(via knowing-god-is-everything)

We are starting a sermon series about generosity. It’s a tough subject for people in LA especially, not because we are all so rich or so poor, but because we are all so independant.

We like to build up fortune for ourselves, and spend it for ourselves. We want to split the check rather than owing friends money or being owed money (but owing a credit card company money is somehow better). When we move, we hire movers and not friends. When we want a professional service done, we look to Google or Yelp, not to friends and family.

The problem with this sort of selfishness is that it sneaks under the radar. It’s seen as a noble and triumphant thing to be independent, not needing help from anyone. This selfishness changes our hearts. Not only are we not accepting, but we are also not pouring out.

I don’t just mean giving the homeless man on the street a dollar (or $20 or $100 if we want to REALLY feel good about ourselves), but instead pouring into the lives of those whom we come in contact with. What if, instead of giving him a dollar, we had lunch with him? What if we took time out of our day to help a friend run errands or loaned out money when someone can’t quite pay rent (rather than having them turn to credit cards)?

What if you gave up something that you want, so that a friend can have it instead?

This is the type of love that gets ignored, and this is the type of generosity that is almost nonexistent. Generosity is not giving out what extra you have- what is not needed. It’s sacrificing something that you very much want, so that someone else can benefit from it.

I was praying for someone after the service this past Sunday, and God gave me a vision of a tree. It was a fruit tree with no fruit on it. It was a healthy and beautiful tree that provided bountiful fruit, but all of the fruit was gone, given away to nourish and to start new fruit trees (trees which will in-turn help pollinate the original tree, and exponentially provide more trees). Surrounding it were full rich fruit trees with all of their fruit still hanging from their branches. The fruit on these trees will eventually fall off right next to the tree, and turn brown and rot. The seeds will shrivel and die, and go to waste, and make the ground surrounding these trees ugly and full of decay. It becomes ugly to all who look at it not long after its glory, and then has no other trees of its kind to help it pollinate.

This is a clear vision of what happens to us when we give. If we give, we are nourishing and sowing seeds amongst so many others. This helps generosity grow, and takes care of the needs in our community, including our own needs. If we horde our time/money/resources for ourselves, then the trophies we collect will eventually fall to the ground and die in front of everyone.

Lord, make me generous. I trust that You are faithful, and as I surrender and give, You will take care of any of my needs as You see fit. Humble me, and take away this selfishness that hides itself as independance.

-ChrisB

I went to Venice beach yesterday morning, and met up with some friends and brothers with the intention of doing God’s work on the boardwalk.

As the Venice regulars set up their shops, we sat down in the shade to pray and listen for words from the Holy Spirit. The more we listened, the more words we received.

We noticed a van with the words “Jesus was homeless” painted on the back. This reminded us of Luke 9:58

Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.

As we dwelled on this, we discovered that a home can indeed be a stumbling block. It’s a place where we can be safe and comfortable, alone and private from the rest of the world. However I was reminded of what God had shown me the night before as a sat praying in my kitchen unable to sleep. This home that I have is a blessing that I often take for granted.

This is when the Holy Spirit spoke great wisdom. He told me: Everything taken for granted is wasted for the kingdom of God.

Only blessings can be poured out to bless others. If we fail to see our blessings as such, then they are useless.

Shortly after, a homeless man came by and started picking up garbage around us and putting it in the trash can. We thanked him, and asked if he did this every day. He replied “Only when I am here”.

This was very profound for us. This man made and kept his home wherever he was. Much like Jesus, his home was where he was presently, not some physical building that he can go back to. And as such he made every effort to be at home wherever he was.

God then shared this verse with us:

You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. —Matthew 5:14-16

If we could all live under the idea that Home is wherever you are presently, then we could provide light to everyone in the house, no matter where we are.

Lord keep us from taking anything for granted. Every good and perfect gift comes from You. Let us make our home wherever we are, just as You make Your home in our hearts wherever we are.

“I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes.” — King David, dancing naked in the streets for God.

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:24-25

Anonymous asked: As a Christian, what do you think makes a woman beautiful?

I think that God puts a longing for a different kind of beauty in each man’s heart, though I also feel that these ideas of beauty have become somewhat corrupted and conformed by sin. God made everyone long for a different type of beauty, though I think we can all recognize all types of beauty if we see people the way that Christ sees people. There are many women that I know are beautiful physically for a large number of people, but that I personally am not attracted to, despite acknowledging their beauty.

When it comes to deeper beauty, I think that it’s far more easy to navigate. Is she like Christ or not? It seems too easy and cliche, but every trait of a good woman is found in the person of Jesus: Patience, Kindness, Gracefulness, etc. Jesus is the standard for both men and woman, and His relationship to the father and to the church are the relationships we have as women and men respectively. Apart from this inner beauty, I believe everything else is personal preference. There is no “biblical standard” for beauty because God made each of us different on purpose. If a man likes impulsive or tomboyish women, let his heart be satisfied with how God made that type of woman. If a man likes sweetness and reservedness, then more power to him. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to beauty.

(via knowing-god-is-everything)

#FallingPlates

(via knowing-god-is-everything)

“Expect great things from God and attempt great things for God.” —William Carey

I went walking down the red light district in Bangkok, Thailand on a Monday night. The crowd was a melting pot of poor and wealthy, men and women, old and young, Thais, Americans, Europeans, East Asians, and others. While the district largely hides itself as a shopping area, it is well known for its prostitution and strip/sex clubs. Seeing so many women sell themselves this way is disheartening enough, but upon a closer inspection there were far more heartbreaking and demonic forces at work here.

Firstly, the blunt of the work of getting men into these sex clubs is done by other men. They stand at the doors to the clubs and hold out flyers and laminated signs with English lists and pictures of their “wares”. These places are meant for foreign men who are looking for an opportunity to fulfill their lust, while detaching themselves from any sort of moral responsibility to honor and respect women. “It’s legal here” and “it’s just part of their culture” are the most common excuses, as if popularity makes something morally and ethically correct.

Most of the men who are with these women walking the streets are older white men and some older Thai men. They are often with women young enough to be their daughters or grand daughters, many of whom are under 18, some even under 12 years old. These women are not making a choice to be a prostitute, they are being sold as sex slaves to these places. This isn’t just a job for these women in order to pay bills, this is their indentured servitude, and many of them have no idea what life apart from this is. This is made obvious by the way that the men treat them on the street, commanding them like children, strong-arming them around like slaves. I can’t even imagine the treatment after they are alone.

The most sad thing of all, I think, is the older women who stood with the young girls out front to sell them. What is wrong with these older women?! Have they no empathy at all? How could they possibly in good conscience let these children go with these old men to be raped, just so they could make some money for themselves? Jesus speaks truth when he says that the love of money is the root of evil. There are few things more evil than this sort of injustice and selfishness. I have no words.

Lastly, I am at a loss of what to do for/with these women. My demographic is the target for these “services” and just walking down the street I am constantly bothered by the men who are selling. I can avert my eyes to the ladies on the street, and thus take away their humanity all-together, as if they are useless objects, but how does that show Christ’s love? I can look at them and smile, but won’t they assume I am only interested in buying their bodies? Won’t their sellers get excited for a sell and approach me all the more? If there was a way to instantly transmit Jesus’s heart for these women, I surely would spend all my time roaming these streets, but as it is my instinct is to simply hide away and avoid it. I wish this feeling wasn’t so paralyzing and I wish I didn’t feel so cowardly.

When I return to the US, and tell my coworkers and acquaintances that I have been to Bangkok, what will they assume of me? What can I tell them that might change their hearts, and keep them from supporting this heartbreaking forced sex industry? My mind and heart is troubled, and I know that with prayer and obedience comes clarity and peace.

Lord, I pray for all of the young girls who are in Patpong and otherwise.

Luke 6:27-28 () 27 But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. #Bible http://mydailybible.org/dv/esv/2013-02-28.htm

I walked through the red light district of Bangkok last night. It was so heartbreaking. More to come later.

“If our devotion is to the cause of humanity, we will be quickly defeated and broken-hearted, since we will often be confronted with a great deal of ingratitude from other people. But if we are motivated by our love for God, no amount of ingratitude will be able to hinder us from serving one another.” —Oswald Chambers

“Beware, however, of giving in to mere daydreaming once God has spoken. Allow Him to be the source of all your dreams, joys, and delights, and be careful to go and obey what He has said. If you are in love with someone, you don’t sit and daydream about that person all the time— you go and do something for him. That is what Jesus Christ expects us to do. Daydreaming after God has spoken is an indication that we do not trust Him.” —Oswald Chambers