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Category: Luke (Page 1 of 23)

Don’t Fight, Invite

October 7, 2025 / / 0 Comments

We are having so much fun with Breno and Gabi Escobar and Jose Luiz and Isabel Siqueira, two professors and their wives from SerCris Training School in Campo Grande, Brazil. Our GCR Church has partnered with SerCris since its founding in 2002, and the two couples are in Midland for a week to help us kick off our first-ever Missions Month. Whitney and I took Breno to a Texas high school football game Friday, a clash between two state-ranked teams in Greenwood, which also served as the Rangers’ homecoming and a huge Greenwood win. The event provided everything Breno needed to experience at his first ever in-person American football game: the entire community in attendance, sitting shoulder to shoulder on aluminum bleachers, unbelievably large homecoming mums, two undefeated teams making big plays on the field, cheerleaders, two marching bands, and a homecoming queen.

On Saturday, we took Breno and Gabi to Green Acres Miniature Golf, the site of George and Laura Bush’s first date a long, long time ago. Breno kept us in stitches with his unorthodox play–golf balls were flying all over the place–and his soccer-style celebrations. He wound up in the drink once–not in the water hazard that runs across the field of play, but in the waterfall behind the hole! Carrie-Anne destroyed us by hitting three holes-in-one and finishing with a one-under-par 47. She was absolutely on fire! Breno finished by hitting the ball OVER the barn on the last hole, not THROUGH it.

We had both couples over Saturday night to watch college football, shoot pool, eat a massive dinner, and play our favorite card game, 99. Turns out, you can play 99 without knowing any English at all!

 

 

 

 

 

At church Sunday, Breno led our communion time by reading from Jesus’ story of the great feast in Luke 14 and Jose Luiz spoke during the sermon time about all that our God is doing in them and through them in Campo Grande. GCR’s relationship with SerCris goes back to some early church plants in the 1980s and Jose Luiz connected all the dots for us very well. After church, we enjoyed a big lunch together with GCR friends at La Bodega, celebrating a fabulous kickoff to Missions Month.

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We’re using the Travel Narrative in the Gospel of Luke as our guiding text during Missions Month. As Jesus is “on the way” to Jerusalem, as he travels from Galilee to the capital city, as he walks from the place where his ministry began to the place where it will all be ultimately accomplished, he remains focused on the mission. Critical to the mission, Jesus purposefully travels through Samaria, unfriendly territory. And as we watch Jesus interact with people, handle circumstances, and explain things in the mission field of Samaria, we can learn how to interact with people, handle circumstances, and explain things in the mission fields of Midland and Brazil, in West Texas and Kenya and Honduras.

One of the first things we learn as Jesus embarks on his mission journey “along the way” is that his mission is an invitation, it’s not a fight. It’s not about judgment or force. We don’t motivate by fear and we don’t fight; we invite.

The very first Samaritan village Jesus and his disciples encounter rejects them outright. “We don’t want you or your message! Hit the road, bub!” And the Zebedee boys are ticked. James and John, the Sons of Thunder, know exactly how they should respond: “Let’s call fire down from heaven! Do it, Jesus! Let’s incinerate all these hicks! Don’t they know who we are?! Boom! Fire! Straight outta heaven!”

And our Lord Jesus rebuked them. Immediately. Non-negotiable.

It is never our task as disciples on a mission with Christ along the way to destroy the opposition. This is not a fight and we are not warriors! Jesus-followers do not bash people who are not on our side. We don’t judge or annihilate or own anybody created by God in the image of God.

Yet, despite our Lord’s unqualified, uncompromising rebuke, so many of us continue to act like Zebedees. We’re following Jesus, full of devotion and zeal, but some of us will not tolerate any opposition. We won’t tolerate rejection. And we get our feelings hurt or we get angry and we rise up in a show of force to judge and destroy.

Boom! Fire! Straight outta my email!
Boom! Fire! Straight outta my prideful mouth!
Boom! Fire! Straight outta my Facebook post or my forwarded video!

With words and attitudes and digital weapons, we destroy anybody who rejects Jesus as the Savior of the World. Or our understandings of Jesus. Our our other beliefs and practices.

As ambassadors of Jesus, with Jesus, our message and our mission is never one of judgment or force. It’s invitation. It’s an invitation to share in the love and the blessings and the promises of God. An invitation to an abundant life in and with Christ Jesus. And invitation to be the Good Samaritan. An invitation to pray, to ask God. An invitation to serve others. An invitation to be healed, to be made whole. An invitation to take one’s place at the feast in the Kingdom of God.

“Invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame. Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full!” ~Luke 14:13-23

It’s an invitation mission. Not judgment. Not force. We don’t fight, we invite. In Midland and India. In West Texas and Western Brazil.

Peace,

Allan

 

Where “All” Becomes “One”

July 31, 2025 / / 0 Comments

“You are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” ~Galatians 3:26-28

I believe we are blessed to live in the country we live in, but the systems and structures and mottos and politics of this world will never unite anybody. The only place where the “all” becomes “one” is in Christ alone. In Christ is the only place where all people become one people. Our Lord Jesus is creating one global eternal community, not a bunch of them. So, in Christ, all the barriers are gone. There’s no more separation, no more distinctions or differences–everybody’s totally equal in Christ. The walls are down, the doors are open, the bridges are built! Now that Christ Jesus has come, all people have become one people!

To treat anyone differently, to deny anyone equal standing or equal freedom in God’s Church based on their nationality or their social standing or their gender is to, as Paul writes, proclaim “a different Gospel, which is really no Gospel at all” (Galatians 1:6-7). That kind of discrimination or distinction contradicts not just how we’re saved, but also why we’re saved. When we discriminate or make those distinctions in the Church, our actions contradict our message.

For illustration and application purposes, Paul gives us three pairings. All in the same context. All in the same breath.

In Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek. This is about ethnicity. He’s talking about nationality and culture, this is about color and race and language, anything ethnically that the world divides over. No one has to become a Jew to be a Christian. When we give equal honor and equal freedom and equal standing to Christians of all colors and from all nations and who speak all languages, then we’re proclaiming the Word of the Lord.

The worshipers in Revelation are singing to Christ Jesus in heaven. Listen to their song:
“You were slain, and with your blood you purchased people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation!” ~Revelation 5:9

The saints of God come from all over and they’re singing the same song. If we treat Christians differently or show them less honor or give them less freedom because they’re a different color or come from a different country or speak a different language, we are proclaiming something different than God’s Word.

In Christ, there is neither slave nor free. This is about social standing and economic status. How a person is educated, what kind of job she has, or how much money he makes has nothing to do with how a person is accepted as righteous by God or how that person serves and worships in God’s Church. It’s totally irrelevant. If anybody’s getting preferential treatment at church, it should be the poor and the marginalized and the people on the outside. Listen to our Lord:

“Invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed… Bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame… Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in so that my house will be full!” ~Luke 14:13, 21, 23

Our Lord’s brother says it straight up in James 2, that if you show favoritism for a rich man over a poor man, you are sinning against God who has chosen the poor to be rich in faith and to inherit his Kingdom. If you only talk to Christians who have jobs, if you only eat with Christians who live in your zip code, if you only show honor to Christians who can pay you back, you’re proclaiming a different Gospel, which is really no Gospel at all.

In Christ, there is neither male nor female. This is about gender and all the different dynamics that surround gender. This is about bestowing or not bestowing status or freedom in the Church based on a Christian’s sex.

It’s interesting to me that in a lot of our churches, in our Bible classes and small groups and in almost all our church settings, our Christian sisters are encouraged to express their full freedom in Christ and asked to exercise their spiritual gifts. But it’s different in the Worship Center. Generally speaking, women lead prayers and read Scripture and exhort the church at 9:30 all over the campus, but they’re not allowed to do those exact same things in front of the exact same people and the same God in the Worship Center at 10:30.

It seems like we should interpret and apply this third pairing just like we do the other two.

In 1 Corinthians 11, where the apostle Paul instructs women on how to pray and how to teach in the Sunday assembly, it’s in the context of we are all one together in Christ and how we need each other and each other’s spiritual gifts.

“In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.” ~1 Corinthians 11:11-12

In Christ, men and women are the same. No gender is better than the other, no gender is more honored or more gifted or more free to exercise those gifts than the other. Males and females are equal in Christ. Again, it seems to me we should interpret and practice this third couplet like we do the other two. We wouldn’t tell some Christians they can’t lead a prayer in the assembly because they’re Black. We wouldn’t tell some Christians they can’t lead the communion time because they don’t have a job. So why do we tell some Christians they can’t do those things because they are women? Paul sees these categories as the same.

Now, there are two verses in the Bible that are used to restrict Christian women in exercising their spiritual gifts, two lines addressing two particular concerns in two very specific settings. But we have this central passage in Galatians 3 and many others that call for and demonstrate this equal standing between men and women in Christ. It seems that if we restrict our Christian sisters where the Bible doesn’t, we’re proclaiming a different Gospel, which is really no Gospel at all.

Peace,

Allan

Trusting the Good News

April 24, 2025 / / 0 Comments

Every single time the New Testament says somebody is filled with the Holy Spirit, without exception, their mouths open and they start talking about Jesus. Most of those instances are in Acts and Luke, but they are all remarkably consistent. And intentional. The Bible is telling us that the indwelling Spirit gives us the power, he gives us the boldness and courage, to share the Good News with others. You can do and say things for our Lord Jesus with God living inside you that you could never do by yourself.

This is God’s plan. This is how he works. It’s part of the Good News. The problem is, we don’t trust it. We don’t always trust the way God works to spread the Good News and expand his Kingdom to save people.

We don’t trust the Gospel to connect and transform people. Or we don’t trust God’s way or God’s Spirit to communicate his Good News through us. We forget that there’s not one single person I could talk to about Jesus that God’s Spirit hasn’t already been working on. When God puts somebody in my path and an opportunity right in front of me, the fact is that he has been convincing them and drawing them and preparing them for a while now. God’s already started something with this person a long time ago and he’d be thrilled if I just jumped in and shared the fun.

Pew Research released their state of the church report two weeks ago. According to their surveys and research, in 2007,  63% of all Texans went to church at least once a month. In 2024, just 17 years later, the percentage of Texas residents who go to church at least once a month is down to 38%. The odds are right now today higher than they’ve ever been in your life that your next-door-neighbor doesn’t go to church. The odds are higher right now than they’ve ever been since you were born that your co-worker is not a Christian.

And I’m guessing you don’t know how to talk to them about it. The very thought of talking to your friend or neighbor about Jesus or about the Good News makes your stomach fall into your socks. You say you don’t know how to have a spiritual conversation.

Yes, you do. You just don’t trust it. You don’t trust the Good News. Or you don’t trust God’s plan or God’s Spirit.

Talking to people about Jesus is a Holy Spirit activity. You don’t have to start anything with your neighbor or classmate; God’s already started it! Our Lord tells us that God’s Spirit is at work around the clock convincing men and women, exposing what’s wrong in the world, and drawing all people to himself. The Holy Spirit is convicting people of their sin and compelling men and women to seek righteousness and avoid judgment. God’s Spirit is working hard on people all around you. And this same Spirit lives inside you, empowering you like you can’t believe.

Pray that God will open a door, pray that you proclaim Christ clearly, and make the most of every opportunity (Colossians 4:3-5). The Holy Spirit will put the person directly in front of you, the Holy Spirit will tell you what to say, and the Holy Spirit will do with your conversation what’s going to be best, what he’s already planned and been working on. If you’ll only trust the Good News.

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The Dallas Stars have played three games against Colorado in this first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, they have led the Avalanche for a total of just 62-seconds, and yet they are leading the series two games to one. Two come-from-behind overtime thrillers. Last night, the Stars had to kill off a four-minute double-minor power play at the end of regulation and at the start of overtime just to get to Tyler Seguin’s sudden death winner. For drama, athleticism, pressure, grit, adrenaline, anticipation, and edge-of-your seat tension, there is nothing better than overtime playoff hockey. It’s like having a heart attack on a roller coaster in an electrical storm. Can’t wait til Saturday.

Go Stars

Allan

Moderate Christian?

February 7, 2025 / / 0 Comments

Moderate Christian is an oxymoron. The two terms contradict each other. There’s no such thing as a moderate Christian.

When Jesus says, “Follow me,” he’s calling you to a radical all-in commitment to Christ as Lord and his ways as the only Way. Knowing Jesus, loving him, resembling him, serving him, following him has to be the number one passion of your life. Everything else, whatever it is, must come second.

But that sounds so fanatical. You know, you can be TOO religious.

Wait. Really? Is that how Christianity works? Does Jesus say moderation in all things? Or is that something the culture tells us to keep our discipleship private?

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters–yes, even his own life–he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” ~Luke 14:26-27

Does that sound moderate?

Jesus does not say to the crowd, “Look, most of you can be moderate, but I do need a few good women and men who really want to go all the way with this discipleship thing.” No, he says “Anyone.” There is not one set of rules for Peter and another set of rules for me. With Jesus, it’s always all or nothing.

Some people say we can be Christians without necessarily having to be disciples. I’ve heard people say that out loud. Why, then, was the last thing Jesus told us was to go into all the world and make disciples, teaching them to obey all he had commanded? Jesus didn’t add, “But, hey, if that’s too much to ask, tell them to just become Christians.”

Francis Chan used to talk about watching recruiting commercials on TV for the Marines. He was very inspired by the call to become part of the few, the proud, the Marines. But, he says, every single commercial showed people running. Everyone was always running. And Chan hated running. He says, “I didn’t bother to ask if they could modify the rules for me so I could run less and maybe do fewer pushups. That would have been pointless and stupid. Everyone knows that if you sign up for the Marines, you have to do whatever they tell you. They own you. You belong to them.”

When Jesus says, “Follow me,” it’s a radical thing. The call is to lose your life so he can save it. Throw your life away so he can give it to you. Be last so he can make you first. Suffer and serve so you can share in his eternal glory.

Peace,

Allan

Jesus Won’t Go There?

August 29, 2024 / / 0 Comments

So many of us see the “lost” people in our lives as irretrievably so. They’re out of reach. They’ve been too far gone for far too long. Your children have so much sin in their lives. Your grandkids don’t even believe in God anymore. Your husband has left the Lord and has no desire to return. Your old college roommate is in a really dark place. Your niece is in a horrible place. You’ve tried. You’ve talked to them. You’ve studied with them. You’ve prayed. Oh, my word, you’ve prayed. You’ve tried everything. You just don’t think anybody can reach her. You don’t think anyone can get to him.

Hey. Our God can reach her. Our God can get to him.

Remember our God’s promise in Ezekiel 34: I will search. I will rescue. I will bring them in. I will gather them up. Our God goes into the darkest and most horrible places to breathe his life into death. That’s why he sent Jesus, to show us in person that this is what our God is all about.

Jesus tells those stories in Luke 15 so we clearly get the picture. As long as there is one single lost coin buried in the dirt in the corner of a dark house, I will not stop until it is found. As long as there is one single lost lamb wandering alone out there in the wilderness, I will not quit until it is found. Every single coin, every single sheep, every single lost son or lost daughter.

Where is your grandson? Where is your nephew or your friend at school?

God won’t go there to get him? Jesus won’t go there?

Jesus goes through a storm across the sea into a pagan cemetery in the Gerasenes to give life to a naked man with no name tied to a tombstone. Jesus pulls Peter out of a boatload of despair and breathes his Spirit into him. He goes to an out of the way well outside a Samaritan village to forgive a sinful woman. He grabs a hated tax collector out of a tree. Why? Because Jesus says he came to seek and save the lost!

Christ Jesus went to the darkest and most hopeless place of all. He went to his own death on the cross for your loved one. He was buried in a cold tomb for three days for your loved one. He went there to seek and to save your lost! There is no place on this earth he won’t go. The early Church would say there is no place in hell Christ Jesus won’t go–didn’t go!–to seek and save the lost! He can find your missing person!

Can these bones live? O Sovereign Lord, you alone know. And you alone are able.

Peace,

Allan

Love at Advent

December 19, 2023 / / 0 Comments

This Sunday is the fourth and final Sunday of the Advent season. This is the liturgy we are using at GCR to acknowledge the event and light the fourth candle, the candle representing love. Please use these readings and passages during this week to bolster your time with the Lord in Word and Prayer. Feel free to use this at your own church or small group this Sunday.

When the angel Gabriel visited Mary, announcing God’s plan for her to conceive and give birth to the Messiah, Mary said to the angel, “How can this be?” And yet, only a few months later, Mary sings praise to the Lord as she holds his salvation in her arms.

“My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me–holy is his name!
His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation.
~ Luke 1:46-50

We, like Mary, hear God’s call to participate in making God’s plan for our salvation a reality. We are gracious recipients of God’s gifts and his great love that transforms us into bearers of the Good News. As the apostle reminds us in 1 John 4:

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: Not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
~ 1 John 4:9-11

Congregation: We wait as people who have encountered our God’s divine love that disrupts the status quo and ushers us into abundant life, together, marked by mutual love and peace.

We light this candle as a reminder of the love of Christ that transforms us. May his love grow within us, changing us into bold proclaimers of God’s salvation with our voices and our lives. Amen.

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