Category: Love

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The Identity Property

Lesson 1-8 Properties of Real Numbers - ppt video online download

I wrote about the Division Property of Zero in my most recent blog post and that got me thinking about other math properties that I teach my students. The Identity Property is one of them. In mathematics, an identity is defined as a transformation that leaves an object unchanged. With regard to addition, that would be zero (13 + 0 = 13), and in multiplication, it is one (13 x 1 = 13). The best way I found to explain it is by asking my students what they see when they look in a mirror. Answer: Themselves! That’s their identity. Or is it? 

What is Your Identity?

When it comes to Jesus, He has a knack for turning things upside down, including the Identity Property! As Christ followers, we choose to put our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Our identity is found in Him and Him alone. 

But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

‭‭ John‬ ‭1‬:‭12‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Out with the Old, In with the New

We are a child of God, a new creation, redeemed and forgiven. Unlike a mathematical identity, when one’s identity is found in Christ it is a transformation that leaves us radically changed! 

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

All Because of Jesus

Our new life would not be possible without Jesus. Keep that in mind as you gather with friends and family to celebrate His birth in the coming days. 

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.

‭‭ Matthew‬ ‭1‬:‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The Ultimate Gift

That is cause for celebration! Jesus truly is the Ultimate Gift, one to be treasured anew each day. 

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.

‭‭ Luke‬ ‭2‬:‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Image result for merry christmas clip art images

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Division By Zero

Impossible!

As most of you know, I teach developmental math at the community college. My basic math class took a test on whole numbers and integers recently and one of the concepts included on that exam was division by zero.

The Division Property of Zero

Ready for a math lesson? Zero divided by any nonzero number is zero. But dividing BY zero is a whole different story. I illustrate this idea to my students with a cookie analogy. If I bring ZERO cookies to class to divide among my students, how many cookies does each student receive? NONE! However, what if I bring 2 dozen cookies to share with my students and no one shows up? (Believe it or not, that HAS happened—the last part anyhow) I can’t share them, can I? No, I just end up eating too much! Anything divided by zero is undefined in the world of math.

Division Abounds

Let’s apply that concept to the world in general. I think we would all agree that there is no shortage of division in this world. If that doesn’t affect you, then let’s narrow the scope. Is there division in your country, state, county, community? How about in your church or school? Have you been affected by it? What about your neighborhood, your family, or even your own home? I suspect everyone is affected by division every single day on some level simply because we live in a fallen world.

The Division Property of Zero: A Real-Life Application

On the way to class on the morning of that exam, God provided me with a revelation and consequently some writing material. You know I’m always looking for that, not to mention the time to put it into words. With division apparent at seemingly every turn these days, just remember this math lesson. You CANNOT divide by zero. It is undefined. If NO ONE participates, division is NOT possible. Think about that.

The Opposite of Division = Unity

God has a better way. He calls it unity. In God’s perfect timing, the verse of the day as I sat down to finish this post is Galatians 3:28. It reads:

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Because of God’s amazing grace, we all stand on equal footing no matter our age, race, gender, social status, political beliefs, etc. No matter what, we are all ONE before God, standing on a level playing field created by Jesus.

Achieving Unity

As Christians, we are called to live out that unity here on earth. What does that look like? It certainly is not easy, but we have been given some instructions.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Colossians 3:12-14 (NIV)

I believe we’ve been called to a higher standard as children of God. After all, we are a new creation in Christ Jesus. We have the power of the Holy Spirit at our disposal 24/7 to guide and direct us. As we sang in church just this past Sunday, “they’ll know we are Christians by our love.” That should be the goal!

Doing Our Part

Let’s strive for unity right where we’ve been planted. Remember, division is not possible if no one participates! I am going to put forth a more conscious effort not to engage in any activity that promotes division. To use more math lingo, I want to be part of the solution, not the problem. Will you join me?

 

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The Ultimate Gift

No Greater Gift

Considering the name of my blog, it wouldn’t seem right to allow Christmas to pass without a word from me. After all, Jesus IS the ultimate gift. In the wee hours of Christmas morning, I’m feeling too exhausted to write, yet too wound up to remain silent.

From One Extreme to the Other

What a difference a year makes. This time last year, I was in bed recovering from my initial cervical spine surgery. It was the quietest Christmas that I ever recall. I watched enough Christmas movies to exceed my life’s quota all in one month! This year I felt like I couldn’t have possibly packed another thing into December. Thankfully there were precious celebrations of the season with friends and family to break up that lengthy list of tasks that come with preparing for Christmas.

Singing and Ringing

Music played a big role in making this a December to remember. It was an honor to play a beautiful Christmas medley with the handbell choir early in the month. The following week, my church presented a Christmas cantata for the first time since 2019. What a joy it was to sing in that again after the lengthy layoff!

Words are Powerful

The Christmas Eve service last night felt like the grand finale. I recently admitted that I do not pay a whole lot of attention to the words I’m singing. Songs in my digital library are generally there because I like the tune. And just when I admitted that publicly, the words in the choir music suddenly started jumping off the page. They have moved me to the point that I get too choked up to sing at times. It happened again last night when the choir sang a beautiful anthem titled “Behold Our God.”

To cap it off, my pastor delivered a powerful message that everyone needs to hear, using a ladder as a prop. We strive to be closer to God, to reach the top of the ladder. But life happens, and no matter how hard we try, we can’t earn our way to the top. Good news—God knew that from the start and had the perfect solution. His name is Jesus. Love came down to us at Christmas. There is no greater gift!

“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

Matthew 1:23 NIV

 

Merry Christmas!

Charter Oak Church
Christmas Cantata ’24

 

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Unfair Trade

Unfair Trade
All Trades are Not Even

Have you ever been involved in an unfair trade? All trades are not even. As a child, I learned that lesson firsthand. I collected baseball cards as a kid. My cousins from New York did as well. I always looked forward to their summer visits and the opportunity to “play” with our collections. 

 

An Uneven Trade

One particular trade we made stands out from the rest. My cousins offered me 100 cards for ONE of mine. That didn’t quite seem like a fair trade. I was shocked that they would propose such a trade as I clearly was getting the better end of that deal. After all, 100 > 1. How could I possibly turn that down?

The Trade of All Trades

Did you know that God makes some unfair trades? It’s true! In fact, He is the author of the most lopsided trade in history. God gave us something priceless, Jesus, in exchange for something worthless, our sin, to give us the right to become part of His family, His children. Why would He do that? Because of love! 

 

Reaping the Benefits

That trade is a done deal; however, to become His child and experience the abundant life that comes with that position, God requires something of us. He simply asks us to receive Jesus Christ as our Savior from sin and to fully trust that He alone is the way of salvation. God offers salvation to anyone who will receive it from Him. 

 

“But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.”

John 1:12 NLT

 

What a deal! And it was all made possible by an unfair trade. 

 

Shortchanged

About that unfair trade I made with my cousins–it turns out that they were the ones who got the last laugh. I did get 100 cards in exchange for my one. The problem—that one card I traded away was Roberto Clemente! Ugh….