by Phil Sanders

Jesus died on the cross, and God raised Him up again. He died for our sins but rose again, giving us hope of life beyond this life. John reminds us, "Greater love has no man than this, that one lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).

On the cross, Jesus died not only for his friends but also for his enemies. Jesus practiced what he taught (Matt. 5:43-48).

Paul reminds us in Romans of the great love that accompanied Jesus' death in Rom. 5:6-8:

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it; and he who hates his life in this world shall keep it to life eternal.

by A. A. Neale

I'm a tinkerin' old fool. I may not know much about it, but I'll raise the hood, take apart the radio, and, even at my advanced age, peek inside the computer's innards. Maybe it's just plain curiosity, or maybe a secret desire lurks in the old ticker to fix the world, but give me a screwdriver and pliers and stand back, because I'm at it.

I can't tell if I've saved more money by tinkerin', but I've enjoyed it. Except when I have to call the repairman, and he gives me one of those "I-wish-you-hadn't-messed-with-this" kind of looks.

Not only do I tinker with my own appliances and purchases, but at the slightest hint I'll tear into my neighbor's little item as well. (I have two that will still talk to me.) I get itchy fingers when something isn't working just right.

Other people are tinkerers, too. Among them were the Corinthians. Except they started tinkerin' with something that wasn't theirs AND that never needed messing with to start with.

The good old apostle Paul slapped them on the hand. "For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?" (1 Cor. 4:7, NKJV). He had just told them that they shouldn't tinker with the Sacred Text, not to "go beyond the things which are written" (v. 6). Why was that? One reason was because the gospel wasn't theirs, it didn't belong to them. They weren't any different from any other congregation and couldn't boast that what they had was original with them.

You just don't tinker with what isn't yours, especially when it doesn't need fixing. Now I'm still learning that lesson about appliances, but I hope I figured out that when it comes to the Perfect Plan the Lord sent down from heaven, we'd best leave it as is and do things just like he said to do them.

The Corinthians, to get back to our verse, had begun to glory in men and their high-falutin wisdom. And that led, as it always does, to some bad teaching as well. So they got immorality in the church, and abuses in the Lord's Supper, and legal cases in the courts, among other problems.

Before we shake our heads at them, we might take note that the modern church has done pretty much the same. We've got some big-name britches writing and speaking around the country and off in other countries. They look good, and sound good, and make us feel real good. Never mind they're not quite dead center with the gospel. Besides, we tell ourselves, who's got it 100% right anyway?

So Mr. Paul's words come back to slap our tinkerin' fingers. Who's gospel is this, anyway? Mine? Yours? Theirs? Then why have we taken spiritual screwdrivers to God's purchase to play at will with a perfect System? In some quarters, it's the Corinthian church all over again.

Now there are some folk who just refuse to walk around oogling at Personality Junction. They know that what they've got isn't theirs to tinker with. They have figured out that, no matter who we are, even if we're the great apostle Paul, we're no more than "servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God" (verse 1), and that's how everybody ought to consider us. Another minor detail: the big requirement for a steward is to "be found faithful" (verse 2), not to be an original thinker, or a confounded tinkerer.

Some of those old fools are still around. And I'm thankful for that.

by J. Randal Matheny

There are days I'd like to stay in bed. It's cold or rainy or still dark outside or I stayed up late the night before or I have some heavy task awaiting me. I wish I could pull the covers over my head and make the world go away.

But I pull back the covers, roll out of bed, stick my feet into my havaianas, and shuffle off to the shower. For a person like myself with no boss to check my time sheet or clock to punch, with no supervisor looking over my shoulder, the temptation can be great to shave corners and sluff off.

It's all about self-discipline.

Discipline is consistently doing what you must do to get to where to want to go, regardless of your level of motivation or intensity of emotion.

It feels good to be on an emotional high. Getting charged up pumps us with energy. But we don't live on full tanks.

Discipline is keeping important things up front, putting everything in its place and having a place for everything, as Isabella Beeton said. Discipline means order in the midst of chaos, calm in the heat of conflict.

Discipline is learned, acquired in increments as we daily make small decisions with big cumulative effects.

Discipline is a result, a consequence of divine intervention, a fruit of the Spirit given to the attentive. Not an end but a means to an end, an evidence of God at work.

Discipline is submission to God's training, to an admonition or correction. Stubborn determination to get the job done, starting from within.

Discipline, at least these days, it seems, is a rare commodity, since so many are after the fast buck and the easy road. Or the comfortable bed.

So, it's 6 a.m.

Covers back. Roll out. Off to the shower and into the world of discipline.

Congratulations.

by J. Randal Matheny

Want to discover things about yourself you never knew? Type your name in at www.googlism.com and -- surprise! See what things you've been up to lately. Discover who you really are.

This site is not connected directly to Google but uses the search feature to scoop up text about people. It probably uses the phrase, "John Doe is..." to come up with information.

In this search, of course, anybody with that name shows up. Here was mine:

"Randal Matheny is the missionary." That was all. Nothing else. Seems to be missing something, but okay, close enough.

I put a friend's name in (sorry, Richard), and here are a few of the many discoveries I turned up.

• richard hill is the manager of the city of capitola
• richard hill is the silent assassin of the england team
• richard hill is no stranger to tough music
• richard hill is in heaven where we can all meet him and his partings will never come again
• richard hill is buried in serre road no 3 cemetery
• richard hill is taking a well deserved test along with scott murray
• richard hill is their sole survivor but a major one at that
• richard hill is fit
• richard hill is a member of the tuscarora tribe and is employed as a research assistant at the buffalo and erie county historical society
• richard hill is suffering from concussion and will miss the final test
• richard hill is bearhugged from behind by a monster
• richard hill is preparing to roll back the frontiers eastwards
• richard hill is a sell out and i would encourage home fans to support him
• richard hill is cleaning out his basement and has 4 cases of empty beer bottles
• richard hill is going to get away with murder
• richard hill is no longer with inner circle
• richard hill is the vicar of st barnabas
• richard hill is the new spa director
• richard hill is listed as missing in action

I hope you weren't disappointed. I promised you a site where you could "discover yourself," didn't I? Well, there's another one.

This site will not do a web search, but a soul search. It will look into your inner being and plumb the depths of your true self. In doing so, it has a purpose: to gauge the degree of your depravity, scoop it out, and do a complete remake.

This takes some doing, as you can imagine. You have seen hints of perversity bubble up from down deep, only to hide them quickly. We can only imagine the extent of our evil hearts. It's a scary and sometimes painful process. But worth it in the end.

It is one of the most visited sites of all, this soul search, but most people don't stay there long. There are browsers who hop in for an occasional superficial dose (some even daily), skimmers who take what's useful for the moment, flamers who dip in to grab a handful of ammunition for their next invective.

To really discover yourself, though, you've got to do some serious engagement at this site with the Webmaster and his writers. Only then will you manage the changeover you've always wanted.

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account (Hebrews 4:12 NIV).

... you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth ... you have been born again ... through the living and enduring word of God (1 Peter 1:22-23).

by J. Randal Matheny

"Cursed is the man who carves an image or casts an idol -- a thing detestable to the Lord, the work of the craftsman's hands -- and sets it up in secret" (Deuteronomy 27:15a NIV).

When the societal climate disapproves, the sinner practices his wrongdoing in secret. As the general attitude loosens, the sinner becomes braver and dares to make his sin public because he knows he can find acceptance and support.

So the homosexual comes "out of the closet," as gay activists put it.

The adulterer assumes leadership positions in the church.

The scholar says all churches are pretty much the same, just historical manifestations of human efforts.

The preacher says all those good people who claim Jesus as Savior are saved.

The elders say the use of instruments of music as worship is no big deal, and people are free to use them (except maybe not on Sundays).

The verse quoted above was the first of a series of curses which Moses commanded the people to pronounce on Mount Ebal. After each curse all the people were to shout "Amen!" (see Deut. 27:14-26). Moses was establishing what God's people would not -- should not -- tolerate in their midst.

Maybe, just maybe, we need to brush off that list of curses and decide what it is in the church of God that we, by Scriptural light, will not tolerate. Before the water gets so tepid that anybody can jump in and do as they please.

The secrets are coming out. Will they become the standard? Or will we say amen to God's curses on those who snub their noses at his law in order that his will may prevail in our midst?

"Cursed is the man who does not uphold the words of this law by carrying them out. Then all the people shall say, 'Amen!'"