If I follow a king, that does not make me a king ...anymore than following a donkey makes me a donkey.

But, if I follow the King of Kings, though no person can fill His shoes, nor match His steps ...I can follow while looking up.  In contrast, if I follow a donkey, I should perhaps look down to see where I step.

What of His followers??

It is difficult, and perhaps futile to discuss His followers without first mentioning Him.

He asked the disciples who walked with Him, and followed Him, "Who do you say that I am?"

One answered, "You are the Messiah!"

They who walked with Him, obviously knew He existed.  Today, we often label people much like we do cattle.  Like we live on the 4-L Ranch, and this is our brand of Jesus:

1. Legend
2. Lunatic
3. Liar
4. Lord

(I think I first saw this description in a book by C.S. Lewis.)

• There are those who say they don't believe in God. They say the Bible is just an elaborate collection of stories ...some very interesting and creative, but not that different from other legends.
• There are those who feel that if there was a man named, Jesus ...that there were no deliberate lies, just a bit of grandiose lunacy.
• There are those who somehow try to dismiss everything not as a matter of innocence or mistaken identity ...but, a very organized effort to concoct lies.
• Then there is ...me.  I'm not alone, though neither do I feel numbers matter, and actually it doesn't matter if I'm alone. The circumstances tend not to matter.  I believe that Jesus is precisely who I read, in the Bible, that He said He is ...my Lord and Savior.  Not only mine to claim, as there is a shared partnership of brothers and sisters, in a spiritual sense, with that claim.

1) If you believe the first 'L' ...then perhaps you group me with those who believe in Heffalumps, unicorns, aliens from outer space, Cyclops, or Rumpelstiltskin. But, on a more serious note, not discounting all those who say they've seen legitimate flying saucers, most cultures have their own version of how the universe was formed ...and many share the concept of a cosmic egg, like the Orphic Egg, which cracked open and formed the universe.  And they think those of us who believe in Creation by God are too unrealistic.  I will not say which one is more cracked ...nor will I fault who was cooking up the idea of the egg, and likely dropped the frying pan to cause the big bang..

I merely am saying I believe in the Bible, and I believe that when Jesus returns, He will reign on earth for a thousand years. A force will then gather against the saints and the beloved city ...to no avail. And I admit, it seems much less threatening to think of gradual 'climate change' than to think of the upcoming judgment and a lake of fire. Maybe that's why we changed from calling it global warming ...to merely climate change.

2) Those who feel it was a mere case of someone needing to be Institutionalized so they could get psychiatric help ...well, I worked with teenagers and also later with incarcerated adults, some of which graduated from the former to the latter, and I have an opinion on that. For those who sincerely seek help, the success rate depends heavily upon the person's ability to to overcome the denial stage ...it's commonly said, that dealing with denial is half the battle. Anyone who doesn't deny Jesus should know He won the full battle in behalf of us. Call me insane ...call me what you may, it doesn't matter so much what you call me, as it does why you call me the things you may. But, what does matter is that you call Jesus ...Lord.

And don't just trust my blog on this one ...entries into the Book of Life are of utmost importance, not the entries here!

3) What can be said of a liar??  What is the advantage?  There are some religions that claim a few similar beliefs, enough to kind of copycat certain things, though being drastically different on other points ...and even adding rewards provided in heaven.  Other religions focus more on personal attainment, either through depravity or trained concentration.

There are those who try to empty themselves of all outside interference ...focusing the best they can on nothing.  I've never personally tried this for fear it could be dangerous. If I emptied my mind, I may just end up a bit disappointed, seeing that as not much different than my usual state ...or perhaps an even greater fear would be chancing I'd perhaps get trapped in that state of nothingness, and be forever destined to only communicate on the level of your average daily Twitter loyalist.

The disciples faced stoning, imprisonment, and crucifixion ...not the desired advantage for your average opportunist nor is it a great motivational tool for continuing to lie or to convince ourselves to stick to our story. And the disciples weren't merely wanting to die to gain position in heaven ...they wanted you to be able to get to heaven too.

4) Why do so many of us call Him our Savior & our Lord?? I wish I had the time to tell each and every one of you ...all that I believe, and be able to answer all the question you may have. Of course, I don't have all the answers ...but, I do enjoy looking for them in the Bible, and am thrilled if you do it with me.