One thing is clear: if there is any residual atheism buried in our faith it will always manifest itself in dark moments, such as when our health is frail. A wise man once remarked that it is easy being an atheist when everything is going well for you, but the atheistic religion immediately starts crumbling when you face death. When as believers we face life-threatening situations, and there is still some residual doubt, then this is an excellent time to make fundamental choices: to believe or not to believe. Though I have never faced death on the battle-field or as a political or religious prisoner, I have faced it a few times in accute illness, and each time I have reached out to the God of the Facts, the Creator and Intelligent Designer of this universe, Yahweh-Elohim, and not to the mythological, magical Fairy God-Mother of evolutionism and atheism.

The prophet Moses predicted that another Prophet would arise after him from amongst the Israelite people whom he counselled the people should listen to and obey in everything. He also warned that those Israelites who refused to listen to and obey that prophet would be "utterly exterminated from among the [Israelite] people". In other words, they would cease being members of the Covenant Nation, Israel, and would therefore cease being Israelites. Those who believed and obeyed the Prophet would remain Israelites and as part of the Covenant Nation. Put bluntly, anyone who does not listen to and obey the Prophet - who is Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) - may no longer call themselves 'Israelite', because they aren't. They can (if they are actually related to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) call themselves the children of Jacob (the deceiver) but they cannot call themselves the children of Israel, the overcomer who put His trust in Yahweh. Therefore anyone who claims to be an Israelite who rejects Yah'shua the Messiah is a liar and an imposter. And anyone who claims to believe that Yah'shua the Messiah is that Prophet but who then refuses to accept that he is an Israelite and a part of the Covenant Nation of Israel, bound by Torah, is refusing to obey that Prophet even if he listens to him when he reads his Bible.

In the last verse of today's passage we are told that Yahweh, our Heavenly Father, raised Yah'shua from the dead in order to enable us to make teshuvah - "to bless you in turning every one of you from your wickedness and evil ways". To put this bluntly another way, if you refuse to accept the resurrection of Yah'shua the Messiah you can't make teshuvah - you can't get right with God! This includes people like the Jehovah's Witnesses, New Age 'Christians', Gnostics, and others who say they believe in Christ but who deny that Yah'shua was physically raised from the dead but only 'spiritually'. To deny the resurrection is a form of atheism, and whatever 'god' such claim to believe, it is not the Creator, Yahweh-Elohim, but a god of their own imagining, whether it be the god of another religion or the fairy godmother or the atheistic mystery cult of evolution.

There is nothing mysterious or intangible about the resurrection of the Son of God. Yahweh precisely chose something that was a 'hands-on' experience for human beings so that we wouldn't sink into the mystical mumbojumbo of false theistic and atheistic religion. Christianity - and I mean true Christianity and not all the fake nonsense calling itself by the same name - is not about blind faith but about connecting to reality on every plane of existence - mental, emotional, psychic, spiritual and - yes - physical. Making teshuvah or repenting means making things right on all planes of existence by accepting the resurrected Messiah and Prophet predicted by Moses. It means trusting in Him - adhering and cleaving to Him, listening to what he says, understanding what He says, and then heeding or doing what He says. This listening, understanding and doing must come both from walking in the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) and walking according to the instructions found in the written revelation and tavnith (pattern) of Torah-Emet (Teachings-Truth) found in the Set-Apart Scriptures, the Bible.

Last night I made a choice to believe whereas previously, when I have had this illness, I have complained and questioned. To my great surprise, I began to recover much more quickly than previously. And though today I am weak physically (from all the pain) I am strong spiritually. I have had my faith confirmed and vindicated...once again.

Many turn to atheism because they are confused, angry or hurt inside. They don't trust the explanations that Yahweh and Yah'shua give in the Bible. I have tested these teachings over the years - practically and repeatedly, like a good scientist - and found them reliable. They work! You'll find no satisfactory explanations that take everything into account, without internal contradiction, than in the Word of Elohim (God). What I once thought was a collection of fairy tales and myths has turned out to be the most solid Scientific Manual of all.

I urge you, if you have been tempted by the cult of atheism or any kind of false religion because you are hurt, angry or confused, to actually put Yahweh to the test by trusting in His resurrected Son and see that His Word is good and holds. Make teshuvah and find shalom (peace)!