Our Own Worst Enemy: Overcoming and Avoiding Spiritual Emptiness

Not everyone is going to like you. You could be the nicest, kindest person in class or at work, but there will still be at least one person who won't appreciate you. If you make it apparent for example that you're a Christian some may take offense to that. Some simply take offense at seeing the Cross. Sometimes we can be overwhelmed by opposition when you just want to stand firm and make peace at the same time.

Still, while it can be overwhelming dealing with others, often it's ourselves that prove the most threatening.

Many Christians wonder if they've committed some sin that God will not forgive. Some passages like this one make apparent that there is a sin He won't forgive, "...but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven." Many after doing something which sounds like that, (cursing God, denying or rejecting Christ/the Holy Spirit, attributing Him to evil) think that they "lost their salvation." And what is a worst feeling than that? In the last month I've been dealing with a lot of bad thoughts regarding my Christian faith. Many occurrences I thought God had given up on me. But, it took some time to realize that can never happen.

You see, the reason why Jesus says a person will not be forgiven is because overtime a person after so violently opposes God's free gift, the Holy Spirit will stop convicting them. It's not because God rejects them, but because they've made it their personal decision to harden their heart, never once receiving Christ. Did you catch that? If you've already accepted the gift, you've "passed from death to life." And Jesus is the one who holds you in His hand. This means that no matter how bad one gets, salvation can't be lost. Think back, almost every believer has a salvation day. (Maybe you grew up in a Christian home but never actually personally gave your life to Christ, then there's a good chance you aren't saved, so say that prayer now!) At that moment in time you were sealed with the Holy Spirit, "a guaranteed inheritance." Nowhere does it say we ourselves can break that seal...and how could we? It's the seal of God. Look at it like this: Jesus died on the cross for everyone. Our condition then is to "Believe on it" and receive the gift. This gift is "irrevocable" for the truly born again.

This is why sermons and Christian friends make it apparent to others to ask Christ to become their savior now, because it can be too late tomorrow.

Alright, so now that we've established that no born again Christian ever has to worry about losing their Savior, we can then look at ways to overcome and avoid spiritual emptiness when it comes, because it comes to everybody. Too often we become our own enemy when neglecting these things.
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   Adequate Sleep, Diet, and Exercise.

These are somethings your nutritionist will tell you, but I don't think many realize how vital these things are spiritually. For  example, I find when I get anything less than 6 hours rest I can't think properly the next day and end up being exhausted by the afternoon. When one can't think properly, they're easily influenced by outside forces. A proper diet is also basically the same thing. If you aren't eating well enough, it can leave you feeling weak and depressed. It's the same withe exercise. If you're like me and on the computer a lot, you need to make sure you're spending at least 15 minutes on the treadmill, riding your bike, or going for a walk.

Trust me, do these things well and you will yourself becoming stronger not only physically, but spiritually as well.

        Church & Bible Study groups!

It's important to obviously attend church services. Lately I've been finding myself not going Sunday mornings due to work and the rest of my family not being able to go. Because of this, a feeling of disconnection has surfaced. So, do your best to attend church consistently, or find an alternative. (For example, because I'm often not able to go on Sundays I can go to a Wednesday service at another church.)

Now, while church service is important, I don't think many would put youth or Bible study groups in the same league, which I think is unfortunate. Listening to the pastor is always fantastic, but there's something far more personal in groups. Friendships are made. The New Testament makes it clear that it's important to have fellowship with brothers & sisters in Christ. If you're a highschooler, get involved in the youth group. If you're a college student or young adult, get involved in the young adult group. Not all churches have groups for everyone, but if yours does, why not get involved?

                  Christian Music

Almost every highschooler to young adult has an iPod or iPhone. Movies and books are major mediums, but in today's day and age I think it's fair to say that music is probably the most popular form of media with the younger crowd. Many spend at least an hour a day listening to their favorite songs. Ask yourself: What am I listening to? Is it wholesome? Would I want the whole family to listen to it while riding in the car?

Awhile back at my youth group the pastor did a series on music and its impact. It was then that I realized many of the songs I was listening to had some not so great lyrics. These type of songs can creep up on us, because we like the beat so much that we don't realize what it's doing internally. Some songs can make us feel unnecessarily depressed, give us bad thoughts, etc.

Fill yourself with Christian music. Now, this doesn't mean every song has to be a traditional worship one. For example, while Casting Crowns is a fantastic band, many young people might find their more traditional type of singing rather "old school." A common misconception is that Christian music is usually emotional in tone or overly preachy. Bands like Kutless and 33 Miles are examples that produces songs teens and college students can readily relate to. RED is another band which sadly many Christians don't know about. Give them a try, I can guarantee you won't be disappointed.

Continually filling yourself with Christian music will help fight off spiritual depression.

          Prayer & Reading the Bible

These two are obvious. Many of us neglect prayer, only doing it when we need something. It's the same with the Bible. It's always there, and we know we should read it, but don't since everything else is apparently more important. I was like this for many years. After becoming saved, I should have been growing spiritually, but I neglected two of the most important things in sanctification. I look back and wish I had done those two things consistently, because I would have been better prepared to deal with spiritual problems in the present. Nonetheless, it's never too late to start. Set aside Bible reading every night and the morning, same with prayer.
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We become a threat to ourselves when we don't seek to grow spiritually. Look at it like this: Once we become saved we're citizens of Heaven. The war is already won. But we can still lose many, many battles here. We can lose joy and a sense of direction when we try to reject the Spirit Who lives within us. If we don't grow spiritually now, we won't be able to handle problems adequately, whether external or internal. Our minds become weak, and I can speak with clarity that it's hard to function with a weak mind.

So, continue to seek God. Remember, no matter what bad thing or thought you had five minutes or two weeks ago, it didn't change your status. Don't let that hinder you. Just because you don't feel like a Christian doesn't mean you're not. We become our own worst enemy by thinking up crazy things in our heads, believing them, and then trying to go forward on our own. Ask God for help, and He will. And then, put everything listed above into practice. For the born again, life never ends. So get back up, and start again today.

Pokemon Origins Review

2013 was a big year for the Pokemon franchise. If you're even just a casual gamer, you know what I'm talking about. Pokemon X & Y debuted. Not only did it revolutionize the gamplay, it also brought in a lot of newcomers to the series, such as myself. Like a lot of people, I grew up watching the early seasons of the Pokemon anime. I believe I stopped at around Diamond and Pearl. The problem with the anime is that after the Johto Region Tournament, the show didn't really go anywhere. Worst, Ash seemed to have lost all his character development from the past seasons. After Advanced, the show was just a turnoff to longtime fans. Enter Origins. a one-shot being a new adaption from square one. Yes, 'Red' from Pokemon Red Version is the star. For the first time in a long while, a Pokemon anime looks epic. Origins is definitely a great watch. It's a testament to how a Pokemon show should be done.

The story is adapted from the franchise's first game. The main character Red wants to become Pokemon Champion. Along the way he's sidetracked with other things and constantly running into his rival, Gary Oak Blue. A very cook gimmick about this special is that it actually uses the classic battle theme and gaming screens, as if this was the actual game you were playing. It's a nice touch, especially for longtime players. Lets's dive into the meat of things. Since this is based on the very first game, you see a lot of the same characters from the anime's first season. Professor Oak is pretty much the same. Brock is a vast improvement over his comic relief anime self, I enjoyed his many great lines. Sadly Misty doesn't do much or get any lines.

And that's perhaps the only major problem with this special, the pacing. You can't fit a whole game with 8 gym battles in just 90 minutes, or four episodes. You need at least a season of 13. Honestly, this would have been better as a show than one-shot OVA. Red tells us by narration in-between episodes all of his accomplishments. It feels rushed, even his battle with the Elite Four we couldn't see in all its glory. We also didn't get to see how Red's first encounter with Giovanni went down. A lot of the good stuff is just simply done by quick narration.

It's hard to nail down the personality of a silent protagonist from a black and white video game from the 90's. Red pretty much is the same as Ash Ketchum from the earlier seasons, a trainer that loves his Pokemon and does the right thing. Blue is a big jerk throughout, which is expected. But wow, walking away from helping the secretary? He goes from being cool rival to unlikable antagonist. Giovanni is very similar to his anime self, except he's actually less Dr. Eggman and more like a villain. His turnover to disbanding Team Rocket was kinda sudden, (again, this plot development would have benefited from being a series) but nonetheless he was solid.

One of the best things this OVA generates is genuine emotion. In 90 minutes, it showed more emotion than the entire 17 season anime! Cubone's story was incredibly done. But, easily the best thing is that the fights are utterly fantastic. Actual punches are seen on screen and there's a sense of epic-ness the anime fails to portray. This is a testament to how battles in Pokemon should be done. And finally, one of the biggest hyped things was the inclusion of Mewtwo and Mega Charizard. Once again, the fact that it's only 90 minutes doesn't give Mewtwo enough time to have a proper story. But, Mega Charziard was definitely awesome and the fight between the two was just as good as a Dragon Ball Z battle.

Overall, Pokemon Origins is a refreshing new take on the classic game. There's no denying that the anime has turned into a repetitive mess, (at least the current XY anime is so far solid) so it's nice to see a more mature and 'epic' thing. The only real problem is there isn't enough time to invest in a lot of the plot points. Most of the gym battles are done through 5 second narrations. But despite that it's a great watch. Finally Pokemon fights are epic and on par with high-tier anime battles. It's a shame it's a one-shot, hopefully we'll get more down the road.

4/5

Ultraman Manga: Chapter Seventeen Review

The Ultraman Manga continues with a pretty interesting chapter. One thing's for certain, the author is really great at crafting a long story. Here not really anything new is revealed, but there are two plot developments nonetheless. Shinjiro encounters a new alien while Moroboshi's investigation keeps on getting more complex.

The story as stated earlier focuses on two things, Moroboshi investigating and Shinjiro having a conversation with Jack before being confronted by an alien named Red. (More on that soon.) The chapter opens up with a pretty intriguing conversation between Moroboshi and Jack. It's cool because these two are complete opposites. Moroboshi is ultra serious with a zero sense of humor while Jack appears to be more of the laid back lazy type. The conversation with Jack and Shinjiro is just as good however, where we learn that Jack knows Shin is Ultraman.

Red is the new alien encountered. I don't know if the resemblance to Red King is intentional, but the name sort of confirms that. Sady his dialogue is written with alien words, so the reader has no idea what he's saying. We'll see in the next chapter if he's anything but a brute stooge.

Overall, the Seventeenth chapter is pretty solid. Not amazing, but there's enough interesting material to keep the reader invested.

3.5/5