How We Are Seen

When we look at each other what do we see first?

More often than not, we look for one another’s faults. It’s human nature. By reveling in someone else’s downfall or misfortune, we artificially inflate our own self-worth. If we could illustrate the amount of our sins versus the extent of our faith and good works, we could use a simple vertical bar. For example, take a look at the following group of folks. With one glance, you immediately glean what kind of people they are. This is how we see each other. Well, sort of…

Listen to some of the secret thoughts below to realize how we really see each other.

Becky thinks: "What a loser Carol is. She drinks all the time and the few times she comes to Church, she smells like booze. Glad I'm not like her. I'm in church every week, I pray all the time, and I read my Bible every day."

Ted thinks: "Wow, look how bad Sue is! I bet that's why her husband was broken at the altar last Sunday. She's probably cheating on him."

Greg thinks: " Sue thinks she is so much better than me. At least I don't do as many bad things as she does."

Bill thinks: "It seems like for every step forward, I take a step back. At least I'm trying harder than George, though."

So how does God see us??

If we have accepted Jesus as our Savior and have asked for forgiveness of our sins, then God sees us through the righteous blood of Jesus Christ. We are redeemed only through His blood, which cleanses us from our sins. The blood of Jesus should purge our minds of the dead works of ourselves and others so that we can better serve God.

In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace (Ephesians 1:7 KJV)

How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:14 KJV)

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. (Romans 8:1 KJV).

How should we see each other?

If the Bible says there is no condemnation, then should we continue to condemn the people around us? No!! But, exactly how do we change our perception? By looking at the good in people instead of the bad.  

 Lord, please take the precious blood of Jesus and wash our eyes so that we may see more clearly. Amen.

 

 

Got Any Good Dirt?

Successful gardening depends on good soil, and one of the best ways to improve soil quality is to add organic material (dead and decaying matter). Basically, dead dirt is good dirt.

The Bible says that good soil will produce crops that are thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times what was sown (Mark 4:8). Well, I don’t know about you, but I want my life to be fertile soil that the Lord can use. I want those things that I sow into the Kingdom of God (whether it be one hour or one dollar) to be multiplied a hundred fold. If it all starts with good dirt, then spiritually speaking, how do we know whether we have it -- and if not, how do we get some?

Typically in the natural world, finding a dead body buried in dirt requires forensic techniques such as cadaver-sniffing dogs or ground-penetrating sonar. However, a new technique developed by scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology just made the search easier. These scientists have created a simple probe that can be inserted into the ground to find decaying flesh by detecting chemical changes in the dirt.

In the spiritual world, soil is symbolic of our lives. Good soil stands for a noble and good heart, for one who hears the word and retains it (Luke 8:15). However, just like in the natural world, the more death in our dirt, the more fertile it is. The quality of our soil can be tested by using techniques similar to those used by forensic scientists:

1. By Smell: Our lifestyle should be full of praise and worship-- a sacrifice to God. The aroma of it is pleasing to Him (Gen 8:21). How do we smell?
2. By Sound: We are not to let any unwholesome talk come out of our mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs (Eph 4:29). How do we sound?
3. By Changes: We are not to be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our mind (Rom 12:2). Can changes be detected in us?

If we test our soil and find that it isn’t good, then we need to add some death to it. The Bible says to count ourselves dead to sin but alive in Christ (Rom 6:11). We can improve our dirt by putting to death the misdeeds of our body and our earthly nature such as sexual immorality, impurity, lust, greed, and idolatry (Rom 8:13, Col 3:5). We must die to sin, live in Christ, grow in the knowledge of God, and bear fruit of the Holy Spirit.

A Hunting He Will Go

Bats emit an ultrasonic call and then locate their prey by the echoes they hear in return. While many moths can hear this call and skirt an attack, there is one species of bat they don’t often escape. The barbastelle bat is a very successful hunter that consumes large numbers of moths daily. Until recently, many researchers assumed that these moths were earless and thus unable to hear their enemy approaching. As it turns out, though, the barbastelle preys almost exclusively on moths that have ears.

A team of researchers uncovered the secret of barbastelle's success. This bat uses a sneaky hunting strategy to catch its prey–it whispers. Whereas moths can detect other bats more than 30 meters away, the barbastelle can get as close as 3.5 meters to the moth without being detected. By whispering, the bat can hear the echo from an unsuspecting moth before it even becomes aware of its hunter.

Our enemy uses this technique on us too. He especially seeks those with ears to hear his rhetoric. Listen how our adversary tried to consume Job by whispering lies that God didn’t care about him (Job 4): "A word was secretly brought to me; my ears caught a whisper of it. A spirit glided past my face, and the hair on my body stood on end. I heard a hushed voice: If God places no trust in his servants, if he charges his angels with error, how much more those who live in houses of clay, who are crushed more readily than a moth! Between dawn and dusk they are broken to pieces; unnoticed, they perish forever."

Sometimes as Christians, we put on our armor and stand with our hands on our hips; we dare the enemy speak death over us. And as we proudly stand there with our fists in the air, rebuking his calls, and evading his obvious attacks, we fall prey to the whispers. The Bible says that all of our enemies whisper together against us; they imagine the worst for us (Psa 41:7-8).

So what are we to do in these times when we’re standing firm yet being hunted by the enemy? We listen for another voice. Whether we turn to the right or left, our ears will hear a voice behind us saying, "This is the way; walk in it." (Is 30:21) And as we walk with God, let the only echo the enemy hears be the Holy Spirit resonating in our lives.

Fishing in the Dark

Psychoactive drugs include antidepressants, anti-anxiety drugs, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, and painkillers. Abuse of these drugs continues to increase, and as a result, the drugs excreted in urine and feces are making their way through waste water and into our rivers and estuaries. This drug migration into our coastal areas is causing shrimp and other marine life to become drug users too.

A recent study investigated changes in shrimp behavior when they were exposed to various psychoactive drugs at the same levels found in waste water. The results of the study were astounding and showed that shrimp behavior was dramatically affected. In fact, the shrimp were five times more likely to swim toward light following exposure to the drug. According to these findings, drugs make shrimp swim toward light, thus making them more likely to be eaten by fish or birds.

The Bible tells us that Jesus is the light of the world. He said that whoever follows Him will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life (John 8:12). In addition, the Bible often uses the sea to represent humanity. Jesus was using this symbolism when He said, “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” (Matt 4:19) We know that there are people lost in a sea of darkness. So, how can we as Christian use this information in conjunction with the research?

Just like the intoxicated shrimp who swim toward the light, drug abusers seek a seemingly lighter life that’s free of cares, and this make them more likely to be swallowed up by death. Every day, folks are drowning in the sea of humanity; they are being poisoned by toxic waste waters. We need to give these people something other than drugs – something that will draw them to Jesus instead of death. We need to turn on His light in us and fish them out of their darkness.

Monkey See, Monkey Say

Humans are imitators, whether they know it or not. We unintentionally mimic other folks, especially in terms of mannerisms, facial expressions, and speech (including voice inflections, talking speed, and style).

Researchers at the University of California recently investigated this unintentional imitation. They instructed a group of normal hearing individuals with no formal lip-reading experience to watch a silent video of someone speaking a list of words. After each word, the test subjects were to identify that word by saying it out loud clearly and quickly. They were never asked to imitate the silent person on the video. The researchers found that when people say aloud what they’ve lip read, their speech sounds like that of the talker. In fact, the words spoken by the test subjects sounded more like the lip-read words of the talker (whom was never heard and only seen) as compared with the words the subjects spoke when simply reading from a list.

While this interesting research will help to shed light on speech recognition, there is a deeper, more fundamental principle to be gleaned here. Basically, we sound like those around us act —and— they sound like we act.

Think about it. For example, if we are surrounded by people who act crabby and irritable, does our language sound upbeat and happy? Probably not. Chances are we sound more like them. We are mimickers by nature.

So, every now and then we all need a good sound check. We need to stop and ask ourselves what do I sound like and what do those around me sound like. If we don’t enjoy what we hear, then either we’re acting bad and causing others to mimic us by grumbling, or we’re mimicking the actions of other cranky folks with our speech. Either possibility requires us to refocus our attention.

The Bible warns us to not imitate the detestable ways of others (Deut 18:9). Instead, we are to remember our leaders who speak the word of God to us and imitate their faith (Heb 13:7). Ultimately, we should imitate the ways of Jesus so that when others watch and mimic us, they sound pleasing to the Lord.

Quiet Eye

Expert golfers use a technique called the Quiet Eye. They line up the putt using quick, alternating fixations between the ball and the hole. Then right before and during the stroke, they hold a steady gaze on the back of the ball for around 2 to 3 seconds. After putting the ball, the golfer continues to hold his eyes steady for a further half a second.

To assess the benefits of the Quiet Eye technique, researchers recently measured the putting performance of a group of golfers before and after learning the procedure. The golfers realized an immediate improvement in their putting accuracy; they sank 6% more of their putts and reduced their average number of putts by two per round.

The Quiet Eye technique is effective because it allows the golfer to notice only the necessary visual information required to make the shot. It also benefits novice golfers by improving their learning speed and helping them to maintain performance under pressure.

Well, I admit–I’m not a golfer. In fact, I’ve never played. However, I can see multiple uses for this Quiet Eye technique.

The Bible says that a discerning man keeps wisdom in view, but a fool's eyes wander to the ends of the earth (Pro 17:24 NIV). In other words, keep your eye on the ball.

So many times we find ourselves in the same situation over and over again. We putt all around an important decision, never quite nailing the shot. Perhaps if we would use this Quiet Eye technique and focus on what is really important, we’d be able to sink the putt and decrease the number of bad attempts to get through the situation. By using this technique regularly, we could get out of messes more quickly and operate better when under pressure.

Golf training isn’t just for athletes; it can work for us too. The Bible says that everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever (1 Chron 9:25 NIV).

Christian Accents

In general, when we listen to people talk, we know where they come from. For example, people from London, New Jersey, or Tennessee are easily identified by their accents. Even those of royalty have distinct ones.

Different accents evoke different sentiments. Researchers at the University of Chicago recently published their findings on a study about accents and the influence they have on the perception of the speaker. The results indicated that a foreign accent undermines a person's credibility. Because an accent makes a person harder to understand, listeners are less likely to rate the speaker’s words as truthful. This credibility problem increases with the thickness of the accent.

The fact is--we all have an accent and whether we can hear it or not, other folks can. As Christians, what do we sound like? The words born again, spirit-filled, and washed in the blood are like a foreign accent to non-Christians who are unfamiliar with church vocabulary. If this scientific study is correct, then when we sound churchy, we lose our credibility.

So, how can we sound like a Christian without coming across as unbelievable or untrustworthy? Instead of trying to sound like a church-goer, we should spend more time sounding like a redeemed child of the King. People need to hear in our voices the hope that we have in Christ. When they listen to us speak, they should know that we come from the family of God.

Sleep vs. Eat

What are two things our bodies can’t live without? Sleeping and eating.

You may not realize it, but these survival behaviors work in concert. Starvation suppresses sleep, whereas sleep deprivation promotes feeding. Physical laws and observations can be translated to basic spiritual premises. For example, let’s use this observation about survival behaviors and apply it spiritually.

When we are low on food (ie, manna, bread, Word of God), we tend to lack sleep (ie, peace, rest, etc). Meaning, when we don’t get enough of the Word, we have more trouble finding peace in our lives. However, when we are low on sleep (ie, peace, rest, etc), we seek food (ie, manna, bread, Word of God). In other words, when the trials of the world come crashing down on us, we tend to read our Bibles, pray more, and seek God

These survival behaviors create balance in our lives. Everyone knows that it’s unhealthy to eat or sleep all day. Too much peace and rest in our lives can lead to ideas of complacency, self-sufficiency, and slothfulness. Likewise, being fat with knowledge, yet without experiencing the peace of God, has consequences. The Bible says that knowledge will mislead you when you say to yourself, “I am, and there is none besides me” (Is 47:10).

As we know, the Bible has instructions and answers for everything including balance in this sleep-vs-eat system. In Pro 19:15, we are told that an idle soul shall suffer hunger. Furthermore, in Pro 20:13 we are instructed to not love sleep or we will grow poor, and to stay awake so that we will have food to spare. While it’s evident that we need sleep and food to survive physically and spiritually, it takes a balance of them to live.

Prime Time

Prime numbers are numbers that are only divisible by themselves and one. For example: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, and so on. Until around the 1970s, prime numbers were thought to have extremely limited use outside of theory of mathematics. This general opinion changed when the concepts of cryptography (use of secret codes) started to explode in banking and Internet.

Although mathematicians have known about prime numbers for thousands of years, they have yet to discover a mathematical formula that can predict the next prime number in a sequence. This is why this number system is so useful in banking and high security–it can’t be cracked, not even by the smartest or fastest supercomputers.

Needless to say, we are becoming increasingly dependent on this number system. Just imagine how many aspects of your life hinge on secure computer transactions: banking, social security, licenses, credit history, passport and other identity data, etc. Remember the 1995 movie, The Net?

Could you imagine the power that a person would have over the world if he were able to solve this formula and be able to crack security codes? He would control all technology, money, and subsequently nations. Know anyone who would want this power? Let me give you a hint: And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation. He also forced everyone to receive a mark, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark (Rev 13:7&16-17 NIV).

Yes, we all know that the Antichrist and his regime will come to power in the last days. But do we realize how close we are to that time?

Just this past May, an important breakthrough regarding the theory of prime numbers was announced. The discovery is highly groundbreaking and will pave the way to solving the infamous prime number formula. When this number system is solved, digital security will never be the same and our digital lives will be at the mercy of few.

Sounds like it’s prime time to me.

SKIN DISEASE

What is sin? It’s a skin disease. Well hello--what does that mean?

When we walk in the flesh (according to our feelings and emotions) we are prone to feed our desires and find ways to make ourselves feel good. The acts of the fleshly nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and the like (Gal 5:19-21). Everyone who lives to please his fleshly, sinful nature will reap destruction. Basically, skin leads to sin. Or in other words, sin is a spiritual skin disease.

Melanoma, on the other hand, is a physiological skin disease. It’s a type of aggressive skin cancer, which is difficult to treat and rarely remains in remission. Recently, scientists have identified a cancer-initiating cell in human melanomas. These cells are the root of the tumor's growth. They not only can make more of themselves, but also can morph into other tumor cell types and appear to be very resistant to many common treatments. Any therapy that doesn't destroy all of these cells has no chance of completely eradicating the disease, and therefore, relapse would be imminent.

So if cancer stem cells are the root of melanoma, what is the root of spiritual skin disease? The answer is original sin.
Sin entered the world when Adam and Eve first sinned against God. The Bible says that we are sinful at birth, sinful from the time our mother conceived us. If we are born with a sinful nature and apt to please our flesh, then how are we supposed to treat our skin disease and kill the root of it? We apply similar therapies that are used for melanoma: chemotherapy (treatment with chemicals) and radiation (treatment with light).

Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. To effectively treat our spiritual skin disease, we must undergo chemotherapy with the blood of Christ to purify us from all sin. By His stripes, we are healed. In addition, we need regular radiation therapy. God is light, and the Bible tells us to walk as children of light and seek what is acceptable to the Lord. When we live in accordance with His Spirit, we will reap eternal life.

The reality is: just like with melanoma, we must totally destroy the root of our spiritual skin disease if we have any hope of a complete recovery with no relapse or backsliding.