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// Out asks about
your relationship to
the people in the world.

“OUT” asks questions about your impact and contribution in the world.

• What inspires you, moves you, demands a response from you?
• Where do you want to touch the world?
• Where do you want to serve humanity?
• Whom do you want to see meet with God?

Consider the places where you are called to touch your world.

• On what are you motivated to spend time and energy?
• Do you work or study?
• Who are your friends that aren’t Christians?
• Where do you meet socially with those outside of church?
• Where are you involved with those outside of the church?
• What are your hobbies?

The answers to these questions are an invitation to mission.

• With whom do you engage in the world?
• What do you do to connect with the world?
• How do you connect with the world?
• Where do you engage with the world?

In this final week, we can clearly see invitation and challenge as Jesus sets His face toward the cross. Who we truly are is often exposed in times of stress and trial. This is also true of Jesus, as we see His UP clearly demonstrated in His prayers at Gethsemane; His IN lovingly shared in the upper room on Maundy Thursday; and His OUT reflected in His heart as He says from the cross, “Father, forgive these people, because they don’t know what they are doing.”

UP – Go to the 40 hours of Prayer this week. Ask God to give you eyes to see someone needing to be encouraged by the love and forgiveness of Jesus.

IN – Go to the Community Wide Communion Service on Maundy Thursday. While you are there, extend a hand of love with an encouraging word to someone who has served you or encouraged your walk with Jesus during these 40 days of Lent!

OUT – Go outside your comfort zone — don’t keep the meaning and joy of this week to yourself. This week, share with one person who is distant from God one place where Jesus has had meaning in your life.

// REMEMBER

It’s all about relationships.

You have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps.

1 Peter 2:21 (NAS)

We continue this week to respond to the invitation and challenge to live the 3D life of Jesus through UP/IN/OUT habits. These “spiritual disciplines” offer different means of grace — meaning habits God can use to shape us so that we see God better and become more like God in our relationships.

How are your habits going? Let’s put all three UP, IN and OUT habits into practice this week. If you will commit to it, God will help you do it and grow through it!

UP –Embrace this day of being with Jesus. Don’t try to catch up on your iLent reading — remember God is more excited about meeting with you than you are with Him. Don’t worry about what you get out of it; rather, reflect on what God is putting in you His Spirit.

IN – Pray with a friend this week. Ask your friend how his or her “Up, In and Out” habits are going. Check in again next week. It’s an IN thing!

OUT – Ask God to show you a need this week and simply go fulfill it.

PAUSE: Are you changing? Being transformed? The first battleground is your mind. Decide to follow Jesus today. It will not just happen.

// REMEMBER

Up, In, and Out are relationships.

“In the night, a sailor cannot see land, nor can he get his bearings from the coastline. He must navigate by trusting the dimly lit buoys already set in place. In the same way, when you go through dark seasons, you will be restricted by, or released to what has already been established within your soul.”

Wayne Cordeiro
Leading on Empty, 2009

Good intentions don’t transform us. It’s the things that become habits that shape us. When we look at Jesus, we find patterns and rhythms that enable us to become the people our Heavenly Father intended. Too often it’s not that we forget that we are Christian, it’s that we forget we are human. That’s where spiritual disciplines help. As humans, we need habits God can use to enforce and reinforce His good intentions for life. Devote yourself to these exercises and look for God’s power.

UP – Begin each day this week with this simple prayer, “Father in heaven, today give me eyes to see your heart, a mouth to bless and hands to serve.” During the day turn off your ipod/radio for the week and say “Speak Lord, for your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 3:10)

IN – Serve your church community by volunteering in a significant way.

OUT – Tip your servers big this week and encourage each server you pay (from coffee baristas to supermarket checkers) with a deep sense of appreciation. With gratitude, let them know they are doing a great job. If you feel so bold, let them know God really likes them.

PAUSE: We are almost a month into this adventure. Want to tell someone what discipleship is? Simply put, it’s following Jesus’ example, living the 3D life Up/In/Out.

// REMEMBER

It’s a triangle of relationships.

“If you want the blessing of God in your life, you must care about the things God cares about.”

Rick Warren

It’s already week four on the Invitation and Challenge. Maybe it’s time we step it up? What do you say?
I think you will find this week’s practice a challenge and a joy. Here is a helpful hint: Review the suggestion, pray about it and then make the commitment. If you don’t decide ahead of time to let God use this habit in your life, either you will not follow through, or you will just go through the motions without letting God change you. That’s religion, not relationship. Following Jesus does change us. As an encouragement, I remind you that we’re on this journey together!

UP – Water fast: Make water your only beverage for the week remembering Jesus is our living water, and we will never be thirsty. (John 4) It’s an UP thing!

IN – Make this fast a group effort — Do it with others.

OUT – A child dies every 15 seconds because of the lack of clean water. It costs us an average of $0.98 to provide clean, safe water to one person for one year, so every dollar makes a difference! The Challenge this week: Make water your only beverage. Save the money that you would normally spend on sodas, coffee, and sport drinks for two weeks. At the end of the two weeks, contribute the money you saved to Living Water International for the drilling of wells.

PAUSE: Stop sometime today and breathe. Just stop and breathe. Now think: How is it going? What are you learning? Where do you need to bring in some balance? What is getting squeezed out of your life, UP? IN? OUT?

// REMEMBER

Truth won’t change you until you put it into practice.

“We are educated far beyond our obedience. Our goal is for each one to have one relationship with one person who seems far from God.”

Mark Batterson

Here are three more suggested habits. The purpose of these habits is to allow God to use them to shape us more and more into the image of Jesus. Solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. Hebrews 5:14 (NAS) Consider your spiritual habits as training in discerning and living out spiritual truth.

UP – Stop and thank God for His good creation, for the work of your hands and minds, and for the simple things we take for granted – remembering we are never entitled but truly blessed by God.

IN – Share your life struggles with a trusted friend or mentor. Talk about what God is showing you in your life!

OUT – Take a friend or coworker to lunch; be a friend without an agenda

PAUSE: Take 3 minutes and review with God how you spent your time. Was there time with your Heavenly Father, have you spent time in community this week? How is your OUT? Over the top or under served?

On Sunday, March 13, 22 churchwithoutshoes pastors swapped churches and we were all touched by God in one way or another. Share:

• how you saw the Holy Spirit move…
• ways that God worked…
• a quote that moved you…
• a Kairos moment…

We’d love to hear your story.