You guys should come to my next concert.

Woot.

(It's not really me.)

(Now I'm writing like Heather...no more than six words per line I think.)

(Very sporadic.)

Dolla' Dolla' Bills, Ya'll

So much for me being faithful in posting thoughts about money. It's been too long. The problem I have in thinking about what Jesus said about money, is that I just think about it. I don't actually write stuff down, organize my thoughts, or actually form cohesive thought about it. Thus the lack of posts about this topic.

"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." -Matt. 6:24

I'd say this is just as good a starting place as any to look at what Jesus said concerning money. I guess the question we're left with is...how do you serve money? I think the answer is different from what we might give as a quick answer. Or maybe we should ask also, how do you serve God? Also in line are these questions: If you love money, why do you hate God? And if you love God, why do you hate money? This is what is presented to us in the aforementioned verse. If you serve money, you'll hate God...and if you serve God you will despise money. That is what I plainly read, anyway. So there is much to deal with concerning this passage.

Let's start with "If you love money, why do you hate God?": It seems there is two ways to do this. First, you can make money your sole object of affection; that is, money is what you are consumed by. Thus, if anything else threatens your affection for money, you hate it. If Jesus comes in making demands from you about money (as he did with the rich young ruler), you will hate him for that. Secondly, there is a more subtle way that I feel we are more prone to do; that is, one can use God as a means to get money. You worship as a means to become wealthy. If God is a means to ANYTHING, he is hated. If God is the route you take to get to some other ultimate end besides God, you have hated God. It is that simple. I am reminded of Jeremiah 2:12-13 -

"Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and have hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water."

Therefore, perhaps we can apply the same reasoning when answering, "If you love God, why do you despise money?" If you love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength as we are commanded (...which we all fail to do), you will hate money if it encroaches upon your desires for God. If money comes in and tempts you to give away any of your devotion, longing, or desire for Jesus, then you must hate it. When it comes to love for God, Jesus did not soften his message: "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple." Here we see the strong language again. Are we to actually disdain our parents? Are we to loathe them? Are we to hold money-burning ceremonies to show our hatred for it? Or how about this: "If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell." Are we to literally cut off our hands? If so, the vast majority of Christians would be walking around without hands...as well as eyes. Without trying to make this easier to swallow, I do wish to interject a thought.
Jesus is serious about our affections for him versus everything else; we are not to give glory to anything else. We are not to be satisfied in anything else. Therefore, if any desire, including money, competes for our love for Jesus, we must take extreme measures. If we are tempted to follow money rather than Jesus in any decision, we must repent. If we look adoringly upon the security money offers us, we must flee from it. Money is to be held loosely, I think. "Do not store up treasure on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal." Thus, if we love money, we hate God. If we love God, we hate money. I'd love to hear thoughts on this....

Next up: How do we serve money? How do we serve God?

"The bodies of 40 men who were shot and had their hands and feet bound have been found in the capital over the past 24 hours, police said Thursday. All the victims showed signs of torture, police Lt. Thayer Mahmoud said. They were dumped in several neighborhoods in both eastern and western Baghdad, he said. The top U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, , Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell, on Wednesday said murders and executions are currently the main cause of civilian deaths in Baghdad. Much of the violence has been attributed to death squads, many of which are thought to be offshoots of mainly Shiite militias." -CNN.com

I was confronted this morning by a lingering question concerning this article: Who will take the gospel to the "death squads"? Just something to think about...I know I will.

"It Ain't Sausage if it Ain't Janak's"

The words I typed above appear on a sign directly below the character seen above. (If you did not notice, the guy is a big sausage link with a cowboy hat on...I love this picture). Nonetheless, my post is actually not about Janak's (pronounced who knows how), but rather something I learned on a dove-hunting trip this weekend, during which we passed this sign along with a couple other priceless gems.
I went on the trip with David Rekerdres (Bethan's brother) and Landon Carl seen below:
We had a great time. We shot flying animals, we ate them, and we had some good time just hanging out and enjoying time on the ranch.
But, the thing I learned, is that though I enjoyed myself thoroughly, I was able to see that my life with Bethan is much more enjoyable. I started thinking about all the things she does as my wife, and about the time we spend together...and I have to say that it is way better than anything else I could do anywhere with anyone else. I love her very much, and my quality of life has increased one-hundred fold since marriage.

Thank you Jesus for Bethan.

Spiritual Bankruptcy in the Prosperity Gospel

First...read this article.

Now, on with the post. It is obvious that the way we teach about money and the way we use money can effect the world, and more importantly...souls. I am greatly angered that people who do not know Jesus walk into churches and hear such garbage and again walk out of the church continuing to dangle over the pit hell; not having any clue as to what is real or truthful.

It is clear to me that the prosperity gospel is emtpy, it must be abominated, and we must not consider toying even with it's outlying teachings. Needless to say, I have been further motivated to continue learning and writing about what Jesus says about money, possessions, and comfort (I added comfort because it seems as though being comfortable is also included in what Jesus desires for his people...whom he calls to die...and suffer with him for the gospel...hmmmm).

Jude Elijah Estes

Sept. 3, 2006

3:54 p.m.

6 lbs. 3 oz., 19 in.

Congratulations Jon and Sally!!
Jesus has blessed you with a beautiful baby boy!

"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 'These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.'"

Jesus: The Sheep Door (An Interlude in the Posts About Money)

John 10:1 - "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber."

No, the man in the above picture is not Jesus...But, this morning I was thinking about this verse and all the other doors that people try and enter through, in order to become part of the sheepfold of God. I was thinking that there are those who try to blend in with the church by doing good deeds. Some try and rest in church attendance. And soon I thought to myself, some try and come through the door of "a relationship with Jesus". Now, many who read that may think..."Brandon, you are indeed blasphemous. Are you saying it is bad to have a relationship with Jesus?" Well, for those reading this...probably not. For those who are born again do indeed have a relationship with Jesus. But for many, this is a problem.

What I mean by this, is that the Bible NEVER teaches that a mere relationship with Jesus is what brings about salvation. In fact, I don't know that Jesus ever says to anyone, "To be saved, come...have a relationship with me." I think the dangerous part of this kind of talk is that many Christians say, "You must have A relationship with God." In other words, "there are many kinds of relationships...just choose one of them." This all may sound ridiculous, but I have talked to people who were raised in churches that taught "relationship instead of religion". They could talk to me till they were blue in the face about "knowing" Jesus and "having a relationship with him", yet they were not born again. Interesting how that happens, huh? But as I look at the gospel of "having a relationship" with Jesus, I notice that it is a gospel that the world can swallow quite easily. They think to themselves, "I have relationships with many people. In fact, I am quite good at relationships. I have a relationship with my wife, my kids, my parents, my boss, my secretary, my friends...I've got relationships coming out my ears!" And thus they construct a relationship with Jesus by their standards, not by God's.

If we are to talk about having a relationship with Jesus, we must also include the criteria of that relationship...you know, like Jesus did. He never told people to have a relationship with him, but he did say "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." He did say, "Turn from your sin." He did command people to "believe in the Son of Man." He did tell others that if they did not believe, "the wrath of God remains upon him." He also told people that they must be "born again to see the kingdom of heaven", and to "love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength." But he never left anyone guessing with wishy-washy talk about having a relationship, which...if you think about it...is quite confusing and unclear.

Therefore, I think we need to be careful; because telling someone to just "have a relationship" with Jesus can often lead them through a door that is not The Door.