Skin In The Game

It's a new book by a great author, Rick Lawrence. Here's a blog he wrote for the upcoming release. Enjoy.

Jesus Wants Your Skin In the Game

By Rick Lawrence

There He is again, playing a game of verbal “Battleship” with the Pharisees in the temple court—they take a shot at him, and he fires right back. Jesus has, once again, so grossly offended the teachers of the law that they intend to stone him to death… Typical of His in-your-face style with the teachers of the law, He’s just pulled the pin on this little grenade: “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him” (John 8:44).

John records what happens next with elegant simplicity: “Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple.” If an angry mob picked up stones, intending to kill you, “hiding yourself” would require a) Harry Potter’s “cloak of invisibility” or b) fast feet. John leaves out the details. This is all merely the prequel to a bigger drama that’s about to unfold…

Likely breathless from his escape, Jesus runs across a man who is blind from birth (John 9). When the disciples catch up, they ask a question that’s quintessentially human: “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” They want to know why bad things happen to good people—a conundrum that’s fundamental to our life in a broken culture.

“It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents,” Jesus replies, “but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” Then, without permission or hesitation—or, it has to be said, apparent rationality—the Master spits on the ground, fashions a little clay, then smears it all over the man’s eyes and face.

As shocking as all of this must have been for a blind man who’s suddenly been sucked into a big moment, the next words out of Jesus’ mouth must have seemed no less astonishing: “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (John 9:1–7). The pool is on the other side of town, a long trek away. And this man has just been told to walk there on his own. Still blind, his eyes smeared with spit and mud, he’s supposed to find his way to a specific pool where he can wash his face. If he can find the place…

What’s the point?

Why would Jesus ask this man to do something that will so obviously require him to take a great risk?

Why, when He has healed multitudes with a simple touch, does Jesus ask the man to jump through hoops in order to find his freedom?

It makes no sense—unless Jesus wants the man to put his skin in the game.

Risk, Jesus says, is our primary language for communicating the great works of God. And when the man offers his skin in the game, he’s really setting the stage for God to be known and worshiped.

The blind man is used to poor treatment, and getting clay smeared on his eyes smacks of same-old, same-old. So why should he obey Jesus’ bizarre instructions, after an equally bizarre and inexplicable act of apparent disrespect? We don’t know the calculus going on inside the man’s head, but we do know his response. He accepts Jesus’ challenge and finds his way to the pool of Siloam, where he washes the clay from his eyes—and then runs back through town to declare the impossible: He can see! For the first time in his life, he can see!

We may not like the hard edge of risk, but Jesus requires it of those who would wash away their blindness. And so, we must consider the dimensions of the man’s risk, and our own, because our courage is proportionate to its impediments. Like the man born blind, we’ve heard an Accuser’s voice our whole life, planting lies in our soul.

On a men’s retreat a couple of years ago, my friend Bob Krulish asked a group of sixty gathered in a mountain auditorium to answer this simple question: “What’s one lie you are right now believing about yourself?” Here’s a sampler of their anonymous responses:

I’m not really desired by my wife

I’m not enough (listed multiple times).

I always feel like a failure.

If you really knew me, you’d reject me (listed multiple times).

I’m not worthy or capable of success.

I’m invisible.

I’m inadequate.

My life isn’t worth much or special.

I’m dirty.

I’m a loser.

I can’t do it.

I don’t have what it takes

I can do it all by myself—don’t need others.

There is something wrong with me.

What about the man born blind, with mud smeared on his beaten and weathered face? His own interior collection of lies may well be legion—a toxic stew of the entire bulleted list. But he chooses to risk anyway, stumbling his way through town, past the averted eyes of others, all the way to Siloam and a miracle that exceeds his deepest hopes. For the man is about to gain more than his eyesight alone. His newfound vision will turn the tables of his entire life. Before, he was defined by what he needed, but henceforth, he will be defined by what he gives.

This blog is adapted from the just-released book Skin In the Game: Living an Epic Jesus-Centered Life.

- To order the book, go here: http://www.amazon.com/Skin-Game-Living-Epic-Jesus-Centered/dp/0825443598/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1422569041&sr=1-1&keywords=skin+in+the+game+epic+Jesus+centered

-  To connect with Rick Lawrence, go here…

Web Site: RickLawrence.com

Twitter: @RickSkip

Facebook: Facebook.com/RickSkip

Rick Lawrence is an author, ministry leader, and the longtime executive editor of GROUP Magazine, the world’s leading resource for the “Navy SEALS” of ministry—youth workers. He’s the general editor for The Jesus-Centered Life Bible (Fall 2015), and he’s the author or co-author of 37 books, including his newest, Skin In the Game: Living an Epic Jesus-Centered Life (Kregel).

Unplug

First off, never fall asleep watching the movie "Transcendence" while you've been reading a book about the technological advances in robots.

But I was trying to think of what to write about last week's Winter Retreat (why there was no blog last week, sorry) and I started thinking about the idea of unplugging. For those that don't know, we don't allow any cell phones on our retreat. Some students hate this, some don't come because of it, but it's something we push. What's the point of going away to retreat from the world if you bring your phone with you?

The biggest reason is it's hard to hear from Someone quiet when there's lot of noise around you. We spent our Sunday morning in the woods (luckily it was 55 degrees). Students were asked to pray quietly in God's creation, for 20 minutes at a time. Each time we gave them something to pray about and focus on. We did this three times (we ended up in the woods about 90 minutes). And then something amazing happened.

Students heard from God.

Because they took the time to be away, they were somewhere quiet, they unplugged, some students actually heard from God. We had one student ask if he could stay an extra few minutes. Because they put themselves in a place to hear from God, they did.

When was the last time you prayed without distraction? Sometimes it's good for our soul to unplug.

T

Hidden In Plain Sight

Have you seen this article?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/01/14/the-mystery-of-the-132-year-old-winchester-rifle-found-propped-against-a-national-park-tree/

I keep trying to think, how many people passed by that rifle in over 100 years? The second picture does it justice, it would be really hard to see, especially from a distance. But really? How many people? What if a child playing had found it? How does a piece of history just stand there for decades?

I wonder if sometimes Jesus is like this rifle. He's standing right there and people keep passing by because they can't see Him, possibly because they aren't looking. Imagine how much of Jesus we could find if we look? (Ask our students about that one when they get home from the Winter Retreat).

T

Tonight I Was Mezmorized...

...by what I think was one of the simplest pieces of cinematography I have ever seen.

I watched "The Lone Ranger". I'm not going to comment on what I thought of the movie or how it was reviewed, give away the plot or anything like that (although it should be known I have a 6' Lone Ranger poster downstairs that was my father's when he was a kid along with comic books from the 50's, it's a part of my growing up), all that's necessary to know is the movie is done as a frame story. It's Tonto many years past telling the story of long ago.

The movie ended, the credits rolled. I was done. However I stopped to watch the credits because they used a fun font and moved the lettering around in a cool way (which thanks to my wife interests me).

Then it happened.

The credits stop and the camera opens on a wide shot of beautiful scenery. An aged Tonto walks away from the camera, his back to you. Johnny Depp shuffling like an old man trying to walk in the wilderness with four chords playing a simple string part. And that is it. For the next 5 minutes while the credits rolled the old storyteller walks away into the distance with this melodic phrase repeating.

And it was brilliant. I couldn't turn it off. I couldn't fast-forward to see if there was anything else. I simply watched this person walk into the distance.

I think it spoke to me more than the movie that evoked childhood memories. He told his story and when it was done, he simply walked away, fading into the distance. I don't know if it's the idea that I have a story to tell, or am telling, and when it's done can I simply walk away. Or if it was an ending without a finale. Or if it meant this part may be done but the story continues somewhere else. Or does it mean... I don't know.

Do you have a story to tell? Are you still in that story and are you sharing it? And when it's time, can you walk calmly into the next chapter?

T

Trusting The Source

I read an interesting story the other day. Some of you many know I love reading about Disney, mainly the behind the scenes things. How things work. Dedication to story. Employee relations and why they love what they do, things like that. I came upon a story I had not heard before...

The Peter Pan ride is the oldest operating ride at the Disneyland. It has been going since the park opened almost 60 years ago. That may be why it is one of the longest lines in the park. But it comes with a large problem. Everything on that ride is old technology, including the generator that powers the entire ride.

The generator is so old that Imagineers are worried that if they ever shut down the generator it will not start up again and they will need to redo power for the entire ride, which can lead to redoing other problems with compatibility, etc. Because of this, the Peter Pan ride never stops. It is always running. This leads to all sorts of protocols that are different for this ride than other ones. Like if there's a problem and guests need to be evacuated from the ride, on other rides you stop the ride and get people off. On Peter Pan, the ride slows down and guests are evacuated differently all so the generator will never stop. Because Disney does not trust the source of power for this ride, everything they do is different for this one ride.

Likewise, we will act differently in our lives depending on if we trust our source or not. Maybe we keep moving like the ride because we don't trust what will happen if we slow down and get to know the source. Maybe we keep doing the same things because trusting the source would mean change. I don't know, but I do know that I drive differently when I trust my car than when I don't. What would our lives look like if we fully trusted our Source?

Israel, I am your LORD. I am your source of life. ~ Isaiah 44:24a (CEV)

T

The Magic of a Number

In a few days, magically everything will be new.

Think about it, 2014 ends and 2015 begins. In reality, Dec. 31st and Jan. 1st will have no real difference between them. If some monk 700 years ago had designated those days as March 15th and 16th we would care at all about them. But because they decided a new cycle around the sun would begin that day suddenly we go crazy. We party. We celebrate. We change.

What if we tried to change on December 15th, or June 12th, or April 22nd? What if we didn't wait for a magical number to encourage us to better ourselves and we simply tried to be better because we wanted to...

T

"I'll Remember"

I had a great idea for this blog this week. Something to do with Christmas, I'm sure. It was awesome if I do say so myself.

And I have no idea what it was.

It came to me while driving home from Chicago on Sunday. Right as I got on I-65 (I even remember where). And I thought to myself, "this is a great idea. I'll remember it." And now it's gone.

Usually I would make a note (I love Evernote), but this time, people were asleep in the car. There's nothing to do but drive, of course I'll remember. And then, the baby wakes up, Lorie isn't feeling well, we need to stop for gas,was I hungry when we stopped for gas? I don't want to spend the money on a $4 candy bar, get back on the road, will the baby wake up, I hope we get home before she gets hungry, what was I thinking about before?

And it's gone.

I know I have lots of ideas that disappear (some are probably for the best), but how about at this busy time of year? What about the ideas of inviting someone to a Christmas Eve service (I'll see them later, I'm too busy right now, poof, forgotten), or giving to the Salvation Army ringers (I don't have the cash, I'll do it next time, I come here all the time, and gone), maybe even just checking in with someone this holiday season (how many of those ideas have disappeared)?

Don't let the good ideas get away this Christmas. Act on them right away!

T

Are You Sharing Christ at Christmas?

I came across this story the other day. DL Moody, a public speaker for Jesus, was talking with a lady who did not like the way he was sharing Christ. The story goes that Moody said to her, “I agree with you. I don’t like the way I do it either. Tell me, how do you do it?” The lady replied, “I don’t do it.” Moody retorted, “Then I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it.

Too often we criticize how people share Christ when it's not the way we would do it. But the question is, is it worse than doing nothing at all?

At this time of year, people are expecting to hear you talk about Jesus. Why don't you oblige them?

T

But That's Not How I Remember It...

Every year the same things happens. And for some reason every year it astounds me.

We talk about the Christmas story and there are so many mistakes.

For most people, they have head the story of Christ's birth a hundred times. But they have never actually read it themselves. Instead, they've heard the G-rated edited for children version or they've seen it acted out by four-year-olds. Instead of the actual story of our Savior's introduction into the world they remember the version from so long ago and choose to believe that over the real one (I have actually had students argue with me about things they just heard about the Christmas story that can't be true because it doesn't line up with the story they already knew, even if I give them Scripture references). We would rather hold onto the childish version of the story than learn the real one.

My fear is this is only the beginning. So we have a childish view of the Christmas story, so what? What about Christ's teachings, are we going to stay at a four-year-old version of that too? His love, His grace, His majesty, His holiness, His death, His resurrection, at what point to we start to examine these as adults? In Hebrews 5 the writer talks about how just as people move from milk to solid food we need to do the same thing spiritually, we need to look at God as adults.

My challenge, try reading the Christmas story through the lens of an adult. Then, keep reading...

T

When Was The Last Time You Thought About Christ's Birth?

With the start of Advent yesterday, I was wondering this. How often do people actually think about Christ entering this world? I know the holy answer is "all the time", but I mean really. In July when you were sweating at the beach were you thinking about Christ's birth?

It's something we should be thinking about all the time, Christ entering our world, entering our lives. If you want to get an idea of how often this type of thing enters your mind, when was the last time you thought about Easter? When was the last time you contemplated the cross?

The whole point of Christmas is to get us to Easter. Isn't that something that should be on our minds all the time...?

T

Thanksgiving

No real message today, just after a week of rest I hope all my American friends can do the same over the next few days. Safe travels!

Fresh Eyes

Have you ever done something or heard something so many times that you're almost immune to the message?


This past year I've been challenged by this in two ways. First my soon to be one-year-old. Everything she sees is for the first time. How is she seeing it? What does she think? Does she like it/hate it?

The other is the story of Jesus. In II Timothy 2:8 Paul reminds Timothy to remember Christ risen from the dead. Why on earth would Paul need to remind a young man who has grown up knowing Jesus and is now the pastor of a church of such a basic concept, the crux of the story, of his faith? Because we forget. even this season that's coming, Christmas, do we just glance through the story or do we see it with fresh eyes and all the craziness and miraculousness that ensues inside our culture's number one holiday?

And soon, those two start to converge. How will I tell the story of Jesus to my daughter for the first time...

Here's a challenge, look at the Christmas story with fresh eyes. You may be astounded with what you missed (or just accepted as truth without thinking about it).

T

Convenient Jesus

This past weekend at our annual Real World Retreat we focused on one thing. Music. Kinda.

We took a look at how music has changed in the last 15 years. Not the style of music, but the quality. The music we listen to now has been changed so much to make files smaller that the music is actually distorted and compressed with piece of musical information missing. And there's only one reason why the general population has put up with it. It's more convenient.

The music industry (and other industries have followed suit) have learned that people will sacrifice almost anything for convenience. Make it smaller, lighter, crappier, whatever you need to do to make it more convenient for me. If I really wanted to hear better music I would need to find a stereo system and get some actual physical recordings, but that's really hard to jog with. So instead I'll listen to 2 hours of music, the files shrunk down to fit on my iPod through the horrible little earbuds I got for free with my phone. The quality of the music is horrible, but it's convenient for me to listen to wherever I am, right?

So, the question we led this to was this: How do we shrink down the symphony of Jesus to make Him more convenient for our lives? What are we trading out to have a convenient Jesus? I'll probably have a better quality relationship with Jesus if I take some time to spend alone with Him, reading His Word and talking with Him, but how convenient is that? What if I just listen to the podcast of a sermon while driving and call it a day?

The interesting part of this whole thing to me while researching this was seeing some of the interview of musicians and how they feel about this (I wasn't able to show it at the retreat, just a slight bit of bad language from musicians). It makes me wonder how Jesus feels about it, Him trying His best to have a relationship with the one He loves and getting a "when it's convenient for me" answer.

The real question is when it comes to knowing Jesus Christ, is it about quality or convenience?

T

The Blame Game

I was reading a book the other day that with a very interesting statement...

I’ve always found it interesting that people ask why bad things happen to them, but they rarely ask why good things happen to them. - Altar Ego by Craig Groeschel

That's a pretty good question. Have you ever noticed how often we play the blame game with God but seldom the thank-you game? If something bad happens, "God, why me?"

What if instead of blaming God for bad things we started thanking Him for good things? What do you think our outlook on life would be then?

Be thankful in all circumstances. This is what God wants from you in your life in union with Christ Jesus. ~ I Thessalonians 5:18 (GNB)

T

System Crash

Sorry this blog is a day late. Yesterday my system crashed.

I don't mean my computer. I mean me. I was done. I did incredibly little yesterday. I just couldn't do it. I doubt I could even form coherent sentences.

But I did have a thought yesterday. What if I lived in a place or society where that was not even possible? If I was in a village in Africa or a serf in the Middle Ages or even someone living day to day in America, I wouldn't have been able to just stop and rest. If my well of fresh water is a mile hike away, I don't get to just sit and have water enter my house through the magic pipes, I would have to walk tired or not. If I didn't have a fridge with food in it and a microwave or even have the ability to make a phone call and have food delivered to my house, the work necessary to catch and cook my food would have been astronomical to me yesterday. I even got to lie on a couch in an insulated house with the heat on rather than go out and collect firewood and make sure the fire was constantly burning to keep warm.

It's amazing the blessings that we not only take for granted, we count them as necessities or inalienable rights we deserve. Yesterday my system crashed for one reason, it was able to. And for that I am incredibly blessed.

T

Is It "Us" Or "Them"?

If you want to know how much you really care about someone or how connected you are in your world, ask yourself when something happens if it happens to "us" or to "them".

Who is hurting right now, "us" or "them"?
Who had a bad day at school/work, "we did" or "they did"?

Who contracted the ebola virus, "us" or "them"?

Who succeeded on the project, "we did" or "I did"?

 Whose church is this, "ours" or "mine"? (or Jesus'?)

When it happens to you, does it also happen to "them" or "us"? What it happens to us, does it also happen to you?

T

Can It Be Done?

About fifteen years ago I remember having a conversation with someone who thought they were an expert on computers (you know what I mean, people that are sure of what they're talking about but the facts are a little off). I was told by this person that our current situation of computing, our RAM speed, had maxed out. That scientists and computer developers had hit a wall, it was impossible to get more than 512k of RAM in a machine.

A few years later I was talking with someone else, this person actually knew a little about computers, and we were talking about processors. He was explaining how our processors were now working as fast as possible, that electrons were actually skipping off their pathways because we were trying to push things too fast.

Now, my phone in my pocket does more than that. We can now buy laptops with 16gig or RAM and quad core processors (some machines can go higher).

Why? Because when we reached an impassible problem, instead of being the group that said, "it can't be done" another group of people said, "let's solve this and push through".

Which one are you?

When it comes to knowing God better, are you in the "I'm too busy, I can't do it, there's too much to know, it's hard, I've done all I can" group, or will you push through?

T

Real Dreams

Have you ever had a dream that was so real when you woke up you had to figure out if it really happened or not?

I have one. I don't know why or what caused it, but it involves traveling from a frozen tundra of way north Canada, driving and almost getting killed, all to make it to New Mexico to apply for a job I don't get. I can even see the building I'm trying to get to just off the expressway. For some reason this dream is so embedded in my head that it even affects other dreams, like last night. I had a dream and in it I remembered making that drive and how bad it was and not getting the job and it changed my whole night. Again, I woke up trying to differentiate what was real and what was not.

Here's the thing, in my dream last night, I was being held back by another dream, another unreal scenario. I was hitting a wall because of something that never actually happened. My question is, are you allowing things to hold you back, even ones that aren't real? Is there something that seems real, but isn't and it is challenging your day to day life?

T

Focused Time

Last night at Drink Deep we talked about how we can worship God through choosing to spend time with Him. But it was more than just the amount of time, it was focused time.

We can spend an hour kinda praying, interrupted, distracted, daydreaming, etc. Or we can spend 15 minutes of actually praying, focused prayer.  It is too easy to say we are doing something but not be focused and have our goals not met. Like this past weekend, we had our all-church retreat. It was great, but for me, it was not a retreat. I was running around, leading worship, speaking, etc. The first time Lorie and I took a walk the entire weekend was after it was all over and people had left. I was not retreating or resting in God. I may have been on a retreat, but I wasn't doing what it was meant to do. I had to find another time to rest.

Too often we find time, just not focused time. When was the last time you gave God time that was completely devoted and focused on Him?

T

Trust

I just had a minor epiphany.

Someone recommended an audio product to me a few minutes ago. As someone who likes sound and shiny new tech gadgets (we call those people "guys") I was intrigued and kind of want what they were talking about, even though they said very little about the piece of equipment. And then it donned on me...

This person has no audio training whatsoever.

I am trusting a person who doesn't know sound, I have no idea what kind of stereo equipment they have in their home, I don't even know what kind of music they really like. Yet, here I am wishing I had the money to buy a piece of equipment I've never even heard for myself.

Why? Trust.

If you truly trust a person, you listen to them and even believe them. Even when they have nothing to back it up or proof, you follow. Simply because they have built up that trust with you.

Here's the two big questions: Who do you trust? Who in your life could sell you magic beans if they wanted to because you trust them that inherently? And on the flip side, who trusts you that much? How much have you invested in being trusted and trustworthy?

It's more valuable than you may think...

T

Losing Assistance

Last week something broke. It happens, but this one is really frustrating. It was a tiny piece of plastic that broke and fell off of our lawn mower. Super glue won't put it back on, I've tried tying it with wire and broke that too (maybe I need thicker wire, I'll try that later), I have Macgyver'd that thing as much as I can.

It was the power assistance for the mower.

The good thing, the mower still works. But for the last three years I have been using it and not realizing how heavy that piece of equipment is (or how angled my yard is). I did not realize how much work the mower was doing for me.

I wonder how many things in our lives we are assisted with and we don't even know it. Are we thankful for it or do we not even care until we lose it?

The LORD Himself watches over you! The LORD stands beside you as your protective shade. ~ Psalm 121:5 (NLT)

T

"Then Jesus brought them to the Temple"

Have you noticed this line is not in the Bible?

When Jesus talked to people and shared God's love with them, it wasn't by inviting them to come to His place of worship. Instead, He went out to where they were and talked to them there, at dinners, at parties, at their homes, at wells, wherever they may be.

Should we be inviting people to worship with us or to FIRE & WATER or whatever it may be? Yes. But that's not where you start. You don't start by finding someone on the street and giving them a church flier. No, you start by entering their life, joining them where they are, loving them there and sharing Jesus with them there. Bring Jesus to them and allow them to meet Him where they are.

Jesus sought out people where they were,we should too.

Matthew 13:1-2 ~ Later that same day, Jesus left the house and went down to the shore, where an immense crowd soon gathered. He got into a boat and taught from it while the people listened on the beach. (LB)

T

Why Would A Loving God Ask Abraham To Sacrifice His Son?

This was a question that came up last night at FIRE & WATER. We were looking at the root of worship, the first time the word appears is when Abraham is telling his servants he is going to "worship" with Isaac, aka, sacrifice him. How could a loving God ask someone to do that?

Here's my question, do you think God would need Abraham to sacrifice his son to know how much he loved God? I wouldn't think so, God knows the heart of each person. So then who was the test really for?

Or put it another way, if I were to ask you do you love God enough to choose God over your only child, would you say "yes"? Would you actually believe that or would you think in the back of your head it's the proper church-y answer?

So then who was the test really for?

As much as it sucked, I bet Abraham learned a lot more about himself, more than God learned about him. It was a hard test (one that God never intended to go all the way, obviously by the end of the story), but I bet Abraham came out with a lot more confidence in himself and his faith in the Holy God who made all these promises to him.

And now Abraham (and us) know how fully Abraham was willing to worship God.

What would it take for you to really understand how much you love God and how far you are willing to go to worship Him?

T

Ignoring Signs

Just up the road from me (conveniently between our house and church) there is a bridge out. They will be working on it for the next few months. Really inconvenient to lots of people, but funny at the same time.

I love watching the people ignore the signs. There are two eight foot signs blocking the road that say "construction" and "local traffic only". And yet, people drive around the signs and continue on, only to turn around about 100 yards later. There is no way these drivers did not see the construction signs, it's impossible (they weaved through them to go on), so there's really only one logical explanation. They believe the sign does not apply to them.

There's construction ahead, but I don't believe that. They say the bridge is out, but really, I can make it. Maybe most traffic can't get through, but I can. Whatever the reasoning is, these drivers do not believe the signs apply to them and continue on only to discover, yes, the signs apply to them.

I wonder how many times we see signs from God, but feel they don't apply to me. Maybe it's ways to improve your soul or things to avoid, but they don't apply to me, I'll be fine. That's for everyone else. Maybe God is trying to tell you something, but that's a message for someone else, not for me. I wonder how many glaring eight foot orange and white signs God has placed in my way that I literally had to drive around to avoid and still thought "that doesn't apply to me".

What if on the drive of life (isn't life a highway), we started paying attention to the signs? Maybe even doing what they said? I bet there would be a lot less detours, u-turns and accidents...

T

Toronto - Recap

We're home, it's been a few days, I've had a shower, a bed and a meal that was not described in the menu by a number. It's good to be home.

But this was a great trip. There's an easy way to tell. By how much I'm hated Monday.

Monday is the first day of mission sites. And for many people, this was an incredibly uncomfortable day. It was hard than expected. Many were not doing what they thought they wanted to. The people we hoped to form relationships did not open up right away, or opened up too much. Monday is the day I hear, "I don't like this. I don't want to be here."

You can't judge a trip by Monday. Thursday paints a clearer picture. The students that hated Monday, many sing a different tune. They are going to miss who they are working with. They don't want to go home. They want to keep serving. Some even admit it's still really hard, but they want to stay anyway. Students who thought they were enduring something grueling have come to realize they are actually doing something they were created to do, they simply needed to be pushed out of their comfort zone and have this experience thrust upon them.

Many students who were uncomfortable with the elderly, the handicapped, the poor, the destitute, by Thursday they call them friends and they want to continue serving them and having them in their lives. To fully understand this, I encourage you to be at FIRE & WATER Sunday August 10th at Fishers United Methodist Church (8:30, 9:45 & 11:00). You can hear the stories first-hand from students and adults who had their perceptions of people changed in only 4 days, 24 hours of serving.

I love seeing the 180 degree change in people from Monday to Thursday. It's amazing what God can work in someone's heart in less than a week...

T

Toronto - Day 5 (Thursday)

Today is the finale of our trip (mission work wise). It was the last day of our sites, our last evening activity, our last look at the Toronto skyline, our last time of worship together. Tomorrow is cleaning and packing. But for today, here are some stories from our students. Enjoy!

Today, being the last day was the most emotional day. We had to say goodbye to the people we had made great relationships with, and got our feet washed while being prayed over by a leader of our church. Before any of the tears were shed during the foot washing though, my crew, the Maple Leafs, paired up with a disabled adult and took a field trip to Legoland. My partner was Lamore, and he didn’t seem all that disabled other than being just a little bit spacey. We went on Merlin’s Apprentice, a flying Dumbo type ride similar to Disney World. After lunch in the mall, he had been to afraid to do some of the other attractions like a laser maze and a shooting from a cart game, but we finally did the laser maze. He was still so afraid that the Legoland worker actually had to step into the laser chamber with him and me in order for Lamore to go through it. We never actually got around to doing the shooting game, as the line was too long, and we didn’t have the time, but I know that he enjoyed himself just as much as I did. When we got back to St. Jude’s, it was time to say goodbye to everyone there. I said goodbye to a woman named Sonya, who had actually obtained her disability after losing her husband, and so she didn’t seem all that abnormal. In fact, she was really motherly to the other adults.

This whole St Jude’s experience was something brand new to me. I have never worked with adults on a mission trip, so I was really afraid of what it would bring, but every day got easier and easier and I felt more comfortable each day we went, so I really know that God had put me in the right place, and even though I was a little frustrated initially about Troy’s choice to put me with mentally disabled adults, I am now very thankful for it because it helped me grow a ton in my faith and how I can serve other people without even talking to them much.

 -Matt Nieland

For the first time this week I received the chance, or orders, depending on how you look at it, anyway I received the chance to work at a really nice homeless shelter where I made beds, all day. The food was REALLY GOOD though, so it was all good. Anyway, when we got back from our worksites we went to play at a park. Once back at the Salvation Army we are staying at we began the foot washing lesson. Tears were shed… but they were the happy kind. It was such a good experience to enjoy. I am so glad that I have had this opportunity, honestly this has been one of the most fun weeks I have ever had in my life. I’m sad to have to come home soon, but I know that there is still adventure coming!

-Rachel Simmonds

It’s weird to think that this is my last blog post. I’ve spent so much time going on trips and telling you about it in this blog, and now I’m saying goodbye. So please forgive me if I ramble a bit. Here we go!

I had an extremely interesting worksite this week. So interesting, in fact, that I can’t tell you what it was called (I signed a nondisclosure contract). However I can tell you that it was a factory that worked with mentally and physically disabled people, teaching them work skills necessary to work in other locations, and also offering jobs to many who choose to stay there. Now what we were doing was a little on the more monotonous side, but important nonetheless. Day 1: We put stickers on bags. For four hours. Day 2: We put candle holders in boxes. For 4 hours. Day 3: I put labels on water bottles and put candle holders in boxes on and off for four hours (such variety). And day 4: Counted out 10 aluminum tray lids, then counted out five aluminum tray lids after one of us made a mistake, then boxed candle holders. For about three more hours. Now this may sound a little like child labor, but the important part of what we did was interacting with the workers there. Throughout the week I met a number of interesting people including a man who fled from communist Poland in 1985 and moved to Greece for one year and then to Canada and has since lived in Toronto with his wife and two kids, a woman who’s niece plays the piano beautifully and has only been learning for two years, and another man who has an absolutely amazing knowledge of world history.

These are the people that we write off. These are the people that we often ignore, maybe say hi to, but never bother to listen to, because we don’t think they have much to say. Or at least that’s what I thought. I learned this week that everyone has a story. Everyone just wants to be able to share their experiences and what they’ve learned on their journey through life, and I should welcome that, no matter what the source. While at the site, it was difficult to see the importance of what I was doing, stacking candle holders and sticking them in a box, but looking back, I’m glad that I was assigned to the sight. I needed it. And God always gives us what we need, even if we don’t want it.

So I guess this is goodbye. It’s kind of weird to be sentimental over such a small thing, but I’ve told some pretty crazy stories in this blog, and it’s sad to see it all come to an end. Nevertheless, I’m sure God has amazing things in store tomorrow and for many mission trips to come. So I’ve got to pass it off. Pass of the telling of incredible mission trip stories to a new group, and I hope that they have just as many crazy stories to tell as I did.

So for the last time, Goodbye, and thank you for all of your support.

-Alec Balasko

 

Toronto - Day 4 (Wednesday)

I would like to start by thanking those of you who have been praying and supporting us, we really appreciate it. Especially on days like today. Wednesdays are usually hard. In some ways they are amazing because we're getting in a rhythm, we know the people we're serving a little better (and the people we're serving with), but it's also day 4 of less sleep and more work and the realization that tomorrow is our last chance to do whatever it is we hoped to accomplish here. Tomorrow is the end of a relationship we worked so hard to build in a way. So, a little extra prayer Thursday would be appreciated.

That being said, God is doing amazing things in the lives of our students here. And I don't want to be the one to explain that. Here are some stories from students themselves about their day and what they are doing for God. Enjoy.

Today was our third day of going to the sites around Toronto. My group, after a much needed stop at Tim Horton’s, went to a factory-type industry place that teaches people with mental handicaps important job skills that will help them in a real workplace environment. Due to many signed forms detailing how much I will not talk about this place and the people that work there, I can’t go into too much detail. Regardless, I met some very interesting people, learned a lot about them, and I think I now have a better understanding of some of the issues that people with mental handicaps deal with on a daily basis.

After dinner, we had our evening activity in Chinatown. My wishes were almost fulfilled when we went to a souvenir shop that sells Rob Ford T-shirts. Much to my dismay, however, the shop didn’t have it in my size. Oh well, that’s what the internet is for, I guess.

Tomorrow is our last full day here at Toronto, and I look forward to spending my last day with some more of the people at the industries; they’ve opened up to us quite a bit, I hope they do so again tomorrow.

-Mattheus Mitchel

This morning started out with stopping for the awesomeness that is Tim Bits, which are basically donut holes. Then we went to our work site, which is a long-term care facility for senior citizens. There we took some of the residents outside to get some air and we blew some bubbles, and we played cards with residents. Our evening activity was to go to China Town, where we could buy things like Canada t-shirts and Bubble Tea, which has tapioca pudding bubbles in it. This was followed by club time, which was really fun because we did some singing, and church group time, where we talked about our day. I am very sad that tomorrow is our last day here. I have met and gotten to know some great people while here, and it has been a great experience.

-Megan Otte

Since the middle of freshmen year, this youth group has always been a place for me to escape the stresses of integrating into a high school with no pre-established friendships. There are many people that I could thank for helping me improve my esteem and confidence, but a simple blog post would not give them the recognition they deserve.

In terms of my experiences on this mission trip thus far, it is safe for me to say that we have spent all three days (and tomorrow) at a factory that provides low demanding jobs to the mentally handicapped. Most of these jobs include assembly line style tasks that are simple and give workers the basic skills and experience they need to succeed in the real world. We were required to fill out a confidentiality agreement that prevents me from mentioning any names, the name of the company, or the specific work that we have done. As each day progresses, I start to realize that the menial tasks we help these people do are not as important as the feeling of value and purpose that it gives to its mentally handicapped workers.

There are countless stories and feelings I would love to add to this post, but time limits me from putting them down. I am so thankful for these opportunities and can’t wait to go into our last day at the Toronto mission site.

-Jacob Stebbe

Toronto - Day 3 (Tuesday)

Today is usually one of the most interesting days of the trip. In regards to worksites, it's no longer a new experience, it's not training and guessing names. Today we are able to jump in because we know what to expect and who we are working with. On the flip side, by the end of the day the mission trip is half done. The enthusiasm to jump in is quickly replaced with "my time is dwindling quickly." There are always lots of mixed emotions.

On top of that, tonight we did a walk through downtown Toronto with a tour guide from the Salvation Army who lived there as a homeless person. It's an interesting perspective and there is a lot of talk about gentrification (the idea of a community pouring a lot of money into an area to improve it while at the same time not solving the poverty, simply moving or hiding it). Lots of opinions, lots of discussion. But for now, I'll leave you with some stories from our students.

Thank you for your prayers and support, we covet them all!

T

Today was my second day working at Booth Industries. There, we get the opportunity to work with some really special people who suffer from mental illnesses. I got to work with a man from India named Kiswar. He told me everything about him. I could tell he liked to talk. After we were done at our work sites, we went on a street walk with a man named Anthony. I learned a lot of lessons from Anthony’s life experiences. He really exposed me to a new perspective on life.

-Scott Kokjohn

I had a really life-affirming day. I have to say, I left on the mission trip kind of expecting it to be like the others I’ve been on, you know, all one of them, and I’m glad to say I was very wrong. I went to Booth Industries today for the second time, which was similar to my first day. I got to work with two guys named Leonardo and Cedric. They chatted with Jacob Stebbe for a long time about sports, not my strong suit, but I jumped in when I could and I’m glad I could be part of a better connection with them today. The really great part of my day came when we went on a street walk with a former drug addict named Anthony. He had a really radical message for us, a product of how hard his life has been, but I really liked what he had to say. He told us about how the struggles he went through get ignored by society a lot of the time, which of course I totally agree with and I would love to do what I can to help expose the problem of homelessness and drug addiction to people, but the most important thing he helped show me is that when I do see something, I can’t just be angry or upset that it’s bad, I have to take action or spread the word to those who can do more. He was really inspiring and I really feel like a different, better person after listening to what he said. Also, he quoted Nelson Mandela, which automatically makes me super happy. I can’t wait to take what I’ve learned today and use it on the rest of the trip and the rest of my life.

-Jacob Bennington

Today was an awesome day. When I arrived I did not know what to expect. Troy told us to hug one of the youth works people so I hugged a helper named Rachel. She was very nice and hugged me right back. I am helping at a nursing home all this week. The elders really love to sing. We sang take me out to the ball game and firework by Katie Perry and many more songs. The elders love to be fashionable so I painted many of the ladies nails hot pink. I met many people here in Toronto. Some of the people we work with are from Boston and from right here in Toronto. One of the girls I’ve met was adapted from China like me and we even share the love of music. With there help we fed the elders and played Bingo with some of the residents. For the afternoon activity we went to the beach, the water was very cold so we had a contest of who could stay in the water the longest. I won of course. Today we went on a tour of the city with a former homeless drug addict. He told us his life story and we got to sort of walk through this life. The experience was life changing and made me think about how I could help in the world. I hope the rest of our time turns out to be a fun and life changing week.

-Emily Lavey

Toronto - Day 2 (Monday)

Our first real day, we all went to our sties and were introduced to our tasks for the week. But, let's hear from the people actually doing it.

Canada, eh?

Lol Canada. We’re in Canada. So that’s cool, eh? Anyway, today my crew went to a great place called St. Judes Academy of the Arts. Pretty cool, eh? It’s pretty cool, because one of the career choices I have for myself is to become a special education teacher. I really enjoyed interacting with the clients there, eh? They all have such loving and caring personalities. You could walk in and immediately be greeted with a hug. I’ve been asking God lately to help me to start to see what I want to do with the rest of my life (I know crazy, eh? I’m a sophomore…). I think God has put me in this position to get a little taste of what this career could look like. Hopefully the rest of the week will go well, eh? Crossing my fingers, eh?

Bye Friend,

-Grace Balasko, eh?

(According to Troy, the expert on Canada, “eh” means you’ve finished what you’re going to say)

Okay… so today my group went to a nursing home. I played scrabble with an elderly man and he kept falling asleep but would wake up when it was his turn. The first word he had said to me was BANANAS he had noticed that that was a word he could put on the scrabble board. Than after the game he went to bed because he was quite tired. So than 2 other people and I interview some of the residents to hear their life stories and to also see if they would answer in “yes” or “no”. One of the questions was “what do you not like?” and the lady I was interviewing said that she didn’t like nasty people. After we interviewed we went to lunch we ate for about an hour. Then we played bingo with an old machine. After that we went up to the 2^nd floor and had a dance party with most of the elderly people that weren’t asleep or were able to be out of their rooms. So far I really enjoy Canada, I hope the rest of the week will be just as fun if not better.

Adios,

-Braedy Laymon

Today, I had the privilege of going to Ina Grafton Gage Home where I found out that most people living in the home had dementia.  Even though this proved to be a challenge in communication, most seniors still attempted to have a conversation with us and opened up.  One person that intrigued me the most was an old lady named Helen.  At one point, she even told me about her husband coming home every day and cooking for their family after cooking as a chef for his job.  These little conversations are just so amazing because everyone can see God working in the middle and letting us be able to listen to everybody’s story.  Over the course of the day I met with several other people who have come from Barbados, Jamaica, and even England.  Their stories also included them finding their way from all over the world to the city of Toronto where I was able to hear from them today.

Sincerely,

-Evan Hodes

Toronto - Day 1 (Sunday)

We finally made it, we are here in the great white north. For those who are not familiar with the mission trip blogs, I will be doing very little of the writing. Each night three students will be sharing on what they have seen and experienced throughout the day and trip. But, since we've spent more time on the highway than here, the stories are a little varied today.

And for everyone's sake of mind, yes we blew a tire this morning. It was a back tire, of which each side of the bus has two back tires. If it wasn't for the noise people wouldn't have known we blew a tire at all. The technician noticed our valve stem was broken (meaning it was likely we were slowly leaking air until the tire couldn't sustain pressure), it's all fixed and we're here safe and sound.

Now for some other perspectives...

Today was quite the interesting day. First, two hours were wasted fixing the buss tire, fun times. Later on, when the border came, we were not interrogated and everything went pretty smooth. Space is crammed at the church we are at but we will make the best of things and I feel that we all will have a great time in Toronto and change the lives of many people including ourselves. Happy birthday Scott!

-Adam Woodward

Greetings from the frozen frontier of the North American continent, also known as Canada. I write this at the conclusion of a long day that began at roughly four in the morning and included, among other things, terrible renditions of the Frozen soundtrack, a border crossing, and the exploration of an alternative route on the Canadian highway system. It was also my first time leaving the country. The lack of American flags is somewhat startling, but interactions with actual Canadians have been limited so far so culture shock is not really a factor at this point. Tomorrow we will be placed into groups and assigned service locations, which will see the beginning of the main service portion of the mission trip. Concluding sentence.

-Griffin Hobson

Preparing to leave the church this morning, with coffee in hand, I was pumped for this trip, to say the least. The drive didn’t necessarily go as planned… forgotten pillow, blown tire, wrong turns, and sweaty, hot buses. Despite all the bumps in the road, we made it to Toronto safely. As this being my first time leaving the country, everything as similar as it might have been, suddenly seemed so foreign. We pulled into the church and the excitement took over. I write this, ready for the week ahead and ready to change the lives of people I meet. (Happy Birthday, Scott!)

-Lauren Detrich  

Humility

...isn't popular.

The NBA is full of egos. But, there's a bigger reason for it than they're great at their sport. It sells. That's why I've really enjoyed ESPN blasting the fans over the past few days. "You've been asking for more people who are down to earth, do their job, play fundamentals and are humble? They just won the NBA Finals, so why aren't you out there buying their jerseys?"

It's a good question, and it's simple. Humility doesn't sell. We say we want it. We say we want to be like it. But when it comes down to it, do we really want humble people? Do we really want to be a humble person?

God wants us to be.

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. ~ Colossians 3:12 (NLT)

It may not be popular or profitable, but I like how ESPN put it. Fame comes cheap nowadays. True character, that's a little harder to find.

And it's worth more...

T

"In" not "With"

Today I had my Bible program open on my computer and I did something a little different. I have many translations open at once (it helps me get a better handle on what the Scripture is saying) and I saw the New King James Version open in the back. I rarely use that one, so I thought I'd look to see what I had opened it to.

Colossians 2:10 - and you are complete in Him...

For some reason that really struck me. Complete in Him. As other versions put it, through our union with Christ, belonging to, filled with, having Christ, coming to Him, our lives are full and complete and true when we are in Christ.

This idea of "in", it's all encompassing. We are together with, a part of, filled up to the brim with Christ and His likeness. And that is the way we are complete, we have that full or true life. I wonder how often we try to have that complete life with Christ, Jesus is an add-on to our already busy lives, something else to do, that one hour a week.

Maybe instead of focusing being with Jesus, we should focus on us being with Him, following Him, making Him the head and being a part of who He is and what He's doing. That sounds like it could be a full adventure...

T

Hearing vs. Listening

I know this is one many of you have heard since you were young (at least I did), there's a difference between hearing and listening. A few times this week I've either been in conversations or watched them where one party was not listening to the other. It's kind of entertaining, watching someone ask the same question three times only to have the other party give information that has nothing to do with what they're asking.

There is a vast difference between the physical ability to hear and paying attention to what that noise is asking or saying. And even if the person hearing is understanding, they can listen and ignore what they are hearing. They don't have to do what is being asked of them.

I was thinking about this while driving today, I wonder if the reason so many people don't hear from God is because we aren't listening. We're eager to hear, but if God actually said something to us, would we listen and actually do it?

I'm not God, but when I'm talking to someone who I know can hear me but is clearly not listening, I usually react the same way.

I stop talking.

Maybe we need to work a little better on, as my Kindergarten teacher would say, "putting on our listening ears."

T

Controlling Truth?

The other day a commercial came on I had never seen. It was for a company known as Reputation.com, here's what the company is about. Many people say many different things on the internet, so this company goes and corrects anything you see as misinformation. Basically, they create the image you want for yourself. Their tagline is simple, "the truth that you control."

That line caught me. The truth that you control. Like somehow we decide what truth is and we can control what is truth for others. It's almost as if we are telling others what to believe.

The sad part is, there's a way to do this. It's much harder than simply hiring a company to clean your web presence. Instead, if someone doesn't like your cooking, find out why and work harder to serve a better meal. If someone says service is sloppy, work harder to give someone the service they deserve. If someone says something negative about you online, live in such a way as those who know you will not believe it, or better yet, come to your defense. Instead of taking the easy way out and erasing people's comments, work harder to live a life that opposes those comments, one that may not even allow for those comments to begin with.

You are to live clean, innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of people who are crooked and stubborn. Shine out among them like beacon lights, 16holding out to them the Word of Life. ~ Philippians 2:15b-16a





T

Welcome Everyone

This morning I was reading this. Here's the Message version of the verse (I liked how they put it):

Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don’t see things the way you do. And don’t jump all over them every time they do or say something you don’t agree with—even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently. ~ Romans 14:1 (MSG)

I don't know what it is lately, but I seem to be coming across different conversations where people believe in the same Jesus, but they differ on other topics, evolution, homosexuality (those seem to be the big two), any other little thing. Yes, I said little. Because according to the verse above, we are to welcome others seeking Jesus with open arms, even if we don't agree on some element of faith.

Instead of arguing to be right, how about we welcome differences and love the people who think differently then we do. After all, how many things did you believe ten years ago that you differ with now? When we get to heaven, do we expect Jesus to say, "you got it all right, good for you" or "you missed that one", or even worse, "you were right, but the way you treated them was wrong"?

Let's start focusing on the one thing the world needs to hear, Jesus loves you and so do I.

T

Are You Getting Closer?

This morning I was reading about Campbell's Law. It's an interesting idea, it states that whenever you start to use a number to measure something, people will inevitably get confused and start looking at the number. For instance, when you are driving somewhere people look at their speedometer. If they want to get there faster, they make that number bigger. The problem is, that number doesn't tell you if you're reaching your destination faster, it only tells you what speed the car is actually moving at. You could be increasing that number but driving the wrong direction. Merely focusing on the number is not an accurate measure of what you are trying to accomplish.

I wonder how often we try to use numbers to measure how close we are to God. Church attendance, Bible verses read, minutes spent in prayer, hours serving others. None of these are bad, in fact their all great! But if the goal is to up the number, we've missed it. Right now I have a daughter at home growing. What can she do to increase her growth? Nothing. She has to wait, and a majority of the things that cause her growth are outside forces she can't control (like how often mommy and daddy feed her).

Sometimes spiritual growth is less about a number and more about waiting, and waiting on God (there's a difference between the two).

Be assured that from the first day we heard of you, we haven’t stopped praying for you, asking God to give you wise minds and spirits attuned to his will, and so acquire a thorough understanding of the ways in which God works. We pray that you’ll live well for the Master, making him proud of you as you work hard in his orchard. As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. ~ Colossians 1:9-10 (MSG)

T

Broken Cups

There's a blog I read in which the author has a three year old son. Right now they're trying to teach him to drink from a cup, a monumental task apparently. The little guy is having a tough time with it. A few days ago he drenched himself (to which dad did the right thing, laughed). But the reason was the best.

"My cup's broken."

Now, we all know that's not the case. His cup was not broken. He didn't do it right. And it's not expected that he be a perfect cup drinker right away. But he will never get better if he constantly blames the cup and doesn't change the real problem, how he drinks, then he will never be able to use a cup properly.

How often do we do this with our relationship with Christ? One of the biggest things that frustrates me when I hear it is someone saying, "God just doesn't seem real." So who's broken here? God? Doubt it. Instead I see someone who used to really love God, and now they don't read their Bible as much, they skip church regularly, praying has gone way down (except in emergencies), they haven't served anyone in months and their priorities have turned to what they want and need. And why doesn't God seem real or close or whatever it was He seemed before?

Is it the cup that's broken?

And when you draw close to God, God will draw close to you. ~ James 4:8a (LB)

T

On The Same Team

I was asked a question last week about how I felt about other churches close to where I live and serve.

A little bit of background, there are two very large churches within twenty miles of my church. They are both doing very well and have decided to create new campuses for their respective churches, each in my town not far from my church. My friend was wondering what our church thinks about this.

For most people the knee-jerk reaction is "competition". Someone else trying to do the same thing we are in our area, how dare they. But for me, great! Why? Because we're all on the same team. If we start seeing other churches as competition, we've missed it. We should all be working together anyway. As Paul wrote:

Is there any such thing as Christians cheering each other up? Do you love me enough to want to help me? Does it mean anything to you that we are brothers in the Lord, sharing the same Spirit? Are your hearts tender and sympathetic at all? Then make me truly happy by loving each other and agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, working together with one heart and mind and purpose. ~ Philippians 2:1-2 (LB)

I know the churches who are coming in, I even know a few of their ministers personally. And I also know one other thing. 80% of my community does not attend church on Sunday morning. I can either view the other churches as competition, or we can all work together to make that number smaller and help them know there is a loving God who wants to restore them to a place of relationship with Him.

Maybe we should all try working together...

T

The Day After Easter

So here we are. We've spent the day at church, family parties, mowing the lawn, whatever it is we did to celebrate Easter. And we're back to the way things were.

Which is completely the wrong way to look at Easter.

For too many people, Easter is an end. It's a completion. Jesus said "it is finished" on the cross, and now it's done. He's back, grace is here, we went to church. We're done.

But if Easter was meant to be the end, Jesus would have made it the end. He would have rose from the dead with a grandiose gesture and made sure everyone saw what He had done. Then He would have said, "It's done. Thanks. See ya!" and rose to heaven right away. He didn't do that. He spent the next 50 days walking around, talking with people, giving hope and instruction.

Easter was not the end.

Easter is the beginning.

Easter is where new life is supposed to begin. All the teaching Christ gave before Easter was to prepare us for life after His triumph over the grave, without that the teaching meant nothing. Instead of celebrating Easter as an end, grace has won, we're done, it's supposed to be the start of a new life. We being anew in grace, we have a gospel to share, a life to invite people to start living, one that we start living into ourselves. If anything, today, the day after Easter, is the first day of our new lives.

So as we reflect on the weekend, don't let it be the end. Don't let it be a past celebration. Let it be the start of a new life in Christ. And let it be one we share with everyone around us.

Since you became alive again, so to speak, when Christ arose from the dead, now set your sights on the rich treasures and joys of heaven where he sits beside God in the place of honor and power. Let heaven fill your thoughts; don’t spend your time worrying about things down here. You should have as little desire for this world as a dead person does. Your real life is in heaven with Christ and God.  ~ Colossians 3:1-3 (LB)





T

Passover Dinner

Last night sr. high students from Fire & Water celebrated a Passover dinner. It wasn't quite as solemn as I expected, but that's the fun of working with teenagers.

I think the big impact for me was the recognition of tradition. This is a meal that has been celebrated by billions of people over the course of 3500 years. Moses ate this dinner. King David ate this dinner. On the night that He was betrayed, Jesus ate this dinner with His disciples. It's this idea that people still eat this same meal down to what is served and what is said all to remember an amazing and mighty act of God.

What if every time God did something amazing in our lives, we created a personal celebration to remember it? What if every Sunday morning we approached worship with a sense of understanding that what we are doing has been in some form or another celebrated for thousands of years every single week by a huge population of our planet? What if every time we took communion we remembered that Jesus Himself started this tradition?

If you get a chance to this week, join a Passover dinner. You may be surprised at what you learn about God and about yourself.

T

Flooding

Thursday we had the pleasure of waking up to a downpour and thunderstorm (when I say "waking up to", I really mean "woken up by around 5:45am"). In addition to that I was lucky enough to see the water start to gather in my backyard as well as on the sides of the house.

I have the pleasure of living in a part of town that floods quite often. There's a park near my house at the bottom of the hill, it's now a lake. The roads had water gathering on them and I'm guessing some will be closed by the time I have to go home. That's part of the fun of where I live, there is limestone just a few feet under the earth so any water that falls has no place to go. It will just sit and rise.

There are many floods mentioned in the Bible (one that is now a major motion picture, and from what I hear, the flood is the only part of the story they got right), and the word is almost always used in a scary way. Once in a while a translation will say a room was flooded with light. Other than that, flooding always means death and destruction. One of the most popular flood mentioned is the Nile river, which floods every year. Sometimes it's even mentioned as an example of an army attacking, like the Nile flooding over the land.

But there's one verse that's different:

And the waters of the Nile will fail to rise and flood the fields; the ditches will be parched and dry, their channels fouled with rotting reeds. All green things along the riverbank will wither and blow away. All crops will perish; everything will die. The fishermen will weep for lack of work; those who fish with hooks and those who use the nets will all be unemployed. The weavers will have no flax or cotton, for the crops will fail. Great men and small—all will be crushed and broken. ~ Isaiah 19:5-10 (LB)

Sometimes flooding is necessary. I have been to an area of the Mississippi that floods every year, and that flood deposits moisture rich silt and nutrients for miles and miles allowing crops to grow. The destruction that comes in the spring is crucial to the food and crops in the fall. Without devastating floods, many peoples of the world would starve.

Next time life seems like it's flooding all around you and you're to the brink of drowning, realize this may be necessary to fertilize something amazing in your future. It's horrible to be in the flood, but what the flood produces later could be amazing and bountiful.

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