12.24.24 ~ The Newsroom

Good Morning!

Miketz/at the end is a prophetic section of Scripture that gives us a glimpse of the 'end times' and the revelation of the Messiah to the Gentile world and His natural born brethren (Gen. 40:1-43:17).  Hanukkah has a similar reality also.

I think everyone loves a story that has a happy ending; where the underdog wins, where the good guy comes out on top and the bad guy is defeated. The story of Joseph and Hanukkah are similar in both cases. Unfortunately, it takes less than one generation in both cases where the victory is short lived. For Joseph's family, they get stuck in Egypt, enjoying the pleasures of the good life and with the Jews in the Maccabees story, they become assimilated into Greek culture; both from hero to zero in one generation.

At risk of offending some of you with a movie clip, I want to jar us into a reality for the majority of believers in this world. The drama, from the movie "the newsroom", begins when you, the viewer, are introduced to an anchorman on a news show. He is a fellow that has carefully sought to distance himself from any sort of political affiliation, and he tends to take safe positions, never really getting involved in much controversy. And then there is this moment that he is on this talk show, in front of an audience of students at a major university. And, on one side of him, is a respected right-wing political commentator, and on the other side, a respected left-wing political commentator. And then a question is thrown to him, a simple innocent question, that although he doesn't know it, it was about to become a turning point in his life.

If you watched the clip you'll notice that our friend, the anchor, continues his diatribe about where America used to be, but isn't there anymore. It’s not like he hates America, or thinks it’s awful. He just yearns for an earlier time, and has a vision that America could be so much better.

He says, “We sure used to be. We stood up for what was right! We fought for moral reasons, we passed laws, struck down laws for moral reasons. We waged war… ” He waxes poetic, he talks about the great potential that America could be, and what it once was, and how to recover that. And he closes with these words:

“The first step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one—America is not the greatest country in the world anymore.”  This has become a huge turning point in his life. He gets all sorts of flack for this terrible diatribe that he made, but it's also shaken him up, it has given himself an idea, that he really ought to devote himself, to trying to be the kind of newsman that there once was in the world, who was not afraid to take a stand, that helped shape the country for the better. And then, this anchor man gets an executive producer and she provokes him, argues with him, and insists that he can do better with his new show.

Where did she come from? What's she suggesting? Who was that woman in the crowd that held up the signs? So many questions for you to ponder...in your own life.

Just like in the movie clip of "the Newsroom" and in the real life drama of Hanukkah, there were decisions to be made. Decisions to return to greatness. Decisions to not go along with the crowd. Decisions to change the world that we live in. Decisions that are hindered because, we wonder in the back of our mind is God really with me in this?

As we draw close to the fiscal year of 2024 and we come to December 25, the date that corresponds to the rededication of the altar within God's Temple, I need to ask myself a question: "will I continue to take the political road or continue to say that modern Christianity, like America, is the greatest religion in the world or will I wake up to the reality that we aren't what we used to be?  Will I do more than lip service in the Kingdom realm or will I choose to live a bold lifestyle, with word and deed, that goes against the lukewarm flow of the majority?

Life is filled with all types of questions. The Lord God has the answers and He's waiting for us to step into them.

Shalom

Last night's zoom call: And we know that all things work together for the good/tov to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28,29). Do we? Miketz (Gen. 40:1-43:17) gives us victorious wisdom, in every realm (spiritual, emotional, physical, relational and financial) to make this a reality in our own lives.