look for Jesus and His love for His church.

Some main God-themes to take away from this film are that Yehovah is good, He is for us and not against us. His motives are pure and He desires that we humans be a part of His process of bringing health & healing to this world and its people. Yehovah desires to transcend and transform us all by giving us supernatural strengths and abilities that go far beyond our own imaginations.

Movie Quote:

Conference Attendee: "So you want to create a god?"
Will Caster: "That's a good question. Isn't that what man has always done?"

Bible Quote:

Temple Attendees: “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.”
Yeshua: "Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods”’?"

Rescuca: Tale of the Two Hundred (T200)

Rescuca: Tale of the Two Hundred (Volume 2)

Description:

Abigail, beloved of her father, is engaged to marry a man she has never met. She has been raised to honor and respect all of her father’s wishes; including what man she ought to marry.

As his reward for taking part in a revolution, James is one of twenty captains who has found himself exiled to a remote system, imprisoned on Thrae. Bored out of his mind and with no war to fight, James begins practicing secret arts taught to him by Rescuca, his brilliant and fearless commander.

Time and chance would have this disenfranchised soldier happen upon Abigail…a beautiful and very impressionable Numah maiden. Once disgusted by what he called “Numah scum,” James now finds himself captivated by Abigail as she innocently confides in him her struggle to obey her father.

And so begins the Tale of the Two Hundred as this Nomed captain and beloved Numah daughter blaze an entirely new trail, against all odds and all social norms. But how will Commander Rescuca respond to one of his elite mingling with one of his enemy’s favorite creations? What impact will this love affair have on Abigail’s father and family? Lastly, what action will Emperor Epaga take to safeguard his agenda for Planet Thrae?

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Digital copy of Rescuca: T200 (Volume 2) will be available at all locations where SOTR (Volume 1) is currently sold:


Amazon.com*


Barnes & Noble


iTunes Store (iBooks)


Kobo


*Amazon digital copy only $0.99 after purchase of paperback