He is about the Father’s business, making God known through love.
He is being obedient to God’s government and presenting a space where God’s kingdom is experienced that they may know God.
“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
— John 10:10
“And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”
— John 17:3
In that greenhouse the Word is both communicated and experienced, and is where faith is born when it is received by the cultivation of the Holy Spirit.
Making God known through love that the whole world may be reconciled to Communion with God through Christ is the Father’s business.
It is something that has to be obeyed because I love. Which comes first, obedience or love, I do not know. Maybe they come together, they’re part of the same thing, integral to one another.
What I do know, is sometimes I will not want to, especially initially but the more I obey, the more I love.
“For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”
— John 6:38
The battle is one of desire—following my heart or obeying the heart He gave me—it’s about making God the only thing that I want.
“I don’t want to” means my desire is misplaced. I am mindful of the things of men and not the things of God (Matthew 16:23). I overcome through obedience.
Loving obedience is THE weapon for an adulterous heart (James 4:4-7)—love and obedience that is only possible through His nature and His power granted by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
So in obedience, I take a cue from the Proverbs 31 Woman. I purpose to do all in my power at all times to provide for my Lord’s house, and to perform, promote and support His enterprise—the Father’s business.
This problem. That problem. I’m pulled in a thousand different directions.
It’s hard to concentrate. I constantly jump from one thing to the other.
It’s difficult to stay on task because attacks are coming in from every side and each one feels like an existential threat, all the while I’m looking for THE problem to solve that will solve many, if not all, of the rest.
What’s the thing, if achieved, that will secure me, that will remove the terror of death and give me peace?
Sudden ruin is the anxiety of my heart.
To defeat a demon, you must make it take shape by uncovering its name.
What, exactly, am I afraid of?
I’m afraid of:
Someone dear to me languishing and dying in poverty and my having done nothing to improve their situation.
Losing my job.
Losing my clients.
Not having enough money to pay for our house, our cars, our bills, our streaming services, our debt, to keep the lights on and to have enough left over to enjoy any semblance of life such as eating out and taking an occasional trip for a change of scenery.
The discontent of others.
The disapproval of others.
Being unworthy of respect because I failed to achieve financial success.
Being alone.
I cast the demon out by bringing it into captivity of Christ.
“But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.”
— Matthew 12:28-29
I accept Christ as King who is stronger than my enemy.
“[…] on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
— Matthew 16:18
I then die to this world to be released from being acted upon as its subject and am raised up to sit with Christ who reigns in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6) and acts upon it—the government of Hell shall not prevail against the government of Heaven.
I accept the loss of all the things of this world and no longer work for them.
You can’t scare a dead man with death.
“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
And I focus on the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.
I focus exclusively on gaining His character to be a vessel of His work—the blessed Oneness of all things in the Communion of God through Christ. And I trust Him for the rest.
“And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you.”
— Luke 12:29-31
The irony is, while I’ve been anxious, He’s been doing this all along. Imagine the joy and peace I could have enjoyed if I had trusted Him all this time instead of worrying and fretting?
I confess this sin and repent. Additionally, I die to the world and accept whatever loss comes with that. If in the course of following Christ it dies, it dies. I will not allow it to make me turn back.
“Remember Lot’s wife.”
— Luke 17:32
I will work with a heart committed to fostering Communion and bringing everything in my sphere onto the mat—into the order of God’s government so that they may experience His wonderful kingdom.
So, however small my sphere starts, the question is how does my love for God and what have I learned of Christ about how to govern inform how I use what’s in my hand at this moment to provide for my sphere and bring it into His kingdom order for the purposes of glorifying His wonderful name and drawing all men unto Him in Communion?
“He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.
Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?
No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”
— Luke 16:10-13
I want the true riches.
Practically, the way I provide for my sphere may look the same as any one else earning a living, but the reason and my reaction to the results will be drastically different, leading to drastically different outcomes—even materially, but especially spiritually.
The reason.
This is how I focus—remembering the Treasure I seek: God alone.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.”
— Matthew 5:8
Love (verb – how it works): Obedience to God’s government that presents a space where the recipient of love experiences God’s kingdom.
I refer to that “space” as “the mat” and my goal is to meet people there.
The mat is love.
While these are not exhaustive lists (I hope to expound on this later), what is on that mat is joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
And what is NOT on the mat is bitterness, evil speaking, malice (Ephesians 4:31), selfishness, envy, unforgiveness, sexual immorality, (Romans 1:29-31) and things that may surprise you like truth that is not spoken in love.
This is deeply helpful to me. It helps me, at any moment, to orient myself spiritually and answer God’s first question to man, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9)
Love is obedience to God’s government that presents a space where the recipient of love experiences God’s kingdom.
My goal is “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” To make it real by presenting a space where others can experience it—the mat of love.
In Week 10 of 52 Weeks Of Gratefulness, I give thanks to God for what we still have.
Earlier this week we received a phone call that makes the heart of every parent drop, “Dad, I’ve been in an accident…”
I thank God that the voice on the other end of the phone was our child. Upon hearing the details of the accident, it easily could have been a different call.
That night could have ended in heartbreak. I can only hope that we could remember God’s goodness in the midst of such unimaginable grief.
Originally posted on Facebook on Sunday, February 23, 2025.
“Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”
“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
Is there a time where Jesus was any more human?
Because though He was separated, He was not forsaken.
But at this moment He's bearing our sin and this is sin's effect: separation. It's a state change so profound that God refers to it as death. We can feel it, and it registers as God not being there.
At this moment Jesus fully and intensely experiences the agony and consequence of sin—separation from God. Yet, He trusts the providence of the Father.
“No one takes [my life] from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.”
— John 10:18
“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.”
— Hebrews 4:15
This is how He won—achieving our salvation and the redemption of all of creation—by trusting the Father.
This is our God, the author and finisher of our faith, our King, our Commander-in-Chief, our example.
"He teaches my hands to make war"
— 2 Samuel 22:35
"Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name"
— Philippians 2:1-9
Like Him, we are fighting for Communion—the reconciliation of all things: oneness with God, within ourselves, with one another, and with all of creation.
This is how we war.
This is how we win.
Trust God, who has not forsaken you—no matter how it feels.
Sin has changed the world, becoming central to our experience even to the extent of changing our understanding of what it means to be human.
Sin causes separation.
The sense of this separation that causes us to feel like God is not there is a very human experience.
But it is not reality. God is there and because of His faithfulness to His purposes in creation and His unfailing love toward us, He provided atonement that is made available in Jesus Christ.
Even those who have accepted His atonement may still feel separated because sin remains present in and around us (Romans 7:14-25).
There still dwells with us the consciousness that is governed and walks according to the pursuits and illusions of this fallen world—the carnal man, as Scripture refers to it.
This is the old man of sin, which we must die to—one sin at a time, day by day. In the meantime, sin obstructs our enjoyment of God.
Therefore, we seek to be governed and to live more and more according to the new man, which is being born in us by faith in Jesus Christ—the One who gives us new meaning.
In this process of dying to sin and living to God, especially early on, it feels as though God is not there—that we've been forsaken.
But God has not forsaken us. He is there and we must trust (regardless of how we feel) to the very end in order to win (Matthew 24:13), just like Jesus—who showed us how to be perfectly human.
The prize—knowing Him, uniting with God, our exceedingly great reward—is indescribably worth it and we can have it to an ever-increasing degree, starting right now.
In Week 8 of 52 Weeks of Gratefulness, I give thanks to God for the questions.
My pastor, mentor, and spiritual father, Dr. Gregory Wilson Jones, did not just tell us what Scripture said; he constantly asked us what Scripture said.
First, he made sure we were reading, and second, he ensured we were engaged with Scripture by asking questions that made us wrestle with and explain its meaning in our own words.
Dr. Jones did not just lead Bible class, he taught Bible courses! There was literally a syllabus for each series and everyone received a printed outline for each class. He taught hefty theological concepts but in a way anyone could relate to. I remember many nights where children were sincerely engaged, asking wonderful questions during our discussions.
Dr. Jones understood that growth comes from challenges that are indicated by questions rather than from comfort that results from being spoon-fed.
Originally posted on Facebook on Wednesday, February 19, 2025.
Faith is not a feeling. In fact, faith is the very thing that keeps me going when my feelings suggest that I should give it up.
And what is "it" that feelings (which often result from influences of the world) suggest I give up?
Life and its functions.
I'm not talking about giving up on empty ambitions: cars, houses, money, titles… Satan specializes in and preoccupies us with beautiful dead things.
I'm talking about a place for me in God with the family of God—the sweet communion of God, through Christ with His children facilitated by the Holy Spirit.
To be in Him is to be alive. It is life. (John 1:4, 15:4)
“He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.”
— Mark 12:27
Faith is life's force, the outworking and evidence of life in us. As life begets life, life is faith's pursuit.
It’s a struggle to get out of bed many mornings, to push past the darkness.
So, why do it?
Hope.
I have good reason to expect the day when the darkness will cease because the Son has come.
So, with eager expectation I move; walking by faith that allows me to maintain the fight even though my feelings suggest that I’m failing.
I’m fueled by the pleasure of seeing God’s kingdom order come to everything—both the process and the product—to this day and the day it will be fully consummated.
I do it because I believe the love He has for us (1 John 4:16), because I love Him, and I can’t wait for everyone to experience that when He’s King of all.
So, I make Him king of everything I can today.
“And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
— 1 Corinthians 13:13
Originally posted on Facebook on Monday, February 10, 2025.
I have received notes about how I disappointed people with my post about Elon Musk last week. Rather than addressing each one individually—since they share a common theme, and because I believe open, honest discourse is valuable—I have decided to respond here in a single public post.
Most of those who wrote to me, as far as I can tell, did so with sincerity and genuine concern for me and the church. So firstly, thank you. I am deeply appreciative that you cared enough to engage and challenge me. I love you for that. I've prayerfully considered your admonishments and want to respond in earnest.
I've chosen an excerpt from one of these notes that I believe best represents the central theme of the rebuke,
"[Your post] does nothing but stir up division on a matter that is not a cut and dry scenario. […] Does taking such a strong public stance on how you as an individual interpret [Musk's] intentions do anything to edify the body of Christ as a whole?"
It is not my heart to be political. It is not my heart to put my finger on the scale and tilt it in one direction or another. It is my aim to be only concerned with Christ's kingdom. I believe if you remove the lens of political fealty, see me as someone who loves you rather than as an enemy who is opposing your desire, and then examine not only what I've said but how I've lived among you, you'll see that—concerning myself with the business of Christ's kingdom—is what I've done.
Christ's kingdom springs from the heart of men, so I think it fitting to concern ourselves with what hardens hearts to His kingship. And were it not for the church idolatrously deifying politics and political personalities, there would be no occasion to protest. But in that we've been caught bearing these idols in the church—bringing the outside inside—so that they, rather than GOD: The Father, The Word and The Holy Spirit, are made an authority that informs how we relate to each other and the world (when it should be the other way around), it is necessary to make war against this would-be invader.
You say I, "stir up division," and in a way you're right—because in some cases, division is necessary.
"For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you."
– 1 Corinthians 11:18-19
Jesus Himself said,
"Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword."
– Matthew 10:34
So what's the line [along which division is necessary]?
Christ.
In Christ + something else, the "+ something else" should be vigorously attacked—like T cells against foreign agents in the body—because that "+ something else" obstructs Christ (and consequently His life in us).
"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 4:6
Light.
I get the sense from many Christians that any contention, any deviation (not from Christ but) from earthly and cultural power structures that attempt to entrench themselves (often as Christ), is "divisive" and destructive. These conflate conformity for unity. Christ is our unifier—the heavenly Bread without any leaven of earthly consideration that is broken over the table of Holy Communion. Communion with God through Christ is what unity looks like, not conformity to cultural or political ideals.
Not all contention is bad. Not all division is destructive. We are soldiers. We are fighting toward communion. And the fight is good (2 Timothy 4:7).
When Jesus said, "Let your light so shine before men" in Matthew 5:16, what do you think He meant by "light"? To say benign, pleasant "spiritual" things that make people feel good but isn't confrontational?
No. Light generally occurs by some form of violence: collision, combustion, chemistry—one thing giving way to another—or, reflection. Even in reflection there is violence. We reflect God. His reflection in our lives results in contrast to the darkness around us. There is a reaction on contact causing a release of power and something submits— darkness yields, thus light.
We are called to violence, the violence of us warring against what hinders communion, the violence of combustion as we burn the things in our lives that don't belong so we can come together, the violence of chemistry as our lives react to the word of God causing agreement and coming together, the violence of reflection that makes us distinct from the world, beckoning others who are drawn by its light so they too can participate in this violence and increase its glow—His glory.
"And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force."
– Matthew 11:12
But, "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood" (Ephesians 6:12). And, I think you will find upon truthful examination that I never took aim at a person, or at a political party. I took aim at a stronghold, an argument, something that exalted itself against (and obstructed) the knowledge of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:4-6).
I was rightfully warring against an idea that was suggested by a gesture done by a person that Christians are praising. Such an endorsement by Christians implies that God approves, and in many cases I've seen people assert that God ordained it. Were it not for that idolatrous obstruction to the knowledge of Christ and that demonic misrepresentation of God's heart, I would not have been compelled to denounce it.
You say, the matter is not "cut and dry". Does it need to be? If my wife saw some woman whispering in my ear, and was offended at the interaction because she felt it was romantic, is the appropriate response defensiveness and to argue from a position of her wrongness and my rightness? No. That would be disastrous. But what would be even worse, is to say nothing at all. The only appropriate response is to immediately and wholeheartedly declare, "That is not my heart!" And proceed to establish the truth of my love for her, then and only then, explaining the facts of the interaction. This is the spirit of "speaking the truth in love" as we're commanded in Ephesians 4:15.
So, insofar as the gesture suggested hatred, division and oppression, I denounce it and wholeheartedly declare, "That is not God's heart!" And, I now proclaim the love, oneness, and liberty that is in Jesus Christ.
The other front on which I fight is purging the leaven from our love feasts. And this is the division I gladly promote: not dividing the family of God, but dividing my beloved brothers and sisters from the idols that hinder our love. I am not fighting against them, but against the idols they bear in their hands. And I am going to continue to war against them until they're abandoned or destroyed. Communion with God through Christ is our sole pursuit.
"[…] contend earnestly for the faith […] keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh."
– Jude 1:3,21-23
To your question, "does taking such a strong public stance on how you as an individual interpret one's intentions do anything to edify the body of Christ as a whole?", what it does ultimately remains to be seen but I can tell you that it is my heart to edify the body. I'm fighting toward communion with you in Christ. While it may seem divisive initially, it's actually a call to the body of Christ and an effort to remove the barriers that obstruct our unity in Him. I believe our loving, honest, and respectful dialogue—flowing from a heart given to us by Christ—is deeply edifying to us and glorifying to God.
The fiasco in question is but one scintilla of the countless things the church has allowed to impede our unity. And the answer is not ignoring the issues but making war against every single one—sparks flying with such a fury as we fight toward each other, that the whole world is aglow with our beautiful warfare. We need more of these difficult "divisive" conversations, not less—so we can demonstrate the wonderous power of the Holy Spirit to simultaneously wage war against hell and give us peace with one another (Ephesians 4).
Even if I am wrong, my desire is to please Him and give Him a fervor that can never be accused of being lukewarm.
Originally posted on Facebook on Saturday, February 8, 2025.
We too often take a prescriptive approach to the Word. By that I mean we want to use scripture like a prescription for some pain rather than what it is: life for the person.
"Prescription" is the way of the world—like going to a bad doctor who prescribes pills that medicate you (things that make you feel better temporarily and in the process create all kinds of other issues), but doesn't heal you.
And we try to use scripture that way. It's like going to a good doctor who wants to heal you, who correctly diagnoses the issue and tells you the remedy is more leafy greens, and then we go get some kale and rub it where it hurts. 🤣
No. That's not how the remedy works. We must consume it consistently over time and its healing properties aren't isolated to just one area.
True healing comes through health, and health isn't isolationist—it's integrative.
We try to take scripture and rub it where it hurts. We're looking for specific passages, devotions, or Bible studies to alleviate specific pain and to solve specific problems, when the real problem is we're unhealthy—we're dead, or struggle with deadness.
Jesus came to give us life (John 10:10). His Word is the true food that gives life. He is life.
We don't apply it; we consume it. When we understand that, we stop picking through it looking to scratch an itch, looking for application. We consume the word because it's good, whether we understand it or not, or whether it seems relevant at the moment or not.
The health that food produces in us is rarely immediately perceptible. It produces its benefits over time. That's why our consumption can't just be something that we do in a moment, but a whole other way of living.
And it makes no sense to eat what's good and eat other things that counteract its effect. We have to choose one and abandon the other.
As we mature, we understand more about what it means to live a healthy lifestyle and how to choose life. We don't need a degree in organic chemistry, but we do develop a general understanding of what sources are good.
"Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning."
— James 1:16-17
Jesus is the source.
We consume Him that He may be formed in us and that we may become a picture of health.
That is the solution to every problem and the healing for every hurt. Healing isn’t compartmentalized; health is whole—it is One.
So our aim should be to consume for health rather than seeking a pill for symptoms. Life and health is having Him.
