Category: J.R.R.Tolkien

Run to the tower
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Run to the tower

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Run to the tower.

Tolkien wrote a lot of novels that were never celebrated, many of which are barely even known about. I have a favorite set called Tales from the perilous realm. Because, of course, all adventures and all fairy tales can be perilous. He writes of two little dogs staying in a tall tower with the man on the moon and the two little dogs venture too far away from home 1 day and end up bothering a large dragon, and the man on the moon has to save them. And as they’re running away from the dragon, they’re running as fast as they can back to the man on the moon’s tower because they know that they are safe within his tower.
God calls himself our strong tower. But in a world where we don’t really have towers anymore, we have condos and high rises, we forget what a tower means. Towers were fortresses, probably made out of Stone or clay brick. They were strong.They were a place the enemy could not get in. Because it was protected by the king’s guard and by the king.
Run to his tower. He is a fortress for when I am weak. A place where I can hide. God is a place of refuge. His loving arms always open to receive us and always strong to protect. So when we travel too far from home and bother the great dragons, run back to the tower, the door will be open and he will protect you.

They calls us names for they have never seen the true enemy
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They calls us names for they have never seen the true enemy

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“They call us all sorts of things for they do not know what we are protecting them from. And we wouldn’t have it any other way, because if they knew they wouldn’t be able to live in the peace they have now.” – Paraphrased from The Fellowship of the Ring.

They do not know what we protect them from. We see the soldiers being torn to pieces on social media so often. But we have no idea what they have faced. Dogs come back broken and scared of everything because of the sounds and scents, the people are no different. The scars aren’t always visible, but they are always there. My family has a military history from my uncle who served in Vietnam to my Opa who was Dutch underground. We know the pain and sacrifice from the stories they brought back that have been passed down through the years, but so many do not have such stories to turn to for learning. I think of my boyfriend from Jr. High, his dad came back from Afghanistan with PTSD. If you looked closely at him you could see the emptiness in his eyes. It was like inside his mind he had never left. It was a frightening thing to see, and so sad. Those who have never seen the death and decay have no right to judge.

In a simile we could say those who do not know the enemy of their souls calls us names. We as Christians are supposed to be soldiers on a different front, though sometimes the same one as well. We are called to fight in prayer and petition against the enemy of our souls. The world attacks us with their words because they see this enemy as a friend and don’t realize that, as Larry Norman once said “he promised to love us, but that was a lie, there was blood in his pockets and death in his eyes.” The world does not see that the devil is a deceiver so they attack those who oppose him, but of they knew the truth their peace would be shattered until they found true peace in Jesus.

Our soldiers fight for freedom of bodies and wills, the Church fights for the freedom of the soul. We need both very very desperately. God help us to see that we need those who are willing to fight and bless and protect the soldiers. Amen.

The enemy cannot win forever
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The enemy cannot win forever

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Remember in the Two Towers? When Frodo and Sam are walking on the road of the old kings that had been taken by the enemy and they came across the statue of the great king. Violent hands had knocked off the king’s head and replaced it with a rock with a symbol of the enemy as a mockery to the king of old. Yet in the grass where the old king’s head lay, beard broken off and stone scarred, flowers of tiny gold and silver blossoms had encircled the kings head, crowning it once again, as if in honor to the old king, and Frodo said, “the enemy cannot win forever.”
I see in my mind an image of Jesus. People have marred it and the enemy set up something honoring himself and mocking Christ in the place of where Jesus’s earthly honor once stood. Yet there are still some who refuse to bow to the enemy, some who wish to be jewels in the true King’s crown. In a moment of sun in the dark world my heart cries out, “the enemy cannot win forever.” The true King will return in all His glory as He really is, not as how the enemy has made Him appear. He will vanquish all evil and we who honored Him still, even when it looked like He might be defeated, will sit at His feat in His throne room and be blessed by His presence. This will not last forever. Whatever darkness is getting inside your head, whatever fear you feel, whatever evil you see, it will all be destroyed when the King returns- when Jesus comes back to take us home. Long live the King!

For such a time
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For such a time

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Lent day 13

For such a time

In the movie The Fellowship of the Ring, it is not until the oppressive dark of the mines of Moria that Frodo regrets having the ring. (Why ot deviated from the book here I will never understand.) In the book however, it is in his safe and happy home in the Shire where he first feels this dread. I find this important. As soon as he knew that the Ring was evil he wanted rid of it, he wanted to have no part in it, he wished it had never come to him, while safe in his home and fire blazing in the harth and a full stocked cupboard.
If only we as Christians would have the sense of Frodo. If only we would hate evil long before we ever truly saw it’s face. To find a device of it in our hearts and throw it away quickly. Instead we feel like we are part of something by keeping bits of evil around, by supporting things that are clearly sins or groups that disclaim the Bible and destort scripture to serve their own purpose. We let these things in and feel like we are smart, powerful, or even accepting by drawing close to sin. Then when the darkness is so great that we finally see it for what it is, it is too late. We need to flee from sin while we are still safe in our houses, not wait until we are face to face with the true evil, the puppetmaster if you will. Because in the end, all sin is of the devil, no matter how pretty the package. Letting even a little in and thinking well of yourself because of it will lead to greater sin until you are consumed, and all sin leads to hell, unless you bring it before Jesus and repent. Ask Him to deliver you and forgive you. He can do it even after the sin has grown and the bare face of evil stands before you, or within you, yet it’s easier on you if you turn to Him while the sin is still small and you are still safe at home, with a blazing fire and a full cupboard, long before you wander into the cold and dark.

Lent devotional 22
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Lent devotional 22

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Petra-

The first people to inhabit Petra were Nomads called the Nebataeans. When they first found the rock Fortress they used it as a stronghold for their families and their merchandise. Later they gained control of the central incense and spice trade; and then, due to necessity, began using Petra as a Market Hub because it was located conveniently between Asia and Arabia. We know about these people and what they did and how they lived because of detailed, yet sometimes hard to decipher, wall “journals”. Scribes had etched into the stone walls a history of the nomads who first inhabited here. When and how these people were driven out, or simply chose to leave, is vague. Later in the Kingdom years, the city belonged to the Edomites who we know from their battles with Saul and David. It has been suggested by Scholars that the Fortress / Safe Haven of Petra fell to ruin because Edom gave aid to Nebuchadnezzar when he destroyed Jerusalem. It is believed that in Jeremiah 49:16,

You have been deceived by the fear you inspire in others and by your own pride. You live in a rock fortress and control the mountain heights. But even if you make your nest among the peaks with the eagles, I will bring you crashing down,” says the Lord .
Jeremiah 49:16 NLT

God is speaking of Petra or Sela. Now the once-vibrant city lies as a reminder of what happens to those who harm God’s people. This city makes me think of Helm’s Deep from Lord of the Rings. Helms Deep was assumed to be a fortress where you could hide in times of attack; a place to keep your goods and your valuables so they wouldn’t be stolen by Raiders, and yet it wasn’t powerful enough to protect the people. In the end it was just a stone building waiting to crumble. Petra was seen as a fortress not only by the nomads who discovered it but also by the Edomites who conquered it later. But the stone Fortress was turned into nothing but a reminder of the devastation of God’s hand. He claimed he would make Edom like Sodom and Gomorrah. And he did. All Edom did was aid Babylon, but they aided Babylon when Babylon was besieging God’s holy city and God’s people and that was a mistake. God will never leave your battles unfinished, you may never even see it happen, but someday the stronghold your enemies hid in as they attacked you will lay empty as a sign of what God has done for you.

Footnotes :
American Natural History Museum
NLT
Got questions- answers to Bible questions 

I believe in you
Blog · Christianity · Devotional · dreams do come true · encouragement · free · J.R.R.Tolkien · Jesus · searching · True Joy

I believe in you

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A friend is someone who believes in you more than you believe in yourself.
It is so easy to doubt yourself. All most people see is their failures and that’s so sad. Why do people ask for someones opinion and then get angry when they don’t like what the other person says? Because we are all insecure and need someone to pat us on the back and say ‘well done kid!’ We search for compliments and assurance from others because we don’t really believe in ourselves. That’s why we need friends whom we can trust. If a trusted friend gives their opinion you are more likely to accept that it is true. A real friend will always cheer you on and spur you forward, but will also give you advice and hold you back from reckless things. If JRR Tolkien hadn’t had great friends to encourage him he might have never published the Lord of the Rings. Usually our friends can see more to us than we can see ourselves. You know what I am about to say. Jesus is the one true friend we all have and He is known for spurring us forward in the right things and holding us back in the wrong. Listen to Jesus because He believes in you. Even if He is pulling you back it’s not because there is something wrong with you,  it’s because there is something wrong with the situation. Trust His words and His timing, He is a friend who will always believe in you, you just have to believe in Him.

A warning?
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A warning?

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`Warning? Warning against what? ‘ said Boromir sharply.

‘Against delay. Against the way that seems easier. Against refusal of the burden that is laid on me. Against-well, if it must be said, against trust in the strength and truth of Men.’

The breaking of the fellowship, LOTR

Hard times come; some of which we can choose whether or not to accept. If we hold back from God’s will because we know the road will be hard, isn’t that wrong?
Tonight I heard my mom praying for the courage of Paul, it filled my heart. Paul’s courage was challenged and tested and yet still he fought on because he knew Jesus. He knew there was a greater reward. Never once did Paul hesitate to do God’s will and never once did he trust in the truth or strength of men. Now he is one of the most well known and debated upon authors in the Bible. Why? Because he refused the voice of the devil when he called him away from God. Paul had spent enough time doing the devil’s work that he knew it held no reward. Paul trusted in the God who saved him, Paul did not delay or deny God’s task. Paul went forth in courage because his faith was in God.
Oh, the things we can learn from God’s disciples.

Prostrate before Him
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Prostrate before Him

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Has God fallen off His throne somehow?
No? Then why don’t we treat Him like our King anymore?
Jesus is our Best Friend, that is true, but if you are best friends with the King you still treat Him as King.
In Lord of The Rings, when the Elves come to fight for Helm’s Deep Aragorn still bows to his friend, before giving him a big hug. Aragorn is no less of royalty (by birthright) but he still shows respect, one may even go as far as to say that he shows reverence to the Elvin lord, why? Because that is what you do. That is what is right.
(If my memory on that scene is a little off please forgive me, it has been some time since I last read those masterpieces of literature.)
We have an inheritance with Jesus, that is very true, but even younger siblings bow to older siblings within a royal household, because their birthright gives them that respect.
Always bow before our King’s throne, before running to Him amd giving a big hug. He deserves worship, but He also loves us and having us as His friends.

Soldiers
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Soldiers

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Soldiers

Home is behind, the world is ahead, (J.R.R. Tolkien). I usually see this phrase of this song as a sentence of awe and thrill. Images of camping and wooded trails, tall mountains and pounding waterfalls overtake my mind and I breathe deeply. However that was not the scene around this statement. In the Lord of The Rings masterpiece epic, ( I mean the novels) Pipin sings a song of what would seem to be great adventure, in fact it is a song of war. They left their homes behind and took to war. Trenches and hill tops and beaches. Skies, oceans and forests. Deserts and mountains and jungles. Comfort left behind, loving arms and gentle words long forgotten as feet ache in heavy boots and backs sweat under heavy packs. You almost don’t dare make friends because you don’t know how long you will get to hold to these people around you, but you become family. Our soldiers learned the line Jesus said about true friends, and what Paul said, Rare for a person to lay down their life even for a righteous person; perhaps for a good man one would dare to die for.-Paul ( this is not a direct quote)
Our soldiers dared to die for those they never met. War is UGLY! Suffering and death happen and it is awful! But freedom doesn’t come by hoping for it. We should always honor those who suffered and died, AND those who suffered and live, because our freedom came from their blood. Hate war always, hate our soldiers NEVER! They did not ask for the wars they fought and fight in, but they saw the suffering of the innocent and had the courage to stand up and do something about it. God bless our soldiers! Semper Fi.

I found the cover image on the internet and hope that it is okay that I used it because it is so powerful. My uncle was in Vietnam and this painting reminded me of the few stories that he was able to tell when he got back.

Dragons and kings
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Dragons and kings

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God is not like smaug, the great dragon from the Hobbit, where when we come into His lair trembling and say “I had heard stories about you but I did not believe them,” he stands back from us flexing the scales across his chest and blowing a snort of smoke out of his nose he proplaclaims, “and do you now?”
In contrast when we come up to Jesus trembling saying, ” I had heard stories of you my Lord, but I did not believe them.” He looks at us with love and responds, “I know, I have been waiting for you to come and see me for yourself.” Then He hugs us and all our fears and sins and scars melt away and not only do we believe the stories we now know the man they are about and we know He loves us. His gentle embrace following us everywhere we go until we get to live with Him in His kingdom. There is no dragon pride, just the gentle/powerful/all knowing/unending love of a king.

(Credit to owner for the cover image)