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SAVING MELANIE
by Dana Chaffin Saving Melanie, a Christian drama, is now available on DVD. The message of this film is forgiveness, trust, and testing. Most Christian films end with someone being saved, but this one takes the story from the salvation. It shows that just because you are saved that everything does not magically become perfect. The story of this movie is touching, but the story behind the scenes is inspirational. The Story A young single mom, Melanie (Melissa Serrano), is excited about accepting Christ as her Savior. She is very eager to go out and evangelize everyone she meets. Her angry and alcoholic neighbor, Jonathon (Brian Renner), becomes her target. He tells her that she is not ready because she has not passed the "Job test". However; he seems to be in the middle of his own "Job test" and is failing. When Melanie's ex-boyfriend shows up, her faith will be tested intensely. She also learns that God can use the bad choices and situations from our past to help others. Behind the scenes Saving Melanie is the first Christian feature film for producer Jose L. Cruz. He has made several short films in the past before he became a Christian. After watching The Passion of the Christ, Cruz decided to accept Christ and make Christian movies that would touch others like that film touched him. He was also inspired by Sherwood Church (Flywheel, Facing the Giants, and Fireproof). The story of Saving Melanie came about from a conversation Cruz had with his pastor about why people leave their faith. The first draft of the film was written in just a couple of weeks. At that time he did not realize that his own faith would be tested. He would go through a divorce, depression, and was at risk of losing his faith. After many prayers, he felt the answer was to proceed with the film and stay strong in his faith. As the characters in the film went through their tests and overcame them, so would the life of the producer. Cruz says, "The film was his spiritual therapy." He is looking forward to making more Christian features. Have you passed the "Job test"? It is pretty easy to trust God when things are good, but what happens when bad times hit? This film demonstrates the difficulties that can happen to even those who are saved. Scripture tells us that Job was a blameless and upright man that feared God. God allowed Satan to test Job, but he could not take his life. Job lost everything: his children, his flocks, his servants, and was afflicted with painful sores covering his body. Job 1:22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. Job stayed faithful to God and in the end he was given back everything lost and even more. As Christians, even though we may go through tests, we are to put our trust in God. He can bring us all the way through every test. You can find out more and purchase the film at www.savingmelanie.com. Dana Chaffin is a Christian freelance writer and editor of Certain Cinema magazine who has published many articles on faithwriters.com and other Christian websites. Passionate about Christian film. www.certaincinema.com Email [email protected] Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |