When we look at the definition of illness or disease, (see last post) we can see that what is considered addiction does not fit until there is true physical dependency. However, that is not the common understanding of those who follow the medical model of thinking. There more certainly are illnesses as a result of substance abuse; cirrhosis of the liver being one consequence to alcohol abuse. This has been the great debate for those of us who counsel. The eternal questions of which came first the disease or the addiction? Or, are they one and the same? Did the disease cause the addiction? Was the addiction "set off" by some chemical in the body that was programmed to come to life at a specific time, or by a specific trigger; such as the "first drink theory?"
Thus far, there is no proof of anything despite the cries of those who do study after study after study. There seems to be always one study to contradict the previous conclusions made.
Once someone can give me concrete proof with a isolated proven genetic link I will buy into it. I will accept it as I accept proof of diabetes. Although, any proof of linkage or genetics will in the end only bolster my position.
If you know you are predisposed to a medical problem, you do everything in your power to stay away from it. That must come from within because that person must make the choice to reject, defeat, and deny the cravings or pulls toward that particular sin.
I say this is true because I know that a diabetic can deny their diabetes is real all day long, and it won't go away. In fact, they will die as they deny it exists. It is the same with other biological and physiological disorders. But not with "addiction." In this case when you deny the sin it's "food" it dies. The desire for the pleasure the sin brings won't die, but the sin itself will not be active in that person's life.
Many who struggle today with various vices grew up in homes where these things were freely available. Drugs, alcohol, sex, pornography, cigarettes have become the norm in many homes today. Now those children have grown up and have the decision to make as to if they will continue in the same lifestyle as their ancestors or if they will choose something different.
The choice to make that choice and make the change must come from someone more powerful then themselves. The power that is needed comes only from the Holy Spirit within the believer.
Did you know that even Alcoholics Anonymous says in its literature that "alcoholism is largely a spiritual disease requiring spiritual healing." There is a huge spiritual component in a person's addiction to anything.
Remember that all addictions are a form of idolatry, and idolatry is perhaps the most prevalent issue in the Bible.
"So watch yourselves, that you do not forget the covenant of the LORD your God which He made with you, and make for yourselves a graven image in the form of anything against which the LORD your God has commanded you." Deut. 4:2
For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Eph. 5:5
Idolatry is anything that we set our affections on and indulge as an excessive and sinful attachment. The problem is not the substance, practice or person to which we attach our affections, it is the heart that has begun to worship something other than God.
We know as Christians that we are called to worship God. This means that we are to live for God's glory, not our own. But we often choose to forsake the calling we have received from God to worship and glorify Him, and we exchange the truth of God for a lie and give glory to the idols of our heart instead.
Rather than relinquishing our souls to our lusts, we have the God-given option and calling to deny our ungodly lusts and live soberly, righteously and justly in this present age!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Addictions Cont...
The drive behind all life dominating sin/addiction begins with the desires of the heart.
And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. Romans 7:18-19
The footnote on the Touchpoint Bible says this: "All addictions begin in the same way; a person decides to dabble in something. That initial experience creates a desire for more, which iver time leads to a sense of powerlessness before the substance or behavior. Sin operates much in the same way. It attacks the will and the soul. Sin is truly our deepest problem and obviously the key to all life dominating sins or addictions."
Scripture is our weapon and our guide to understand and conquer sin. That's not exactly a revolutionary statement, is it? Why do we try and make it so complicated? Why do Christians choose to believe the disease model over the Word of God? Why do Christians prefer to think they have a life-long illness they will never recover from and find that preferable to admitting they have a sin problem? The prideful heart of man...it bows so hard!
Yes, I do believe disease can result from intaking certain substances. Over time and with overuse, drinking alcohol can produce a physical dependency. Using heroin or crystal meth will produce a physical dependency. There is no denying that. But not every case produces addiction, and not every "addict" is physically dependent. And most addictions are not true diseases.
Now, you may be quite upset with me by this point. However, you cannot deny that the true definition of "illness" or "disease" as understood by science does not jive with what the psychological pseudoscience people promote.
Science says that in order for something to be considered a true illness or disease, there must be
"objective, measurable, reproducible testing. To qualify as an illness there must be tissue damage, and be demonstrated by abnormal function. It is a provable, knowable fact based on objective testing." (Dr. Bob Smith, M.D. The Biblical Counselors Medical Desk Reference)
When we look at the modern day diagnosis in the clear majority of the cases as compared to this definition, it does not fit. Science is unable to prove the medical model theories for addictions. It is a wild debate with good research being done on both sides of the issue. There is also a whole lot of junk research being done by people with a clear agenda.
What we know, is that the Bible has been addressing drunkenness since Noah left the ark, and maybe before that! I suppose it may be a part of what caused God to flood the earth in the first place.
Continued...
And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. Romans 7:18-19
The footnote on the Touchpoint Bible says this: "All addictions begin in the same way; a person decides to dabble in something. That initial experience creates a desire for more, which iver time leads to a sense of powerlessness before the substance or behavior. Sin operates much in the same way. It attacks the will and the soul. Sin is truly our deepest problem and obviously the key to all life dominating sins or addictions."
Scripture is our weapon and our guide to understand and conquer sin. That's not exactly a revolutionary statement, is it? Why do we try and make it so complicated? Why do Christians choose to believe the disease model over the Word of God? Why do Christians prefer to think they have a life-long illness they will never recover from and find that preferable to admitting they have a sin problem? The prideful heart of man...it bows so hard!
Yes, I do believe disease can result from intaking certain substances. Over time and with overuse, drinking alcohol can produce a physical dependency. Using heroin or crystal meth will produce a physical dependency. There is no denying that. But not every case produces addiction, and not every "addict" is physically dependent. And most addictions are not true diseases.
Now, you may be quite upset with me by this point. However, you cannot deny that the true definition of "illness" or "disease" as understood by science does not jive with what the psychological pseudoscience people promote.
Science says that in order for something to be considered a true illness or disease, there must be
"objective, measurable, reproducible testing. To qualify as an illness there must be tissue damage, and be demonstrated by abnormal function. It is a provable, knowable fact based on objective testing." (Dr. Bob Smith, M.D. The Biblical Counselors Medical Desk Reference)
When we look at the modern day diagnosis in the clear majority of the cases as compared to this definition, it does not fit. Science is unable to prove the medical model theories for addictions. It is a wild debate with good research being done on both sides of the issue. There is also a whole lot of junk research being done by people with a clear agenda.
What we know, is that the Bible has been addressing drunkenness since Noah left the ark, and maybe before that! I suppose it may be a part of what caused God to flood the earth in the first place.
Continued...
Friday, April 24, 2009
Addictions
Yesterday we started looking at life dominating sins, otherwise known as addictions. Addictions are idols of the heart that we love more than we love the Lord. We try to deny this and are pretty effective at smothering that truth much of the time. Some of the things considered addictions would be:
Alcohol Drugs Gambling Love Exercise Sleep
Nicotine Pain Food Shopping Cocaine Chocolate
People Work Sugar Sports Lying Shoplifting
Stealing Nose drops Sex Caffeine Television Internet
All these things have a common bond in that they can bring pleasure and evoke emotion. They deliver an experience to the senses and we find many of them very pleasurable and desire to have them frequently. Several of them provide a full-body experience, affecting your whole being. Not all of those things are sinful by themselves, but they all could be sinful if they become a larger part of our lives than is appropriate.
We know that we have a problem when we are denied one of those things or we can't get enough of them. People who are considered addicted are seemingly unable to let go of that substance or person even when having that (or them) as a part of their life causes pain and problems. They seem to not be able to let go, even when the pain of the pursuit and the consequences are very costly.
There are many lies they tell themselves to facilitate their addictions as well. The drunk or drug user rationalizes that just one more won't hurt, the person involved in some sexual sin says the immediate pleasure is worth it, the gambler or thief thinks they might hit it big this time, and very few people think they will ever really get caught.
Our culture sure encourages self-indulgence, doesn't it? A person with a life dominating sin experiences many conflicting emotions as a result of their desires. They express feelings of being trapped, out of control, desperate, in bondage, stuck, enslaved, controlled, and will often express being hopeless. At the same time they will describe feeling more alive, and alert when they are indulging their desires. Things that bring us such intense pleasure feed our flesh and cause us to want more and more of it.
Some substances will bring a physical dependency over time and others are fairly immediately addictive. Once a person discontinues use of a biologically addictive agent they will begin the process of withdrawal which is painful and can be medically dangerous.
The addictions of the heart, or the flesh can be equally painful and longer lasting. Consider the person who quits their addiction to cigarettes; some say that years after secession of smoking they still have that craving for a cigarette. That thought that rolls around in their heads and causes a yearning and a hunger.
This is truly where all addiction/life dominating sin begins.
continued....
Alcohol Drugs Gambling Love Exercise Sleep
Nicotine Pain Food Shopping Cocaine Chocolate
People Work Sugar Sports Lying Shoplifting
Stealing Nose drops Sex Caffeine Television Internet
All these things have a common bond in that they can bring pleasure and evoke emotion. They deliver an experience to the senses and we find many of them very pleasurable and desire to have them frequently. Several of them provide a full-body experience, affecting your whole being. Not all of those things are sinful by themselves, but they all could be sinful if they become a larger part of our lives than is appropriate.
We know that we have a problem when we are denied one of those things or we can't get enough of them. People who are considered addicted are seemingly unable to let go of that substance or person even when having that (or them) as a part of their life causes pain and problems. They seem to not be able to let go, even when the pain of the pursuit and the consequences are very costly.
There are many lies they tell themselves to facilitate their addictions as well. The drunk or drug user rationalizes that just one more won't hurt, the person involved in some sexual sin says the immediate pleasure is worth it, the gambler or thief thinks they might hit it big this time, and very few people think they will ever really get caught.
Our culture sure encourages self-indulgence, doesn't it? A person with a life dominating sin experiences many conflicting emotions as a result of their desires. They express feelings of being trapped, out of control, desperate, in bondage, stuck, enslaved, controlled, and will often express being hopeless. At the same time they will describe feeling more alive, and alert when they are indulging their desires. Things that bring us such intense pleasure feed our flesh and cause us to want more and more of it.
Some substances will bring a physical dependency over time and others are fairly immediately addictive. Once a person discontinues use of a biologically addictive agent they will begin the process of withdrawal which is painful and can be medically dangerous.
The addictions of the heart, or the flesh can be equally painful and longer lasting. Consider the person who quits their addiction to cigarettes; some say that years after secession of smoking they still have that craving for a cigarette. That thought that rolls around in their heads and causes a yearning and a hunger.
This is truly where all addiction/life dominating sin begins.
continued....
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Life Dominating Sins
So, what is yours? We all have them, you know. Some are as mild as spending all day on the internet at your favorite social networking site and others are as severe as losing the mortgage payment at the casino. Life dominating sins are also known as addictions.
Ed Welch, in his excellent book, A Banquet in the Grave, makes the following statement: "The basic theology for addictions is that the root problem goes deeper than our genetic makeup. Addictions are ultimately a disorder of worship."
Thanks Ed, for saying what I have been saying for years! The truth is that when our desires conflict with Scripture, we do not always live according to what we say we believe. We say we believe, yet our behavior betrays us, and it reveals the real love of our heart.
Christians who struggle with addictions have managed to compartmentalize their hearts and minds. They have a "Sunday heart" that worships God, can sing and praise and really mean everything they do in worship- because at that moment they are really engaged in glorifying God. They also have the "everyday heart" which is what takes over the rest of the time. They worship themselves and they obey their desire to be independent from God and become their own god, living by their own rules and making up their own theology.
Often, these folks don't see this conflict in their lives. Our propensity toward self-deception is so huge that we often don't see our dual lives. A counselee may not understand she is attempting to hide a part of herself from God. Psalm 139 reminds us that it is impossible to hide from the One who is omnipresent and all knowing.
What about you? Are you able to admit whatever your secret sin or life dominating sin is? I find myself extremely convicted in some areas as I meditate on God's Word and He lays my heart bare. It grieves my heart to know that I still find ways to make excuses for my sin. I love God's Word- it rips the blinders off my eyes and causes me to see clearly what God wants me to see. I have the opportunity see parts of myself I choose to overlook and to repent. Expect the same thing for yourself and those you minister to.
The changes we experience will come from an understanding and application of the book of Ephesians. If there is one book of the Bible I encourage everyone to memorize it is Paul's letter to Ephesians! Wonderful compact truths in an applicable style! As you realize what the Bible says about your thoughts, beliefs, and desires and you internalize those truths you will begin to live them. This is Eph. 4:22-24- put off the old attitudes of the heart, renew your mind, and put on the new attitudes of the heart.
Ed Welch, in his excellent book, A Banquet in the Grave, makes the following statement: "The basic theology for addictions is that the root problem goes deeper than our genetic makeup. Addictions are ultimately a disorder of worship."
Thanks Ed, for saying what I have been saying for years! The truth is that when our desires conflict with Scripture, we do not always live according to what we say we believe. We say we believe, yet our behavior betrays us, and it reveals the real love of our heart.
Christians who struggle with addictions have managed to compartmentalize their hearts and minds. They have a "Sunday heart" that worships God, can sing and praise and really mean everything they do in worship- because at that moment they are really engaged in glorifying God. They also have the "everyday heart" which is what takes over the rest of the time. They worship themselves and they obey their desire to be independent from God and become their own god, living by their own rules and making up their own theology.
Often, these folks don't see this conflict in their lives. Our propensity toward self-deception is so huge that we often don't see our dual lives. A counselee may not understand she is attempting to hide a part of herself from God. Psalm 139 reminds us that it is impossible to hide from the One who is omnipresent and all knowing.
What about you? Are you able to admit whatever your secret sin or life dominating sin is? I find myself extremely convicted in some areas as I meditate on God's Word and He lays my heart bare. It grieves my heart to know that I still find ways to make excuses for my sin. I love God's Word- it rips the blinders off my eyes and causes me to see clearly what God wants me to see. I have the opportunity see parts of myself I choose to overlook and to repent. Expect the same thing for yourself and those you minister to.
The changes we experience will come from an understanding and application of the book of Ephesians. If there is one book of the Bible I encourage everyone to memorize it is Paul's letter to Ephesians! Wonderful compact truths in an applicable style! As you realize what the Bible says about your thoughts, beliefs, and desires and you internalize those truths you will begin to live them. This is Eph. 4:22-24- put off the old attitudes of the heart, renew your mind, and put on the new attitudes of the heart.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Exceedingly, Abundantly More...
Dear Reading Friends,
Today has been quite an eventful day in our world! Our moving date has been set in stone, and it will take place in 2 weeks. (yikes!) This has been a long, long hard road for our little family...
I want to give those of you currently in waiting on God mode a glimpse of hope, so bear with me as I explain to those who may be new today.
Six months ago my dear husband took a job in another State, and went to live with our wonderful son and daughter-in-law. He has occupied a 12x12 room with all his possessions and shared it with our son's comic collection and action figures. (He is quite the collector too!) Our youngest son and I and our pets remained here to wait for our house to sell. He also stayed here because winter was coming on and I could not manage all the snow and stuff alone. My elderly mom was very ill, terminally ill with COPD and Emphysema as well as being legally blind from macular degeneration and having rheumatoid arthritis. I helped my dad care for her at home over the past 2 years.
After my husband went out for the job, mom got much worse, and we alternately feared she would and would not live to see Christmas. In January her battle ended and she went to meet Jesus. I endured all of this alone, apart from my beloved husband.
The waiting grew very long here...I was quite discouraged that the housing market stunk (to put it mildly) and I feared we would never be reunited as a family. As time passed, I realized that many of the emotions I had over the past 2 years had been set aside and I began to "wake up" that way. I struggled with crying jags, mourning the loss of my treasured mom, change of life issues, loneliness, fear, worry, and aspects of hopelessness.
We all were very discouraged, but none more than I. Honestly, there were times I despaired of ever getting out of here, and there were times I doubted God would ever answer my prayers in the affirmative. I took some comfort in knowing I had done all I could ever do humanly, continued to pray and was left with literally no other option but to fully trust God.
I battled applying what I "know" to my circumstances and living what I know to be true. I preached to myself, counseled myself, admonished myself, and experienced the perseverance of the saints in the most real way imaginable. I experienced being kept by God, and know His grace was lavished on me in spite of my struggles.
Six long months have gone by now. I have learned much about myself during these months, little of it complimentary! I have wrestled with my flesh like no other time in my life! I have experienced God in ways that only people who are in the midst of Job-like trials can experience Him. God has been completely faithful to Himself, and to His Word. He has never let me go, in spite of my grumbling and complaining. He has continued to pour out His marvelous grace on me and my life in spite of my discontent. Every time I said "ENOUGH!!" He said, "No, not quite yet..." and stretched my faith more and more and more until I thought I would truly snap.
And now...it all comes together. I have secured a position in my new home town that will allow us to carry both mortgages- easily until this house sells. The job will be allow me to minister to people with visual problems and "counsel" them, and give them glorious hope! The new job pays more than what I thought it would, and I will be in a position that I will thoroughly enjoy! We purchased a beautiful home that meets our true needs and our desires, and will allow us to minister to those God brings into our lives in our new home town.
Our counseling ministry will expand to include the two States, and the truth of the sufficiency of Scripture will only continue on to new places because of this move.
Just as my friend Job experienced the overwhelming goodness of God after the siege, I am too. He has blessed me exceedingly abundantly more than I could ask or imagine! Dear Ones, those of you that are currently in the vortex of the cyclone, please hold fast to your Lord! The very first thing the Lord reminded me today as all this news unfolded before me was this:
'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. (Jer. 29:11)
Even though I didn't know God's plans, He did and He was working and putting everything in place even though I could not see. I can beg you to trust Him, and to wait on Him. He promises to bring good out of evil and joy out of sorrow for those who love Him, and when "exceedingly, abundantly more" comes to your door, you will see He is always totally faithful. He understands you emotions and your pain. Run to Him! Cling to Him! Hope in Him! Cry out to Him!
To God be the glory!
Today has been quite an eventful day in our world! Our moving date has been set in stone, and it will take place in 2 weeks. (yikes!) This has been a long, long hard road for our little family...
I want to give those of you currently in waiting on God mode a glimpse of hope, so bear with me as I explain to those who may be new today.
Six months ago my dear husband took a job in another State, and went to live with our wonderful son and daughter-in-law. He has occupied a 12x12 room with all his possessions and shared it with our son's comic collection and action figures. (He is quite the collector too!) Our youngest son and I and our pets remained here to wait for our house to sell. He also stayed here because winter was coming on and I could not manage all the snow and stuff alone. My elderly mom was very ill, terminally ill with COPD and Emphysema as well as being legally blind from macular degeneration and having rheumatoid arthritis. I helped my dad care for her at home over the past 2 years.
After my husband went out for the job, mom got much worse, and we alternately feared she would and would not live to see Christmas. In January her battle ended and she went to meet Jesus. I endured all of this alone, apart from my beloved husband.
The waiting grew very long here...I was quite discouraged that the housing market stunk (to put it mildly) and I feared we would never be reunited as a family. As time passed, I realized that many of the emotions I had over the past 2 years had been set aside and I began to "wake up" that way. I struggled with crying jags, mourning the loss of my treasured mom, change of life issues, loneliness, fear, worry, and aspects of hopelessness.
We all were very discouraged, but none more than I. Honestly, there were times I despaired of ever getting out of here, and there were times I doubted God would ever answer my prayers in the affirmative. I took some comfort in knowing I had done all I could ever do humanly, continued to pray and was left with literally no other option but to fully trust God.
I battled applying what I "know" to my circumstances and living what I know to be true. I preached to myself, counseled myself, admonished myself, and experienced the perseverance of the saints in the most real way imaginable. I experienced being kept by God, and know His grace was lavished on me in spite of my struggles.
Six long months have gone by now. I have learned much about myself during these months, little of it complimentary! I have wrestled with my flesh like no other time in my life! I have experienced God in ways that only people who are in the midst of Job-like trials can experience Him. God has been completely faithful to Himself, and to His Word. He has never let me go, in spite of my grumbling and complaining. He has continued to pour out His marvelous grace on me and my life in spite of my discontent. Every time I said "ENOUGH!!" He said, "No, not quite yet..." and stretched my faith more and more and more until I thought I would truly snap.
And now...it all comes together. I have secured a position in my new home town that will allow us to carry both mortgages- easily until this house sells. The job will be allow me to minister to people with visual problems and "counsel" them, and give them glorious hope! The new job pays more than what I thought it would, and I will be in a position that I will thoroughly enjoy! We purchased a beautiful home that meets our true needs and our desires, and will allow us to minister to those God brings into our lives in our new home town.
Our counseling ministry will expand to include the two States, and the truth of the sufficiency of Scripture will only continue on to new places because of this move.
Just as my friend Job experienced the overwhelming goodness of God after the siege, I am too. He has blessed me exceedingly abundantly more than I could ask or imagine! Dear Ones, those of you that are currently in the vortex of the cyclone, please hold fast to your Lord! The very first thing the Lord reminded me today as all this news unfolded before me was this:
'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. (Jer. 29:11)
Even though I didn't know God's plans, He did and He was working and putting everything in place even though I could not see. I can beg you to trust Him, and to wait on Him. He promises to bring good out of evil and joy out of sorrow for those who love Him, and when "exceedingly, abundantly more" comes to your door, you will see He is always totally faithful. He understands you emotions and your pain. Run to Him! Cling to Him! Hope in Him! Cry out to Him!
To God be the glory!
Monday, April 20, 2009
Finding Joy in Disappointments
Have you ever thought God let you down? Have you asked God for something, expecting to receive it, and you didn't? If you ever have thought God let you down or you find yourself disappointed in God, you have a grave misunderstanding about Him.
Webster says that to disappoint is to fail to fulfill the expectation, hope or desire of. To prevent the fulfillment of a hope or a plan.
All of our disappointments come in varied shapes and sizes. Some are small and seemingly trivial and others are huge and leave scars that take a long time to heal.
What is your response to disappointment? Do you accept it well? Do you pout and get angry? We are so easily swayed and turn away from God in these moments. Many times we don't realize it until we have gotten ourselves into such a mess...and then we don't know where to go. Usually, we complicate matters and go everywhere but to the Lord.
Psalm 118:8-9 says, "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes."
God is the only one who will never let us down. Scripture says "God is perfect" (Ps. 18:30) and He is the only one who will never disappoint us.
So when there is something that you truly believe is important, and does not come to pass you have a choice: You can accept that is thing (whatever it is) is not as important to God as it is to you, or you can get angry with God.
The wiser choice is to accept that whatever you desire or want is not a big thing in God's eyes. He has a better plan, and a different plan for your life (Jer. 29:11-13). Trust that God's plan is more important than your own and that He is in control.
These decisions will affect how you respond when your wants and desires are not granted. If you find yourself contending with God, it may be because your heart is fixed on something other than God. That "something" is usually yourself. When you look at those disappointments from God's perspective it will change the focus to what God is accomplishing in your situation.
God changes your heart and your expectations and the result is joy! You will find your will in submission to His will and you will also see that you are content with the plans the Lord has for you. Your confidence will only grow and grow that He is for you and not against you.
It goes without saying that there are times you will also learn that God allows some problems to remain in your life for longer than you would like. Sometimes they are permanent! Paul learned this when he asked the Lord to remove the thorn in his flesh and he is reminded that the grace of God is sufficient to meet the need. Your circumstances may never change, and that will be ok. The point is that you grow through these times and learn the lessons the Master desires to teach you.
While in the midst of disappointments, set your heart on glorifying God through right responses and acceptance of His will for you. In this you will find joy!
Webster says that to disappoint is to fail to fulfill the expectation, hope or desire of. To prevent the fulfillment of a hope or a plan.
All of our disappointments come in varied shapes and sizes. Some are small and seemingly trivial and others are huge and leave scars that take a long time to heal.
What is your response to disappointment? Do you accept it well? Do you pout and get angry? We are so easily swayed and turn away from God in these moments. Many times we don't realize it until we have gotten ourselves into such a mess...and then we don't know where to go. Usually, we complicate matters and go everywhere but to the Lord.
Psalm 118:8-9 says, "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes."
God is the only one who will never let us down. Scripture says "God is perfect" (Ps. 18:30) and He is the only one who will never disappoint us.
So when there is something that you truly believe is important, and does not come to pass you have a choice: You can accept that is thing (whatever it is) is not as important to God as it is to you, or you can get angry with God.
The wiser choice is to accept that whatever you desire or want is not a big thing in God's eyes. He has a better plan, and a different plan for your life (Jer. 29:11-13). Trust that God's plan is more important than your own and that He is in control.
These decisions will affect how you respond when your wants and desires are not granted. If you find yourself contending with God, it may be because your heart is fixed on something other than God. That "something" is usually yourself. When you look at those disappointments from God's perspective it will change the focus to what God is accomplishing in your situation.
God changes your heart and your expectations and the result is joy! You will find your will in submission to His will and you will also see that you are content with the plans the Lord has for you. Your confidence will only grow and grow that He is for you and not against you.
It goes without saying that there are times you will also learn that God allows some problems to remain in your life for longer than you would like. Sometimes they are permanent! Paul learned this when he asked the Lord to remove the thorn in his flesh and he is reminded that the grace of God is sufficient to meet the need. Your circumstances may never change, and that will be ok. The point is that you grow through these times and learn the lessons the Master desires to teach you.
While in the midst of disappointments, set your heart on glorifying God through right responses and acceptance of His will for you. In this you will find joy!
Friday, April 17, 2009
Humility in Criticism
I once heard Mark Driscoll (Pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle) say in a sermon that he was starting to feel like a pinata because so many people were taking whacks at him.
I like Mark Driscoll. He is definitely not "church as usual" in my book and I find his style to be comfortable and friendly while delivering tons of biblical truth. Not everyone agrees with my assessment, as he has his share of critics. When you do what guys like Driscoll, Piper and Keller are doing those who struggle with "out of the box" church leaders are going to have a hard time with it. Those guys are often slammed by our more conservative leaders as being too culturally relevant. Criticism abounds, and it is said that Christians are the only army in the world that shoots their own soldiers.
If you have ever been a person to put your life out on Front Street as a teacher, mentor, counselor or even on a blog like this you may know what I mean.
When you lay it out there, you are going to get blasted from time to time. This week I received a posting from someone who was highly critical of me. And while much of their complaint was manufactured and frankly, presented in a cowardly manner; I do believe that God has a purpose and plan for everything that comes my way in life. It is all for the goal of conforming me to the image and likeness of Christ. So, I sit up and take notice of these things.
For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, Romans 8:29 (NASB)
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 1 Peter 5:6 (NASB)
I think God uses many avenues to remind us to be humble, including anonymous postings!
Criticism causes me to check my motives, and to think about being more cautious in what I say and how I say things so as not to poorly represent Jesus Christ. It also leads me to examine my heart in the light of Scripture and brings me back to my dependence on the finished cross-work of Jesus Christ.
There have been so many Christian leaders who have fallen because they stopped being willing to consider criticism and they failed to ask themselves if there was any truth to the negative things that were said about them. Hardness of heart sets them up as being beyond reproach in their own minds and to stop preaching the gospel to themselves. They essentially forget they need the cross as much as the next guy.
I never wish to be such a person, I want to be an authentic Christian, and I believe I am. As I said in reply to this person who was so brutal in their (anonymous) comments to me; "I am not out to "fool" anyone, I am who and what I am by the grace of God and I make no apologies for it." I need the cross. I need God's grace. I need God's mercy because I remain a sinner. I am in progress and not yet perfected.
Being humbled before God means I must evaluate what is said to me about what I say, how I act and how I say things in light of God's truth and His Word. A person would have to be a fool not to do so especially if they wish to serve the Lord.
And then the response to even silly or malicious criticism of unbelievers must be gracious.
The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.
2 Timothy 2:24-26 (NASB)
May we glorify Him in our humble response to criticism!
I like Mark Driscoll. He is definitely not "church as usual" in my book and I find his style to be comfortable and friendly while delivering tons of biblical truth. Not everyone agrees with my assessment, as he has his share of critics. When you do what guys like Driscoll, Piper and Keller are doing those who struggle with "out of the box" church leaders are going to have a hard time with it. Those guys are often slammed by our more conservative leaders as being too culturally relevant. Criticism abounds, and it is said that Christians are the only army in the world that shoots their own soldiers.
If you have ever been a person to put your life out on Front Street as a teacher, mentor, counselor or even on a blog like this you may know what I mean.
When you lay it out there, you are going to get blasted from time to time. This week I received a posting from someone who was highly critical of me. And while much of their complaint was manufactured and frankly, presented in a cowardly manner; I do believe that God has a purpose and plan for everything that comes my way in life. It is all for the goal of conforming me to the image and likeness of Christ. So, I sit up and take notice of these things.
For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, Romans 8:29 (NASB)
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 1 Peter 5:6 (NASB)
I think God uses many avenues to remind us to be humble, including anonymous postings!
Criticism causes me to check my motives, and to think about being more cautious in what I say and how I say things so as not to poorly represent Jesus Christ. It also leads me to examine my heart in the light of Scripture and brings me back to my dependence on the finished cross-work of Jesus Christ.
There have been so many Christian leaders who have fallen because they stopped being willing to consider criticism and they failed to ask themselves if there was any truth to the negative things that were said about them. Hardness of heart sets them up as being beyond reproach in their own minds and to stop preaching the gospel to themselves. They essentially forget they need the cross as much as the next guy.
I never wish to be such a person, I want to be an authentic Christian, and I believe I am. As I said in reply to this person who was so brutal in their (anonymous) comments to me; "I am not out to "fool" anyone, I am who and what I am by the grace of God and I make no apologies for it." I need the cross. I need God's grace. I need God's mercy because I remain a sinner. I am in progress and not yet perfected.
Being humbled before God means I must evaluate what is said to me about what I say, how I act and how I say things in light of God's truth and His Word. A person would have to be a fool not to do so especially if they wish to serve the Lord.
And then the response to even silly or malicious criticism of unbelievers must be gracious.
The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.
2 Timothy 2:24-26 (NASB)
May we glorify Him in our humble response to criticism!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
When God Moves
Many of you know I have been waiting for a long time for something, anything to happen to change my circumstances and living arrangements. Those of you who read frequently have been witness to my struggles of being alone while my sweet husband took a new job in another State. We have not seen much of each other over the past 6 months, and life has been very difficult on a number of frontiers.
The other night I had reached the point that you may be familiar with- it is known as Meltdown. I sincerely begged and pleaded with God to move and give me some hope that we would ever be reunited as a family. The very next day God answered my prayer.
Your counselee's need hope too. They need to hear that God answers prayer, and they need to know that He is faithful. Our experiences are important on the human plane, and while they never supercede the Word of God, the movement of God in the lives of His people is a tremendous encouragement to each of us who in the midst of the storm.
What about when God moves in an unexpected way? That is what He has done in our case, and it takes us all down a whole different path than the one we hoped for. Does this mean God made a mistake? By no means!
‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 (NASB)
Like us, our counselee's need to hear and want to hear that God knows what He is doing, even when it all looks muddy. They (and we) need to be encouraged to have a heart of faith that is focused on trusting Him for the results of a given situation, even though it may look hopeless. We need to remind them of Who God is especially when He answers prayer in a most unexpected way!
Jerry Bridges says this in Trusting God:
"If there is a single event in all of the universe that can occur outside of God’s sovereign control, then we cannot trust Him. His love may be infinite, but if His power is limited and His purpose can be thwarted, we cannot trust Him."
Faith and trust go hand in hand. When it comes down to it, we either believe God is sovereign or we don't. We believe He is in control of the uncontrollable or we don't. We believe He is all powerful, or we don't.
God does not move according to our time table and He is only accountable to Himself for His actions. He does not owe us and is not beholden to us. When God moves in most unexpected ways it is important that we remember we are the servants of the Most High God, not the other way around.
The other night I had reached the point that you may be familiar with- it is known as Meltdown. I sincerely begged and pleaded with God to move and give me some hope that we would ever be reunited as a family. The very next day God answered my prayer.
Your counselee's need hope too. They need to hear that God answers prayer, and they need to know that He is faithful. Our experiences are important on the human plane, and while they never supercede the Word of God, the movement of God in the lives of His people is a tremendous encouragement to each of us who in the midst of the storm.
What about when God moves in an unexpected way? That is what He has done in our case, and it takes us all down a whole different path than the one we hoped for. Does this mean God made a mistake? By no means!
‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 (NASB)
Like us, our counselee's need to hear and want to hear that God knows what He is doing, even when it all looks muddy. They (and we) need to be encouraged to have a heart of faith that is focused on trusting Him for the results of a given situation, even though it may look hopeless. We need to remind them of Who God is especially when He answers prayer in a most unexpected way!
Jerry Bridges says this in Trusting God:
"If there is a single event in all of the universe that can occur outside of God’s sovereign control, then we cannot trust Him. His love may be infinite, but if His power is limited and His purpose can be thwarted, we cannot trust Him."
Faith and trust go hand in hand. When it comes down to it, we either believe God is sovereign or we don't. We believe He is in control of the uncontrollable or we don't. We believe He is all powerful, or we don't.
God does not move according to our time table and He is only accountable to Himself for His actions. He does not owe us and is not beholden to us. When God moves in most unexpected ways it is important that we remember we are the servants of the Most High God, not the other way around.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Ransomed!
Many of those we help through counseling and discipleship are slaves.
They come knowing they are in trouble of some sort, and have tried everything else (in most cases) and they are truly desperate for help.
Maybe you clicked on this blog today because you googled words like "sexual immorality" or "gambling," or "alcoholism." You have been told you have Intermittent Explosive Disorder, or Rageaholism, or any number of other things people are being "diagnosed" with these days. Maybe you eat too much, or maybe not at all; do you lie in bed all day paralyzed by your emotions? Are you too distraught to get out of bed each day?
What I am describing are various forms of physical and emotional bondage that we can find ourselves in. Very few wake up one day and say, "Hey! I am going to be an alcoholic!" It usually is a slow and desceptive transition as we sell ourselves into various forms of slavery to these substances and vices.
Make no mistake, it is slavery. You started out controlling it, but it has taken you it's captive now. No longer do you believe you can just walk away, no matter how much you try and it is terrifying.
For the idolater (which is what our slavery truly is) there is a way out of the cycle. It is called repentance. Repentance is not too popular in our it's-all-about-me culture because, after all, if you are hurt or suffer because of something I did it is your problem not mine. Repentance also comes with the idea of accountability- another thing most people run away from. To be accountable to someone means I cannot be my own boss or make my own decisions about what I want to do, thus ruining the "all about me" way of life.
Thank God Jesus Christ did not have such an attitude! Jesus continually subjected Himself to with wishes and desires of the Father. He clearly says He came to do the will of the Father (John 6:38) and He carried it out to the point of death.
Because of His obedience you and I have hope of freedom from the slavery that comes with idolatry. Scripture says we have been ransomed or redeemed:
knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. 1 Peter 1:18-19 (NASB)
The blood of Christ is powerful. 1 Cor. 6:10 says we have blessings or benefits because of the blood of Christ. We can count being brought near to the Father (Eph 2:13) as one of those blessings. Without that shed blood of the perfect Lamb of God we would have remained enemies of God (Eph 2:1)! That same blood cleanses and purifies our hearts and our consciences to make us fit servants of the King, and furthermore we have been made righteous before God so we will face no judgement at our death.
If the blood of Christ can do all these things, why do people doubt it's ability to overcome drugs or alcohol or any other form of slavery? Is it because we really don't think it is "real" yet? Are we waiting to see something spectacular happen as the Pharasee's did? Are we looking for a sign or wonder to behold that will tell us all this is true? If that is the case for you, you had better check your heart condition. You may be lacking faith, and faith is what brings us to salvation.
To be blunt, if as a Christian you are still sitting in your "addictions" whatever they may be- it is a choice. On some level you love and cherish those things because you have to fight with the Spirit of God to get them. There is no "devil made me do it" anymore for the Christian. He who is in you is greater than the Devil or any anti-christ you can prop up. Addiction in the believer is a decision of the heart that wants to continue to worship some aspect of self. Now I know physical cravings and dependence develop over time; but obviously feeding the dragon is not going to help get rid of him, is it?
Christian, you have been ransomed and set free by the blood of Christ. Take hold of it today, and seek your freedom!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Are You A Grace Dropper?
through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. Romans 5:2
I love talking about the grace of God! If I ever had a daughter, I would have named her Grace. I think (and I may be wrong) that none appreciate the grace of God like those who have been incredibly wicked in their past life before Christ. I was one of those incredibly wicked people who today revels in the lavish grace bestowed upon me by our merciful God.
Do you seek God's grace daily? Many of my counselee's truly do not understand this grace they have received. They remain stuck in the performance mode that religion brings, believing that if they obey then God will love them and accept them. Their acceptance by God is entirely driven by what they do or don't do, say or don't say. That my friends, is not an understanding of grace.
What would it look like to be a "grace dropper?"
When Paul spoke of grace it was always with the understanding that a) grace was not earned, it was a gift, b) it was to be extended to others, and c) grace is sufficient, lavished on us, and brings us peace with God.
Grace from God is on display in our lives every moment. We sin and think little of it multiple times each hour- it is grace that keeps you from being killed by God. We are able to be kind and generous, loving and caring and it is because of the grace of God we have received. Some people really, really struggle with grace because it takes "me" out of the equation altogether.
For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God. 2 Cor. 4:15
Where is the grace of God in your life? Is it spread around to those you come in contact with? Is grace evident in your speech? Is it displayed to your counselee's as you counsel from the Word of God? Is grace your default position?
Just a few questions to contemplate as we go forward.
I love talking about the grace of God! If I ever had a daughter, I would have named her Grace. I think (and I may be wrong) that none appreciate the grace of God like those who have been incredibly wicked in their past life before Christ. I was one of those incredibly wicked people who today revels in the lavish grace bestowed upon me by our merciful God.
Do you seek God's grace daily? Many of my counselee's truly do not understand this grace they have received. They remain stuck in the performance mode that religion brings, believing that if they obey then God will love them and accept them. Their acceptance by God is entirely driven by what they do or don't do, say or don't say. That my friends, is not an understanding of grace.
What would it look like to be a "grace dropper?"
When Paul spoke of grace it was always with the understanding that a) grace was not earned, it was a gift, b) it was to be extended to others, and c) grace is sufficient, lavished on us, and brings us peace with God.
Grace from God is on display in our lives every moment. We sin and think little of it multiple times each hour- it is grace that keeps you from being killed by God. We are able to be kind and generous, loving and caring and it is because of the grace of God we have received. Some people really, really struggle with grace because it takes "me" out of the equation altogether.
For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God. 2 Cor. 4:15
Where is the grace of God in your life? Is it spread around to those you come in contact with? Is grace evident in your speech? Is it displayed to your counselee's as you counsel from the Word of God? Is grace your default position?
Just a few questions to contemplate as we go forward.
Friday, April 10, 2009
The Best Friday Ever
"Who killed Jesus? God did. God the Father was ultimately responsible for the death of His Son. God is telling us, 'I purposefully determined to crush My Son with My wrath- for your sins, as your substitute.'"
"Why?"
"Because I love you"
"When you are tempted to doubt God's love for you, stand before the cross and look at the wounded, dying, disfigured Savior, and realize why He is there. I believe His Father would whisper to us, 'Isn't that sufficient? I haven't spared My own Son; I deformed and disfigured and crushed Him- for you. What more could I do to persuade you that I love you?'"
"That's how far God's love goes.
And that's what it all means."
From: Living the Cross Centered Life, By C.J. Mahaney
"Why?"
"Because I love you"
"When you are tempted to doubt God's love for you, stand before the cross and look at the wounded, dying, disfigured Savior, and realize why He is there. I believe His Father would whisper to us, 'Isn't that sufficient? I haven't spared My own Son; I deformed and disfigured and crushed Him- for you. What more could I do to persuade you that I love you?'"
"That's how far God's love goes.
And that's what it all means."
From: Living the Cross Centered Life, By C.J. Mahaney
Thursday, April 9, 2009
The Passion of the Cross
It has been a few years now since Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of the Christ" hit the country with a thunderous crash. It was all the rage among Christians and those who were curious about Christianity. It was used as an evangelistic tool by thousands and thousands of churches across the United States, and even had its own evangelistic kit that came with it!
I saw the movie a few times. The first time I was struck dumb with literal horror at the brutality depicted against Christ. I felt every lash, and recoiled at what was done to him, knowing that in reality it was probably much, much worse. I think many people personalized what they saw, and it made a huge emotional impact on those who saw it. It was a very well done movie about how Christ died.
However, its long term impact has been minimal for it did not adequately address why Christ died. There was nothing to address the sinfulness of man, nothing to address our depravity, nothing to tell the viewer that we need to be saved from that sinfulness, and nothing to show the viewer that the purpose for Jesus' death on the cross was our redemption because of that sinful and depraved condition we are all born into.
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. Romans 10:17
This was the crucial element missing from this powerful movie. There was no preaching of the gospel, nothing to prick the conscience as to the need for salvation. Plenty of guilty feelings, I am sure, as those who are religious understand that the death of Christ was for the sins of mankind- but it was not a personal gospel!
Too often our presentations of the gospel lack that same element. We present the Condemning Jesus, the Fluffy Jesus, the Stoic Jesus, the Loving Jesus, but rarely do we present the Biblical Jesus when we are speaking to someone about salvation and the centrality of the cross in it.
But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. Isaiah 53:5-6
This is what was done at the cross and why. Notice the pronouns in this verse are He/our, His/we. Because we (you and I) are sinful, God laid our sins on Jesus.
John Calvin says, "When we behold the disfigurement of the Son of God, when we find ourselves appalled by His marred appearance, we need to reckon afresh that it is upon ourselves we gaze, for He stood in our place."
When I realized that the battered Christ is representative of me, torn by the power of sin, ripped, marred, battered, and maimed by the price of my sins...I realize the cost of my sin, the price exacted to pay for my sin, and I cannot fail to see what sin actually does.
It is then I can begin to love the cross.
I saw the movie a few times. The first time I was struck dumb with literal horror at the brutality depicted against Christ. I felt every lash, and recoiled at what was done to him, knowing that in reality it was probably much, much worse. I think many people personalized what they saw, and it made a huge emotional impact on those who saw it. It was a very well done movie about how Christ died.
However, its long term impact has been minimal for it did not adequately address why Christ died. There was nothing to address the sinfulness of man, nothing to address our depravity, nothing to tell the viewer that we need to be saved from that sinfulness, and nothing to show the viewer that the purpose for Jesus' death on the cross was our redemption because of that sinful and depraved condition we are all born into.
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. Romans 10:17
This was the crucial element missing from this powerful movie. There was no preaching of the gospel, nothing to prick the conscience as to the need for salvation. Plenty of guilty feelings, I am sure, as those who are religious understand that the death of Christ was for the sins of mankind- but it was not a personal gospel!
Too often our presentations of the gospel lack that same element. We present the Condemning Jesus, the Fluffy Jesus, the Stoic Jesus, the Loving Jesus, but rarely do we present the Biblical Jesus when we are speaking to someone about salvation and the centrality of the cross in it.
But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. Isaiah 53:5-6
This is what was done at the cross and why. Notice the pronouns in this verse are He/our, His/we. Because we (you and I) are sinful, God laid our sins on Jesus.
John Calvin says, "When we behold the disfigurement of the Son of God, when we find ourselves appalled by His marred appearance, we need to reckon afresh that it is upon ourselves we gaze, for He stood in our place."
When I realized that the battered Christ is representative of me, torn by the power of sin, ripped, marred, battered, and maimed by the price of my sins...I realize the cost of my sin, the price exacted to pay for my sin, and I cannot fail to see what sin actually does.
It is then I can begin to love the cross.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Oh The Wonderful Cross!
What is the cross to you? When you see it in your church or in your minds eye what do you see? As a child in my former religion the cross always had a "Jesus" hanging on it looking tortured and grim. When I became a Christian I learned that Protestant churches typically don't have a "Jesus" hanging on the cross because we believe that He rose again and that is our focus.
Historically, the cross was a horrific instrument of torture designed to prolong suffering and death. The intention of the crucifixion was to keep a person alive and in agony while they slowly suffocated due to the pressure on the diaphragm from the crucifixion position, and bled to death from their wounds.
The cross was a shameful thing to a Jew (Deuteronomy 21:23) so to read the words of Paul as he centralizes the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross and determines to "know nothing among you except Christ Jesus and Him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2)is simply amazing.
In the little book, Living the Cross Centered Life author C.J.Mahaney says: " For Paul, the gospel- this "word of the cross"- was no cold theological formula. Paul lived a cross centered life because the cross had saved and transformed his own life." I can completely agree with Paul on this! Like Paul, I was also a blasphemer, persecutor of Christians, insolent, rebellious, prideful and wicked. I never forget who I once was because it reminds me of the wonderful cross that brought grace to a wretch like me.
Not too long ago, I was speaking with a Catholic woman who is "religious" but also very liberal. She told me she hates the song Amazing Grace because of the line in the song that says that grace "saved a wretch like me." She proudly proclaimed to me that she was no wretch! Once I got over the shock of her statement I wondered, what need is there for the cross when you think you have eternity already in the bag?
When my children were small, the whole idea of promoting and enhancing self-esteem was all the rage in parenting. We were taught to prop them up at every opportunity and to tell them how good they were. When I began to learn about Biblical Counseling and the condition of the heart of man, I stopped doing that. In fact, to my husbands horror I started telling our son what a sinner he was!
How else will they know they need the Savior? Too often I think we seek to spare the feelings of those we love and we are not honest with them about their abject depravity. We seek to soften the blow, and gently tell them about Jesus and this salvation we are offering them is often false! We are on some level ashamed of the cross and our need for it, so we present a warm and fuzzy Jesus who loves them and has a wonderful plan for their lives.
It amazes me that we withhold the truth of our sinful condition from those we love. Only when we realize the depths of our sinful condition we can see that we need to be saved from it. Only when we understand that we have been judged as guilty before God can we understand we see we need redemption. Only when we conclude that we cannot save ourselves can we gratefully take hold of the One who has taken hold of us. We then appreciate forgiveness of all our sins - past, present and even those we have not thought of yet! We comprehend grace and mercy and see them as God's lavish gift to us.
None of this is possible without that wonderful cross. Don't shy away from it beloved, run to it, cling to it, and worship the Lord who died on it for you.
Historically, the cross was a horrific instrument of torture designed to prolong suffering and death. The intention of the crucifixion was to keep a person alive and in agony while they slowly suffocated due to the pressure on the diaphragm from the crucifixion position, and bled to death from their wounds.
The cross was a shameful thing to a Jew (Deuteronomy 21:23) so to read the words of Paul as he centralizes the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross and determines to "know nothing among you except Christ Jesus and Him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:2)is simply amazing.
In the little book, Living the Cross Centered Life author C.J.Mahaney says: " For Paul, the gospel- this "word of the cross"- was no cold theological formula. Paul lived a cross centered life because the cross had saved and transformed his own life." I can completely agree with Paul on this! Like Paul, I was also a blasphemer, persecutor of Christians, insolent, rebellious, prideful and wicked. I never forget who I once was because it reminds me of the wonderful cross that brought grace to a wretch like me.
Not too long ago, I was speaking with a Catholic woman who is "religious" but also very liberal. She told me she hates the song Amazing Grace because of the line in the song that says that grace "saved a wretch like me." She proudly proclaimed to me that she was no wretch! Once I got over the shock of her statement I wondered, what need is there for the cross when you think you have eternity already in the bag?
When my children were small, the whole idea of promoting and enhancing self-esteem was all the rage in parenting. We were taught to prop them up at every opportunity and to tell them how good they were. When I began to learn about Biblical Counseling and the condition of the heart of man, I stopped doing that. In fact, to my husbands horror I started telling our son what a sinner he was!
How else will they know they need the Savior? Too often I think we seek to spare the feelings of those we love and we are not honest with them about their abject depravity. We seek to soften the blow, and gently tell them about Jesus and this salvation we are offering them is often false! We are on some level ashamed of the cross and our need for it, so we present a warm and fuzzy Jesus who loves them and has a wonderful plan for their lives.
It amazes me that we withhold the truth of our sinful condition from those we love. Only when we realize the depths of our sinful condition we can see that we need to be saved from it. Only when we understand that we have been judged as guilty before God can we understand we see we need redemption. Only when we conclude that we cannot save ourselves can we gratefully take hold of the One who has taken hold of us. We then appreciate forgiveness of all our sins - past, present and even those we have not thought of yet! We comprehend grace and mercy and see them as God's lavish gift to us.
None of this is possible without that wonderful cross. Don't shy away from it beloved, run to it, cling to it, and worship the Lord who died on it for you.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Worshipers to Rock Throwers
From the time I was a child this week has been special to me. It was known as "Holy Week" in my (former) Catholic tradition, and since I went to a parochial school daily mass was how we started the school day. Each day of this week contained something special to mark the upcoming solemn day of Holy Friday.
Palm Sunday began the ritual and I so looked forward to the liturgy that day! It was the day the congregation got to speak as we read our responses during the mass. Hearing the story from the Gospel of how Jesus instructed His disciples to procure the donkey and how He rode through town being worshiped by the people painted vivid pictures in my mind.
I would have been one of them, had I been alive then. I would have pushed and shoved my way to the edge of the road to see Him go by, and I would have been screaming "Hosanna!" as Jesus passed before me. I know me; I would have been a Jesus follower back then. I would have wanted to be near Him and be a part of what He was doing.
I would have wanted Him to be the King, as the other people did. Surely One so wise and gentle would not be an oppressive ruler as the Romans were, and because He was obviously from God His yolk would be light and our burdens would be few. I would have worshiped Him. Had I seen Him perform any of those miracles, I would have been sold- once I was sure there was no slight of hand going on...
I also know that the wickedness of my heart is so great that as the week went on, and Friday rolled around, there is a pretty good chance I would have been screaming "crucify Him" along with the others too. If not screaming, then I would have stood somewhere near the back of the crowd watching silently, waiting to see what would happen.
I would have been quietly urging Him to do something to put an end to this! And as He stood silent, bloodied and beaten...I would have doubted...I would have wondered...I would have most likely believed what the religious leaders were saying about Him. As much as I wish I would be able to say with complete confidence that I would not have been among that number, I cannot.
I recall being very disappointed at the people who worshiped along side of the road in my Catholic liturgy. I did not understand how they could stop believing Jesus and want to kill him just a few short days after this event. They had desires that Jesus was not willing to fulfill, their hearts were set on themselves and what they wanted from Him.
Many of the hurting people we disciple weekly are in the same place. We believe because we have seen God do something tangible in our lives or someone else's and we carry that expectation He will do something spectacular for us. We believe because we hope beyond hope that God has something for us specifically and if it does not materialize the way we think it ought to then our faith wanes and our doubts surge. We turn from worshipers to rock throwers.
No one in this place is proud of this truth; we experience shame at out lack of faith and our doubts. Rest assured, our Lord is aware of all of it and has been since before the foundations of the world were set in place. As He rode down the path on the back of a colt He saw you and He saw me along side of the road. He heard our cries of worship knowing that our hearts were soiled by "self" - and it did not matter. He came and died for that very reason; because we are so sick with sin. Do not hide yourself from Him, beloved. Come before Him and lay yourself bare. He is there, waiting.
Palm Sunday began the ritual and I so looked forward to the liturgy that day! It was the day the congregation got to speak as we read our responses during the mass. Hearing the story from the Gospel of how Jesus instructed His disciples to procure the donkey and how He rode through town being worshiped by the people painted vivid pictures in my mind.
I would have been one of them, had I been alive then. I would have pushed and shoved my way to the edge of the road to see Him go by, and I would have been screaming "Hosanna!" as Jesus passed before me. I know me; I would have been a Jesus follower back then. I would have wanted to be near Him and be a part of what He was doing.
I would have wanted Him to be the King, as the other people did. Surely One so wise and gentle would not be an oppressive ruler as the Romans were, and because He was obviously from God His yolk would be light and our burdens would be few. I would have worshiped Him. Had I seen Him perform any of those miracles, I would have been sold- once I was sure there was no slight of hand going on...
I also know that the wickedness of my heart is so great that as the week went on, and Friday rolled around, there is a pretty good chance I would have been screaming "crucify Him" along with the others too. If not screaming, then I would have stood somewhere near the back of the crowd watching silently, waiting to see what would happen.
I would have been quietly urging Him to do something to put an end to this! And as He stood silent, bloodied and beaten...I would have doubted...I would have wondered...I would have most likely believed what the religious leaders were saying about Him. As much as I wish I would be able to say with complete confidence that I would not have been among that number, I cannot.
I recall being very disappointed at the people who worshiped along side of the road in my Catholic liturgy. I did not understand how they could stop believing Jesus and want to kill him just a few short days after this event. They had desires that Jesus was not willing to fulfill, their hearts were set on themselves and what they wanted from Him.
Many of the hurting people we disciple weekly are in the same place. We believe because we have seen God do something tangible in our lives or someone else's and we carry that expectation He will do something spectacular for us. We believe because we hope beyond hope that God has something for us specifically and if it does not materialize the way we think it ought to then our faith wanes and our doubts surge. We turn from worshipers to rock throwers.
No one in this place is proud of this truth; we experience shame at out lack of faith and our doubts. Rest assured, our Lord is aware of all of it and has been since before the foundations of the world were set in place. As He rode down the path on the back of a colt He saw you and He saw me along side of the road. He heard our cries of worship knowing that our hearts were soiled by "self" - and it did not matter. He came and died for that very reason; because we are so sick with sin. Do not hide yourself from Him, beloved. Come before Him and lay yourself bare. He is there, waiting.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Finding True Joy
How do you determine what is fun and acceptable? Many of things young Christian men and women are indulging in these days are things that only a decade or two ago would have been considered "off limits" for Believers. We see this in the explosion of premarital sex, cheating, swearing, lying, adultery, disrespect for authority and other things the Bible calls sin. Our world now glorifies rebellion, unwholesome speech, drunkenness, immorality and impure thoughts. Many "seasoned" Christians see little to nothing wrong with these things, and in fact, they endorse and approve of them!
The spiritual lives of those involved in these things obviously suffer, and before long they are looking for joy and happiness because they discover that it is not to be found where they have been looking.
True joy and peace come from a relationship with Christ, no Christian will dispute that. However it appears they are trying to have a relationship under false pretenses! They want it all, fellowship with the world and fellowship with Christ.
If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth 1 John 1:6 (NASB)
To "walk in darkness" means to habitually live as an unbeliever. True joy will not be found until and unless that peace comes from God through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Many believe they are redeemed because they prayed a prayer or walked an aisle and yet their hearts remain darkened and they are enemies of God.
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. Ephesians 2:1-3 (NASB)
You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:4 (NASB)
True joy cannot be found without repentance toward God and humble submission to His working and authority in your life. The joy, contentment and happiness people search for comes from fellowship with Christ, and Christ alone. A humble dependence upon Jesus will result in these peaceable fruit in spite of your circumstances.
But, there has to be a determination to change- to allow God to access those areas of your heart that are currently off limits to Him and then commit to a new course of action. Yield to the Lord your entire life, and make His glory your purpose for living.
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:1-2 (NASB)
What is the perfect will of God? It is to live your life in a manner that brings Him glory! This is what the Bible calls the beginning of true wisdom. When you can honestly examine yourself and determine you are ready to make those needed changes in your heart, and change the way you view sin and the way you live your life; you are developing wisdom. And from godly wisdom comes joy.
The spiritual lives of those involved in these things obviously suffer, and before long they are looking for joy and happiness because they discover that it is not to be found where they have been looking.
True joy and peace come from a relationship with Christ, no Christian will dispute that. However it appears they are trying to have a relationship under false pretenses! They want it all, fellowship with the world and fellowship with Christ.
If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth 1 John 1:6 (NASB)
To "walk in darkness" means to habitually live as an unbeliever. True joy will not be found until and unless that peace comes from God through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Many believe they are redeemed because they prayed a prayer or walked an aisle and yet their hearts remain darkened and they are enemies of God.
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. Ephesians 2:1-3 (NASB)
You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:4 (NASB)
True joy cannot be found without repentance toward God and humble submission to His working and authority in your life. The joy, contentment and happiness people search for comes from fellowship with Christ, and Christ alone. A humble dependence upon Jesus will result in these peaceable fruit in spite of your circumstances.
But, there has to be a determination to change- to allow God to access those areas of your heart that are currently off limits to Him and then commit to a new course of action. Yield to the Lord your entire life, and make His glory your purpose for living.
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:1-2 (NASB)
What is the perfect will of God? It is to live your life in a manner that brings Him glory! This is what the Bible calls the beginning of true wisdom. When you can honestly examine yourself and determine you are ready to make those needed changes in your heart, and change the way you view sin and the way you live your life; you are developing wisdom. And from godly wisdom comes joy.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Doubting the Goodness of God- Ps 73 v16-28
17 Then one day I went into your sanctuary, O God,
and I thought about the destiny of the wicked.
18 Truly, you put them on a slippery path
and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction.
19 In an instant they are destroyed,
swept away by terrors.
20 Their present life is only a dream
that is gone when they awake.
When you arise, O Lord,
you will make them vanish from this life.
It is only because of God that our spiritual sanity returns. He keeps us from falling completely off the cliff into that same destruction by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is our restrainer and our protector, and He is Who speaks to our heart and reminds us of the ultimate truths.
21 Then I realized how bitter I had become, (the NASB says When my heart was embittered)
how pained I had been by all I had seen.
22 I was so foolish and ignorant—
I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you.
These are some of the most painful verses in this Psalm for me, for they speak of the understanding of the grievousness of personal sin. This is where we wind up when we look at life through secular eyes and when we forget who we are in Christ. We become faithless and wandering souls; miserable to the core of our being.
Bitterness eats away at the heart blotting out all that is spiritual about us. We do become foolish as Job's wife was foolish (Job 2:10) because in our bitterness we reject God's ways, we doubt Him and we begin to believe He is not for us but against us!
Bitterness becomes a python around the heart, slowly winding its way around and around, closing it off, choking the spiritual life out of it and us. We distance ourselves from the Word and our spiritual disciplines as it gains ground in our lives and before long we seem to be but a shell of who we once were.
This dear reading friends is a terrifying place to be. One day the Gardner comes in and shines His Light in through a sermon or a passage of Scripture, or through a kind and loving person who tells you they can see that you are in trouble. Sometimes it takes a series of events, sermons or people to get through to you but rejoice, because God is persistent!
The humbling that accompanies His Light is great...once a little truth is shining in your heart again so much is suddenly clear and if you are like me, you look on in horror at what you see there. The place is a wreck! All these idols, all those altars, all those pieces of wrong thoughts scattered about..."I want...", "I need..", "I deserve..." "God did this..." "He is not for me..." and in those moments you realize that you have been accusing God of sinning against you, charging God with wrongdoing, and blaming Him for your troubles. Each time you have operated out of your feelings rather than out of truth you have gone back there and set up more idols and more altars...
And yet...
23 Yet I still belong to you;
you are holding my right hand.
24 You will keep on guiding me with your counsel,
leading me to a glorious destiny.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
Nevertheless...yet....ah, what sweet wonderful words! God has been keeping me despite my desire not to be kept. Jesus Christ has been praying for me and it was me He prayed for in John 17:11,12. He reminds me that He will not let me go despite my tantrums and despite my refusal to bow to His sovereignty over my life for those moments, days, and weeks. Is it any wonder that the Psalmist bursts into praise?
There can be no greater testimony to the goodness and mercy of God than a repentant sinner, one who knows they have been saved by grace- again...still...
I desire you more than anything on earth.
26 My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak,
but God remains the strength of my heart;
he is mine forever.
27 But those who desert him will perish,
for you destroy those who abandon you.
28 But as for me, how good it is to be near God!
I have made the Sovereign LORD my shelter,
and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.
To experience the welcoming spiritual embrace of our Loving Father in heaven who yearns for our fellowship with Him and Who has made it all possible even knowing we would experience times like these. It is too wonderful for words! How good it is to be near God, how trustworthy He is, how privileged we are to be called His children!
and I thought about the destiny of the wicked.
18 Truly, you put them on a slippery path
and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction.
19 In an instant they are destroyed,
swept away by terrors.
20 Their present life is only a dream
that is gone when they awake.
When you arise, O Lord,
you will make them vanish from this life.
It is only because of God that our spiritual sanity returns. He keeps us from falling completely off the cliff into that same destruction by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is our restrainer and our protector, and He is Who speaks to our heart and reminds us of the ultimate truths.
21 Then I realized how bitter I had become, (the NASB says When my heart was embittered)
how pained I had been by all I had seen.
22 I was so foolish and ignorant—
I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you.
These are some of the most painful verses in this Psalm for me, for they speak of the understanding of the grievousness of personal sin. This is where we wind up when we look at life through secular eyes and when we forget who we are in Christ. We become faithless and wandering souls; miserable to the core of our being.
Bitterness eats away at the heart blotting out all that is spiritual about us. We do become foolish as Job's wife was foolish (Job 2:10) because in our bitterness we reject God's ways, we doubt Him and we begin to believe He is not for us but against us!
Bitterness becomes a python around the heart, slowly winding its way around and around, closing it off, choking the spiritual life out of it and us. We distance ourselves from the Word and our spiritual disciplines as it gains ground in our lives and before long we seem to be but a shell of who we once were.
This dear reading friends is a terrifying place to be. One day the Gardner comes in and shines His Light in through a sermon or a passage of Scripture, or through a kind and loving person who tells you they can see that you are in trouble. Sometimes it takes a series of events, sermons or people to get through to you but rejoice, because God is persistent!
The humbling that accompanies His Light is great...once a little truth is shining in your heart again so much is suddenly clear and if you are like me, you look on in horror at what you see there. The place is a wreck! All these idols, all those altars, all those pieces of wrong thoughts scattered about..."I want...", "I need..", "I deserve..." "God did this..." "He is not for me..." and in those moments you realize that you have been accusing God of sinning against you, charging God with wrongdoing, and blaming Him for your troubles. Each time you have operated out of your feelings rather than out of truth you have gone back there and set up more idols and more altars...
And yet...
23 Yet I still belong to you;
you are holding my right hand.
24 You will keep on guiding me with your counsel,
leading me to a glorious destiny.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you?
Nevertheless...yet....ah, what sweet wonderful words! God has been keeping me despite my desire not to be kept. Jesus Christ has been praying for me and it was me He prayed for in John 17:11,12. He reminds me that He will not let me go despite my tantrums and despite my refusal to bow to His sovereignty over my life for those moments, days, and weeks. Is it any wonder that the Psalmist bursts into praise?
There can be no greater testimony to the goodness and mercy of God than a repentant sinner, one who knows they have been saved by grace- again...still...
I desire you more than anything on earth.
26 My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak,
but God remains the strength of my heart;
he is mine forever.
27 But those who desert him will perish,
for you destroy those who abandon you.
28 But as for me, how good it is to be near God!
I have made the Sovereign LORD my shelter,
and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.
To experience the welcoming spiritual embrace of our Loving Father in heaven who yearns for our fellowship with Him and Who has made it all possible even knowing we would experience times like these. It is too wonderful for words! How good it is to be near God, how trustworthy He is, how privileged we are to be called His children!
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Doubting the Goodness of God- Ps 73 v1-16
Psalm 73 is a Psalm of what happens when as John MacArthur says, our faith gets buried under self-pity. We tend to focus inward when times are tough for us and this invariably leads to self pity, and "woe is me" thinking.
Such is the state of the Psalmist. He knows God is good, and so do we! Circumstances can bring us low and cause us to wonder if God is listening, if He knows our plight, and if He cares. The Psalmist refers to this as coming close to the edge of the cliff.
1 Truly God is good to Israel,
to those whose hearts are pure.
2 But as for me, I came so close to the edge of the cliff!
My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone.
He realizes that this place of self-pity is a slippery slope that carries him downward into even greater sin. It is no different for you and I my reading friends. Have you been to the edge of this same kind of cliff? I certainly have and not so long ago either! I did not only stumble I fell flat on my face. Were it not for being God's Kept Woman I would have surely fallen to my spiritual death. Thank God for His promise to keep His own (John 10:29) and never let us go!
3 For I envied the proud
when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness.
4 They seem to live such a painless life;
their bodies are so healthy and strong.
5 They aren’t troubled like other people
or plagued with problems like everyone else. (NLT)
Here we find the decent into greater sin; pride and envy of the wicked. Pride is a bottomless pit from which springs the death of spiritual growth, discontent, envy, and a host of other sins. It is tough for us not to look upon the wicked and see their "freedom" and "ease" of life!
So much of the Christian life is an advertisement for pain and suffering, isn't it? At times we envy the relative ease of the unbeliever choosing to set aside the words of Jesus and the words of Peter who both warned us that we would surely suffer for doing what is right (1 Peter 4:12-13; Matt. 10:34)
It is preferable in our hearts to acquire happiness and peace, flitting our way through life each day, taking our ease.
5 They are not in trouble as other men,
Nor are they plagued like mankind.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
The garment of violence covers them.
7 Their eye bulges from fatness;
The imaginations of their heart run riot.
8 They mock and wickedly speak of oppression;
They speak from on high.
9 They have set their mouth against the heavens,
And their tongue parades through the earth. (NASB)
Notice that the Psalmist says in verse 7 "the imaginations of their heart run riot" which is another reference to the heart being the control center of your being. As you think in your heart, so goes your life! Pride and all this wickedness are contained in the heart of man and these things cause us to doubt the goodness of God.
I am also amused in how the Psalmist talks about "they" and "their" with almost a petulant whine in his voice. I have the mental picture of a child hopping up and down, fists clenched telling his daddy about all the other kids who have this or that at school and he doesn't; and it's not fair! We seem to really be stuck on what is "fair" forgetting that if God lived by what was fair we would all go to hell when we die. We forget that mercy and fairness are not on the same playing field, and thank God for that!
10 And so the people are dismayed and confused,
drinking in all their words.
11 “Does God realize what is going on?” they ask.
“Is the Most High even aware of what is happening?”
12 Look at these arrogant people—
enjoying a life of ease while their riches multiply.
13 Was it for nothing that I kept my heart pure
and kept myself from doing wrong?
14 All I get is trouble all day long;
every morning brings me pain.
15 If I had really spoken this way,
I would have been a traitor to your people.
16 So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper.
But what a difficult task it is!
We often ask ourselves in the quietness of our hearts why God allows such injustice to take place. It appears He rewards evil behavior and ungodly living with peace and ease in life. When we buy into the lies being promoted by their lifestyle our thoughts can and often do go in the direction the Psalmist takes in vv 13-14. If you are entirely honest with yourself, you may have to admit that there are times when you wonder if it is truly worth it all. The suffering becomes so great, and the despair becomes so heavy that you think that it would be better and easier to become one of them!
Such is the state of the Psalmist. He knows God is good, and so do we! Circumstances can bring us low and cause us to wonder if God is listening, if He knows our plight, and if He cares. The Psalmist refers to this as coming close to the edge of the cliff.
1 Truly God is good to Israel,
to those whose hearts are pure.
2 But as for me, I came so close to the edge of the cliff!
My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone.
He realizes that this place of self-pity is a slippery slope that carries him downward into even greater sin. It is no different for you and I my reading friends. Have you been to the edge of this same kind of cliff? I certainly have and not so long ago either! I did not only stumble I fell flat on my face. Were it not for being God's Kept Woman I would have surely fallen to my spiritual death. Thank God for His promise to keep His own (John 10:29) and never let us go!
3 For I envied the proud
when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness.
4 They seem to live such a painless life;
their bodies are so healthy and strong.
5 They aren’t troubled like other people
or plagued with problems like everyone else. (NLT)
Here we find the decent into greater sin; pride and envy of the wicked. Pride is a bottomless pit from which springs the death of spiritual growth, discontent, envy, and a host of other sins. It is tough for us not to look upon the wicked and see their "freedom" and "ease" of life!
So much of the Christian life is an advertisement for pain and suffering, isn't it? At times we envy the relative ease of the unbeliever choosing to set aside the words of Jesus and the words of Peter who both warned us that we would surely suffer for doing what is right (1 Peter 4:12-13; Matt. 10:34)
It is preferable in our hearts to acquire happiness and peace, flitting our way through life each day, taking our ease.
5 They are not in trouble as other men,
Nor are they plagued like mankind.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace;
The garment of violence covers them.
7 Their eye bulges from fatness;
The imaginations of their heart run riot.
8 They mock and wickedly speak of oppression;
They speak from on high.
9 They have set their mouth against the heavens,
And their tongue parades through the earth. (NASB)
Notice that the Psalmist says in verse 7 "the imaginations of their heart run riot" which is another reference to the heart being the control center of your being. As you think in your heart, so goes your life! Pride and all this wickedness are contained in the heart of man and these things cause us to doubt the goodness of God.
I am also amused in how the Psalmist talks about "they" and "their" with almost a petulant whine in his voice. I have the mental picture of a child hopping up and down, fists clenched telling his daddy about all the other kids who have this or that at school and he doesn't; and it's not fair! We seem to really be stuck on what is "fair" forgetting that if God lived by what was fair we would all go to hell when we die. We forget that mercy and fairness are not on the same playing field, and thank God for that!
10 And so the people are dismayed and confused,
drinking in all their words.
11 “Does God realize what is going on?” they ask.
“Is the Most High even aware of what is happening?”
12 Look at these arrogant people—
enjoying a life of ease while their riches multiply.
13 Was it for nothing that I kept my heart pure
and kept myself from doing wrong?
14 All I get is trouble all day long;
every morning brings me pain.
15 If I had really spoken this way,
I would have been a traitor to your people.
16 So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper.
But what a difficult task it is!
We often ask ourselves in the quietness of our hearts why God allows such injustice to take place. It appears He rewards evil behavior and ungodly living with peace and ease in life. When we buy into the lies being promoted by their lifestyle our thoughts can and often do go in the direction the Psalmist takes in vv 13-14. If you are entirely honest with yourself, you may have to admit that there are times when you wonder if it is truly worth it all. The suffering becomes so great, and the despair becomes so heavy that you think that it would be better and easier to become one of them!
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
How Do Psych Meds Work?
Read any package literature on any of these medications and you will see that it contains language that is generic about how these drugs work. They contain phrases like; “(name) may help to correct this imbalance by…” and “Scientific evidence suggests that depression and certain anxiety disorders may be caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain.” This one says; “Scientific evidence suggests that depression and certain anxiety disorders may be caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain.” And finally; “Scientists believe people with depression could have an imbalance of serotonin in their brain.”
That is an awful lot of uncertainty if you ask me considering they are giving you pills that alter your brain…
What IS known about these medications is they alter brain chemicals and affect the central nervous system. They increase or decrease serotonin and dopamine and a host of other chemicals in the brain. They change pathways and alter structure.
In a majority of cases, they are not treating a brain illness; they are treating (by their own admission) emotional symptoms. They are medicating emotions.
Why do we medicate emotions? This is an important question for us to address because many professing Christians find themselves in this position. They have gone to the doctor because they didn’t feel well; life’s circumstances had overwhelmed them, they could not seem to function and get through daily life and so today they find themselves on a medication.
It is possible (and due to the media manipulation) and probable that people really don’t understand what they are doing when they begin a psych med. We have been raised to believe that we can trust what we hear and read, and all of this is promoted as gospel truth. Many people really believe the disease model and when they are presented with conflicting information they simply can’t believe that all they have been told is not exactly as it has been presented.
I am convinced that if most medical professionals really knew what these drugs do to people, they would not prescribe them. I am equally convinced that if patients had full disclosure on these drugs, they would not agree to take them.
I also must remind you that if you are currently taking any psychotropic medication you cannot just stop taking it for any reason! Many of these drugs require a taper schedule, and I strongly urge you to do this under your doctor’s supervision! Please hear me- do not stop taking medication without assistance from your doctor, or unless you are following an approved withdrawal/detox program!
Many of these medications now carry an FDA Black Box Warning which is the most serious warning that we have; indicating that some people who take these pills are more likely to commit suicide or harm. By doing a little homework, you would see that those involved in school shootings at Columbine, Virginia Tech, Northern Illinois University and many other incidents all were being “treated” with some psychotropic medication.
Admittedly, they are the extreme on the negative end of the spectrum, I realize that. Please also realize that I doubt if any of those people decided to go on the meds with the understanding they would become homicidal.
What are some of the other results of being on the medications? These medications affect the brain and central nervous system. They affect the emotions and feelings. Together they affect all aspects of a person’s being.
There are numerous unwanted side effects of many of these drugs. Weight gain, diabetes, high blood pressure, sleeplessness, sleepiness, kidney problems; break though symptoms, and the cycle of needing numerous meds to offset the side effects of the primary medication.
Along with all this we must include the reality that there are some people who benefit greatly from being on these meds. We just don’t know how they benefit, except experientially. They are able to get out of bed, they are functional, and they go to work and hold down their job.
Some have been on for so long they can no longer function without them.
If this describes you, the last thing I want is for you to think you are somehow less of a person or less of a Christian because these meds work for you.
My suggestion is if you are on them stay on them. While on them get some good counseling to address the heart issues that plague you, identify the root cause of the depression or anxiety and once you learn how to deal with these things biblically you may want to try getting off of them. In that case, go to your doctor and ask for a taper schedule and under his or her supervision wean off them and see how it goes. You may find that you don’t need them, or you need less or you may also learn that you can’t function without them.
If that is the case, you still have learned how to respond biblically to problems, and that is good!
That is an awful lot of uncertainty if you ask me considering they are giving you pills that alter your brain…
What IS known about these medications is they alter brain chemicals and affect the central nervous system. They increase or decrease serotonin and dopamine and a host of other chemicals in the brain. They change pathways and alter structure.
In a majority of cases, they are not treating a brain illness; they are treating (by their own admission) emotional symptoms. They are medicating emotions.
Why do we medicate emotions? This is an important question for us to address because many professing Christians find themselves in this position. They have gone to the doctor because they didn’t feel well; life’s circumstances had overwhelmed them, they could not seem to function and get through daily life and so today they find themselves on a medication.
It is possible (and due to the media manipulation) and probable that people really don’t understand what they are doing when they begin a psych med. We have been raised to believe that we can trust what we hear and read, and all of this is promoted as gospel truth. Many people really believe the disease model and when they are presented with conflicting information they simply can’t believe that all they have been told is not exactly as it has been presented.
I am convinced that if most medical professionals really knew what these drugs do to people, they would not prescribe them. I am equally convinced that if patients had full disclosure on these drugs, they would not agree to take them.
I also must remind you that if you are currently taking any psychotropic medication you cannot just stop taking it for any reason! Many of these drugs require a taper schedule, and I strongly urge you to do this under your doctor’s supervision! Please hear me- do not stop taking medication without assistance from your doctor, or unless you are following an approved withdrawal/detox program!
Many of these medications now carry an FDA Black Box Warning which is the most serious warning that we have; indicating that some people who take these pills are more likely to commit suicide or harm. By doing a little homework, you would see that those involved in school shootings at Columbine, Virginia Tech, Northern Illinois University and many other incidents all were being “treated” with some psychotropic medication.
Admittedly, they are the extreme on the negative end of the spectrum, I realize that. Please also realize that I doubt if any of those people decided to go on the meds with the understanding they would become homicidal.
What are some of the other results of being on the medications? These medications affect the brain and central nervous system. They affect the emotions and feelings. Together they affect all aspects of a person’s being.
There are numerous unwanted side effects of many of these drugs. Weight gain, diabetes, high blood pressure, sleeplessness, sleepiness, kidney problems; break though symptoms, and the cycle of needing numerous meds to offset the side effects of the primary medication.
Along with all this we must include the reality that there are some people who benefit greatly from being on these meds. We just don’t know how they benefit, except experientially. They are able to get out of bed, they are functional, and they go to work and hold down their job.
Some have been on for so long they can no longer function without them.
If this describes you, the last thing I want is for you to think you are somehow less of a person or less of a Christian because these meds work for you.
My suggestion is if you are on them stay on them. While on them get some good counseling to address the heart issues that plague you, identify the root cause of the depression or anxiety and once you learn how to deal with these things biblically you may want to try getting off of them. In that case, go to your doctor and ask for a taper schedule and under his or her supervision wean off them and see how it goes. You may find that you don’t need them, or you need less or you may also learn that you can’t function without them.
If that is the case, you still have learned how to respond biblically to problems, and that is good!
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