God, Science and HIV

Have you ever heard the phrase, "Who woulda thunk it?"  If I am not mistaken, the first time that I heard it was on the movie "A Cabin in the Sky".  Usually, when something is presented that is beyond belief or too simple to be true, that's a good phrase to use.  I went to a seminar yesterday and the speaker was Dr. James Hildreth, Dean of Biological Sciences and the University of California at Davis.  His talk centered around the role of cholesterol with respect to HIV replication.  Quiet as it is kept, cholesterol drives HIV replication.  HIV basically uses cholesterol as fuel.  It was amazing to learn this information because I had never heard it before.

As Dr. Hildreth talked about his research, he mentioned a serendipitous discovery.  What they found out was that a rather innocuous compound, beta-cyclodextrin, actually shows some activity versus HIV.  They were using it to make a different drug soluble but what they found out was astounding.  They found out that beta-cyclodextrin actually robs HIV of cholesterol and kills the virus!  In some cases, it dropped the levels of the virus to undetectable levels.  This is not an antiretroviral drug, it doesn't cost $10,000.00 per year, as HIV/AIDS treatments do (there is very little new data on the cost of treatment and many new therapies are combination therapies that are very expensive- see HIV therapies and The Business of HIV) and it is harmless to everything else in the body besides HIV.  I sat awestruck at this discovery.  How could something so simple have such a profound impact on one of the most dreaded diseases of the 20th century?  Who woulda thunk it?

Beta-cyclodextrin (shown at right) is a molecule that is found in everything from toothpaste to cookies.  The structure is simply several sugars linked together by ethereal bonds (please excuse the chemist in me).  They are used to make cholesterol free products because one of their primary actions is the binding of cholesterol.  The link between HIV, cyclodextrins and cholesterol is about as odd as finding Donald Trump in a room full of gay-rights activists that voted for Obama.

So, where am I going with this?  Discoveries like these have to be divinely inspired! There is simply no way that anyone would ever make that connection and perform the requisite experiments to prove it.  Which is where Dr. Hildreth impressed me to the point that I talked about him all the way home to myself and to my wife.  When he was studying this compound and its effect on HIV and he noticed that the compound basically rips a hole in the HIV infected cell to remove cholesterol from it, he said that every time he looked into his microscope, he saw God's glory revealed to him.  He immediately glorified God for this discovery and for the wisdom and ability to conduct this research.  I was floored.  He never denied the connection between God and science, which is what many scientists do because science is a humanistic area of study.  Scientists want to believe that everything in the world and on the planet is a godless mess that we must figure out.  My take, as a scientist and a Christian, is that everything in the world is a God-created miracle that God slowly removes the covers from and slowly gives man the wisdom to understand.  Diseases and other harmful things that exist do so, not because of God's creation of defective things, but because of sin's destructive effects on God's once perfect creation.  I also believe that the cure for every disease exists in some natural source, many of which we have yet to discover.  Put another way, for every medical defect that sin causes, God put a cure in place to defeat it.  We just have to find it.  They are in the process of phase-I clinical trials which I am certain will be successful because of how benign cyclodextrins are to humans and how safe they have already proven to be.  Dr. Hildreth has plans underway to develop a cream containing this compound, which could be literally be produced for $0.10 per tube and given away by the governments in places that have heretofore been devastated by HIV/AIDS.  

 

A scripture that comes to mind is found in 1 Corinthians 1:25 which says simply that God's foolishness is wiser that man's wisdom.  God is so infinitely intelligent and wise until man's wisdom could never figure Him out.  He knew prior to Adam's sin what would happen and from the foundations of the world had a Lamb (Revelation 13:8; 1 Peter 1:20) prepared to deal with sin and its outworking.  Thank God that every solution is in Christ Jesus!  It is only by His Spirit that wisdom, that comes from God (James 1:5), is given to man.  Thank you Jesus for being the solution and for being the creator and giving us all things that we need.  Grace and peace be upon you. 

Where Were You on Sunday Morning

Whew!  It's been a month since my last post.  I can hardly believe that but I've been crazy busy lately.  Between my job, two children and a wife, baseball season and a house that can NEVER seem to stay clean, I am up to my neck in stuff to do.  I want to share something with you that I actually preached yesterday.  The Lord put this into my spirit as I was driving to work last week.  I got a text from my pastor asking me if I could preach and I knew that the Holy Ghost was lining things up.  The theme for the sermon was "Where were you on Sunday morning".  I hope that it blesses you.

Introduction (Texts Luke 4:9-13 and Luke 24:1-6)

In the fourth chapter of Luke, the temptation of Jesus is recorded.  Jesus, the son of the living god, the word made flesh, the hypostatic union of god and man is led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by the devil.  Hebrews 4:15 says that he was tempted in every way and he fully experienced the human condition, but was without sin. 

How many know that because of this temptation, Jesus is able to sympathize with our weakness!  He knows that the spirit is often willing but the flesh is weak!  He knows every device the devil uses against us and therefore, we can approach god’s throne and find grace and mercy when we need it!   

In the text, Jesus is face to face with our most powerful enemy- the devil himself.  When Satan was tempting Jesus in the wilderness, he made three statements all including an “if” (Luke 4: verses 3, 7, and 9).  If is a conjunction which is used to suggest that something is being called into question. “IF” is Satan's main weapon.   He cannot tell the truth, so he tries to get us to doubt the truth.  He did the same thing in the Eden with Eve when he questioned God's instructions to her by asking “did god really say that?”  

In the temptation of Christ, Jesus is famished and tired.  He’s been in the wilderness with no food or water for 40 days straight!  This is a desert: sandy, mountainous terrain with the sun beating down on Him!  Add to it the devil’s temptation and you have a recipe for a breakdown!  Now, the devil’s motive was the same here as it was in Eden.  He brought the sonship and deity of Jesus into question by feigning doubt with his statement of ”if you are the son of God…”  He was challenging the validity of Jesus' testimony.  40 days earlier, Jesus had just been baptized and confirmed as God’s Son by the Spirit resting on him like a dove but now he was in the fight of his human life. 

Jesus was 100% God and 100% human and the temptation gives us a glimpse into the nature of Satan.  His job and intent is to stir up the flesh.  Satan says “if” to the flesh in order to stir it up, to suppress the spirit and to make us act contrary to what God has already said. 

Satan is a master at trying to create conflict between man and God.  He wants to raise doubts and cause us to question the truth, power and faithfulness of god.  If he can do that, then he has created a conflict.  He did it in Genesis and as a reminder; a flaming sword turning in every direction east of the garden of Eden is there to ensure that no one will ever enter there.

What we have to understand is this: yes, the devil will try to raise doubts and questions but God’s word is truth and we must stand on what god said over any doubts that we might have implanted by Satan

 

An opportune time:

Luke says here in verse 13 that the devil departed from Jesus until an “opportune” time.  The Greek word kairos is used for time in lieu of the word chronos.  Chronos describes hours/minutes) but kairos describes the right “moment” or “season”.  Opportune times are usually times of high emotion, stress or depression!  That’s why Paul tells us not to give the devil a foothold through anger, that’s why Satan is described as a roaring lion, that’s why we must stay sober minded- he is looking for the right moment to attack! 

So if we trace the life of Jesus and His ministry, we can see instances where Satan just kept showing up.  Let's look at it:

Working through the religious leaders:  Jesus was in his hometown and drove out a mute demon!  Satan used the Pharisees to accuse Jesus of working with Satan to accomplish his miracles- then- Satan tried to make the people think that Jesus was crazy- it got so bad that his mother and brothers showed up!  In Mark 3:21, they said “he has lost his senses…” he’s gone crazy!  Jesus straightened them out, Jesus said I don’t work for the strong man; I came to bind him up and rob his house!  This is good news because once the strong man is bound up; everything he stole from you is coming back!  Jesus said I cast out demons by the finger of God!  I’m setting people free by the power of God!  I am breaking chains by the power of the Holy Ghost! 

The religious leaders couldn’t touch Jesus.  Even those closest to the religious leaders were starting to believe!  In John 7, the temple police who were sent to arrest Jesus said, “no one has ever spoken like him!”  Nicodemus (well-known Pharisee) said, “We should hear from him before passing judgment…

Working through the disciples: When Satan can’t get you, he tries to get close to you?  The devil couldn’t trap Jesus using the religious leaders…so, he tried to get to the disciples

At Caesarea Philippi, in Matthew 16:16, Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ and then, 5 verses later, when Jesus is prophesying his death, the same Peter starts to rebuke Jesus saying “…this shall never happen to you”.  Jesus turned to peter and said…get behind me Satan! Satan knew that if he could keep Jesus off the cross, he could keep god’s kingdom from being established in the earth!  The sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary was God's way doing a new thing!  It was God making a way out of no way and giving water in dry places!  It had to happen.

The disciples argued over who would be the greatest in the kingdom, not understanding that being the greatest in the kingdom meant being last, washing feet, loving the least of these, loving the poor and the broken hearted!

A little later on, they were sitting at the dinner table and Jesus simply turned to Judas and told him what you do, do it quickly. Satan entered into him right there in the presence of Jesus (John 13:27), and for 30 pieces of sliver Judas sold Jesus out!  

Even at the cross:  When the disciple angle didn’t work, Satan got bold, he even showed up at the cross!  At the cross, Satan was STILL challenging the Godhood of Jesus.  There were people standing around the cross saying “If you are the Son of God, save yourself!”  The thief on the cross says this: Save yourself then save us - as if they deserved saving!  Men walked by wagging their heads and deriding Jesus! 

The devil was again trying to raise doubts.  What he was saying is this, “hey Jesus, do you really think that you are supposed to die for all these people that hate your guts?  Come on down from there and save yourself.   Don’t those nails hurt?  You can wear a real crown, not a crown of thorns.  You can come down and be a king right here on earth!”

He showed up to try to undo what put in motion from the foundation of the earth!  Jesus didn’t come to be an earthly king- he said to Pilate (John 18:36) - “my kingdom is not of this world…”  Jesus came to establish the KINGDOM of Heaven on earth using earthly subjects!   Jesus did not come to save Himself; He came to save those that would trust Him as their savior, through His death.

 

Friday Evening: A Change has come

 

Something started to change on Friday evening.  The sun went black, there was a great earthquake and the temple veil was torn in two.  WHEN Jesus gave up the ghost, even the Roman soldier at the cross started praising God saying “surely, this man must be the Son of God!”  [Matthew 27:54; Mark 15:39]-  The light bulb came on for Him…he had an epiphany!

This is what the Lord spoke to me: SOMEONE HERE IS STRUGGLING TO BELIEVE…STRUGGLING WITH BELIEVING THAT JESUS IS REAL:  When  we begin to understand that God is real, cannot lie, cannot make a mistake, that Jesus is real and that He really came – and hold on to the truth…WE CANNOT BE TOUCHED! 

The physical may get touched but FAITH SAYS “WE KNOW WHAT WE KNOW!” Faith says “GOD IS FAITHFUL!” and WE HOLD ON TO THAT!

No matter what anyone says, we have unspeakable joy that comes from God and when you’ve held on to Jesus for a while, you have evidence that  Jesus will do everything that He said!  Yes we still make mistakes BUT WE SERVE A GOD THAT HONORS OUR FAITH! GOD IS REAL, and if we confess our sins God is faithful and just to forgive us!  He’s full of lovingkindness, slow to anger and He rewards those that diligently seek Him.

The Million Dollar Question:  Satan, where were you on Sunday Morning?

The bible says that it was early in the morning when Mary came to the (Luke 24:1-6) and the stone was rolled away BUT THERE WAS NO ONE INSIDE!  There were two angels there that asked, “Why are you looking for the living among the dead?  He is not here but He is risen.”  Remember he told you all these things?"

Here is the million dollar question…”SATAN, WHERE WERE YOU ON SUNDAY MORNING?”  Yes you were in the wilderness, in the synagogue with the Pharisees, among the religious leaders, inside of Judas, you were even at the foot of the cross…BUT where were you on Sunday Morning? 

Where were you when Jesus, after the humiliation of the cross, got up in glory? When the stone was rolled away?  When the Living God got up with ALL POWER? 

The empty tomb was one place that the truth could not be denied!  This is the CORE of ALL Christianity.  God had to protect it!  On Sunday morning, the same way that God has Eden guarded, He guarded the tomb of Jesus with two angels SO THAT Satan had NO chance to say, “IF”, “Maybe”;  or “listen to this” when the witnesses showed up.    He did not give the devil the opportunity to confuse the witnesses.

I will tell you where Satan was…He was DEFEATED!  Hebrews 2:14 “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,”  Sunday morning meant that the only weapon that Satan had, death, was taken away from him!  Sunday morning meant that ALL power, even the power over death belonged to Jesus!

Thank God for Sunday Morning!

Death was defeated, the power and penalty of sin was defeated, peace was made with God through Christ's blood, the lost were found through His blood, the far off were brought near through His blood and God was satisfied because just as promised (John 10:18), Jesus got up from the dead!

God bless you and keep you.  Sorry for the long delay!  Grace and peace be upon you.

Something That Really Works

Ok, so first off, I'm not a salesman.  I don't like asking people for anything and I definitely don't like selling stuff.  So, this is not a sales pitch.  This is just me trying to help the people that read this blog.  My wife has been a doctor for the past 11 years.  She studied medicine at Emory University and she currently has her own practice in Prattville, AL (www.healingtouchfamilycare.com).  She also does medical weight loss with "Slimmer-U" and she has had great success with her patients.

OK, so what's this all about?  She introduced me to this new line of products by, "ViSalus", which is a medical weight loss program that provides a wealth of dietary supplements.  They have their own vitamins, their own exercise regimens but what I really want to talk about are the ViSalus shakes.  They make this shake mix and let me say, it is phenomenal!  I have been drinking one shake a day (2 scoops of ViSalus, 8oz of chocolate soy milk, a scoop of peanut butter, a scoop of ice, blend and viola- Reeses' in a cup!) in the morning and I have not felt this good in years.  I usually crash around noon, I feel tired and when I get home I am usually drained.  One shake in the morning has changed my whole mentality and has given me energy through the roof!  I don't feel tired at all during the day and I feel full for hours.  The shakes contain vitamins, minerals and fiber to help you feel full.  I don't want to snack as much during the day and I don't really feel hungry at all, and I usually drink one shake at 7:00-7:30am.  I can work all day, eat a light lunch and have energy when I get home to hit the treadmill or the elliptical and still have energy to burn.

I am not writing this to sell anything, I am simply saying that I feel really good after drinking the shakes.  They sell a ton of other things that you may or may not be interested in.  If you want to check it out, I will post a link to the site here.  If you are looking to drop a few pounds or a lot of weight, this stuff really works.  I know a pastor in the area that dropped 100 lbs just doing two shakes per day, a little dietary switch with baked and grilled foods as opposed to fried foods and walking (not running) six miles per day.  I try to exercise regularly but I don't have the time to do 6 miles per day- and I feel great.  Even with a light exercise regimen, this stuff can really help you to lose weight, tone up, boost energy and metabolism and it's all scientifically studied.  The link is here (http://arussell334.bodybyvi.com/). 

On that note, I won't give all of the credit to the shakes.  I need to also credit God's grace because as Paul said to Timothy, "physical training is of some value but godliness profits for this life and the life to come" (1 Timothy 4:8).  Let us always give God credit for keeping us alive, well and giving us all things that we need.  God bless!!

Come On Y'all

Times are wicked and the days are evil.  School shootings are becoming commonplace.  People would rather shoot than reason.  Chicago is a war zone with innocent children dying in the crossfire.  It reminds me of the 80's in California when the bloods and crips were killing each other over turf and for faux respect.  Even in the church, preachers are watering down the gospel and limiting its effectiveness to transform lives.  Even in the church, people's hearts are waxing cold, just as Jesus prophesied. 

In times like these, we need one another.  Believers are a peculiar bunch because we sometimes don't understand that we NEED one another.  We MUST show love to one another (John 13:35; 1 John 4:20) because that is how the world will be able to identify us as Christ's disciples.  We get so caught up sometimes in walking in the strength of the flesh.  We covet other people's gifts.  We turn away from those in need.  We hurt those that try to we are supposed to be helping.  The church is supposed to be a place where those that love God and those that are followers of Jesus can come in from the cold and and be warmed by the embrace of another that is dealing with the same things.  Instead, people come in from the cold and need an extra coat because of the frigidity of many so-called Christians.

We are admonished and called by God to help each other! Hebrews 3:13 "But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin."  We are to build each other up and encourage each other every day.  The word used here for exhort is the word παρακαλέω, parakaleo.  What it means is this, we are to be right up close and personal with each other to support one another.  I heard one pastor, Dr. Mike Fabarez refer to it this way- we are to be "knee braces" for each other so that out knees don't give out on us along the journey.  We are to be braces/support/leaning posts for one another.  Without this support from one another, look at what the result is: the unsupported Christian faces the possibility of being "hardened" literally, dried out or stubborn towards God because of sin's delusion!  We all know that sin can make you believe a lie, it can put you into the bed of another woman or another man, it can make you think thoughts that were never designed to be in the mind of a Christian, it can blind our minds and deceive us, pulling us further and further away from God!  That's why we need to be support for one another.  We need to be each others' leaning post.

The book of Hebrews deals with the issue of apostasy and the issue of falling away on numerous occasions.  Here is why we need encouragement.  Every one of us that has walked this Christian walk will get tired at some point.  We will all look back at some point and wonder "what could have been".  All of us will get weary.  That is why the bible is so full of encouragement of the Christian to endure until the end (Isaiah 40:31;Hebrews 3:14; 1 Corinthians 15:58; Galatians 6:9; Romans 5:3-5; Hebrews 12:1; Hebrews 10:23; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18; Hebrews 6:19).

There is another scripture in Hebrews that also charges us to build one another up and support one another.  Hebrews 10:24,25 "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near"  The writer here says that not only are we to encourage one another, we are to think of ways to encourage one another and stimulate each other to GOOD works!  Sometimes, we are quick to stimulate each other to gossip but slow to say, "hey, I don't want to hear that."  We should applaud someone for walking away from sin and find ways to keep them in that frame of mind.  When we are around fellow believers, we need to create an environment whereby spiritual growth occurs, not spiritual relapse.

Meeting together, being around fellow believers and all the more as we see Jesus Christ's return approaching is vitally important.  We are a family.  We are His body, His ambassadors here on the earth.  We have to stick together and give love, grace and strength to one another while we are here.  If we love one another, then we can love those that are not in the body of Christ as well.  Come on y'all.  Let's get our minds right, encourage one another and love each other as we see the Day approaching!  Grace and peace.

Don't Turn Back

In the book of Hebrews, the author, in chapter 6, warns those Christians that he/she is writing to about the dangers of falling away.  Some of the readers, based on what the writer says in the text at the close of chapter 5, were not growing spiritually.  They were still drinking "milk" but they had left the basics regarding the elementary principles of "the oracles of God".  The writer says that some had become dull of hearing.

At the beginning of chapter 6, the writer says to his readers that they are to press on to maturity.  The elementary teachings, according to Hebrews 6:1,2 were: 1. repentance from dead works 2. faith toward God 3. instruction about washing and laying on of hands 4. resurrection of the dead and 5. eternal judgment.  Obviously, these things had been taught at length to these readers and the writer was trying to get them past these things into something deeper within God.  The writer was trying to get them to grow up- and he/she did not leave out the possibility of revisiting those topics (Hebrews 6:3).  Just as a point of clarity, we all need to be schooled in the elementary principles of Christianity- and we do need to review those things, even as we move further to maturity in our walk with Christ.

There is another set of people that the readers and the writer is obviously familiar with and he begins to deal with these people in verse 4.  We can see a contrast here.  The writer first deals with the spiritually immature and now he/she deals with those that were mature but had "fallen away".  There is no reason given for why they fell away, but they did.  The Greek word for fallen away is the word παραπίπτω, parapipto.  This literally means that they have fallen away from "close beside".  These were believers that were extremely mature.  These were ones, according to the text: 1. had once been enlightened 2. have tasted of the heavenly gift and 3. have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit 4. have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come.  Wow.  They were illuminated by God with knowledge and wisdom, have tasted or experienced God's grace, they were sharers with the Holy Spirit but it doesn't stop there.  Where it says that they had tasted the good word of God, this is not logos word but rhema word- which usually indicates that it is a word spoken directly from God- a dialogue between himself and the believer! 

Let's digest this.  There were some believers that had become dull of hearing but they were at least salvageable and could be reeled in.  There were other believers who were not dull of hearing at all, they were actually quite adept and skilled in the Word and had experienced everything that most believers would want.  These were the ones that became apostate or decided to unfollow Christ.  That is a very sobering thought.  I don't know why they fell away, I don't know if they just one day decided to leave or progressively became more and more despondent with respect to the faith...but they just left the faith altogether.  They turned back to their old ways.  It is possible that these people got arrogant after being so enlightened.  We see it every day.  Folks begin to believe that it is about them and start telling you about their "anointing" before they even tell you their name.  Maybe Satan robbed them of their faith (see earlier post, "What the Devil is Really After) and left them high and dry.  Could it be that they zoomed through the elementary teachings and immediately tried to be Christian gurus?  You know those types too, get saved on Sunday and Monday they are "theologians".  We don't know and there are not a whole lot of clues here in the book of Hebrews to piece this together.

What I do know is this, there is great danger in turning back.  The writer basically says this, it is impossible to restore them to repentance.  They have been taught all of the elementary things and they have experienced the deep things and it was not enough for them.  Why would they repent?  This scripture confuses many because it is sometimes interpreted as saying that the one that walked away could never be forgiven.  That's not true, there is only one sin that is beyond pardon (Matthew 12:32).  It says that it is impossible to renew them again to repentance.  If Jesus is not enough for them, then what else is there?  Their walking away, after experiencing God's best, basically says this: Jesus needs to die again for my sins because once wasn't enough.  Walking away (Verse 6) puts Jesus to open shame because by walking away, the person is saying to God, :I don't want the gift of grace, I don't want the gift of mercy, I don't need you...you gave me everything and I've decided that I do not want it.  This Jesus that you have offered up as a ransom for my sins, I want no parts of."  That's dangerous speech!

Let me encourage you today, if you've gotten weary on this Christian journey, don't turn back.  There is nothing good in the place that God brought us out of.  There is nothing holy there nor is there anything there worthy of our rejection of the true and living God.  Rejecting Jesus, telling Him that his first sacrifice was no good is blasphemous and it is outright stupid.  Especially in light of the fact that you/we have experienced some of the deep things of God!  We know that He's real, we know that He's true, we know that He's faithful and just and loving.  Why would we turn back?  Stay where God has you and commit to His plan for your spiritual growth!  Take some time to refresh yourself.  Spend some time away from the world and reflecting on God's goodness and replenish.  I don't know if these people were spiritually burnt out, but there are times that I feel burnt out and it is not a fun place to be.  As a Christian, quitting is never an option.  We are encouraged, even by this writer in chapter 12 to "fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of the faith."  Jesus lived the life of faith to the fullest- his humanity demanded that he live by faith!  Stay the course Christian soldier, don't turn back...look up!  Grace and peace. 

What the Devil is Really After

There is a popular refrain repeated, especially in the Black church, that the devil wants to rob us of our praise. While that maybe true in some instances, that is not what the devil is really after. Jesus said it best when he quoted Isaiah the prophet and said "These people honor Me with their lips but their hearts are far from Me" (Mark 7:6).  You can praise all Sunday and still leave church as full of hell as you did when you came in.   It's not really about your praise.  God is definitely praiseworthy and we all praise Him in our own way, but praise can be fabricated.  Praise can be faked, what looks like praise might just be an emotional release that is not led by the Spirit of God.  Praise can be duplicated as many of us have undoubtedly seen a baby imitating a grown up in church at some point in time. 

What Satan is really after, is our faith.  Hebrews 11:6 is about as plain as it can get, without faith it is impossible to please God.  There is a reason Jesus said what he said to Peter in Luke 22:31. He told Peter that the devil demanded permission to sift him (and the other disciples as well) as wheat. He also said to Peter in verse 32, but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail.   Sentence structure in Luke 22:32 indicates that Jesus was saying, because I have pray for you, your faith will not fail.  Jesus understood that once Peter got onto the sifter, Satan would be ruthless and relentless.  He knew this because the devil was just as relentless towards Him in the wilderness.  We only catch a short glimpse of Christ's temptation in the gospels, but He was there for 40 days listening to the prince of the air lie to Him and tempt Him.  Jesus understood the severity of Satan's attacks because he withstood them. 

Fast forward to Peter's epistle and we see the older, wiser Peter giving sage advice to the Christians that he was writing to.  1 Peter 1:6,7 "In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."  Peter knew full well about faith being tested.  This is the same man that denied Christ three times and then presided over the greatest evangelistic moment in the history of Christianity at Pentecost.   If gold, as precious as it is, must be tested and found to be true...and we were redeemed with the precious blood of Jesus, which is much more expensive than gold, then it stands to reason that our faith must also be tested and found to be genuine.

Genuine faith is a faith that endures until the end. It is not a Hebrews 6 faith  (see Hebrews 6:1-5) which crucifies Christ all over again and rejects the blessings of God and His eternal grace.   Genuine faith is not a 1 John chapter 2 faith in which John said they were never apart of us because they went out from us (1 John 2:19).   Genuine faith is a Matthew 24:13, 1 Corinthians 15:2 type of faith where are the one who endures to the end shall be saved. 

Faith is the basis of our relationship with God and it the only way that we are saved.  The devil is smart enough to know what to go after.  He wants to take away the very thing that God requires if we are to reconcile with Him, faith in His Son.  If you are in a situation where your faith is being tested, speak out loud and remind yourself of why you came to believe in the first place.  Remind yourself of how good God has been to you, how far you have progressed in the Lord and what Jesus did for you at Calvary.  Pray this prayer, "Jesus, intercede for me at God's right hand...seal my faith so that it will not fail.  Give me genuine faith so that I am able to see you in glory when you return.  In Jesus' name, Amen."  Grace and Peace. 

I am Who I am

Watching Judge Mathis just now, there was a mother and daughter in court.  The mother was suing the daughter or maybe it was the other way around.  The mother was in her 50's with a cougar tatooed on her leg.  I was really tripping out because her daughter called her out for dating these "younger men".  What really tripped me out is her response to the judge..."well judge, I am who I am.  I am not ashamed of it."

How many times have you heard someone say that?  Let's take it further, how many times have you heard someone say that that was not saved?  That is one of the most dangerous statements that anyone could make.  What this lady was saying is this...I'm not interested in changing.  I'm only interested in being "me".

Watching this and having previously watched the Sisterhood (actually being forced to watch by my wife) made me realize that there are many people that do not want to become the new creature (2 Cor 5:17) that God's grace so freely allows those that have accepted Christ to be.  It's different if we struggle with the flesh, but if there is no struggle, you might as well not even put your Converse on to get into the game.  Don't bother calling yourself a Christian if you are content to be the same person that you were when you first walked through the church doors.  That's a waste of time and unless there is some repentance, some fruit being bore and some spiritual growth, there is a cold end to that life style.  "I never knew you...depart from me, you workers of iniquity."

I am glad that Jesus met the old me, hung him on a cross and left him there to die while the new me, born in His image and being conformed to His likeness, walks in the newness of life.  We are so afraid that we are going to miss something or that we will be bored, but there is no better life than being a Christian and being free in Jesus.  When Jesus says that no man, after putting his hand to the plow share, and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God, that sounds pretty harsh at first.  But when we look at that scripture and the verb for "looking back", βλέπων (blepon) is in the present active tense.  What it literally means is that there is a constant looking back, even while the hands are affixed to the plow- that can't be.  We can't plow a straight line if we are not looking in front of us! 

Don't be who you are, be who God wants you to be.  That's the real issue.  Who you "are" outside of Christ should not control who you are in Christ.  As a matter of fact, it has zero bearing on who you are in Christ.  Because in Christ, the old things have passed away and all things have become new.  Whatever I was is washed away by the blood of Jesus.  Thank God that the new me and the old me are not one in the same.  I pray that the same is the case for you.  Hebrews 6 is chilling when you think about it.  Verse 7 and 8 reads: "For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God.  But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned."  Don't be dry land that bears thorns and thistles, don't be the ground on which seed falls and is choked out by the worries and cares of this world!  Be who God called you to be, not who you "are".  Grace and peace.