Dave, you told me not to respond to this, but I felt the need.  It may
help.  I hope and pray it does.  My friend, I am concerned for you.  I
love you and I won't give up on you.  Get out of the grip.  Your armor
isn't gone.  Look to Him who fights the battles ahead of you...the
battles you cannot see, and then reach for your shield.  

SPIRIT:
>Basically folks, I'm both happy and sad.  I'm finding that I live my
>life in extremes- either I'm totally happy or I'm totally down.  I feel
>like I've been under attack, both spiritual and physical.  I feel like
>I'm trying to gain acceptance by my friends by what I do rather than
>who I am- oops, Whose I am.
>
>I need to know- how often do you doubt your faith in Jesus?  Not in God,
>but in Jesus?  I'm reading through both the Old and New Testament, and
>I'm finding I have doubts from time to time.  I cannot exactly say how
>often.  I don't know.  It may be once a month at times, less at other
>times, and frequently at other times.  We all doubt.

[DELETION]

>What if Satan led Matthew, Peter, James, et al. astray by
>pretending to be the Messiah?  This is realy hard to admit, but I'm not
>quite >sure of what I believe in anymore.  TELL ME-  HOW DO YOU KNOW
>BEYOND A SHADOW OF A DOUBT THAT JESUS IS THE MESSIAH?  

There is no way that Satan could have pretended to be Jesus.  Dave,
Satan can't just do anything.  Just because Satan wants us to go astray,
he can't do anything to achieve those means.  He is a fallen angel.  God
doesn't allow us to be tested/tempted beyond what we can bear.  

Jesus was tempted by Satan.  If you think Satan was disguised as Jesus,
then Satan would have existed in the same place in two different forms
tempting himself.  That is ludicrous...as if to say that Satan was some
sort of god.  The two there in the wilderness were of two different sides.
The one of goodness greater than the one of evil.  Jesus overcame Satan
and the temptation.  Would Satan heal the sick, preach against murder,
against adultery, and promote loving of enemies?  No.  Satan wouldn't
do this even if he thought it would divert our eyes from God.  Such things
draw our eyes and actions towards God.  Would Satan say, "Our Father who
art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done
on earth as it is in Heaven.  ... Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive
those who have trespassed against us.  Lead us not into temptation but
deliver us from evil..."  No, Satan wouldn't say that.  Satan promotes
lust, not love.  He blasphemes God, not calling Him _Our_ Father in Heaven.
Satan lacks the power to go against his sinfulness and promote God and
godly ways.  Would Satan tell us not to judge others?  Nope...He might say
something nice, but Satan knows how easily he influences our flesh and
human nature.  He knows that if he said anything that it would be an easy
influence.  Things Jesus said were/are hard to swallow and are very
convicting.  Satan is of this world and pleases this world.  Jesus said,
"My Kingdom is not of this world."  Jesus doesn't try to please this world.
Satan may be able to perform miracles, but would he do it for the good of
people (not the pleasing of people, but the good of them)?  Would Satan
call the children unto himself and love them?  NO.   Satan can't love.
Satan hates and lusts.  Satan is an overrated fallen archangel with a
crushed ego and a crushed head.  Finally, can Satan resurrect the dead?
No.  Can Satan create?  No.  Satan is equivalent to Michael and below....
far below God.

>I believe the Old Testament, for
>certain.  And I have accepted Jesus as my Savior.  Being at college has
>really forced me to examine what I believe, and I certainly wouldn't
>put it past Satan to pull something like this- to lead us astray with a
>false Messiah.  Excuse me if my sentences don't follow any sort of
>coherency- I'm really just brainstorming.  It's not that I don't believe,
>but I once heard that truth can stand up to scrutiny.  All I'm doing is
>scrutinizing.  I listen to people give their testimonies, and it all
>sounds the same- whether Christian or not.
>They all sound brainwashed- like their new members of a cult.

Dave, I believe first with the heart, then with the brain.  When I first
became a Christian, all I considered was the need that me...a pathetic
wretch...needed.  Now in college...examining my beliefs (good point, btw)
...I have applied my brain as a tool after the heart.  Remember that the
heart is spirit and the brain is flesh.   The heart must come before the
brain.  The spirit understands better and then the brain can then
comprehend it properly.@
Your spirit spoke Dave...."I am under attack...pray for me...thanks for the
prayer....I hope I am wrong".  But, obviously, your other side has spoken
about these new ideas.  

>Please keep reading- I know you're probably just stopping to read your
>E-mail, and didn't expect a novel to be on your screen.  If you can't,
>please don't delete this, wait until you have time, and please write
>back.
>(IN%"stu_dranderl@vax1.acs.jmu.edu")  At IV's Crossroads, I took the
>Foundations of the Christian life course, and I need to know Who Jesus
>really is.  I need to lay my foundation on truth, not just a "feeling"
>I once had.

That's right...it is more than a feeling.  If it was just a feeling, I
would've probably died....self-inflicted more than likely.

[Deletion]

>Why does Jesus declare all foods clean, when in Leviticus, God
>declared them unclean?  Why don't we celebrate Passover, Chaunakkah,
>etc?

I can go into spiritual maturity if you'd like.  

>Jesus fulfiled the Law, but we are still called to live
>by it.  In fact, it is a reflection of our lives.  When we act, and do
>not do what it says, it is like a man who looks in a mirror, and forgets
>what he look like when he goes away.  
>
>I've just realized how much I've begun to ramble on.  I don't exactly
>have a point- I just need to know- how do you know?  Don't tell me about
>religious experiences, spiritual gifts, a "feeling" you had when you were
>fifteen after saying a three- line prayer.  Our faith is not based on
>feelings.  It is based upon a relationship with the Almighty God.  Cults
>base their faith on feelings.

Good point...again, not on feelings.
 
FLESH:

>Why do you believe?  Why are you certain that Jesus is the Messiah?  I
>can't accept the 1 in 10^17 odds anymore, because Satan could have
>created a counterfit to meet them as well.  

Satan is not a creator.   He is not a god.  He is a fallen angel.

SPIRIT:

>Please pray for me as well.   I'm really
>under attack here, and my armor (see Ephesians) is  pretty banged up.
>

It would be against my existance to reject Christ.  I would be lying to
myself and I cannot even fathom rejecting Him...it would be against my
total being (with the SOUL at the core).
 
>Also (yeah, more stuff) I realized not too long ago I've been saved, but
>never made a disciple.  I was never really "followed up" in High School,
>and now the effects are beginning to show.  Pray.  Just pray.  
>
>JOSE~   Roses are red, violets are blu-ish.
>        If it weren't for Jesus, I would be Jewish.      
>
>

Perhaps now is the time for follow up.

			With a light of hope, thought, and prayer...
				Your friend,
				Jamie
				(Beacon Deacon)