Consumer Nation

We now live in a nation where police must escort buyers of PS3 game systems from the front door of their local retail store to their vehicles in order to keep someone from robbing them!

We now live in a nation where police and ambulances must be dispatched to various retail stores around the nation because people are literally trampling each other to get the best deals on “Black Friday” (the Friday after Thanksgiving when retailers get out of the red and into the ‘black’ in revenue).

We now live in a world where people wait in line for hours for their favorite store to open at 3AM in order to get first dibs on cashmere sweaters that are normally $49.00 but are on sale for $29.99 until noon.

What in the world is happening to us?

Oh, I almost forgot…we live in a fallen world. But, the extent to which we will succumb to the draw of possessions is truly staggering. We are a nation blinded by greed and it manifests itself in more surprising and disturbing ways each holiday season. As Christians, we are given so many opportunities to shine brightly in a dark and sinful world. But, it seems as though we often miss the most opportune moments to shine and instead we choose these moments to hide our light of hope and selflessness. Not only do we hide, but many times we hide by taking on the form of darkness. In these moments we not only keep others from experiencing the light of Christ but we also give tacit approval of the world’s ways by we ourselves becoming “of the world.”

Christmas is one of those God-given times of the year when we as believers can truly stand out as givers among a people of takers. But, is this what we do? Do we give? “Yeah, Todd…” you might be thinking, “I give many gifts to friends and family during Christmas and I have a credit card bill to prove it.” I don’t have time to delve into all the problems with that one statement but let me suggest that it is the kind of giving that sets us apart from the world. After all, the way of the world is to give and receive gifts in exchanges with friends and family. This is a wonderful tradition but it is not unique to Christian culture in any way. In our time, I’m arguing that the only way to set ourselves apart form the world is to give to those who can return nothing to us; to be aggressively selfless at a time when the rest of the world is acting selfish.

I am fully aware that giving to churches and non-profit organizations increases substantially at the end of each year and many people look for opportunities to give out of their abundance. But, what about the act of giving sacrificially? What about giving out of our limited store of reserves? What about giving without any concern for the tax deduction we will receive? Again, nothing is wrong with giving out of abundance and/or giving with a strategic tax benefit in mind, but I would challenge us all to look for an opportunity this Christmas season to give in the following way:

1. Give to someone who cannot give back.
2. Give anonymously – tell no one but God.
3. Give sacrificially. Give out of the scarcity of your possessions rather than the abundance of your worth. (This is different for everyone, but I promise that you will know when you have given in a truly sacrificial way.)
4. Give purely. Give in a way that you cannot receive a tax benefit from your act of kindness.

Give in all the ways you planned on giving this year but also give in a way that honors the four caveats above. God will get the glory. You will mature in your faith. Others will be blessed by Christ’s love. Give…

Carpe Deum! (Seize God!)
Todd Phillips
www.toddphillips.net

Phillips Christmas Give-a-thon

I know it's early to be talking about Christmas but I have what I think is a wonderful idea. I hope you all feel as strongly as I do about it. Here's the deal...I just received the World Vision Catalog in the mail. World Vision is a Christian organization that helps needy people all over the world in the name of Christ. The catalog shows up every November with a challenge to all World Vision donors - give part of the money you have set aside for buying presents and give a gift to those in greatest need around the world. They give many options: sponsor a child ($30/mo), purchase a wheelchair ($14), share in a deep-water well ($100), goat ($75), and on and on.

So here's my idea. It's really a challenge. Julie (my wife) and I will give when you give. If you purchase any World Vision gift of any value my wife and I will give $5. If your gift is over $100 we will give $10. We'll contribute up to $500 to World Vision for up to five shares of a Deep Water Well. So, that's fifty of you giving over $100 to World Vision or one hundred of my faithful readers giving any amount to World Vision.

Pretty Simple! Christmas is a celebration of God's greatest gift to the world - His Son, Jesus. Let's show the love of Christ in a practical and measurable way by giving to another in need. Will you join us? This challenge is open to any readers or subscribers to my blog. So, if you have friends, co-workers, or family members who may want to get in on this, just let them know how to get to my blog. They can subscribe or just read this blog and join in!

To be a part of the Phillips Christmas Give-athon, just go to the World Vision online catalog by pressing the following link – CATALOG. When you’re done, just leave a comment on this blog, or leave a private comment on my myspace message center that you gave and by what amount. We’ll keep a tally of those who give until December 25th. Then we’ll let you know how many shares of the water well we were able to buy!

Give and be blessed. Then give some more, in Christ’s name! Together, let’s change the world for maybe one last time.

Carpe Deum! (Seize God)
Todd Phillips
www.toddphillips.net

Dream Trip to Israel Part 9 (and other IMPORTANT stuff)

I’ve been back in the states for a little over a week now but I still reflect daily on my experiences in Israel. I taught at Frontline last Sunday night, taught the next night at the Frontline Arlington preview event, and then flew to San Antonio to teach at a young singles event called The Bridge. Without exception, I was bombarded by memories of the places we visited in Israel. Every time I read from a passage I saw in my mind’s eye the very places where these passages were fleshed out in reality.

My wife and I posted seven blogs about our experiences in Israel, but what you may not know is that for every site we included in our blog there were two more sites that we didn’t record! Here’s a list of the sites that we didn’t mention:
- Boat ride on the Sea of Galilee
- Baptisms of many on the trip in the Jordan River where Jesus Himself was baptized
- Mt. Carmel where the prophet Elijah had a showdown with the prophets of the false god, Baal
- A view of the city of Jerusalem form the famous Mount of Olives
- Springs of Gideon (Judges 7)
- Wailing Wall
- Visit to a museum to see the dead Sea Scrolls

I will say it again – GO! Save your money and take the trip! Have this holy experience while you’re young. I’m praying about the possibility of joining the trip next year. If I go again, will you join me?

I need to catch all of my loyal readers up on a few things:

1. I’ve created a monster - one that you all seem to love! Who knew? It all started simply enough. I was exhausted one evening in Israel and asked my wife to post the blog for the day. She, as always, was more than willing to help. Then it happened. The messages began to pour in…”More Julie!” and “Let her write the rest of the blogs!” and “What are the odds of two writers in the family?” So, I’ve asked Julie to pray about writing her own blog and she has agreed to do it! Your prayers have been answered and your demands have been heard . To subscribe to Julie’s blog just click on the following link – Julie’s blog - and enjoy! (If you have any trouble with the hyperlink, just cut and paste the following link into your web browser - blog.myspace.com/ipreacherwife.
2. I’m asking for prayer for a book project I’m working on with LifeWay Publishing. The book is a Bible Study written from the series I did a year ago called “The Least of These.” The due date for the final draft is December 7th and LifeWay will release the book in the spring. The title is “Get Uncomfortable: Serve the Poor. Stop Injustice. Change the World In Jesus’ Name.” My prayer is that this study will compel thousands of young adult to make a difference in their world for Christ. I’ll update you as things develop.
3. Lon Solomon, our senior pastor at McLean Bible Church, is coming to Frontline the first three Sundays in December to teach a three-week series on God’s Will. I’ve heard these messages and believe this will be a very powerful time of learning for all of us. So, keep Frontline on your calendar in December – I promise it will be worth it!

That’s it for now. Remember: save for Israel, sign up for Julie’s blog, pray for my new book project (please), and commit to attending Frontline the entire month of December! That shouldn’t be too hard!

Carpe Deum! (Seize God!)
Todd Phillips
www.toddphillips.net

Dream Trip to Israel Part 8

Imagine for a moment...you are standing on the stones of the actual road outside the place where Jesus was held before dragging his cross to Golgotha. The stones you stand on are the very stones that supported the feet of Jesus as he exited the building and forced His beaten and bruised body to the place where He would be crucified. Each stone is covered with small traction groves carved into the rock to help the beasts of burden gain traction on the rocks as they carried materials to market each day.

I stood on those stones outside the Antonio Fortress which was a Roman Garrison at the time of Christ. I could see clearly in my mind’s eye the entire drama unfold that would change everything and everyone for all time. I reached down and swept my hands across the groves in the rock. I pressed my palm against the rock to feel the cold, hard surface. I thought to myself that this would be a moment I would not forget. Just as a man who looses his arm in battle feels the itch of a limb that is no longer there, I can still feel the cold sensation of the rock that I won’t soon touch again.

We left the ancient garrison and found our way through the streets of Old Jerusalem to the famous Pool of Bathesda. John 5 tells us that the “blind, the lame [and] the paralyzed” would come to the waters of the pool because of their healing properties. Once again I was looking at a physical piece of biblical history!

This is where the scene of John 5:1-18 unfolds. Jesus approaches a man who has been an invalid for “thirty eight years.” Jesus asks the man one question, “Do you want to get well?” The man, misunderstanding what Jesus is offering, respond, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. When I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” Jesus then commands the man to get up and walk! The man was immediately cured and picked his mat up and walked. The story doesn’t stop there. But, I don’t want to ruin it for you . The entire passage is at this link – John 5:1-18.

More to come…

Carpe Deum! (Seize God!)
Todd Phillips
www.toddphillips.net

Dream Trip to Israel Part 7

Our day started with a bus ride to the East side of the Sea of Galilee directly across the water from our hotel in Tiberius. We stopped at the “Land of the Gerasenes” where Jesus heals a demon-possessed man. God recounts the story in the Fifth chapter of Mark.

Here is the beginning of the story:
1 They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain. 4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones. (Mark 5:1-5)

As the story continues, Jesus casts the evil spirits out of the man and sends them into a herd of pigs. The herd then runs down the hill into the Sea of Galilee and drown themselves. I have read this account many times and preached on it as well. But, again, I cannot describe how moving it was to stand in the small town, look up on the hillside to see several rock-hewn tombs where the possessed man lived, look to the base of the hill to see a field where the herd of pigs would have grazed, then to finally look down the slope of the land where the herd would have rushed to the sea and drowned themselves (the water was four or five hundred yards from where we were standing).

The story is profound for many reasons, but Lon brought out an important insight for us all. As you read the rest of the story, you read that the townspeople ran to the nearby villages to tell everyone what had happened to the man and “the pigs as well.” (v. 16) Then they all came to Jesus and “began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.” (v. 17)

Why would they want the Miracle Worker to leave?
Why would they plead with the man who healed the sickest man in the village to travel out of their entire region?

These people valued their herd of pigs more than the possessed man who lived in the tombs. Instead of praising Jesus for healing the man they desperately wanted him to leave so that they would not loose anymore livestock.

We must learn from the sin of the Gerasenes. We must remind ourselves each day that people are more important than…anything! Core Value #1 at McLean Bible Church is “People matter to God and to us.” Jesus valued people over the rest of creation. Jesus valued us so much he voluntarily died so that we could be reconciled to Him. God made people, only people, in His image. We are all of the greatest value to God – even those – especially those – whom the world finds worthless.

We visited a few other sites on this day including Tel Bethshean which has been excavated back to 2000 BC when it was a Canaanite town. We saw areas of excavation showing when the Israelites occupied the town during the time of King David. Finally, we saw areas that revealed its occupation by Rome during the time of Christ. What a bewildering thing to literally walk through four thousand years of history in less than two hours!

Carpe Deum! (Seize God!)
Todd Phillips
www.toddphillips.net

Israel Pictures!

We've posted pictures from the first part of our Israel trip at the link below.
Enjoy!

www.tpisrael.shutterfly.com
password: frontline (case sensitive)

Please excuse all misspellings, etc.