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

I CAN DO ANYTHING THROUGH CHRIST [BUT I WON’T DO THAT]

“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” (Phil. 4:13)

I’ve heard Christians quote Philippians 4:13 to apply to everything, except the one thing that Paul intended it for: The ability to let go of possessions and be content with little.

Even more frustrating is to hear Christian teachers and pastors quote that verse to justify an emphasis on getting more possessions and petitioning Jesus for greater abundance.

The reason this is infuriating to me is that the entire passage becomes twisted to mean something that Paul never said. The clue is to read the entire passage in context, and if you do that you’ll read:

“Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.” (Phil. 4:11-12)

It’s only after saying all of that that Paul concludes: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” in verse 13.

Paul’s point is that God empowers him to be content no matter what his circumstances may be. He is not urging us to invoke the name of Christ to gain more status, or wealth, or to accomplish our own selfish goals, or anything other than resting in the promise of God’s goodness and daily provision.

Another verse that is similarly used out of context is: “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” (Matt. 19:26)

This is perhaps even more infuriating a verse to quote in the context of getting more stuff, amassing greater wealth, or accomplishing our own selfish purposes. Why? Because this verse is spoken by Jesus as the Rich Young Ruler walks away after refusing to give up all that he has to follow Christ.

Jesus says this to point out that the “impossible” thing is for a rich person to give up their wealth and share it with the poor to become a Disciple. Therefore, in context, what is “possible” with God is simply this: The ability for a rich person to love Jesus more than their money.

In our modern, American version of Christianity, Jesus often exists to give us a better life of ease and comfort. Some have pointed out that in America we say, “Come to Christ and you’ll get a better job, a stronger marriage, have nicer kids and enjoy the blessings of an abundant life.” But in the rest of the world they say, “Come to Christ and you may lose your job, your marriage, your kids, and endure persecution, imprisonment and possibly death.”

Certainly we enjoy less difficulties in America, but rather than seeing our abundance as a sign of God’s favor – or a right that we deserve somehow – perhaps we should realize that our freedom and comfort allow us to provide a measure of relief for our brothers and sisters who are enduring persecution and poverty around the world.

Isn’t that what Paul is really talking about in his letter to the Philippians? He is suffering so that his brothers and sisters may be blessed and he wants them to learn that same lesson.

Isn’t that what Jesus wants us to do? Loving God and loving others are connected ideas. If we love God we will be generous with our abundance and share what we have with our brothers and sisters in need, wherever they may be.

If this sounds challenging to you, just remember: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” and “With man this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.”

 

-kg

 

Things I Don't Believe Anymore

We have a saying in our house church family: "Everyone is in process."

This means that we have accepted the idea that different people are at different places in their Christian walk, and that because of this we do not all agree on every little point of doctrine.

It also means that, over time, our views and beliefs are subject to change and to develop as we live life, study scripture, and learn to hear the voice of God more clearly.

As a result, there are things that I used to believe a few years ago that I now no longer hold to be true. Here are just a few of those beliefs that I no longer believe:

Tithing - The New Testament does not teach tithing for Christians. Historically the Christian church did not teach it and waited until 777 AD under Charlemagne to institute an official mandate for tithing (in order to support a professional clergy class which arose from a shift during the reign of Constantine). That's a long time to go before recognizing the tithe in the New Testament church. So, what did the Christian church teach and practice before that?

Read about that here:
Why Oh Why Does The Church Tithe?

Immortal Souls - I used to stand up and proclaim that every human alive is already immortal. The only question is where they will spend their eternity. Now I completely reject that notion of defacto human immortality of the soul. Mainly because we have so many scriptures all through the Bible that proclaim that those who have Christ have life and those that do not have Christ do not have life. Or that those who reject Christ will die, or be destroyed, or perish, etc.

Read more about what changed my mind here:
Mortal Souls

Eternal Suffering In Hell - Since I don't accept the inherent eternal existence of human souls, I also reject the idea that the doctrine of eternal suffering in hell is taught by the scriptures. The Christian church, from the beginning, always had 3 different perspectives on the eternal fate of non-believers. Some believed that they would suffer for a time and then be destroyed. Others believed that they would suffer for a time and then receive the opportunity for redemption. Lastly, a small minority believed that they would suffer forever in flames of fire. The majority view was actually the idea that suffering was temporary followed by an opportunity for salvation.

Learn more about the three views of hell here:
What We Should Believe About Hell

Blessing the Nation of Israel - For years I affirmed the notion that America must "bless Israel" or God would curse our nation. Now I understand that the New Testament teaches that Jesus is the true Israel, and that only those in Christ are the Israel of God. Those who reject Christ as Messiah (and that would be Jewish people in the nation of Israel today) are called "anti-christ" by the New Testament. Jesus himself says that those who reject Him also reject God the Father.

I also recently learned that this Pro-Israel view is about as old as the Mormon cult which started the same year (1830) and was invented by a guy named Darby. This new teaching is called "Dispensationalism" and no Christian before 1830 believed it.

I've written more about this here:
Bless Israel?
Galatians 3:16

A Futurist View of Prophecy - Once upon a time I believed whole-heartedly the Dispensational view that Matthew 24 and Revelation are about events in the future that will precede the return of Christ. Now I read those passages very differently and I am convinced that they are speaking largely about the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, not about some future events that must take place in the Middle East before Christ can return.

Learn more here:
Jesus the Prophet

What beliefs do you no longer hold true? Please share in the comments below.

-kg

The Difference

There's a difference between wanting America to be more "Christian" out of a desire to be more comfortable (as a Christian) and what it would actually mean to have a passion to see people's lives transformed by the Gospel.

From what I observe, most Christians who demand a return to Biblical values are more concerned with their own desire to be around people who are more like them, share their opinions, etc. and less about a genuine heart for people and a passion to see the Kingdom of God advanced.

In other words, most Christians in America are more concerned with their own comfortability than they are with the conditions of people's lives and hearts outside their home.

If you want America to value the Word of God, you'll have to preach and live out the Gospel.

If you really want to put "Christ" back into Christmas, you'll have to start spending more money on the poor than on yourself. You'll have to give up some of your comfort and let go of some of your wealth in order to share some of that abundance you have with those who have nothing.

This is as much true for me as it is for anyone else.

Death to my status quo. Let His Kingdom come.

Peace,
kg

Wanting Less

“Jesus, the Blessed One, is poor. The poverty of Jesus is much more than an economic or social poverty. Jesus is poor because he freely chose powerlessness over power; vulnerability over defensiveness; dependency over self-sufficiency.” - Henri Nouwen.

I can’t fully express to you how profoundly this quote has impacted my heart. The implications for this are astounding for those of us who have decided to follow Jesus. Because if Jesus left the splendor of heaven to become nothing (see Philippians 2), then we should also step down from our earthly splendor and let go of our temporal wealth to follow Jesus into this intentional poverty.

I can hear some of you responding, “But, Jesus didn’t command everyone who followed Him to sell everything and give it to the poor. He only said that to the rich young ruler, right? Right?”

Right. And also wrong.

Yes, Jesus did tell the rich young ruler to sell everything and give it to the poor. That’s true. But he also said this:

“Anyone who does not give up all that he has cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:33)

Read that again. Jesus is talking to “anyone”. Other translations use the word, “everyone” if you prefer. But either way, the meaning is clear. If anyone wants to be a follower of Jesus they cannot do so unless they first give up all that they have. Everything.

I’ve said before that Jesus only asks us to give up one thing to follow Him. It’s called “everything.” But for some reason this verse, and that quote by Nouwen, hit me in a new way this week.

Maybe it’s because I’ve been noticing a tendency in myself to become more materialistic lately? Maybe it’s because I’ve been a little fearful to let go of things and to share out of my abundance with people who are in need?

I think another aspect of this is the idea that the poverty of Jesus was intentional. As Paul noted, our weakness unleashes “the power of Christ” within us. (2 Cor. 12:9) So, the reason for Jesus to intentionally step into a life of poverty was to demonstrate to us the importance of depending on God for everything. It was also to model for us the value of people over things and possessions.

If I’m honest, the idea of letting go of my things is painful for me; physically and emotionally painful. I look around my room at my favorite books, and toys, and cd’s and games. What if all of those were gone forever? I consider my gadgets, my cell phone, my iPod, my X-box, and my television. What would my life be like without those? I wonder what items I simply could never let go of or give away and what it might take for me to let go of them for good.

This question of giving up everything to Jesus is uncomfortable for me to consider. The idea of taking these words from Jesus seriously frightens me. And why does it frighten me? Because it’s the Holy Spirit asking me these questions. Because the truth is, there are some things that I do not want to let go of. Jesus knows that I have to surrender everything to follow Him. It’s time to drop a few things I’ve been carrying to make it the next few miles of the journey.

See, on the global scale, I am rich. Filthy stinking rich. I make more in a year than most people on this planet will make in several lifetimes. I live in Orange County, one of the most expensive and extravagant places in the world. I have two cars. I have a garage full of stuff. I own dozens of electronic gadgets and toys. I eat better than most everyone else on the earth. I have a disposal income. I am rich.

The bible has a lot to say about those who are wealthy. None of it is very positive:

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” (Mt. 19:23-24)

“He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.” (Luke 1:53)

“But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort.” (Luke 6:24)

“Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you.” (James 5:1)

“Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.” (James 1:9-11)

Here’s what I know about myself; one of my love languages is “gift-giving.” So, when I consider my recent desire for materialistic objects the truth becomes clear – I am trying to create an artificial feeling of love within myself by giving myself these gifts. But these gifts to myself are temporal. They do not bring me any joy. In fact, they serve to create a comfort zone around my heart that insulates me from others, and from trusting God.

So, in essence I believe that the Holy Spirit is urging me to change my posture from grasping to giving. If I can begin to let go of my things I will discover that true joy is found in letting go. By sharing what God has provided to me with others, this wall of comfort will begin to come down, and my heart will have more direct access to God.

Not coincidentally, I’ve also been praying lately for God to allow me to bear fruit in my life for His kingdom. Two things are required for bearing fruit:

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

“Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (John 12:24-25)

So, the idea of letting go of my stuff involves dying to myself, and it involves sowing the seed of the Kingdom, and learning to trust in the Lord for everything. Not in my stuff.

Pray for me if you think of it this week. I’ll be continuing to seek the Lord about this and to begin sharing and giving away what I already have rather than seeking to gain more material objects that I do not need.

The irony? There are countless, priceless treasures in store for me as I cast away these temporal things and trust more in the God who loves me and gave Himself for me. He is a God who loves to give good gifts to His children.

-kg

**

More verses on wealth:

“You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter.” (James 5:5)

“Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.” (1 Tim.6:9)

“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” (1 Tim. 6:17)

“The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.” (Luke 8:14)

“You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” (Rev. 3:17)

THE WAY OF THE CROSS

"I've given like a beggar but lived like the rich
And crafted myself a more comfortable cross,
Yet what I am called to is deeper than this,
It's time You had my whole life;
You can have it all." – Matt Redman (The Way of the Cross)

Someone once said, "When we consider our love for others we measure how much we give. When God measures, He considers how much we hold on to."

As the Christmas season approaches I can't help but feel excitement at all I can give to those in need around me. I have been blessed beyond measure. I am rich in all the things that matter and my family has everything we need to survive (and a whole lot extra we don’t need, too).

When we consider how much we have been blessed (and if we live in America we are among the richest people living on the planet today), it’s easy to let go of what we own and share it with those who have little.

I don't care how poor you think you are, I can probably show you someone who is much worse off than you are living right down the street from you. And joy comes from giving to others, helping people in need, and bringing a smile to someone else's face. Joy is never about what you give to yourself, or even what someone gives to you. That might make you feel thankful, or happy for a moment, but real Joy is something deeper and lasting. It is always about what you give away to others. Making a noticeable difference in another person's life and knowing that something you did, or something you gave away meant something to another human being is what fuels real joy.

For the last few years now our family has been moving away from buying gifts for one another and focusing instead on bringing joy to others around us. So, we take the money we would normally spend on gifts for each other and we buy gifts for children at the motel where we've been serving for over 8 years now. Or we take the time to go caroling at a local senior home and bring joy to people who are desperately lonely and empty. Or we find ways to creatively bless people on our street, or to see the person on the fringes who most people ignore and buy them a meal, or engage them in a friendly conversation.

What changed my mind about Christmas was when we partnered with a few others to bring a Christmas blessing to a woman and her son who were desperately poor a few years ago. She had just recovered from brain surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. Her son had asked if they could have a Christmas tree because they had never had a tree or gifts to put under it before. After we set up the tree and laid all the gifts under it and hung up the stockings which were jam-packed with blessings, we sat down to pray over her. When we were done she looked up and said, "Can I pray for you?" That's the moment when my heart broke forever. As this dear, humble sister in Christ lifted up our family in prayer I silently wept. Huge, wet, hot tears dropped into my hands as she called us each by name and gave thanks to God for these blessings.

On my way out to our car to go home I told my family, "That was my Christmas gift. I don't want or need anything else but that." And I decided right there and then that from now on I only wanted my Christmas to be about doing all that I could to bless others.

Really, it's a very selfish decision on my part. I get so much out of this. It's not really fair because no matter how much I try to bless others, I always come away with a bigger blessing than I brought with me.

Listen to what Paul the Apostle said about serving and giving to others:

"Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" (Acts 20:32-35)

So, what will you give away this Christmas? I promise you, the more you give away, the more joy you'll receive in return.

I dare you to test me on this one.

Peace,
kg

PATTERN RECOGNITION: Re-Post

PATTERN RECOGNITION

"Pattern Recognition" by William Gibson, is a sci-fi set in 2003, which only underscores the fact that we are living in the future today. It's really not a sci-fi, although Gibson is immortalized for writing "Neuromancer" which predated the Internet and, if you read it today for the first time, you would think he ripped off "The Matrix"...until you looked at the publication date and realized that he wrote his book a good ten years before Keanu ever said "Whoa".

It's funny to me how a good book, in this case a great book, can influence your way of seeing the world and moving through space. The book's protaganist has a gift for sensing "Cool". She is hyper-sensitive to marketing and is psychologically offended by logos and advertising, which is why she can sense the "next big thing" before it crests the horizon. Her sensitivity to brands and iconographic advertising has made me more aware of how enslaved we all are to marketing. Branding is pervasive. You cannot stand anywhere without being marketed to. You cannot wear anything without being told, on the outside as well as on the tag, who made it and that it is "Cool" to have one.

The character in this book is so oversensitized to logos that she clips the tags and removes the logo from her clothing, her glasses, her watch, her shoes, her computer, etc. It almost made me want to do the same.

It approaches something called by Richard Foster, "The Discipline of Simplicity". I believe there is an inherent human desire for simplicity, and yet at the same time a hunger for something beyond ourselves. Marketers (and I am one of them) take advantage of the human desire for something beyond ourselves and twist that into a desire for a product that will fill that emptiness. This is why television commercials and glossy magazine ads suggest, or even overtly declare, that owning or using the product in question will make you popular, or fulfilled, or beautiful, or complete in some way that you are now aware that you are not.

It's easy to say that one desire is of the flesh and one desire of the Spirit. I know I've talked that way in the past myself, but now I think this is wrong. I believe that the desire for simplicity is a desire of the soul, and the desire for something beyond ourselves is also a desire of the human soul. Both are "of the Spirit" or Spiritual desires because this is what makes all of us Human.

Marketing plays one of these desires against the other. We are told we can fill our empty places with stuff, and so we try to do that, while at the same time our desire for simplicity disappears beneath a mound of receipts and boxes of junk in our garage.

There is a point, and I believe it is early on, when the things we own begin to own us. Once this happens, we are hooked and we continuously create mental shopping lists of things that we want or need or desire. I do this. You do this.

What if we could silence the coarse whisper for "more"? What if we could close our eyes and strain to hear that faint echo for "Less" instead?

A friend of mine used to regularly "De-Accumulate" his life. He would come to work with a box of goodies he had decided he no longer needed and start passing them out as gifts for his co-workers. I have a lot of cool stuff in my garage that I inherited from him this way.

I think the concept of "De-Accumulation" is a good one, but maybe we could modify it a bit? Maybe we could find people who really need what we don't need? Maybe no one really needs our junk? Maybe we could stop buying and start sharing?

These thoughts have lingered on the fringes of my brain for years now. When we moved into this house about a year and a half ago, as I was moving box after box of my junk into a storage unit, I found myself apologizing for the obscene amount of garbage I had acquired. My friends all told me to stop apologizing.

I remember taking a sweep of the orange and white storage farm we were in the middle of and realizing that, in our society, we all own so much junk we have to pay someone to keep it for us in the event that we ever need it. There is a multi-billion dollar industry built around the American acquisition sensibility. Do they have these things in India or Africa, I wondered? Probably a few, I thought, but I'm sure we Americans have more, as usual.

How has the shopping mall replaced the cathedral? How have we allowed the pursuit of happiness to become an endless hunt for more objects and gadgets and trinkets and adornment? Maybe it was when the Church started entertaining us? Maybe it was when we realized that people would buy products created just for Christians? I'm not sure of the timeline, but I do know that we are now living in a Pop Christian Consumerist Culture and I want off the merry-go-round.

Maybe I'm recognizing a pattern too? Maybe the character in Gibson's book is helping me to see something that's been there all along?

Either way, it's worth exploring.

Time for my second cup of coffee.

Peace,
kg
**Orignally posted August, 2007