August 24th.

So Elisha left him and went back. He took his twelve yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his attendant.

Elisha threw his life away because it was planted in him to become what God had planted in him to be. This is the true, "Follow me, for this is where your life is. All the rest is just an illusion, even though everyone around you says otherwise." To comprehend how much twelve yoke of plowing oxen would have been worth in those days, not to mention the plowing equipment itself, is to start seeing what hating your life and losing your life actually means. For Elisha it was the way he made a living and then some, since that many oxen surely meant that he (his father) owned a large amount of land. And he walked away from that to follow Elijah. He derailed his life and what he could have become and attained for himself in the world of the humans to become what God had put in his heart to become, a chosen servant to minister to Him to promote His interests instead of all those he had a perfect right to lay claim to, since he was the son of his human father. The idea though is that he gave up his right to live and die like all the rest of the Israelites but he tasted something much better and he liked it, so he chose it over everything he had a right to choose, which he effectively denied by choosing the way of the Father over his own way.

Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family." Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

Fit for service will mean shameful in the eyes of the humans, especially those who think they know the way to God. Irresponsible impudence and shameful disregard for what's sacred is what replaces respect and honor, which is a currency amongst the humans that they strive to attain to. Their standing as a human amongst the humans is just another one of those things they call valuable, what they love and run after like money and respectable family, career, house, etc. The true and living God who is hidden from the humans has no regard for them or their ways being acceptable and respectable, which is why His sons, after the likeness of the firstborn Son, become what the humans loathe and dread—to set them squarely against being able to mix their life of devotion to the Father with their human life, what they might prefer to hang on to but must abandon for the sake of the Father's interests, to further His plan and purpose which includes them if they've been called. This is not something theoretical for the sons who are indeed chosen to learn about their true Father.

The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil.

For the humans who aren't chosen to be given that specific revelation, it must be and remain a theoretical, conceptual life driven by the assumption that they must mix the two, because they haven't been called to abandon their life as a mere animal. That is where all the ritual comes from, what the humans think will save them because they assume it makes them more pleasing to their gods, who are on their side because they are the good people. But they all think that, and they all say something different about their gods' identities. Either they're all correct and the gods are just one big multi-personalitied mass of goo with no actual direction or preference, or there is a pattern to be recognized about what actively lives inside the humans to make them think and do that (each one thinking they're inherently so good that the gods are always on their side).

The man who loves his life (his right to live and die like all the others) will lose it (when he dies, he dies, and he goes into the earth to become one with it i.e., there isn't any mythical heaven where all the "good people" are going), while the man who hates his life (is willing to abandon that right to take it up and live it to and for himself) in this world (filled with the human animals who rule it) will keep it for eternal life (only the Father is eternal, therefore only the life He gives is eternal).

Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

Where did he go, and where was he, which he declared anyone that followed him must be there too? On the hidden path that leads to the Father, which the humans don't walk on, no matter what they say they know. Yet all they can do is try to mix their concept of going to their gods with their animal lives, and what they abandon isn't life at all because they effectively live just like all the rest of the humans without giving anything substantial up. In other words they don't know what to give up so they say they have given up the obvious, easy things (like going to bars or smoking too much) and that makes them pleasing to their gods. Then they sanction as good what the true God calls bad, and live their lives like every other animal that is dead to Him. In the meantime while they claim to be giving up what the "bad people" do who don't "know" their gods, they go along getting, taking, having and controlling their lives, which is the perfect right for every animal to do, but not for the sons who are called to come away from that animal right to take and have what the animals love and run after—their lives.

You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. All men will hate you because of me. But not a hair of your head will perish. By standing firm you will gain life.

The worst thing a person can be is how the humans will behold God's true sons, because of what He actively and purposely does to make them appear that way, so they don't mix with them but become separated from them instead. If we have their respect then we can be in their club, however it is the way of the Father to desire that His true sons not be acceptable and accepted by the humans, but to be booted out of the humans' clubs and institutions instead of being welcomed, to be spit on and verbally assaulted instead of being admired, to have them wag their heads at them instead of love and accept them. Love and acceptance, respect and admiration is the currency that the humans seek to get from one another, but the sons cannot expect to get that. If they are then there's something wrong.

If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: `No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.

It's not because of us, but because of who we've been chosen to be, and the fact of God's life living in us, even though the humans cannot see or recognize it, will make them hate us. The presence of the spirit of truth that lives inside the sons of God makes the animal nature, living inside natural men, hate the sons because the 2 are opposed to each other and it is the Father's specific desire that the sons don't mix with the animals, or depend on them or try to get things they think they need (the old way) from them. The animal hates God and God hates the animal, because it's not the Son. The animals are the offspring of His created adversary (the genuine choice against the way of the Father), and the sons of God are the offspring of God, the only thing that's good.

"What are you doing here, Elijah?"

He replied, "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."

This is the way of God; it was the way of His prophets, and Jesus, and those chosen after he went to the Father. It's all perfectly spelled out in the preserved words for us, yet not embraced by the humans because the animal nature is the ruler of this world (all of them), and there is no truth in the earth as there was in the first century—it was taken out of the earth shortly after that time. The devil (the serpent, the original animal, the beast of Revelation) has been reigning supreme for thousands of years and the truth and life of God living in the bodies of men has been non-existent. Men try to get to God, but they can't because the way to Him was taken out of the world, as predicted by the prophets a long time ago.

...the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. He will confirm a covenant with many...he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.

The anointed One cut off and having nothing is none of the humans to live in, as the Father had lived in him, and as he lived in the sons of the first century. The life of God living in the bodies of the sons on the earth was going to be taken out of the earth for a time. The beast confirms the covenant with many, as is seen by all of the humans being led by its nature, the animal nature, the condition of the humans as animals. The end of sacrifice and offering refers to Paul's exhortation, what the sons who were inhabited by God in the first century, became—living sacrifices and offerings to God, who lived in their bodies. The abomination was the animal nature, which got set up in God's true temple in the earth, the bodies of His sons, and their heart was the true ark of the covenant. The desolation of that condition is what the past many hundreds of years has been all about, the time when the truth of God living in His sons' hearts (what happened in the first century) has just been gone.

Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah.

Elisha's actions show that he was ready to follow Elijah. Destroying the plowing equipment, then using it to cook 12 yoke of plowing quality oxen would have seemed crazy. We understand that it was a sure sign that he was willing to leave his former life because he was chosen to follow Elijah—it's what all of God's sons do.

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.  "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." At once they left their nets and followed him.

Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Killing those valuable animals and giving the meat to the people is reminiscent of the Lord telling the rich young ruler to sell all of his valuable possessions and give the money to the poor.

Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!"

Only then could the man follow him, because he would have shown by what he did that he was worthy to be a servant in God's kingdom. The difference was that Elisha was being drawn by God as the disciples also were. The young man may have desired to find and be found by God, but the things that defined him as an animal, what satisfied his animal cravings, urges and needs, were too powerful to let go of.

What the interaction illustrates most is that we cannot do both—either we will hate the one and love the other, or we will be devoted to the one and despise the other. This is true because we're either driven and led by one nature, of the animal, or the other, of the son of God. There can only be one master; we can only be faithful to one of them, not both. The formula is established in the Elijah/Elisha account. At one minute in his life he was in charge, himself driving a team of powerful animals, doing the work of man. Then in the next minute he chose to leave that behind for the new way, being an assistant to the prophet and being led, driven by him, doing not the work of man anymore, but the work of the Father.

Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."

Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

The teachers of the law were honored and respected. They had houses, family, respect, honor and money. They had all of the fine things, and they loved and respected the things of men. Talk is cheap, and Jesus replies to his intent and desire to have everything at once, and not have to sacrifice anything for the Father's sake, to be willing to let it all go in the manner of the true Abraham and what he was willing to do for God's sake. The cost of following the Son was everything one had. Paying the price to follow him is letting go of the things we love, for his sake. We don't have anything more than the right to live our lives the way we want to and choose to. What the humans always want to do, because of the greed built in to their natures, is hold on to the one while doing the other—they think they can hold on to the things of man, and still follow the Lord, as though there is no actual requirement to do the hard thing.

Another disciple said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."

The request to say good-by to his family would not have been merely a "See y'all later; I'm leaving now to follow the Messiah." What he was asking was for the Lord to wait up for him, put everything on hold while he went back to his family and waited for however many years until his parents were dead, so then he could bury him. Then the man could tie up all his loose ends, and then he'd be ready to follow the Lord when it was all neat and tidy to do so, when there wouldn't have been any shame associated with it, because he did the honorable thing in the eyes of the humans around him, because he played by the rules that allow one to retain their dignity amongst the others, like tangible currency among them.

What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, "Son, go and work today in the vineyard." "I will not," he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, "I will, sir," but he did not go.

"Which of the two did what his father wanted?"

"The first," they answered.

Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

Staying with his family until his father died would have been the honorable thing, what all good Jews did. Leaving his family while his father was still alive would have been a thoroughly shameful, utterly detestable thing. It caused all sorts of head wagging, finger pointing, eye rolling disgust from the humans. They would have declared that it was against what God commanded in the law: "Honor your father and mother."

His intention was to follow the Lord, but only on his terms. His words aligned with the intention, but words are cheap. His actions showed something else, that he wasn't ready because he loved the things that the humans love too much, and the dishonor and shame that would have come with following Jesus was too much to bear. He was too interested in the things of men.

Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.

What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world (becomes one of the head honchos in an earthly kingdom—what Peter assumed for himself, like Joab), yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done."

The kingdom of God is not an earthly kingdom, and its inhabitants are not humans concerned about the things of men. Those who become inhabitants of the kingdom of heaven (of the spirit) have to become heavenly (spiritual as their very definition, because their nature has been transformed); or else they cannot ever see the kingdom of heaven.

I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God (of heaven, of the spirit) unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.

You should not be surprised at my saying, "You must be born from above." The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.

The humans can't control the wind, they can't even see the wind, but they know it's blowing. The humans can't decide who's right with God and not, nor do they know the way that leads to Him if they haven't been shown the way.

The illustration of all of these interactions between Jesus and those who intended to follow him by their words, but not actually because they loved the things of the animal too much; underlines the power of the animal nature. It is for our sake, to show us what we will be prone to do too, when the Lord asks us to abandon all the things we love to follow him for his, for the Father's, and for the family of God's sake.

We've heard the humans who claim to know the way to God say also that we've been dishonorable by not respecting the human family. In doing so they have to gloss over what Jesus said about the human family—that it means nothing to God. The only good family is His family, because He's the only One who is good.

He replied to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

The humans will come and go like flies, and as an integral part of the temporary, dying creation, they will all eventually just get plowed into the ground and another will take their place as the creation keeps turning along in its cycles of death. The family of God is a straight line that never stops—not based on natural, temporary cycles or life spans. The sons of God are the ones who used to be fully part of the creation spinning around in repeating circles. When they're chosen to become sons, they break out of the circle, spinning around and held there by the laws that God put in place. They get put onto a straight line, a path that leads to the Father.

Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.

For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

Social acceptance, good standing, respect and admiration from other humans are very strong components of the animal nature that opposes God. It is what makes a man's life, when he is at the end of it, worthwhile and respectable. It is the only thing man can preserve for himself after he is dead and gone—a loving, honorable, respectable memory of his moral life by those still living, who have the capacity for memory.

The opposite of this, the ultimate thing that a human could ever be, is a son of God—a true follower of the Lord instead of man. This is one whose heart becomes able to love the Lord more than his life, only because he is chosen to become a son of God and is being transformed. He gives up everything—family, career, job, money, house, cars, dreams, aspirations, respect and admiration from his family and peers—any idea of being a "good man"—all the things the humans love, hold onto and run after, what is their privilege as animals.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

The words of the prophets do not change from when they said them until now. All that the animals can do—starting with the Holy Roman Church shortly after Paul's natural life was over up to now—is to make God just another subset of the man's life; along with his wife and kids, career, job, money, house, cars, aspirations, honor, respect and admiration, etc. The truth and life of God living in the sons' bodies—in the real ark of the new covenant of the real temple—was taken out of the world, and replaced by the animal nature. What was unclean, and abomination to God, was allowed to desecrate the true temple, causing the desolation that Jesus and the apostles predicted.

"God would never want someone to leave their family," is the message of man. "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God," is the message of the man who loves God more than all these. If a human is not willing to have his own children, along with the honorable people in his religious community, regard him as a fool—a scumbag who left behind everything the humans love, his very life, to join up with some hair-brained maniac who says he is the Messiah (all of the apostles)—then he is not fit for service in the kingdom of God.

I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their exile.
Jacob will again have peace and security, and no one will make him afraid.

"Do not fear, O Jacob my servant, for I am with you," declares the LORD. "Though I completely destroy all the nations among which I scatter you, I will not completely destroy you.

I will discipline you but only with justice; I will not let you go entirely unpunished."