Experiencing Jesus

We got back from the Tulsa Workshop on Sunday. We were there 4 days and it is both exciting and exhausting at the same time. But in a good way! :)

The singing was great! It was great to catch up with friends we haven't seen in a while! And it was great to hear some of the different speakers.

One of my favorite speakers this year was Bruce Marchiano. He played the role of Jesus in the movie Matthew. The movie was taken straight from the book of Matthew and the only words spoken were those that were actually spoken in the bible. We haven't seen the movie yet, but we bought the dvd. I'm excited to have the time to sit down and watch it. Bruce's story is one of the most amazing stories I have ever heard. The movie literally changed his life. Please forgive me as I tell some of it to you. I know I won't have all the details 100 % correct. It's so hard to remember everything exactly when you've been filled with so much. But I will try and do my best.

He talked about some of the specific things that happened while filming the movie. He said he wanted to be as accurate as possible in his portrayal of Jesus and he literally spent every day in constant prayer. He talked about how in one scene, he wanted to get a glimpse of what Jesus must have felt as he was about to speak to the crowd. He prayed and asked God to just give him a small glimpse of what he felt in those moments, what those people needed. He said for a fraction of a second, so much of a fraction that it wasn't even a second, he felt the most overwhelming sense of pain and sorrow. He was flooded with such deep and overwhelming emotion he literally collapsed on the ground and began weeping uncontrollably. The director thought he was literally going to have a breakdown. He said that he knew he only felt one billionth, billionth of what Jesus must have felt. And he said the sorrow was completely unbearable.

He talked about how they would film the scenes leading up to and of the cross. He had them literally beat him after instructing them to be sure and miss his vital organs, because he wanted it to look real. How he had to be strapped to the cross for about 8 to 10 hours a day while filming those scenes. He had a platform under his feet that would be moved out of the way while they filmed scenes and he would literally being hanging with his arms and feet strapped to the cross. How after hanging for so long, when they came to the scene where the nails were going to be nailed into his hands, how even though he knew it wasn't going to actually hit him, the wrenching pain and emotion that overcame him at the sound of the nail being hit was overwhelming. His story is something I will never forget.

Even though I know this was done for a movie and that it was only a minuscule glimpse of what Jesus must of went through. It will forever change me. Bruce says, he knows he only felt one billionth, billionth, of what Jesus must have felt. But his life is changed forever. I hope I'm there when Bruce gets to meet Jesus face to face one day. What a meeting that will be!

He is currently working on a movie about the book of John. I can't wait for that one also. Recordings of the workshop speakers are suppose to be available on podcast (mp3's) within the next couple of months on the workshop website. I encourage you to listen to his story. You will be blessed.

Please be in prayer for Rick Atchley. He was not able to speak at the workshop because his mother past away last Saturday.

I'll leave you with a quote I heard from Don McLaughlin... "Live in such a way that people want to join you on the way to God".

Blessings, Have a great week!

P.S. Next year's workshop is March 27-29, 2008. The theme is "Prayer ~ Our Declaration of Dependence". Mark you calendars now! :)