How Not to Waste Your Life: Try Gambling

Paul said if Christ ain't resurrect then we wasted our lives.
Well that implies that our life's built around Jesus being alive.
-Lecrae

I thought this morning after hearing these lyrics from Lecrae, "What a gamble my life is!" My whole world --my universe-- hangs around one idea --that God could resurrect Jesus from the dead. In the church when I was a child and even into my teens, a lot of people were quick to tell me all about how Jesus died to take my place and forgive my sins. What a wonderfully blessed truth! But, although I heard the fact that Jesus was raised from the dead (especially around Easter), I was never really told why this was important. It seemed as though Jesus going up to heaven to be with God spiritually after his death would be just as good as if he went in bodily form. Thankfully scripture is not ambiguous about this. The apostle Paul writes:

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.

For the Christian all of life is a gamble. We are called to give up our affections, possessions, heritage, relationships, allegiances, money, and time as representatives and heralds of the Kingdom of God while we are on the Earth in the hope that God can raise us from the dead just as he raised Christ. Truly, if Christ is not resurrected, then we have wasted our lives. It is a massive gamble. However, I do not feel as though it is a gamble. I have assurance in Christ from the Bible that I will dwell with him bodily forever --that my death and whatever circumstances I will face in proclaiming the name of Jesus are not my end. Do you have that assurance? Are you willing to take the gamble?

FAQ: Moving to the Quarter

Q: Wait...what?

A: Yes. We're moving to the French Quarter

Q: With a baby?

A: Absolutely.

Q: Why?

A: Well there are several reasons why. The first is that I believe that Jesus wants me (and my wife and my daughter) there. We came to this decision through much prayer, scripture, counseling, and the reading of a few good books. We want to do ministry in New Orleans for as long as God has us here. If that is for our entire lives, we are more than happy. This brings me to the second reason. It's hard to identify with people when you aren't a part of their lives. There's nothing wrong with living on seminary campus. It's great if God is equipping you to go into missions or another part of the country, but if God has placed you in the city to love the city for the long term, then you have to look at whether on-campus living does you any good. Maybe you will decide that it does. That's great! Third, I'm not getting out of seminary any time soon. I'm working full time to support my family and go to school. I've got 4+ years of classes left until I get my M. Div. All that living on campus is going to do is make us (us in particular not necessarily anyone else who lives on campus) more scared of anything outside of the gates. We don't want to be those people.

Q: But it's dangerous...
A: Well that's not a question, but ok. I live in New Orleans. It's a major city, and major cities have crime. That's why major cities need Jesus. Jesus transforms men's hearts and with them their culture. And if you're talking about the French Quarter in particular, I would have to say that there are plenty of places outside the Quarter that are much more dangerous than the Quarter itself. The safest place for us to be is in the center of God's will --even if it costs us our stuff or our lives to be there.

Q: But isn't it expensive?
A: Yes. Yes it is. Even the tiniest efficiency cannot be had for less than $650 a month. We cannot afford 2 bedrooms in the quarter, so we're looking to move into an efficiency or a very cheap 1 bedroom. Our housing at the seminary is secure, so we can afford to sit and wait until God brings us the right thing We've been checking out a lot of apartments over the last month. We trust God to get us there in his timing.

Q: How will all of your stuff fit into a small space like that?
A: It won't! So we're going to get rid of it. We're taking what we need to the French Quarter and getting rid of the rest. We've got so much to get rid of! I'll be posting a big list soon with everything that is up for grabs. Maybe you can find something you're looking for on the cheap. We're definitely getting rid of our TVs and the vast majority of our DVDs --along with a lot of furniture.

Q: What about parking?
A: Yes. Parking is crazy in the quarter. Some people pay for spots. The cheap spots are more than $150 a month! Getting rid of my car is going to help us tremendously. This is why I want to find a place closer to Canal than Esplanade so that I can grab the Jefferson bus to go to work on the days that Charlee needs the car.

Q: What do you need?
A: First of all, we need prayer. We're facing a little housing discrimination from those building owners, building managers, and realtors whose opinion it is that children shouldn't be raised in the French quarter. We consider this a spiritual battle, so we would ask you to boldly approach the throne of grace on our behalf. We desperately need your prayer for us on this and many other things that go along with ministry in the French Quarter. We need endurance and humility. We want to serve Jesus. We want to give our lives. We want to be made low that he might be lifted up in the French Quarter as the shining jewel of the universe that he is. Second, if you have any connections or know any property owners in the Quarter that would cut us a break, let us know. God has given people connections and relationships to be a blessing to others. We trust him to move hearts.

Check out Centre for the Arts

Centre for the Arts is an arts school in New Roads Louisiana run by Mike and Tiffany Phelps. It started in the church and has gone para-church. Their slogan is "Creative arts from a creative God". Their interest is in glorifying God by bringing excellence in the arts to New Roads and the world.Check them out at www.centreforthearts.org