Poor Substitutes

Mind, body and spirit; these three make up who we are inside and out. Oh yes, the mind is the portal for expressive thoughts on the beauty that surrounds us. The mind can also be an arena in which the conscience wars over loyalty toward God or self. Our culture is inundated with practices aimed to claim the mind while proposing to calm the spirit and relieve the aches in the body. When the body is suffering side effects from chemo treatments, the mind can succumb to seeking relief through poor substitutes for real help, and in turn unwittingly open up the spirit to ungodly doctrines.

The God of the Bible is a jealous God who teaches definitively and consistently in His Word we should have “no other Gods before Him” (Exodus 34:14) No other Gods – none.  While it’s appealing to want to take advantage of what the world has to offer to ease the weight of cancer treatments it’s not only disadvantageous, it’s dangerous. Once a person opens the door to false teachings emanating from eastern religions and performed in yoga, reiki and transcendental meditation, help from the One True God dissipates. It’s to our advantage to put God first and put away any poor substitute. Listen with your heart to what happens to folks who allow strange gods into their daily walk.  “They provoked Him to jealousy with foreign gods; with abominations they provoked Him to anger. They sacrificed to demons, not to God, to gods they did not know, to new gods, new arrivals that your fathers did not fear. Of the Rock who begot you, you are unmindful, and have forgotten the God who fathered you. "And when the Lord saw it, He spurned them, because of the provocation of His sons and His daughters. And He said: 'I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end will be, For they are a perverse generation, children in whom is no faith. (Deuteronomy 32:16-20)

Those foreign gods that hear not and speak not could care less if you get well. They make terrible servants and are even worse masters. False doctrines are always based in the amount of work the devotee does and that can be a very deep well. Biblical Christianity is founded in and upon the eternal, finished work Jesus did on our behalf when He died upon the cross. The believer in Jesus can have peace in all circumstances and the comfort of the Holy Spirit because the promise of eternal life is secure. Furthermore Christians have the added benefit of fellowship with like-minded persons who express the love and truth of God and rush to aid others in need. This fervent love isn’t out of duty but as a response to the grace they’ve found through their relationship with the living God.

Without a doubt, cancer developed in me a closer walk with Jesus. In grappling with a life and death situation like cancer, the truth is there is nothing I can do but pray to the Lord for help and healing. I am convinced even if I wasn’t healed, God would still be God; my view of Him wouldn’t be altered. As the body ages, the joints creak and crow’s feet deepen, the fact is a glorious day; a wonderful sinless perfect place awaits me. I have wholeheartedly believed the ransom Jesus paid on my behalf. Any other way to live, any other hope to have is definitely at best a poor substitute. Hope in the Lord is the real thing!

 For more posts from Comfort in Christ Cancer Support go to http://comfortinchristcancersupport.blogspot.com/

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