1. Death is inevitable.

It’s coming like a sunset. There is no stopping it. Your day may have dawned today or it could be fifty years from now. But it is coming.

If you are rich you can’t buy your way out of it. If you’re poor you can’t beg your way out of it. Fat or skinny, beautiful or ugly, wise or foolish, when death comes knocking it’s the last thing you’ll hear on this earth. With apologies to the Final Destination series you can’t trick death.

Moses knew this all to well. By the time he was eighty he had seen plenty of death in Egypt (he had caused one personally) and too much death in the desert. In Psalm 90:9,10 he wrote, “All our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan. Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.”

James put it even more bluntly in chapter four and verse fourteen of his book, “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”

Whether it be something slow like pancreatic cancer or something sudden like a tragic car wreck, death is inevitable. There’s not an app you can buy or build that will rescue you from it. The Grim Reaper reaps with icy discipline and a permission slip from God. When “your time” comes your time on earth is done.

2. Live with intentionality while you can.

Steve Jobs said, “Almost everything–all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure–these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

Solomon put it this way in Ecclesiastes 9:10, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.”

Live life to the fullest. Squeeze the sponge dry. Squeeze your spouse and kids until they know you mean it. Live life to the tenth power in His power for His purpose.

3. Focus on the condition of your soul before it’s too late.

Jesus said in Mark 8:36, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”

I don’t know the condition of Steve Jobs’ soul. I hope he was a believer in Jesus. If he wasn’t his death was a tragedy. He gained the whole world, in a very real sense, but lost his soul. But if he believed in Jesus, even on his death bed, his passing was a wonderous triumph.

But this post isn’t ultimately about Steve Jobs. It’s about you. Are you ready to die? Jesus died so that you could live. He died in your place for your sins and through faith in Him you can access this free gift of eternal life. Believe in Him and receive life. Watch this GOSPEL video and embrace him through faith.

If you are a Christian live your life with eternal eyes. See differently. Live differently. Share the gospel boldly while you can. Because soon, maybe sooner than we think, our time will come.

I’ll never forget when the pastor of the church we were meeting at burst in at about 11:30am and told us that all hell was breaking loose down at Columbine High School. He asked us to pray and we gladly obliged. Little did we know how bad the situation at Columbine was.

As the morning turned to afternoon the few of us in that room, along with the rest of the watching world, began to realize how horrific of an event had unfolded in the cafeteria, hallways, library and classrooms of that typical, middle class public school. in a matter of minutes Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold extinguished 15 lives that day, including their own, and the innocence of high school life in America was lost forever.

Rick Long and I went down to Columbine a few days later to pray with any teenagers who happened to be around the adjacent Clement Park. Suffice it to say that the place was a madhouse. Sure there were teenagers to pray with and for, but reporters from all over America converged on little old Littleton. It was like a national funeral was unfolding and Clement Park was where the graveside service was being held.

Questions of “Why?” and “How could this happen?” abounded for days, weeks and months after. But these weren’t the questions that I was struggling with. The question that plagued me for days after was “What am I prepared to do about it?”

I had been the preaching pastor at Grace for 10 years and had always done Dare 2 Share on the side. But God used this tragedy as a clarion call for me to focus on one thing, mobilizing teenagers to reach their world for Christ. In the decade since that tragedy this powerful mission still drives me, our board, staff, ministry partners and thousands of churches that have joined us in this quest to reach a generation for Christ.

Why is this misison so critical? Because I truly believe that right now there are disillusioned kids like Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold on every one of the 67,000 high school and middle school campuses in America. Who knows what will flip the switch for them to act on those feelings of abandonment and resentment with the same scale of violence or even worse?

What’s the solution? Gun control? More school security? Violence prevention programs? Faster police reaction times? Come on! While some may taut these things as the keys to preventing future shootings there is a deeper, spiritual problem that only Jesus can address.

What if Christian teenagers on every high school and middle school took the mission of Jesus as their very own? What if they reached and mobilized their friends with and for the gospel? I can envision lonely teenagers being sat with, listened to and loved. I can see kids like Eric and Dylan believing in Jesus or, at the minimum, feeling genuinely cared about by some fellow classmates. And that, in and of itself, could be enough to stop the violence from taking place.

Thoreau once said, “For every thousand hacking at the leaves of evil, one hacks at the root.” Rapid response, controlling access to guns and other proposed solutions at best hack at the leaves of evil. But only the gospel attacks the root of it. It is Jesus alone who can change somebody from the inside out.

I can’t help but reflect on the inside-out transformation of my own violent family growing up. The Denver mafia nicknamed my uncles “the crazy brothers.” When the mafia thinks your family is insane that is a sure sign of dysfunction. But one by one my family members encountered the life-changing power of Jesus Christ and they were forever transformed, the root of evil hacked and severed once and for all.

I believe in the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The question is does the church at large? Do we really believe that the key to solving violence, crime and hopelessness is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ?

As we look back and reflect on the tragedy of Columbine ten years ago today let us pray for the surviving victims and their families. Let us ask God for the protection of the teenagers on campuses all across America. But, as you reflect, I have to ask the question that the Holy Spirited prompted in my heart a decade ago…What are you willing to do about it?

Are you willing to keep praying for the youth of America after today?

Are you willing to mobilize a teenager you know to reach their friends for Christ?

Are you willing to join us in this quest to be a part of a sweeping spiritual awakening that will transform this nation, and especially her young people, from the inside out?

It is time to pray. It is time to act.

After I preached at Epicenter yesterday Rose Flack, an 18 year old girl that made it through to the Hollywood round of AI, walked by our Dare 2 Share booth. I don’t exactly know what she was doing there (to sing for the youth leaders?) I stopped her and asked her if she would send a message to my wife on video. She didn’t hesitate. Sweet girl.

This Idaho native has a heartbreaking story: Her father passed away when she was 13; her mom died two years later. In the hustle and bustle and “hey isn’t that the girl from American Idol” shout outs from passing youth leaders, I only had a few short seconds to talk to her about her relationship with the Lord. Sounds like her spiritual journey just recently began and that she is seeking to learn more. So I gave her a copy of Venti Jesus and she promised to read it.

Pray for her. I get the sense she truly wants to dig deeper into the Christian faith. It’s pretty cool that, in the middle of the buzz around her, she stopped and talked to me about her spiritual life, even if it was only for a brief time. Goes to show you that all the glitter and glamour of Hollywood and American Idol can never solve the spiritual crisis of the soul. Sorry Simon. Only Jesus can bring true and lasting satisfaction, and he never wears an embarrassingly tight black t shirt.

My wife was a big fan of Rose making it through into the finals and was bummed when she got voted off. Anyway, because of the shout out I asked Rose to give my wife on video I just climbed up the cool husband ladder by a few rungs. And, with my travel schedule lately, I need all the help I can get!

Dear Daddy,

How much like the Corinthians I am. Just a few verses earlier Paul rebukes the Corinthians because of their stubborn refusal to repent over the sins they were engaged in. He now warns them in these verses that he was going to "not spare those who sinned earlier" when he returned to them. I guess this means that he was going to exercise his apostolic authority and call down the thunder on their disobedient heads.

What reaches up and grabs me by the throat from this passage is Paul’s warning that Jesus is "powerful among you." Why this speaks so loudly to me is of my constant misconception that Jesus is always away and watching from a distance. This verse reminds me that he is ever present with me every day. His perception of my life is not from some heavenly perch but from right next to me.

His proximity scares me. Why? Because "he is not weak" in dealing with me but is powerful. The resurrected Christ who demands righteousness and commands respect is right next to me all the time. He watches. He works. He acts. Your Son is no passive viewer. He is active and aching. He is aching over my sin and acting to cleanse me of it through circumstance, trial and trouble. These are his chisels to chip off the excesses and rock hard granite of selfishness and sin.

His proximity comforts me. Why? Because I am not alone in this world. He is there to help me be all that you’ve intended for me to be.

Thank you God for your Son. Thank you that he is powerful among us all. May we never become numb to his presence. Fill us with fear, awe and love.

Teach us to repent in light of his proximity.

I was about to correct his inaccurate term and then I stopped. It struck me that what a Savior does is save. In other words a "Savior" is a "Saver"…a soul saver and life saver (chew on that for a while.)

Jesus has saved me from sin, hopelessness, despair, depression, hell and myself. He has saved me from all these and to so much more…righteousness, mission, community, love and God himself. All who believe in Him alone for salvation are saved from their sin. They are declared righteous in the courtroom of Christ and are adopted into the family of God.

So I have to ask you the question. Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saver?

If not, now is the time. If so, why not start spreading the word about the Saver of your soul?

A tanned, tattooed and kind of worn out looking lady asked me for help in the bottled water and juice aisle. She told me that she had left her glasses at home and couldn’t see the prices on the cases of water.

This was not the awkward part.

I helped her read a few of the prices and she thanked me. I smiled, said something like “no problem” and began to turn and walk away when the awkward moment erupted out of nowhere. 

“I’m sorry to bother you with reading these price tags sir." She said with a sigh of desperation,  "I forgot my glasses at home because I’m an emotional mess. You see my dog just got killed.”

As I turned to her I could see a single tear beginning to bulge from her right eye, about to cross over eyelid and streak down her cheek.

“I’m so sorry you lost your dog mam. What kind of dog was it?” I asked.

She told me that it was a Great Dane puppy. She then went on to detail how it had run out into the street and was hit by a car. By this time that bulging tear had begun to make its way down her cheek.

Not knowing exactly what to say I pushed out the only words that I could think of, “I’m so sorry mam. I’ll pray for you.” Giving her a few pastorly pats on the back and a reassuring nod I turned to leave. After all I had two kids with me and the store was busy that day. I thought that the awkward moment was over. But Jeremy revived it with a jolt.

He had been looking at her and listening to her as she talked about her dog. When he saw the tear coming down her cheek he ran up to the lady and almost shouted the words, “Lady, don’t cry. Your dog is in doggie heaven and you will see him again!” 

Cute kids can say the cutest things at the most not-so-cute times. This lady just looked at this hyperly verbose child with a blank stare. The words, “I sure hope so” found their way out of her mouth.

But that wasn’t enough for Jeremy. The awkward moment was just getting started.

Interesting Side Note:  At this point other shoppers are having to cart their way around our little mid store counseling session. We were in people’s way. Some passed by with a huff and others stood by, picked up various products and pretended like they were reading the labels. But they weren’t. They were leaning in to listen to this preacher, kindergartner and tattooed lady chat about canines, death and doggie heaven (luckily Kailey can’t really talk yet or I’m sure she would have joined in!)

Looking back now I feel kind of guilty because, while I was gently trying to make my getaway, Jeremy was just warming up. He looked straight up at this sad woman and boldly proclaimed, “Lady you can go to heaven too if you just believe in Jesus!" Then turning to me he commanded, "Tell her daddy. Tell her about Jesus.”

I looked at her and smiled and was about to explain to her how my boy talked a lot when Jeremy almost yelled, “Daddy she needs to hear the gospel! You need to tell her about Jesus right now daddy!”

I blushed. Usually my gospel presentations have a little more transition than “you can see your dog someday in doggie heaven.”

Before I could begin to explain the good news Jeremy urged me to show her “the gospel hand.” This is a technique of sharing the gospel that Jeremy learned in Sunday school. You basically hold up one hand in the air and, with your fingers spread out, share the gospel in five little phrases, wiggling the appropriate finger with each phrase. You wiggle your thumb and say, “God loves me.” Then your index finger wiggles and then you say, “I have sinned.” You can guess the rest: middle finger, “Christ died for me”, ring finger, “If I believe” and, last but not least, the pinky finger, “I will go to heaven.”

Another awkward moment, my boy just called me on the carpet (or grape juice stained aisles in this instance) to do the gospel hand to a complete stranger who just lost her dog and was crying in the middle of the bottled water and fruit juice section of my favorite local grocery store. So I turned the tables on my five year old. I said, “Jeremy, you show her the gospel hand.”

Without thinking or blinking Jeremy wiggled his fingers through the Mr. Roger’s version of the gospel. I wasn’t prepared for what happened next (another magically uncomfortable moment.) This lady began to cry, not a single tear, but streams of tears running down her face. She then almost screamed out these words, “It’s not just my dog. I lost my son to cancer awhile ago! I am so mad at God right now! I used to have pictures of Jesus all over my house and I’ve taken them all down. I don’t know what to do! I just don’t know what to do.”

She stood there and wept and Jeremy kept jabbering on about Jesus, the gospel hand and doggie heaven when daddy finally kicked into gear. The awkward moment was gone. I turned and looked directly in the tear drenched eyes of this hurting lady, put my hand on her shoulder and said, “Mam, I am so sorry the pain you have been through. I can’t imagine losing a son. I love my chatty little boy here and wouldn’t ever want to lose him.  But there is one who relates to your pain in a way I never can, God himself. You see he lost a Son too, Jesus Christ, for you and me….”

Over the next few minutes I navigated through the gospel message. All the while Jeremy kept talking on and on. I literally had to talk over him.  Although I kept turning to him saying, “Daddy’s got it now son” he just kept preaching to this lady right at my side.

When it was all said and done she collapsed into my arms and I prayed for her as she wept on my shoulder. Although people were having to navigate around us there was no more awkward moment for me. This was a divine intervention. This was a God moment. As she came up from the prayer I invited her to come to church with my family and she said that she would really consider it. Pray for her to come to Jesus and connect to the body of Christ, where her shattered soul can be healed.

As we left the grocery store that day I told Jeremy how proud I was of him. I don’t think he understood how amazing that moment in the grocery store was. To him he was just telling some crying lady who had just lost her dog that Jesus loved her.

Maybe that’s what Jesus meant by “the faith of a child.” Maybe the Dare 2 Share guy needs to take a cue from his five year old about not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Maybe you do too.

What awkward moment do you need to take with that friend, family member, teammate or co-worker today? They may not collapse into your arms crying, but they probably are hurting more than you know. Embrace the awkward moment in the faith of a child and watch what God will do, not just in others, but in you.

I did and I’m still reeling.

One happened to me the other day. When I saw him at first I thought he was about the same age as my boy Jeremy (who is five years old) but after taking my seat next to him on the plane I could tell that he was much older. I’m not sure the politically correct term (“dwarf”, “little person” or “person of short stature”), but this thirteen year old teenager had dwarfism. 

After just a few minutes what struck me about him the most was not his lack of height but his abundance of manners. He was well spoken and very polite to the flight attendants who were taking care of us.

As we talked I found out that he was a teenaged actor who was appearing in an upcoming television series. I was impressed. As we continued to talk he told me that he was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

But instead of arguing with him about the tenants of Mormonism verses the creeds of Christianity I just said something like, “Let me ask you a question that I have asked thousands of other teenagers, do you KNOW for sure that you are going to heaven when you die?”

At first he seemed a little surprised by the question, but then he thought about it and answered “I hope so.” I then asked, “If I could tell you how you could KNOW for sure would that be good news?” Without hesitation he said yes.

I opened my Bible to I John 5:13 and had him read the words aloud, “I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you can know that you have eternal life.” Several minutes and a few verses later this young man put his faith and trust in Jesus Christ as his Savior right there on the plane.

What’s the point? There are two.

The first is that everybody needs Jesus. It doesn’t matter if somebody is a dwarf, doorman, dictator, dope dealer, Mormon, miner, monk, mobster or maid. We should share the good news of the gospel with everyone every where we meet them!

Secondly, most of the time the best argument we have as Christians is not an argument at all, it’s the gospel of Jesus. Instead of picking apart somebody else’s belief system it usually is much more effective to share the good news of the gospel. Why? Because the Spirit of God is much better at destroying arguments and pretenses than we are! When he is unleashed into a soul at the moment of salvation he can begin to fix them just like he continues to fix us! 

Who is the person you need to tell about Jesus? No matter what their height, weight, eye color, shoe size or religion they need to hear, see and sense the good news of Jesus from you, in you and around you right now. Will you share it with them today?

Don’t miss those opportunities to share God’s big love with those right in front of your face today!

Through it you draw me closer to you. By it you drive me to my knees in prayer. From it you forge in me the image of Christ.

Pain is a friend that I welcome with outstretched hands and open arms. Although he kisses me on the cheek while stabbing me in the side I am still glad to see him. Why? Because he was the closest earthly companion of my best friend Jesus. Pain was there in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus called out in utter desperation to God. But instead of giving up, giving way or giving in, Jesus took the cup that pain offered to him in the garden and drank down every last drop. 

Pain was right there when the soldiers swung their whips and wielded their fists toward Jesus. He stood silently in the shadow of the cross as Jesus absorbed the punishment and pain that I so deeply deserved. Through pain Jesus bore the sin of my humanity of all humanity and screamed out "My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?"

Through pain’s twin brother death I have been justified. By pain’s constant presence I am being sanctified. Out of the ashes of pain and death someday I, like my best friend, will be glorified.

Without pain I’d forget to pray, to trust, to wait.

Pain is the alarm clock that awakens me to the eternal. Pain is the cold water plunge that shocks my senses and makes me run to the warm blanket of my Savior’s love. Pain is the compass that points the way to the true north of hope and heaven.

It is the bitter bread that I must eat. Although I may choke it down, its nutrients are building me stronger every day. With each hard swallow I am taking into my being the bread of life, filling up the sufferings of Christ, so that someday I can partake in his glory at the feast of the Lamb.

Although Satan wants to use pain to destroy me, he will not prevail. I refuse to allow Satan to manipulate my friend pain to distract, embitter or engulf me. No, instead I will allow my dear friend to drive me to the foot of the cross so that I can be reminded of the one who endured the ultimate pain on my behalf.

Heavenly Father, I am on to you. I know your secret. Pain is the chisel in your hand that you are using to chip off the excesses of granite sin and rock hard habits that encase my frail frame. I know that your job is not done until the image of Christ appears in me. With one hand you hold the chisel of pain and with the other you wield the hammer of love. I can see the tears in your eyes with each blow. But those tears of love cover me in the midst of my suffering and give me the courage to endure and persevere. It hurts God, but please don’t stop. With every swing, every blow and every wince I see more and more of Jesus in me.

Swing hard. Swing true. Swing on.

While men are not my target audience (teens are), I always enjoy doing the PK events. Besides, many of these men have teens of their own, and most of them have churches that can be plugged into Dare 2 Share. 

I really love the team at PK. They all love the Lord and do their best to produce the best and most impacting conference for men in the world!

This weekend in Raleigh, North Carolina somewhere around 8,000 guys gathered at the RBC arena where the Hurricanes play (a professional hockey team…Stanley Cup finals… ring a bell?) to worship God, learn from his Word and get unleashed with his mission and message to a world that desperately needs it. 

My talk? I dusted off the Rebels, Posers and Losers talk and “reappropriated” it to John 13 (Jesus washing the feet of the disciples.) My points? That when Jesus washed the disciples feet he was setting the pace for what it means for us to be his kind of loser. He chose the worst task (cleaning mud and manure off of the grimy feet of his disciples), did it to the worst person (Judas who was about to betray him) and at the worst time (hours before his arrest, trial and crucifixion.

I went on to talk about the rebel (Judas), the posers (the disciples who, after 3 ½ years of traveling with Jesus are still arguing about who is going to be the greatest in the kingdom) and about the ultimate loser (who lost everything to gain us.) 

My favorite part? When I get to tear off the PK shirt, buttons flying out into the audience, and expose my LOSER shirt underneath. Okay, that’s not my favorite part but it is a close second. The best part is calling the men to “choose to lose” by taking a stand. I praise the Lord for how the men responded. Suffice it to say that we have 8,000 more losers who have joined the revolution.

Pray for me as I prepare for one more PK (Colorado Springs), two more festivals (Creation East and West) and The Purpose Driven Student Leadership Conference. In addition I am working on the new training manual, skits and drama (with my good friends Joby and Paul) for the Game Day tour. 

Busy summer. But its off to a great start! 

We started talking about business and technology (because I recognized and commented on the corporate logo on his polo.) One of the big things we talked about is the globalization of business and economy and how companies that don’t change will die. I shared with him how we are trying to incoroporate some of the principles of globalization at Dare 2 Share Ministries. He asked questions about what Dare 2 Share was all about and the conversation evolved spiritually from there.

He started asking me questions about what I viewed the next phase of worldwide religions to be. He believes the world is on the brink of a kind of globablization of religion where many people currently in the major strands of belief systems out there (Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, etc) come together with a much more comprehensive and inclusive voice than any one belief system offers.

While I shared with him that I am convinced that we all need to come together to have the conversation in a loving, thoughtful and intelligent way, I also shared with him the challenge of the claims of Jesus himself in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me."

In the words of C.S. Lewis (the guy who came up with the book series The Chronicles of Narnia and the foremost Christian philosopher of the 20th Century), because of Jesus’ divine claims throughout the gospels, Jesus is either Lord God, a lunatic or a liar. If Jesus is a kook or a con then the whole Bible is a crock. If Jesus is Lord then, not only is he the only way to heaven, but the rejection of him is a sure way to hell. That’s why it would be tough for basic, orthodox Christians to come together for a hodge podge, mix-n-match worldwide religion. It would be impossible to get away from the forthright sayings of Jesus claiming to be more than just a mere man, good teacher or powerful prophet. He claimed to be God plain and simple. He either was or wasn’t.

My friend begged to differ.

Pray for us as we have the ongoing conversation via e-mail and occasional Starbuck’s run ins. BTW, who have you shared Jesus with lately? Post your story below. I really want to hear it!

Keep daring to share!