God has promised me, through his Word, that the death of Jesus has paid for my sin and that if I believe in Jesus, I’m going to heaven. But how can I be sure? How do I know that Jesus really has deal with my sin? How can I know that God actually will follow through on his promise and let me into heaven?

When Jesus was on earth, he knew he had a mission and he knew what it would take to complete it. In Mark 10:33-34, Jesus said “The Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priest and teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.” If Jesus had died on the cross and stayed dead, then we would have no assurance what so ever that we would be saved. Instead, Jesus conquered death. He went to the grave and then told death who was boss. One of the reasons Jesus came back from the dead was to prove he had the power to deal with sin. If he could take on death and win, then how much more could he save us from sin?

After all, God is not in the practice of making promises that he can’t keep. Throughout the Bible, time and time again, God has proven himself. If he makes a promise, he keeps it. We see in the Bible that God promises that God’s people, that is, people who follow his son Jesus, will be saved.

 ”What then shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died – more than that, who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;

we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:31-39)

If God is for us, who can be against us? If we accept the gift of salvation that Jesus offers us, who can keep us out of heaven? There is no power in this world, or any other, that can come between us and the love of Christ.

At some point, each of us is going to stand before God. And God will ask “Why should I let you into my heaven?” The good things you’ve done? They will be insufficient. Being baptised as a baby? That will be inadequate. Rocking up to church or youth group two or three times a year? That will be unsatisfactory. The only answer that will count for anything is JESUS. Lord, I believe in your son Jesus. I believe he died in my place. I believe that he has taken care of the punishment that my sin deserves. I believe that because of Jesus that you’ve already welcomed me into your family.

And God will reply with an emphatic YES. Yes, you are my child. Yes Jesus has prepared a place in my heaven. Yes you can come in, even though we both know you don’t deserve it. Welcome!

Are you going to heaven? If you are a follower of Jesus than the answer is yes. You can have confidence. You can have assurance. Because God is faithful to his promises. The gates of heaven are open wide for those who follow Jesus. Are you going to accept the invitation and walk on through?

But Safran had a plan. The next night he called the club up and told them to expect a big name band from the US to rock up. That they should be prepared for them and put their name on the list. How would these young men manage to convince the club that they were famous enough to let in? They would dress up like Slipknot, a 9 piece metal band, well known for wearing overalls and masks. And it worked. Not only did they get in, but they got given a private room and gave out autographs to fans.

Now I know I’m not good enough to get into heaven on my own. But what, if like these young men, I could get my name on the guest list? What if there was a name that could get me into heaven? A name that would guarantee me entry? Well there is such a name. And that name is Jesus.

We’re not good enough for heaven and deserve punishment. But God still loves us. He doesn’t want us to go to hell, even though that’s where we should be headed. But because of what we have done and because of what we have failed to do, hell is our destination. And there’s nothing we can do to escape it on our own. We need someone to save us. And God is the God who saves.

God sent his son Jesus to earth. Jesus, the only one who never sinned. Never did anything wrong. Never disobeyed God. Never rejected God as king of the universe. And because of that, Jesus is the only person in all of history who is good enough to walk through the doors of heaven. When Jesus was here on earth, he had a mission. His mission was to save us. To open up the gates of heaven so that we could walk on in. To do that, he went to the cross. He allowed himself to be sentenced to death. Even though he had committed no crime. He willingly took the floggings and faced the humiliation. And as they prepared him for execution, as he hanged there on that cross, he faced more than anything this world could possibly throw at him – he took on the full anger of God. Every punishment that we deserved was poured out onto Jesus. Jesus took it all.

With his dying breath, Jesus said “It is finished” (John 19:30). His mission was accomplished. Jesus had defeated sin. Jesus acted as a substitute for us and paid the penalty for our sin. He stood in our place, took our punishment, so that we could be saved. So if you acknowledge Jesus as the true son of God, if you whole heartedly believe that Jesus is the one God sent to deal with sin, if you believe that Jesus has paid the price in full, then the punishment for your sin has been dealt with.

If you believe all this to be true, then you’ll have a much different experience when your life here on earth draws to a close. Because God won’t be looking at your file. He won’t be paying attention to all the wrong things you’ve done. He’ll go straight to Jesus. Because Jesus has put your name on the guest list. God will see that Jesus has wiped your slate clean and welcome you into heaven with big, open arms. There will be a party in heaven. Because that’s where God wants you to be.

We Bought A Zoo

Rated PG

Starring Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson

Directed by Cameron Crowe

You know the biggest crime this movie commits? There are meerkats in this movie for a grand total of 5 seconds. How dare they? If you’re going to put meerkats in a movie, you better put them in at least every second scene. I don’t care about the lions and tigers and bears (oh my)(yes, I couldn’t resist. Nothing to see here). If you’re going to tempt with meerkats, you better deliver.

And that’s my biggest problem with this movie. That’s the worst criticism I could think of for We Bought A Zoo. And that’s because I really enjoyed it.

Matt Damon plays widower Benjamin Mee, father of two kids. The family, still dealing with the death of Benjamin’s wife, decide to make a new start and buy a run down zoo. Alongside a staff of eccentric characters, headed up by Scarlett Johansson’s zookeeper Kelly, the Mee’s struggle to get the zoo operational in time for the big re-opening. There are a stack of obstacles to overcome here: financial troubles, escaped animals, antagonistic inspectors, but because this is one of those “triumphing against all odds” kind of stories, the reward is worth it.

Cameron Crow has this great ability to pull very real and heart warming performances from his actors. Every one here is like-able, even when, in the hands of another director, they would be tedious and annoying. The relationship between Damon and Johansson’s characters never feels forced. There’s a chemistry there that never feels manipulative. It never felt like Johansson was there just to provide Matt Damon someone to fall in love with by the end of the movie. Because it’s not that kind of movie. A stand out, however, is the budding romantic relationship between the two teenage cast members. Crowe is responsible for one of my all time favourite movies, Almost Famous. The way he was able to capture the beauty of teenage love in that movie carries through here. Though it’s a little weird that Lily is a dead ringer, both in appearance and performance, for Almost Famous’ Kate Hudson. And Dylan is a dead ringer for Patrick Fugit, Almost Famous’ lead. Which is even weirder because Patrick Fugit also stars in We Bought A Zoo as one of the zoo staff. It must have been a strange experience for Fugit to watch his mini me get his trademark scenes. Oh well, at least he got to perform with a monkey on his shoulder in every scene (stupid monkey, why couldn’t you have been a meerkat?).

You could be fooled into thinking that We Bought A Zoo is about… well, you know, a Zoo. But it isn’t. It’s not really even a family friendly drama about a group of underdogs, though that is there. No, this story is about death. The Mee family have experienced the loss that comes with death and are struggling to deal with how it affects them. Benjamin is still in love with his wife and feels trapped because everywhere he goes reminds him of her. And that hurts. Teenage son Dylan doesn’t have the emotional vocabulary to express his pain so he hides behind dark artwork and anger. Seven year old daughter Rosie tries to be the glue that holds everything together but she is scared that she is already find it difficult to remember what her mother looked like. Death has had a massive impact on this family. We Bought A Zoo is a movie about death and grief. It’s about moving on.

Death leaves scars. The loss and hurt it creates damages people. It damages relationships. And while we may move on, those scars remain. We are built to be people in relationships. We are made to be people who live and love together. And death stands in opposition to that. We can pick up the pieces. We can mend the relationships we have with those who are still with us. But true, complete healing can’t happen while death is still allowed to exist in this world.

When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

“Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:54-57)

Jesus has defeated death. And we long for the day when Jesus will return and death will be obliterated from this world. Where is your sting, Death? Jesus has risen from the dead and has promised to bring us with him into eternal life. That’s something worth looking forward to!

I wasn’t sure if We Bought A Zoo was going to be a cheesy cry fest. It could have easily been an overly manipulative, sappy movie. But it isn’t. Sure, there’s some tears to be had. But overall, it’s uplifting and engaging. There’s no explosions and not nearly enough meerkats, but don’t let that stop you from catching this great movie.

10) Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2

Should they have split this movie in two? While there’s plenty of meat in this movie, I wonder if most of Part 1 could have been scrapped. The makers of this film had a tough job in wrapping up a story ten years in the making, and overall I think they did a good job. There are some problems here (I still don’t understand how the bit with the resurrection stone works) but it hits all the right emotional payloads.

9) Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

A late entry for the year, coming out in December, but this is popcorn cinema at it’s best. The stunts literally have you on the edge of your seat. And what I really appreciated was that it wasn’t the Tom Cruise show. All the supporting characters had their own thing going on – each could have been the star of the movie. Can we have more action heroes like Paula Patton? Was good to see a female character in an action movie who wasn’t just there to be the victim/love interest.

8) Thor (Review)

This could have gone very, very bad. But Kenneth Branagh pulled it off. Great mix of sci-fi, fantasy and super-heroics. It could of used another 30 minutes or so to flesh out the characters, but overall, good job.

7) Attack The Block

Man, those creepy fluorescent teeth still creep me out. You don’t need a big budget to tell an alien invasion flick. And this is the proof.

6) Super 8

But that doesn’t mean a big budget can’t be put to good use. If you were to watch Super 8 as part of a movie marathon with The Goonies and E.T. it would fit right in. Sure, you’d be wondering how the puppet guys made the alien work, but tonally, this is a great “lost” 80s film. In fact, you could have gotten rid of all the sci-fi stuff and I still would have loved it.

5) Captain America: The First Avenger (Review)

Sometimes you just want your comic book heroes to be black and white. To stand up for good and oppose evil. Here’s a great movie about an old school hero taking on the bad guys. The visual aesthetic, the way they manage to capture the 1940s while still utilising sci-fi tech, gave us an action movie that stands out from the crowd.

4) Moneyball (Review)

How did you do that? How did you make me like a film about statistics (boring) and baseball (a game I know very little about)? Somehow Brad Pitt did it. You can’t help but love him.

3) Fright Night

This one had me scared. I enjoyed the original as a kid. But a recent re-watch reminded me that favourites of the past don’t always hold up. But the 2011 remake of Fright Night was brilliant. Colin Farrell was truly menacing, David Tennant was wonderfully over-the-top, and the movie makers managed to take everything in the plot/story telling that fell flat for me in the original and re-work it into something great.

2) X-Men: First Class (Review)

Give me a sexy period piece superhero movie with interesting characters and visually engaging use of super powers and I’ll be your best friend forever. Honest.

1) Red State

I thought Kevin Smith had lost it. I was one of those teenagers who endlessly quoted Clerks. I eagerly awaited each new Kevin Smith film. I was giddy with excitement as I lined up to ask Smith a question after a screening of Clerks  II. But Zach and Miri Make A Porno was terrible. And I couldn’t muster up enthusiasm to go see Cop Out. But then Red State came out.

This is the movie I’ve waited years for Smith to make. A discussion of modern politics and religion where there are no good guys, just a whole stack of people doing the wrong thing for the wrong reasons. Michael Parks’ performance as the cult leader was particularly chilling. I was so shaken by what I had seen on the screen, that the next day, as I was preaching in the pulpit at church I almost froze, concerned that I might be even a little bit like this hateful man. If you haven’t seen this movie, you really should.

So those are my Top 10. Keen to hear your favourite movies of 2011.

What’s your New Year’s resolution going to be? I know I really should hit the gym more regularly in 2012. Though the temptation to hit the chocolate is a strong one (here’s a hint: if you’re on a diet, stay away from the bottom drawer in my office). Should I resolve to spend more time catching up with old friends, read more books, climb Mount Everest. I don’t think that last one is a realistic goal for this year. Maybe next year.

So what are you going to do in 2012?

Here’s a suggestion. In 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, Paul said to the Corinthians “When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.”

Paul resolved to let nothing get in the way of telling people about Jesus. This would be a very worthy New Year’s resolution. To tell your friends, family, neighbours, anyone who will listen about Jesus. To live your life in such a way that nothing can get in the way of introducing people to the saviour king.

Now’s the time to make the resolution. Now’s the time to make preparations. Now’s the time to be ready. Read some good Christian books. Attend a training course. Practice on a Christian friend. Do whatever you need to do to tell people that Jesus is the promised one of God and that he died to save us from the punishment we deserve.

In 2012, make a New Year’s resolution that will make an impact for the kingdom.

If proper shoes and a button up shirt were the entry requirements for the club, what are the entry requirements for heaven? I don’t want to rock up to the gates of heaven, only to find out I missed something and get knocked back.

In Matthew 5:20, during the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says “For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Wow. That’s a big call. Back in the day, the Pharisees were the bench mark for godly behaviour. These guys were well known for how closely they followed God’s law. The Pharisees were the kind of people who never met a rule they didn’t like and want to follow. So to say that I have to be even better than a Pharisee is a pretty big bar to jump over. But then Jesus goes on “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) Man, I thought being better than a Pharisee was going to be hard. But perfection? This is going to be a problem.

The thing is, even if I somehow manage to be absolutely perfect from this second onward, which, as anyone who knows me will attest, is laughable, I still have three decades of sin behind me. Over 30 years of me rejecting God and doing the wrong thing. I’d be turned away before I can even see the gate. No matter how hard I try, I’m not going to be good enough for God. In fact, I deserve punishment for what I have done. My actions have angered God and he can’t be a God of justice if he doesn’t do something about my rebellion. So it looks like I’m headed to hell. That’s where I deserve to go and there’s nothing I can do to change things.

But what if…

What if God was to come to us?

Minchin takes a look at Jesus and compares him to people like Woody Allen. He takes all those things about Jesus that seem a bit weird and tries to make sense of them. Does he make Jesus look stupid? I don’t think so. What I think he does well is shine a light on the areas of our faith that we sometimes take for granted. And we really shouldn’t.

Jesus performed miracles. Were these just stunts? If they actually happened, we need to think through how this impacts our view on Jesus. Was he magic? Or something more?

Did Jesus rise from the dead? If he did, what does this tell us about who Jesus is and the nature of the resurrection? I often point out the “zombie apocalypse” in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 27:51-53) and have a laugh. Do we return from the dead as brain eating zombies? Or does the resurrection tell us something fundamental about life and what has happened to sin?

Was Jesus born of a virgin? What does it mean for the nature of Jesus that he was conceived without a sexual act? What impact does this have upon both his humanity and his divinity?

These are questions we need to ask. All to often we hand wave the difficult questions about Jesus. We take a look at the weird stuff and we just hide it in a corner and ignore it. The weird stuff is important! The stuff that doesn’t make sense needs to be brought to light and wrestled with. A Jesus that conforms entirely within a scientific rationalist mind set is not the real Jesus. Because he is so much more than that. By ignoring the weird stuff, we are selling Jesus short.

It’s Christmas Eve as I write this. Tonight and tomorrow I’m going to be sharing the message of the incarnation with people. That God himself came into this world as a baby to save us from the punishment we deserve. By the world’s standards, this is fantastical lunacy. Yet I believe it to be 100% true. I’m not afraid of the weird stuff.

We should thank Tim Minchin for this song. Thank him for carefully putting together this song in a way that is not aggressive or dismissive. He’s not on our team. He could have been mean and nasty. Instead he’s given us a gift. Not only did I laugh heartily out loud, he’s kept Jesus in discussion this Christmas. Because the worst thing the media could do to us this Christmas is not ridicule us. The worst thing they could do is not attack us. No, the worst thing they could do would be to ignore us.

Praise be to Jesus!

Praise be to Magic Woody Allen Zombie Superman Komodo Dragon Telepathic Vampire Quantum Hovercraft Jesus!

There’s been a split in the X-Men. Half of them have stayed with Cyclops in San Francisco, while the other half have followed Wolverine back to New York to restart the school. Not only is this a school for kids with super powers, it’s designed by people where reality is an optional extra. But I guess when you’ve got Wolverine as your school’s headmaster, things weren’t exactly going to be normal. On the first day of classes, the school is attacked by a group of insanely rich and psychopathic twelve year olds who wreck havoc on the school. And the day is saved by Quentin Quire, one of my favourite under-rated X-Characters. This title is wild and crazy and I’m in for the long run.

What am I looking forward to next week?

Here’s what’s on my list so far to check out next week:

Aquaman #4

Blackhawks #4

Flash #4

Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men #4

Green Lantern: New Guardians #4

I, Vampire #4

Joe Hill’s The Cape #3

Justice League Dark #4

Superman #4

Teen Titans #4

Ultimate Comics: The Ultimates #5

Ultimate Comics: X-Men #5

Uncanny X-Men #3

Anything else I should be reading this week?

It’s good to know your options before you settle on a decision. Especially when the decision is where you are going to spend eternity. I want to go to heaven, but before I get my heart set on it, I really should investigate the alternatives.

So the way I see it, just looking from the Christian point of view, there are three possible destinations when we die: heaven, hell, and purgatory aka limbo. We can automatically cross out ideas like reincarnation or the Norse place called Valhalla because they’re not part of the Christian mindset.

This purgatory place is worth investigating. From what I understand, it’s some kind of waiting place. The idea is that if you’re not good enough for heaven when you die, and not bad enough for hell, then purgatory is where you end up. Some people say it’s a boring place where nothing much happens. Others say it is a place where you get punished, but only for a short time. So you hang out in purgatory until you burn off all those little nagging sins until you’re good enough to get into heaven. That doesn’t sound too bad. I understand the appeal. It’s good to have a backup just in case I’m not good enough to get into heaven. Here’s that second chance that everyone loves.

The problem with that, is that it sounds all well and good, but purgatory is not a real option. It’s not even a real place. You won’t find it mentioned anywhere in the Bible, unless you go hunting for books that most people agree aren’t really Scripture. And that’s not just because the writers of the Bible just forgot to mention it. The Bible is pretty clear: there are only two place you can go after you die. In John 3:36, Jesus says “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” So there’s two options here. Either it’s eternal life (heaven) or God’s wrath, his anger, remains (hell). There’s no middle option. No fence sitting. No loop holes.

So when I die, I’m either going to be spending eternity with God or I’m going to hell. And I’m pretty sure I don’t want to go to hell. Heaven, I’m told, is where it’s at. But how can I be certain God will let me in?