Jeremy Camp, I Still Believe

The following is my review of Jeremy Camps book, I still believe I have studied the bible since 1994. Like most of us there have been times I've been closer to God and other times I've been more distant. My wife brought this book home as a gift from her friend. I'm new to listening to Christian music, and of all new artists Jeremy Camp is probably my personal favorite, so why not read it. One word, WOW!!! This guy has such a great testimony, and he is really humble about it. All throughout the book he shows a gracious resolve to work through the death of his wife while facing the weakness of human frailties (we all have them). Melissa's (his deceased wife) desire to serve our Lord through the pain of cancer, sickness, and death while she was in her early 20's is a tremendous story of faith, service, and obedience to our God. We could all learn something from this remarkable young women's story. God truly takes Lemons and makes it into Lemon aid. I have no doubt Melissa's rewards in the second heaven and earth will be great. Camp also tells the story of his friend who lost his 19 year old son (it is only a few paragraphs but it really struck me). He tells how the man said he thought he had a deep relationship with Christ, but he was only in the meadow by the cross. When dealing with the pain of losing his son he went to the foot of the cross and stayed there. For me, that perfectly describes Camp's journey, the man who lost his sons journey, and how God can use the pain in our lives for gain (turning lemons into lemon aid). That being said I am a little concerned that people at times attribute suffering to God. God is light and in him is no darkness at all. All sin and death were brought into this world when our adversary and accuser the devil lied to Eve, tricked Adam, and brought sin into this world. With sin and death come pain and suffering. God has a plan. That plan may or may not always be physical deliverance. However, God did not bring sin and death upon the world. Therefore, all pain and suffering can be used by God to strengthen and perfect us, but all sin and death were originally brought into this world by the devil. It is important to distinguish the two purposes. God will perfect you even through the trials of life and sin (turning lemons into lemon aid); the devil just brings death in part or in full. We live in a sinful world, and this world is not our home. We are not guaranteed to not have to face adversity. As a matter of fact were guaranteed to face the challenges of living in a corrupt body in a sinful world. This doesn't mean we don't have joy. Our trials are for a season. The glory we are promised is eternal. Thank you Jeremy Camp for allowing God to use you to touch the heart of so many, and for having the endurance and faith to help the rest of us. God is using you to bring many to himself. To God be the glory.