What Really Counts Is Love In Action

"Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law" (Rom. 13:8, NIV).  "For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command:  'Love your neighbor as yourself'" (Gal. 5:14, NIV).
  
Christians are to be God's voice of love in the world, where communication has broken down, and even where there is a failure to communicate.  As Bertrand Russell said,  "[W]hat the world needs is Christian love or compassion."  We have a good message to share: one that transforms and offers genuine, in-real-time hope.  There is so much disinformation, outright lies, propaganda, fake news, and mudslinging out there that a believer can hardly discern good from evil and truth from falsehood.  The mature Christian knows good from evil and "hates evil," a definition for fearing the Lord. We live in a day and age when "the powers that be" are those of the most clout by virtue of donations and PAC money, almost unlimited spending on behalf of special interests--power is bought!

The so-called Evangelical Right has hijacked the Christian faith claiming to stand for it and going against its agenda labels you a "liberal." The Evangelical Right isn't always right though it presumes to speak in God's name!  There are many believers they don't speak for.  God doesn't approve of using labels for people because that is a way of judging them or putting them in a box or analyzing them.  People are complicated and in God's image and deserve the benefit of the doubt on disagreements--don't be an extremist or absolutist.  We shouldn't quarrel about mere differences of opinion (cf. Rom. 14:1).  The world sees no love lost which is tragic.

 It seems like the ones who make the most noise make the biggest impact on politics without regard to right and wrong--people lose rationality when their emotions get the best of them.  You can be sure the most terrible sign of our times is that there is a rampant demonizing going on, where people think of their "tribe" as being all right, and the other "tribes" as being evil or all wrong. "My party, right or wrong!"  There is much so-called "groupthink" but this is when a group isn't thinking at all in reality.  Much could be accomplished if parents simply taught their children a little respect to whom respect is due (this doesn't mean agreeing with everything!).

There is a grain of truth in all political views and sometimes it's the ones that get the biggest rise out of people that are focused on.  The Christian virtue of tolerance is quite different from the world's view.  We respect a person's dignity and self-worth and the right to disagree with us, but we don't think their views are equally valid or they must accept our political views.  In fact, the only thing we are to be dogmatic on is Bible doctrine, not our political persuasions--leave room for disagreement--mere differences of opinion.  We can disagree without being disagreeable and agree to disagree on some issues that the Bible isn't clear about or is open to interpretation.

It's all about putting love into action and living out our faith so that others can see we are true to our colors.   As Paul said in Gal. 5:6 that "the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love" (cf. NIV).  We are to win people over by example!  This means applying the Bible to political movements and issues.  It is a compliment when believers are known by their love.  That is the telltale sign and mark of a true Christian, who simply wants to pass on the experience of love in Christ he has known.  We ought to win them over by our example of love in action expressing our faith through good deeds.  It is far more important to God that the believer's heart be in the right place than he belongs to the right party.  God is not a member of a party since that would be putting Him in a box or labeling Him!  It so vitally important to know that God will not ask us what party we belonged to, but whether we loved the brethren.

We ought not to be known as the Evangelical Right but as the "Evangelical."  But there has been a cleavage in politics today!  There are people who actually despise Christians because of the appalling fruit of the Evangelical Right!   When will they learn that not all problems are political and politics is not always the answer?  (WHAT ABOUT INTERCESSION?)  Hasn't God commissioned us to transform the culture and persons by example, evangelizing, and by doing good deeds with reforms such as ending slavery, not to take over the government in the name of Christ, and hijack the faith to be revolutionists in the name of God?

NB:  There are no certain types of government though that God endorses;  one thing they ought to be dedicated to is the rule of law, separation of powers, equality under the law, liberty for all without exception, respect for human dignity, natural law, and human rights conferred by God and secured by government--all are biblical and can be summed up with justice for all ("all men are created equal"), and God is opposed to the perversion of justice.  CAVEAT:  WE ARE KNOWN BY OUR FRUITS AND IT'S EVIL TO SOW DISCORD AND FOSTER DIVISION AMONG BROTHERS, SINCE THE STRATEGY OF THE DEVIL IS TO DIVIDE AND CONQUER.  Soli Deo Gloria!  

Who Created God?

"Every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything" (Hebrews 3:4, CEB). 
NOTE:  WE ARE ASSUMING EVERYTHING HAS BEEN CREATED!  

This is a trick question since God is the Creator Himself, and no one else can create ex nihilo (out of naught) but Him.  The question implies God can be created or that there is a Superior Being to God in the same universe!  If God were created then He would not be Creator but created, and would not be eternal but captive to time with a beginning like us. God exists independent of the time-space continuum and therefore has no beginning (being eternal) and therefore cannot be created.   But this is the one question that led to Bertrand Russell's faith collapsing--he couldn't reconcile this.

Nothing can create itself, or it would be a contradiction in terms--both a creator and created, both existing and not existing before itself!  We know from the rules of logic that nothing can create itself nor be its own cause.  Anything that has a cause is not eternal; God is eternal, and therefore uncaused. There can be causes without a cause but not an effect without a cause--God is no effect and not a creation but the original Cause and Creator.  If someone caused God or created Him, that person would be the Creator or First Cause, Causa Prima, or Primary Mover of the cosmos--we define God as the Uncaused Cause, Uncreated Creator, Prime Mover, or Unmoved Mover.  This is His self-existence or aseity.  God is independent of everything and everyone and needs no one or nothing, not even a cause.

This is all Cosmology-101 (or dealing with causality--nothing just happens by itself!) and it demonstrates that you cannot cross infinity or infinite regress is impossible.  That means that you cannot have an endless series of finite causes, but must have a first cause to start the chain of events.  Every event has a cause (if an explosion happened, you would want to know what caused it).  According to the kalam cosmological argument for God, "everything that begins to exist has a cause"--the universe began to exist and therefore had a cause or Beginner, while God didn't begin to exist and has no cause (creator)!  But God is no event and a living Being that doesn't change, while being created implies being changed.  God is the perfect One who needs no improvement, who cannot change for the better since He's already perfect and cannot change for the worse since He is perfect and needs no change or improvement and is immutable, according to Arthur Pink.

None of us will ever have a grasp on the creative act of God and the know-how of it, but we must accept God as our Creator by faith since faith pleases God.  It is not too difficult to imagine something uncreated:  where did love come from? where did justice and righteousness come from?  what about fairness and mercy?  God is love and without love, there would be no God--that's His essence.  God needs no one and is a Law unto Himself with no one to be accountable to but Himself; i.e., He is also self-sufficient and meets all His own needs without us. He is complete in and of Himself.   If He wants something He creates it.  In this sense, God is the only free Being in the universe who can act freely and without restraint on His wants.  We are fortunate that God wants us by His grace!

By contrast, men like to say they are self-made men, but this means they worship their creator, which is themselves!  We need God--He doesn't need us!  He is our judge; we are not His judge or critic. God shares of Himself and blesses us with gifts to be used as gifts back to Him; i.e., He gives us faith as a gift to us, and what we do with it is our gift to Him!  In closing let me state that God is the Supreme Good and the standard and measure of goodness--the ultimate plumb-line.  Without God, we would not know good--where would the idea come from if not God?  And so goodness just exists as part of God's nature and it wasn't created either.          Soli Deo Gloria!

The Endless Pursuit Of Pleasure As A Goal

"If I want to know how to live in reality, I must know what God is really like." --Plato
"The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." --The Westminster Shorter Catechism, 1646  "The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith" (1 Tim. 1:5, NIV, emphasis added).

The Epicureans (cf. Acts 17) were known as pleasure seekers (today known as hedonism), who were essentially atheists who lived for the here and now: "Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die!"  (Those on this pursuit are really searching for happiness without God's input.)  This saying is actually from the Bible too (cf. Isa. 22:13; 1 Cor. 15:32; Luke 12:19).  In the worldview of Secular Humanism, one does just that without living in light of eternity as the Christian.  When you remove God from religion or the equation and live for self as the dynamic of one's life, all that's left to relate to is man as "the measure of all things" and this life to think about: no hell to shun, no divine Law to obey, no heaven to prepare for nor to expect and hope for.  They don't take any responsibility for their actions, good or evil since they deny Judgment Day and any divine accountability.

This is where Christianity breaks with Secularism and Hedonism:  they want believers to get out of their pants and stop interfering with their own mores and values, which they see as relative or unknowable, even nonexistent.  The Bible clearly states we are mere stewards of all the resources God has granted us in this life and will be rewarded or judged accordingly; i.e., vis-a-vis our works and that which is done in the flesh.  The Epicureans weren't seekers of maximum physical pleasure though, but what they deemed optimum pleasure--a point of contentment and balance, even of intellectual pleasure to boot. NB:  Didn't Solomon experience the vanity of intellectual pursuits, obsession with possessions or materialism, and sensual or sexual pleasure-seeking for fulfillment? If you seek pleasure, you'll never find it--seeking God it's part of the package.

The mature Christian (and when Paul "became a man he put away childish things") doesn't live for pleasure-seeking, but for a purpose, meaning, and fulfillment in Christ as he brings glory to Christ through a life of good deeds that are foreordained.  He doesn't dwell on just "having fun" as some people are focused on and feel their day is wasted if they got none!  Specifically, he would rather be doing the Lord's work than spending the day at Disney World!  Don't get me wrong: there is a degree of pleasure watching one's children grow up and enjoy themselves and there is vicarious fun. 

But how many parents would go there by themselves without the kids?  Most vacations are heavy on relaxation, withdrawal, and recreation, not having fun in a conventional way. The Christian defines fun in a lot different manner than do children and may think it's fun to have a fruitful conversation.  The Bible says in Ecclesiastes that man is meant to find enjoyment in his labor and in his eating.  The believer's so-called fun is much more sophisticated and is basically R & R so that he is up to getting back to doing the Lord's work or fulfilling his calling.

But the believer doesn't make pleasure-seeking the goal or purpose of his life and doesn't feel left out if he didn't have all the fun he felt entitled to--felt needs are often ignored by God.   The whole Christian walk is to be one of abundance and fulfillment in Christ and we are complete in Him.  In contrast, it's the job of kids to play and have fun, they are not mature enough to know the fulfillment of finding the image of Christ in work and doing God's will. 

The more we understand who we are in Christ, the more focused we who know our God can "be strong and do exploits" (cf. Dan. 11:32).  In a way, all play of childhood is merely a foreshadow of what the work-world is like when one has found his higher calling.  One may wonder where some believers get their drive, and the only answer is that they know the Lord and are purpose-driven, not fun-driven for our emotions and feelings can be deceptive and mislead us.

This is where the Protestant work ethic enters the equation and one actualizes his potential in Christ to the full.  Luther restored dignity to all labor, not just the noble pursuits and we must realize we are a creature not made or hard-wired for idleness, but meant to walk with Christ in a joy-filled life; i.e., "rejoice in the Lord always" (cf. Phil. 4:4).   On the other hand, the believer must beware not to be all work and no play, so to speak, and to be no fun, neither the party-pooper nor necessarily the life of the party either; however, things go better with Christ!  Our pleasure ought to be in God!

CAVEAT:  SATAN WILL ENTICE US WITH HIS DELICACIES AND IF WE FALL IN LOVE WITH THE WORLD AND WHAT IT HAS TO OFFER, IT DIMINISHES OUR APPETITE FOR THE SPIRITUAL AND DIVINE AND WE BECOME SPIRITUALLY HANDICAPPED.  

In sum, when one seeks pleasure it eludes him, but when one seeks God pleasure is a byproduct and blessing.  In the final analysis, we all must take stock of what drives us, what our pleasure is, what motivates us, and what inspires us and gives us a reason to live--taking a spiritual inventory or checkup; can man survive without God in the picture?      Soli Deo Gloria!  

The Prototype Sin

"But sin took advantage of this law and aroused all kinds of forbidden desires with me!  If there were no law, sin would not have that power [to foment what it prohibits]" (Rom. 8:8, NLT).  

"... [S]in is crouching at the door.  Its desire is for you, but you must not let it" (Gen. 4:7, HCSB). 
[sin is ready to destroy you, but don't' let it!]  

The New England Primer begins:  "In Adam's fall, we sinned all."  This references original sin in the Garden of Eden--the result of this first sin.  We are all subsequently "in Adam" and live out our solidarity in Adam experientially; it's the only doctrine that can be proved, said G. K. Chesterton in a tongue-in-cheek manner.  Yes, Adam and Eve jointly connived and plotted to take of the forbidden fruit, otherwise known as the proverbial apple, which was the only rule and off-limits.  I'm not saying they had aforethought or it was a premeditated act, but the sin had been hatching and this only incubated it.  They were indeed vulnerable and Satan took advantage of their weaknesses.

All sin has its root in this prototype sin that prefigures all our rebellion in one notorious and infamous act.  Adam acted as the head of the human race and that is why we are accountable and culpable as being represented by our race in Adam.  Likewise, in Christ, we are saved as the head of the new man.  It is worth noting in passing that Eve was deceived and Adam joined her revolt against God's authority knowingly and willingly.

In being in Adam, we are only capable of sin and not righteousness in God's eyes and are not as bad as we can be, but merely as bad off as we can be; we are as far from the kingdom of God as possible and need to repent and believe the gospel to be restored.  Salvation is a reconciliation with God or brings back ourselves into the right relationship with God that we should enjoy with Him.  The fellowship had been severed and broken as Adam broke faith with God in the covenant of works in the Garden of Eden.  Ever since man has had an alienation from God, being estranged from communion and a slave to his sinful nature. Jesus acts as the intercessor and mediator of a New Covenant of grace.   This depravity is the result of the original sin and is God's estimation of man, not man's own estimation of himself--for he may think he's all right.  The problem with man is that he doesn't see his own sin!

To be good we must see how bad we are (this is the catch-22) and to see how bad we are we must try to be good.  We all have feet of clay (sin not so readily apparent). But salvation is a work of grace transforming the heart of man from stone to flesh, making him willing to do God's will.  God can make the unwilling willing and causes us to believe.  We are not elected because God foresees faith (which would be meritorious), but elected unto faith as a gift.   We are all a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; i.e., we all have a dark side no one sees, but God.  God may expose us for what we are to make us have a spiritual wake-up call.

The first sin in a perfect environment prefigured all sins and we all would've done the same and dittoed Adam and followed suit.  It has been delineated:  He spurned God's grace; contradicted His truth; rejected His authority; disputed His wisdom; repudiated His justice; and resisted His grace.  Adam was not choosing evil over good even though the tree was called the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, he was choosing his way over God's way and to find fulfillment outside of God's plan for him.  He became selfish and saw things as they relate to him, not God's glory.

What is so sad is that we all confirm ourselves in Adam's sin and do the same thing--eating our forbidden fruit and apple of wisdom.  We all can say that there are things we wish we hadn't seen or heard.  We have lost the innocence of our own volition and it cannot be retrieved.  Consequently, we are all born in sin, and the slave to our "old sin nature" and can only be set free by the Son of God who is Jesus Christ.   In the meantime, Christians are justified sinners (cf. Gal. 2:17) or possessing a dual nature--in the nature of the old man Adam and the new man Christ. We are declared righteous, not made righteous! 

Ever since Adam, we have a legacy and virus of sin--our birthright!  Adam declared independence from God's sovereign plan.  Defying God's plan, we have all broken faith in the Designer.  We are not inherently good, but evil and not ever good enough to be saved, but bad enough to need salvation.  Jesus sees through the veneer of our guise or semblance of righteousness (even hypocrisy and sanctimoniousness) and knows we all have feet of clay or flaws not readily apparent.  We all see the good and don't do it because of this slavery to sin--"Who will deliver me from the body of this death?" (Cf. Rom. 7:24).  It's no use just giving us rules to keep; we cannot keep them! We never ceased to be human but ceased to be good, inclined to please God.

In fact, every part of our nature and essence is tainted with sin:  our wills are stubborn, our thoughts are evil, and our conscience is corrupt, our minds are defective, and feelings selfish--every part of us needs salvation (intellect, emotion, will or heart, soul and mind).  We went from creation to corruption!  We all even stand self-condemned and in need of grace and mercy from God--and since we are great sinners, He is a great Savior.   In sum, we are not sinners because we sin, but we sin because we are sinners; i.e., we're born in sin enslaved, not free to become set free in Christ.  Only Christ can set us free!     Soli Deo Gloria! 

Lust At Ninety-Percent Containment

"'I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully [with desire] at a young woman'" (Job 31:1, NIV).

Wildfires may be considered under control when 90-percent contained (this fails the plumb line of God and we must not be weighed in the balance and found wanting--NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR GOD!) but we must have absolutely pure minds that are 100-percent contained from the fires of immorality to be pleasing in God's eyes not ever guilty of playing with fire.  We must never let up and think we've got it under control once tempted--we'll always overestimate our self-control or virtue. 

By definition, lust is an unnatural or excessive desire and it can be manifested in multiple ways.  We need fire per se, by analogy, but it must be fully contained and harnessed for good.  The best proactive procedure is to flee all immorality and don't even test your limits or even go there thinking you may be able to control yourself.  We're all in the same boat and have our breaking point, much more, the devil knows our weaknesses.

In other words, don't play with fire or even matches!  There's no such thing as a small wildfire that poses no threat--they're all potential hazards to public safety:  When the damage of lost innocence is done and is permanent.  The only hope is to rebuild or let Christ transform your life with a new beginning, who can WIPE the slate clean and help us rebuild and begin anew from the inside out--the principle that we are not punished for our sins, but by them, resonates and RINGS SO TRUE.

People tend to think that God's so-called rules on sexuality are too binding and not up to date or even obsolete by modern standards.  But God made these rules for our own good and what was wrong at the time of Moses is still wrong!  Morality is not relative to culture and situation but is absolute and universal, applying to everyone all the time. Is it any wonder a woman feels violated by male, predatory, sexual advances against her will and unsolicited?  Sexual assault destroys innocence that leaves a permanent stain on one's psyche and soul.

 Sometimes it all begins with a fling or affair that seems so innocent or even platonic, and then the compromising position or situation presents itself and the rest spins out of control, beyond the point of no return.  The best inoculation is to be prepared, but knowing right from wrong and not letting yourself be put in such situations in the first place.  Don't think that your affair is innocent because you are wiser or more experienced than others or you know your limits and boundaries!

The world will tell you, "Turn on, tune in, drop out!" like Dr. Timothy Leary propagated in the 60s.  And "The Summer of Love" (1967) with the "sexual revolution" has not changed God's litmus test of purity--unstained from the world--these are mandated not suggestions!  The thing about purity and innocence is that you don't lose it by accident or fortuitously, but by one's own volition.  It's an overt act of the will succumbing to Satan's agenda and program.  The world will tell you that we are nothing but animals in heat, seeking pleasure, and avoiding pain!  But the Bible gives a bigger picture with God in the equation. If we are taught we are animals; is it any wonder we act like them?  But we are in God's image and the only creature responsible to God for our actions: we will stand judgment meeting our Maker one on one.

We must never play with fire or test our limits, for we are not strong enough to fight the onslaught of Satan ourselves once we've given in to temptation.  We all tend to overestimate ourselves and think we are strong enough, but we are testing God too, who always provides a way out to escape it so that we have no excuse (cf. 1 Cor. 10:13).  The best defense is a good offense, which is the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.   We must always maintain a divine point of view and see it as God would, through His eyes, not the world's.  We need to approach the fire of the world with the fire of the Spirit!  Fight fire with fire!  If we do get exposed even we may not walk away without a first-degree burn or temporary setback.   But God is able to heal and we must not lose focus on our Creator who knows us and didn't design us for immorality or promiscuity for our own good.

"Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life," according to Proverbs 4:23, KJV.    God has given us a message to proclaim to the world as salt and light and we must not jeopardize our testimony by sinning against the body, which sexual immorality is.  We have to choose purity to get it; the choice isn't automatic or made for us.  We must avoid any destructive lifestyle by allowing ourselves to be in compromising positions.   In other words, we must "walk worthy of our Lord" (cf. Eph. 4:1) for our bodies are not our own but have been bought (cf. 1 Cor. 6:20).   We are to seek "holiness, without which no one will see the Lord"(cf. Heb. 12:14). Moral laxity is always wrong.

The problem with immortality is that people don't know their own weaknesses and how to protect themselves.  The end result is never just bittersweet, an understatement because there are always consequences; the end result is reaping what we sow, for God always disciplines His children.  In other words, the best policy is zero tolerance with yourself--don't even experiment to see what you can get away with! Don't get too close to the "fire" because you're curious either--you will get burned--or too close for comfort!   Finally, going against God's perfect design for mankind breaks faith the Designer Himself.  FINAL CAVEAT AND WORD TO THE WISE:  "...But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door.  Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it" (Gen. 4:7, HCSB).   Soli Deo Gloria!     

Lordship Of Christ Issues

"You are slaves to the power you choose to obey"  (cf. Rom. 6:16).
"People are enslaved by whatever defeats them" (cf. 2 Pet. 2:19).  
"Through him we received grace and apostleship; to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name's sake" (Rom. 1:5, NIV).
"[S]o that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith--" (Rom. 16:26, NIV).  
"[A]nd every tongue [shall] acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:11, NIV).   ALL EMPHASIS MINE.  

Jesus was crowned Lord of all by the Father when he was raised.  The way up is down in God's economy--what a paradox!  Jesus began in humility to increase as He entered His ministry when He was baptized by John who said, "He must increase, but I must decrease."  John did away with his ego and didn't let it get in the way; likewise, our egos must die and we must say "No" to self before we can say "Yes" to Christ.  It's a contradiction to reply "No, Lord!" For that would be breaking faith! That's what faith in the Lord is:  giving up, surrendering, committing, and trusting--that's much more than acquiescence or simply easy-believism."  It is said:  Faith is not believing despite the evidence, but obeying in spite of the consequences!  

God never grants cheap grace which justifies the sin, not the sinner.  We become Christians with our prayer of relinquishment giving over ownership of our lives to the Lord of All.   Yes, this was also Jesus' motto of life:  "Thy will be done!"  The problem is that we are all volitionally defiant and have a will of our own--even our wills are depraved and in need of salvation.   It has been said justly so that Jesus "will not barter away His right to be Lord" and "will save no one whom He cannot command," according to A. W. Tozer.  When we address Him as Lord, it implies we are His servants and subject to His authority.  We must not be control freaks or enthusiasts over our lives!

We must obey our Lord for "to obey is better than sacrifice" (cf. 1 Sam. 15:22).   Heb. 5:9 (cf. Acts 2:39), NIV, says, "...[H]e became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him [italics mine]."  Jesus also said that if we love Him we will obey Him.  But it's not a legalistic attitude of having to, but a new change of heart of wanting to please our Lord.  This is accepting Christ for who He is--Lord and Master!  He has been exalted with all authority granted Him.   The more in bondage we are to our Lord, the more freedom we experience!  Any other belief in Jesus is rejecting Him.   He is worthy of our submission for we are not our own and have been bought with a price (cf. 1 Cor. 6:20).  This is interpreted as meaning that we undergo a reorganization of our life priorities.

We must never forget that true Lordship entails the flip side of faith which is repentance--we have a believing repentance or a penitent faith, so to speak.   This radical change in our life is from the inside out--not turning over a new leaf, making a New Year's resolution, or making an AA pledge.  We must own up to our sins and come clean with God, doing a 180-degree turnaround, a U-turn, or about-face, having a complete change of heart concerning sin as well as our sins.  Christianity has nothing to say to the unrepentant.  It's not always how big your faith is but how thorough your repentance. The call to repent was the first word of the gospel from John and then Jesus and they must be made manifest by fruits worthy of them.

We must learn to "trust and obey" as the hymn says and "walk in a manner worthy of our Lord" (cf. Eph. 4:1).  He is worthy of our worship as well as our allegiance!    Remember, we have the power to live in the Spirit, not the permission to live in the flesh; that is, our sins show our slavery, they don't demonstrate our freedom.   Saving faith (not dead faith) is manifest only in obedience as Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, "Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes."  To call Him Lord and to disobey are contradictions (cf. Isa. 1:19, Heb. 3:18-19)!  We must never dichotomize Christ's offices as Lord and Savior:  we submit to Him as Lord and trust Him as Savior, we must receive Him as Lord and Savior; i.e., the whole package!  

Gal. 2:20 sums up our new life in Christ or our walk of faith showing we live a substituted, inhabited, exchanged, and surrendered life.  Finally, do you see yourself as Jesus' sidekick or colleague to be befriended, or as the Personage you own as Lord?  In sum, acknowledging Jesus as Lord is what our faith is all about--all else pales in comparison.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Your God Is Too Small

"Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed him as his counselor?" (Isaiah 40:13, NIV). "O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! (Romans 11:33, KJV).

The most important thing about us is our concept of God (just look at how Joseph treated his estranged brothers because he believed in Providence yet he told them God had done it (cf. Gen. 50:0). The issue is how big our God is (not how big our faith is! And we must realize He's bigger than we can fathom, bigger than all our issues and problems. Our beliefs do indeed affect our actions, character, demeanor, disposition, track record, credentials, and behavior. That's why it's important to have a divine viewpoint, or see things from God's perspective (i.e., having a Christian worldview).

Martin Luther told Erasmus that his thoughts of God were too human!  This is the issue: People limit God and don't apprehend that you cannot put the infinite into a finite space, or, to use a cliche, put God in a box or make Him one-dimensional!   The old Latin phrase (finitum non capax infinitum) said that the finite cannot grasp (apprehend or contain) the infinite. This is why we will never peg God or figure Him out, He is beyond our analysis (cf. Isaiah 55:8-9; Rom. 11:33). Even after many eons in eternity, we will still be just scratching the service in knowing Him; we can never know Him exhaustively, but only truly! 


What is the practical application of this? God is not defined or delimited by man and we cannot compare Him to us, but only contrast Him, and only draw analogous inferences. Only that which is revealed in Scripture belongs to us and the secret things belong to God (cf. Deut. 29:29). To be more specific, you cannot say God is a member of your party, He would drive a Harley, or even be a gun-toting, loyal member of the NRA (they wouldn't even accept God as a member even if He did apply!)--or even that God is American, even though our nation is especially blessed, it is not superior or even God-inspired. Our status as the city on a hill is eroding fast! The nation Israel is God's chosen people forever. 


Christendom is from God but God reveals Himself in manifold ways around the world, not just in our culture. So don't think you're becoming more Christlike by joining some elite or exclusive club or that your loyalty matters to God in it, because your citizenship is in heaven and God demands ultimate and final devotion and loyalty. Even if you have faithfully, as a believer, voted one party all your life, don't assume that God is a member of that party--even if your spiritual leaders all are members and you believe the other parties are of the devil or completely wrong and out of God's will. It is like saying God favors a sports team and rigs games with divine "luck." ("God is no respecter of persons," or He shows no partiality; Acts 10:34: Romans 2:11)


God doesn't even vote on one issue, like some who say they vote the Second Amendment or with the stance of the NRA (who says this is a right God gives us anyway? or they always choose the pro-life candidate, as the Roman Catholic Church requires its members to do. God is too complicated to make Him a one-issue voter; this is like being biased and showing favoritism--there is no partiality with God--His political stands cannot be comprehended nor defined by us and we will never know who He thinks is the best candidate till he wins--Providence ultimately reveals it. God has reasons for His will, that our reason cannot fathom. 

The world is too complicated, ("He's got the whole world in His hands"), and God has all of it in His care, and limiting God to one issue as being of paramount value is putting God in a box and making Him smaller than He is--there is always more to God than we can apprehend. "Canst thou by searching find out God?" asked Zophar in Job 11:7. We oversimplify the issues when we rank them or put them in some value system as to their relative importance--every issue is important to God, but He reserves the right to overrule our will with His divine wisdom, which consists of knowing the best means to the best ends.


God exalts one and demotes another at will (cf. Psa. 75:7), and the president elected is God's man for the time being in a sense of speaking. Why does the pendulum swing at the whim of the fickle people who go from one extreme in politics to another--never finding a happy medium? God is at work and has to correct our erroneous concepts of politics, and we often don't know why our God put them there till after elected (for instance, look at the wonderful job JFK did with the Cuban missile crisis!). Our nation most likely wouldn't have survived the Civil War had it not been for Lincoln, yet there were believers who seceded with the Confederacy. Lincoln wasn't even a believer till after Gettysburg, yet he was God's person for the job. 

That's why Christians ought to pray for the president all the more because it is our God who installed them there in that position of power under God. It shouldn't upset us if our favorite candidate doesn't win the election, because God is still on the throne and He rules over the nations, which are" like a drop in the bucket" (cf. Psa. 22:28; Isa. 40:15). Soli Deo Gloria!

Works In Progress

"[U]ntil we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" (Eph. 4:13, NIV).
"Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matt. 5:48, NIV).
"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me" (Phil. 3:12, NIV).

Not that we ever attain maturity this side of glory, but we are always "works in progress" or the masterpiece of God that He isn't finished with yet.  But "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Phil. 1:6, NIV).  We are never perfect, but that is the standard we aim for and our goal looking at Christ as the Exemplar, but the test is the direction we are headed in our walk with Christ--forward or backward!

There is often some sin that easily overcomes or besets us so that we stumble and don't reach the goal of the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus (cf. Phil. 3:14).  Hebrews 12:1 talks of setting aside our easily distracting sin so that we can press on to maturity and don't get tripped up on the way to the Celestial City.  Note that it's usually the case that there's some unconfessed sin or somewhere that needs overcoming that hinders maturity--the devil gets the best of us and held us captive to a certain degree.

The writer of Hebrews mentions one sure sign of the immature or infant believer and that is that he is incapable of solid food or the meat of the Word, but feeds on the milk (cf. Heb. 5:13) or the basics such as the necessity of salvation, faith, repentance, baptism, and judgment. The immature believer balks at learning the deep things of God, having lost his taste for sound doctrine.  We all must learn the basic lesson that we cannot get away with sin and God disciplines those He loves.  Sad to say there are some ABC churches that never progress into the deeper truths of the Word thinking wrongly that doctrine is too arcane for the average believer.

The infant believer is totally dependent on others for his spiritual nourishment and hasn't learned to feed himself or even to see the need for it as he may go to church simply to get a lift or encouragement, and not to worship God and contribute of his spiritual gift to the body.  He is basically tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine (cf. Eph. 4:14) because of this naivete and not having a firm foundation of Bible doctrine to discern good and evil and false teaching from sound, biblical teaching.

Once he learns how God speaks to him and communication is achieved he has progressed in his walk and able to go on to maturity, but this vital step trips up too many believers who become spiritually dependent on one preacher as their favorite and lose discernment as if only drinking from one fountain.  The mature believer discerns good and evil and can smell false doctrine when it approaches the church.  The pastor should inoculate the body from heresy by preparing them for what is out there and warning that Satan seeks whom he may devour (cf. 1 Pet. 5:8).

There may be several types of attendees in the church:  seekers, unbelievers, doubters, fence-sitters, contra Christians, adolescent believers, even pagans, atheists, or agnostics, besides the flock he is assigned.  Just as Jesus told Peter to feed His sheep and to feed His lambs, the preacher must be sensitive to all members of the body--knowing where people are is a key to resonating or connecting with them.  The prophetic message is known as comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable.  There are some who are at ease in Zion and have become complacent and feel they have no need of preaching because they are "mature."  No one ever outgrows preaching and the preacher is even preaching to himself as well as the body!

Everyone in the body should feel they have been fed adequately to feel a part of the body and to identify with the preacher with something they can take to the bank.  Just like Elijah went 40 days on one meal, sometimes a spiritual meal can have multitudinous applications and can have the ability to nourish the believer for an extended time--sometimes it's not how much one digests in the meal but how good the nourishment was and the preacher may really hit home on something that can get the ball rolling spiritually.   That's why everyone in the church may feel the preacher was speaking to them personally as an individual and it related to him--a personal message from the Lord!

We must realize that we are not perfect just because we're saved and our lives speak volumes.  The church is not a hotel for saints but a hospital for sinners--the requirement for membership is to admit one's a sinner and has fallen short of God's glory.  No perfect people need to apply it's said!  The phrase "please be patient; God isn't finished with me yet!" is the reality for everyone, not just infant or newborn believers.  This ought to be every believer's slogan.  We never reach perfection but that doesn't mean we don't aim for it.

People may even think we are cantankerous for being Christians, but just think how much more cantankerous we'd be without Christ in us and the Holy Spirit restraining us.  When we see great sinners in our eyes we ought to utter what George Whitefield said when seeing a man going to the gallows:  "There but for the grace of God, go I." We all can utter what William Jay of Bath said:  "I am a great sinner, but I have a great Savior!"  Only when we realize our sinfulness are we candidates for grace and this is the job of the preacher--to show the body its sins because we all tend to justify ourselves and put ourselves in the best possible light.

We all need to go to church regularly not only because it's commanded and the right thing to do, but we all need regular spiritual checkups or take spiritual inventory once a week or we may get off on a tangent and go our own way even into heresy or backsliding.  We cannot stand still and go nowhere in the spiritual life with Christ, but we are either walking forward or backsliding--no treading water with Christ permitted! One doesn't just reject the church or turn one's back on Christ or the faith, but one slips away one small step at a time in a gradual timing that one may not notice until he may not even believe himself how far out of it he is and needs repentance.

For instance, one doesn't turn one's back on the church but misses or skips a service or two then it becomes a habit to find other things to occupy Sunday morning with than to attend church and then one believes he doesn't need church--one may even be deceived into thinking that the electronic church is a good substitute for being active in the church and fellowship just because one is getting favorable teaching from someone who doesn't offend them.  Note that if the preacher never steps on any one's toes or is afraid to bring conviction on the body for its shortcomings and sins, there must be something amiss--he should realize you cannot please everyone!

There are certain plumb lines or measuring sticks to gauge maturity.  The mature believer knows who he is in Christ as to his spiritual gift or how God uses him to fulfill the Great Commission in both ministries to the body and mission to the lost.  You only find out your gifts by experimenting with service and the growing believer has a servants heart!   This entails being discipled or mentored in the basics and has had experience in sharing his testimony and in actively witnessing for Christ, not being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  From my experience the newborn believer has a newfound love and hunger for the Word and reads it voraciously and regularly--no one has to tell him this either because it's all-natural for a baby to feed.

It's such a joy to know and to fellowship with an infant believer--it's the adolescent ones who know enough to be dangerous and must be edified or set right before they go astray.   It's a pity when the believer loses his initial love for the Lord and has fallen for the world and what it offers--there is no place for both a love of Christ and love of the world in the heart at the same time.   In God's economy, the way to be filled is to be emptied, and this implies we must say "No" to self before we can say "Yes" to Christ.  Sometimes we just have too much of the world in us to have any appetite for the things of God.

God has nothing against newborn believers, just that some believers tend to stay immature and don't want to grow up.  Christ wants zealous believers who are all sold out for Him and serve Him with gusto and wholeheartedness.  It is a joy to be with a believer who has been in the presence of God and has experienced the Lord's goodness.  Once you've experienced it, you want to pass it on!  That's where the mature believer gets the can't-help-its or the desire to spread the Word (cf. Acts 4:20)!  What God desires is those who worship in spirit and in truth (cf. John 4:24)--not lip service or hypocrisy! This is natural for newborns and mature believers but those who are stunted in their growth have trouble passing muster.  It's par for the course that this attitude of complacency can affect a church body and its worship become perfunctory or routine--performed as if a duty, not a pleasure!

And so our walk with Christ is by faith, not by sight according to Hab. 2:4 (the verse that awakened and roused Luther from his dogmatic slumber).  We must learn not to rely on feelings though we will have them and this is a major step since fact and feeling are often confused. The divine order: fact, faith, and then feeling.   We must get our thinking straightened out according to the mind of Christ and have the mind of Christ.  The more aligned with sound doctrine we are the more divine our thoughts and we are to have this as a Christian worldview affecting all academic disciplines and all of life and reality.

Noah was a just man who walked with God just like Enoch and Moses are said to do--quite a resume for anyone--and we have no excuse not to do likewise because we have the indwelling Spirit.  The mature believer knows how to keep short accounts with Jesus of his confessions and to stay in close fellowship with Him.  He readily engages in the angelic conflict with Satan and his minions and knows the Word adequately as his offensive weapon of choice enough to fight off an attack with his shield of faith.  This is why Hebrews tells us that the mature believer who is ready for the solid food knows to discern good and evil (cf. Heb. 5:14).

Finally, it would all be in vain if the believer had no love in his heart to share even if he had every gift of the Spirit.  God shares His love with us and sheds it abroad in our hearts so that it overflows to others and they can see the love of Christ in action through us.  Some believers never progress to this stage of maturity in learning to love and be loved--Dr. Karl Menninger, MD said that sin is the refusal of the love of others [and by application of God].  We all can become stunted if we don't find love in life and live for ourselves--selfishness is the prime sin or thinking it's all about us!  Even an infant is starved for affection at times and must be hugged, knowing love by instinct.  We all need to learn to reach out to others in need and realize we are here as servants on a mission to glorify God.  Never lose focus of the fact that "Christianity IS Christ and all else is peripheral [or circumference]" according to John Stott (emphasis mine).


CAVEAT AND WORDS TO THE WISE:  THERE ARE SOME WHO HAVE A ZEAL FOR GOD BUT NOT ACCORDING TO KNOWLEDGE (CF. ROM. 10:2; PROV. 19:2).  ALSO, SOME ARE CONVERTED TO THE PROGRAM, NOT TO CHRIST AND EQUATE GOOD WORKS WITH SPIRITUALITY--THEY MUST BE DISTINGUISHED BUT NOT SEPARATED, I.E., GOOD WORKS MUST SPRING FROM HEALTHY FAITH AND SAVING FAITH MUST PRODUCE GOOD WORKS OR FRUIT!  DON'T FORGET OUR MARCHING ORDERS TO KNOW GOD (IS TO LOVE GOD) AND MAKE HIM KNOWN THROUGH LOVE IN ACTION, TRANSLATING OUR CREEDS INTO DEEDS OR PUTTING OUR BELIEFS INTO ACTION--THAT'S WHERE IT'S AT AND ETERNAL LIFE IN CHRIST! 

Let me add:  Eph. 4:15, ESV, says, "Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ."       Soli Deo Gloria!

The Never-ending Story

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." --George Santayana
"The Christian belief system ... is relevant to all of life." --Carl F. H. Henry
A WORLDVIEW OF HISTORY FROM A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE

History is a grand narrative or "Big Story" written by the Great Storyteller--God! It has a purpose, meaning (hence an Ultimate Mind), and significance; it's going in a direction (hence a Director) that will be consummated at the Second Coming of Christ. It seems to repeat itself or be cyclical (but it's linear) because we often don't learn the lessons of history and are condemned to repeat it because of our ignorance. History is not bunk, but worthy of study and totally relevant to our day. We ought to be careful not to interpret persons involved in history as if they lived in the modern era; for instance, Lincoln may have seemed like a racist in today's political correctness.

The important lesson to learn is that no one can claim history is over and they have achieved victory until Christ returns! Any such claim is premature and presumptuous gloating and assumes that God doesn't also punish and have reasons for allowing events to transpire which we cannot comprehend. "Philosophers have only interpreted the world differently; the point is, however, to change it." --Karl Marx

All of history can be seen in the light of good and evil and these forces in timeless, linear conflict from the day Adam took of the proverbial apple and decided on his own plan, desires, wisdom, rules, standards, approval, discernment, and way. The Way of Christ is not one of many ways to understand history, nor the best way, but the only way! The only system of thought Christ will fit into is the one where He is the starting point, according to Athanasius. 

Where you begin determines where you'll end up! As Carl Henry said, we must live in light of eternity and realize Christianity is relevant to all of life's academic disciplines and making sense of reality; for Plato said that in order to know how to live in reality, one must know what God is really like! Some may object that it's illogical to begin with an unproven premise and claim a certain conclusion; however, atheists begin with an unproven universal negative and don't reckon that all knowledge is contingent and begins in faith.

When doomsayers say we are headed toward Armageddon we must be skeptical and not set dates, but realize that His Parousia is always imminent ("... this is the last hour..," cf. 1 John 2: 18, NIV) and we must always be ready to meet our Lord regardless. We must learn "to interpret the times" per 1 Chron. 12:32 and fly our Christian colors, even daring to be Daniels in this day and age of Secular Humanism that wants to dethrone God and deify or exalt man, making a name for themselves at God's expense. We cannot solve our problems by ourselves but need God's intervention. History will march on with or without us and God's purposes will prevail with or without our contribution or cooperation. No political party can claim final victory as if history doesn't march on and times they are a-changing.

What we can do in our setbacks is to take inventory and do a spiritual checkup and evaluate our stands to see if they align with God's will and worldview--for we all must be willing to admit that we could be wrong or we'll never arrive at the truth, willing to go where the evidence leads. We must not close our minds and refuse to see other viewpoints when we don't understand. But God can give discernment to determine good from evil. Christianity is a historical faith or it's nothing!

You might say that it's not over till it's over or until the fat lady sings! We must not be presumptuous that the tide won't turn the other way just as they say that what goes around comes around--God balances things out in the end and works it all for His glory (cf. Eph. 1:11). That's why it's important to be gracious, not vindictive in treating others. When Lincoln was asked how he'd deal with the South after the Civil War, he said he'd handle them as if they never left the Union! ("With malice toward none, with charity toward all....") We must never get discouraged as if we don't believe God is in control of history and actually micromanages every event--He orchestrates all of history to go in His favor.

God is not like the God of Aristotle "who reigns but doesn't rule" (like the sovereign of the UK) but He actually is in full control and sovereign without any maverick molecules in the entire cosmos--God leaves nothing to chance (cf. Prov. 16:33) and there are no flukes in nature or history. God's sovereignty isn't limited by our freedom! The God Einstein conceived was more accurate: "God doesn't play dice with the universe"

The Christian conception of history depends upon the objective veracity of Scripture and the reliability of its subjective experience in believers. History, or time, had a beginning (hence an Author and Creator), is going in a direction (hence a Director), and will reach a conclusion or ending point at the climax of Judgment Day. In four words history is described as creation, fall, redemption, judgment!

When Christ died on the cross and rose again, this was the most important event in all of history and it's the turning point, and it's evidenced by many infallible proofs (cf. Acts 1:3). By definition, "history is the unfolding of God's ultimate, redemptive plan for mankind in real time" as God entered it in the person of Jesus Christ saving man from himself, sin, death, Satan, and God's wrath.

In the meantime, we need not get nearsighted and miss the forest for the trees but realize God is at work in mysterious ways that we know not! The plot goes on! The plot thickens! But we must never jump ship or bail out and give up on God who will work it out at the end of time, and we will be glad we're on the right side of history! Meanwhile, we may need to remove ourselves from the events and not get so personally involved, to see things in proper perspective. Our worldview determines what kind of handle we get on current events. "God does not play dice with the universe." --A. Einstein

One may view history erroneously because he's too involved and time will tell as God makes course corrections--it's like the swing of a pendulum with man overreacting and not being informed to act rationally; being rash always brings error (we must be removed and objective enough to rightly interpret--hindsight!). History by its very nature is nonrepeatable and therefore not subject to empirical investigation or analysis (in the domain of scientific inquiry)--one's religion and philosophy enter into the equation. In short, history is meaningful (hence a Mind).

CAVEAT: DON'T GET TUNNEL VISION AND FOCUS ON THE HERE AND NOW! "Everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him" (Col. 1:16B, MSG); "... who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will" (Eph. 1:11, NIV). NB: Christ's coming changed the course of history!

Christianity is a historical religion OR IT IS NOTHING! It's historicized and never proven otherwise by archaeologists and if dehistoricized, it's fully discredited. But the Bible "has more marks of authenticity than any profane history." --Sir Isaac Newton We can be thankful our God is the God of history and has the whole world's story in His hands. One could easily posit the Bible as the best book on history ever penned by man. And never lose track of the fact that God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform. Finally, history looks forward to the consummation of the Second Coming and we don't have to know the future's details, but we know who holds the future! 

In sum, the plot thickens and history marches on by God's intervention:  creation, fall, redemption, judgment, heaven or hell.               Soli Deo Gloria!

Our Bodies For God's Glory

Many Christians focus on the externals of serving God with their body--going through the motions--forgetting the spiritual dimension.  The Jews also focused on externalism like fasting, sacrifices, Sabbath and holy day observance, circumcision, kosher rules, washing of hands and feet, and tithing.  It was Jesus who first brought spirituality into this new realm of performance.  We are not called to be a body-builder nor to elevate the body in such a way so as to distract from the spiritual element.  Even non-Christians can diet, exercise, and be hygienic but this doesn't define any spiritual devotion--quite the contrary, it may be a focus on the physical at the expense of the spiritual.  Paul did say that physical exercise was of some benefit but the discipline of godliness has a greater reward in this life and the one to come; though we must discipline our bodily passions, appetites, and desires.

There have been great believers who have been overweight for instance including Spurgeon and Luther, and there is no direct correlation between weight and holiness.  It is far more significant whether one is a glutton or makes food the focus of his life than whether they are overweight.  Some refer to 1 Cor. 9:27 that mentions that we can be "disqualified" after having preached to others, but this means being trapped in sin, not some physical standard to comply with or meet. 

Preachers that work out may live longer, be more attractive, and feel better about themselves, but there is no direct correlation with spiritual hygiene and physical discipline, especially in the senior years.  We don't need work-out heroes and champs but prayer warriors!  I see ads for male testosterone that enhances a man's ability to gain muscle mass and think this is nothing but vanity--a no-no for one's spiritual walk.  We need to learn to walk with the Lord, not walk our dog!  This physical body will decay and it's not a contest to see what a good corpse will be in our coffin.

On the other hand, though we don't either exalt nor degrade it we ought to treat it with respect and not be abusive nor remiss.  For instance, when good food is available we should have the discipline to eat our vegetables and even thank God we have them and not consume them begrudgingly.  Our appetites can get the best of us and lead to lack of discipline overall.  Our physical health is enhanced by proper diet and this, in turn, makes us feel better and more productive for God's work--but I do not believe we are called to be vegans or go on fancy and expensive diet programs.  The key is to avoid extremes and to count all food as the blessing of God and none should be refused for His sake.

But let's focus on the real bodies that we must dedicate to God:  our feet are meant to rush to those that need comfort and aid; we need to be lending a helping hand to those in need; we need eyes that see that world's blight and disasters; we have voices that sound off for God and spread His message of grace; God gave us ears that hear those crying for help (we must beware lest God's Word falls on deaf ears); our minds must be dedicated to thinking a divine viewpoint and expressing the thoughts of Christ with His cures; God gave us hearts to reach out in love to all in need and in our circle or orbit and we must pray for God to unite our hearts to fear His name; and our labor is meant to build and do the work of Christ in the world.  The whole point of salvation is that God gives us a new heart to love Him and do His will in service.

Remember that true faith expresses itself!  The faith you have is the faith you show, someone has said.  Note that we are to love God with all our strength and this means putting our best foot forward and always doing our best for God's glory, with whatever bodily strength we can muster.   As Mother Teresa of Calcutta, now canonized, said:  Christ has no hands but ours, no feet but ours; and no heart like ours to share with the world in need.

Christians have problems with their spiritual bodies: they become hard of hearing spiritually and are not sensitive to God's will and mission; they become blind to things of the Spirit and need their eyes opened up as revealed in the Word--both ways they become callous to fulfilling their calling in life and using their gifts and all the resources God has granted them and will hold them accountable for.  We are to walk by faith, not by sight nor feeling and this can only be done a proper focus on the way God reveals His will to us.

I would be remiss not to mention that the only sin against the body is sexual immorality, not getting fat!  In the final analysis, we all need to admit we have feet of clay (flaws not readily apparent) and constantly need the eyes of our hearts and understanding to be enlightened by God's Word.  In sum, we are to offer our bodies as living sacrifices (cf. Rom. 12:1) unto God (for we all died and our life is hidden in Christ, cf. Col 3:3)--i.e., living for Him, His glory, and will.    Soli Deo Gloria!