To Be Like Jesus: Christian Devotionals and Bible Studies

By Brother Gene

This book is about Truth. Jesus said “I am the Way, the Truth, and
the Life...” (John 14:6). The God Who designed and created us also
designed a Life for us. This book is about that Life. Every page
of “To Be Like Jesus” is grounded in the Bible, the Writt en Word
of the Living God. Coming to know Christ in the miracle of “New
Birth” is only the beginning; this book is about the conti nuati on
of that Life.
I came to know the Lord Jesus Christ in 1959. I remember the
night very well. No revival meeti ng, no bells or whistles, but on
that night my enti re life changed. I had wanted a career in country
music.. .wanted it badly. But that night I walked out of my wife’s
parents home into the driveway, looked up into the sky where I
thought that God was, and prayed the simple litt le prayer “God,
have mercy on me, a sinner.” That night Jesus Christ came into my
life, and the rest is all detail. Bless the Lord, 0 my soul, aud all that
is within me, bless His Holy Name.
Edward E. “Gene” Stacks

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 29, 2010
• ISBN: 9781453598979

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Copyright © 2010 by Brother Gene.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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Rev. date: 07/11/2022

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Contents

Introduction

Train Up a Child: Correction and Discipline

The Gift(s) of God

Children Learn by Example

Train up a Child

Unseen Realities

Awareness!

The Cross and the Veil

Busy, Busy, Busy!

He That Has an Ear, Let Him Hear

Random Thoughts Concerning the Word of God

To be Like Jesus

In the World but Not of the World

The Providence of God

Unequally Yoked

Conformity

The Reality of Demon Spirits I

Getting Back to God (The Struggle Within)

What Would Jesus Do?

Where Are You, Lord?

Friendship

Accountability

The Basis for Divisions in the Body of Christ

The Divided Body of Christ

The Mind of Christ

Abiding in Christ

Love Not the World

Convenience or Conviction

Waiting on the Lord

The Cross and the Law

Hidden Blessings

A Man’s Life Consists Not . . .

The Book

God’s House Managers

The Illusion Called Time

Just behind the Clouds

Steady Does It

Things That Keep Us from Hearing His Voice

Letting God Speak

When Other People Let Us Down

Never Again Things

The Struggle

Ready to Quit?

An Unapologetic Gospel

With All Your Heart

That You May Have Fellowship with Us

Sometimes the Rain Falls

Where Are You, Lord?

Keep on Walking

The Journey

The Real Seeker

Where Roses Go To Die

We Do Need Each Other

Discouragement

Faithful unto Death

The Holiness of God

Prayer

Expectations: One

Expectations: Two

Expectations: Three

Who Am I?

Warfare

The Reality of Demon Spirits II

Relationships Within the Body

An Audience of One

Regrets?

Love or Be Loved?

What Do We Do When Things Get Out of Control?

Tough Love

Character or Stuff?

Love One Another

Forgiveness: Until Seventy Times Seven

The Holy Kiss

I Will Never Leave You

Authority

Finishing What We Start

Work in Progress

Purity

Sanctification (Purity Part II)

Sometimes It Snows

I Will Never Leave You

Look Where You Want To Go!

When God Doesn’t Speak

Things That Last (And Things That Don’t)

Contentment

Feelings

Distractions

Sometimes God Says No

Excuses

Don’t Quit! Never Quit! Keep Walking!

When the Snow Melts

Whiter Than Snow

One Out of Four

Breaking Away

First Love

Read the Instructions!

Sometimes It Rains

Waiting on God

Until He Speaks

Running the Race

The Fascination of Jesus

Walking With Christ

Will We Then Keep Walking?

Following Christ

Walking with Christ

For All Things at All Times

Faithful unto Death

Brokenness

The Seed, the Soil, the Sower

The Seed, the Soil, the Sower: Two

I Am God, I Do Not Change

He Still Speaks

Slow to Anger

Sometimes the Wind Blows

I Will Never Leave You or Forsake You

They Went Out from Us

Lord, I Am So Tired!

The Journey

The Truth, the Whole Truth, Nothing But the Truth

When We Don’t Sense His Presence

Introduction

1. Read each study with your spirit and your mind open to the Holy Spirit. Words are the best way that we have to communicate, but they fall short. Only as the Spirit of God gives His Light will you understand what God has given me to write in these pages.

2. These writings are not devotionals in the traditional sense. They are, essentially, topical Bible studies condensed into the devotional format.

3. The Nestle Greek text has been used in all word studies.

4. These writings have come from multiple life experiences and from the Word of God. In each experience, I have looked for the Hand of God and for the Truth that He wanted me to communicate.

5. Some of the writings are basically inspirational, some seriously challenging.

6. Remember that all study of the Word of God, the Bible, must be done with a mind and a heart open to receive truth, even if that truth contradicts long-held and precious traditions.

7. My prayer for each reader is that God will bless you and that the Truth will be revealed. Remember that our Lord said "I am THE WAY, THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE." The Church of Jesus Christ is always, always about Truth.

Train Up a Child:

Correction and Discipline

ECCLESIASTES 8:11

Jesus told us that a building that will be able to weather the different kinds of storms must be a good building built on a good foundation. Every one therefore who hears these words of Mine and does them shall be likened to a prudent man who built his house upon the rock. And the rain descended, and the rivers came, and the winds blew, and they beat against that house, and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock (Matt. 7:24-25).

Jesus was speaking of life, not houses. The foundation that each of us must have is Jesus Christ and His Word. And a very real part of that word to parents is this: discipline and correction are an essential part of the foundation of the lives of children. Children should learn early that a life that is disciplined to Jesus Christ will be a blessed life, and that an undisciplined life will bring a great deal of pain and disappointment.

So what does it mean to discipline a child? I am not a gardener, so I have never done this myself, but I have seen it done. An expert gardener can train a plant from its beginning to maturity to take almost any shape that he may desire. By cutting and trimming and feeding and restraining, the desired result can be achieved. Children are not plants, but they are a great deal like plants! And that is why in Proverbs 22:6 we read, "TRAIN UP A CHILD, according to the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Note carefully that the Word says that the training" should be done when our offspring are children.

Many parents have a serious misunderstanding that, essentially, goes something like this: This child is mine and I will do as I please with him. Wrong! A child is a gift, a trust, given by God to parents (Ps. 127:3)! Yes, He uses natural means to bring the child to the parents (and remember, He even designed the natural means!), but the life that is in that child is given by God, and every parent is a responsible steward of that life. It would revolutionize parenting if all parents understood this. We are responsible and accountable for the training that child is given (or not given).

But the responsibility for training up a child is not only for the parent; it is also for the church! No, the church does not assume primary responsibility, but it does have the responsibility to come alongside the parent and give encouragement and support. The church is responsible for the teaching of the Word of God, not only to parents, but also to the children. And children are capable of receiving much more than many parents and churches give them.

The training of a child must be an intensive enterprise! It is not a casual thing at all. We who are parents and we of the church must take this part of our duty seriously. What we do while the children are in our homes and in our pews will help to guide them all through their lives, and we must make sure that they are given the tools to make good choices. Behind only your relationship with Jesus Christ, make your children first in your lives!

Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the children of men is fully set within them to do evil (Eccles. 8:11). The principle holds true: Bad behavior must be corrected, or else it will be repeated! And repeated. And repeated.

The Gift(s) of God

1 CORINTHIANS 12:1, 4; ROMANS 6:23

The day that we came to Christ was a great deal like Christmas. On Christmas day, we opened the gifts and rejoiced in them. On the day that we came to Christ, we opened the gift and rejoiced in Him! But there is one huge difference: a few weeks after the Christmas gifts are opened, we tend to move back into the old life, and sometimes the gifts are even forgotten.

It is never that way with Christ, and here is why: He is truly the Gift that keeps on giving. Here is how:

It seems like almost every day we are opening a new package, with more surprises! The first surprise was Christ Himself and that gift was overwhelming! We just couldn’t take it all in. The joy was beyond explanation. But now we find that there is even more. At some point we discover that there is, for each of us, the Gift of the Holy Spirit! If you, then, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father who is from Heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him (Luke 11:13). He (the Spirit) is our Comforter, our Enabler, our Convictor, our Supplier, our Guide, and much, much more. And He is now, as a part of the gift, in each of us.

And then we open another package and discover the Gift of the Providence of God! We discover how He puts things together in our lives in such a way that everything that happens to us can be used by Him for our good! And we discover that He is still in the need meeting business! As it was for Paul and the Philippians, so it is for us: My God will fill your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:19).

And then, as time passes, we open another package and discover the wonderful fellowship of the Body of Christ! Body Life! Sharing our lives in Christ! Loving each other as He loves us! And whether one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or one member is glorified all the members rejoice with it (1 Cor. 12:26). In the Body of Christ, we rejoice with those who are rejoicing, and we cry with those who are crying. We share life! The good, the bad, and the ugly!

We open another package and we find that God has gifted us; that is, He has given us certain gifts that enable us to minister to others in a very real way. In the same way that the various parts of our human bodies need each other and minister to each other, we do the same in the Body of Christ. If my right arm should suffer an injury of any significance, my left hand immediately and without specific instructions from the brain, moves to alleviate the pain in any possible way. That is what ministry gifts are about, and we all have something to give, something to contribute to the Body.

And day by day, as we continue to open the packages, we continue to discover the wonderful Life that we have received in Christ. All of it is ours the moment we come to Christ, but by the incredible wisdom of the One who has given it to us, we only get what we are ready to receive, when we are ready. Thank God for the Christmas that lasts all the days of our lives!

Children Learn by Example

EXODUS 20:12

Example: Something, someone, taken as a model to be copied, or avoided, by others. God intended that parents be the models that children need in order for them to become godly men and women. The fact is that children learn more from their parents from the example that the parents set than from the words that the parents speak! And so, if we wish that our children would honor us, then it follows that we should set the example by honoring our own parents! If we bless our parents, we will be blessed by our own children.

In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he (directed by the Holy Spirit) wrote, I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers in a pure conscience, while unceasingly I have remembrance concerning you in my petitions night and day, longing to see you, remembering your tears, that I may be filled with joy; having been reminded of the unfeigned faith in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded dwells also in you (2 Tim. 1:3-5).

Timothy was a young man, the kind of young man that most parents would like to have call them mom or dad. How did it happen that he became that kind of a young man? Answer: He had godly role models in his life. We don’t know about his father or grandfather, but we do know about his mother and his grandmother. The mother walked by faith, faith that she learned from her own mother, Lois. And Paul attributes Timothy’s faith as a man of God to this truth. Children learn by example. Our words mean little to our children if they do not see in our lives that we live by what we say.

The fact is that we live by what we truly believe. And children are like little sponges, literally soaking up what they see in our lives. How many times have we as parents said something like You just don’t listen to me! Most of us have said things like this many, many times. Now hear me. For whatever reason a child may not hear our words, but they do observe our lives! They may not hear us but they do see us! And by seeing us, they discover what is good or bad, what is right or wrong. Thank God that children do learn, not only by hearing, but also by the example that we set before them.

For Christian parents, the single most important thing in our lives is to see that our children come to the point of making Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior of their lives. We want the assurance that we will be with them in eternity. We parents are the most significant persons in the lives of our children. They must see the reality of Jesus Christ in our lives! Yes, we want them to be saved by any means, but the means by which God intended them to be saved is us!

Question: As parents, is our influence for Christ in the lives of our children a truly significant influence? Or is it lukewarm and halfhearted? The greatest tragedy imaginable in all of life would be that a child would be lost to God because of the negative, halfhearted, lukewarm influence of his or her own parents or that of their grandparents.

Think about it. Children learn by example. What sort of example are we providing for them?

Train up a Child

PROVERBS 22:6

I suppose there are as many self-help books on the shelves of bookstores and libraries on this subject as about any other: How to Raise Your Children. And no doubt some of the material is workable. The problem is that, for Christian parents, much of it is based on the assumption that children just need training in order to turn out OK. The problem with that is it is just not true. Children have a major problem: they have a sin nature that must be dealt with if they are to turn out OK. (But OK means about as many different things as there are parents!)

What is true for adults is true for the children: we have sinned and fallen short of the purpose of our existence, which is to be a people for God. And the evidence and consequences of the sin nature are all around us! Yes, even among children.

To instill biblical values in children is an essential part of a real education. However, the term biblical values is not universally received with open arms! To speak of biblical values implies that there is a value system that is absolute and objective, one that does not change with the times or the circumstances of our lives and of our cultures. Biblical values implies that there are behavioral things that are right, and there are behavioral things that are wrong.

And the idea of right and wrong is repulsive to many! What makes one thing right and another thing wrong? In a godless culture, society sets those standards, and the standards will be different from group to group. And because those values and standards are important, men fight to protect and preserve their own values and standards. We call this fighting war.

In a truly Christian culture, the Bible is the foundation and the superstructure of the value system. A thing is right or wrong, good or bad, because of what God has said about it and for no other reason. The Christian culture believes that God is all-wise, and that He knew what He was doing when He created us, and that He knew what He was doing when He designed a life for us. Every prohibition is carefully designed to protect us from things that would harm us, whether that is the world, Satan, or ourselves.

So what does all of this have to do with raising children? Everything! Parents whose value systems reflect the value systems of their particular culture will raise their children according to those systems. To get the ABCs correct is not nearly enough! Reading and writing and arithmetic must be accompanied by a system of values that will enable them to make correct decisions throughout their lives. Life is more than just math and science, and real education equips children to deal with the whole of life and not just the academics. Children need to know what is