A Spiritual Lesson In Video Game Language 10b

Platform: Atari2600

Game: Adventure (Game Clips Are From October 20, 2011)

Topic: Wrong Keys 2: Steal, Kill, Destroy

Lesson PDF link: Wrong Keys 2

Have you ever felt like your spiritual weaponry has been taken away from you?

A lot of times, this happens when you are overwhelmed, stressed out, not feeling your best; you don't have your 'A' game. We have all been there and sometimes it's hard to keep a positive attitude and faith up.

I will now show a clip from my Oct. 20, 2011 game of Adventure from the Atari2600.

For you old school gamers out there, this will be fascinating because this is a particularly rare and cruel pattern, which I call the "Black Bat Defense Gambit"; the bad guys got a huge boost from this joker of a Black Bat. Watch!

What do you see?

I know that this is a decently long clip for a game sample, but after the good part of slaying Grundle The Green Dragon, the game turns disastrous--that Black Bat stole my weapon and is holding it hostage. No matter what I did, the Black Bat would wind up flying in the White Castle's walls and enjoyed making my game heck!!!

Sometimes I would try to "reset" him by taking him away from the scene with no more objects to play with in an attempt for him to be interested in trading the object he carried for the sword (which brings it away from inside the wall)--to no avail. Sometimes I would let him go someplace outside of any more objects in an attempt to change his pattern--to no avail. The game was like this almost the entire game until a solution would be found.

When you're frustrated because nothing goes right, what do you do?

Let's look at some Bible passages to help out.

First, let's look at John 10: 7-10

7 Therefore Jesus said again, "Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep.

8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them.

9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture.

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.

The thief is definitely the Devil, because that's his specialty. Any henchman of the demonic (which the Pharisees were generally proven to be over and over again), will do the same thing, even if unaware. There were exceptions to this, but very few. The Devil wants nothing less than destroying God's handiwork somehow.

Let's look at Ephesians 6: 10-20

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,

15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people.

19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,

20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Yes, we need to do what Paul says to do, or it could mean what this game clip shows.

After the game that the last clip was from, I played another game and it turned out to be brutal because I actually got eaten with the sword in my hand and then the redo wasn't any better, as I got eaten again by the very dragon I got rid of before the other disaster; in life, the same is true, if your not prepared with the right things and with proper reflexes, it can be game over without God and His blessing of the second chance(s); fortunately, God is all determined and happy to give, let me tell you, we need it that way.

So, we need to remember this next passage too. Let's look at 1 Peter 5: 6-11.

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

This passage works on so many different levels, but it never needs to get lost on anyone. Just like these dragons in Adventure, the Devil effectively wants to eat us for lunch. God sometimes has to fish us out of his belly and start again.

What have we learned?

For the answer to this question, let's look at James 5: 13-20.

13 Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise.

14 Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.

15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.

16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.

18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

19 My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back,

20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins. In this passage, we are told to talk to trusted believers about our illnesses, our troubles, our sins, our joys and happiness. This means we get prayed over, anointed with oil for the healing and deliverance, helped, and yes forgiven with the prayers to God from believers. We are told to also have faith in abundance like Elijah.

Sometimes, a believer is the fishing pole, line and hook to rescue a fallen or "eaten" soul. The bait for the hook isn't a trap, it is a way out of disaster. God easily does this by Himself, but chooses a lot of times to use fellow believers in the process of the rescue.

I am so glad that God rescues the lost and "eaten". When the Devil devours anyone, he/she is trapped in a life not going anywhere good spiritually and a lot of times physically. God will rescue us out of bad habits, addictions, sins and failures and gives us a more vivid purpose and productive life.

We need to remember when we are trapped or in trouble to rely on God and not ourselves. God provides the way out and the solution is on the way. We may not even see this solution, but it will come.

Please note that our next "Wrong Keys" lesson is on worry, which is another trap. The solution for the "Black Bat Defense Gambit" will be revealed.