Albert Einstein ... Professor or Student

Professor: You are a Christian, aren’t you, son?

Student: Yes, sir.

Professor: So, you believe in GOD?

Student: Absolutely, sir.

Professor: Is GOD good?

Student: Sure.

Professor: Is GOD all powerful?

Student: Yes.

Professor: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to GOD to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But GOD didn’t. How is this GOD good then?

(Student was silent.)

Professor: You can’t answer, can you ? Let’s start again, young fella. Is GOD good?

Student: Yes.

Professor: Is satan good?

Student: No.

Professor: Where does satan come from?

Student: From … GOD …

Professor: That’s right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?

Student: Yes.

Professor: Evil is everywhere, isn’t it? And GOD did make everything. Correct?

Student: Yes.

Professor: So who created evil?

(Student did not answer.)

Professor: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don’t they?

Student: Yes, sir.

Professor: So, who created them?

(Student had no answer.)

Professor: Science says you have 5 senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son, have you ever seen GOD?

Student: No, sir.

Professor: Tell us if you have ever heard your GOD?

Student: No , sir.

Professor: Have you ever felt your GOD, tasted your GOD, smelt your GOD? Have you ever had any sensory perception of GOD for that matter?

Student: No, sir. I’m afraid I haven’t.

Professor: Yet you still believe in Him?

Student: Yes.

Professor: According to Empirical, Testable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says your GOD doesn’t exist. What do you say to that, son?

Student: Nothing. I only have my faith.

Professor: Yes, faith. And that is the problem Science has.

Student: Professor, is there such a thing as heat?

Professor: Yes.

Student: And is there such a thing as cold?

Professor: Yes.

Student: No, sir. There isn’t.

(The lecture theater became very quiet with this turn of events.)

Student: Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don’t have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can’t go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.

(There was pin-drop silence in the lecture theater.)

Student: What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?

Professor: Yes. What is night if there isn’t darkness?

Student: You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light. But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and its called darkness, isn’t it? In reality, darkness isn’t. If it is, well you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn’t you?

Professor: So what is the point you are making, young man?

Student: Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.

Professor: Flawed ? Can you explain how?

Student: Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good GOD and a bad GOD. You are viewing the concept of GOD as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, Science can’t even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing.

Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor, do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?

Professor: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.

Student: Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?

(The Professor shook his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument was going.)

Student: Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher?

(The class was in uproar.)

Student: Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor’s brain?

(The class broke out into laughter. )

Student: Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor’s brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established Rules of Empirical, Stable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says that you have no brain, sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?

(The room was silent. The Professor stared at the student, his face unfathomable.)

Professor: I guess you’ll have to take them on faith, son.

Student: That is it sir … Exactly! The link between man & GOD is FAITH. That is all that keeps things alive and moving.


By the way, Albert Einstein was the student.

I Will Save Thy Children

I had occasion to come across this scripture again the other day.

Isaiah 49:25 … "But thus saith the LORD, Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered: for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee, and I will save thy children."

This is a promise, or at the least a word from God proclaiming He was going to deliver Israel from the seventy year long Babylonian captivity. Before I speak about considering this scripture as a promise for us today, I want to give a little background on the captivity Israel finds itself in.

In Jeremiah Chapter 25, the prophet is speaking of this same Babylonian captivity and proclaims: "... the word of the LORD hath come unto me, and I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye have not hearkened ... go not after other gods to serve them, and to worship them, and provoke me not to anger with the works of your hands; and I will do you no hurt. Yet ye have not hearkened unto me ..."

God's word given by Jeremiah is a warning for Israel to repent; and if not ... invasion, desolation, and captivity are threatened. The people are told of God's coming judgment which Babylon is to bring on Judah and all the surrounding nations. This is the same invasion of Judaea, in which Daniel and his friends were carried captive to Babylon.

Jeremiah 25:8-9 & 12 speaks about the captivity and a promise of deliverance seventy years later ...

"Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Because ye have not heard my words, Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants ... And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity ..."

The first thing I noticed was the statement by God saying ... "Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my servant."

I have used the following quote many times, which I guess if I am really honest about it ... only alludes to my thinking that God can and does use "evil" including the devil to fulfill His designed plans and purposes. Look at it again ... "God afflicts not willingly, but if it must be done, let Satan do it."

If Nebuchadrezzar was God's servant, then is it not true that God used this evil king to bring judgment upon Israel? It is also true that Satan delights in bringing misery to man and will do so at every opportunity given to him.

History records that after Babylon captured a nation, they would take the healthiest men, women and children back to Babylon as slaves ... the ones they didn't skin alive, just for the fun of it, that is. Babylon was perhaps the cruelest regime in history concerning the treatment of a conquered people. They were evil almost beyond description. Every healthy man, woman and child of all ages were striped naked, chained together in two lines and marched back to Babylon without hardly any food or water. When someone would fall, they would be trampled by the others and then run over by the wheels of the war wagons until they looked like road kill. As I said ... Satan delights in causing misery of the worst kind and Babylon consented.

This is the setting Israel now finds itself in ... Babylonian captivity.

An interesting question is asked and then answered by God in Isaiah 49:24 ... "Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captive delivered?"

The mighty one spoken of would be the Babylonians, and on the surface it would look as if they could not be overcome ... at least not by Israel. But God had other ideas. If God gave Israel into the hands of Babylon ... as a lawful captive ... taken in war, then could He not also deliver Israel from them. All this was decided, planned and set in operation by God.

God's answer to this question is Isaiah 49:25 ... our key verse.

"Even the captives of the mighty shall be taken away" ... This undoubtedly refers to the Jews held in captivity in Babylon. God was saying the captive Jews taken by the mighty and terrible Babylonians will be rescued and restored to their own land.

"For I will contend with him that contendeth with thee" ... God was saying that He will contend with, (to engage in battle against) and punish the nation of Babylon that had inflicted this captivity on His people, and that He will rescue them from bondage.

The Keil & Delitzsch Commentary translates the promise of Isaiah 49:25 this way ...

"Yea, thus saith Jehovah, Even the captive hosts of a giant are wrested from him, and the booty of a tyrant escapes: and I will make war upon him that warreth with thee, and I will bring salvation to thy children."

I have taken a long time getting to the main point of my discourse. In the last three thousand years or so, man hasn't changed much ... so today, many people have also been taken captive and placed in bondage to sin. I am of the belief that the same God who delivered Israel from Babylon can and will deliver men from the captivities of their sin ... if they want Him to.

In some cases, the captives ... may be your own children. They may or may not be in the grip of sin. It may be they are in other difficulties, or in situations they can't seem to get out of. Either way ... tell God that you are claiming this scripture for them today.

I knew this promise was a very powerful word from the Lord, and after reading it again, I am convinced that God is saying the following to believers ...

"I am taking over your fight against your enemies and the enemies of your children. It has now become My fight ... and I will save your children."

Lastly ... consider another promise found in Isaiah 54:15-17 ...

"Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake. Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, and their righteousness is of me, saith the LORD."

With the phrase, "I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire" ...

God is saying ... "Everything that can effect your welfare is under my control. The smith who manufactures the instruments of war or of torture is under me. His life, his strength, his skill, are all in my hands, and he can do nothing which I shall not deem it best to permit him to do. So it is with the waster who destroys. I made him, and he is wholly under My control and at My disposal."

Yes, I realize that God originally was speaking about Israel; but if we are going to make this same promise ours today ... then it also means God will be contending with Satan and his principalities, as well as the anti-christian rulers that fight against and oppress the Lord's people wherever they may be.

Deuteronomy 29:29 … "The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever ..."

I hope God has clearly revealed to you that this promise can be for us today and for ... our children forever.

 

Comments welcome.

The Wrath of God

"God isn't mad at anyone, He poured out all His wrath upon His Son Jesus on the cross."

I heard this statement many years ago from a man who had a Doctorate in Theology, meaning he had studied about 8 or 10 years for his degree on the nature of God.

I will tell you that the man I am speaking of was my mentor in the study of the Bible. I listened intently for five years to the things he spoke about concerning God. He was my pastor during those five years ... and I shed a few tears when he left. I thought to myself, "Who can teach me about Jesus like this man can." And honestly ... no one else has. I have never known a man that understood the Word of God like He did.
 

He once told me years later when I saw him again that I made him go back and search the Word of God to reconsider what he believed and taught, to make sure it was right. You see ... I question things that people say ... like the quoted statement from him that I started with.

So, if "God isn't mad at anyone" ... then why does Paul speak about God's wrath in ...

Romans 1:18-20 ... "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse."

By "the wrath of God" is meant the displeasure and anger of God at sin and sinners, as well as His punitive justice ... the judgments which he executes now in this world and the wrath to come in the next world, of which man because of sin is deserving of.

This wrath is said to be revealed where? ... from Heaven ... but mostly in the Mosaic Law of the past, and observed all through the Scriptures where there are many instances and examples of God's wrath, as in the total destruction of the old world by a world wide flood, the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the plagues of Egypt to name just a few.

This wrath that is said to be "revealed from heaven" could also be known and seen by the operation of nature in the awful blackness which covers the heavens when the storm clouds pour down floods of rain or when lightning starts fire storms on the inhabitants of the world openly in the sight of all men everywhere. This wrath is also revealed in the heart of man, but men just continue to darken their hearts and worship the creature more than the Creator.

The word wrath that Paul used is "orge" (pronounced or-gay' ) in the original Greek, which means ... a reaching forth, (that is by analogy) violent passion, ire, or justifiable abhorrence; by implication then it means, punishment ... anger, vengeance, wrath.

God, by virtue of who He is, anytime He so chooses, could reach forth and touch us either in blessing or with His ire against sin ... but thankfully the Lord ... doesn't give us what we deserve.

John the Baptist at the beginning of the ministry of Jesus also spoke of the wrath of God years before Paul did. Paul spoke of God's wrath being revealed, but John the Baptist spoke of the consequence of that wrath upon a sinful life. He said in ...

John 3:36 ... "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."

The word abideth in the original is "meno" (pronounced men'-o) and means ... to stay or continue, to dwell upon, be present, remain ... abide.

I believe you could say this is a warning to unbelievers about the wrath of God ... the anger of God and His opposition to their sin ... and it also implies that the terrible effects of this wrath will continue to remain on him in eternity. But could it also be speaking of this world as well as the next? I will let you interpret that verse for yourself.

It says the wrath abideth on him ... which might imply that the sinner is now under the wrath of God, under it's condemnation, whatever consequence that involves. Some sin produces bad consequences in this life.

Albert Barnes ... the old theologian from the mid 1800's, as only he can, expresses with clarity the situation unbelievers will find themselves in and what they must do to escape the wrath of God. He says ...

"As there is no way of escaping the wrath of God but by the Lord Jesus Christ, so those who will not believe must go to eternity as they are and bear alone all that God may choose to inflict upon him. Such is the miserable condition of the sinner. Yet thousands choose to remain in this state, and to encounter alone all that is terrible in the wrath of Almighty God, rather than come to Jesus, who has borne their sins in his own body on the tree, and who is willing to bless them with the peace, and purity, and joy of immortal life."

So, even though my beloved mentor stated ... "God isn't mad at anyone, He poured out all His wrath upon His Son Jesus on the cross" ... which is true considering what Jesus went through so we wouldn't have to; the wrath of God is still a waiting reality for those who do not know Jesus, because God's Holiness demands it.

But He has made a way to escape it.

Comments welcome.

Flirting with the Forbidden

I've heard it called, "The Preacher Factory." That's where young men and women go to become Ministers of the Gospel, pastors, preachers of the Good News.

One of the instructors at a Bible College was fielding questions from his students when a young man preparing for the ministry raised his hand and asked this question. "Just how close to the edge of sin can you live and yet not sin?"

Instead of answering the question, the professor responded with this ... "I want to know why you would ask such a question? Why would you ever want to live that close to sin? Why is that question even in your mind?"

You have heard the phrase ... "You can't straddle the fence." Well, when you are talking about living the Christian life and you start getting closer to the edge of sinful behavior ... there is no fence to straddle ... it becomes a slippery slope. Get too close and you will start sliding down it and you will fall right on in.

It's called ... "Flirting with the Forbidden."

I'm sure you know the story where it all began. It started in a garden, one man and one woman with a choice. Before long we see a bloody body in a field, with his brother standing over him. That’s the legacy of mankind. The firstborn human murdering the second and a shattered mother weeping in the dark after her husband brings her dead son home.

When we’re tempted, it's usually to do the unthinkable; with Cain it was murder. The thought process planted in our mind during temptation is to make the unthinkable look more and more reasonable. Then, when it doesn’t seem so bad anymore, when it seems harmless, the next logical step for us is to go ahead and take a bite out of the forbidden fruit.

Ever since the tragic choice in the Garden of Eden, temptation has been the downfall for life on this planet. But most of us don’t just pluck the forbidden fruit and start eating. Instead, we first get curious about it and start thinking ... what would it hurt? Who would know?

 

Sin promises to taste delicious, but after you take a bite you soon discover that you end up with regrets, shame, confusion and hurt. Any time a sin seems safe or harmless ... watch out.

 

As believers and followers of Jesus, we need to learn the types of temptations and the times that do most frequently test our fleshly nature.

Jesus said in Matthew 26:41 ... "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."

Indeed, we are weak concerning temptations. It is much easier to keep from yielding to the natural propensities for certain desires of the flesh if we learn what our personal temptations are. Yours may be different than mine, but we all have them. In James 1:12-16 ... we are presented with a short overview of what temptation is and the end result of giving in to it.

"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren."

Let's look closer at these five verses and a few certain word's meanings.

Blessed is the man that "endureth temptation" ... meaning ... to bear up under, to persevere ... a putting to proof, to experience testing. You don't have to give in to temptation.

God does not tempt people with sin. But God will allow you to be tested so you will know what you are made of. God already knows. That's why the word "temptation" also means a putting to proof, a test.

When he is "tried" ... or to be found acceptable, approved.

Every man is "tempted" (or scrutinized, tested) when he is drawn away "of his own lust" ... pertaining to self, one's own longing or desire.

And "enticed" ... to entrap, figuratively, to delude.

When lust hath "conceived" ... meaning to clasp, seize, capture ... it "bringeth forth" (it produces) sin.

James concurs with what Jesus said ... do not enter into temptation because the flesh is weak. It's been that way since the first two humans were placed in the Garden. Their flesh was weak even before they sinned. Because they became fallen creatures, the children in each future generation were born with fallen natures as verified in ...

Genesis 6:5 ... "And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."

Jesus speaks about the condition of the heart of man in Mark 7:21-23 when He says ...

"... from within, out of the heart of men, (meaning the thoughts or feelings of the mind) proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within ..."

Heart and mind are usually translated from the same word, either can be correct ... meaning your inner being, referred to as your soul by some people. So, whatever word or phrase you choose to use ... the Apostle Paul gives some good advice and instruction on how to help rid ourselves of the old carnal fallen nature.

Romans 12:2 ... "Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind ..."

2nd Corinthians 10:5 ... "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ ..."

What's he saying? Change your thinking. Watch and ... guard your heart.

Proverbs 4:23 ... "Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life." (Amplified Bible)

Two men who I always consider what they have to say on scripture, including the Proverb above are ... Adam Clarke and John Gill.

Adam Clarke remarks ... "Above all keeping, guard thy heart. He who knows any thing of himself, knows how apt his affections are to go astray."

John Gill also comments on this proverb ... "Above all keeping, keep thine heart ... though other things are to be kept, and care taken of them, yet the heart above all."

So ... "guard your heart" ... against temptation.

Do not ... "Flirt with the Forbidden."

Comments welcome.

You Aren't Doing Life Alone

This is a Christian blog. I write what I do to help other believers in Jesus. So ... I am just assuming, most people who read this posting will be a Christian. But some are not. I have heard from them. Some are Jewish, some are agnostics. Some aren’t sure who or what they are. Others are new to the faith and come here to learn. So, wherever you are in life ...

If you have made Jesus your Lord and Savior, you are not alone. He placed within you ... His Spirit. You can properly and correctly call this indwelling, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, God's Spirit or just Jesus. To me, it's all the same. I don't get hung up on such things.

The Apostle Paul wrote in 2nd Corinthians 1:22, that God " ... hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts." Most of us are familiar with the term "earnest money" meaning ... a pledge or a down payment. Here, Paul is saying we are given just a small measure of the Holy Spirit to seal our faith with Him. But don't worry about the size of the measure, there's more available.

The Amplified Bible puts it this way ... "He has also appropriated and acknowledged us as His by putting His seal upon us and giving us His Holy Spirit in our hearts as the security deposit and guarantee of the fulfillment of His promise."

When you believed and accepted Jesus as your Lord, God placed the Spirit of Christ within your heart. Having the Holy Spirit in your life changes things ... how you think, how you act and react to things around you. In fact, the Apostle Paul said in 2nd Corinthians 5:17, that you are "a new creature in Christ." He also said, "old things pass away and all things become new." But that last part takes time.

An old 17th century French monk once said ... "One does not become holy all at once." That's true for most of us. We need the help of the Holy Spirit to complete the change.

There is another of Paul's scriptures I want to closely look at to gain further insight into this changing and growing process we are going through ... not alone ... but with the help of the Holy Spirit you received when you were born again.

Galatians 2:20 ... "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."

"I am crucified with Christ" ... I believe Paul is saying simply this; the carnal, sinful, fleshly man he was before salvation has been spiritually nailed to the cross to die a slow death. Notice he says ... I am crucified ... it's an on going process, not a one time act.

"nevertheless I live; yet not I" ... Since Paul was speaking only of crucifying or killing off the old carnal man, meaning the sinful desires of the flesh; he is saying ... not to worry ... I'm still alive physically. But "yet not I" ... another man, a new creature who is not the same as before he met Jesus. This new life Paul is speaking about was not procured or obtained on his own; it was implanted by Christ through the Holy Spirit for the purpose of living a Holy life.

This is exactly what I was speaking about when I said you are not alone. I assume we can all attain to, what evidently became a reality in Paul's life. When he said ... "yet not I" ... he was saying that he gave total control over his life to Jesus. The old man was no longer in charge ... Jesus was.

"Christ liveth in me" ... Jesus was now not only the source of his spiritual life, but life itself. Jesus, through the Holy Spirit now resided in him, and was actively living in his heart, mind and soul.

"and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God" ... Paul was still a man made of flesh. Therefore, before we make him too spiritual, let me remind us that Paul still had fleshly desires he had to deal with just as we do. The flesh never gets saved. So what does Paul learn to do?

He learns to overcome his old sinful ways ... by the faith of ... the Son of God. Look at that again. He didn't say he lives by faith in the Son of God; but by the faith ... of ... the Son of God, Jesus.

When Jesus came to live His life through Paul, just as He does with us, He brought with Him, the faith He used when He walked as a man in the dust of the earth. The faith of Jesus was deposited in Paul along with the Spirit of Christ. Okay ... you may say, "Wait a minute; what makes you think the same faith Jesus had is now in us?"

Is it not true that as a believer in Jesus, He came to abide inside of our spirit? So, if you have Him inside of you ... is it too hard to believe that "all Jesus is" came with Him? Jesus is the very imprint of God, just fashioned as a man. And since God can't be anything less than He is ... Jesus must have brought to your spirit and soul ... all that He is.

Most of the newer Bible translations replace "the faith of Jesus" with "faith in Jesus" ... but the older translations read like the K.J.V. does. I think that makes a big difference in the meaning. "Faith in Jesus" would only be Paul's faith. "Faith of Jesus" would be the Lord's faith applied. I would rather use His faith anytime rather than my faith.

An example of Jesus dwelling in Paul's life can be shown in ... Philippians 4:13 when he said ... "I can do all things (necessary) through Christ ..."

I added the clarifying word ... (necessary) ... because Paul was not omnipotent like God is, having unlimited power, able to do anything. Nor could he do all the things that Christ could do. Paul was not without limitation.

Albert Barnes, the old Presbyterian biblical scholar and theologian commented on this scripture this way ... "From the experience which Paul had in the various circumstances of life, he comes here to the general conclusion that he could do all things. He could bear any trial, perform any duty, subdue any evil propensity of his nature, and meet all the temptations incident to any condition of prosperity or adversity. His own experience in the various changes of life had warranted him in arriving at this conclusion; and he now expresses the firm confidence that nothing would be required of him which he would not be able to perform."

Adam Clarke, the British Methodist biblical scholar and theologian added this statement about Paul ... "It was not a habit which he had acquired by frequent exercise, it was a disposition which he had by grace; and he was enabled to do all things by the power of an indwelling Christ."

It is obvious that both of these theologians have a better grasp of the English language than I do. I noticed Mr. Clarke used the word "disposition" in his remarks about Paul. To me, disposition suggests a person's spirit or attitude. I enjoy word studies about Scripture so I looked up the meaning of disposition to get a better understanding of what Mr. Clarke was speaking about.

I found four meanings, two of which fits exactly the spirit and attitude Paul had. Disposition as defined is ... "a person's inherent qualities of mind and character," and/or "the power to deal with something as one pleases."

Look at Paul's statement again. With Jesus dwelling within Paul, his disposition was ...

"I can do all things through Christ ... " What an awesome attitude. But yet he knew it wasn't him doing whatever he needed to do or bear up under ... it was Jesus living through him not just in him.

Is Jesus in you? Then let Jesus live His life through you as Paul did. Don't just carry Jesus around in your heart, although that's important. Let "the faith of Jesus" live and operate through your life.

So what's the lesson in this for us? I believe it's the same thing Paul learned ... you aren't doing life alone.

Comments welcome.