Man is not God and he never will be (that's why Atlas should have shrugged). God created man (who else could have done it - a gyrating amoeba in a concoction of a primeval slim pit? Puleeze!) God designed our wonderful reasoning mind better than man ever gives Him credit for. But man's purpose has nothing to do with wallowing around in the slim pit. God made us to know him and to love him (thank you Baltimore Catechism). So how do we get to know Him really? God had a book written. He didn't use ghost writers exactly, but he did have men jot down His exact thoughts.

2 Peter 1:21 (Amplified Bible)
21For no prophecy ever originated because some man willed it [to do so--it never came by human impulse], but men spoke from God who were borne along (moved and impelled) by the Holy Spirit.

The Bible is nothing without God! Without God it would be just philosophy,a way of life, a self-help book, or just some book we ought to read. Jesus Christ lived it in actual reality because the scrolls were more than words to him, it was the book of life. God gave it life through His spirit. We can live it too and prove it for ourselves.

Jesus Christ was the greatest leader of all times. He was a servant to all and that is part of what made him a great leader, but anybody can be a servant to others. That's a no brainer. What made Jesus Christ the very best, was that not that he was a good follower (anybody can do that too), but that he was a follower of God. True unity as Christians is that we have that same mindset. We follow God.

So why did Atlas carry the whole world on his shoulders? I don't know. It's really too hard to play God.

"No Spin Zone"

In today’s culture the word ‘spin’ is used to describe statements made to influence or enhance one’s opinion in a specific direction. Older uses of this word describe a process by which fibers are pulled and twisted and interwoven into fabric. Fabrication is also an outcome of our modern definition of ‘spin’.

God’s Word is definitely a ‘no spin zone’. It is not subject to private pulling and twisting. It is the source of peace and true security. Its reality is rest and freedom from anxiety. It does not twist or pull us. It is all about free-will choice.

Matthew 6:28-33 (King James Version)
28And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? 31Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

The Bible says in other places that we are to work heartily (Colossians 3:23). Is there a contradiction to Matthew 6:28 and Colossians 3:23? Not at all. All one has to do is consider the context of Matthew 6 where God is encouraging us to ‘Take no thought’ in the sense of anxiety or stress. God is our sufficiency and not just on Sundays! Our lives are not to spin nor are we to spin them. We rest and enjoy the great trust we have in a faithful God who declares that we are to be to the ‘praise of his glory’! He works with us individually. We have direct access individually and we can fellowship with others richly who have the same respect and love for God and for each other.

It is a reassuring sound hearing the dishwasher running and knowing that the crusty plates and ringed coffee cups are getting squeaky clean. Hot running water runs into every nook and cranny (yup! Sometimes even the saw teeth edge of a knife blade comes out sparkling! We have a good dishwasher!)

Matter exists in three states: solid, liquid and gas. Solids have a definite shape. The molecules in a solid are more dense and more rigid than the other two states.
Fluids like water for example, take the shape of the container they are in or when poured out, the molecules move into every possible place they can get into. A solid becomes a liquid when the molecules are heated up. The heat makes them move around and causes melting and thus it takes on fluid qualities and starts to flow instead of keeping its shape.

In Romans 5:5-6, we can see this principle applied to how the love of God affects our lives and melts our hearts:
5And hope (trust in God) maketh not ashamed (disgraced, put to shame); because the love of God is shed abroad (poured out into every corner of our heart)in our hearts by the Holy Ghost (Spirit of God) which is given unto us.
6For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

The red hot love of God was made available to us through the resurrection of God's son by our free-will believing in what it accomplished. God appointed Lordship to Jesus Christ. It is legitimate power and authority not possessiveness or control. By our free-will choice we can tap into the very power and essence of God by accepting this lordship.

Our dishwasher has a few bells and whistles to accomplish its job and we have a complete owner's manual that spells out how to use it properly. I found out by reading this manual there are certain buttons I can push to get the ultimate dried on crud off and come out with squeaky clean plates.

The Word of God is the complete Owner's manual. We don't have to read the Word. We don't have to even think about it. It is our choice and that is what is so wonderful about God. Lordship is completely different from despotism. God is not controlling. We have a lot of freedom in Christ and all he represents. However, we can have freedom from misery, doubt and that cruddy, crusty feeling because the love of God is poured like energized living water into our hearts and we can be 'more than conquerors' (Romans 8:37) in everything when we use the Owner"s Manual!