Paying Ridiculous Attention To Jesus

Join Rick for the fifth episode in a new series—“JESUS-PEOPLE.” We’ll explore the heart of Jesus through the lens of two otherwise obscure men who happened to experience an extraordinary encounter with Jesus on their way home to Emmaus, a small village seven miles from Jerusalem. We know the name of one of these two (Cleopas), but not the other. We traditionally think of these two travelers as male disciples, but Cleopas’ companion is most likely his wife—so let’s call them Mr. & Mrs. Cleopas. 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

Join Rick for the fourth episode in a new series—“JESUS-PEOPLE.” In this episode we’ll explore the heart of Jesus through the lens of a broken and traumatized woman who became one of those in Jesus’ inner circle. She’s important to focus on during Holy Week, because she was there at every step—along the Via Dolorosa, on Golgotha, at the tomb when He was buried, and at the tomb when He rose from the dead. Her name is Mary Magdalene. 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 exclusive behind-the-scenes insi

Join Rick for the third episode in a new series—“JESUS-PEOPLE.” In this episode we’ll explore the heart of Jesus through the lens of the man who calls himself “The Disciple Jesus Loved.” His name is John, brother of James and son of Zebedee and Salome. In the time of Jesus it’s a common humility to refer to yourself in the third person, but John could’ve tagged himself “the smart one” or “the fast one” or “the loud one.” Instead, he identifies as someone beloved by Jesus. Why? Well, when you’re close to someone, you get “infected” by that person… 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

Join Rick for the second episode in a new series “JESUS-PEOPLE.” We’ll be exploring the heart of Jesus through the lens of his friends and enemies. In this episode we encounter Nicodemus, who is an old man when he first meets Jesus. He’s a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, the ancient equivalent to our Supreme Court. He is mentioned just three times in the Gospel of John. But his first meeting with Jesus is under cover of darkness, because Jesus had become quite controversial among the Jewish religious leaders, and it was risky to show any interest in Him. We can learn a lot about Jesus by paying close attention to how he related to this distinguished and wise leader, and how Nicodemus related to Him. 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/147

Join Rick for the first episode in a new series—“JESUS-PEOPLE.” We’ll be exploring the heart of Jesus through the lens of his friends and enemies. You can learn a lot about a person by paying attention to the people that love him and the people that hate him. Dr. Peter Kreeft, a Boston University professor and C.S. Lewis scholar, says: “The Greek word used to describe everyone’s reaction to [Jesus] in the Gospels is ‘thauma’—wonder. This was true of his enemies, who killed him. Of his disciples, who worshipped him. And even of agnostics, who went away shaking their heads…” In this episode we’ll explore the heart of Jesus through the lens of His most-famous enemy—Judas. 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=Jes

Join Rick and Becky for this “re-podcast” BEST-OF episode from two years ago—“What Is the Meaning of Life?” In the past three years, this episode had the most listeners. Next week, Rick will begin a new series called “Jesus People”—exploring the heart of Jesus through the lens of his friends and enemies. Meanwhile, in this BEST-OF episode Rick and Becky take on the big question that lurks in the background for all of us: What is the purpose and reason for living? Although we all have different answers to what matters to us, what is our path to a “truly alive” life? We’ll look at how Jesus framed the meaning of life to those he encountered. 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=15997944

Join Rick for the 10th episode of the series KINGDOM COME. We’re coming out of a very active hurricane season, and weather experts warn we’re entering into another in 2021. Hurricanes are frightening because they’re dangerous and destructive. But it turns out that hurricanes keep our planet alive by roiling the waters of our oceans so deeply that their nutrients are widely redistributed, causing rapid growth of the carbon-dioxide-eating phytoplankton and, thus, keeping the Earth from boiling over. In the Kingdom of God, when we experience hurricanes in our life, we find new life. Let’s meet, again, the Hurricane whose name is Jesus… 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

Join Rick for the 9th episode of the series KINGDOM COME. Miracles are startling, because they're supposed to be impossible, right? And in this episode I tell a personal story that certainly qualifies as a miracle on every level. But the foundation of this miracle is not in the physical impossibility of what happened, but a revelation during my chance encounter with a man on a beach who reminds me a lot of Jesus... In this episode we explore “Miracles,” and the heart behind them. 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

Join Rick for the 8th episode of the new series KINGDOM COME. We are magnetically drawn to stories of hope and perseverance. That’s because perseverance is both heart-breaking and inspiring. It’s almost impossible to ignore. So, what are the common threads in all our stories of perseverance? Desperation. Vulnerability. Dependence. But especially “Hope and Fear and Conviction.” 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 exclusive behind-the-scenes insights, sneak peeks of new resources, opportunities to

Join Rick for the 7th episode of the new series KINGDOM COME. Rick often uses a favorite phrase to describe the mission of Jesus: He came to make beauty out of ugly. Not “pretty”… Beauty. In a very real, practical, visceral way, beauty-making and beauty-revealing is exactly what Jesus is doing in the world, and in your life, right now… We need “beauty-fighters” in this season of ugly… And it’s always been a season of ugly in the world. Will you join? Let’s explore the central quality of Jesus’ heart, infecting the whole Kingdom of God—“Beauty” 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

Join Rick for the 6th episode of the new series KINGDOM COME. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, whose life we celebrate this week, led during a time of great division and racial tension and disillusionment in the country—like our time today. He’d experienced pain and brutality from others, over and over. But he was much more than a civil rights leader—he was a pastor planting seeds of the Kingdom of God in a fallow soil. He proclaimed: “Forgiveness is not an occasional act; it is a permanent attitude…” It reminds us of what Jesus said about forgiveness—“Seventy-Times-Seven…” 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 re

Join Rick for the 5th episode of the new series KINGDOM COME. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus launches His ministry by doing something He’ll never do again—simply “talking at” a large crowd of people for a long time. Why does He do this? There’s a clue at the end of Matthew 6, when He says: “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” When He says “Above all else” it’s a distinct declaration—of all the things we’re pursuing in life, this is the highest pursuit. Here let’s explore what “Above All Else” means in our everyday life... 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

Join Rick for the 4th episode of the new series KINGDOM COME. When we live inside the culture of the Kingdom of God—the way of living that Jesus came to plant, like a seed, in our broken reality—we are very aware of the influence of evil all around us, but we are not impressed by it. The goal of evil is to “kill, steal, and destroy,” and it is impersonal in its approach. We are not “persons,” in the mind of the one Jesus called “the evil one,” we are weeds that must be plucked or cut. At the start of a new year, let’s ready ourselves again for living a life that “overcomes evil with good.” Here let’s explore “The Antidote to Evil,” as revealed and practiced by Jesus. 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=Jes

Join Rick for the 3rd episode of the new series KINGDOM COME. In the Kingdom of God, storytelling is not only the highest form of art, it defines the mission and passion of Jesus. Jesus came to tell a new story in our life, and to invite us to do the same with others. But to understand what’s He’s doing, we have to explore the story’s setup, the plot twists, and the takeaway. As you come to understand “The Point of Your Story,” you’ll grow to appreciate the heart of the Storyteller. 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 dependen

Join Rick for the 2nd episode of the new series KINGDOM COME. What are some obvious differences between a democracy, like the one we live in, and living under the rule of a king? Most of us have no idea what it means to actually live in a kingdom, and we’ve never actually been in a close relationship with a king. So, even though Jesus tells us that he’s an ambassador for the Kingdom of God, even the embodiment of it, it’s hard for us to understand what that really means. Let’s explore the upending, transformational reality of a “Bow Down” relationship with Jesus. 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

Join Rick for the 1st episode of the new series KINGDOM COME. What did Jesus really come to do—what was His “mission”? We’ve been told that it’s basically a rescue mission. But our “rescue” is simply the epic fruit of a restored relationship, which is the passion of God. The mission of God, however, has to do with planting the culture of the Trinity in the broken and scarred garden that was once Eden. Jesus focuses, over and over, on bringing the Kingdom of God, His own “culture,” into our reality. So today we’ll explore what that looks like for us in everyday life, through the lens of “Family Traditions.” 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

Join Rick for the 8th episode of the new series PRESENT CONCERNS—we’ll explore the challenges that darken our soul’s landscape and discover how Jesus works our ugly into beauty. In this episode we’ll explore… “Exhaustion.” Exhaustion can make us cowards; and it can lead us to the courage we need most. Let’s explore “the road less traveled” today, walking with Jesus on the road to courage in the midst of our exhaustion. 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 exclusive behind-the-scenes insights, sneak

Join Rick and Becky for the 7th episode of the new series PRESENT CONCERNS—we’ll explore our looming life challenges and discover how Jesus works our ugly into beauty, like clay in His hands. In this episode we’ll explore… “Hope Deferred.” We tend to think about our hopes in the major categories of life, but we have hundreds of tiny, unrealized hopes crawling around our life every day. And those broken hopes are like termites, eating away at our foundation of trust. The repeated destruction of our hope is a relationship-killer—in our relationship with Jesus and with others. So, how do we find a source of hope that isn’t at risk, and can’t be thwarted or killed? 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-Cent

Join Rick for the 6th episode of the new series PRESENT CONCERNS—we’ll explore our looming life challenges and discover how Jesus is working to bring beauty in the swirl of our ugly. In this episode we’ll… “Consider the Birds.” It’s almost impossible for us to stop worrying—we all have concerns that dominate our thoughts. So how could Jesus possibly expect us to “not worry about everyday life” by merely “considering the birds”? If we slow down to savor what He’s saying, we find freedom… 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 depen

Join Rick and Becky for the 5th episode of the new series PRESENT CONCERNS—we’ll discover how Jesus upends the “default” way we respond to the challenges and issues we’re facing in this strangest of seasons. In this episode we’ll dive into—“Good Humor.” Doesn’t really sound like a “present concern,” right? But consider how our lack of good humor right now is a present concern. Could it be that good humor is not only central to our survival during tough times, but central to our life with Jesus? 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 wholl