KeithGiles.com: December 2016

My new book, "Jesus Untangled" will release on Amazon on Jan. 20th, 2017 (Inauguration Day), along with a short documentary about me and our house church from my friend Braden Swope on the same weekend which will debut at the Chapman University Student Film Festival.

I'll be recording about a dozen or more podcasts and radio interviews to talk about the book in 2017, plus a few events and speaking opportunities where the topic of the book will be discussed. Watch for info on all of that coming soon.

I do pray that next year will be one where we can all draw nearer to Jesus and experience His life in ours more than ever.

Thanks for reading my blog and supporting this ministry with your prayers.

Can't wait to see what the Lord does next year!

Peace,

Keith

Sunday, December 25, 2016

What did you give for Christmas?

From the time I was a little boy, Christmas morning was always the time to run out to the tree and find out what you got for Christmas.

After unwrapping everything, the next thing I did was to call my friend's on the phone and find out, "What did you get for Christmas"?

A few years ago, all of that changed for our family. We slowly transitioned from "What did you get?" to "What did you give?"

It started for us about 10 years ago. We had a friend who was a single Mom and she had just had brain surgery to remove a tumor. Her young son had never had a Christmas before, as they were always too poor. So, this year he asked his mom if they could have Christmas for Christmas. Our house church, along with another church group, pooled our resources and bought a tree, lights, ornaments, and decorations. We also bought gifts for both of them, including grocery store cards for $200 worth of food so they could rest easy during the Holiday season.

When we go there we started setting up the tree and decorating. We worked together to decorate their tiny apartment. Then we turned on the lights, sang a few Christmas carols together and shared some hot cocoa.

Before leaving, we all gathering around our friends and we prayed for her to heal from her surgery and for her and her son to know how much God loved them.

Then something unexpected happened. She asked if she could pray for all of us. As she started to pray for us, I began to really understand what giving was all about. Her humble prayers for us were so profound, and beautiful. I found myself wiping away more than a few tears by the time she was finished.

On the way out to our car, I remember turning to Wendy and saying, "That was my Christmas gift. I don't want anything else."

Ever since that night, we have tried to spend our time and our money giving away as many blessings as we can to help others. We already have so much more than we need, and a whole lot more on top of that we don't really need. So, instead of turning Christmas into an excuse to get even more stuff we don't need, we decided to see what we can give away.

This Christmas, along with help from people in our house church and a few others, we were able to give away Christmas gifts to 51 children at the Motel, and to pass out batteries and socks and share hot apple cider with people living along the Santa Ana river bed near Angel stadium in Tent City.

I would encourage everyone to try this at least once. The truth is, we are more blessed by giving away blessings than we ever were when our focus was to receive a blessing.

Honestly, I can barely remember what I got for Christmas all those years ago. But I can promise you that I will never, ever forget all that we have given away for Christmas over the last 10 years; and all the smiling faces and joyful hearts we've been able to touch by simply switching gears from getting to giving.

Merry Christmas to all of you from all of us!

Peace on Earth,
Keith

Monday, December 19, 2016

5 MINUTE VIDEO: Let's Talk about "Jesus Untangled"

Can you convert a culture if that culture has already converted you?

Keith talks about his new book, "Jesus Untangled: Crucifying Our Politics to Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb" and explains why he wrote the book and how the greatest threat to Christianity in America might actually be "American Christianity".

To learn more visit: www.JesusUntangled.com

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

HELP: MOTEL TOYS FOR CHRISTMAS

UPDATE: As of 12/19/16 we have all the toys we need this year!

Thanks to everyone who made a donation.

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Every year our house church family buys Christmas gifts for the kids who live in the Motel where we serve in Santa Ana.

As you might imagine, there are a lot of kids who need toys and our little house church is...well, kinda "little".

So, we're planning to go hog wild this year, but if you'd like to help us out, that would be SO AWESOME!

Please let me know in the comments if you'd like to contribute something to help us out.

If you just want to make a donation online you can do that via PayPal using my email address. If you don't already know it, please PM me and we'll work it out.

I'll be sure to post pictures of the gifts, and the kids in a few weeks.

We also plan to host our annual Christmas Eve Candlelight Service in the back parking lot this year with hot cider and cookies shared as we sing carols and read the story of Jesus' incarnation from the Gospel of Luke.

If you're in the SoCal area be sure to join us!

Peace!
kg

Monday, December 12, 2016

MY NEW BOOK: JESUS UNTANGLED

This is the book Trump and Hillary don't want you to read.

My new book, Jesus Untangled: Crucifying Our Politics to Pledge Allegiance to the Lamb is coming to Amazon on Inauguration Day - January 20, 2017 in both print and ebook formats.

I'm very honored to have Greg Boyd [author of The Myth of a Christian Nation] contribute the Foreword to my book.

This is also my first book that I'm publishing through an actual publisher rather than going the self-publishing route. Already I'm kicking myself for not doing so much sooner. It's been a wonderful experience so far.

If you'd like to know more about the book, we have a little landing page set up here: www.JesusUntangled.com

I'm currently setting up radio and podcast interviews for the book, and I'm sending out advance pre-release copies on PDF to several authors and bloggers to solicit advance reviews leading up to January 20th, 2017.

If you live in the SoCal area, you might want to join us for the Jesus Untangled Book Signing Party at Fuller Seminary, Irvine on Saturday evening, Jan. 21st. at 6pm. This will be a great opportunity to grab a signed copy of the book and meet me in person. I'll read a chapter from the book and take a few questions.

Going forward, you might see a few new 5 Minute Video clips here and on YouTube focused on the book, plus a few other surprises that I can't wait to share.

Thanks to everyone who has read my blog over the last 10 years, and who have supported me and my writing ministry. I'm so blessed to share this book with all of you!

Thanks for the support, it is greatly appreciated.

Peace,
Keith

NOTE: If you plan to buy the book on Amazon, please DO NOT PRE-ORDER the book. We're asking everyone to be patient and purchase the book on Friday, January 20th so our sales numbers are maximized and all sorts of beautiful things start to happen for us at Amazon.

Thanks!

Thursday, December 01, 2016

Jesus Came To End War

Over the last few years, I've debated and argued and reasoned with many Christians on the subject of non-violence.

I've tackled all the usual arguments - what about Cornelius the centurion, or when Jesus overturned the tables in the Temple, or when Jesus said he came to bring a sword, or when Jesus told the disciples to go and buy a sword - and I've recorded podcasts, made videos, hosted events, and written blogs and books to answer all of those objections to the idea that Jesus really was anti-war and pro-peace.

But here's another angle on the whole subject:

Jesus is the Messiah.

The Messiah is called the "Prince of Peace".

It is prophesied in Isaiah that he would "do no violence".

His mission is to "teach us his ways so that we may walk in his paths."

His "path" leads the nations to "beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks" so that "nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore."

When Jesus arrives on the scene, he comes as a baby, not a warrior.

His birth is announced by angels who proclaim, "Peace on earth!" and goodwill to all men.

His message was that we should love one another, and turn the other cheek, and bless those who curse us, and do good to those who hate us.

After saying that he added, "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord' and do not do what I say?"

He rebuked James and John when they wanted to call down fire from heaven against another person saying, "you know not what spirit you are of".

He wept as he entered Jerusalem - the city of peace - on a donkey saying, "If only you had known the things that make for peace."

He disarmed Peter saying, "Those who live by the sword will die by the sword."

He told Pilate at his trial, "My Kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my disciples would fight."

He prayed for those centurions who nailed him to the cross saying, "Father forgive them, they know not what they are doing."

He rose from the dead, appeared to the disciples who abandoned him and denied him and said, "Peace!"

He disarmed a zealous Pharisee named Saul of Tarsus who was going around having Christians arrested, beaten and stoned to death saying, "It is hard for you to kick against the pricks" - meaning that violence against his children was physically painful to him as well.

This same Pharisee denounced violence and began to preach "the gospel of peace" wherever he went.

He reminded us that "our weapons are not carnal" and that our enemy is "not flesh and blood."

He urged us to "overcome evil with good" and reminded us to "feed our enemy if they are hungry and to give them water if they are thirsty."

Jesus is the Prince of Peace.

His Kingdom is here now.

His purpose is to overcome evil with good; to disarm hatred with love; to transform this violent world with proactive agape.

This is not a fringe teaching. It is not an addition to the Gospel.

It IS the Gospel of Jesus.

-kg