The reason for Christmas is not Jesus.

It’s us; humanity.

Me.

You.

The addict.

The criminal.

We messed up.  We sinned.  We strayed from the life God created for us.  If not for us God would not have had to have sent Jesus.  Humanity is the reason for the season.

So remember that next time you want to judge or condemn someone else.  The reason we have Christmas is that person.  We celebrate that Jesus was born, but going back further than that, He had to come because of you.  Because of me.  He came because of the person you’re jealous of.  Because of the person who won’t talk to you.

Christmas is a reminder that we’re all sinners and in that way we’re all equal.  You’re grandma who gives you fruitcake every year.  You’re cousin who avoids your family.  The jerk at work who ruins your office party.  The homeless person who stands on the corner and begs for Christmas change.

Because of them, Jesus was born.

Why is that?  Why do we immediately feel guilt when we discuss the health of our relationship with God?  When were we trained to believe it’s more spiritual or humble to say things like, “It could always be better” when asked the question above?

Would you think someone ungodly if you asked them how their relationship with God was and they simply replied, “Good?”  Would something strike you wrong about their answer?  Would you assume they were lying or think them arrogant?  Why is that?

There’s nothing wrong with saying that things are good between you and God!

I sensed God tell me this one night during my devotional time.  I was peering over my journal, pressuring myself to pray the right things, apologizing to God for not being as close to him as I thought I should be.  There was a feeling within me that said, You’re good.  It’s ok.  Stop beating yourself up.  You are active in church, you are seeking Me regularly, and you are going to the Bible with your struggles.  You’re doing well.  It’s ok to believe that.

It was like my eyes were opened to a way of thinking I had never been aware of before.  I grew up thinking it was holy to belittle yourself and arrogant to suggest you were anything more than a sinner who can’t keep all the rules.  This is a form of thinking I believe God is constantly trying to reset in my life.

Don’t lie to yourself.  Don’t say things are fine if they are not.  Don’t use my words to overlook a habitual sin God wants you to deal with.  But chances are, if you’re regularly seeking and worshipping God, He’s happy with you!  He wants you to be happy too.  He gets more glory out of you enjoying your relationship with Him than He does when you’re beating yourself up for everything that’s not a part of your spiritual walk.

It’s ok.  You don’t have to fake humility.

So let me ask you again, how is your relationship with God?

Romans 10:1 The Message

I read the verse above and was hit by its practical message.  Salvation is what’s best for people!  It sounded so simple but I could not believe I had not heard or thought of it before.

As Christians, of course we want others to come to Christ.  Of course we want them to receive eternal life.  We want people to get saved because God loves them.  We want them to get saved so they will go to heaven.  We want them to become Christians because of the positive change it will make in the world.  But I had never considered that salvation is actually what’s best for people.  All people, everywhere – the best thing that could happen for and to them is salvation.

So when we share with others the story of Jesus, the testimony of our faith, and an invitation to accept Christ, this should be our attitude.  We’re not trying to talk them into a religious system that will limit their earthly life only to make up for it in the next.  Rather, we are inviting them into what’s best for them.  We’re trying to give them what they need.

Salvation provides a relationship with God, freedom from condemnation, and community with all believers.  That’s what everyone needs.  When we are able to show people this we are doing them a favor.

May we no longer fear rejection or worry that we are annoying people by sharing our faith with them.  We are simply trying to share with others what is best for them.

We talked about sin, discouragement, financial troubles, depression, guilt, stress, and several other things that can distract and dominate our lives.  These are the things that cause us to say, “Not good” when someone asks us how we’re doing.

The gentleman (whose name I cannot remember) then lumped all of these things, these feelings and distractions, into one category and labeled them circumstances.  Whether it’s sin, a bad economy, a failed relationship, whatever, it is a present reality in our daily lives that affects us.  It’s our circumstances.

He then taught me that the key to sustained joy and spiritual growth is to keep my gaze on God and a glance on my circumstances. 

 So often we are obsessed with the circumstances going on in this life and allow them to be our complete focus.  We are gazed on to what tragic thing is happening in our lives.  These circumstances dominate our thoughts and feelings.  Occasionally we may glance to God to pray for wisdom or deliverance, but then we immediately put our glaring focus back on what lies around us.  This method simply provides depression and steals our joy.

Rather, our gaze should always be on God.  He is the consistent One.  He does not change.  Our circumstances change but not our God.  He should be the one who gets our gaze – our focus, our attention, our belief.  From time to time we must take a glance at what is around us in order to know what we’re up against, but God must be the one who gets the first and most of our attention, our energy, our time, and our effort.

As in driving a car, we keep our gaze out our front windshield just as our focus should be on God.  Occasionally we must check our mirrors, just as we must glance at our circumstances, in order to know what’s behind, beside and all around us.  But keeping our eyes on our mirrors would cause us to get off course and end up in danger.  Our glare must be focused on Christ.

We glance at our circumstances in order to not be in denial of reality, but those things don’t define us.  Our gaze is on God.  We only glance at our circumstances in order to not give them too much weight.  And even when those circumstances are bad, we are able to withstand, because the subject of our gaze is so incredible that it provides a joy that cannot be taken by simply a glance.

My defense is…………….I was wrong.

To be honest I heard a speaker say this one time and I was simply repeating what I heard inaccurately taught about this passage of Scripture.  Doing so is poor research on my part and I now realize I was wrong.

My point about the passage was that it is not a ‘fix-all’ for Christians to repeatedly quote so they can be guilt free while having unchanged behavior.  Though my application was wrong my stance on this is still the same.  The verse is not a model for repeated confession.  I feel it is often taught in a way that says we’re all going to sin, but thankfully if we just go to God and confess our sins then it’s all good.  Being able to say this verse was meant for non-Christians fit with my agenda so I put that spin on the verse.  Again, I now realize this was wrong.

However, I still do not see 1 John 1:9 as a catchall for present sin.  The verse is usually quoted out of context but the chapter of 1 John 1 very clearly has a ‘looking back’ theme.  The writer is remembering what has been given.  He is listing what the believers have done.  He uses a lot of past-tense wording.

In that context I think verse 9 is saying that if we have (or since we have) confessed God has forgiven.  The verse is not a mandate to be in continual confession as to receive continual forgiveness.  John is teaching a promise.  He is telling his readers that if (assumed) they have confessed then God has forgiven.  They do not need to wonder if they have been forgiven or fear that their sin will be held against them.  No, if they have confessed, then they have been forgiven.  That attitude is consistent with the verses immediately before and after verse nine.

In looking at this chapter closer and reading better commentary on it I have to admit I made a mistake before and I hate that it went to print that way.  My point though was to show that 1 John 1:9 is not saying Christians must continually seek forgiveness.  I was trying to say that forgiveness occurs just once.  Repentance is continuous.  You are forgiven and become a Christian.  Once you are a Christian you will realize your need to repent on a pretty regular basis.

Our motivation for this is not forgiveness though.  It’s purity.  It’s holiness.  It’s a relationship with God that cannot exist while habitual sin is present.  God has already forgiven us of that sin, but allowing it to stay in the picture keeps us from enjoying all the blessings of His forgiveness.

I believing addressing the poor of our culture and speaking of them the way Fox News did crosses moral boundaries and is more than just a political issue.  I often hear conservatives and Christian politicians get fired up about the issues of abortion and homosexuality, claiming they are a spiritual issue and not a political one.   If they want to claim that abortion (a term not in the Bible) is a spiritual issue rather than a political one, then clearly caring for the poor is also a spiritual issue.  And one where we are failing.

Jesus never spoke to the issue of abortion and great links have to be made between his words and Old Testament passages to claim he opposed homosexuality.  While these issues may be moral ones, even more clear is the truth that Jesus had a lot to say about the poor and what our obligation is toward them.  Jesus spoke more about the poor than any other “political” issue.  He talked about the poor when teaching about time, when teaching about money, when teaching about serving, and when teaching about the kingdom of God.

Labeling today’s lower class as those looking for hand-outs is a form of arrogance.  The truth is that removing all forms of government handouts would create uproar from both the rich and the poor.  The upper class actually enjoys forms of a higher level of government benefits.  To see one person abusing the system or using food stamps in a way you find inappropriate and claiming this to be true of all those in the lower class is poor logic and shows you are out of touch with the poor in your community.  It also means you believe people should be assisted, given to, or blessed with conditions when this is not taught in Scripture.

Truly the Bible teaches that a man should eat after he has worked, but the word work does not necessarily mean possessing a job.  To claim the poor are poor because they are lazy is a huge generalization and no more true than that every working person is a hard worker and rich.

What the Bible teaches is stewardship.  Those of us who have been blessed have been blessed to be a blessing.  Along with all we have, we have been given the responsibility to care for those who have not.  This is true materially, emotionally and spiritually.

When considering the poor, allow me to ask a question:  Is it easier to be generous, perhaps even careless, with something that we earned or something that was given to us?

The argument we are taught as young children is ‘if you earn it you will appreciate it more.’  I think this same reasoning is behind political conservatives who suggest poor people are looking for hand-outs and abuse their government assistance.  However, the idea that we earn or deserve what we have is a complete farce.  The Bible says we are to recognize every good thing we have as a gift from the Father.

It is true that we are much more likely to hold loosely and give away things that are given to us and that we don’t actually see as our own.  However, this is not a reason to blame some poor people for being irresponsible, but to be free with our own possessions when it comes to meeting the needs of others.

You and I are much more likely to hold what is “ours” with open hands when we realize it’s all simply a gift from God.  The money and possessions we have, we have because God allowed it.  Even our talents and skills that we think created our wealth are in reality blessings God chose to give us.  A simple reading of the book of Acts will show that our possessions, resources, and abilities are meant to be leveraged for those in need through the context of ministry.

If there are people in our communities in need, it is our own fault.  And if it’s our fault, it is also our responsibility.

For some reason the prayer stood out to me and a sense came over me that I felt was impressing, “pay attention to this.”  The prayer time ended and everyone went their separate way, but I continued to dwell on my pastor’s prayer against fear.  Why did he pray that?  Why did it stick out to me?  What does fear have to do with a church staff holding church services?

For quite some time I’ve been thinking about the subject of confidence and what it’s role is supposed to be in my role as a leader.  One of my first blog posts was about confidence and just recently I wrote this post about confidence and Godly authority.  In my reading, writing, and thinking about these confidence-like issues I have been putting pressure on myself to grow in these areas.  But hearing my pastor pray against fear and later praying through that concept, I think I realized I have been approaching the issue from the wrong angle.

I left the staff prayer meeting reflecting on how many times the Bible tells us not to fear.  Jesus taught that we are to fear not.  It all of a sudden made sense that my pastor would pray against fear.  He knew that if a worship service, and ministry in general, is done with fear present, it will not be done as effectively.  There will be a sense of hesitancy.  Intimidation could arise.  It will be easier for a fear of man to creep onto the scene.

In mulling these things over I realized that my focus should not be on attaining boldness or acting with confidence, but rather to lead, serve, love, and live my life with a lack of fear.  Since realizing this I have been made aware of how often I feel fear and how many things cause it in me.  All those times I feel fear I am living outside of how God wishes I would live in those situations.

If I were able to “fear not” at all times, what would be the result?

Confidence?  No!

Boldness?  Authority?  No!

To live without fear would bring freedom.  Freedom to be who I am!  Freedom to do what God told me to do!

And freedom is a lot better than confidence.  While confidence would be trusting in my abilities despite the fear of failure, freedom results from relieving those fears because the consequence of following God is not up to me.  So rather than chasing after confidence, putting pressure on myself to feel boldness in order to face my fears, the way God teaches is to simply live without fear.  To live without fear provides the freedom to follow God, to carry out your vision, and to lead worship services in a way that may appear confident, simply because you do not have to deal with the hesitations and self-doubt that comes from fear.

Sadly, I allowed myself to get caught up in much of the controversy and followed the story way too closely.  I later tried to distance myself from the subject until recently when I finally felt I was removed enough to read the book without any biases or external influences.  The book arrived and I read it in three days while taking many notes and keeping a Bible at my side.  The following is my review as well as my thoughts on the book, the author, and the ideas presented.

First, allow me to share what my feelings were toward Rob Bell before this book was ever released.  I liked him.  I thought he was a nerd, but I liked him.  I listened to his podcasts (and still do) and attended one of his speaking events in Atlanta.  In some ways, Bell and I are alike.  We have both been accused of being purposefully vague and speaking on important subjects using generalities.  We both also use controversy to make our points and generate discussion.  So when I heard that he was releasing a controversial book that hinted at a lot of uncomfortable ideas, I figured it was nothing new.  I actually expected to agree with quite a bit of it.  But I was quickly surprised.

Asking questions is normal of Bell.  Creating doubt is not.  Yet he seems to go that next step as in the first chapter Bell works hard to paint salvation as complicated and confusing.  He also points out many instances in which he makes it sound as though Scripture contradicts itself as well as using quotation marks when using words like truth and right.  In chapter one he makes some good points though and says that many pastors today point to a “personal relationship with God” as the key to salvation, yet this phrase is nowhere in the Bible.  He later contradicts himself on page 178 where he says God’s love creates “a relationship.”

In chapter four Rob asks a great question.  He says, “Does God get what God wants?”  At first you want to say, “of course.”  Then he goes on to point out all the verses that say God desires all to be saved and longs for the redemption of everyone.  So if some go to hell, and not all are redeemed or saved unto Him, then God actually does not get what He wants.  It seems as through Bell already had his case for this answer so He sets up the question in a way to present the ultimatum that God is either weak or mean.

At the end of chapter four he talks about how we may not know if God gets what God wants but that ultimately we get what we want.  If we choose to reject God and put ourselves in hell, God’s love, which provides freedom, allows that.  And if we choose to trust God then God accepts that too.

Rob talks about the different views Christians have about after life.  He represents the view that you choose in this life and then it’s settled by the time you die – heave or hell.  He then represents the idea that there may be choice after life, perhaps even an ongoing choice and the opportunity for all to eventually be saved.  He never seems to strongly take either stance so I don’t think you can say he is building his case for the more universalistic view.  However, he does give more scripture references (or parts of Scripture verses) that appear to support that argument.

He quotes Old Testament verses about God redeeming His children and delivering them from punishment to say those things occur for everyone and they occur in the afterlife. He also takes a lot of time emphasizing how original Biblical words could be translated different ways and could mean different things.  He does this with a New Testament word translated “age.”  He says it could mean a day, a set period of time, an undetermined but temporary set time, or an ongoing, possibly unending set of time.  He notes that the common Christian belief about this word when used referring to afterlife is that it is translated “eternity” – never-ending.  He says, “It’s important that we don’t read categories and concepts into a phrase that aren’t there” (p.92).  Though he is correct in that point, he seems to be saying this to challenge the idea that this word shouldn’t mean eternity and suggest that it mean temporary.  If it’s wrong to insist it means one thing, is it not equally wrong to insist it means the other?

For most of the book Bell simply appears to be listing differing opinions about heaven and hell with biblical support for each.  He seems to be questioning the traditional beliefs about these subjects without categorizing himself as a part of any one stance.  While I realize this is normal Rob Bell, he is dealing with such serious subjects that his fence riding becomes irresponsible as he does not come off as a pastor with concern for the spiritual wellbeing of others.

I said that for most of the book he seems to be riding the fence, simply detailing options.  For most of the book that is true.  Until you get to chapter seven.  Though I wanted to be able to defend Bell, in his chapter titled The Good News Is Better Than That Bell gives reason for all the criticism he has received.

Bell uses chapter seven to say that many people have legitimate reasons for doubting or rejecting God (I agree).  He says that others have been treated on earth in a way that breaks God’s heart (I agree).  He says that because God loves all He wants to “retell” our individual bad stories, and in doing so create an ongoing opportunity for everyone to change their eternities (I disagree).

He uses the entire chapter to expound on the story of the prodigal son.  In my understanding, this story is about neither heaven nor hell (directly) yet Bell goes into great detail, nit-picking the smallest parts of the story to make the point that heaven and hell are both present “at the party” whether they accept it or not.

Within the chapter he makes the statement, “A discussion about how to ‘just get into heaven’ has no place in the life of a disciple of Jesus.”  Huh?  He also goes on to basically make fun of preachers who twist the Scriptures to say what they want about heaven and hell when in reality his usage of the story of the prodigal son is doing the exact same thing he correctly finds fault with in legalistic preachers.

Chapter seven made me visibly mad.  So much so I had trouble calming down to read the following chapter, which closes out the book.  In it he tells his own salvation story and challenges his readers to take advantage of this present opportunity, noting that Jesus was always calling his hearers to take a step of faith immediately.  Though his closing call to acceptance is good, the short chapter has no leading in how or why to “experience” this love.

In summary, I will admit that I was hoping to be able to defend Bell.  I had the words lining up in my head to discuss how differences over post-salvation doctrine does not make one a heretic.  But because the book was different than even I expected, I cannot in good conscience say Bell is simply representing another view within Christianity.  I think he speaks in general enough terms and refuses to take a stance just enough to still explain his presence in Christian circles, but it is not without reason he finds himself having many new opposers.

As always, I would challenge you to read the book before whole-heartedly accepting mine or anyone else’s thoughts about the matter.  I would simply ask you read this book like we probably should read every book, cautiously and with a Bible near.  We can learn from anyone and should not use disagreement as an excuse to close ourselves off from others.  We should also not gullibly accept the words of others just because they have the same beliefs as ours.

May we all learn to be more Biblically discerning.

Whether you have read the book or not, I would love to hear your comments on Rob Bell, Love Wins, Heaven, Hell, etc.  Please share!

“Leaders absorb pain.”

“You will never have to forgive another person of as much as Christ forgave you.”

Psalm 121:1-4

“I lift my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.  He will not let your foot slip – he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.”

Have you ever had one of those days, weeks, or even months where you just wanted to give up?  You may not have given up literally, but you definitely had that thought the whole time in the back of your head.  It could have been the way that your kids acted this week.  You thought you knew what you were doing when parenting, but now your child has taken a turn for the worse.  You have no idea what to do.  Is it even worth trying?

Maybe you’re a business owner.  You know God gave you this idea, and that you should start this business.  However, people all around you are telling you it is a horrible idea.  They are saying it will take years to even accomplish anything.  You start thinking to yourself, “Why bother?”

Maybe you are hoping to get into the college of your choice, or get the internship you were dreaming of.  You applied and did all you could and in the end you got denied.

Maybe you feel your marriage is not worth reconciling, or you are in so much debt it seems impossible to even try to move forward.

The situation you are facing may not even be listed.  However, many of us can remember that time where we felt God clearly speak to us.  That time when He gave us that vision, that dream, where we had promise and knew exactly what we should be doing.  You took that step because you knew that was part of the vision or dream and…BAM…you fall flat on your face.  If this hasn’t happened yet, or isn’t currently happening to you, it will soon enough.

When you fell, that feeling of promise slowly started to escape you. Maybe you didn’t really hear God in the first place.  Maybe you did something wrong.  Maybe God let you fall and isn’t even there to pick you up anymore.  These thoughts and emotions can take a person down fast.  Many leaders have fallen right here.  They have said, “Why bother” and thrown in the towel.

I can tell you I have been there lately.  I know the vision and dream God placed inside me.

However, there are those times…there are those times where it feels like maybe I just mis-heard my calling.  There are times where you…just…want…to…give…up.

I have had many sleepless nights thinking about the vision/dream God has placed inside of me.  It seems too big.  It seems that I am not getting anywhere with where I am currently in life.  It scares me sometimes.

What if I lose friends?
What if my family thinks I am crazy?
What if co-workers see me as the outcast?

You and I can play the “what if” game all day!  At the end of the day, I always have to remember to “…lift my eyes to the hills…”  I have to know where my help comes from.  Sometimes I sit back and just visualize myself literally looking to the hills, and just reflecting on where I have been.  Reflecting on what God has accomplished in me, through me, and in spite of me.

My help and your help come from the Lord.
He won’t let me slip.

Some of you reading this need encouragement.

Don’t give up.

The time you think you are going to give up is the time God is ready to take you to the next level.

That vision and dream God gave you to start the business, that dream you had to parent your kids different than everyone else at their school, that dream you had to move to another city to join another vision….do it.  Don’t give up.  Stand tall.  Don’t forget the original promise and vision God gave to you.

There is a reason no one has done what you are trying to do.  God placed that vision/dream inside of you specifically for you.

He wont let you down.  He won’t let you slip.

It is so easy to try and implement your plans (which are obviously always right…NOT) into what God has planned.

Today some of you just need to be reminded that it is not about you, but it is all about Jesus.  It is about what he is doing in you and through you.  It is about where your help comes from.

Remember to lift your eyes to the hills.  Remember where your help comes from.   Remember that God will not let you slip.

Mike Stiner
leader, writer, waiter