Strategic Discipleship

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04/13/2026

April 13, 2026
Overcoming Sovereign Self
Chapter 5: Seven Events that Changed Everything

Event #2: The Foundation of the World and Creation (Part 1 of 2)

We have discussed the inappropriate practice of lumping together or mixing up two separate concepts in Scripture, which practice displays our lack of deep understanding of “What’s really going on here?” We gave the example of this common practice as it manifests in the ministries of the LORD Jesus, “Justification by His Blood” and “Salvation by His Life” (Romans 5:9-10—see Chapter 2, Justification or Salvation). The practice manifests, for example, when most believers witness to unbelievers, an early question in the encounter often is, “Have you been saved?” when our real intent is to ascertain if they have been “justified.”* Another example, less frequent—but just as inappropriate—we also tend to mix together the separate events/concepts of “Foundation of the World” and “Creation.” That is, we focus on the act of Creation and depreciate the Plan and preparatory work performed by the Godhead (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in/as One). They are distinguished in this manner: Creation was an event—detailed in Genesis Chapters 1 and 2—that formed the world, including its “things” and its inhabitants as we know it. But the Creation followed the basis and supporting reason(s) contained within the Foundation, the establishing authority, philosophy, theology, underpinning, theoretical construct, principle-base, elemental rationale—all these terms taken together most likely fall short of describing the complete Agreement and Plan of the Godhead in declaring and establishing the Foundation of the World, but they provide a framework for understanding. What does it matter if we fail to fully appreciate the Foundation on which God built the creation? It matters because, like any other rationale or basis, the Purpose and intent cannot be effectively understood in the absence of the “Why.” And if we fail to accurately understand why Papa created what He created, for the reasons and Purpose He created it, we are unlikely to maximize our potential in discipleship by making intentional choices that coincide and cooperate with His Plan.

A foundation is a base or basis on which something is built. If the building object is a physical structure, the foundation usually refers to the slab, piers, or prepared ground underneath the vertical members called walls. But other types of preparation also constitute a foundation. Technically, any preceding or preparatory work to support or sustain the superstructure is foundational, including the architectural plans, statement of purpose, and even the originating concept. When the object of establishment is an organization, the elements of the foundation include the vision, values, bylaws, legal documents, and the envisioned purpose for organization. One frame of reference for us would be the way the U.S. Constitution forms the foundation and framework of our government, or how bylaws establish the authority for an organization. Psalm 89:11,14 gives us context clues about what Scripture means when it refers to a “foundation,” and specifically in this case in particular, the “foundation of [God’s] throne”: “11 The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours; The world and all its fullness, You have founded them…14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Mercy and truth go before Your face.” Psalm 89 reveals some of the elements of the Foundation of God’s Throne (i.e., His Rulership and Kingdom) to be Righteousness, Justice, Mercy, and Truth. But other Scripture also reveal by context other foundational elements, and we may also assume that other features of His magnificent Nature also form the metaphysical, foundational Authority of His governance.** His Values, Ways, Precepts, Supremacy, Sovereignty, Majesty, Eternality, and others all contribute to His Grand Purpose and Plan that constitutes the Foundation on which His work is both built and successfully accomplished. Between initiation and accomplishment, the elements and in-habitants of His Creation follow His prescribed Program. And these features constitute the basis for what Jesus referred to as the practice of “worship[ping] in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24), as opposed to our modern worship practice of shifting the emphasis of our worship from His magnificent Nature to “me, my, mine” of the litany of things He has done “for me.” One stream of worship focuses on Who He is; the second focuses on “my life” and “me” as the central reason for His existence.

But, even considering the foregoing, and even more basic—more astounding, really—is the fact that the Foundation of the World is more than the “philosophy” and intent of God’s Purpose (e.g., establishing authority, underpinning, theoretical construct, principle-base, elemental rationale, etc.) it is a Person! How do we know that? The Foundation is the Word, and John 1:1-5 establishes that God’s Word and God’s Son to be One and the same! Jesus us the LIVING WORD! That is very difficult for us to wrap our minds around, but it is confirmed by Paul’s declaration in 1 Corinthians 3:10-11 where He identifies Jesus as the Foundation laid in a believer’s life. The astounding association in the Spirit is that the Foundation of the World and the “Foundation that was laid” (1 Corinthians 3:11) are One! How do we know that? We know because that is what Paul meant when he said in Colossians 1:16-17, “16 For by Him [in the Person of the embodied Word of God] all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth…All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” “By Him,” “through Him,” “for Him,” “He is before all things,” “in Him all things consist”—these phrases mean (among other things) it is not about you!
Strategic Planning is a necessary exercise in preparation for any complex activity such as founding an entire Creation, and particularly when a cooperative effort (as is our discipleship) is undertaken. It is necessary for us as His people to be both intimately knowledgeable and integrally involved in bringing about His Mission of Redemption. Jesus told us in John 15:15 that His friends know what He is doing, and that particularly includes understanding His founding Purposes and Program in the creation. Another way to describe God’s overarching and establishing authority and founding principle of His Creation is/was “Executing the Mission of Redemption in a T/S/M world,” and we know well the role that the Son of God had in that Mission. That Mission necessarily connects all that He has done in redemptive response to the egregious Rebellion of Lucifer as cause and effect. But Redemption itself has a Divine Purpose, and that Purpose is for God to re-establish and gift a Kingdom to His Son.

The foregoing being true, we are obliged to pursue and understand what specific elements and features He designed into the Foundation of the World that guide His intentions and Purposes, and how those elements interact to execute His Plan. Papa did not just wake up one day, roll out of bed, and say to Himself on a whim, “I think I’ll create a universe.” Of course, we are being facetious, but with a point: The Creation is Purpose-based, not fiat-based; and, that Purpose is related and a response to conditions in the Eternal Realm before the Creation, namely the existence of Lucifer’s chaotic Rebellion; and, the Creation supports and results in His intention to return the Kingdom to His Son as He makes the correction and deals with The Rebellion once and for all (Revelation 19:20, 20:10-15). God's intentions and His Plan were in place as the Foundation before He spoke the first "Let there be…" declaration (Genesis 1:3)! That statement has HUGE implications, some of which may prank with your "the way church is done" theology! It seems the previous sentence should be obvious, but many believers have no idea of the totality what God is accomplishing and correcting with His ongoing creative work and His overarching Plan—they still think, “It’s all about me!” What is not so obvious are the undergirding reasons that established His Purpose for the T/S/M created dimension, because they are shrouded in mystery for us to uncover and/or conveyed to us in a storybook “parable” format for us to de-code—the “foundation of the Foundation,” if you will.

So, if we wish to understand the mysteries so that we can more fully cooperate with His Purposes and take part in His Program of Operation with knowledge and not superstitious religion, we need to examine conditions before and after the world’s Foundation. He gave us a point of beginning and a clue to what followed with the account of Lucifer’s Fall. He expanded our information base with the account of Creation and the world’s Foundation. Now, we contextualize the rest of the information to uncover and de-mystify His mysterious Plan of Operation. More specifically, we need to observe what changed and how it changed. Why would any believer who purports to love God with all their being not care deeply or lazily accept shallow answers like, “Just because," or "It’s unknowable” when clearly His Purposes are extremely important to Him, so important in fact that they cost Him a price as incredibly invaluable as the suffering death of His Son? He intends for us to know, and He intends for us to work at uncovering the mysteries as part of “seek Me…with your whole heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). We do not believe it is cheating the process of “working to acquire” to help one another in gaining understanding, so we have included an overview in Appendix C of what Papa has revealed to us as the “Elements of God’s Strategic Plan of Operation in Redemption.” By understanding the “50,000-foot overview” of His Plan, we can much more readily adapt the confluence and cooperation of our efforts. The high-level perspective serves to get our eyes off “me, my, mine” and onto “Thy Kingdom come…on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

*We understand what most believers call “getting saved” to be what we call our “justification moment.” That is, it is the moment in this time/space/ matter world when the believer awakens to the True Reality of who they are and are made to be in the Eternal Realm. It is the moment when our spirit is “quickened” to know who we are and what is our destiny in the Eternal.
**Other aspects of His Nature that contribute to the makeup of His Mystical Kingdom’s attributes are known as “fruits” that mark His authorship: Love, Faithfulness, Patience, Peace, Glory, Forbearance, Kindness, and Justice.

March 23, 2026Overcoming Sovereign SelfChapter 1: Overcoming All Things "Self"What Is Sovereignty, and Why Does It Matte...
03/24/2026

March 23, 2026
Overcoming Sovereign Self
Chapter 1: Overcoming All Things "Self"

What Is Sovereignty, and Why Does It Matter? (Part 1 of 2)

Sovereignty is an important concept for understanding how our ISS is expressed in experience. Notice, we did not say “expressed in our life,” since as believers, we have died—been crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20)—and our “life” is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3). We no longer have a “life” that is our own—we have been “bought with a price” (1 Corinthians 6:20), and when we continue to use the words to refer to “my life,” we both reveal and reinforce an underlying attitude that is steeped in Independent Sovereign Self (ISS). Contrary to popular opinion, words do not just reveal underlying attitudes; they are just as effective in establishing and shaping attitudes as well by repeated assertions. Like “Self-propaganda,” our “my life” casual declarations establish new attitudes and reinforce existing. That is what the concept of “confessing the truth” is all about. Each time the words “my life” roll off our tongue, we are effectively countering and calling the Scripture untrue, Jesus’ claim of possession over us illegitimate, and declaring again our sover-eignty over the carved-out space of “my life.” Each time we claim “my life,” we are speaking by the same motivation and attitude that powered Lucifer’s Self-based Rebellion. In effect, we declare that, though the Blood of Jesus paid for my sin, it did not cover the full value of “my life” in terms of the right to direct all activities and choices, and therefore we retain the “deed of ownership” and the “lien of possession.” Words have power, and the negative impact of these words on our independent, entitled attitude must be driven from our vocabulary!

Despite our ill-advised declarations, believers retain no ownership of “my life”—it is an illusion—yet we have a T/S/M experience and are effectively writing a story of our transformation into the Image of Christ progress with our choices and His salvation Life in us. That story is what we call our "testimony," and when we are successful, it is intended to be the account of our pursuit of Him with our whole heart. It is, in effect, our customized love story as the Shulamite maid in Song of Sol-omon runs after her beloved (not vice versa!). In that sense, Papa has granted us limited, delegated sovereignty to make the choices that shape our discipleship development into His Image.

Sovereignty is defined as “The rightful/entitled expression of supremacy in power and authority.” His Sovereignty is one attribute of God’s Divine Nature. As Sovereign LORD, He works all things after the counsel of His own Will. God’s Sovereignty is a fact of existence—not by our perception, but rather by definition and independent of our perception—and as such does not depend on my permission, concurrence, or even acknowledgment to be actual. The atheist does not in any aspect thwart the Sovereignty of God; he will, however, manifest it in due time. His Sovereignty is not subject to our actual ability to usurp, preempt, supplant, or in any way infringe upon His Divine prerogative to act Sovereignly. We are the ones suffering the illusion/delusion of control of “my life,” but our deception does not shift His Divine Supremacy even infinitesimally; nor do childish tantrums, incessant whining, pouting, or outbursts of anger aimed heaven-ward budge His Sovereign Will and Purpose. However, as with the sin of mankind and its just and deserved redress, He has acted in His Divine Patience and Longsuffering as an expression of Divine Mercy on His children, patiently willing that all men be saved (not justified), as we have previously cited from Romans 9:22-23: “22 What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory.” Nahum 1:3 elaborates on the theme, “The LORD is slow to anger and great in power and will not at all acquit the wicked.” Impending retribution for sin/rebellion demonstrates His absolute Sovereignty; the fact that He is longsuffering demonstrates His Mercy; and His Grace extended to His believing children flows from His Kindness and Goodness. Still, without the inevitable and timely ex*****on of His Justice, the rest of His “softer” attributes become meaningless.

March 5, 2026Overcoming Sovereign SelfAll Things New: You Are Not Your Body!Here is a NEWSFLASH! that we must keep in th...
03/04/2026

March 5, 2026
Overcoming Sovereign Self
All Things New: You Are Not Your Body!

Here is a NEWSFLASH! that we must keep in the forefront of our thinking if we are to respond aptly to the circumstances we face in the classroom of life: You are not your body, and your body is not the real you! We have previously made this statement, but here we emphasize this Truth in relation to our ability to perceive the Eternal Realm. It is impossible to overemphasize this truth because this world’s system under Satan’s rulership presses so forcefully and continuously against our consciousness that it is impossible to remember without frequent reminding, and difficult to hold in the forefront of our thinking even with frequent reminding. So, the questions are, “If I am not the body that stares back at me from the mirror every morning, then who am I?” and “Which me is me, that is, the REAL me?” Those are great questions that will take you a lifetime to answer. Why? Simply because while your body/vessel deteriorates as you age, your Precious Life is a work in progress that has nothing to do with the shell in which the real you resides. You do not equate the airplane in which you are riding with the vacation you are taking, do you? You do not confuse your car with your trip to work or school. The conveyance is not the commute, the machine is separate from the driver, and the shell is separate from the hermit crab, even if the two are symbiotically joined for a time. And, as a component of the Kosmos system under the rulership of Satan, the body is a component in a schema that supports the enemy’s values of Self-expression, and of a kingdom where his lying, killing, and destroying (John 10:10) are woven into the fabric of existence.

When engaged in God’s discipleship process, the real you is transformed in the Presence as the Holy Spirit tutors us. The real you was and is a heart, soul, and spirit being present in the Eternal Realm before it was incarnated in a terrestrial body. There is much Scriptural reference support for the foregoing when one begins and reads from the assumptive position that we did not begin to exist as a spiritual being when our father’s s***m and our mother’s egg came together to form our flesh vessel. In the language of the metaphor, we presented a few pages back, the art, the sculpture that resides deep within our old man—covered by excess slag of ISS that the Holy Spirit chisels away (sometimes painfully!)—is slowly and artfully removed until the real us, the potential us, is revealed. And, when the Sculptor has fully accomplished His work and declares, “It is finished” (in our Last 15-Minutes!), the real us will look like Jesus…or not, according to our cooperative embrace of the discipleship process. Overcoming the illusions of this world to uncover the real me—the “Precious Life me” that exists in the Eternal Realm—is the Artist’s work at issue in discovering your True Identity.

Scripture gives us further clues to the mystery to trace back to reveal the original source truth concerning the nature of our existence in this T/S/M world. One such truth is Colossians 3:1-4:
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sit-ting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
Here is the paradox—the “Christ in you, the hope of glory” mystery (Colossians 1:27)—that only believers experience: While we are seated with Christ in heavenly places, we are simultaneously present in a body in the classroom of T/S/M life! It is inaccurate to think that believers are confined entirely to one dimension or the other at any one time. Because we are immersed in the world system and so dependent on our five senses for navigation and communication, it is really difficult for us to visualize being one in spirit with Christ (1 Corinthians 6:17)–as we currently are—and yet encased within a shell composed of flesh in this T/S/M dimension—as we also currently are. It is a paradox that frequently stumps us. It does not feel like we are two places at once, but part of the spiritual maturing process is to learn to adjust your feelings to the facts! The actuality of our dual position is not opinion or even spiritual interpretation; it is a Scriptural fact confirmed by very specific language.

“Your life…hidden with Christ in God” tells us explicitly that our life source is not in the physical being that occupies space and breathes oxygen in this world. The REAL you is animated (sustained and given life) by spirit, not by blood. The real you does not exist solely in this T/S/M reality but is currently simultaneously seated with Christ in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6) as well as wherever you are in this world as you read this! Your real life is hidden with Christ in God. The real you has already experienced the spiritual death of iniquity and separation, and now, is being raised to life again by the regenerative washing/work of the Holy Spirit. Though we cannot remember it because of the veil of the flesh, the real you existed before the world began, and will continue after this T/S/M training and testing environment has served its purpose and is ended. If you are a believer, the real you will be present at the Judgment Seat of Christ and will be judged for what has been done with the resources He has made available to you. At that point, the real you will be an integrated, assimilated member of the Bride of Christ, and rule beside Him as a joint heir of the Kingdom—or not. These are difficult paradoxes and concepts to contemplate because they are other-worldly thoughts. But other-worldly does not mean “imaginary.” They are more real than the “reality” we currently experience by our senses because—as we have discussed—the Eternal dimension True Reality is superior to what we experience as T/S/M reality and will always trump our experience here.

“If I am not my body, what—and who? —and where? —exactly is the real me?” It is tricky to attempt to precisely define an other-worldly being in T/S/M terminology, but we are compelled to try because “He has put eternity in [our] heart[s]” (Ecclesiastes 3:11). “Eternity in our heart” is the “evidence of things unseen” that confirms our spirit-life origin and presence in the Eternal dimension in Eternity past—including our co-existence at the time of The Rebellion, even though we cannot remember it. “Eternity in our heart” is the shadow of recall that causes the internal longing for the Father’s Kingdom we once knew and loved, yet forsook. It is the mysterious Scriptural clue, the documentation that confirms our “other-worldly” origin. We have “eternity in our hearts” because we are out of Eternity as a life source, and intuitively (for believers) know that we will return to it (see John 13:3). With our “born from above” (John 3:3) entrance into this T/S/M world, we brought with us an endemic glimmer of shrouded mystery that only our hearts can know. Deep within we know that we are strangers and foreigners here: We do not belong, nor do we intend to stay or feel at home in Satan’s stolen kingdom, having been liberated from bo***ge by the precious Blood of Jesus.

The real you is the being comprised of the eternal heart, soul, and spirit that dwells temporarily in the vessel that looks back at you in the mirror. It is the part of you that gets out of this world alive when your body is used up. David and Solomon called this existence your “Precious Life”:
• Psalm 22:20, “Deliver Me from the sword, my Precious Life from the power of the dog.”
• Psalm 35:17, “LORD, how long will You look on? Rescue me from their destructions, my Precious Life from the lions.”
• Proverbs 6:26, “For by means of a harlot a man is reduced to a crust of bread; and an adulteress will prey upon his Precious Life.”
John gave us two quotes of Jesus’ words that give us a strong context for considering our “five-senses-versus-belief” evaluation which truly manifests as a T/S/M “of this world” existence versus our Eternal Realm home dimension origination:
• John 6:36, “But I [Jesus] said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe.”
• John 20:29, “Jesus said to him, ‘Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’”

“Believing” is a response to “faith” in this T/S/M world, not vice versa. And “faith” is “the assurance of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1) existing in the Eternal dimension. Believing is our internal response to the fact of Eternal Realm faith. So, when we read that it is our faith that overcomes the world (1 John 5:4), it is in the context of S.E.E.ing (Seeking the Eternal Essence) at work in T/S/M) by our spiritual senses (the Real Us) that which exists in the Eternal Realm. That sight creates faith and elevates Us above the clutches of the flesh and this world’s system. That is why our faith is foolishness to the world system and its earth-dweller citizens: They are unable to detect the faith of the Eternal Realm because they are not “born from above” (again, John 3:3), therefore they are unable to believe. In other words, unless one is born from above, he/she lacks the “Kingdom-detection equipment,” without which they are unable to “enter into or take possession of” (Greek, εἰσέρχομαι [eiserchomai], John 3:5). To embrace Faith is the response of our Precious Life to the True Reality of the Kingdom and is realized in the realm of our spiritual senses—particularly in our “eyes of understanding,” but also in other spiritual senses as well (see All Things New: A New Navigation System later in this chapter).
Seeing is not necessarily believing, and neither is believing necessarily seeing because seeing and believing are disparate acts that in their pure form are not intended to be mixed (John 20:29). They are “comparing apples to oranges,” primarily because seeing is a function of the kingdom of this world by the exercise of our five senses (which do not exist in the Eternal Realm and are therefore an illusion germane to this world (see Chapter 6, The Illusion of Our Five Senses), and S.E.E.ing (and the resultant belief) is a function of our spiritual sight (i.e., “understanding,” Ephesians 1:18) in the Eternal Realm. So, the pertinent question that the Holy Spirit asks us is, “Who are you going to believe, Me, or your lying eyes?” Even for the Church, the most difficult factors of discipleship to embrace are those that contradict the physical world and our five senses, and that present paradoxes so foreign to our T/S/M experience.

Our favorite definition of “genius” is, “The ability to hold two seemingly-conflicting thoughts in your brain at the same time yet consider them equally true.” It took a genius (Papa) to design and craft such a magnificent system to fulfill His Redemption purpose. It takes genius on our part to embrace the truth of the Scripture, especially when it is not confirmed by our five senses. And it takes the genius coaching of the Holy Spirit to reveal our True Identity “on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10) by the “eyes of [our] understanding” (Ephesians 1:18).

March 4, 2026Overcoming Sovereign SelfChapter 2, Discipleship BasicsHow Shall We Escape?There is a particularly insidiou...
03/04/2026

March 4, 2026
Overcoming Sovereign Self
Chapter 2, Discipleship Basics

How Shall We Escape?

There is a particularly insidious form of evil to which we are all subject that Jesus addressed in Matthew 21:28-32:
28 “A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ 29 He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. 30 Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to Him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God be-fore you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.”

Jesus’ words reveal to us a demanding and convicting axiom that we will call “The Obedience Principle”: Your actions do not count as obedience unless you actually obey! Words are cheap and easy. And words alone do not constitute doing the Father’s will.

Obedience is hard, and it is designed to be that way! Why? Because the striving and internal conflict associated with any act of obedience always pits my will against His, my control against His, and my usurped sovereignty against His Sovereign Nature.

Submitting our stubborn will to His reorients our relationship to the appropriate relationship configuration of Creator/creature, Father/son, Shepherd/sheep, and God/Self-as-god. The Obedience Principle seems obvious—even redundant—on first blush until we factor in our incredible skill at justifying and rationalizing our actions or lack thereof. Ultimately, the act of learning from obedience is the exercise of repudiating The Rebellion in my flesh so that transformation may take place in my heart and soul. That is discipleship. It is not complicated to know and understand that there are acts/errors of performance. However, these usually begin as errors of intent or neglect. And then, there are acts of intentional neglect. Intentional neglect cannot be ascribed to “accident,” “fluke,” “misfortune,” or “happenstance” because the results of intentional neglect have foreseeable consequences about which we have been warned. That is what The Obedience Principle is designed to address. When behavioral inertia becomes our habit, it takes on a certain momentum that continues uninterrupted until we directly intervene as an act of will. Very often continuing in a pattern of intentional neglect develops into a life strategy of passive resistance that is the opposite of the type of intentionality which chooses obedience as a course of action and a pattern of discipleship.

The writer of Hebrews gives us the warning associated with neglecting our salvation process; and, by inference, gives us a solid clue about just how imperative and urgent our embrace of the process is during our experience in this T/S/M world:

2 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the LORD, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, 4 God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will? (Hebrews 2:2-4)

Blending the lessons of Matthew 21:29-32 and Hebrews 2:2-4, we expose the perilous practice of talking a good game followed by failure to perform. Papa is not impressed by our declarations, rationalizations, justifications, and excuses for non-performance. Samuel declared that obedience is better than sacrifice—and that includes the sacrifice of our lips (1 Samuel 15:22). And Jesus gave us the litmus test for the privilege of considering Him our friend: “14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you” (John 15:14). The totality of the message is unmistakable: Words, without actions that conform to God’s commands, count for nothing. Intentions in the absence of intentional action not only do not qualify as discipleship, but they also actually put us in greater peril in the “You were cautioned/warned and should have known better” category of culpability. Our purpose in this chapter is practical discipleship, and there is no practical component without practice and intent.

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