Daily writing prompt

If there were a biography about you, what would the title be?

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I want to live in truth and avoid deception. That’s very hard to do and I’ve never been fully successful at it. However, I have found two great sources that ring true within my inner depths: The great Shepherd of the sheep (Hebrews 12:20-21) Jesus Christ living within me (Colossians 1:27) and the Bible as I allow God the Holy Spirit to make it burn in my heart. (Luke 24:32)

Prayer is the Shepherd-and-sheep connection. That’s why Christians are told to pray without ceasing. (1 Thessalonians 5:17) The world is full of many wolves — often in sheep’s clothing. They try to disrupt and break up any deep spiritual connection with Christ. Jesus warns us to watch out for wolves dressed as sheep (Matthew 7:15) so that we can avoid them and keep our prayer connection with Him ever present and unceasingly strong.

Wolves in sheep’s clothing are people who try to hide their sin behind religion. They are the people who say they are Christians but don’t live with love for and obedience to Jesus.

Wolves want to make themselves famous. True sheep want to live continually connected heart-to-heart with the risen Jesus and to help other people do so as well. Let’s always cling to and abide in Jesus (John 15:4) — the great Shepherd of the sheep. (Hebrews 12:20-21)

The true sheep in the body of Christ are Spirit-led disciples, not mere church attendees. Religion can never replace the reality of the risen Jesus. Don’t settle for anything less than “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”

Wolves dressed like sheep
Wear a disguise
To keep the truth
From people’s eyes.

They’ve quit howling
And stopped prowling
So that the sheep
Believe their lies.
They say they’re sheep
But inwardly
They’re angry wolves.

Often God’s sheep
Don’t make a peep.
They’ve been trained to
Sit and listen.
They’ve learned to keep
Their heart shut down
So frequently
They don’t even
Notice when a
Wolf is around.
(Matthew 7:15)

I don’t believe that institutional churches have been built by Jesus, Himself, but by human beings. If Jesus did build an institutional church that “the gates of Hell” (Matthew 16:18) will not overcome, why did it break apart into hundreds of thousands of denominations and non-denominational churches that oppose and disagree with each other in so many ways?

Jesus prayed that His followers be united as one, even as He and God the Father are. (John 17:21-23) Institutional churches have never come close producing true heart-to-heart oneness within their congregations or between them, much less than between denominations.

If Jesus didn’t build churches, what did He build? Well, in the Bible He used the Greek word ekklesia which was the name of the participatory townhall meeting in ancient Greek cities where anybody present could speak up.

Peter states that Christ-followers are being built together as living stones into a holy priesthood. (1 Peter 2:5) That means that everybody in Christ’s ekklesia is a priest. There’s no special hierarchy or clergy to lord it over people. (Matthew 20:25-28) In the Bible, they assembled themselves together in homes not in church buildings (Acts 2:46) “to spur one another on to love and good deeds” by “encouraging one another.” (Hebrews 10:24-25)

Christ’s ekklesia isn’t a physical building or religious institution. It’s people who have surrendered their heart and life to Jesus to deny themselves, take up their cross daily, and follow Him. (Luke 9:23)

Don’t just go to church. Be Christ’s ekklesia. Avoid wolves. Connect heart-to-heart with Jesus and those who follow and obey Him daily.

The body of Christ
Isn’t one man talking
To an audience.
It’s disciples walking
Together as led
By God the Spirit.
(Romans 8:14)