Would Jesus Play The Beatles: Rock Band?

No seriously, would Jesus play The Beatles: Rock Band?

Tell me this question gets you thinking, or at least pondering this concept. As you know, this video game has taken the world by storm, outsold Guitar Hero 5, and thousands, if not millions, of teenagers are being introduced to the Beatles magic that stormed the world the first time nearly 50 years ago!

To recap, four mop-topped lads from Liverpool, England, put a little garage band together and within a few years, were the first group in history to play in sold-out stadiums around the world. John, Paul, George and Ringo became household names, and to this day we can see the continued ripple effects from the incredible splash The Beatles made when your parents were infants.

Yes, I think Jesus would play The Beatles: Rock Band and here’s why:

There was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee

The same Jesus who turned water to wine can quench your spiritual thirst and bring joy and freedom that no rock band has ever known.

Jesus’ mother was there and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus’ mother told him, “They have no more wine.” 

“Dear woman, that’s not our problem,” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.” 

But his mother told the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 

Standing nearby were six stone water jars, used for Jewish ceremonial washing. Each could hold 20-30 gallons. Jesus told the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” When the jars had been filled, he said, “Now dip some out, and take it to the master of ceremonies.” So the servants followed his instructions.

When the master of ceremonies tasted the water that was now wine, not knowing where it had come from (though, of course, the servants knew), he called the bridegroom over.  “A host always serves the best wine first,” he said. “Then, when everyone has had a lot to drink, he brings out the less expensive wine. But you have kept the best until now!”This miraculous sign at Cana in Galilee was the first time Jesus revealed his glory. And his disciples believed in Him (John 2:1-11, NLT).

This was the first miracle Jesus performed and it revolved around keeping the party going. How? Well, wine in that day was symbolic of joy and celebration and if the groom’s after-wedding party ran dry, it was a serious offense—in fact, the people could have had him arrested! Notice that Jesus not only attended the party, but he made sure the joy and celebration continued—which tells us several critical things about God’s one and only Son.

First, it’s obvious that Jesus loves to connect with people. When he wasn’t preaching or teaching, he was hanging out at social events that seriously offended the stuffy stuck up religious folks. They weren’t mad because he went to parties; they were ticked because he had such a great time at them! Can’t you see Jesus and the disciples laughing it up over a video game if they had a 1st Century PS3? I sure can…only the lyrics then would have been “God loves you, yeah yeah yeah.”

You know what else? This account shows us that the reason Jesus went to parties and hung out with “sinners” was not to judge or condemn them—it was just the opposite. Jesus got involved in people’s lives so he could let them know there is a way to find true and lasting joy and celebration that isn’t found in a bed or a bottle. This kind is guilt- and consequence-free, and the freedom it brings turns the bitter waters of life into a spiritual wine that never runs out.

And guess what? Jesus offers the same miracle to us!

He can he turn depression into joy…

He can turn fear into hope…

He can turn emptiness into contentment…

He can turn sin into grace…

Most importantly, he can turn death into life.

The Beatles brought a feeling of happiness and enjoyment to a world in need of an escape from the turbulent 1960s, but I’ve got a feeling you would also like to say hello goodbye to yesterday and get back to feeling fine. The same Jesus who turned water to wine can quench your spiritual thirst and bring joy and freedom that no rock band has ever known. Trust him for salvation and don’t keep the good news to yourself. You have friends that need more than just a little help—they need the true message of salvation.
Here comes the Son!

Flashpoint:  Ignite Into Action
Ask your friends if they think Jesus would play The Beatles: Rock Band, then talk about Jesus’ habit of attending social gatherings and connecting with people so He could share his message of salvation and freedom. Share Jesus’ message with your friends.

Accelerant: Feed the Fire
The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor" (Luke 4:17-19).
On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners" (Matthew 9:12-13).
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed (John 8:36).

Faith & Films

Not Just Child's Play in "Where the Wild Things Are"

Release Date:  October 16, 2009
Rating:  PG (for mild thematic elements, some adventure action and brief language)
Genre:  Action/Adventure, Drama, Adaptation
Run Time:  101 min.
Director:  Spike Jonze
Actors:  Max Records, Pepita Emmerichs, Catherine Keener, Steve Mouzakis, Mark Ruffalo, James Gandolfini (voice), Chris Cooper (voice), Catherine O' Hara (voice)

Clocking in at a mere 339 words, Maurice Sendak's beloved children's book Where the Wild Things Are easily proves the "less is more" adage that a truly powerful story can be told without going on and on and on.

When that aforementioned book, classic or not, is optioned for big-screen treatment, well, it's going to take a substantial effort, namely a smart screenplay, to make a truly memorable transition.

I'm guessing this is something that director Spike Jonze (Adaptation, Being John Malkovich) anticipated, too, so with Sendak's blessing, Jonze eventually recruited acclaimed novelist Dave Eggers, who co-wrote Away we Go, another sparse indie pic that also frequently favored style over story development.

Even with two talented writers onboard and a mostly faithful rendering of this seminal coming-of-age story, Where the Wild Things Are is ultimately big on imagination and arresting visuals but seriously slight of script. Truth be told, not much actually happens, which isn't exactly the best use of 101 minutes. Or enough to satiate most people's need for the plot to keep moving.

Unlike, say, the recent adaptation of Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs where the source material's themes and takeaway value were creatively stretched to feature film length,Where the Wild Things Are starts off promising and quickly peters out after the first 30 minutes.

In fact, if you're thinking this is a flick for the whole family to enjoy, you'll probably want to think again. Not only is the mostly melancholy movie a decidedly adult look into a child's world, but Jonze's more abstract, artsy storytelling approach won't likely impress anyone under the age of 14. I liked it and my wife says I act like a 12 yr old so what do I know...

But for anyone willing to look past the film's flimsy, wafer-thin storyline, there are still plenty of cinematic treasures in Where the Wild Things Are nonetheless.

While it definitely has the independent movie spirit, right down to the use of humans in giant monsters' costumes a la The Muppet Show rather than opting for fancy CGI trickery, the filmmakers make up for a lack of bells and whistles with an intricate, gorgeously crafted landscape.

Adding further artistic embellishment and a sense of drama is a delightfully whimsical soundtrack featuring Jonze's ex-girlfriend, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O. Rather than simply steering the proverbial ship from an emotional standpoint, the music effectively captures every conflicted mood without invading any of the characters' space in the process.

And considering that many movies' soundtracks feel like nothing more than a vehicle for encouraging everyone watching to download the songs to his/her iPods once the credits have rolled, this is a true accomplishment.

Also making the flick potentially worth the price of admission is the skillful, unpretentious performance of the lead character Max (Max Records).  As a lonely, misunderstood kid who runs off one day (to where the wild things are, natch) when he no longer feels loved by his mom (an engaging Catherine Keener) with a new boyfriend (Mark Ruffalo in what's essentially a cameo), Max isn't just another cute, precocious child actor. Instead, he's real and relatable, full of rage and playfulness just like any other kid on the planet.

With fantastic acting, thrilling visuals and the occasional wild escape to the forest with the furry, lovable and sometimes scary monsters in tow, this time-honored story is brought to exquisite, vivid life. However, given the slow pacing and severe lack of action, there's a good chance that some adults will probably enjoy the journey more than the kids will.

CAUTIONS:

• Language/Profanity:  "Hell" is used once.
• Sex/Nudity:  None.
• Violence:  There are a few scary moments and action scenes in the woods with the "wild things" but it really is nothing to get crazy about
• Tone:  Although this is a much-beloved children's book, the slow pacing and melancholy feel makes it more appropriate for adults than kids. It is a good watch though, check it out

UKRAINE - Church bombed in Ukraine

UKRAINE - Church bombed in Ukraine

On Oct. 14, a homemade bomb was thrown into the Calvary Chapel church building in Kaharlyk, Ukraine, the building is also the residence of Pastor Wayne Zschech and his family.

At 7 a.m., Pastor Zschech's wife awoke to the smell of smoke. Fire officials put out the blaze which caused minor damage to the building. The six people asleep in the church at the time of the attack escaped without injury. The assailants spray painted "Out with Sects" and "OYH," an abbreviated name for a Ukrainian Nationalist movement, on the church wall. Pastor Zschech later said, "We pray that the Lord would call people to salvation and that he would build up his body. We rejoice in being chosen worthy to suffer for the sake of our Lord and his Gospel. We do also pray for safety but hold this prayer out with open hands."

Thank God no one was hurt in this attack. Pray that the perpetrators of this attack will be brought to justice and come to faith in Christ.

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Daily Devotion

Relentess Crickets

Psalm 29:2 Ascribe (give) to the Lord the glory due His name; worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness. Created to Worship Have you ever wondered why God created crickets?  Quite frankly it’s never been on my top 10 list of things to question until last night at 2 a.m.  Unable to sleep through the uninterrupted chirping, I searched for the cricket that had full intention of pulling an all-nighter in my home.  He had picked the wrong house for a nocturnal concert. I’m assuming God had any number of good reasons to create crickets.  Although, I’d be hard pressed to come up with a list on four hours of sleep. When it comes to the purpose of God’s creating people, however, there’s nothing to question – no reason to wonder.  God created us to worship him. He created us to give him praise for who heis and for all of the wonderful things he has done.  He created us to delight in him and enjoy him forever. Psalm 29:2 says, Ascribe (give) to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness. As we pray and read the Bible, sing his praises and tell people about Jesus – all should be expressions of our worship.  But that’s only a part of how we worship God.  Our work, our play, our decisions, our family life and friendships, our homework, our after-school activities, our thoughts, words, and actions, our joy and our pain – each should be offered as worship to our God. Worship is not a luxury or an option or even our Christian duty.  Worship is what we were created to do!   It is our purpose in living.  It is the reason we breathe.  May we be as relentless as crickets in our desire to delight in and worship God today and throughout eternity. Today’s Prayer: Jesus, all praise and glory be given to your name!  May I always give you the fame you deserve.  Thank You for who you are and for all that you have done for me.  Show me how everything I do, say, and think can be an act of worship to you.  Thank you for creating me to worship you!  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Girl Auctioning Her Virginity!

A young college girl is auctioning off her virginity to the highest bidder. Natalie Dylan, a 22 year old college student is auctioning off her virginity and the bid is now up to $3.7 million. $3.7 million? If you are shocked, join the club. The young student wanted a way to raise funds for her college tuition and eventually found it online. By using a brothel in Las Vegas, she’s able to sell a one night stand legally. But what’s even more surprising to me is that she wants to use her college degree to be a family counselor. You can read all about it here./news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/article4222155.ece


The last line of this particular article is classic. I gotta give Natalie points for getting this one thing right. Natalie concludes:
  “It’s shocking that men will pay so much for someone’s virginity, which isn’t even prized so highly anymore.”

The concept of purity, cleanliness, or righteousness is something which is lost in today's society. People live in such a way as if there are no consequences for the things they do in their life. However, living a life in such a way often means that one's life is completely filled with the mire of sin. According to Romans 3:23 "all have sinned" and are therefore impure and unclean; however, Christians need to be always removing the waste of sin from their lives. Christians should also be striving to sin less and less in their lives.


Christians should desire purity in every aspect of their lives. They should want purity physically, mentally, and spiritually. We should take care to keep our bodies pure and free from sin. We should constantly be wiping the slate of filth from our minds. We should be focusing on presenting a true devotion to the Lord. Christians should be pure in all aspects of their life. They should have pure speech, pure dress, and pure attitudes in everything they do. A Christian's actions often speak louder than their words. In fact, in 1st Peter 3:1-2, the Bible states that a Christian woman may win her unbelieving husband through her respectful and pure conduct.

Here are a couple of verses to consider when studying the topic of purity in the Bible:

Philippians 4:8: "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

1 Peter 1:22-23: "Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God . . ."

 What areas of your life need to be purified from sin? That question is also directed toward me. I must always evaluate my life, and remove sin and other stumbling blocks in my life. Christians must always be seeking purity, for it is an ongoing state of life in the Lord which must be maintained

Don’t Make the Animals Sick!?

This sign makes me question wether the owner has had an animal get sick because of “bad human” food.

Daily Devotion

In God's Spotlight

John 3:21

“Whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”

Living in the Light

Imagine you are playing the lead role in the school drama production. The cast has rehearsed for weeks on end until everyone knows exactly what to do on every line of every scene. The curtain goes up and the play begins. After about thirty seconds you realize that the house lights are on while the stage is in total darkness. Woe be unto the lighting guy if that happened!

When we go to a play, the audience sits in darkness while stage lights illuminate the actors. Spotlights may even follow the movements of key characters to emphasize the importance of what is happening. In a similar way, athletes don’t hide away in the darkness as they set out to win the state tournament. And, professional musicians stand on stage and strut their stuff under huge spotlights so everyone can enjoy the performance.

When we’re living in the light rather than in darkness, others will see what we’re doing. God’s Word is like the script or musical score that we practice until we’ve got it down pat.

We read it over and over, and we practice doing what it says. For instance, we might read Ephesians 4:29 which says, “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.” After thinking about this verse, we realize that certain off-color phrases and expressions have snuck into our conversations lately. We determine to correct ourselves. After a while a friend will realizes that we’ve cleaned up our language and asks us why. When that happens, God’s spotlight is shining on us full strength. As a result, it may be possible for us to tell our friend a little something about our relationship with God.

This one example shows how the truth of God’s Word comes into the light by the way we live. If we will practice the principles of scripture, eventually someone will notice and wonder what’s up with us.

Today’s Prayer:
Dear Lord, please show me ways of letting your light shine through my life. Help me not to be afraid to do what your word teaches, even if it means being different from my friends. Please, give me the confidence I need to live in the light. Help me let your goodness shine through my life and make my friends want to know you, too. Amen.

Daily Devotion

Standing Firm Under Fire

Daniel 1:8.

“ Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine.”

How God blesses pure hearts

Imagine yourself in Daniel's position. As a member of the ruling class of Israel, he had been among the first Israelites taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar's conquering forces. Now he found himself under the control of a high official in the Babylonian government who ordered him to train for three years for a position in service to the king. The menu at the "royal training center" included rich meats, deserts and wine. Some items on the menu were not only unhealthy, but also taboo according to Jewish law.

Because of their Jewish training and strong convictions, Daniel and three of his friends took the risk of requesting a different diet. Four teenaged slaves of the most powerful ruler on earth approached the head guy in order to strike a deal. They proposed that they become vegetarians inso they could avoid offending God's dietary laws. Surprisingly, the commander agreed to let them have their way for ten days--undoubtedly believing that they wouldn't deteriorate too badly in such a short time.

Imagine the guard’s amazement when the four young men turned out to be significantly healthier than the rest of the trainees at the end of the test period. Having passed with flying colors, Daniel and his friends were allowed to continue their special diet.

However, the real test came at the end of the three year training course. Would they make it? Would they barely squeak by? Would they fail miserably? None of the above. When the tests were finally scored, the four Jewish vegetarians got the highest scores in the class. And not just a little higher. They scored ten times better than even the most experienced magicians and enchanters in the kingdom. God chose to bless Daniel and the others who maintained their values and obeyed his laws.

Every day we face decisions similar to Daniel's. Our friends, classmates and teachers place temptations before us that provide opportunities to either compromise or obey God. Will we participate in conversations or actions that smudge God’s reputation? Will we write an essay that reflects the world's ideas about an issue instead of God's? Will we chicken out when God gives us a perfect opportunity to identify ourselves as Christians? Or, will we choose to stand firm and become lights shining in the darkness?

God frequently places us in situations that demand taking a risk in order to do what we know will please him. The Lord blessed Daniel and his friends because he stood up for what he knew would please him. He will do the same for us. So, what will you do the next time such a situation arises in your life? Will you cave in and follow the crowd? Or, will you stand your ground in order to please God?

  Today’s Prayer:
Holy Father, make me strong like Daniel. Help me every temptation to compromise as an opportunity to please you and receive your blessings. Give me the inner strength I need to dare to be different as I obey you. Amen.

Daily Devotion

Amazing Love

1 John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. God is Love Another really important attribute of God is His love. No human being can love us as much as God does. His love for us reaches to the farthest corner of the universe. We can't begin to imagine how great it is. We can understand it in only one way. We have to think about how much love it took for God to have Jesus die for our sins on the cross. God’s love for us goes way beyond the natural love a good father has for his children. The fact is, God loves us even when we are rebelling against every one of his commands. Every person who has been born since Adam sinned has inherited a sin nature that makes sin more attractive to him or her than goodness. You can observe this fact in action next time you hang out with your friends. Are you ever called names because you won’t do something good or right? Not likely. But, friends and classmates will tease you and call you names for not joining them in an activity that is wrong or hurtful. It’s way harder to do the right thing than it is to follow the crowd into sin.

Because of our natural attraction to sin, we are not God’s friends, but his enemies. However, he loved us so much that he sacrificed, not his own life, but the life of his son. That is way harder. Paul puts it this way in Romans 5:7-8. “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” God loved us so much that he sent Jesus to die for our sins. Every once in a while I hear a story about a father who jumps into Lake Powell to save his child who has fallen into the water. Sometimes the father is successful. Other times he's not. Sometimes, someone else in the boat rescues the child, but the father dies. I am always amazed at how much a father will sacrifice for his child. If God loves us so much that he gave his only son to save us, he will absolutely care for us in every possible way. He will make sure we have what we need to grow and mature, both physically and spiritually. He will keep us safe. He will never let anything come into our lives that would hurt us in our relationship with him.

The fact of God’s love makes it possible for us to have peace even when things aren’t going like we want them to. God is all-powerful and he loves us perfectly and without any expectations. He never allows us to suffer unless it fulfills a part of His great plan for our lives. He uses both the good and bad things of our lives to make us mature and spiritually beautiful. What a treasure we have in the promise God gave us in John 3:16! “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Today’s Prayer: Loving Father God, I surely am glad that I don’t have to earn your love by being good. I’d never make it. Thank you for loving me just the way I am. Thank you, too, for using everything in my life to make me more like Jesus. Most of all, thank you for giving Jesus to die for me so I could know you and live with you forever.

A Theology for 'Thug-ology'

A Theology for 'Thug-ology'

In our culture today there seems to be a growing glamorization of the thug. The bad guy is now the good guy.

We see this in so many areas of popular culture, from movies, to sports, to music. Let's start out with something that's a little bit of all of that: professional wrestling (even though you could argue that there's not much that's professional about it). That being the case, I must admit that I was raised on professional wrestling. 

I remember as a kid, watching wrestling on television, that it was so easy to tell the good guy from the bad guy. The good guy usually had blond hair, blue eyes, wore light-colored trunks, and smiled at the crowd as he shook hands while strolling to the ring. The bad guy usually had dark hair, dark trunks (which says something about good/bad stereotypes and racism, but we'll save that for another column), and yelled at the crowd as he went to the ring.

Telling the good from the bad isn't as obvious today. A guy comes out from backstage in dark trunks and is yelling at the crowd all the way down the aisle. He gets in the ring and gives the crowd the finger and then smashes a beer can on his face. But the crowd is cheering for him. Yep, he's the good guy. The bad guy, the glamorized thug, has been morphed into a superhero. If this were true just for professional wrestling, maybe it wouldn't be worth a column, but it doesn't stop there.

Music

Two of the biggest rappers today in mainstream hip-hop culture are Eminem and 50 Cent. They both have street credibility, which is important to young people buying their products. This street cred' derives from these two rappers' claims to have lived out most of what they're rapping about. Eminem uses his art form to talk about his dysfunctional mother, his drug use, and his fantasies of killing his baby's momma. 50 Cent claims to be a real gangsta, with real bullets still inside his body. He's really sold drugs, really beat people down, and all this and other real raw truths are the reason he's broken records for first-day record sales.

Then there's another popular rap artist in Tupac Shakur, who many young people claim isn't dead, but living somewhere on an island and making a comeback soon. Tupac is the immortal thug who was shot, spent time in jail for raping a girl, and was affiliated with ultimate-thug label Death Row Records. These rappers not only influence the inner city youth culture, but stay in business by attracting a strong white, young, suburban following…in life and death.

The Big Screen

What about the movies? Terminator movie has made it on the scene. When this trilogy first began, the terminator was a futuristic, thug machine sent back in time to take out the mother who would birth the savior for the human race in the upcoming war against the machines. In Terminator 3 the thug machine is a good guy (as it was in T2) sent back again, this time to save the very child whose mother he was out to kill in the first movie. Another movie Freddy Versus Jason, sees two serial-slasher thugs going head-to-head like some virtual immortal combat video game. Who's the good guy and who's the thug in this movie is for us to decide, I guess.

Then there are shows on cable like The Sopranos, in which the mob boss thug can kill, cheat, and exploit, yet have his character deepened beyond the tough-thug exterior down to a more caring and sensitive man who seeks guidance from a counselor. There's even a book that attempts to attach a theological slant and place some sort of biblical and redemptive halo over the head of this mob boss thug.

Ice Cube and Ice T both used the urban, black, gangsta thug role to spring board into major motion picture roles. And what about the young thug who went from the Titanic to lead one of The Gangs of New York? But these thug-characters-turned-heroes are merely branches grown out of a tree that encompassed The Godfather trilogy, The King of New York, The Warriors, The Mack, and Scarface, to name just a few.

Sports

Last but not least there's the arena of true professional sports (lest you think I thought professional wrestling was a true sport). Not only do we see the rise and glamorization of the thug athlete with characters such as Allen Iverson, Randy Moss, Mike Tyson, John Rocker, Dennis Rodman, and the ultimate gambling-but-not-on-his-own-team thug, Pete Rose, but now we see clean-cut athletes coming out of the thug closet, as in the case of Kobe Bryant. 

Now my point isn't just to bash all these people and talk about how youth workers need to keep all the kids in our youth groups away from these characters and all those influenced by them. Snoop Dog, a West Coast thug rapper, was recently asked to define what a thug is. His response was to say that President Bush was the biggest thug he knew. Needless to say, thug-ology is all around us. It's in movies, music, sports, and yes, even politics. Thug-ology can point to people who think they're above the law, people who try to justify immoral behavior on the grounds that they grew up in a messed-up neighborhood, the cut-throat business dealer, the politician obsessed with power, or the Robin Hood type who claims to just be trying to bring justice to the poor by keeping it real.

A Christian Response

Whatever the case, young people are being influenced through popular culture by thug-ology in many ways. It's in the fabric of our society. So what's a Christian to do with all of this? Do we create youth ministries that shelter young people from the thug-ocracy? No, we simply follow the ministry methods of Jesus, who, instead of trying to shelter people from the thug, targeted the thug in his ministry. Jesus sought out the thugs of his day and offered love, grace, and most importantly, transformation. Jesus cared about the thug, the outcast, the gangsta, the playa.

"They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. He lived among the tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain; for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; and no one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him." Mark 5:1-6

If the thug is so influential, why not proactively create a ministry to the thug, offering an opportunity to raise up former thugs to become radical evangelists? Jesus had an agenda for the thug. When the thug in Mark 5 saw Jesus, he ran to him. Jesus created an environment right then and there to heal the young man of the internal hurt and pain that was oppressing his soul. Jesus created a refuge so that the demons on the inside of the young man would know that they weren't welcome any more. Jesus loves thugs.

Are you in denial about the thug influence on the young people around you? Are you proactively developing a ministry to reach high-risk young people in your midst? Do you think because you're not in inner-city ministry this issue has nothing to do with you?

At the highest level of youth ministry training there's a need to give serious consideration to the thug-ology factor in assessing what's influencing the youth culture. There's a need for youth ministry professionals to know enough about hip-hop and urban culture to know what gangsta rap is, its influence, and also to know that there's more to hip-hop culture than this thug element. Finally, there's a need for a thought-out theology of thug-ology that takes into consideration thug influencers, high-risk young people, and those affected by them.

Jesus didn't run from thugs; they ran to him. And in turn he offered an environment of transformation. Let's be the ones who raise the standards and be the hands of Christ reaching out to them!

Daily Devotion

No Competition Allowed

1 Samuel 5:1-3 After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. Then they carried the ark into Dagon’s temple and set it beside Dagon. When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the LORD! God is Jealous for our Friendship Today’s passage contains one of the funniest stories in the Bible. Between what we read about yesterday and today’s passage, the Philistines had soundly beaten Israel. Rather than being defeated because the Israelites had brought the Ark of the Covenant into their camp, the Philistines wiped them out. Then, they captured the Ark and placed it into the temple of their own god Dagon.

They probably assumed that the God of the Israelites was really wimpy and didn’t deserve their respect or fear. After all, they had demolished Israel on the battlefield in spite or the Ark’s being there. What they hadn’t counted on was another element of God’s character—His jealousy. God won’t share space with any other god. In fact, he proved that on the first night the Ark was in the temple of Dagon by knocking the idol of Dagon to the floor, making it lie face down in the dirt. We could say that Jehovah made Dagon “assume the position”, just like cops do to criminals when they arrest them. While this story is funny, it carries a very serious warning to us. God won’t share space in our hearts with any other person or thing either. It’s sort of like the way little kids make a big deal of being best friends. The ultimate threat when they disagree is “You’re not my best friend anymore.” God wants to be our only best friend. He wants for us to spend time with him, listen to him, enjoy him, and obey him. He doesn’t want for us to make him share our hearts with our friends at school or our video games and music.

That seems pretty selfish at first. If any of your friends demanded to be the only one you hung around with, you wouldn’t like it. In fact, you would probably stop being that person’s friend pretty quickly. But, God is different. He knows that the only way we can really have peace, joy, and contentment in our lives is to become what he made us to be—his best friends. When we try to make him share our hearts, he knows we’re heading for trouble. If we don’t act like his friendship is the most important thing in our life, we miss out on the greatest adventure we could ever hope for—the adventure of loving and serving the Almighty God who is the Creator of everything. Today’s Prayer: Dear Lord, please help me to keep the very best place in my heart for you. Help me love you and learn to be your best friend. Teach me how to talk to you, listen to you, and enjoy your company. Amen.

Faith & Films

Childhood Officially Left Behind in "Half-Blood Prince"

Release Date:  July 15, 2009
Rating:  PG (for scary images, some violence, language and mild sensuality)
Genre:  Fantasy/Adventure, Adaptation, Sequel
Run Time:  153 min.
Director:  David Yates
Actors:  Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Jim Broadbent, Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Gambon, Dave Lageno, Tom Felton, Bonnie Wright, Jessie Cave

Forgoing the usual light comedic exchange between Harry Potter and his Muggle family in the opening sequence of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, it’s immediately apparent that the next two and a half hours won’t simply be Hogwarts as usual.

Instead, it’s much better.

Juxtaposing a far more ominous tone with the clumsy romantic entanglements of its teenage protagonists, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is easily the funniest, darkest and most ambitious film of the series. Thanks to eye-popping cinematography from Bruno Delbonnel (Amélie, A Very Long Engagement), engaging storytelling with plenty of emotional resonance and the continued growth of Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint andEmma Watson as actors, it’s a particularly remarkable feat, considering how much the stakes were raised in J.K. Rowlings’ novel the story was based on.

Although a few plot points were inevitably tweaked for the big screen, a move that’s been widely debated among the blogosphere’s fanboy contingency, the flick’s strict adherence to the spirit of the book should still delight longtime fans. And for those who haven’t already boarded the Hogswarts Express in the past, well, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Princeprobably isn’t the place to start because there’s not much that’s going to make all that much sense without the proper backstory.

In fact, context is really everything for the forthcoming festivities as the story begins without anything resembling a preamble. Basically, when Harry’s longtime mentor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) shows up with a mission in mind for his young student, Harry isn’t the least bit surprised. In fact, he says he’s learned to “just go with it after all these years” whenever Dumbledore comes calling.

Then before the audience really has time to grab another handful of popcorn, Dumbledore instantly transports them to a nearby London suburb, where they meet up with the story’s most important new character:  Horace Slughorn (an engaging Jim Broadbent), a retired professor who once taught at Hogwarts. Intent on having Slughorn come back to his post, Dumbledore’s motivation only becomes clear much later in the story.

Along with Horace’s return to Hogwarts, Harry and his pals Hermoine (Watson) and Ron (Grint) must do the same. While their easy, joking camaraderie as friends is still intact—a quality that can’t help but make the audience like these characters—there’s a strong sense that this year at Hogwarts isn’t going to be schooling as usual either, especially since the reappearance of Voldemort and his followers, the Death Eaters, at the end of the last film, 2007’s Harry Potter and the order of the phoenix

With the Death Eaters’ foreboding presence, in the form of a smoky black streak coursing through the surrounding area and causing destruction at every turn, Dumbledore wants Harry, “the chosen one,” to have a better understanding of his enemy. Through a magical viewing pool called a pensieve, Harry is able to access the memories of Voldemort that Dumbledore has collected over the years. Hoping this will provide Harry the key to Voldemort’s weakness when he faces him again, Dumbledore is preparing Harry for what’s sure to be a huge showdown in the series’ last story, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which is split into two films releasing in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

While dealing with the whole Voldemort situation, there’s another, far less threatening, but still powerful force that has overcome the students at Hogwarts—teen romance. Offering a nice bit of comic relief in these otherwise serious times, it seems everyone (including Harry) has been bitten by the love infatuation bug. Not only has Hermoine’s thinly veiled crush on Ron become far more pronounced (a scenario that’s very enjoyable to watch, especially when she’s green with jealousy, given the affection that Lavender [Jessie Cave] lavishes on Ron), but Harry has his eye on Ron’s sister Ginny (Bonnie Wright), a romance that slowly and sweetly develops in the midst of Harry’s focus on far more volatile matters.

Rather than feeling tacked on, a result that could’ve happened without the proper care, the romantic subplot provides a more human glimpse of these teens with a knack for wizardry. No matter how the world may be crashing down around them, Harry and his friends are still ruled by ungovernable forces like hormones and need each other’s friendship and support like never before.

As one of the enduring themes of the Harry Potter series, friendship eventually evolves into self-sacrifice as the story wears on. Without revealing any major plot details, this sacrificial turn is precisely where this beloved children’s series, not to mention the characters themselves, make their way into very adult territory. Feeling the weight of his fate as “the chosen one,” Harry, along with his pals, are heading toward the ultimate battle between good and evil, one replete with religious symbolism and overtones. And more than ever before, the character of Harry is positioned as the Jesus figure, a symbol of hope in a hopeless world, a timely reminder that certainly won’t be lost on any Christians who happen to be watching. I highly recomend this great movie.

RUSSIA — Pastors Fined for Worship

RUSSIA — Pastors Fined for Worship

Recently, two Baptist pastors in Russia's Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad were fined 2,200 rubles (US $75) after their church members "sang psalms and spoke about Christ" on the street, according to Forum 18 News Service.

Kaliningrad police told Forum 18 News that the pastors did not get permission in advance to sing, as required by law. Asked why permission is necessary, a police official replied, "That's the law in Russia!" Aleksandr Legotin, one of the two Baptist pastors, insisted that the Baptists held a religious service and not a demonstration, so the legal requirement to notify the authorities in advance should not have applied. "We follow the law very carefully," he told Forum 18 News. "And under the Universal Declaration [of Human Rights], we have the right to freedom of conscience. The law should be … protecting us from such arbitrariness."

At last report, the pastors had not decided whether they would appeal the fine. I encourage you to pray for the believers in Kaliningrad and other countries in Europe where their freedom to worship freely is coming under attack. Ask God to encourage and protect them.

Daily Devotion

A Spiritual Science Experiment

1 John 1:7 If we walk in the light, as he is in the light . . . the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. Fruit of the Spirit Suppose a student chooses to test the effects of light and darkness on the growth of seeds for a science fair project. He gets some marigold seeds from the store, plants them in four Styrofoam cups, and waters them. He places two of the cups in a dark closet. The others go into a sunny window. In a couple of weeks, the seedlings appear. For a few hours, the plants in the dark and the ones in the light are quite similar. Two tiny green leaves break through the soil and begin to grow. Within a couple of days however, the plants in the closet turn yellow and begin to die, while the ones in the light grow and get more and more leaves. The experiment proves that plants have to absorb light in order to have the energy needed to grow, bloom, and make seeds. The same is true of our spiritual lives. We need to live in the light in order to grow and become fruitful. Galatians 5:22-23 describes spiritual fruit as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These attributes are in stark contrast to the ones Paul listed as acts of the sinful nature: Jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambitions, envy, etc.

Let’s imagine a spiritual science fair project in which we try to become more and more kind. At first, we determine to observe how we act after a few days of listening to rap music that encourages rebellion and watching television shows that glamorize gang members who commit violent crimes. We may continue the experiment by hanging out with some kids at school who like to sneak around after dark to paint graffiti on the sidewalks in their neighborhoods. Would we become more kind or less kind after a week or so? Next, let’s imagine that we do exactly the opposite for a couple of weeks. We listen to music that encourages us to love others in the same way Jesus did. We read accounts of young people helping others through short-term missions projects. We watch uplifting TV programs and movies. We might even volunteer to paint some classrooms at the local community center or play games with the children who gather there after school. Would we become more or less kind after a week or so? Clearly, kindness could grow much better in the latter situation. We tend to become like the people we hang out with. So, if we hang out with mean and violent people, we will become increasingly mean. If we hang out with kind, generous people, we will become kinder. Living in the light means developing relationships with people who will help us become more like Jesus. We grow in godliness when we choose our friends based upon whether they have the kind of qualities God approves.

Those friends will be more likely to do what Jesus would and that will help us do the same. Good friends definitely help us walk in the light as Jesus is in the light.Today’s Prayer: Dear Jesus, you are the very best friend I could possibly ever want. You always love me and accept me. You even forgive me when I mess up. Please help me choose friends who will help me grow godly fruit in my life. Also, please me be the kind of friend who encourages others to become more like you every day. Amen.