Debbie W. Wilson

Refreshing Faith

Identity and Faith

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My heart hurt when I saw Bruce Jenner’s distress in his interview with Diane Sawyer (April 24, 2015) and heard of his family’s grief. I grieved for the viewers who listened in the hope of having their confusing thoughts and desires explained.

Jenner believes his pain comes from the pressure he feels to live a lie. I believe it comes from believing a lie.

By: Alex Bellink

Jenner’s unsteady emotions stood in stark contrast to his set mind. Despite the fact he won the Olympian male decathlon, has a normal opposite-sex attraction to females, and has never been sexually attracted to men, he’s convinced God gave him a woman’s soul. Doesn’t the desire to marry and love a woman reveal a male soul? Jenner says no; sex and gender are two different things. That belief rules him.

At age ten Jenner donned a dress for the first time. The urge to cross dress grew over time. This conflict cost him marriages with women he loved. He’s hoping more drastic measures will finally bring him the peace that’s eluded him.

I wish I could tell Jenner, and anyone else badgered by alarming desires, that deceitful desires come because we are broken creatures in a fallen world. The enemy that slithered into Eden and polluted paradise wants to destroy us too. But we don’t have to follow this seduction.

Who Was I Created to Be?

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Did Jesus Experience Homosexual Temptations?

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Would you think less of Jesus if you learned He’d been tempted in the area of homosexuality while He was on earth? Homosexuality has become a hot button that divides families and churches. How are Christians to treat it? How do we relate to those who wrestle with it? How do we treat those who flaunt it?

 

First, the Bible is clear that God condemns the practice of homosexuality. He also bans sex outside of marriage, gossip, pride, greed, and showing favoritism, to name a few (1 Cor. 6:9-12). If we shunned everyone who’s ever messed up in the areas the Bible calls taboo, there would be no one left. As James 3:2 says, “We all stumble in many ways.”

As Christ followers, we need to differentiate between those who struggle against temptations and movements that applaud and promote behavior the Bible bans. Jesus was a friend of sinners. He came for those who need a doctor (Mark 2:17).

To those who struggle with homosexual desires.

Take heart. Jesus understands. “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses since he had the same temptations we do, though he never once gave way to them and sinned,” (Heb. 4:15 NLT).Continue Reading

Avoiding Sugar Blues and the Flu

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I don’t have a sweet tooth, I have twenty-eight of them. For me, going off sugar is as easy as Bilbo giving Gandalf the ring in The Lord of the Rings. But that sweet stuff suppresses your immune system and is dangerous for your health. In flu season that can spell trouble. To motivate me to break sugar’s grip I brushed up on some sugar facts.

Sour facts on sugar:

  • Suppresses your immune system
  • Causes cavities
  • Increases moodiness, irritability, and depression (sugar blues)
  • Saps energy
  • Causes calcium loss from the body’s bone structure (to neutralize the acidity)
  • Leads to weight gain and addiction (More addictive than cocaine for many.)
  • Increases the severity of PMS

Paul wrote, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything,” (1 Cor. 6:12, NASB). We do not want to become slave to our cravings.

How do we break free?Continue Reading

Battling Chocolate (Temptation)

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Halloween candy goes on sale this week. Before you snatch up your favorites, beware of the monster you may unleash. Here’s my recent battle with temptation.

Somebody knew women who like china, love chocolate and placed my favorite treat among housewares. I picked up the 14.1 ounce Swiss chocolate bar and remembered its smooth taste. “I’ll buy it for you?” my friend said. “Absolutely not!” I put it back and walked away, but the temptation had taken root. I ambled back to look at the fat grams, 12 grams per serving. Ridiculous. Who eats just one serving? I walked away.

I discovered this chocolate on a mission trip in Europe. The music of that experience played in my mind. In those days this candy was rare in America. I could save it for when I really wanted chocolate.

The check-out clerk said he had never seen such a big chocolate bar. Good, I thought. It must be fresh.Continue Reading

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