Saints & Aints: Be Like Christ

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Imitating the Master

The Louvre in Paris is perhaps the most famous art museum in the world. It displays originals by such masters as Delacroix, Michelangelo, Rubens, da Vinci, Ingres, Vermeer, and many others.
Since 1793, the Louvre has encouraged aspiring artists to come and copy the masters. Some of our most famous modern artists have done that and have become better painters by copying the best the world has ever known.
An article in Smithsonian magazine tells about Amal Dagher, a Lebaneses man who lived from 1937 to 2021, was known for duplicating art at the Louvre for nearly 40 years. Dagher remained in awe of the masters and had continued to learn from them. He once said, "If you're too satisfied with yourself, you can't improve."
Paul instructed us to be "imitators of God" (Ephesians 5:1).
Eph 5:1 “Therefore, be imitators of God, as dearly loved children,”
A child-like faith that observes what has been done by the Father through Christ Jesus’s actions here on Earth, and then imitates them.
In his first letter to the Thessalonians, he commended the believers because they were becoming like the Lord and setting an example for others (1Th 1:6, 7, 8, 9, 10-note).
1 Thes 1:5-10 “because our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with full assurance. You know how we lived among you for your benefit, and you yourselves became imitators of us and of the Lord when, in spite of severe persecution, you welcomed the message with joy from the Holy Spirit. As a result, you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. For the word of the Lord rang out from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place that your faith in God has gone out. Therefore, we don’t need to say anything, for they themselves report what kind of reception we had from you: how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.”
Like the Louvre copyists, we'll never reach perfection before we get to heaven. Even so, we must resist the temptation to be satisfied with our present imitation of Jesus. We need to keep looking to Him, learning from Him, and asking for His help. Let's copy the Master. —David C. Egner
More like the Master I would live and grow, More of His love to others I would show; More self-denial, like His in Galilee, More like the Master I long to ever be. —Gabriel
To become like Christ, we must learn from the Master

Consistency in Christ

The proof is in the pudding!
The original form of this phrase is the proof of the pudding is in the eating. The phrase first appeared in William Camden’s 1605 Remains Concerning Britain.
Over the years, this phrase has been used on both sides of the Atlantic and has been particularly common in England. It is a comment on the quality control of pudding, which originally was a kind of sausage, then later any food inside a crust. Of course, now days pudding is this hopefully flavorful, custard-like dessert.
At any rate, in order to know if the pudding is legit, someone needs to try it.
People began shortening the expression in the 1920s, and it became more popular by the mid-1900s.
This is Paul’s warning to the Christians in Ephesus - and a reminder that just like in Thessalonica, people are watching you and me, waiting to believe…”Is this Christ-thing real?”
Eph 5:15-18 “Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise—making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless living, but be filled by the Spirit:”
And he goes on to explain what being filled with the Spirit will look like:
Eph 5:19-21 “speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of Christ.”
So here’s the consistency - the proof in the pudding - the tell that comes after what’s shown:
Does my every day language and behavior imitate what I do when I’m in the presence of God?
Do my every day decisions reflect the change that happened in me when I got saved?
Are my actions consistently pointing to Christ, imitating what He did on a regular basis as we see in Scripture, and being evident in the lives of those around me?
Kobe Bryant was known for shooting 300 or more baskets before any practice on the courts - that consistency in private was leveraged in practice and became evident in greatness at game time.
We have Instagram reels of striking similarities between Kobe and Michael Jordan. Kobe who consistently gleaned techniques from Jordan and imitated Jordan with his game. And most of us would say that Kobe is considered one of the greats of all time.
What we appreciate, we often emulate.
We recognize who we ARE, now, completely transformed, a new creation, set apart for righteousness, seen holy and blameless in Christ Jesus because of what He’s done for us - and He says follow Me.
“Like Father, like son”

Reflect the Light

Eph 5:6-7 “Let no one deceive you with empty arguments, for God’s wrath is coming on the disobedient because of these things. Therefore, do not become their partners.”
There is a war waging - for your soul and every soul around you - to NOT know the light of Christ.
Jesus has invited you and me and truly has seated you and me as believers, in heavenly places - as a PARTNERSHIP in His Kingdom.
1 Cor 3:9 “For we are God’s coworkers. You are God’s field, God’s building.”
Heb 3:1 “Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession.”
This partnership has provided everything we could possibly need to do the Will and Intent of God.
Eph 5:8-10 “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light—for the fruit of the light consists of all goodness, righteousness, and truth—discerning what is pleasing to the Lord.”
You see, as we remain consistent in our walk with Christ Jesus, the war waged against us fails.
1 John 5:18 “We know that everyone who has been born of God does not sin, but the one who is born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.”
And we stand on God’s promise to us.
God’s power has delivered us from darkness therefore: Eph 5:11-14 “Don’t participate in the fruitless works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what is done by them in secret. Everything exposed by the light is made visible, for what makes everything visible is light. Therefore it is said: Get up, sleeper, and rise up from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
Before this world ever attempted to create a “woke mindset”, JESUS has been waking people through the power of His Word to see His marvelous light.
Isaiah 60:1 “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord shines over you.”
God wants His glory to shine over you today so you can see the victorious life that is only found in Christ Jesus and the power He has partnered with us over darkness.
If death couldn’t keep Him, death can’t keep you.
If Hell couldn’t get a hold on Him, Hell can’t get a hold on you.
If the grave couldn’t contain Him, the grave ain’t gonna hold us back from hearing that trumpet sound when He calls us home.
“Get up, sleeper, and rise up from the dead, and the Messiah will shine on you!”

Heaven in the Real World

How do we see it? How do we know?
It starts closest to home.
Your first space.
Your actual home life.
This is when you know your walk is imitating Christ:
Eph 5:22-24 “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord, because the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of the body. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives are to submit to their husbands in everything.”
And also:
Eph 5:25-30 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her to make her holy, cleansing her with the washing of water by the word. He did this to present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless. In the same way, husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hates his own flesh but provides and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, since we are members of his body.”
Paul tells us “this mystery is profound, but he’s talking about Christ and the church”.
Eph 5:33 “To sum up, each one of you is to love his wife as himself, and the wife is to respect her husband.”
The parallel here is that Christ loves the church, His bride, as Himself, and that the church is to respect her husband, Christ as the head. This parallel is to be evident in our homes.
And Paul goes on to say for your walk imitating Christ:
Eph 6:1-4 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, because this is right. Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, so that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life in the land. Fathers, don’t stir up anger in your children, but bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”
And our walk imitating Christ should even flow into our second space:
Our work space.
*note the master-servant/slave relationship parallels the authoritative life of a Soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine.
Eph 6:5-9 “Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as you would Christ. Don’t work only while being watched, as people-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, do God’s will from your heart. Serve with a good attitude, as to the Lord and not to people, knowing that whatever good each one does, slave or free, he will receive this back from the Lord. And masters, treat your slaves the same way, without threatening them, because you know that both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.”

Imitating the Master

Providing every soul around us the opportunity to respond to Christ’s love for them.
It’s your testimony. It’s you being a door-holder on their way to experiencing Jesus.
This pursuit of maintaining our testimony is a walk of holiness - worthy of the gospel of Jesus - so that others might know Him.
Are you, like those disciples in Thessalonica were, an example for other believers to follow?
Remember, God is the ultimate visionary - and He chose you and me for His purpose. We’re still here - we’ve got work to do and a message to tell.
You’ve been made new. The old is gone, the new is come.
That old adage - “Be like Mike”… BE LIKE CHRIST.
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