Uncle Bill

Someone once said that what we want to be when we are old we must start now. I have always admired my mother's brother Bill. He was a quiet and godly man. He loved the land (he was a farmer) and the Word (he was a lay preacher). He was a loving husband (he always said he got his education by marrying a school teacher) and a loving father (he had two daughters who are missionaries). Who should be emulate? How about my uncle Bill?

Who should we emulate?

Whether we like it or not we do emulate other people. The question is, who should we emulate? Paul says, "Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you." Philippians 3:17.
The first type of person we should emulate is those who are interested in the well-being of others and not their own. In Philippians 2 Paul gives us two examples of these kind of people, Timothy and Epaphroditus. Timothy had a servant's heart. Epaphroditus was concerned for the people in Philippi. It is interesting that his concern for them was that he had heard that they were concerned about him.

24

The Christian Mind - Life is sacred.
As I thought about the Christian mind and that it views life as sacred I thought of the TV show 24. Life is not sacred on that show, people are killed as if they were flies. It seems to me that they value ideals more than life. To think of with the mind of a Christian we have to value human life.

The Christian Mind - A Concern for the Person

We live in an age where we have things upside down. We value things and use people. The Christian mind tells us that all people are made in the image of God. All are God's children by creation but only some are God's children by redemption. We need to show the love of God to all people by valuing them whatever the cost.

The Christian Mind - An Acceptance of Authority

Authority is a bad word today but if you want to think Christianly then you must have a Biblical understanding of authority. Authority is not wrong as it is a gift of God to mankind. Yes I know that authority has been misused but that does not make it wrong. Without authority we would have no order. One of the popular books of today is The Shack but in this book it teaches that authority is not a gift of God but a creation of man. Watch the following video.

The Christian Mind - A Concept of Truth

To think Christian you must know that there is absolute truth. Today many do not want to believe that truth is absolute so they have their own personal truth. Truth can only be truth if it is true for everyone. Truth that comes from me is not truth, the only truth must come from outside us.
Pilate asked the question, What is truth? Jesus made it plain that He is truth. Truth is not ideas but a person and that person is Jesus Christ.

The Christian Mind - An Awareness of Evil

One of the problems that atheists have is where did evil come from and why are some actions evil while others are good. What determines good and evil? Is it society and if it is where did society get the idea of good and evil?
Christians believe in good and evil. However, the secular mind has influenced the way Christians think. For instance, we do not think in terms of sin but rather sickness or alternate life style.
Abortion is not sin but choice.
Homosexuality is not sin but alternate life style.
Gay marriage isn't sin but human rights.
Pornography is not sin but freedom of choice.
Drunkenness is not sin but sickness.
Even though Christians may believe that these are wrong they think in terms of a councillor instead of a Saviour.
Whatever happened to sin? Christians think that a person needs a Saviour but the secularist thinks that people are basically good. How much have the secularist thinking affected the way we think?