[Subversive Radio Podcast] Do I Need To Love Myself First?

Often whenever we talk about Jesus’ command that we should love our neighbor as we love ourselves, the question arises, “But what if we don’t love ourselves? If we don’t love ourselves, how can we love others?”

It’s a valid question. I’ve even wondered about this myself from time to time. But the real problem is that we’re not understanding Jesus in the first place, which is why that question throws us off.

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A few weeks ago I shared a little about my prayer asking God to show me the fruit of my labors. It mainly came out of a place of feeling defeated and doubting my effectiveness in the Kingdom of God. But still, the Lord was faithful and He began to encourage me through various people who had no idea about my inner struggles, and slowly I'm beginning to see a little of the fruit in my life.

One of the ways He's been doing that has been to reconnect me with people from my past. For example, over the last few days I've heard from two former co-workers whom I've not seen in over ten years who each (separately) are feeling called to start organic church groups in their area. Both had been reading my blog and my books and asked me to help them move forward.

Then, on Saturday, Wendy and I attended a memorial reception for a friend's daughter who had died very young. While we were there I talked to several people from our previous church and one of them was a woman who drew me aside and said, "You have no idea what you've started." She then proceeded to tell me all about how she had first been inspired to serve the poor and care for the outcast while we were leading compassion ministries at that church. Then she told me about how she had been mentoring young boys in juvenile detention and in local jails, and how she had been knitting blankets for orphans, and many other wonderful things since we had left.

"This is your fruit," I heard the Lord whisper to me in between this woman's amazing testimony.

"See what you started?" she asked me. But I knew that most of what she was telling me had nothing to do with me, really. I put my hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes and said, "It sound to me like this is what you and Jesus started." She laughed and nodded her head and then she gave me a great, big hug.

The pastor at the memorial service shared an illustration about how our lives are like a tapestry. On this side of things, it looks like a tangled mass of thread; all jagged, random and messy. But God looks at the tapestry from the perspective of eternity. He sees it on the side that is beautiful and intricate, and perfect; exactly the way He wants it to be.

We have no idea how many people we impact in our lives, or how. Sometimes the Lord gives us a glimpse, but only a glimpse. We still have to walk by faith and trust that He is working everything out for good, whether we see it or not.

One day all the unanswered questions will make sense. The apparent pointlessness of our lives will reveal hidden meaning. The mysteries of why young mothers die and leave grieving children and parents behind will be revealed. The question of our influence on the people around us will be answered in full. 

And on that day, all of it will make sense, and all of it will glorify the One who is even now at work on the tapestry of our seemingly tangled, jumbled and random lives. 

I can't wait to see the finished work.

-kg

LOVE OTHERS OR YOURSELF?

Often whenever we talk about Jesus’ command that we should love our neighbor as we love ourselves, the question arises, “But what if we don’t love ourselves? If we don’t love ourselves, how can we love others?”

It’s a valid question. I’ve even wondered about this myself from time to time. But the real problem is that we’re not understanding Jesus in the first place, which is why that question throws us off.

Jesus is not saying that we need to love ourselves as much as possible so that we’ll have enough love inside to share with others. In fact, Jesus isn’t telling us anything in this statement other than that we need to go and love people. That’s it.

His point about “as we love ourselves” simply means that everyone wants to eat. So, as much as you want to feed yourself, feed another person. Everyone likes to have clothes to wear. So, in the same way we should want those without clothes to have them too.

This isn’t about not wanting food as much as we should. It’s about simply wanting for others what we automatically want for ourselves. Self-image is not issue. Compassion for others is.

So, the problem is not that we need to love ourselves more and more in order to obey Jesus’ command to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. The problem is that we do not love our neighbors in the same way that we love our own comfort.

Now, the question we ask about our own lack of self-esteem is also worth addressing. I do understand that many of us struggle with this issue. At the core I think the problem here is that we actually think too much about ourselves rather than not enough.

See, if God has said that He loves you and that He has forgiven your sins and that He thinks of you 24/7, then who are you to say otherwise? Are you suggesting that you’re the one person in the Universe that even God cannot love or accept?

If the God of the Universe says that you’re worth dying for, then all you have to do is to believe it.  If you forget it, remind yourself of it. If you need to write yourself a note, do that.

Better yet, God says that if we will put the needs of others ahead of our own, then we ourselves will be healed and restored.

In Isaiah God says that instead of fasting to get what we want from Him, we should instead share our bread with the hungry and bring the homeless into our homes. When we do that, God says:

“Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’” (Isaiah 58:6-9)

And:

“…If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.”-  (Isaiah 58:10-12)

Either way, we’re commanded to love others as we love ourselves. To share our food and our shelter and our comfort with those who don’t have any. If we lack self-esteem, we can overcome that by spending more time with those who have less than we do, and God will lift our hearts as we share in their sorrows.

 

 

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Sacrificial Love: What's In It For Me?

Jesus commands us to “love one another” and even to “love your enemies”, but there are some who hear this and ask the question we’re all wondering, “What’s in it for me?”

Sure, we want to follow Jesus and to obey His teachings, but it would be great to know what we get out of it before we start with all that self-sacrificial love stuff.

I mean, everyone knows John 3:16, but most of us aren’t as familiar with 1 John 3:16:

“Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.”

So, we understand that part in John 3:16 about just believing and receiving. That’s all about what we get out of the relationship without too much emphasis on what we have to invest. But this whole thing about 1 John 3:16 is a bit much. I mean, sure, Jesus died for me, but now I’ve got to turn around and die for those chuckleheads at my church? Are you yanking my chain?

Hardly. Jesus himself explains it this way after washing the feet of his disciples during the Last Supper:

“Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” – (John 13:12-15)

Unfortunately, Jesus seems to have left out the part about what you and I are going to get out of this. Certainly he had to realize that we’d want to know what the payoff might be. Right?

Well, Jesus does mention this one little part at the end that says:

“Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” – (John 13:17)

This is a bit of a paradigm shift for many of us in America. See, most of us have been lead to believe that knowing God’s Word is all it takes to be blessed. Isn’t this why televangelists urge us to tune in and to buy their tape series and to show up at conferences? Surely knowing more stuff is essential for being blessed? 

The more you know the more you grow…right? Maybe not.

Jesus seems pretty clear that we cannot stop at knowing the truth. We have to go one more step and actually put what we know into practice. That’s where the blessing comes in.

Sorta.

See, the blessings that Jesus refers to are not always immediate, and in fact there’s a very good chance that you might actually suffer for doing those things that Jesus commanded you to do.

“To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.” – (1 Peter 2:21)

Yes, suffering is also part of the example that Jesus set for us, not just foot-washing. So, we need to expect to suffer as we follow His example. That means the blessing that Jesus promises us is more about the reward we will receive at the Judgment for our obedience to His command to love others, and to wash feet, and to suffer in the process.

We’re all called to follow Jesus. That calling carries with it a price. Jesus urged all of us to “count the cost” of discipleship before we set off on the path. Because the cost is steep (our entire life) and the way is difficult (carrying our cross daily), Jesus asks us to understand what is required. But the promise we have from our Lord and Savior is this – He will go with us, and there will be a reward waiting for us at the end.

Until then, when Jesus asks us to lay down our lives for others and to love sacrificially, we probably shouldn’t ask “What’s in it for me?” It sort of betrays our ignorance of this calling and puts the focus on ourselves rather than on those who we are called to love.

"Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them."

Amen.

-kg

OUR IDEA OF FASTING VS GOD'S IDEA OF FASTING

Our idea of Fasting:

To abstain from food or water (or any other activity) for a set amount of time in order to pray and hopefully find an answer to our prayers or hear God’s voice for direction concerning a specific issue or question.


God’s idea of Fasting:

“Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD ?
Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.” – (Isaiah 58:5-9)

THE MINISTRY OF ROBERT HIGGINS TO ME

Just the other day, Robert asked if he was a burden to me or if I was getting tired of doing stuff to help him. Of course, I said it was no trouble at all and that I was happy to serve him. I reminded him that I loved him and that God loved him, too.

After I prayed for Robert, I went home to eat dinner with my family.

But on the way home I thought about this a little more. In the beginning, my times with Robert were a little challenging and frustrating to me. Back when he was still living in the motel he and I would often grind gears over certain issues. Usually, I was the one who made Robert angry because I was doing things for him that he hadn't asked me to do. Eventually, I learned that, unless Robert had specifically asked me to do something, I should not do it. In time, Robert had trained me to listen to him intently and only do exactly what he asked me to do. Otherwise, I allowed him to do as much for himself as he possibly could.

Lately, Robert has been unable to do very much for himself at all. Sitting up in bed is a struggle for him. He will not allow me to pull him up by his hand because the day he needs my help - or anyone else's - to do something as simple as sit up in bed, he knows that the end is near. I understand that he also wants to do as much for himself as he can - for as long as he can - before the cancer takes that away from him.

What I do for Robert is still not very much, in my opinion. Yet, in his mind, I'm already doing too much. It was after I had pushed him in his wheelchair from outside and I helped him take off his shoes and placed them in front of his chair that he asked me if I was getting tired of helping him. Of course, he stood up on his own, and he walked to his bed on his own, and he laid down by himself. All I did during all of this was to watch him, and to stand ready to steady him should he begin to fall backwards.

The truth is that it is actually getting easier for me to serve Robert lately. I think this is partly because, in the beginning, I was too wrapped up in trying to be his pastor. I was trying hard to change Robert's attitude on my own. I was feeling frustrated that he was stubborn and heard-headed. Of course, God used this frustration to show me how much Robert and I were alike. As I began to see myself in him, I found more patience with him.

Over time I've been learning how to be his friend instead of trying to change him. I've also begun to develop a new perspective on what God is doing in Robert's life, and in my life through Robert.

Now I can't wait to talk to Robert about all of this. I want him to understand what Jesus is doing in my heart as I spend time with him, and I want to thank Robert for being part of God's working in my heart to humble me and change me.

I think that's one of the unexpected miracles of serving others. We start out believing that we have the answers and all the resources they lack, but in truth we end up being blessed even more than those we hope to serve.

It's amazing for me to realize that, after all this time, the real ministry taking place might actually be from Robert to me. Or, at least, that both of us are being changed through this process of serving and being served.

What a wonderful mystery of life in the Kingdom.

Peace,
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GOD DOES NOT "USE" PEOPLE

I hear people ask God to use them all the time, and I know what they mean to say, but I have to make it clear that God never uses us. He does partner with us in the work of the Kingdom. He does invite us to serve others and to show love to those who have never seen what real love is. There's plenty of opportunity for you and I to cooperate with the work that God is already doing in the world today. But, we are not tools that God uses to accomplish a goal.

Where does this phrase come from, anyway? I've scoured the scriptures and I cannot find anywhere where a prophet or apostle, or anyone else, ever said anything about how God "uses" His people.

What we do see is an invitation to follow the example that Jesus left us. We're compelled by the love of Christ to submit ourselves to Him as a living sacrifice. We're even commanded to spur one another on to do good works and to use our God-given gifts to build up our brothers and sisters in the Church.

Jesus said that his Father was always at work and that he only did what he saw the Father doing. We're invited to take part in that same work of the Kingdom. But, I don't see where we are asked to let God use us like puppets, or objects.

Maybe I'm just playing word games here. Or maybe I've spent too much time listening to friends tell me about how they were "used" by the people they were supposed to be able to trust completely. I don't know.

Maybe this language about God "using" us is part of why so many in the Church find it impossible to fully trust God? Perhaps it's the idea that God is so much bigger than we are and so much more powerful. He is all-powerful and we are weak, empty and foolish.

Yet, that's what Jesus is doing on the cross when he lays down and submits himself to us. In effect, Jesus is saying, "Look. This is what I am really like. Not only will I not use my power to abuse you, I will lay aside my power and allow you to abuse me."

If our God is able to take our pain and punishment upon Himself and turn our own insecurities and sin into the fuel for our salvation, I think this is a God we can trust completely.

Words matter. What we say, and the terms we use to describe our faith are especially powerful and revealing. I have the same reaction whenever someone refers to a passage in the Bible as a "story". Many of us talk about scripture this way, but for the record, the Bible is a book of history. it is not a story book.

Words are revealing. For example, if we call "Church" something with four walls, or that thing we do on Sunday morning, then we really do not understand what the word "Church" means at all. If we say that the leader of our church is "Pastor Smith", then we don't actually consider that Jesus is the leader of our church.

At any rate, when it comes to saying that God uses us, I guess I'd love for us to be a little more specific and exact in our language. I'd love for us to find new ways to talk to one another about how wonderful it is that we have the privelege of cooperating with the ongoing ministry of Jesus. Certainly we can find better ways of communicating to the world about what it means to serve others without suggesting that we are mindless, spineless puppets of God.

"You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name." - Jesus (John 15:14-16)

**
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THE HEART OF JESUS CONFERENCE VIDEO

This was my very first compassion ministry conference with David Ruis way back when. The video is timeless, however and it brought tears to my eyes to see so many dear people we used to serve - some of whom have gone on to be with the Lord. Others we're still serving, but they've grown a lot older since this was made. "We love you, Lord. We love you. We love you. Can you hear us?"

MY FRIEND ROBERT HIGGINS

My friend, Robert Higgins, is dieing of bone cancer.

I met him just over a year ago when Pete, the manager at the California Studio Inn in Santa Ana called me on my cell phone - something he never does unless it's an emergency.

Pete told me about Robert, a 77 year old man who was living on the streets. It was cold outside, mid-December, and icy rain was falling outside. "If I send him out in this," Pete told me, "I'm afraid he'll die on a park bench somewhere. He's really sick."

Pete would hardly describe himself as a follower of Jesus. In fact, when I first came to him to ask about serving at the motel he told me to hit the road and that I was wasting my time. Now, he's one of our partners in this ministry to the people of this motel. Without him we couldn't do anything there, and often he actually initiates our relationships with people in need.

Our house church family donated the $250 to buy Robert a week at the motel to give him a place to stay until his own Social Security checks came in. Eventually, with a lot of help from Pete, Robert ended up taking a regular room in the motel as a resident.

Initially I would drop by to check up on Robert now and again. Sometimes I'd run groceries up to his room on one of the Saturdays our house church was passing out food. Over the months, I can't really explain how, Robert and I became friends.

As I've gotten to know Robert I've learned that one of the things he hates the most is being helped. Sometimes people bring him gifts to show their love for him, but he's told me how it actually makes him angry. "If I were living on the streets and I had no income, that would be different," he says. "But I've got money, I've got a room of my own. I don't need anyone to take care of me."

I've tried explaining to him that when people from the church bring him gifts that it's their way of saying, "I love you," and I know he knows that, but it doesn't make it any easier for him to receive gifts.

"The help you give me," Robert says, "like when you pick up my mail for me or something like that. At least that's the kind of help I need, not the help people want to give me."

I've come to the conclusion that hell for Robert would be an army of people waiting on him and doing things for him and bringing him things he didn't ask for. He really, really hates when anyone does that - including me.

Over the last few months I've learned not to do anything without asking him. Only once have I done something that he explicitly told me not to do. I brought him a slice of homemade pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving day while he was staying at Fountain Care down the street from me.

He'd refused to come over to share Thanksgiving with my family. "That's a family thing," he said. So when I told him I was going to bring him a piece of Wendy's pumpkin pie after dinner he said, loudly, "No!"

"Yes, I am," I said.

"No, no, no."

"I'm just as stubborn as you are, Robert. I'm bringing you that pie with a big old layer of whip cream on top."

"Whip cream on top?" He paused. "Ok, then."

That was pretty much the only battle I've ever won with him.

Well, almost. On Monday of this week I shared lunch with Robert at his room in the Studio Inn. As we ate our KFC dinners he and I talked about his family, which he hasn't spoken to in several years.

"Have you thought about contacting your son again?"

"No, it's too late," he said.

"No, it's not too late. You've got months and months to live."

"It's the worst possible time for me to call them," he said."I think they think I'm already dead anyway. How would it be for them to get a call from me saying 'it's me' when all this time they've thought I was dead?"

"Wouldn't they be thrilled to know that you're still alive? And that they can still talk to you before you die of bone cancer?"

Robert shook his head. "No. It's too late for that now."

"I just know that if my Dad were dying of bone cancer I'd at least want the opportunity to say goodbye to him," I said, hoping for one last chance to change his mind. He was unmoved.

But, today I got a call from him on my cell phone. He even left a message which he's never even attempted to do before. I called him back and he said, "You got any plans for lunch today?"

I pulled my warmed up soup out of the microwave and snapped the plastic lid back over it. "Nope. You want me to bring you something?"

"How about some chicken from Pollo Loco?" he suggested. His meals usually flutter between KFC, Taco Bell and El Pollo Loco.

"Ok, I said."

After he gave me his order he added, "I'm buying this time. It's my turn." Then he said, "I was thinking about calling my son again. Maybe you could help me punch in the numbers?"

I stood there for a moment next to the microwave and smiled. "Sure, Robert. I can do that. I'll be right there."

Sadly, when Robert and I tried to track down his son and his ex-wife Rosa we discovered that they no longer lived in the same house in La Mirada. They had moved.

He hung his head and started to cry. "Just when I was ready to try and get back in touch with them," he said.

"It's ok, Robert. We've still got time to find them."

Robert kept his head down for a while. Then he said, "I sat here last night thinking about it. I'm not ready to go. I know I don't have much here in this life," he said. "But I'm not ready."

I sat across from my friend and I considered how to respond. As his pastor I knew I could rattle off a few Bible verses, or try to lead him in a prayer of salvation. But as his friend, I knew that what he needed in that moment was someone to understand his fear.

"You don't know how much time you have left, Robert. The Doctor's are only guessing at a number. You could have two or three years to live. Heck," I said. "I could die before I get back to work in a car accident. No one knows how long they have."

Robert nodded. "I know."

We talked for a while after that about his son, and his daughters. He shared the good memories of his ex-wife Rosa and wondered if she'd join him at the motel someday - if he could find her again.

"I think she might," I said.

"I'd like to talk to her again," he said. "I would tell her I miss her a lot. I think of her often and I still love her," he said.

I prayed that Robert would be able to reconnect with his wife and family again before he dies. I left him alone in his room with this fragile hope and shut the door behind me after saying goodbye.

As I walked down the set of steps down to the parking lot and back to my car I wondered about my response to Robert. I'm sure a better man than me would have whipped out the scriptures and sealed the deal with the four spiritual laws. I'm sure that's what I should have done as a pastor, and I didn't. I didn't because it didn't feel like a genuine response. It felt like what I was expected to do, but not what Robert needed in that moment.

Time after time I have walked this line with Robert between being his friend and being his pastor. I'm doing my best to love him because love isn't something Robert is used to. He's always accepted help and love from others with suspicion because everyone in his life has always made sure there were strings attached. Even his family. Especially his family.

There have been other moments where Robert and I have talked about God. Once, when he was recovering from surgery at Fountain Care, he took my hand in his own bony, withered hand and squeezed it. With tears in his eyes he told me, "Keith, I know I can make it as long as I've got you and the Lord with me."

I squeezed back. "God really is with you, Robert," I said.

"I never understood about God much when I was younger. It never made sense to me before what the pastor was saying up there, but I think I can talk to Him and I think he hears me," he said.

"I think sometimes we make it more complicated that it is," I said. "As long as we're willing to admit that we can't do it on our own and that we need God's help I think we're on the right track," I said.

Sometimes when I talk to people about Robert people ask me if Robert knows the Lord. It's difficult to answer that question right now. I think he's in process. I think God is speaking to Robert in his pain and through these circumstances. I think God is showing Robert how much he really loves him. I know that Robert has begun to see that God is very good to him, even in his suffering, and I know that Robert knows that he can talk to God anytime he needs to.

Right now my prayers for Robert are that he can regain contact with his son, Richard and his ex-wife Rosa before he dies of bone cancer. I also pray that one day the Lord will allow me to lead Robert into His presence and surrender his life to Jesus.

I already know that I will be with Robert until the very end. I will stand at his bedside when he is on morphine. I will be holding his hand when he passes from this life into the next one. I pray with all my heart that I can faithfully hand him off to the One who loves him more than he will ever know - on this side of eternity - when that day comes.

My friend, Robert Higgins, has bone cancer. He's 77 years old. And I'm the only family he has right now.

-kg

PRIDE KILLS

This weekend I had an opportunity to see the destructive power of pride in action. My friend Robert is 77 years old and homeless. He lives in a motel room in Santa Ana all alone. He can barely breathe. He has no strength to stand and walk to the bathroom without stopping halfway to rest against the wall and catch his breath. He eats Ramen noodles and donated food, and yet he refuses to allow me to buy him lunch. He will not, even as a personal favor to me, allow a volunteer from the Senior Community Center to come and talk to him about their free meals program, or their free shuttle plan.

Instead, Robert talks to me about his plan to ask his doctor to amputate his right arm because he is in constant pain following surgery after an accident. “If I let them just cut my arm off,” he says, “then I could stay at Fountain Care and they would bring me my meals and someone would be there to take care of me all the time,” he says. I can only shake my head in disbelief. “But Robert,” I try to explain, “you could stay here in this bed and keep your arm and someone could still bring you your meals and come visit you and make sure you’re doing ok.” He makes a face and shakes his head, coughing hard into a napkin as he lays back on his rented bed. “Naw,” he finally croaks out. “I don’t want to lose what little independence I have.” And around and around we go.

Driving home after our visit I am frustrated and I let God know about it. “Please, God, let Robert let me help him,” I pray. I remember Jesus instructing his disciples not to take anything with them and to leave their money belts at home as they went out to preach the Gospel. In some ways, Robert is giving me an opportunity to learn how to be his friend and to demonstrate the Kingdom of God to him without money. If I don’t give him money, then what can I give him? Friendship. Honesty. Love. Compassion. Jesus.

Still, it frustrates me that Robert would rather do things his own way and lose his arm than to accept help from someone else and keep his arm, and his health. This isn’t anything new, of course. Many people who are homeless are kept there because of their pride. Many exhibit varying degrees of “It’s my way or the highway” attitudes which prevent them from entering a program or submitting to the rules imposed by a shelter or a rescue mission. So, they hold hard and fast to their way of doing things, even though their way keeps them homeless and hungry and alone.

In some ways I can relate because, at heart, I am a prideful man. If there’s anything I grapple with on a daily basis, it’s my pride.

This weekend I also experienced a bit of humility. On more than one occasion I found myself humiliated and it gave me an opportunity to explore my pride a bit more. I realize that the only reason I got my feelings hurt in each case was due to the stature of my pride. If I had been humble and meek my feelings would not have been hurt. I could’ve cleared the low ceilings without banging my head if my knees were already bent low. Instead, I walked upright and got smacked in the face with my head held high.

Someone once told me that you know you’re really a servant when you get treated like one and you don’t get insulted. I’m not there yet, but one day I hope to be.

Pride kills. I’ve seen it divide families, churches, and marriages. It also removes us from God’s grace and takes us on a detour from the Kingdom of God.

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble” – James 4:6

At the sermon on the mount, Jesus established the reality of God’s Kingdom for us. He told us that, in God’s economy, the poor, the weak, the humble, and the broken-hearted were the most blessed in the Kingdom. Along this redefined scale of greatness, those who find themselves at the bottom in this life are blessed to learn that, in God’s Kingdom, they are actually closer to the top than they thought.

We often get confused and say that God’s Kingdom is upside down, but the truth is that our reality is what’s out of whack. God is not upside down, nor is His perspective. This is why those who seem to be on the top in our society (the rich, the famous, and the powerful) often admit that they are empty, broken and disillusioned to discover that Jesus was right all along. The way to true life and joy and happiness is down, not up. When we surrender this fantasy of having it all and let go of everything except God himself we’ve taken a most important step. Many of those who are weak, humble, broken and poor already know that they are not good enough to make it on their own. They are at the top of God’s scale of greatness even though they seem to be at the bottom of ours.

I must confess that I still struggle with these two opposing definitions of greatness. I catch myself wanting fame and working for the praise of men, even though I have seen the Kingdom and I believe that Jesus showed us the Truth. True greatness is found at the feet of others with a basin and a towel, not sitting atop the highest sky-scraper overlooking the largest city while you count your money. I know that, but I am still learning to embrace the reality of it.

So, if anything, my experience this weekend with naked pride and painful humiliation has been beneficial to me. I’ve received a reminder of how pride can imprison someone, and I’ve discovered that my prideful heart is still alive and well –and still in need of being crucified with Christ.

What are the things I do every day that feed my ego or stoke my pride? Can I fully surrender these empty aspirations at worldly fame? Can I actually demonstrate that I believe Jesus is true when he says that the greatest in the Kingdom is the servant of all?

I stayed up late last night, after my wife and sons went to bed. I sat alone and I recapped my weekend. I took stock of all these things and I believe there are some things that still need to die in me. There are still territories in my heart that need reformation. Let the revolution continue.
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FAITH IN ACTION - SATURDAY, MARCH 21

*I received the email below from my dear friends Noel and Julie Cruz. They are leading a new house church fellowship in Yorba Linda, California and have started helping a dear old woman on their street. Read the email below and if you're in the area and want to lend a hand, I can't think of a better way to spend a weekend.
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**
[Here's the email I received from the Cruz' family today]--

We need as many able bodies as possible to help the Extreme Makeover that we are doing for a lady down street from us.

Our home group has a senior friend who attends our group and who’s house was in a complete disrepair. Our home group has come together and has begun the work 4 weeks ago and during the first weekend of our work we removed 7 tons (yes tons) of debris and took it to the dump! We have done some of the hardest work there is to do on the house, but much more remains to be done.

Sandy told us that not long ago she was pray/crying to God and reminded him what His word says about being her husband…. She said "So, God, if that's the case then here is my Honey-do list. I just cant get any of this done myself!" and voila! Here we are.

We still have several projects that are priority to do. Our Part II is painting the house. We are working on a all volunteer basis so the more bodies we have the better.

On March 20, 21, 22 we will be scraping, sanding, filling, and painting. Most of the grunt work will be on Friday and that is where we hope to get a large contingency of strong people blowing through this. We can use people all three days but we want to be sure that the house is ready to paint on Sunday. The paint has all been donated and we will each bring our own tools, ie orbital sanders, sand paper, putty knife, roller, gloves, paint brushes etc.

If you are available or know someone who is, please respond to this email (cruzthiz@sbcglobal.net) and I will count you in. Let me know which day(s) you can be here.

I have included the link to the blog that was published on the OCRegister.com site and a couple pictures of Sandy/project -
HERE

Thanks to all of you who can give any time at all for this project! I guarantee you will be blessed! You’ll never get back the time that you give but aint that what God’s economy is all about?

God is blessing this woman more than anyone could ever imagine.

Hugs,

Noel and Julie Cruz
Email: cruzthiz@sbcglobal.net

More Love, Less Politics

American Christians will always be frustrated by a desire to see our laws correspond with the Bible. The truth is, it never will. Why? Because our laws are built around a document called the Constitution, not the scriptures.

So, for example, if our courts have to determine whether or not it is legal to enforce a law that gives one set of rights to some people and a different set of rights to others, they will look at the Constitution and see that everyone is considered equal under the law and rule against that law.

Under the law of our land people have the right to enter into marriage with one another. Any law that gives this right to some people and takes it away for others will be considered unconstitutional.

Christians will always want those laws to be interpreted primarily by the Bible and secondarily by the Constitution, but since these two documents have different authors, and different purposes, they will not agree on most issues, including homosexual marriage.

When our nation was founded and our Constitution was written, they did not feel any need to write down laws which reinforced the morality and the common practice of society around them. It was a given. Therefore they wrote laws which, in tandem with their existing morality and observable societal norms, combined to create a harmonious nation of free people.

What has changed? Our Constitution is fundamentally the same, but the morality and practice of our society has changed. The laws we write cannot hope to touch our inner person. Laws do not change hearts.

If you hope to write and create laws to govern society you look to politicians and lawyers and presidents. However, if you hope to influence behaviors and change the heart of a person you look to clerics, priests, teachers and parents.

Our society has failed to live up to the ideals of our past because our churches have failed to pass on the morality and the practice of hospitality and brotherly love. We have not loved our neighbor as ourselves. We have not been known for our love. Our laws have stayed the same, but our Churches have gotten off track and lost focus.

American Christians have become so disillusioned with the world around them, and yet they have no one to blame but themselves. For the last several decades the Church in America has been embracing a mentality of retreat. We have created a neat and comfortable little version of the world with a cross on top where our interaction with "those unbelievers out there" is minimized as much as possible.

Because we have refused to be salt and light as Jesus commanded us, the society around us has slowly become more and more "un-Christian" and really, what else should we expect it to become like? If we have reduced our interactions with others, focused all of our time and energy on ourselves, built larger and more expensive buildings to hide in, and invested millions of dollars building empires of entertainment, fashion and communication to occupy our time and tell us what we want to hear, how else should our world have developed in our absence?

In our frustration we have now turned to politics to create the change we have failed to create by avoiding contact with unbelievers. Now we hope to dominate these people politically and have our way, regardless of whether or not they agree.

In some ways, I wonder if it's too late for any of this. Too late for us to get back to our original calling to love and serve and live out the selfless beauty of the Gospel. Too late to attempt any sort of dialog with people we have avoided for so very long. Too late to be the Church that Jesus intended for us to be.

The solution to the problems facing American society is not found in changing our laws, and even if it were that would be a job for a lawyer or a politician, not a follower of Jesus.

Our only job is to love and to serve and to model a society where all people are equally important in the eyes of God.

Let's do our best to obey our Lord and Savior when he commands us to be known for our love.

If it's not too late....


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LOVE THE POOR

LOVE THE POOR
by Keith Giles

I received a very encouraging email this week from a friend in Torrance, California who just hosted a massive "Health Fair" for the homeless a few weeks ago.

Read below what this ministry did to serve the poor in their community. The Kingdom is advancing here.
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Keith,

Our Health Fair was an incredible success. All attendees registered at thee door and received cards with all the stations color coded.

In order:
1) Foot washing- Allowed for a few relaxing, intimate minutes with people. Washed, cleaned, dried, powdered, with new socks and foot medicine provided to those who had athletes feet or some fungus. This usually finished off with a few minutes of prayer for the person receiving the washing. If you ever want to get to know a homeless person, wash their feet and ask them to tell you about themselves. I find everyone has a story to tell and they really do want to share it, only no one cares enough to ask them for it. Mother Teresa said most people she cared for actually died of a lonely heart.

2) Next stop - 2 barbers chairs cutting hair, beards.

3) Dentist visit- Free dental inspection and appointments with Dr Carl who goes to our Church and donates every Friday afternoon to free dental care for the homeless. He pays all the secretary and dental hygienists, plus the labs, and crowns and whatever.

4) Nurses administered free Hepatitis A, B and C shots and Pneumonia shoots. (At our Wednesday night before Thanksgiving dinner we will give free flu shots).

5) Prayer team corner. Always busy, worked in pairs and alternated prayers in/out over the course of the evening.

6) Mental health Doctors to talk with folks, review medications and make recommendations. No medicine was dispensed.

7) County Drug and Alcohol booth that could place people in recovery shelters that night or as soon as they are ready.

8) Free shirts, protein bars, and goodies

9) Free Dinner and lots of it. As much as you wanted. Desert cart with cupcakes and the icing and goodies applied at table side just as they wanted.

Re-Cap:
We had 140 attendees, 15 of which were complete families. We had 125 volunteers form 3 churches.

Our God is such a Great God.

As I explained to the Press- These folks are our family. We treat and love them as we would our close kin at Thanksgiving dinner, with the respect and love we show our family.

THANKSGIVING DINNER PLANS
We will have our third annual Thanksgiving dinner this year. I go to the homeless camps, freeway under crossings, the crack and meth camps along the river in Harbor city, the corners were the migrants hang out and invite them all. We have staged intersections and shuttle them to dinner and back to their corners.

MINISTRY TO PROSTITUTES
I worked with a Ministry an Assemblies of God in the LBC at the North Long Beach Compton border. I was big into fresh fruit and vegetables food distribution to any Churches in need I could find. They would have a once a month "Ladies of the Night" ministry. The Church was in a prostitution/crack neighborhood were the girls pimps hung out. The pimps were bitter and mean and would not let the women come, but praise God they started coming for fellowship prayer and occasional help. A few women were secreted away from the location and from their pimps to start new lives.

Remember: Always travel in pairs and with one or two women in ministry to street prostitutes in case the Police want to talk with you.

Sorry for the long email, (it might be a record for me). Looking forward to new Kingdom adventures with your Church.

His Peace in your life - Amen
Bernie
**

I am SO encouraged by this email. Not only because of all the beautiful expressions of love being shown to the poor, but also because of Bernie's heart for people. It makes me want to get on my knees and ask God for more of His love for others. I want to have a heart like Jesus for those in need.

Blessings to you Bernie. May your tribe increase.
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