UNSATISFIED

Have you ever felt unsatisfied in your relationship with Jesus? Have you ever been frustrated with your own spiritual walk with Him? Perhaps you assumed that it was because you weren’t a member of a better church, or maybe you were convinced it was because you weren’t spiritual enough, or praying enough, or reading the Bible enough?

Recently I had an epiphany of sorts as I listened to a friend of mine express a similar frustration. What I realized was this: We will never be fully satisfied spiritually until we see Jesus face to face.

And that’s a good thing, by the way.  

I think it is only because we are unsatisfied that we pursue Him more. Our awareness of a greater need for Jesus is partly how the Holy Spirit draws us nearer to our Lord.

What we should be most concerned about is a lack of desire to know Jesus more.

But here and now, the simple fact we must face is that if we are living in this flesh and blood reality we will never be fully satisfied. We also need to be careful not to diagnose this overwhelming dissatisfaction as a failure of our church family, or even our own lack of spiritual perfection. What’s missing is the full and complete presence of Jesus in our life. That’s what we’re longing for, and that is what we must pursue, but we have to do so without condemning ourselves, or others in the Body of Christ.

One day we will see Him face to face and then we will be satisfied in His presence. But here and now we are simply called to hunger for more hunger and to thirst for greater thirst. This holy desire draws us nearer to Jesus, but it will not ever be fully satisfied until we are physically in His arms.

“You broke the bonds and you loosed the chains; carried the cross of my shame. You know I believe it. But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.” – Bono, U2

Stay hungry.

-kg

Bearing Lemons

Lately I've been wondering whether or not God has any use for me. Specifically, I've been pretty self-critical about my own apparent lack of spiritual fruit.

As I've shared recently, the Lord has reminded me that His love for me is absolute and unconditional. But there was still more He wanted to show me.

Last Sunday morning, one of our dear sisters in the Lord shared something that God had been showing her as she worked in her garden. She said, "Every time I look at our lemon tree, I think of you, Keith."

We had a few laughs about how the sour lemons symbolized my pessimistic tendencies, but then she continued. "A few months ago you had shared with us about how you really wanted for God to show you the fruit of your ministry, and ever since I've felt like God was showing me that your time is coming. Just like this lemon tree. The fruit isn't ripe yet, but those lemons are just so big. They are going to be huge and ripe very soon. I feel like this is God's way of saying that you will see your fruit very soon."

That really blessed me. This assurance came out of the blue, at a time when I was already doubting God's love for me and his unconditional acceptance.

That evening she emailed me a photo (the one attached to this article) to show me just how large the lemons were. She said, "Keith, the lemon tree is in a pot, and from the picture you can't see

much of the fruit. But you can see the relative size of the lemons...and they're starting to turn--can you see the beginning of yellow? Lord, give Keith fruit in his life that will remain!"

So, while I'm not totally sure why the Lord chose lemons as my metaphorical fruit, I do hope that there's room in his kingdom for a nice tall glass of lemonade in the coming days.

Hopefully this encourages you as well to place your hope in Him for whatever fruit may come in your life. Honestly, the process of bearing fruit is the work the Lord does in and through us. It's really nothing we can control, other than to cooperate with Him in that process.

“Jesus said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.” (Mark 4:26-29)

-kg

Love Like That

After our recent "Coffee, Tea and Jesus" gathering, the woman whose home we were meeting in (a total stranger before that evening) asked if she could pray over Wendy and I. Of course, we said, "Yes."

As she prayed for us, it was clear that she had several specific words of encouragment for both Wendy and myself. One thing she shared was that God looked at me and was very pleased. But honestly, as she prayed these things I sat there in disbelief.

I did not accept this in my heart because when I think about what God must feel when He looks at me all I come up with is "disappointment". All I can see is how much I've blown it and how far I've missed the mark.

Still, the word she gave us was very beautiful and touching. We thanked her for her blessing, but deep down I wasn't buying it.

Later that night I prayed and asked the Lord, "If what she said was really what you think of me and how you feel about me, I need you to confirm it through some other witness."

On Sunday evening, my oldest son was sitting at our computer working on his homework. I felt an urge to surprise him with a blessing, so I took my brand new noise-cancelling headphones and placed them over his head as he worked. Then I set my iPod to one of his favorite songs and started to play it. He looked up at me, smiled, and nodded his head to the music.

As I left the room, I distinctly heard the Lord whisper to me, "That's how I feel about you, my son. I just love you. I love blessing you. I love you because you are made in my image, not because of what you've done, or what you fail to do. I just love you, Keith."

I couldn't help crying tears of joy as these words washed over me.

Suddenly, I remembered the week that my son was first born. He slept between Wendy and I for a few weeks and one morning I woke up before either of them. My son was asleep between us and I was overwhelmed with love for him. Why? I wondered. He hasn't spoken a word. He hasn't done anything for me. He couldn't if he wanted to. But I loved him so much. I would die for him right now. I would do anything to protect him, to bless him, to show him my love.

In that moment, God spoke to me and said, "That's how much I love you, my son."

The memory of that word, combined with this fresh reminder of His enduring love was just so beautiful to me. All I could do was say, "Thank you, Lord."

He loves me. Now I believe it.

-kg

Coffee, Tea and Jesus.

Last week a sister from our house church family had a great idea. She decided to invite a few friends over to her house for an evening of coffee, tea and the Gospel. Specifically, the purpose was to gather together in order to read through the entire Gospel of Mark all at once.

Wendy and I were among the few who attended, along with two other people and our friend’s roommate.

After everyone had their tea or their coffee and a small handful of homemade pumpkin bread or dried fruit, we sat down in the living room and began to read, after a short opening prayer.

Each of us had a slightly different translation to read from, and that was just fine. Some of us had NIV, or ESV, or NKJV, and our friend even read from a Children’s Bible.

As we began to read, we all began to notice things we had never noticed before. But since our goal was to read through the Gospel of Mark all at once we held our thoughts until the end.

Some of us ended up reading sections of scripture that seemed quite appropriate to our individual walk. Others found themselves choking up as they read the words of Jesus. Some even noticed humorous conversations and comments within the passages that made them smile or laugh quietly during the reading.

After the reading, which took about an hour and a half, we took turns sharing how the Lord had spoken to us during the evening. Certain events took on new meaning as we began to understand the context in which they were took place. Teachings that Jesus gave suddenly meant something slightly different than we had originally thought once we could see the bigger picture.

Some details were minor. For example, I had never noticed before that the woman with the issue of blood had struggled for 12 years, which was the same age as the daughter of Jarius who Jesus was on his way to heal when she touched him. Somehow the juxtaposition of a woman who had been imprisoned in her body through suffering and a young girl whose life had lasted equally as long before expiring seemed strangely significant.

Still others noticed how dull the disciples seemed to be; always misunderstanding Jesus, arguing about who was the greatest, rebuking someone who was healing in Jesus’ name, forbidding the children to come to Jesus, fearing for their lives in the storm, and yet their constant foolishness and weakness only served to glorify Jesus all the more.

This was such a wonderful experience that our friend is determined to do it again. Maybe with another Gospel (Matthew or John) taken in chunks (like part one this week and part two and even part three if necessary in the weeks to follow).

What I loved most about all of this was my friend’s hunger for more of Jesus and His word. I loved that this hunger inspired her to do something about it, and to invite others to join with her in this. I especially love that I had nothing to do with it other than to show up and participate as one of those who was desperate for more of Him.

Are you hungry for more of Jesus too? If so, I’d highly recommend hosting your very own “Coffee, Tea and Jesus” gathering. Start with the Gospel of Mark (it’s the shortest Gospel), and invite a few friends to participate with you. There’s no need for a Bible teacher, no need for any seminary-trained leader to officiate. Just hungry people and a handful of Bibles meeting together to ask the Holy Spirit to lead them into all Truth.

It might even be a great way to ask your neighbors to learn more about Jesus too. Especially if they know that they’re not expected to do anything other than to read about Jesus and listen to Him speak.

Let me know if you try it. I’d love to know how it goes.

-kg

MIND THE GAP

There is a gap between what I believe and what I practice.

For example, I believe that Jesus commands me to practice radical enemy-love and nonviolence, but in practice I enjoy watching violent films.

I believe that Jesus calls me to love others as I love myself, but in practice I am quite selfish and often put my own needs ahead of others.

I believe that Jesus commands me to share my abundance with the poor, but in practice I use my disposal income to purchase a lot of useless things for my own pleasure.

I believe that Jesus commands me to love other Christians as a reflection of my love for Him, but in practice I often find it more difficult to love my brothers and sisters in Christ than other people around me.

I believe that Jesus calls us to serve others in humility, but I often find myself looking for the praise of others and I sometimes feed on that recognition.

I believe that Jesus loves me more than any other person alive, but sometimes I find it very easy to ignore Him.

There's a large gap between the beliefs I hold in my heart and my daily practice of faith. I suspect you may also share the same kinds of struggles.

The reason why we constantly struggle to align our faith with our practice is this: We're not capable of success.

See, when I read the words of Jesus they are so true and so beautiful that my spirit soars. I cannot help but to acknowledge the truth and the wisdom behind His message, but the part I forget is that without Him none of it works.

The problem is me. I am a member of a race of people who have fallen short of the glory of God. This is why Jesus had to come in the flesh in the first place - because we were not capable of doing what God wanted us to do by ourselves.

Jesus stepped down into the muck with us. He demonstrated unsurpassed humility and weakness. He let go of all of His power and authority and embraced a complete dependence upon the Father. This is how Jesus lived the sinless life. This is how He fulfilled the Law and the Prophets.

Then, Jesus turned around and told us that He could do nothing apart from the Father. He also told us that we could do nothing apart from Him. He commanded us to love one another, and to love God and He said that we would never even come close to making that work without remaining in constant and continual reliance upon Himself.

So, my failure to live out the values of His Kingdom is simply due to my attempt to fly solo. This is where I fall down. This is where I am confronted with my own weakness.

The solution? To cling to Jesus daily. To trust in Him for everything. To remain as close to Him as possible every moment of every day. To pray this simple prayer without ceasing - "Help me, Jesus. Help me."

This weakness in my flesh is actually the power of Christ at work in me, if I am connected to Christ. Without that connection, it is only weakness.

The gap between my practice and my faith is equal to the distance between myself and Jesus.

Mind the gap.

-kg

MORE THAN WE NEED

In the middle of his teaching about the Kingdom, Jesus was interrupted by a man in the crowd who said, “Rabbi, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

Now, this wasn’t out of the ordinary. Rabbis often settled legal matters such as this one, but Jesus is quick to point out to the man that he was more than a Rabbi, he was the Messiah who was proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom.

Then, Jesus turns back to the crowd and uses the interruption as a spring board to warn them about the love of money, saying:

“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:13-21)

Essentially, God has blessed the man in the parable with more than he can use. Instead of sharing what he has with those around him living in poverty, he decided to hoard it all for himself. But before he can enjoy it, he dies that same night and loses everything.

Now, it’s too easy to make this a parable about rich people. Jesus doesn’t do that. He warns all of us not to put our trust in possessions and wealth, regardless of our current financial situation.

Truthfully, this parable has cut me to the heart recently. I’ve realized that Jesus is talking to me directly here. I’ve been living my life lately as if it is all about me and my comfort. Everything I do seems to have one single purpose at the center of it – to serve my flesh.

No, I’m not talking about anything as repugnant as lust or pornography here. I’m talking about the simple pampering of my flesh with endless entertainment, good food, and the basic desire to be made comfortable and happy at all times.

But that’s not my calling. I am called, as every follower of Christ is called, to lay down my life for others. I’m called to seek the well-being of others before I seek my own. I’m called to suffer for the sake of the Gospel and to take up my cross daily. That’s not comfortable or safe.

The wisdom of Jesus here is simple. Everything you and I own will one day belong to someone else. As Paul says:

 

“For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.” (1 Tim. 6:6-8)

 

This is what an Eternal perspective looks like. It’s why Jesus urges us to pray “Give us this day our daily bread” because our goal should be to live daily by the grace of God, not out of the abundance of our own sufficiency.

 

Simply put, the Kingdom is not about us. We need to let that sink in. Deep. The Kingdom is not about us. It’s about the King. Our part is to love Him and to love others as He has loved us.

 

One thing that sticks out to me in the parable that Jesus tells is the final word about being “rich towards God.” What does that mean?

 

I believe the answer is found in 1 Timothy 6:17-19:

 

“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. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”

 

Am I rich? Compared to the rest of the World, yes. Compared to most people around me, no. But that’s beside the point. The simple truth is that I am just like the rich man in the parable that Jesus shares. I have more than enough for myself and my family. We have all we need and a little bit extra. So, what am I to do with that extra? I believe that Jesus is calling me to surrender all of that to Him – and myself – for the eternal work of the Kingdom.

This is only the beginning.

 

-kg

 

How To Leave A Traditional Church

I recently received an email from someone who had a question after reading my book.

"Hi Keith,

Thanks for your book, "This Is My Body". I've been on a journey for the last two years or so as I work out what organic New Testament Christianity looks like.

 There is one thing I am wrestling with that I hope you can help me process: How does one leave a traditional church gracefully, without losing the relationship of genuine spiritual mothers and fathers? While I may not agree with the model of church that they subscribe to, my issue is not with them personally as believers. These are people who have laughed and cried with me and encouraged me to pursue the dreams God has placed on my heart. I'm now convinced of the need for Christians to gather in a more organic way like a house church setting, but equally convinced that there has to be a better way to do this than just telling my church "You guys have got it wrong. I've found a better way. See ya!” 

Does that make sense?"

Since I believe this is a common question that many struggle with, here’s my answer:

First of all, when it’s time for you to go you’ll know it. The pain of staying will be greater than the pain of leaving to pursue a more organic form of New Testament church.

But, when you do leave, be sure to leave well. As it says:

"If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men." (Romans 12:18)

Just so you know, it might not be possible to leave without a few hurt feelings, especially on the part of your pastor and leadership staff. They will most likely see your exit as a betrayal and as a criticism of their ministry no matter how hard you try.

Even so, make sure to bless them on your way out. They may not bless you, but you need to bless them.

To do this, ask the Lord to give you love and mercy and grace for them, even as they mock you and shun you and slander you behind your back. Consider this is an exercise in sharing in the sufferings of Christ.

Also, remember that you are not "leaving the church" because the Church is the Body of Christ (all over the world). Yes, you are choosing not to fellowship with a specific group of Christians in a certain place and time, but you are not leaving Christ - therefore you are not leaving His Church.

This also means that you are still a member of those people. They are still your brothers and sisters, and you should treat them as such even after you step away from that fellowship. In other words, don’t break the bond of love, even if you break the bond of weekly fellowship.

Now, I have to ask, “What are you leaving for?” I mean, where are you going next? Are you looking to start a house church in your community? Are you looking to join an existing group? What's next? Where is the Lord leading you?

This is just as important as “How do I leave?” because you have to know what it is that God is leading you to go and do next. Even if all you know is that you’re going to pursue a more open meeting where every believer is free to participate and share according to their gifting, you still have to have some idea of what comes next.

Finally, just remember, you are not alone. There are hundreds and thousands of other Christians who have made this same step.

If you're not already part of a house church community, I'd suggest joining a few Organic Church groups on Facebook.

The important thing is to move closer to Jesus in this process, and to move closer  to the Body life experience that you know is part of God's plan for you and your family. Don't walk away from one fellowship into a vacuum. That's probably even worse than staying where you are.

Blessings,

Keith

NOTHING MATTERS

The New Testament has a lot to say about nothing. It says that nothing is impossible for God (Luke 1:37), Jesus can do nothing on His own (John 5:30), and we can do nothing without Jesus (John 15:5).

It also says that without love we are nothing (1 Cor. 13), Jesus made Himself nothing, and that we should also become nothing to follow His example, (Phil. 2).

Finally, we’re told that we brought nothing into this world with us and we can take nothing out of it when we leave (1 Tim. 6:7), but if we can learn to rejoice in our sufferings and trials in this life – trusting that God is able to make everything work together for our good – then we will become perfect and complete and lack nothing (James 1:4).

 

Nothing is awesome.

 

PODCAST: Moses or Jesus? Your Choice.

Jesus contrasts His ministry and teaching with the Teachers of the Law. Are we under the Law of Moses or the Law of Christ?

Painting Women In A New Light

From the earliest days of our house church gatherings we have always encouraged everyone to share a testimony of what God has done in their life, or to talk about what God is teaching them, or share from scripture what they’re learning in their daily walk with Christ.

Because we’ve rejected the modern practice of elevating a pastor or teacher above the rest of the Body, the issue of women operating within their gifting as members of the priesthood has never been an issue for any of us.

Within the Organic Church movement the emphasis is on Christ being our Leader, therefore everyone else is treated as an equal within the Body. Teaching is not seen as "exercising authority over" anyone, so the question of whether or not a woman can teach in that context has never been a problem for us.

Our goal has been to live out of the reality of the priesthood of every believer found throughout the New Testament. As Peter said at Pentecost, the pouring out of the Holy Spirit was a fulfillment of God’s promise to empower the Church, and that promise was made to “all people,” including “sons and daughters” (Acts 2:17). Quoting from the prophet Joel, Peter went on to say:

“Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.” (Acts 2:18)

From the beginning, God’s intention was that women and men together would equally receive the outpouring and empowering of the Holy Spirit.

Women are included among those who the New Testament authors refer to as “a holy priesthood”:

“You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” ( 1 Peter 2:5)

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” ( 1 Peter 2:9)

“And has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.” (Revelation 1:6)

“You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” (Revelation 5:10)

“The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:6)

Therefore, women in the New Testament church are not only allowed to behave as priests, but they are highly encouraged to do so. Why? Because the health and well-being of the Church is dependent upon one very important practice: the mutual sharing and serving of every single person in the Body of Christ. (See 1 Cor.12)

Without this practice of operating as organs that support and strengthen one another, we cannot rightly call ourselves the Body of Christ, can we?

We don’t believe so.

-kg

A Jesus Thing [Guest Post by Wendy Giles]

Guest post by Wendy Giles

During my recent trip to Tennessee my mother wanted very much to bless me with something beautiful. As we were in a gift shop during a visit to a cave with a large underground lake we came across some sun catchers. Some were very pretty. They had ones with pansies (my favorite flower), and some with lighthouses (I love the ocean) among their choices.

My biggest desire was just to spend time with my family, not to receive a souvenir. But my parents wanted so much to bless us, not realizing that they, themselves, were already the blessing I wanted most.

Today, I have a sun catcher, but it isn’t either of the two I looked at with my mother. It’s made of plastic, with uneven paint, made by a five year old girl who lives on our street. She left it on our front porch with this note:

“Dear Wendy,

I made you a Jesus thing and I’d like you to have it.

Love,

Sienna”

This sweet little girl blessed my heart so much. We just finished (over the summer) a Kids Club for the children on our street. She came and heard about Jesus here in our home. He blessed her (and me) enough to place on her heart the desire to give me a gift.

It amazes me that with Jesus we see a common thread woven through the hearts and lives of His followers – both young and old – the desire to be a blessing.

Sierra, like my Mom, wanted to give me something that would be a blessing. She, like my Mom, is already a precious blessing to my heart. The sun catcher is simply a reminder of the sweet gift I have been given.

I am blessed to be so loved.

-Wendy

Effortless and Free

I’m currently in the research phase of writing my next book. That means I’m doing a lot of reading and studying and thinking about the topic before I eventually sit down to put my own thoughts down on paper.

This weekend as I was immersed in this process, I discovered something new and I had to share it with all of you here on my blog.

Many of us are familiar with Jesus’ statement :

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

Now, I’ve always read that verse as if Jesus was saying, “Are you tired? Are you stressed out? Come to me and I’ll give you the peace you’re searching for.”

While this is still a valid reading of that verse, I discovered something even deeper was going on that I wasn’t aware of until now.

Jesus had a lot to say about the teachers of the Law, and almost none of it was good. His main criticism of them was this:

"(The teachers of the law) tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them." (Matthew 23:4)

"Jesus replied, “And you experts in the law, woe to you, because you load people down with burdens they can hardly carry, and you yourselves will not lift one finger to help them" (Luke 11:46)

See, Jesus was pointing out that the teachers of the Law burdened people with endless rules and added pressure to perform in order to be accepted by God. Keep in mind that these same teachers of the Law were unable to keep these rules themselves, and they also refused to help anyone else keep the Law.

So, when Jesus turns and says, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me…and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light”, He is contrasting the Law of Moses with His Law (the Law of Christ).

This is significant for several reasons. One, because Jesus is giving people a choice. They can continue to try and follow the Law of Moses – which no one can keep. Or, they can take off that yoke and put on the one He offers which is easy and light.

This is a radical teaching. Jesus is offering people an opportunity to find peace, and to please God, without jumping through the hoops imposed by the Law of Moses. The Apostles expressed this same idea when they said:

"Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear?" (Acts 15:10)

But we’re not done yet. The second thing I realized was that Jesus’ offer to take on His yoke is not about following an easier set of rules. In fact, if anything, the Law of Christ is even more difficult to keep. Why? Because Jesus raised the bar on the Law of Moses by declaring that even our thoughts about sinful actions were equal to committing those acts.

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment.” (Matthew 5:21-22)

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus contrasts the Law of Moses (“thou shalt not murder”) with His Law which says, “If you are angry with your brother you will be judged.” He also says that if you look at a woman to lust after her it’s the same as committing adultery with her, and so on. Yet, Jesus still maintains that His yoke is easier, not harder, than the yoke of Moses. How can this be?

Here’s the key. Earlier in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says something that, at first, sounds like bad news:

"For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:20)

Wait…what? My righteousness must be greater than those Pharisees? How can that make things easier for me? That sounds more than impossible, especially if those guys can’t even keep the Law themselves.

And that’s the point. See, while the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law placed burdens on people that they themselves couldn’t carry, Jesus only expects us to do the things that He has already done demonstrated are possible to accomplish, (i.e. – Loving our enemies, turning the other cheek, forgiving those who persecute us, etc.). And while the Pharisees wouldn’t lift a finger to help people keep the Law of Moses, Jesus promises us that if we will remain in Him, He will empower us to bear good fruit and keep His Law of Love.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

See, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law were victims of a grave misunderstanding. They thought, “If we do enough righteous things, we will become righteous.” That’s insane. Jesus pointed this out by saying:

“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thorn bushes, or grapes from briers. A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of." (Luke 6:43-45)

In essence, the idea is this: Trying to produce good fruit will never make you a good tree. But, if you are a good tree you will naturally bear good fruit.

This is the major difference between the Law of Moses and the Law of Christ: Jesus makes us into “Good Trees” that naturally bear good fruit. That’s why it’s so easy to keep His Law of Love. As long as we remain in Christ, who is Love, then we will be filled with His Love and we will bear good fruit that pleases Him.

I’ll end with one more verse, this time from the Apostle John who said:

"And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister." - (1 John 4:21)

"In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome..." (1 John 5:3)

Keep in mind, the commands John refers to here are not the commands of the Old Covenant, but the New Command of Jesus that we love another. This command, unlike the Law of Moses, is “not burdensome” because Jesus is the vine and divine love flows through him like rivers of living water. All that matters is being grafted into that vine of life and endless love. The rest, is easy.

 

-kg

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HOUSE2HOUSE MAGAZINE

Just in case you've not heard, I've now the managing editor of a brand new online magazine called "House2House Magazine".

The online resource features great articles on topics relevant to those in the organic and house church movement.

Our contributors include authors and teachers like, Frank Viola, Milt Rodriquez, Felicity Dale, Alan Knox, Jon Zens, Ross Rohde, Neil Cole, Miguel Labrador, John White and several others.

I'm also very proud to say that we're featuring a lot of great bloggers like Karen Yates, Katie Driver, Kathleen Ward, Josh Lawson, Lindsay Hamby, Scott Whaley, and yes, even me.

The editor-in-chief is Ken Eastburn who is also the founder of The Well house church here in Orange County, and the Director of House2House Ministries, and my friend.

Some of the photography was graciously donated by Ken Stiller at Heavenly Perspective Photography.

My friend Elim Feliciano helped design the logo and the website.

What more can I say? It's awesome. Be sure to check it out daily for new articles and great insights.

Visit House2HouseMagazine.com here>

PODCAST: How To Fight Like A Christian

To be a Christian Pacifist doesn't mean you do nothing. In fact, it almost certainly means that you will have to die in the process of following Jesus into radical enemy-love. Listen as Keith Giles explores the practicality of peace and non-violence from a Kingdom perspective.

Saved By Zero

 

I had an interesting dream the other night that was a combination of philosophy, theology and mathematics. I’ll do my best to communicate this in blog form but it might be something that works better as a live presentation or dialog. Let me know if this makes sense or not.

The philosopher Xeno had a theory which worked on paper (in theory) but was not possible to recreate in the real world. In essence, Xeno proved mathematically that it was impossible for any object to travel from point A to point B. In his example it was an arrow.

Xeno’s theory worked like this:

Before an arrow can travel the distance to the target, it must first travel half that distance. But before it can travel the half distance it has to first travel half of that distance also. In short, as each distance is cut in half, Xeno demonstrates that there is no measurement of distance that cannot be divided in half. Therefore, you’d have an infinite series of points that need to be crossed in order for the arrow to travel from the bow to the target.  (Google “Xeno’s Arrow” if you need help understanding this concept).

This theory is true mathematically, but to prove it false all you have to do is to fire the arrow and hit the target. Theorem refuted.

But not so fast. What Xeno actually proved is that there are some concepts which are true (actual infinites) but that do not exist in the physical reality we all live in. Xeno actually proved several things:

First, that actual infinites do exist (otherwise math would not work).

Second, that there are things that exist (because we can prove them mathematically or otherwise) but that do not exist in this world. Therefore there is a world outside of this one where these concepts or truths do exist.

Thirdly, that since actual infinites do not exist in the physical reality, our universe is not infinite. (This means that our universe had an actual beginning and is not eternal).

The simplest way to express Xeno’s arrow is to draw a number line. This is where you have a line with zero in the center which counts upward from positive one leading towards infinity on the right, and counting backward from negative one towards infinity on the left. The end of each line has an arrow which indicates that the numbers (both positive and negative) extend outward into infinity.

This number line exists on the page, and it exists theoretically in mathematics, but it does not exist in our actual world. In other words, you could not ever hand me an actual number line in the real world. No one can actually produce one, even though it can be proven to exist theoretically.

With me so far? Ok, here’s where I’m going to get theological.

If we think of Infinity as God, then we can look at this from two different perspectives – Either this proves that God exists or it proves that God does not exist.

For example, if you take the perspective that God does not exist then you might be tempted to say that since an actual Infinite cannot exist in this reality (or Universe) then God does not exist. In other words, I can demonstrate on paper that an actual Infinite exists mathematically, but I could also draw a Leprechaun on a piece of paper and that wouldn't prove that they are real.

However, you could also take the perspective that God does not exist in this physical reality (or is not limited to or limited by this reality) but that His existence can be proven mathematically (since without this concept of an actual Infinite our mathematical calculations would not be true).

Now, let’s mentally turn our number line from left to right into an up and down line, with the negative line going up into heaven and the positive line pointing down towards the Earth. (There’s a reason why I don’t turn it the other way but I’ll explain that in a moment).

If we think of the Spiritual realm as being the negative infinite side of our number line and the positive infinite side as physical reality, then I have a theological thought to share.

When the Apostle’s Paul and  John were talking about the incarnation of Jesus, they were doing math. (Stay with me here).

John says in his Gospel (see chapter one of John) that “In the beginning was the Word (that’s Jesus) and the Word was with God [that is an actual infinite], and the Word was God [or, Jesus was equal to infinity]…and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” [And the question is, “How?”]

Paul says this in Philippians:

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ, Jesus, who, being in very nature God, [that is, being equal to Infinity] did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing [or, Jesus became Zero] by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness [that is, became a positive one on the number line.]”

Jesus was equal to Infinity (or God), and we already know that our reality cannot contain an actual Infinite object, or being. Therefore, the only way for God (the actual Infinite) to approach the positive reality was to empty Himself of Infinity and become Zero.

Jesus emptied Himself of Infinity to become zero and by His own admission Jesus could do nothing on His own, but only what He saw the Father doing. [See John 5:19; 5:30; 12:49-50; 14:24; 14:31]

Here’s where it gets tricky. Zero does exist in our reality. It is possible to create an object which contains an absolute vacuum and is therefore, literally, full of nothing, or zero.

Unless of course you want to argue that even that vacuum isn’t full of nothing because space is something. In fact, you’d be right about that since at the subatomic level, every atom is 99 percent empty space. So, even solid objects are literally full of (mostly) nothing.

I’m not sure if that makes any sense to anyone other than myself, but it was the idea that woke me up this morning about 3 a.m. and I had to write it down.

Love to hear your thoughts about this if you have any.

 

 

 

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Prayer 101

Christians have a unique problem. They know some verses of scripture so well that they can’t see clearly what it says.

For example, the Lord’s Prayer. Even non-Christians I know can recite the words, “Our Father, who is in Heaven; Hallowed be your Name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread…” etc.

But repeating the words from memory isn’t the same as understanding what is being said. The familiarity we have with the passage can actually become a barrier that prevents us from really seeing and receiving the truth that Jesus wants us to practice.

So, let’s try to see this passage (Luke 11) through new eyes.

First, His disciples see that He is praying and then they ask Him to teach them how to pray. This alone is surprising because most of the time the disciples are asking selfishly to be the greatest, or to sit at his right hand, etc. Here, they actually ask Jesus to teach them to pray the way He does.

So, in Luke chapter 11, Jesus begins his teaching by instructing us to remember that God is our “Abba” or “Daddy.”

What an astonishing way to begin. Instead of using a formal title to refer to God, Jesus uses the intimate word “Abba”. Literally, He is telling us to address God as our “Papa.”

In short, He wants us to start off with the realization that God loves us dearly.

Next, he instructs us to meditate on the Holiness of God. We’re commanded to pray that the Name of God be reverenced and held in the highest esteem, but only after we have first understood that God loves us as His children. This reminds me of the verse in 1 John which says:

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called the Children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1)

After this, Jesus asks us to pray that God’s perfect will be accomplished here and now: “Your Kingdom come.”

So far we’ve not even entered into the part where we ask God for something. We’ve simply put ourselves into the right frame of mind by taking the time to realize that: God loves us, He is Holy, and He is in control.

Then we get to the petition part. This is where things get interesting.

Jesus tells us to pray for “Daily bread”. In other words, we’re to ask only for what we need today. Nothing extra. Nothing beyond what is necessary to survive. Just simply for “enough.”

This seems to stem from Proverbs 30:

“Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.” (Prov. 30:7-9)

Here, the idea is that we want to remain content. We want to stay continually thankful for what God has given us for today. We actually want to depend on God for everything we need.

Then, Jesus gets down to business:

“Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.” (Luke 11:4)

Our forgiveness is linked to our ability to forgive others. In Matthew Jesus takes it even further by saying:

“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matt. 6:14-15)

The essential idea here is that unforgiveness is a sin. If we are still holding on to our grudge, then we have not actually repented of our unforgiveness and our sinfulness remains. Until we forgive others, we cannot be forgiven of our sin of unforgiveness.

Finally, Jesus asks us to pray that we will not be lead into temptation.

Now, go back and read Luke 11:3-4 and you’ll notice something astounding – it’s not about you.

Notice: Jesus does NOT tell us to pray for “MY daily bread” or to “forgive MY sins” or “Lead ME not into temptation.” Instead, what does Jesus say? He instructs us to pray this way:

“Give US our daily bread…”
“Forgive US our sins…”
“Lead US not into temptation…”

This is a prayer for one another. It’s an instruction to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Certainly we are included in the “Us” but we are not the subject. We are only included because we are members of His Body.

The beginning of the prayer is about God – He loves us. He is Holy. He is in control.
The rest of the prayer is about community – Feed us. Forgive us. Protect us.

This is how Jesus wants us to pray. He wants us to begin by taking the time to remember who God is, and then he wants us to take the time to lift up one another because we all have physical needs, spiritual needs, and emotional needs.

After this, Jesus shares a parable about a persistent friend. The point of this, I believe, is that Jesus wants us to pray continually – but NOT in a selfish way. Instead, I think Jesus wants us to remain persistent in praying the prayer he has just taught us.

In other words, Jesus wants us to continually pray persistently this prayer about God – because we need to remind ourselves constantly that He loves us, He is Holy and He is in control. Then, Jesus wants us to pray persistently for one another – because we’re all weak and we all need to remember that our brothers and sisters need food, and forgiveness, and protection.

I think this theory is especially likely considering how Jesus ends the parable of the persistent friend in verse 8:

“I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.”

The themes of bread and “as much as you need” point us back to the earlier “daily bread” reference.

The last two points are simple. Jesus says that those who ask receive, those who seek find and those who knock open doors. Then he concludes his teaching with this:

“If you being evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give you whatever you ask for.” (v.13)

Actually, no. That is not what Jesus says. If you read the passage yourself you’ll see that what Jesus says is actually this:

“…how much more will your Father in heaven give you the Holy Spirit.”  (v.13)

Why is this last part significant? Because Jesus wants us to ask for the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit leads us into all truth (John 16:13); The Spirit comforts us (John 14:6); The Spirit intercedes for us (Romans 8:27); The Spirit empowers us to follow Jesus daily (Acts 1:8; 1 Sam. 10:6); The Spirit bears fruit within us that includes “Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control.” (Gal. 5:22-23).

Want to know one other awesome thing that the Holy Spirit does for us? Check this out:

“Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.” (Galatians 4:6-7)

How cool is that? The whole thing comes full circle. Because we have the Holy Spirit within us, we are able to cry out “Abba” which is how the Lord’s prayer begins.

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PODCAST: "The Good News Of The Kingdom"

Subversive Radio - "The Good News of the Kingdom" Podcast with Keith Giles


LISTEN ON YOUTUBE TO THE PODCAST

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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Just One Covenant

The Ten Commandments given to Moses on Mt. Sinai were the terms of a Covenant with the nation of Israel.

“Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.” (Exodus 34:28)

“He declared to you his covenant, the Ten Commandments, which he commanded you to follow and then wrote them on two stone tablets.” (Deut. 4:13)

The Ten Commandments are only mentioned (by name) three times in the entire Bible. Here in these two scriptures referenced above, and also in Deut.10:4. But in each case it is clear that God gave the Ten Commandments to the Jews as a Covenant. (Note: There are many other terms used such as “Tablets of Stone”, “Stone Tables”, etc.) But these commandments were given to the Jews alone, not to the entire world. Why? Because it outlined the terms of His Covenant with them, not with anyone else.

“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” (Exodus 34:27)

Without this Covenant, the Jewish people had no basis for being called a nation. If this Covenant was in force, then they would have a claim to the promises included in the Covenant, but if they broke this Covenant then they would lose all their status as God’s chosen people and their status as a nation.

“Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.” (Exodus 19:5-6)

In much the same way that the Constitution is a document that outlines the laws of our nation and establishes our system of government, the Ten Commandments (or the Law) outlines God’s terms for establishing the nation state of Israel.

Notice, however, that the terms of Israel’s nationhood are dependent upon a few things. First, it says, “If you obey me and keep my covenant, THEN you will be my treasured possession.” That’s a conditional covenant.

We know that the History of Israel records their continual disobedience to God and to His covenant. Because they broke their covenant with God, they were scattered over and over again, until finally they nation of Israel was judged in AD 70 during the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, as Jesus predicted it would be (Luke 21) and in the Parable of the Vineyard (Matt. 21:33-46).

Now notice that the very same conditional covenant terms spoken to the Jews are repeated in the New Testament as being unconditionally applied to the Church:

“As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:4-5)

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2:9-10)

Here, Peter declares that Christians “ARE a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession…”. The very same conditional promises originally offered to the Jewish nation in Exodus 19:5-6 are now spoken to the Church as being now in effect. So that anyone who is currently found in Christ is the recipient of these promises to be chosen, of the priesthood, a holy nation and God's special possession. We are also promised to be called the people of God and to receive mercy.

The Good News is that Jesus first came and fulfilled the terms of the Old Covenant, and then He made a New Covenant with anyone who would receive Him as Lord and Savior. The terms of that New Covenant are simple, “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people…and they will all know me from the least to the greatest for I will remember their sins no more.” (Jer. 31:33-34 and Hebrews 8:7-9)

We are now under one Covenant, not two. The first has been fulfilled and is now obsolete:

“In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.” (Hebrew 8:13)
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