"He's dead, Jim"

Last night, my brothers, some friends and I went to go see the new Star Trek movie at the IMAX and I've gotta say that I really liked. Coming from someone that has liked Star Trek since a kid, this was a good reboot or rethinking of the franchise. It needed a few years of rest. It has been on since the late 60s, so a good rest is what it needed. And along the way, Star Trek fans have been given a bad rep. Jokes of people in their 30s that live in their parents' basement and only watch Star Trek. I've never dressed up or gone to conventions. I never went that far. But really, how different is that from people that paint half their bodies and wear beer hats and scream and cheer at football games? Or people that wear jersies of their favorite players? Or Star Wars fans that do the same? And there were some at the theater last night, dressed up as Starfleet Officers. It was interesting.

As the movie started and throughout there were even some cheers and clapping. And it was a good movie. It captured the spark of the original series, just with a new take on it. What was best of the old series was not the special effects. If you see the old show, the effects, props and even the acting was SO CHEESY. But that's what made it cool. It was funny to see the incredibly fake aliens and effects. But it had a lot of character. It focused on character. And that is what makes something enjoyable to watch. It was the relationship that Kirk had with Spock, Spock with McCoy, McCoy with Kirk. Kirk is the emotional one. Spock is the logical one. And McCoy is the one that who enjoys speaking his mind. And putting those relationships with good stories made the show.

If you ask someone why they like this show, they might say that it gives hope for the future. That there could be no barriers that separate humanity. Because in the show, there is no war, no poverty, no hunger, no racial prejudice. But only on Earth. There is still problems with other races. So that is why many like it.

Of course, as Christians, we know what the future holds and don't need a TV show to give us some hope. The Bible gives a much better future to expect. But it's interesting that there are MANY Trek fans that like the show for that reason. It just goes to show that that is what people want: peace. I saw this report on the Internet announcing a 'march around the world' kinda thing, promoting peace throughout the world. And we all know what the 1 Thessalonians says. When peace is thought to be obtained, the end will come. But, again, it goes to show that peace is desired and for that reason many are responding favorably to the Kingdom Message.

Well, I guess what started to be a Star Trek post, ended with a Biblical point. Interestingly. But all in all, a good movie. Funny, exciting, sad, dramatic. A good example of this type of episode, is "The City on the Edge of Forever". The episode takes place mainly on Earth from the '30s. It's a story of friendship, love, and sacrifice. A huge sacrifice for the better good. It's a sad episode, but one of the best episodes, for me anyway. For your convenience and viewing pleasure, I have embeded the episode here from cbs.com. Just remember that it is from the 60s, cheesy special effects, not very good acting, but classic. It's a a good story. And folks, that's what it's all about.



If you can't see it, try following these links: cbs.com or youtube.com

This is what the 133rd Psalm is all about

Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve written. I’ve just haven’t had the time for it. But this past weekend was too great to not write about. Setting: Saturday, after morning field service. Place of incident: Dairy Queen. I was with Brother Jorge and he happened to notice through the window, some nicely dressed people step out of a couple vehicles. We patiently watched as they approached. As they did so, Jorge checked to see if he had his tracts in his shirt pocket, which they were.

So as they got near ‘our’ window, one of the brothers, Brother Brown, noticed and he had that familiar look on his face. The same look we all have when we meet new brothers and sisters at restaurants and stores.

They came in and we introduced ourselves. Literally, a minute later, one of the sisters invited us to sit with them. So we did and we ate, conversed, and laughed for about an hour and made arrangements to make them dinner later for that day. So they returned to the preaching work, because that is the reason why they came. Every so often we get brothers from English-speaking congregations to preach to the English-speaking territory, since it is seldom worked. These brothers are from Houston. We have also received some from San Antonio, Austin, and even Florida!

So a few hours later, the meat, mashed potatoes, spaghetti and meatballs, rice, and beans were ready. They came, about 12 of them, and we ate some more, conversed some more, and laughed a whole lot more. We even took this picture with them, and exchanged numbers.



The people that passed by the house, without a doubt, would’ve thought that our guests were family or old friends, by the way we were treating each other and all the pictures we were taking outside. - John 13.35 – “By this all will know that YOU are my disciples, if YOU have love among yourselves.”


The brothers were awesome. It was an awesome night. I think that this experience really encouraged them to continue working seldom-worked territory, as well as encouraging others to do so. We had dinner with 13 people, whom we have never met before, and had a great time. And it all started with a tract in a shirt pocket.

Psalm 133 – “Look! How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity! It is like the good oil upon the head, that is running down upon the beard, Aaron’s beard, that is running down to the collar of his garments. It is like the dew of Her´mon that is descending upon the mountains of Zion. For there Jehovah commanded the blessing [to be], [even] life to time indefinite.”