February 9, 2022

It’s All Good

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been frustrated with a person or a situation, only to find that it was the very means God was using to meet my need or to do a work in someone’s life.

It reminds me that we have a loving Father who is always doing a good work (John 5:17) and there is nothing that happens in my life that He can’t use for good when I trust Him with it (Romans 8:28).

By faith I have this confidence, that some way, some how, it’s all good when I live for Him (2 Timothy 1:12).

Standing on this truth is how we can do 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18:
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, [and] in everything give thanks.”

The verse follows, “for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

My attitude should reflect that.

I repent. #perfectourlove

February 5, 2022

An Unworldly Kingdom

What kind of kingdom is this where the King kneels before His subjects and serves them? (John 13:1-17)

Its implications are staggering, among which is this:

No one in His kingdom is without care, honor or substance because our status in this kingdom does not come from how much you’ve got but how much you give.

That’s a kingdom I’d gladly give everything to.

That’s a kingdom I’d gladly die for.

It’s vastly superior to every human attempt at government.

Our marriages, our homes and the church should be a glorious demonstration of it.

Imagine the effect if everywhere that we have authority or influence were a demonstration of His kingdom. Glory! This is what I’m pressing into. We fall woefully short as believers but there is grace and power to fulfill our ministry.

Repent, the kingdom of heaven is as hand.

January 26, 2022

Serving Effectively Through Rejection

The area is devastated. You’re distributing life saving supplies as a volunteer of a charitable organization. During your deployment, you encounter people who don’t want help.

To be offended or to get angry with those who reject the help would suggest you’ve forgotten whose supplies they are and why you’re there in the first place.

The more appropriate and effective reaction would be to bear in mind that the resources are not ours and the work is not about us, it’s about saving lives.

Consider Jesus’ response when a village rejects Him and His disciples, being offended asked, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?” The scripture says, “But He turned and rebuked them, and said, ‘You do not know what manner of spirit you are. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.’ And they went to another village.” Luke 9:53-56

All of our service must flow from Love. We are serving because we were sent out of care for those we serve. If people’s well-being were our ultimate concern as it is for the One who sent us, we’d interact with people in such as way that even if they did reject our ministry, they’d be clear about where they can find help should they ever want it.

To be clear, help is not our little group or a church building, help is in Christ alone. We can work through opposition and rejection with patience and lovingkindness by remembering who’s work it is in the first place and sharing His heart.

January 22, 2022

What Is The Point?

As a believer, my purpose, as I currently see it, is to promote Oneness in God through Christ, with everything bound securely together by His unfailing Love -a bond stronger than any other in the universe. (Romans 8:38-39)

To this end, I, by the grace of God, labor first to be found squarely in Christ (Philippians 3:8-9) and then, with His Love, draw everything in my sphere to where He is (John 12:32), that, this being committed to collectively by the entire body spanning every generation, all of creation might be redeemed and reconciled to Him (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).

To be clear, this is God’s work and what we do He does through us (Philippians 2:13). And even what we see about the goal, He showed us. So, it is 100% His grace, not our works, that any man should boast.

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” -Ephesians 3:20-21

January 20, 2022

52 Weeks of Gratefulness #3 – Hard Truths Spoken In Love

In Week 3 of 52 Weeks of Gratefulness, I give thanks for hard truths spoken in love.

I have been blessed to have great mentors and as you typically do with mentors, you ask how you could improve.

One night I was chauffeuring Dr. Gregory Jones home from a revival (as ministers under his instruction would usually do) and asked him, “Where do you see me struggling? Where do I need to grow?”

Pastor Jones answered flatly and without hesitation, “You struggle with pride.”

I took his words to heart, repented and set out to understand pride and make war with it ever since. It’s a lifelong struggle because you never completely defeat a demon like pride in this life, you only learn to become better at fighting it. Demons depart from you for a season but are always lurking, looking for an opportunity to return (Luke 4:13, Matthew 12:43-45, Luke 11:24-26). #spiritualwarfare

As I’ve searched, prayed and laid my life bare before the Lord (Hebrews 4:12) I’ve learned that because I struggle with insecurity, I have a tendency to build makeshift structures: false pedestals to exalt myself and protect me from the pain of feeling small, that allow me to pretend which is hypocrisy and to make myself more or less than I am which is pride.

In my youth these pedestals were possessions, promiscuity and popularity. Now, it is the appearance of righteousness, accomplishments, having everything together and having it all figured out.

But these false pedestals always fail me and when they splinter, not only do I end up pierced through with many sorrows, my witness is undermined, my Master’s name is dishonored and the faith of some looking on can be weakened.

Now, I’m scared of heights as hell. (Catch that on your way home.)

Or, should I say that, by God’s grace I am wiser to the enemy’s tactics and the conditions that can lead to a heart lifted in pride. I struggle every day and thanks be to God for the struggle because it reminds me of my desperate need for God and that His abundant grace is sufficient for me, that I may humble myself under his hand and trust Him to build me up (1 Peter 5:6).

I have come to this knowledge because I had a mentor and a father in the faith who loved me with a Love that held me accountable and did not withhold the truths that were hard for me to hear and that were necessary for my growth and sanctification (Ephesians 4:11-16). I’m grateful. #52WoG

January 17, 2022

From Father To Son: Gifts And Good Works

Ephesians 2:10
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

Yesterday, I shared with you that God has given each of us gifts and a heart for a specific good work.

We are most satisfied and fulfilled when we’re doing what we’re made to do.

There are so many voices about who we should be and what we should do that it can get confusing. But, if I want to know what something is made for, it’s best to ask the one who made it.

Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.”

The Word shows us the way we should go.

It’s a journey of discovery as we learn more about our Creator and explore doing things we believe that are good and pleasing to Him.

Here are some questions that have helped me along my journey of finding the things that I’m made to do (I’m still learning everyday):

What problem(s) do you see that you have a burden to solve? Or, what do you think should exist or there should be more of that you have a burden to help create?

Right now, I am investing time into learning to become a better coder so that I can earn more to help more people. One of the things I want to do is to help the marginalized and underserved leverage technology to meet their financial needs and then build wealth (thrive).

Give some thought to those questions and let us know if there are any things you believe you have a heart to do.

We’d love to support to you on your journey of finding the good work you’re made to do.

We love you!

January 17, 2022

The Luckett Family Creed

What do you do when a place is dark where people can barely see, they’re stumbling over things, crashing into each other and getting hurt?

You add light.

We believe that God is the source of all light.

Our response to darkness in the world; to the problems we see, is to be light so those around us can find the Way.

The way we “be light” is to live and teach what we learn from God. The Way we learn from God is through God’s Son Jesus the Christ.

This is not just an idea. I wake up every day working by the grace of God to contribute light in some way to those around me, starting with each of you.

And, if you’re not actively being light or reflecting it, you are being something that blocks light -causing darkness.

God has given each of us gifts and a heart to address specific needs in our world, so there are many ways to be light.

Over the years by living in our home, you’ve either heard or experienced it in some way implicitly, but I want to state explicitly how our family seeks to be light.

What are we doing as a family?

Our family creates healthy places to nurture fruitful people, always starting with you.

We aim to promote “homes”; ecosystems of well-being by targeting specific areas (think our family, community, schools, etc.) and trying to cultivate as many people there to help and not harm those around them.

Why are we doing it?

Our family’s top priority is to promote Life and to help people thrive. Life is having a heart that results in a healthy relationship to everything around you; promoting life and not death. We believe that you get this life through believing Jesus. To thrive is to have well-being that overflows into others. That means having enough (spiritually, physically and materially) to meet your needs, enough to enjoy and enough to share.

Why am I telling you this?

So that you understand our motivation, why we get up every morning, why we make the decisions that we make, how our resources are allocated and why. And, so you can choose whether you want to participate at a level beyond compulsory obedience.

Our decision making calculus is simple: make the choice(s) that results in the most people having Life and thriving, always starting with those entrusted to our care (you).

The ultimate vision is the Great Home which is the church; a network of individual homes that work together and are committed to being healthy places where people can share Life and thrive. Through fellowship with people we’ve invested in and others who are like-minded, our goal is to spread light throughout the world.

January 14, 2022

What Being The Prodigal Son Taught Me About Being Made Perfect In Love

As I was studying for an upcoming marriage ministry that Melissa and I are a part of, the lesson converged in a beautiful and unexpected way with my meditations on home and I hope it blesses you the way it blessed me.

Our marriage ministry class is going through a workbook called Husband & Wives (I highly recommend it) and we’re on the chapter about love. In it I came across 1 John 4:18 that says, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”

It prompted the question, “What is the fear that this verse is referring to and what does it mean by torment?” Before I had completely formed the thought, I already knew in my heart what it meant. I am familiar with that torment.

It’s the torment of failing so miserably, being so broken, that no matter how you try, you’re utterly unable to fix it or to do anything that makes you worthy of acceptance. It’s the fear of rejection, of being abandoned and stranded, having no way home, it’s the terror of being alone.

And, that led me to understand what it meant to be “made perfect in love”. You know who was made perfect in love?

The Prodigal Son.

I know because I am the Prodigal Son. In the Parable of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15:11-32 take note that the son was loved by the father in such a way that “when he came to himself” (v17) he had reason to believe that he could return home. And, just as importantly, he also knew he could not return home and continue to live however he wanted -he had to repent (v18).

The son acknowledging his sin and assuming a posture of humility in his heart, began the trip home. He was on the way, but while “he was still a great way off” and before he could get out the apology he had been practicing, the father ran to him and embraced him. The son repented and asked to return home, not as a son, but as any other stranger whom his father might hire as a servant. “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.” (v23)

Rather than treat him as the prodigal and wayward son that he was, the father gave the son his best and restored him to what the father had always seen the son as: a prince. What amazing grace! It was as that moment, that what the son had only considered as a possibility before (maybe my father will accept me), he now knew irrevocably. It was then that the son was perfected in love because he knew that his acceptance was sure, because it was not based on his goodness but on the goodness of his father.

Hallelujah.

But, there’s more.

The father had another son. And as my mentor and spiritual father Pastor Gregory Jones would wisely point out, the lesson is as much about the second son as the first. The elder son who had remained home and who had been obedient was enraged at hearing of his father’s reception of his wanton and wasteful younger brother. But, “[the] father came out and pleaded with him”(v28) saying to the older son, “Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.” (v31-32)

The lesson of the elder brother is this: you can “stay” in the house, do things that look right and be just as wayward in your heart as the prodigal son who “left”. To be perfected, we must have more than a mere association with the Father and more than works done out of rote obligation (Matthew 5:20). We have to know the Father (this is what Jesus came to teach us -John 14:6-7, John 17:1-4) and we must have the Father’s heart (when we believe Jesus, this is what He gives us -John 3).

To be made perfect in love is being assured of our acceptance in the beloved (Ephesians 1:6) because we know the goodness of the Father. Such love transforms us and gives us a heart to love the way he loves, not the world’s love that allows and approves of wrongdoing, but love that perfects, builds up and is gracious while affirming good and resisting evil. When we love the way He loves we become as He is and…

“Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgement; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love cast out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.” -1 John 4:17-19

Whatever your proximity to God, no matter how far you think you’ve gotten, getting home takes only one step because God has been unceasingly moving towards you, His heart for you has never changed, before the beginning He made up His mind about you to love you. His love letter to us, the Bible, says that everyone who comes to Him, He will “by no means” turn away (John 6:37). And, the Way is Jesus who will teach us of the father’s goodness, give us the father’s heart, build us up into a spiritual home for others on this journey and perfect our love.

I’m a witness.

#perfectourlove

January 13, 2022

I Don’t Get Anything Out Of Church

“I see no reason to go. I don’t get anything out of it.”

Have you ever heard or said that about church? I sure have.

First, the whole “go to church” thing is deeply problematic. You are the church.

Secondly, to be clear, I’m not referring to the industrial church. I hate the industrial church. It’s objective is to make money to pay people. The objective of the living church is to be the bride of Christ. I’m referring to the latter.

Lastly, “I don’t get anything out of it” is baby talk. It is tragic to “go to church” for years and never grow beyond looking for absolution and seeking the peace that comes from the assurances of salvation. At some point in our spiritual development, these things should be firmly established and we should grow from getting to giving.

Among the reasons “we don’t get anything out of it” is typically there’s just one preacher that’s doing most of the giving. That shouldn’t be, everybody should be giving. “We should no longer be children… but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head –Christ –from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies according to the effective working by which EVERY part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” -Ephesians 4:14-16

We must move on from milk, looking just for what we can get: how I can be blessed, how I can encouraged, how I can be comforted, how I can have peace.

Our Lord did not say blessed are the peace-takers but “blessed are the peacemakers”. Matthew 5:9

So, we must grow to a stage of maturity where we are equipped to give. We must graduate from milk to meat (Hebrews 5:12) and this is the meat, “as He is, so are we in this world.” – 1 John 4:17

Christ who is our example said this, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45, Matthew 20:28

Giving is the mark of our maturity, that we bear fruit and the fruit that we should bear is love (Galatians 5:22).

Our Lord commands, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35

So, I pray that our minds would be renewed concerning our approach to church, that we would move from thinking in terms of what we get or don’t, but instead what we can give and that being love. #perfectourlove

January 2, 2022

Ugly House, Beautiful Home

Brainflurry - Paul Luckett Middle School Yearbook Picture

Brainflurry - Paul Luckett Highschool Yearbook Picture

Brainflurry - Paul Luckett childhood family picture

Brainflurry - Paul Luckett, Melissa Luckett with Denice and Nola at Disney on Ice

I hate my teeth.

They’ve always been a source of shame, embarrassment and have caused me to hide in some way or another nearly all of my life. Of course, there’s a lot more to my hiding than my teeth -namely that I had never quite felt good enough. And at the heart of that are some daddy issues mingled with church hurt that occurred during my formative years, but that’s another story for another time. Suffice it to say, I grew up with the misconception that you had to be perfect; attractive, flawless, never making a mistake -to be embraced, accepted and safe.

For a long time, I felt deeply unsafe.

I sought safety in a number of things that could not offer it; popularity, money and sex, only to find that it left me more insecure than before. Fast forward to my meeting Jesus in the BSU office of Dr. Gregory Jones and the overwhelming love I encountered at my absolute lowest point changed my life forever. Since that time, as I’ve walked with Jesus, He has been continually healing me, through His Word, from the lies that long tortured my soul and that have caused so much pain in and through my life. A major deliverance from feelings of inadequacies was my being given Christ-esteem: the notion that as a born again believer, my life including my identity is now in Christ. I am defined by what Christ has done and is doing in me rather than a temporary condition (like failure or achievement) while I’m in process of being conformed to His image (Colossians 3). This was a watershed moment in my life and one that has been deeply helpful. #christesteem

Another was given to me a few weeks ago: home.

As I wrestled with my appearance in the mirror, feeling unattractive (and therefore unsafe), I was reminded of times that I was safe – times that I was at home. I remembered that I have been blessed to have many homes; my mother, my grandfather’s house, Dr. Gregory Jones and his home, Greater Ebenezer M.B. Church, and the home of Willie and Mary Harris. It was this remembrance that actually inspired my expression of gratefulness for Mary Jean Harris.

Melissa and I have been blessed to travel a little and see some marvelous things. The Spirit brought to mind the mansions, grand buildings and lush hotels -some where we’ve even had opportunity to stay. Then He brought to mind the home of Willie and Mary Harris. And, it became plain to me. Of all the wonderful places I’ve seen and been, on any given day I would much rather be at the home of Willie and Mary Harris. Even though the outward appearance of the building could be considered shanty in comparison, when you were there, you were at home.

When I am at home somewhere, it’s the sense of being safe: loved, wanted and enjoyed that matters. Its outward appearance is of little concern. So, rather than focus on my on physical imperfections –the (natural) outward man that is perishing, it is better to focus on the (spiritual) inward man that is being perfected day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16). The truth is, I am safe in Christ (Luke 18:28-30, John 14:3, Romans 8:35-39) and the best way to experience that safety is to be that for others. Also, in the context of those we’ve lost, being to others what they’ve been to us, is a way of always having them.

The Holy Spirit’s message to me: be a home for others.

In one place it is written, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35) And with this latest revelation, I have a new and different appreciation for Mark 8:34-46 “whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.” It often amazes me how the things that make for our peace are so often counterintuitive.

In those moments where my attention is being drawn to my shortcomings in the flesh and I am again made to feel unsafe, rather than focus on me and what I can do to make myself feel better, I will instead remember the wonderful homes that so many have been for me, where people are safe: loved, wanted and enjoyed, and I will focus on being that for others.

In so doing, it puts me squarely in the fortress of God’s love and allows Him to use me to share a beautiful, glorious, everlasting home with others. #spirithome

Paul Luckett

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Tag Archives: Christianity