SUCH WERE SOME OF YOU

It is our responsibility to be the addictions treatment centers for our community. We ought not forsake this opportunity. In our church, you may walk in and be greeted by a former addict and you would never know it. You might be sitting next to one in your church pew. They are singing in the choir, serving in the different ministries… our students become active serving church members!

However, these miracles don’t come without “unique” happening. These become memories that you will later love. For instance, I had a husband and wife visit our church. They came up to me after the service to have me sign their books. When this distinguished couple approached me, the husband said, “Excuse me, Father, but could we have a word with you?”

I thought to myself, “I’ve got twelve kids and you don’t look familiar!” I didn’t say it, but I knew they were coming from a Catholic background. I didn’t bring out my latest Ian Paisley’s preaching sermon, nor did I make fun of them. I didn’t even rebuke them for that. I simply replied, “Welcome to North Love. We’re so glad you are here! How can I help you?”

They looked at me and said, “You know, this is the first time we’ve ever been in a Baaaaptist church! We thought Baptists rolled down the aisles! But nobody rolled down the aisles! We were taught you were a bunch of Holy Rollers! He inquisitively proceeded, “But, we’ve heard something we’ve never heard in the Catholic church all our lives!”

My friend, Jeremy. God has now blessed him with a beautiful Christian wife and children. When Jeremy first came here it took a while for the truth of RU to stick. First, I loaned Jeremy my car and he stole it. Can you believe that? He stole a preacher’s car! Not once, but twice! My wife said the first time it wasn’t my fault. But the second time? I have no excuse! The second time Jeremy ran away with it for a week. The car disappeared, he disappeared. He was living in it. Several days later I got a call from the police department from central Wisconsin. They found a vehicle registered in my name and had incarcerated the young man that was in it. They told me I could come get my car. But the police officer warned me that the car had been lived in and was not in good condition, if you know what I mean.

So, I called one of our deacons—Jeff Walker. Now, Jeff is a very distinguished, fastidious airline pilot. He is a very neat and clean kind of a guy. I asked him if he would like to go on a ride with me. So, he met me at the church and we headed to central Wisconsin. He eventually asked me what we were doing. “Oh, you’re going to help me pick up a car!” I responded. So, we got to the car, and it was worse than I had even imagined. It was really bad. The odor was unbearable. Jeff’s first question was, “Who’s driving that home?” I laughed.

The entire 90-minute mid-winter drive home all four windows were unrolled as Jeff’s head would reach out the driver’s window every few minutes gasping for fresh air.

But listen, when I walk through the doors on Friday night and I am greeted by a smiling Jeremy, or on Sunday mornings as I watch him with his new little baby and then see his attentiveness during the service and the tears rolling down his cheeks as I preach…it makes all those memories bring a smile to my face. It is worth it to invest in people! We have over 200 adults reached with similar stories. Not funny at the time, but all worth the hassle as I look back on it now.

Pastor Kingsbury

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Dan is a 19-year-old male that was brought to my office by his parents so he could be evaluated for what appeared to be an increasing number of broken bones and tendons throughout his high school athletic career. Dan was very athletic and played almost every sport. He especially enjoyed football, but was sidelined often with a broken bone or tendon. His parents noticed that he had an unusually higher number of broken bones and tendons than his counterparts and wanted this evaluated. My initial physical exam (which included x-rays and blood tests) was completely normal. In the follow-up appointment, I asked if I could see Dan privately. As I met with him alone, I asked him if he had used anabolic steroids in the past to help enhance his performance. He denied the fact at first, but I told him his presentation was classic for steroid use especially in light of a completely normal exam. After some time of discussion, Dan finely admitted to me, and then his parents, that he had been using steroids since Junior High. His parents were happy to finally understand what was going on with their son. After a lengthy conversation, we formulated a treatment program for Dan, which included RU. Now I am happy to report that Dan is free from steroid use and is pursuing the ministry at a Mid-West Bible College.

Steroids are naturally-occurring hormones in the body. When steroids are released in the body, they bind to certain cells, which help fight stress, promote growth, and bring on puberty. Those are the naturally occurring steroids and not the type that Dan was using to enhance his performance. The steroids that Dan was using are the synthetic ones called anabolic androgenic steroids. Anabolic refers to their muscle-building properties, and androgenic refers to their ability to enhance masculine characteristics. The specific steroid that Dan was taking was a synthetic derivative of testosterone, the male sex hormone.

Originally, steroid abuse was most often found on college campuses and in Olympic and professional sports. Today, most steroid abuse continues to occur among athletes, professional and amateur, but is being started at a much younger age. Some athletes are involved in sports that rely on strength and size such as football, wrestling, or baseball and the endurance athletes are those who are involved in track and field, swimming, weight training, or bodybuilding. Junior High and High School students of today feel more pressure to perform at an almost unobtainable level. With this unattainable goal put before them, they look outside of themselves and Jesus Christ for assistance in achieving, or at least coming close to achieving, their goal. All that matters to them is how they feel and look at the moment, and they do not give thought to the long-term consequences of their steroid use.

Athletes are not the only ones taking steroids. Others take steroids to increase their muscle mass and decrease their amount of body fat. Although this may include many athletes, it just as easily includes individuals who simply want to look better, i.e., a guy who wants more muscles so he will be more attractive, and a girl who wants a more toned look. Individuals who abuse steroids, like Dan, have a distorted body image. The reality of how they look is opposite of what is perceived. Others who use steroids to increase muscle mass have experienced some kind of abuse – usually either physically or sexually, often when they were young. Female weight lifters who used steroids or other body-enhancing substances were twice more likely to have been raped than their non-steroid using peer. Most females who abuse steroids do so to reduce body fat and increase muscles. Many of them have a concurrent eating disorder.

Dan told me in front of his parents that he believed he was never big enough, and that is why he continued in his steroid abuse. He also went on to tell his RU group, “I was almost like a heroin addict!” He said it got to the point where he needed the injection to work out and feel good about himself.

Anger is just one of the possible side effects of taking steroids. The following side effects are classified relatively minor:

Acne

Oily Hair

Purple or Red Spots on the Body

Legs and Feet that Swell

Bad Breath

Other more severe side effects include:

Drastic mood swings

Fatigue

Restlessness

Fracture of bones

Rupture of tendons

Loss of appetite

Insomnia

Craving for the steroid

Heart attack

Stroke

Male pattern baldness

Gynecomastia

High blood pressure

Liver tumors

Blood clots

“Roid Rage”

Increased physical violence

Mania, delusions & depression

When Dan finally broke free from his addiction to steroids, he went into a deep depression while withdrawing. He told me, “It was like coming down off a high, and I started getting really depressed.” Dan even had to battle with some suicidal thoughts. Because of the long, lingering affect of steroids on the body, some symptoms like depression can linger for more than a year after the person stops taking the steroids.

REMEMBER: Overcoming steroid addiction is no different than with every other form of addiction.

All that Dan and the other millions of individuals in our society are looking for is help to heal the hurt that lives down deep within them. They want to be accepted and loved for who they are without any enhancements. They want to feel beautiful just as they are. It is so refreshing to know that Jesus loves us just as we are. Jesus will fill that void you have, and he will heal that hurt. All you have to do is humbly kneel before Him. He loves you right now, just as you are. Accept His love and goodness and walk with Him from this day and forevermore.

Dr. George Crabb D.O.

http://www.drgeorgecrabb.com/

Click Here to purchase the New Topical Booklet “Steroids” mentioned in this mornings blog for only $4.00 + S&H

Click Here to purchase a more comprehensive recovery and training program that will motivate and empower you toward complete   recovery ON SALE for only $79.99

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By Dr. George Crabb, D.O.

Pain and stress are a necessary part of life. They are warning signals indicating that something is not right, that something needs to be addressed. This includes emotional pain as well as physical pain. There is nothing more private than an individual’s pain and stress. No one else can truly understand the pain or stress you feel. The American society in which we live is probably the most “pain-conscious” on the face of the earth. Americans have come to believe that they deserve to have total relief from all pain and stress. Because of this cultural belief, the non-medical use of prescription medications (including pain killers and sedative hypnotics) has increased dramatically over the past several years. Individuals take the medication for the feeling the drug gives them, the euphoria or the “high.” An addiction to prescription medication is a real addiction that is increasing daily in the number of those held in its bondage.

Many people, young and old, are turning to prescription medications, including pain killers and sedative hypnotics, because they assume they are safer than street drugs and because they come from a doctor or health care provider. This gives the individual a false sense of security. However, these drugs are just as dangerous as the other street drugs that are out there. Another reason for their increased proliferation is that the individual feels they cannot get addicted to them like the street drugs. This is another lie. Many of the prescription medicines people take non-medically are just as addictive, if not more so, than many of the street drugs. Individuals who use pain killers to initially treat physical pain, at times, find themselves starting to take the drug to satisfy emotional and psychological needs. The person proceeds down the road of addiction to that drug, and they have a compulsive need to use the medication for non-medical purposes. The drug is being taken because of its mood-altering effects and not to relieve the physical pain.

All pain medications have an opiate base. These include Tylenol #3, Vicoden, Lortab, Lorcet, Norco, hydrocodone, OxyContin, oxycodone, Percocet, Percodan, Demerol, Morphine, Darvocet N-100, fentanyl, Duragesic patch, Dilaudid, hydromorphone, Ultram, Ultracet, tramadol, and the like. The most common opiate-based street drug is heroin. All opioids are derived from opium, or they can be synthesized in the laboratory with opiate-like effects. Opiates attach themselves to an opiate receptor in the brain called the “mu” receptor. When an opiate attaches to this receptor, it blocks the perception of pain by increasing the level of a particular neurotransmitter called “endorphin.” The elevated levels of endorphins in the brain tissue not only diminish the perception of pain, but they also stimulate the pleasure centers of the brain thus giving a “good feeling,” a “euphoria,” or a “high.” The latter is that to which an individual can become addicted.

I had a patient in the hospital who was addicted to OxyContin. He told me that he could be happy sitting in a trash can in the dark somewhere as long as he had his pills. He went on to tell me that when he had the pills, he felt like a king. He then explained that when he woke up everyday, he snorted 30 – 40 mg of OxyContin just to feel “normal.” This is a major risk associated with any of the opiates. It is “tolerance.” Tolerance happens very quickly with the opiate-based medications. It takes more drug, more often, to get the same effect as a smaller dose, less frequently taken, originally would give. Individuals who begin taking 1 – 2 pills a day can quickly advance to 20 – 30 pills a day. I have witnessed some individuals who were taking more than 50 Vicoden a day in the short time of just six weeks. This addiction is a gripping one that takes the individual to destruction quickly.

Coming off of prescription pain killers is a difficult and painful task. Many will experience the following: insomnia, anxiety, diarrhea, restlessness, sweating, chills, muscle and joint pain, runny nose, backaches, irritability, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, decreased appetite, weight loss, increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, low-grade temperature, and many more. Many people, as they go through this withdrawal, describe it to me as their worst nightmare. Individuals can find assistance for their withdrawal through a properly trained physician. By assisting them, it allows them to initiate their walk with God sooner; thus their road to freedom is started sooner.

While I am happy to say that overall drug use among teenagers is down, the non-medical use of prescription medications among their population has increased. This trend has been one of the most significant developments in substance-abuse trends in the recent years. One in five teenagers has abused Vicoden, and one in ten has abused OxyContin. Both are abused for non-medical purposes. Before closing this article, I want to describe a trend that is transpiring amongst our young people. A study conducted by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) in 2004 found that teens would gather up prescription medications, get with other teens at “pharming parties,” and trade for other prescription drugs. At some parties, teens bring whatever prescription medications they find in their parents’ or grandparents’ medicine cabinets. They throw all the medications into a bowl, pass it around, and then take whatever they want. This is called the “salad bowl.” Unfortunately, I have pronounced several young people dead because they did not know what they were taking. How tragic!

We here at Reformers Unanimous understand that there is real pain that you may be experiencing inside. This pain is deep and devastating. This pain is crying out to be relieved. But, my friend, this pain cannot be medicated with a chemical or a drug, whether it is obtained on the street or from your trusted physician. This pain that you are debilitated by can only be medicated by the Messiah, Jesus Christ. He, alone, can take your pain and give you a peace that will pervade your life. Allow us at Reformers Unanimous to introduce to you your Answer, your Hope, your Pain Reliever, the Redeemer – Jesus Christ.

Click Here to purchase the New Topical Booklet “RX” mentioned in this mornings blog for only $4.00 + S&H

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All good stories begin that way… “once upon a time.” The now infamous testimony that is known as the “Steve Curington story” happened 14 years ago.  One of my mentors, Dr. Wendell Evans, always said, “Greatness is not measured by years, but by decades.”  Reformers Unanimous is now over 10 years old, but let me, as the International Director, share with you the “greatness of God” through this ministry in the past decade.

Once upon a time, on April 1, 1996, Reformers Unanimous began as a Bible study in the basement of North Love Baptist Church in Rockford, Illinois.  The pastor, Dr. Paul Kingsbury, asked Steve Curington to write a tract using his testimony. Six hundred of these tracts were given out following an evening service at this church.  The next day, the phone rang 17 times and has not stopped ringing since then! At that time, no one really knew what God had planned for this man and this ministry.  This small Bible study was growing into what is now the largest faith-based addictions program in the country.  This man with the amazing testimony was growing into the leader that God needed for addicts in America.

One of the greatest benefits of working daily near Bro. Curington is to hear him speak from his heart of the grace of God in developing this program and ministry.  Recently, Bro. Curington spoke of those early memories.  “In the early days of the RU class, I would get the students in a room and would lecture as I taught one of the Ten Principles.  Next I would preach to them, for the remainder of the evening, the truths that God was using to develop me. One day, I was visiting students to come back on Friday night, when I heard a student ask another student ‘isn’t that the place where that red head stands and yells for two hours?  I’m not going back there!’ That weekend I went with my family on a trip and I went into the woods with my Bible and begged God for clear direction for this program.  It was then that I noticed the trees that were around me.  Some were fallen on the ground, others leaning on live ones, some were tall, small, some were growing and others struggling, yet if they could talk what a great story they could tell.  That evening, God clearly gave me the format for Reformers.  If our students could talk – they could say something that would be beneficial to everyone involved, including them. God gave me the Talk, Talk, Talk format.”

Over the past fourteen years, the Reformers Unanimous program has been transformed through Spirit-led promptings just like the one mentioned above. God is growing a great ministry; and He isn’t finished!  Today, over 760 chapters have been started across America and in some foreign countries.  I am honored that God brought me to work in the ministry of Reformers Unanimous in its early stages.  Because of this, I have seen the hand of God in the growth of this ministry.

God has used this tool to reach more people for Christ than any of us could have ever imagined.  And the story is not over! Everyone knows that a good story ends with “and they all lived happily ever after.”  Hebrews 11, the great “hall of faith” in the Bible, ends with “And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:  God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.” The story has not ended for these great men and women of faith mentioned in Hebrews 11, because their story lives on.  Lives are continuing to be influenced by their lives, by their fruit.

So when will we end this great story?  Not until we are “caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” (I Thess. 4:17) Until then, Reformers Unanimous will continue to grow, influence more lives, and reach more people with the only Truth that makes free.

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By mercy and truth iniquity is purged; and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil. Proverbs 16:6

Mercy and truth produce the power to purge us from our sins. I have no doubt that everybody has a sin problem.  We may have tried to get rid of our sin on our own, but it is impossible apart from the mercy and truth of God that we could ever give up that sin which doth so easily beset us.   When the Bible talks about purging, the word means “to clean out, or to remove, or to take away.” If you are old enough, you probably remember the Fuller Brush man.  A fuller was a man or woman who washed clothes for a living.  The process of cleaning clothes was called purging. The bottom line of purging was the removal of the dirt. What the Bible is saying here is that mercy and truth together is like a fantastic detergent. It removes the dirt out of our lives and makes us clean and white in our garments for God.

When Solomon was inspired to write this verse of Scripture, I wonder if he thought of his father.  In his confession in Psalm 51, David talked about God’s mercy and truth and about being purged from his sins.  In 1946, Proctor and Gamble introduced a new laundry detergent.  They had perfected a combination of ingredients that would get almost any stain out of clothing.  Within three months, Tide was outselling every other brand on the market, and today it remains the best-selling laundry product in the world.  But, the best laundry detergent in the world cannot remove the stain of sin. It takes the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Son.  That is the process David describes in Psalm 51.

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of they tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.  Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Psalm 51:1, 2 & 7

If you have iniquity in your heart–unconfessed sin before God–then God sees you as dirty.  Your life is sullied by the sin. How can it be purged from your iniquity? The Bible says that purging from iniquity comes through the blood, but it comes as God dispenses it in mercy and in truth.

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Good morning to all!  I want to continue to share with you some of the privileges of being a child of God.  When we’re born for the first time, it is not with divinity in us.  We are sinners and a part of a family with the devil as our father.  The devil is the spirit of bondage.  He wants to make a slave of you as well as wreck and ruin your life.  He uses fleshly pleasures which are fleeting.  With our new adopted family, we have a new Father.  We are no longer in bondage and fear, left to wonder if our needs will be met.  For many people with adult salvation coming out of a troubled background, whether it’s the absence of a father or abusive parents, there is a lingering skepticism.  Last week, we discussed the importance of being adopted into the family of God and the first privilege of being a child of God; personal leadership of the Spirit of God in your life.  In this blog, we will evaluate two more privileges of being God’s child; consistent undying love, compassion, and protection of God; as well as the assurance we belong to the Lord.

It is a great privilege to have a compassionate Father Who loves and protects His children.  The word “father” for some people has a negative connotation.  When you became saved, you were placed into a family with an absolutely perfect Father.   Through the Spirit of adoption, we are not taken in as slaves, but as sons and daughters.  I like how the Scriptures demonstrate how wonderful and personal this relationship is.  For example, in Romans 8:15, “Whereby we cry, Abba Father”; the Bible refers to the cry of a child.  The cry of your children even amongst a large group is easily identified.  This is how it is for our heavenly Father.  He is so close, personal, and loves you so deeply that He hears your cry regardless of any situation or circumstance.  Why should we linger on serving the devil and sin when we’ve been adopted into a new family?  We don’t have to work there any longer.  Nor do we have to be a slave to the devil anymore.

Another privilege of being a child of God is the assurance that we belong to the Lord.  Romans 8:16 says that the Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit which reveals that we are the children of God.  He’s the Spirit of communication.  However, He does much more.   Our relationship and the knowledge of Him comes froma desired revelation through the Spirit of God.  In John 14:7, Jesus declared to His disciples that when the Holy Spirit would come, He would be the Spirit of truth.  He also said that the world would not receive Him, but you are going to know Him and He’s going to be in you.  How do we know Him?  How is His word illuminated to us?  That is a ministry of the One who bears witness.  He carries a testimony.  The Spirit of God is the One Who internally explains how God the Father and the word of God operate.

As we read the word of God, the Spirit guides and directs us.  As we learn more about spiritual things through the ministry of the Spirit of God, He bears witness.  He’ll guide us into all truth and alert us to danger ahead.  God knows what’s waiting in the future. This exemplification lies in 1 John 4:6:

The privileges of being a child of God are designed to lead us to a life of fulfillment in Christ.  Next week, in the last selection in this series on privileges of being a child of God, we’ll discuss the last two privileges:  ultimate gain through Christ and the glorification of God. Let’s appropriate our adoption into God’s family and appreciate all its benefits, that we may live victorious Christian lives.  Spend some time today to bask in God’s mercy and undying love for you!

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Good Morning! We are 138 days into 2010…how are you doing with those New Year’s resolutions?  One of the most popular resolutions is the promise to stop smoking. However, it is also the resolution that usually doesn’t last past January.  Why is it so hard to stop smoking?

Tobacco, with its drug nicotine, is probably the most widely abused chemical substance in the world. It is one of the most difficult addictions to conquer. It is difficult to conquer because there is not only a strong physical addiction to the nicotine which basically touches every part of the body but there is a significant psychological addiction to the activities associated with smoking. I have had some patients who struggled more with the psychological addiction than the physical, but both can be a formidable foe. Tobacco is dangerous and deadly and needs to be taken seriously.

Cigarettes are designed to addict. They are chemically engineered to deliver nicotine to your brain. Along with the nicotine there are numerous other dangerous substances in the cigarette smoke which cause devastating health issues. Some of these substances are acetone, carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide and formaldehyde. These chemicals are added to the tobacco which makes the cigarette even more deadly. These added chemicals are given the general name “tar” and include everything in a cigarette but nicotine and water. The cigarette is manufactured with a deadly delivery system, designed to efficiently send high doses of nicotine to the brain. As you inhale the cigarette smoke, the tar infiltrates your lungs, and the nicotine “rides the tar” into the blood stream. As the cigarette smoke is inhaled there are over four thousand compounds present in that smoke to make that “rush” of nicotine faster and more enjoyable. Out of the over four thousand compounds present in cigarette smoke, at least sixty of them are known to be carcinogens (cancer-forming chemicals).

Tobacco is quite insidious with its consequences. Unlike cocaine, heroin, or other dangerous drugs, tobacco’s nicotine and poison can go undetected for many years. Tobacco can gradually create addiction to nicotine and gradually kill. Tobacco is legal and accessible, but it is one of the leading causes of death throughout the world, causing almost half a million deaths in the United States annually.

As people smoke cigarettes they are not only exposing themselves to the dangers of tobacco but also their loved ones and friends they smoke around. Second-hand smoke was once considered harmless but we now know better. Second-hand smoke is poisonous and it kills. It is estimated that exposure to second-hand smoke causes an estimated three thousand lung cancer deaths each year among non-smoking American adults.

Nicotine withdrawal is a very unpleasant process to go through. For you see, when you take nicotine away, your body craves it, and makes you feel like you need more nicotine or you will die or get sick. Your body will rebel with all kinds of symptoms such as: headaches, anxiety, depression, fatigue, hunger, trouble sleeping, thirst, decreased attention span, agitation, irritability, anger, and frustration amongst many others. The above symptoms can occur in just a few short hours after your last cigarette. They will be at their worst two to three days later and can last for weeks. It is not only a physical withdrawal from nicotine that a smoker goes through. In quitting tobacco, there are physiological and emotional changes that occur. For you see, smokers just don’t depend on nicotine physically. They depend on it behaviorally and psychologically. Smoking is what they do when they get together with friends. And, in fact, it is a major means by which they blow off steam when they are feeling tense. It is what they do while drinking their morning coffee or relaxing after dinner. That is why breaking the bondage of nicotine addiction can be difficult and, in fact, be harder to quit in some instances than heroin or cocaine. A patient of mine that was involved in polysubstance abuse (including tobacco) stated to me, “It (tobacco) was the hardest to quit, and it was the last to leave.” He went on to say, “The thoughts of tobacco use still haunt me.” But, breaking the bondage to your nicotine addiction is of vital importance for you and those around you. Breaking this bondage is well worth the effort.

So, we see the significance of breaking the bondage to nicotine/tobacco addiction. It is so important from the physical side as well as the mental side, but also, and even more importantly, from the spiritual side. What you need to do instead of picking up your cigarette with your morning coffee, pick up your Bible and read it. Instead of lighting up a cigarette on your drive home, put in a preaching CD or a Joy Belle music CD. Instead of a cigarette after dinner, take a walk and meditate on the things of God.

Friend, regardless of where you may be in your struggle with nicotine addiction, the good news is that there is life after cigarettes. Please trade in your cigarettes for Christ Jesus and your nicotine for the name above all names – Jesus. Let Him, the Truth, make you free…finally.

If you failed to keep your New Year’s resolution, don’t wait until January 1, 2011 to try again!  You can start today!  Give God the glory for what He can do in you!  I Corinthians 6:19-20 tells us, “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Dr. George Crabb D.O.

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Psalm 119:97-104, “MEM. O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.  (98)  Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they are ever with me.  (99)  I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are my meditation.  (100)  I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.  (101)  I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word.  (102)  I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me.  (103)  How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!  (104)  Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.”

The knowledge gained through the study of the Bible is intended to be more than mere idle speculation. Such is often the case for those religious scholars who boast of their prowess in the original languages and their intellectual mastery of the Bible’s content but who demonstrate, on the other hand, little or no concern for its Divine origin or its absolute truth. That kind of knowledge is far removed from the understanding this “MEM” stanza is talking about. Spiritual understanding is exclusively for those who love the Lord with a pure heart, and are willing to walk in the light of His precious Word.

“Through thy precepts I get understanding…” (vv. 97-100). Understanding requires study, and God is concerned with how we study too. Have you ever noticed how easy it is to study material you really enjoy and, conversely, how difficult it is to dig into subject matter you simply do not care about? The former is more profitable, right? So it is with the Word. God wants us to love His Word, and we will if sin is not allowed to harden our hearts and dull our receptivity to the Holy Spirit’s speaking through it. The psalmist loved God’s law, and pondered its truth night and day. It is no wonder then that the fruit of his meditation resulted in an astuteness that surpassed all the learned, and even his enemies (vv. 98-100). Notice, too, the connection between the ability to understand the Word and a disposition to obey it: “I understand… because I keep thy precepts” (v. 100). Many times we rebel against God and then wonder why the Bible has lost its sweetness and attraction. There is no mystery here at all; we know what needs to be done.

… Therefore I hate every false way” (vv. 101 – 104). How contrary this statement is to what we hear on every hand today. We are told to be positive, not negative; to look for the good in everything, even if that means that what is bad is consciously overlooked. Oh, no! When the Bible speaks to a matter, whatever is contrary to the eternal Standard must be labeled as such and handled accordingly. There is no virtue whatsoever and soft pedaling what God has said is wrong. The Holy Spirit will never lead us to endorse what God has condemned, or accept what God has rejected. Meditate on these concluding verses and then ask yourself if God would have us focus on that which is a bit negative at times.  You may be amazed at what you discover!
Have a wonderful day IN the Lord!
Dr. George Crabb D.O.

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Good morning! I pray that you have spent some time with your Savior already this morning and approach this blog with an open heart and mind. I believe God has a wonderful truth to share with us and then for us to apply to our lives today.

This past Friday I was driving from Rockford to a small city in northwestern Michigan called Wellston. I was asked by their pastor to come to their church and present the ministry of RU and preach the three services on Sunday. During the seven hour drive, I had a lot of time to think and meditate. During this time I found myself in the midst of a spiritual warfare, Satan was constantly bringing to my memory an event that transpired over 25 years ago in my life when I was yet a teenager and had made a bad choice which hurt my testimony and the cause of Christ. When this occurred in my life, I immediately went to my pastor (also my father) and confessed my sin and got things right with God.

For over 25 years I really have never thought that much about it until this trip to northern Michigan where I was going to share the awesome ministry of RU and preach the wonderful Word of God. Satan was buffeting my mind with the thought, “How can you stand in front of those people and represent RU and then preach the Bible to them?” He went on to say to me, “You should just turn around go back home, call the preacher and tell him something came up and you wouldn’t be able to make it.” I realized I was in a fight with the evil one. My immediate thought was that God was going to bless our meeting and much fruit would be gained for the kingdom of God. Obviously the devil did not want this to transpire – thus the attack.

As these thoughts crossed my mind, I would immediately cast them down and meditate on the Word of God. I prayed that God would give me guidance and comfort in this time of extreme spiritual warfare, which was not only going to affect me but the whole congregation at the church in Wellston.

When I arrived at Wellston, I checked into my hotel room and contacted the pastor that I had arrived. Then I immediately went to the Word of God. I had left off my Bible reading that morning with Ecclesiastes chapter 10. Therefore I began reading chapter eleven and, in verse three, God so graciously gave me my answer. It says “…and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be.” The Holy Spirit told me that my past event was a tree that God and I had cut down together when I acknowledged my sin and confessed it to Him and He so faithfully forgave me. I realized this fallen tree had no life left in it thus it had no power over me anymore.

The Holy Spirit ministered unto me by telling me that, yes, this tree once was alive and powerful but by the grace of God it was cut down over 25 years ago and had no power or influence over my life. He went on to comfort me by telling me to stop looking at this dead tree, step over it by the power of God, get on with my life, present the RU ministry and preach the Word of God like I had never done before. This is exactly what I did and, my friends, God showed up in Wellston, Michigan this past weekend! Many hearts were touched and many decisions for God were made.

What about the fallen trees in your life? You may say, “There are things I can’t change!” OK, it happened…so what? Go on and serve God. So the tree fell. What are you going to do, make a memorial out of it? Are you going to talk about it the rest of your life? We cannot allow the fallen trees in our life keep us from doing what God wants us to do.

Step over that fallen tree and get on serving Him!

Have a wonderful day IN the Lord!
Dr. George Crabb D.O.

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