Friday, March 31, 2017

MY FATHER THE KING



It’s one of my pet peeves. 

I really hate when I hear Christians say something along the lines of “The Bible says I’m a child of the King. That means I’m royalty!”

I guess it bugs me when I hear that because, usually, it comes across to me sounding more like this: 

“I’m super awesome and more important than other people.”

Maybe that’s not what people mean by this, but it’s what it sounds like when I hear people say it out loud.

But it got me thinking, what does it really mean to be a child of the King?

I think, in context with the rest of the New Testament, the idea of recognizing our identity in Christ is essential. We do need to know who we are. If for no other reason than that this might help us to be who we are called to be.

For the record, the New Testament doesn’t really emphasize our position as “sons and daughters of the King” in quite the same way as some Christians today want to frame it. 

We’re told that we are now a “royal priesthood” by Peter, for example, but the context of that is our responsibility to perform the priestly duties. Those include: Pointing others to Christ, administering the ministry of reconciliation, and acting as liaisons between our fellow humans and the King of Kings.

1 John 3:1 also reminds us that God "has lavished His great love upon us by making us His children." 

This is true. But in that verse no mention is made of our elevated status as royal family members. Instead the emphasis is basically on humbly receiving so gracious a gift as to be allowed to call the Creator of the Universe our “Daddy." In other words, it’s the astounding level of intimacy and the breath-taking inclusiveness of God that is being celebrated here. Not our exalted status as the Prince or Princess of the Universe.

So, what does it really mean to be “Children of the King”? 

Here’s what I think:

If our Father is the King of Kings, then that means we do not bow our knees to anyone, or anything other than Him. We owe all our allegiance to our Father. He is the rightful ruler of this planet, and the entire Universe. Nothing else should ever eclipse His absolute rule, reign or authority in our lives.

Our Abba is the King! We are no longer at the mercy of any other ruler or authority. Nothing else has any power over us; Not our sinful natures (which have been put to death once and for all); Not our national identity (because our Father’s kingdom transcends every national border); Nothing else in all creation.

So, go ahead and let everyone know: “I’m a child of the King. That means I’m royalty!” But please keep in mind that sharing a family identity with the absolute ruler of the Universe means that you’re not under the yoke of anyone, or anything, else except your Abba.

Pledge your total allegiance to His Kingdom.

Bow the knee to no one else.

Serve only Him.

Let no other ruler, or authority, or government, nation steal your loyalty.

Your Father is the King.

His rule is absolute. His nation is eternal.

“Before Him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by Him as worthless and less than nothing.” (Isaiah 40:17)

-kg
**


My book "Jesus Untangled:Crucifying Our Politics To Pledge Allegiance To The Lamb" is available now on Amazon in paperback and ebook formats. 






Thursday, March 30, 2017

5 MINUTE VIDEO: Why Nationalism Is Dangerous


Why can't Christians practice their faith and remain loyal to politics and nationalism? What's the big deal?

Take 5 minutes and listen as author Keith Giles explains why Nationalism and Christianity do not mix.

One reason is the "Nones and Dones" trend which is steadily growing in American churches today. This phenomena has been driving millions of young people [and some older ones] away from the church. Why? Because they're sick of politics in the church.

Another reason is the disturbing trends revealed in the "Early Warning Signs of Fascism" found in the Holocaust Museum which are:

EARLY WARNING SIGNS OF FASCISM

1. Powerful and continuing nationalism
2. Disdain for human rights
3. Identification of enemies as a unifying cause
4. Rampant sexism
5. Controlled mass media
6. Obsession with national security
7. Religion and government intertwined
8. Corporate power protected
9. Labor power suppressed
10. Disdain for intellectual and the arts
11. Obsession with crime and punishment
12. Rampant cronyism and corruption

Read the best-selling book "Jesus Untangled:Crucifying Our Politics To Pledge Allegiance To The Lamb" available now on Amazon.


Wednesday, March 29, 2017

JESUS: THE IMAGE OF GOD AND OF HUMANITY



In Jesus we see the best and clearest picture of what God is like. He is the exact representation of the Father, and the fullness of the Godhead lives in Him in bodily form. So, we know that if we have seen Him, we have seen the Father.

But at the very same time we also see something else in Jesus: We see ourselves.

Or, better yet, we see who we are made to be. Jesus is our example, our blue print, for how to live a Kingdom life He shows us how to love our enemies, how to bless those who curse us, how to forgive those who harm us, and most importantly He empowers us to live this way by coming to live and breathe inside of us.

“Anyone who claims to be in Him must walk as Jesus did.” – 1 John 2:6

That means we are not only called to be like Jesus, we are enabled to do so by daily leaning on Him and trusting in His presence.

“If anyone abides in me, I will abide in Him and he will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing.” – Jesus [John 15:5]

I love that Jesus reveals to us who God is, and who we are, at the same time. In Him we have the truest picture of the Father, and the truest example of humanity, all in one.

Maybe this is why Jesus shares His vision for a radical unity where He is in the Father, and the Father is in Him, and they are in us and we are in Him? Because, somehow, Jesus makes it possible for us to see the Father, and ourselves, as we gaze into His wonderful face and He empowers us to experience a transformative unity that makes all things gloriously new, in a way we never imagined possible.



-kg

Tuesday, March 28, 2017

INTERVIEW: Veracity Hill Interview Keith Giles "Nationalism: Patriotism Gone Too Far?"



Watch and Listen to this great conversation between Veracity Hill host Kurt Jaros and author Keith Giles as they explore the topic of "Nationalism: Patriotism Gone Too Far?"




Monday, March 27, 2017

JESUS UNTANGLED: BOOK TOUR 2017

I'm very excited to share the details on my upcoming "Jesus Untangled" Book Tour coming up this summer.

Here's what I know so far:



CINCINNATI, OH - MAY 20, 2017

Northstar Community Church

11020 S. Lebannon Road
Loveland, OH 45140
Church website: http://golovelive.com/

FROM 2PM TO 5PM
HOSTED BY KEITH GILES AND STEVE KLINE

This is a FREE event!

Join me and co-host Steve Kline [Host of Living Room Theology Podcast] on Saturday, May 20 for an extended discussion about what it means to separate our politics from our faith and to seek first the Kingdom of God.

Our half-day session will cover:

SESSION 1: Entanglement: what it is, why it matters – Keith Giles
SESSION 2: Is Kingship God’s Plan? – Steve Kline
SESSION 3: How We Got Entangled – Keith Giles

Q&A Session –  Keith and Steve

RSVP in the comments below or online at the Facebook Event Page here>




NASHVILLE, TN - JUNE 23-25, 2017
THE UN:CONFERENCE
Salvation Army
Berry Street Worship Center
225 Berry Street
Nashville, TN 37207

HOSTED BY KEITH GILES, RICHARD JACOBSON AND STEVE SIMMS

Join me and authors Richard Jacobson [Unchurching] and Steve Simms [Beyond Church] for a two and a half day interactive experience unlike any other.
Sessions will span 3 days and will cover topics like: 
"How To Meet With Jesus [Not Just Have A Meeting About Him]"
"Learning To Listen"
"Being Ekklesia"
"Untangling Faith and Politics"
"Unchurching"
"The Presence of God"
And more!!
Registration is $35



LITTLETON, CO - JULY 22, 2017

JESUS UNTANGLED: FINDING UNITY IN POLITICS AND FAITH

SOUTH FELLOWSHIP CHURCH 
6560 S. Broadway, Littleton, CO 80121

HOSTED BY KEITH GILES
What happens when you mix religion and politics?
You get politics.

Join author Keith Giles for one evening to hear about:

*How the Christian Church got entangled with politics
*Why it's so dangerous to mix faith and politics
*How to live untangled and seek first the Kingdom of God

Remember: You can't convert a culture if that culture has already converted you.

REGISTRATION LINK COMING SOON.


CHARLOTTE [HICKORY], NC - AUGUST 2017
1546 Brookford Church Rd, Hickory, NC 28637
CO-HOSTED BY HERB MONTGOMERY AND KEITH GILES
EVENT DETAILS TBD
STAY TUNED FOR MORE INFO.

Friday, March 24, 2017

Even Moses Bows Down To Jesus





Jesus or Moses?

Moses, and other Old Testament prophets, heard from God and wrote it down to the best of their ability. A lot of what they were writing about was pointing to an eventual Messiah to come.

That Messiah was Jesus.

Jesus also heard from God, but not in the same way that these previous prophets did. Jesus and God were/are One. So, the testimony of Jesus is better than the testimony of Moses, or Elijah, or any other Old Testament prophet. The author of Hebrews confirms this:

”For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.)” – Hebrews 3:3-4

And the Apostle John also tells us that:

“No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.” – John 1:18

So, Moses (and the other OT writers) heard from God, but not in the same way as Jesus did. In fact, we are told by the Apostle Paul that there is a veil that covers our understanding whenever we read those OT writers, and that this veil is only removed when we look at those scriptures through the lens of Christ:

“For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away.” – 2 Cor. 3:14

Therefore, Moses and the other OT prophets have given us an incomplete picture of who God is and what God is like. The only complete and perfect picture we have of who God is and what God is like is found in Jesus.

"The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word." [Hebrews 1:3]

"[Jesus] Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing..." [Phil. 2:6-7]

“Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." - Jesus [John 14:9]

So, what many Christians fail to realize is that those Old Testament prophets didn’t actually see God, and what they did see wasn’t always exactly 100% accurate.

One of the main reasons Jesus came to us – God in the flesh – was to correct these misunderstandings and clear up once and for all what God is really like.

That means if Moses or any other OT prophet says something about God that doesn’t line up with what we see revealed in Christ, we know that this is an example of where those men were wrong and where God in the flesh was correcting them.

Whenever the OT prophets are in agreement with Jesus, then we know that they were right about who God is.

But whenever we read an Old Testament scripture that says something about God that doesn’t square with what Jesus revealed to us, we know they were mistaken.

The bottom line is simply this: Jesus is right about who God is. He knows – better than anyone who has or will ever live – exactly what God is like.

Why?

Because Jesus is God.
Because Jesus is the only person who has ever seen God.
Because only Jesus reveals to us what the Father is really like.
Because Jesus is the “exact representation” of the Father.
Because God told us clearly: “This is my Son. Listen to Him!”
[And just before God said that, He removed Moses and Elijah and left us with Jesus]

"Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me" - John 14:11


Do you believe that? Do you accept that Jesus – and only Jesus – is the absolute authority on who God is and what God is like?

If so, keep your eyes on Jesus. He is what God is really like. He is what God has always been like. He is what God will forever be like.

I know for many this is an unusual teaching. I understand that many pastors teach from a “flat Bible” perspective that wants to downsize the revelation of Jesus and elevate the teachings of the Old Testament writers. But that is not consistent with what is revealed in Christ, or by the New Testament, or by the Apostles.

Jesus is Lord. Jesus is what God is like. Jesus - and Jesus alone – is our only standard. Everything else needs to line up with Him or conform to His authority.

Jesus is, after all, the Word made flesh. He is more than a book. He is greater than our Bibles. We have to come to Him and bow down. Even Moses and Elijah and every single OT prophet needs to bow down before Jesus.

He is the Way, and the Truth and the Life.


He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God…. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell….” [Colossians 1:15-20]

‘For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.” [Colossians 2:9-10]

-kg

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Join me at the Un:Conference in Nashville on June 23-25




EARLY BIRD TICKETS JUST $25 - OFFER EXPIRES ON MARCH 24

HURRY AND REGISTER TODAY>




Unconference Nashville - June 23-25, 2017
Are you a Christian who's done with organized church, but still wants Christian community? Are you a pastor or other church leader who's still called to the organized church, but wants to get out of the way and let God take control? Do you long to see a revival where Christians will once again be known for how they love their neighbor, rather than who they vote for?
If any of these questions stirs something in you, then come explore the answers with us! Let’s spend the weekend in Christian fellowship and conversation, as we seek the Lord about how to embrace Christianity without churchianity, to rediscover what it means to be his ekklesia on this earth, and how to untangle our faith from our politics, in order to become effective ambassadors of his kingdom once again.
However, please know: this isn't your typical Christian conference! In fact, that’s why we’re calling it an unconference. We’re not looking for passive audience members who want to sit quietly and listen to experts. Yes, there will be a few brief talks to spark some great conversation. But that’s the key. We want real conversation where we can learn from one another. We also want to carve out time to let God speak to us.
We can't wait to worship and fellowship and wait on the Lord together. We hope this will be a life-changing event for everyone. However, SEATS ARE LIMITED, so SIGN UP NOW!
#unconferencenashville



Details
Unconference Nashville is being hosted by The Salvation Army Berry Street Worship Center in Nashville, TN. The conference will take place on Friday evening, all day Saturday, and the second half of the day Sunday, though participants will also have the option to attend the Sunday morning worship service at Berry Street.
Tickets are for conference admission only. Meals are not included, though light snacks and cofeee will be served. Out-of-town particpants will also need to make arrangements for hotels and travel. Depeding on the number of attendees, we may bring in food trucks for lunch. Otherwise, both lunches and dinners will happen offsite.
Either way, attendees will need transportaion to-and-from the conference venue. So, if you don't plan to drive your own car or rent one, you might need to carpool with other attendees or rent an Uber, as needed.



Connecting Online
Attendees are encouraged to use the hashtag #unconferencenashville to connect prior, during, and after the event. Also, later in the year, we would love to host some group videochat "renuions" for attendees who wish to enage in discussions about how their lives have changed since Unconfernece Nashville.


Organizers
Unconference Nashville is proud to have The Salvation Army Berry Street host this event. Our guest speakers / facilitators include:
  • Richard Jacobson, author of Unchurching: Christianity Without Churchianity. Richard started as a hippie kid in the Jesus Movement, and eventually became an organized church pastor, then quit, in order to search for non-institutional Christian community again. You can find Richard's work here.


    DON'T MISS IT!!

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Guest Post: What It Means To Die Well





Castine Friberg, one of the sister's in our wonderful house church family, recently mourned the loss of her grandfather. Last Sunday she read this page out of her journal which came out of her time sitting with Jesus and listening to His voice about what this all meant.

With her permission, I share this deep wisdom and beautiful insight with you here:


"The knowledge of redemption does not remove the pain of loss- it only gives it meaning. 

Jesus NEVER downplays a person's experience of loss because he is better acquainted with the deep pain of death more than anyone else. He is no stranger to sorrow and He takes it personally when we go through the valley of the shadow of death because He knows the agony that lingers there.

IT TAKES MORE FAITH TO DIE WELL THAN IT DOES TO BE HEALED. 


To die well means to continually trust in God's goodness even when your experience of Him is not good. 

To die well means to trust that He is up to just as much in His not-healing as He is in His healing. 

To die well is to cling to the truest form of faith; relationship and not results. 

To die well is to take up the cross that is set before us and follow in the footsteps of a spotless lamb who's love is so relentless that His innocent blood was shed for our sake. 

To die well is to trust that there can be just as much joy in the tears as there is in the laughter. 

To die well is to firmly state that your circumstances are not your God but instead that you trust in the eternal and ever-present goodness of a close counselor, a loving savior and a good, good Father."

Did this bless you? If it did, please share it with your friends and followers online.

Peace,
Keith

READ MORE:
*This same sister shared a previous journal with us here:

ALL THE WAYS YOU GIVE YOURSELF AWAY

Monday, March 13, 2017

God Is Like Jesus




Christians often want to protect the deity of Christ. They insist that being a Christian entails being Trinitarian and that of course always means affirming that "Jesus is God".

But what does not come across as often as that is the idea that God is like Jesus.

In other words, many Christians still hold fast to the idea that the Father of Jesus, who we see in the Old Testament scriptures, is a wrathful, impatient, angry and quite often bloodthirsty God, in contrast to  Jesus, the Son, who is a decidedly softer and more gentle personality.

On one side, this isn't surprising. There are noticeable differences in God's character between those Old and New Covenant scriptures. So, we have to reconcile those apparent contradictions somehow, and what better way than by appealing to the language of the Trinity where there are 3 distinct "persons" who make up the one substance we call the One True God.

Now, I'm not against the doctrine of the Trinity. I personally affirm the doctrine. But I think my fellow Trinitarians are off-base when they attribute two different personalities to the Father and the Son. Especially when the New Testament scriptures give us no wiggle room in that capacity.

Simply put: The New Testament scriptures only affirm - over and over again - that Jesus IS what the Father looks like, and that means: The Father looks like Jesus.

Here's are a few examples from Jesus Himself:

"I and the Father are one" - John 10:30

Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." - Jesus [John 14:9]

"Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me" - John 14:11

And here are a few scriptures from the Apostles about how Jesus and the Father are alike in heart and character:

"The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word." [Hebrews 1:3]

"[Jesus] Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing..." [Phil. 2:6-7]

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." [John 1:1]

He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” [Colossians 1:15-20]

‘For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.” [Colossians 2:9-10]

So...what's happening here? How is it that we've gotten the [wrong] idea about the Father? Why do we wrestle with the idea that the Father is who Jesus reveals Him to be?

Maybe because we're still reading those Old Testament scriptures through our old filters.

Paul refers to this in 2 Cor. 3:14:

"But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away.”

In other words: we have a veil that covers our eyes and clouds our understanding whenever we take those Old Testament reports of the Father at face value. Those are inaccurate pictures of what our Abba is really like.

This is EXACTLY what John intends for us to understand when he writes in the very first chapter of the Gospel of John:

"No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known." [v.18]


Take that in for a moment. 

Notice: "No one has ever seen God."

That means no one - not even those Old Testament Prophets - ever really saw God clearly. 

This, according to the Gospel of John, is one of the main reasons why Jesus "the one and only Son" came to us: To show us who the Father really is.

Consider this: If everyone already had a clear picture of what the Father was like, then why would Jesus need to come and reveal Him to us? 

And wouldn't it make sense that the picture Jesus showed us was/is radically different from the foggy, murky picture we had of God before He showed us the truth?

So, if you want to know what God the Father is like, what He is REALLY like: Just look at Jesus.

If you want to know what the Father's attitude about you is, listen to Jesus tell the parable of the prodigal and the Father who welcomed and forgave with open arms.

If you want to know what the Father's character is really like, watch Jesus forgive those who beat him and tortured and killed him. 

If you want to know what the Father does when we miss His best for us, watch as Jesus weeps over Jerusalem because they refused to know the things that are meant for peace.

In Jesus we see a Father who would rather die than live without us. We see a Father who loves us with an everlasting love. We see a Father who washes our feet, even when we betray Him.

In Jesus, we see a Father who has compassion on the outcast and the broken, and the blind, and the poor, and the prostitute, and even on those who don't worship the right way or those who have bad theology or who enrich themselves at the expense of others. In Jesus we see a Father who loves everyone who bears His image - which is every single one of us. 

The Father says: "Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more."

The Father says: "I will never leave you or forsake you."

Jesus says we should call the Father our "Abba" or our "Daddy" when we talk to Him.

In fact, we're told to pray directly to the Father - not to or through Jesus - but directly to our "Abba" Father. That means the Father is approachable. He sits and waits to hear our voice. He has called us His children. 

"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!" [1 John 3:1]

So, more and more I'm personally trying to remember that the Father is who Jesus says He is. The Father is not the wrathful, angry, violent, bloodthirsty God we read about in the Old Testament. How do I know? Because those people did not ever see God clearly. Only Jesus reveals the Father to us, and Jesus did not reveal to us an angry, wrathful, petty, violent God. He revealed an "Abba" to us who looks just like Jesus in heart and character.

Yes, Jesus is like God, but God the Father is like Jesus. And that, my friends, is very good news.

-kg







Wednesday, March 08, 2017

5 MINUTE VIDEO: What's This Jesus-Centric View of Scripture?



Take 5 Minutes and listen as Keith explains why the Jesus-Centric view of Scripture isn't linked to the Marcionite Heresy. 

Also: What the heck is the Marcionite Heresy?

If you haven't picked up your copy of Keith's new book, "Jesus Untangled:Crucifying Our Politics To Pledge Allegiance To The Lamb", be sure to grab your paperback or ebook copy



Tuesday, March 07, 2017

5 MINUTE VIDEO: Why Christians Can't Find Political Unity


Why is it so hard for Christians to find political common ground with other Christians when it comes to politics?

Take 5 Minutes (or less) and listen as Keith explains what it will really take for Christians to achieve unity.