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LIFESTYLES: A layman’s journey of discovery through the Bible LIFESTYLES: A layman’s journey of discovery through the Bible Thomas L. Zornes Thomas L. Zornes The Christian life is not as cut and dry as we would like it to be. We struggle with sin and the strongholds it produces in us. In my journey, as a believer, I have discovered God has a plan and has created us to fulfill that plan. By understanding how this creation functions, we can see his hand in our lives become less and less tossed by a wavering faith. Hopefully, my discoveries can help others to draw close to Christ and be used by the Holy Spirit to minister life to others around them. $25.95LIFESTYLES Thomas L. Zornes A Layman’s Journey of Discovery through the BibleISBN 979-8-89243-867-4 (paperback) ISBN 979-8-89243-868-1 (digital) Copyright © 2025 by Thomas L. Zornes All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below. Christian Faith Publishing 832 Park Avenue Meadville, PA 16335 www.christianfaithpublishing.com Printed in the United States of America Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, the New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Revised Standard Version (RSV) The Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971, the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. New King James Version (NKJV) Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Amplified Bible (AMP) Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved. English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.This book was made possible by the influence of many people in my past. It actually began in October 1981 when I first heard about the body, soul, and spirit at a renewal weekend called a Cursillo in the Republic of Panama. Several years later, I read a book by Watchman Nee entitled The Normal Christian Life. Then my pastor, Byron Moore, presented a series on the victorious Christian life from 1998 to 1999. I also want to thank Wayne McDill for his book The Message in Your Emotions. Its influence on my discoveries is immeasurable. The opportunity to begin putting down on paper what I had been learning came in the spring of 1998, when I outlined a course for the Crossings Prison Ministry. In April 1998, I taught the first chapter, “The Beginning,” at the Dismas Halfway House in Las Cruces. In the spring of 1999, we ran out of printed materials for the first phase 2 of the Crossings program at the Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility (SNMCF). I decided to try out the lifestyles course. My concern was that this material might not be what God wanted for the program. However, I received an enthusiastic response from the residents, and I began to work on the guides in earnest. I then presented it entirely to the first phase 2 cycle in the Joe Sylva Unit in the fall of 2000. In the spring of 2008, another opportunity to enhance these ideas came from seminary-level coursework offered by the University Presbyterian Church in Las Cruces New Mexico, called the LAMP theological seminary program. There are many people God has placed in my path who have encouraged me in ministry. Jan Thomas and John Pickett have been invaluable friends. In my early walk, Chaplain Richard Thompson, Joseph Trammell were strong encouragers, and my brother Chaplain Russel Stroup. This post chaplain led me to the Lord. Rev. Byron Moore’s influence on me is immeasurable. The Holy Spirit spoke volumes to me through Byron.I do not claim to be a theologian or an expert in biblical knowledge. However, I have some insights into the things shown to me through my walk with Jesus Christ. The primary objective is to help believers become aware that God has already put everything in place that is necessary for them to walk with him. His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. (2 Peter 1:3–4 NIV) The following are the things I want you to note in these verses: 1. God has given us everything we need for both life and godliness. 2. We access this through the knowledge of him who called us. 3. The promises allow us to participate in the divine nature rather than the sin nature and escape corruption caused by evil desires, which is the corruption of the inherent desires described in The Message in Your Emotions, written by Wayne McDill. 1 CHAPTER 1 The Beginning There was a great debate when I was growing up in the sixties! Was I created, or did I evolve? This question is probably the most important question humans have ever asked. I believe this question comes from wanting to know and understand several important life questions. What am I doing here in this place? Why can’t I get my life on track? Why do I find it hard to do what is expected of me? These questions are quite common for us. There seems to be an inner desire that sparks a quest for these answers in hopes of knowing that I serve a purpose or that I am here for a reason, and that means I have value or worth, and that there is a direction for my life. Destiny takes purpose a step further and says that the reasonI am here will be fulfilled as part of a predetermined course of events. There were times in my life when I felt valueless, and I didn’t like what I was experiencing. The discomfort seems to come from the inside of my being somewhere. This discomfort almost always caused me to ask, “Why am I here?” or, in desperation, “Why me, Lord?” To understand why I am here, I first must know where I came from. Was I created, or did I evolve? This question was satisfactorily addressed when I concluded that it was important for me to discover how the concepts of purpose and destiny enter our consciousness.Thomas L. Zornes 2 If I evolved, there is no purpose to why I am here. If, however, I was created, then the question of why I am here takes on real meaning and significance. Then there must be a reason for me being here. Nobody makes something for nothing. So assuming that I was created, I want to learn something about that creation activity. Intelligent design, another word for creation, brings us both purpose and destiny. The next step is to see where we fit in the created order of things. And then, we will look at the provisions God made for us in the creation, which will help us better understand how we operate. There are three things in the creation story that encouraged me. The first is the creation was specific; the creator had a common conclusion, and he created man differently. Reading Genesis 1:1–26, I want to point out several things. First, the creation is specific. I discovered that the creation events fell into several categories. The categories are the following: 1. Cosmic. These are the things beyond the physical earth: light (v. 3), time and seasons (v. 14), and sun and moon (v. 15). 2. Geological. These are the things that are part of the earth’s makeup: heavens and earth (v. 1), expanse (v. 6), and land and seas (v. 9). 3. Vegetation. These are what we know as the plant kingdom: vegetation and trees (v. 11). 4. Animal. These are what we know as the animal kingdom: sea life (v. 20), birds (v. 21), and animals (v. 24). 5. Man. This is the creation of humans (v. 26). The second encouragement was the conclusion that after each creation event, God saw it was good upon completion. The creation is good. And working properly. The Hebrew word is tob, which means “good, pleasing, and desirable.” Interestingly, each event was declared good. God then saw the creation to be very good after the completion of man. This very good declaration was a most significant discovery for me. It meant that what God created was done corLifestyles 3 rectly, and all the functions of this creation were designed to operate properly. These functions included how the body, soul, and human spirit worked together properly. This included the operation of both sin and the flesh. The third thing that encouraged me from the creation story is that there was something different about the creation of man. Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” (Genesis 1:26 NIV) God made mankind operate differently in creation. He made them in his image and gave them dominion. We can see mankind is different by looking at some comparisons and by examining how living things accomplish things like procreate, exist, and live. We can see a contrast between the plant and animal kingdoms and mankind. Plants reproduce mostly by relying on other earth resources and have no known emotional involvement. On the other hand, animals are driven by instinctual urges and desires. They have some relational and emotional involvement but lack the higher communication and intellectual skills of mankind. Of the three categories of living things, only mankind asks questions about their existence and destiny. As a result, life has more meaning and value. This meaning and value are wrapped up in the image. An image is the likeness of something. Those things that make us in the likeness of God are the following: • God is eternal. We can have eternal life (John 3:16). • God is omnipotent. We can do all things through Christ (Philippians 4:1). • God is omniscient. We can know and understand spiritual truth in Christ (1 Timothy 2:4).