Disciple James log: Disciples is the cornerstone of Jesus' strategy.

 7/29/24

https://youtu.be/besbfx9zHwU?si=61dTdRdmEXNFeXA9

Warning: Everything but what moves you to discipleship of Jesus is destructive of your health. jesianity.info/search/label/Jesus

Likely edited transcript:

At one point in the gospel, we're told, on that day, Jesus healed many because the Spirit of the Lord was upon him. That's a paraphrase. And that tells me that sometimes the Spirit was on him, and sometimes it wasn't. And sometimes the Spirit is on James here, and sometimes not so much. 

Well, in this encounter with Ryan, the Spirit was on him. And how fortunate for James and Ryan. As I wrote earlier this morning, maybe I only thought of writing it, Jesus was a recruiter. And for the first time, maybe I, for the first time this morning, maybe I understand what was going on with the early disciples. 

That is, what was going on with the early disciples when Jesus told them, follow me. It has always seemed to me just sort of a magic trick, maybe hypnotism, or maybe just made-up garbage, that they would drop their nets, leave their father and follow him. 

What I realized just this morning was what times he was in. These were times desperate for revolution. People were desperate for revolution. They couldn't go on the way it was. Life was unbearable. So they were conscious that they were looking for a leader. Not that they could be sheep behind, but they could be united behind, the way the Allies were united behind Eisenhower in World War II. 

They wanted to get, they wanted change, and they, to achieve that change, they needed to give their lives, but not just give their lives, they needed to be united behind. There needed to be a leader that could unite them in a mission worth their lives, because it had promise of having important impact. 

and James conducted himself in a way that this young man may have, was recruited toward, the meaningful life of devotion within, of devotion within, of devotion within Jesus' army under Jesus' leadership. 

And unlike any encounter before, the language in this video, which is new as of this morning for James, was in this dialogue with the young man. This language, coming from someone possibly and probably possessed by this same madness, this young man heard what was being said as credible. 

And there's no question that the likelihood of this young man seriously studying on the website went from zero, to more than that.

And what if there were a hundred such encounters, or thousands? Might they result in a recruit? Someone dropping their neck, leaving their family, as soldiers do. To follow Admiral Jesus as a committed soldier.

Among the things that we touched on with this young man was that it is too late to save the species and the planet. And he was already there. But that it is not too late to save an individual from a joyless, meaningless life. 

And several times he said, not in a despairing way, but also in a very believable, in-touch way, that his life feels meaningless. And those he sees have meaningless lives that feel meaningless. 

We had been talking about Christianity and how it is a tool of empire that does that, it renders our lives meaningless. 

it was quite an exchange and encourages james that he is being given new pieces of clarity that suggests he is on the path he should be on, that he is on a path that others would find more joyful, more alive, than the paths they are on, and that it would be a good idea if,  it would be beneficial if he continued to serve as a recruiter for disciples as well and as long as he can.