My Father’s Genes – Part IX – Fruit of the Spirit

As we continue our discussion of the difference between “gifts of the Spirit” and “Fruit of the Spirit”……….

Fruit of the Spirit

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23a)

“By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them." (Matt. 7:16-20)

In the mid-1970’s I heard Richard Jones, a Sears-Roebuck Vice President at the time, speak from the Galatians passage above at a church laymen’s retreat in Pennsylvania. The gist of the talk was that fruit grows best when tended, nurtured, fertilized, watered, weeded and otherwise treated with tender, loving care and not neglected. He of course elaborated in wonderful detail how we nurture and grow our own spiritual fruit.

The Matthew passage above clearly describes the fruit expected from each kind of tree. The Galatians passage delineates the attributes of the fruit of the Spirit. Some folks have said that this “fruit of the Spirit” is plural and not every Christian will possess all those attributes, thinking of them more as gifts as discussed in the previous post.

I would suggest that this fruit is singular and is to be expected in every Christian, though not necessarily in the same proportions in everyone. The fruit of the orange tree is the orange. Each orange may have the same attributes but in different proportions. For example, they will all have a skin but the skin may be a different thickness or even shade of color; the seeds may vary in number; the sweetness may vary; the quantity of juice may be different; the number of slices and the membrane thickness may vary; etc. The farmer may cultivate the enhancement of the more desirable attributes by how he cares for the trees.

In the same way, when we are born again and God’s DNA is in control of our lives, our fruit should be recognizable. If we feel lacking in any of the attributes listed, we should be getting in the Word and letting God direct us in ways to cultivate them to grow.

There is a story harvested from the Internet that seems at least somewhat appropriate here:

• 
  Malachi 3:3 reads: “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.” This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.
  
  That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot, then she thought again about the verse that says: “He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.” She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.
  
  The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.
  
  The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy - when I see my image in it." If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has His eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.
  

There may be times when God is doing His own processing in the development of the attributes of our fruit of the Spirit. We should not neglect the gardening that is within our power to increase our own “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control”. And we should not be surprised when God is refining us so that not only He, but also others, can see His image in us.

I find it useful when the Bible refers to the “fruit of the Spirit” to use this template and not confuse “fruit” with “gifts” or vocational results from the exercise of those gifts. Our job is to plant the seed wherever we are gifted, and let God do His job which is to give the increase. At the same time, we can be doing our “fruit enhancement” gardening by seeking more of God and less of self, including self-gratification pursuits.

Lord, I pray that Your image and fruit may be seen in me!

My Father’s Genes – Part VIII – Gifts of the Spirit

Building on what we learned in Part VII, it may be useful to understand the difference between “gifts of the Spirit” and “fruit of the Spirit”. The scriptures below are powerfully explanatory without much, if any, comment from me!

Gifts of the Spirit

“… for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.” (Romans 11:29)

“But each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.”
(1 Cor. 7:7)

“6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8 if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.” (Romans 12:6-8)

“14 Do not neglect your gift,… Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 16 Watch your life and doctrine closely...” (1 Tim. 4:14,16)

“6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” (2 Tim. 1:6,7)

“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” (1 Peter 4:10)

“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.” (1 Cor. 12:4)

“Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts…” (1 Cor. 14:1)

“…try to excel in gifts that build up the church.” (1 Cor. 14:12)

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Phil. 4:8)

So we see that different people have different spiritual gifts and that each of us have been gifted with at least one gift, and often with more than one. From these verses I think it safe to conclude that God gifts us according to His will and the needs of His church and His kingdom. The development and exercise of these gifts is a reasonable expectation that God places upon us. I do believe it is incumbent on us to validate that God is the One who has gifted and called us, and not some personal agenda we develop on our own.

In our next posting we will examine the concept of the “fruit of the Spirit”. It may be a little different than our common understanding of the subject, but hopefully will be helpful to us as we travel on our spiritual journey.

My Father’s Genes – Part VII – God’s DNA

Part VI expanded the scope of our vision regarding the universe of DNA combinations. If human conception and birth is the method of propagating human DNA, then is being “born again” the method God provides for propagating His spiritual DNA in humans? And if so, which if any of His attributes (or DNA) should we expect to receive?

God’s DNA

How can we even begin to investigate such an awesome idea? The only way I can think of is to try to discern how much He has chosen to reveal to us through His word. It would be the height of presumption to suggest that we as humans could ever receive the same measure of holiness as God possesses, but it is not unthinkable to believe on the authority of His word that we can possess the same quality of His holiness. Else why would He command us “… just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:15,16 with references to Leviticus chapters 11, 19 and 20) Peter picks up the theme again in 2 Peter 3:11,12: “…what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God….” I only need a thimble full of the Pacific Ocean to possess something qualitatively equivalent to the whole ocean. Since there are many excellent books available on the subject of holiness, I am confident that the serious reader can find sufficient material at sites such as Beacon Hill Press and similar publishers.

There are many books and Bible studies also available listing and discussing the attributes of God. I’m confident that any list I would make of the attributes of God would be far from complete. However, I’m also confident that we can list many directly from the Bible and infer others. Since we believe in the Triune God I believe it appropriate to include attributes of Jesus the Christ and the Holy Spirit as well.

A partial list might include:
• Omnipotent
• Omniscient
• Omnipresent
• Reason/Discernment
• Compassion/Gentleness
• Generosity
• Grace
• Eternal/Everlasting
• Truth
• Father
• Fortress
• Invisible
• Jealous
• Judge
• Law-giver
• Merciful
• Shield
• Strong Tower
• Shepherd
• Absolute existence
• Infinite
• Single yet triune
• Spiritual
• Eternal
• Transcendent and Immanent
• Intelligent
• Good
• Integrity
• Love
• And many others, too numerous to list.

It’s obvious that many of the attributes of God are reserved for Him and Him alone and not available to us in any “DNA” form, such as His omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence. These are attributes used by Him in His role as Creator and Administrator of the universe and all that’s in it, and are important to us as we try to gain some understanding of this whole subject of being born again.

I think it would be useful at this point to take a deeper look at God’s omnipotence. The power of God is so much greater than we can even imagine that most of us put away our imagination on this subject and move on to things we think we can get our mental arms around.

There are important reasons for us to gain some understanding of God’s power. First, we don’t want to be lumped in with the Sadducees who Jesus reprimanded: “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.” (Matt. 22:29)

On another occasion:
17 One day as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law, who had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem, were sitting there. And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick. 18 Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. 19 When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
21 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
22 Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? 23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.…” He said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 25 Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.” (Luke 5:17-26)

There are many facets to God’s power. Some of the observable ones are:
• Creation power
• Physical power
• Intellectual power
• Medical power
• Salvation power
• Forgiveness power
• Transformation power

Other attributes of God, given us in our born-again state in order that we may reflect Him to the world around us, we can infer from many scriptures. In succeeding Parts in this series we also want to examine more closely those dealing with the “Gifts of the Spirit” and the “Fruit of the Spirit”.

My Father’s Genes – Part VI – DNA Diversity

As we proceed on into Part VI it is important that we try to understand some of the principles and mathematics associated with DNA so that we have a greater appreciation for how God designed all this structure for our benefit.

DNA Diversity

In Part III we learned that the DNA in each organism is chemically identical, but its arrangement in genes and chromosomes determines what the cell will become, e.g. animal, plant or human.

We also learned that there might possibly be over 200 TRILLION combinations of human DNA possible (3 billion times 70,000). There is also the possibility that the total number of possible combinations is not just a straight multiplication of the two numbers above, but rather something on the order of 200 trillion raised to the power of 70,000; i.e., a number exceeding my ability to comprehend, and perhaps yours as well.

As I write this I am sitting in a timeshare condominium situated adjacent to the 12th green of a golf course where I can watch the outside world through the dining room window as I write. Just observing the variety of God’s creation in this limited view puts me in awe of the diversity of DNA as I see the different kinds of trees, the green grass, the sand in the trap, the water in the hazard (complete with fountain) on the other side of the green, the blue jays and robins and squirrels, the multiplicity of plants and shrubs enhancing the beauty of the houses across the fairway, and then realizing that what is within my sight is only an infinitesimally small sample of God’s creation. Add to this the diversity of things I cannot see with the natural eye, such as the air we breathe and the electrons that enable my computer, and I quickly want to return to considering only human DNA before my mind completely explodes with such large numbers. Then I realize again that even the number of human DNA combinations is larger than I can get my mental arms around. It’s time to bring my mind back inside even as I watch the fallen rain rush down the cart path between the condo and the green as it obeys the drainage plan designed by the golf course architect and I thank God for such a beautiful, warm, dry and safe place to work this week.

When I began my professional life many years ago one of the things I learned was how to program a computer. The passing of time saw the evolution of programming methods, enabling programs to be written more efficiently and proficiently. Early programs depended solely on the whims and imaginations of the programmer for their efficiency and proficiency. Testing and debugging of programs became ever more complicated as programs grew not only in size but as the number of entry and exit points “grew like Topsy”, creating almost unmanageable numbers of program interaction combinations. Software scientists eventually developed what came to be loosely called the “theory of interactions”. Basically this said that the number of interactions in a program was not just the sum of the total number of entry points into the program, but was actually almost the number of entry points squared. This discovery spurred the development of functional program modules with only one entry point and one exit point, which greatly simplified testing and debugging programs since it so greatly reduced the number of interactions that required accountability.

These staggeringly large numbers that enable the diversity of humankind do not confuse our omnipotent, omniscient God. Adam and Eve were not “beta test” models, but were fully functional and complete “products”, including free will. It would appear that the supply of human DNA combinations is virtually inexhaustible.

We also learned in Part III that genetic structure is fully formed from the beginning, but is not effective until the egg is penetrated. This may help us understand the Psalmist who says “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.” (Psalm 139:13-16)

In the next Part we will undertake a careful and reverent look at “God’s DNA”, which we might or might not expect to impact our own “born again” status.

My Father's Genes - Part V - The Delivery System continued

In Parts I – IV, we reviewed the Biblical background that established the connection between human birth, sin, and the need to be born again. The discussion then laid the foundation for examining the scientific and genetic principles involved in human birth and introduced the principles involved in delivering the life- giving/life changing elements needed in the spiritual realm. We now continue this in Part V.

The Delivery System - Continued

When we have reached the point of God’s convicting word reaching our willing and open mind and heart and we “confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9 NIV) It is important to be able to recognize God’s convicting word. Oswald Chambers states strongly:

“…conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit blots out every relationship on earth and makes us aware of only one—‘Against You, You only, have I sinned …’ (Psalm 51:4). When a person is convicted of sin in this way, he knows with every bit of his conscience that God would not dare to forgive him. If God did forgive him, then this person would have a stronger sense of justice than God. God does forgive, but it cost the breaking of His heart with grief in the death of Christ to enable Him to do so. The great miracle of the grace of God is that He forgives sin, and it is the death of Jesus Christ alone that enables the divine nature to forgive and to remain true to itself in doing so. It is shallow nonsense to say that God forgives us because He is love. Once we have been convicted of sin, we will never say this again. The love of God means
Calvary—nothing less! The love of God is spelled out on the Cross and nowhere else. The only basis for which God can forgive me is the Cross of Christ. It is there that His conscience is satisfied.”1

Just as in human conception, this is the point at which the “sperm” of God’s DNA enters the “egg” of our ready spirit and our spiritual membrane hardens against the things of Satan and this world; our mind, body and spirit are now tuned in to God and His desires for us and we begin to learn and grow as Christians. This is the “crisis experience”, the “moment of conversion”, the “know-so” anchor of our faith. Our Christian life now begins. We are “born again”! And just as in human life, we begin our growth, first with baby food (Paul called it milk in his first letter to the Corinthians) and then food of more substance as we enjoy our Christian growth. In a later Part we will look in more detail at God’s DNA.

Oswald Chambers continues:

“Forgiveness means that I am forgiven into a newly created relationship which identifies me with God in Christ. The miracle of redemption is that God turns me, the unholy one, into the standard of Himself, the Holy One. He does this by putting into me a new nature, the nature of Jesus Christ.”1

C. S. Lewis, is his book titled “Miracles” states:

“…if it is, as the theologians say, ‘born again,’ if it surrenders itself back to God in Christ, it will then have a life which is absolutely Supernatural, which is not created at all but begotten...”

John, in the first chapter of his Gospel, records that Jesus “…came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (John 1:11-13)

Chambers frequently refers to “the Supernatural Grace of God”. Lewis, in his book “Miracles”, has a useful definition of “supernatural”. Actually, it isn’t so much a definition, in a dictionary sense, as it is a rather long homily developing the idea that the supernatural exists only in the realm of God, not in the realm of man or nature as we know it and believe God created it. Thus when we see the supernatural it is an act or condition bestowed by God from His realm to ours and not otherwise available to us. Therefore, the term “supernatural grace of God” further illuminates the generally accepted definition of “the grace of God” as the unmerited favor of God; i.e. not available to us through any human means, but only through a unilateral decision of God for His own reasons. We joyfully and deliciously bask in His grace even as we are thankful for it, knowing we have done nothing to earn or deserve it. When we are tempted to view God’s bounteous gifts as the fruits of our own labor, let us remember that it is God Himself who gave us the ability and the circumstances to produce those fruits. This may help us catch a glimpse of the unfathomable supernatural grace of God in sending His Son to provide a way for our salvation.

1 Oswald Chambers, in his book My Utmost For His Highest (Oswald Chambers Publications Association, copyright 1963)

In the next Part, we will begin examining what, if any, relationship or comparison exists between human and spiritual DNA.

Tomorrow Poem

I received this poem in an email from "Aunt Liz" just as we were learning of Jill Britt Richardson's downturn in her battle with cancer. It's too good not to share.

IF TOMORROW STARTS WITHOUT ME

A few weeks ago a woman was killed in an auto
accident. She was very well liked, so the office shut
down for her funeral and it was on the news and so on.
On the day the workers came back to work, they found
this poem in their e-mail that the deceased woman had
sent on Friday before she left for home.

If tomorrow starts without me,
And I'm not there to see,
If the sun should rise and find your eyes
All filled with tears for me;

I wish so much you wouldn't cry
The way you did today,
While thinking of the many things,
We didn't get to say.

I know how much you love me,
As much as I love you,
And each time that you think of me,
I know you'll miss me too;

But when tomorrow starts without me,
Please try to understand,
That an angel came and called my name,
And took me by the hand,

And said my place was ready,
In heaven far above,
And that I'd have to leave behind
All those I dearly love.

But as I turned to walk away,
A tear fell from my eye,
For all my life, I'd always thought,
I didn't want to die.

I had so much to live for,
So much left yet to do,
It seemed almost impossible,
That I was leaving you.
I thought of all the yesterdays,
The good ones and the bad,
I thought of all that we shared,
And all the fun we had.

If I could relive yesterday,
Just even for a while,
I'd say good-bye and kiss you
And maybe see you smile.

But then I fully realized,
That this could never be,
For emptiness and memories,
Would take the place of me.

And when I thought of worldly things,
I might miss some tomorrow,
I thought of you, and when I did,
My heart was filled with sorrow..

But when I walked through heaven's gates,
I felt so much at home.
When God looked down and smiled at me,
From His great golden throne,

He said, "This is eternity,
And all I've promised you."
Today your life on earth is past,
But here life starts anew.

I promise no tomorrow,
But today will always last,
And since each day is the same way,
There's no longing for the past..

So when tomorrow starts without me,
Don't think we're far apart,
For every time you think of me,
I'm right here, in your heart "

My Father's Genes - Part IV - The Delivery System

In Parts I – III, we reviewed the Biblical background that established the connection between human birth, sin, and the need to be born again. The discussion then laid the foundation for examining the scientific and genetic principles involved in human birth. We now continue this discussion as we move into Part IV.

The Delivery System

In Jesus’ great priestly prayer as recorded in John 17, He prays for His disciples and says in verse 20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message…” The apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans amplifies Jesus’ implied delivery system of God’s plan of salvation by stating in verses 12-15: “12For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Based on the last half of verse 15, one of my former pastors declared his feet more beautiful than other people’s! Oh, well…)

Just as the human egg may have literally millions of sperm directed toward it before conception, the unconverted human spiritual heart still in need of being born again may hear anywhere from a few words to millions of words or messages before reaching real receptivity. And just as the sperm must survive a highly hostile environment to reach the tube and search for the egg, so the message of salvation must survive an increasingly hostile environment in today’s society and culture in order to penetrate the human mind sufficiently for God’s truth to sink in clearly and with conviction. The hostile distractions to God’s Word in today’s environment are virtually countless. The more we remove God from every area of public life, the easier it is to remove Him from our private life. The more we try to isolate Him to church only, the more we succumb to “out of sight, out of mind”. God’s instruction to “18Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates” (from Deuteronomy 11) is largely ignored today, even in any symbolic application. Practically every medium of modern communication is saturated with exhortations toward self-gratification rather than Gospel seeds that would lead to spiritual birth and growth.

Just as there is a limited window of opportunity for the egg and the sperm to successfully join to create a new life, so experience shows us there is a limited window of opportunity for the Holy Spirit to actively penetrate the human soul and mind with the convicting power of God’s word enough to cause a new spiritual life to be created. Literally millions of words that would direct our attention to our need to be “born again” may be flowing toward us but end up being drowned out by the hostile environment of the competing words and images drawing us toward every conceivable form of self-gratification and away from God. When one thinks of all the radio stations, TV stations (including cable and satellite channels), newspapers and seemingly countless print and web media, and all the public meetings and private conversations that occur in our world today, our minds then begin to be boggled to imagine the small percentage of all that stream of communication which is designed to actually draw us to understand and act on our need to be “born again”.

Please don’t misunderstand me here; there is much legitimate communication occurring related to our work and our world, but I suspect we all permit excessive amounts of the “hostile” communication to enter our lives and this would be especially true of those not yet “born again”. The “messengers” God has sent, who struggle mightily to overcome the “hostile environment” and deliver that message of salvation, are in such a competitive environment for peoples attention that their communication skills and methods must always be up-to-date. While the message of salvation doesn’t change, stale words, skills and methods (just like stale sperm) will not reach the intended destination.

In the next Part, we will continue developing the relationship between the human “delivery system” and the spiritual “delivery system”, along with some exciting expansions of concepts we may now take for granted.

My Father's Genes - Part III - Genetic Principles

I have been intrigued for some time by the science of DNA from a layman’s perspective, particularly in how it and the human conception and birth process work together, as related to Jesus' command to be "born again".

Is being born again easier to understand if we first understand being born at all? What similarities, if any, exist between the two that might help our understanding? We will explore these and other important questions in a multi-part series over the next weeks and perhaps months.

As we now continue on after Parts I and II (already posted below), please forgive the length of this part, but this Part III needs to remain together for best understanding.

*************************************************************************

Genetic Principles

Scientific research has revealed a tremendous amount of information regarding human genetics and how flesh not only gives birth to flesh, but how the genetic material is passed on (downloaded?) from father (parents?) to child. We see the result of this in the child’s physical, mental and emotional characteristics. We see the boy walk and talk and think like his father. We make up cute sayings such as “the acorn doesn’t fall far from the tree”. We note the eye and hair color, the visual likeness (“he really favors his dad, doesn’t he?”), the sound of his voice, and on and on. This similarity between father and son is either treasured or abhorred, or somewhere in between, depending on the closeness of the relationship between the two. A loving relationship makes the father proud of his son and the son anxious to please his father.

On the PBS TV program “Nova” there has been shown from time to time a video titled “The Miracle of Life” (a Swedish Television Production in association with TV station WGBH in Boston, MA). This video offers some amazingly helpful knowledge on understanding the scientific details of human conception. Additional research has also shed light on the mother’s DNA contribution, known as mitochondrial DNA. Let me highlight some of the salient points from the video and then make the comparison to spiritual birth and life.

DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid) is contained in 46 chromosomes:
• Each chromosome contains thousands of genes (a gene is a distinct segment of DNA which lies along the chromosome).
• It contains all the genetic information of the cell.
• It’s the only living substance capable of reproducing itself exactly. Without DNA, duplication (and therefore life itself) is not possible.
• The DNA in each organism is chemically identical, but its arrangement in genes and chromosomes determines what the cell will become, e.g. animal, plant or human.
• The female’s egg contains 23 chromosomes.
• The male’s sperm contains 23 chromosomes.

In a simplistic description, DNA is either nuclear or mitochondrial:
o The 46 chromosomes created when sperm penetrates egg are found in the nucleus of each cell and are often referred to as nuclear DNA.
o Still within each cell but outside the nucleus is the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which is basically DNA contributed by the female but left outside the nucleus and still inside the fertilized cell. Thus, mtDNA perpetuates only the mother’s line. The father’s mtDNA is left outside the fertilized egg and thus is not perpetuated (unless he has a sister who has children of her own).
o Each cell contains about 1,700 mitochondrion and each mitochondria includes an identical loop of DNA about 16,000 base pairs long containing 37 genes. Contrast this with the cell nucleus which contains three billion base pairs and an estimated 70,000 genes. Mitochondrial DNA suffers less damage and deterioration over time than does nuclear DNA, permitting DNA testing along maternal lines of even ancient samples incapable of receiving nuclear DNA testing.

There are some interesting facts and statistics concerning human conception that are useful to our overall discussion:
• Only about 50 out of 200,000,000 sperm that start the journey ever reach the egg. (The average man produces over 2 trillion in his lifetime, at a rate of about 100 million per day.)
• The sperm must survive a highly hostile environment to reach the tube and search for the egg.
• Since the egg must join with the sperm within 24 hours of leaving the ovary and with the sperm’s effectiveness lasting only 24-48 hours, there is a very short window of opportunity for conception to occur.
• Genetic structure is fully formed from the beginning, but is not effective until the egg is penetrated.
• When the sperm finally penetrates the egg, the egg immediately hardens the outer membrane so no other sperm may enter. This is the “crisis experience” of the creation of new life and the beginning of the growth of that new life. One of the phenomena occurring here is the introduction of the father’s genetic material to the egg and its impact on the new life.

The next postings will explore the striking similarities between human conception, birth and life, and spiritual conception, birth and life, i.e., how we really can be “born again” as Jesus so matter-of-factly proclaimed to Nicodemus.

In the next Part, we will discuss The Delivery System.

Remembering Paul Freese

The apostle Paul tells us “…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Gal. 5:22-23)

Just as a farmer cultivates his crops for maximum “fruit bearing”, cultivation can enhance our own “fruit bearing”. Cultivation usually involves daily chores – sometimes watering, sometimes weeding, sometimes fertilizing, etc. Cultivation is another form of what Oswald Chambers’ referred to as “drudgery” or what Peter calls “adding to”; i.e. making a deliberate, planned, structured, repetitive effort to enable the Holy Spirit to nourish with His nutrients the elements of the fruit of the Spirit. These elements then, when so cultivated and matured, will make our Spiritual fruit sweet and desirable to those around us.

My friend Paul Freese was a great cultivator in every aspect of the word! He may have been the best model I’ve known of cultivating the attributes of the “fruit of the Spirit.” I could probably write a whole book illustrating these attributes in the various areas of Paul’s business, professional, church and personal life. We shared some pretty deep knowledge with each other. That’s not bragging – it’s just a fact that I was unusually blessed to be a part of! Maybe some day I can find the right words to really go into more depth about all this, but my emotions, like many of yours, are too close to the surface to even start today.

As we glorify God by yielding our wills and lives to Him and cultivate the elements of the fruit of the Spirit, we may even find a growing sweetness in our interactions with others. Don’t confuse this with becoming a “Mr. Milquetoast”. Having a sweet disposition in our human relations (including family relations) should not diminish our ability to stand firmly for truth and righteousness. Firmness and sweetness are not mutually exclusive.

Who have we known in our lives who bear this sweet fruit of the Spirit? Is it the person in the mirror?

P. S. There is a short bio available at: http://www.hollowayfh.com/obituaries/Paul-Freese/. Paul’s son Steve has written a longer bio which I’m sure he wouldn’t mind my sharing with anyone interested. You may contact me by email or on Facebook.

Connecting The Dots: Mexican Train and God’s Law

While visiting my wife’s brother and his wife recently, we enjoyed a game of Mexican Train. If you play Mexican Train you already know that there are lots of rules that are homemade, so the first thing we had to do was agree on the rules that would apply to our friendly contest. We found we had a different understanding of the rule governing the playing of a double. Fortunately, we had a printed set of rules for the game, which spelled out our understanding of how play is to proceed when someone plays a double anywhere on the table. An internet search of the game rules reveals some variations, but the basic idea is that when someone plays a double anywhere on the table, that double must be “satisfied” – i.e. have another domino played against it before a play can be made anywhere else on the board, regardless of who that play devolves to. So, in a sense, nothing else can happen until that double is “satisfied”. The rule cannot be waived or repealed, only satisfied!

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In the Old Testament when a king issued a law or decree, any transgression of that law or decree triggered an immediate and unstoppable invocation of the prescribed punishment. Remember Daniel and the lion’s den? Having been tricked into the unwise decree that only he, the king, was to be worshipped for the next 30 days, and then faced with having to enforce the punishment of throwing the offender, in this case Daniel whom he loved, into the lion’s den he was powerless to deviate from the prescribed punishment no matter how much he might want to. Nothing else could happen until the law was “satisfied”! Fortunately, we know the “rest of the story” how God’s grace and remedy was more powerful than what it took to “satisfy” the law! The law was “satisfied”, the punishment was enforced, but the outcome was not death but life for Daniel!

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God’s law, which is immutable, says “the wages of sin is death”, and “we have all sinned”. Now we stand before God, the judge. Nothing else can happen until God’s law is “satisfied”. God has no choice but to find us guilty and sentence us to death. But just as we’re about to be hauled off to everlasting death and torment, Jesus stands up and shouts “Wait! I died to satisfy the death sentence for this one and for all who would accept my salvation. I find his name in my ‘Lamb’s Book of Life’ as one of those who has accepted my offer. I have already paid the price for him! The law is satisfied, the punishment has been enforced, and now the offender, whom you, O God, loved enough to let me die for, does not need to perish but has eternal life with me!”

Are we shouting yet?

Happy Birthday, America! and MFG Part II

Happy Birthday America!!!

As we celebrate our nation’s birthday, I think you will enjoy our national anthem!

http://www.facebook.com/posted.php?id=1317169864#!/video/video.php?v=74136331072&ref=share. (I hope you can access through this link. You may need to copy and paste.)

The Star Spangled Banner like you've never heard it! This was at a Texas Tech University Basketball game . . . .The National Anthem is sung by five young ladies. You have never heard it performed better than this! An entire arena remains completely silent throughout the song. You could hear a pin drop. Take a moment to listen to this...you will not regret it. The two young girls on the right are six years old. The two in the middle are seven and the one on the left is eight. Wow! The girls in this video are known as The Cactus Cuties!


My Father’s Genes – Part II

Is being born again easier to understand if we first understand being born at all? What similarities, if any, exist between the two that might help our understanding? We will explore these and other important questions in a multi-part series over the next weeks and perhaps months.

Biblical Background and Foundation (Continued from Part I)

The Psalmist has declared “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” (Psalm 51:5) This and other references in both the Old and New Testaments proclaim what has become known as the “doctrine of original sin”. J. I. Packer says: “Scripture diagnoses sin as a universal deformity of human nature, found at every point in every person (1 Kings 8:46; Rom. 3:9-23; 7:18; 1 John 1:8-10).”1 There are a number of other scriptures in support as well, such as John 9:34, Romans 5:12-13, and Galatians 3:22.

Further elaboration on this doctrine is provided by Paul P. Enns:
“Definition. Original sin may be defined as ‘the sinful state and condition in which men are born.’ It is so designated because: (1) ‘it is derived from the original root of the human race (Adam), (2) it is present in the life of every individual from the time of his birth, and (3) it is the inward root of all the actual sins that defile the life of man.’ Simply stated it refers to ‘the corruption of our whole nature.’

“Results. First, man is totally depraved. ‘Total depravity does not mean that everyone is as thoroughly depraved in his actions as he could possibly be, nor that everyone will indulge in every form of sin, nor that a person cannot appreciate and even do acts of goodness; but it does mean that the corruption of sin extends to all men and to all parts of all men so that there is nothing within the natural man that can give him merit in God’s sight.’

“Second, man has an innate sin nature. ‘The sin nature is the capacity to do all those things (good or bad) that can in no way commend us to God.’ Every part of man is affected: intellect (2 Cor. 4:4); conscience (1 Tim. 4:2); will (Rom. 1:28); heart (Eph. 4:18); and the total being (Rom. 1:18–3:20).”2

Therefore, I conclude that the ungodly spiritual nature is with us from birth (and perhaps even from conception, as Psalm 51:5 could be read). This suggests that there is some ungodly DNA present in our first birth that can only be dealt with by a miracle of God’s power in regeneration or being born again. John the Apostle records the great insight of John the Baptist: “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 'Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!' ” (John 1:29)

Human birth is the result of a God-created process resulting in human conception. The miracle of conception occurs not because we believe it will, but because God has provided a plan and a process for it to occur. Mental agreement with the plan doesn’t make it happen. Sperm penetrating egg makes it happen because that’s how God created it. Mental agreement may promote exercise of the plan, but exercising the plan is the only way to accomplishment.

Human conception is a marvelous and profound initiation of a human life. The more one understands about this miracle called life, the deeper one respects how precious life is. And that’s just on a human level! Consider spiritual life. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways…” (Isaiah 55:9 NIV) And thus we begin to understand when John quotes Jesus as saying that “flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”

Since Jesus seemed to link the two types of birth in the scripture above, is there anything we can learn from human genetics that could be applied to spiritual genetics?



1 Concise Theology: A Guide To Historic Christian Beliefs by J. I. Packer, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois
2 Moody Handbook of Theology by Paul P. Enns, Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois

(Stay tuned for the next exciting episode!)

My Father's Genes

My Father’s Genes – Part I

I have been intrigued for some time by the science of DNA from a layman’s perspective, particularly in how it and the human conception and birth process work together.

Is being born again easier to understand if we first understand being born at all? What similarities, if any, exist between the two that might help our understanding? We will explore these and other important questions in a multi-part series over the next weeks and perhaps months.

Biblical Background and Foundation

“But, that’s impossible!” Nick vehemently protested. “Can a man enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born?” (my paraphrase)

Jesus had just given His famous response to Nicodemus, found in John chapter 3, verse 3 (NIV): “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” This verse has arguably been the launching pad and foundation stone for all Christian evangelical preaching ever since.

Jesus says something else at this point: “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” (verses 5 and 6, emphasis added) Verse 6 in other translations reads: “Human life comes from human parents, but spiritual life comes from the Spirit.” (New Century Version), and: “Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven.” (New Living Translation)

Still, the question begs: Why is a second birth necessary? In the spiritual realm, does that imply the absence of a spiritual nature in humans before being born again, or is mankind originally born with an ungodly spiritual nature? Is it easier for God to fill the vacuum of no spiritual nature with one of His choosing, or to replace an existing ungodly spiritual nature with His own?

We will begin answering these questions in our next posting.

Whatever Happened to SIN?

Whatever Happened to SIN?

Have you noticed that at the center of SIN is I?

Have you also noticed that SIN is an acrostic for Self Indulgent Nature?

The good and encouraging news is that if you insert a picture of Jesus with His arms outstretched in the place of the I, He and His blood will cover you and be the cure for sin and the provider of victorious life! Who else can you or will you trust with your life?

Free To Love

Dennis Kinlaw, former president of Asbury College, and now retired, has written extensively about holiness and the deeper Christian life. His writings are rich in practical applications in living out that deeper, passionate, all-surpassing love to which Christ calls us.

He recounts the story in one of his writings of a man who was saved and then filled with God's perfect love. Some time later his church received a new pastor. For the new pastor's first service, the man selected his very best ham from his storage room so he could present it to the new pastor as a love gift. During the service there was a testimony time and the man told how he was converted and then how the Spirit of God came and cleansed him from self-interest. In the middle of his testimony, the preacher stood up and said, "Sit down, Mr. 'Blank'. That is fanaticism, and as long as I am pastor, we will not have any talk of that kind."

After the service, Mr. 'Blank' surprised his family by going to his vehicle, retrieving the ham, taking it to the pastor, and saying "Pastor, we are so glad you are here. ... We love you, and if we can help you, let us know."

The next morning an unfamiliar vehicle pulled into Mr. 'Blank's' drive and it was the new pastor. He said "I have come to apologize. If there is anything you want to witness to in one of my prayer meetings, go right ahead, because it is obvious that you have found something that I know nothing about. Blessings on you."

Dr. Kinlaw concludes with the observation that "there is a power that comes when we are free from ourselves and free to love."

What a challenge!

Square Gears

Have you ever seen square gears? I have a small set of three square gears on my desk and they actually mesh and work! You see, when the gears go around, the corners are actually going in a circle. If the gears are properly positioned in relation to each other the corners will intersect at their neighbor’s flat sides and they will mesh and work fine.

Have you ever wondered if you were a square gear in a round gear world? Or looked at others and figured them to be in that category? Who is the final arbiter of whether round or square gears are normal? As a Christian, have you ever felt outnumbered or had difficulty meshing in secular society or business?

As Americans, we are schooled in the principles of a democratic republic and taught early-on that the majority rules. And that’s well and good in our political system. But we are then prone to extrapolate that principle into our culture and allow the culture to decide too many other questions of life. Culture seems to decide there should be ever-decreasing standards of decency, language and education with the foolish notion that this will produce ever-increasing standards of living. Our politicians have taught us that “to get along we must go along”; that for our system to work we must learn “the art of compromise”. In our headlong rush to achieve social inclusion of every person or idea or religion, what we are actually achieving is not a seamless society but the balkanization of society. More and more laws are passed to erase the seams but all they do is create more seams.

This is nothing new. The Bible is replete with account after account of God’s chosen people being seduced into thinking that their neighbors’ culture or religion was the true normal or “round gear” system, losing sight of God’s values just because from the world’s view they appeared to be “square gears”. And isn’t that what the world thinks – that the Christian way is all “square gears” and will never work? But Christians have learned the secret that when we get in line with God (mesh correctly with Him), suddenly everything works like God designed for it to and what once appeared unworkable now works marvelously. Have we checked how we’re meshing lately?

My prayer is that we will all be encouraged to be so immersed in God’s values and system that we will see them as the norm, and not what the world would try to make us believe is the norm. This will happen as we spend more and more time in prayer and God’s word and other Christian resources. Will we do it?

TODAY'S PERSONAL PARAPHRASE

Psalm 23:4
Even though my "to do" list has been taken over by events, I will stick with you, Lord, for you are with me. Your discipline and your promises are a great strength to me.

PREAMBLE TO RE-LAUNCH

For the past couple of years I have been privileged to facilitate a class at our church examining the personal disciplines that would be helpful to Christians as they grow deeper in their Christian life.

As a part of the class, we began a blog designed to provide a ready reference for the ideas discussed in class. Our primary text book (other than the Bible, of course) was originally designed as a devotional book containing 52 chapters to be covered in a one year period. (Disciplines For The Inner Life by Bob Benson, Sr. and Michael W. Benson) Our class decided to not be bound by the one year constraint. The result was an unhurried study where we dove deeply into about 80% of the chapters over the two year period.

Various events and circumstances then interrupted our ability to meet regularly. People’s desire to deepen their spiritual lives continues, however, prompting the reorganization and re-launch of the blog mentioned above. This new version of the blog, now named Deeper Life Encouragement, will cast an even broader net in finding resources to help us all deepen our spiritual lives.

We will not post on a hard and fast schedule, but more on a “what is worthwhile” schedule – i.e. intermittent. There is a place on the blog to subscribe, so that you can receive automatic notification when a new posting occurs. I would encourage you to subscribe. You can always unsubscribe if you so desire.

So here we go! Your feedback and constructive criticism is always welcome. And I sincerely hope and trust it provides some spiritual food for all of us!

KEEP ON WALKING!

Today the Lord seems to be telling me to “keep on walking”. Do I need the exercise? Yes, but He’s talking about walking in trust with Him when it seems like things aren’t happening according to the schedule I expected when I started out on the latest assignment He’s given me.

The Lord showed me that most of His followers in the Bible had to walk by faith daily (and sometimes for years!) without knowing His schedule, so why should I be any different?! I haven’t been exactly sitting around, but in spite of some very legitimate activities I feel like in some respects I’ve just been treading water. The Lord helping me, I’m going to refocus on what I need to do to be more obedient to His assignment.

It’s time to Keep On Walking!

ENCOURAGEMENT EQUALS HOPE; HOPE EQUALS ENCOURAGEMENT

Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe, in his book Pause For Power (Colorado Springs, CO: Chariot Victor Publishing, 1998, p. 361), suggests that from his study of First Peter there are three themes - suffering, grace, and glory - which unite to form an encouraging message for believers who are experiencing times of trial and perhaps even persecution. He goes on to quote H. L. Mencken, whom he describes as a “cynical editor and writer”, defining hope as “a pathological belief in the occurrence of the impossible.”

Dr. Wiersbe then comments:
“But that definition does not agree with the New Testament meaning of the word. True Christian hope is more than ‘hope so.’ It is confident assurance of future glory and blessing.

“This confident hope gives us the encouragement and enablement we need for daily living. It does not put us in a rocking chair where we complacently await the return of Jesus Christ. Instead, it puts us in the marketplace, on the battlefield, where we keep on going when the burdens are heavy and the battles are hard. Hope is not a sedative; it is a shot of adrenalin, a blood transfusion. Like an anchor, our hope in Christ stabilizes us in the storms of life (Heb. 6:18-19), but unlike an anchor, our hope moves us forward, it does not hold us back.”

Well, I hope that encourages us all today. We find great encouragement not only in the Bible, but also in communicating with each other. I know enough about some of you to know that you actively seek daily opportunities to encourage others. Some of us may be a little more passive, waiting for those opportunities to present themselves even while we’re watching for them so we can then use them. This pattern is not absolute, as we probably all do both from time to time. But we have learned that encouraging others also encourages us.

I have also known people (though none of you, of course) who seem not to have a single bone of encouragement in their bodies. But those bones can be grown because they are mental, not physical! It all starts with attitude. And attitude may be the only thing in our lives over which we have absolute personal control. Let’s all encourage the growth of those bones in ourselves and in others! If encouragement equals hope and hope equals encouragement, then we can all take strength from Dr. Wiersbe’s statement that “Hope is not a sedative; it is a shot of adrenalin, a blood transfusion.”

“Keep On Walking!”