Hollywood actor Kevin Sorbo told Glenn Beck Thursday that God-based movies are thriving at the box office because “people are looking for real hope and real change.”

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/05/01/hollywood-actor-god-based-movies-are-thriving-because-people-are-looking-for-real-hope-and-real-change/

Would Jesus want to be your friend on Facebook?

Would Jesus want to be your friend on Facebook?

I have seen this question posed in other ways like, "Would Jesus be your friend on Facebook," or "If Jesus were your Facebook friend," or "Would Jesus Be on Facebook?"  But if Jesus saw who your Facebook friends were, what you "Like" and what you post on your Facebook page, would He want to "friend" you?  But the question is never asked in this way.  Would Jesus WANT to be your friend on Facebook?

Before accepting requests to join this page I do some quick research into who is requesting to be part of this group.  We are all judged by the company we keep and with social media being easily accessible, it is even more important to watch what we post, write or "friend."

It is also important to understand that we tend to hang around the people we want to be like.  Companies have been known to check your social media pages to get an idea of what kind of person you are.  Your resume and credentials might make you qualified for the job but your personality and social life may not be the right fit for the culture of the company.  So the company does their research into who you are before accepting you into their offices.  It's a different level of accountability.

As Christ followers, we are held to an even higher form of accountability.  Our culture attacks the Truth of the Bible and those who follow God's Word.  We see His Word as unquestionable and Jesus as our Lord and King.  Throughout the Bible we are told to be more like Jesus. "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." - 2 Corinthians 5:17.  In Romans 12:2 "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." 

So if we are to be more like Christ, do our words, actions and social media pages reflect the life transformation we are called to adopt as sons and daughters of the living God?  Would Jesus want to be your friend on Facebook?

Jesus and Comic-Con

If anyone has gone to Comic-Con or Wonder-Con, you see so many interesting things.  People dress up in their favorite super hero costumes or even risqué anime characters.  During these events they pretend to be someone else even posing for pictures in hero poses and reciting catch phrases.  There is nothing inherently wrong about this but some take it to extremes negating reality for fantasy and spend lot of money trying to make their fantasy a reality, even if it is just for a weekend.

The other things you will see at these Con’s are the Jesus signs.  Recently I had a conversation with a fellow Christian who felt that these signs did more harm then good for our faith.  I however see no problem with it.  These people are brave enough to go to a public area and calmly hold signs expressing the Truth.  Signs say things like “Jesus is the Way the Truth and the Life,” or “Jesus bore our sins.”  Some will use megaphones to do street preaching.  Granted that some will say inappropriate things to people resulting in bad witnessing and that needs to be stopped.

I did a quick search on the internet for these signs hoping to find some positive things to write about.  Instead I found websites, blogs and photos of people mocking them with their own signs and writing about their protests against the Jesus signs and their holders.    Web sites with titles like “How to prank a religious protestor at Comic-Con” or sites dedicated to Comic-Con and Westboro Baptist protestors are very common. I read things like “People yelled in the megaphone mans face...” This sometimes will prompt the sign holder to respond in an unchristian way, which I do not support, but then I read from the other side that “This is the kind of classy individual we were dealing with.”  Excuse me, but who was screaming in whose face? 

Anyway, I am sure that this will go one again at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con as it did at this years Wonder-Con.  There are legitimate people and professionals that attend these Comic-Con’s but many kids and adults alike participate to escape the realties of their life and the truth that one day it will all be over.  But then what?

At the end of the day we are not superheroes and we will not live forever in this world.  This is not our eternity.  Once the people go home and take off the costumes and the make up they are no longer “super.” Our own form of escapism or denial will not stop us from dying or from our eternity, no matter how much make up we put on and pretend, this life will end. If you work in entertainment, those who go to Comic-Con are your clients. The people holding the signs at Comic-Con are right.  We all need a Savior that will not be found in a costume.  We need to reach the lost sheep. Life is too short, eternity is too long and hell is too hot.  We must, winsomely, make people aware that there is Hope that can only be found in the saving power of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. – Mark 16:15

Good article...

http://thimblerigsark.wordpress.com/2014/03/25/whats-wrong-with-christian-filmmaking/

1)  We need to permit our artists (writers, actors, musicians, filmmakers) to take more risks.  And artists, whether you are permitted or not, take more risks.  Did you really get into your artistic field because you liked playing it safe?  Why play it safe with the most important thing you have to say?

2)  We need to encourage our artists to challenge rather than stroke our sensibilities.  A pearl is made when dirt is irritated inside the oyster, after all.  And so artists, don’t wait for permission.  Start challenging your audience.  They will undoubtedly resist you, but we need to be challenged or we’ll stagnate and fade away into irrelevance.

3)  We need to recognize that art is art, the pulpit is the pulpit, and while the two might cross paths from time to time, they are completely different animals.  This goes for everyone.  Does everyone truly understand this?  With all the recent criticisms of Noah because it “is unbiblical”, I have to think that lots of people don’t.

4)  We need to be okay with movies that don’t give all the answers.  If they succeed in asking some good, deep questions, they might actually open the doors to conversations where answers can be explored.  Artists, isn’t part of our job to provoke questions?  Don’t feel you have to end every sentence with a period

5)  And most importantly:  tell good stories.  As Frank Capra famously said, “If you want to send a message, try Western Union.”  If you are an artist, the quality of your work should be at the top of your list of considerations.  Jesus wasn’t known for telling mediocre stories that ticked off all the correct religious boxes.  He was known for telling compelling stories that challenged his listeners while communicating God’s truth.  Aren’t we supposed to be like Jesus?

"Where we find a difficulty we may always expect that a discovery awaits us." - C.S. Lewis

Biblical films' Hollywood comeback

Praying that there will be real change in 2014 and that these films give glory to God. Not just money makers but faith builders.

“For years Hollywood bent over backwards to reach special interest groups, be it feminists or environmentalists. It has finally realised that there are 91 million evangelical Christians in America.” - Phil Cooke

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/10537680/Biblical-films-Hollywood-comeback.html

“Life is not a manageable project or a test to be taken.  We can find small joys everyday if we have eyes of faith.  We can find meaning if we search for a greater purpose.  And perhaps most important, we need to realize that life is a great gift.”

- Phil Cooke