This Had To Be Written (Second Installment)

1 John 3:17,18--But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.



Philippians 4:16-18--Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.



Acts 4:32,34, and 35--Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had eveything in common...There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.



This is part two of my thoughts on money. When I initially started writing, I intended the post to be a post just expressing my thanksgiving to people who have applied the three verses above and blessed our family. Since I tend to be overly wordy (i.e. I didn't need to put the adverb "overly" in front of wordy because wordy already implies an excessive overuse of words), I had to extend it.



Let me cut to the chase. The following is a list of ways that we have seen the body of Christ apply these verses in serving us in our time of great need:

• We have had our rent paid a couple of times by anonymous people at our church this past year.


• When Pam was admitted to the hospital for what would be a two-month stay (January of 2009), someone gave the secretary of our church in Arizona an envelope written out to "the Gilchrist family." It had a ridiculous amount of cash in it. It helped us get by as Pam had to stop working. Being in the hospital usually has that effect.


• Prior to that, we had been blessed a couple of times by generous people from Grace Bible Church of Tempe with surprise checks in the mail.


• God was pleased even to use the staff at Mesquite High School to provide meals and support while Pam was in the hospital and after Isaiah came home.


• When Pam was in the hospital and after Isaiah was born, we received a ridiculous amount of support from the body at GBC. Meals, childcare, coffee, help moving, women visiting Pam in the hospital, etc. I could never thank the people of GBC enough for loving our family and making our need their need. That is Acts 4 in beautiful progress. I am confident and aware that the same love is still being shown to others who have need at GBC. I do miss you all and long so much for the day when we can afford to take a trip down to the AZ to fellowship with you again.


• People all over the world prayed for Isaiah as he was born three months premature. When doctors and physical therapists today look at him with wonder in their eyes, this points to God's miraculous power and reinforces the truth that the prayers of the righteous do accomplish much. Thank you for your prayers.


• Regarding prayer, we were so blessed to be a part of a smaller church body in Arizona that would pray for the needs of people in the church specifically during corporate prayer. Moving back to Spokane and a larger church, I knew I was going to miss that. However, Faith Bible Church is a collective warrior when it comes to praying for the needs of those within the body. I have made it a point to fill out prayer cards for the prayer ministry, and it is such an encouragment when people whom I don't know particularly well tell me that they are praying for me and my family. Thank you to all of you who have prayed for a good job for me; I would greatly appreciate you perseverance in this.


• Both my parents and Pam's parents have helped us greatly financially and materially.


• We continue to receive anonymous gifts from people. We came home from youth group two weeks ago and found an envelope filled with cash on our doorstep. What I am learning to appreciate about people who give anonymously, other than the fact that they don't want any recognition, is the way that it should encourage the recipient to not be bitter toward anyone because that object of bitterness might be the person who blessed the recipient.


• Our church has graciously helped us finacially.


• Our landlords continue to give us a ridiculously nice deal on our rent for the best house that I have ever lived in as an adult.


• Our small group leaders, my wife's aunt, and my parents have given us so much food over the past year. It is such a blessing because we love food.


• We have been blessed with clothing for our big five-year-old.


• Our big five-year-old was showered with love and gifts on his fifth birthday. This was a huge blessing to him, but I felt just as blessed.


• People have given us gift cards which have enabled us to do a number of things: go out on our anniversary; go out on a date at South Perry Pizza; take our family to see Toy Story 3.


• A good number of people have encouraged me with gracious words during this long and difficult time. They don't look down on me. They see me trying to do everything that I can to find work and provide for my family. They remind me of truth and affirm that God is sanctifying me through this. Such encouragement is priceless in a society that determines people's value on people's financial portfolios and career success.

I am sure that I have left off some things because we have "received full payment" and have been "well supplied" as it says in Philippians 4. God has used our weakness to glorify Himself in the body of Christ. What a marvelous and mysterious providence! To God be the glory.

I long for the day when I can bless people the way that they have blessed us with the "world's goods." That day has not come yet. So, my prayer before I publish this post is that this will be a gift to many of you who have blessed us. God has used my weakness and humiliation as an opportunity for friends and family to put those three verses posted above into practice. I rejoice in people who choose to have humble hearts and view the needs of others as their own needs. That is amazing.

It is probably strange how vulnerable I choose to be in the way I write. Perhaps I should be more reserved and cautious in what I write. Maybe I am making myself look like a poor, time-wasting, self-pitying bum. Well, I do hope that the day comes when the job situation has changed and our family doesn't have to depend on so much financial help, but I am fully confident that I will always need the body of Christ. I will never have it all together. I will always need your prayers and support, whether it be spiritual or material. That is why I write the way I do.

So, to those of you who have ever helped people in your church by praying for them, making them a meal, helping them financially, or by giving whatever you can give, your help is "a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God." The love of God abides in you. And, you are of "one heart and soul" with the saints.

Thank you!

This Had To Be Written (Thoughts on Money)

When it comes to my family's financial needs, God has never failed to come through. Never!

Psalm 24:1 says that the earth is the Lord's and all it contains. My sinful heart says, "The amount in my bank account, or lack thereof, is mine and all it does or does not contain." With this attitude, my disposition and identity are dependent on how much money I have or don't have.

If I humble my heart prayerfully and acknowledge that it all belongs to God, I am free from feeling either pride, complacency, or shame based on my bank account. My confidence and boast are solely in the Lord.

The Holy Spirit has revealed to me how self-reliant I am when it comes to money. I have felt a lot of shame that I haven't made a decent income lately. I am constantly reminded of the verse that says that the man who doesn't provide for his family has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. I do not think that verse applies to me because I am truly trying. However, I am still tempted to think that the words do describe me. But this perspective changes when I stop looking at God through a lens of self-reliance.

When I was working as a teacher and making more money than I am making now, I rarely thought about how my needs were being provided by the Lord. I was applying my hard-earned college degree to work a job that required long hours and much dedication. But who gave me the strength, life, breath, and intelligence to earn that degree? Who kept my heart beating so that I could wake up every morning and drive to work?
Trip Lee's new album has a song called "Limitations." In the last verse of this song, Trip Lee says, "I know some people who ain't poor. They cruisin,' thinking, "Work hard!" but if the Lord ain't movin'..." He says a line or two later, "They should trust the Lord who supports they doin.'"

We have a tendency to rob the Lord of His due honor for creating us and giving us the ability to work and make a living. Instead, we just coast or find ourselves "cruisin'" like Trip Lee says, taking for granted that there is a loving and gracious God enabling us and blessing our lives. Or, even worse, we become arrogant and proud of our accomplishments, and we allow people to put us up on pillars because we seem to have it all together when it comes to the little god, money.



Only by God's grace and by the power of the Holy Spirit can I stop taking the Lord's hand in all of the affairs of my life for granted. It is my prayer that this becomes a reality for me and for all of us who call ourselves Christians.

I have so much more to write about this topic and so much praise to give God for never failing to come through. I will call this entry the first installment.

Talking about God coming through is really close to sounding irreverant. Instead, I will say that God, before the foundations of the earth, has had it all handled. "All" includes money (see Psalm 24:1).

I pray that this blesses and encourages you to give praise to the Creator, Maker, and Sustainer.

Year in Review (First Year in Spokane)

It has been a very long time since I wrote anything here. I won't make any specific promises, but I would like to start doing more with my blog(s) and less with facebook.

Today is my son's fifth birthday. He is such a tremendous blessing:

• I see the Lord working in his tender heart.



• He starts kindergarten in less than a month.



• I am starting to read a little out of the book of Proverbs with him each day in the hope that he will become a young boy of wisdom, wisdom that can only come from the Lord.



• He loves to read and is a good memorizer.



• He does amazing impersonations. Unfortunately for his mom, he has his daddy's sense of humor.

• He has a real heart of compassion; for instance, he will not leave his and his brother's bedroom in the morning until we come to get them because he knows that his little brother will get upset if he is left in his crib alone. Though he tends to idolize a daily group of toys/objects, I have seen him give up one of those items when his little brother is upset.



• He loves his younger sister as well and seems to have a sense of sadness when they are not together.

• Now, if we could just get him to overcome his terror of dogs and blueberries.

The rest of the family is doing well. In fact, I am daily blown away by the fact that God would bless me with such living extensions of grace in my corner as I fight the fight of faith.

Life has definitely been a fight. Circumstantially, though many good things have come, I am having an awful run at it. I have not been able to find work to provide for my family, yet I worked a great number of 50-60 hour weeks. Both of my jobs (subbing and custodial) shut down for the summer. I have been turned down for a couple prospective teaching jobs for which I and many others prayed heavily. That always hurts!

Still, God always provides some way. However, I have to constantly kill off the lies in my mind that tell me that I am not a man, that I am cursed, or that my family deserves a better husband and father. I have had a few gracious and godly people remind me that I am doing everything that I can and that God is using this to grow me in tremendous ways.

This is not meant to sound arrogant at all, but I get teary-eyed when people talk about how they see God working. I think this is because it humbles me. It humbles me because I often think that life has become pointless and that no matter what I do, and no matter what dream I pursue, things are going to remain hard. I am prone to pessimism and grumbling, and when I reflect on my heart during this almost two-year trial, I am honestly ashamed.

Nevertheless, I am blessed by the encouragement because the words are true. God is doing a work. God is using this to sanctify me and mature me. I am encouraged because it is all God's doing. His power is displayed in weakness. He holds me in his grip when my heart has all but thrown in the towel (2 Corinthians 12; 1 Peter 1:5). No one or nothing can snatch me from his hand. No one or nothing can separate me from his love.

Tomorrow, I am going to go into a temping agency, hoping that I can find steady employment eventually. Maybe I will end up working in the office of a paper company with a clueless boss who really thinks the world of me.

Seriously though, I have no idea what direction my life is headed career-wise and financially, but there are a few things I know: God's love is great. I want to proclaim and show that love to my family, my church, my friends, and to the lost.

My Top Holy Hip-Hop Albums (and a few bonuses)

This blog post is for those of you who might be starting to have your appetite whet for Christian hip-hop, commonly referred to as "Holy Hip-hop." The problem you might have is wondering who is good and who is worth paying a little money to buy their CD or download their album (CDs are becoming obsolete!).

I consider myself a serious fan of Christian hip-hop, being an aspiring artist. I especially enjoy Christian rap that seeks to make much of Christ and His holy Scriptures while still addressing issues that Christians should be thinking about. Here are some albums that I think will edify you in your pursuit of the Lord.

1-Tie) Lecrae: Rebel

• This album is one of the best Christian hip-hop albums ever made. There is something in it for all ages. The theme of the album is basically that to be a true rebel in our society means following Christ.
• Click here to order from Amazon: http//www.amazon.com/Rebel-Lecrae/dp/B001B093VA

1-Tie) Sho Baraka: Lions and Liars

• During the month of May, you can download this album from Amazon for $5. It is worth every penny, in my opinion. http//www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003F913VS/ref=s9_simh_gw_p340_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=0W53KNZ55AFZZMKQA76E&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846
• This album has some of the best production (instrumentals) and wordplay that I have ever heard. It deals with real issues, presented with God-centered honesty.

2) Shai Linne: Atonement

• Shai Linne is all about putting the message of the saving work of the cross to music on this album.
• You can download it here for $7.99. http://holyculturedownload.com/product_info.php?products_id=3829

3) 116 Clique: 13 Letters

• 116 Clique is a group of four of the biggest names in Christian rap, Lecrae, Sho Baraka, Trip Lee, and Tedashii.
• This album is amazing. They take each of Paul's letters and give you a brief overview of the content of each, set to rap music.
• Download for $8.99 on Amazon http//www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000YHILZ0/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000MV83C4&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1F0RDAWE89G8B9SEMEDY

4) Trip Lee: 20/20

• Download for $8.99 on Amazon http//www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_8?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-music&field-keywords=trip+lee+20+20&sprefix=trip+lee

5) Voice: A Theist

• Download for $8.99 on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-music&field-keywords=voice+a+theist

Free Downloads:

ISix5--I went to church with 3 of the 4 members of this group when I lived in Arizona. They love the Lord and they love spreading the gospel. They are so much about the gospel that they give their music away for free. Click here to download their album, "Unpacked," for free. http://isix5.com/archives/2010/04/06/unpacked/

ISix5 also collaborates with a group from Atlanta called the Plumbline Collective. They recently released another album which you can download for free, "Semper Reformanda Vol. 2." http//isix5.com/archives/2010/04/27/the-plumbline-collective-presents-semper-reformanda-vol-ii/

Update

Hey, everyone,

I know it has been a long time since I wrote in my blog. One of my new year's resolutions is to do a better job letting my friends and family know how things are going. I am so thankful for the internet and the ways that it enables me to stay in touch with my friends and family that I don't get to see on a regular basis.

I am usually long-winded (in the typing sense) and always have a lot to say. I reflect on how much I wrote during the five combined months that my wife and son were in the hospital. I was never hesitant to let people know what was going on. I apologize, especially to my friends in Arizona, for not letting you know how I've been doing up here. I have been too quiet even though so much has been going on in my mind and my life.

The first order of business is to express how grateful I am for the way that our dear Christian family in Arizona has blessed us. I always struggled in Arizona feeling like I didn't really fit in with anybody, but the love that Grace Bible Church extended to me, my wife, and my children during that extremely difficult time in our lives defies any such notions of not belonging. Basic needs like food, babysitting, and even financial resources were given to us generously and graciously, a fragrant aroma to God according to Philippians 4.

I wish I could thank everyone of you by name, but that would require a ridiculous amount of space. You all know who you are and you all know what you did to bless us. I will never forget it.

Life continues to be a perfect opportunity to wait on the Lord and watch Him blow our minds. God's provision has been awe-inspiring. He answers prayer time and time again. We are poor and have been so, by the world's standards, for a good year now, but we are learning to rejoice in the riches God has blessed us with, not by our own merit (1 Corinthians 1:4-9), but by the God's own choosing. I am learning to say to my own heart as Paul said in Philippians 4: "My God will supply all of your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."

Isaiah

God has answered prayers miraculously regarding our baby boy, Isaiah. We are in awe of the God of science, who created all things in nature and gave intelligent men and women the ability to use his resources to save and preserve lives. It is God's doing; it is all His. Praise Him with me.
Isaiah weighs close to sixteen pounds now. He eats like his daddy and big brother. The first two bottom teeth are starting to push up through his gums. He is still a little behind, but that is to be expected. He is healthy, and all of the many doctors who have looked at him have had nothing but positive things to say about him. Praise God.

Job Situation

I am battling to find reliable employment. I have been subsitute teaching, which has been pretty inconsistent, working part time at a retail store, and doing odds and ends work to supplement all of that. My hours at the retail store, which were part-time to begin with have been cut substantially the past couple of weeks.

Due to all of this inconsistency and lack of work. I am going to take a chance on a possible career change, and I would greatly appreciate your prayers in this endeavor. A very godly man, who was my first spiritual leader and is our current small group leader, has offered to train me in the ways of affiliate internet marketing. He runs a very successful business and is excited to show me the ropes. I am excited as well.

If you want to pray specifically, please pray that I will be like a sponge absorbing all that I need to know, and that I will develop the mindset that I need to appeal to different markets in cyberspace. Pray that I would surrender it to God, and that God might see fit to let this be the break that we so desire career-wise and financially.

The Jesus Rapper

One more thing to mention would be my music dreams and aspirations. Just kidding. Seriously, though, I really love writing and creating hip hop songs that point to the work of the gospel and the great God who has saved me. I have been blessed with three opportunities to perform and share the gospel with teenagers and college aged people since we have moved back to Spokane. It is such a privilege to proclaim the hope of Jesus Christ and tell of the work He has done in my life to people who despearately need Him.

The passion for this music will not go away. I am constantly thinking of new song concepts. In fact, I am hoping to drop a legitimate album by the end of 2010. My problem is that I am rolling solo and don't have a ton of money at the time. However, producing an album is not the biggest priority at the time.

What is of utmost importance to me is that I use this uncanny gift that God has given to me, of all people, to share the gospel and that I do it right now. I am praying that I will be freed up from my retail job to go to an open mic night at a local coffee shop on a regular basis and share my songs and build relationships with young poets who are hostile to the Lord and need to see the light of Christ genuinely shining through someone. Also, I am hoping to do an outreach concert for the youth group at our church in the Spring. I am going to be collaborating with the youth pastor, who has become a very encouraging friend since we have moved back, to try to put that all together.

To wrap it all up, I want to thank you all for taking an interest in me and my family. God is so good to us. I promise to be more faithful to keep those of you who are interested updated as to what is going on in life. Until next time.

Christmas Eve 2001

Eight years ago, my best friend gave me one of the most treasured gifts that I have ever received. She gave me her trust and love and permission to spend the rest of our lives together.

Little did we know what would lie ahead on that sunny and beautiful December afternoon, but as I hugged her for probably the millionth time and kissed her for the first time, I knew that God had blessed me with the most wonderful woman that I could possibly have. And she just came into my life in the most unexpected way.

We went from being friends to close friends who would have one or two hour talks after church events. We went from being pals who would high-five each other after our beloved Denver Broncos won to people who were passionate about enjoying such entertainment, but placing no eternal value or hope in it. She went from being my friend's older sister to the woman I was crazy about and wanted to be with. It scared me so much that I asked God to take away the feeling if it wasn't from Him. God kept that feeling right there.

Because of the stringent times and setting in which we started dating, I felt like I had to fight hard and prove myself as a man worthy enough for Pam, and fight I did. I would do it all over again. But once I was given the okay to start dating her, I knew that we were meant to be married--I probably knew that before.

And as we stood on that hillside eight years ago, we probably didn't have to imagine how much of a fight it is to love in the context of marriage. Don't get me wrong, my wife if ultra lovable. The problem is that, by nature, I am full of self-loving, and the self absorption often causes me to miss out on the opportunities to love the people and things that are worthy of love.

Pam and I had no idea what would come our way in our first seven years of marriage, the challenges as well as the victories, the hardships as well as the joys. My wife has seen me, often times, at my darkest and most miserable. That hasn't been fair for her. All she has ever done is show me unconditional love and loyal trust in times where I want to or do, in fact, give in. She has fought for me.

Pammy, I hope that I have fought for you. I will continue to fight to be a man worthy of such a beautiful treasure. All of the struggle we have endured this year has been worth it because you have been there with me through all of it as the Lord carries us onward. Thank you for loving me no matter what. Thank you for doing me good and not evil. Thank you for the love you pour out on me, our kids, and all of the other people with whom you come into contact.

You are Proverbs 31 in beautiful progress.

You have touched so many lives. I am the man who is blessed to call you my one and only, and by the strength and grace of God, I will fight to treasure you the way that He does.

Oppression Vs. Freedom (The Truth Will Set You Free 1)

"So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, 'If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.' They answered him, 'We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is that you say, 'You will become free'?' Jesus answered them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin' (John 8:31-34)





Almost 2,000 years later, people are still taking offense to Jesus' teaching. In recent years, you would hear people say, instead of saying they were sons of Abraham, that they are sons of the Enlightenment, sons of Higher Criticism, sons of Scientific Reasoning and that they don't need Jesus' truth to set them free.





This issue is very simple. Many people see following Jesus as just another religion. It's another set of rules and rites to follow. It's just a bunch of people being confomists. Some people even like the message of mercy and forgiveness offered in the Bible, but they don't like the idea of taking up their crosses and becoming Christ's slave. They are unaware that they are slaves to their sin.





Those who like to consider themselves as rational or logical believe that their knowledge has set them free. They think that people who follow Christ are a bunch of morons with no ability to think for themselves who have been brainwashed by dogma. They are senseless automatons, letting corrupt religious leaders pull their strings. These "rational" and "logical" people don't realize that they subscribe to a form of slavery, a slavery where they always have to prove a point using scientific "proof." However, theory will never take the place of observation no matter how much they boast that it does. I had one co-worker tell me, when I asked him if evolution was a proven fact, that evolution was a fact, but the idea of how everything got here was a theory. How can someone assert that something is a fact when it is also a theory? Is it a stubborn addiction (or slavery) to being scientific, rational, or right?





I don't want to turn this into an evolution versus creation post. My point, or, more importantly, the Lord's point in the book of John, is that only the word of God can make us free. Yes, there is service and sacrifice involved in letting Jesus be Lord, but his yoke is easy and his burden is light. He gives rest to the soul of those who are truly his children. He rescues them from the spiritual death and destruction of sin. He guides them through his Holy Spirit. He breaks away the chains and ties us to him with his cords of grace, mercy, compassion, and love.





I'll take that kind of slavery any day over the chains that used to bind me and binds everyone who chooses not to follow Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:4 says that "[...] the god of this world [Satan] has blinded the minds of unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."



I am so thankful that God has opened my eyes. My prayer is for all of those who mock and scoff Christianity, and lump it and its followers in with any other religion, is that they would, by the grace of God, have their eyes opened and see the unique beauty and irresistible grace of Jesus Christ and the life-changing power of the Bible, which is not a book written by lunatics. I would assert that it is a book that has been taken out of context by egotists. I also pray that those who don't agree with me would not feel judged by my words, for I, even with the new vision God has given me, have to renew my mind daily with Scripture, killing the lies that my mind would like to tell me about God and His ways.