Recently, someone sent me a link to an article titled This Is What Famous Movies Really Looked Like Without Visual Effects. (My Head Just Exploded). I was simply dumbfounded at the transformation that unfolded before my eyes. Check it out here: http://atchuup.com/movies-before-visual-effects/.
Amazing! We are so blessed to live in a day and age of CGI, or computer-generated imagery. If the purpose of Hollywood set designers and special effects personnel is to get us to suspend momentarily our disbelief and to buy into imaginary settings and happenings, then these photos are proof positive that they have done their jobs well.
In fact, scrolling down to the very end and seeing, by contrast, the special effects extant in the making Godzilla back in 1954, one can really begin to appreciate just how advanced things have now become.
I share this post for two reasons today. The first is the fun of it all. I have no doubt that you will be impressed and amazed at the images presented.
But a second reason I share this is just to remind us all of the fact that life can and does change. At present, you may be in what seems like a rather dull and lifeless world. But the good news is that it does not have to be this way.
Jesus Christ once made the following statement (in the New Testament Gospel of John, 10:10): “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
A broad knowledge of the Bible helps us to understand that the thief Jesus is here referring to is none other than the Devil. Satan brought death and destruction into this world when he tempted Adam and Eve to sin. Ever since then, we have all lived under the curse of sin, to the effect that everything in this world, including us, is in a process of decay, ultimately leading to death.
But Jesus came to reverse all of that. By His own sacrificial death and glorious resurrection from the grave, He has defeated death. Because of this, He alone has the authority and the power to provide new life. Hence, His profound claim as recorded in John’s tenth chapter.
As one who has experienced new life in Christ, I urge you to consider what He can do for you. Jesus Christ offers to transform our lives this very day. He offers to give us life - authentic, eternal, and abundant. And when we embrace that offer, our lives are radically changed.
I have heard it said that eternal life is something consisting of both quantity and quality. Those who are transformed by Jesus Christ are assured that they will one day live forever in Heaven. But they are also promised a full and meaningful life in the here and now as well as the hereafter. Little wonder then that Jesus stated that He offers life to the full!
The words Jesus used were obviously carefully chosen to reflect this. When He said “life”, He did not use the standard Koine Greek word for physical life, “bios” (from which we get biology). Instead, he used “zoe” (from which we get zoology), which implies a fuller, richer type of life.
And He said that this fuller, richer life was available in “full”. The word here is “perissos”, meaning, literally, “all around”. His point is that the life He offers is extensive, comprehensive, expanding beyond all boundaries!
I conclude with reference to another Hollywood film – a classic from an earlier generation that, in its day, equally dazzled audiences. You see, once someone experienced life in the Emerald City of Oz, then life in Kansas just won’t quite ever be the same again!
NOTE: New Testament word studies can be found at: http://biblehub.com/text/john/10-10.htm.
Amazing! We are so blessed to live in a day and age of CGI, or computer-generated imagery. If the purpose of Hollywood set designers and special effects personnel is to get us to suspend momentarily our disbelief and to buy into imaginary settings and happenings, then these photos are proof positive that they have done their jobs well.
In fact, scrolling down to the very end and seeing, by contrast, the special effects extant in the making Godzilla back in 1954, one can really begin to appreciate just how advanced things have now become.
I share this post for two reasons today. The first is the fun of it all. I have no doubt that you will be impressed and amazed at the images presented.
But a second reason I share this is just to remind us all of the fact that life can and does change. At present, you may be in what seems like a rather dull and lifeless world. But the good news is that it does not have to be this way.
Jesus Christ once made the following statement (in the New Testament Gospel of John, 10:10): “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
A broad knowledge of the Bible helps us to understand that the thief Jesus is here referring to is none other than the Devil. Satan brought death and destruction into this world when he tempted Adam and Eve to sin. Ever since then, we have all lived under the curse of sin, to the effect that everything in this world, including us, is in a process of decay, ultimately leading to death.
But Jesus came to reverse all of that. By His own sacrificial death and glorious resurrection from the grave, He has defeated death. Because of this, He alone has the authority and the power to provide new life. Hence, His profound claim as recorded in John’s tenth chapter.
As one who has experienced new life in Christ, I urge you to consider what He can do for you. Jesus Christ offers to transform our lives this very day. He offers to give us life - authentic, eternal, and abundant. And when we embrace that offer, our lives are radically changed.
I have heard it said that eternal life is something consisting of both quantity and quality. Those who are transformed by Jesus Christ are assured that they will one day live forever in Heaven. But they are also promised a full and meaningful life in the here and now as well as the hereafter. Little wonder then that Jesus stated that He offers life to the full!
The words Jesus used were obviously carefully chosen to reflect this. When He said “life”, He did not use the standard Koine Greek word for physical life, “bios” (from which we get biology). Instead, he used “zoe” (from which we get zoology), which implies a fuller, richer type of life.
And He said that this fuller, richer life was available in “full”. The word here is “perissos”, meaning, literally, “all around”. His point is that the life He offers is extensive, comprehensive, expanding beyond all boundaries!
I conclude with reference to another Hollywood film – a classic from an earlier generation that, in its day, equally dazzled audiences. You see, once someone experienced life in the Emerald City of Oz, then life in Kansas just won’t quite ever be the same again!
NOTE: New Testament word studies can be found at: http://biblehub.com/text/john/10-10.htm.