Faith That Perseveres
My brother, Perry, wrote a recent post that talked about his struggles with faith during the summer (and his understanding of eternal security). I was so encouraged to see him grow through his involvement at Crusade, and it suprises me to hear some of the things we discuss now (right now we debate mostly on creationism/evolution). I sling the kalam cosmological argument at him (ex nihilo, nihil fit), and he then slings back his empiricist (experiental) view. Even though the debates are fun, I’d rather see him grow towards God instead of pushing him away. I kept pushing farther away by digging deeper into former intellectual stumbling blocks.
We all some measure of stumbling block, and I understand that science can be it for Perry. I had philosophical/theological problems with Christian theism for a long time, and I still struggle (and have accepted that I always will), but this post isn’t about me. Please pray and encourage my brother as he starts the year again. He will be getting married soon to his fiance Miriam, and I hope he seeks the only One who can make the marriage work.
To Perry I say this: The devil is trying to sift you. He wants to control you through your Job, your life, you emotions, you feelings, you logic. If anything has begun to eclipse the rays of the Sun (Son) of God from shining on you in all their glory, beware. I would even go so far as to say repent, you have not fallen, but God is trying to show you how much more you deparately need Jesus, more than you may have previously thought. Also, just because you are feeling tempted, or tired, or depressed, or hurt, or angry, or horny, or whatever, it does not mean you have sinned until you have allowed the thought to simmer in the mind, having not cast it out by the Word of God, having not fled to Jesus for saftey through prayer. When we being to let sin simmer in the mind, we will sooner or later act out what we think about. Do not for one second accept the fleshly lies of Satan. Let Faith, the total belief, trust, and the dependecy in the Word of God, guide your actions. Let it dominate your thoughts. Let Faith be your vision, your logic, your feelings, your emotions. Faith must become our reality, superceding every thing earthly.
Respectfully,
Ja’Son