Philadelphia - Day 3

It's hard to believe our time of serving in Philly is half done! Thank you all for your prayers and support, here are three more stories from some of our students today. And if you would like to see pictures or other little snippets follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

I'm assuming that you all have seen the movie Rocky, I am also assuming you’re familiar with the famous steps. Well today we all got to go visit and run up those very same steps (and take some pretty awesome pictures with the Rocky statue). There were races and lots and lots of sweat as we conquered the steps and it was pretty exciting being able to experience the same ones. However, the steps weren’t the only thing I participated in today. On this very hot day in Philadelphia, I worked at Germantown Garden, a small garden run by a very kind woman named Amanda. She not only handed her fruits and vegetables out to neighbors, family friends, and local organizations, but she ran a small produce stand at least twice a week to make some extra money. Unfortunately, the loved garden and vegetable stand were not able to support Amanda as needed, so it was necessary that she get a full time job, resulting in a substantial amount of work NOT getting done in her prized garden. We were privileged to be able to help her with the immense task of tackling the jungle of weeds. It was truly amazing getting to see the fruit of our labor as the garden finally started to look like a clean, fruitful piece of land. Although the heat never stopped and the exhaustion set in, feeling God work through us on this day was truly an amazing feeling that I am glad to have gotten the opportunity to do. -Lauren

Today I worked at a garden called Blessed Roots where we spent the day pulling roots out of plant beds then planting some new plants. When we first got there we couldn’t see the plant beds at all and assumed that the plants were planted in the ground. By the end of the day every root was gone. The garden had been completely cleared and ready for new plants. It was amazing to see how much we could get accomplished in just a short amount of time. The best part was that we were still able to enjoy ourselves by doing things like singing and taking occasional breaks to play with the cute little snakes. Despite the fact that we were doing exhausting work in the sun everyone still had a positive attitude without complaining, making the day much more enjoyable and allowing us to get more done. -Katie

Over the past two days I have been able to learn so much about why agriculture is so important and beneficial to the people in Philadelphia. I have enjoyed getting to see the gardens and weeding them, knowing that my little action of pulling out a few weeds will have an impact on the community, and help the farmers and groups ahead of us to be ready to plant more. Today I worked at a garden, where my job was weeding small flower plants. At first I was very confused why they had flowers if they were planning on growing food, but then I learned all the flowers grown there were sent out to various farms around the city. The flowers were then used at the farms to attract certain insects that would get rid of the pests that would keep the food from growing. Getting to eat all locally grown or organic food has been a very different experience but I have enjoyed it a lot so far. Its been fun to try food that I would normally eat at home like pizza, sandwiches, and waffles, but it’s a whole new taste that I have found to be really good so far. The trip has only been two days but it’s been a lot of fun and a whole new experience that I’m extremely thankful I’ve gotten to be a part of. -Kaili

Philadelphia - Day 2

Today was our first real day of a mission trip. We worked hard, interacted with others, spent time with Jesus and finally got to take showers (yay). But as always, I will let the students tell the story. Again, thank you for your prayers and support, it's crazy to think that 1/4 of our time serving here is already done!

It’s sad for me to say that this is my last mission trip with the church as I am soon to go onto college, but I think that this bittersweet time will produce the best change for me and the others here with me. I can’t think of a place better than one of the most important cities in American history to have my final High School trip than Philadelphia. There are so many opportunities here to better myself and to try to leave an image of Christ to the people here that shows who He truly is.

The issue of how people keep themselves fed has been a theme throughout our short time here so far, and will be for the rest of the week. In a place with such a loss for hope there are people here in this community that truly want to help make this a better place and transcend their differences from their neighbors. Today, the entirety of the students on this trip from the several different churches worked to clear a community garden. While we were pulling weeds, a man on a motorcycle pulled up next to the fence and wanted to know what we were doing. After it was explained to him that we were working as volunteers, he said that he wanted to help to make his community better.

There is certainly an immense amount of work that must be done before this city with such an amazing past can become great again, but I know that if more people can get the attitude of charity like our biker friend, then this city of brotherly love can hope to live up to the promises of its name. -Mattheus

Hey!

I have to say that it has only been a little over 24 hours since we arrived, and I believe this is my favorite mission trip yet! It is a unique site, in that most of the food we eat is homegrown and what isn’t homegrown is organic. We also get to work at the sites that the food comes from! Seeing the people in charge of the sites having such immense passion for horticulture and the benefits it has on society is amazing to me. Today we got to go on a tour of something called a green roof! This was really cool. Green roofs are basically mats of plants on the roofs of buildings. This is said to prolong the life-span of the roof by 25 years! The roots from the plants take in 100,000 gallons of water when it storms which reduces flooding of the sewage systems. I love that something that seems so simple can solve so many problems! (thanks God)

One thing that has amazed me is how the 3 churches here have gelled and became friends so quickly. Even the Youthworks staff have interacted so much, and it feels like we have been together for an entire week already! I believe God had a plan when our plans to go to Atlanta fell through, and I’m so glad he had these wonderful people here waiting for us. I am so excited to see what else God has in store for me and the rest of the group! -Grace

So far this has been a very good mission trip I think. It was a long bus ride, but we made the best of it by distracting ourselves with card games. Today started out with a prayer walk along a river and a tour of PECO, the Pennsylvania Electric Company, that focused on its green roof. The roof helps reduce storm water damage and can reduce costs too. Then after lunch we went to an urban garden and pulled weeds. It was really hot and sunny outside and we were fighting with 4 foot tall weeds, but it was amazing what we accomplished because we all worked together. We got a lot more done since all of the crews were together today. We also got to meet and bond with a lot of people from the other churches, which helped make it a good day. My crew got to know kids from Maryland in the van today, and playing cards after we got back. I saw Jesus in how we all worked so willingly together today, and when a man drove up and asked how he could volunteer when he saw us working in the garden. We all got a lot of scrapes from the weeds, but it was a very good day and the work was very satisfying since we could really see all that we had done. -Megan

Philadelphia - Day 1

Well, we're here! It was a long trip (about 12.5 hours total) so many of us are glad to be out of the vehicles and into our new home. Most of our time here has been eating and learning a little about the community and what we will be doing over the next four days. But as always, I'll let the students tell you how their day has been. Thanks for your prayers and support!

The second song that we as a group today was, Open the Eyes of my Heart Lord. The premise of this song was all about God being able to basically become a part of you and help you to do his will here on Earth. This was particularly impactful to me because as this is my first mission trip, I hadn’t really “served” outside of my little Fishers bubble. Being able to hear a song on our first night here which all but summed up my goals and aspirations for me on this mission and it was really impactful being able to see Christ at Work in me and around me. –Zane

 

Today when we drove into Philadelphia the first thing I thought was, wow this city is really beautiful. And never would I have thought that over 400,000 people are food insecure. Out of those people the majority of them are children. When we got to the church that is housing us this week the first thing I did was try to make some friends from the other churches. For dinner I tried my hardest not to be with just Fishers kids. I tried to get out of my comfort zone and meet new people from the other churches. I was very successful. I have already made 3-4 new friends. They haven’t ever been on a mission trip so this week I want to help them throughout this amazing experience. –Braedy

 

Knowing that I had a twelve hour car ride ahead of me today, I found it extremely hard to remain positive by spending it a tightly packed van/bus.  Even worse, the bus had an AC that was providing little relief to the sun blazing all day long overhead.  But then I remembered that this trip wasn’t about being comfortable.  The trip is about growing closer to both Jesus, the community of Philadelphia, and Fishers UMC.  It’s hard to talk about how much Fishers UMC has impacted my life to this date in just one blog post, but I know for certain that it’s hard to stay sad and miserable with these amazing people surrounding me.  Between playing card games and singing every Taylor Swift song ever in the bus, I realized that Christ has put me in a home where I feel comfortable and safe with the other members on the Fire and Water student ministries.  With this in mind, I hope to remember Jesus’ goal to make everyone stay happy and safe, not only in Fishers UMC, but also in Philly this week. –Evan H.

Stop Focusing On Yourself

The best way to stop being self-centered... serve.

I know that sounds mean to say, but our culture has gradually shifted toward making people self-centered. It's a great marketing strategy that has been around for decades but the newer generations have been told it their whole lives. Apple knew what they were doing when they had all their products start with "i", ad companies focus so much on what "you deserve", customer service is all based on making you happy.

Eventually it takes a toll. If you are told to focus on yourself long enough, you do it. Do you think it's a coincidence that at the moment our country is in huge debates over what "my rights" and "my freedoms" are, not what's best for everyone or even listening to differing opinions? We are raising people to focus on themselves.

And this is why I love mission trips. For a week students have to focus on others, serve others, put others first and in turn put themselves and their wants and desires aside. And the revelations that come out of that are amazing.

Next week we will be serving in Philadelphia. Each night three students (and adults) will be sharing stories right here about what they experienced that day. Please come back and read them, you may be shocked with what they discover. You can also see pictures and quick updates on our Facebook and Twitter pages (just search Fire & Water Student Ministries).

Pray for us as we serve others and break down some walls focused on ourselves!

T

After Being Forced...

Last week the Richards family took a little vacation. It was nice to get away.

We went to Holiday World with a toddler. There is not a heck of a lot rides she can ride, and when you add in the night of no sleep we had a little one who was a little cranky. In the morning all she wanted to do was walk up and down an inclined wood ramp. Yay.

After her nap we decided to take her swimming. She had been to a small splash park in the morning and hated it. At the wave pool, she would barely enter and kept trying to "save us" (pulling us out by our finger). She never went above her knees. Then we took her to the smaller pool with the small water slides. And still nothing. Splash park a bust, pool a bust, nothing was working.

Until my wife told me to force her down a slide and take her with me.

It was a battle. There was kicking and screaming. She likes to plank and go limp. She cried at the top of the slide. I put her in my lap and down we went.

And everything changed.

For the next two and a half hours we went down the slides. She would pull me to them and ask to go. she screamed and giggled and clapped every time. She walked in the deep water to pull me faster to the slide. She went to the splash park. She played in the wave pool. She did everything she wouldn't do before.

All because she was forced.

How many times do you think God has something amazing for us but we won't do it, and we are pulled kicking and screaming and still we can't take the amazing thing He has for us because it's new or we're scared or it's not what we think we want. Maybe we should let Him do it. Maybe it will be the next best thing we've ever experienced and want more...

T

Appreciation Is Free... With A Cost

Yesterday was Father's Day. Not really my most favorite day of the year simply because I don't like all the attention. I'm a dad, I don't do it for accolades. But I realize the reason behind the day is to show appreciation to all those who are dads in the lives of others.

I see the importance because this week I was able to see the two sides of appreciation. I saw people serving Jesus and the only way they were paid was in compliments and thanks. It made a huge difference to them and fired them up to serve more. I also saw people get overlooked, they had worked hard and they didn't even get a thank-you. They were invisible to those they were serving.

The cost of appreciation doesn't come in giving it. It is a free gift to give. The cost comes when you don't give it. You will pay the price.

Make sure those who you appreciate know it. I think too often people don't understand how praise works. If you can't see it and know it's there, it isn't praise. Thinking good thoughts isn't praise anymore than thinking someone is great makes them feel appreciated. Go out of your way and make sure they know.

It'll cost you if they don't know it...

T

It Takes Time

Three years ago my wife got a peony plant. It's very nice, we transplanted it on the side of the house with a couple of hostas. Pretty.

But the peony had a small problem. It didn't look like it would survive. I tried everything, I gave it extra water, plant food, and yet no matter what we got a tiny little stick out of the ground.

Until this year.

A few weeks ago our peony was huge, and flowering. It was funny to see Lorie realize we had this plant for years and she never knew what color the flowers were. So for the first time we were able to clip the flowers and put them in our house.

So many times we said "it's dead" or "let's give it one more year". Sometimes the only thing necessary for growth is time. Faithful watering and care may not seem to be producing any fruit, but it's in there, and could pop out at any time.

Keep being faithful for Christ.

T

Remember The Obvious

The other day I was getting groceries with the students for our food pantry (we call it "Supermarket Sweeps", who remembers that one?) and we saw a plane fly by with a banner behind it. Of course, everyone wanted to know what the banner said, but it was flying toward us, you couldn't see the sides of the banner. As the plane flew over students were making sure those on the other side of the bus saw it. Eventually the plane turned  and they were excited to read an ad for McDonald's drinks, all sizes $1.

One of the students finally piped up, "but they're always a dollar." Yep. McDonald's understands something we seem to forget in faith sometimes, we need to be reminded of the obvious. We take it for granted, don't think about it, and forget it.

I did a search in my Bible, I found over 4000 verses that have the word "remember" in it. One is a favorite of a friend of mine, he constantly uses it to prove this point. It's II Timothy 2:8, "Always remember that Jesus Christ, a descendant of King David, was raised from the dead." (NLT). Why would a pastor need to be told that? Isn't that so blatantly obvious he would know it already? You would hope so...

Sometimes we need to be reminded of the obvious to keep us on the right path. Even last night, discussing better ways to know the Word of God and a student said, "this one's kind of obvious, but go to a Bible Study." He's right, it seems obvious, but how many times do we overlook it?

Keep the obvious in front of you. Remember, Jesus Christ died and was raised from the dead.

T

Seeing New Things

Having an 18 month old daughter, there are certain movies that she loves. Tangled, Frozen, and the two newer Muppet movies. We have seen each of these so many times (I'm sure it's in the hundreds). I have heard "Let It Go" way too many times...

But what amazes me is even after seeing these movies so many times I still see something new. Even the other day, we were watching "Muppets Most Wanted" and a little something in the background, nothing major at all, made me laugh because I had missed it the first 263 times.

It reminded me of a story I heard of a professor teaching his class how to examine aquatic life. He gave them each a fish and told them to write down everything they could about the fish. They made a list and gave it to the professor. He took the list, and asked them to do it again, finding something different. So they did, and they found something different. They handed in the list, and he made them do it again. You get the picture. Too often we think we have seen it all but in reality, we haven't. It can take many viewings and we keep seeing new things.

For our prayer night, whenever we have a Scripture to read, this is why we have students do this experiment seven times. They read it once, write what they learn, then do it again and again. And each time, they see something new.

I hope we have the same attitude with Scripture. We may have read this section or heard this story before, but is there something we missed? What if we read it again, and again?

T

Loudness Does Not Equal Rightness

Being a musician I have played with a lot of people. And there's one thing that always makes me laugh (and cringe, and annoy me). It's the idea that power or "oomph" to music can be accomplished the wrong way.

For instance, the easiest way to mask a bad song and seemingly give it power, just be louder. Yeah, this sounds like crap, but if I just play it louder it will be better. Usually the musician feels this is working, the audience, not so much. Another trick of false power is speed, if I just play this faster it will be better.

In talking with someone yesterday, I wonder if we do this in conversation. Do we do this when we want to make a point? What I have to say is weak, so I'll yell it. That denotes power to what I'm saying. SEE, I IF TYPE IN ALL CAPS IT MAKES MY POINT EVEN MORE!!!!!!!!!

Proverbs 15 starts with "a gentle answer turns away anger" (in some translations anger is "wrath"). Maybe if you feel the need to yell your point, you should examine what your point is and come up with a better one (or a better what to explain it).

T

Playing For This Life Or The Next

Those that know me know I'm a big Montreal Canadiens fan. I love this time of year with playoff hockey, but the other night I was not happy at all. They lost with less than two seconds left in the game. I was doing everything in my power not to yell and wake up the house.

But there's a reason they lost. In the last minute of the game the score was 1-1, and both teams reacted differently to that situation. Montreal decided to go on the defensive and do everything they could to control the game and send it into overtime. No rash decisions, no big plays. Just get to overtime.

Tampa did the opposite. They blitzed. They went for the puck. They took shots. They were not content to simply get to overtime, they wanted to win the game.

It made me think about faith. How many people see "overtime" as a sure thing and are simply coasting to get there? Living defensively, keeping control, no rash decisions or actions. It's a sure thing, let's just wait it out until we get there. And how many people are playing to "win" at this life? Loving boldly, doing things that may be a little dangerous, living like this is overtime and what we do now counts.

I love my team, but they did the wrong thing. This life wasn't intended to be a placeholder until heaven. We can't just sit back and coast there. This life counts. What we do now counts. How we live, who he love, how we worship and show Jesus to the world now counts.

T

"I Want To Give Someone Else A Chance"

Do you know what this kind of thinking leads to?

Nothing.

If everyone thinks "I want to give someone else a chance to pray", no one prays.
If everyone thinks "I want to give someone else a chance to experience the mission trip", there is no mission trip.
If everyone thinks "I want to give someone else a chance to go to that dinner so I'll give up my spot", there is no dinner.

At FIRE & WATER sometimes we have Scripture on the screen and I always let a student read it. A while ago a few students really wanted to do it so they started scrambling to be first to read. You know what it led to? More people scrambling to be the first to read. One time the entire group just read it in unison because they couldn't figure out who read it first and no one wanted to give up the opportunity to read.

If you really want to give someone else the chance to be a part of something, don't step back and give them the example of not doing it. Give the example of being excited and being a part, that's more likely to get others involved and being a part of whatever is going on.

T

______ That Proves Everything In Your Life Is A Lie

It's easy to do. To take a few instances and make it a universal truth.

I've been getting posts about this in my Facebook feed. These pictures show lies, so therefore everything in your life is a lie. It's an easy trap to fall into.

Just because that one guy was a jerk doesn't mean all guys are jerks.
Just because one person got hurt on that ride doesn't mean everyone will get hurt.
Just because your team lost when you watched the game doesn't mean you have to not watch any for them to win.
Just because you had a bad day when it rained doesn't mean every rainy day is going to be a bad day.

You get the picture. Learn to separate a single truth from a universal truth. It will make life much better.

T

Ellsberg Paradox

This came across my path last week, I had never heard of it and did a little research.

Basically, this paradox says that people are more likely to take part in a risk if they know the odds than if they don't know the odds. Here's an example: If I say, "Buy a lottery ticket, the odds of winning are two million to one," I am more likely to sell that ticket than if I were to say, "Buy this lottery ticket, but I don't know the odds of you winning." Realistically I could have a waaaaay better chance of winning with the second ticket, but just because of the fear of not knowing I am more likely to go with the first ticket.

We like to know, we hate not knowing (I've written about that before). But I had never thought about the fact we are willing to go out on a limb that we will most likely lose just because we know we might lose rather than not know what our chances are. We would rather take an extremely slim chance over an unknown chance (even though the unknown chance could be infinitely better).

I wonder if this is what holds us back from growing in Christ. If I knew telling people about Jesus would bring a 1 in 100 return rate, I'd know my odds so I'd tell people about Jesus. However, not knowing how many people will like what I say it's safer to just tell no one. If I knew how Jesus would use my faith I'd step out even if it was hard and took forever to come true, but since I don't know it's safer to not step out.

Is not knowing our chances really that much worse...?

T

Can You Handle Not Knowing?

Last week was a big day for fans of "Lost". Not really, but if you've seen the show there was a string of numbers that inevitably led to bad luck: 4, 9, 15, 16, 23, 42. So, like Pi day this year (3.141592653) the numbers can be turned into a date and time this year (Lost = Apr. 9, 15, 4:23:42pm).

What does this have to do with anything? I have no idea. The numbers were crucial to many stories in the show except for one thing, it was never explained what they mean and why they were so vital. There are guesses on the internet, but it was never explained. Neither was the polar bear, the Darma shark, why the island needed a "Jacob", etc. There were tons of things that were just never, ever explained.

For my wife, that was horrific. She needed to know. We would finish some episodes and she'd get mad at the TV, "Now I'm more confused." My sister would ask me questions while on the chatboards and searching the internet for information. They had a hard time with accepting in the show you just will not know, you will never understand, and we will never go back to help you get it.

There are many people in my life like that. I think it's part of being in the digital information age. Any answer we want is at our fingertips. Except they're not all there, nor are the all right. To fully trust in God means there are things we just can't understand. I don't know how the Trinity works, and I'm okay with that. But are you? Can you handle not knowing all there is to know about  God and still believe in Him?

I also don't know how light works, scientists are still trying to figure it out, but I believe it exists and I don't question it. Same with gravity or many other things in our universe. Maybe when it comes to God we need to have the same attitude, I don't know how it works, but I see the effects and I trust it's there. Is that good enough to start a faith journey with Christ?

“Can you solve the mysteries of God? Can you discover everything about the Almighty?  ‎Such knowledge is higher than the heavens— and who are you? It is deeper than the underworld— what do you know?  ‎It is broader than the earth and wider than the sea. ~ Job. 11:7-9 (NLT)

T

It's Monday...

...now what?

It's easy to get wrapped up in Sunday morning. Christ is risen, appears to people, God be praised and worshipped, Sunday is a great ride. But what do you do Monday?

Monday is what decides how real Easter is for you. Monday is the day where we stop celebrating and start living the resurrection. Monday is the day where faith leaves the four walls of the church and becomes real for the world.

Too many of us love Jesus on Sunday. What about Monday? How are you living out the event of complete holy love that you celebrated yesterday?

T

Do You Really Know The Story?

About a month ago, CNN put out this article:

http://www.cnn.com/2015/02/19/living/bible-not-jesus/index.html

This is one of my all-time frustrations. Hearing people tell me things that they think are in the Bible but are not there at all. We hear it from other places, see movies, pictures, listen to stories, music, whatever it is and just take those things for truth.

For instance, this Thursday is celebrated by a famous painting that is hundreds of years old. Da Vinci's Last Supper. Whenever you hear about the Last Supper that's the image many people see. But is that really how it happened? The painting has a huge room with banners on the wall and rolling hills in the windows behind them. Do you really think a little place in Jerusalem had that? Do you think they really all sat on the same side of the table? Of course not, but a painting where half the people are the backs of their heads blocking others in a small space isn't as nice. Da Vinci wasn't there, it was all in his imagination.

How often do we do this with other parts of the Bible? Here's my challenge, this week is Holy Week. It is one of the few stories that is found in all four Gospels (even Jesus' birth isn't in all of them). Take this week and actually read for yourself the story from Sunday to Sunday from each of the Gospels. Matthew 21-28, Mark 11-16, Luke 19-24, John 12-20. Pick one. Read them all. Get to know the real story. It's the most important one in all of human history.

T

A Single Brick

If someone were to tell the truth 50% of the time, would that be considered good?

What about 1 out of 4, they only lied one time out of four, that's pretty good, right?

1 in 10? That's an A grade, so it must be fantastic...?

What about 5%, only 5% of the time someone lied, is that someone you could trust?

Here's the crazy think about integrity, it takes a lot of work to build but only a second to destroy. It's not an even street, a few more truths over lies makes you honest. No, being truthful all the time makes you honest. It's like a huge game of Jenga, it takes a ton of bricks to build it high. Remove one brick and the whole thing comes crumbling down.

It's not about perfection, no one is perfect. But we have to do our best to guard our integrity, especially if it's so fragile.

T

Holy Robots

I have been reading a book on robotics lately (I shared a post earlier of robots working together). As I've said before, it's amazing and horrifying...

But I read a section the other day that was very disturbing. Holy robots. No, I'm not kidding and I'm not talking about robots that are somehow anointed (maybe they are?). They are robots that are given the task of performing holy duties. Like one that will pray for you.

Now robots are supposed to be designed to do the tasks that we don't want to do, they're dangerous, they take too much time, etc. But what does it say about us that we are developing robots to do religious tasks for us? Are we so lazy in our faith we want a robot to pray for us? One gentleman had a more noble pursuit in mind, the robot would teach children the acts of faith. That sounds great on the surface, but again, what does it say about us that we are too lazy to teach our children ourselves about the acts of faith and instead give it off to a robot to do?

Maybe we don't all have robots doing our holy chores, but are there things we know we should do for Jesus that we simply don't because it takes to much time or we simply don't want to?

Never get tired of doing good. ~ II Thessalonians 3:13b

T

Is Jesus Just For Children?

Seriously, is He?

I was looking up something the other day, so I Googled stories about Jesus. And the top sites to come up were for children.

Now, I am all for children knowing about Jesus. Absolutely. But have we transformed the stories of Jesus and our understanding of who He is into fairy tales for kids before bedtime? Is the Jesus most people know the one they learned about as a six-year-old or the adult Jesus who still breathes life into them today?

In this season of Lent, before we hit Easter, take a look at what you know about Jesus and what role He plays in your life. Is it Jesus or is it a G-rated folklore children's story of Jesus?

T

Do We Heed The Warning

Many times we hear the story of Peter denying Jesus the night before Jesus is crucified. Before the rooster crows Peter will deny Jesus three times.

But there's a little something in there people miss.

In Mark 14, it says this: Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, Peter—this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you even know me.” (Mark 14:30, NLT)

Then, when Peter is in the courtyard, this happens: Meanwhile, Peter was in the courtyard below. One of the servant girls who worked for the high priest came by and noticed Peter warming himself at the fire. She looked at him closely and said, “You were one of those with Jesus of Nazareth."
But Peter denied it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, and he went out into the entryway. Just then, a rooster crowed. (Mark 14:66-68, NLT)

It wasn't just that the rooster would crow, the rooster would crow twice. Peter was given a warning in the middle of his denying Jesus that he needed to check himself.

This made me start wondering, do you think we get warning signs from God? Whether we're about to do something wrong, or to help us do something right, is God giving us warnings that we need to heed and pay attention to?

What do you think would have happened if Peter had listened to the first crow of the rooster and think about what was going on...?

T

Spiritual Adjustment

If you've ever come to anything at FIRE & WATER, you've probably noticed something. Your eyes have to adjust to the light levels.

The Wharf is a little darker than most rooms (on purpose), and if you come in from outside it can be a real adjustment. When we do our prayer nights, it's done in the dark (again, on purpose) and for some it can take a while for your eyes to adjust to the darkness.

But then something amazing happens. Our eyes adjust. Then when we go in the gym or turn on the lights to clean up you hear the collective groan and people cover their eyes. Suddenly, what was not that bright before is "too bright" and hurts. Why?

Because we adjust.

This happens spiritually too. If you put yourself in a horrible situation spiritually, eventually you will adjust and learn to be comfortable in it. Likewise, if you put yourself in a good situation spiritually you will adjust to that too. Many are uncomfortable serving on the first day of a mission trip, by they end they miss it.

This is one of the purposes of Lent, we force ourselves into a spiritual adjustment. If you are giving up something for Lent simply because it's "the thing to do", yeah, it may not make a great deal of impact. But if you give up something as a dedication to God, you replace it with something that will help you grow spiritually, by the end of 40 days you may start to notice something different about yourself and your relationship with God.

Here's a prayer to all you taking on Lent, may your spirit start to adjust to your new lifestyle and may you grow closer to Christ, so close that when Lent is done you will want to keep your change because you've adjusted to it.

T

Sharing Is Caring

For Christmas I was given a book about robotics, how we are doing, new discoveries, etc. It's both amazing and intensely terrifying...

But one story I read the other day was intriguing. There was an experiment done with little robots collecting "food" (plastic discs). After each try, the robots who failed had their memory wiped and replaced with a combination of the successful robots memories. Eventually, the thinking is, you will have the best robot brains for the task.

So they continued to do this and eventually they had the best robots, with one small side effect. The robots shared. They worked together and shared the food so that no robot was in last and would get it's memory wiped. They learned the best thing they could do was to share food.

That's why we do the 30 Hour Famine. It's the best thing we can do for our world, share our resource. Share food. Sign up today to be a part.

And you can watch the robots I mentioned before here: http://www.wired.com/2011/05/robot-altruism/

T

Would You Do It?

Yesterday I was reading the story of Jesus coming to Jerusalem for the last time, the Sunday before He was crucified. It's a popular story, people love Jesus, waving branches, singing, etc. But there was one little part that stuck out to me in a different way.

Jesus asks some disciples to go get a colt for Him to ride into Jerusalem on. It would be tied up and they were just supposed to take it and say, "it's for Jesus." So they go into town, see the colt, and just take it. Some people see the disciples taking the colt and ask what they're doing and they respond how they were told. "It's for Jesus."

And everyone let's them take it.

Here's my question, would you do it? If someone came and started to drive away in your car and you tried to stop them, but they said, "it's for Jesus," would you let them go? If Jesus were to really ask something of us like that, would we do it?

T