Originally posted on Facebook on Friday, September 19, 2025.

The hardest part of working through conflict is resisting my flesh, and to not let it poison the process. It wants to win, hurt and destroy but that's the spirit of the destroyer.

I see so many holes I could exploit, opportunities to box them in, attacks they cannot come back from.

But what good is a sense of superiority sitting alone on the ash heap of my victory?

My flesh responds, "I won't be alone though—my fury is reserved for my enemies." But the wisdom of God through Jesus Christ teaches hell never says enough, for those ruled by this spirit eventually everything burns. (Proverbs 27:20, 30:15-16)

"But [a Samaritan village] did not receive [Jesus], because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.

And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, 'Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?'

But He turned and rebuked them, and said, 'You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.' And they went to another village."
— Luke 9:53-56

Lord, I lack wisdom. Teach me to put to death the flesh and seek to be reconciled rather than right, producing life rather than death. (Romans 8:13) Amen.

#DyingToWin #ToBeRightOrReconciled #SpiritualWarfare #perfectourlove

Originally posted on Facebook on Thursday, September 18, 2025.

Charlie Kirk Post Response #1 – Whiteness

Your whiteness is beautiful.

What I hear from some of your responses is that my use of the phrase white nationalism seems like a blanket accusation that whites are racist. That is not what I meant. I do not believe being white means being racist. I believe my white brothers and sisters are a beautiful facet of God's glorious body that brings a wonderful richness to the Kingdom.

By white nationalism I mean the promotion of policies that center white interests in the politics and culture of a nation. Please hear me: I am not championing or at war with any particular political stance. My only concern is for the body of Christ and the distortion of the Gospel when it is polluted with anything else such as politics. I only used the phrase to name what I see being preached alongside the gospel when Charlie Kirk is exalted as a champion of Christianity.

While we can agree to disagree about whether that naming is accurate, I certainly did not mean to extend "white nationalist" to define all white Christians. I acknowledge and appreciate that there's recently been a context of white people being vilified for being white. So, I understand how the use of such a loaded term could cause some to believe that I'm calling them racists. That's not at all what I mean about whites in general and I'm sorry I communicated that.

I believe your whiteness is beautiful,
as is my blackness,
in their proper place
which is not at the center of everything—
that's where Jesus belongs.

"After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!'" – Revelation 7:9-10

This is the first in a short series of posts where I will respond to some of the concerns many of you raised. Each post will take up one theme at a time where we will exclusively discuss the named topic. I will not be engaging in point-counterpoint contests. This is not a debate for me. I’m not trying to win an argument — I’m trying to win you.

I want to hear you and share my heart. My hope is to pull down what stands between us and Christ, beginning in my own heart. My desire is simple: fuller communion with you in Christ, to the glory of God. If you’re interested in storming the gates of hell with me and fighting toward each other, let’s go.

If we're in Christ, victory is assured. Jesus Himself promised: “I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” – Matthew 16:18.

I love you.

#perfectourlove

Originally posted on Facebook on Sunday, September 14, 2025.

My wife and I were separated by an ocean from our home. We were in an airport and as a plane was unboarding, a couple came off wearing Mississippi State apparel. I immediately exclaimed, "Hail State!". They promptly responded, "Hail State!" which led to a conversation.

Sadly, I have more confidence of being embraced by someone with association to a university than I have of someone wearing a cross. Jesus said, "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35) And we, as Christians, are failing fantastically to meet that standard. The aim of everything I do is to perfect our love to the glory of God.

Many arguments have been leveled against me and what I've written in my earlier post about Charlie Kirk, but most miss the point. The point is there's a stronghold serving to separate my brothers and sisters in Christ and that is exalting itself against the knowledge of God. Feel whatever you want about me or what I've written but I'm telling you directly that my heart is to enjoy a fuller communion together with you in God through Christ and to remove / lay down everything that hinders that.

One such thing is the division between white and non-white believers. Mr. Kirk espoused positions that dishonors and are deeply harmful to non-white believers. They are positions that many of us have long suspected white believers have. So, when white believers idolize Charlie Kirk as a symbol of Christianity, they implicitly (if not explicitly) endorse those positions. These suspicions are between us, keeping us at arms length, dampening our worship and diminishing our witness to the world.

Mr. Kirk represents a white, nationalist set of ideas presented as Christianity that are not Christianity. That's what I mean by he's "not a soldier of the faith" because what he fights for is not the unadulterated Gospel—no matter how much Scripture he uses (Galatians 1:6-9). What breaks my heart the most is that it lies on the heart of God. It casts suspicion on God—whether the God of Christianity shares Mr. Kirk's sentiments about them, whether He loves them, and whether they are welcome with Him.

I have no ill will toward Charlie Kirk. But there is a lie being told in how he's being presented, and I am confronting that lie with the truth. Charlie Kirk is not representative of God's love.

God loves you. Jesus gave His life to bring you into the family of God to the glory of God. Every nation, tribe and tongue are in that family (Revelation 7:9–10) and there are no step-children.

I am contending for the faith. I am not fighting against you. I am fighting toward you. If we can work through this, fight to remove what divides us (such as our politics), and keep the unity that Christ has already achieved, God will be glorified. That's what I'm fighting for.

I look forward to a day that any Christian can encounter another Christian anywhere and enjoy the full embrace of God expressed in Jesus Christ.

I love you.

#perfectourlove

Originally posted on Facebook on Saturday, September 13, 2025.

Let me be plain—the murder of Charlie Kirk was heinous, unacceptable and I grieve his death. Also Charlie Kirk was not a soldier for the faith.

Just because he said something with a smile doesn't mean it's not hatred. Violence can be veiled with a smile, Scripture and a semblance of godliness.

"Faithful are the wounds of a friend, But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful."
— Proverbs 27:6

He advocated white nationalism with a Christian veneer. Jesus said, "you cannot serve two masters" (Luke 16:13) and "those who do not gather with me scatters" (Luke 11:23).

He pushed a political agenda which ensnared him and corrupted his credibility as a witness for Christ. His rhetoric risked pushing sincere believers of different heritages away from each other and inserts a political worldview which gets in the way of us getting any closer.

Here's the litmus test for me: is whatever I'm doing serve to usher everyone Christ draws into the full enjoyment of communion with God through Christ? That's the standard I try to apply to everything I do including this post which is a standard that his brand of "Christianity" frequently fails.

My post is not about liberal or conservative.

"For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified."
— 1 Corinthians 2:2

Notwithstanding, the elevation of a political view or anything to the point that it hinders communion is an idol.

My desire in my speech and life is to draw closer to you and I'm willing to put down anything that does not serve Christ and that prevents that.

I love you.

Originally posted on Facebook on Saturday, September 13, 2025.

Any so-called "Christianity" that dishonors the similitude of God in others is not representative of Christ at all. It is a misrepresentation. That's not who Jesus is at all.

Christians give everything in service to God for the purpose of seeing that similitude perfected for the glory of God. That perfect expression is Jesus Christ as portrayed by the Holy Spirit in Scripture—not Western, eurocentric imaginings.

Let us lift up Christ unadulterated and usher those He draws into the full enjoyment of communion with God through Christ rather than pushing them to the outskirts with our prejudices. The Kingdom of Heaven has no ghettos.

Repent.

Originally posted on Facebook on Friday, September 12, 2025.

When I look at our world in flames, I see me. This is the result of my hellish nature in aggregate.

"And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell."
– James 3:6

What the world needs is not more hellish fire, but healing waters.

Healing waters only come from Jesus—the only representation of righteousness.

But the tragedy is we each think that we are righteous, that our positions are justified, that our way is good. We insert our own image as the representation of righteousness and even blasphemously do it in Jesus' name!

Unless we look like the Man hanging on a cross—innocent, blameless, with no hand in our hurt, yet is full of love, giving everything He is and has to save us from the harm we caused (to ourselves and each other) to the extent of being abused and killed as a sacrifice that we may be one and have life together with Him in God—unless we look like that, we do not represent Christ.

Christ is not on either of our sides. Both sides are evil and corrupt, even if one side is quoting scripture. What Jesus calls us to is another dimension altogether—from sides to a sphere that has no sides, from division to wholeness in God. God is one.

Marriage teaches me this: when we can't come together, it’s because of something we're holding. To reconcile and come together we must forsake all and follow Jesus.

So too with the ministry of reconciliation: we must lay it all down—racial centering, gender superiority, our identity, our power, our position, our possessions, our philosophies—everything that does not serve communion: oneness in God through Christ.

Therefore I look to Christ and resist my flesh. I seek to come as the Lamb, declaring God's love for you—my love for you, I lay down arms and pick up my cross believing that Jesus shows us how to win.

Every other way leads to a hell of our own making.

Jesus saves.

#FromHellToHealing #perfectourlove

Originally posted on Facebook on Friday, September 12, 2025.

I was recently reminded of something powerful Jesus does: He saves me from myself everyday—from my hellish nature (flesh) that would burn everything to the ground given enough time.

Before, I was powerless against sin. But now, by His power, I can not sin! Said another way, I now have the ability to not sin.

Don't get me wrong—it's a battle every moment of every day, but in Him, I can win against the sin my flesh craves. There's victory in Jesus Christ.

If I can just get to Jesus, I'll win. And He's just a prayer away. That's why I should always be praying and cease not.

#JesusSavesMeFromMe #perfectourlove

Originally posted on Facebook on Tuesday, September 9, 2025.

Idolatry is enjoying anything other than God.

The essence of idolatry or adultery is seduction—the drawing away of the heart. (Deuteronomy 13:5)

It is often the slow, quiet, gradual moving of the heart from one to another. This heart creep happens long before an affair or indiscretion, and it begins by:

consuming what I should not,
entertaining what I should not (conversations, interactions, etc.),
leading to doing what I should not.

This is why we must guard our hearts. (Proverbs 4:23)

Enjoyment reveals our affections. Whatever we enjoy should lead us to God, else we're being led away.

"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

"Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God."
– James 4:4

"'And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'
This is the first commandment."
– Mark 12:30

This instruction by the Holy Spirit has led me to confess, repent and reject a lot of what I was consuming, especially in entertainment.

The clarifying questions that help guard my heart against seduction are:

– Where's my heart when I'm engaged with this? (Can I do this with God?)
– Does this move my heart? And if so, where? (Is my heart moved anywhere other than God?)
– Does this suggest something else as the source for assistance, safety, self or satisfaction? (Does it suggest a source that is not God?)

Everything I want or need is in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy (1 Timothy 6:17). This is true freedom: enjoyment that leads to life and not death. Life is exclusively in God through Christ. (2 Corinthians 6:12, 1 John 2:15, 5:12)

#idolatry #heartwords #perfectourlove

Originally posted on Facebook on Saturday, September 6, 2025.

When I married my wife, I entered a covenant where I accepted (whether I realized it or not) that the glory of oneification was worth more than whatever I might lose in the process.

That means there are sacred (set apart) things that I share exclusively with my wife and if we are apart, they are things I do not participate in—things I willingly go without, as I wait and prepare in eager expectation for our communion to be restored.

This is marriage mentality: "I prepare a place and wait for you."

Whore mentality is: "I sought satisfaction elsewhere because I wasn't getting what I wanted from you." This is the spirit of adultery and idolatry that destroys communion with God, each other and the very fabric of society.

The purpose of our temporal marriages is to point to an eternal reality: a right way of relating—first to God, and then to each other. The ultimate aim of marriage is to reflect and reveal the perfect way of relating that is within God.

So marriage is a man and woman coming together saying, "Let us be God's image"—submitting our lives to God for oneification, which requires all that I am and costs all that I have. The glory that is before us is greater than whatever we may lose in the process because God is made manifest—the greatest and highest good.

“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church."
— Ephesians 5:31-32

Marriage is a wonderful and impossible ministry. Good thing, then, it's done by God. (Matthew 19:4-6)

#theministryofmarriage #marriage #oneification #perfectourlove

Originally posted on Facebook on Wednesday, September 3, 2025.

A lot of days I wonder whether anything I do matters.

The challenge of being salt and light is that their benefit is largely imperceptible to themselves.

Their purpose is not for themselves but for others: “You are the salt of the earth… [without it], how shall it be seasoned?” and “You are the light of the world… it gives light to all who are in the house.”

Salt doesn’t taste itself. Light doesn’t see itself. They do not act upon themselves, so they don’t experience their effect. That means I can’t measure the effectiveness of what I do by how it feels to me.

I don’t season or shine for myself. So, for who then?

For the benefit of others, but ultimately for the Father—the one who made me salt and light.

I have to trust that His making of me is effectively working to achieve the good that He purposed. (Ephesians 2:10, 4:16)

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” — Matthew 5:16

It is for Him.

My constant focus, then, must be to simply love Him (we love God through obedience, which is not forced but flows from our love for Him [John 14:15, 1 John 5:3])—accepting that there is a great deal I do not perceive nor understand, and trusting that my labor in the Lord is never in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58).

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." — Romans 8:28

So the challenge is to live by faith and not by sight—not measuring our effectiveness by what we perceive, but by trusting that God is good, He wastes nothing and is using you in ways for good that others might experience, even if you don't.

Season and Shine.

God is using it beyond what we can see.

#BeyondWhatICanSee #SaltAndLight #SeasonAndShine #PerfectOurLove