Ours is a day in which people are willing to take chances.  An increasing number of men and women are involved in something called Extreme Sports.  These thrill seekers perform unbelievable, death defying stunts on skis, bicycles, snowmobiles, and such.  They might appear to have little regard for life, but many of them would argue that their stunts are more than nerve and ignorance.  They think of each event as a “calculated risk,” an exercise of faith in their equipment and the collective experience and expertise of their support team.  Faith has been defined as belief or trust in something or someone.  These athletes prove that faith can push them over the top, making it possible to accomplish the impossible.

  Faith is also a Bible word, and God is its object.  The Bible says that God “…is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.”   Sounds a little like the terminology used to describe extreme sports, doesn’t it?  But by faith we can accomplish things even more impressive than the most amazing stunt ever performed at a sporting event.

  Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”  It is by faith that a sinful man becomes a child of God.  It is by faith that he finds peace and contentment in the promises of God.  By faith nations rise from ashes, and by faith the widow finds solace at the graveside of her husband of 53 years.   Hebrews 11 records numerous examples of what can be accomplished in the realms of the extreme, with a thimble full of faith.

  While I would not be interested in jumping out of a helicopter onto a mountain peak with a tricycle, I would like to experience the extreme power of God in my life.  How about you?  “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. (Romans 10:17).”  Let’s get in the Word and find something new and over the top to believe God for!

  Can you name the Ten Commandments?  Thou shalt have no other gods before me.  Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.  Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy.  Honor thy father and thy mother , etc.

  Contrary to popular opinion, the Bible clearly states that you will be judged according to God’s standard, not your own.  Have you broken any of God’s commandments?  For example, Have you ever stolen anything, even a piece of candy when you were a child?  Did you ever tell a lie, even a little “white” lie?  Did you ever laugh at a joke that contained the name of God?  Did you ever long for something that belonged to someone else?  Did you ever hate someone?  The Bible says, Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer… (1John 3:15a).

  If you are like me, your only plea could be GUILTY, ––and we are all made of the same stuff.  So, if today were Judgment Day, would God, as a just God, have to send you and me as liars, thieves, blasphemers, etc., to heaven or hell?  Someone might argue, “But I have only broken one of God’s laws.”  My friend, the Bible says, For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. (James 2:10).  You see, we are all guilty before God.  There is none righteous, no, not one:” (Romans 3:10).

  But God loves you in spite of your sin.  He has made provision for sinners like you and me, to know Him now and live with Him forever in heaven.  But beware, in spite of anything that you might have heard, there is only ONE way.  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16).  Jesus, God’s Son, died, was buried and rose from the dead to purchase your forgiveness.  If your desire is to be saved from your sin rather than live in it, you can receive His forgiveness as a gift by faith.  Like any gift, it is free, –but this Gift is certainly not cheap.

  Profiling, though it has many new names, is still a hot topic today.  Many of our legislators have moved to make it illegal.   I’m sure there are times in which profiling is the harmful result of bigotry, but like many practices that are as old as time and now labeled politically incorrect, categorization can help us to put things in perspective.  For instance, according to 1 Corinthians 2-3, the whole human race can be divided into three categories:

  The Natural Man is described as an individual who cannot understand the things of God.  To suggest to him that life consists of a spiritual element along with the obvious physical, is utter foolishness to him.  He believes that God, if there is a God, does not play a significant role in his day to day existence.  His godless life will result in a godless eternity.

  The Spiritual Man is just the opposite.  In addition to his physical existence, he sees himself as a spiritual being.  He has embraced God by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the very Son of God, who came down to earth to reconcile natural man to his supernatural God.  This spiritual man is, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, able to comprehend and affirm those things that the natural man does not see or perceive.  How does the natural man graduate into the realm of the spiritual?  Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6).

  But there is a third category mentioned, the Carnal Man.  This man has discovered the life changing truth; his eyes have been opened to the things of God, but he has little regard for their significance.  He is so overwhelmed with the pleasures of earthly treasures, so busy with earthly responsibilities, so enamored with the wisdom and ways of the world, that he has no time for the eternal.  In both realms (physical and spiritual), he is a hypocrite.

  This type of profiling might help you discover the benefits of knowing God personally.  Start by answering this question, In which category are you? 

  Did you ever read through the books of Kings and Chronicles in the Bible?  These books tell the story of the nation of Israel after the death of Solomon, the third king of Israel.  The kingdom was divided and while Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, reigned in Jerusalem over two of the twelve tribes of Israel, Jeroboam reigned in Samaria over the remaining ten.  Before the close of the Old Testament era, eighteen additional kings would be enthroned in Jerusalem, and nineteen others in Samaria.  With only a few exceptions, the kings of both realms “did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord,” building upon the sinful atrocities of their fathers.

  Though the kings of Israel lived in the distant past, it is truly amazing how often their errors are repeated in this modern era.  As in those days, men seem bent on satisfying the appetites of the flesh and escaping the ever watchful eye of God.  Signs of the times abound: societal obsession with illicit sexual encounters, rampant growth and acceptance of homosexuality, the degradation of the God ordained institution of family, the embrace of moral relativism, the mutilation of the bodies of our youth with “cuttings,” studs and rings, etc.  Evil, as it is defined by God, is indeed on the rise.

  As you know, ideas abound in the quick fix department.  Social reform, political manipulation, educational programs and the like, each finds ready advocates from all walks of life, but none of them seem to be working.  Only God knows what would pull us out of this downward spiral, and restore our nation to greatness, and it is not surprising that He nestled His prescription in the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel.  It is addressed, not to the spiritually depraved, but to those who would deem themselves the people of God.

  If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.  (2 Chronicles 7:14).

“And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.  Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. (Genesis 2:23-24).”  This was the birth of the family as it has been known since the beginning of time.

  The family is God’s institution for the proliferation of life on earth.  It is the basic building block of society, the blocks by which nations would be formed.  But now, in these unprecedented years of attack, the enemies of the traditional family believe that they have delivered its final, mortal blow.

  Our flesh craves all that is ungodly.  We have adopted the idea that Human Rights take precedence over Human Responsibility.  The enemies of God will not be satisfied until the family is destroyed and it becomes the norm for men to marry men, women to marry women, and either to marry a child, or even an animal.  Sounds ludicrous doesn’t it?  But the same authority that condemns the debauched lifestyle of homosexuality, also warns of the sins that are sure to follow.  The Authority?  We call Him God.

  What can you do to save the family?  Most importantly, you can spend time in prayer for our country.  The Word of God says that your prayers make a difference.  Secondly, you can vote for leaders who will work to maintain the sanctity of the biblically defined family in writing our laws.

  Perhaps you are homosexual and this article angers you.  Please understand that I am not against you, and do not consider myself better than you in any way.  But the lifestyle that you have chosen will destroy you and is changing the sociological landscape of our nation.  God calls homosexuality sin, and sin nailed His Son, Jesus Christ, to the cross.  He loves you and wants you to come to Him by faith and receive forgiveness and unprecedented peace.  God help you to be bold enough to look into His great love.  I would count it a privilege to help you discover this new path.