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Dream it... then Whip it

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I'd be willing to bet that if I told you that you'd pay money to watch a movie about the "sport" of roller derby...and like it, you'd laugh right in my face.

But isn't it funny how life throws things our way that we didn't expect? Case in point, the movie Whip It. This seemingly beat 'em up chick flick is definitely on a roll and it doesn't look like anything will knock it off track.

But Whip It is more than just a mean girls (sound of cats screeching) type experience. In fact, the roller derby theme is really the representation of a desire that exists in all of us.

"You mean the desire to lace up skates and open up a can of derby on another team?"

Well, no. But I do believe you and I and pretty much the rest of the planet feel a strong need to find a tribe and follow a dream. Am I right? I mean, I really don't think I'll ever meet a person whose heartbeat is to be stuck in a meaningless and uneventful life with no friends and no future.

But that's how many people feel. There are tons of folks perhaps reading this right now that connect with Bliss from Whip It. You feel trapped or forced into a mold that feels like a square peg for a round hole. You wish you could find out who you are, unrelentingly pursue your dreams, and become your own hero.

To be honest, I can speak as someone who has (in a roller derby sense) "whipped" my dreams. In the sport of roller derby, "whipping" is propelling the scoring teammate forward for a better chance at success. I tell you this because I want you-and even more importantly, God wants you-to do the same with your life; He wants you to propel the message of the gospel into the world.

The first thing you need to do is find out who you are. The world might suggest you are just a complex machine who evolved from lower life forms through random processes, but have you considered this alternative?

Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother's womb.
I thank you, High God-you're breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration-what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I'd even lived one day (Psalm 139:13-16, The Message).

This beautiful passage from the Bible was written by a man who sucked the marrow out of life. He killed a giant when he was in junior high, was one of the most successful military commanders of all time, and became one of the greatest kings any nation has ever seen.

So would you say he found his dream and propelled (whipped) it into success? Yeah, just maybe.

But...do you know why that happened? Because he realized that God had personally formed him and prepared all the days of his life before he ever lived. That gave David the confidence and determination to live not his own dreams but the bigger dream that God had planned for him.

And the same is true for you and me. We, too, were handcrafted by God, and our days are prepared for incredible moments-that is, IF we choose to follow the plan.

What is the plan? It is simple and yet also incredibly difficult:

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere-in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

These are the last words Jesus spoke to His disciples-and they should be the first words we think about each day. As Christians, we have the power of God living inside us through the Holy Spirit and the privilege of a lifetime has been given to us. God's dream is to be in a relationship with everyone on earth and we are the keepers of that dream.

So take that dream and whip it. Be a witness for Jesus Christ every day. Propel the good news of the gospel into your world and find out what real life can be like. Find a tribe that has also turned their backs on the ridiculous culture of materialism, entertainment, and pleasure, and are now seeking to change the world through the most life-giving message in the universe.

Whip it...whip it good!

Notice that Acts 1:8, Jesus doesn't call us to be witnesses...rather, He declares that we ARE witnesses, whether we are aware of it or not. The question is then, what kind of witnesses are we? The choice is yours each day: you can be a faithful witness for Jesus or you can choose to live for yourself and hide the incredible message and mission that really is God's dream for your life. Choose to be a witness and share the good news of Christ with an unbelieving friend this week.

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:18-20).

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile (Romans 1:16).

Yet when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, for I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! (1 Corinthians 9:16).