What is Man?

Hey hey! Two days in a row for an entry, how about that! Haha . What a wonderful today has been! I'm so thankful for the blessings God has given me! I am currently watching one of the Truth Project lessons that I had missed because of an opera rehearsal. It's the study of what is man. This study always blows my mind. In this study it asks what is man, and what is evil. The first and foremost important thing to remember is the duality that lies within ourselves....we were created in the image of God, but because of the fall into sin, we also carry our sinful nature.


"For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God." - Romans 8:13


"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator." - Colossians 3:5-10


"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want." - Galatians 5:16-17


These are some verses that point out the constant battle that we face daily as believers. We struggle with the "old man" or our sinful nature. We battle the desire to do what we want, wanting to do things that do not follow God's desire for us. We also struggle to follow the "new man" or the desire of the Spirit, God's will. We were created in the image of God: "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. " - Genesis 1:27


When man fell into sin, the desires of the flesh became part of our nature, what is now known as our human nature. It is corrupt in every capacity. "You cannot slander human nature: it is worse than words can paint it." C.H.Spurgeon It becomes so obvious to me on a daily basis how corrupt my human nature is, not to mention the world's human nature as a whole. This is the cause of evil. Evil is that which is not a desire of God. But God had/has a plan for us. He sent His Son to redeem us from our fallen state. Despite the fact that our sinful nature will always be apart of us here on this earth, we are still made in the image of God and will have His Spirit also within us to guide us. As Christians it can be increadibly wearing and hard facing this battle daily, but God is always with us.


"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."-Deuteronomy 31:6


"The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." -Deuteronomy 31:8


"For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. They will be protected forever" - Psalm 37:28a


God has made so many promises to never forsake those who believe on Him. I've come to realize that the best way to describe the best way to walk in the Spirit is this: Your relationship with God is just like any other relationship, it requires time, effort and communication. You are usually closest to the friends that you spend the most time with. You will not have a successful relationship with God if you do not spend time in His word and talk with Him. I find that sometimes I get so caught up in being busy that I don't always spend the time with Him that I should. It is amazing how much more clearly I can see His desire for my life and His plan for those around me when I spend time daily with Him. When you don't take the time for Him, it's almost as if my vision gets blured with everyday things and I don't see or hear Him as clearly because I have distanced myself. Our human nature wants us to live in complete contrast to God's will for us. This is why it is so crucial to have time with Him daily to have our minds stay clear of the world's confusion, so we can clearly see and hear Him in our lives.Today God has given me a surprise blessing that I could have never seen coming, in a financial form. I do not make tons of money, so it was so nice to have that blessing. I've also been listening to KLOVE Christian radio station today. They have been working with a group called Compassion. Today, 3/11/009 is Global Food Crisis Day. The statistics were unbelievable. Every seven seconds a child dies from starvation. I've heard several times today about the donations set up on the site. $13 a day can feed a child for a MONTH! I know that I don't make much, but because God has blessed me, I feel called to share the blessings that I receive. I went to the site and donated towards the cause. There is something so moving about knowing that God can use you as a tool to bring His blessings to others. It is the best gift that I could ever receive.


If you feel so inclined, please donate to this fabulous cause and group. I know that finances are tight, but if a poor and in debt college student could make a small donation, perhaps someone else might be able to as well. Here's the link below: Compassionhttp://www.compassion.com/global-food-crisis/?referer=98495&utm_campaign=gfcradio-klove-98495


As previously stated in yesterday's blog, I am starting the prayer chain part of this blog:Elsa, a good friend of mine has had several medical problems, and her adult son who lives in a different city is dying of HIV. He is not supposed to last more than a few more days, at most a week. She is in her 80's and she is physically not able to walk more that 3 feet, so she is trying to make her son's funeral arrangements and has asked me to go to the funeral for her. I also want to pray for her son. To my knowledge he is not a believer, but he is not dead yet. There is still time for God to work on his conscience, even though he may not be coherant most of the time. I ask that you would pray for Elsa and David that God would grant them both peace, restoration, and uplift their spirits. Especially that God would work on David's heart, that he would know Him as his Heavenly Father. If you have prayer requests, please just leave me a comment and I will add that to my list. I would love to pray for you or your loved ones. God has called us to fellowship together, and this includes lifting one another up in prayer. Have a wonderful night and God Bless!!!