Podcast
Being a Follower
Hosted by Jimmy Anderson · EN
I'm just a simple Christian trying to follow the Will of God, and writing what He leads. This is the audio version of my blog.
jimmylogan.substack.com
jimmylogan.substack.com
22episodes
Episodes
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When the Door Opens the Wrong Way
Nov 1700:13:27Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Jimmy reflects on themes from The Exorcist Files podcast and the growing talk around ayahuasca and other “spiritual gateways.” He looks at what happens when people seek the supernatural apart from God’s design, why Scripture warns us to test every spirit, and how Christ gives believers true authority and protection. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com
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The Mirror of Heaven
Nov 1400:10:03Tap to summarizeIn this episode, Jimmy looks at what angels reveal about obedience — and what fallen angels reveal about rebellion. Drawing from Scripture and Dr. David Jeremiah’s Angels, he explores when they were created, why they serve, and how their story mirrors our own call to submit to God. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com
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Staying in the Spirit and Staying True to the Spirit
Dec 20, 202400:20:20Tap to summarizePassover RemembranceAs I’m going through some devotionals this afternoon, I have one I saved from October 20. It’s called A Day to Remember and comes from my favorite - Beside the Still Waters. It talks about a church that burned so they were moving services to the pastor’s home. They will never forget the day the church burned, but what ties to things I’ve been discussing is how, “in the Old Testament, God commanded the Israelites to keep the Passover as a day to remember their deliverance from bondage in Egypt.” This is contrasted with the Passover celebration in the New Testament where we are also told to remember something. Our table at church even says In Remembrance of Me. We hold Communion at church several times a year, and it’s always a time to reflect and, dare I say, rededicate!The writer includes something I’ve never thought of though. We know that the blood is the wine and the body is the bread. We know that Jesus is our Once and Everlasting Passover Lamb. What I had not thought of is this. “The reference is both to Christ’s physical body and to the church as His spiritual body. Many grains are crushed and many grapes are pressed to make these emblems, and this illustrates how we need to blend together as a brotherhood.”That is beautiful! No, it’s not ‘thus sayeth the Lord,’ and there is no scripture reference to back it up, but the thought behind it - the UNITY behind it - speaks to what I’ve been talking about as it applies to us today; to us in the sense of unity with other denominations. Walking in the SpiritWhile I’m discussing some things that jumped out at me, October 22 is about gossip. Now listen closely, so I don’t have to repeat this… Paul writes - Galatians 5:16 NIRV - So I say, live by the Holy Spirit’s power. Then you will not do what your desires controlled by sin want you to do.Galatians 5:16 KJV - This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.The lust of the flesh. This sounds so dirty, doesn’t it. You know there are more than one type of lust though, right? You can lust for money; for power; etc. Lust is not just for sex or intimacy. Actually one could argue that TRUE intimacy contains no lust whatsoever, but that’s a topic for another day.Right now, just know that lust means a strong desire for something. And lust is STRONG - like an overwhelming urge to do or have something. Think of a strong craving for chocolate. Is it lust? Or just desire? Can you easily say no? Can an alcoholic easily say no? That should put it in perspective.Here’s verses 19 through 21 in both the NIrV and King James…Galatians 5:19-21 NIRV - The result of sin’s control in our lives is clear. It includes sexual sins, impure acts and wild living. It includes worshiping statues of gods and worshiping evil powers. It also includes hatred and fighting, jealousy and fits of anger. Sinful desire is interested only in getting ahead. It stirs up trouble. It separates people into their own little groups. It wants what others have. It gets drunk and takes part in wild parties. It does many things of that kind. I warn you now as I did before. People who live like this will not receive God’s kingdom.Galatians 5:19-21 KJV - Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.So as you can see, a lust for power results in more than just adultery or fornication. Lust for ‘fun’ leads to drunkenness and partying. Make sure whatever you desire is in harmony or concert with what God desires for you! When we walk in the spirit, we will do things that are in line with what the Spirit leads us to do!GossipThe point in this daily devotion is that gossip is talking; communicating. This is something we all enjoy doing. My blog and podcast are communicating, and I believe that is a gift and calling of God. Talking, writing, singing, etc. are not in and of themselves evil, but they can be used for evil. The writer uses two verses to help illustrate this.Matthew 12:34 NIRV - You nest of poisonous snakes! How can you who are evil say anything good? Your mouths say everything that is in your hearts.Does what comes from YOUR mouth and MY mouth reveal what is in our hearts? Yes! You might have control over your tongue around certain people, or you might install a filter so you don’t ‘cuss on Sunday’ or ‘tell a dirty joke in the church,’ but if those things come from your mouth you better believe they started in your heart! So the writer points out that, “gossip is not merely a mouth problem but rather a heart problem. It starts with what we meditate on.” Philippians 4:8 NIRV - Finally, my brothers and sisters, always think about what is true. Think about what is noble, right and pure. Think about what is lovely and worthy of respect. If anything is excellent or worthy of praise, think about those kinds of things.Remember what we say in the computer world: garbage in - garbage out. If you input things that are incorrect, it doesn’t matter how smart you are or how you manipulate the data, it’s going to be incorrect at the end. If we dwell on the negative, we are going to produce the negative. If we dwell on the things we do not have we won’t appreciate what we do have. If we think negative things about people we will say negative things about people.The writer ends with, “profitable conversation should be a daily habit.”False TeachingsLast night the pastor was teaching on Matthew 24. He got a little bogged down in verses 4-8 talking about false prophets and false teachers. This really was driven home today when I was listening to a podcast and I heard someone say that God spoke to him audibly.Now this is nothing new; I have felt the tug on the heart or God telling me to do something too. I don’t claim to hear it audibly, but it might as well be audible. “Go to that person. Turn around. I said go to him. Don’t just drive off like you didn’t hear me.”No, none of that was audible, but I still felt the words, if that makes sense. Well, this person was talking about the rapture of the church and preparing people. He was in church on a Sunday morning. He admitted he was not a committed Christian (his words were “I wasn’t really religious”) and was only there to please his mom. But God said three words out loud to him.Now what was the first thing he did? He went to prayer? Went to the scripture? No - he asked for a sign. He asked God to send a sign that if it was really Him and not another spirit or ‘lower case gee’ god that was talking to him. He asked that if it was really from God that the pastor would call him that week.Sure enough - middle of the week - middles of the day - his phone rings and it’s the pastor calling him out of the blue. He said the pastor didn’t know him so it was not something normal. So it must have been God, right? Sorry - I’m not buying it…Now I’m not saying that God will only ‘speak out’ to someone that is a dedicated Christian and not just at church because their mom wanted them there. Jesus called to some of the disciples before they were believers. And we all ‘got the call’ to salvation while we were still antagonists. My point is that I don’t think God will answer the question for a sign with - well - a sign. Rapture TimingThere was another lady on the show who said God told her that she would be in her 40’s when the rapture occurs. She is now like 42. The pastor last night keyed in on this specific verse…Matthew 24:36 NIRV - “But no one knows about that day or hour. Not even the angels in heaven know. The Son does not know. Only the Father knows.Now before I go any further, I want to say that I don’t believe the Bible teaches that the rapture is ‘imminent.’ I believe that it teaches we will be taken before God’s wrath is poured out, but that the entire seven year period is not God’s wrath. Actually, the verses just before this say what I’m talking about… Now I recommend you read the entire passage of Matthew 24 so that you can read it for yourself. I will point out specific verses though.Before you read this - or listen to this next part - please know that I’m not t...
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Faith in Action
Dec 17, 202400:15:01Tap to summarizeThe Importance of Teaching Future GenerationsToday I’d like to share a post from Ken Ham. In his latest blog post, he talks about being encouraged as well as discouraged. I encourage you to read the entire post. There are a couple of things I want to pull out though.I’m typing this on a Saturday afternoon and this reminded me of tomorrow’s Sunday School lesson, which delves into the first Passover and the importance of teaching future generations about God’s work. I believe Christians today have failed in this. We lose a generation when we don’t ‘train up a child’ like we should. We should start TODAY to do better. If you’re like me and your kids are grown, you can still influence them. While you can’t make them attend church, you can share Bible verses, offer to pray with them, and remind them of God’s promises. If you have grandkids you can surely influence them while they are young enough to not be hard hearted. If you are not blessed with kids or grandkids, there are still those you can influence. You can’t influence someone else’s kids if they don’t bring them to church, so make sure to be there for them while they are there!!! We are coming up on Christmas so it’s one of the two times of year some people will come to church. Don’t miss the opportunity!!!Science, Worldviews, and Interpretation of DataThe reason I mention that is because Ken Ham mentions in his post about a letter received from a mother who shared her son’s commitment to Jesus. Such a heart warming thing! He shares other things too, including some ‘push back’ from secular as well as Christian people. Some of the criticisms Ken receives highlight the challenges Christians face in defending biblical truths.Two in particular - “We are often called anti-science, anti-intellectual, and anti-academic. Such monikers attempt to undermine our integrity.” I’ve listened to Ken talk about the science behind what they believe and teach, and I believe it is sound! Most people today believe that the theory of evolution and the theory of when the dinosaurs lived are fact. Again, we’ve done too little, too late to prevent our kids from believing these things and they get repeated as facts.Ken and Answers in Genesis remind us that these are not fact at all, but interpretations of the data. If we start with a secular worldview, we are going to make the data fit our beliefs. If we call ourselves Christian, though, and believe that the Bible is fact, then we are going to see this data through a Biblical worldview. Either way, the data doesn’t change, but our understanding of it does.Take for example the Grand Canyon. Secular scientists will say that the layers were formed over millions of years by the river cutting through the canyon. They don’t believe in the Bible nor the flood of Noah, so they dismiss that as even a possibility. What makes more sense to me is that the layers were formed over a short period of time. Fossils are another example. We are told in science class that the fossils were formed over a long period of time, yet you can’t duplicate that in the laboratory. What you CAN do, though, is repeated - over and over - show how fossils are formed when something cataclysmic happens in a short period of time. Look at it this way, then draw your own conclusions. If a footprint were made today, how long would it take to be disturbed? Even if you put up police tape and made sure no one walked in that area, would the mud stand the rain over even a year? Would the footprint be there in a year? Or would the only way it could be preserved as a fossil would be if it were ‘filled in’ in a short amount of time?The same with dinosaur bones. We know that when a body dies it starts to decay immediately. We also know the bones are the last to decay. Could a dinosaur’s bones remain exposed and undisturbed for millions of years, or would scavengers and natural decay prevent their preservation? What about the ones that are found ‘mostly intact?’ They HAD to be covered over quickly.One last thing - do your own reading… There was a recent find of soft material found that breaks all the theories of ‘millions of years.’ I recommend you read it for yourself. This article, for example, is titled in such a way that it MUST be old and we just don’t understand how it happened. We call this FAITH. They have faith that it is 75 millions years old, even though they don’t believe that soft material can actually last that long. What Do You Believe?Okay. To those that are non-scientific, sorry for the rabbit hole. The point is that science doesn’t tell us anything - scientists do. And they have a worldview when they look at the data. They ignore what is right in front of them because it doesn’t fit their paradigm, but call Ken anti-science because he believes the Bible.Bottom line - what do YOU believe? Make sure you aren’t trusting humans more than you are trusting God. The end of his post lists several examples of how Christians say that he teaches, to paraphrase, young earth is fact and if you don’t believe it you can’t be saved. This is simply not so. He and his people teach that Jesus Christ is the One and Only way to God. Period. He personally believes in a literal six days; others disagree. That’s okay! We will find out the truth when we get to Heaven, if we still care. The point is to get there!!! Did God Really Say That? Trusting God’s Word Amid DoubtTo shift gears, I’d like to share my notes from a Sunday School lesson from a few weeks ago. November 24 was titled Trust - Believers find joy through trusting God in all circumstances. The writer starts by saying there are two responses to situations: fight or flight. He points out that believers have a third response: faith.The question is presented: “How do you respond when confronting serious problems? What makes it difficult to trust God in every circumstances?” I answered prayer and faith; I added, though, doubt sometimes, though I’m not proud of it.Why doubt? Sinful nature; the human side believing that we are somehow in control; the fact that we can’t see God, so sometimes it is hard to believe in Him. Think back to the first whispers of doubt, which remind us of the challenges we face in trusting God fully.Genesis 3:1 NIRV - The serpent was more clever than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. The serpent said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat fruit from any tree in the garden’?”Did God really say that? We are told that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Light - the ONLY way to Heaven. The enemy will whisper to us, “did God really say that?”This time of year, It’s a Wonderful Life, gets a lot of play at our house. It’s a great story, though it’s not Biblically sound. Angels don’t get wings, and angels are not dead people. But again, it’s a cute story and tugs at the heartstrings. It does get one thing right - we are not an island! For good or ill, we definitely influence others. But I mention it because Clarance at the beginning is told he is to help a man on earth. Clarance asks, “is he sick?” to which the head person, God?, replies, “no, worse, he’s discouraged.” When we doubt, it’s easy to become discouraged.Is God sovereign? Then why should we be discouraged at all! We are on a first name basis with the Creator of the universe! But just a little bit of doubt will cause us to act as though we don’t know this fact. We have to constantly remind ourselves. Remember this verse and know that it applies to this circumstance as well - Romans 10:17 NIRV - So faith comes from hearing the message. And the message that is heard is the message about Christ.You might be more familiar with the King James version - Romans 10:17 KJV - So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.Choosing Faith Over FearThere’s another question I’d like to discuss. “As you read Acts 27:31-44, note how Paul trusted God in the situation. How did Paul’s faith impact others?” My answer was that even as the ...
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Building Bridges: Strengthening Our Mission to Share Christ
Dec 12, 202400:14:34Tap to summarizeHidden TreasurePicking up from the last post and the Jerusalem mission field, I am reminded of the analogy of the hidden treasure. I love the idea of this, and I love the way it was expanded upon in a movie called Testament. It is only in one verse, but it says so very much! I’ve also quoted the next two verses.Matthew 13:44-46 NIRV - “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure that was hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again. He was very happy. So he went and sold everything he had. And he bought that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a trader who was looking for fine pearls. He found one that was very valuable. So he went away and sold everything he had. And he bought that pearl.The lesson here is that “the kingdom of heaven” is so incredibly valuable that selling all you own in this life to obtain it is simply what you do! When we are presented with the kingdom of heaven as a choice, the wise thing is to give up all you have on this earth in order to obtain it.This is epitomized in one of my favorite verses. It shows that your eternal soul is worth more than any short term wealth or advantage you can get on this earth.Matthew 16:26 NIRV - What good is it if someone gains the whole world but loses their soul? Or what can anyone trade for their soul?Now why do I bring these up? Because if you are living a witness for Jesus, people are going to see you giving up everything in this world in order to get to Heaven, and they are not going to understand. Remember, it is not up to us to ‘convince’ them - it is not within our power to change someone’s heart for eternity. It is up to us to present them with the truth - the facts - and then it’s up to them to respond.The bottom line is make sure you are not assuming there is no need to try! Don’t write people off; don’t assume they would say no. Responding to the CallNow the next part of the lesson and my notes are about the steps needed to respond to this. As I said last time, my local group wasn’t very open to this. I share these steps now in hope that it helps someone out there…Quoting from the lesson for a moment - When a church understands and accepts Jesus’s Acts 1:8 challenge, what steps does it take to fulfill God’s mission at its end of the earth and in its Samaria, its Judea, and its Jerusalem?* Prepare. Empower a designated leader of missions and develop mission teams, strategies, and plans to take the gospel to your community, state, continent, and world.A smaller church will have different challenges to overcome. Teams are smaller and there may not be a particular person to head this up. Our challenge is people may not be interested in something they have to commit to on top of other things at church. I feel it’s my job to lead by example and encourage.Remember above where I mentioned it’s not up to us to change someone’s mind? I can’t change the mind of the casual or dedicated Christian to be an intentional witness for Christ, but I can sure encourage it and I can remind them! Yes, they may call it preachy and they may get turned off by it, but please tell me what is more important in the life of a Believer than carrying out the Great Commission?So let me encourage you to do the same… Be an intentional witness and lead by example!Beyond the Checkbook* Learn. Bring missions awareness and interaction to the entire church body, train members for service, and connect them to missionaries and mission needs.Baptists like to mention and support missionaries around the world, and this is a good thing! But I have known people in different churches that when asked about what they are doing to spread the word they mention the different missions programs they support with their giving. Don’t get me wrong - this is a great thing, but throwing money at something is not the only thing you can do! Yes, you may not be physically able to drive someone and talk in person to someone. You may not be able to grab a box and stand up and preach on the street. You may not be able to walk around a crowd and pass out tracts. But you can call people on the phone! You can help coordinate the efforts of the local church.If money is the ONLY way you can support, then by all means do it. Just don’t have the “I’ll support with a check so I don't have to get my hands dirty” kind of attitude. We have a gentleman at church that has been to the Philippines several times over the years. This is wonderful and the church supported him when he went. There are others that are not called to do this, though, but are called to go across town! Communicate needs to others so they can go as well. And a ‘team’ can consist of just two or three dedicated people.Power of Prayer* Pray. Ask God to give you a kingdom perspective and a worldwide vision as you intercede for Christian workers and unevangelized peoples.Also pray for direction. To be effective, people must be committed to Jesus and not living in sin. It is warriors on the frontlines in a spiritual battle. We will experience resistance. Satan does not want to see anyone experience deliverance, so he and his unholy minions will fight back!There’s a popular meme going around social media right now. I can’t seem to find it (spiritual interference?) but it goes something to the effect of, “If church weren’t so important satan wouldn’t try to keep you out of it.” There is a lot of truth in this. Being in a fellowship of believers is very VERY important for your personal spiritual growth. It is also somewhere where you can help OTHERS grow.Giving with Purpose* Give. Increase the financial support of the Cooperative Program and other Southern Baptist cooperative missions.Now I won’t rehash this, but I wanted to show how Lifeway includes this in the message. Plus I didn’t want to skip number four and you wonder what it was. Going Beyond* Go. Enable a growing number of members to participate directly in short-term, long-term, and marketplace opportunities to minister and spread the gospel beyond your church walls.Remember when I said to be a daily witness for Christ? We should also be preparing others for the same. It’s easy to sit back and say people should be doing this, but maybe it’s time you and I did something specific about it. Remember, there are many ways to do this. We can go house to house with intentionality, but we can also visit public spaces. We can ‘street preach’ - we can pass out tracts. But most of all we can be an everyday witness. But we can’t do that without a constant rededication to Jesus and distancing ourselves from personal sin.Sharing the Mission* Tell. Involve an increasing number of members in intentional, culturally relevant evangelism.This one goes with number five. We should share what we are doing with others to encourage them to do the same! We are all in this together.Equipping for Outreach* Send. Provide opportunities for members to hear and respond to God’s call to vocational missions service.Maybe they need the pastor to mention it during a Sunday night or Wednesday night service, when the bulk of he ‘dedicated’ members are present. Sunday morning sermon has to be the Gospel along with instruction, but at least in our church there are many more people there just for the sermon. You have to wonder why if they call themselves Christian they aren’t involving themselves more in service and to being fed.Now this might sound harsh to you to hear it put that way, but ask yourself, do I go to church all the time? Or when it’s convenient? Or just on Sunday morning? Do I not have time to follow God and be there when the doors are open? Do I make time on Sunday morning because it’s a habit? Or because I want to worship? If it’s the latter, then are you not to worship the other times that church meets?But back to the topic of send, perhaps the group needs to be trained, as I mentioned last time. Remember The Way of the Master? It’s not just for group training, but is a wonderful way to learn to be bold and intentional in personal witnessing too. Expanding the Kingdom* Multiply. Participate in church planting and help facilitate church-planting movements. Is this something a small church can do? Sometimes it seems we don’t have enough people to do all that is needed today. How could we help with planting?The first step is to realize that there is a mission field and people need a place to go. It can be discouraging seeing empty pews in the church we have. Perhaps we need to get back to worshipping in homes as well. We can actually partner with another church in this and experience mutual growth!Now your knee jerk reaction might be that our church doesn’t agree with the church down the road. I’m not saying that you should compromise your beliefs in order to have fellowship, but if the core tenants of Christianity are the same - that is that Christ died as a penal substitution for us; that H...
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Reaching Our Jerusalem: A Call to Witness
Dec 10, 202400:15:48Tap to summarizeSmall Group ReflectionsToday I’d like to share some notes from the Tuesday night small group. In our gathering, the men and women meet in separate buildings for their discussions. I serve as the ‘leader’ for the men, though I consider it more of a facilitator role. I make copious notes while also encouraging group discussion.We are still in the Training Union book (similar to a Sunday School book, published by Lifeway), which I previously used for teaching on Sunday nights. I’m still learning to adapt the material for a mixed small group, as opposed to teaching a broader age range.Last Tuesday night, we had seven in attendance. I quickly realized my notes were ‘preaching to the choir,’ prompting me to adjust on the fly.In hindsight, I see now that these notes were inspired by God with this blog and podcast in mind. Let’s see where they lead, shall we? Buckle up - things might get real!The Jerusalem Mission FieldWe are finishing up discussing the mission fields of the church. We’ve covered everything in this verse except Jerusalem - Acts 1:8 NIRV - But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. Then you will tell people about me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria. And you will even tell other people about me from one end of the earth to the other.Jerusalem was the hub of Jewish culture, home to the Temple, which once served as the center of worship. However, the Temple is no longer part of worship now that Jesus has become the One True Sacrifice. At first glance, you might think it would have been easy for those who followed God from the time of the Patriarchs to accept this new covenant. But Jesus upended the established religious order, replacing the Law with Grace - and, as we know, people have always been resistant to change.A Sobering ConversationI do want to share some things that were said last night. The opening anecdote from the writer talks about meeting a gentleman on a plane. They started talking and had several things in common - married, same number of kids, same age, etc. The difference, though, was a major one. The writer asked the other about church attendance and the other guy said that he “got enough church at a young age.”Wow. This is a strong statement, and maybe a shocking one. How often do we see this in our own circles - people who once seemed deeply committed but have drifted away How many of them just got enough God to do them for life? Maybe they make a conscious decision that they are good to go to get into Heaven and don’t need to serve, but if that’s the case then Jesus is no longer Lord of their life! He can’t be Lord of all, except when it’s time to go serve.This is an example of the mission field of Jerusalem. Someone who has been to church; been to the temple; probably heard the Gospel, but rejected it for the long haul. Does this person need to hear the Gospel now? YES! Never miss the chance to influence someone like this just because they’ve made a decision. If you need just a bit more encouragement, think about a time you were in and out of church, or just going through the motions. Did someone influence you? Did someone pray for you and you decided one day to get serious about serving God? What if those people had written you off as well…Practical Concerns in MinistryThat was supposed to be about what was said last night - sorry. I got a little sidetracked. We talked about people that have joined the church in the past but now don’t come at all; or just come for Sunday Morning Sermon; or come more than half the time, but don’t get involved. One of the guys mentioned that we had talked about a New Converts class, but we never got that going. We discussed some strategies and agreed that it was a huge concern.The Call to Reach JerusalemGetting to my notes, I will share this in such a way that it will hopefully be edifying to you and your local church, wherever that may be.The writer says, “the Jerusalem mission field is the surrounding community where you live, work, shop, play, and go to school.” Sounds easy, right? We are around these people all the time! They see us out and about; they see us going to church; they see us at the store. They also see us when we fail and when we fall.So how do we become the best witness we can be? It requires living every day in the will of God. It requires following Him in ALL things! Can you think of people who proclaim Jesus but don’t live it? They say He is Lord, but you don’t see the fruits of the Spirit in their lives. Worse yet, does this describe you?If it does, take this opportunity right now to stop and ask God for help. It might require what Baptists like to call a rededication. Personally, I believe we should live in a constant state of rededicating ourselves to Him.And lest you think this is my idea, take a look at these passages. First, Jesus spoke to the disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane before His arrest:Matthew 26:41 NIRV - “Watch and pray. Then you won’t fall into sin when you are tempted. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”Paul also writes about this ongoing struggle:Romans 7:18-19 NIRV - I know there is nothing good in my desires controlled by sin. I want to do what is good, but I can’t. I don’t do the good things I want to do. I keep on doing the evil things I don’t want to do.Left to our own devices, we will quickly fall. Make it a spiritual habit to examine yourself daily and ensure you are letting the Holy Spirit lead in every encounter.Encounters in Everyday LifeContinuing, the writer says, “our daily and weekly routines regularly bring us into contact with people who don’t know Jesus. Whether anonymous faces, casual acquaintances, or established relationships, people in our Jerusalem need to hear the spiritual truth we possess.”This is a very true statement, unless you live in a bubble or only deal with sanctified brethren. As above, we need to be aware of our actions and attitudes, as they will be a witness as well. Remember - we are a constant witness. The question is, is it for Jesus? Or ourselves?So, I would dare say that most of us are around people every day that need to hear the Gospel. Even if we are around other Christians all day, we should be encouraging them. Actually, there are needs all around us, and we should be mindful of them and willing to let the Holy Spirit work through us in whatever way God sees fit.Reviving the Spirit of VisitationThe rest of my notes are specifically designed to incorporate a visitation plan for the church. We had done something like this several years ago with great success, but it was something that we stopped after a while. A couple of years ago we talked about starting back, but talk and some basic planning was all we did. I think it’s time to do it again, but this was not well accepted with my group.So I prayed and asked God why He prompted me write so much about it. To be blunt, He impressed upon me that there was a reason and that I should bring it to YOU, the reader or listener to this. Perhaps it is to encourage you to start something in your local church, or maybe just an encouragement for you to do some visitation on your own. Either way, I trust Him in whatever He leads me to do.Answering Two Critical QuestionsFor today, I’ll share one more thing. The writer asks two very pointed questions - Who in our community does not know Jesus?What will be required to share the gospel to the lost people in our Jerusalem and to involve them in a local fellowship of believers where they can grow, serve, and reach out to others?As for the who, start at home. Neighbors, people in the community where you live, people in the community of the church. ASK! Work on being brave and being open about your beliefs. You’ve heard to avoid politics and religion in polite company, right? WRONG! That’s the world talking. There is a proper way to do this. First, you have to make sure that politics (or your political party or affiliation) is not your god. If your goal is to bring someone to your side of the aisle, then you are not witnessing for Jesus.Second, make sure your political views are informed by a Biblical worldview. Do you agree with abortion being okay? Then you’re not following Thou Shalt Not Kill. Do you agree it is wrong? If so, why? Because you don’t like the idea of children being killed? Or because it is wrong to do such a thing?Hopefully it’s the latter, and don’t be afraid to say why! People don’t have to agree with you, but love them enough to tell them the truth. You don’t have to be ‘in someone’s face’ about something, but don’t shy away from expressing the love of God and why He says something is wrong.Remember, people that disagree with you will have their own reasons. As long as you are not attacking them, calling them names, etc., then all you are doing is presenting an opposing view. Someone who does n...
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Filling the Master’s House
Dec 5, 202400:11:28Tap to summarizeHappy HolidaysI hope everyone ate plenty of turkey and dressing, or ham and stuffing if that’s what you prefer. I do apologize for the lack of posts and audio. We traveled for the holiday and I was working on my Tuesday night leading of the small group study. More on that later.Right now I want to go back to the revisit of an old post. As before, here’s a link to the original - Compelling Them to EnterThe last thing we talked about was the Great Commission. Next Charlie mentions a verse from the parable of the ‘great banquet.’ For context, it’s when the Master of the House wants to have a banquet and he calls his friends. They present one excuse after another, so the servants were sent to bring in the poor, the maimed, the invalids and the blind. Even after this there was still more room - so then this verse is given - Luke 14:23 NIRV - “Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads. Go out to the country lanes. Make the people come in. I want my house to be full.Now I don’t believe we are to physically drag people to church, but we are to be persistent. We are to compel them. Do we truly believe that Jesus died for us - and for them? If we do, do we care enough to act on it?The night I shared this lesson at church, our pastor had just that morning said something to the effect of, ‘if we really believed Christ could come back today, we’d be out there urgently sharing the Gospel with everyone we could find.’ The doctrine of imminence, which many believe, teaches that Jesus could return at any moment - that the Rapture could occur at any time. While I believe Scripture points to something else, that’s a discussion for another post.The bottom line is that 100,000 people die every day. That person you encounter could be gone tomorrow. Don’t waste the opportunity! At the very least, invite them to church. Go back and listen to the last episode for more on that.Holy Spirt MUST Be ThereAt the end of that particular lesson, Charlie mentions that if the Holy Spirit is not part of the church, then it truly is just a building! Remember, we as Christians are the Church; it’s not the building. I have a question: Can we have a ‘good spirit’ - a positive vibe or uplifting atmosphere - without the Holy Spirit? Absolutely! We can get excited during the song service or enjoy seeing our friends; we all love a good fellowship supper. These are all wonderful experiences, but they can happen without truly inviting God’s presence into the space.He goes on to say - “A church also needs the guidance of the Holy Spirit to teach us all things or we will lose ourselves in the false doctrine of man. According to the Bible, a church left to itself will lose its love for Christ, turn to false doctrine, become prideful in its ways, and become void of God’s Spirit. May the Lord help us that we never become a church without the Holy Spirit.”Is it really possible that we can “lose ourselves in the false doctrine of man?” Yes! It happens all the time! Any church that follows a spirit or ‘lower case gee’ god may have power, but it’s a false doctrine! Satan was the one that tempted Eve and introduced a doctrine where ‘mankind’ could be their own god! That’s a false doctrine of man that continues to this day. Some call it humanism.History shows us that false doctrine often arises when people depart from God’s clear instructions. Take the Tower of Babel as an example. God commanded humanity to multiply and fill the earth, but instead, they settled on the plains of Shinar and built what they intended to be a doorway to Heaven. Did God tell them to do this? NO! This was yet another false doctrine of man - a choice to follow their own reasoning rather than God’s direction.What about the Mosaic law? That was given of God - but what about the oral traditions of the Jews at the time of Christ? Would you say that the Pharisees had turned away from God and had added their own laws? So why can’t it happen today? There are churches that are more concerned with numbers than truth. There are churches where the music service is more like a rock concert than a church service. There are churches where the Word of God has been labeled as outdated to allow for more people to be comfortable and come to church.We must be on guard so that we don’t fall into this same trap! We must study and follow the Word of God. We must step aside and allow the Holy Spirit to take control of our hearts and minds. If we do that, then He will automatically have control of the services. False Teachers Among UsAnd one more for thing for this time… Charlie says the Bible teaches that a church without the Holy Spirit will lose God’s Spirit. There are several letters to the churches in the book of Revelation, but I want to look specifically at the one to the church in Pergamum. Revelation 2:13-16 NIRV - ‘I know that you live where Satan has his throne. But you remain faithful to me. You did not give up your faith in me. You didn’t give it up even in the days of Antipas. Antipas, my faithful witness, was put to death in your city, where Satan lives. ‘But I have a few things against you. Some of your people follow the teaching of Balaam. He taught Balak to lead the people of Israel into sin. So they ate food that had been offered to statues of gods. And they committed sexual sins. You also have people who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans. So turn away from your sins! If you don’t, I will come to you soon. I will fight against those people with the sword that comes out of my mouth.To dive a little deeper here, in verse 13 He mentions Antipas. This is Greek for “a Christian.” I believe He is saying that they have held the faith, even when those among you were put to death for the faith. In verse 14 He mentions Balaam, which is symbolic of a ‘false teacher.’ This also can mean Balac - Balak - or king of the Moabites. The impetus is that it is a false teacher in the midst of the people. It is not clear if they are being accused of the acts listed, or if it’s just the spirit of Balaam, but either way, they have allowed this spirit or this attitude to enter the church.The bottom line is don’t allow those with false beliefs to teach the rest of the flock. If the entire local church that you are a part of doesn’t hold fast to the doctrine of Christ, then it is going to lose the Holy Spirit. It is up to the members to study, then study some more - and then study some more - so that they can help instruct others.And then in verse 16 they are called to repent. When you realize that something like this - false teaching - is happening, you repent immediately. You don’t wait - you correct it.When a ship goes off course, does the captain allow it to continue off course so as not to upset the passengers with a sudden change? What if that course is carrying you into dangerous waters? What’s more important, the safety or the comfort of the passengers?What is more important at your church? The eternal safety of those there as well as those they will come into contact with? Or keeping them comfortable? What good is being comfortable if it puts you in hell? Remember the verses about plucking out your eye? Or cutting off your arm? Comfort is fleeting! Eternity is forever.In ClosingDear God I pray You take these words that You have led me to write and use them however You choose. I am a disciple only and in Your service. I pray that wherever they are read or heard that Your Spirit will open the hearts and the minds to Your presence only. In the name of the One and Only Jesus Christ I pray - amen. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com
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Invite to Church, But Lead to Jesus
Nov 18, 202400:13:53Tap to summarizeWhy Revisit This Message?Today I’d like to reshare a post from over a year ago. A very dear friend and sister in Christ brought up a question from this post. She didn’t disagree at all, but thought it could use some clarification. Since I’ve started recording as a podcast, I have thought about recording older posts as well, and after talking to her I thought I’d start with this one.I’ll link the original post, but don’t expect it to be a word for word rehash. I feel like God has expanded my audience as well as my voice; He has given me more boldness to speak the truth. I expect that it will be expanded upon. Join me as we see where God leads!Make UpThis particular post was a sharing of my notes from the Discipleship class I was teaching at the time. We were using Brother Charlie Halliburton’s book Five Things You Ought to Know. Though I don’t agree with everything in the book, I do believe it is a great resource for a new Christian to get some foundational study. We actually stopped with the book before we got into eschatology, and I don’t think that was an accident. This is one of those things that he and I have a difference of opinion.That being said, we were talking about the Church - specifically the MAKE UP of a church. Before you head off to Ulta or Merle Norman, hear me out. This is talking about what makes up the INSIDE of the local church.The Church as a Spiritual HospitalCharlie calls it a spiritual hospital - and I agree with that analogy. The doctors and nurses are the sanctified and the saints; the patients are the lost and dying. Now imagine a hospital that doesn’t just heal people and send them away. Instead, imagine that those that are healed become doctors and nurses themselves. And if they move out of the area they join the staff of another hospital. Or they might even establish a new hospital. The cycle can go on and on, because those healed become doctors and nurses themselves.Or at least it should go on and on. When we lose a generation we lose a lot of ground; we fall behind and the world; Well. The world begins to look like it does now! I recently saw a meme on Facebook that said something to the effect of, “when prayer and the 10 Commandments were taken out of schools, we wondered what would happen. Now we know.” LGBTQ is now considered normal; transgender rights including those of people to mutilate minors is on the rise; witchcraft and the occult are mainstream; pornography is considered entertainment; sex workers are just in another profession; trafficking is at epidemic levels. It’s actually a heartbreaking report, and we should be reminded that we sometimes live in an ivory tower. Now I’m not saying the Church has perpetuated these crimes. Yes, there are terrible examples of church leaders that fall to pornography, adultery, embezzlement, but overall that’s what happens. Those are individuals that fail in their own lives. The church as a whole doesn’t perpetuate these things. But look at that list again and recognize that we the Church have not prevented them!The Great Commission Is for All of UsThis next part is the part that needs more clarification. I had said before that to continue the analogy of the hospital, we are to bring the spiritually sick to Jesus. We are to bring them to His Church - but not the building. We are, according to the Great Commission in Matthew, to disciple them.Matthew 28:18-20 NIRV - Then Jesus came to them. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. So you must go and make disciples of all nations. Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And you can be sure that I am always with you, to the very end.”This means we are to teach them; we are to help them learn. The contentious part of what I said was that “it is NOT the job of the pastor to tell people about Jesus!” “It’s NOT your job to go and get them in the door then turn it over to the pastor.” Just so there is no mistake here, what I meant by that is so many people in churches think their job is to invite people to church and that’s all. I want to reiterate and clarify that this is ONE thing we can do, but that’s not the ONLY thing we should be doing!Yes, the pastor is going to share the Gospel from the pulpit. Yes, the pastor is going to teach Biblical truth from the pulpit. Yes, the Sunday School teachers are going help expand the knowledge. But it is NOT their job and theirs alone. We should be DAILY in the Word of God; we should be DAILY seeking to do His will; we should be DAILY actively looking for opportunities to be a witness.What If Invitation is Not Enough?Yes, by all means invite them to the church. Invite them to the hospital. But don’t be afraid to do a little first aide before you do. Take this terrible example. You work with someone that you’re not sure if they are saved or not. Rather than talk to them about Jesus, you invite them to church. They say, “sure,” but months go by and they still don’t come, even though you continue to remind them. Eventually you give up. Please pretend this is you and tell me exactly where in there you shared the Gospel?What if they finally come to church one Sunday morning, but they are killed in an auto accident on the way. Boy it’s a good thing you stayed on them about church isn’t it! Now they go into eternity knowing you loved them enough to mention this building where MAYBE someone will say the right thing and they will be convicted of their sin.Now ponder that for a moment… If you are reading this or hearing my voice and you are saved, praise God that whatever happened in your life resulted in you hearing the Word and responding to it. But imagine all that ever happened was someone inviting you to church. Would you be a Christian today if that’s all that happened? I hope so!What It Means to Be Born AgainNow if you’re reading this or hearing my voice and you are NOT saved, you may have a false belief that church attendance or membership is what’s important. Please hear me now and know it is NOT! Yes, we are supposed to be in attendance and be part of the local body of believers. We can’t work the ER at this spiritual hospital if we never clock in. But the MOST important thing is to TURN TO JESUS! John 3 is the account of Jesus and Nicodemus talking in private. Nicodemus tells Jesus he knows that Jesus is from God, because of the ‘signs’ (miracles) that He performs. Jesus doesn’t say ‘shucks’ or anything of the kind; He gets right to the issue!I want you to read the entire chapter, but for purposes of this post and recording, I’m going to concentrate on the first eight verses.John 3:1-8 NIRV - There was a Pharisee named Nicodemus. He was one of the Jewish rulers. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. We know that God is with you. If he weren’t, you couldn’t do the signs you are doing.” Jesus replied, “What I’m about to tell you is true. No one can see God’s kingdom unless they are born again.” “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “They can’t go back inside their mother! They can’t be born a second time!” Jesus answered, “What I’m about to tell you is true. No one can enter God’s kingdom unless they are born with water and the Holy Spirit. People give birth to people. But the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised when I say, ‘You must all be born again.’ The wind blows where it wants to. You hear the sound it makes. But you can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going. It is the same with everyone who is born with the Spirit.”Listen to this part again - “no one can see God’s kingdom unless they are born again.” Jesus didn’t say sit at my feet, give me your tithes, join my disciples. He mentioned getting to Heaven, which happens after we die.Jesus continues, “born with water and the Holy Spirit.” Everyone living is born with water. When a woman gets ready to have a baby, the water breaks. The baby is delivered via the birth canal and the baby is wet. But the Spirit is invisible, like the wind! The Holy Spirit actually comes into a person when they are born again.Now listen very carefully! People are not born again when they come to church. People are born again when they accept the forgiveness that Jesus offers. Jesus died to pay the price - the penalty - of my sins and your sins. You accept that payment when you repent - that is turn away from, not just say you’re sorry - and turn to Jesus as your One and Only way to the Kingdom of God!Coming to church doesn’t get you a seat on the bus, to use an example. Joining a church doesn’t either. Yes, we should be a part of a church, but being a part of church without the Holy Spirit inside? It means nothing - NOTHING - after you die…An Invitation to HeavenOkay, like I said, it wasn’t just a rehash… There is more in that post that I hope is edifying, and I will share the rest over the next few posts. Until then, i...
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Judea and the Call to Witness
Nov 14, 202400:16:26Tap to summarizeJudeaWe had our bi-weekly Tuesday night men’s group tonight. My notes for the class talked about Cultural Christians and I realized when I mentioned it on the last post I was talking about notes I had not shared yet. Sorry about that! I will jump into those notes now. We are up to the week of September 22. Remember, we only meet every other Tuesday night so I try to cover more than one lesson, but this time there was much discussion. The topic is Your Church’s Judea and it continues the theme from - Acts 1:8 NIRV - But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you. Then you will tell people about me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria. And you will even tell other people about me from one end of the earth to the other.This isn’t just about distant places; it’s about the people right where we live, in our local communities. For us, that means Beech Grove’s Judea—or your church’s Judea, wherever you’re called. I led the group with an evangelical focus, as always, but especially because that’s the whole purpose of the verse.Why Judea?Historically, Judea was central to the early church, contrasting sharply with Samaria, which we previously discussed as more of an outsider territory. Judea, especially Jerusalem, was where Christianity began, yet it wasn’t the majority faith; it was dominated by Jewish religious leaders and mixed with various pagan practices. The church’s roots here highlight the challenge and courage of early Christians, spreading their message in a region steeped in strong, established beliefs.The writer clarifies, “for the twenty-first-century churches the Judea mission field represents the immediate state, province, or region in which the church is located.” This is why I mention it is Beech Grove’s Judea or YOUR Church’s Judea. Three type of people are mentioned - Irreligious, Religious Status Quo, and Cultural Christians. Irreligious The irreligious in our area—those who not only reject religion but actively resist it—aren’t necessarily opposed to the idea of God. Many may ask for prayer in difficult times, yet they prefer that religion stay out of public life, including politics and school. Why? Because the truth of Christianity calls people to repentance and change—a truth that many find uncomfortable.Now why is this the case? I believe it is because people don’t want truth; they want happiness. The truth is that you shouldn’t lie, steal, murder or commit adultery. They want to cheat on their taxes; say what they want to get what they want; have the choice to murder (abortion); have access to pornography; have as many boyfriends or girlfriends as they want (or both, as the case may be). Yet they don’t want any repercussions from their choices.Christianity, specifically, will not let them do these things and simply get away with it. To turn to Christ is to turn away (repent) of sin and let Him have control. Let’s be honest; you can’t choose the things I mentioned in that list AND let Christ have control too.So what’s the solution? Well, to them it is to keep religion out of anything they might come into contact with. We as Christians know that murder is wrong, including murder of the unborn. If we ‘push’ for that to be illegal then we are… How do they put it? “Pushing your religion onto others.” Something we can get into at a later time, but I’ll touch on now. The separation between church and state doesn’t mean what they think it does.Religious Status QuoHow can I discuss this without gossiping about other churches? Let’s just say that if someone is compromising the Word to either maintain power or wealth, then they are not doing the true work of the church. As a hypothetical, a pastor that refuses to preach on pornography or abortion. Why? Because he doesn’t want to upset the congregation or lose members. The same would be true of a lawmaker (representative) that doesn’t want to make a public stand against abortion because he or she might lose votes. If they are a Christian and trying to do what is right in the sight of God then they shouldn’t worry about votes. If God wants them in that position then He will support it. Period.Cultural ChristiansI see this as just as big of a problem as the others. This is individuals that identify as Christian without putting God first. For example, a recent Barna poll from 2023 reports - Most Americans (68%) consider themselves to be Christians. Among these self-defined Christians, though, only 6% have a biblical worldview. Less than half of the self-defined Christians can be classified as born-again, defined as believing that they will go to Heaven after they die but only because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. Within the born-again population (just 33% of the adult population), a shockingly small proportion (13%) hold a biblical worldview.What’s the takeaway? That 68% of Americans identify as Christian. Maybe they are members of a church. Maybe they don’t go to church, but they pray. Maybe they don’t pray but like the 10 Commandments - or at least the ones they agree with.I know people personally that say they are “Christian,” but when pushed to tell me why, it’s usually because they believe in God and believe in Jesus. Is that enough? James 2:19 NIRV - You believe there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that. And they tremble!Do you believe that the demons are “Christian?” No? Then why would the belief in God and Jesus make you one?Why Bring These Up?Now I bring this all to mind because this is Judea - this is our local mission field! What do we do about it? First, for the irreligious, they don’t need religion. Remember, Christianity might be called a religion, and in my local area that is what people refer to in a general sense, but that is NOT what they need. They need Jesus! Until they put Jesus first, having a religion means nothing!There’s an old saying, “at least he got religion before he died.” Is this a euphemism for saying he got saved? If not, then he didn’t really get anything.Again, to the irreligious, they need Jesus. So what should we do? Present Jesus to them. Yes, we should witness, but we should also LIVE that witness in front of them. Don’t argue about why they are wrong; they will simply dig in deeper. Instead ask them questions; present things to them to make them think. You are not going to scare them into believing. Also be open to witnessing without pushing for conversion. Remember that we are gardeners. Sometimes we plant a seed; sometimes we water; sometimes we pull weeds; and every so often we get to harvest. Don’t look at it as harvest or nothing! And that thing you say may be what they think of when they are in their dying moments, so don’t waste it!Breaking the Status QuoAs for these people, if they are compromising the Word, then what they need to to examine their personal commitment to Jesus. Since they are likely ‘religious’ then we don’t have to worry about them, right? WRONG! We are to encourage and to help disciple people. Remember that if you love someone, you want them to know the truth, even if they disagree with it. It’s not a call to stand up and argue and always be right, but again to at the very least plant a seed. There are examples in the New Testament where Paul spoke in the synagogues as well as homes. He was sharing the Messiah to the religious people of the day. That’s all I’m saying that we should do. And remember, just as we shouldn’t assume every person that is a member of a church is saved, we shouldn’t assume that every one that fails to live up to OUR standard is not saved. And since we don’t know, we share; we disciple; we love.Cultural but not TruthfulIf you think the last category is bad, what about this one? I have a person in my life that says she believes in God; she believes in Jesus; she says she’s going to Heaven because she believes, but she has never made a conversion to Christianity. I’m not saying that she needs to join a church - I’m saying that she hasn’t accepted Jesus and repented of her sins. She has the ‘I’m good enough’ attitude.This is hard to deal with, because if someone is part of that 68% mentioned above, they already think they are ‘good enough.’ We still have to reach these people. They may require more time and effort, but is there something more worthwhile? Remember, it’s part of the Great Commission! We aren’t told to go into all the world and share the Gospel with everyone “except those that have a false belief they are going to Heaven.”American Judea?The writer says…“Of all the places where Jesus said His disciples would be witnesses, Judea must have seemed the most inviting. Judea represented the remnant of the Southern Kingdom of Judah.”This might sound like America, right? I mean especially in Tennessee. Not only are we in the Bible Belt, but we are pretty much the Belt Buckle! So it should be easy, right? I wish it were so… America has so much overall prosperity that people don’t see the need for Jesus. Ray Comfort likes to put it this way. You offer someone on an airplane diamonds, gold or a parachute and they won’t even think about taking the parachute. You tell them the pla...
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Boldly Share: Witnessing with Truth and Love
Nov 12, 202400:06:32Tap to summarizeOwning Your Faith StoryYesterday we started talking about Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus. We talked about how he used it to testify on behalf of the power of Jesus Christ, and that we can do the same! But remember, you have to have your own conversion account; you can’t just share Paul’s.Remember the Way of the Master series from Living Waters Ministries that I mentioned? It is a great training, but if you haven’t experienced the change yourself then you are just repeating someone else’s words.Most of you know I’m a musician and a singer/songwriter. When I learn a new song it is someone else’s story. I might be able to relate to it, but it is still their story. What I like to do is make it personal with small word changes here and there.The song Amanda, for example. There’s a line in there about “now I finally reached forty, and I’m still wearing jeans” and another line about looking in the mirror “at the hair on my shoulders and the age in my eyes.” When I sing the song, I say “at the grey in my hair, and the age in my eyes” and “now I’m pushing sixty, and still wearing jeans.”Larry Cordle has a wonderful old song called Black Diamond Strings and he gave me permission to record it while changing some of the words. We’ve not been back to the studio since before Covid, so it’s still on the to do list, assuming God approves. He allowed me to change up quite a few words to make it reflect my own personal history and story.Now I mention those as examples to say that this is a good way to think of training. You can learn how to start a conversation, or how to approach someone, but you are not memorizing someone else’s story. You’re not telling Paul’s account - but you can use it as inspiration!Boldly Share The writer says, “all believers can tell others how they came to know Jesus as Savior. We are not shy to talk about family, sports teams, or politics. Why should we hesitate to introduce others to our Savior?”To this I say Amen! I needed to hear that reminder as well!Under Christ’s Authority and for All PeopleTwo more things the writer says, “Paul was no longer in authority but under the authority of Jesus.” This is key! I know I’m really hammering on that nail, but it’s worth repeating. Jesus is in control, not you! If you are in control then you need to get out of the way and let Him lead!The other is, “the target of his witness was all men. Paul took the gospel to Jews and Gentiles alike.” Let me repeat part of that - all men. Now that Jesus the Messiah had come, the Gospel was open to all men - and it is still open to all men, women, children.I don’t believe there is anyone on earth whom the Lord turns away. Being a Jew right now means nothing if you personally deny Jesus. Yes, they are the ‘chosen people,’ but they have also turned away. Now all that being said, living in a country like America and going to church doesn’t make you a follower either. Remember the cultural Christians I mentioned? And having hidden or unconfessed sin in your life will prevent even a true follower from having an effective witness.Guarding the Gospel Lens in a Divided WorldI want to shift gears here a moment and touch on something else I mentioned last time - politics. This morning I was listening to the Living Waters Podcast and Oscar brought up a disturbing account. I’m going to insert this into the audio feed. If you are reading this, here’s a partial transcript. I read this book, and the pastor was telling the story, I don't know if I've ever shared this on the podcast before. He's telling the story that the neighbor, they were a non-believing family, and they were going through a divorce. For years this pastor and his family tried to invite him to church. They had a little son, I think he was, like, 11, 12 years old.And so one Sunday, the mom calls up and is like, hey, I've got this thing an errand I need to run. Can you watch my son for me? And they're like, yeah, but I'm preaching this Sunday. He's coming to church with us. And she's like, that's fine, I just need someone to watch him. So this is the first time this 11 or 12 year old kid is walking into a church.They go pick him up. He's wearing an Obama shirt. It's kind of funny. They pick him up, they take him to church and they're all getting ready. The little boy is walking down the center aisle to his seat. And one of the elders looks at him and goes, boy, you better take that shirt off before God burns it off of you.Now, was that elder looking at that child through the lens of the gospel, as his primary identity is a son of the living God who saved them? Or was he looking at that child through his identity of being a political idea?From The Living Waters Podcast: Ep. 305 - When Politics Becomes Idolatry, Nov 12, 2024This material may be protected by copyright.This breaks my heart to hear this. But you know the worst part ? I can actually see that happening. Can you hear someone saying this? Worse yet, can you hear YOURSELF saying this?In ConclusionUntil next time, seek His will - ask Him to use you - and don’t let your worldly notions drag you down. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jimmylogan.substack.com
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