Tag Archives: bible

Chemistry, Christ, and Colossians

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Today is the first day of Lent so I thought I would post my wonderings about it. To do this, I want to make a comparison from the realm of chemistry. Please keep reading even if you hate science! This will worth two minutes of your time. =-)

The Law of the Conservation of Mass states that mass cannot be created or destroyed; it is merely rearranged.

Here is a chemical equation with chemical symbols: CH4 + 2O2 = CO2 + 2H2O

Same equation in word form: methane gas + oxygen = carbon dioxide + water

Again but in picture form:

conservation of mass 3

If you look at all the atoms, they are the same on both sides of the equation. There are four different substances but the amount of matter is the same.

 

Now let’s take a look at the idea of giving up chocolate for Lent. Fred is pretend. I am using Fred as an example so anybody named Fred is not to be directly associated with this post. =-)

Fred has 100 units of energy to spend each day of his life. These 100 units can be divided up however he wants to divide them. Fred really likes chocolate. He devotes 10 units of energy to chocolate. Thinking, buying, making and the eating of chocolate takes up 10 units of the 100 units that Fred has each day. The other 90 units are spent on everything else. Fred is disciplined so he only devotes 10 units for chocolate. Never more and never less. For Lent, Fred decides that he will give up chocolate. It will be difficult be he thinks he can do it. Now, he has all 100 units of energy to delegate to whatever he wants. Just because he always gave 10 units for chocolate does not mean that he loses those 10 units when he gives up chocolate. He has 100 units and will always have 100 units to spend. This is the law of the conservation of mass working in his life.

Let’s see if we can put this all together.

I can pursue God however I would like. Reading my Bible, praying, going to church, worshipping, or having coffee with another believer are all ways I can do this. I have the same amount of time that everyone else has. There may be a myriad of ways to spend it but it is there everyday. For Lent, the idea is that I am supposed to give up something. Great! But now what do I do with the extra time I have? Fred has 10 units of energy (that he used to spend on chocolate) that he gets to spend on some other thing. Maybe he will read or write or play a board game.

If I give up something, what will I do in place of that thing?

 

Whatever you are doing this Lenten season, I hope it helps you to draw closer to God. If you need to fast or give something up for these weeks leading to Easter, than do it. Make an effort to find God in a new way. I think Lent is about clearing the clutter and listening for our Lord. Whatever actions that means for you, awesome.

Remember the law of the conservation of mass. You will spend your effort on something so you might as well make it something great.

Colossians 3:17 says “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

 

Jars, pt. 3

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Have you ever been at the end of your rope? Has life beat you up and left you for dead? Mistakes are all too common in my life. We are messed up.

Following God can be tough. The problems don’t disappear when we get saved. And the stuff of life even make things more difficult at times!

2 Corinthians 4:7-12 gives me hope when I read it. So many times I feel all screwed up and confused. I have little motivation for God. Apathy is all to real. There are moments when I see Jesus and press on. When I pray, there is a real connection, not always but sometimes. But there are times when you or I are at the end of the rope.

 

end_of_rope

I have been writing about jars this month. Today is no different except that the jar is not something that I bring to God so He can fill it.

I am the jar. An earthen jar. A jar of clay.

 

Remember this: a jar is just there to hold something. You and I are the holders of something great!

This is verse 7 of the Corinthians passage: “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”

Let this post be an encouragement to you. Sure, I get it that life sucks and we can make mistakes. But the Word says that “He gives more grace.” James 4:6

 

So be reminded that when you are the end of your rope, you are never out of Hope!

Jars, pt. 1

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Today, I opened a jar of peanut butter and a jar of jelly. I put sandwiches in my kids’ lunch. Did you open a jar today? Jars are common today and were common in Bible times. In and of themselves, they had no special or holy function. They just hold stuff.

2 Kings 4:1-7 provides a wonderful little story about the prophet Elisha and a widow and some jars. I won’t put the whole story here but click here and have the text open while you read this post. I will be referring back to it many times.

The story opens with a widow and her two sons that are in a terrible predicament. The husband has died and now the two boys are about to be taken into slavery to pay off the debt. Not good. And that is just verse 1!

Verse 2. The prophet asks the widow what she has in the house. Her response seems honest enough, “Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”

Elisha tells the widow to collect as many jars as she can. Ask the neighbors. Hit up everyone in town. Many jars were collected. Then the mother took her boys, the jars, and the little oil that they had and went into a room by themselves. Insert a miracle here. This part is in verses 3-5.

The oil kept flowing. Just as a jar would fill up, the mother asked for another one and the boys would remove the full one and bring an empty one. Can you see this little family working in that room as the oil kept flowing? Then, as verse 6 says, the mother asked for another jar and the son said there were no more jars. Then the oil stopped flowing.

Here is what I feel God revealed to me. May you be encouraged as I was.

  1. We all have problems that can be bigger than ourselves. They can overwhelm us.
    1. The widow cried out to Elisha.
    2. We can cry out to God.
  2. Even when we seem to have nothing, we have something.
    1. The widow had a small jar of oil.
    2. We have the Holy Spirit living in us. That is enough.
  3. When we think we are alone, we are not really alone.
    1. The neighbors helped the widow by giving jars.
    2. There are people in our lives that God has put there to help.
  4. As long as there are jars, the oil will flow.
    1. For the widow, the oil only stopped when the jars stopped.
    2. The Holy Spirit will flow as long I keep bringing jars to be filled.

Let those thoughts sink in until next week.jars-of-clay

One Yard of Christmas, pt. 3

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Shepherds. They saw angels on the night of the birth of Jesus. Can you picture these smelly guys hanging around the fire? They could have been dreaming up stories for their families. Maybe they were thinking of how to make some money off of the angel visit. Perhaps a book deal was on their mind? Actually, we know that they were not doing any of those things. As with the first two parts, let’s go to the Word of God.

Luke 2:16-17 “So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,”

Here is how Dictionary.com defines the word feet:

Noun, 1. a plural of foot.

Foot, noun, plural feet

  1. (in vertebrates) the terminal part of the leg, below the ankle joint, on which the body stands and moves.

 

One of the best parts about the gospel (or the story of Jesus) is that is forces us to make a decision. It seems that the shepherds were among the first to hear the story.

Once they heard, they moved. It was clear to them that what the angels were speaking of was for real. They had a choice and they made that choice without hesitation. It says the “hurried.” And when they saw the baby, another choice was to be made. They “spread the word.”

It is like having a can of paint. It must be spread in order to do the job. It won’t do any good to anyone if it stays in the can.

paint can

Friends, Christmas is all about God giving to us something unique. His son. The other part of that is us giving the world the same gift.

WE MUST TELL THE WORLD ABOUT JESUS. And it is my opinion that this “feet” is the most difficult of the three.

In conclusion,

  •  One Yard of Christmas
    • Feat
    • Fete
    • Feet

Will you wonder in the feat of God giving His son to us?

Will you celebrate the birth of Jesus instead of commercializing it?

Will you be like a paint brush and spread the truth about Jesus?

I hope you have enjoyed a One Yard of Christmas. It has been fun reliving Christmas this January.

Now go, spread the word and enjoy Jesus for the rest of 2015!

One Yard of Christmas, pt. 1

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Happy New Year!

I usually look forward when starting a new year. But for this month, I am going to reflect not on 2015 but on Christmas. Yes, the modern season and commercialism of Christmas might be the Reason for Christmas is still real. Jesus, that helpless little baby born in a manger is still alive today! And because He still lives and reigns, the celebration must go on. So I now present to you One Yard of Christmas!

There are three feet in a yard. So it only stands to reason that in One Yard of Christmas, there are also three feet.

Here is the first one: a feat

 

Luke 2:6:7 says, “While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

 

How is it that God, who happens to be completely powerful, was born completely helpless? At birth, that little baby was just like you and me. Totally helpless. It becomes even more staggering to think where He came from. The timeless words of John tell us “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…” John 3:16a. What God did was a feat of great love.

 

Here is how Dictionary.com defines the word feat:

1. a noteworthy or extraordinary act or achievement, usually displaying boldness, skill, etc.:

For me, God giving His son is an amazing act. A feat that has never been duplicated in all of time. You can probably think of many great feats that have happened through history. But do they really compare to the Almighty God and Creator of the Universe wrapping Himself in skin and being born as a crying little baby?

 

But why does it matter? Let’s go back to John. He wrote the three little words that are so simple yet so impactful: “God so loved.”

 

So as we journey through this year, may we never forget that God so loved us. I mean me. I mean you. Anyone can experience this love. That is what is so noteworthy or extraordinary about Jesus. The love of God shown to us in and through the infant of Christmas.

 

This is all in vain unless there is application. Carve out some time today and everyday to ponder the love of God. Read His Word. Soak in it. Let it be the driving force for your life. Surrender to the waves of His unending, unrelenting love. His compassions are new every morning! See Lamentations. Let 2015 be a year in which you are changed. God’s love will do that…

but only if you let it.