Prayer's Power

Prayer’s Power!

Several weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit a sick little girl at a hospital here in Dallas, Texas. When we got there the mom was telling us about how their first child was born healthy, but their second was born with a breathing disorder. When her second baby was about 2 years old he passed away in his sleep. Their third child, the girl in the video, was born without the ability to fully bend her arms or legs. Their fourth child, another little girl, was the one in the hospital with the same breathing issues their second child suffered from.

I wasn’t really sure how the mom was able to hold it all together, but she did. I had just begun working at the church and was just supposed to be “along for the ride.” The most senior pastor asked the mom if we could pray for them, and she said “Of course!” So the pastor turned to me and said, “Kevin, would you pray?”

I’d never felt panicked about prayer in my life until that moment. I’d prayed in front of congregations of 3,000 people and it didn’t phase me, but now - in front of this mother and her sick little infant with oxygen tubes and doctors scrambling around us - I was terrified.

My response was, “Absolutely.” So I bowed my head, took a breath and then prayed a silent prayer to God, “LORD, please don’t let me screw this up.” God gave me a supernatural calm - almost as if our Father in heaven had His divine hand on my shoulder to let me know “Kevin, I’ve got this.”

Later than evening I heard from the mom. She told me that about 30 minutes after we prayed the doctors took her little girl off oxygen and she was preparing to go home.

God taught me a couple of things that day. First, if you’re not feeling overwhelmed, inadequate, and insufficient in the things you’re praying for - then you’re not praying big enough prayers. Second, it reminded me that God truly is almighty and can accomplish anything at anytime if we would only ask.

The video is of their third child. She is an absolute sweetheart as you’ll see. God is still in the business of answering prayers.

Blessings,

-Kevin

amostunlikelydisciple.com

FRUITLESS

FRUITLESS:

timpyles.com

In Mark’s gospel we read, “The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.”

An article from christiancourier.com notes, “But this tree was an oddity; the leaves were there, but it was fruitless. This phenomenon, therefore, served as a perfect “visual aid” for an important lesson that the Savior wished to teach…  In the symbolism of the Scriptures, a fruitless, withered tree was worthy of nothing more than being cut down (cf. Psa. 90:6; Hos. 9:16). “Withering” was a symbol of imminent death (Joel 1:12).”

Why would it seem "strange" for Jesus to judge a tree when it “was not the season for figs?”  Jesus certainly did indeed leave His disciples with a very powerful "visual aid," and permanent reminder: There is no "off-season" for Christians, there is never a time when we should be found fruitless.

The Apostle Paul understood this and produced some of his most prolific fruit from prison. While in captivity Paul converted his jailers, the imperial guard, and "everyone else!"

Paul understood that God’s power is made perfect in our weakness.

Jesus said “apart from Me you can do nothing,” and his disciples believed it after His resurrection, ascension, and gift of the παράκλητος (the Advocate or Holy Spirit) we read about in John 16:7 and Acts 2.

Jesus didn’t leave us with a ceremony. He didn’t ask us to reenact His crucifixion. He didn’t tell us to weep because of His passion.

What Jesus did was implore us to be obedient and "produce fruit in keeping with repentance" (Matt 3:8). What does that look like?  It’s not about deeds, but rather about a new heart redeemed by grace. It's about what Christ made into reality and our subsequent motivation to serve and be used by God for His eternal glory.

There’s no redemption in ceremony and ritual, but exclusively in the grace made available at the Cross of Christ.  Walk with Him and your life becomes a living sacrifice filled with the fruit of the παράκλητος, the Holy Spirit.

In walking with Christ through the power and presence of the Spirit we then experience authentic Christian life, i.e. a life that produces much fruit!

Blessings,

Kevin M. Kelley

amostunlikelydisciple.com

Integrity & Service

Integrity & Service:

Psalm 101 is an absolute treasure from the Word of God.

Here are a few excerpts from this Davidic psalm:

2I resolve myself to behave prudently,

   in the way of truth…

I will walk with integrity of heart in my house.

3I will not set anything wicked

   before my eyes.

I hate the work of those

   who stray off course;

I will not allow it to cling to me.

5bThe pompous prig,

   and those full of smug egotism,

I cannot tolerate.

6bThe one who continues

   in the way of truth,

That is the one

   who shall serve.

Throughout the entire Bible the words serve and minister are synonymous. David wrote this song of praise to God in a way that revealed both David’s character -AND- the character of God.

Just like David, our deepest desire may truly be to behave prudently and walk in the way of truth and integrity. Unfortunately, just like David, we don’t have the ability, capacity, strength, resolve, skill, or inherent character to make that reality.

I don’t know if the “Bathsheba Incident” occurred before or after David wrote this particular psalm. If David committed adultery and murder before writing Psalm 101 it would appear that David is, in fact, the “pompous prig” and meandering hypocritical windbag he “cannot tolerate.”  If David committed adultery and murder after writing Psalm 101 it seems the author’s credibility would be seriously deficient.

Therein lies the beauty of Scripture. God inspired and used flawed and broken people to reveal God’s character and desire for humanity.

King David was an imperfect picture of the Holy One, the anticipated Messiah, who would come after and not swerve, not be unfaithful to His Bride, not allow evil to cling, not be a pompous prig or full of smug egotism, who would perpetually abide in the way of truth… and in doing so, He would be the ONE to serve/minister the Father in heaven and all humanity.

We can resolve all day long to quit smoking, lose weight, quit drugs, clean up our language, to be better people, etc, etc, but in the end we either fail at the task or become a prideful prig for having “overcome,” thus looking down at those who cannot muster the same resolve.

Jesus’ strength and victory were/are the natural expression of His intimacy and unity as an eternal member of the Holy Trinity.

At the Cross He served us perfectly by paying our sin-debt (past, present, and future) in full.

The empty tomb confirms His authority as Sovereign over all things - including sin and death.

We can continue to pursue things under our own limited and frail power and celebrate meaningless victories that merely inflate our own egos. The alternative is that we resolve to behave prudently and walk in the way of truth by the power of God Almighty; and in so doing we celebrate eternal victories that glorify God, and we become servants/ministers of His gospel, His mission, and His kingdom.

Psalm 101 is simultaneously a picture of humanity’s sin and frailty and a picture divine character and power.

We can resolve to continue in autonomy and self-righteousness, waste our lives, and secure an eternity of separation from God -OR- we can call upon Him who is our LORD and Savior to redeem us - perfectly and completely.

It doesn’t matter when David wrote the psalm because, whether before or after the “Bathsheba Incident,” God eventually wiped David’s slate clean. David’s debt was not only paid, but the righteousness of God became David’s.

David understood that reality when he wrote in Psalm 103:12, “as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

If the desire for integrity and service are upon your heart then God is at work there. Your part isn’t to do the work, but rather to yield and allow the Holy Spirit to do that which God alone can do.

Blessings,

Kevin M. Kelley

#KMKelley1968

amostunlikelydisciple.com

Authenticity

Authenticity:

In Matthew 9:13 Jesus said, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” He was speaking to the Pharisees. The Pharisees were the Jewish religious leaders of the day in Jerusalem and they were also Jesus’ greatest opposition.

The Pharisees thought they had it all together. As Jews, they concluded that their place in heaven was secured because they were the “true” descendants of Abraham. But just beneath that thin veil of self-righteousness Jesus saw them for who they truly were - sinners.

In 9:13 Jesus wasn’t excluding the Pharisees, in fact Jesus wasn’t excluding anyone. That’s why He went to the Cross. But in saying, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners,” Jesus was telling us that He can’t do anything for those of us who think we’re okay already.

Later, in Matthew 23:2-6, Jesus points out the “heart issue” with the religious leaders in saying, “The experts in the law and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat. 3 Therefore pay attention to what they tell you and do it. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they teach. 4 They tie up heavy loads, hard to carry, and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing even to lift a finger to move them. 5 They do all their deeds to be seen by people, for they make their phylacteries wide and their tassels long. 6 They love the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues 7 and elaborate greetings in the marketplaces…”

Things haven’t changed much.

Today we don’t wear phylacteries (little boxes with Scripture tied to your head) and prayer shawls, but we still love places of honor and to make everything about us. We still like to wear a mask that covers up the sickness of our hearts. We, like the Pharisees, often think we’ve got it all together when in reality - we’re the sickest of the lot. We’re the ones who need Jesus the most.

As long as you keep up the act there is nothing God can do for you. In Matthew 23:15 Jesus said, “Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites!” It wasn’t out of hatred or malice, but out of pure and holy love.

Jesus’ heart went out to those same men at the Cross when He said, “Father, forgive them.”

Drop the act at home. Drop the act at work. Please drop it at church. Stop hiding behind the masks of independence, self-sufficiency, personal holiness, and “having it all together” because you don’t. Nobody does. That’s why He came, suffered, died, rose, ascended, and promised to return soon.

We can keep pretending and fall into the category of “hypocrite,” or we can listen to His words “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners,” and invite the Spirit of God to come in and radically transform and redeem our world and lives.

Blessings,

Kevin M. Kelley

#KMKelley1968

amostunlikelydisciple.com

Fear's Silence

Fear’s Silence:

“Trembling and bewildered, they went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone for they were afraid indeed.”

The oldest manuscripts don’t contain the questionable ending of vv.9-20 in John Mark’s gospel. Many current translations, like the NIV, have a note inserted, which typically reads something like, “The earliest manuscripts and some other ancient documents do not have Mark 16:9-20.”

It appears that years later some well-intending scribe or scholar figured Mark’s ending needed the “tidy bow of closure” rather than the gospel author’s original open ending. That’s why the earliest and most reliable manuscripts do NOT contain vv.9-20.

Why is that important? Beyond the fundamental and critical issue of divine inspiration (2 Tim 3:16 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”) it comes down to style.

When you read books you’ll notice that every author has their own particular manner or style of writing or story telling. Whether you’re thinking about Hemingway, Twain, Steinbeck, Poe, or Dickinson - just as the attuned ear can readily discern between Mozart and Bach, U2 and Coldplay, the Beatles and Oasis, or George Strait and Hank Williams Jr. - the discerning reader can easily identify the distinctions between the gospel writer's style and later inserts and edits.

We’ve already noted that Mark’s gospel is fast moving with an intense sense of urgency. Mark also begins the majority of his chapters with “And…” Your high school English teacher would have a field day with Mark’s gospel, but again it goes back to style. Mark’s story is fast moving, and each new section begins with a conjunction to show its intimate relationship as the extension of all the previous material.

Jesus, the anticipated Messiah/Christ/King, had come just as Isaiah prophesied. He came and healed the sick, made the blind see. All the while He repeatedly told people “don’t tell anyone,” to “keep quiet,” and “say nothing.”

Then we reach chapter 8 and Jesus asks His close circle of friends a couple of profound questions. First, Jesus asks, “Who do people say I am?” The responses vary, but they all basically fall into the category of prophet. Then Jesus brings it home and ask those twelve men, “But what about you? Who do you say I am?” Peter bucks up his chest and proclaims with all sincerity, “You are the Christ!” Again we read, “Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.”

Just a few short chapters later (ch.11) Jesus enters Jerusalem for the last time. Then Mark packs Jesus’ “Last Supper” with His Disciples, Gethsemane, Jesus’ arrest, the Disciples’ desertion, and Peter’s denial all into one chapter (14). Jesus is then brought before Pilate, crucified, dies, and is buried all in chapter 15.

All throughout John Mark’s gospel Jesus tells people to be quiet for a couple of profound reasons:

1) Fallen humanity doesn’t want to be ruled. We don’t want King Jesus. Eden proved that when given free will humanity will always choose autonomy, egotism, and personal benefit over love for God and love for others. What humanity wanted from Jesus was for Him to be a paper-king. We want Jesus to deliver us from foreign occupation and oppression, from taxation, from discomfort, from annoying neighbors - and to be appointed as little kings over our own kingdoms. If you don’t think that’s true just look at the internet. Look at any discussion about anything from sports to politics and you’ll see that EVERYONE thinks their opinion tops all others.

2) Jesus is no paper-king. Jesus is one of the eternal members of the eternal, perfect, Holy Trinity. God created humanity -NOT- just for good stuff, but for the superlative stuff! God created us to be in perfect fellowship with our Creator, the one from whom all the best stuff flows! Jesus didn’t want us to simply “profess with our lips that Jesus is LORD,” as Peter did in chapter 8. No, Jesus wants us to RECEIVE the transcendent gift of faith from God. When it is merely words that flow from us then we, like Peter, will disown Him at the first inkling of discomfort or personal loss.

All throughout Mark’s gospel people were profoundly impacted by King Jesus because they had, as Isaiah foretold, been made fully aware of Jesus’ divinity. Those who were poor in sin had done exactly as Isaiah prophesied. Rather than keeping quiet they “proclaimed the year of the LORD’s favor” (Isa 61:2). They did so because they received genuine sight - the gift of faith - from Jesus. They could not keep quiet as the waves and demons had to because they were no longer captives to sin and darkness.

The "insiders," His Disciples, deserted Him. Peter denied Him. The women who went to the tomb and found it empty were overcome with fear and trembling. Mark wrote, “They said nothing to anyone because they were afraid indeed.” Yet those whom Jesus impacted couldn't help but TELL EVERYONE!

Jesus’ true disciples are never those who merely follow Him around playing the part of "religious insider." Jesus’ true disciples are not the ones with the fish on their car but without Jesus in their hearts. Disciples are not the ones sitting at His feet week-in & week-out merely consuming sermons, but who flee at the first sign of trouble, disown Him when convenient, and who are silenced by fear.

Mark wrote his gospel to herald Jesus as Isaiah’s anticipated Messiah/Christ/King. Mark wrote in a fast-moving style so that we would be captivated and on the edge of our seats throughout. Mark wraps up his gospel with Jesus entering Jerusalem, arrested, deserted, denied, crucified, and buried, and with the two people who went to the tomb saying nothing “because they were afraid.”

The author of Genesis shared the gospel of the coming Messiah in 3:15. Isaiah shared the gospel of the coming Messiah throughout the book of Isaiah. Mark shared “the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God,” but it closes with nobody saying anything to anyone “because they were afraid indeed.”

The only way the Good News of Jesus Christ ever made it into the Bible was because a regular person, just like you and me, refused to desert or deny that gift of faith in God. The only difference between the “Heroes of Faith” and regular folks is that they wouldn’t be ruled by fear and keep silent about what God had revealed.

So what about you?

Are you just spewing words to puff yourself up, like Peter in Mark 8, which have come from your own understanding or mimicking Christian culture? -OR- are you living out the transcendent gift of faith that has come from, and is sourced in, King Jesus - and sharing that Good News with others?

Are you like the deserters, deniers, and fair-weather friends who find the tomb empty and yet “said nothing to anyone because they were afraid?” Or are you like those who could NOT contain the “Messianic Secret” of Jesus’ sovereignty and kingship as God Almighty, and thus becoming a living part of the gospel explosion that forever impacts human history and glorifies God eternally?

Have you surrendered to fear's silence?

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” -Deut 31:6

Blessings,

Kevin M. Kelley

#KMKelley1968

amostunlikelydisciple.com

Your Harpagmon is Showing

Your Harpagmon is Showing:

The apostle Paul wrote the book/letter/epistle of Philippians from prison.  In a very Greco-Roman culture based on honor & shame this was devastating to many of the churches Paul had started.  The church at Philippi was feeling the effects of Paul’s situation and were at a crossroads: Jump on the contemporary cultural bandwagon (honor is everything – shame the ultimate defeat) – OR – change their most fundamental and basic core motivation, i.e. their ἁρπαγμὸν (har-pag-mon: biblical Greek term for motivation/desire).

So Paul wrote the church at Philippi a letter (Philippians) and told them (not the institution, not the church staff, or Senior Pastor, but the PEOPLE of Christ):

1. He (Paul) gives thanks to God for them (1:3)

2. He (Paul) prays for them (1:4)

3. He’s (Paul is) certain that God will complete the work He began in them (1:5)

Then in 1:7 Paul says “It is right for me to feel, Greek φρονεῖν (fron-eh'-in), this way (i.e. giving thanks, fervent pray, certainty, love) about all of you because I have you in my heart and you are all partners with me in grace both in my imprisonment and in the defense and establishment of the gospel” (1:7).  His friends, the saints in Philippi, were Paul's motivation.

Paul is rallying the troops at Philippi because they’ve been devastated by his imprisonment and are now teetering on implosion.  He does so by telling them that his imprisonment “is for Christ” (1:13) and now the entire Imperial Guard are Christians “and everyone else too!”  Paul’s imprisonment has “resulted in the advancement of the gospel” (1:12)!

Paul’s ἁρπαγμὸν (i.e. har-pag-mon: core belief, motivation, gut, desire, attitude) is conveyed in 1:21-26.  That staying on earth is necessary for “your advancement and joy in faith” (1:23), but to die and be with Christ “is far better” (1:22).

Paul is stuck between the metaphoric Scylla and Charybdis – a rock and a hard place. Paul desires to remain out of necessity for the work of the gospel, but he also deeply desires to be in the presence of our glorious King, Jesus. Because of his love for the church and his desire to serve the Bride of Christ, Paul remains.

As chapter two begins Paul instructs the church at Philippi the way to succeed as the people of God is NOT to “reinvent” themselves, not to pray to angels, not to light a candle or burn incense, not to read a self-help book, not to volunteer your time, not to donate your money, nor to listen to podcast sermons, BUT rather by changing their ἁρπαγμὸν (har-pag-mon).

What does that mean? Paul clarifies: “by having the same mind, having the same love, sharing the same feelings, focusing on one goal… consider others as more important than yourselves” (2:2-3).

Then Paul gives us the perfect example – Christ.

“Make your attitude that of Christ Jesus, who, although God, did not consider His equality as God His ἁρπαγμὸν (har-pag-mon: motivation, desire), but instead He deprived Himself by assuming the form of a servant…” (2:5-7a).

Jesus, an eternal member of the Holy Trinity of God, voluntarily became a servant. He willingly allowed Himself to be born in a feeding trough, to wash feet, to endure beatings, scoffing, and the Cross - for US!

Since God Himself did that for US - that's why salvation is found only in Him. Why would Jesus go through all that if there was another way?  The Cross didn't make salvation merely a possibility, it made salvation reality. The Cross wasn't the bloody mess of God crucified so that we could meditate on Buddha’s philosophy and still enter into heaven.

Read the details about what it is to be crucified and consider that Jesus was nearly beaten to death BEFORE He was nailed up there. Reconcile that work by God Himself and ask yourself, "Am I really 'good enough' apart from Christ?"  We’ll always answer 'No' if we're honest with ourselves.  Is buying someone a slice of pizza, giving away your old shoes, or even funding a children's hospital really in the same universe as our holy and perfect Savior willfully offering Himself up at the Cross of Calvary in our place?

Paul’s harpagmon (motivation) is the same as Christ’s.  That kind of motivation led Jesus to the Cross.  That kind of motivation led Paul to preach the gospel throughout virtually the entire civilized world, endure hardships, famine, shipwrecks, beatings, imprisonment – and that kind of ἁρπαγμὸν (har-pag-mon) eventually led to his death as well.

Paul is encouraging the church at Philippi! Both Paul's and Christ’s harpagmon – their motivation, gut drive & desire, and reason for living – was obedient service for a very specific reason…  “the glory of God the Father” (2:11b).

God the Father didn’t exalt Jesus for the brutality of the Cross, but rather for Christ’s harpagmon - His untainted heart and holy motivation. The Father didn’t give Jesus “the name that is above every name” (2:10) because of His resurrection, but rather for Christ’s harpagmon.

It is Jesus’ perfect har-pag-mon we read, “For this reason” (2:9) every knee will bow and every tongue will “confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (2:11a). Jesus is heralded as the King of Kings and the LORD of Lord’s -NOT- “merely” because He turned water into wine, NOT because He fed thousands through the power of the Holy Spirit, NOT because He raised Lazarus, calmed storms, or drove out demons, but because of Christ’s spotless, beautiful, holy, and righteous harpagmon – His gut motivation, His fundamental character, and His spotless aseity or essential character.

Had Christ’s harpagmon/motivation been His entitlement as God, as He was certainly entitled to as God, then humanity would have been forever lost in our sin and eternally separated from God’s commUNITY, love, light and joy.

Instead, Jesus deprived himself of His entitlement as God and chose instead to become “obedient to the point of death – even to death on a cross” (2:8).

Our harpagmon is constantly showing. It shows in our marriage, in our relationship with our parents, siblings, neighbors, and friends. Does your motivation look like Paul’s?  Does it look like Christ’s?

Paul said it boils down to this one thing: Is the motivation for everything you do for “the glory of God the Father?”

Your harpagmon is showing. What does it reveal?

Blessings,

Kevin M. Kelley

#KMKelley1968

amostunlikelydisciple.com

Oaks of Righteousness

Oaks of Righteousness:

Mark’s gospel has a formidable and unrelenting undercurrent of urgency and forward momentum. Jesus the Messiah/Christ/King has come as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s “good news” (i.e. gospel) prophecy: to heal the sickness of the human heart (autonomy/rebellion against God), to give sight to the blind (enable us to grasp reality and the depths of our depravity), to set the captives free (breaking sin & Satan’s hold over us), and release from prison those who put their faith in our Servant King.

Isaiah didn’t leave it there. Beyond “merely” being rescued by King Jesus from our dank prison of sin and eternal torment to be be brought into communion with God Almighty, in Isaiah 61 the prophet wrote that those redeemed by this future Servant King would also be “3...called oaks of righteousness, which the LORD has planted for his own glory.” And they would “6...be called priests of the LORD, ministers of our God. You will feed on the treasures of the nations and boast in their riches.”

The fullness of Christianity is not “merely” our salvation. The predominant emphasis of practical Evangelical Christian theology rest upon the doctrine of soteriology, i.e. our salvation. The tragedy of such an emphasis is that it is neither biblical nor practical. From the very beginning God created us to be in right relationship with 1) our Creator (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit), with 2) the rest of humanity, and with 3) creation (the physical “garden” God gave us to dwell in).

When the emphasis of our Christian faith is practically limited to our personal benefit, “What’s in it for me?” then we miss the fullness of the gospel and “the treasures of the nations” and the joy of “boasting in their riches.”

That’s not prosperity gospel, i.e. the idea that giving of your time, talent, and treasure will ensure physical health and material wealth. As one of my pastors used to preach, “That, my friends, is a lie from the pit of Hell!” Jesus was very clear that real treasures and riches are not the kind that are subject to moths and rust, but rather Jesus instructed us to “store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroy, and where thieves do not break in nor steal.”

Isaiah was very clear in his gospel/good news presentation that when Messiah comes He would set the captives free and they would “be called oaks of righteousness.” Trees serve a purpose. They provide oxygen, nuts, fruit, wood, etc. God gave us trees for our benefit - shelter, transportation, food. So when Isaiah states that those redeemed by Messiah would “be called oaks of righteousness,” what Isaiah is say is that we would be useful and function for the King and the expanse of His kingdom.

In living out and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ we turn salvation from a selfish, self-centered, personal benefit, private “me thing” into what God intended it to be. We become those “oaks of righteousness, which the LORD has planted for his own glory.” We are then transformed into 1) “priests of the LORD” (a priest is anyone who serves as a mediator/ambassador between humanity and God), and 2) “ministers of our God” (minister simply means servant).

What does all of this have to do with John Mark’s gospel? Everything. John Mark, or just Mark, wrote his “good news” account to not only demonstrate that Jesus was the embodiment and total fulfillment of Isaiah’s anticipated “Servant of the LORD,” but that in being redeemed by Christ His followers/friends/disciples are grafted into the very fabric of God’s living, active, glorious story of redemption! Jesus’ friends truly become the unified Bride of Christ, the Church, which heralds Immanuel’s story of incarnation, obedience, and perfect love.

In living out the “good news” of King Jesus we truly do “feed on the treasures of the nations and boast in their riches,” because the ultimate treasure is reconciliation and fellowship with God Almighty. Jesus graciously invites us into His missional story of redeeming humanity. When we actively, willfully, and joyfully participate in that story we can then boast in their eternal riches in Jesus our Savior King.

John Mark’s relentless undercurrent of immediacy and forward momentum reaches its climax in Chapter 16.  Tune in tomorrow for the conclusion of our series on Mark’s gospel…

Blessings,

Kevin M. Kelley

#KMKelley1968

amostunlikelydisciple.com

Unity Lost

Unity Lost

The great failure of the Christian Church is disunity.  In the seventeenth chapter of John’s gospel we read that our Lord, Jesus Christ, prayed to the Father for the unity of those whom Christ chose and appointed (see 15:16), and the Father gave to Him (see 17:9), as His disciples, saying:

I pray not only for these,

but also for those who believe in Me

through their message.

May they all be one,

as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You.

May they also be one in Us,

so the world may believe You sent Me.

I have given them the glory You have given Me.

May they be one as We are one.

I am in them and You are in Me.

May they be made completely one,

so the world may know You have sent Me

and have loved them as You have loved Me.

-John 17:20-23

Jesus prayed to the Father that all of His disciples, current and future, “May all be one.” Jesus prayed that our unity as the one, holy, catholic/universal, apostolic Church (not an institution but the PEOPLE of God) would be “as” (simile – the same) the unity of God!

Why? “So the world may know You have sent Me and have loved them as You have loved Me.”  The evidence of our faith in Christ and the power of our testimony as disciples of Christ resides in our unity.

Calling ourselves Christians doesn’t make it so; neither does putting a ‘fish’ on our cars, nor our “going” to church (rather than being the church), performing miracles, doing good deeds, etc, etc.

Instead, the title “Christian” is reserved for those who love one another with a transcendent supernatural service-oriented love, for those who are deeply invested partners in the gospel whether in life or death, for those who joyfully stand together in persecution and sufferings - not for persecution’s sake, but for the testimony of Christ, for those who “consider others more important than yourselves” (Phil 2:3), for those “branches” whose unity and perpetual abidance in Christ, our “vine,” allows us to produce much fruit for God’s eternal glory.

Has anyone been spurred on to accept Christ’s love because of your love for God and neighbor?

Have you invested in anyone to help them move from spiritual infant to mature disciple?

Has anyone forsaken the pattern of this world, autonomy, egotism, and sin because of your unity and fellowship in the gospel?

Does your life evidence the love of God and overflow with the glory He has poured out into you?

Do you find yourself utterly dependent upon Christ every moment of every day because you know that apart from Him you can do nothing?

Authentic followers of Jesus the King are unified by His love and the Holy Spirit’s abiding Presence. Christians are unashamed, unintimidated, fearless and bold in their living out the gospel.

Satan’s greatest strategy for maintaining Hell's population is Christian religion. Our Enemy deceives us into believing that because we participate in religious formalism (prayers, church services, projects, programs, trips, etc.) we have security and salvation. King Jesus did not want any of us to be deceived, therefore He gave us Himself, His Word (i.e. Scripture), His people (true disciples), and His mission (Matt 28:16-20)...

All to bring us into unity - as The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are in commUNITY, so that the world may know, believe, and enjoy eternal life with our Savior and Servant King - Jesus.

Blessings,

Kevin M. Kelley

#KMKelley1968

amostunlikelydisciple.com