Tag Archives: actions

Clone?

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Happy Wednesday! Hope this midweek day is great. (That felt like a weird sentence to type.)

As for posting every Tuesday, well, I forgot yesterday. No worries.

Before I get into the post, thank you for the recent followers. It is nice to get feedback in the forms of “liked” and “…is now following your blog.”

Now to the the best two minutes of your day.

I am reading a book entitled In His Image. This is book one of three called The Christ Clone Trilogy. Here is a link to the books. The artwork is newer than the copy I have but it is still the same book.

This is the version I own.

It is a fiction story. The author puts a note at the beginning describing how he is writing the story.

I am not going into the theology of cloning Christ (if that is even possible?). Nor do I want to spoil a good book.

Synopsis: A person is cloned from living cells that were found on the Shroud of Turin during a scientific research event. That is all I will say about the book.

Image result for clones of jesus

What the book has done for me is that it has planted a thought in my brain.

That thought is the basis for this post. So here you go…

Isn’t the goal of following Jesus to become more like Jesus?

I teach biology. The amount of DNA in our cells is staggering. All the variety is part of God’s plan. So my thought is not becoming like Jesus in a physical way.

I am talking about the unseen things of life.

  • The way I respond to crisis.
  • My reaction to my wife or kids when I am stressed.
  • How well (or not well) did I treat my coworkers.
  • My driving.
  • My work ethic.
  • When I am alone, what am I doing.

These, and many more that you could list, are the things that make me like Jesus.

And the good part is that He will help us!

Being like Jesus is the goal. And God has graciously given us everything we need to accomplish this goal. It is up to us if we decide to use the assistance.

For me, I fall short everyday. But with God, all things are possible!

So go out there and be a Christ Clone today!

Next week, come back to read more about the “help” that God gives us.

Is your couch comfortable?

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Last night, my wife and I purchased our first couch. Ever.

When we got married, we used her furniture because it was nicer and cleaner than the stuff I had. At some point, we inherited a couch and love seat from the in-laws. The green couch in the basement was purchased from some friends. We have never had a new couch. So, after 15 years of marriage, we decided that we were ready to get our own couch. It looks something like this:

couch

It was pretty cool because the whole order was 25% off. We are thrifty like that. So then I started thinking about a couch and why we have one. All you really do is sit down on it. Sure, there can be a nap or two but the primary reason for a couch is so a person has a place to sit. Sitting down. You know that feeling when you have a long day at work and you know that your favorite show is calling your name. After dinner and the dishes, after the kids go to sleep, after you pull weeds in the garden, after you check your email, after a quick, refreshing shower, you can finally sit down. Flick on the TV and enjoy your show while you sit on your nice comfy couch. Sounds pretty good, right?

At some point in the past, there was a famous person who sat down. The work was complete. The task finished. To-do list? Yep, checked off every box.

All that was left was to sit down. After all, isn’t that what you do when you are done working?

 

So who is this famous person? And why did they sit down? As I like do in almost every post, let’s let the bible answer these questions for us.

“In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.” NIV

 

These verses are some of my favorite. This is how the book of Hebrews begins. When I quote scripture in my posts I will almost always use the New International Version or NIV. For those of you who are literature fans, I have included the same three verses but from the Kings James Version, KJV. I think I like it even better than the NIV.

“God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” KJV

 

There is a lot of theology in those words but this post is focused on just one of those words. Sat. Think about Jesus for a minute. He knows that his life is almost over. He has been hanging on that cross for hours now. The physical limits of the human body have been pushed way beyond their maximum levels.  It is my guess that the physical pain probably does not even begin to compare to the emotional and mental strain of having to take on the sins of the entire human race upon your shoulders. But Jesus knew that this was the way. And he stuck with it.

He loved us too much to call the angels for help.

He loved us too much to rip himself from that cross.

He loved us too much to call down lighting on his executioners.

He loved us too much to give in and quit early.

The text says that “after he had provided…he sat down”. God gave Jesus a job to do. Jesus completed that job and so know he gets to sit down right next to his father.

Do you think they have couches in heaven? Who knows? I wonder if they have the Ottomans that have storage as well as being a footstool?

 

Let me hit this home. So what are you and I doing about what Jesus did? Are we sitting on the couch waiting for God to miraculously move in the hearts of men and women? Do we sit around waiting for the Holy Spirit to motivate us into action?

As a follower of Christ, I must share the truth with you. I am compelled. If you have not placed your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, contact me and I will show you in the Word what needs to be done. But if you are a fellow follower, than get up and get going.

P.S. I think there are couches upon which we can sit when we get to heaven. =-)

 

 

 

 

Enough is enough.

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Faith. Most days I don’t even feel like I can find the words to type. Can my faith really move mountains? Will I really see healing in someone’s body? It seems that with all of the stuff of life, faith is hard to come by. And when we do have faith, it feels small or insignificant.

By the way, if you want my idea of ‘stuff’, click here.

My first two posts about faith were in regards to Altitude and Attitude. Feel free to go back and read them again. =-)

The Altitude of Faith is that Jesus is supreme. He is above all else.

The Attitude of Faith is reflected in my actions in life.

But is my faith enough?

Faith6

I say yes. But again, don’t take my word. God says yes as well.

I John 5: 4-5 tell us, “for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”

What?!?! My faith is the victory that overcomes the world?!?! I guess I will take God’s Word at face value here. It is not normal to think of myself as an overcomer but I like it. There is a small catch though…I need to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. If that is in order, than I am victorious.

So to answer the question in the opening paragraph, yes, my faith can move mountains. I can see people healed. My problems and issues are suddenly not so life-choking.

It seems that enough is enough. My faith is enough. God can do anything because He is all-powerful but He chooses to let me use my faith. Enough is enough.

And that, my friends, is the Amplitude of Faith.

Amplitude –

“the state or quality of being ample, especially as to breadth or width; largeness; greatness of extent.”

It all boils down to the fact that God has given each one of us a measure of faith. Some people have more than others but everyone has some. And that faith is enough.

Can I come full circle? This is how I ended my first post in this month:

Faith has nothing to do with feelings. (Thank you God!!!)

If we look at faith and understand it (even if it is only a little understanding), there is nothing essential about how we feel as it relates to faith. My feelings do not always line up with my Altitude, Attitude, and Amplitude but they can certainly influence it!

So go and exercise your faith today. And when you don’t feel like it, that just might be the best time to act.

Another aspect of Faith

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Quick summary of last week:

We all have faith in something. We can choose to put that faith into anything we desire. Jesus, being the Ultimate of Everything, is the highest location for our faith. Our Altitude of Faith should be in Jesus.

Jesus. Isn’t He awesome? Because he is above all else, he rightly deserves our honor, trust, respect, love and yes, our faith. We may know that in our heads but how does that faith translate to our hands? How does having faith in Jesus play out in everyday life? Back to I John 5. I copied the first three verses here.

“1Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,”

We can see the Altitude of Faith in the first verse, “that Jesus is the Christ.”

The last part of verse 1 and verses 2-3 give us the Attitude of Faith.

Attitude –

“manner, disposition, feeling, position, etc., with regard to a person or thing; tendency or orientation, especially of the mind”

What is your disposition towards faith in Jesus? Do I have positive tendencies with regards to faith? My manner is evident of my faith, right?

The word love is used 5 times in these 3 verses. Let that be a clue as to what our attitude should be. Here is a little example.

When I went to North Central University, it was actually called North Central Bible College. Among my friends, there was one in particular that I remember. He was rather intense. We would be talking about a subject and he would often times use the phrase, “Chapter and verse.” He was asking for proof for my ideas. It was one thing to talk about something we had heard in class or Chapel. This guy always wanted to know what the Bible said. He wanted proof.

Remember, love is a clue since the author used it so many times in a short span.

While the object of our faith (altitude) is Jesus, the proof of that faith (attitude) is our action or love.

My dad often said to me, “You will always have time to do what you want to do.”

I have faith in Jesus. He was a perfect man. He was killed, buried and then raised from the dead. His sacrifice is enough to wash me from my sins. My life is now completely in His hands. I am free in Christ!

All of that is my Altitude of Faith.

I put others before myself. I serve at home and at church. I refrain from swearing or crude language. Drunkenness is not an issue. When the gossip starts, I leave the room. I smile even when I am having a bad day. I invite people to church. I sing on the worship team. I try to be the best version of me that I can.

All of this is my Attitude of Faith.

Go back and read those three verses again. Our actions stem from God doing something that we could not. I DO NOT do good things to get something from God. I do these things because He has already done something for me.

This post is not about doing good works to get saved. But rather, it is about doing good works because you are saved.