.
The book, Give Me Christ … Revelations of the Glorified Christ is now available.
If you asked me for it and gave me your address, your book is on the way.
It can be purchased on Amazon and the price is supposed to be $12, though when I found it on Amazon, it had prices all over the place.
It is “print on demand” so don’t be confused if it says it’s not in stock.
Following is the Table of Contents, Foreword and Introduction to the book.
Contents
Foreword……………………………………………………………………………………. 7
Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….. 9
GETTING STARTED……………………………………………………………… 19
The Yoke of Humility and Meekness……………………………………… 21
Old Testament / New Testament…………………………………………… 28
Learning to Hear the Voice of God………………………………………… 34
What is the Word of God……………………………………………………….. 39
THE NEED FOR CHRIST……………………………………………………… 47
What is Sin……………………………………………………………………………… 49
What is the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil……………… 53
Morality vs. Godliness …………………………………………………………… 59
The Need to be Right …………………………………………………………….. 65
THE CROSS OF CHRIST………………………………………………………. 71
The 2 Systems of God…………………………………………………………….. 73
The Unforgivable Sin……………………………………………………………… 79
Dying to Self………………………………………………………………………….. 85
Dead to the Law, Alive to God………………………………………………. 89
THE GLORIFIED CHRIST…………………………………………………… 95
The Glorified Christ………………………………………………………………. 97
The Form of our Doctrine……………………………………………………. 101
Freedom in Christ……………………………………………………………….. 105
The Obedience of Faith………………………………………………………… 111
THE DEVIL, OUR ENEMY…………………………………………………. 117
The Perfect Gods…………………………………………………………………. 119
Why do we get Tempted……………………………………………………… 124
The Devil, our Enemy…………………………………………………………. 127
Satan’s Justification……………………………………………………………. 133
GROWING INTO CHRIST…………………………………………………. 139
An Unpolluted Gospel………………………………………………………… 141
How do we get Faith…………………………………………………………… 146
The Law of God…………………………………………………………………… 151
Pruned by God……………………………………………………………………. 157
MINISTERS OF CHRIST……………………………………………………. 163
It Takes all Kinds……………………………………………………………….. 165
How to Love other Christians……………………………………………. 170
What is the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how to Preach it…… 176
The True Purpose of Christ’s Ministers…………………………….. 180
THE CHURCH OF CHRIST……………………………………………….. 187
How Christ is Building His Church…………………………………….. 189
Belonging to the Tribe……………………………………………………….. 195
Who or What is Antichrist?……………………………………………….. 200
The Mystery of Christ………………………………………………………… 206
Glossary
FOREWORD
When a close friend and spiritual confidant of more than 40 years
asked me to write a foreword to his first book, it was not a request
I took lightly. Rather, his request caused me to ponder deeply:
What are the most important things I could convey?
Steve Hartlaub has been such a friend to me. From the first day we
met he has been one of the most mentally stimulating and chal-
lenging people in my life, for he never takes things at face value,
but always asks the questions of why, what does that mean, how
does that fit, why do we believe that? These kinds of questions have
continued throughout our relationship over such a long period of
time, and they always challenge me to honestly consider the ques-
tions he is asking.
I have appreciated this more than I can say, and it has continued to
be a very great blessing to my life. This book is a result of many of
the things that God has taught him over the years and it will not
necessarily be easy for you the reader to respond as you read, “Oh
yes! I believe that, yes, that is so nice;” rather, it will be challenging,
intriguing, perhaps even sometimes quite confronting. But who
do we have in our lives who has the courage to pose these kinds of
questions? It takes someone with an incredible amount of fortitude
and also humility to pose these questions and then go to the Scrip-
tures to answer them. This is what Steve has done.
And so though I do not suppose that you as a reader will agree with
every single thing in this book, I do know without a shadow of a
doubt that it will stimulate you to think about who you really are
in Christ and who Christ is in you. I know that if you put forth the
effort to read all the studies in an attentive manner, this book will
change your life. I know that you will have many questions that
you have perhaps had for many years answered in a very straight-
forward fashion, and I know that you will not be the same person
afterward.
I encourage you then to read on. And be prepared for your life to
change.
Jan Magiera, June 2016
Light of the Word Ministry
Introduction
I am a 65 year old spiritual adventurer in life. I don’t like organized
religion … too passive, too worldly, not enough power. Becoming
a seeker of Jesus Christ in 1974 in Ketchikan, Alaska, I grew very
interested in Biblical research; Greek, word studies, how the Bible
is designed to be understood, its inner workings, etc. I married
Sharon in 1985 in Vancouver, Canada and have 5 children (3 girls,
2 boys) ages 23 – 29. All were homeschooled. Three are happily
married and we have one grandchild.
I have taught and studied the Word of God in informal gatherings
(as well as some not-so-informal) in England, Scotland, Norway,
Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Canada (from Vancouver to Mon-
treal), and all over the United States, from Alaska to North Car-
olina, Massachusetts to southern California, and Georgia to Utah
to Pennsylvania. I have lived in Fitchburg, Wisconsin (a suburb
of Madison) since 1990 and make ends meet by God’s provision;
and I’m a pretty good house painter! I am meek to the instruction
of God, which often occurs while another person is speaking! My
heart is open to my master teacher – Jesus Christ!
.
From the time I was a young boy I’ve loved Jesus Christ. I was an
altar boy and seminarian in the Catholic Church. From a young
age my heart yearned to be close to God; why I cannot say.
Then from the time of reaching puberty at about age 14, until the
age of 22 I was very miserably away from that heart’s desire, as
I sought an identity that had nothing to do with God. It was in
1974 in Ketchikan, Alaska that I encountered God’s tender love
for me, and by which my life and heart changed forever. It was
in Ketchikan that I encountered a spiritually vital fellowship of
saints, and where I first began to minister for Christ.
From those initial days as God’s chosen child I’ve had a strong
desire to learn the truths of life and of God and to communicate
those truths to others. Toward that end I’ve never been afraid to
ask questions. In fact, I find it necessary to ask questions. Virtually
every aspect of my understanding of life and of God is fair game to
questioning, which has upset people’s sense of religious propriety
on more than one occasion.
.
For 15 years I was involved with a ministry that was able to teach
me the inner workings of the Bible, which equipped me to go
far in understanding that great work of God’s heart. During that
involvement I lived all over the US, as well as Norway and Canada.
As my understanding of the Bible and its voice grew within me,
I became more and more aware that though Jesus Christ was
being preached, and even believed on, he was not being faithfully
and intently sought; and that though love was being taught, how
to live life fully in its expression was not being understood.
Thus, Jesus Christ and love were concepts in people’s minds,
but not established realities in people’s hearts. (Along the way I
encountered many exceptions to these observations) Although
I didn’t put it into words, my heart just couldn’t reconcile its
innermost yearnings with the widespread cult of personality I
was encountering in almost every fellowship I was involved.
.
I severed my ties with that organization in 1990, and spiritually
drifted for the next 16 years. And then, in 2006, God called me.
Here’s how it happened. I was sitting in my easy chair, with a Bible
on my right hand and a woman’s weekly magazine on my left,
and, faced with the option of which to read, I began to reach for
the magazine. My conscience being pricked, I decided to speak up
to God. “Yeah yeah, I know I’m supposed to read the Bible, but I
know the Bible. Besides, it’s boring. A bunch of words, no pictures,
and I already know what’s in it. The magazine might be superficial
drivel, but it’s got articles I’ve never read, and it’s colorful, and it’s
got pictures!” And God spoke to my heart, and this is what He
said in that quiet way He has of bringing His Truth into the very
core of your being. “I know you know the Bible,” He said. “I don’t
want you to read the Bible to learn the Bible. I want you to read
the Bible to hear my voice.”
“Okay,” I answered God, “If You want me to hear your voice, let’s
see how fast you can speak to me.” I decided I’d turn to Ephesians,
believing that very short letter of Paul’s to be the height of revela-
tion in the Bible. I turned to Ephesians, and began to read, “Paul
…,” but I never got to the second word, because God began to
speak to me of Paul, and did so for the next 20 minutes. He would
have continued, but after 20 minutes I said to God, “Okay, okay,
stop! I get it!” And since that moment, I have never read the Bible
the same way that I had for the first 33 years of my Christian life.
Today, I never read the Bible because I ought to, I do because I
want to hear the voice of God; I want Him to write His law in
my heart. I imagine there have been maybe a handful of days in
the last 10 years or so where I have opened my Bible and not been
taught by God, not heard the voice of God, but I’ll blame those
instances on my distraction, not God’s negligence.
.
Three major things were revealed to me very shortly after this ma-
jor spiritual event in my life. First, that I was going to serve God
by serving others what He revealed to me in the Scriptures by
means of His Holy Spirit. Second, if I was going to serve others
His revelation, I was going to have to become much more profi-
cient in Scripture (and I’d been a student of the Bible for 33 years).
Third, (and it was by means of God’s revelation to me from Scrip-
ture that I learned this) it was specifically the revelation of Christ
that I was going to offer; not principles, not helpful hints to help
make a better life, not religion or its practices. Only Christ.
And so I began to preach and to teach that which God was reveal-
ing to me from His Word; that is, Christ. I began to see that Christ
wasn’t a major topic in the Bible, he was the only topic. I began
to interpret and understand everything in the Bible in light of the
revelation of Christ, and it all began to become much more simple
and powerful. There was nothing boring about the revelation of
Christ, which is the unifying truth of all of Scripture.
Shortly after that calling we began to have Bible fellowships in
our home, which has continued to this day. From one year-olds
to eighty year-olds; from high schoolers to college students to
scientists; from pastors and ministers to those simply interested in
what was going on, hundreds of people have come through our
home and been touched by the spirit of Christ. Most have eventu-
ally moved on; their own ministry, other fellowships or churches,
to other cities far away.
.
At one time there were 30 – 40 people filling our home every time
we met, and so we met on a second day each week, then a third. A
different fellowship began at a local college, then another home. I
heard of fellowships starting in other parts of the country by peo-
ple affected by the Christ being taught in our fellowships. Soon I
began looking for a larger place where our little church could grow,
and then God spoke to me very firmly, “No, this is not what I want
you to do.” So I stopped trying to organize the group.
.
Jan Magiera, who wrote the foreword for this book, encouraged
me to start a blog where I could post the studies that were coming
out of our fellowship, and I did that. These studies today are all
posted on www.givemechrist.com. Jan also encouraged me to con-
sider putting these studies in book form, and this book is the first.
Jan, thank you for your love, encouragement and your faith in
how Christ works in my heart. I treasure our relationship more
with every passing year.
My desire is that the spirit of the glorified Christ which inhabits
each one of these studies becomes manifest to you as you thought-
fully read and ponder what is written. I know that if you learn
anything, it will be because you have heard the voice of God. It
might be me writing, but it is God who does the instructing. So
don’t be afraid to disagree or ask questions or to acknowledge to
yourself that perhaps you weren’t as correct in your understand-
ing as you’d thought. Until you have room to learn, you won’t
learn. Take your time working your way through these studies,
alone or with others, in any order your interest decides, and
enjoy the journey.
