Just recently, I went on a camping trip, and I was in the sun so much that I came home with a sunburn. I've been thinking a lot about Christ's humanity, and how as a full human being He was able to be so close to God, and to know God so well. It seems to me that He was completely human, and was only empowered by the Holy Spirit to teach, prophesy, and perform miracles. This seems to be in line with the gospels and Phil 2:6-7.

When Moses came from Mount Sinai, his face was radiant because he had been in the presence of God (Exodus 34:29-35). We should strive for a relationship so close to God, so close to Christ, that we get a "Son Burn." People should see Jesus shine from us (Matt 5:16).

Many, many people today claim to be followers of Jesus. Few, however, know what that really entails. In order to understand what being a follower, or a disciple of Jesus really means, one must understand the culture which surrounds it. (Acknowledgement: Most of this material comes from teachings by Ray VanderLaan, and subsequent research).

In Jewish society, there were two kinds of rabbis. First, there were the "Torah teachers," or, as the New Testament says, "teachers of the Law." These teachers would teach in the following manner:

1) It is written: biblical verse.
2) According to: rabbi,

In the old testament, one of the things that I think God was trying to stress the most is that he wants our hearts. He wishes for us to have a need to serve him; not because we're scared of hell, or because our parents said so, but because we have a need for God, and because we're nothing without Him.

Isaiah makes it clear when he speaks the words of the Lord, "'These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men" (Isaiah 29:13). They enforced the details of the law, and only followed them out of tradition. Their worship and praise was meaningless.

In early Israelite days, God chose for the people to have judges. These judges would direct the people in the ways of God. But the people were unhappy with this system of rule. They looked around at the other nations and saw how all the nations around them had a king. They said to Samuel, "'Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations'" (I Samuel 8:5). They rejected the will of God. "The LORD said to Samuel, 'Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them'" (I Samuel 8:7). They went by their gut-feeling rather than trusting in God.

I found this quote on a guy's weblog who is in the AIM program:

"Unless our Christianity forces us to make radical changes, radical changes, in the way we live... and the way we think, unless our Christianity is intensely practical, then it really isn't much good to us.
"A lot of people have just enough Christianity to make them miserable. We have too much of the world in us to enjoy our Christianity, and too much Christianity in us to enjoy the world." --"Radical Changes", John W.

How do you build the Lord's church to be what He wants it to be? According to Paul it seems that building a church into a vibrant and active community requires involvement of every age level. (Titus 2:1-8). As the preacher, Titus, was to teach the appropriate doctrine. He was also to encourage the older men and women to possess certain qualities in their character and lifestyle. The ladies were then to give special encouragement and instruction to the younger women on how to be good wives and mothers. Finally, Titus was to give special instruction to the young men watching out for his own life and character in the process.

We need to ask ourselves, "How are we doing in building the Lord's church"? "Are we working together, helping and encouraging each other to be more and more Christ like"? We may have some areas that need adjusting. As a young man I enjoy hearing and learning from the wisdom of older brethren. They've been down the road and have invaluable experiences that I could profit from greatly. Young men and women need the wisdom that the older generation could share, and the older generation needs to share what they've learned.

In a recent class I was in, we discussed Godly wisdom. In everything wordly, we see "bitter jealousy" and "selfish ambition" (James 3:14). These lead to destruction. But with Godly wisdom, when a person is no longer seeking glory for themselves, the world becomes a better place.

Have you been to see The Passion of the Christ? If you've seen the movie, then you may feel the same way I do. Jay and I went on Wednesday morning and stood in line to watch a film that changed how I view the last hours of my very best friend.

Something happened to my heart during the movie. I can't say exactly when, but at some point I began to hurt. I began to feel that the wounds Jesus was receiving were coming from my own hands. At the same time I realized each strike and blow on His body should have been given to me. My best friend was being tortured, humiliated, wounded and eventually killed. By whom? The answer came from somewhere deep inside my soul.. "Me". I did it. And I began to weep in a way that I have never wept before.

We can learn many lessons from the life of Paul. We originally see him at the stoning of Stephen, watching over the coats of the witnesses (Acts 7:58). A friend of mine recently pointed out the fact that Paul's vain beliefs, when he was Saul, can be compared to many people today.