The Dark Night of Our World

I can still remember my first
Batman
flick.
Before the movie even came out I had
read the book
a ton of times. I was so excited to see
Jack Nicholson play the joker and for
Michael Keaton to play the caped
superhero.
The first movie was great, but
inevitably
the franchise was
doomed as soon as George Clooney strapped on the cape
and "ahnold"
ruined everything.

Now it's 2008, and just a few years
after the new Batman Begins, we
have a decidedly different Dark Knight.
Christian Bale brings the
full power and range of his amazing acting skills
to create perhaps
the baaaadest Batman yet.

What makes him so bad? Well, as usual he has
awesome toys to help
his crime fighting skills, but he also does a
masterful job of
portraying the unflinching courage and
unrelenting sense of justice
that every superhero must have.

And then there's the Joker.

All due respect to previous actors who
played the Joker, but when
you compare them to Heath Ledger, they
come up…well…as clowns.

Ledger didn't play the Joker, he became the Joker.
A maniacal
borderline sinister villain who's only pleasure
is found in the pain
of others. He has no fear of death, and his
obvious goal is to bring
every other human being into the emotional
abyss where he dwells…or
simply to end their lives in the cruelest way possible.

Is it possible that in the real world there
exists a form of pure
evil? I would guess that most would
agree - citing examples like
Adolph Hitler or the 9/11 terrorists. But what about
an evil that is
even beyond that? Is there an entity that,
by comparison, lessens
even the specter of wickedness cast by Nazi's
and terrorists?

I believe there is such a creature. In fact
it is this being who is
directly or indirectly responsible for all the
pain, death, and
destruction we witness on a regular basis.

The Bible has many names and descriptions for him.
You would know
him by the title of ‘The Devil', or Satan.
Like the Joker, he comes
at you with a smile on his face - but murder in his heart.

Make no mistake - Satan is real,
or Jesus Christ is a liar. Here's
what our Savior said:

You are the children of your father,
the Devil, and you want to
follow your father's desires. From the
very beginning he was a
murderer and has never been on the side of truth,
because there is no
truth in him. When he tells a lie, he is only doing what
is natural to
him, because he is a liar and the father of all lies .
(John 8: 44).

This doesn't sound like a myth or a made up
personification of evil
to me. Satan is mentioned from Genesis through
Revelation, and
believe me, he loves it when people write
his existence off as a
medieval legend that only stupid people still believe.

What is stupid is to underestimate Satan.
The ‘joke' that he is
trying to play on you is to believe his lies.
For example:

There is no God.
There is no hell.
There is no price for disobeying God.
There are many ways to heaven.
There is nothing wrong with lying, cheating,
hating, lusting, or
anything else you feel will bring you
pleasure or happiness.
If there is a God, He doesn't love you
and can't forgive you.

And I could write a few hundred or even
thousands of other ways he
lies, and tricks, and deceives.

Why? Because he hates us. We are humans created
in the image of God
and the object of His special love. Jesus
gave His life so we could
live forever with Him in heaven, but Satan would
rather see us
accompany him to hell at the final judgment.

So if you end up seeing The Dark Knight - enjoy the film -
and let
the images and feelings of incomprehensible evil
that the Joker
imprints on your soul remind you that
the biggest Joker of them all
waits for you just outside the theater door.

But don't be freaked out, because you can (and should!)
defend
yourself every day. Here's the advice God gives us:

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his
mighty power. Put on
all of God's armor so that you will be
able to stand firm against all
strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against
flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers
and authorities of
the unseen world, against mighty powers
in this dark world, and
against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Therefore, put on every piece of God's
armor so you will be able to
resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then
after the battle you will
still be standing firm. Stand your ground,
putting on the belt of
truth and the body armor of God's righteousness.
For shoes, put on
the peace that comes from the Good News so
that you will be fully
prepared. In addition to all of these, hold
up the shield of faith to
stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on
salvation as your helmet,
and take the sword of the Spirit, which is
the word of God.

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion.
Stay alert
and be persistent in your prayers
for all believers everywhere.
(Ephesians 6:10-18).

God's spiritual body armor is better
than any toy in any Batman
movie - and believe me, you'll need every piece
and every prayer if
you want to survive the dark night that
Satan has brought to this
world.
keep the faith: beck.