Audacious Faith v2 from Nate Ragan on Vimeo.

• How do I connect with the God of the Universe?
• What is the purpose and the meaning of life?
• How do I know which person I should date or marry?
• How can I be a godly husband and father?
• Am I in the center of God's will for my life?

Is there an app for that? Yes, but it is not in a phone – it is God's Word. The very One who created the world, as well as you and me, ("knit us together in our mother's womb" as the Bible says), knows the answers to these questions and reveals these Truths in His Word.

In our "Life Apps" study we are walking through the New Testament book of 2 Timothy. This is the last letter we have from the apostle Paul. Paul is writing to his young protégé in the faith, Timothy. Timothy is now pastoring the church in Ephesus, and Paul is in prison in Rome. Paul knows he only has a few months left to live (in fact, he is beheaded by the Emperor Nero in 68 AD; not long after writing this letter). Since Paul knows he is going to be with the Lord soon, he pours out his heart to Timothy and passes the touch of faith on to him as well as the church. If you were writing your last letter, you know you would only write what is most important.

In 2 Timothy, Paul identifies 5 very clear "life apps."

1. Worship – What you worship determines the direction of your life. It is a fact, we will all worship something – it is the way we were created. Whether money, a person, a career or God – some "thing" or some "one" will dominate our hearts and lives. What you worship in your life will determine where you spend your time, money and energy. Paul says that first and foremost, we must worship God (not only on Sundays), but every day and with our lives.
2. Reach Out – Life is not just about us. We are called to put others before ourselves and reach out in the Name of Christ. When we make life about us, we grow comfortable and complacent. Paul challenges Timothy (and us) to continually raise our level of risk in "suffering" for the Gospel. Faith in God means putting God first and others before ourselves.
3. Grow Up – The importance for each of us to mature in our faith. God's Word is the essential piece of our spiritual growth. Paul challenges Timothy to "correctly handle the word of truth." In addition, how we handle our relationship with others. We are admonished not to get involved in the trivial, but to invest in the eternal.
4. Give All –The call of Christ is not just for one "segmented" part of our lives, but for all of us. As we learn to give all – our time, our energy, our resources, our dreams, our passions to Christ, we experience life to the full. Again, the challenge is for us to not become consumed with the world and only a little of Jesus, but to give ourselves fully to Him.
5. Fellowship – We do not have to go through life alone. By God's grace, He gave us His church so that we will have others to walk with us through the good times as well as the difficulties. We need one another. The encouragement, the accountability, the love and the fellowship of other believers is how God blesses us and grows us.

Join us every Sunday Morning in January as we explore these "life apps" more in-depth. In addition, sign-up for a Small Group where you can apply these apps in your life. Our God is so good, and He invites us on an incredible journey! Re-order your life around His purposes and watch God come alive in you!

1. Following Christ

I will commit to follow Christ with all my heart by:

• Accepting Christ as my personal Savior – Giving your life to Christ is the beginning of the journey.
• Following Christ in believer’s baptism – Baptism is the outward mark of a Christ-follower. If you have accepted Christ in your life, but you have yet to be baptized, make the commitment and follow through.
• Practicing immediate obedience – Following Christ is a journey of faith. Make a commitment to be a full-on disciple, remaining faithful and obedient throughout the ups and downs of the coming year.

2. God’s Word

I will commit to: 

• Read through the Bible this year – Most Christians have never read through the entire Bible. On our Web site you’ll find a chronological reading plan. Make a commitment to invest 15 minutes a day in knowing and studying God’s Word.

3. Worship

I will commit to:

• Personal Worship through daily prayer and journaling.
• Corporate Worship through weekly Sunday morning gathering.

4. Small Group

I will commit to:

• Being active in a Small Group – Small Groups are where you have Bible study, and where you find true fellowship with other people on the journey. We have new groups beginning in 2012. Go to the Web site and sign up today.

5. Serve

I will commit to:

• Serving in an area of ministry – Jesus’ life was defined by serving. At Rolling Hills, we ask everyone to “Worship One / Serve One” – meaning, worship one hour and serve one hour. God has given us all gifts and talents. Put them to use for Him this year by being a teacher, greeter, usher, parking attendant, audio/visual tech, etc. 

6. Giving

I will commit to:

• Investing financially in God’s kingdom – This is the only place in Scripture where God says, “Test Me in this.” Commit to giving your first 10% back to God and watch God work in your life. 

7. Missions

I will commit to being involved in local and international missions:

• In my sphere of influence – Ask God to put one person on your heart that you will pray for each day. When the opportunity arises, talk with them about Jesus and/or invite them to church.
• In my community – Invest locally through giving back in some way to serve our community. Our bi-monthly Saturday Serve days are a great way to serve locally. You can start with our first one on January 21.
• Throughout the world - Make 2012 the year to go on a mission trip. We have incredible opportunities both nationally and internationally. You will make a huge difference in the lives of many, but it will be your life that is impacted the most!

Yesterday (Dec. 29) our Christmas in Moldova team completed our first full day in country by visiting the orphanage in Drochia in the north. It is unseasonably warm for this time of year, meaning that it is comfortably cool in the afternoons.

Drochia is a new orphanage to JMI and one that I first visited about 10 years ago. There are about 175 children on campus during the school year and most of the roughly 42 kids who were there waiting on us were those who are true orphans or have been abandoned with no family member with whom to spend the holidays.

The Director greeted us outside to give us a brief rundown on the orphanage. The Drochia orphanage, she told us, is assigned for children who have special needs such as epilepsy, emotional problems related to impulse control and bed wetting. I remembered from my previous experience that electro shock therapy was used there as a treatment option. Her description of the children made things appear ominous as we walked the hallway toward the meeting room, but once inside, it became clear to me that these kids were every bit as lovable as any of the others we have known.

After introducing ourselves, we split up into small groups to get to know the children better. We offered questions for them to respond to such as:  If you could be any animal what would it be?; if you could spend the day with any person, past or present, who would you choose and what would you ask them?; if you could receive one wish, what would you wish for?; and if you could trade places with anyone alive, who would that be and why?  One of the funnier responses to the trading places question came from an older girl who said, "Justin Bieber's girlfriend." One of the more poignantly common responses to who would you spend a day with was "my mother or father."

After crafts, Jason Cruise, gave a devotional while Stephanie Dykes, Dave Shurson, Holly Boutwell and I stuffed the gift bags we had for them. I then donned a Father Christmas suit (the Eastern European Santa Claus) and we passed out the bags and other gifts before singing a few Christmas carols and departing.

Since our second destination cancelled on us due to there being few children left on campus, we had time to return to the team house after lunch to rest, wrap gifts for Friday, purchase fireworks (thanks to another generous gift from CAT FINANCIAL) and make a "Metro" run for the next day's stocking stuffers.

Tonight's reflection time included the observation that one young girl had arrived at Drochia to be admitted while we were there that morning. She sat in tears outside the meeting room door at first and one of our team was told that she had been abandoned and would likely spend the rest of her childhood there. That was a sobering reminder of an experience that most of those children shared. Though the celebration we were bringing was inadequate in the context of that kind of misery, we were grateful to allow her a moment of respite from the thought of how her life was being forever altered. 

Find out more about our work in Moldova and the other international mission sites we'll visit in 2012 by visiting the Justice & Mercy International Web site. Consider sponsoring a child, supporting a project or going on a trip this year. Imagine the impact we could all make together for the glory of God!

For years, I never understood Christmas. Admittedly, I was a bit of a Scrooge. It just seemed like the whole thing was a farce.

Every made-for-TV movie I watched between Thanksgiving and New Year’s preached the same gospel: “It’s not about presents.” But then, every Christmas morning, I was inundated with presents. It didn’t make sense. Someone was lying.

Everything you want?

My parents, and probably yours, would conclude every December 25th with the same nervous question: “So… did you get everything you wanted?”

Are you kidding me? Everything I wanted? Is this what we want to teach our children about life? That you can get everything you want?

I remember being a kid. I NEVER got everything I wanted. (Thank God.) My parents had the best of intentions at heart. Most do. But this is telling of our culture.

Maybe it’s America. Maybe it’s humanity at its most broken. But I shudder to think of the implications of that phrase: everything you want.

Over the years, I’ve grown cynical of Christmas. I’ve run out of good gift ideas, gotten fed up with the shopping mall feeding frenzy, and been downright been pissed-off at ungrateful people. It’s made me want to write off the whole ridiculous holiday. (Told you I was a Scrooge.)

But there’s another story to tell.

Rethinking the point of Christmas

When Mary finds out she’s pregnant with the Jesus, she sings a song — a pretty interesting one:

He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
even as he said to our fathers.


—Luke 1:52-55

When I first read this, I swear I heard Santa Claus instantly drop dead of a heart attack. “He has sent the rich away empty…” Does that sound like everything you wanted? Not quite.

God loves the poor. He is among them. And if we are going to celebrate the birth of his Son with any sense of conscience, we must be with them, as well.

Making poverty (and Christmas) personal

A few years ago, I spent the month of December hanging out with a community of homeless men and women who lived under a bridge in downtown Nashville.

My friend Paul and I brought them candy canes, shoes, and coats. Sure, we gave them gifts. But they gave us a gift we could never repay. They opened our eyes to the spirit of Christmas.

As it turns out, it’s not about holiday specials and sugar cookies. Nor is it about getting everything you ever wanted.

Through the dirty and downtrodden and nearly-forgotten, I learned what December 25 is really about: compassion.

Christmas belongs to the poor

I caught an old rerun of

the other night. It was a Christmas episode. On the show, Frasier meets a homeless man who tells him, rather pointedly, what Christmas is all about:

“The rest of the year belongs to rich people with their fancy houses and expensive foreign cars, but Christmas, Christmas belongs to guys like us.”

Frasier forgets his wallet and can’t cover the cost of his meal. The homeless man and his friends cover it. This is the great irony and paradox of Christmas, of learning to live compassionately: We don’t give to the poor; they give to us.

One Sunday afternoon in 2007, I drove a car full of Christmas presents to a small rented house in south Nashville. In that home, a family of three lived — without a phone, sometimes without heat, and seemingly without hope.

A week before, this family didn’t think they were going to be able to have Christmas at all that year. But there was another story to be told.

A church group of about thirty people banded together to buy gifts, food, toys, and more for this family.

The best Christmas gift I received that year — maybe ever — was the look on the two children’s faces as I pulled up in my Buick, the back seat and trunk full of presents from perfect strangers.

“How could this be?” they marveled. They were told Santa wasn’t coming this year. This had to be magic. And indeed it was.

After a long hiatus, I believed in Christmas again.

Christmas belongs to the poor — let’s not forget that. We should be raising our glasses to them, to the outcast and the hungry, the handicapped and oppressed.

Maybe if we’re lucky, they'll let us in on the true spirit of the season.

A radical way to do your holiday shopping

This year, my wife and I are doing something different for Christmas. No, we won’t be celebrating it on the streets (unless the opportunity presents itself). However, we will be finding a way to connect with those in need.

We’re buying gifts. But not just any kind of gifts. The kind that make a difference.

In your hustle-and-bustle holiday, I hope you find an opportunity to do something similar. If you’re looking for a way to give back, check out Justice & Mercy International's giving page. It’s one of the best ways I know to reconnect with the true spirit of Christmas, and with sponsorship opportunities that run throughout the year, it's the gift that keeps on giving. 

Because there’s just something about celebrating Christmas without the poor that feels dishonest.

May we connect with the story of a boy born in a manger and find Christmas where it belongs — in humble places, like barns and dumps and alleys. This is where we’ll find baby Jesus, if we’re willing to look.

And maybe he will lead us, like he promised, out of our own prisons.

Find this story in its original form and see comments on Jeff's blog.

Suport the Mission Vision project at: themissionvision.net