Dev4GamersDevotions for Real People, for Real Gamers!

Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV)
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

God thing here! No, not me, well He has saved me and all, but no, the verse. I don’t want to surprise to many, but the verses I choose for the devotion are not always thought up ahead of time. As a matter of fact if you head to Bible Gateway.com you just might see where I get my verses. So . . today is Isaiah 55:8-9.

Amazing. Why? Because today I am editing a movie I shot in Lord of the Rings Online last night to post on my old and just revived LotRO Blog, Under the Banner. I am going over the mechanics of a new quest tracking system that will come out with the next free content release, book 7.

Ok. . I can tell I am boring you. Here is what is so awesome about this. Many will whine and complain that the developers are making an easy mode. Instead of having to read very carefully and search for hours a new player can simply look on the map for a quest objective. It will point you in the general direction. GENERAL DIRECTION.

Hmm. Ok. . So, when God does something in our life, or does something that we don’t get, do you think that He might be pointing you in some direction?

Here is the best part, hold on, cause this is so cool. On the LotRO forums some QQers are complaning that the developers have no clue how to run a game. REALLY? It is true that sometimes dev’s can be shortsighted, but I know from experience that the group working on LotRO have made some very controversial decisions in the past, that have only shown to be the right ones down the line.

How many times to we QQ at God for what He is doing in our lives? How many times do we wish He was listening, when what really happens is we stop paying attention, He is always listening to us, even when we complain.

So if you are having a bad day, week, year, or life, just remember that God’s ways and thoughts are not our ways and thoughts. Even though we might not get it, or understand it, or want it the way it is now, He knows best, and the outcome, in the end, is ALWAYS right!

2 Timothy 4:1-2 (HCSB)
1 Before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom, I solemnly charge you: 2 proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching.

Rebuke, Correct, and Encourage with great patience and teaching.

Don’t you just love being yelled at? I was having a conversation with a new guild mate that just joined the guild I play in Lord of the Rings Online. One of the things we both agreed upon is that being in a group with an over zealous leader that thinks the only way to get people to do things is to yell is not fun. But here the second part of this passage instructs us to rebuke!

I know many who have used this verse as justification for brow beating someone. But look. . .Read on. Check out the rest of the passage. Correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching.

We are to present the message of hope with great patience. Rebuking is just one part of this passage, and not what we think. Instead of seeing it as a complete negative I am right you are wrong thing, we need to see it as a gentle correction.

Example, A ship sets course to reach its intended destination. As the ship crosses the seas waves and winds will push on it slightly taking it off course. If the pilot does not make small, or even large adjustments at times the ship will be way off course and never reach its destination. When we use the Bible to help others, its often and small correction to course that will help us along our life’s journey. We encourage them. We help them.

As we start out this week, let us keep in mind that we are to have patience when we walk our life and try to tell others about our faith.

Matthew 22:37-39 (NIV)
“Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.”

When starting a new group, or heading into a new place to adventure in game with friends I tell them about the 3 rules I have.

1. The first rule is to have fun. What is the point of playing a game that you do for enjoyment if you don’t. . well. . enjoy it.
2. Pay attention to your team mates.
3. Have fun.

Ok, so its more like two rules. So sue me. The point is I want you to have fun. If you pay attention to what your friends are doing, and react accordingly, you will more than likely have a good time. Of course there are always times when things can go really wrong that lead to endless spurts of laughter.

Like the time in WoW I was marking mobs for a tricky pull. Tanya was tanking on her paladin, I was on my mage, read glass cannon. I started to mark them when I reached for my number 1 above my keyboard instead of the number one on my numerical keypad. Well, number 1 on my keyboard was for my blink ability which in essence makes me jump several yards forward. So instead of being all sneaky and marking the bad guys for kill order I ended up introducing myself face to face with some rather large Naga, which promptly pounded my cloth wearing self into the ground, then went after the group. No one minded the wipe, we where all to busy laughing our rears off.

But the point is have fun and work with people.

So when they asked Jesus what where his rules he summed it up perfectly. Love God and love others.

It is not enough to just love God. You might think the most of Him, you might try to do all you can for him, but if you do not love others, if you do not show them the love that Christ showed us then . . well. . what is the point? Unfortunately doing an accidental face pull with someones life is not as funny as it is in a game where no one really gets hurt. Its for eternity.

Love God with all your heart soul and mind, and love others as you do yourself.

Music

I’m Sorry – Flyleaf
Grey – Barlowgirl

2 Timothy 4:1-2 (HCSB)
1 Before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom, I solemnly charge you: 2 proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching.

“People seldom do what they believe in. They do what is convenient, then repent.” Bob Dylan

This verse is one of the standards for me. Sort of like John 3:16 is for many. I can read this passage over and over, I can prepare a talk about it with little effort, which is not always a good thing. Because of its familiarity I sometimes forget what it is Paul is telling us to do.

Here it is for us all.

Proclaim the message. This simply means. Tell it. Live it. Show it. Be it. No matter where you are, no matter what you are doing. If someone needs to hear it tell them.

What is it? Glad you asked. It is the good news. The good news is that God loves us. We can show, tell, live this by just reminding ourselves of His great love for us daily.

I love the way the HCSB version reads the next part. Persist in it whether convenient or not. Convenient. wow, talk about a buzz word for today that we use but don’t speak. When was the last time you heard someone say to you, “I would do that for you but its not convenient”

Sometimes we just have to do it. We have to do things we do not want to. Just last night I was in the middle of a crowded zone in Lord of the Rings Online. I am pushing my Lore Master to level 50. I was just a couple questturn ins away and focused. Suddenly the doorbell rang. Argg . . . No time to find a safe spot to log out. No time to tell those in my kinship (read guild) that I was leaving. I just . . .left the computer knowing that when I came back from what ever it was at the door that I would be dead, or inLotRO’s case, defeated. This was NOT a convenient time!

But it was. It turned out to be two men from the church Tanya and I are attending right now while in transition. We invited them in, sat down and had a most wonderful time just talking and learning a little about where each of them have come from in life.

The time was not convenient to me. . but it was to God and His bigger picture. And the best part is when I logged back on. . I was not dead. But that was just a bonus to a great evening.

Next week we will revisit this verse and tackle the next few items. But for today, as we head into the weekend, remember to proclaim his love, no matter if its convenient or not, because God just might have something cool planned for you.

Music:

Vale of Imladris – Lord of the Rings Online Soundtrack
Lay of the Free People – Lord of the Rings Online Soundtrack

Mark 15:1-5 (HCSB)

1 As soon as it was morning, the chief priests had a meeting with the elders, scribes, and the whole Sanhedrin. After tying Jesus up, they led Him away and handed Him over to Pilate.

2 So Pilate asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” He answered him, “You have said it.”

3 And the chief priests began to accuse Him of many things. 4 Then Pilate questioned Him again, “Are You not answering anything? Look how many things they are accusing You of!” 5 But Jesus still did not answer anything, so Pilate was amazed.

“There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God says, “All right, then, have it your way”  C.S. Lewis

To often we want everything that we feel is owed us. We feel that simply because we breath air into our lungs that we deserve everything. Because we can turn on a computer, or work aDVR that people should bow down and admire our tech superiority.

Well perhaps not everyone believes the world should revolve around them. . at least not all the time. But if we look deeper inside of us, how often do we just wish someone would appreciate how hard we work?

To be honest we all like to feel loved and wanted, but we take it to far extremes if we allow ourselves to become first over more important things in this world, like God.

When Jesus faced Pilate just before the crucifixion He could have made it all go away. He is God after all. One word, one small action, and everything could have changed. The arrest, thebetrayal, the crowd, all gone. Instead of doing what was owed him, or what He deserves, Jesus showed us humility.

Jesus did not fill out a GM ticket, cry that he had been hacked, or wish that everything be restored. He simply answered the question to Pilate, “You have said it.” When those around himfalsely accused him Pilate looked at him and marveled at how he could just take it, knowing that it was false.

How could He? Because He loves us.

“To be humble to superiors is duty, to equals courtesy, to inferiors nobleness.” Benjamin Franklin

Music: Meditation #3 Shema, by Michael Card

Just a fast note to announce that Dev4Gamers can be found again at http://dev4gamers.com

Romans 8:38-39 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
38For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!

Just one more try, one more push. I am so close to my goal that I am not about to give up now! So what if its 2 am? I have nearly got it!

The typical gamer is known by their ability to push themselves to reach the goals they have, or reach the end of a level, or strive to do the best. It is a quality that shows the vital differences between those who are wired to be gamers and those who are not. Neither person is right or wrong, they simply approach things from a different viewpoint.

A person with the “gamer” gene, lets call it for lack of a better word, will strive to reach a goal in the game. Perhaps they are close to reaching max level in wow. Perhaps they have one more checkpoint to get to in a FPS, or perhaps they just want to go one more level of Mrs. Packman? It does not matter the time and effort put into it, as long as they reach that goal.

As hard as a gamer will push to a goal and shut the world out to them until they reach it they will never show as much dedication and love for what they are doing than God.

In Romans, Paul shows us how much God loves us, how much He loves you. Nothing will stand in his way of His great love for you. No one can match the achievement boards as long as God is around, for He loved us so much that He sent us Jesus, the way and the truth.

God loves you more than you know, He gave His Son for you to spend eternity with Him in heaven.

How bad to you want to reach that goal?

Music heard

Silvermoon City – World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Soundtrack
Waiting for the World to Fall – Jars of Clay

Mark 1:15 (NIV)
15″The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”

To some the image of God is some guy screaming at the top of his lungs while he holds on to the edge of a pulpit about to tip off the edge of a large platform. It is true that God wants us to repent and receive him into our lives, but lets take a little more down to earth look real fast and just what this means. Spitting guy or loving father?

Jesus said at the start of his public ministry that it was time.

Time for what? Time for those who seek to find him that offers life. Jesus said the kingdom of God was near. Not an invitation to drink the cool aid, but rather that for those who have beensearching for him will know that it is he. How many people do you run into in your week that are seeking God? They may not come out and say it, but we can tell they are looking for him by all the other stuff that try to put in his place.

In order to find the kingdom of God he gives 2 simple things we must do. Two. . don’t miss this people. He is not asking you to stand on your head while you get 8 sponsors to sign your contract while securing a loan. He wants us first to repent.

Simply put, repent means to turn around, 180 degrees, from the way we are going and try to seek him in the new path. Its like heading down a long long dungeon crawl to get to a mob at the end to finish the quest. If we take the tunnel on the left we wont get to them, but if we turn around and take the tunnel on the right, well we will find them, complete the task, unless we getganked, and get the reward for our effort.

Then believe. Yep, wait. . just believe? Uhh huh. Believe that Jesus is who he said he is. The proof is in the new testament. Go ahead, read it. . I’ll wait. . some.

Believe in him and repent. That is all it takes to be one of his Children. No long application, no conditions that require a sworn affidavit.

DC10 by Audio Adrenaline

1 Corinthians 13:6-7 (New International Version)

6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Oh come on baby, I love you! Don’t you love me? If you did you would let me. . .

Ahh, the lines from 90% of the movies of my youth. Somewhere along the lines boys have learned a simple truth about girls. That the need, desire, and want to be loved. Don’t we all? But they have twisted LOVE into something that will benefit them, get them what they want. They think, if I tell her I lover her then she will let me sleep with her. Then I can just lose her number and never call her again.

Now pay attention. I am about to say something very important.

Sex does not equal love!

Love in the Bible is categorized into 3 forms. Phileo, Agape and Eros.

Phileo love is called brotherly love. The type of love we show for our fellow man. You will find somewhat modern examples of this form of love in the name of a famous city. Philadelphia, or the city of Brotherly Love.

Eros (ἔρως érōs) is passionate love, with sensual desire and longing. This is the love you show your spouse. That need and desire that drives you to want to please them and be pleased. PLEASE know that this form of love was given to us by God, but it is to be found within the confines of the marriage commitment that he set up for us.

Agape is the love that only God can show us. The love that he displayed while sending his son to die for us. This is the deepest love possible. Also referred to as worshipful love, this is the type of love that leads us to want to tell others about Christ.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the young believers in Corinth about God’s deep love. Not the Eros love of the temple prostitutes, but a deeper love.

Let’s quickly look at what this love holds.

1. Does not delight in evil
2. Rejoices with truth.
3. Protects.
4. Trusts.
5. Hopes
6. Perseveres.

Let’s take a look at these words in light of the opening statement. Is telling someone you love them simply so you can get in their pants the truth? Will it protect them when the next day you dump them like yesterdays trash? Can it help build trust in a person when they are dumped on in such a way? What about the hope that person has? Often they become broken and susceptible to repeating this pattern because its all they know. And finally, can it preserve that person?

The answer is obviously no. God’s love, the love we should show others should highlight and center on these aspects of God’s love.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (HCSB)
9 Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. 10 For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up. 11 Also, if two lie down together, they can keep warm; but how can one person alone keep warm? 12 And if somebody overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.

What better way to get back into a devotion for real people, for gamers and for those looking for something cutting edge, something cool,something out there than to . . . . get mushy! That’s right, It’s mushy time.

Today is Tanya, my wife’s, birthday. So you will have to bear with me as I make this about her. If you get something out of it then even better, but for me, she is so wonderful, so incredible, just awesome.

We had this passage as the focus of our wedding 18 years ago. In the past 18 years we have been through great times, tragic situations, crying, and laughing. When life started to fall apart when her father had a major stroke 2 years ago I did what I could to be there for her. And when things in our ministry started to unravel this past year she stood with me. If it where not for Tanya and the Lord it would have been a very bad year.

That is what three strands are. Strong!

This is for you babe.