The Rise of Mommy Porn

Few passages in the Bible are as graphic and sexually explicit as Ezekiel chapter 23. This chapter is full of the details of the depravity of two women - sisters, which represent the nations of Samaria and Jerusalem. I want to comment on this chapter because there is much we can learn from it given the current female movement of "mommy porn".

Chapter 23 of Ezekiel is an allegory of two sisters named Ohola and Oholibah. I found it very interesting that the names of these women derive from the word "tent" or "my tent" and it insinuates a place of worship. Both these women prostitute themselves and revel in their lust. They are used, abused, and defiled and they seem callous to what these men do to them. Ohola is spoken of first. Her children are taken from her, she is then shamed and then killed with a sword. Seeing how her sister is shamed and murdered, you would figure that Oholibah would learn, but on the contrary, she follows in her sister's footsteps and becomes even more depraved than her sister and took her degeneracy even further. Through the middle of the chapter God speaks to her and tells her what the consequences are because of her lewdness. Her children are impacted, her body is impacted, her mind is impacted, and ultimately her relationship with God is impacted. This is a chapter full of disgust, sadness, sorrow and death.


I want to focus on Oholibah now and what happens to her. I want to talk about what she does and how she ends up because I believe this allegory of this idolatrous nation, can help us understand what sexual immorality can lead to.

The story of Oholibah begins in verse 11. She sees her sister murdered and doesn't learn from Ohola's experience. She sees her children taken from Ohola. She sees the men strip her naked and then sees them run her through with a sword. As women, we have also seen it. We have seen the woman who is abused and returns to her abuser. The woman who committed adultery and shattered her family. The woman pursuing love in all the wrong places while neglecting her children. The woman addicted to sex and one-night stands, longing for a true relationship. We have seen it, but what do we do with what we see? Oholibah doesn't learn and maybe even thinks that what happened to her sister, won't happen to her. The problem is that she ends up fornicating with the same men that killed her sister! But look at verses 14 through 16. She sees men portrayed on a wall and lusts after them. Women, she is looking at pornography! She sees that they are handsome and virile and she craves them, she wants them, she yearns for them. Ladies! What are our eyes looking at? With books out like "50 Shades of Grey" and movies like "Magic Mike", the story of Oholibah rings clear. God abhors ANYTHING that causes us to lust, because what is lust but another form of idolatry. So Oholibah sees her pornography and lusts after these men. She goes after them and they in turn release their lusts on her. At first, she seems disgusted in herself. That is what one usually feels at the beginning of any sexual sin. At first it makes us feel dirty, but practice makes perfect and sooner than later, the conviction of the Holy Spirit is gone. Oholibah continues with her mess. She forgets that what she does impacts her children. She even gives up her children to false idols. Her entitlement is more important to her. She feels she deserves to feel free and liberated and it costs her her children. Then after all her fornicating, after all her sin, after she does all her filth, she goes to church - or in this case synagogue. She goes to worship God and doesn't find Him. She turns to booze and soon becomes depressed. What she thought was her liberation, ended up being her enslavement. The Lord let her destroy herself. He gave her what she wanted and released her to her sin. What is so sad about Oholibah is that she was His. She belonged to our Lord and acted like an unwanted orphan.  She is ruined and becomes desolate. She ends up being murdered also. Ladies, this is serious. What we allow ourselves to let in, impacts us.

I know many might think what harm can a movie or a book make. I have heard plenty of times that Satan's greatest weapon is to tell people he isn't real or that sin is no big deal. This is precisely what Satan wants you to think, after all a fictional book is no big deal because it's not real. Well, pornography isn’t real, but it affects our marriages. TV drama is not real, but affects our youth. Violent video games are not real, but it affects our children. Magazine pictures are not real, but they affect our self-esteem.The list goes on and on. What we view, what we see, what we read affects our heart and mind. Jesus mentions it several times when He speaks on the inner self. If you hate in your heart, it is murder. If you lust in your heart, it is adultery. If anything replaces your love for Him, it is idolatry.  If you want something that is not yours, it is coveting. What goes on in our heart and mind is excruciatingly important. So much so that it nailed Jesus to the cross.

Ladies, anyone who reads or views this kind of mess unrepentantly and calls herself a Christian is just like Oholibah. She is prostituting her mind and heart. Remember Oholibah means "my tent". What is our body and mind? It is a dwelling place of the most High.  I Corinthians 6:19 says that we are not our own and our body is His temple. 

"50 Shades of Grey" is a depraved romance novel that uses pain and torture as a means for arousal. Is this the equality that women have fought for? To be used and abused for the arousal of a man? Is this supposed to be romantic? Is this how Jesus loved His bride? Just because a woman wrote this book does not mean it is okay to read. And just like Oholibah, this filth impacts your mind, your children and above all your relationship with God.

Ezekiel 23 ends with this warning: "So I will put an end to lewdness in the land, that all women may take warning and not imitate you.You will suffer the penalty for your lewdness and bear the consequences of your sins of idolatry. Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord. ”

Let us learn from Oholibah and not imitate her and remember that her despair spiraled out of control when she saw the images on the wall; when she had feasted her eyes on those lewd things. Let us make a covenant with our eyes (Job 31:1) and think of pure things (Philippians 4:8). The risks and the consequences are not worth it. 

Brave - Movie Review

Pixar did it again! Another great movie and this time the protagonist is a human and female. Yes, Merida is the defiant daughter of King Fergus and Queen Elinor. With a mop of wild red hair and a burning free spirit to match, Merida sets herself to run her own fate. Angered by her sudden betrothal and parent's search for a suitor, she embarks in making her own destiny. She defies tradition and female protocol by becoming an agile archer and ignoring proper feminine etiquette. But it is this stubborn spree that turns her kingdom upside down.

Full of laughs and Scottish wit this movie is a laugh-out-loud success. The scenery is just beautiful and the animation is fantastic! There are several times when it is a little difficult to understand the characters due to their Scottish brogue, but I think that might be the point. True to their feisty nature, there are several brawls and fights.  The movie also really takes us into their culture, including some cliches and cuisine.

The only thing that a Christian family might have issue with this movie is that there are two scenes where several rear ends are exposed. Because all the men wear kilts, maybe it was bound to happen. So yes, there are several men walking around at night and their butts are in plain sight. The other scene is of the King's red-headed, trouble-making triplet boys as they run around naked in a field, but again, it is only their rear ends that are shown and briefly. Towards the end of the movie the Queen mentions that she is "naked" under a tapestry and the King tells the on-lookers to look away. There is an older very heavy set woman that also has very low cleavage. It is not sexual in any way, she is just a rotund gal. There is a key that she hides in her bosom that the triplet boys end up getting from her and a brief close up shot of one of them diving in to get the key is shown. Also, for smaller children there is a very ugly black bear that is shown several times and one scene that includes a brutal bear fight that might be a bit frightening. There is no gore or blood though, but the bear does get hit several times with multiple arrows. True to most fairy tales, there is magic, spell casting and a witch, but nothing scary.

Overall the movie was fantastic! My daughter (4) never took her eyes of the screen. The movie has a great moral ending that we can all learn from.

Some subjects you can talk about with your children: Pride, Female and Male roles, Forgiveness, What haggis is made up of, Scottish heritage, Stubbornness, What is marriage

Rating: 8 stars out of 10
Length: 100 minutes
Rated: PG for for some scary action and rude humor

Book Review - The Murder of Jesus

I am always amazed at the impact the Cross still has on me. To the Christian, the Gospel should never cease to astonish us. Jesus died for us while we were still sinners and that just shakes me to the core. The torture and shame that He endured for someone as worthless as me momentarily brings me to a sense of unworthiness (and rightly so); but then elates me and makes me forever thankful for His salvation. It brings the quote: "God doesn't love me because I am special. I am special because God loves me" to a heightened understanding.

The Murder of Jesus magnifies the last hours of Jesus' life and provides a lot of information of all the surrounding factors that lead to the death of our Savior. The whole book is an exegesis of arguably the most crucial point in Christian history. John MacArthur uses all four Gospels wonderfully as he unravels the story of, as MacArthur states, "the worst crime ever committed". He also provides information about the world of the Pharisees and other religious leaders. He goes into the Greek of many important words several times throughout the book in order for us to get a better grasp of what the author was trying to emphasize. Several times he does give just his personal opinion on things, but he is always clear to say that it is just that, an educated opinion.

Jesus says in John 10:17-18: "The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life —only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” This statement resounds throughout the book. The evil that was done to Jesus confounds us, but it is still easy to forget that Jesus was in control of what was done to Him. Not for one second, did He lose control of the situation.  He allowed this to happen. Jesus even told Pilate in John 19:11 who truly was in control! 


This book was a great read and I recommend it to anyone that is wanting to learn more about the surrounding factors of the trial and execution of Jesus. Because of it, I love my Savior even more for what He did for me and it opened my eyes even more to the sovereignty of God. 

Warnings: The book is not nearly as violent as it could have been. So this book is appropriate for younger readers.
Pages: 243
Rating: 8 stars out of 10
Click here to order the book through Amazon


John MacArthur included a webpage for this book. Click here to view more commentary and information about the murder of Jesus.

The Children of Henry VIII - Book Review

I just can't get enough of this part of history! These stories are better than any soap opera just because they were true! This book covers the stories of Henry VIII's 3 children: Mary, Elizabeth and Edward; and his great-niece Jane Grey - she is also known as the "9 days queen". 
The unbelievable drama of Henry VIII did not end with his death and this book tells of the incredible events that shaped religious methodology and eventually affected every American Christian. If you own a Bible written in English, you can thank this era and the many who died to give the people the Word of God. After the death of Henry VIII, beliefs on polar opposite sides battled for the "true" religion to reign in England. Power swayed between the Church of England and Catholicism and back again. All this lead to was torture, betrayal, intrigue and martyrdom and both sides suffered. You feel sorry for every single one of Henry VIII's children as they all struggle to survive as rulers - most don't.

If you are a lover of Tudor history this is a great read. Alison Weir is an excellent writer and doesn't leave you too long bored with tons of trivial information.

One thing that I didn't like too much was that it didn't speak any on Elizabeth's reign. The book ends with Elizabeth accepting the honor of becoming Queen of England. 

You can order the book here.

I give this book 7 out of 10 stars
It is 366 pages.

God - The Evidence Book Review

The back of this book says: Is Science Uncovering the Face of God?

I picked up this book because it sounded interesting. As a Christian, my faith is not based on science, at all. That is why it is faith. God does not need to prove Himself to me, it is innate in all of us to "know" that there is a God up there. Some just refuse to believe, and point to science as a reason for their unbelief. On the contrary, science is pointing more and more to a Designer and many scientists - because of their refusal to be lowered from their god-status - are forced to take different approaches or make things up to twist their results to their beliefs. Science to me, just brings a new dimension to my faith. I adds to my faith. It compliments it. Faith comes from hearing, not from a science book. Now can revelations in new scientific discoveries open the eyes of a non-believer, of course, but true faith is not based on science, but on who the Holy Spirit points you to - Jesus.

Saying that, this book should be read by the mature Christian. Every chapter contains information to compliment a Believer's faith. Some of the stuff in it is great! It basically proves God exists. The only problem I had with the book is that the author quotes Gandhi quiet a bit towards the last chapter, and the last chapter leaves room for a different way to get to Heaven. So please beware, Christian reader of the last chapter in the book which speaks exponentially on near-death-experiences.

Other than that, the book was great and really got me excited about the new discoveries that are pointing towards God. Other books I would recommend if this topic interests you is Lee Strobel's "Case For" books. You can start your search for these books here.

If you would like to purchase God - The Evidence click here.

I give this book 7 out of 10 stars
It is 169 pages long

Asado de Puerco

This is a very easy dish and is a bit on the spicy side. So if jalapeños are tough for you to eat, you might want to use only 4 chiles instead of the 7.  This is an authentic Mexican dish that is popular in Northern Mexico. I used, as a base, a recipe from "The Authentic Mexican" cookbook, but I did tweak it a bit. I added the flour and peanut butter to thicken the sauce. The peanut butter gave it a smoother texture and removed some of the heat. Click here to buy the book. This came out just perfect! I made some home made flour tortillas to go with it!

Ingredients:

7 Medium dried New Mexico chiles, stemmed and seeded
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/2 an onion diced
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. cumin
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 lb. pork shoulder cut into 1 inch cubes
2 C water
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp. flour
4 tbsp. peanut butter

Directions:
1. Heat a cast iron pan over medium heat and place the chiles on the skillet. Be sure to lay them flat. Toast them on both sides by pressing down on them with the back side of some tongs. Do this for only about 2-3 minutes on each side. You will see them change colors. Then cover them with water and submerge them for about 30 minutes in the water, then drain and reserve 1 cup of the liquid.

2. Transfer the chiles, the reserved water, the garlic, the onions, the cumin and the oregano onto a blender. Blend until smooth.

3. Using the same pan, heat the oil and brown the pork cubes until they have just turned brown. About 8 minutes.

4. Add the puree in the blender to the pan and continue to cook until the sauce turns darker. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan to get all the pieces of the pork. Cook for a total time of 5 minutes or so.

5. Transfer the pork and puree mixture to a bigger pot and add 2 cups of water and salt. Bring heat to a low simmer.

6. Whisk in flour and peanut butter.  Simmer over medium heat for 1 hour add more salt if needed. Stir occasionally.

 I hope you enjoy this delicious dish!

Anna

Sherlock Holmes - A Game of Shadows - Movie Review

What a fantastic movie! Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law do a marvelous job in the second movie of Sherlock Holmes! If you loved the first movie, you will absolutely love love love the second one! I will even say that it is better than the first! This movie is definitely going on my Christmas wish list!

In the movie, Sherlock Holmes is dealing emotionally with facing the reality of his best friend (Watson) being married. There is also another crisis afoot and Holmes again menacingly lures Watson into another case. The cinematography is phenomenal and there are several "Holmes' views" in the movie where everything is done in super slow motion with pain-staking detail.

Of course, there are scenes that just plain crack you up and scenes where you're squirming in your seat. Thankfully the movie is free of vulgar language and sexuality.

There is a scene were Watson, at his bachelor party, becomes intoxicated. There is also another scene where both, Holmes and Watson are intoxicated. There is partial nudity scene of Mycroft (Holme's brother), walks around the house naked. His backside is shown, but there is NOTHING sexual about it. Some girls swing on some trapeziums but they are modestly dressed. There is smoking throughout the movie. There is a scene where Holmes dresses up like a woman and there are some sexual insinuations while Holmes and Watson wrestle on the ground. There is a pretty brutal torture scene where Holmes is suspended by a butcher's hook. There are several fight scenes where bones are broken.

Movie length: 129 minutes
Rating: PG-13

My Rating: 10 out of 10