The Sly Sword in the Family Stone: Conquering Idols

Most Christians have completely disregarded verses about forsaking friends, family, and unbelievers for the sake of Jesus Christ. Cherry-picked Scripture has created an idol of family and community in the church, and it is time to re-establish "Matthew 12:46-50" - a ministry of Jesus's true brothers and sisters.

Introduction - Jesus's Mothers and Brothers

Years ago, before I fully found Jesus Christ, I struggled deeply with my family. I could not understand them, and I often felt like "the black sheep" of my family. I remember begging God to find family, not fully understanding what I was asking for - not understanding what I was truly lacking.

Over time, I started going to church, and I was struck by this passage - Matthew 12:46-50:

Jesus' Mother and Brothers

46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers[a] stood outside, asking to speak to him.[b] 48 But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

I was in awe. What Jesus Christ was saying is that His true family was anyone doing His will - not necessarily those He was related to by bloodline. This freed me from a false perception and paradigm of family bonds that I was holding. In a sense, I was an orphan, and God took me into His true Kingdom.

My world shook in that moment. Over time, I became more brave in sharing the gospel to my family, eventually parting ways with most of my family members. Though I loved them in a sense of "agape" love, I realized they did not follow the gospel, and that they were holding me back. In a moment, I will get into more Scripture that ties to this, but I wanted to share one more part of my testimony.

The last time I spoke to my father was unusual. He asked if I was scared of him, and at first, I said, "Yes." As written in my testimony, my dad was and is a deep follower of the occult, calling himself a "black magician." So, yes, I suppose I had some fear of him.

However, as the conversation continued, the Holy Spirit took me over, and I decided to say this: "Yes, maybe I have been scared of you. However, I have learned not to fear. If you want to have a relationship with me, you need to be just as obsessed with Jesus Christ as I am."

He tried to argue with me, but I had Scripture to back up what I had to say, which leads me to the next part of my post.

The Sword of Scripture

The modern churches have created an idol of family and community - not Jesus Christ. No, this blog post is not saying we should not love our family or take care of them. Of course, we are called and have duties to our family, and these are important. However, we do have to sometimes decide when it is time to part ways with family members, communities, and churches who are not truly doing the will of Jesus Christ. We, ourselves, must be the models of what we expect from others, and when we truly start following Him, we start to see who is truly not following Him.

Of course, there is Scripture that has been avoided or sugar-coated that needs to be reviewed, and this Scripture cannot only be used as a sword in debate, but it can also be used as a sword to divide the wheat and tares - even our own family members and friends. First, Jesus Christ did not come to bring peace but a sword:

Not Peace, but a Sword

34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person's enemies will be those of his own household.

While people are obsessing over the Rothschilds and the Gates villains (and that is important and relevant), we need to remember that some of our own worst enemies are in our households, neighborhoods, and churches. Anyone who is not doing the will of Jesus Christ is not our true family, and the Bible warns us not to be yoked with unbelievers. Remember, a believer is not someone who solely professes the name of Jesus Christ, but we can know true believers by their fruits.

Next, Jesus Christ warns us of the "cost of discipleship", which may mean we hate our own family to follow Him:

The Cost of Discipleship

25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

Churches avoid this passage, saying Jesus Christ doesn't really mean "hate", but I disagree. They try to soften this passage to soothe itching ears, but let us truly look at the word hate used in the passage:

Not everyone will have to hate their own family to follow Him, but some will. It is similar regarding the verse about the man who has decide to give up money to follow Jesus Christ. It depends on what your idol is, and if your family is your idol, which it may be, you may have to renounce them for Jesus Christ. Basically, we have to renounce all that we have to be His disciple.

What you "have" may be different than what I have. I never really had money, for example, so that was not a difficult choice for me. However, I had other things I needed to give up for Jesus Christ. Each person bares a different cross, after all.

I would say the majority of modern Christians serve their family as an idol. To note, that is one of the major reasons people took the Covid vaccine - to please their families. If not family, many are consumed with pleasing the idols of friends, communities, and even their churches. Ultimately, their idol is "the perception" of others - how others view them - whether it be their colleagues, neighbors, or society itself.

In order to fully serve Jesus Christ, we may have to forsake certain relationships and disregard the views of those around us. Each Christian has to make a careful decision about their relationships with others. I have decided that in order for people to have a true relationship with me, they have to be as radical as me. It's just the truth.

That does not mean I am cruel to anyone. That does not mean I walk in hatred. In fact, many will vouch I am the most loving person they ever met! I still have acquaintances and am kind to those I meet. I am kind, and I am loving. However, I spend my time with people who are truly serving Jesus Christ, and since I began this journey, I have been freed.

This Ministry Is Freedom

My ministry is international, and while I do not have an exact number of followers, it is growing each day, with great emphasis on charity. How, exactly, do I even do this?

Well, here is the truth. No one controls me except Jesus Christ. Since I have freed myself from my idols of my family or what people think of me, I answer to nobody but our Lord.

When I wake up, I do not have to worry about what my dad, in-laws, or "friends" will think of me because I already know. I already know they hate me for my beliefs, so I do not waste my time on them. I preach to those who are willing to listen, and I "shake the dust off my feet" when people walk away.

My life is completely fulfilled. I have friends all over the world who serve Jesus Christ, and I am never lonely anymore. I was lonely, before, when I was lying all the time to people. Truly, living a lie is the loneliest feeling of all.

Anyone who meets me knows this: I believe it is the end times. I serve Jesus Christ fully, and nothing can shake that. They know my views of Trump and the vaccine, and I tell anyone willing to listen - with wisdom - of course. We do not have to act foolish, and there is a way to tell the truth with wisdom.

The other day, a Muslim man came to our house. I am not sure his intentions, but he was preaching about Allah. Surprisingly, I heard Jesus Christ say, "Get on your knees and start praying."

So, I did.

In front of him, I bowed down and started praying to Jesus Christ. The Muslim man was floored after the incident, texting me continually for weeks, trying to understand me. He tried to offer me some gifts to manipulate me, but it did not work. He told my husband, "I have never seen a Christian do that."

It is because Christians have lost their saltiness, and I am bringing back this salt through this ministry. This post is salty because it must be.

Christians have to be brave, courageous, and willing to even be embarrassed at times - even humiliated for His sake.

So, I decided years ago that is what I would do. If I must be humiliated for the truth, then so be it. If everyone must hate me, then so be it. If people think I am weird or annoying, then so be it.

What should the opinions of men bother me, when I am here to serve Jesus Christ? If God is for me, who can be against me?

Now, here's the good news. People have joined me and helped me, and it is only growing. I am inviting all readers to cast out the fear of what the Joneses will think and starting doing the will of Jesus Christ.

Today, I pray that anyone who stumbles upon this ministry or blog is ready to throw out the opinions of men and seek out the true approval of Jesus Christ:

Today, I ask you to take a stand against Satan, the beast system, and if needed, even your own families and friends and become part of the Ministry of Daughter Zion: