Skip to content

Today's post was written by Rusty Wright.
---------

Think of it as Survivor: Earth

As reality TV host Jeff Probst might say (cue theme music; roll panoramic video), "This … is the planet Earth. A spectacular paradise that can become a perilous jungle. Two people – a man and a woman – are about to begin the adventure of the ages."

"Their progeny will encompass vastly different walks of life, from kings to fishermen, saints to scoundrels. They'll display nobility and treachery, altruism and secret alliances. But they'll have one thing in common. They'll all participate in an epic struggle between good and evil."

"What will happen when explosive personalities collide? And in the end, who will find redemption and survive the ultimate tribal council?"

Dramatic Miniseries

That's the drama the upcoming ten-hour miniseries, The Bible, seeks to portray when it airs on History Channel every Sunday evening this March.

Prolific television producer Mark Burnett ("Survivor," "The Voice," "Celebrity Apprentice," "Shark Tank") and his wife, actress/producer Roma Downey ("Touched by an Angel"), spent two years creating what they hope will become a legacy. They consider this "by far the most important project we've ever undertaken" and sought to paint "the grand narrative of God's love for all of us," from Genesis to Revelation.

Curiosity and Inspiration

"The Bible is a sacred text that continues to challenge and inspire," notes Burnett. "We … are deeply humbled to be given this once in a generation opportunity to breathe new visual life into the Bible's profound stories. The Bible gives meaning and purpose to billions of people around the world, and sparks the curiosity of millions more."

Spoiler alert: Eve eats the fruit (as does Adam); Noah, family, and animals endure the Ark; God parts the Red Sea for Moses and company; Delilah cuts Samson's hair; David slays Goliath; Daniel survives the lions' den; Jesus does good, is executed, but rises from the dead.

"Don't make it lame"

But perhaps you already knew those stories. Either way, there's plenty of adventure and drama in this series. At a recent Washington, DC, dinner, Burnett described his kids' advice about the impending production: "Don't make it lame." He didn't.

This quality portrayal has loads of action and state-of-the-art special effects to grab channel surfers' attention. I'm no action-flick aficionado, but scenes like Ninja angels slicing their way through Sodom, the Red Sea crossing, and Goliath's slaying made my spine tingle. Abraham's sacrifice of his son, Isaac, had me right there, wanting divine intervention to stop that knife from hitting its target.

Faith and Trust

The depictions were exciting, gripping, genuine. I could identify with the characters' human struggles, emotions and faith lessons, especially the oft-repeated "Trust in God." Fallible people like Abraham, Moses, and Peter seek to discover what God wants of them, and then trust him to provide and protect.

It’s chock full of timeless truths, and true to Jesus' teachings. As he said, "God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life."

Producers sought to be faithful to the spirit of the book in adapting selected Bible stories for the screen. They take typical movie-making liberties – combining events and condensing timelines – to represent the gist of the book in limited hours. Compressed narrative and dialogue skip some details and occasionally blur nuances. But, sit back, relax, and take in the big picture: God loves us; he is faithful; he is merciful.

The overall presentation (of the six hours available for advance press screening) gets an "A" from me. By all means, see the miniseries. Read the original, too. It is, after all, a very Good Book.

History Channel – Sunday (March 3, 10, 17, 24, 31)
History.ca (Canada)
www.BibleSeries.tv
---------
Rusty Wright is an author and lecturer who has spoken on six continents. He holds Bachelor of Science (psychology) and Master of Theology degrees from Duke and Oxford universities, respectively. www.RustyWright.com

1

Some people like surprises; I’m not one of them. I prefer to know, or at least have a good idea, how things are going to work out, and when. Perhaps that is what makes me a planner and a list maker—a person who likes to be prepared. Of course, knowing what’s going to happen, or at least thinking I do, doesn’t happen very often, because none of us can truly know the future. But it doesn’t make me want to know any less. Unfortunately, because of our limited perspective on things, we often limit our faith too. Because we don’t know how a particular thing can be accomplished, we doubt God’s ability to do it.

Zechariah was a perfect example of this. (Luke 1:5-20) He and his wife Elizabeth were both righteous in the sight of God (Luke 1:6), but they were also childless, and getting on in years. To be more precise, Luke 1:7 tells us that they were both very old. Since children were seen as a blessing from the Lord, and it was a disgrace to be barren, there is little doubt that they would have been praying fervently for a child. Why then should Zechariah be surprised when an angel of the Lord appeared and told him that his prayers had been heard and his wife would bear a son?

In Zechariah’s defense, he did have reason to be surprised. First of all, it was a once in a lifetime event for Zechariah to be chosen to burn incense in the holy place. (Luke 1:9) It’s like winning a door prize when hundreds of people are at an event; you don’t really expect to. Secondly, the privilege of burning incense didn’t mean that you would have an angel appear to chat with you. Yes, angels had appeared to others before, but even these devoted priests had not heard from God in 400 years. We now call this the intertestamental period—the time between the Old Testament and the New Testament—but Zechariah didn’t have our hindsight. And then, thirdly, this angel tells Zechariah that his wife will have a son. Zechariah could not, from his limited perspective, understand how this could be possible. Given some time, and a calmer situation, he might have thought back to the birth of Isaac, (Genesis 17:15-19) but he didn’t. So he questioned the angel, (Luke 1:18) and doubted God. As a result, Zechariah was unable to speak until after his son was born. (Luke 1:20)

You can be sure that God’s plans are not thwarted by our doubt or inability, even unwillingness, to participate. But think about what Zechariah missed out on because he doubted God. For at least nine months (we’re not sure how long--Luke 1:24) Zechariah was unable to clearly articulate this great event that he had experienced. In his day, oral communication was the primary means of sharing information. Yes, he could make signs, (Luke 1:22) but he didn’t have a blog or Facebook to share his thoughts in writing. He was effectively stopped from sharing in God’s miracle until after it had taken place. Let’s not suffer the same fate. Let’s trust God to do more than we could ever ask or imagine, (Ephesians 3:20) and share the joy when He does the impossible.

I love to go to Christian conferences, partly because I love to learn and to see things from fresh perspectives, but I also love to meet new people who are already sisters and brothers in Christ. Even if our opinions on some matters differ, we are all on pretty much the same wavelength. Our beliefs are similar enough that even though we may have never met before, we are like family. Being with them gives me encouragement in my faith, knowing I am not alone. That is not true for us in every environment we enter, and it was not at all the reality for Jesus’ disciples. There were such a small number of people who were followers of Christ while He walked the earth, and so many more who followed the religious leaders of the day or who were heathens, that the disciples faced a lot of doubt, criticism and persecution.

Before Jesus was arrested and crucified, He prayed for His disciples. Jesus knew that because His disciples had believed in Him, the world would hate them. So Jesus prayed that the Heavenly Father would protect them. John 17:15 tells us that Jesus did not ask God to protect them by taking them out of the world, but that He would protect them while they stayed in the world. That did not mean that the disciples would not face physical harm or discomfort. We know that they did, but Jesus' prayer was that their souls would be protected from Satan for eternity. Jesus had a purpose for His disciples to be in the world and not isolated from it. He wanted them to represent Him and His Word to those around them. He wanted them to spread His love, joy, grace and truth to others. That purpose and Jesus’ prayer still apply to us today. John 17:20 includes us if we believe in Him.

I think sometimes we expect that if we follow Christ our lives should be comfortable and full of blessings, and so we are always disappointed or frustrated when the opposite happens. We should not expect life to be easy, but we can expect God to give us the strength we need to face it. Are you being criticized by others for your beliefs? Do those people represent Jesus or the world? If they represent the world, do not try to win their approval. Instead, represent Jesus in a way that will glorify God, and trust Him to protect you from the evil one.

At this time of year, many people, like me, find it hard to stay active. If you're not particularly fond of the winter weather, you might prefer to stay indoors. Others, who love winter sports, enjoy getting out in the snow to ski, snowshoe or make snow angels. Personally, I'm a little bit afraid of falling. Since I was hurt in a car accident, my balance isn't as good as it used to be, and because I live near one of the great lakes, we often have blustery and icy conditions. I find it much more difficult to get motivated to go out for a walk on days like that than I do in the summertime. But physical exercise is only one of the ways that we need to stay active.

Last week, we looked at Hebrews 4:12, and I told you that the Bible is "living and active" because it is the representation of the power of God. God still works through the words that He spoke to Bible authors centuries ago, but He also works through us. He has given us the opportunity to share his love and grace by living it for others and by sharing Him and His Word. That is what Roma Downey and Mark Burnett are doing through their dramatic production of The Bible, a series that will be shown on the History Channel for five Sundays starting on March 3, 2013. As I mentioned last week, you can find out more about The Bible Series at the official website, their Facebook page or on Twitter. But I also thought you might like to see a preview, so I have included an extended trailer for you below. After that is part of an interview that Roma and Mark did on 100 Huntley Street. (You can see any interview done on that show at 100huntley.com.)

Here is one way you can stay active: share the news about The Bible television series with friends who might feel hesitant or uncomfortable about reading the Bible, and ask them to watch it instead.