What's That Strange Ticking?? ... (Short Version)

Ever wonder why some people are ... strange? Why they can't just behave like ... US “normal people”?? The truth is that for many people the very definition of "strange" is "not like me".

However it really has nothing to do with strange ("them") versus normal ("us"). BUT everything to do with "what makes us tick". And what makes us tick makes us neither strange nor normal, it makes us ... UNIQUE! What makes me "tick" is an ONGOING lifetime of experiences, opportunities, frustrations, relationships, health and illness, ability and disability, etc. If you have a spare lifetime to share I might be able to explain it all. In the meantime I just ask you accept that what makes me "tick" is not likely to bear too much resemblance to what makes you "tick". BUT it is what makes me "me" and you "you", and not just robotic clones.

We sometimes have trouble getting our head around the idea of "uniqueness". Paul, in 1 Corinthians 12 makes it clear being a Christian is not about everybody being the same, but being of the same body, because even back then many could not quite grasp the concept that when you bind something that is unique (each of us) with something that is the same (the ONE Holy Spirit) you don't get something that is the same, you still get something that is unique. Each indwelling of the Holy Spirit produces, not a clone of itself, but a unique combination of man and God. The diversity of man united by the sameness of the Lord. Diverse as ever in function and purpose and a myriad other ways, but bound by a common membership of one body and one Spirit.

But what is the “it” factor that enables people from all over the world and throughout history, of diverse cultures, socio-economic groups, abilities (and disabilities), personalities, interests, idiosyncrasies and eccentricities, etc. to not only join together, worship together, and work together, but also to share life together and be of one accord? What is the “it” factor that makes the body of Christ tick?

It is this:-

Greater is He that unites us than the differences that seek to divide us.

D.J. Ludlow

Provided it is done freely and without charge

"What's That Strange Ticking?? ..."  may be copied, used and distributed

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by brothers and sisters in Christ

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By special permission of 

D.J. Ludlow copyright 2015

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What's That Strange Ticking?? ... (Long Version)

Ever wonder why some people are ... strange? Ever wonder what makes them tick? Ever wonder why they can't just behave like ... US normal people?? The truth is that for most people the very definition of "strange" is "not like me".

But the division between strange and normal is, at best, very subjective, at its very worst it is a self-serving judgement and condemnation of those who are different. However it really has nothing to do with strange ("them") versus normal ("us"). BUT it has everything to do with "what makes us tick". And what makes us tick makes us neither strange nor normal, it makes us ... UNIQUE! What makes ME "tick" is an ONGOING lifetime of experiences, opportunities, frustrations, relationships, health and illness, ability and disability,etc. If you have a spare lifetime or two to share I might be able to explain it all (after I manage to sort it all out myself). In the meantime I just ask that you accept that what makes me "tick" is not likely to bear too much resemblance to what makes you "tick". BUT it is what makes me "me" and you "you", and not just a cloned copy of me (or vice-versa).

Even Christians sometimes have trouble getting their head around the idea of "uniqueness". Paul, in 1 Corinthians 12 makes it clear that being a Christian is not about everybody being the same, but of being of the same body, because even back then many Christians could not quite grasp the concept that when you bind something that is unique (each of us) with something that is the same (the ONE Holy Spirit) you don't get something that is the same, you still get something that is unique ... but which is united by a sameness, just as (as Paul illustrated) there is one body but many different and unique members of that one body. Diverse in function and purpose and a myriad other ways, but bound by a sameness of body and Spirit. Each indwelling of the Holy Spirit produces, not a clone of itself but a unique combination of man and God. The diversity of man united by the sameness of the Lord.

A mathematician might explain it like this:-

AB + AC + AD

Does not equal 3A + B + C + D (three individuals with three versions of God)

Nor does it equal 3A's or 3B's or 3C's or 3D's (identical clones)

It ACTUALLY (mathematically too I might add) equals A(B+C+D) (a combination of unique individuals multiplied by a unique God.)

NOBODY gets lost or abandoned ... or devalued ... in the equation. I am neither YOU nor GOD, I am a unique and valid combination of me and God just as much as you are a unique and valid combination of you and God.

BUT it is easier and less complicated to just pass judgement on a life than to share a life. There is an old indian saying that before you judge another you should walk a mile in their moccasins. But Jesus simply says DO NOT judge others. (Matthew 7:1, Luke 6:37) And if they asked you to walk a mile with them walk two.(Matthew 5:41) And if you asked Jesus how many times you should do it I think it is more than likely that He might say even up to seventy times seven (Matthew 18:21,22).

The irony is that we are most often condemned by those who know us least and forgiven (should we seek it and repent) by the one who knows us best.

But what is it that enables people from all over the world and throughout history, of diverse cultures, languages,  nationalities, socio-economic groupings, abilities (and disabilities), natures, jobs, intellectual  strengths, interests, idiosyncrasies, etc. to not only join together, worship together, and work together, but also to share life together and be of one accord? What is it that makes the body of Christ tick?

It is this:-

Greater is He that unites us than the differences that seek to divide us.

D.J. Ludlow

Provided it is done freely and without charge

"What's That Strange Ticking?? ..."  may be copied, used and distributed

(in its entirety only, including this notice)

by brothers and sisters in Christ

to the profit and glory of The Lord alone (ttpagoTLa)

By special permission of 

D.J. Ludlow copyright 2015

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With This Life ... I Do!

Ever notice how "achievement" orientated the world is these days. It's all about "results". Success or failure is measured by what is and what is not achieved. Those who achieve results are a "success", those who do not are "failures".

BUT that's the way of the world ... NOT of the Lord. And if you really sit down to think about it ... it's the Lord who has, again, got it right!

Where did this little "epiphany" moment come from? Well I am currently reading Ezekiel - again - and this time it was THIS passage that hit me square between the eyes (it takes that to open them sometimes :-) ).

Ezekiel 2:7 "You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious. 8 But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious house; open your mouth and eat what I give you."

What struck me this time was that Ezekiel's success or failure did not depend one iota on how many people actually listened to him, it depended on whether or not he DID as the Lord commanded. In other words success for Ezekiel was not in what he achieved, it is in what he DID. But that wasn't the end of it because then it dawned on me that this didn't apply just to Ezekiel .. it applied to everyone ... even to Jesus Himself.

Jesus spent the first thirty years of his life in the flesh in relative obscurity, mainly surviving and growing up. Indeed little is written in the Gospels about this period of His Earthly life. Then after a mere three years of teaching and preaching and discipling He allowed Himself to be captured and executed. By the time Jesus ascended into Heaven again all there was on earth to show (physically) for all His efforts over 33 odd years were a mere 120 nervous followers hiding out in an upper room in Jerusalem. Nor did Jesus raise HIMSELF from the dead, nor did He sit HIMSELF at the right hand of the Father, nor did He give HIMSELF authority over all things in Heaven and on Earth. These incredible things were done FOR Him because ... of what He DID. What is it that Jesus DID in those 33 years on earth? He did the will of the Father - whatever was asked of Him - even to the enduring of punishment and death on the cross, not because He deserved it but because the Father asked it of Him. The model and lesson of success that Jesus has left with us is not that of the "great achiever" but that of the humble and obedient servant. Not of what WE can achieve but of what the Lord can achieve through, and for, us if we but obey HIM.

But it does not stop there either.Take for example the Apostles. There is much in the Bible about the exploits, travels, and church building of Paul, Much about the leadership and evangelism of Peter, and the revelations and teachings of John. But there were 10 other Apostles beside Peter and John (Paul was not actually one of those 12 but a 13th Apostle as it were). We do not hear much about them, but no one Apostle is greater than any other Apostle and ALL twelve names will be equally inscribed on the foundations of the new Jerusalem. Then there is Stephen. Stephen had little opportunity to achieve much at all being among the earliest of martyrs for Christ. Does this make him any less important, or any less "successful"? Rather we note that in Stephen's stance for Jesus, even in the face of death by stoning, great things arose from his death, including the rapid spread of the Gospel and the leading of many to Christ:-

Acts 11:19 "Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only. 20  And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21  And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord."

But this all happened AFTER Stephen's death when he was in no position to achieve anything!!

A preacher / minister / priest / elder / or other church leader will not be judged by the size of their congregations, the wealth of their church (or indeed their own), the opulence and beauty of their robes or their church buildings, nor by the esteem of their peers or followers. Rather they shall be judged by what they have done with the will and word of the Lord in their lives ... along with everybody else. Not by what they have or have not achieved, but by what they have done and how they have lived. 

If you want to know whether it is about what we achieve or about what we do, listen to how the Lord set Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, straight on the matter:-

Daniel 4:30  "The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honour of my majesty? 31  While the word was in the king’s mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. 32  And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will."

But the lesson holds not just for Christians either.

We hail as a hero the lifesaver who rescues three people on his first day ... but what about the one who dutifully and loyally patrols a beach for 20 years and never has occasion to rescue anyone? Is the loyal hardworking employee of 10 years any less hardworking or loyal than the hardworking and loyal employee of 30 years, simply because the company he works for closes down? Is a marriage that lasts 20 years then ends in divorce more successful than a happy marriage cut short after 5 years when one spouse dies? Who is the greater hero - the soldier who dies on the beach, or the soldier who survives to achieve victory?? Indeed is their bravery and sacrifice any less if victory is Not achieved? Dead soldiers do not win wars - but who would dare not call them heroes all the same?? Is he who achieves great wealth by dishonest means better than he who gains what little he has by the honest labour of his own hands? Is the player that actually shoots the goal better than the team who gets the ball to him? Are the rest of the team lesser players if the shooter misses? A player is not judged by whether or not their team achieves a win or loses but by how the player plays the game.

The stark truth is that WE don't have any real control over what we achieve or don't achieve (the best laid plans of mice and men, and all that). BUT we do have total control over what we DO and don't do. So next time you are sitting around wondering just what it is you are achieving with your life stop and think instead about what it is you are DOING with your life!

The reality is that victory and defeat, achievement and failure have ALWAYS been in the hands of the Lord alone. OUR choice is to DO or not do the will of the Lord, to obey or rebel against His word.

As for me, with this life, I choose to DO ... the will of the Lord.

But before I go, a little something for those who may feel they have nothing important to do for the Lord ... know that NOTHING you do - for the Lord - is unimportant!

THIS ONE THING I DO.

I am a screw,

This one thing I do

I hold the piston to the shaft.

If I should fail

The piston would impale

Upon the casing aft.

The pump would cease,

The water increase.

The bilge would overflow.

The ship would sink,

Quick as a wink,

In the murky depths below.

I am a screw,

This one thing I do

I hold the piston to the shaft.

D.J. Ludlow Copyright 1992

--o0o--

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"With This Life ... I Do!" ( the poem"This One Thing I Do" may also be
used separately with this notice) may be copied, used and distributed

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By special permission of 

D.J. Ludlow copyright 1992

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THEOLOGIES: The Weeds From The Seeds of Unbelief

Part of my research for my apologetics articles and videos is to try and understand where various theologies and beliefs come from. We find, these days, the wider community that identifies themselves as Christian is overgrown with a tangled mess of complicated, conflicting and competing theologies and beliefs which, for the most part, do not accord with the Bible. The perpetual virginity of Mary, the belief Mary is herself deity to be worshipped and "Queen of Heaven". The orphaned "70th week of Daniel" cut off and lost in some kind of strange time warp. All those Millennial theologies and their tribe of "Tribs". And more seem to spring up each day. Where is this veritable jungle of strange ideas coming from?

I was surprised (yet also not surprised) to find that every single one of these theologies I encountered stemmed from one single thing - UNBELIEF. The inability to believe what the Word of God actually says. A theology seems, to me, to be what a person thinks the Bible SHOULD say when they are unable to believe what the Bible DOES say.

If you have ever been involved in a theological discussion it is almost certain that at some point somebody will eventually utter the words "I know that is what the Bible says but that is not what it means." ... WHOA! back up a moment. (especially if your the one who said it). Did that person just say that the Lord does not mean what He says!!! They have a name for somebody who does not mean what they say, they are called ... "deceivers" or "lairs", those whose words are not to be trusted or believed because they do not say what they really mean or really mean what they say. Are they really accusing the Lord of such a thing?

Of course that is not what they are really saying (even if they don't realise it). What they are REALLY saying is "I know what the word of God says, *I* just can't believe it means what it says."

For instance the whole theology of the perpetual virginity of Mary is simply the inability of some to believe that after giving birth to the Son of God Mary could possibly use her womb for anything or anyone else. That after having the child of the living God of all creation she could never even consider having normal relations with Joseph. Therefore when the Bible speaks of the brothers of Christ they cannot believe that is what it means, and so begins the process of reinterpreting everything else the Bible says to conform with a theology born of unbelief.

The theology that elevates Mary to the Mother of God Himself and therefore Queen to God the Father ("God the Mother" as it were) comes only from the disbelief that Mary could be nothing more than an ordinary woman before AND after being blessed to be chosen by the Lord to bear His Son. Therefore when Jesus tells them point blank in Matthew 12:48-50, (and in Mark 3:33-35 and Luke 8:21) that His mother and brothers are absolutely no different to, or better than, any of those who believe on Him they are unable to believe even His own words. Indeed had they paid proper attention to the scriptures they would have known that Mary is not the "Mother of God". For Jesus the SON OF GOD existed before He was begotten of Mary as ... SON OF MAN (flesh and blood). They must then keep on reinterpreting everything the Bible says in order to hold on to a belief they maintain by NOT believing what the word of God AND the word of Jesus actually says.

The theology of the orphaned 70th Week of Daniel arises from the inability to believe that Gabriel answered TWO questions Daniel had, not one. (One was dealing with the sevenfold increasing curses of Leviticus 26:14-46. The other was dealing with Jeremiah's prophecy about the coming Messiah.) Because of that inability to believe what is written they mash together two answers that were never intended to be mashed together. Nor do they believe the words of Gabriel when HE clearly declares in Daniel 12:7 "when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished." (the sevenfold increasing curses of Leviticus 26:14-46 ends with the scattering of the nation of Israel - the power of the Holy people - it is from the sevenfold increases we get the 70 "weeks" or 70 x 7 years, the timing of the last curse after the 70 year exile).

They then have to reinterpret a WHOLE LOT of other passages throughout the entire Bible (and history also) to fit in with a "missing" 70th Week that has never been missing. It is only missing in their eyes because they have not believed what the words of Daniel himself clearly say, that he was puzzled over TWO separate prophecies from two separate prophets at two separate times, not one single prophecy. Gabriel only gives a start date for the coming of the Messaiah, but in Daniel 12:7, gives an ENDING of the prophecy of the 70 weeks with the total destruction of ALL cities and high places in Israel and the scattering of the Israelites among the Gentile nations as prophecied in Leviticus 26:14-46. This prophecy has already come to pass in 74AD with the scattering of the nation of Israel after the fall of the LAST city and stronghold of the Jewish nation - MASADA. (Jerusalem was not the last city of the nation of Israel to fall.). AND it occurred precisely 70 "weeks" (in Jewish years) after Nehemiah's restoration of Jerusalem was COMPLETED circa 409BC.

But they do not believe that either Daniel or Gabriel mean what they say. And now we have a whole lot of followers of a theology that has risen out of unbelief in the word of Daniel, the word of Gabriel and the word of God.

  

One of the purposes of many of my videos and articles is to show that the Lord DOES mean what He says and says what He means. That you can believe what the words themselves say no matter how unbelievable they may seem. That you can be 100% certain that if you have trouble believing them the error lays in what you may have been taught, or in your own preconceived notions or assumptions, not in what the words and sentences and paragraphs of God actually say.

The bottom line is that if you have the Word of God you do not need a theology to interpret it for you as if the Lord was a man that He would lie. The born again believer does not require a theology because they HAVE the Holy Spirit to lead them into all UNDERSTANDING of what the Lord has actually said and NOT said in HIS word.

It is by God's word that we judge the truth of all other words. It is the compass that always points to the truth. Those who do not believe it points where it should will lose themselves in an ever changing sea of words blown about by the diverse winds of tradition and the tides of popular opinion. We need to understand that the foremost experts on the Bible are those who, by the power and Spirit of God, WROTE it. Their words above those of ALL theologians, commentators, churches, and other "experts" are to be believed as true and faithful. But even more than that, THEIR words, no matter how unbelievable they may seem, CAN be believed for the Lord does not say what He does not mean. God is not a man that He should lie. (Numbers 23:19)

D.J. Ludlow

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"THEOLOGIES: The Weeds From The Seeds of Unbelief" 

may be copied, used and distributed

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IMITATING LIFE

As the song says, "we were made to thrive". But it is one thing to thrive as an individual believer, quite another to thrive as a fellowship of believers. When Jesus tells us 7 times to listen to what the Holy Spirit says to the CHURCHES it is a good indication we should listen very, very carefully.

A servant of Christ BELONGS to Christ individually. A church, however, is where they join in fellowship and mutual support and encouragement with others who equally belong to Christ. But fellowship among equals is not without its problems. The 7 letters to the churches could easily be published in a short book titled "What Can Go Wrong When Christians Get Together."

One letter I always found specially intriguing is that to the church at Sardis. A church enjoying  a REPUTATION as an alive (and thriving) church. No accusations of false teaching or false prophets are made. Nor accusations of being lukewarm like the church at Laodicea. And yet for all the appearance of an alive, thriving, doctrinally sound church the Spirit pronounced it DEAD already and in urgent need of resurrection or else the Lord Himself would visit it as a thief in the night. But a thief in the night comes to quietly steal away a householders possessions. The Lord is no thief so what is it He would take from such a church? I think He would take back what was His to begin with. His people, His gifts, His anointing, His blessing, His Holy Spirit. The Bible does not tell us what happened but one has to wonder, if the Church at Sardis did not even notice it was dead, would it have even noticed the Lord's people and the Lord's anointing, blessing and Spirit leaving? Or would it have simply substituted these things with corporate strategy look-alikes, stage managed shows, and groovy music in order to preserve the illusion of life for the sake of its reputation?

Sardis provokes the obvious question HOW DOES a dead church imitate life so well it can deceive even itself that it is a living, thriving church? It also provokes the follow up question, how do other churches stop themselves falling into the same trap?

It is not surprising that the key to a thriving personal life IN Christ and a thriving church OF Christ are the same thing. It is to get REAL with God and to get REAL with others. To have the courage (in Christ) to actually live and breathe the exciting, adventurous, and abundant, God purposed,  compassionate, loving, good working, truth seeking, World defying, Spirit filled life for which Jesus suffered and died .... And not just try to imitate it.

D.J. Ludlow

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ROASTS, CHIPS, AND OTHER SERVINGS!

There seems to be a new buzzword these days - "feedback". Apparently, provided you call it "feedback" nobody is allowed to get upset even if you really rip into them, criticise everything they do and leave them a dejected and demoralized wreck. As long as you can say "hey I'm just giving you some feedback" then it is clearly all their fault if your "feedback" upsets them.

But really when you think about it "feed back" is little more than a euphemism for throwing up something you ate. So next time you feel the urge to give some "feedback" to somebody try saying instead "hey I just want to throw up all over you because something disagreed with me". If nothing else it might make you stop and realise it is probably much closer to the truth than you are really comfortable with. 

But when Jesus said to Peter if you love me feed my sheep (John 21:17) He made it clear that there is a way to feed one another that is loving and nurturing as well as nourishing. However the way we feed others determines whether we are actually giving them food for thought or are simply "dishing it out".

What is it about home cooking that makes it so much better than cafeteria cuisine? After all food is food is food isn't it? A carrot from the kitchen and a carrot from the cafeteria are both carrots, probably even from the same supplier. Why should one be any different from the other? And yet we would all prefer a lovingly prepared home cooked meal over the impersonal fare a cafeteria dishes out on any given day.

Strangely enough the answer does not lay with the cook either. The answer actually lays in the relationship between the cook and the eater! What makes a home cooked meal so much nicer AND so much more nutritious and healthier than a meal dished out at the cafeteria is the bond of love that exists between the cook and the eater. So much more goes into a home cooked meal than what is on the plate. Each meal is the product of an intimate knowledge of likes and dislikes, individual needs and individual problems, capacities and incapacities, tastes and timetables  In short all those things that can only come from spending hours, days, weeks, and years of quality time and quality involvement with each other in a loving relationship that has genuine and loving care and concern for the other at its heart. The type of loving relationship that alone says "we are FAMILY!".

So next time you are planning to give somebody the "feedback" you think they need, remember that unless you have taken the time and made the effort to spend quality time and involvement getting to know all about them in a loving and caring relationship that says to BOTH "we are family". And unless you are prepared to sit down with them, and eat that meal you are serving up together with them, as well as help to tidy up after then the truth is you are simply doing nothing more than impersonally DISHING IT OUT in the cafeteria of your own self-righteousness.

D.J. Ludlow

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"Roasts, Chips And Other Servings!" may be copied, used and distributed

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THE REAL "A" TEAM AND THE MISSION IMPOSSIBLE

... Then one day this chippie, a few trawlermen, a government bean counter, a doctor, an academic, a writer, a few housewives and mothers, a prostitute, and a whole bunch of other social misfits and outcasts got together and said, "Hey guys, what say we make a team and do the impossible?" .... and they did!

Some of you might know these people by another name - Jesus Christ and the first disciples. But that really misses the whole point of the power and plan of God. I think we should choose a new name for us the disciples of Christ Jesus, who are ALL in the same team as those first disciples. I think we should call ourselves "THE 'A' TEAM OF THE LORD".

Sadly so many churches these days and in history have gone down the corporate path of "churchianity" with almost universally disastrous results. Yes some of them may appear very successful from a corporate point of view, but like the church at Sardis while they may have all the appearances of being successful, large, alive, and rocking in the eyes of men they are moribund and spiritually dead in the eyes of The Lord. Corporate success and corporate performance has never been a measure of spiritual success and spiritual performance and never can be. They are quite literally concepts that are alien to each other and don't really work together very well if at all. Corporate churches are "regular army", stiff, formal and largely inflexible. Full of rules, regulations, drills, strict uniformity and conformity, ranks, protocol, strict chains of command, unquestioning obedience, rule book battle plans, pomp and ceremony. The Lord however works with 'A' Teams. An eclectic bunch of rather eccentric, sin damaged, somewhat flawed individuals. Each one a unique mixture of amazing strengths and a whole lot of really strange and odd weaknesses and habits. So unique that one can't help wonder how each even managed to be in the same place at the same time, let alone work together on the same team. And yet work together they do, without rules and regulations, pomp and ceremony. With nothing even resembling a uniform look, or behaviour, or even the ability to stand in a straight line let alone march in the same direction.

They work so well because they are not united by an allegiance and obedience to a mixed plethora of ad hoc traditions, rules, regulations, uniformity, conformity, and ever changing hierarchies. They are united by ONE thing only ... LOVE. Love of their Father in Heaven, love of their sovereign Saviour, Lord and King, Christ Jesus, love of and obedience to, the ONE Holy Spirit that dwells in them ALL, and love of, and a desire to be obedient to, the ONE and ONLY word of God, and, not least of all, love for one another. THAT is what binds them together, THAT is what makes a bunch of raggle-taggle, sin damaged, outcasts and misfits the mission impossible accomplishing 'A' TEAM of the Lord. And it drives the world crazy because what binds the 'A" Team of God together and makes it both a team as well as uniquely invincible and successful ... is not of THIS world and it's culture of corporate thinking.

What a lot of churches do not understand is that corporate church thinking is very much Old Testament thinking. The Old Testament is where we find large, lavish, ornate temples and synagogues, structured and formalized worship services, hierarchical and structured organisational charts of exactly who has what authority, who has what duties and responsibilities where and when. It is where we find all the rules and regulations, do's and don'ts, transgressions and appropriate punishments. ... And it didn't work!

Jesus came to highlight that the  Kingdom of God was not in the things AROUND you. If it is not WITHIN YOU, you are not part of it, and if it is within you nothing AROUND you can separate you from it. No church has the power, authority or ability to stand between you and Christ Jesus. Indeed NOTHING on Earth, OR in Heaven for that matter, has the power, authority or ability to come between you and Christ Jesus, or to oust you from HIS Kingdom. If Christ is WITHIN you, you are part of God's 'A' Team whether the world thinks you should be or not. It is the Holy Spirit WITHIN YOU, not your outward appearance or the opinion of, or conformity and uniformity with, the expectation of others, that bears witness to your membership of it!

(Romans 8:16 (KJV) "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:")

Remember that the person you have to be acceptable to is NONE - other than The Lord Himself.

D.J. Ludlow

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IT'S NOT ABOUT SHEEP FARMS!

What a lot of churches do not understand is that corporate church thinking is very much Old Testament thinking. The Old Testament is where we find large, lavish, ornate temples and synagogues, structured and formalized worship services, hierarchical and structured organisational charts of exactly who has what authority, who has what duties and responsibilities where and when. It is where we find all the rules and regulations, do's and don'ts, transgressions and appropriate punishments. ... And it didn’t work!

Jesus came to teach us many things. One of them was that the  Kingdom of God was not in the things AROUND you. If it is not WITHIN YOU, you are not part of it, and if it is within you then nothing AROUND you can separate you from it. No church has the power, authority or ability to stand between you and Christ Jesus. Indeed NOTHING on Earth, OR in Heaven for that matter, has the power, authority or ability to come between you and Christ Jesus, or to oust you from HIS Kingdom. It is not about the churches of men, it is about the Kingdom of God.

Sadly so many churches these days and in history have gone down the Old Testament corporate path with similarly disastrous results. Yes some of them may appear very successful from a corporate point of view. Large well structured, well oiled, smooth running corporate machines housed in large, architecturally designed, luxuriously appointed, rather expensive, corporate style buildings replete with offices, auditoriums, theatres, multifunction rooms and halls, etc. They have great looking organisational charts with all sorts of departments and departmental directors, corporate plans and visions for the future, corporate in-house training and team building plans, impressive goals and performance targets, etc. And above all, that necessity of all successful corporations, a carefully, nurtured, protected, and projected "corporate image".

BUT they have forgotten that they are called to be shepherds, not sheep farmers.

What is the difference between a shepherd and a sheep farmer? A sheep farmer looks after the FARM. A shepherd looks after the SHEEP! A good sheep farmer will sacrifice sheep for the sake of the farm. A good shepherd will always sacrifice everything for the sake of the sheep. A sheep farmer measures success by the wellbeing and state of the farm. A shepherd will measure success by the wellbeing and state of the sheep. A good sheep farmer will always put the interest of the farm above the interest of the sheep. A good shepherd will always put the interest of the sheep above even his own. A sheep farmer treats the sheep as if they belong to him. A shepherd knows the sheep in his care do not belong to him and he is accountable to another for each and every one of them. A good sheep farmer will consider a loss of 1 per 100 sheep as an excellent outcome for his farm. A good shepherd will leave the 99 in order to save the one who is lost. A sheep farmer loves his farm. A shepherd loves the sheep!

Like the church at Sardis many of today's churches may be corporately alive and rocking, but they have become spiritually moribund and dead. They have lost their first love and now love and serve the church corporate more than they love and serve the Lord's sheep that are in it. They have forgotten that Jesus did not come to build a corporation, He came to save people. He came not as a corporate executive nor as a sheep farmer, but as a shepherd and a servant of His Father's flock. Corporate executives care about the corporations they build and run. Sheep farmers care for their farms. Shepherds care only for the individual needs and wellbeing of each and every sheep entrusted into their care. Servants care only for the individual needs and wellbeing of each and every member of the family they serve.

We must always be careful to remember that in the house of God there are only THREE things you are called to be and not one of them is a corporate position. You can be called to be a Shepherd, a Servant, and ... a sheep! Administration is indeed a gift from The Lord through His Holy Spirit. But it is a gift designed to SERVE the needs of shepherds, servants and sheep, not to master and control them.

D.J. Ludlow

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"It’s Not About Sheep Farms!" may be copied, used and distributed

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by brothers and sisters in Christ

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D.J. Ludlow copyright 2014

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Copy RIGHT!

S.H.A.P.E. is a very popular course designed to help people understand how GOD has individually and uniquely  shaped them to serve Him and to fit into the team HE is INDIVIDUALLY hand molding and shaping to serve HIS purposes and become HIS people at one with their God.

John 17:20 "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that ALL of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: 23 I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."

Sadly so many churches seem determined to take the people GOD has shaped and try and hammer them into the shape THEY and THEIR church thinks they should be. To make people in THEIR church branded and idealised image.

Church leaderships often forget that they are not meant to be in the business of making clones of themselves. Their sacred responsibility to God is to help HIM make clones of Jesus, and if they do not include themselves as among those who need to change then perhaps the beam in their eye has caused them to lose sight of their own imperfections. Unless you are claiming to be perfect you are neither a role model to be emulated nor a judge to pass sentence. The Lord has already given us the perfect role model and the perfect judge .... And it is neither us nor any of our imperfect Earth born churches by a long, long, way.

We are called to fellowship, not to judge one another, nor to shape one another to our many and varied ideas of what a "good Christian" should look like and act like. We are called to fellowship with fellow believers as one among equals in order that we might support, encourage, protect, share with one another, and to lift one another up as Christ Himself works in each and every one of us individually to grow each one of us into Himself by the path HE has chosen for us to take. Our journeys begin from very different places. The paths our lives take are many and varied. But the oneness we share is in our destination. Let us therefore try not to trip others up or tread on their toes along our way.

REMEMBER THAT THE CHILDREN OF THE LORD ARE BORN OF GOD, NOT FASHIONED BY THE HANDS OF MEN AND THE INDWELLING HOLY SPIRIT IS THE STAMP OF HIS COPYRIGHT UPON US ALL..

D.J. Ludlow.

Provided it is done freely and without charge

"Copy RIGHT" may be copied, used and distributed

(in its entirety only, including this notice)

by brothers and sisters in Christ

to the profit and glory of The Lord alone (ttpagoTLa)

By special permission of 

D.J. Ludlow copyright 2014

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A BUTLER IN THE HOUSE OF GOD.

Mark 10:42-45 "Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,  and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Mark 10:42-45 should be required reading for all who would aspire to any position of leadership in a church. In a democracy people elect those who will have power and authority over them. In this passage Jesus reminds us that the Kingdom of Heaven is not a democracy, it is the household of the FAMILY of The Lord. And a family household works very differently to a democracy.

If you want to understand the advice of Jesus to those who would seek leadership in His Church  it helps to understand how the large manor houses of England work. In each house there is always one and only one leader, one and only one head of the house, the father. But the household itself was run by servants. But even the head of all the servants (usually the head butler) still had less standing and authority than the youngest or least member of the family. Servants did not have authority OVER  the family, they had responsibility TO the family.

Consequently should a member of the family decide to become a servant they do not gain any greater authority or privilege than the authority and privilege they already possessed as children and heirs of the Father. What they gain is .... greater responsibility TO the family and to the Father.

In  Mark 10:42-45 Jesus reminds us that even though He is the firstborn heir of the Father He chose to become the head butler in the house of His Father in order that He may serve and care for His brothers and sisters who are also joint heirs of the Father. Already having all authority over the household of the Father as the firstborn Son, Jesus took upon Himself responsibility TO the household of the Father. He became its head butler.

If we want to serve in the household of the Father we are not called to become a great leader, we are called to become ... a great servant. But not just a servant, a servant UNDER the authority of the head butler of the household of God .... The firstborn heir of the Father, Christ Jesus Himself!

D.J. Ludlow.

Provided it is done freely and without charge

"A Butler In The House of God" may be copied, used and distributed

(in its entirety only, including this notice)

by brothers and sisters in Christ

to the profit and glory of The Lord alone (ttpagoTLa)

By special permission of 

D.J. Ludlow copyright 2014

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