Paying Ridiculous Attention To Jesus

All. In. This describes the level of commitment a marriage thrives on. Through seasons of joy, pain, struggle, and triumph, when two people are all in, their relationship flourishes. All in is also the level of commitment Jesus has for us, and it's how he hopes we'll feel about him, too. This is why our interview guests, Justin Rossow, pastor of St. Luke Lutheran Church in Ann Arbor, MI, and his wife, Miriam, have approached their 21-year marriage as a metaphor for their own ongoing intimacy with Jesus, using it as a test kitchen to learn how to communicate, love, listen, and put each other first. So join us as we conclude our series of episodes recorded at the 2017 Simply Jesus Gathering with an intimate and honest view at marriage, intimacy, and how all of us, married or single, can be all in with Jesus. 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 exclusive behind-the-scenes in

Welcome to episode 50 of Paying Ridiculous Attention to Jesus! We can't believe it but we’re celebrating a YEAR of the podcast and want to say a BIG thank you to all of our listeners. Today’s episode is on marriage, where two wills combine into one. Two broken people with opposing views combining their wills until death do them part… (Who's idea was that?! It’s just crazy!) And yet, it's in the moments that we or our spouses fall short in marriage that we cling to Jesus with everything we've got. Join us this week for a special 50th episode that shares stories from real people in real marriages,and how Jesus came through. Some of them ended in divorce, some of them stayed together, but in every one Jesus revealed to them a greater understanding of his never-ending love. This episode is inspired by a project we've been working on at the Jesus-Centered Life called We: Outrageously Committed to My Marriage (https://www.amazon.com/We-Outrageously-Committed-Jesus-Centered-Devotions/dp/1470748460/). Our goal

Have you ever noticed how many stories about Jesus in the Bible start out with him on his way to a party somewhere? It's a subtle thing, usually the kind of thing you skip right over when you're reading the story. Why do you think he was always being invited to parties? Join us this week as we ZOOM in with special guest Jay Pathak at the Jesus Gathering and pay attention to the radical way Jesus participated in relationships. Experience a little slice of our time at the Simply Jesus Gathering this week. Rick sat down with Jay at the gathering in the mountains to have a chat about everything Jesus. Be sure to be looking for next year's dates and don't miss out on this opportunity to experience real Jesus and real relationships. And is it time for you to join the Pigs? Are you ready to go all-in with Jesus? Ready to live a life that is “free indeed,” because you’re wholly dependent on Jesus? Are you ready to slow down and wallow in the mud-puddle stories of Jesus? Join the Pigs. We’ll invite you into exclusiv

If someone you trust promises to do something, then doesn’t do it, it can be devastating. Well, what happens when we embrace a promise Jesus has given us, but we’re stuck waiting for it to happen? And what if it never happens? We feel frustration, anxiety, anger, and fear. And we don’t understand the purpose of the delay. Join Rick and special guest Conrad Gempf, an author and professor of New Testament studies at the London School of Theology, for a special interview recorded the Simply Jesus Gathering in Colorado. Continuing our July theme of doubt, Rick and Conrad zoom in on the story of Jarius, a synagogue ruler who’s desperate for Jesus to miraculously heal his daughter, and Jesus agrees. But along the way He gets sidetracked, and the daughter dies. Conrad reveals how we are all Jairus in this story, and what Jesus is actually doing in this breeding ground for doubt. And is it time for you to join the Pigs? Are you ready to go all-in with Jesus? Ready to live a life that is “free indeed,” because yo

Our doubts about ourselves, sometimes buried beneath a façade of overconfidence, eat away at our identity. We hear that sneering voice telling us we’re not good enough, that we’re a failure waiting to happen, and that we should hide the truth about ourselves from others. Self-doubt not only shackles us to fear, but it can infect and thwart our relationship with Jesus. And it’s universal—the issue isn’t if you’ll face self-doubt, it’s how you handle it when it creeps into your life. Join Rick and his longtime friend Andy Brazelton, the architect of Group’s youth ministry division who’s now an international business consultant, as they talk about their own personal battles with self-doubt, and their journey toward freedom. Through the lens of the Apostle Peter’s own descent into self-doubt, we’ll explore what it takes to keep moving when self-doubt sets in. Is it time for you to join the Pigs? Are you ready to go all-in with Jesus? Ready to live a life that is “free indeed,” because you’re wholly dependen

Early in his ministry, Jesus delivered a shotgun-blast of teaching known as the Sermon on the Mount to a massive crowd following him. In the middle of a litany of “required behaviors” that are pretty much impossible for any of us to maintain, Jesus says something that sticks out, because it seems out of place. It’s a warning to about throwing pearls to pigs—not wasting what is holy on those who do not understand or appreciate holy. Join Rick and Becky as they dive into Jesus’ teaching, exploring what it means to guard the treasure Jesus has given to you. What can we learn about the “no pearls before swine” standard by simply slowing down and paying attention to the way Jesus has designed our bodies on a micro-level? And, is it time for you to join the Pigs? Are you ready to go all-in with Jesus? Ready to live a life that is “free indeed,” because you’re wholly dependent on Jesus? Are you ready to slow down and wallow in the mud-puddle stories of Jesus? Join the Pigs. We’ll invite you into exclusive beh

We have lots of choices when we consider what to do about patterns of sin in our life—we can ignore them, explain them away, beat ourselves up about them, or “re-frame” them. Or, we can find freedom from the prison of them by tapping into a strength that is greater than our own and finding our way out of the darkness. Join Rick and special guest Tom Melton, a longtime pastor who’s now a leadership and business consultant, as they take a deep dive into the “Jesus way” of rooting out and overcoming sin in our life, continuing our month-long focus on discipline. No matter what you’re struggling with, there is hope for you… Join the Pigs. Are you ready to go all-in with Jesus? Ready to live a life that is “free indeed,” because you’re wholly dependent on Jesus? Are you ready to slow down and wallow in the mud-puddle stories of Jesus? Join the Pigs. We’ll invite you into exclusive behind-the-scenes insights, give you opportunities to make your voice matter, pray for you, and connect you to other Pigs inside ou

Dependence > Discipline Jesus is about to send His disciples on a daunting (to say the least) mission, so what does He do to help them out? He takes every last support and comfort from them before they leave. What gives? Well, join us this week as we slow way down to chew on Matthew 10, where Jesus offers a master class on dependence. How can something that feels so uncomfortable bring us so much life and strength? With Rick and Becky, learn what it looks like to practice radical dependence on Jesus in your everyday life. Join the Pigs. Are you ready to go all-in with Jesus? Ready to live a life that is “free indeed,” because you’re wholly dependent on Jesus? Are you ready to slow down and wallow in the mud-puddle stories of Jesus? Join the Pigs. We’ll invite you into exclusive behind-the-scenes insights, give you opportunities to make your voice matter, pray for you, and connect you to other Pigs inside our private Facebook group. Join Here. Related Articles and Resources: Jesus Centered Life, Rick Law

Continuing our month-long primer on “self-discipline” (and how we’ve turned it into both an idol and a prison), we give lots of practical help for tapping into our TRUE source of life. If Jesus is simply asking us to “abide” in Him, with fruit in our life as a result, then what’s the use of trying hard in life? We'll go after two important contrasting Scripture passages to find our balance point—James 2 and John 15. And if you’re struggling to let go of shame and guilt in your life, we’ll show you how to let it all go. Join us we pay ridiculous attention to what Jesus says about discipline. Join the Pigs. Are you ready to go all-in with Jesus? Ready to live a life that is “free indeed,” because you’re wholly dependent on Jesus? Are you ready to slow down and wallow in the mud-puddle stories of Jesus? Join the Pigs. We’ll invite you into exclusive behind-the-scenes insights, give you opportunities to make your voice matter, pray for you, and connect you to other Pigs inside our private Facebook group. Join H

When it comes to living a dependent life with Jesus, how much of it is about our effort, and how much is about His effort? Jesus often pointed out religious leaders who were over-emphasizing discipline, and used them as examples of what not to do. But He’s also called us to live our lives on purpose. When He rescued the “adulterous woman,” He told her to “go and sin no more.” And He vowed that not even the smallest detail of God's law will disappear—instead, He promised to “fulfill the law.” What does that mean, anyway? In the Jesus-Centered Life, Rick Lawrence offers a path into a life free from all the “shoulds" we like to promote in the church. Join us this week as we dive into Paul's message—to two different audiences spaced five years apart—to see how he reveals the role of discipline in our lives. Join the Pigs. Are you ready to go all in with Jesus? Ready to live a life that is free because it’s wholly dependent on Jesus? Are you ready to slow down and wallow in the mud puddle stories of Jesus? Join

What if spending time with Jesus went beyond a typical pre-packaged daily “quite time”? You vow to get to your 30-minute quiet time and some days you do, but most days you don't. The days you do you're in and out, and don't know why you still aren't seeing Jesus in everything. Days you don't you feel guilty the rest of the day, vowing you will get on top of this. What if your relationship with Jesus was a 24/7 event where he is invited into every moment, not just a set period of time? What would that look like? Would you laugh with him more? Would you start to feel like you have a regular everyday friendship with him? What would that look like? Join Becky and special guest Stephanie Hillberry (author) as they unpack a journey the embarked on nearly 600 days ago that involved removing the boundaries that can sometimes artificially exist in a typical quiet time. It started with reading the book The Jesus-Centered Life and has led to a deeper connection with Jesus that occurs in everyday moments throughout th

God has a plan. Everything happens for a reason. All things work together for good. But what does that mean? If God has a plan, what if his plan isn't the same as mine? What if the thing he is keeping from us that we want so desperately is to protect us? What if God knowing what's best for us, doesn't automatically result in getting what we want? Join us this week as we interview legendary rock star Brad Corrigan of Dispatch. Despite being one of the most legendary rock stars of one of the most popular bands world-wide, Brad shares about living a life of being single despite having the strong desire to be a family man. Understanding that the chosen lifestyle of spending half his life touring with the band and the other half living in a trash dump in Nicaragua is the reason why that family dream hasn't worked out, he now devotes himself to being a "Spiritual Papa" to kids who sort through trash piles. This week on Paying Ridiculous Attention to Jesus Podcast Rick and Becky tackle a mud puddle story that ma

When you're feeling like your life needs a hard reset it's easy to leave Jesus behind and head to the self-help section of the book store and get on top of your issue. It's understandable why; they're inspiring, motivating, and believable. We know that if we can just make a few small changes in our lives they can have a huge overall impact. The problem is that they rely on our own strength and self-discipline. Jesus isn't looking for a paint by numbers relationship where he's already picked out the design and color. What he's looking for is to paint with you. For you to invite him into the drawing and let him make adjustments. He also knows that in the beginning you will have paintings that need do-overs and that with time you'll get better at it. That's how he wants to do life with us. Join us this week in the Old Testament as we look at the story of Gideon putting out a fleece as a way to be sure that he knew what God wanted. We'll also share from some of the top self-help gurus out there and compare wha

We give our best, try our hardest, and give our all. We chase after self-discipline, fight the good fight, and love our neighbors as ourselves. We win with love, give peace and kindness. We're all in for Jesus, and we know he's all in for us. But what if he wants to take your best and then waste it? In the Old Testament you were asked to go to the altar and give your best as an offering. You would labor to raise the best calf, the best lamb, or grow the best crop and then set it on the alter and light it on fire. Your best was a sweet smelling offering to the Lord and he was pleased with it. In a world dominated by the pursuit of the American dream, a world in pursuit of happiness, what would it look like to have your talent, your skill, your best you wasted on the altar? Join us this week as we go back to the Old Testament and look at some places where people like Job were wasted and still gave their best to the Lord. Related Resources: Join the Pigs: https://www.mylifetree.com/pratj-member-sign-up

"God's Perfect Will" "What if I misunderstand his will?" "If I get on God's perfect track, does that mean my life will be perfect?" "Does God always want to make the choices, or does he have some choices I can make?" "What about free will?" "Is God's mind made up, or can he change his mind?" Join us this month as we talk about "What is God's Will?" It's so confusing to think about God's will. This week we're going to zoom in on the story of the Roman soldier who asks Jesus to perform a miracle. We're going to slow way down and pay attention to the things Jesus did and didn't do. We've heard from our listeners on the go that when we talk about related resources on the show, often they forget where to go find them or to download them later. We're setting up an email list that will send you the related resources each week from the episode so that you don't have to remember to. Related Resources: • Free Downloads to Help You Pay Better Attention to Jesus: https://www.mylifetree.com/theysay/download-library

We’re wrapping up our month long theme on identity, so be sure you go back and listen to all four of these episodes. We couldn't finish a series on identity without talking about body image. Join us this week as we interview Jobe Lewis and talk about his very unique journey towards combining his body and spirit. Jobe has a passionate message to encourage people to ditch their scales, focus on health and combine the spiritual health with fitness in everyday life. What would it look like if we de-compartmentalized Jesus from our diet and body images and instead invited him into them? Becky took a challenge a year ago and did a two week dieting experiment, you can listen to her journey here (https://www.mylifetree.com/the-dieting-experiment-thats-not-a-diet-part-two/). Start your own 2-week diet challenge with Jesus with our free download (https://www.mylifetree.com/they-say-podcast-2-week-diet-challenge/), this diet will set you free. Because self-improvement is overrated, paying ridiculous attention to Jesu

This month on Paying Ridiculous Attention to Jesus Podcast we're focusing identity, and who does Jesus say I am? Last week we talked about what it looks like to be set free from the shackles that are burdening us, and tripping us up. This week we are going to talk about what it would look like if we partnered with Jesus to set other people free. Join Rick Lawrence and Becky Hodges as they unpack the lyrics from a Christian song written in the 80's about freedom, and what it feels like to patiently partner with the Holy Spirit for someone else's freedom from captivity. Become a Pig! After three weeks we have decided on a name for our group we are inviting you to. If you have no idea what that is you might want to pick up Rick's Jesus-Centered Life, there's a chapter called "Living a Pig Life" that will make this very clear. This group will get special emails from Rick and Becky as well as be invited to a private Facebook group focused on wading in the mud puddle stories of Jesus. Join the pigs or learn more.

What is Jesus hoping to set you free from? If you have grown up in Christianity you probably know all about conviction and sin. But what if there’s more to the story? If Jesus came to set captives free, what does that really look like in our life? And what if freedom is about even giving up things that aren’t necessarily sin? This week we have the amazing pleasure of interviewing author and blogger, Sarah Bessey. This is an honest conversation about how God is freeing her up in life, showing her the true author of discipline, and how the gentle the voice of the Holy Spirit really is. We’ll also examine the role of discipleship and how it’s difference than we might have thought. BONUS Rick wrote a fantastic new free download with his “how to guide” on having a spiritual retreat with Jesus, sign up for the member group to get your copy. (https://www.mylifetree.com/pratj-member-sign-up/) Our member group is growing! There’s no charge to be a part of it, but if you are a regular listener here we want to broad

Who does Jesus say I am? When I first met Rick, he talked a lot about this question. He said it was the second most important question in life. And that question scared me, because I have been raised in a world of broken mirrors. Those mirrors have decided to point out all the things that are “wrong” with me, and deep down inside I thought that’s what Jesus was going to do too. When I finally let Jesus in, he set me free. His names were: chosen, daughter, rain that fertilizes and makes things grow, protected, wise, and a destroyer of darkness. He also told me that my life was a beautiful mess, a perfect artwork and that even in the ashes of my darkness he was making a fertile and wild garden. This week join us as we talk about the way Jesus makes art with people’s lives. We’ll share our own practical insights on how we have created space in our lives for Jesus to name us. BONUS Rick wrote a fantastic new free download with his “how to guide” on having a spiritual retreat with Jesus. We will also be invitin

When you picture someone who has devoted his entire life to the passion of getting people to read the Bible…you might be thinking that person is a bit rigid, and judgmental. You are in for a refreshing surprise this week as we interview Glenn Paauw formally of Biblica and now running the Institute for Bible Reading. We love his heart for making the Bible alive and a story again. Be a part of starting a Bible reading movement this year. Many of our listeners read the Jesus-Centered Bible and we want to encourage you to pick up a half dozen copies and to be praying about who you can give them too. Because it was designed to make the Bible more relate-able and bring out the story of Jesus. Get your Bibles today! We will also be inviting our listeners to join a special group. There’s no charge to be a part of it, but if you are a regular listener here we want to broaden our relationship with you. We will randomly choose people to give stuff to you, reach out to get your input and advice on things and we’re goin