Paying Ridiculous Attention To Jesus

Join Rick for the seventh episode in the ongoing series—“JESUS IN THE REAL WORLD.” In a curious encounter with His disciples and a gathered crowd, Jesus suggests that weather forecasting is a good metaphor for moral decision-making. Then He asks a question that seems self-evident: “Why can’t you decide for yourselves what is right?” Of course, we can’t decide for ourselves what is morally right because we have an unreliable “compass” for right and wrong. So the elephant-in-the-room question is: Why would Jesus ask this question? The answer has huge implications for how we live our lives. Rick’s new book, The Suicide Solution, is now available! You can check out its Amazon page here: https://www.amazon.com/Suicide-Solution-Finding-Your-Darkness/dp/1684511593/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1631675941&sr=8-1 And if you can watch Rick’s webinar on the book, with co-author Dr. Daniel Emina, right here: https://youtu.be/M5KOBvGA2rs And don’t forget to check out his new daily devotional Jesus-Centered Da

Join Rick for the 7th episode in a new ongoing series—“JESUS IN THE REAL WORLD.” In January our focus shifts to resolutions—making commitments to improve. But are resolutions consistent with the way of Jesus? We all have a deep longing to move toward wholeness. Jesus says: “But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Seems impossible... But in the Greek, perfect means “fully realized in its intended function.” St. Clare of Assisi says, “We become what we love and who we love shapes what we become.” Let’s explore how our “New You” can actually happen… Rick’s new book, The Suicide Solution, is now available! You can check out its Amazon page here: https://www.amazon.com/Suicide-Solution-Finding-Your-Darkness/dp/1684511593/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1631675941&sr=8-1 And if you can watch Rick’s webinar on the book, with co-author Dr. Daniel Emina, right here: https://youtu.be/M5KOBvGA2rs And don’t forget to check out his new daily devotional Jesus-Centered Daily—go to je

Join Rick for the sixth episode in a new ongoing series—“JESUS IN THE REAL WORLD.” The “messaging” around Christmas is deeply embedded in us—at no other time during the year is gift-giving such a major focus of our life. And there’s a lot on the line for us. People get into fights at the mall in the name of gift-giving. Every year we vow to “make this Christmas different,” but we get swept up in the current of our culture and feel almost powerless to do anything different. Instead of guilting ourselves, or living in regret, what if we slowed down to pay attention to the gift-giving habits of Jesus—and let them infect us as His heart infects us? Rick’s new book, The Suicide Solution, is now available! You can check out its Amazon page here: https://www.amazon.com/Suicide-Solution-Finding-Your-Darkness/dp/1684511593/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1631675941&sr=8-1 And if you can watch Rick’s webinar on the book, with co-author Dr. Daniel Emina, right here: https://youtu.be/M5KOBvGA2rs And don’t forg

Join Rick for the fifth episode in a new ongoing series—“JESUS IN THE REAL WORLD.” Jesus said: “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not!” But what happens when our life experience with God makes us think God has often given us snakes and stones instead of fish and bread? How confident do you feel in asking for bread and getting bread from God, or knocking on God’s door and it opening for you? Rick’s new book, The Suicide Solution, is now available! You can check out its Amazon page here: https://www.amazon.com/Suicide-Solution-Finding-Your-Darkness/dp/1684511593/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1631675941&sr=8-1 And if you can watch Rick’s webinar on the book, with co-author Dr. Daniel Emina, right here: https://youtu.be/M5KOBvGA2rs And don’t forget to check out his new daily devotional Jesus-Centered Daily—go to jesuscentereddaily.com to download a 10-day sampler of the devotion, or to

Join Rick for the fourth episode in a new ongoing series—“JESUS IN THE REAL WORLD.” An ideology is “a system of ideas that aspires both to explain the world and to change it.” Another way to describe an ideology is the story we live inside. Or the self-narrative we’ve embraced. What is the greatest challenge in the church today? It’s our propensity to “edit” Jesus to conform to our ideologies, even if they are contrary to the Kingdom of God. We come to Him as clay, not as the Potter. Rick’s new book, The Suicide Solution, is now available! You can check out its Amazon page here: https://www.amazon.com/Suicide-Solution-Finding-Your-Darkness/dp/1684511593/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1631675941&sr=8-1 And if you can watch Rick’s webinar on the book, with co-author Dr. Daniel Emina, right here: https://youtu.be/M5KOBvGA2rs And don’t forget to check out his new daily devotional Jesus-Centered Daily—go to jesuscentereddaily.com to download a 10-day sampler of the devotion, or to order it for yourself

Join Rick for the third episode in a new ongoing series—“JESUS IN THE REAL WORLD.” We live in an age of enemies… Never has it been easier, or more likely, that we will create enemies just by living our life… Case In Point: Choose any random post on the social media site Nextdoor and you’ll see enemy-making up close—guaranteed. But in Matthew 5 Jesus delivers His blunt standard for Kingdom-of-God love: “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! ” Here we’ll explore what it means to “give sunlight to both the evil and the good.” Rick’s new book, The Suicide Solution, is now available! You can check out its Amazon page here: https://www.amazon.com/Suicide-Solution-Finding-Your-Darkness/dp/1684511593/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1631675941&sr=8-1 And if you can watch Rick’s webinar on the book, with co-author Dr. Daniel Emina, right here: https://youtu.be/M5KOBvGA2rs And don’t forget to check out his new daily devotional Jesus-Centered

Join Rick for the second episode in a new ongoing series—“JESUS IN THE REAL WORLD.” We’ll be pursuing the heart of Jesus through the lens of what’s going on in the world right now… In our culture today, we are the most connected/disconnected generation in history. Never have we had more tools of connection, and habits of connection, but the research shows that this is the loneliest generation in American history. We’ll explore what people were looking for when they met and decided to follow Jesus, and how He established deep, I’ll-die-for-you relationships. Rick’s new book, The Suicide Solution, is now available! You can check out its Amazon page here: https://www.amazon.com/Suicide-Solution-Finding-Your-Darkness/dp/1684511593/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1631675941&sr=8-1 And if you can watch Rick’s webinar on the book, with co-author Dr. Daniel Emina, right here: https://youtu.be/M5KOBvGA2rs And don’t forget to check out his new daily devotional Jesus-Centered Daily—go to jesuscentereddaily.c

Join Rick for the first episode in a new ongoing series—“JESUS IN THE REAL WORLD.” We’ll pursue the heart of Jesus through the lens of what’s going on in the world right now… Our goal is to connect what’s happening around us to the presence, priorities, and practices of Jesus. In this episode we’ll take a deep dive into “over-functioning”—what is it, how is it operating in your life, and how does Jesus confront it and resist it in His relationships? Rick’s new book, The Suicide Solution, is now available! You can check out its Amazon page here: https://www.amazon.com/Suicide-Solution-Finding-Your-Darkness/dp/1684511593/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1631675941&sr=8-1 And if you can watch Rick’s webinar on the book, with co-author Dr. Daniel Emina, right here: https://youtu.be/M5KOBvGA2rs And don’t forget to check out his new daily devotional Jesus-Centered Daily—go to jesuscentereddaily.com to download a 10-day sampler of the devotion, or to order it for yourself or as a gift. Or head straight to

Join Rick for the 8th and final episode in the series—“THE HARVEST.” In his commentary on the Gospel of John, the great contemporary theologian N.T. Wright says: “The urgent question, then, is this: How do we ‘remain' in him?” And Vaughan Roberts, rector of St Ebbe’s Church in Oxford, says: “Jesus us not a decorative shrub, useful for giving an aesthetic religious touch to life. He is not available to be arranged in a bouquet to delight us. He is life itself, its very center—the Vine.” This is the central message of Jesus to His disciples, including you and me… Rick’s new book, The Suicide Solution, is now available! You can check out its Amazon page here: https://www.amazon.com/Suicide-Solution-Finding-Your-Darkness/dp/1684511593/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1631675941&sr=8-1 And you can watch Rick’s webinar on the book, with co-author Dr. Daniel Emina, right here: https://youtu.be/M5KOBvGA2rs Sign Up for the FREE 7-Day Devotional Series, Drawn from the Jesus-Centered Daily https://www.mylifetr

Join Rick for the seventh episode in the series—“THE HARVEST.” We are all intimately attached to sources of life—a flower planted in soil, for instance, has more life flowing into it than cut flowers in a vase of water. Our attachments make all the difference… So let’s explore what wholeness looks like in Jesus, and in us—through the lens of how we attach (and detach) from our sources of life. We’ll consider what “differentiation” means, and how it explains the upending, renovating, and redeeming impact Jesus has in our life. And we’ll learn how to move further down the path toward differentiation ourselves. Rick’s new daily devotional, the Jesus-Centered Daily, is now available! Head over to jesuscentereddaily.com to download a 10-day sampler of the devotion, or to order it for yourself or as a gift. Or head straight to Amazon to order it: https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Centered-Daily-Touch-Smell-Taste/dp/1470759608/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Jesus-Centered+Daily&qid=1599794429&sr=8-1 Sign Up for the FREE

Join Rick for the sixth episode in a new series—“THE HARVEST.” We know that Jesus is a storyteller who’s trying to tell a story of beauty in our soul—the story He’s telling in your life is a Romance. In the last episode we explored what the “Farmer” is doing about the “weeds” growing up in our field of “wheat”—our soul. Let’s uncover what Jesus is doing to set the stage for transformation in the people He encounters, and in our own life… He’s trying to influence the narrative of our life, using our “contamination stories” or our weeds as a growth-producer in our overshadowing story of redemption. Rick’s new daily devotional, the Jesus-Centered Daily, is now available! Head over to jesuscentereddaily.com to download a 10-day sampler of the devotion, or to order it for yourself or as a gift. Or head straight to Amazon to order it: https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Centered-Daily-Touch-Smell-Taste/dp/1470759608/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Jesus-Centered+Daily&qid=1599794429&sr=8-1 Sign Up for the FREE 7-Day Devot

Join Rick for the fifth episode in a new series—“THE HARVEST.” We’re hard-wired for story, because we’re created by a storyteller. Our life is about our story. Story works to construct, give meaning to, and set boundaries around our experience of reality. It’s the “narrative code” that unlocks the meaning behind our experiences in life. The story we tell ourselves about ourselves determines how we function and influences our limitations and possibilities in life. So, how is Jesus infiltrating our story with redemptive plot twists, and what is he doing about the “contamination stories” that thread their way into our narrative, like weeds growing up with our wheat? Rick’s new daily devotional, the Jesus-Centered Daily, is now available! Head over to jesuscentereddaily.com to download a 10-day sampler of the devotion, or to order it for yourself or as a gift. Or head straight to Amazon to order it: https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Centered-Daily-Touch-Smell-Taste/dp/1470759608/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Jesus-Cen

Join Rick for the fourth episode in a new series—“THE HARVEST.” We know that Jesus defines goodness, and that boldness is one of His primary characteristics. So however Jesus lives out boldness is good. So let’s explore the many different ways Jesus lives and acts boldly, and discover how that might challenge or fuel the way we live… Rick’s new daily devotional, the Jesus-Centered Daily, is now available! Head over to jesuscentereddaily.com to download a 10-day sampler of the devotion, or to order it for yourself or as a gift. Or head straight to Amazon to order it: https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Centered-Daily-Touch-Smell-Taste/dp/1470759608/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Jesus-Centered+Daily&qid=1599794429&sr=8-1 Visit the Jesus-Centered Daily Web Site for a FREE Downloaded Sample https://www.jesuscentereddaily.com Or Sign Up for the FREE 7-Day Devotional Series, Drawn from the Jesus-Centered Daily https://www.mylifetree.com/jesus-centered-daily-download/?fbclid=IwAR2H19A3iHl53Rl7OUrJLWkq3NkFjSFlxTUnngBOAeZ

Join Rick for the third episode in a new series—“THE HARVEST.” Delight is central to the personality and relational norms of Jesus. We think we understand delight as a simple concept, but it’s really the portal into a deeper life with Him… So here we explore an encounter Jesus has with a woman as He travels through the region of Tyre and Sidon—pagan territory and the traditional home of Jewish enemies. Jesus has, on purpose, taken His disciples through the “bad part of town,” where the people believe in false gods and harbor resentment and disdain for Jews… And there He happens to meet a woman who turns out to be extraordinary… And He reacts to her with “intense delight”… Rick’s new daily devotional, the Jesus-Centered Daily, is now available! Head over to jesuscentereddaily.com to download a 10-day sampler of the devotion, or to order it for yourself or as a gift. Or head straight to Amazon to order it: https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Centered-Daily-Touch-Smell-Taste/dp/1470759608/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=

Join Rick for the second episode in a new series—“THE HARVEST.” Jesus has invited us to attach to Him, like a branch in a Tree. And when we do, we produce fruit “after its kind.” Service is one of His tastiest fruits. So, is serving others a natural thing for us to do, or is it unnatural? Is service to others necessary for the survival of the species, and therefore motivated by self-interest, or is it not necessary for survival? Can service be prescribed and learned—can you be “trained” to serve as a discipline—or does it have to be heart-motivated? Let’s explore the heart of service by taking a deep dive into an iconic encounter Jesus has with His disciples. Rick’s new daily devotional, the Jesus-Centered Daily, is now available! Head over to jesuscentereddaily.com to download a 10-day sampler of the devotion, or to order it for yourself or as a gift. Or head straight to Amazon to order it: https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Centered-Daily-Touch-Smell-Taste/dp/1470759608/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Jesus-Centere

Join Rick for the first episode in a new series—“THE HARVEST.” Fruit, we know, comes from a tree. Without the tree, no fruit. And each tree produces a certain kind of fruit. Jesus has invited us to attach to Him, like a branch in a Tree. And when we do, we produce fruit “after its kind.” But Jesus is no ordinary fruit tree—out of one Tree many varieties of fruit are naturally produced. So, we’ll explore each variety, and track it back to its source in the Tree, who is Jesus… In this episode we explore maybe the tastiest fruit from that Tree—“Brave.” Rick’s new daily devotional, the Jesus-Centered Daily, is now available! Head over to jesuscentereddaily.com to download a 10-day sampler of the devotion, or to order it for yourself or as a gift. Or head straight to Amazon to order it: https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Centered-Daily-Touch-Smell-Taste/dp/1470759608/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Jesus-Centered+Daily&qid=1599794429&sr=8-1 Visit the Jesus-Centered Daily Web Site for a FREE Downloaded Sample https://www

Join Rick for the ninth and final episode in the series—“JESUS-PEOPLE.” Jesus had 11 encounters with the demonic in the New Testament—and those are the encounters we know about. It’s clear that dealing with demonic entities was a common part of Jesus’ everyday life. And, as we’ll see in the story we’re about to explore, Jesus didn’t just, well, whack these demons when He encountered them—He had a relationship with them. But we can learn a lot about the heart of Jesus, and the Kingdom of God He has invited us into, by paying closer attention to His relationship with demonic influences. A none are more intimate, and more epic, than His encounter with “Legion.” I’ve invited special guest Billy Hallowell to explore this story with me… Rick’s new daily devotional, the Jesus-Centered Daily, is now available! Head over to jesuscentereddaily.com to download a 10-day sampler of the devotion, or to order it for yourself or as a gift. Or head straight to Amazon to order it: https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Centered-Daily-T

Join Rick for the eighth episode in the series—“JESUS-PEOPLE.” Even though Jesus makes the heart and essence of children a major theme of His teaching and His everyday life, His relationship with children has largely been ignored. The heart of children and the questions of children and the dependence of children and the habit patterns of children are the key to living into the Kingdom of God… In this episode we explore why Jesus elevated children as an example to us, and how we can live as children in the real world… Rick’s new daily devotional, the Jesus-Centered Daily, is now available! Head over to jesuscentereddaily.com to download a 10-day sampler of the devotion, or to order it for yourself or as a gift. Or head straight to Amazon to order it: https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Centered-Daily-Touch-Smell-Taste/dp/1470759608/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Jesus-Centered+Daily&qid=1599794429&sr=8-1 Visit the Jesus-Centered Daily Web Site for a FREE Downloaded Sample https://www.jesuscentereddaily.com Or Sign

Join Rick for the seventh episode in the series—“JESUS-PEOPLE.” Let’s ask a big question: WHAT did Jesus come to do? We say, and it’s true, that Jesus came to redeem us. To offer His life in exchange for ours. To give us abundant life and a place in the Kingdom of God that He’s “gone ahead to prepare for us.” All of this is true—and yet, from His own perspective, WHY did Jesus come? What is His passion, purpose, and motivation? We find the answer to that question in the “Why?” of His Father—the most influential person in His life. We know, because Jesus says so… Rick’s new daily devotional, the Jesus-Centered Daily, is now available! Head over to jesuscentereddaily.com to download a 10-day sampler of the devotion, or to order it for yourself or as a gift. Or head straight to Amazon to order it: https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Centered-Daily-Touch-Smell-Taste/dp/1470759608/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Jesus-Centered+Daily&qid=1599794429&sr=8-1 Visit the Jesus-Centered Daily Web Site for a FREE Downloaded Sampl

Join Rick for the sixth episode in the series—“JESUS-PEOPLE.” We’ll explore the heart of Jesus through the lens of a woman who never actually meets Jesus, but plays a significant role in history because of Him. Noticing what Jesus notices is vital in our relationship with Him. It changes everything. So, what does Jesus find beautiful, and why? Perhaps the best example of noticing the beauty Jesus notices is His observation of the “Mystery Widow” in Mark 12. Rick’s new daily devotional, the Jesus-Centered Daily, is now available! Head over to jesuscentereddaily.com to download a 10-day sampler of the devotion, or to order it for yourself or as a gift. Or head straight to Amazon to order it: https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Centered-Daily-Touch-Smell-Taste/dp/1470759608/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Jesus-Centered+Daily&qid=1599794429&sr=8-1 Have you joined the Pigs? We're a group of friends ready to go all-in with Jesus—to live a life that's “free indeed” because we’re wholly dependent on Him. Join us for exclus