Tag Archives: brainflurry

My New Found Freedom In Slavery To Christ

Paul Luckett | Brainflurry.com - My New Found Freedom In Slavery To Christ

I am beginning to experience a wonderful new found freedom as a slave of Christ.

I have been in the bondage of worry, thinking that I have to take care of things, I have to make ends meet, I have to make a way, I have to do this, I have to do that to hold everything together, which is true if I’m building my own house.

But, Christ provides for His house.

When I forsake all as following Christ demands, abandoning my own ambitions for my own house and instead serve Him and His house, when His purposes are my pursuit **first** (πρῶτον – “chiefly” or “above all” as in Matthew 6:33, which means everything that follows is subordinate, whatever is 2nd, 3rd, 4th will not violate what is 1st), I find that I can have complete confidence that He will provide everything I need, including the grace needed to glorify God in hard times (2 Corinthians 12:8-9, Philippians 4:11-13).

Because, God’s glory is the goal and He will have it (John 12:28).

If I am truly in His house, the glory of the Father is my goal as is my Master’s, Christ.

His glory **is** increasingly becoming the singular goal of my life, and in this new stage of my walk with Christ, I am consistently seeing His perfect provision even though I serve imperfectly!

He is so faithful.

But it started with dying, beginning with dying to my own identity and my own ambition. You can’t serve two masters.

To enjoy this freedom and the peace that comes with it, I have to forsake all.

And, please do not confuse this as me saying I don’t have to work. A heart that loves compels action to prosper what it loves. I work and in many cases the job I do every day does not change, but what does change is who my work is in service to.

I am not saying I do not have to work.

What I am saying is, I don’t have to worry.

Christ provides for His house.

He will provide everything I need, including the grace needed to glorify God in hard times.

I only need to love Him and do what love does.

This is so freeing.

And, it results in better work too.

The challenge is not allowing myself to be seduced back into the clutches of my old master.

Please pray for me.

See: Matthew 6:24-33
#perfectourlove #work

The False Doctrine Of ‘I Earned It’

Paul Luckett | Brainflurry.com - Evil Eye

We feel justified living in luxury while people around us languish because “I earned it”.

We have made it a doctrine and enshrined it in our self-made American Judeo-Christian religion.

But, Jesus does not share our American ideals of capitalism.

If we belong to Christ we do not “work for money” or ourselves. We serve the Lord, so we regard money and prosperity differently.

The goal of gaining more is not to eat more.

The goal of gaining more is so that everybody eats.

Consider Matthew 20:10-15:

“But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius.

“And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, “saying,

‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’

“But he answered one of them and said,‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?

‘Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.

‘Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’
— Matthew 20:10-15

Note that the landowner didn’t just go find workers, he sought people who didn’t have work.

This is in keeping with the point that Jesus is making about the Kingdom of Heaven: we all were without means of earning a living (eternal life) but I choose you and gave you that opportunity, and My heart was that everybody could live (good eye) while your heart was to have more than others (evil eye).

Being born again includes being given a new heart that looks at everything, including money with new eyes.

It is errant to save up treasure for yourself. See Luke 12:19-21

Because I’ve worked for it does not mean I can do with it whatever I please. I am the Lord’s.

Our approach to money and the power He’s given us to get wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18) should be seen as resources made available to take care of our Lord’s house and our fellow servants. See Matthew 25:44-51

Repent, with me.

This is an excerpt from one of three areas (identity, treasure, purpose) where the Lord is challenging lies I’ve embraced that hinder my receiving the “true riches”, and where He’s imparting to me the “things that make for my peace”.

#trueriches #money #thethingsthatmakeformypeace

52 Weeks of Gratefulness #19 – The Victory That Christ Provides

Paul Luckett | Brainflurry.com - 52 Weeks of Gratefulness #19 – The Victory That Christ Provides

I was overwhelmed.
I found strength in the presence of Christ’s people who were gathered in His name.

So, in Week 19 of 52 Weeks of Gratefulness, I give thanks for the victory that Christ provides.

I’ll repeat this nugget from Alan Hawkins again:

“Victory is in the Lord’s communion.”

When faced with challenges, sometimes all we need is to get in formation -we need to run to the Lord’s communion, that is, the fellowship with others in Christ, especially over a meal.

Sometimes, we don’t even have to share our problems or solve that of others.

There’s a transmission happening just being in the midst of Christ’s people who are being attentive to His Spirit.

“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

But the greater the intimacy, the greater the power.

“For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
— Matthew 18:20

So, there’s even more strength to be had if we do share our problems with those we discern love God, love us and have His Spirit.

“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.”
— James 5:16

Are you a believer that’s struggling? Burdened? Overwhelmed?

“Victory is in the Lord’s communion.”

I’m grateful.

#52WoG

There is a difference between faithful and religious.

There is a difference between faithful and religious. Both involve work -exertion of effort to…

Originally posted on Facebook on Wednesday, May 10, 2023.

There is a difference between faithful and religious.

Both involve work -exertion of effort to achieve an end.

But the difference is why it's done and who it's done in service to.

As I learned through a dark night of the soul, I can claim the things I do are for God but that are actually and ultimately for me.

This was evidenced by my nearly walking away from faith because I was doing "good" things but bad things were still happening in my life. It violated my expectation of "wages", that is, if I do good things, I should get good things –a payday.

It's like working for a company. Ultimately your work is in service to yourself, not the company. If they don't pay you, you will no longer work.

It is do to get.

Contrast this with doing something for a loved one.

I recently traveled hundreds of miles to help my beloved nephew (son) move out of college for the summer.

It was work. It was inconvenient. It was costly and I was delighted to do it. I gladly went at my own expense.

Why? Because I love him and I want him to know he's loved. I want to help him. I want to contribute to his well-being.

And, like most teenagers, there wasn't any real indication that he got it. But, I was more than satisfied and my heart was full of joy just knowing that I gave.

This is do to give.

A key difference between religious and faithful is who my work is done in service to: an employer (which is ultimately in service to myself) or a beloved.

But the main difference is why I work: doing to get or doing to give.

With religion, I can rigorously observe and follow rules and be just as full of hate and hell as someone who is completely without any moral code or regiment.

But faithfulness springs from love.

There's a reason the Apostle Paul refers to himself, not as a servant who receives wages, but as a δοῦλος –doulos, an unpaid slave of Christ.

It alludes to Exodus 21:5,
“But if the servant plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ “then his master shall bring him to the judges. He shall also bring him to the door, or to the doorpost, and his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him forever."

The Apostle Paul willingly gave His service because He loved the Master. He didn't just dispatch his duties, he was delighted to do so.

So, as I struggle with maintaining motivation and resenting the daily grind –"what I've got to do today", I ask myself am I being religious or am I being faithful? Who am I doing it for and why?

I earnestly desire to be faithful and live out Colossians 3:23,

"And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men"

So, I call my mind again to my Lord, Jesus Christ. Even though I do it imperfectly, I do sincerely love Him.

When I remember everything I do and how I do it is an opportunity to help Him, contribute to His work, and to let Him know He's loved, my work becomes less about what I've got to do and becomes more about what I get to do.

But above all, I want a heart set on Him so that what I do is based on fealty rather than feeling.

That strength of heart does not come as a lighting bolt from heaven but only comes by way of exercise. I have to do cardio. I must exercise myself to godliness (1 Timothy 4:7).

Just like physical fitness, that spiritual strength of heart is only found through obedience –working out, and often against my short-term will.

Lord, by Your grace and by Your Spirit, please help me perfect my love of You and keep it ever before me that I might do all I do, not for myself but for You, and that I do it not for wages but because I love You that I might be found faithful rather than religious. For the glory of the Father, the purpose of Jesus Christ, I ask these things. Amen.

#perfectourlove #faithfulvsreligious #faithfulness #love #work

As a black community, I believe our first objective should be that…

As a black community, I believe our first objective should be that which is currently within our…

Originally posted on Facebook on Tuesday, May 9, 2023.

As a black community, I believe our first objective should be that which is currently within our power to do and universally that is stopping self harm.

As an example, our family has reached out to Dr. Brian Pugh to train us on financial stewardship and building wealth. His advice?

Before you get into conversations about stocks, forex trading, cryptocurrency or finding investments that earn high interest, he said, stop paying high interest!

While you may not have a lot of extra money to invest right now, you can increase your financial capacity by flushing less of it down the toilet to high interest debt.

In other words, stop self harm.

And, one of the very first places we need to stop self harm, is the relationship between the black man and the black woman.

We need to stop everything that is causing self harm in that area. And #1 for me is to affirm the value of black women and to stop the self harm of premarital sex.

As I've written before,"To guide on a way especially by going in advance" is the definition of leadership.

So, black men, #lead which means #youfirst.

We must commit to not tearing down black women in any way, including through premarital sex.

Let this be the start of a campaign to heal and grow the black community beginning with stopping self harm.

We may not have the capacity to do a lot of what we'd like to do yet, but we can stop doing things that harm ourselves right now, putting us in a better position to build it.

#stopselfharm #black #leadership #heal #grow #youfirst

Victory In The Lord’s Communion

Paul Luckett | Brainflurry.com - Victory In The Lord's Communion

Something that’s still rippling through my heart is a word imparted by Alan Hawkins that I heard at New Horizons,

“The way of escape is the Lord’s communion.” 1 Corinthians 10:1-21

This coincides with something else burning on my heart: we NEED each other.

It is not enough to have weapons or to even know how to use them, I need HELP!

I need my fellow soldiers because the war we fight is multifaceted and I wasn’t given all the gifts.

I was intentionally given a subset of the gifts; 1. for specialization and 2. so I’d have to depend on my fellow beloved to avert pride -one of the deadliest of Satan’s weapons!

To go into this war alone is unwise.

“A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; He rages against all wise judgment.”
— Proverbs 18:1

It doesn’t take many but it definitely takes more than me.

“Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight;
your enemies shall fall by the sword before you.”
— Leviticus 26:8

There are many challenges on this battlefield that different members of the body are especially equipped to handle. Despite personality differences or how I might feel about them, I cannot afford to be separated from these resources.

Did you know that disruption of logistics is a common military tactic?

The way to victory is the Lord’s communion!

But we’ve been disrupted!

Our primary objective as believers today should overcoming the divisions that have cut us off from each other.

We should be laying aside anything that separates us and fight toward each other!

Victory is in the Lord’s communion!

When we are together in Christ, then we can bind the strong man and plunder his goods, taking back from Satan all that he’s taken in deceit. (Mark 3:24-27)

Wake up church! We can win: our marriages, families, communities and the redemption of all things!

God has given us victory in the Lord’s communion.

We need each other.

Love.

#spiritualwarfare #perfectourlove

And, if Strength is the goal (God is our strength), we should not…

And, if Strength is the goal (God is our strength), we should not be doing anything to make any…

Originally posted on Facebook on Monday, May 8, 2023.

And, if Strength is the goal (God is our strength), we should not be doing anything to make any one else weaker.

"Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers." — Ephesians 4:29

"but, speaking the truth in love, [we] 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 4:15-16

We'd be many times more effective as a church if we get our minds right about our approach to it. There's a lot we can learn from the gym. Let's help each other get stronger!

The Discipline Of Looking For Life In Others

Paul Luckett | Brainflurry.com - The Discipline Of Looking For Life In Others

It’s easy to focus on what’s wrong or where I believe a person is falling short and completely overlook the areas where they’re growing and making an effort.

To ignore or deny where a person is trying is discouraging and destructive.

I realize how I’ve been guilty of this and I repent.

Very often, we kill the grape vine we’re given because we’re looking for an apple tree (and it might not even be the season for whatever we’re looking for).

I must learn to work patiently with the Holy Spirit within His appointed seasons, to sow what I want (Matthew 7:12, Luke 6:31) and faithfully attend to what I get, to nurture and cultivate what is rather than railing against what isn’t.

God has placed me in a garden. I have been entrusted with many fields. The goal is that there would be life in those fields and to help them be fruitful.

I must remember that the goal is not to get what I want, but to seek what God wants -fruit: to be co-laborers with God in conforming each person, all the fields He’s given me the great privilege of working with Him in, to the glorious image of Christ.

So, a good question to ask in my frustration about what I’m not seeing is, where else are they trying, where else are they budding, what is needful for Christ to be further formed in them?

Then I can turn that budding seed toward the Son, nurture it, and lean into what God is doing -in them and me.

“[Love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails.” –1 Corinthians 13:7-8

#perfectourlove

Just this morning, I was in Leviticus 26 where God is making a…

Originally posted on Facebook on Wednesday, May 3, 2023.

Just this morning, I was in Leviticus 26 where God is making a promise to the people He's bringing into the promised land and says,

‘If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments, and perform them,

You will chase your enemies, and they shall fall by the sword before you.

Five of you shall chase a hundred, and a hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight; your enemies shall fall by the sword before you.'
Leviticus 26:3, 7-8

What struck me was that even though God promised, they still had to fight.

"He didn't promise easy, He promised power," is an excellent summation.

Thank you, dear brother!

Here is Pastor Gregory Jones at two different ribbon cuttings with…

Here is Pastor Gregory Jones at two different ribbon cuttings with me along my entrepreneurial…

Originally posted on Facebook on Friday, April 28, 2023.

Here is Pastor Gregory Jones at two different ribbon cuttings with me along my entrepreneurial journey.

As I prepare to open a third location, he immediately comes to mind. It reminds me that Pastor Jones was so much more to me than someone I would just consult regarding spiritual matters, he was a part of every part of my life.

So, on week 17 of 52 Weeks of Gratefulness, I give thanks for so much more than a pastor. Pastor Gregory Jones was my friend and the kind of pastor and person I hope to be.

I miss you.

I'm grateful.

#52WoG