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Category Archives: Christ

Displaying Christ from 9 to 5

This past Lord’s Day our local pastor, Mike Rue, exposited on the scriptures found in Ephesians 6:5-9. This section of scripture is usually sub-titled “Slave and Masters” in most bible translations. Culturally we can relate to this section
of scripture as “Employees and Bosses”. The text provides answers to the following: How, as Christians, do we behave within the confines of our daily grind, (job used in a popular negative term) and relate to our bosses or employees.

Pastor Mike lays out two imperatives from this text: (I know they originally came from the Apostle Paul inspired by the Holy Spirit)

1) Work as if Jesus was your boss.

Work with sincerity and respect.

2) Treat your employee as if he was Jesus.

Respect and honor.

How are treating those who serve us?

We all can relate as a boss in how we treat our server at a restaurant.

Whether you are a janitor scrubbing toilets or a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, there is no difference with God.

Mike also asked each of us to pray and consider a few practical ways we could change the way we work to display Christ.

Here are a few I came up with:

Perform my job as if it has a direct reflection on Christ and his accomplishments.

Love and respect all of my co-workers regardless of how they treat me.

Serve my boss as I should be serving Christ.

Below is the link to the sermon. I hope you glean as much from it as I did.

Displaying Christ from 9 to 5.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Kill Me Heal Me

23 Nov

One of my favorite songs to workout to is by a rock band called Skillet. The song is called “Kill Me Heal Me”. The song is about the power of Christ killing our old man or our old self, but healing us by saturating us with Christ’s spirit. The song is reflective as I continue to replace my old self with the new mind set of eating the right foods and exercising to increase my energy and burn off my old self. The amazing thing is that God is even in control of this physical transformation in me as He is in control of my spiritual transformation. I would like to share some of appropriate verse lyrics from the song.

Break my bones and reset me
Piece by piece you break me
Pick up the cross ’cause it’s killing time
How can I scream when the pain is
Such a release I get the courage
To pick up the nails ’cause it’s killing time

Breathing your love
You’re ferocious
You’re in my lungs
Resuscitate
Craving your electricity
Feet to my pain you give
Wings to my fear your peace
Inhabits my blood
Your love is thick

As of my last weigh-in I have lost a total of 31.5 lbs. My waist line has been reduced by 4 inches. My energy levels are amazing, my blood pressure is always in the normal range, and endurance continues to increase. I am able to bend over and tie my shoes without straining. I am able to climb stairs anywhere I go and not be out of breath. I actually prefer to walk the stairs instead of the riding the elevator. It is all part of the transformation of my new lifestyle.

Check out the music with lyrics below.

Soli Deo Gloria!

1 Comment

Posted by barrydean on November 23, 2011 in Christ, exercise, Skillet, weight loss

Give Me Five – Total Depravity

12 Nov

In the next few weeks I’d like to post some brief things to explain and affirm the Five Points of Calvinism. Hopefully this will create some dialog with those who would argue against and with those who would affirm with additional resources.

When we speak of total depravity, we are speaking in terms of man’s natural condition apart from any grace given by God to restrain or transform man. Since the fall of man through Adam, the natural man (not transformed by God’s grace) has been in rebellion against God. This is supported in Romans 3:9-10.

9 What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written:
“None is righteous, no, not one;

In the video clip below, Mark Driscoll, Pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington provides a great illustration of total depravity and God’s election.