Tag Archives: Christianity

How To Experience God

Paul Luckett | Brainflurry.com - How To Experience God

How do we help others who have not yet experienced God relate to a God we cannot touch, taste, see, smell or hear physically?

Ironically, it is by touching, tasting, seeing, smelling and hearing—but spiritually.

“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!”
— Psalm 34:8

People are spiritual.

Have you ever encountered a bitter person?

In many cases you don’t even need any physical indication that they’re bitter; it’s a spirit you can “sense” that leaves a bad taste in your mouth.

I believe we are all built with the capability—the spiritual receptors to perceive God.

Could this be what the Apostle Paul is referring to in Romans 1:19?

“because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.”
— Romans 1:19

But our nerve endings are dead, numbed by sin, their sensitivity suppressed under layers of the filth of this world—what we’ve come to believe and accept as truth rather than The Truth, the ways we’ve come to operate rather than The Way and the value systems that we’re governed by rather than the Kingdom of God—ways that are own ways and government that is lawlessness.

The condition is referred to spiritually as “hardness of the heart”, a condition that progresses to a point that the Apostle Paul refers to in Ephesians 4:19 as “being past feeling”.

And nothing accelerates this condition more than fake church and false religion (2 Timothy 3:1-5). Jesus said to Pharisees who claimed to “see”, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.” (John 9:41)

The degree of the hardness of the heart is a measure of how much territory Satan controls in our heart. Said another way, the degree of the hardness of our hearts is a matter of how much we believe Satan—which is anything other than God, and it is a matter of how much we’re governed by anything that is not the Kingdom of God—which is anything other than Love.

And it is this hardness of the heart that prevents us from perceiving and experiencing God.

The remedy is believing God, being washed by His Word.

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
— Romans 10:17

But God, even in our deadness, sent The Word to us that we might be made alive, that we may know Him and be made sensitive to His presence.

“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;”
— Hebrews 1:1-2

“For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake.

For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
— 2 Corinthians 4:5-6

”And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!’”
— Luke 9:35

Do you want to experience God? Then, do not harden your heart.

Humbly and consistently expose yourself to the Word, crying out to the Holy Spirit for illumination.

A wonder I regularly observe is people who close the doors, shutter the windows—barricading themselves in Satan’s house, and then ask, “Where is God?”

I was one of them.

But, God.

Thanks and glory be to God that He came for me, that He broke through, that “God commanded light to shine out of darkness”, and has shone in my heart to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:5-6)

Hallelujah.

He’s been coming for you. It is why Christ came.

He’s coming for you right now. It is why I preach Christ daily, to make God known to you.

“Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says:

‘Today, if you will hear His voice,

Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,

In the day of trial in the wilderness…’”
— Hebrews 3:7-8

Do not harden your heart.

Today, I am challenged to identify and abandon indulgences that dull my senses and to confront and war against demonic occupation in my heart—the obstruction of lies, the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desire for everything besides God that makes it so I can’t hear and experience Him (Mark 4:19).

I count all things loss that I may know Him (Philippians 3:8-10).

As you read this, do you taste that?

It is the residue that mists up from the implanted Word in my heart that is living and powerful, residue that collects on the heart of believers like dew—manna that is sweet to the taste, that provides nourishment, that manifests in a form we can share with others, Bread from heaven that is Spirit and Life.

Taste that?

That’s Christ.

This is how we and how we help others experience God.

#tastimony

Grieving In Context

Paul Luckett | Brainflurry.com - Grieving In Context

One of the most striking verses in the Bible is the shortest, “Jesus wept.” (John 11:35)

Think about that.

The God-man who knows the power of God, who knows heaven, –who knows the ultimate outcome, wept at the tomb of Lazarus.

Jesus, as I call it, “grieved in context”. He was fully God and fully man and therefore fully felt the grief of Mary and Martha, and fully felt His own pain over the loss of someone He calls a friend.

Jesus did not gloss over the grief. He did not ignore it. He did not deny it. He did not overlook it.
He wept.

But, what He did next is key. In verse 41, it says, “And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, ‘Father, I thank You…'”

The confidence that He expresses in the Father is the context that allowed Him (and us) to grieve but not be consumed.

Grieving in context allows us to be fully human while fully having eternal life and enjoying the peace that comes with it.

“… in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
—Philippians 4:6-7

Dealing With The Debt Of My Offense

Paul Luckett | Brainflurry.com - Dealing With The Debt Of My Offense

Man, it cuts deep when someone I care about thinks poorly of me, especially because of sin I’ve committed—sin I’m deeply sorry for, that I’ve since confessed and turned away from. Yet, they continue to hold it against me, refusing to let me escape its condemnation, and won’t receive me.

The Apostle Paul, grieved by his former persecution of Christ and His followers, knew a little something about this. God’s word written through his experience guides me.

Though this specific passage is written in the context of warding against boasting in man and thinking more of someone than is warranted (the error of “I am of Paul” or “I am of Apollos”), it is equally effective in warding against thinking less of myself than I should (because I’ve thought about the assessment of others more than is warranted).

I believe Paul, in this passage, has both in view with the intention of helping believers navigate either:

“But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.

For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord.”
— 1 Corinthians 4:3-4

In short, I am the Lord’s.

“It is a very small thing that I should be judged by you”
It matters little whether you think well of me,

“or by a human court.”
or whether you condemn me.

“I do not even judge myself. For I know nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this”,
It’s not even about what I think of myself or about me finding reasons to feel better about myself,

“but He who judges me is the Lord.”
but at the end of the day, it is about who I serve—the Lord and He has the final say.

I am the Lord’s.

And you know what? My Lord will love me to where I need to be.

“… being confident of this very thing, the He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ”
— Philippians 1:6

“Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ …”
—2 Corinthians 2:14

I am the Lord’s.

That’s the conclusion concerning me—about who I am, what I’m worth and where I stand.

So, though others may condemn me, in Christ I am free, and though others may reject me, I am accepted in the Beloved.

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”
— Romans 8:1

“to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.”
— Ephesians 1:6

I am free.

I am free to forgive unforgiveness and love them compassionately because hurt and lingering resentment is the consequence and nature of sin when I’ve offended another.

Jesus warned how unreconciled offense causes this, snowballing into a seemingly insurmountable debt (Matthew 5:23-26).

When I’ve offended another, I don’t get to dictate how or when they should have healed, or when they should release me from the prison of separation and suspicion, and restore me to relationship. This is why we actively seek to avoid sin at all cost, and seek to reconcile it as quickly as possible when it occurs.

Until those I’ve offended release me, I am free to love them, undefined by their unforgiveness.

As my pastor Gregory Jones was fond of saying, they’ve drawn a circle to exclude me, but I’m making a bigger circle to draw them in. I will minister the inexhaustible riches of God’s grace that He has lavished on me toward the debt that they hold against me.

My ultimate hope in doing so is to win a brother or sister in Christ because I am the Lord’s.

#christesteem

What Is Forgiveness?

Paul Luckett | Brainflurry.com - What Is Forgiveness?

Forgiveness is not the same as forgetting.

If I cannot forget how do I forgive?

For the concept of forgiveness to really click, I must understand and accept that everything God provides me is for the Father’s business—good works, which are the glory and administration of God’s Kingdom: executing God’s mission, caring for God’s beloved people, and maintaining God’s great house (Luke 12:42-48).

Forgiveness is an accounting concept.

Imagine you’re a business owner, as we’re all outlets of God’s manifold grace.

The wares of your store are made available on credit.

But, someone takes something without honoring its worth. This results in a loss for you, otherwise known as hurt, and results in a debt for them, also known as an offense or a trespass.

You have a choice to make. You can either shut down their account, so they can no longer do business. Or, you can forgive the debt so they can continue to do business.

The decision usually comes down to what we’re working for and who. What do we want? What are we attempting to accomplish with our store? Are we working for our own personal profit or another’s? What is “profit”, and what does it look like?

The complexion of the matter completely changes when we’re operating from an economy where:

1. It’s the Father’s business (Luke 2:49),
2. We’re already rich (Ephesians 2:4-7, 1 John 4:26),
3. He’s paid it all (Colossians 2:13-14),
4. His endgame is unrivaled glory: 100% market penetration, to be the only name in the game through domination of all rivals and the redemption of all creation (1 Corinthians 15:22-28),
5. My payoff is My Father being pleased (John 8:29, Luke 19:17, Philippians 2:5-11).

In the normal course of business, when someone receives something of value, they reciprocate that value.

However, every so often we encounter someone who takes but has nothing with which to pay. They’re bankrupt and poor.

The Father’s business model accounts for this: grace.

Even in earthly economies, proprietors go into business ready to accept a certain amount of loss. They have a general ledger account dedicated to it called “Bad Debt” which they will write off at the end of each fiscal year.

But God has left us a blank check, constantly making available to us the boundless riches of His love and grace, so that we do not operate from a loss but have an abundance to continue His work (2 Corinthians 9:8).

God’s mandate is save the lost at any cost for His glory (John 3:16, John 15:8). His desire is that all men might be saved, that all would come to His supper, that His house may be full and that they all would commune with God (1 Timothy 2:4, Luke 14:15-24, Revelation 19:9, 22:17).

Profit is a soul delivered from the kingdom of darkness and brought into His house (Colossians 1:13).

“I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.”
— Luke 15:7

So when someone takes something without honoring its worth, we have a column in our ledger to account their debt to: God’s ocean and immeasurable wealth of grace.

And, I can forgive.

And, I can continue doing business with them in hopes of heavenly profit.

God’s business strategy was to give it all away anyway to establish brand recognition and ultimately for the purpose of exchanging our dead existence for eternal life where He is made known through us that He may be glorified (Isaiah 11:1-9).

Therefore,
“Freely you have received, freely give”
— Matthew 10:8

Coming full circle to our original question, “If I cannot forget, how do I forgive?”

The answer is proper accounting.

The key to forgiveness is accounting the offense to the proper account, to the account overflowing with the riches of Christ that God had credited to me.

When someone offends me, it hurts and pain can be hard to forget.

So when I remember that hurt, I should let that serve as a reminder to get my books and recall where that debt is accounted to, and I should find next to their account: In Good Standing. PAID by the Father through Jesus Christ.

My greatest hope is that’s how I appear in God’s Book, understanding that when I do not forgive I lose that credit line (Mark 11:25-26, Matthew 18:21-35).

Consider Christ who, on the cross suffering the most egregious offense, in Luke 23:34 says, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”

With that He, through forgiveness, extends us grace.

Now Christ entrusts us with His enterprise and charges us:

“Do business until I come.”
— Luke 19:13

#forgiveness #heartwords

What Is Love?

Paul Luckett | Brainflurry.com - What Is Love?

Love is God’s government.

Not a government of rules and task lists,

But a government that flows from God’s heart in us received by faith in Jesus Christ,

Government that produces the approach, resources, services, security, and harmony that makes its subjects whole.

Love is God’s government that makes its subjects whole.

#love #heartwords

What Is Grace?

Paul Luckett | Brainflurry.com - What Is Grace?

Image Copyright CG817 | CG817 on Flickr

My understanding of grace had previously been mostly academic, but it took on new meaning for me yesterday in a moment of failure and weakness where I desperately needed it.

I now find a particular aspect of grace to be like, in engineering terms, fault tolerance or perhaps better said—fault accounting.

When an engineer designs a thing, say your phone for example, they account for imperfections.

Despite being milled by machines, all the pieces are imperfect; they all deviate from the engineer’s design within a certain margin of error.

But the engineer anticipates and accounts for these imperfections in the design so that the pieces still fit and work together to achieve the desired outcome.

God is the Ultimate Engineer.
He is the Supreme Creator.

His design not only accounts for our imperfection but His assembly of these imperfect pieces and their interaction in operation subject the pieces to a Force that transform them, making them more and more perfect as they function until, both individually and collectively, His perfect product is produced: Christ.

“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;”
— Ephesians 4:11-13

“The LORD will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever; Do not forsake the works of Your hands.”
— Psalm 138:8

God is both committed to perfection and to involving us, imperfect creatures, in the final product. And in God’s unsearchable wisdom, He achieves a straight path with crooked lines.

And part of His genius is grace.

Grace meets me where I am and loves me to where I am supposed to be.

Grace accounts for the fact that I’m messed up, that sin has done a number on me, that I’m haunted by hurt, that I’m deceived by lies and it doesn’t throw me away when I naturally mess up.

Grace allows me to be fully human while holding me accountable to the high calling.

Could this be what is meant when John writes of Jesus that He was full of grace and truth?

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.”
— John 1:14

His grace accounts for sin but never makes sin ok.

God deals with me in that grace.

I don’t have to worry about being abandoned. He has accounted for my shortcomings.

I stumble but He lifts me up and keeps me in The Way.

God is utterly committed to seeing His glory shine through me through His finished work of Christ in me.

“being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;”
— Philippians 1:6

God’s grace accounts for sin but never makes sin ok.

God’s grace allows me to be fully human while holding me accountable to the high calling.

Consider Hebrews 4:15-16,

“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
— Hebrews 4:15-16

The first aspect of grace I find is that it compassionately accounts for my shortcomings. It doesn’t give up on me when I mess up but it finds ways to keep working with me towards perfection.

This Hebrews passage reveals a second aspect of grace: the generous allocation of resources to achieve that perfection.

And, “if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” — 1 John 4:11

Hopefully my own desperate need for grace has afforded me a slightly better understanding of it and perhaps now I can do a better job of extending it to others.

I do not claim to have apprehended, but I press.

Two Approaches To Jesus: Which Is Mine?

Paul Luckett | Brainflurry.com - Two Approaches To Jesus: Which Is Mine?

There are two types of people who come to Jesus:

– Those who come to get something and when they don’t get it they fall away,

and

– Those who are willing to give everything for Him.

Only one group is saved.

“So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.”
— Luke 14:33

God often tests us by taking things.

Consider Job.

These tests are not because God needs any information, but to reveal our heart: whether we’re of the world or whether we’re God glorifying salt—whether we have the wandering heart of the first group so that we can confess it, humble ourselves in repentance, and cry out to God to give us the steadfast heart of the second.

Why? These two things go hand in hand: His glory and our good.

I definitely struggle with the first nature that is still with me. I’m striving to kill it and to yield to His bringing forth in me the second.

Realignment

Paul Luckett | Brainflurry.com - Realignment

Am I experiencing anything less than love, joy and peace?

The ultimate realignment question is:

WHERE ARE YOU?

“Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, ‘Where are you?'”
— Genesis 3:9

WHAT IS THE LIE BLOCKING GOD’S LOVE?

“So he said, ‘I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.'”
— Genesis 3:10

WHO AM I BELIEVING?

“And He said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?'”
— Genesis 3:11

HAVE I BELIEVED ANOTHER VOICE? GOD IS THE ONLY SOURCE OF GOODNESS AND TRUTH. EVERYTHING ELSE IS HARMFUL LIES AND BELIEVING IT RESULTS IN CORRUPTION WHICH CAUSES ME TO RELATE TO EVERYTHING IN A HARMFUL WAY (EVIL), INCLUDING LIGHT—THE RESPONSE BEING TO HIDE.

“And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
— John 3:19-21

GOD LOVES US. BELIEVING GOD IS THE WAY TO LIFE.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
— John 3:16

BELIEVING GOD IS THE WAY TO ENJOY GOD’S LOVE.

“for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.”
— John 16:27

BE AMAZED: GOD LOVES US AS HE LOVES HIS SON JESUS! ENTER INTO THE COMMUNION AND WONDER OF GOD’S LOVE.

“I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.”
— John 17:23

HOW WE LOVE—THE DEFINITION: OBEY GOD.

“This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.”
— 2 John 1:6

WHAT IS GOD’S COMMANDMENT? LOVE GOD. LOVE FOR EACH OTHER IS IN THAT LOVE.

“‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?’

Jesus said to him, ‘”You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.'”
— Matthew 22:36-40

“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

“If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?”
— 1 John 4:20

WHERE AM I? AM I IN CHRIST—GOD’S LOVE?

“If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.

If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.

These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.

This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.”
— John 15:6-14

REST IN THE PLACE OF PERFECTED LOVE THAT COMES WITH BELIEVING GOD.

“And we have known and believed the love that God has for us.

God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.

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.”
— 1 John 4:16-18

So, am I experiencing anything less than love, joy and peace?

Where am I?

I’m believing You, God.

I am resting in Your love through obedience.

#perfectourlove

52 Weeks Of Gratefulness #38 – The Leading Of A Child

Paul Luckett | Brainflurry.com - 52 Weeks Of Gratefulness #38 - The Leading Of A Child

“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
The leopard shall lie down with the young goat,
The calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little child shall lead them.”
Isaiah 11:6

In Week 38 of 52 Weeks of Gratefulness, I give thanks to God for the leading of a child.

July marked the completion of my first year working in public education. As I reflected on that year, there were many great and memorable moments, but one was really special.

Upon visiting an elementary school classroom for the very first time, two children sprang toward me and led me by the hand to a tiny seat at their table. I was subsequently surrounded by students eager to tell me who they were, where they were from, and what all they could do (one young man was eager to show me how he could flip off the wall).

As they huddled around for each of them to tell me their stories, I caught a student out of the corner of my eye staring intensely at me. After some time, she snuck up as I was talking to other students, hugged me from behind, and then promptly returned to her seat.

I thought my heart would explode.

At that moment, I felt Matthew 18:3: “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”

What I found most remarkable was that none of these children knew me or had ever met me, but they were readily willing to bring me into every part of their world without hesitation or reservation.

It was like, of course, we accept you. What else is there?

Not one of them had any money, they didn’t own a car or a house, no fancy titles, and however they were “educated,” they were willing to share. They were not encumbered by many of the things we commonly use to stratify and separate ourselves.

There was just us.

We are foolishly dismissive of children and regard them as almost people, waiting for them to become something else—like us, not realizing that they, more than we, have a firm grasp of the goal.

“Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them.

But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God.

Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.'”
— Mark 10:13-15

One of the most beautiful gifts I enjoy as a born-again child of God is knowing that wherever I go, when I encounter another child of God, they will love me.

“Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.”
— 1 John 5:1

In my experience, however, it takes some effort to get to a place where we can even begin to enjoy that love, we let things get in the way, but children do not.

A wonderful hope I have in Christ is our being “converted” and made like them.

I am so thankful to have their example, and I am learning so much from them as they lead me by the hand into the Kingdom.

I’m grateful.

#52WoG

The Ultimate Test

Paul Luckett | Brainflurry.com - The Ultimate Test

Who we truly are is revealed not by what we do but by what we want.

That is the ultimate test. What we want is the measure by which we will be ultimately judged.

Truth and facts don’t matter when they conflict with what we want.

Reason is not pure. It is merely a device to justify our desires. We have a breathtaking capacity for rationalization.

Not what we do, but the condition of our heart is the principle thing, which is exposed by what we truly want.

What we want indicates who we’re with which in turn is indicated by what we’re willing to lose.

If we’re with Jesus we have a new heart that wants the kingdom of God, first—that is, above all.

The test of whether we have that heart and whether it truly wants the kingdom of God is what we’re willing to lose to get it.

“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.”
— Mark 8:35

“So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, ‘You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.’ But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.”
— Luke 18:22-23

“Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ”
— Philippians 3:8

“But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings: partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated; for you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven.”
— Hebrews 10:32-34

So, test yourselves, whether you’re in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5).

And we can do that with one question:

What do I want most?

For me, I want to be in God with you,

I think.

God will test that. Am I willing to lose comfort and convenience for that? Am I willing to lose “being right” to be reconciled?

The demonic industrial church with her false teachers and prophets teach that the indication of your relationship and favor from God is what you gain.

But the whole counsel of God revealed in the person of Christ says His heart is indicated by what you’re willing to lose for Him.

What do you want most?