“For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ.” 1 Corinthians 12:12 NASB

“Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.” 1 Corinthians 12:27

“…as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.” Ephesians 5:23

The New Testament references ‘Christ’ many times. I believe in every situation we can make the perfect case that the reference is inferring Jesus as the Christ.  However, for a few months now I believe the Lord has been showing me these references have been watered down today to the point where we see ‘Christ’ in the scriptures and we automatically put Jesus there, and put us below that standard. But, I don’t believe that is what the Lord is saying in His scriptures.  In just the few I’ve provided above I believe He is saying, ‘Jesus is the head of you, and the Body always follows what the Head directs, but it is the Body that does the work that the Head directs.’

I believe when we study the scriptures to learn about our Lord, we better begin to place ourselves within the term of ‘Christ.’  After all we are the Body…OF CHRIST.  Jesus is…THE HEAD of Christ.  Is it possible that Jesus never intended the term ‘Christ’ to refer only to Him?  My opinion is that the ‘Christ’ is not a term referring to one that deserves worship, but rather one that goes about doing the will of the Father.  Even Jesus turned all glory and adoration that He received to the Father.

Paul said, “Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me.” 1 Corinthians 4:16  If a church leader said this today, most of the church would be ready to burn him at the stake for blasphemy, heresy, or something else ending in ‘y’ that the church has found worthy of death.

Paul clarified this statement later in the same book when he said, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 11:1

We get nervous at the thought of telling someone to imitate us for good reason…we know what happened to Lucifer when he desired to be worshiped. It’s clear that is a ‘no-go’ in the Kingdom.  But, it is all about our heart.  And, our heart needs to understand that Jesus did not live the life He lived because He was God. He lived the life He lived because it is the way the Children of the Father are called to live…and we have the ability to live that way because Jesus set us free from sin.

Is it possible that the name of the Father’s Child is ‘the Christ’?  And our part in ‘the Christ’ is the same picture as a cell’s purpose in the creation of a muscle…the same way a muscle creates an organ…the same way organs create systems…the same way the systems unify to create a person.

“…as the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” John 20:21

It is time that I go into the world and live in a way that I can say, ‘Be imitators of me.’  That is what Jesus displayed for  me to do.

Today we launched The Co-Mission, a collective website with multiple articles on anything and everything Jesus. It will be updated every couple of months…So, there won’t be a lot of activity there day-to-day. However, when we update and send out articles, you DO NOT want to miss out on what God is saying.

It won’t always be the same authors, so it is a great place to find encouragement in new places and with new faces.

I am posting now so that anyone who follows this site, but is not connected to me any other way can get connected with all of us at The Co-Mission.

The idea is that a community of believers will join together through conversation and revelation to edify each other, to grow us closer to the perfect unity in the faith and knowledge of Jesus Christ.

I encourage you tremendously to go to www.thecomission.net, and follow that site as well as this one. I will be a regular author, and will hopefully encourage many of the men and women of God who encourage me regularly, or who have ministered to me and with me in the past, to contribute.  You do not want to miss out!!!

I also encourage you to follow my friends on there as well. Link up and follow their blogs. You will be blessed!

To get completely connected, here is all of my info, as well as The Co-Mission’s info:

My personal Twitter (@daaronjacobs)

The Co-Mission:

Twitter: @thecomission411

Facebook: The Co-Mission (you can ‘Like’ it on the website)

From here you can follow and get connected with all the authors.

Look forward to seeing you there! God bless!

Sorry I have been away for a long time. I have been pondering and seeking some direction. I wanted to let all of you know that I am currently beginning a new site. It is going to operate like a blog and a magazine combined. Meaning, a blog that posts blogs from multiple different authors, but only every few months.

I’m beginning with many friends of mine as authors…people who I know share the same heart and desire for the Lord, and ministry to His Body.

The idea behind this site is that it will become a community of sorts. The authors will supply a lot of the content, but hopefully it will lead to discussion, helping all of us grow closer to the Lord and His heart.

The beginning inspiration for this site was a Bible study that my father-in-law began a few years back (before he was my father-in-law) called ‘Outside the Box’.  This Bible study was not for the faint of heart in their study of the Lord and His word.  It was geared for those that were ‘self-starters’ when it came to time with the Lord and studying His word.  The other characteristic of attendees was an open-mind to what the Lord might be saying and doing.

There were a few requirements: 1) As an individual you were held accountable during the week for study. 2) As an individual you were required to bring your own Bible, notepad and pen. 3) Anyone was allowed to present any thought (no matter how crazy it might seem, or outside the box) as long as there was a base scripture that the thought or idea was based upon. 4) Getting upset or angry when others questioned your proposal was not allowed!! 5) Scripture was used to prove scripture.

This Bible study really taught all of us to study the Bible with an open mind, while constantly questioning what we were thinking, using scripture as our only means of proving these ‘outside the box’ thoughts and ideas.

If you are one who enjoys deep discussion of the Lord, His ways and His scripture, then this type of study is for you.

This is what I hope The Co-Mission becomes…don’t mis-understand me. I don’t want it to be a place of crazy, off-the-wall thoughts with long winded explanations.  My prayer is that this site becomes a place where there is a freedom to present any idea (with a scriptural basis), and allow other Lord-seeking believers to help all of us hone Truth for us to see the inner workings of the Lord’s heart.

That is the big picture.

More immediately, it will probably be articles by myself and my friends (I am opening it up to many others as time goes on…you can feel free to contact me as well if you would like to contribute). I imagine these articles will be encouraging, comforting and strengthening in nature, presenting the Lord as we experience Him.

I encourage you to subscribe to The Co-Mission and make yourself known.  PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE get connected via website, facebook, and twitter with the other authors.  Their hearts will bless yours! Our first set of articles will be posted January 20.  I am going to re-post this article on the 20th as well to remind you all to come join us.

I look forward to seeing you there. I will get back to work here as well  Love you guys!

Aaron

This verse is the key to changing and saving the lost world. I know what you’re thinking…’Gee, Aaron, that’s the profound statement of 2011.’ Yeah, I get that it is a ‘duh’ statement. But let’s look deeper so that we aren’t so familiar with a familiar verse.

I was pondering…my thought was how it seems like the Lord uses me quite often to encourage and build up fellow believers, but I don’t know of a single person that is now saved because of anything I did or said. I realize there could probably be many even hundreds, but I don’t know about them…and I don’t need to, but my concern is my carrying the Creator around inside me isn’t allowed to impact my environment because of something I’m doing to withhold Him. (Yes, I know He doesn’t need me to do anything to speak to others, but I believe there are times the Lord will allow us to initiate His impact…my verse for that: John 20:23 NLT

If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

With that thought about changing and saving the lost world, He gave me Galatians 2:20.

Jesus carried and exported God’s presence to His environment. He did this because His life was the Father’s life. He only did and said what the Father did and said. They are one, just as we are to be one with them (John 17:21).

It was through intimacy with the Father and Holy Spirit that when Jesus spoke He said words of life, leaving the apostles without hope except in Him (John 6:68).

So…how do we impact our environment every where we go. I believe it is simply through constant, consistent intimacy with God…with Jesus, with the Holy Spirit, and with the Father.  I believe, not through head knowledge because I don’t quite understand it, but by faith I believe when we spend quality time consistently with God simply to know Him, we will impact our environment without trying. And I believe with our intimacy with Him will allow us to initiate times to purposely impact our environment:

John 15:7 NLT

But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!

My wife’s phone is broken and has to be repaired. We also have a lot of expenses coming up in the next few months dealimg with our car. Add that on top of the Christmas season, and seemingly we have every reason to be stressed and worried.

But, we have One reason to be at peace about it all. My God is always good, and He is always soveriegn.

That statement has nothing to do with an act of faith believing that He will provide a way for everything to happen. It is simply a true statement.

Even if nothing gets taken care of, that doesn’t take away the fact that He’s always good, and always soverign.

Can He provide a way? Of course! But that’s not the purpose of this. It is simply a reminder that our peace and comfort is not found in what He does for us, but rather who He is and how He has chosen us to be His children. In that, peace, comfort and love are always found!

This will be short. Tim Tebow isn’t perfect!!  And, I’ve never heard him announce that he was perfect.

Tim Tebow does not use his platform to promote his righteousness. He uses his platform to scream to the world that he follows a perfect, loving God.

Unfortunately, not even the Body of Christ understands this.  I know that the majority of the Body of Christ that are fans of the NFL want to see him do well on the field, and live a life off the field that is ‘worthy’ of being associated with the Lord Jesus.

Here’s the straight-up truth. NO ONE…Tim Tebow, Me, Moses, the apostle Paul, or even King David has lived (or did live) a life ‘worthy’ of being associated with the Lord Jesus.  We have all made mistakes. I have made mistakes that I wouldn’t want anyone to know simply because of how shameful it would be for anyone to find out.

It is because of our imperfection and mistakes that we all boast about the Lord Jesus.

I have never met Tim Tebow, but I assure you that His faith in Jesus is so outspoken because he has made mistakes in his life, and he knows that he is forgiven of all of them…and he wants everyone to know the same love and forgiveness that he has experienced.

I pray that Tim lives a sinless life for the rest of his life. But because it is probable that he will make a mistake, we should celebrate the Lord for putting a man in one of the largest platforms in the world to scream God’s love to the world.

For the believer in Christ: It is not a believing celebrity’s job to live a perfect life to prove that Jesus is real. Jesus has already done that. It is simply all believers’ calling to make sure we share the love of Jesus with the world, and encourage all other believers to do the same in good times and in bad times.

If you don’t follow Jesus and you are reading this: Jesus is real. He was a real man that we have many recorded writings verifying his existence. He came into this world to bear all of your sins so that you may be forgiven.  He has not forgiven all of your sins so that you ‘owe’ him a life of living the ‘straight and narrow’. He forgives you so that you may experience His love for you.  I assure you that you living sinless is not on the top of His list of things for you to do. The first thing is to experience His love. Everything else that is good in the world will follow.

My challenge: If a celebrity of any kind proclaims that they follow Jesus, and they make a mistake in life. Regardless of how ‘big’ we see the mistake, we must see that all sin is equal to God and our position on the earth is to come along side the one that makes a mistake to strengthen, buildup and encourage them through the ‘rebuilding’ stage of their repentance. God bless.

And,

‘And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.’ 1 John 4:16

How do we teach to love? How do we teach what is God’s love? How do we teach something that is seemingly invisible?

My guess: It can’t be taught.

Jesus said this about what we are called to do…the most important commandment and the second most important:

³⁷“Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ⁴⁰ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40

I believe the essence of God cannot be taught. I believe we can talk about it. I believe we can share different experiences. But God’s love cannot be taught.

The scriptures tell us that God IS love. Love is NOT a characteristic of God. Love is not even the most dominant feature or fruit of God’s personality.  Love is what God is made of…

I believe we can actually say this: Since God is love, then love is God. Proof: 1 John 4:8 and James 1:17 (Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.)  If love is exercised purely and perfectly, then it is from heaven.

Jesus commanded us to love. It is the absolute foundation of everything.

But, I do not believe God’s love can be taught. I believe it can be learned, however. So, how does someone learn something that cannot be taught? It must be displayed.  We must…I must begin to seek after God’s love and releasing His love with every ounce of my being!

Its very simple, so this will be short. Everything in the Kingdom is covered by the ‘Greatest Commandment’…and the ‘second greatest’ which is like it.

Everything can actually be summed up in one single word commandment: LOVE.

The interesting thing is that if teachers get up to speak and teach about the subject of love, whether it is to love God, loving our neighbors, or even God’s love for us, most people will check because ‘we already know this.’

I know I fall into this category. I tend to think that the topic of ‘love’ is the foundation of our walk with Jesus, and because it is what we teach in vacation bible school, then that means we as adults understand it. I’d like to suggest that if the thought ‘I understand this topic of love’ enters our mind in such a way as to move past it onto something we don’t ‘understand’, I believe that is the first indication that we don’t understand it.

Let’s say a church puts together a ‘Prophetic Conference’ with all of the biggest names in prophetic ministry as the speakers and teachers in the conference. Tickets would sell like crazy to people who anticipated an amazing weekend hearing about the prophetic, hearing about what God is doing, and hearing about what God will do.  Now, let’s say that all of these speakers and teachers came to the conference and taught on nothing but the love of God.

My guess is that the majority of the people attending would be very upset because they wanted to be wowed and amazed by God speaking prophetically through His prophets. But instead, all they heard was about the simple topic of love.

Yet, I guarantee you that every one of God’s prophets today will wholeheartedly say that the prophetic does not exist without operating in the vast ocean of God’s love. I guarantee you that every one of God’s prophets will tell you that the prophetic is easy, and is simply a tool that God uses. But His love is the very essence of God and to speak of love is to speak of God Himself.

We as individuals must begin to approach love with extreme humility, seeking with all of our beings what it means to love at all times.  That is, after all, the greatest commandment given to us by the Lord, Himself!

We find ourselves at times trying to seek out God’s direction for our lives. Sometimes God tells us exactly what we need to do, and He tells us loud and clear. Sometimes God tells us, but He uses His small, still whisper and we have to be ready to hear.

But, what do we do when we go to Him for direction and He doesn’t tell us what to do?

What is taking place and why can’t we hear God’s voice for our need?

The Lord showed me a long time ago that sometimes ‘He doesn’t care what I do’ (to use His wording).

I went to Him with a decision that I had to make, trying to find out what road would be the right one.  He never said anything. I took plenty of time, at least enough that I thought He would have answered me. So I asked Him why He hadn’t told me which direction was the ‘right’ direction.  And He said, ‘I don’t care.’

I understood that it wasn’t that He didn’t care what I did…He cares about everything I do.  But, there was no right or wrong choice. He wanted me to choose what I wanted and He would join me on that choice and, as Eric said, ‘Honor my choice.’

This process is modeled with us and our children. We want them to grow up and do what they want to do, and we will join with them and do all we can to help them be successful.

Take delight in the LORD,
   and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

I have no doubt this is a word from the Lord that is for today. I believe He is telling us this today so we can learn this principle for the coming days.

Jesus gave us some commandments, but they are very open-ended. The Bible doesn’t tell us where to get a job, what career to choose, who to marry or even if we should get married.

But, He did tell us to love God with all of our being, and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. He also told us to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations. He told us to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons and preach the Gospel of the Kingdom.

Do I think we should take all choices to Him and ask His word on them? Absolutely! ‘Worry about nothing, but pray about everything.’ Philippians 4:6.  He may have a word on your direction. But, we must be ready for the times that He doesn’t have a specific direction for us. It is His grace and pleasure to allow us to make decisions…to do what it is that we want in our heart.

At those times, we choose what we want to do…THEN, we love Him with all of our being, love our neighbors, go and make disciples, heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons and preach the Gospel wherever we find ourselves.

God is wanting His people to take ownership of the authority He has given us, to keep His commandments and fulfill our heart’s desire.