#bible

[tomicscomics]

06/20/2024

That boat is seaworthy... but is the sea worthy?

___

JOKE-OGRAPHY: 1. In this Bible story, Jesus and His disciples set out onto the water to travel somewhere, but along the way, a storm appears. The disciples panic and wake Jesus -- Who was taking a nap -- and ask how He can sleep while they're about to die. Jesus tells them to calm down, then tells the storm to the the same, and everyone/thing listens to Him. 2. In this cartoon, I basically tell the same story in simpler terms, but I also give the crashing wave a face and a redemptive character arc, because I find unbalanced joy in personifying natural forces and making them bow to God. 3. In the first panel, the "KILL US ALL" line (in addition to Peter and Andrew's faces) are a reference, but I've decided to play coy about their inspiration. Still, you're free to try some guessing. I'd enjoy a little game. And just to show you have my blessing, take this hint: my very name.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: By the way, this is actually another "Tomics Resurrection," where I've taken an old cartoon and drowned it in the cold, sucking darkness of ⋆✧RENEWAL✧⋆! It's like baptism! And hold onto your wrinkles, old-timers, 'cause this resurrection is pulling from the very first year of Tomics! That's right, the old and new versions are a DECADE apart! I fully redrew it (as usual) and updated the dialogue and color selection, but I liked the framing and pacing of the original, so the actual meat of the comic remained the same. How does it compare?

[christiansinternational]

[thewordfortheday]

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." - Ephesians 4:29

Honestly if we scrutinise our lives, most of us are guilty of gossiping one time or another. Even in churches gossip finds its way, wrapped up stealthily as prayer requests. Gossip damages its victim's reputation and eventually destroys their character.

Paul gives us two clear guidelines in order to overcome gossip. Number one, weigh what you are about to say, whether it's going to be beneficial, number two, will it build the person up.

Gossip divides families, it ruins friendships. We don't want to be someone who sows discord, do we?

Be a unifying force in the church and in the society.

Matthew 5:9 says, "Blessed the peacemakers for they will be called the children of God."

If you are struggling in this area, pray with me: Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips, in Jesus' name, Amen.

[dailyeffectiveprayer]

I pray I don’t mishandle what I prayed for.

[ellelovesjesus]

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.””

‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭1‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

[lovechristianity]

Do you want to be known on earth or known in heaven?

[artthatgivesmefeelings]

Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (Italian, 1727-1804) La Oración en el Huerto, Detail, 1772 Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid "He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done" (Matthew 26:42). - The Bible

[rightshewrites]

The enemy is strong but the Lord is stronger!

[tajcox]

[christiansinternational]

[thewordfortheday]

“Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary, use words,” the famous quote goes.

Some Christians believe it’s enough to just let others see the way we live.

I beg to differ because it contradicts the Great Commission. Jesus said, "Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone." Mark 16:15 In order to preach, we definitely need words.

Some people think that our behaviour and deeds should draw people to Christ. It may or may not, because I have seen good people in every faith, who are loving, caring and generous. But as you know, that is not going to take them to heaven. They too need to hear the gospel. They too need to call upon the name of Jesus, in order to be saved.

How, then, can they call on the One they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? – Romans 10:14

May the Lord give us boldness and courage to share the gospel to those around us and may our actions substantiate our message.

[faithinhimforevr]

𝓟𝓻𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓫𝓼🍯

[simplyshaniqua]

[dailyeffectiveprayer]

Have confidence in knowing that God heard your prayers and has a perfect plan for your life.

[artist-issues]

*peeks in* hiiii, I know I've sent you like 10 asks or something crazy in like twenty minutes but I have one more whoops

what do you think about The Chosen? I know I have very strong grievances against it (y'know, the fact that they are adding things to the Bible is really sus), but also recognize that unbelievers are watching it (especially with their families) and learning about Jesus and Christianity when they would not be otherwise. I still think that the cons outweigh the pros though.

what do you think of it?

Full disclosure. I have only seen maybe the first three or four episodes of the Chosen. I also attended church with and have met and had conversations with Dallas Jenkins. I supported it.

And I hate The Chosen.

If all of reality is a story that God is telling—the timeline is His, we, the characters, are His, the Main Point/Theme is His—and it is—then that means, that when telling His Story, God chose how to tell it.

When a storyteller creates their world and their characters, they know everything about that story and those characters. But they chose not to tell everything. They choose to cut out some details that are irrelevant to how they want their audience to get to know their characters, for the purpose of perfectly communicating their Main Point. Deleting scenes and hand-picking which details get screentime is part of storytelling.

So God saw and ordered the moments where Jesus was probably laughing with His disciples, or playing with children, and God/Jesus chose the tone of voice that He preached in. Those moments, those things, happened.

But He didn’t choose to tell us about all of them.

He, the Original Storyteller, the Perfect storyteller, told the most important story of all time. And He told it perfectly. And He chose to omit some scenes that actually happened and some details about what Jesus and the disciples were like, walking around together.

And those choices were right. They were the best way to tell the story.

But then Dallas Jenkins comes along and says, “No, God, you cut some of the best scenes. People need to see how like us Jesus was. Yeah, I know You told them how much He was like us—but I think they need to see more. You won’t let me see the deleted scenes? That’s okay, I’ll make them up. And then I’ll re-tell Your story—it wasn’t relatable enough the first time when You told it.”

The more someone thinks Dallas Jenkins was trying to reach people by presuming to tell Jesus’ life story better than God Himself has, the worse the implications are. He thinks he can tell the most important story of all time better than God did?

No wonder he makes so many freakin mistakes. No wonder the Jesus-character in Jenkins’ show goes “maybe”—He uses the word “MAYBE?!”—when He, who is supposed to be TRUTH ITSELF, is PREACHING.

That doesn’t make sense, Jenkins. And not only does it not make sense, but you just contradicted the literal Bible, which mentions over and over the authority and exact words Jesus preached with. And you know what else you did? You got the most important living thing in all of existence, the most important man who ever walked this earth, completely wrong. And that’s what you’re “reaching people” with.

It’s awful. So then when the little interviews where he’s partnering up with cults and people of different faiths that believe vastly unbiblical things about the real Jesus to make this show, or when members of the cast are all “sin is awesome,” or when Dallas Jenkins says something outrageously disrespectful to people who are mad at him for mischaracterizing their God on social media…this is my surprised face.

Because I saw what he was doing and it didn’t sit right with me three episodes in. The most important question any human being can genuinely answer in their lifetime is “Who is Jesus?” The most important story you can ever be exposed to is Jesus’ story.

And The Chosen gets both those things so horrifyingly wrong—but the whole time it’s dressed up like this earnest, God-honoring attempt at evangelism and love. When really it’s a cash-grab, a heartstrings-tangler, and a vanity project for Dallas Jenkins.

Thanks for asking.

[jacfalcon]