I just met this morning with a gentleman that I have begun a discipling relationship with. I’m 67. He’s 60. You are never too old, and you are never too young , to take the things that you have learned about the Lord and commit them to “reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others”!

The lie of riches is that we can trust earthly wealth instead of God! “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” 1 Timothy 6:17.

Amen! Jesus spent 3.5 years training his disciples in HIS ministry methods. Using OUR methods we can produce activity, but not a spiritual harvest. Not disciples who endure to the end. The word “Christian“ only appears three times in the New Testament. The word disciple appears over 250 times. Too many people are focused on producing Christians, or worse yet, people who are attending our church. Nominal Christians, but not real followers of Jesus. Not disciples! But the Bible knows nothing about Christians who are not disciples. Using the methods that Jesus used produces disciples! And disciples are the real harvest!

Amen! Our goal can never be to “win“. How we communicate with people is just as important as the message that we communicate. The gospel of grace cannot be promoted by people of hate. From the apostle Paul, “And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.” And from the apostle Peter, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. *** But do this with gentleness and respect”***

@JerryMillz15 Amen! “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

LOVE AND GOD‘S WORD - Part 1 From time to time I’d like to relate to you some stories from my own experience sharing the gospel. I want to share this not to brag or boast. The Lord uses us in our weakness - not because of our strength, so that no one can boast and so the glory is all his. The Apostle Paul gives us the best example when he says, “I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling.” Nevertheless, I think God may have taught me some principles from his word that I can share with others. Again, as Paul said,“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect.” Two stories from my ministry were recorded in the book “Uncharted Mission: Going to the Final Frontiers” by D. C. Keane. This particular story is about a young man I led to Christ and discipled many years ago. And this experience illustrates two of the principles we have learned about - Love and God’s Word. This man’s name is Ramsey and you can read more about how his life has impacted others for Christ in the Book by D. C. Keane. But this story is about how he came to Christ. ******************************************************************* LOVE AND GOD‘S WORD “He [Ramsey] was involved in a church nearby, but it was more New Age than Christian. His confidence in the Bible had been destroyed. He felt confused about his faith. It seemed to him that people who called themselves Christian were racist and anti-intellectual. Then he met Bob, a Christian who was not anti-intellectual and not racist. Bob started encouraging Ramsay in his faith, including with rebuke and correction. “You shouldn’t be getting drunk, smoking pot, or sleeping with your girlfriend,” he told Ramsay. “What are you?” Ramsay retorted. “Some kind of fundamentalist?” “What are you?” Bob said. “Some kind of Christian who doesn’t believe the Bible?” Through their conversations over the next few months, Bob helped restore Ramsay’s confidence in the Bible as God’s authoritative word. Then one day, it hit Ramsay: If the Bible is God’s Word, then I’m sinning in all kinds of ways! He stopped, removed his hat, knelt down, and prayed, “Lord, I’m sorry for all these things I’ve been doing. Please forgive me. Please help me stop doing them. And I don’t know whether I already have a saving relationship with Jesus as Lord and Savior or not. But if not, I want one now.” If anyone had asked Ramsay five minutes earlier if he were carrying a burden of guilt, he would’ve said no. But at that moment, a weight lifted off his shoulders, and he felt free for the first time in his life. He danced all the way back to his house. *******************************************************************

LOVE AND GOD‘S WORD - Part 2 In this story there are two things that illustrate lessons that we have already covered. LOVE - (previous lesson – Love Unbelievers) In the months that I spoke with Ramsey, before he gave his life to Jesus, I would answer his questions about the faith, about God, and about the Bible. Many times he had questions that I could not answer. Multiple times the only way I could get an answer was to travel a couple of hours to a Christian bookstore. At that time I had neither a car nor drivers license. Ramsey was impressed with the effort I would make to help him to get answers to his questions. I was unaware that this made a impression with him, I just thought I was helping a friend to get answers to his questions. Sometimes our love to others is spoken, but more often it is demonstrated. And at times, it is demonstrated in ways we do not even realize. USING GOD’S WORD - (previous lesson – Sow the Word) I always try to give my answers from God‘s word. Normally, I will have an unbeliever read the passage out loud (if possible). I am no one. There is no reason anyone should listen to me. But God‘s word is, “alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” If I am to give answers from God‘s word that I must know God‘s word. Not just in my head, but in my heart. I am immensely blessed that in my youth I was taught to ingest God‘s word by listening to it, by reading it, by studying it, and by memorizing it. And then to take what I learned from these methods and to meditate on what God’s word says and to think about how I can obey it! I was filling my heart and mind with God‘s word during the months I was sharing with Ramsey. Because of that, the Holy Spirit was able to use the word of God in my communication with this man. The word of God eventually bore fruit and Ramsey came to Christ. “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” If you would like help and applying this principle to your evangelism I am always available. If you live near Dallas, we can meet for a cup of coffee.  If not, I am available via zoom.

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

James, I was not aware that one of my primary jobs was to filer out every OF bot. Unless it is obvious to me that a resonant is seductive, or hateful, I generally follow back those who follow me. If you think I am going to hell for that then I am in good company. People who remind me a little bit of you said of my master, ““Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus replied, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

My personal observation but by this Pew study “The Pew Internet & American Life Project found a rise in e-reading, showing that 13% of older boomers (57-65), 9% of the silent generation (66-74), and 5% of the G.I. generation (75+) have used an e-reader (Rainie et al., 2012). *** These adoption rates are fairly low when compared to adoption rates among younger generations: *** 20% of millennials (18-34), 26% of generationX (35-46), and 19% of younger boomers (47-56). Clearly, a generational gap exists in the uptake of e-readers amongst Americans.”

I am really cheap :-) so let me give you my free resources first. Top of my list by far is the NET Bible. ( This is a evangelical translation of the Bible. The team the translated this are exceptionally good scholars. But, they've also included extensive notes as to why each and every translation decision was made. So if you're interested knowing why a particular Greek or Hebrew phrase was translated into this English phrase is a lot to dig into here. And oh yeah, it's FREE! The second resource I use and recommend is This is also free. You can use this online, or download a free app. It has 22 different translations. It has Greek and Hebrew interlinear Bibles. And it has probably a dozen high-quality commentaries. The paid resource I use is the Olive Tree study Bible. The application is free and then you purchase individual Bibles (most of which are not very expensive). One benefit of this is it synchronizes your notes across multiple platforms (desktop, laptop, tablet, phone).

@TheBelieverJC I am in the same boat brother! “Freely you have received, freely give!” “Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.”

I have seen hateful Calvinists and hateful anti-Calvinists. But whether we are Calvinist or Arminian; whether we sprinkle, pour, or dunk; whether we are pre-millennial, post-millennial or amillennial; whether we govern as congregational, presbyterian, or high church we must obey our Lord by loving each other. Not just the people who are within our theological camp, but those who have come to different conclusions while looking at the same Scriptures! ““A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

@oliverburdick

@BurkParsons Above all, pray for the salvation of souls! “The son of man came to seek and save that which was lost”!