Live A Revolution... Every Day

The Rosco P. Coltrane Hot Pursuit

 

I love the Duke's of Hazzard.

Especially Rosco P. Coltrane, when he says, "I'm in hot pursuit!"

The dude is hilarious. But all too often, I find I'm just like him... especially in the last week.

We're going through the 10 Commandments at Revolve. We're taking one each week and walking through it.

As I was studying the first one, this hit me...

"I am so worn out. Just exhausted."

Now this could be the result of a couple of things...

Lack of sleep. Not eating right. Lack of exercise.

But more times than not, it's because

I'm

not

following

the

First Commandment...

"You must not have any other god but Me." - Exodus 20v3 

More times than not, when I'm exhausted, it's because I'm chasing after other gods in my life other than the One True God.

-Acceptance from my kids
-Acceptance and success in my job
-Success in ministry
-Money
-Selling our home

The list could go on and on. And it's a list of a hot pursuit of "other gods" - Like Rosco chasing after the Duke Boys... I get exhausted chasing something I rarely ever catch.

But...

The 10 Commandments isn't simply a list of do's and don'ts - right's and wrongs - laws... it's a glimpse into the heart of God. God doesn't want me to simply keep Him first (whatever that means) because He's got a big ego, He wants me to pursue Him because that pursuit brings life and not exhaustion.

So what's your "Rosco P. Coltrane" hot pursuit? 

Why not switch it up and get in hot pursuit with God?

Revolve Series: "Questions" - Week Two

 
 
Each week, a student picks a question to cover for the next week's meeting. It can be about anything. This week, we tackled: "How do I know what God's plan is for my life"

Below are some talking points that we took from an article from Dawson McAllister on christiananswers.net.

1. God's plan is first, that we have a relationship with him: 1 Timothy 2:3-4

2. The Bible will help us to know God's plan: Psalm 119:105

3. God promises to give us wisdom if we pray to him: James 1:5

4. God gives us the Holy Spirit to guide us in truth: John 16:13a

5. We need to ask others who are trustworthy: Proverbs 15:22

6. God has given each of us gifts and abilities (not just spiritual gifts): Romans 12:6-8

Next week... "What is the purpose of the earth (creation) and people?"

Sweet Creme Crap and Trying New Things with Students

What you're looking at is a mixture of hot water, Italian Sweet Creme creamer, and orange pekoe & pekoe black tea.

I thought it would be good... kind of like Starbuck's Tazo Chai Tea Latte 

That's what I thought.

In actuality... it sucked. I will never make this concoction again...

ever. 

It's got the smell of vanilla protein weight gainer.

And it tastes like watered down, vanilla crap. I don't know what crap tastes like, but i'm sure that crap mixed with water and vanilla would taste exactly like this.

It sounded like a great idea. I thought it would be a taste of awesomeness. 

But it wasn't, and it didn't. 

The thing is... if I wouldn't have tried it out, I would have never known. 

And I'm sure I'll try a different mixture later on. This bafoonery won't stop me from trying to make something else.

And whether we're talking about parenting, or student ministering, or youth working... we need to try new things.

Different things. 

Some may be great, like Starbuck's Chai Tea Latte.

Some things will be utter colossal failures, like my mixture of hot water, Italian Sweet Creme creamer, and orange pekoe & pekoe black tea.

But we have to try. AND, we have to keep trying after we fail.

So what's worked and what's failed?

I'm curious. 

One Thing You Need to Make a Difference

If you want to make a difference...

Have More Conversation.

If you want to better your marriage...

Have More Conversation.

If you want to be a better parent...

Have More Conversation.

If you want to be a better friend...

Have More Conversation.

I think I need to...

Have More Conversation.

You?

 

Why I Work with Families - A Story of Hope

Click to read about A story of hope

The story above is why I work with students... with families... to walk down the road of hope. 

Sometimes it's ugly.

Sometimes it's pretty.

Sometimes it's covered in crap.

But it's always there...

Hope is always there. It's always here.

We just have to be willing to see it.

To get our hands dirty. 

To get messy with others.

So that we find hope.

Cause it's always there. It's always here.

And this story illustrates just one reason why I work with students and families. It's a story of hope.

Why do you do what you do?

Click to read about A story of hope 

Drowning in the Pool of Excuses

I love the story of Moses and the burning bush.

After God gets Moses' attention, Go tells Moses that He's seen the suffering of His people and is going to rescue them.

At this point, Moses has got to like, "Ya. You go God. Whip the Egyptians!"

But God's got a different idea. He tells Moses that He's going to send HIM to Pharaoh.

Moses is like, "Ummm, what you talkin 'bout God?"

And he runs through every possible excuse he could come up with.

I don't know about you, but I've been where Moses has been. And I still find myself wading through the pool of excuses.

The pool of excuses is powerful - powerful enough to drown the very person God wants to use... because here's what the pool of excuses cause people to do:

1. Doubt yourself: Exodus 3:11, 4:10 - This is one of the biggest battles I face.
2. Doubt others: Exodus 4:1 - Moses started wondering if he Egytians would even listen to him. Ever been there? I have.
3. Doubt God: Exodus 4:13 - even after all the help God said He would provide, Moses still doubted and in essence said, "I don't believe You".

The pool of excuses sucks. If Moses gave in, it would have drown the very thing God called him to do.

But Moses didn't give in. Despite all of the excuses he came up with, despite all of the doubts, he obeyed God and followed the calling on his life.

I think that why I love this story so much... Moses eventually sucked it up and followed God's voice and pulls himself out of the pool o excuses.

Moses did. You can do it. And so can I.

Romans 8:15 (The Message)
2Timothy 1:7

Excuses. Excuses. Excuses. My Top Ten Excuses.

 
We've all made'em. And we've got'em for everything... diets, workouts, studying, chores. And for me, there's one more category: getting things done for Revolve. So here they are, my top ten excuses I make when it comes to Revolve:

10. I'm tired, beat, spent.
9. I'll get to it later.
8. I don't feel like it.
7. I don't have time right now.
6. I don't have the resources.
5. I'm not good enough.
4. I forgot.
3. I'm just not sure.
2. There's not as many students coming as I would like.
1. I'm frustrated.

Each of these excuses have run through my head more than I would like to admit. But the key is to not stay there. In my next post, I'll talk about how I pull through each one.

Until then, what are some excuses you battle with?

The $500 Lesson - Ouch!

So...

Last night, at Revolve, my Xbox 360 was ripped off. Locked the doors, thought we had a good head count. But one dude was able to slip away and took off with the console, three games and two controllers.

What is that, about $500 bones worth of stuff. And to top it off, it's "my" stuff that we used for ministry purposes.

Not gonna lie, I was pissed... on the inside... and prolly a little on the outside as well. Still am. And, I'm sad to say, I even prayed at one point that my Xbox would get the Red Ring of Death as he was playing UFC.

And what sucks even more, we were teaching James 2:1-13. Here's what verse 10 says, "For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God's laws." Nooooo. I wanted to be sooooo angry at this kid. He's guilty. I am justified with being angry at him, at thinking negative thoughts about him - at thinking he's just as grimey as the nasty cat pictured below. There's just one problem, I'm guilty too. Just as he's broken God's law, I have too... making me

just

like

him.

And then to top it off, verse 13 says, "There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you." When someone hurts me, I get angry, like Incredible Hulk angry. Only without the muscles or turning green. But it doesn't have to be like that. In fact, it shouldn't.

So I had a choice last night, as I do today and tomorrow - to live in my anger, or extend mercy. I wish it was a natural, easy choice for me. But it's something I'm still working on.

But here's the bottom line - things are just things. If I place more value on things than relationships, then I'm just as bad off as the thief. And, even though it hurts, this is the exact type of kid we're trying to reach.

It just sucks that it took $500 to teach me a lesson.

From Cookies to Pizza - Waiting On God

Last night at Revolve, we had a student duck away from our activities and get to the kitchen. At first, we thought he had gotten away with one of our basketballs. Which, isn't cool. But tells me we are reaching the right students. Instead, I found the basketball on the kitchen floor, and most of our hue-mungo pile of cookies missing along with a two-liter of root beer. 

All I could do was laugh.

Had he waited another 45 minutes, he would have been able to take part in demolishing five to six pizzas. Had he waited, he would have gotten so much more than some cookies and pop. He would have gotten a whole meal. 

He was too concerned with the immediate present, that he couldn't focus on what was in store for him in the not-too-distant future!

And then I'm reminded that,

I'm

Just

Like 

Him.

There are many times where I settle for the cookies instead of waiting for the bigger, better meal in the future.

I get too concerned with the immediate present, and lose focus on what God's got for me in the future.

Ministry

Family

Friendships

Leadership

I want to move from cookies to pizza in every area of my life.

Sometimes God calls us to wait. And I want to be focused enough on Him to do just that.

"My Secret Plan": Sunday, March 29 @ Revolve

• This past Sunday we finished our series called, Secrets, with My Secret Plan.    
• We tackled Genesis 22v1-19.
• Wow, this story is still one of the most shocking to me.  
• While I don't believe God kept his plan for Abraham secret, I do believe we keep God's plan for our lives a secret from ourselves. 
• Do you hear me? I believe that, if we feel like God is keeping his plan for our lives a secret, a lot of times it's because of us.

With that said, the following are some Cadbury Creme Eggs I talked about this past Sunday. (If you're wondering why in the heck I used Cadbury Creme Eggs instead of nuggets, it's because they're the greatest candy on the face of the earth!) 

• When God calls us, we need to answer Him -- (Verse 1)
• Question: What is God asking you to give up (sacrifice)? -- (Verse 2)
• Question: Where are you unwilling to go for God? -- (Verses 3, 4)
• Sometimes God asks us to have faith when we don't know where or when He'll come through. -- (Verses 7-10) 

If we are faithful, God will let us in on His "Secret Plan" for our lives.

Next series starts April 19, 2009. More info on that later.

Suck-cess

Success, I'm always attempting to put the the puzzle together - to find what it means to be successful. What does it look like to be a successful husband, father, friend, ministry partner, employee, follower of Jesus? 

There are times where success lines up and I know it.

Then there are times where it feels more like "Suck-cess".

"Suck-cess" is when you're running hard. You're working. You're putting in time and effort. And in the end, you feel more like you've failed then you've succeeded.

I've experienced this a lot in the areas above - especially in the areas as a husband, follower of Jesus and parent.

But, I've also experienced this a lot in student ministry. In fact, I'm feeling that way right now.

But I also know, that even though I'm feeling this way now, I need to push through - remaining confident in God's calling. Because, in the arena of student ministry, I may never know which kid will hear something I say, or remember something we do which changes their life. 

Working with students is tough. If you're in the "Suck-cess" period of ministry or life, push through. Don't give up. Stay with it and the puzzle that is success will work itself together.

Just remain faithful. 

Hooping It Up to Help Students Hope Up

   

One of the things Matt and I have wanted to do is to use sports as an experience to help students get back to Jesus. It's an important connecting point for a lot of students here in the Elkhart area. Because of this, we are beginning a mini-basketball league Sunday nights. We're in the process of finishing up the structure and are looking for a point person to take this over. I'm excited about this addition and the possibility of reaching new students.

I can't wait!

I Connect with Nerds

I've always been fascinated with how people find connecting points with others -whether it's in ministry or other types of relationships.

We've recently seen some students drop away from Revolve and I can't help but wonder why?

Why did they not find a point of connection to keep them coming back?

This kind of thing can push me in a couple of directions - deep depression or deep thought to find the possible answer.

One possible answer to this question is to recruit other leaders who are different than me. Cause I've found I connect with certain types of kids... kids commonly referred to as nerds. It's easy for me to connect with these students. But we've got all different types of kids coming to Revolve. And if Revolve is to grow, one of the things we need to do is to recruit leaders who have different traits then myself. Leaders who are able to relate to people i cant relate to. Because I cannot connect with everyone.

And, if I'm honest, that's one our weaknesses right now - not having different types of leaders. But, in order to grow, in order to reach and keep students coming back, our recruitment effort for leaders needs to grow.

Cause I want students to find a connection point that keeps them coming back.

Next Series @ Revolve

Front of Flyer:

Back of Flyer:

Starts in two weeks! I can't wait.

This week, we dive into relationships and what it means to have Dramavision!

Silence Inside the Chaos

Below is the video we used at Revolve last night to teach about the idea of silence. Check it out:





Silence Inside the Chaos from Todd Ruth on Vimeo.

Life Uninterrupted - Flaky Girl Style

Everyone knows a flaky girl girl who, "Oh my God, did you just see that..." just won't shut up. Blah blah blah. And she talks and talks and talks and talks... and you want to say, "Hush". Actually, you want to say, "Shut the bleep up." But you don't cause you're a Christian and Christians don't talk like that... right. But we sure do think it. Or at least I have.

That's how life's been the last couple of days for me. 

Thebusinessandtherateatwhichthingshavehadtogetdonefeelsliketheflakygirlwhowon'tshutup! 

And while I love being busy, I don't like the feeling of life being chaotic - if feels un-natural. Just like the above sentence, I kept having to back space cause it wasn't natural to type that way. That's not the way sentences are suppose to be written. 

Life's the same way. We try to cram a whole bunch of crap into a 24 hour span - or at least I do. And it works for a while. But that's not how life is suppose to be lived. It's not natural. And it begins to feel weird. 

Chaos. It sucks. I need times in my life where I can simply be. To simply slow down and be silent. Silent in the middle of the chaos. Cause that's where I get recharged.

That's what where talking about at Revolve this Sunday night. Only we're not talking. I'm using an idea from Corey Mann and teaching through a video in complete silence to drive home the message. Should be interesting. 

I can't wait!

What Are You Doing with Your Resources

If you're anything like me, you've said this - a lot, "If only I had money, if only I had a building, if only I had more students, I could do so much more." If only this. If only that. I wish. I wish. I wish. I wish. This is what I've come to recognize in my own life, whether it's in ministry or personal matters, when I find myself saying "If only" or "I wish", I find myself sitting, wishing, and waiting. Which means I'm 

not moving forward. For me, the "If only's" are a progress killer. I find that when I'm saying, "I wish" I'm not taking steps forward in whatever I've got going on. I'm not talking about dreaming. It's essential to dream. I'm talking about having the "poor me" attitude. Because the "poor me" attitude will hinder and prevent me from doing what God wants me to do. It will keep me from doing great things. It will keep me from moving forward.

Here's what I know: God wants me to be innovative. To be creative. To take risks. To put forth efforts that honor Him. 

And here's another thing I know: I don't have to have a large "mega-church" budget to do just that. I can be innovative, creative and take risks without a ton of money. God simply wants me to use the resources He's already given me AS I go after the vision He's laid on my heart. I've learned to be content with what I have, but hungry for more - always thinking about ways to do ministry creatively, to reach more students, etc. It's all in my attitude. And it's about being faithful with what God gives me today. I don't have the high tech equipment to make the most high tech videos. But I will work hard and do my best with the equipment I have now - I will be faithful. Because it honors God. 

There will always be opportunities to say, "If only" or "I wish". The question is, will you sit and wait, thus not doing anything. Or will you be faithful and attempt to do great things for God with what you have?

I choose faithfulness.

Below are some examples of how I am using the resources God has given me. Is it the most high tech? No. The goal is to find someone more talented in this area and/or to find the finances to do it better. But I'm content with what I have, but definitely hungry for more.

Revolve's Video Illustrations/Teaching

Tongue and Cheek Bio's of Me and Matt

Chaos @ Revolve

This past Sunday was week two in our series, Living in the Chaos at Revolve. Had a lot of activity going on including a little game we play with pool balls we call Knock-Out. Busted up a pinata for an opening activity and illustration to tag team with message on Brokeness Inside the Chaos. Flow of the evening was sweet. Used different elements to tie everything together. Matt touched on how we can find Jesus as we are hurt, broken, watch dreams disappear. Matt did a great job sharing parts of his story and wrapping it up with students writing what they wanted to tell God. 

Overall, it was a great night.

Beating the Crap Out of Batman

I cannot wait until this Sunday. We will be beating the crap out the Batman piñata below and talking about the brokeness caused in the chaos we find ourselves in. I cannot wait!

Love, Honor & Nails...

Truth - I think I have "love" nailed down. I love my wife. I love my kids. I love my family. I love my friends.

Actuality - I don't know what I'm talking about. And at age 32, this is really just hitting me. Even though I've been a follower of Jesus since age 18, I'm just figuring this out. How lame is that? Pretty lame.

 

With that said, we're in the middle of "iChristmas" at Revolve (cut me some slack. i just got an iPhone). 

This week, we're talking about being generous. Anyways, in researching and prepping for this talk, I stumbled on to Romans 12v10: "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves." The idea of being generous to someone, mingles with the idea of Honoring someone above and beyond ourselves. 

You see, there are times when I read Scripture and I get the kind of feeling in my stomach I usually get just before I crest the hill of a gigantic rollercoaster... the feeling of, "oh crap" and "yeessssss" at what's about to happen. And yesterday, I felt like I was riding Kingda Ka.

Question - What would this world look like if we all lived out this verse, if we actually took time to Honor each other... to Honor our spouse, our children, our family, our friends, our co-workers (even the ones we don't like. Come on, someone just popped into your head, someone popped into mine.) That's the question I'm asking myself these days. And I've got some ideas on how it looks to put this to application in my life. What about you? How will you answer this question in your life? 

Cause here's the deal, if I still believe I've got love nailed down, it makes a joke out of the nails that love put into Jesus. 

I'm Blown Away

I'm blown away! The last three Sundays have been incredible. Matt and I started this thing called Revolve just a few short months ago. We've dreamed. We've prayed. We've dreamed some more. Then prayed much more. And this is what we've come to realize, dreaming and praying is good. But dreaming God-size dreams, and praying God-size prayers is so much betta.

We started with three students.

Sunday, October 26, 2008: We had 15. And we talked about how God sees you. Not the, "God-sees-everything-you-do-so-watch-out-or-He'll-strike-you-down" crap. The Genesis 16v13 text where Hagar gave God the name, "You are the God who sees me" because He came to her in her time of distress. That is one of my all time favorite names of God... kind of long, but still one of my favorites.

Sunday, November 2, 2008: We had 17. We kicked off a new series called FEAR. Ooooooo. Because we all deal with it. We tackled Fear of Failure. God has not given us a spirit of FEAR, but a spirit of love, power, and a sound mind. Everyone of us is going to fail. But everyone of us can overcome not only the fear, but also the failure. We've got to get back up! And the thing is, God wants us to take God-sized risks.

Sunday, November 9, 2008: We had 31. Wha, wha, what? I don't know what's going on. I don't know how it's happening. It may all go away next week. But 31. SHUT UP! We really aren't doing much if any promotion. Just word of mouth. Plus, Matt and I are helping, talking with, coaching a volunteer leader of a small local church. That's part of both of our hearts, to help small church student ministry leaders. And we've got three adult volunteers that drive 40-45 minutes each way to give a part of their lives to these students. And it looks like there's one more college-age female volunteer to start next week. I love female adult leaders. Because here's the thing, girls have it rough today. I'm sure they had it rough 15 years ago. But today, these young ladies have a lot to deal with. And it's important to have strong, Godly adult female leaders in their lives. So I'm excited. I'm proud of our volunteers! Also, we had two students lead worship (new this week). I am so proud of those two! What a step of faith. What an act of courage to get up and lead their peers. And we talked about the Fear of Rejection. We talked about what happens when we want to so badly be accepted. Because here's the thing, we all want to be accepted. And we all hate rejection. And we found where our Ultimate Acceptance comes from - Jesus, if you didn't already know. 

So. God-size. That's how I would describe last night. But I don't think it stops there. Matt and I are going to keep dreaming and praying for God-size events in the life of Revolve. I've been saying this before, and I'll keep on saying it, I can't wait to see what happens next. 

If you'd like to know how you can be a part, leave a comment or email me. I'd be glad to talk.

On Location...

 

Last week, we started a new series we're calling "On Location." Matt and I wanted to bring a few of the miracles of Jesus to our students. But, at times, when I've read the miracles Jesus did, they seemed far away - almost fairy tale'ish. 

So, with that in mind, Matt and I decided to do something different. For each week, Matt and I are going to a different location that would be similar to the area Jesus performed his miracle to film a portion of our talk. The hope is that we give these students a "real" area they can relate to. And, when they see this area again, it might remind them of the talk they heard.

This past Sunday, we talked about Jesus walking on water, or more importantly for this talk, Jesus calling Peter to walk on water. We talked about taking risks, our fears, and who our "go-to" guy is... if you can't guess, it's Jesus. So here's some of our low-budget... rrrr... no-budget video clips we used Sunday. (I'm having trouble with Google video, so I included Youtube as well - just know it's the same video in different programs.)

Everyone Loves A Hug

 

Well, at least Mandy does - but not necessarily the typical kind that first comes to mind. Mandy has chosen to love Hug St. in Elkhart, Indiana. Wha what? Yup. Mandy has chosen to pray for Hug St. and the families and students that live there. Hug St. is one of the 78 or 79 streets that I am praying and asking others to join in praying for God to move - for Jesus to be made famous on - and for students and families to have their lives changed. One street. One person. One faith. And one movement of God that starts with his people. Mandy, thank you for signing up to fight and pray for Jesus to sweep through Hug St. I'm looking forward to seeing and hearing stories in the days, weeks and months ahead. If you haven't seen Mandy's blog, check it out. Go to Hug St. on the right hand side of my page and click the link.

Thanks Mandy!

Takin It to the Streets Update

Last month, I threw out 79 street names to pray over - 79 specific street names where students live.

Dana Ruth, a.k.a. mommy, took Harrison.

Jim Ruth took Monroe.

And AuntieB (not my aunt), said, "I'm just gonna print out the list and give it to our leaders and students as a way to be missionaries."

You guys are awesome. Thanks for jumping on board. Thanks for loving on students in a very special way.

Power in Popsicles

One of the things Matt and I want to do with Revolve, is to change students' view of society - to give them another window to look at life through. One way we are doing that is through different types of service projects once every couple months. So this past Sunday (yesterday), Matt and I got a few students together and headed out to our targeted neighborhoods to pass out some popsicles to whoever we came across - kids and adults - didn't matter. We just wanted to bless our peeps - no matter how small it seemed to us. It was amazing to see faces light up and walls drop as we handed out "free" (that was the key phrase of the day) popsicles to people in what some would call "the hood". In fact, as we rounded one corner, the popsicle had so much power that a group, or what I would call a posse (15 or so teens), stopped their pursuit of one lone kid who, from what I could tell, what about to get beat up. How did I know that, oh, I don't know, maybe the phrase, "I'm gonna beat his ass," gave it away. But just as they said that, I said, "Hey y'all want some "free" popsicles?" You could almost hear the sound of tires screeching to a hault. And their anger and hatred turned to facination, to the relief of the kid about to get his a - I mean, butt beat. Oh, and as we left, everyone sat talking and laughing as they chomped on some flavor ice... even the kid who almost lost his butt. How cool is that. I would say... so cool.

And my prayer throughout, God help us to meet the needs of these folks. Help us to gain favor so that you will be made famous.

Revolve Highlights

Last night at Revolve...

Talk/Discussion: The Sound of Revenge - Love vs. Hate

What does "revenge" sound like? Got a lot of responses talking about the sound of a gun cocking, crashing noises, yelling. But, I think revenge has the sound of silence as you sit and think about how you're going to make someone pay.

God's Response: Romans 12v17-21 - (17) Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. (18) If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. (19) Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. (20) On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." (21) Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

So what. What does that mean for us? What's our response.

I. Change our focus
Verse 17:

• Don't just focus on the bad stuff in others. Focus on what is good in our enemies.
• This has the potential to change our lives by helpling us live in love and grace rather than anger and hate.
• This also has the potential to change our enemies lives by showing them God's grace and mercy. By seeing our reaction, there's a possibility for their lives to be transformed by the love of God.

II. Change Our Actions

Verse 19: Why should we let God repay and avenge the wrong that was done to us?

• Only God's vengence is just.
• Only God can completely make right the wrong that was done.
• When we seek revenge, we have a tendency to sin in our anger. (Ephesians 4v26)
• When we seek revenge, we no longer live like, or look like Jesus.

Verse 20:

• Free from revenge, followers of Jesus can put their efforts into giving kindness and mercy - even toward our enemies
• By showing kindness and mercy, our enemies may experience shame so that they may confess and ask for forgiveness for what they've done and be made friends of God
• It's not about punishment, it's about life change.

Verse 21:

• If we give in and seek revenge, we will be overcome by evil. But,
• If we change our focus, we overcome.
• If we change our actions, we overcome.
• We can't keep this up on our own strength.
• We need to keep our eyes on Jesus. (Hebrews 12v1-3)
• We need to be reminded of what God loves. (Jeremiah 9v23, 24)
• To check yourself, see if your life and actions look like Galatians 5v22.

Bottom line - In the battle between Love vs. Hate, God wants love to win out - every time.

Tonight at Revolve - The Sound of Revenge

I've been waiting for this talk for a while. We're looking at Romans 12v17-21. I cannot wait!

Takin it to the Streets

Ok. I've got a challenge to throw out - a gauntlet if you will. I've been thinking a lot about the geographical reach for Revolve. And I believe I've got it narrowed down to the area of influence. And then I had another thought, what if, within that geographical area, each street was prayed over? What if each street had someone asking for Jesus to be made famous on it? How cool would that be! So I did a little Mapquest deal and came up with roughly 79 streets within this geographical area. 79! So here's the challenge, I want to partner with you. Would YOU, whoever YOU are, be willing to take one street name and pray for the next 60 days that Jesus would be made famous on it and that lives would be changed? I'll list the 79 names below and on my sidebar. And for those of you who have a blog or website, I'll put your link on the street name where I list them on my sidebar.

79 street names. 60 Days. Unlimited potential for life change. I can't wait to see that happens when God's people rally together to make Jesus famous and attempt to change lives, one street at a time. If this is something you want to take part in, either leave a comment or email me at toddcruth@gmail.com. And pass the word.

Street Names: (As the names are chosen, I will update via twitter and blog.)

Pottawattomi Drive       Second Street
Third Street                  Sycamore Street
Lincoln                         Washington
Clyde                           Sherman
Fifth                             Brady
Jefferson                      Sixth
Vistula                         Lexington
Moody                         Jackson
High                            Gardner
Franklin                       Collins
Pletcher                       Fourth
Harrison                       Doll
Marion                         Templt Ct.
Division                       Hug
East                             State
Middlebury                  Monroe
Monroe Ct.                   Prairie
Virginia                        Benham St.
St. Joseph                    Dr. King Dr.
Redding                       LaSalle
Benham Ct.                 McKinley
Maryland                      Park
Chapman                    Main
Chester                        Wagner
Delaware                      Indiana
Ashland                       Garfield
Lambert Ct.                  Cleveland
Harrison                       Mason
Pearl                            Lafayette
Ninth                            Eighth
Compton                      Wolf
Blaine                          Hubbard
Concord                       Lusher
Roys                            Frances
Kinzy                           Morehouse
Stevens                        Tipton
Aspenwald                   Charles
Princeton                     Richmond
Congress                     Williams
Madison

We Got Lit Up this Past Sunday

  

So, myself, Matt and a few students got lit up yesterday evening for the second Sunday in our Ridin' Dirty series entitled, Life Behind the Tinted Glass. Ok. We didn't actually get lit up. We lit up a few candles. Exciting, huh.

We opened with Roman's 7v7-25. As we read, I went around the room and lit everyone's "trick" candle. There's just something about fire and sparking candles that teenage boys find cool. As we got to verses 18-20 we had the students "try" to blow out the flame on their trick candle. But as they blew the flame out, it lit right back up. The obivious illustration, when we try on our own to get rid of the crap, the stuff we struggle with, it has the tendency to pop back up. We become like Paul in Romans 7v18-20 - "And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can't. I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it."

And I think we've got three responses to this kind of thing, to this kind of battle that rages on. We can:

1. Beat ourselves up. Feel like crap. Feel full of shame. Which is a good thing to be able to experience. But it's never a good thing to live there,
2. Not care and give in to the thing we've been battling, or
3. Call out to Jesus. Which for some, means to call out to Jesus to transform our lives for the first time. For others, it means diving into His way of life. To live out Romans 12v1, 2 by renewing our minds daily by diving into His word and keeping it in front of us.

 One of my favorite passages of the bible that represents this deal is Deuteronomy 6v3-9. Check it out:

Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your fathers, promised you. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

In other words, if you want to have the best life possible - if you want to have victory over the crap that pops back up after you think you've blown it out, then keep God's word in front of you. Read it. Memorize it. Study it. Get with people whom you can study and talk about it with. Dream about it. Get something to remind you of the message God is teaching you. In other words, make living with God's word your lifestyle.

We then took that same candle and re-lit it. A symbol this time, of God's flame in each of our lives and how, no matter how many times we think we've blown it out, it keeps coming back because God's love for us is never ending.

It was a good night.

Time to focus on this Sunday. I can't wait!

Can I Get A Light

I can't wait to break these out on Sunday. I love practical, everyday object lessons. Check back on Monday for the application.

New Talk Series Begins this Sunday

I got to be honest - i'm pumped about this series of talks over the next few weeks - "Ridin' Dirty". When Matt and I were brain-dumping about what to talk about, the dude above came up. And I immediately thought this would be a cool deal. Come on, who would have thought anyone could learn something from Chamillionaire. But if you listen closely, it's definitely redeemable. I especially can't wait for week four, "The Sound of Revenge: Love vs. Hate". Oh ya, it's on.

Revolve Recap

 

This past Sunday at Revolve we focused on who we are in the eyes of Jesus. We looked at Saul vs. Paul in Acts 9 and how that story applies to each of our lives. Here are a couple highlights of that discussion:

We've all got crap. God doesn't want to keep you locked up in that crap like a dog in it's cage
God doesn't wait for you to be perfect to meet Him. Verses 1-6
Your past doesn't make you trash. Verse 15
God provides you with new friends to help you out. Verses 17-19, 27-28

Our history doesn't have to make our future.
Who we were yesterday doesn't have to be who we are today; and who we are today, doesn't have to be who we could be tomorrow.

Romans 4v17: ..."the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were." God sees us as we could be even when we and others see ourselves as something else. God sees in us talents and abilities that we don't see. He calls us valuable when we don't think so.

We ended by confessing some crap that holds us back and prayed to see ourselves as Jesus sees us.

My Mind Mapped Out

Below is the mind-mapped outline of my talk for tonight at Revolve.

I can't wait!

Pizza Equals...

If you're Carter Ruth, pizza equals a chance to drink root beer. Other than that, I don't really know what pizza equals. I do know that the Domino's Pizza on Johnson street in Elkhart, has agreed to donate five pizza's a week for our Sunday night gig (Revolve) in exchange for some advertising. Now we just have to get enough students here to eat five pizzas! :)