Interruption: The Gospel According to Crystal Justine

Interruption: The Gospel According to Crystal Justine
by Tracey Michae'l Lewis
Published by:
NewSEASON Books
PO Box 52545
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19115

Here's the Blurb:

Interruption: The Gospel According to Crystal Justine is a fascinating journey through the life of Crystal Justine (CJ), a young woman who has, for most of her life, been compared to her mother, Sasha Renee, in both the best and the worst ways. Even as she struggles to escape the image and legacy of this enigma of a woman, she finds herself unconsciously acting out her mother's (and grandmother's) past mistakes. Her relationships with men, although few and far between, has been tainted by "the thing she cannot say" and her faith has been weakened by the emotional and spiritual blows her life has taken. This dynamic story of deliverance keeps readers, page by page, on the edge of their proverbial seats, wondering if CJ will simply succumb to the darkness that has chased her soul for as long as she could remember or if she will be the one to finally put an end to the generational curse that has tried to consume her family. Will she find true love, joy, and peace for the first time?

Here's a post at theotalks

JUNE 13th @ 4pm - Book Release and Signing Extravaganza - CLC Bookstore - Chestnut Hill, 7700 Crittenden Street, Philadelphia, PA 19118

JUNE 20TH @ 11am - Book Signing at the African American Museum in Philadelphia - 701 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106

You can buy it at amazon here

Saved from our sins and saved from our own righteousness

Why is it so difficult for Christians to understand that God saved us from our sins as well as from our own "righteousness" and dead works? I'm always amazed that Christians don't really know the gospel. IS the human need to earn its own righteousness so powerful?

Psalm 90

Psalm 90

1Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.

2Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

3Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.

4For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.

5Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in the morning they are like grass which groweth up.

6In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.

7For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.

8Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.

9For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told.

10The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

11Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.

12So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

13Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants.

14O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

15Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil.

16Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children.

17And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.

Psalm 89

Psalm 89

1I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.

2For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens.

3I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant,

4Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.

5And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O LORD: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints.

6For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the LORD?

7God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.

8O LORD God of hosts, who is a strong LORD like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee?

9Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.

10Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain; thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm.

11The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them.

12The north and the south thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name.

13Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.

14Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.

15Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.

16In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.

17For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted.

18For the LORD is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king.

19Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people.

20I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him:

21With whom my hand shall be established: mine arm also shall strengthen him.

22The enemy shall not exact upon him; nor the son of wickedness afflict him.

23And I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him.

24But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted.

25I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers.

26He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.

27Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.

28My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him.

29His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven.

30If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments;

31If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments;

32Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes.

33Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.

34My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.

35Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.

36His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.

37It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.

38But thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou hast been wroth with thine anointed.

39Thou hast made void the covenant of thy servant: thou hast profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.

40Thou hast broken down all his hedges; thou hast brought his strong holds to ruin.

41All that pass by the way spoil him: he is a reproach to his neighbours.

42Thou hast set up the right hand of his adversaries; thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice.

43Thou hast also turned the edge of his sword, and hast not made him to stand in the battle.

44Thou hast made his glory to cease, and cast his throne down to the ground.

45The days of his youth hast thou shortened: thou hast covered him with shame. Selah.

46How long, LORD? wilt thou hide thyself for ever? shall thy wrath burn like fire?

47Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain?

48What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah.

49Lord, where are thy former lovingkindnesses, which thou swarest unto David in thy truth?

50Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants; how I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people;

51Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O LORD; wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed.

52Blessed be the LORD for evermore. Amen, and Amen.

Pride and power

Pride is so necessary to live. But the world doesn't allow the poor to be proud. And often, God doesn't allow it because the pride is so related to bitterness and hurt.
There's the old phrase: "You can, but I cannot." Sometimes God wants even a sweet soul like me to learn to be humble. Even if that pride came about because rich powerful folks has stepped on one. I think of Job -- am nowhere as holy as Job, mind you. But I was really quite the sweet minister's granddaughter, very loving and sacrificial. But then after all kinds of cruel stuff happened, I got bitter. I was always not particularly proud when dealing with my friends. But when I dealt with people who had racial power or wealth power I did get an attitude. The Bible tells us a lot about being abased and humiliated. For instance, "The rich man has no friends but the poor man can never find a friend." The Lord's been telling me he wants me to die to this wounded part of myself. We Christians think of dying to self as dying to the arrogant proud part of ourselves, but dying to the wounded part of ourselves is also in the mix. Because that wounded pride leads to bitterness and God can't use us.

I often thought of it as a vice but it's also an emotion. And one feels the pain of wounded pride when one feels powerless. The bill collectors have power, the school system has power, the city has power....and one has none. Because in this world, money is power. Powerful friends is power.

I look forward to the day when I am so much a citizen of heaven that the things powerful humans do to me no longer affect me because I see how silly their pride is.

I often wonder if after Gabe's healing manifests, after earthly financial blessings accrue.... will I be able to pray for and give to those who have been proud against me? Or will I be so unforgiving of them I'll be proud? Can you imagine? Power is a strange thing. Wounded pride is a terrifying thing.

Elias was a man of like passions as we are and he got so upset because of hurt pride that he called down shebears to maul children who insulted his bald head. The Sons of Thunder wanted to call down lightning to destroy the Samaritans who insulted them. I find myself wondering: Since we comfort with the same comfort which we receive from God, and since folks who are healed of stuff tend to get a gift for healing people from the same ailment they suffered with, would I be willing -- after my son's healing manifests-- to go down the street to the judgmental gossipy mother of a disabled boy I know and pray for his healing? When I become rich from wind follower, will I be willing to give money to gossipy cruel folks who judged my house and my poverty?

To whom much is given, much is expected. I know I'll be willing to help the suffering good folks and the sick poor. . . but will I be willing to help the suffering cruel folks? And the sick snooty rich? The Bible tells us the rich God has sent empty away. But do I have the option of sending the rich away empty? The Bible tells us that it's the goodness of the Lord that leads to repentance. I can see myself praying for a serial killer and a vicious rapist. . . but can I see myself really wanting folks who have victimized me personally to be healed and to be blessed financially?

Will see.

Psalm 88

Psalm 88

1O lord God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:

2Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry;

3For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.

4I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength:

5Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand.

6Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps.

7Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. Selah.

8Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me; thou hast made me an abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth.

9Mine eye mourneth by reason of affliction: LORD, I have called daily upon thee, I have stretched out my hands unto thee.

10Wilt thou shew wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise thee? Selah.

11Shall thy lovingkindness be declared in the grave? or thy faithfulness in destruction?

12Shall thy wonders be known in the dark? and thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

13But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent thee.

14LORD, why castest thou off my soul? why hidest thou thy face from me?

15I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up: while I suffer thy terrors I am distracted.

16Thy fierce wrath goeth over me; thy terrors have cut me off.

17They came round about me daily like water; they compassed me about together.

18Lover and friend hast thou put far from me, and mine acquaintance into darkness.

Psalm 87

Psalm 87

1His foundation is in the holy mountains.

2The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.

3Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah.

4I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there.

5And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her.

6The LORD shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there. Selah.

7As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there: all my springs are in thee.

Loving Jesus: push coming to shove

Well, as life has seemed like a nightmare these past 22 years and as I push further into faith, it dawns on me more and more that I love Jesus very much. I don't want to give up on what he said about faith. I trust what he said about the powers he has given us over sin, sickness, death, and the demonic. There is no turning back for me now. It's kind of an all-or-nothing situation. To not believe in his words of the full gospel and to accept a kind of lukewarm gospel which means I believe in salvation but all else must be cured by doctors and we must live in poverty and if we don't have money to go to the doctor well, it's all God's sovereign will or God is too above that....well, I just can't. It's full gospel or none at all.

So that left me pondering last night what I think of Jesus: I know he is Lord but now I have to push forward into believing He is God-in-the-person-of-the-son. I love him for his human greatness. I think I'm in love with him as a good person and as a bit of a holy revolutionary. I believe He's the son of God. And yet..I love him more for his humanity as Son of Man than I really think about his divinity as Son of God.

Don't get me wrong: I'm not saying Jesus is not the son of God. I'm saying I love his humanity very much. And when I love him it's in his humanity that I love him. I know that the Lord gave him and only him the full measure of his holy spirit so that Jesus's walk through life was pretty much God's walk through life because Jesus had the fullness. I believe he was the lamb slain from the foundation of the earth and that he made some pre-New Testament appearances -- such as Melchizedek, the angel of the Lord, the fourth man in the fire, the Lord who came down from heaven and talked with Abraham before the journey to check out Sodom.

I just have to love him as much as God as I do as Man. I tend to reserve my love for God for the Father alone. But More and more it dawns on me that I have to love Jesus as God, love Father as God and love Holy Spirit as God. A lot of Christians tend not to see Holy Spirit as a person and often attribute what he does to Jesus -- they say "Jesus come into my heart" but really it's Holy Spirit we should be asking to come inside our hearts. And many of them don't really think of Holy Spirit as a friend; instead they think of Jesus as a friend. Or the Father as a Father. But my situation seems to be that I connect to Jesus more as Son of Man -- a man of sorrows, a dying sacrifice, etc-- than I think of Him as Son of God. Must work this out.

Psalm 86

Psalm 86

1Bow down thine ear, O LORD, hear me: for I am poor and needy.

2Preserve my soul; for I am holy: O thou my God, save thy servant that trusteth in thee.

3Be merciful unto me, O Lord: for I cry unto thee daily.

4Rejoice the soul of thy servant: for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

5For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.

6Give ear, O LORD, unto my prayer; and attend to the voice of my supplications.

7In the day of my trouble I will call upon thee: for thou wilt answer me.

8Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord; neither are there any works like unto thy works.

9All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord; and shall glorify thy name.

10For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone.

11Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.

12I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will glorify thy name for evermore.

13For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.

14O God, the proud are risen against me, and the assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee before them.

15But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.

16O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son of thine handmaid.

17Shew me a token for good; that they which hate me may see it, and be ashamed: because thou, LORD, hast holpen me, and comforted me.

The Precision of Creation

King James Bible
Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?



My hubby, Luke is posting today. He watches way too many science programs.
If there is one thing one learns from watching all those shows it's about how precise and well-calculated Creation is.

Hubby writes:
When I read this I think of precision; the speed of light, precise; the molecular makeup of hydrogen, precise; the ratio of land to water on the earth, precise. Could it be that a tip in the balance in either direction, too much land or too much water, and the whole earth becomes unsustainable, life-wise? Or maybe the kind of life would change drastically.

Scientists have discovered how precise life is. They tell us that:
If the speed of light had been one parsec more or less...
If the moon had been one inch farther from the earth or one inch nearer...
If the sun were one inch farther or nearer, or one degree hotter or colder...
If the oceans were one drop less or one drop more...

How intelligent our God is! Such a precise world made and fit for humanity.

Isaiah speaks of this precision.

Isaiah 40:12

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, And marked off the heavens by the span, And calculated the dust of the earth by the measure, And weighed the mountains in a balance And the hills in a pair of scales?
GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
Who has measured the water of the sea with the palm of his hand or measured the sky with the length of his hand? Who has held the dust of the earth in a bushel basket or weighed the mountains on a scale and the hills on a balance?

American King James Version
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

American Standard Version
Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

Bible in Basic English
In the hollow of whose hand have the waters been measured? and who is able to take the heavens in his stretched-out fingers? who has got together the dust of the earth in a measure? who has taken the weight of the mountains, or put the hills into the scales?



Douay-Rheims Bible
Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and weighed the heavens with his palm? who hath poised with three fingers the bulk of the earth, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

Darby Bible Translation
Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out the heavens with his span, and grasped the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in a balance, and the hills in scales?

English Revised Version
Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

Webster's Bible Translation
Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and measured heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

World English Bible
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and marked off the sky with his span, and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?

Young's Literal Translation
Who hath measured in the hollow of his hand the waters? And the heavens by a span hath meted out, And comprehended in a measure the dust of the earth, And hath weighed in scales the mountains, And the hills in a balance?

Psalm 85

Psalm 85

1Lord, thou hast been favourable unto thy land: thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.

2Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou hast covered all their sin. Selah.

3Thou hast taken away all thy wrath: thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger.

4Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease.

5Wilt thou be angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to all generations?

6Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee?

7Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation.

8I will hear what God the LORD will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly.

9Surely his salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land.

10Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

11Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven.

12Yea, the LORD shall give that which is good; and our land shall yield her increase.

13Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps.

Disabled by Wilfred Owen

My favorite war poet!

Dark Parable: Amputated Extra Legs

I was so distraught last night -- as I often am-- because of younger son's
sufferings and last night I prayed and prayed in tongues and really had a
heart-to-heart praise/beg talk with God. Then I went to sleep. This morning I
had a dream.

I dreamed my younger son developed a problem in his feet and two of them had to
be amputated above the knee. He could still walk around with his two inner legs
but the outer ones were like these useless external appendages. I pushed him
around in a baby carrier. I was so upset because he had no friends because he
was handicaped and because his legs weren't right. We came to the bottom of the
stairs and I dropped a dime at the bottom of the steps. I looked for it near the
corner but couldn't find it. Then I looked up and saw that my son was climbing
the stairs with only his two legs. I thought, "uhm, this kid will do well. He's
managing with only his two legs." Then I heard him call for his father (my
husband) "Yuke!" Which was his way for saying "Luke." I was so happy. The dream
gave me hope. Don't know what the two extra half-legs meant. I mean, in real
life folks have two legs, not more than two.

Psalm 84

Psalm 84

1How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!

2My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.

3Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.

4Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.

5Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.

6Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.

7They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.

8O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.

9Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.

10For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.

11For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

12O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.

Psalm 83

Psalm 83

1Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.

2For, lo, thine enemies make a tumult: and they that hate thee have lifted up the head.

3They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.

4They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.

5For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:

6The tabernacles of Edom, and the Ishmaelites; of Moab, and the Hagarenes;

7Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek; the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre;

8Assur also is joined with them: they have holpen the children of Lot. Selah.

9Do unto them as unto the Midianites; as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the brook of Kison:

10Which perished at Endor: they became as dung for the earth.

11Make their nobles like Oreb, and like Zeeb: yea, all their princes as Zebah, and as Zalmunna:

12Who said, Let us take to ourselves the houses of God in possession.

13O my God, make them like a wheel; as the stubble before the wind.

14As the fire burneth a wood, and as the flame setteth the mountains on fire;

15So persecute them with thy tempest, and make them afraid with thy storm.

16Fill their faces with shame; that they may seek thy name, O LORD.

17Let them be confounded and troubled for ever; yea, let them be put to shame, and perish:

18That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.

Trusting A Living God

Am feeling one way but the word of God says that God has healed me by the blood of Christ so am telling my mind to think the other way. Got up this morning thinking of strongholds. Strongholds are strong things. So strong. I mean, the Pentagon is a stronghold. Do we Christians really understand how much determination it takes to destroy a stronghold, how much committment and belief in the blood of Jesus, and how glorious the blood of Jesus is? No wonder when we pray against certain strongholds we give up...we have to because to gain the victory...is such a long battle. No matter he tells us not to faint. Only believing is the hardest work any living God could ask His people to do. If one doesn't have a living God, if the God one has is theistic as my muslim friend's God is...not a living God who is personally involved in everything you do and loves you and wants to change you, but a God who rules all and you must submit to his will because he doesn't get down into human life...then one can worship such a god. Because nothing disproves his existence. But when one trusts in a living God who promises answers to prayers...wow, something totally different.

Psalm 82

Psalm 82

1God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.

2How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.

3Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.

4Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.

5They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course.

6I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.

7But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.

8Arise, O God, judge the earth: for thou shalt inherit all nations.

Jewish, Christian, Messianic Jew

Alysa Stanton Becomes First Female Black Rabbi
First African-American Jewish Rabbi To Be Ordained Was Raised in a Pentecostal Family

Okay, I saw this this morning and was feeling a bit downbeat. It's a bit of a "owning my race" kinda thing. I just get kinda sad when I see African-Americans becoming Mormons or Muslims or Jews. IT's common to all, I suspect because my Jewish friend who is an atheist/agnostic says that although she doesn't believe in God she gets very upset when she sees a Jew converting to Christianity. So, yeah, I'm not alone in this tendency.

I can see why many people would like Judaism. It's tough to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, especially when one sees bad Christian spirituality and the failure of Christians to move strongholds. And if we seem to have yet another religion -- in which we don't see the power of God, and only see words, semantics, behavior, morality-- then there really is no difference. There is also in the human soul a desire to do the works of God and as Christians we believe the error is that they don't realize that doing the works of God is simply allowing God to be the worker, that as Isaiah says "all our righteousness is like a filthy menstrual rag." We definitely need to see the power of the living God in our lives so that we can have Elijah Challenges and show that Jesus is Lord.

The trouble is that with all our church-going and Bible studies Bible-believers we simply do not know their Bibles and they don't know why they believe and they don't know anything about why they are Christians. They think they know. And it's hard to speak to folks who think they know. One doesn't want to call them close-minded or uneducated but often they are. So when someone comes up to teach them something they consider the teacher's knowledge "deep." As Jesus said in the gospel of Matthew 13:19 "When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh
the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart...." Jesus said that if you don't understand this parable you will not understand any of His parables. Quite simply, folks who leave Christianity did not understand the kingdom. They have never understood that Jesus came to free us from sin, the law, the demonic, and to prepare us to be children of a God who is spirit by making our minds less carnal and less focused on things of earth.

But I have met so many Bible believing Christians who don't understand apologetics that when they come up against a challenge to Christ they fail miserably. There is, it seems, a place in our studies from which we never rise. And, truth to tell, many of us are plain dumb about our religion...for all our studies. Trust me: I have an ex-friend who was very churchy and loved God and ended up joining a rastafarian cult.

St Paul warns those who have returned to legalism that they are under a curse. And I wonder about people returning to a Jewish denomination that is not really Biblical. Conversion to Orthodox Judaism is one thing, conversion to Reform Judaism is another.

Anyway, here is a verse Isaiah 44:5 I have never ever ever heard any minister preach on. It seems to say that in the last days there will be three kinds of people worshiping Jehovah: The People of Jacob, The Lord's People, and People of Jacob who are the Lord's people. At least that's how I understand it. One wonders why one rarely hears sermons on this in the Christian community. Am not saying we should not try to preach the gospel to our Jewish friends but when the days of the Church are over, the world will once again be divided between Jews and Gentiles. (The church is neither gentile nor Jew but called out.)

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
One person will say, "I belong to the LORD." Another will call on the name of Jacob. Another will write on his hand, "The LORD's," and he will adopt the name of Israel.

King James Bible
One shall say, I am the LORD's; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the LORD, and surname himself by the name of Israel.

American King James Version
One shall say, I am the LORD's; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand to the LORD, and surname himself by the name of Israel.

American Standard Version
One shall say, I am Jehovah's; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto Jehovah, and surname himself by the name of Israel.

Bible in Basic English
One will say, I am the Lord's; and another will give himself the name, Jacob; another will put a mark on his hand, I am the Lord's, and another will take the name of Israel for himself.

Douay-Rheims Bible
One shall say: I am the Lord's, and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob, and another shall subscribe with his hand, To the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel.

Darby Bible Translation
One shall say, I am Jehovah's; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall write with his hand: I am Jehovah's, and surname himself by the name of Israel.

English Revised Version
One shall say, I am the LORD'S; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the LORD, and surname himself by the name of Israel.

Webster's Bible Translation
One shall say, I am the LORD'S; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall subscribe with his hand to the LORD, and surname himself by the name of Israel.

World English Bible
One will say, 'I am Yahweh's;' and another will be called by the name of Jacob; and another will write with his hand 'to Yahweh,' and honor the name of Israel."

Young's Literal Translation
This one saith, For Jehovah I am, And this calleth himself by the name of Jacob, And this one writeth with his hand, 'For Jehovah,' and by the name of Israel surnameth himself.

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
"This one will say, 'I am the LORD'S'; And that one will call on the name of Jacob; And another will write on his hand, 'Belonging to the LORD,' And will name Israel's name with honor.
I can see why many people really don't know where y,

But unlike Mormonism and Islam, Judaism accepts Yahweh and the Tanakh. So the issue of blacks and their conversion to Judaism -- which seems to be happening a lot lately-- got me thinking about this verse.

The battle is in the mind

As Christians we must remember that the battle is in the mind. The carnal mind is such that it prevents the entire truth of Jesus Christ from entering in. There are strongholds in the minds of Jehovah's Witnesses, in the minds of muslims, in the minds of Mormons, and in the minds of Jewish people -- fortresses against Jesus. But even Christians who believe in Jesus have fortresses in the mind.

There are no logic in these fortresses. They are only prejudices built up in people's minds: cultural, clannish, familial, experiential. From small fortresses such as " suffering is good and is God giving me a thorn in the flesh and miracles are passed away with the apostles" to larger ones such as "God isn't involved in day to day situations" or even "there is no God."

The assignment given to us from Christ is to break down these strongholds in the minds of people -- whether folks call themselves Christians or not.
We are told to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. And God has given us certain weapons in which to fight these spiritual wickedness in high places that uses untransformed or ignorant or prejudiced minds. These are not the human weapons of arguing over spiritual points or even using human medicines. We can use those if God tells us but we are to use spiritual weapons that fight spiritual powers.

Paul uses the symbol of wrestling to explain how these spiritual wars work. We war against despair, doubt, hate, prejudices, unbelief. Wrestling is the appropriate symbol. To the human carnal mind it's as if we're fighting the air, but Paul says we're not beating the air. Something is going on. As we wrestle by using praise to fight the Great Enemy we are affirming Christ's vicotry over the sins, sicknesses, and demonic world. We are also fighting against our own inner sins and doing battle with out own carnal minds which still aren't wholly persuaded that we can ever win and triumph. But fighting is what we are called to do, and transforming our minds from the human doubt and physicality to belief and an understanding of how the spiritual works is what we must do. We are called to occupy -- a military term-- until Christ comes. And that means we must fight the spiritual fight.