(Join us at Element Church this Christmas season every Sunday at 10am and Christmas Eve at 7pm)

Jesus followers give. Jesus haters give. So, what’s the difference? Why is it so important that we give to the church? Well, for starters Jesus doesn’t need you or your gift. Humbling right. He also doesn’t care what your percentage of giving is. In fact, every time Jesus talks about tithing He is condemning the Pharisees about their piousness towards tithing. (If you don’t believe me check out Luke 18:9-14.) That might be surprising to some and you might be researching that fact right now. But Jesus does want us to give it just might surprise you how much.

Jesus doesn’t need your gift as he controls everything. But. BUT. He chooses to use YOU and our gifts for His purposes. That is humbling. Jesus doesn’t care what your percentage is but when he does talk about giving He talks about giving EVERYTHING. (If you don’t believe me check out Matthew 19:16-30)

So, why do we give and how do we give? We give because Jesus gave us so much. The King of the universe gave us His life. Creator God humbled Himself by coming to earth and hanging out with us scum. We are scum because we think we are so much better than God, we can give more than others so we think we are better than them, and many other things. But the beauty is Jesus died for us the scum of the earth. The God of the Universe not only hung out with us but He gave His life for us. That is the definition of AWESOME. It is truly awe-inspiring. Jesus died so we didn’t have to. He gave up His life for us. Jesus did not tithe His blood. He gave everything. That’s why to be prideful over giving a percentage is sinful.

You see when we realize we are dirty, sinful, scum of the earth people and that the God of the Universe, Jesus, came to earth to die for us and then rise on the 3^rd day so we might live then we can’t help but want to give to that. When we truly realize that reality a percentage doesn’t matter we just want to give as much as possible. Our heart begins to dictate our giving. When that happens we will truly see everything we have as God’s and can give Him everything.

We give to the church because that is the organization Jesus created for His mission to go out from. So when you give, you aren’t giving to a human entity but you are giving to Jesus and His mission. That fact living in reality of what Jesus did should naturally inspire you to give above and beyond what you think you can give.

I don’t think we should ever think of our giving in terms of percentages or total number of giving. We are all in different financial places. But when we see all of our possessions and money as God’s then we will truly be open to His leading in giving. When that happens you will be surprised at how much you can give and not even feel stressed about it. You won’t feel prideful about your giving on grateful for what Christ did for you.

So, as you give, give like Jesus did. Give everything back to Him. Feel freedom in giving don’t feel more bondage. Jesus doesn’t want you to feel guilt but freedom. Matthew 10:8 says, “freely you have received, freely give.”

I personally don’t affiliate with either political party and I have voted for Democrats and Republicans for every public office including president. I know that probably half of my church voted for Barack Obama and the other half for Mitt Romney. There are Jesus’ values on both sides of the aisle and either way you voted I don’t think you were wrong. One way or the other by voting you will be endorsing some kind of sinful practice. Should you vote? I believe Biblically you should vote. Jesus tells us a few times to participate in government and submit to it.

The biggest issue I believe for evangelicals is the abortion issue. I am against abortion. It is something as Jesus followers we should seek to end. But the argument isn’t black and white. To say it is black and white is naive. I truly believe that both sides of the aisle want to end abortion. No one wants to kill babies. They just disagree on how to accomplish that. Republicans want to legislate it and Democrats want to attack the root cause. Personally I think that they should compromise and do both but abortions will still happen even after they do those things. Why? Because people sin.

NOTHING but the Grace of Jesus will end abortion or any other political issue! The only hope for change is the Gospel! If you want to end abortion then share the hope of Jesus! He is the only thing that will bring true change. We know that no legislation or government program will end abortion. You know why I know that? Because we tried that with the law and all the law does is reveal our sin. What heals us, redeems us, transforms us is the blood of Jesus! Only by Jesus can we defeat sin.

Politics are tough and they get people fired up (including me). But I believe no matter what side of the discussion we are on we need to reflect Jesus. Think about what you say before you say it. We are all sinners in need of a savior and no one is going to get everything right. And no one is going to have everything wrong.

But I wonder if you were as passionate as getting your political agenda across as you were about the Gospel how many lives we would see changed? If the millions of evangelical voters went out as passionate about the Gospel as they were handing out info about how Obama is the devil or Romney is elitist what would happen? What if you looked at the other political party with the compassion Jesus has for you? What would happen? Jesus would transform lives. Now, THAT is CHANGE you can believe in.

(This is a beach that my family frequents in the summer at the Jersey Shore in Belmar, NJ, used to be a board walk)

5 reasons we don’t live in “survival mode”

1. WE ARE TOO BUSY! Clear evidence of this fact is many of us are BORED with all of this time and no electronics! For most of us we need to actually take a sabbath and rest. I know I’ve been convicted of this and am thankful for the forced time off. There is a reason God commanded a Sabbath. I’m sure a lot of families have been saved because of this storm! Also, you have the time in your life to build your family and develop community!!! Your work doesn’t need you those extra 1-2 hours a day. Our schedules demand shows us who is in command. Is Jesus, you, or someone else in command? You have the time to spend with Jesus, with your family, and with His church! This week has proved that!!!!

2. Our focus is distracted. It has been interesting being on Facebook these last few days. For my friends outside of the destruction of Sandy they have moved on and are now posting about politics, what their kid wore to school, where they ate lunch, a funny conversation, Halloween, and other daily activities. For those of us here in Jersey/NYC area we have forgotten that there is an election coming soon, that Halloween is today, or even what day it is for that matter. Literally I was hanging out with some friends in my neighborhood today and we had an argument about what day it was. For those not affected by Sandy they have not focus on getting through the storm. Their focus is on what is in front of them. We are focused on getting through this storm. When we are focused on something we forget what day it is. We focus on what’s important. When Jesus is our focus He is all that matters. His mission is all that matters. This storm taught me that we have it in us to be focused. We’ve got to take our focus from our-self to Jesus. We have what it takes and we prove that everyday on Facebook.

3. We care too much about what people think. The World does not need you. Humbling but true. This goes back to point number one. They don’t need you. You don’t need value from them. For all of us them is a different group of people. The them are those that give us grades at school, a paycheck, or cheer us on. We don’t need them we need HIM! Personally my work production has been minimal this week and God still does His thing and doesn’t need me. This world will be just fine without you and that is a humbling thing to swallow. So many of us put our identity in what people think about us and in reality they forget us fast but Jesus won’t. When we put our identity in Jesus we don’t need the world, our work, friends, followers, fans, clients, or anyone to give us validation. He validates us!

4. We take too much for granted. I am becoming very aware of how much we take for granted. We take what seems like very simple things for granted. We are extremely blessed. We also don’t need much. The pursuit of more material things is vain because it will all vanish as this storm has proved. For many of us our current concerns are simple like when will my electricity be turned back on. Questions we are not asking is what is my kid gonna be on Halloween? What am I gonna watch on TV tonight? Who’s up in the current presidential polls? Questions we are asking is the power going to be turned back on before Monday? Will I get cell service back? Will the gas station I’m waiting 2 hours in line for going to have gas? Where can I get a cup of coffee? How am I going to get this downed tree out of my yard? Will I be able to get to work? I never thought I would feel fortunate to be one of the few with electricity but I do. I’ve learned that Jesus gives us all that we need. I only need Jesus and when He is my King then there is no worry about tomorrow. I know that He will sustain my every need!

5. We don’t have community. People do have what it takes to develop community. Storms like this force us to develop community. It took me helping my neighbor clean up a downed tree for me to have a conversation with him. Families have been reunited as people all over have evacuated their homes. Storms bring people together, cause people to serve, bring people to Jesus, and even cause people to put political affiliations aside(it was awesome to see Obama and Christie working together) Because the fact we are too busy doesn’t allow us to build community. We are too focused on our self than others around us. May we stop being people who look to our self but look to others.

As you go back to “normal” we truly have NO EXCUSE not to put Jesus at the center of our life. Let’s be people who live in survival mode and be a culture that is truly transformed by the Gospel!

Jesus refers to you and me as sheep. Jesus has asked us to follow Him the Good Shepherd. I don’t know if you have ever seen sheep but if they don’t have a shepherd to follow or if they don’t follow a shepherd they will end up dead. A sheep that goes off on their own will either walk right into a prey or off a cliff.  In fact, shepherds to protect a sheep from doing this will break the leg of a sheep who tries to go out on its own. It will then carry the sheep until it can walk in a splint, the sheep will limp along with the other sheep, and by the time the leg has healed will no longer try to go out on its own. See any parallels to your life in that? I know I do.

If I have learned anything while being a Lead Pastor at Element Church is that you aren’t so much the leader but the lead follower. I take my example from Paul when he says “follow me as I follow Christ” I have learned that I don’t have the answers only Christ does. When I try to lead I normally am doing it in my strength and power and not Christ’s. When I try to lead it my succeed for a season but there is no power and I only end up burned out. What I’ve learned is I have to get on my knees and ask God where do you want to go. The only job I have is to follow Him. How freeing is that? It’s amazing!

This Sunday at Element Church we will be sharing the vision of where we think God is leading. There are some big decisions we need to make as a church and I know wherever God leads I will follow. Will you follow? Because Jesus doesn’t need leaders as he’s all the leader this world needs.

This is a picture of a life that was saved from death. This is a picture of someone who was rescued, who now has purpose for their life.

As a follower of Jesus we are called to live on mission. We are called to live our lives in such a way that we make disciples. Meaning we participating in rescuing people from death and be people that seek to change the world. So, no matter what we are doing with our life this gives us purpose and meaning. No matter what you do you can live with purpose. Here are a few simple things you can do to live with purpose.

1. Jesus. Start your day by focusing on Jesus and ask Him to show you who to talk to, where to go, or just simply get your marching orders.

2. Focus. Go to work or school with a focus on what your mission is for that day. Look around you for opportunities to be like Jesus. Opportunities are all around you but most of the time we don’t see them because we aren’t living with focus. Maybe someone is a little off at work and you could simply ask them how things are going, someone might ask you about your weekend and you could share about how you worship Jesus, or you could simply be present in someone’s life who needs a friend.

3. Manage. Manage your time better. The number one excuse for not spending time with people that need to know Jesus is the phrase “I’m too busy.” Your “business” is taking your life away. I would gather you aren’t simply busy but lack Jesus and Focus. There are 168 hours in a week, 21 meals, 7 days, and countless minutes of wasted time. Think about all of the time you waste. I know you waste time. Don’t argue with me. Who do you have lunch with? Dinner with? Do you commute by yourself? How many hours of TV do you watch? Do you workout by yourself? Take your kids to the park alone? Always drink your morning coffee alone? How can you take one meal, one hour, one task and spend it with someone who needs to be rescued?

I know that if the people of God would understand their mission and take it seriously this world would change. I also know that the number one thing the enemy does is distract us from our mission. Will you be one who lives on mission with Jesus, Focus, and good management?