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 teens are being introduced to the Beatles magic that stormed the world the first time nearly 50 years ago!

To recap, 4 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. 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 is 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 xBox?  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 – in fact, 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 too would 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!

No doubt about it – Slumdog Millionaire is a film that people have taken notice of. As the winner of 4 Golden Globe awards and nominee of 10 Academy awards, it has caused mixed feelings across the globe – folks seem to either love it or hate it.

I guess the love comes from the ‘rags to riches’ storyline that intrigues all of us who occasionally daydream about getting on a game show like Who Wants to be a Millionaire and making enough serious bank to never worry about finances again.

Or perhaps the semi-worship of Slumdog lies in the ‘boy finds girl at all costs’ sort of thing. After all, doesn’t every guy want to rescue a lady in distress? Isn’t there a desire to be valued and liberated in the heart of every woman?

So yeah, cool plot line, action, adventure, romance – and (in my mind) perhaps a more deserving winner than The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a.k.a. ‘Forrest Gramps.’

Then there are the haters of Slumdog Millionaire. Why? Well it really isn’t a film thing, plot thing, or even an acting thing.

It’s a religious thing. Slumdog apparently portrays Hindus and Muslims in a ‘negative’ light. There are scenes of religious riots in the slums of India where people are killed in the name of a conviction… and it appears that this doesn’t settle well on either side of the ‘my god can beat up your god’ conflict that rages all over the planet even as you are reading this.

I have a friend who tells me all the time that the world would be better off without religion. That the bad parts of religion outweigh the good and it is simply a power play for the powerful to control the weak.

And I agree. Religion wars are the shame of planet earth and religion is simply mankind’s unsuccessful attempt to earn back a right relationship with the Creator God of the Universe.

That’s why Jesus Christ was so harsh with the religious people of His time. Check out His view of the folks who used the name of God to chase their own agenda:

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either.

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hellyou yourselves are!

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens,but you ignore the more important aspects of the law – justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.

“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs -beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.

“Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell?” (Matthew 23:13-15;23-24;27-28;33).

What do you think? Picking up Jesus’ disgust with religious hypocrisy? Which is exactly why Jesus came to earth to fulfill the most difficult truth in the universe: one must be perfect to enter heaven.

Not religious, not good, not even a decent person. God’s standard is perfection, which is why our attempt to reconcile with God through religion will never work.

But here is the best part. Jesus lived a perfect life to earn a way for us to go to heaven. He paid the ultimate price on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead to prove to the world that He is God. All we need to do is trust in the Person of Jesus Christ to take us to heaven on His merit and not ours.

In other words, Biblical Christianity is all about a relationship, not a religion. I know we get lumped in with all the religions of the world but hopefully you now know that every other faith belief is about ‘doing’ – do this, do that, and you *might* make it to heaven. Christianity is all about ‘done’- Jesus has already paid it all and all people on earth can obtain eternal life simply by trusting in Him for salvation.

In a way, Christianity is just like Slumdog Millionaire. Jamal could have worked his whole life and never earned a million dollars but because he had the right knowledge and acted on it, he received the reward as a gift.

God wants you to go from spiritual rags to riches. Put your faith in Christ for salvation, and you’ll never know spiritual poverty again!

One just has to sit back and admire the comic genius that is The Office. Week after week, this program gives us a look into the real world of employment in unbelievably humorous and sadly accurate ways. In every episode, there are many quotes, but I have to say that my favorite character is Dwight. Maybe it’s just my sick and mostly misunderstood sense of humor, but I think Dwight brings a level of comedy to The Office that is largely unmatched.

Here is a sample platter of what I’m talking about:

In the wild, there is no health care. In the wild, health care is, ‘Ow, I hurt my leg. I can’t run. A lion eats me. I’m dead.’ Well, I’m not dead. I’m the lion. You’re dead.

I come from a long line of fighters. My maternal grandfather was the toughest guy I ever knew. World War Two veteran killed twenty men and spent the rest of the war in an Allied prison camp. My father battled blood pressure and obesity all his life. Different kind of fight.

Jim Halpert: Dwight, if you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Dwight Schrute: I can travel anywhere, except Cuba, and I will travel to New Zealand and walk the Lord of the Rings trail to Mordor and I will hike Mount Doom.

I have been Michael’s number two guy for about 5 years. And we make a great team. We’re like one of those classic famous teams. He’s like Mozart and I’m like…Mozart’s friend. No. I’m like Butch Cassidy and Michael is like…Mozart. You try and hurt Mozart? You’re gonna get a bullet in your head courtesy of Butch Cassidy.

The thing that strikes me about Dwight is that even though people think that he is a few hamburgers short of a happy meal, he still just sticks with his quirky personality and obviously different view of the world.

And then I thought – you know what? Christians in the world are a little like Dwight! No, not in the ‘looney tune legend in his own mind’ sort of way – rather that Dwight takes teasing, insults and general social rejection and sticks with who God made him to be.

And so should we, folks. You must remember that to say ‘yes’ to following Christ is a simultaneous ‘no’ to being accepted by the world. This is a promise from the very lips of Jesus Christ:

If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you (John 15:18-19).

It’s not that we should go out of your way to be rejected; it’s just that when you pledge allegiance to Jesus Christ, you get voted off the island.

Why? Because now you’re no longer a part of the self-seeking, pleasure-driven, materialistic culture that permeates our entire world. Suddenly you’re saying no to things that displease God and probably coming off like you’re better than everyone else. And even though you’re not better than them – and you know that – others won’t quite see it that way.

So at that point, you have two choices. You can back down on your commitment level and play Christian when there is no risk…or stick it out and find hope in these words from Jesus:

What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man. When that happens, be happy! Yes, leap for joy! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, their ancestors treated the ancient prophets that same way (Luke 6:22-23).

So if you are feeling like a ‘Dwight’ in ‘the office’ of this world because of your loyalty to Christ, take joy in the fact that you’re on the right team. You may not be the bomb diggity with all the folks around you, but you can be sure that one day Jesus will look you right in the eye with a proud look on His face and say:

”Well done, my good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21).

To me, that is worth being a Dwight for the rest of my life!