My dollar bills have the face of Jesus on them, what about yours?

I recently was engaged in a topic that so many people struggle with. Can I follow Jesus if I still own things? Tommy is a dear friend of mine, and I though that this was to long to email to him, and time to well spent to simply email to him. So, feel free to comment... for this is not only for Tommy, but for the rulers of the free world:)

“You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the rich young ruler heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth.

No need for ad hominem attacks on whether or not my perceptions of what your Biblical interpretations are. My perception is not skewed. You said something. I heard it. Now, you have said something different.

I do not disagree that Christ calls us to follow Him, and thus giving up a healthy financial lifestyle and family focused customs. I think Christ calls for us to carry our Cross daily and follow Him. God does not change, but the times we live in do. Sadly, it is the case in some lives that money is an issue; an issue that cannot be easily given up in one single day. From what I have read and, if I understand correctly, you say that we cannot follow Christ unless we physically give away all things. This is a dutiful thing to do as a Christian, but this also means that my parents, my pastor, my favorite authors and speakers are not followers of Christ. I heartily disagree. I am also disgusted on the way Biblical interpretation has been thrown around loosely in the age in which we live in.

I intend now to not battle with words or wit, but to lie down a foundation of what is and is not true in regards to the Bible. It is a lofty subject that even the greatest minds of our day still have trouble with. With the knowledge that I have (however slim it may be) and the relationship I have (and how intimate a relationship it is) with Yeshua, let me know jump into this essay.

I hold true to the canon that Yeshua is Lord, everything else, politically and economically speaking, is subjective. “…The words of Christ as infallible but the rest of man-written scripture and ideas, I am still unsure about.” Each Gospel was written for different sects of people. For example, Matthew was written mainly for the Jews while Luke was written for the Greeks. The way that Jesus taught was nothing new, and also influenced the writers of not only the Gospels, but also the various letters by Paul in the New Testament. It was what the Jewish people called ‘Targum,’ which, as Bruce Chilton states in his book Rabbi Jesus: An Intimate Biography, “…paraphrases of the Hebrew Bible rendered in Aramaic…The Targums were part of the ‘Torah on the lips,’ the oral version of Scripture that Jesus worked from, and they were different in important ways from the Hebrew texts.” Jesus taught the way the ancient Rabbis taught, that being in stories and tales to prove a point. We know them as parables.

The reason I mention this is to prove that the Old Testament is to be trusted. It is not literature, but the historical backings of what went down. Though I do agree, however, that the legitimacy of some of the accounts are more than welcomed to be questioned, simply because some are so outrageous (see 2 Kings 2:23-27, the mauling of 42 youths by two female bears), I also know that these are the scriptures from which Jesus of Nazareth taught. If what you say is true, that the words of Christ are infallible but everything else is “unsure,” then you negate the words of Christ. We see in Matthew 5:17 that Christ came to uphold and fulfill the Law of the Prophets. In Galatians 4:4, we read that Christ was born under the Law. He lived in perfect obedience to the Law. He was a minister of the Law to the Jews, clearing it from rabbinical reasoning, enforcing it upon those who professed to obey it (Luke 10:25-37), but confirming the promises made to the fathers under the Mosaic Covenant. He fulfilled the types of the Law by His holy life and sacrificial death. He bore, vicariously, the curse of the Law, so that the Abrahamic Covenant might profit all who believe (Galatians 3:13-14). Most importantly, He mediated by His blood the New Covenant of assurance and grace in which all believers stand, so establishing the “Law of Christ” with its precepts of righteous living made possible by the indwelling son.

Christ is the Son of God, that God being the same God of the Old and New Testament.

Pick and choose what sounds consistent with Christ’s words. I don’t object to that. But know also that by abiding by the words of Christ, you are abiding also by the words of His earthly fathers.

Am I “warping Bonhoeffer’s words to (my) own liking?” As living off the graces of God through my parents and not through the Church or any organization, I would say that I have not “warped” his words. I have meditated over them, as well as the words of Christ, and have come to the conclusion that, in our times, we can follow Christ while still having possessions. If it were totally and absolutely up to me, I would say that this shouldn’t be the case and all. Christians have become lazy… which is absolutely true. However, I do not have the say in others’ lives. I cannot tell my parents that they are sinful in their ownership of their house and thus have not faith in God. My father, James Frey, has faith that God will provide. He provided the house we live in, the food we eat and the beds in which we sleep. The words thank, thankful, thankfulness, thanks and thanksgiving are mentioned in the Bible 24 times. In the Psalms, we read numerous times to give thanks for God’s protection and His goodness in our lives. “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15; written by Paul, perhaps the one person to know the heart and mind of Christ better than any other man who has lived… a personal opinion).

Is it wrong to own possessions? Of course not. Is it wrong to own a possession and hold it over the heads of others, Christ and most importantly, ourselves? For some of us, total separation is needed. Our things get in the way of our relationship with Christ. Anything that gets in the way is an idol, and we ought not to idolize anything other than God. I would say that if we are called to a life of poverty, than this is a different story. But to each his own. Not every man, woman and child is called to a life of poverty. Not every man, woman and child is called to a life of possessions, simply because they cannot handle them and their relationship with Christ. As we become united with Christ, our possessions not longer mean anything to us. We live as though we have nothing, and are grateful for the graces given to us. If need be, we sell those possessions and give to the poor and needy.

The question is; do we give our own possessions on our own? Certainly not! In Philippians, Paul says that Jesus came to earth and viewed equality with God something that cannot be grasped. Being one with Christ is nothing to be grasped physically. It is a mental, emotional and spiritual state. For example, no one can make himself or herself humble. It is a process in which God puts one through in order to experience and thus live as Christ lived.

Regarding faith, we ought to have faith that Christ will provide. The “stuff” that has been given to us has been given to us, by God, in our faith in Him. We must also have faith that God will give and take as needed in order for us to experience Him.

Know this; I am not directing any of this towards you individually, Tommy, but to all Christians, me included. Living where we live, eating what we eat and driving what we drive, it can be difficult to suddenly sell all and live in total poverty. I wish this could be the case for all those who want to follow Christ, but not all people have the luxury of selling all for the sake of Christ. The riches of others bless people, sometimes. In Acts, we see that all people give their possessions to each other and share equally between each other (funny… we started with communism!).

Last time I checked, it is necessary to thank God for the ability to make money. The ability to make money brings food to the table. The food on the table strengthens us to do the work that Christ calls us to do. Whether it is missionary service or the CEO of a major corporation, all thanks must be to God and to no one or nothing else. God is lost in provision. God is found in giving. Though time and effort is well and good, a starving person is in need of food. Food can be provided by those who are able afford the time and effort to make money in order to give to that starving person.

Now, it may be the argument that people have now, why not give now. I agree. There are have and then there are have-nots. This is a fact that is undesirable. As people of God, it is our commission to express need where it is needed. As we preach the word not only of salvation, but also humility and a spirit of giving as taught by Christ, the word is heard and the need is met through the graces given to individuals in the format of monies and resources.

Humans are greedy. Christians ought not to be normal human beings, but rather striving to be as Christ was.

Accepting wealth is not a bad thing when done so knowing that wealth comes from God, and God alone. I do not disagree that being wealthy in the midst of poverty is a cancer. Though, accepting it and knowing that it is not ours to keep but God’s gift to us allows those who are rich (me not being one of them) to yearn to follow Christ and to act upon that, even with money.

The rich young ruler is a story that, like anything else in the Scriptures, and especially those words in the red letters, can be taken and made into something that we may find appealing. I know for a fact that living a simplistic lifestyle is attractive to you. I’ve talked about with you, discussed it with you, and watched that wild video that you posted recently. The Psalters, was it? This rich young ruler could be the most under rated portraits of Jesus in the Gospels. Here, we have a man who has everything, and desires nothing but Christ, but cannot follow that one simple command; leave all and follow me.

You need to read carefully here. All the other things I have written here are useless in comparison to this one very important point. When Christ looks at this young ruler, who has all he has ever wanted, and tells him that he needs to get rid of possessions and give it to the poor (which is an incredibly noble deed), it’s not the fact that Jesus is asking this young man to get rid of his riches that is so important, it is the fact that if he was willing to surrender his life to Christ, all his desire for money would have faded in the light of grace and knowledge of Christ. I think here, we see the man's dilemma in it's brightest list; I want to follow Christ, but I want also to be rich, but I would use the money for myself, and not for the liking of others. Yes, here the man is faced with his own personal cost of discipleship. Leave my want for money for the want of Christ, or continue to live in desire to make more money. This rich young ruler, according to the Greek text, was between 24 and 40 and had a very high place in society (neaniskos-relatively young man; sphodra-very high point on a scale of extent). He has worked his way to the top. He has made his money. Christ tells him to leave that desire, that want, that yearning for financial security to follow Him.

Giving to the poor, in itself, is not what Christ asks us to do. Anyone, Christian or not, can give to the poor. It is the motive behind it. It is the separation between ourselves with Christ and ourself and our riches. Is it possible to live a life separated from riches and yet still have earthly ownership of them? Absolutely. Is it possible to have money and still follow Christ in the workplace? Without a doubt.

Christ calls each person to cut his desires mentally and emotionally and if need be physically. Some hearts are ready to do so. Some hearts long to be with Christ too much to even let a hint of wealth get in the way of themselves and their Lord. Some others though have been given financial gifts. Where we are planted, let Christ water and God sow. Our ultimate goal is to love our God and love each other. Love financially, and love physically with time and effort on the mission fields. Let God have ownership of our possessions, our riches, and our very lives. For, in this ownership, He invites us into communion with Him, and in this communion, we are set free of our things and drawn near to the God that loves us most, in the broken body of Yeshua of Nazareth.

Brief thoughts on Eph. 4:17-24

I've often wondered what that main difference between a 'believer' and 'non-believer' is. We look at Galatians where the author describes the fruit of the spirit as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and self control. Some folks have all of these qualities, yet have distanced themselves from God for their entire lives. They live peaceful lives in which they try to bring goodness and kindness to all those who need it.

I guess the answer could simply be the difference in Jesus Christ. 'Believers' are obviously motivated to act upon the fruits of the spirit not by selfish ambition or desire to please people, though that is all well and good, but rather they act out these fruits as an act of obedience.

"... So I tell you this... that you must no longer live as (Gentiles) do, in the futility of their thinking... You did not come to know Christ this way." We must be set apart as children of God. We must take those steps that distinguish us from someone who simply enjoys to do nice things and a legitimate disciple of Jesus Christ. We must no longer be "separated from the life of God," but rather we ought to cling to the very line that gives not only everlasting hope and comfort, but love and desire to be loved as well. Just as anger and greed are roots of most evil, love is the root of all that gives hope and comfort.

For followers of Jesus Christ, I think the question should not be, "what are we against," but more importantly, "what are we for?" When one walks into a job interview, the owner does not explain the things that are wrong with the company, but the perks of working at this certain corporation. In the same manner, we disciples should not walk proud and pious through life, acknowledging all the negatives and consequences of what happens when one does not believe that Jesus is Lord. I say we walks humbly through this life, acknowledging all the good that comes from being united with Christ.

As we abide with Christ, we are in constant communion with Him. Our hearts no longer become, "hardened (vs. 18)" from the ignorance we have towards God the father. We become loving as the Father is loving.

We are taught to shed the old self, and put on the new. We exchange our rags for beautiful new robes. "...And to be made new in the attitude of (our minds); and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." Notice how it does not say that we were created to be pious and retain a wealth of theological knowledge. We are to be transformed by our mind's renewing.

Rob Bell makes a fine point in saying that the point of the Cross is not limited to forgiveness. It is a reformation of the heart. When the last breath was taken by Christ on the cross, our sin was not only washed away. By that last breath and then the resurrection, God gives us the opportunity of total reformation and transformation of our heart by constant communion with Jesus of Nazareth.

Does the cross hold you back? Have you been limited to simply just forgiveness? Or are you going to take the proper steps and begin the reformation and absolute alteration of your own self to the likeness of Jesus Christ? Yes, on the cross, Christ invites us to be unified with Him; being one with Him; our being centered and focused and fused with Christ. Suddenly, discipleship does not look so grim as the first time we had been called. In realizing that the One who calls is also the One who conquered death on the Cross, we take the hand of Christ and recognize our absolute trust in Him, knowing that we will not be led astray.

Where the streets have no names... literally.

Yes, I am posting on my own blogspot. For those of you who may read this, you are witnessing history.

I just had a great trip. Some may call it a missions trip. Some may say it is an answer to a call of service. Whatever name you want to throw onto the trip, great things were done for and by great people.

Yes, as some of you may know, I just took a week long trip to Armenia. A trip anywhere, in my mind, always consists of many things learned, spiritual or not. To make things clear, I had no expectations for this trip. I did not "hope" for God to do anything spectacular. Frankly, I think that would be like asking an accountant to account for money or a weight-lifter to lift weights. God is spectacular, why ask Him to be what He already is?

What was experienced? What was learned? Who did I encounter? How did these encounters shape and mold who I am and will be later in life? There are too many questions. I know that I as head into church tomorrow and happen upon close friends of mine, I will be asked these questions. I won't be angered, nor will I be bothered in having to answer these questions. I will, on the other hand, be held back as to what I can say and how to make those words into experience.

I find that experience is something that we so often have, but so scarcely are conscience about it. Day by day, we feel pain and relief, sorrow and joy or simply hot and cold. Though, it is precisely because we experience day by day that we become numb to what experience is, thus suppressing the once powerful acts of emotion we once felt as children. At one point, we saw flowers and smiled, but also shuttered in fear when hearing thunder. I feel that on this trip, I got a taste of that again; feeling. I was able to feel not only the pollen in my nose, but more importantly the love and friendly invitation of Armenian friends. I could sense the touch of life that they had in their own lives, which was reflected onto our mission's team. Too often, we look over these things because we (especially in our busy orange county schedules!) are too busy preoccupying ourselves with routine. Even in ministerial positions, ministry gets in the way of ministry. "I'll spend some time alone just as soon as I finish this email." "Let me pray just as soon as I finish budgeting." There seems to always be something else.

When will we be able to calm down?

I think the answer lies in this; unity. Yes, our unity with Christ. I once had the privilege of sitting down with my favorite author and speaker, Brennan Manning. As we sat in Coco's, our little group of 8 men discussed our favorite beers, the best way to eat hamburgers and of course, the life of Brennan Manning. At a moment of awkward silence, I was able to look at Brennan and ask what his favorite word was at that moment in time. After placing his hand gently under his chin, he looked at me through his hazy eyes and said simply, but poetically, "unity." I was taken. How could one word, one short word, be so powerful? He began to express the joy of the word due to the unity Christ has with us and us with Him. Our feet become Christ's feet. Our hands become Christ's hands. Yes, our very heart and state of mind become that to the likeness of Christ.

Though, isn't this how ministry ought to be? As I spent my time, however short it may have been, in the Armenian culture, witnessing others experience the goodness of Jesus Christ through service to one another, it became apparent that ministry is not just the caring of the sick and diseased. It is not just the loving of the deformed and forgotten. It is the emptying of one's self in order for Christ to fill us and become unified with us and us with Him.

It is in these steps that we begin to learn such things as true prayer, humility, as well as begin to take into account the cost of discipleship. I've heard it said that we are closest to how Christ acted when we pray. In my previous blog, I discussed that prayer is best experienced when nothing seems to be right in our lives. Time after time, we see Christ get away from his disciples and his busy life in order to pray. From what I've gathered, it's because He feels that nothing is going according to plan. Jesus steps away from the crowds after witnessing a hopeless generation. Though 100 percent God, we must not forget that He, too, was 100 percent man; meaning He was afflicted with all the same emotional and physical pains that we experience.

On Prayer

The lyrics from Leonard Cohen’s (thanks Tom) song “Hallelujah” speak such truth to the Christian. “It’s not a cry you hear at night, and it’s not someone who has seen the light. It’s a cold and it’s a broken hallelujah.” That is the proper way to pray. A heart that is broken and tattered, crushed and seemingly ignored is when prayer seems to be most effective and life changing. As we look through the Bible, some of the most moving portraits of prayer take place when the prayer is being dragged through life by the very God they are praying to. David is being chased by Saul, Job has his finest possessions including his very family torn from his grasp, Jesus is being forsaken by His very Father and time after time in the beginning church, these new disciples are faced with oppression daily by an empire that is willing to kill without hesitation. Leonard Cohen may have never known the God of Jacob. Jeff Buckley may have never had the Abba experience, but they truly knew the agony of answerless prayers in order to be drawn close enough to God to do nothing but pray. That prayer is probably a muffled, broken prayer. It may be a prayer that is said through tears and sobs. Most likely, it is a prayer that is said while going through hardships, trials, tough times and mediocre communication with Jesus. Perhaps it is a prayer that is laced with anger and crossness. We are irritated with God for what he has put us through. “Why, God, why would you ruin my life like this? Why would you take my spouse away from me? How could you be such an unjust, partisan and inequitable God?” We are cold, broken and distraught and the only one to blame is the One who has the right to give and take away. Just as the baffled David is composing, we float through this life shaking our fist at God blaming Him for our downfalls and mishaps. “Damn you Jesus! I need you not. Stay out and stop ruining my life. You are useless, futile and create no sense of peace and are ineffectual.”
The response we get back is not something that is comparable to Christianese. It is nothing that is heard from a pastor. No, the response we get back is something that will bring us to tears and drop us to our knees. Through the thick of it all, we hear the faintest whisper much like Elijah heard on the mountain. Through the death of a close one and the loss of a friend, we hear the faint voice of God calling to us telling us one thing. “You are my child, I am your Father. I am the light of justice though the darkness of injustice covers your world. I love you, my arms are open and I know you are broken. Now, my child, fall into me and let me heal your wounds.” No earthquake, fire or hurricane could carry such a powerful word from God. At times the only way we can hear the most needed words is through the faintest of breezes. We will be sitting in our lonesomeness, sulking in misery at our most recent loss, and God will grab us by the face, look us directly into the eyes and simply be there. At times, I feel, that nothing needs to be said by God. We simply need to rest in His open arms and feel His genuine grasp around us and whatever situation we may be going through.

More often than not, our attempts at prayer are as previously explained. We sit in a quiet room and close our eyes and fold our hands as we may have been taught in Sunday school and begin with “Dear God.” How much easier is it to pray while things are going well in our lives! We get a raise at our job or have a good date with the opposite sex, get accepted to a school or teach some great sermon one Sunday morning. When God is good, we are thankful. On the other hand, what are we like when God isn’t as “good” as we would like to have him be? When God isn’t so good to us, we fail to be thankful and curse His name. What happens when He takes away and doesn’t seem to give back? How do we respond to a lost job, broken family situation or a suffering church? This is when we draw closer to God. Through the hardships of life God draws us closer to Him allowing us to truly feel his assured grip. We don’t feel God through those hardships and thus we feel disconnected and apart from the God who is supposed to love us. I believe that is our problem. We need to “feel” God in order to pray and be loved by Him. Brennan Manning says it like this, “As I grow older, I no longer feel God as I once had. But I don’t think God wants feelings, he wants faith.” In prayer, are we driven by feeling or faith? Are we feeling good and therefore God is good? If prayer is not faithful prayer, whether in good times or bad, it is meaningless. We may as well be praying to a wall asking it to heal our friend suffering with cancer or give us direction in our life. Stray away from trying to feel God and dwell in faithful prayer. God is the God of all in all circumstances. He is the source of all things through faith. Because of this, we must have the faith that He can accomplish all things.