When Jesus overcame the reptilian temptations in the desert, He did so with a precise and powerful unleashing of Scripture. Where Adam failed in every conceivable way in perfect paradise, Jesus rose victorious in the most inhospitable environments imaginable.  Though Jesus had the ability to turn the stones into bread and satisfy the natural hunger of His humanity, He refused the invitation to such a meal.  Adam chose fruit and was spiritually consumed in death. The Second Adam chose bread and was sustained in life. I suppose you really are what you eat after all.

Every hellish blow that was …

Growing up as a child in the 1980’s, I remember when the Jenny Craig weight loss plan first began to spread throughout the nation.  Originally started in Melbourne, Australia, the craze made its way to the United States with vehement force.  Her brand of weight loss flooded commercials, billboards, magazines articles, and just about every woman’s auxiliary group in Baptist churches in the southeast.  What made her program so effective was that she prepared 6 prepackaged meals that provided proper nutrients and portion control.  Jenny Craig made dieting easy, fresh, and strategically appealing.  As a result of her visionary efforts, …

On a scale from one to ten, how joyful are you?  I would like for you to really give an answer.  Go ahead; assign a numerical value to the question.  Ponder it for a few moments.  Make an honest assessment of the joy in your life, and place the number somewhere in your heart.

I am not really interested in what it is as much as why it is.  Why is it a 7, or a 4, or a 10?  How is joy constituted in your life?  Is your joy the result of money, security, friends, or position?  Are you …