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

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