Spiritual DNA

Dick Millwee

We hear a lot about the subject of DNA today. The letters DNA stand for "Deoxyribonucleic acid. DNA is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the develop­ment and functioning of all known living or­ganisms." Every living creature has DNA. The DNA is unique to each creature. It is unique in another way. Each individual crea­ture’s DNA is different to all other like crea­tures.

Consequently, we see DNA evidence left at a crime scene identifies, beyond a reason­able doubt, a specific individual who was present at the scene. In addition, since the science of DNA investigation has come into being, many convicted of a crime have been released from incarceration because human DNA left at the crime scene was not that of the individual convicted.

The unique thing about DNA is that one is able to obtain a sample from any part of the body and it will be an identical match taken from a sample from any other part of the body of that individual.

In 1^st Corinthians 12, the apostle Paul uses the analogy of the human body to de­scribe the Body of Christ, the church Christ established - Matt 16:18. In 1 Cor 12, he says all the individual Christians are like body parts; each has different functions but all a part of the same body. The apostle Paul said in Eph 4 there is one body and in Eph 1:22-23, he identifies the one body as the church.

Religious denominations teach that indi­vidual members of the body of Christ are different denominations, i.e., big toe is one denomination, the eye is another, the knee is another, etc. I think you get the picture.

The Spiritual DNA of the Body of Christ (that which contains the instruction and de­velopment of the living Body of Christ) is the word of God, the Bible. This Spiritual DNA refutes the view of religious denomina­tions. If a religious group says one is saved by faith only, another says one is saved by grace only, etc., it does not match what the Bible (spiritual DNA) says and, thus, they cannot be a part of the Body of Christ. If a religious group is organized, functions, and teaches that which is contrary to the Bible, it cannot be identified as a part of the body of Christ (the church) because the teaching does not match the spiritual DNA (the Bible). Not only does their teaching exclude them from the Body of Christ, it also ex­cludes them from each other. That is why the religious world is divided today.

Each true individual member of the body of Christ, who conforms to Biblical teaching, will act and speak as another member of the true body of Christ and thus there is unity. Each member is a human being, not a religious group. Doesn’t take a rocket scien­tist to figure that out, does it? &

Bearing Fruit in Old Age

By Lawrence Kelley

One of the greatest leaders in his­tory didn't begin his public minis­try until he was eighty years old. Moses, it appears, would have been quite content to live out his life in the quiet re­cesses of Midian, but God had other plans. At the burning bush, God told Moses to do now, in the strength of the Lord, what he had attempted forty years earlier in his own strength---deliver Israel from Egyptian op­pression.

Perhaps even more impressive, is that af­ter two years of service, he consented to thirty eight more. Too many Christians work hard in the kingdom of the Lord until they reach retirement years when they retire not only from their calling in the world, but also from their work in the church. The example of Moses shows that for some the most fruitful years in the service of the Lord begin after retirement. Every stage of life has its own temptations and in every stage of life, we must war against the flesh. For the aging, the temptation is often to quit the race and stand on the sidelines. The exhor­tation is to resist this temptation. Find a way to bear fruit in the kingdom. Use your golden years to strengthen your relation­ship to Christ through the diciplines of prayer, meditation, and study. Use your time to serve others who need your help, whether they are the sick, the young moth­ers, the spiritually weak, or those more ad­vanced in years than yourself. There is al­ways work to do and in the body of Christ there are no unnecessary members. &

[Via The Reminder: Vol. 5, No. 13]

The Motivation of the Social Gospel

By Jackie Prince

Those who preach the “social gos­pel” are motivated by a desire for a better earthly life. We certainly all wish for a better life, even if it’s already good. How many would leave everything for a chance at what you have? Ask the 12 mil­lion illegal immigrants in the U.S.!

The Bible warns

1Co 15:19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.  

We must be careful attracting people to Christ with promises of a better life.

2Ti 3:12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecu­tion. 

Phi 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 

Apparently Timothy had run into some folks trying to make life better for him while on earth.

1Ti 4:6-8 If you instruct the brethren in these things, you will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed. But reject profane and old wives' fables, and exercise your­self toward godliness. For bodily ex­ercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come.

The gospel of health and wealth attracts many. But they are attracted by the hope of a better life here, rather than salvation. &

Counterfeit Happiness

By David Watts, Sr. (Deceased)

Counterfeit happiness is often the most expensive kind. Take, for ex­ample, the happiness some seek in drugs and alcohol. Seeking happiness in a narcotic daze, they snort cocaine, smoke marijuana, guzzle booze, or shoot heroin. But the "fun" only lasts for a while, and then there's a terrible price to pay.

Others seek happiness in getting things. They find happiness in collecting art treasures, in buying expensive "toys," or in just making money. But when the stock market tumbles, or someone steals their works of art, or they grow bored with their newest toy, that happiness bursts like a bubble.

Still others find happiness in sexual immo­rality. Their happiness lasts until their mar­riage crumbles, or they test positive for an incurable disease, or they wake up to real­ize they've lost the capacity to unselfishly care about anyone else.

Yes, counterfeit happiness often is the most expensive kind. In the end, it always costs more than it's worth.

Genuine, lasting happiness doesn't come in a liquor bottle or marijuana joint. It isn't measured by the kilo, nor does it come through a needle. You can't buy it with a credit card, and it isn't found in an adulter­ous motel rendezvous.

Genuine happiness is found in Christ, and it not only permits one to enjoy what is really good and pure in this life, but it also comes with God's promise of salvation in the life to come. You see, "godliness is prof­itable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come" &