Courageous

The makers of Fireproof and Facing the Giants have just announced that they are making a new movie. Courageous. Here is the info from the website...

Four men, one calling: To serve and protect. As law enforcement officers, they face danger every day. Yet when tragedy strikes close to home, these fathers are left wrestling with their hopes, their fears, and their faith. From this struggle will come a decision that changes all of their lives.

With action, drama, and humor, the fourth film from Sherwood Pictures embraces God’s promise to "turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers." Souls will be stirred, and hearts will be challenged to be ... courageous!

COURAGEOUS. Honor begins at home!

These guys make great movies! I am excited to see how they deal with this important topic.

What Are You Missing?

I am sure that many of you have visited large cities that have subways. Many of the subway stations are frequented by "would-be" musicians who perform for commuters for whatever cash is placed in their cases, hats or buckets.

One past January morning, in Washington DC, one such musician opened his violin case, placed it on the floor and proceeded to play for about 45 minutes. During this time he played 6 pieces written by Bach. Almost no one noticed. Of the estimated 2,000 people who passed by, only 6 stopped to listen and a few others did drop a few bucks in the open violin case. The violinist made a total of $32.

His name was Joshua Bell. One of the most accomplished musicians on earth. The pieces were some of the most difficult written by Bach. The 3.5 million dollar violin was built in 1713 by Antonio Stradivari. In his usual venues, Joshua Bell sells out concerts in which the prices are hundreds of dollars per seat. This was actually a social experiment organized by the Washington Post.

In this case, most people were just too busying going about their daily lives to notice one of the worlds best musicians playing some of the best music on this expensive instrument.

When I read about this story, I had to ask myself, "What am I missing?" How often am I too caught up in daily life to notice the beauty around me? How often am I too busy to notice the messages that God is trying to speak to me?

The Catch and the Hug

In a recent Phillies vs. Nationals game, a player from the Phillies fouled a pitch into the upper deck. A man there with his wife and two little girls made a great catch. He received all of the expected congratulations from the fans around him. Then reached down and gave the ball to his four year old daughter. Watch the video below to see what happened next...

What a great dad! Many fans attend games for years and are never able to snag a foul ball. When this guy does it and gives it to his daughter, she throws it back. As the announcers say in the video, she is just doing what she has seen the players do.

In an interview, the dad said that he could not believe that she threw it back. Then he saw the scared look on her face, like she had done something wrong. So he pulled her to him and hugged her. After the hug, you can tell that she is "all better."

What a great dad, to understand the significance of the moment and take the opportunity to communicate to his daughter that she is much more important to him than any old baseball.

Homeless to Harvard

I had a great time talking about Liz Murray in last week's service. I thought some of you might like more information about her.

Her website is www.homelesstoharvard.com

See this wikipedia article to find out where Liz is today!

Mr. Miyagi and the Holy Spirit

I am guessing that many of you have seen the 1984 movie called The Karate Kid. In the movie, Daniel has moved to a new town where he does not fit in. He is harassed by a group of martial arts trained young men. Through a series of events, Daniel meets a man named Mr. Miyagi who knows karate and who agrees to train Daniel.

Daniel's end goal is to learn to fight so he can defend himself. Mr. Miyagi is wise and knows that the process of learning how to fight is not a short one. There are many things to learn. So he sets out to train Daniel-san.

In the above clip, what Daniel-san does not know is that Mr. Miyagi is teaching him how to block. Later as Mr. Miyagi continues this method of teaching, Daniel-san gets angry. He feels that Mr. Miyagi is taking advantage of him. He wants to learn to fight and his teacher is just using him. It is only later that he learns that all of the seemingly menial unrelated tasks have taught and strengthened him.

God has a plan for your life. Winston Churchill once said, "To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered the chance to do a very special thing, unique to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour."

The Holy Spirit is all about preparing us for that moment when God calls us into our "finest hour." How many times have we complained about where He is currently leading us? What He is taking us through? Could it be that He is teaching us to block. He is strengthening us. He is teaching us valuable lessons that we will need to know when it is time for us to fulfill our destiny!

"How Do You Like My Office?"

B.Z is a cowboy in Utah. A few days ago he was our guide on a trail ride through sandstone cliffs overlooking Zion National Park at sunset.

Despite the upper 90 degree heat, a comparatively cool wind had been blowing all afternoon across the arid hills that flank the eastern border of Zion. We briefly considered canceling our ride due to the dust the wind was kicking up. As 8pm neared, the wind and dust died down a bit.

After mounting our horses, B.Z. led us up and around the sandstone bluffs. The horses were relatively sure-footed with only a few slips and stumbles on the narrow rocky sand-covered inclines.

Looking into the wind toward the setting sun over Zion, the views from the narrow 200 ft. bluffs were stunning! The moment touched all of the senses. The sight of the sunset and majestic cliffs. The sound of the wind and the feel of it on my face. The exhilaration of sitting in a saddle on a horse just feet from the edge of a cliff. The smell of the sage carried on the wind.

As always, in situations like these, my thoughts went to God! What an incredible creation! And more to the point, what an incredible impact this creation has on our souls.

I am envious of B.Z. He lives closer than I to this creation. He knows it too. At one point on the ride, he yelled back to me, "Hey Bob, how do you like my office?"

I like it very much B.Z.! Very much!

A Game of Hope

The Blended Church, my home church in Indianapolis, IN, has a strong prison ministry called "Broken Chains." Over the past few years, I have had the opportunity to partner with the leader of that ministry, Mike Miller, to teach classes at the Plainfield Re-entry Educational Facility based on John Eldredge's book called "Wild at Heart."

I have to admit, before I got involved with this ministry, I was pretty judgmental of the men in prison. My attitude has changed over time. To be sure, my belief that they are accountable for their actions has not changed. But, I think I am getting a better understanding of the kind of situations most of these men come out of. In addition to this, I realize that in many cases the only difference between us and them is that they got caught.

Clearly, Jesus has not given up on these men and neither should we. You don't have to take my word for it. When you get to heaven, just ask the thief on the cross.