THE TRUE DISCIPLES FAITH LIVES: "JESUS IS LORD" by AbaolineKid

THE TRUE DISCIPLES FAITH LIVES: "JESUS IS LORD"

"JESUS IS LORD"

Salvation is a call to discipleship. One cannot have Jesus as Savior without also acknowledging Him as Lord.

Phil.2:
If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,

2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Next comes, through Holy Spirit realization, a life lived in some self recognizable manner that signifies the true faith that saves IS working .

Romans 10:9-10
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

The New Testament uses the word for “Lord” (kurios) 748 times, and 667 of those times it is used in reference to God or Jesus “Jesus Christ our Lord". The New Testament uses the word for “savior” only 24 times.

Jesus Christ is most certainly our Savior, but this cannot be separated from the fact that Jesus Christ is Lord, and as Lord, He commands and we obey.

Jesus, in His Great Commission to the 11 remaining disciples, commanded them to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to observe all that He had commanded them (Matthew 28:19-20). Evangelism and discipleship go hand in hand. A disciple is one who observes (keeps, obeys) all that Jesus has commanded. There is NO two-stage process in Christianity—first, be saved; then become a disciple. This arbitrary distinction is foreign to the New Testament and therefore foreign to Christianity

GOD FIRST: LORD OF OUR LIFE 

Jesus spoke to His disciples about discipleship in Luke 14:25-33. In that passage, Jesus says to the crowds that no one can be His disciple unless they first "hate" (comparative only) their family (v. 26). Furthermore, the one who cannot bear his own cross cannot be His disciple (v. 27). Two conditions are given by Jesus in order to be His disciple. The first is to be willing to renounce family in order to follow Jesus. The second is to be willing to die, both literally and metaphorically (“die to self”) in order to follow Jesus. Jesus then gives two examples of “counting the cost.” The first is an example of a man who desires to build a tower without first counting the cost of building the tower. After realizing he cannot complete it, he gives up in shame and embarrassment. The second is that of a king preparing to go to battle and making sure he can defend against the superior foe. The point Jesus is making is that discipleship has a cost.

Furthermore, discipleship requires repentance and obedience. At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, the message He preached was a message of repentance (Matthew 4:17). The message of the apostles after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension was also one of repentance (Acts 2:38 ). Along with repentance comes obedience. Jesus told a crowd of listeners that salvation and obedience go hand in hand: “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:46). Jesus then goes on to differentiate the one who builds his house on the sand from the one who builds his house on the rock, that is, the man who not only hears the words of Jesus, but does them, too.

Salvation by grace alone through faith alone is so much more than simply mouthing the words “Jesus is Lord.” We are not saved by a profession of faith. We are not saved by praying the Sinner’s Prayer. We are not saved by signing a card or walking an aisle. We are saved by a living and active faith (James 2:14-26), a faith that manifests itself in repentance, obedience and love of God and our neighbor. Salvation is not a transaction; it’s a transformation. Paul says it best when he says we are “new creations” in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). There is nothing “cheap” about grace!

Matt. 7:21-23
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

IF SAVED JESUS IS LORD OF OUR LIFE: IT IS OUR CONVICTION IN OUR SOUL. A CENTRAL TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH IS THAT WE BECOME UNITED TO A LIVING CHRIST. THAT IS ALL IMPORTANT.

Acts 2:36 "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ."

Jesus IS Lord. He IS sovereign. His sovereignty is the important thing in our Christian life. HE IS GOD THE SON!

Matthew 16:
13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Jesus IS the Anointed One. He is the King. He is the Lord. None of us is fit to serve unless He has mastered us

The Holy Spirit commands our obedience and allegiance to Jesus. The Holy Spirit interprets the lordship in our life. The unifying work of the Holy Spirit is to reveal the lordship of Jesus to all believers. Within this unity is diversity of gifts. 1 Cor.12:4 (See 5-13 as well for a full study)


Learn why so many fall away. Why so many are apostate and heretics. Why so many who professed belief were never saved. And why the fruits of repentance never appear.Their blood is on us if we do not testify in full belief exemplified in our walk in the faith given by God to us to believe God in the first place. And this comes by His free gift to those God calls and who were known to God before this world was made. Eph.1:3-14

Ephesians 2:8-9 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

"JESUS IS LORD" is a ever evolving supernatural life through God the Holy Spirit in us who will never leave a born again Christian!

Rom.10:13-15
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved

14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. 1 Cor.12:3

But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. Gal.6:14

Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom.8:39

For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? 1 Th.2:19

SOME OTHERS

2 Pet.2:1-3
1 But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.

2 And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of.

3 And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not.

2 Pet.2:19-21
19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.

20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.

Chaim, least of brethren

A STONE'S THROW

Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.—John 8:7

As a group of religious leaders herded an adulterous woman toward Jesus, they couldn’t know they were carrying her within a stone’s throw of grace. Their hope was to discredit Him. If He told them to let the woman go, they could claim He was breaking Mosaic law. But if He condemned her to death, the crowds following Him would have dismissed His words of mercy and grace.

But Jesus turned the tables on the accusers. Scripture says that rather than answering them directly, He started writing on the ground. When the leaders continued to question Him, He invited any of them who had never sinned to throw the first stone, and then He started writing on the ground again. The next time He looked up, all the accusers were gone.

Now the only person who could have thrown a stone—the only sinless one—looked at the woman and gave her mercy. “ ‘Then neither do I condemn you,’ Jesus declared. ‘Go now and leave your life of sin’ ” (John 8:11).

Whether today finds you needing forgiveness for judging others or desiring assurance that no sin is beyond His grace, be encouraged by this: No one is throwing stones today; go and be changed by God’s mercy. —Randy Kilgore

Father, cleanse me of my judging nature and free me from the bonds of sin. Let me taste Your mercy and then help me to live a changed life.
Tell us your story of how the Lord has shown grace to you at odb.org/story.

We serve a Savior who is eager to forgive.

INSIGHT: In today’s reading, a dramatic scene unfolds. As Jesus taught in the temple courts a woman caught in the act of adultery was brought to Him. The legalists wanted to test His response to this flagrant act of sin. They knew the law demanded the death penalty and wanted to place Christ in a double bind between merciful forgiveness and literal obedience to the law. When confronted with this guilty woman, Jesus did the unexpected: He knelt and wrote something in the sand. His statement—“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone” (John 8:7)—turned the tide of public opinion. The sinful heart of the accusers caused them to leave one by one.

DAILY DOSES OF LAUGHTER!

An elderly gentleman had serious hearing problems for a number of years. He went to the doctor and the doctor was able to have him fitted for a set of hearing aids that allowed the gentleman to hear 100%.
      
      The elderly gentleman went back in a month to the doctor and the doctor said, "Your hearing is perfect. Your family must be really pleased that you can hear again."
      
      The gentleman replied, "Oh, I haven't told my family yet. I just sit around and listen to the conversations. I've changed my will three times!"

 Mrs. Smith, an elderly woman, went into the doctor's office. When the doctor asked why she was there, she replied, "I'd like to have some birth control pills." 
      
      Quite surprised, the doctor thought for a minute and then said, "Excuse me, Mrs. Smith, but you're 75 years old. What possible use could you have for birth control pills?"
      
      The woman responded, "They help me sleep better."
      
      The doctor thought some more and continued, "How in the world do birth control pills help you to sleep?"
      
      The woman said, "I put them in my granddaughter's orange juice and I sleep better at night."

An elderly couple were driving across the country. The woman was driving when she got pulled over by the highway patrol. The officer said, "Ma'am did you know you were speeding?"
      
      The woman, hard of hearing, turned to her husband and asked, "What did he say?"
      
      The old man yelled, "He says you were speeding!"
      
      The patrolman said, "May I see your license?"
      
      The woman turned to her husband once again and asked, "What did he say?"
      
      The old man yelled, "He wants to see your license!"
      
      The woman gave the officer her license. The patrolman then said, "I see you are from Arkansas. I spent some time there once and went on a blind date with the ugliest woman I've ever seen."
      
      The woman turned to her husband and asked, "What did he say?"
      
      The old man yells, "He said he thinks he knows you!".

GOD BLESS YOU ALL AND DON'T....

WOLVES IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING - FALSE PROPHETS, CHURCHES, LEADERS AND DOCTRINES

Kurt Arita

OWNER

Discussion  -  Sep 27, 2016

 

Kurt Arita originally shared:

 

Shortly before His crucifixion, Jesus preached His discourse regarding profound events that would occur at the end of the age just prior to His Second Coming.  Among those events, He said, would be false prophets and false christs. He warned, “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it’ ” (Matthew 24:23-26).

Jesus emphasized that these false christs will perform great signs and miracles and deceive many. Many Christians think that as long as they believe in Jesus, they will be shielded from the deceptions of the last days. However, these will not be crude deceptions that will be easy to identify. Jesus says that the deceptions of these false christs are so carefully planned and so skillfully carried out, that even God’s chosen ones would be deceived—if that were possible. And the only reason it is not possible is if we keep our focus on the real Jesus through study of His Word and through prayer.

Unfortunately, many will be deceived into following the wrong Jesus. Paul wrote, “I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough” (2 Corinthians 11:3, 4). The apostle is writing to the Christians of the early church. He warns them concerning false apostles who were preaching about a Jesus who is not the real Jesus of the Bible—a fictitious Jesus, a fabrication of the corrupt imaginations and erroneous thinking of those who want to deceive God’s people. The gospel associated with this false christ is a different gospel; it is not the gospel recorded in the Bible and preached by the true apostles. Further, this false gospel is accompanied by a counterfeit spirit—not the Holy Spirit.

Speaking of these false christs and false prophets, Paul wrote, “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. Is it not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). These false christs masquerade as “servants of righteousness,” just as their master, Satan, masquerades as an angel of light.

PROTECT YOURSELF FROM DECEPTION BY

READING THE WORD OF GOD AND

ACCEPTING THE FREE GIFT OF SALVATION BY GRACE!

+++++++PLAN OF SALVATION+++++++

First Corinthians 15:1-4

The Gospel of Christ Jesus as Given to the 

Apostle Paul

THE GODHEAD (TRINITY) VERSES THE ONENESS MOVEMENT - MY PERSONAL THOUGHTS

 I have some questions and I'm not interested in a theological debate but I was raised on the Trinity or Godhead.  IT'S PAGAN, I am told.  Today, everything is pagan...from the Trinity to dolls and even cartoons (which I've also been told are demonic or indoctrinating - though I've seen some I have to agree with).  Just one question...

Since the early church began, the Godhead has been preached and never questioned.  I fear these "new" theories and supposedly revelations.  He warned us many times there would be wolves in sheep's clothing to seek and destroy.  

At our Lord and Savior's baptism, the 3 DIVINE attributes of our Eternal Living God is glaring!  Jesus in the flesh is baptized.  Baptism CANNOT be for the remission of sins because He was sinless.  He NEVER sinned.  He was baptized into the Priesthood, according to scripture and prophecy.

When He comes out of the water, the Heavens open and a voice FROM Heaven (not on earth as Jesus was) said, "This is My Son in Whom I AM well pleased."  Then the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus like a dove.  

We have God in the flesh, God in Heaven, God the Holy Spirit appearing in 3 distinct forms on different planes.  Jesus prayed to His Father, He would never have prayed to Himself. That would have been self-righteous and blasphemy according to Jewish law.  From my humble POV (and I may very well be wrong on this), that would have made His crucifixion righteous and we know that is not the case.  

He is often referred to as God's right hand.  That is what I believe.  He said the greater part of Him, the HEAD - ALMIGHTY GOD - was still in Heaven.  The "right hand" obeys the Head at all times.  He came from the Father and returned to the Father.  Could it be that Jesus is God's literal right hand?  Remember, all things were created by and through Christ Jesus.  Hands create but the Head gives them POWER.  

The Holy Spirit is Christ Jesus in us!  It's what allows us to pray and know that God stops what He is doing and focuses on us alone.  He hears us.  It was allows us to have that necessary personal ONE ON ONE relationship with Him.  It is how He knows everything about us.  We are sealed.  

I am not teaching doctrine, but I believe in One God, 3 distinct divine attributes that appear to man.  When He comes back, He will be on the right hand of God.  God is 3 in 1, not in the sense that there are 3 different Gods.   He's coming back and when He does, what a glorious day!!!

GOD'S IMMENSE LOVE...

CHRIST JESUS

DEATH

+

BURIAL

+

RISING/ASCENSION

=

SALVATION BY GRACE

+ + + First Corinthians 15:1-4 + + +

PLEASE JOIN ME IN HIS KINGDOM!

AMEN!

IS THE RFID CHP THE "MARK OF THE BEAST?" By: ASK ROGER

Editor's Note: Pastor Roger Barrier's "Ask Roger" column regularly appears at Preach It, Teach It. Every week at Crosswalk, Dr. Barrier puts nearly 40 years of experience in the pastorate to work answering questions of doctrine or practice for laypeople, or giving advice on church leadership issues. Email him your questions atroger@preachitteachit.org.

Dear Roger,

I have heard a lot about the RFID chip. Some people say that could be something to do with the Mark of the Beast. Is that true or will the Mark of the Beast be more like a tattoo? Is the chip okay to have inserted?

Sincerely, A Reader

Dear Reader,

The RFID (Radio-Frequency IDentification) chip is nothing new. It’s been around for many years. It’s just now coming into prominence as technology catches up to its possibilities.

The RFID chip, which is the size of a grain of rice, is inserted directly under the skin. It takes the place of a barcode or the magnetic strip at the back of a credit card (as well as a number of other things).

Eventually, many stores, especially grocery stores, will be wired to allow “chipped” buyers to fill their carts and simply walk out the door--all conveniently paid for.

In the financial arena, there will be no need to carry around any cash, credit, or debit cards. Already, very few transactions require cash. In fact, Apple CEO, Tim Cook, predicts that the next generation of children will not know what money is.

SEE ALSO: Everything You Need to Know before Preaching Revelation

From my perspective, I like the convenience but I don’t like the devices’ ability to track my every move. This tracking ability smacks of a possible totalitarian government enabled to limit and control the freedom of every individual under their realm. Of course, there are some advantages to this. These devices could easily locate a dementia-impaired senior adult, wayward child, or a hard-to-find teenager--or a dog.

My daughter had a GPS chip embedded in one of her dogs. The chip followed and recorded her dog’s every move. We all had fun tracking the dog. On the other hand, I certainly don’t want anyone tracking me.

The other problem that I see as to do with the electromagnetic frequencies that invade our brains from simple devices like cell phones. A growing pile of evidence seems to support the idea that these frequencies which are bombarding our brains cause cancer. While we use cell phones intermittently, what would it be like to have a permanent chip installed in your body?

Now, reader, to get to your question, I doubt that RFID chips are the 666 tool of the beast to force those alive in the tribulation to either submit to the Antichrist or be forbidden to buy and sell essential foodstuffs, or to find a job.

SEE ALSO: What Does 666 Mean? Answers in Revelation

If you’ve lived long enough, you recall the uproar when credit cards became standard fare in America. Many were afraid that the Beast was upon us.

If you’ve lived long enough, you’ll recall the introduction of barcodes into mainstream American society. Many Christians were convinced that barcodes foreshadowed the work of the Antichrist. Of course, now we know that neither credit cards nor barcodes have anything to do with the Mark of the Beast.

Personally, it seems to me that many Christians who are worried about RFID chips are following in the footsteps of the two previous generations.

In retrospect, there seems to be many parallels between these chips and the Mark of the Beast (Revelation 13:8-9).

• Both have to do with buying and selling and other economic pressures.

• The idea that the Mark is placed on the forehead or the palm of the right hand certainly parallels the placing of today’s RFID chips under the skin.

By the way, the Bible says that the beast will kill everyone who fails to have the Mark. Correspondingly, the Bible says that God will destroy those who do!

Could the mark of the beast be a tattoo? I don’t know why not.

In the same way that ranchers brand their cattle for identification, the Antichrist will use the Mark to identify those who are his. Let me cut straight to the bottom line RFID chips are the ultimate form of identification. 

As far as your question, “Is the chip okay to have inserted?” the answer in my mind is a toss-up. Credit cards and barcodes have become standard fare in our culture, I think that RFID chips are not far behind. Frankly, that scares the daylight out of me. Of course, you and I both know that the government has all sorts of means and manners to collect just about any data that it wants to about any of us—already.

You might want to read my "Ask Roger" on 666 and Counting.

Also, Which Nations are Involved in End Time Events?.

And How Will We Know the End is Near?.

Reader, I’m glad that you asked this question. I hope it will be helpful for you and for others who are thinking and asking about the same things.

Sincerely, Roger

Note from Brenda:  I know some denominations do not believe that the "Mark of the Beast" will be a literal "mark" but rather which day you worship.  I am not one of them and if that's your belief, no problem.  I am not on here to debate that as who knows, it may be!  The point is, we are sealed by the Mark of God. No matter what it is or isn't, we are already sealed.  Also, you cannot accidentally take the mark, it has to be willfully.  As I do mostly believe in the rapture, what does it matter anyway?  For information purposes only, not to debate.  Any negative comments regarding this WILL be deleted!

TRUE CHRISTIAN LOVE - LOVE THY ENEMIES, DO GOOD TO THEM...BY CHRISTIAN TODAY!

Meet the Christians who love their enemies, even when it's ISIS

 Carey Lodge CHRISTIAN TODAY JOURNALIST 14 September 2016

On the outskirts of Fallujah, just weeks after Islamic State had been driven out of the city by the Iraqi army following two years of jihadist rule, a team of Sunni and Shia Muslims visited a compound where hundreds of people who had fled the city were being held.

They brought supplies – food and water – to those cramped into the tiny space, as would be expected by humanitarian organisations working in the region. Aid groups have been working tirelessly in Iraq and Syria since ISIS' devastating campaign first shocked the world in 2014, serving the most needy and vulnerable on the front lines.

But something about this was different. The recipients of this aid weren't the families who had been traumatised by militants; who had spent years living in fear and then weeks trapped, starving, as Fallujah became a battleground between government and ISIS forces.

These were ISIS fighters.

A team from the Preemptive Love Coalition (PLC), a US-Iraqi non-profit organisation that's been active in the Middle East for a decade, took food and water to ISIS militants; providing respite to those who had been captured as Fallujah fell.

Hundreds of suspected ISIS members were being held in the detainment compound not far from the city. Some would have been innocent men and boys; separated from their families as they fled Fallujah and sent for interrogation by the Iraqi army. Others were confirmed militants. All were given food to eat and water to drink by PLC.

The reason? "Love means going to the hard places".

'Only light can drive out darkness'

Matthew Willingham, PLC's senior field editor who's based in Iraq, wasn't able to take part in the aid drop in early August, but was watching on a video feed. The highly sensitive nature of the visit meant that only Iraqi Muslims entered the compound. Among them was a man named Sadiq.

He gave water to a bound prisoner dressed in a yellow jumpsuit, who he recognised from an ISIS propaganda video posted online. This man, a tribal sheikh loyal to Islamic State, had stood and watched as a friend of Sadiq's was brutally executed.

"You killed my friend," Sadiq said, as he poured water into the man's mouth. "But I've come here to feed you."

Willingham said they had been warned against the trip by Iraqi leaders, and even friends, who told them they'd gone too far this time. The detainees deserved to suffer after what they had done.

"But we believe only light can drive out darkness. Love is the only real answer to hate," Willingham wrote in a blog post. "So we went anyway."

"We always want to be careful," he explained to Christian Today. "We don't want to come across as cowboys; we don't want to be kidnapped, we don't want to be blown up or tortured. But we also don't want to live exclusively by the principles of risk management. We don't want to be controlled by fear."

PLC seeks guidance from its extensive Iraqi network before undertaking any trip, but unless it's told categorically it is too dangerous, they usually go ahead. Willingham's wife and two small children live with him in Iraq. They are well aware of the risks and have had hard conversations about the possible repercussions of work on the front line. And yet they keep going.

"Ultimately, this is how we meet people who otherwise won't be cared for. This is how people get seen, this is how they are going to be helped – when people are willing to step in and risk something, when they've got skin in the game," he says. "As long as we live behind these fortified borders, it's going to be harder to see reconciliation happen. We've got to go to them, let them be heard, and acknowledge their pain. It's beautiful to see how humanising people changes the conversation."

When Sadiq and his fellow Muslim colleagues delivered aid to the Fallujah detainees, prisoners openly wept. A member of the PLC team addressed a group gathered in a courtyard of the compound. "Brothers, we are all Iraqi! Why did you give up on Iraq?" he asked. "We live in one country – we shouldn't give up on this place. We are brothers. We can't change what happened in the past, but we can change what will happen – and rebuild as brothers again." 

"One of the most striking things to me about that delivery in particular was seeing the intense emotion in the faces of those men," Willingham says. "They were just overwhelmed, many of them with guilt."

While the team had been expecting an aggressive reception, they were instead greeted with row upon row of broken men. When Sadiq spoke to a group of convicted ISIS members – some of them jihadi leaders – they broke down, weeping. "They kept saying: 'I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry'," Willingham recalls.

"Love has the power to convict."

As a Christian, Willingham says he saw the love of Christ in action that day, revealed through Sadiq – a Muslim.

"I see this as the love of God reaching down into the world," he says. "That's a Christ-like love, extended to his [Sadiq's] enemies. Not people he disagrees with, but his enemies. People who murdered his friends. That is the love of God in Christ."

'Love anyway'

The journey for PLC began 10 years ago. At the height of the Iraq War in 2006, Jeremy Courtney and his wife Jessica moved to the country, despite the dangers. They had felt a call to provide practical help to people in desperate need, and so left their home in the US to be part of the solution to so many broken lives. PLC was born.

Now a decade on and with two young children, they couldn't have imagined where that journey would lead them.

What started as an organisation to provide life-saving surgery to Iraqi children suffering from heart defects became much more when ISIS rose to prominence in 2014 with the invasion of the Nineveh Plain. The relentless persecution of religious minorities including Christians, Yazidis and Shia Muslims shocked the world, but there were few organisations left to help following the withdrawal of US troops.

"More than a million people were displaced and in need of food, water, shelter, medicine and every single other thing people need to survive. And we had a very important conversation in the office: are we going to sit by and say we don't have a mandate to serve in this time, or are we going to respond to this moment and take responsibility for this stewardship we've been given?" Jeremy Courtney told Christian Today.

"It was a very short conversation."

As one of the only organisations left, and with a tremendous network across Iraq, his team quickly decided they had to respond, and began to do so immediately. They took food, water and medicine to the front lines, meeting people in their time of desperate need. "I remember how terrifying those days were," Courtney recalls.

In the years since, as Islamic State has gained and lost territory, Courtney has visited a number of ISIS-held cities and towns in Iraq following the departure of the militants. He has seen the horrific devastation jihadists have left in their wake and met families who have lost everything in the conflict. The most harrowing experience, he says, is when he visited Sinjar after militants overran the Nineveh Plain, slaughtering 5,000 men and taking thousands of women and girls into captivity to be used as sex slaves. "We saw mass graves, clothes strewn about the countryside where people had been mown down by ISIS as they fled," he says.

"We've walked through bombs and air strikes. Seeing these things has become a very compelling feeling, and is part of why we do what we do. Seeing the suffering and wanting to be part of the healing on the other side... showing that resurrection on the other side is possible."

Their mandate to "love anyway" – regardless of race, religion or creed – has led the team at PLC to help victims of ISIS' reign of terror not just in their immediate needs, but also in building a brighter future. They've delivered 100,000 pounds of emergency food aid, but have also given small business grants to widows, are involved in peace-making initiatives and are helping get children back into the classroom. Earlier this year they delivered thousands of egg-laying chickens – a sustainable source of protein – to vulnerable families in Sinjar and are helping displaced men and women living in IDP camps to make andsell their own soap. Seeing lives restored and people beginning to glimpse some hope for the future "is a beautiful thing to watch," Willingham says. "You see them come alive."

Taking Jesus seriously

PLC is not religiously-affiliated, though it describes itself as "a faith-oriented community". Christians, Muslims, and those of no faith work side by side.

For the Courtneys, Willingham, and many members of their team, however, their mission is driven by their love for God.

They are "trying to figure out what it would mean to take Jesus seriously when he says 'follow me' and 'bless those who persecute you'," Courtney says.

While they actively help victims of ISIS persecution, they also believe in the importance of re-humanising the ISIS militants who are waging such death and destruction in the Middle East.

"You may have seen... [ISIS] described as monsters, animals, and an apocalyptic death cult. Those words just obscure the fact that these are largely men and boys, and in some cases women, who want to belong, a place to feel safe, and to have meaning. Who are looking for a way to put food on the table for their kids," Courtney says.

He believes that the number of ISIS fighters who are simply normal people who join to earn money to provide for their family "is probably pretty significant". We have to "look at those in ISIS and in similar terror [groups] around the world and see them as individuals", he says.

"ISIS is comprised of people we know – or people who come from groups and places we know... [they've been] affected by violence, economic policies that have put them in a place of being dis-empowered and disenfranchised... And so in some ways, ISIS are not just guys in black masks waving swords in the desert – they're our friends, our people, who have found themselves in a situation that is probably not going to be resolved by bombs and bullets alone. We want to combat the darkness with light, and drive out hate and fear with love."

The way to do this is though "ideas and compassion", he says. When PLC first approached Iraqi officials with the idea of visiting suspected ISIS militants in detention, they were met with incredulity. But the team explained that there were two ways forward.

"We said, you've got tens of thousands of ISIS fighters in captivity now, how are you going to treat them? In a way that further radicalises them, and drives them away from mainline society? Or will you use this moment to love you enemies, and incorporate them back into society?

"It was a fascinating discussion. We knew it was the right thing to do."

Courtney is adamant that this is the only Christian response, though he echoes Willingham's insistence that PLC's practical involvement has resulted from years of working in Iraq. "It's not like we woke up one day, read a Bible verse that said love your enemies and decided to go to ISIS," he says. "[But] the message of the gospel story is one of love that pursues the other all the way to death. God... taking on flesh and dying in pursuit of those that have become his enemies.  "The team was, however, concerned about backlash they may receive for serving militants potentially responsible for the deaths of thousands of people. "But the truth is, I'm not aware of any [criticism]," Courtney says. "A lot of our base is Muslim and Christian, and actually both faiths have at their heart... love your enemies."

That's the message PLC wants to live out: "Following in those footsteps, laying down our lives and pursuing those who have become our enemies, even unto death."

Courtney doesn't know for certain if they'll do anything similar in the future. The conflict in Iraq is so volatile it's hard to plan ahead. "But what I will say is that this is in our blood and bones," he adds.

"If opportunities continue to present themselves, and we have willing partners and we find willing people in the Muslim clerical community who can help us... We're not foolhardy. We're not looking to rush into known ISIS territory, waving some kind of Christian or American flag, we don't have a death wish, we do what we do in a very calculated and wise manner.

"We're not looking to make headlines, we're looking to make change, and there are certain ways that that has been facilitated. If we find moments and ways [in the future], we will absolutely keep stepping in."