Tag Archives: sin

Beware The American Leaven

Paul Luckett | Brainflurry.com - Beware The American Leaven

When we raise hell for something that’s not in heaven, we’re guilty of loving the world and reveal ourselves as sons of hell and that we are not sons of God. (1 John 2:15)

There is no America in heaven.

Sons of God preach and seek above all the kingdom that is not of this world.

But instead we speak as the hypocrites Jesus rebuked,

“If something is not done, we will lose our place and nation!” (John 11:48)

Rightly did Jesus say of us,

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”
— Matthew 23:15

REPENT!

Come out from among the blasphemous religion of American idolatry in the name of Christ. They are hellbound.

Come out from this kingdom of darkness that is counterfeiting light and into the true light of His Kingdom that is not of this world and be saved.

If I Keep Sinning, Am I Really Saved?

Paul Luckett | Brainflurry.com - If I Keep Sinning Am I Really Saved?

If I keep messing up, am I really saved?

Are you familiar with those challenges during a basketball game where if you make a shot from mid-court you’ll win a car, $100,000 or something like that?

Now imagine that instead of being awarded if you make the shot, that you die if you miss it.

Missing the mark is exactly what sin is, and killing us is exactly what sin does.

“the wages of sin is death” — Romans 6:23

It is important to understand that death is primarily a result of sin, not a punishment.

God’s desire is for us to live, not to die and He created us for this very purpose.

God is not lurking around every corner waiting for us to mess up so that He can punish us. We see in Christ that this is contrary to God’s very nature because Jesus, who is the Christ, proclaims, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” — John 10:10

Death is a natural outcome of sin because sin is missing the mark and the mark is God. It’s like a branch being separated from the vine, or if our planet were no longer in view of the sun -eventually, all processes of life would cease and everything would die.

Life is abiding in God.
Death is separation from God.

But God, desiring that we live and not die, sent His only begotten Son, Jesus. “His only begotten Son” means Jesus is the only direct and unmediated expression of God. He was sent so that the offense would be removed and the mark would be met, connecting us with God.

“In these last days [God has] spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person”
— Hebrews 1:1-3

“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

Just as a man, Adam, missed the mark (sinned) and plunged everything in his dominion into death, the man Jesus made the mark (abides), tipped (more like flipped) the scales in our favor satisfying the debt of sin through His death, removed the offense (stumbling blocks – “lies block love”) by declaring the truth, and came as a King establishing the Kingdom of God that is taking by force everything that was sold under sin (redemption) -establishing an everlasting kingdom that we receive when we believe and that grants us access to God, resulting in everlasting life. This kingdom, with Christ as King, is advancing until everything that opposes Him is put under His feet to the end that Christ will present the subdued creation to the Father that everything will forever bask in God’s life-giving presence to His ever increasing glory.

“For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.”
— Romans 5:19

“Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. … Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.”
— 1 Corinthians 15:24

“They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea.

And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, And His resting place shall be glorious.”
— Isaiah 11:9-10

Jesus makes the mark so that we can be with God.

Not only that, He’s made it so that we can also make the mark without fear of failure, completely destroying the threat of death through His resurrection.

“But [our salvation] has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel”
— 2 Timothy 1:10

“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 return to our basketball analogy, what Jesus has done for us is removed any risk of failure because He’s made the shot in our stead. In doing so, He’s removed all fear. Now we can just focus on becoming as great as He is.

“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 4:18

“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

So, to the original question, “If I keep messing up, am I really saved?”

Messing up -sin, is not necessarily an indication that there’s a question about my salvation.

We mess up because there’s stumbling blocks in our lives (pre-existing and those that are continually being put in our way) which are lies that block God’s love.

Everyone has sin (1 John 1:8) -the saved and lost alike.

However, God gives the saved capacity through the manifold grace of His Word, the revelation of Jesus Christ, His Holy Spirit and His church, to discern these cancerous areas of rebellion in our lives, to confess them and to be healed of them. These are the weapons of our warfare to advance the Kingdom of God, starting in our own hearts.

Conviction, the very awareness of “messing up”, is a good indication of my salvation!

The key distinction of someone who is truly saved, returning again to our basketball analogy, is that they want to make the shot.

Michael Jordan, arguably the greatest basketball player of all time, is known for his exceptional scoring ability. He is also widely known for the sheer number of shots that he has missed. But despite missing over 9000 shots in his career, what we can be sure of is that he took each shot wanting to make every single one because he has a heart of a champion that wants to win.

Those who are born of God, as a new creature, have a new heart that desires excellence because He is excellent.

So, though we may mess up and miss the mark at times, those who are saved aren’t frivolous about it.

We don’t carelessly throw up the ball. We don’t foolishly throw it into the stands.

We want to make the shot.

But if Jesus already made the shot, why would I even bother shooting at all?

Because, making the shot -living as Christ lived, abiding in God’s love and being governed by it, brings God glory, and like Jesus, there’s nothing that authentic children of God want more.

Every time we take to the court, we want to contribute, increasing the glory of His already glorious victory. And when we have a bad game, we submit to the necessary practice and gym time to work out our bad form.

The aim is development, to be more and more perfectly aligned to Christ so that His life: His purposes, His power and His production shines through.

“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”
— Romans 8:11

This is a work that God does in us, that when we submit to it, we can’t miss.

“for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”
— Philippians 2:13

“Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.”
— 2 Corinthians 2:14

So, the test of my salvation isn’t whether I mess up, it’s whether I want to make the shot.

Because of His life in me, I want to.

And because He makes it possible, I can

without fear.

Thank you, Jesus.

My Focus Should Be His House

Paul Luckett | Brainflurry.com - My Focus Should Be His House

A

safe
loving
strong
healthy
joy filled
thriving

house (people under and bound by the Husband’s name)

is the focus of a wife.

I am the bride of Christ.

I should be focused on His house.

Why wouldn’t I be?

No. Let me be real.

Why am I not?

Because I’m too busy building my own.

Because I’m in the streets, an adulterous whore, chasing what my flesh (a mind conformed to the pursuits and the ways of operating of this world) believes is a better suitor: riches, popularity, power, and pleasure apart from my Husband for my satisfaction and fulfillment.

But having been out there before, I can tell you definitively, there is nothing good in the streets.

Not one good thing.

So, how did I get here?

By being entangled with unnecessary things and having the fruitfulness of the Word choked out in my life because of the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches (Mark 4:18-19).

By worry of what I will eat, what I will drink or what I will wear and not instead seeking first (foremost) the Kingdom of God (my Husband’s house) so that every other pursuit serves the first one (what it means to “seek first”, Matthew 6:25-34).

By having my mind conformed to this world, seeing myself and measuring myself according to the world’s standards, thereby becoming self-conscious and being seduced into pursuits that profit nothing —not one good thing (Romans 6:21, 12:2).

I repent.

Focus on my Husband’s house is a constant work because the poisonous vines of the world are constantly trying to creep into my life to pull me away and overtake me.

Focus requires husbandry.

Focus requires constant pruning, a taking away of the dead, useless and invasive things that are harmful.

So then, focus requires a constant presenting myself to my Husband.

Focus requires what the Husband provides: sensitivity to the guidance of the Holy Spirit by the heart He gives and protection against its hardening by the washing in the water of the Word, and accountability through the fellowship of the beloved.

I am the bride of Christ.

I should be focused on His house.

When I have lost focus, I regain it by turning to Him.

Remembering His goodness, I return to Him.

But, if He so readily receives me again, does it even matter that I lose focus, that I am seduced away into sin (outside of the circle of love, outside the government of His house -the Kingdom of God [sin state])?

Yes.

Sin does not only offend God, it hurts me too. Sin hardens my heart, leaving scar tissue that decreases my sensitivity to His touch, His voice and His presence.

Yes, when we confess, He will forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). But the cleansing, Him lifting that scar tissue in the washing of the water by His Word, is a process that takes time to return to the intimacy and fellowship I once enjoyed.

There is no thing better than intimacy with God. It’s too precious to lose, even for a moment.

There is no place better than the House of God.

Now, I remember by the Spirit God has sent forth in the hearts of all who love Him,

“For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.”
— Psalm 84:10

In Your house, serving Your house, with You, is where I want to be.

Help me.

Cleanse my heart, O God.

Renew a steadfast spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10)

I miss You.

Leading With The Need: How We Get More From Church

Paul Luckett | Brainflurry.com - Leading With The Need: How We Get More From Church

Why can church seem plastic and empty?

Because I come to the King’s treasury laden with debt but I pretend like I’m rich.

I only leave empty because my pride prevents me from taking advantage of the King’s debt forgiveness program.

In order to do that I have to openly declare bankruptcy.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
— Matthew 5:3

In James 5:16, the author writes,

“Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

Notice that confession of our sin PRECEDES healing —the establishment of healthy function.

Very often I get nothing from church because I pretend that I have it all together.

A pastor and mentor of mine, Pearson Liddell, advised me regarding ministry, “get real as quickly as possible, otherwise you’re wasting people’s time”.

When we don’t confess our sin, we leave money (healing) on the table.

So, for me, moving forward, every church service, fellowship, Bible study will begin with this question, “Where is the sin in my life?”

And what is sin?

Missing the mark.

It’s being outside the circle of love, outside the Kingdom of God. (sin state)

The result is always that we don’t love properly. (sin action)

Leading with the confession of our sin requires humility, looking into the mirror of the perfect law of liberty, turning the sword of the Word (which is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart -Hebrews 4:12) on myself (rather than against others as we so often like to do) and praying, “Lord, show me where I’m apart from You. Show me the areas where Satan sits on the throne in my life. Show me where I’m failing to love properly.”

There will always be something to confess, always an area where we can be healed, always a place where God can make us more glorious.

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
— 1 John 1:8

There’s no sense in being sick, coming to the hospital and pretending that I’m OK.

I come to Christ through fellowship because I’m in need.

We should lead with our need.

I’ll start:

One of the greatest hindrances to my loving properly and to God’s glory being expressed in my life is that my regard for many things in this world have not yet descended to the level of trash.

“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

I am preoccupied with my appearance and have burdened myself with debt and unnecessary things to bolster it which keeps me from fellowship and hinders me from following Jesus completely and fearlessly.

Please pray for me.

The Romans Had It Right

Paul Luckett | Brainflurry.com - The Romans Had It Right

I believe God timed Christ’s incarnation when He did because the Romans had it right.

That’s how sin should be treated: as rebellion against the Kingdom, it should be violently confronted, purged, exposed, humiliated and killed without mercy.

That’s how I should have been treated as an enemy of God’s perfect order.

But, God.

Thanks be to God for Jesus who not only came to restore that kingdom order but served my sentence, paid the required penalty (in order for God to be just) and took my place on that cross so that I could be with God!

He didn’t have to do that. He could have just re-established His perfect order without me, but He chose to save me at an exorbitant expense that I was not worthy of.

Thank you, Father God.

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” —2 Corinthians 5:21

Now, that I, with great joy, accept Jesus as King, I should treat sin the same way the Romans treated rebels. I’ve been far too gentle with such an insidious and deadly threat to my life, the lives of everyone around me and even the order of creation.

I repent.

It’s past time to cut off hands and gouge out eyes (Matthew 18:8-9). I need to be violent with my sin and overthrow every threat to Jesus’ rule, He who is Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

Holy FOMO

Paul Luckett | Brainflurry.com - Holy FOMO

Holy FOMO

He forgives failure,
but I won’t take that for granted.

Though relationship is never broken,¹
For a moment, failure dampens fellowship.

Jesus is winning.²
He’s saving souls, giving life, changing worlds.

He’s on a victory tour, until every enemy is put under His feet.³

I can be winning with Him.⁴
I don’t want to miss any of that!

But, failure causes me to miss out.

Sin is failure; a misplaced heart, wrong-doing, lack of zeal, laziness, cowardice –anything that causes me to fail to love as He loves, (purely, passionately, powerfully, fearlessly –redemptively).

So, I take sin seriously, as I do grace.

Therefore, I guard more diligently, I work more abundantly –I press, not to be justified (because that is the work of grace), but to fully enjoy Him!⁵

I have a holy fear of missing out.

I don’t want to miss out on a single moment with Him.

I want everything God has for me, and I’m not talking about money.

#holyfomo

¹ Romans 8:35-39
² 1 Corinthians 15:57
³ Psalms 110:1, Matthew 22:44, 1 Corinthians 15:25
⁴ 2 Timothy 2:12
⁵ 1 Corinthians 15:10

The Most Important Word

Brainflurry.com | Sin - The Most Important Word

What word in the Bible do I believe is the most important, even more so than justice, love, truth and even faith?

Sin.

Sin means to miss the mark, to offend. It indicates that there is someone that set the mark. Which further indicates there is someone who claims to have the authority to set the mark.

On what basis can one claim such authority? The very word “authority” suggest the answer: authorship.

Sin demands a Creator who has the authority of ownership and thereby the right to set the mark.

According to the Bible, the Creator set that mark for us to be His representatives in the earth, to be caretakers of it. But we were not satisfied with being His representatives and in ignorance of the knowledge and power it takes to sustain creation, we rejected His rule and made for ourselves gods we could understand and control so that we could be the rulers and sit on the throne instead of God. In our effort to gain and to maintain power we have suppressed what can be known of God even apart from the revelation of Holy Scripture by creating false and distracting narratives. In our ignorance, we were also unaware of the immutable spiritual law that to whosever’s idea you yield or to command you obey, you become that person’s slave. Furthermore, we did not understand that ideas do not originate with us: they either stem from Truth or Lies, Good or Evil. As such, by obeying a command stemming from lies we did not become rulers as we thought but subjects, trading the rule of a loving God for the rule of the Father of Lies. We thereby entered in league with Satan and acting as his subjects, we threw the world into disorder, injustice and evil.

We missed the mark.

We used what has been given to us for purposes other than what the Giver intended, thereby opposing and offending God which is sin. There was yet another immutable law, the penalty of sin is death. Sin is opposed to God and whatever opposes God will be destroyed. We are all guilty under this law, leaving corruption and death in our wake and becoming enemies of the Creator, appointed to destruction.

But, God.

But, God was not caught unaware. In fact it was part of His design. Before time, He purposed to grow His beloved family, accounted for our weakness and prepared a Way out for those who were born into corruption but would accept His Love.

In His tender mercy and His loving kindness, God humbled Himself to plea His case with the creatures He made! He spoke through messengers and even established an entire nation to demonstrate the impossible task of humans bridging the gap between themselves and God, even if we were given the instructions!

These were tutors to humble us and bring us back to square one that upholding and governing the universe –achieving good, requires that God does it. But even more than that, it was to prepare us for His greatest act of Love yet, making His appeal to us flesh and walk among us. Such was God’s desire to be with us that He came and made His case to us directly in the person of Jesus Christ!

But not only that, Jesus was sent to take back the creation we lost by being a human that presents Himself obedient to God, being a caretaker of creation, advancing the kingdom of God by taking dominion of the earth, submitting everything that enters His domain to the Father, translating it from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light.

Not only that, He sent Jesus to satisfy the penalty of sin -death, by dying Himself, so that there would no longer be any separation between us and God. Being a perfect man in whom the fullness of God dwells, Jesus is a sacrifice who’s worth can cover all the sin of all mankind; past, present and future. So great is His worth that His sacrifice forever tips the scale so that grace continually abounds toward us.

Not only that, when we believe that God sent the Son, we agree with God about our sin, that the penalty is just, that we are incapable of setting things right, that He alone is good and fit to rule and we, having now no reason to boast, are at His mercy to restore us and all creation.

Not only that, for those that humble themselves, acknowledge their error and place all their hope in Christ, so great is God’s love towards us that rather than leave them subjects, He gives us robes and crowns and makes us sons and daughters! Hallelujah!!!

In this age, by the tutelage Christ’s example provides but moreover by the power God provides and that we receive through faith, we are transformed and given a new heart -a new center of our being with new desires. We want what God wants and walk as Christ walked -living obedient to God, submitting everything in our domain to Christ as he continually translates everything from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light until that day when all things have been put under His feet -where all evil, darkness and even death have been abolished. Our ultimate hope is the resurrection that begins the age where we reign with Christ and live with our loving Father and all those that love Him forever.

To many, this is utter foolishness but if any of this resonates with you, you are being saved.

You need only need to confess a belief at the center of your being (in your heart) that the Father sent the Son and raised Him from the dead to be saved -saved from the death your sin is contributing to the world now and the second death later; the wrath of God to come.

If you want to learn more, start here: https://bit.ly/39ipuDP

I love you.