[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fa-cut-above":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fa-cut-above-surround":65},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":12,"columnName":47,"date":48,"description":18,"extension":49,"image":50,"meta":51,"minRead":52,"navigation":53,"path":54,"postType":55,"publication":56,"publicationUrl":50,"seo":57,"stem":58,"topics":59,"__hash__":64},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fa-cut-above.md","A Cut Above",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9,10,11],"Isaiah","Psalms","1 John",{"type":13,"value":14,"toc":43},"minimark",[15,19,22,25,28,31,34,37,40],[16,17,18],"p",{},"\"From our ranch you can see two mountains that look almost exactly the same size,\" says Dr. John Walker, director of Blessing Ranch, a resource and renewal center for Christian leaders near Fort Collins, Colorado. \"But when you actually drive to the mountains 31 miles away and stand at their base, you realize that one peak is far larger than the other.",[16,20,21],{},"\"That's how it is with Jesus and us,\" Walker points out. \"The closer we get to Christ, the more we realize how dissimilar we are to him and how much more we need to grow.\"",[16,23,24],{},"In Psalm 50:21, the Lord rebukes the wicked by saying, \"You thought I was altogether like you.\" Another possible translation is, \"You thought the 'I AM' was altogether like you.\"",[16,26,27],{},"But God is not \"altogether like us.\" \"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty\" (Isaiah 6:3). Why use the word \"holy\" three times? Some Bible students speculate that it's a reference to the holiness of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Others say it's because God was holy in the past, he is holy in the present, and he will be holy in the future. The main point may be simply to underscore God's uniqueness and drum its rhythm into our minds so we'll never forget: God is holy, holy, holy.",[16,29,30],{},"Just as we can't put the ocean into a teacup or hold a mountain in the palm of our hands, neither can our limited minds fully comprehend the nature of God. \"Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom\" (Psalm 145:3). What we do understand about the Lord, though, causes us to stand in awe of him. He is set apart from creation, untainted by evil, \"a cut above\" in all that's good. \"God is light; in him there is no darkness at all\" (1 John 1:5).",[16,32,33],{},"God is a cut above in his righteousness. Recently our church printed some study guides listing the books of the Bible—a little study tool to help our members understand the Scriptures better. After we had distributed hundreds of the study guides, someone pointed out a typographical error: we had accidentally left out the book of Esther! No matter how hard we try, you and I make mistakes. But God never errs. When he gave us the Bible, he didn't leave out anything he wanted us to know.",[16,35,36],{},"God is a cut above in his creative ability. We show creativity by painting a picture, composing a song, building a house, writing a poem, cooking a meal, or designing a computer program. God expressed creativity by shaping the Rocky Mountains, organizing the Milky Way, and creating the oceans. We make ice cubes; he makes glaciers. We make fireworks; he makes thunder and lightning.",[16,38,39],{},"God is a cut above in his self-control. Susceptible to temptation, we think we're exercising self-control when we pass up the chocolate cake after a big meal or get out of bed promptly when the alarm clock wakes us. By contrast, God has all power to do whatever he wants, yet he is \"gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love\" (Psalm 145:8). And what amazing self-control Jesus showed on the cross! Instead of calling 12 legions of angels to rescue him (Matthew 26:53), the Lord of life laid down his life for our salvation.",[16,41,42],{},"What a mighty God we serve! What amazing love, that our holy God would reach across the chasm carved by our sin and give us peace through his Son and power through his Holy Spirit. He's a cut above in all that's good. That's why our goal shouldn't be to make him more like us, but for us to become more like him.",{"title":44,"searchDepth":45,"depth":45,"links":46},"",2,[],"From the Editor's Desk","2001-04-01","md",null,{},4,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fa-cut-above","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":18},"articles\u002Fa-cut-above",[60,61,62,63],"Biblical Theology","Christian Unity","Church Leadership","Spiritual Formation","YeMs6KnWNbyFf-dJ4F5jrVSzi9mjHfT7f1myaD_Q0uM",[66,71],{"title":67,"path":68,"stem":69,"description":70,"children":-1},"A Call to Worship","\u002Farticles\u002Fa-call-to-worship","articles\u002Fa-call-to-worship","Lately the topic of worship has brought a lot of churches more heartache than joy.",{"title":72,"path":73,"stem":74,"description":75,"children":-1},"A Debt We Owe Our Children","\u002Farticles\u002Fa-debt-we-owe-our-children","articles\u002Fa-debt-we-owe-our-children","A letter arrived in my mailbox recently offering a credit card with a low interest rate and a credit line up to $50,000 with no annual fee. Nothing terribly unusual about that, you say? Well, this letter was addressed to Mindy, my 13-year-old daughter! Evidently the potential lender acquired her name from a mailing list, but didn't realize her age."]