I just want to share some thoughts that came to me as I was considering conflict in scene writing. I am going to use the same lay out that I do in my book Mastering Your Scenes., which is keeping things simple so they can be easily assimilated and put into practice.
The teachings from family or important individuals that define the outlook and response to circumstances that are encountered as well as those an individual sets for themselves.
While it may be somewhat obvious, I believe it is worth saying, that values are a powerful component of both internal and external conflict. In truth, they can be both a hindrance and driving force at the same time.
Typically, it is easy to see the antagonist as lacking values but even they are driven by their own set of guidelines that they had been raised with or that they have rejected for a certain reason and replaced with others. When it comes to conflict, it is not a matter of labeling either the protagonist or antagonist’s values as good or bad or right or wrong. The importance is the understanding of how these values drive the internal and external conflict of them both. Of course, the other side of that is how these values hinder the internal and external conflict. To be more specific, I am speaking of the hesitation that is naturally produced when certain core values are challenged. With that said, any hesitation during physical conflict can prove to be fatal. On the other hand, things can play out where the character overcompensates or reacts too quickly instead of hesitating.Let’s say the protagonist has the upper hand and is just about to slay the antagonist but they cry out for mercy and toss away their weapon and surrender. Yes, this has become cliché, but we all know how it usually plays out, with a backstab from a hidden weapon of some kind. The point is this is what I am talking about, the protagonist in this situation is momentarily stunned with an internal conflict of his or her personal values to show compassion, even to the most despicable or to uphold the honor of their own or some organization they belong to.
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All sin must be repented of, however; the goodness of God will always lead you to repentance. Romans 2:4 says "Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" It is important for every believer to realize this powerful fact. The reason is that any sorrow of a child of God taken in sin that leads only to self-loathing, self-condemnation, and denial along with anything along these lines is not inspired by God and is the work of the devil. For clarification it is not wrong and somewhat inevitable to experience these feelings but when they begin to dominate the mind they become damnable and dangerous. It is at that point you will find yourself being drawn away from repentance toward the destruction of your soul, which is right where the devil wants you to be.
Yes, the Holy Ghost will convict of sin, but he will never leave you drowning in your sorrows, self-loathing, and self-condemnation. The remedy for all sin, for the sinner and saint alike has been made available, the blood of Jesus Christ. But what about Hebrews 10:26 & 27 you may proclaim, "For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, 27 “But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries." This applies to any who would turn away from God after conversion and live a life of habitual sin, thereby becoming an apostate. It is not speaking of those who sin after salvation and genuinely seek forgiveness as God draws their heart unto repentance.
How do I know this? The proof is here in 1 John 2: 1 & 2 "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our’s only, but also for the sins of the whole world."
Continue readingDuring these times of Pandemic there are two powerful misconceptions that prevail and in my opinion are very dangerous. The first, is the notion that natural immunity alone protects you from disease. Perhaps you think I am out of my mind to proclaim such; however, the point is the ideal that natural immunity in and of itself protects you is a great misconception. It is for this reason that many drive themselves and others crazy focusing on the consumption of a specific supplement, food, or diet to gain said protection to bolster natural immunity. There is much to be said about this and I will provide some clarity, shortly. The greatest proof of this misconception lies in an experiment done by Louis Pasteur with chickens back in the late 1870’s. While the point of his experiment was not to prove such, I am persuaded that he inadvertently did just that. This experiment was borne out of the controversy between him and a fellow contemporary who believed that they could cause a chicken to be infected with anthrax and perish from this disease.
What is the big deal, right?
The big deal is, because their core body temperature is a few degrees higher than that of human’s ,chickens prove to have a natural immunity to anthrax infection.
Continue readingWhen the bible states in John 3:16 that For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life, the word used for love in the Greek is agapao, like a - gop – a – oh, which basically translates as God had so much affection for the world that he was moved to do something about our sin problem as opposed to just having a feeling and sitting on the side lines.
So, what is my point?.
The point here is not to really talk about the salvation process so much but more so the motivation of what it truly means to love, especially so in a way that is meaningful, lasting and that will please God ultimately.
The saddest thing is when a person who is married whether it is a man or a woman makes a statement that they have fallen out of love or no longer are in love with their spouse.
Why do I say such a thing?
I say this because when and if that is the case in a relationship the reason will always point to the opposite of love and the thing that erodes it at the root, pride. You thought I would say hate right. Actually, hate is also born from pride as it is derived from an over focus on self to the point of detriment to self and others. In essence when a person concludes that they have fallen out of love or no longer love, they are actually saying that they are no longer willing to put forth the effort required to develop affection for their spouse. Once again, God so loved the world that he gave. Case in point is the affection of God moved him into action which thereby proved that affection for the world regardless of whether it was received or not, it did not stop him from taking action. However, the problem with so called “Falling out of love” is a minimizing of the fact that affection is like keeping a fire burning, it takes effort and resources that will be consumed in the process. In other words, once you stop putting forth the effort that fire will eventually die out. The same goes for agapao. This is the first thing that needs to be realized for anyone that falls into the so-called misconception of “falling out of love”, somewhere along the lines somebody stopped feeding the flames. First, realize that affection is self-generated. In order for a person to have affection for another they must contribute their own effort. However, when it is one sided it may not be reciprocated but as long as the flames are fed there will be affection felt from that party who is giving it. As long as that fire of affection is not overwhelming where it burns down the forest overtime even the coldest of hearts will feel its warmth and after time as long as it remains genuine the chances that the ice will melt away are great.
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