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This morning I was remembering how as a teenager looking for opportunities to have spiritual conversations with my coworkers at a greesy spoon, I posed a question that started some amazing dialogue. The questions was, “What is more important to a Christian’s faith, Jesus’ birth, His miracles, His death, or HIs resurrection?”

For some reason, that hit a nerve and for hours my friends from all aspects of their spiritual journey (many devout athiests…others disengaged or cultural Christians) were sharing their opinions. Intentionally I didn’t try to direct the conversation until asked, but as the asker of the question, it eventually turned back my way. Someone would turn and ask, “So, which is it? Which is most important?”

That was exactly what I was waiting for. This question gave me the chance to tell the story of Jesus from beginning to end and to pin in directly to my faith and why these four events are so crucial to all who would call themselves Christians.

This question is one of my favorites. So, for the sake of conversation, I pose it to you and would love for you to weigh in with your opinion. Please don’t preach an exceptionally long sermon. Share your brief answer and reasoning, and let others do the same if they are so inclined. This is not intended as a debate but as a place for personal opinions to be voiced.

So, here goes.

“What is more important to a Christian’s faith? Is it Jesus’ birth, His miracles, His death, or His resurrection?”

Earlier in the week while taking a walk in Darling Harbour, one of the most beautiful locations in Sydney, Australia, I came upon a city official taking a picture of some graffiti. It seems someone had tagged a sidewalk and he wanted to record it for future reference.

Because he was taking a picture, I stopped and noticed the “artwork” that glaringly stood out in this pristine and well-kept environment.

The next morning, I was taking a walk and talking with God before the busyness of my day kicked in when I noticed that the graffiti was gone. In one days time it had been noticed and removed without a trace.

As I continued my walk, I realized that this is how I want to live my life. When something that doesn’t represent who I want to be reveals itself, I want to notice it and with God’s help remove it as quickly as possible. Whether it is a nasty attitude, a vile thought, or a perverse action, I don’t want to leave it there. I want it gone. I don’t want to rationalize it or pander to it. I don’t want to make excuses or comparisons, I want to realize that it is unbecoming, doesn’t glorify God, and get rid of it.

Some might look at what happened with the graffiti tag in Darling Harbour and say, “it’s just one little prank. It doesn’t matter much.” But at what point would it become noticeable and worth coming against? Would ten episodes of defacing property warrant change? One hundred? At some point the task would seem too great…that is why they take every single threat seriously.

And, that is why we should as well. When an action turns into a habit, the fight might be overwhelming, but as we allow the Lord to help us overcome each and every threat as it reveals itself, we will have the ability to guard our hearts, keep our lives clean, and represent Christ well in the process.

This is just something that spoke to me this week…not sure if it does you, but thought I would share.

A few days ago, I read somewhere about a 15 year teenager in the Congo (I posted something about this on Twitter and my FB status) that was not waiting to grow up to make an impact. It really inspired me.

Turns out that some missionaries bumped into him and began to have a conversation. Because he was dressed in a suit and tie they asked if he was returning from church. To their surprise he shared that he was returning from another village where he has spent the morning ministering to the people.

When I heard this, I was challenged. Here was a young man who rose above the expectations of his age and ability to live intentionally and sacrificially on purpose. He was not wasting his days, he was investing so that others would be able to hear of Christ’s love and embrace the hope He offered.

His story reminded me of my absolutely favorite verse when I was growing up. I Timothy 4:12 says, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity.”

This young man did set an example for me. An example that challenged and inspired me. But, we also have been given the charge to rise above our excuses to do what is right. To ‘set an example’. Some of us will embrace that charge, others will not.

And it is not just age. For some, that scripture should read, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because of your intellect” or maybe, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because of your family history”, or even, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because of your past, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity.”

See, every one of us has things that could keep us from living life well. We could embrace our excuses and hold on tightly. But, because of God’s grace and His ability working in us, we can rise above them. We can move past our past and make a difference in our present and in our future.

Like the young man in Africa, there might be people who expect you to be floating through your days wasting your potential, but with God on your side you can do so much more. Only heaven knows what God could do with you if you decided to not let anyone look down on you or force you into a tight box. Only heaven knows…but don’t you want to know as well?

Take it one day at a time, but begin today to live above the excuses and expectations. Live well.

This week while in Chicago, I met someone that both made me sad and moved me to prayer. While going through a drive-through to grab a quick bite, I noticed that the woman who handed me my food had a large and distinctive tattoo on her hand the burger through the window arm. Rather than ignore it, I asked to see it and asked if there was any significance to the design. Her response caught me off guard. She said, “This is my new husband’s name, and the other designs are to cover up the scars from my first husband.” Sure enough, when she held her arm still, I did notice some hidden damage underneath the tattoos.

Although I had to pull away and did not get to talk to her further (hungry people behind me), I did say a prayer for her. I found it sad that she had been hurt by someone who should have protected her.

However, my prayers did not settle only on her, I found in our very quick conversation a picture of so many and an analogy about what they do with their pain and discomfort. Typically they run to something to cover up their scars with something and write that name in a prominent and defining place. They might cover up the scars of abuse with illicit and empty relationships. They may write the name of a substance over the blemish of disappointment or insecurity. The marks left by abandonment might be covered by a destructive tendency.

These are the people that we need to be praying for; for these are the ones who Christ is pursuing. Those who have been hurt, whispered about, abused, taken advantage of, pushed in the corner and marginalized. Those who are causing themselves more pain trying to escape what is in their past. He wants to write His name on their hearts, not only covering up their scars, but healing them altogether.

My encounter with the nameless woman has impacted me. It has moved me to prayer. I hope it will move you as well.

2 fun bits of news:

First off, 308,150 people viewed the Groundwire commercial “More to Life” yesterday. Chats are up because of it.

Secondly, we are scheduled to run our first commercial on ESPN today. Exciting to add new stations.

Ok, I need your help (and I will be posting this a couple of times in the next couple of weeks). A couple of questions. 1. What are your top 5 phone Aps that you use and why? 2. Groundwire is looking into building an Ap. What are some functionalities that you think should be included? Think outside the box.

“Is there anyplace i can go to avoid your Spirit? to be out of your sight? If I climb to the sky you’re there! If I go underground, you’re there! If I flew on the mornings wings to the far western horizon, you’d find me in a minute–your’re already there waiting.” From Ps 139. Remember, wherever your day takes you, God is there waiting to greet you. He will celebrate if the day was great and hold you if it was not.