September 29, 2024

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.

April 23, 2023

Stop Being A Church Member And Start Being A Disciple

Imagine a firefighter that has to bring a burning house to the fire station before anything that can be done.

Or, an EMT that doesn’t do anything in the field but has to bring an injured or dying patient to the hospital before anything can be done.

There would be a lot of homes destroyed and a lot of people crippled or dying for lack of life-saving care.

Sounds familiar?

The industrial church teaches us to bring people to “church”, that when you encounter them to refer them elsewhere (to a pastor, a service, a class, a program) -to send them somewhere else.

That’s what the disciples said to Jesus in Mark 6:36,

“Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat.”

But, what was Jesus’ reply in Mark 6:37?

“But He answered and said to them, ‘You give them something to eat.'”

We are called to be disciples of Christ, not merely members of a club.

Disciple, μαθητής, means “learner, pupil, student”.

What are we learning?

We are being taught by God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) The Way of the Kingdom of God and to do what our Master, Jesus, does (love: preach the good news, heal and set people free -Luke 4:18).

“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.”
-John 14:12

We should be disciples, learning to do that work, making the Father known through the revelation and ministry of His Son and making disciples –not recruiting people to an organization.

Our Lord has given each of us, every one of us, all of us work to do and gifts to do them. And the greatest gift of all is the Lord Himself, resident in each of us through the Holy Spirit.

Without Him we can do nothing (John 15:5) and I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13).

We have the bread of life. If you don’t, get it.

Don’t send them away.

Our Lord commands,
‘You give them something to eat.’

The industrial church has lulled you to sleep.

Repent!

Stop being a “church” member and start being a disciple.

I love you.

#industrialchurch #discipleship

April 22, 2023

What Shall We Do

Prostrate. Repentance. Praise.

These are proper responses to God.

I thank God for my dear sister Stephanie Atkins Arnett who regularly challenges me with her bias toward love in action. She asked a question that reminded me of the believers’ response to the pouring out of the Holy Spirit during Pentecost in Acts 2:37,

“Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?'”

In a previous post, I admonished us as a church, declaring that we have a problem.

The problem is we don’t love each other.

Sister Stephanie replied,

“You cited a challenge of our community…
Several have accepted the premise…
My question to you… what are actionable steps we can take, in addition to prayer?”

Thank you, dear sister, for that question and challenge!

This is what I believe God has put in my heart:

First, we need to become and operate as disciples NOT as members of an organization. Each of us, every one of us, should be functioning and expressing the life of Christ everywhere, every day and not just at club sanctioned activities.

Then, my answer [to the question] would first be the answer of the first century church, to come together at every opportunity (Acts 2:46), and labor intentionally to remove everything that separates us (Ephesians 4:1-5).

The idea is simple: by the grace of God, love each other the way Christ loves us, which flows out of the way He loves the Father, and then invite others into that love.

I have a vision of various fellowships across our community being held by disciples (not as a club recruitment function but as a sharing the love of Christ function) in their homes and businesses every day where we share the love of Christ and learn how to grow it (different people hosting at different places on different days. I personally want to attend one every day). Praise God that this is already happening to some degree.

We should then look around our fellowships and ask, “Is this representative of the makeup of my community, and moreover is this representative of the Kingdom of God?” If it is not, repent and strive to correct that. As Christ left heaven to get us, we should leave our comfort zones to get them (those that are lost or missing).

We should then connect those fellowships, using that network to identify and address needs and seize opportunities to grow the family of God.

Let’s start by dropping any such fellowships (not as a club recruitment function but as a sharing the love of Christ function) that we’re aware of in the comments.

If you’d like some training on this, let me know and we’ll make that happen.

Thanks again dear sister for the call to arms and action!

I love you.

September 20, 2022

I Am The Word Of God

Art: “God’s Fingerprint”
KJV Illuminated Fingerprint – Gold on Black (Limited Edition)

You are the things you accept as true.

When God allows you to see Jesus and you believe Him, you receive the Seed and are born again.

Jesus is the Seed and Jesus is the Word of God.

If I am born of the Seed, I am the Word of God.

Unsettling? Good. Maybe there is a heavenly confrontation with our earthly conventions. May the Kingdom of God prevail.

Heretical? Only if it’s not true –only if the fruit of the Word are not being produced in my life (Matthew 12:33). May we all desire to walk worthy of such a humanly impossible standard and live as boldly as our Lord.

I am the Word of God.

There are seminal verses such as Romans 5:8 that gave rise to my rebirth and are at the heart of who I am and my outlook on the world.

When you are born again you become a new person whose genetic code is the Word of God.

We mature by eating Jesus’ flesh and drinking His blood –that is receiving by faith the Word of God which is Jesus Christ.

You are what you eat. To be like Christ, we must consume the Word of God.

It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand it initially.

Read the Word.
Pray about it.
Everyday.

Ask, seek, knock and the Holy Spirit will grant you understanding.

The world is suffering because of weak and feeble, malnourished Christians.

Take. Eat. We must consume the Word of God.

A verse a day is a start but you’re not going to build any muscle that way.

A devotional can be better than nothing (depending on the devotional) but it would be best to start purely with Scripture (no filter).

Jesus said to come to Him and drink. (John 7:37)

I’d strongly recommend a Bible-only reading plan like the Discipleship Journal (aka the Navigators Reading Plan) found here:

http://bit.ly/discipleshipjournal

If you’d like a study buddy, I’d be happy to start the reading plan with you. Let’s get it!

“as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby”
1 Peter 2:2

Originally posted by Paul Luckett to Facebook here.

Connect and share with me:
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/brainflurry
Twitter – https://twitter.com/brainflurry

September 2, 2022

Live Like Jesus Is King

We’re very religious.

But, things in our world would look drastically different if Jesus were actually on the throne of our lives. “He does all things well.” -Mark 7:37

Does my thoughts look like they’re under His control?

Does my conversation reflect His perfect counsel and life giving power?

Does the order of my affairs look like He put them in order?

Does where I take residence reflect that a righteous, just, loving King resides there through me?

Do I allow His power to flow through me to make my home, workplace and community look like the Kingdom of God is coming?

Hypocrites!

We tote our bibles, go to church, do empty deeds and speak great swelling, superfluous words while people languish in the shadow of the great buildings and giant crosses we’ve erected to ourselves.

We come to religion looking for the good life, to justify ourselves, to take our ease and kick our feet up, often on the very backs of those we’re supposed to be serving.

This is not The Way.

Repent! Come from among these unbelieving apostates because their destruction is coming. (Matthew 24:45-51)

Seek the Kingdom of God beginning with it’s King.

See Jesus. Be transformed by who He is. Then, be Him in the world.

And, do not cease to make war until His Kingdom has come to every inch of our lives.

“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. ” -1 John 4:17

#notwhatwho