mercy

The Good Samaritan

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Take a moment to read the scripture below and we’ll pick up our conversation after.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

29 But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.35 And the next day he took out two denarii[a] and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.” – Luke 10:25-37 (ESV)

“And who is my neighbor?”

We like to think of our neighbors as those who are like us. Those that:

  • Look like us
  • Wear the same types of clothes
  • Eat the same types of foods
  • Enjoy the same types of hobbies
  • Maybe even have been raised/brought up in a similar manner

Photo by Hayden Walker on Unsplash

But Jesus pushes far past the similarities. His story above reminds me that I’d like to think that I’m the Samaritan. More often than not, I’m more so the priest and the Levite in the story, avoiding those that don’t look like me and continuing on my way. We crave the safety of our selected neighbors and tribes.

Lord, push me past that which I deem safe.

Review: RIVE

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 RIVE is not my jam.

rive1

RIVE (PC, PS4 [reviewed], Mac)
Developer: Two Tribes
Publisher: Two Tribes Publishing
Released: September 13, 2016
MSRP: $14.99

RIVE is an explosive twin-stick shooter that wants to beat you up and steal your lunch. Sending you home with a black eye while shouting at you to come back for more. Punishment is the name of the game. Can’t keep up with the onslaught of laser death-dealing robots? No problem. RIVE‘s failure screens will remind you of how bad your reflexes have become. You’re an old man, gramps! Too cool for this school.

Beyond the difficulty, I love how RIVE‘s checkpoint system shows the player mercy. The more you die, the closer the checkpoints become. Encouraging players to keep fighting, no matter how hard they have been smacked down.

What I’m not quite sure about is the placement of the jump button. On the PlayStation 4, the jump button is assigned to the L2 trigger versus the standard X button. The end result is curious and awkward feeling.

RIVE reminds me of the worst games I played during the Console Wars of the ’90s. Difficult. Demanding. No satisfying reward.

In the end, RIVE fails to bring anything new to the playground. Not even revealing one compelling example to keep pressing onward. The game revels in bashing the player over the head with difficulty for the sake of difficulty. I have no time for that. RIVE is not my jam.

Wave Splinter

RIVE reviewed by Bryan Hall

[Disclaimer: This review is based on a retail build provided by Evolve PR.]

Surf Report

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Surf ReportWelcome to the Monday edition of the Surf Report.

.: God:

Have Matt Redman’s “Mercy” stuck in my head:

We will lift up the cup
and the bread we will break,
remembering Your love.
We were fallen from grace,
but You took on our shame
and nailed it to a cross.

Mercy, mercy,
as endless as the sea.
I’ll sing Your hallelujah
for all eternity.

.: Life:

Spent time with family this weekend. Played some Putt-Putt, ate some yogurt, and enjoyed a round of Skip-Bo.

Watched the first episode of Daredevil. Solid writing with excellent fight scenes. Seriously some of the most brutal fighting I’ve seen on screen in awhile.

.: Gaming:

Really enjoyed listening to the latest GameChurch Podcast. Drew does a great job! Check it out if you haven’t already.

“Every choice is a seed that you sow which you will harvest later. That is a Christian concept. If you’re currently reaping from seeds you wish you had never planted, God gives you a restart. You could respawn your life right now and start sowing new seeds.” – Thomas Henshell, GameChurch Podcast #38: Archmage Rises

Wave SplinterThat’s it for this weeks Surf Report. Make sure to comment below and have a great week!

Things I’m Learning: Social Media

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I did something stupid the other day. Radio host, author, and speaker, Dave Ramsey, had posted the following Joel Osteen quote on twitter: “God’s mercy is bigger than any mistake that you’ve made.”

Nothing wrong with the quote. God’s mercy is huge! For some reason though it bugged me that Dave Ramsey was quoting Joel Osteen.

So I replied: “This is true, even if, as in Joel’s case, you are leading people to Hell.”

Yeah, I went there. I honestly believe that Joel Osteen leads people to Hell by promoting God as a genie (just pray super hard and God will give you your dreams) and by not talking about “negative” things such as sin.

I didn’t expect Dave to take the bait; I didn’t expect him to reply but had an inkling he might. Replying to me via twitter, in the face of all of his “followers”, he responded, “Struggle with Grace?”

Defensive now, I replied: “Most definitely. I also struggle with those who misrepresent the Bible.”

Dave’s disciples quickly descended upon me. Some offering support and others calling me to the mat for not being loving enough.

.: Social Media Misused :.

I want to admit, here and now, that I was wrong. Irregardless of my thoughts towards the Joel Osteen school of theology, I shouldn’t have ever responded to that original quote. I was baiting/trolling Dave Ramsey, effectively calling him a supporter of a false teacher. So Dave, if you are out there, I’m sorry. I hope you accept my apologies.

I want to intentionally reflect God in all that I do. Fighting a “twitter war” through an innocent man (Dave) is not the best way to do that. So again Dave, I’m sorry.