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Knowing our identity

2008-10-31T02:00:00.001-04:00

Knowing our identity in Jesus Christ is crucially important - a major key - to walking in ever-increasing spiritual victory. You will struggle to one degree or another your entire Christian life if you don't learn and believe WHO God the Father says you are IN Jesus Christ.

Any time a believer is in disagreement with what God says about them from the scriptures below, (there are more promises than what we've listed, by the way) they must quit believing the devil's lies, and start believing what God's Word says about them, which is Truth (Godly FACT!). In so doing, one is waging wise, effective spiritual warfare against the devouring attacks of the devil against them.

1 Peter 5:8-9 alerts Christian believers: "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings (attacks to devour your joy, peace and faith, in one form or another - explanation ours) are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

Our ongoing, daily confession of what God's WORD says about us is one of the most vital means of "resisting the devil" God has given Christian believers. If we don't confess the promises of God, once we know what they are, it usually means we don't believe them either...which only gives the devil greater influence in our lives.

Remember ... Satan has little influence over the Christian believer when we refuse to believe his lies. But if we do believe his lies, that gives him increased influence over us...giving him an opening to harass (oppress - devour) us in even greater measure.

Another important note regarding the promises listed below. These promises are ONLY given to us because of what Jesus Christ accomplished for us on the cross. We must never think of ourselves as so "wonderful" or so "deserving" that God gave us His promises because we are worthy to receive them. God makes it very clear in scripture that no human is worthy to receive the unfathomable riches He has given us in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ alone is the only One worthy to receive God the Father's eternal blessings, and once we come to agreement with that fact, it makes the eternal salvation Jesus Christ has secured and given us even more priceless!

God forbid that any one of us thinks we deserve this priceless gift of eternal salvation and all the blessings that come with it through eternity. We must always remember that what we really deserve is eternal punishment in hell because we are sinners. Yet in God's love and mercy, He provided a way...He provided an escape from eternal damnation. The miracle of the exchanged life is our escape. Jesus became our sin ... so we could inherit His righteousness - His holiness. Jesus took our punishment at the cross for our sins...so we could be freed from punishment.

Arrogance and boasting about our exchanged life in Jesus Christ has no place for God's people. As believers in Jesus Christ, you and I are nothing but sinners saved by God's grace. That's the first truth God wants us realizing. But God says we are also something ELSE! He says that in Jesus Christ, we are also Godly saints who occasionally sin now...but one day in eternity will never sin again!

God has given us His promises of our position in Jesus Christ for at least two reasons that I'm aware of:

1) To wage more effective spiritual warfare against demonic powers -- actively applying the Ephesians 6:16 "shield of faith."
2) To help us stay motivated to daily keep striving to live up to what God desires for us to become.

What does God the Father desire that we become? More Christ-like, in every way. God wills it to happen, but it's not going to happen by our just talking about it, or wishing it to happen. It will only happen as we make Christ-like decisions. That requires action on our part, doesn't it?

Therefore, let the promises from God below be the "ammunition" to fire back at demonic powers firing their poisonous bullets (fiery darts) at you ... using them wisely and appropriately for that reason, and secondly, use them as catalysts in striving to be more Christ-like:

IN and THROUGH Jesus Christ, this is what God the Father says about me ...

In Jesus Christ, God's child for I am born again of the incorruptible seed of the Word of God which liveth and abideth forever. I Peter 1:23
Through Jesus Christ, able to endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 2 Timothy 2:3
In Jesus Christ, forgiven of all my sins and washed in His shed Blood. Eph 1:7; Heb 9:14; Col 1:14; I John 2:12, I John 1:9
Through Jesus Christ, I have eternal life. John 3:36
Through Jesus Christ, I have passed from death into life. John 5:24
Through Jesus Christ, out of my innermost being will flow rivers of living water. John 7:38
Through Jesus Christ, the truth shall set me free. John 8:31-32
Through Jesus Christ, if I ask what God has promised, in Jesus name, He will do it. (As long as it is the Father's will for me, of course. What we can miss in reading John Chapters 14 & 15 is that God desires above all things that we make it our number one purpose as Christians to strive to allow the Holy Spirit to grow Christ-like fruit in our lives. [See: Galatians 5:22-24 to know what these "fruits" are]. Because God above all else is looking for Christ-like character growth in our lives, we sometimes struggle wondering WHY God doesn't grant us whatever we ask of Him. Though many will disagree with me, which is their right, I have yet to find one ironclad guarantee in the Bible that will motivate God to answer every prayer I pray the way I want Him to answer it. God desires that we have confidence when we pray to Him, but He also desires that we honor Him by our acknowledging that we accept however He responds to our prayers, simply because He's the only one who knows all things, understands all things, and knows what is BEST for each of us at any given time, and for others we pray for). John 14:14; John 15:7-8
I am in Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ is in me. John 14:20
In Jesus Christ and through Jesus Christ, peace is mine. John 14:27
In and through Jesus Christ, I am loved by the Father. John 16:27
In Jesus Christ, I belong to God. I am His. John 17:9
In Jesus Christ, I am protected from the evil one. John 17:15 (As I implement Ephesians 6:10-18. This is not to assume I am exempt from demonic attacks. The Apostle Paul wasn't, and he is the one the Holy Spirit used to write the book of Ephesians, among other Books where Paul speaks of the persecution of Satan he faced through the religious people who opposed Jesus. The Apostle Peter also experienced spiritual warfare, which fully qualified him to write by unction of God the Holy Spirit: "Be sober, be alert, because your adversary, the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." [See: 1 Peter 5:8]. Peter is not writing this to the unsaved. He is writing it to the Body of Christ, the Church - born again believers. As the balanced counsel goes forth from mature believers: Christians are never to fear what Satan can do them, but neither are they ever to become complacent, nor ignorant of his devices and strategies to rob them of their peace and joy and life (love for God) in Christ Jesus).
Through Jesus Christ, I am being sanctified by the truth of God's Word (as I believe it and obey it). John 17:17
I am in Jesus Christ and loved by the Father. John 17:23
In Jesus Christ, I have forgiveness of sins through Christ. Acts 13:38; 1 John 1:9
In Christ, I am among the called of Jesus Christ. Romans 1:6
In Christ, I am beloved of God, called to be a saint. Romans 1:7
In and through Jesus Christ, I have been justified by faith, and I have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1
Through Jesus Christ, I am saved solely by God's grace and the faith God gives me to trust Him for my salvation. Beyond trusting, there is absolutely nothing I could possibly do to earn that salvation, nor must I ever think that I somehow deserve this salvation. Salvation is the gift of God, from God. Ephesians 2:8
In and through Jesus Christ, I have perseverance, character and hope, when I purpose to glory in my tribulations, (rather than constantly complain about them, or become angry and bitter at God for allowing them to happen to me, which is what demonic spirits serving Satan delights seeing happen to you and I!) Romans 5:3-4
Through Jesus Christ, the love of God has been poured out in my heart through Jesus' death. Romans 5:5
In Jesus Christ, I will eventually reign in life through the obedience of Christ Jesus to the Father. Romans 5:17
In Jesus Christ, I have been made righteous through the obedience of Christ. Romans 5:19; 2 Corinthians 5:21
Through Jesus Christ, because I have been given the righteousness Christ had and has, I now am commanded of God to diligently strive daily to live up to this righteousness that Christ secured for me. (Not giving into temptations to sin, in other words, walking in obedience to the Word of Truth). 1 Timothy 6:11; 2 Timothy 2:22
In Jesus Christ, I died with Christ when He died. Romans 6:2
In and through Jesus Christ, because Christ rose from the dead, I have been raised from the spiritually dead to walk in newness of spiritual life through Christ. Romans 6:4
Through Jesus Christ, I no longer need to be a slave to sin, because God has given me His power in Christ to became a vessel to holiness and obedience. Romans 6:6
In Jesus Christ and through the strength and power of Christ, I AM an overcomer. Philippians 4:13; 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
In my own strength and own power, I can accomplish nothing that pleases God. John 15:5
Through Jesus Christ, what I purpose to do daily is seek the help of the Holy Spirit to help me understand when I am sinning; help me understand why God doesn't want me committing that sin; and then help me overcome that sin(s) in my life. Romans 8:13
In Jesus Christ, I am not under law, but under grace. Before Christ died for sinners on the cross, I was under the law. To be saved, I was to try to obey the 10 commandments (which the Bible says no one can do, though Christ did). After Christ died for sinners on the cross, I was under grace. Under grace, I no longer had to try to obey the 10 commandments to become saved, but rather, trust that Christ paid full penalty for all my sins, taking my full punishment for them. And because I'm now under grace, I realize there is nothing to lose and everything to gain by my keeping the Ten Commandments, but without the resurrection power that is imparted to us in Christ and by the help of the Holy Spirit, we won't be able to faithfully obey the Ten Commandments anyway for very long. Yet I must always remember lest the devil try to deceive me as the book of Galatians addresses, trying to keep the 10 commandments will not, and will never, save me from my sins, nor will it save anyone else. Neither will restoring any daily sacrifice as was practiced in Old Testament times by the Jews save me or anyone else from my or their sins. Romans 6:14; Galatians 5:18
I once was a slave to sin before I was saved, but now that I am secure in my salvation in Christ, I desire to be a slave of righteousness (addicted to righteousness; right-relationship with God, in other words). Romans 6:18
In Jesus Christ, I have now no condemnation because of who I am in Christ, Romans 8:1
Through Jesus Christ, I have been set free from the law of sin and of death. Romans 8:2
In Jesus Christ, I have spiritual life in my mortal body through His Spirit who indwells me. Romans 8:11
In Christ Jesus, I am a child of God. (When I wasn't in Christ Jesus, I was a child of Satan). Romans 8:16
Through Christ, I am an heir of God and fellow heir with Christ. Romans 8:17
In Jesus Christ, all things are working ultimately together for my good, as I walk in God's purposes and His will, in love. Romans 8:28; 1 John 5:3
In and through Jesus Christ, I have been justified and glorified in the mind of God, and I now strive to walk in obedience to the Word of Truth to glorify the One (Jesus Christ) who secured my justification and glorification. Romans 8:30
Through Jesus Christ, I have a measure of faith. Romans 12:3
In Jesus Christ, I have been given gifts, though I also know that I'm to desire supernatural gifts at all times imparted by the Holy Spirit, to glorify God. Romans 12:6; 1 Corinthians 14:1
In and through Jesus Christ, I am to desire spiritual gifts, but diligently PURSUE love, because it was love that motivated and keeps motivating God to pursue me and you. 1 Corinthians 14:1
In and through Jesus Christ, whether I live or die, I am the Lord's. Romans 14:8
In Jesus Christ, I am a sanctified saint, (but living it out daily is a different matter, though it is God's will that I eagerly strive to do so, with the help of the Holy Spirit and God's Word!) I Cor. 1:2
In and through Jesus Christ, I have been given the grace of God. I Cor. 1:4
In Jesus Christ, I have been enriched in every way. I Cor. 1:5
In Jesus Christ, I am called into fellowship with God. I Cor. 1:9
In Jesus Christ, I qualify to be given wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. I Cor. 1:30
Because of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ and my choice to identify with Him, I have been given God's Spirit so I can understand what God has freely given. I Cor. 2:12
Through Jesus Christ, I am God's fellow worker, I am God's field, God's building. I Cor. 3:9
In Jesus Christ, I am a temple of God in which the Spirit of God indwells, though I also realize that I can grieve the Spirit of God by giving place to ongoing sin...disobedience...teaching false doctrine...twisting scriptures out of context and/or proper scripture application. I Cor. 3:16; Ephesians 4:30
In Jesus Christ, I am a holy temple of God I Cor. 3:17
Through Jesus Christ, I am one spirit with God's Spirit, (though my flesh begs to differ far too often!) I Cor. 6:17
In Jesus Christ, my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in me, and because God says it is His temple, I strive to make it a holy temple daily through the help of Christ's strength in me to walk in the Spirit rather than the flesh. However, as a word of caution, no matter how much a person conquers areas of sin in their life, this is not, nor will it ever, be what saves them from their sins. BELIEVING what Christ accomplished for us on the cross is what saves us. Nothing less. Nothing more. I Cor. 6:19
Through Jesus Christ, I have been bought with a price, and I desire to honor God with my body, (which encompasses my spirit, my soul, and my physical body). I Cor. 6:20
Through Jesus Christ, I am Christ's slave (though I'm not so arrogant nor naive to believe that my selfish and fleshly carnal nature has been stripped fully of its power to keep me from being a slave to it's sinful desires, which is why I need to daily purpose to walk in the Spirit, so I don't fulfill the lusts of my flesh). I Cor. 7:22; Galatians 5:16-17
Through Jesus Christ, I will be raised from the dead imperishable. I Cor. 15:52
Through Jesus Christ, I will put on immortality. I Cor. 15:53
In Jesus Christ, I am comforted by God, so I can comfort others. 2 Cor. 1:4
Through Jesus Christ, I am delivered from the peril of spiritual death, providing I'm willing to give my ALL to God in obedience to maintain my deliverance. 2 Cor. 1:10
In and through Jesus Christ, He anointed me, and put His seal of ownership on me. 2 Cor. 1:22
In Jesus Christ, I am a fragrance of Christ to God among both the saved and the lost, as I behave like Christ would behave. 2 Cor. 2:15
In Christ, I am a letter of Christ being written. 2 Cor. 3:3
Through Christ, I am a minister of the new covenant of the Spirit of life. 2 Cor. 3:6
Through Christ, I am being transformed into the likeness of the Lord Jesus ever increasingly with glory from God the Father by the help of the Holy Spirit as I walk in obedience to His Word of Truth. 2 Cor. 3:18
In Jesus Christ, I have received mercy, and do not lose heart through Christ who strengthens me and by the help of the Holy Spirit. 2 Cor. 4:1
Through Jesus Christ, I have the Holy Spirit in my body. 2 Cor. 4:7
Through Jesus Christ, the life of Jesus is manifested in my body, as I diligently work in cooperation with the Holy Spirit to help me. 2 Cor. 4:10 See: Romans 8:13
Through Jesus Christ, my inner man is being renewed day by day. 2 Cor. 4:16
In Jesus Christ, I have a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 Cor. 5:1
Through Jesus Christ, I live by faith, not by sight. (That is, I live by faith in God's wisely applied promises in His Word, and any rhema word(s) God has imparted to me. Otherwise I may be living by presumption and/or assumption without even knowing, which can give demons an open door to trip me up). 2 Cor. 5:7
In Jesus Christ, I am a new spiritual creation; old things have passed away, and all things have become new. 2 Cor. 5:17
Through Jesus Christ, I am reconciled to God, and I have been given the ministry of reconciliation. 2 Cor. 5:18
Through Jesus Christ, I am an ambassador for Christ, imploring people to be reconciled to God. 2 Cor. 5:20
In Jesus Christ, I am the righteousness of God. 2 Cor. 5:21
Through Jesus Christ, I have grace from God so I can abound in every good work. 2 Cor. 9:8
In the love of God, I am Christ's. 2 Cor. 10:7
Through God's love and mercy and grace, Jesus Christ is in me. 2 Cor. 13:5
I am crucified with Jesus Christ, as the Apostle Paul was qualified to state, so I too in Christ want to be able to confidently proclaim this. I no longer live but Christ lives in me, and the life that I live now, I live by faith in Christ." Gal. 2:20
I am a son of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Gal. 3:26
I am one in Christ Jesus with all believers. Gal. 3:28
I belong to Jesus Christ. I am an heir through Christ according to the promise. Gal. 3:29
In Jesus Christ and through Jesus Christ, I am a son of God. Gal. 4:6
Through Jesus Christ, I am no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God. Gal. 4:7
Through Jesus Christ, I have grace and peace. Eph. 1:2
In Jesus Christ, I am blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. No matter how difficult life may have been for me up to this point, or how difficult it might get in the future ... nothing changes the fact that I am blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. Once I'm in "heavenly places," my faith will become sight - halleluiah! Eph. 1:3
Through Jesus Christ, I am chosen in Him. Eph. 1:4
In and through Christ Jesus, I am holy and blameless in God's sight. Eph. 1:4
I am a son through Jesus Christ. Eph. 1:5
In the beloved (Christ) I am accepted by God the Father unconditionally, which also means that I am loved unconditionally by God the Father in the beloved (Christ). Eph. 1:6
Through Jesus Christ I have redemption and forgiveness. Eph. 1:7
Through Jesus Christ I have obtained an inheritance. Eph. 1:11
I have been sealed in Jesus Christ with the promised Holy Spirit. Eph. 1:13
I am seated positionally with Jesus Christ in the heavenlies because of all that Christ accomplished for me by His going to the cross; fully realizing how secure I am in my relationship with God, but again, in and through Christ. Eph. 1:20
In Jesus Christ, I am loved by God, and because I am loved by God, I demonstrate my love for Him and others by earnestly striving to keep His New Testament (New Covenant) commandments. Yet keeping God's commandments does not motivate God to love me more. In Christ, I have all of God the Father's unconditional love. Obeying God's New Testament commandments will bring God's increased favor one way or the other, not His love. Eph. 2:4; 1 John 5:3
Through Jesus Christ, I have been made alive together with Christ. Eph. 2:5
In Jesus Christ, I have every right to feel confidently secure that I have been raised with Him and seated with Him in the heavenly places. Eph. 2:6
Through Jesus Christ, I have been saved from my sins by grace through faith -- this salvation of His forgiveness for my sins is a gift of God. Eph. 2:8
In and through Jesus Christ, I am God's workmanship created for good works. Eph. 2:10
I have been brought near to God by the (shed) blood of Christ. Eph. 2:13
Jesus Christ is my peace because He is at peace with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and He IS peace personified. Eph. 2:14
Through Jesus Christ I have access in one Spirit to the Father. Eph. 2:18
In Jesus Christ, I am no longer a stranger and alien, but I am a fellow citizen with the saints. Eph. 2:19
In Jesus Christ, I am a fellow heir and fellow member of the body of Christ. Eph. 3:6
In and through Jesus Christ, I am a fellow partaker of the promises of God. Eph. 3:6
In Jesus Christ and through faith in Him, we have boldness and confident access to God the Father. Eph. 3:12
Through Christ Jesus, I am strengthened with power through His Spirit in my inner man. Eph. 3:16
Through Jesus Christ, I have a power source within me which is able to do abundantly beyond all that I ask or think. Eph. 3:20
In and through Jesus Christ, I have been given grace. Eph. 4:7
In Jesus Christ, I have been forgiven, so I forgive others through the strength (ability) Christ provides when I need it. Eph. 4:32; Phil. 4:13
Through Jesus Christ, I am confident that He who began a good work in me will perfect it until the day (return) of Christ Jesus. Phil. 1:6
Through Jesus Christ, God is at work within me both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Phil. 2:13
Through Christ Jesus my Savior and Lord, I am a spiritual light in the world. Phil. 2:15
In Jesus Christ, the peace of God guards my heart and mind as I pray with thanksgiving in everything. Phil. 4:6,7
In Jesus Christ, I can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me. (In accordance with the Father's will, of course) Phil. 4:13
In Jesus Christ, God shall supply all my needs (not necessarily all my wants) according to His riches in glory. Phil. 4:19
In Jesus Christ, the Father has qualified me to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. Col. 1:12
In and through Jesus Christ, I have been delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of His beloved Son. Col. 1:13
In and through Christ Jesus, I have redemption and the forgiveness of sins. Col. 1:14
Jesus Christ is in me, the hope of glory. Col. 1:27
In Jesus Christ I have already been made complete, yet until I reach heaven, I'm to live UP to that completeness! Col. 2:10
In Jesus Christ I have been buried with Him in baptism. In and through Christ I have been raised up with Him through faith. Col. 2:12
In Jesus Christ, I have been made spiritually alive together with Him. Col. 2:13
Through Jesus Christ, all my sin debt was paid in full at the cross. Col. 2:14
I have been raised with Jesus Christ, and I set my heart on things above (things that are most important to God). I have died (to my carnal, fleshly sinful nature), and my life (whatever pleases the Father) is hidden with Christ in God. Col. 3:1-3
Through Jesus Christ, I have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of the Creator. Col. 3:10
I am rescued by Jesus Christ from the coming wrath of God that will be poured out upon Earth. I Thess. 1:10
Through Jesus Christ, I am taught by God to love others (treat others the way I want to be treated, in other words). I Thess. 4:9
I will meet the Lord Jesus in the air and be with Him forever. I Thess. 4:17
I am loved by the Lord. God has chosen me in Christ from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. 2 Thess. 2:13
The faithful Lord will strengthen and protect me from the evil one because of who I am in Jesus Christ (but I must also use my Ephesians 6:10-18 weapons of warfare that God has given me to use...not to let them sit in some dark corner of a closet to collect dust.) 2 Thess. 3:3
In and through Jesus Christ, I have been called to eternal life. I Tim. 6:12
Because of who I am in Jesus Christ, God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind -- which happens to be nothing less than the very mind of Christ. 2 Tim. 1:7; 1 Cor. 2:16
The Lord has saved me and called me to a holy life, not according to my works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted me in Christ Jesus for all eternity. 2 Tim. 1:9
I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day (He returns to earth) because of what God secured for me in and through Christ Jesus the Word. 2 Tim. 1:12
Because of what Jesus Christ accomplished for me at the cross, The Holy Spirit dwells in me. 2 Tim. 1:14
In His love for me, He has purposed to redeem me from every lawless deed and purified me for His own possession as I purpose to walk in obedience to His commandments, yet knowing full well I may fall short of doing that from time to time. Titus 2:14
The Holy Spirit has been poured out upon me richly through Jesus Christ my Savior. Titus 3:6
I have been justified by His grace in Christ and made an heir through Christ in having the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:7
Through the help of the Holy Spirit, I fix my thoughts on Jesus (what is important to Him), the apostle and high priest who I confess. Heb. 3:1
Through Jesus Christ, I am a house of Jesus Christ. Heb. 3:6
I have become a partaker of Christ through the divine will of the Father. Heb. 3:14
As God has rested from His work, I have rested from my works (not trying to somehow be "good enough" to earn salvation (forgiveness for my sins), in other words, or be "worthy enough" to receive salvation), knowing that in Christ, I can feel secure that all the work necessary was accomplished by Christ on the cross to qualify me to stand in the presence of my Holy God this very moment without fear of eternal condemnation. Heb. 4:10
Through Jesus Christ, I have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens. Heb. 4:14
Through Jesus Christ, I have a high priest who can sympathize with my weaknesses. Heb. 4:15
In and through Jesus Christ, I can approach the throne of grace with confidence, so I may receive mercy and find grace to help me in my time of need. Heb. 4:16
In Jesus Christ, I have been made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Although I realize that as long as I'm on this planet prior to Christ's physical return, the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit will be ongoing in my life). Heb. 10:10
Through Jesus Christ, my heart has been sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and my body washed with pure water. Heb. 10:22
Because of Jesus Christ, I have a great cloud of witnesses surrounding me who are also in Christ. Heb. 12:1
Because I belong to Christ Jesus, God disciplines me for my good that I may share His holiness (this is referred to as the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit). Positionally, in Christ, I have already been made holy and righteous. Because of that truth, I am now to pursue holiness and righteousness, seeking to imitate the character of Jesus Christ in every way - daily. Heb. 12:10; 2 Cor. 5:21
In Jesus Christ, I have received a kingdom which cannot be shaken, and I am thankful and worship God. Heb. 12:28
Because of the security I have in and through Jesus Christ, God will never desert me nor forsake me. Heb. 13:5 (Although I realize I'm not exempt from God's testing, and the test of feeling forsaken is perhaps the most difficult test to go through, though God strongly desires that we pass it.) Heb 13:5
Through the sacrifice Jesus Christ gave for my sins on the cross, I am made holy through Jesus' own blood shed on the cross. (Although I have not obtained a state of sinlessness either; until I receive my glorified body, I'm still fully capable of sinning). Heb. 13:12
Jesus has equipped me in every good thing to do His will, working in me that which is pleasing in His sight because I have chosen to identify with Him. Heb. 13:21
In Jesus Christ, God generously and without reproach gives to me wisdom if I ask Him, but I must be patient to get it sometimes, and I must be willing to seek Godly counsel from others at times or it may not be given to me. James 1:5
In Jesus Christ, God has promised to me the crown of life when I persevere under trial. James 1:12
In His great mercy, I have been born again into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. I Peter 1:3
In and through Jesus Christ, I have obtained an inheritance which can never perish, spoil, or fade away, reserved in heaven for me. I Peter 1:4
I am protected by the power of God through faith until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time because of who I am in Christ. I Peter 1:5
Because He is holy, I am holy. (Positionally speaking, I am holy in Jesus Christ, which was given me as part of the eternal gift of salvation, accomplished on the cross for me by Christ. Experientially, I daily yield with the Holy Spirit to not give in to sinful temptation and believe lies about myself in Christ). 1 Peter 1:16
I was not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. I Peter 1:18-19
I have been born again in and through Jesus Christ, not of seed which is perishable but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding Word of God. I Peter 1:23
In Jesus Christ, I am a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a person for God's own possession, that I may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called me out of (spiritual) darkness into His marvelous light. I Peter 2:9
In Jesus Christ, I am part of the family of God, and I have received mercy. I Peter 2:10
Through Christ Jesus, and by His wounds I am healed (the day He went to the cross for you and I and received the punishment for our sins), and have every right to trust Him for healing. This promise first addresses my Spiritual relationship with God, because our spirit man is what God is more concerned about than anything else - where we will spend eternity.
In Jesus Christ, I have been made alive in the Spirit. I Peter 3:18
The Spirit of glory and of God rests upon me because of who I am in Christ. I Peter 4:14
Through Jesus Christ, His divine power has granted to me everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. 2 Peter 1:3
Through Jesus Christ, He has granted to me His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them I might become a partaker of the divine nature, purposing to escape the corruption that is in the world by lust. 2 Peter 1:4
In and through Christ Jesus, I have been purified from my former sins. (Any future sins I commit, I appropriate 1 John 1:9 and strive diligently to obey Romans 8:13 as I am temped to sin after that, yet fully realize that no one living on this planet obtains a state of perfect sinlessness - for any length of time that is - prior to receiving their glorified bodies at the resurrection of the just). 2 Peter 1:9
If I confess my sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive me and purify me from all unrighteousness, but I realize that I'm also to repent of my sin(s), which means to diligently strive to stop committing that same sin(s) in the future. I John 1:9
In Jesus Christ, I am now a child of God. I John 3:2
Because I keep His commandments through the power of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, for the glory of God, and do the things that are pleasing in His sight, whatever I ask, I receive from Him.
As Christians, you and I have the privilege of claiming this promise. God wants us to be confident when we pray to Him 1 John 3:22

Who are you?

2008-10-29T21:28:00.001-04:00

I am God's child (John 1:12)
I am Christ's friend (John 15:15 )
I am united with the Lord (1 Cor. 6:17 )
I am bought with a price (1 Cor. 6:19-20)
I am a saint (set apart for God). (Eph. 1:1)
I am a personal witness of Christ. (Acts 1:8)
I am the salt & light of the earth (Matt.5:13-14)
I am a member of the body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27)
I am free forever from condemnation (Rom. 8: 1-2)
I am a citizen of Heaven. I am significant (Phil.3:20)
I am free from any charge against me (Rom. 8:31 -34)
I am a minister of reconciliation for God (2 Cor.5:17-21)
I have access to God through the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:18)
I am seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6)
I cannot be separated from the love of God (Rom.8:35-39)
I am established, anointed, sealed by God (2 Cor.1:21-22)
I am assured all things work together for good (Rom. 8: 28)
I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit (John 15:16 )
I may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph. 3: 12 )
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil. 4:13)
I am the branch of the true vine, a channel of His life (John 15: 1-5)
I am God's temple (1 Cor. 3: 16 ). I am complete in Christ (Col. 2: 10)
I am hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3). I have been justified (Romans 5:1)
I am God's coworker (1 Cor.. 3:9; 2 Cor 6:1). I am God's workmanship(Eph. 2:10 )
I am confident that the good works God has begun in me will be perfected. (Phil 1: 5)
I have been redeemed and forgiven(Col.1:14).I have been adopted as God's child(Eph 1:5)
I belong to God
Do you know
who you are?

Grace

2008-10-03T13:13:00.001-04:00

Of Grace

"The believer is now, by faith in the Lord Jesus, shrouded under so perfect and blessed a righteousness, that this thundering law of Mount Sinai cannot find the least fault or diminution therein. This is called the righteousness of God without the law."

...As sound old Bunyan said

Romans 3:21-25

21But now the righteousness of God (1)apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22even the righteousness of God, (2)through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on (3)all who believe. For there is no difference; 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 (4)being justified (5)freely by His Grace (6) through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25whom God set forth(7) [as] a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,

For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ" (John 1:17).
The most obvious and striking division of the Word of Truth is that between Law
and Grace.... It is vital to observe that Scripture never mingles these two principles.

Law is God prohibiting and requiring;
Grace is God beseeching and bestowing.

Law is a ministry of condemnation;
Grace is of forgiveness.

Law curses;
Grace redeems from that curse.

Law kills;
Grace makes alive.

Law shuts every mouth before God;
Grace opens every mouth to praise Him.

Law puts a great and guilty distance between man and God;
Grace makes guilty man nigh to God.

Law says "do and live";
Grace, "believe and live."

Law never had a missionary;
Grace is to be preached to every creature.

Law utterly condemns the best man;
Grace freely justifies the worst.

Law is a system of probation;
Grace, of favour.

Law stones an adulteress;
Grace says, "Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more."

Under law the sheep dies at the hand of the shepherd;

Under grace the Shepherd dies for the sheep.

Everywhere the Scriptures present law and grace in sharply contrasted spheres. The mingling of them in much of the current teaching of the day spoils both, for law is robbed of its terror, and grace of its freeness.

THE BELIEVER IS NOT UNDER THE LAW

Romans 6, after declaring the doctrine of the believer's identification with Christ in
His death, of which baptism is the symbol (verses 1-10), begins, with verse 11, the declarations of the principles which should govern the walk of the believer-his rule of life. This is the subject of the remaining twelve verses. Verse 14 gives the great principle of his deliverance, not from the guilt of sin that is met by Christ's blood, but from the dominion of sin-his bondage* under it. "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace."

Lest this should lead to the monstrous Antinomianism of saying that therefore a godly life was not important, the Spirit immediately adds: "What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid" (Rom. 6:15). Surely every renewed heart answers "Amen" to this.

Then Romans 7 introduces another principle of deliverance from law. "Wherefore,
my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye
should he married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we
should bring forth fruit unto God. For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter" (Rom. 7:4-6). (This does not refer to the ceremonial law; see verse 7.)

A beautiful illustration of this principle is seen in a mother's love for her child. The
law requires parents to care for their offspring and pronounces penalties for the willful neglect of them; but the land is full of happy mothers who tenderly care for their children in perfect ignorance of the existence of such a statute. The law is in their hearts.
It is instructive, in this connection, to remember that God's appointed place for the tables of the law was within the ark of the testimony. With them were "the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded" (Types: the one of Christ our wilderness bread, the other of resurrection, and both speaking of grace), while they were covered from sight by the golden mercy seat upon which was sprinkled the blood of atonement. The eye of God could see His broken law only through the blood that completely vindicated His justice and propitiated His wrath (Heb. 9:4-5).

It was reserved to modernists to wrench these holy and just but deathful tables from underneath the mercy seat and the atoning blood and erect them in Christian churches as the rule of Christian life.

Should this meet the eye of an unbeliever, he is affectionately exhorted to accept the true sentence of that holy and just law which he has violated: "For there is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:22-23).
In Christ such will find a perfect and eternal salvation, as it is written: "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that
God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" (Rom. 10:9); for Christ is "the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth" (Rom. 10:4).

Christ Incarnate in the Culture?

2008-09-21T14:59:00.004-04:00

Are we Going to engage our Culture?

In the beginning the Word already existed. He was with God, and He was God. He was in the beginning with God. He created everything there is. Nothing exists that he didn't make. Life itself was in him, and this life gives light to everyone. The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it”. So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father.” (John 1:1-5; 14 NLT)
..."having a form of godliness but denying its power" (2 Tim 3:5).

ARE WE STUCK ON LIVING Christian PRINCIPLES?

God never called us to to live by Christian principles. He calls us to live in relationship with the Living God, Jesus Christ. We are to literally live an incarnate life moment by moment. Asking God to help us when we fail to get up quicker than the last time we have failed. Incarnation living is to live life from not our own self or our own desires. Incarnation living is to represent in a bodily form Christ who is supplying our life from within as our source. When we embody Christ to those around us we are representing the pierced hands, feet, and speared side of Christ. We are helping people to the heart of God through in living form being who Christ is and all that he has done by Grace not representing oneself, we represent a Kingdom here on earth because Christ who is our King reigning and ruling from our hearts as a channel of His kingship to those of another kingdom. We make the subjective,objective and through having God's interests, thoughts and feelings live them through our Human spirit that has been regenerated inwardly to outward representation of the Throne of God that is with in us now. When we are sensitive to the Holy Spirit, who is our Source that has internally transfigured us from within. We are by every moment the reality of Christ to the world by manifesting the Glory from within our very lives demonstrate plainly, relevantly, and practically the bodily form of God upon this earth from our new hearts and new nature. Our new nature with in us was birthed from above and from within ourselves so it does not depend upon our own effort to have God be channeled or flows out from us. God the Holy Spirit is the Living Water that will flow through us to make obvious and apparent who God is and what He has already performed and accomplished. The unfinished work of God is to emerge the Finished work of God to the Lost and depraved world around us through our lives as we are the manifestation of the invisible God. We are the visible and external embodied truth of God for God's Truth lives within us we can be the personification of Christ who has preeminence of our lives. This means that we live the personal qualities of God's nature that lives within our new hearts and by our new Christly minds.

What is Incarnational Living ?

Incarnational living finds its source in the love and concern of God for His creation. God proved, in a real way, His care for humankind by becoming human being. It must be this love of God that embraces us and motivates us, in turn, to care for others.

Without giving up His divine character, Jesus became fully immersed within the culture of the people to whom He brought the excellent News. He was part of the culture, yet transcended it. He lived contentedly surrounded by the culture, yet was a representative of transformation. The incarnation is a difficult to comprehend and exist within the world of the un-churched culture. We must make the Great News culturally relevant to them, and take it into their world.

Outreach to the un-churched must consider the issues of incarnation by going where people go, and living in their world. The methods we use to reach them must be based upon developing authentic relationships that are living. We must model a lifestyle of Christ-likeness in the context of friendship and serving people as Christ has served us. The church must meet the needs of the un-churched within the world in which they live, instead of confrontational evangelism, practicing servant evangelism and living an incarnate life as living epistles that can be easily read, overflowing with the life of Christ from within as a follower of Christ.

Because Jesus is love incarnate, He chose to leave the glory of heaven and dwell among men. Think about this… God the eternal Son became man to dwell side by side with each of us that he created! Now we must prove through our lives that man can still dwell eternally side by side with God.

Incarnational living is not just about remembering an event in the past but the events of the future as well. We must come to realize that the best days are ahead of us, not behind. The Kingdom of God is just around the corner. We must stop yearning for the good old days and begin to look forward with joyous anticipation and excitement that the best is yet to come. God is yearning to be incarnate in your life...today and in all your tomorrows. The Kingdom of God is just ahead of us. It is time for us to look farther down the road. The fullness of His Glory is still yet to be revealed !!

Jesus, the God who became man, is our example. Without giving up His divine qualities, He nevertheless became fully immersed within the culture of the people to whom He brought the Great News. He was part of the culture, yet transcended it. He lived happily within the culture, yet was an agent of transformation. Are willing to be also agents of transformation today with our lives and engage culture.

Incarnate Defined:

Incarnate can be defined as:

To represent in or as if in bodily form; to embody: To represent in bodily or material form to include; to integrate: represent; materialize; externalize: make external or objective, to turn outward; To direct interest, thoughts, or feelings into a channel leading outside himself or herself. make external or objective, or give reality to, make manifest: To show or demonstrate plainly; reveal, exhibit, make plain, clear, obvious To make manifest or apparent to represent in or as if in bodily form: body forth Readily seen, perceived, or understood materialize : emerge To take physical form or shape. To cause to become real or actual , objectify: To make objective, external, or concrete, make external or objective, or give reality to, personalize: To take (a general remark or characterization) in a personal manner. To attribute human or personal qualities is to personify Make personal or more personal, personify: To think of or represent as having personality or the qualities, thoughts, or movements of a living being from within

One of the weaknesses of the Church today is that we preach and teach people principles without the relationship. We teach so much head knowledge and bible doctrine on one extreme or on another extreme share stories that contain little or no biblical truth nor how to apply it relevantly in practical Christian living through the Word of God. These extremes are so prevalent in the American or Western church that we have disengaged from the culture and put bars on our churches to keep the sick or those that don’t dress like us, act like us, talk like us, behave like us, or who really doubt and are just as skeptical as Apostle Thomas, which Christ came to seek and save out of the religion to bring them into a relationship. The church mostly has become institutionalized or become so established in organization it has lost its organic nature. The church is Christ's Bride and is living we can try through religion to over program, make it consumer friendly, or become a movement of together through the organism of the Body of Christ here on earth. Instead it has become a refuge from the World, as an alternative to Changing the world by turning the World upside down by operating within the world but not of the world through living Christ incarnate to the lost and dying world.

The western church is big on ten step programs, "how-to" methods and acrostics to illustrate memorable ideas. There is a place for establishing principles to change negative behavior. However, we are not called to have a relationship with principles, but a living God. Living by principles is the equivalent to living by the law in the Old Testament. It is rooted in the Greek system of learning and is dependent upon our strength instead of being led and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Principle-based living is powerless living. This makes our Christian experience a religion instead of a relationship. "But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law" (Gal 5:18).

We read about principle-based followers in the book of Acts, "The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon's Colonnade. No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people" (Acts 5:12-14). There was a group of followers who liked being taught but never entered the game. The prophet Jeremiah tells us about the nature of God and His desire for every believer.

This is what the LORD says: "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 9:23-24).

When are we Going to Engaging our Culture?

When the church embraces this mandate, how does it engage the culture around it? On the one hand, everyone within the church interacts daily with the culture in which they live. On the other hand, the church exists as a subculture that is out of step with larger Western society. We as the Church have tended to be reactionary rather than missional. We are known for building high walls around our churches and doing in-reach really well with programing our people like prisoners are programmed in institutions. We have our unspoken rules in the church, that sound like prison programing instead of freedom and Grace. This lack of missionary spirit has contributed to the churches mass marketing approach and consumerist culture. Every culture that has no missionary presence will eventually become a secular society. We are loosing ground every day with thousands of churches closing or declining in attendance rapidly. If we do not wake up and sound the alarm we will look around ten years from now and wonder what has happened to the CHURCH.

Instead of engaging the culture in which we exist, we have been prone to long for the return of 1954. Rather than incarnate the body of Christ within our present culture, we tend to stand against the culture and chastise the deterioration of society.

Should the church seek to be relevant to the culture in which it exists? On the one hand, the Church must always be distinct from the world in which it exists. We must, for instance, be distinct in the way that we treat one another, as our love for one another is a witness to the power of Christ within our community. On the other hand, we can not be the body of Christ incarnate to this culture if we do not become part of this culture. Christ came into our world and entered a particular time and place. So we as the church becomes Incarnational, the body of Christ manifested within the culture of our missionfield which is everywhere we are in the culture.

One might argue that the church should be wholly distinct from culture, that the culture within the church should be formed only by scripture. This argument would be stronger if it were possible for any church to remain distinct from its culture.

Friend, have you been guilty of living a life based on principles instead of knowing the One who authored the principles? Invite Jesus to be Lord over your life and begin to spend time with Him every day. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you through every moment of your day.

In His Grace Forever,
Pastor Teddy Awad, CMHP
Young Adult Crisis Hotline
and Biblical Counseling Center
410-808-6483
theodoreawadjr@comcast.net
http://yacrisishotline.tripod.com/
http://youngadultcrisishotline.blogspot.com/
youngadultcrisishotline@comcast.net

People are not perfect and neither is the Church!

2008-09-06T15:45:00.001-04:00

According to research conducted by Lifeway and North American Mission Board, people seem to like Jesus, but not His church...

Seventy-two percent of the people interviewed said they think the church is full of hypocrites.
Seventy-one percent of the respondents said they believe Jesus makes a positive difference in a person’s life.
Seventy-eight percent said they would ‘be willing to listen’ to someone who wanted

Here’s the church, and here’s the steeple, open the door and see all the people.

Is that what people actually think of the Church?

Is it a building with a bunch of people who use big words and have crazy doctrines?

The people are boring, the worship service is blah.

The sermon is condemning and you leave church feeling the same way you came, now condemned and a little confused.

Why do I even bother going in the first place?

Is this why people stay away from church?

All of these are vital questions for us together to honestly address our poor image as the church. Our image to the world around us. Our job is to bring the Bride home. We have been a great task, that is, a passionate love for the Bride of Christ, and the working with all our heart to bring her home and present her spotless and chaste. To this we give our lives, that Jesus Christ might be pleased with the one upon whom he has pledged His love. I believe we must work with the church of Jesus Christ, because the only way to do biblical missions is to through a biblical church. We must do everything according to Scriptures. It is true. The door is open more than ever before. I think about the countries that have not been reached, but if we are going to walked through the door, we must do it biblically. We must return to Scripture, not the methodologies of men. First, I want to talk about finding the church, in other words, stopping the slander. If you want to be endeared to me, then treat my wife with the greatest respect. If you want to be on my bad side, then slander my wife.

These references and stories below are not to slander the Bride of God. They are to Awaken us to the Gideon call to let God use you. The least expected person and filling it with the power of God as instruments of His Glory. We are just ordinary men and women who can lead the Revolution. The Cross-cultural revolution is burning in a few places. Let us find these places and become ablaze by the Word of Grace. The Grace Revival always begins when we look at ourselves with honesty and then repent when we are made aware where Grace is not working in our life. Look to Grace to do the work in our lives which will overflow to others. The revival will only come if the Bible is the explanation not human performance or man made solutions. Our Part is not to be critical abut God's Bride, we are to make the changes necessary that we think need to be changed. I ask God is this just my opinion or is this your opinion Lord. If it is the Lord Jesus's Opinion then I champion the cause of Christ. I place myself in the Flow of God and allow him to use me to make a impact in the church I attend.

I believe the church has a responsibility to be a shining light for the world to see, reaching out to those people who are lost (Philippians 2:15). The church should be the first source for those that need the love of God in their lives. But what is the driving force behind most young people’s attitude against the traditional church? Is it fear? Do they believe in God less now a days? Are they looking for answers instead of just behavior modification?

It’s all too much when all God wants is just you.

I have talked to friends who don’t think they need to go to church to be a “Christian”. Many have been hurt by Pastors; they feel that they don’t know how to preach to their situations and problems or having to dealing with pre-marital sex, dating, drugs and peer pressure. Or they’re concerned with pastor’s begging for money, believing every time they come to church they'll be badgered to open their wallets and give them something that folds not jiggles. Although this maybe true for some churches–meaning that it’s not the church for you–every church is different.

The one thing that is abundantly obvious to me is that church should be a place of worship. It should be a place that every one will experience the presence of God whether they realize it or not. It should be a place where you feel welcome. It should be a place where you feel at home. It should be a place where the refreshing Word of God is taught–not what the preacher saw happening in the hallway or some manmade doctrine, prohibiting makeup or pants. It should be a place where God is always present. It doesn’t matter what you wear. God wants your heart. Now if all of these things embody your church than you have a great church, if this is not the case, especially teaching the Word of God, then run, and run fast.

What does the bible say about going to church? Is this a must for “Christians” to attend a local church? I believe that it is essential as a believer to fellowship with others in a setting that allows you to grow in Christ (Hebrews 10:24-25) to be in an environment that is suitable for your personal growth. People are not perfect and neither is the Church. I think people forget that as children of God. We too have problems and situations that frustrate us, disappoint and even sadden us. The church needs to reestablish itself as place to build people up and not tear them down, there needs to be a new paradigm within the Church. Many churches have realized this, but many have not as well. They continue playing church and only reaching those that are in arms length, sitting in their pews.

Times have changed and the Church has to change right along with it, based wholly on God’s word.
I remember having this conversation while in college, concerning the problems with churches. I learned about God, I learned His word, but I never learned to love this place called church. I learned that it was very ritualistic and some people believed in order to go to heaven you needed to go to church. Or in order to be a good “Christian” you had to be there every time the doors opened.

Now as a Father, I am overcome with the responsibility of teaching my children the value of being a “child of God” and not someone who goes to church every week. I want them to have a personal relationship with God that transcends the ideal of church and its doctrine and all that it entails. I want them to see the imperfection as well as the Godly attributes that people have. I want them to learn to study and read God’s word for themselves and not to wait for Sunday morning to hear the word.

For me, the Church is a place of fellowship, experiencing corporate worship in unity with other believers (Psalm 133:1). I don’t know about you, but I feel going to church is an important part of my walk and I don’t ever want to miss hearing a fresh new word, but I don’t feel guilty if I don’t make it every Sunday morning or Wednesday night, because the idea of church is not about the building, it’s the body of Christ as a whole, expanding His kingdom.

Do you want to expand HIS KINGDOM?????

Inward Transformation

2008-08-25T11:29:00.001-04:00

Stages of Inward

Transformation

It is important to remember that you can be at different points in Inward Transformation for different issues. That is, you may be further along with one problem than another. Also, please remember not to let one problem that you are either not ready to deal with or are discouraged about stop you from receiving help for others you are willing to face.

"The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise."--Proverbs 12:15

Releasing feelings only reinforces feelings.

1. Unaware of need for Inward Transformation

2. Aware of need for Inward Transformation

3. Consider Inward Transformation

4. Decide against Inward Transformation

5. Decide for Inward Transformation

6. Motivated to seek Inward Transformation

7. Seek Inward Transformation information precisely in God ‘s Word

8. Seek Inward Transformation resources

9. Discouraged about seeking

10. Stop seeking: Inward Transformation is short-circuited

11. Motivated to persevere with Inward Transformation

12. Make plan for Inward Transformation

13. Mentally motivated to work plan for Inward Transformation

14. Work at Inward Transformation plan mentally

15. Discouraged about working mentally

16. Motivated let God to finish plan of his Work of Inward Transformation

18. Inward Transformation occurs

19. Motivated to let God maintain Inward Transformation

22. Motivated to prevent relapse with God’s Word

23. Seek relapse information precisely in God’s Word

24. Make relapse prevention plan

25. Rethink with rational thoughts a maintenance plan

26. Discouraged about working rationally

27. Stop thinking rationally: Inward Transformation is short-circuited

28. Relapse: temporarily halt Inward Transformation

29. Motivated to recover Inward Transformation

30. Apply relapse plan

31. Recover Inward Transformation

32. Motivated to maintain Inward Transformation

33. Revise maintenance plan (e.g., include more motivation)

34. Revise relapse plan if needed (e.g., add new resources)

35. Work at revised maintenance plan

Discouragement

2008-08-24T11:54:00.001-04:00

I Got this devotion from a Rick Warren Devotional.

Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, ‘The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!’ So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. Neh. 4:19-21 (NIV)

Discouragement is a disease unique to human beings, and it's universal - eventually everyone gets it, including those in ministry. I have no doubt you've experienced discouragement at times, maybe many times. You might even be discouraged at this very moment.

So here's what I've learned about battling discouragement:

WHAT CAUSES DISCOURAGEMENT?

#1 Cause - FATIGUE

When you’re physically or emotionally exhausted, you’re a prime candidate to be infected with discouragement. Your defenses are lowered and things can seem bleaker than they really are. This often occurs when you’re halfway through a major project and you get tired. This also can occur after great accomplishments where you know that God used you individually.

#2 Cause - FRUSTRATION

When unfinished tasks pile up, it's natural to feel overwhelmed. And when trivial matters or the unexpected interrupt you and prevent you from accomplishing what you really need to do, your frustration can easily produce discouragement. Frustration root because is fear, when we are living in fear we are not living in Faith. Only faith pleases God so we feel overwellmed and discouraged from our own fears that has slowly replaced our faith.

#3 Cause - FAILURE

Sometimes, your best laid plans fall apart - the project collapses - the deal falls through - no one shows up to the event. How do you react? Do you give in to self-pity? Do you blame others? As one man said, Just when I think I can makes ends meet - somebody moves the ends! That's discouraging!

#4 Cause - FEAR

Fear is behind more discouragement than we'd like to admit. The fear of criticism (What will they think?); the fear of responsibility (What if I can't handle this?); and the fear of failure (What if I blow it?) can cause a major onset of the blues. when we are living in fear we are not living in Faith. Only faith pleases God so we feel overwhelmed and discouraged from our own fears that has slowly replaced our faith.

WHAT'S THE CURE FOR DISCOURAGEMENT?

There's a fascinating story in the Bible about how a guy named Nehemiah mobilized the residents of Jerusalem to build a wall around the entire city. Half way through the project, the citizens became discouraged and wanted to give up - because of the FOUR causes I've given.

Here's what Nehemiah taught about defeating discouragement (Nehemiah 4):

REST YOUR BODY

If you need a break - take one! You'll be more effective when you return to work. If you're burning the candle at both ends, you're not as bright as you think!

REORGANIZE YOUR LIFE

Discouragement doesn't necessarily mean you are doing the wrong thing. It may just be that you are doing the right thing in the wrong way. Try a new approach. Shake things up a little.

REMEMBER GOD WILL HELP YOU

Just ask Him. He can give you new energy. There’s incredible motivating power in faith.

RESIST THE DISCOURAGEMENT

Fight back! Discouragement is a choice. If you feel discouraged, it's because you’ve chosen to feel that way. No one is forcing you to feel bad. Hang on! Do what's right in spite of your feelings. No feeling lasts forever.

Recommended Site :

http://www.gracewalk.org/

Addictions Are About Behavior

2008-06-02T14:43:00.001-04:00

Addictions Are About Behavior, Not Disease

When it comes to thinking about addiction, opinions converge. Having bought into the addiction industry's mantra, so-called social progressives But perhaps the greatest error made in the attempt at humane formulations about addiction is to cast as a disease what is essentially a problem of behavior.

The dangers of gathering more and more behaviors under the disease label is not something pharmacology moguls, politicians or health care professionals ruminate about, despite the ramifications for a society already committed to a morality lite and to diminished personal responsibility. In his book Diseasing of America, addiction researcher Stanton Peele breaks with this tradition. Disease conceptions of misbehavior are bad science and morally and intellectually sloppy, argues Peele. "Once we treat alcoholism and addiction as diseases, we cannot rule out that anything people do but shouldn't is a disease, from crime to excessive sexuality to procrastination."

While the application of the medical disease model to addictions was developed to "remove the stigma from these behaviors", there is NO genetic marker for alcoholism or drug addiction. Still, the misconception that these behaviors are linked to a genetic vulnerability is aired repeatedly by the media, in the absence of evidence. The rationale for using the disease model to describe addiction even though it is intellectually dishonest is that medical treatment is effective.

Yet another deception. An overview of controlled studies indicates that "treated patients do not fare better than untreated people with the same problems." Of note is a 4500-subject-strong 1996 US epidemiological study conducted by the National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiological Survey. Treated alcoholics, it was found, were more heavily alcohol dependent on average than untreated alcoholics. Clearly a behavioral problem cannot be remedied by medical intervention. Addicts are cured when they decide to give up the habit.

The disease conception of addiction acts to isolate the noxious behavior from the person. Thus when we claim that drugs, much like the flu, "get a hold" of you, we conveniently deflect from that which mediates behavior: personality, values, character or lack thereof. Once someone becomes involved with drugs, we explain everything they do by saying it was due to the drugs, forgetting, in the process of this circular argument, that the source of the addiction is the person and not the drug. An honest look at drug-use means we cannot separate it from the person.

As Peele explains, addictive disorders are known only by the behaviors they describe. In the absence of the ongoing behavior there is no way of telling whether the person is, or will be addicted. "By claiming that alcoholics are alcoholics even if they haven't drunk for fifteen years, alcoholism is made to seem less tied to drinking behavior and more like cancer," but "a person does not get over cancer by stopping a ... behavior"... while "the sole and essential indicator of successful remission of alcoholism is that a person ceases to drink".

Any overdue blitz of the disease theory of addiction owes a great deal to Stanton Peele. So, here is an interview conducted with the author of Diseasing of America (1989). A psychologist and an attorney, Peele is an addiction expert with an international reputation. The author of 120 articles and eight books about chemical and relational addiction, Peele is a recipient of the Mark Keller Award from the Rutgers Center for Alcohol Studies, and the Lindesmith Award for Career Achievement in Scholarship from the American Drug Policy Foundation.

Q: Dr. Peele, do you believe addiction is a disease?

A: No. Most emphatically not. It has become the style to call negative behaviors, which people often experience as compelling motivation, "diseases." As though nail biting, overeating, and wife beating were like the malignant growth of cancer cells. Many self-defeating and anti-social behaviors have a common thread. People engage in them because they feel degraded and disapproved of, which feeds into their motivation to continue the negative behavior. But how ultimately do people stop drinking too much, overeating, and biting their nails? They feel, internally, that the balance of their desires and rewards is not to act this way; people make positive choices when they feel they have the opportunity to engage -and are supported - in more positive choices. The toughest addiction to quit is smoking. Right now about 50 million Americans have quit smoking, over 90% without a patch or formal therapy.

Q: How have we progressed to thinking about addiction as a disease?

A: We have developed a faith in medical advances that is steeped in the legend of the "microbe hunters", the generation of researchers and physicians who identified the bugs that cause many of the major killers of humans. This worship of medicine has become a fetish in North America. If we can describe a malady in medical terms, we feel we have somehow conquered it. Yet with psychological disorders and problems of behavior, namely addictions - such labeling and accompanying medical mumbo jumbo have not led to improvement in treatment outcomes. In many ways, turning our sense of ourselves over to medicine seems to be making things worse. Surveys repeatedly confirm that a generation of education about addiction has led to people's spiraling out of control now more than ever.

Q: What is the science on which the disease proponents of addiction base their demand for considering addiction a disease?

A: There is no inherited mechanism that leads a person to be unable to control their substance use, to go on tremendous binges, or to leave off their connection to people and environments in order to consume a substance. Genetic theories, being the modest things they are, can never explain the experience of loss of control. An overview of the research on alcohol and drugs NEVER supports the wild claims made by some proponents of the disease model. These claims reflect fundamentally antiscientific attitudes and a lack of understanding of the confluence of human motivation in response to experience, biology and external stimuli.

Consider this example: A 1996 headline in The New York Times, declared that brain images of addiction in action show its neural basis. The article reviewed research showing that many different drugs -- namely heroin, alcohol, amphetamines or nicotine -- activate common neural pathways. Its author surmised that these drugs bathe the neurons at these sites so as to reduce natural supplies of dopamine, and thus stimulate a craving for more of the drugs to compensate for this depleted supply of the neurotransmitter. And this was taken to mean that addiction is purely brain driven.

In my critique of this folly I explain that a wide range of activities stimulate the same pleasure centers in the brain -- including sex, eating, working, consuming chocolate. This should alert us to the fact that these brain theories tell us nothing about differences in behavior, let alone addiction. Apparently, stimulation of a pleasure center is only one small component in the entire addiction syndrome. Moreover, if any activity can be pleasurable -- from work, to sex, to parenting and so on -- identifying activities as stimulating the pleasure center fails to explain why people find different things pleasurable and why different people react in destructive, addictive ways to some of these things, while others incorporate them into a balanced overall lifestyle.

Peele's position is at odds within the drug reform movement. He is a proponent of harm reduction policies such as needle exchange, but is a strong opponent of a treatment industry that relies, for the most, on coercing addicts into rehabilitation.

Goals

2008-05-31T16:04:00.001-04:00

Goals provide direction in your life and nurture your motivation

1. The purpose toward which an endeavor is directed.

2. The specific target towards which is an objective

3. An objective or desired outcome

DEFINE YOUR GOALS

Develop a written plan of your purpose in life. If an individual has no purpose in life they will lack the significance of motivation and when they lack motivation hopelessness is the result. When God created us, he created us with purpose, destiny, significance, and a sense of belonging. Then why do I feel empty, like there is a huge void that I am attempting to fill with other things, but God. This is because we were created to belong to God. We also were created to have a free volition or will, we have chosen to walk in independence from our source of life. Living naturally instead of spiritually is a choice. Independence comes from self-sufficiency and self- reliance. Our source thereby becomes our own self instead of God. This is what I Call the God shaped soul in our soul.

Joshua a five-point strategy

God gave Joshua a five-point strategy

1. Be clear in your direction.

In the first four verses of Joshua 1, God specifically outlines when and where Joshua is going. He knew exactly what God wanted him to do. If you’re going to be a leader that God can use, you must first be clear in your direction. We all need a goal, a dream. But those goals must be clear and specific. Nothing becomes dynamic until it becomes specific. And the more specific you are in your direction, the more you’ll find a magnetic pull that’ll take you along.

2. Be confident in your desires.

Once you know the direction that God wants you to take, you must have the confidence to move ahead. You can’t doubt what God’s called you to do. Doubt is the opposite of faith. The Bible says, “Whatever is not of faith is sin.”

Once you’ve set your goal the devil will get you to start questioning it. Is this really God’s will? What if I’m wrong? Do I really deserve this? Am I just being selfish or prideful?

Evidently this was a real problem for Joshua. He lacked confidence. He felt inadequate in his leadership. Sound familiar? I’ve identified with Joshua many times. God had to keep giving Joshua a pep talk. Four times in Joshua 1, God says, “Be determined and confident.”

Why? It isn’t the obstacles that keep you in the desert. It’s fear. Fear keeps you from being all that God wants you to be. It’s fear that keeps your church from growing how God wants it to grow. You must be confident in your desires.

3. Be committed to your decisions.

Once you’ve started, don’t look back. Joshua 1:9 says “Do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” God says stick with it. To be a success in life, you must outlast your critics. An oak tree is a little nut that refused to give its ground. Commitment is a key to accomplishment. If you don’t have commitment to your ministry, you’ll never finish anything.

What are you committed to? What are you willing to die for? Many people in your church are afraid to commit to anything. They begin one job and when it gets tough, they switch to something else.

When high achievers make a decision, they die by it. You can’t just jump across a canyon with several baby steps. You have to commit yourself to your goal. If you’re going to cross a canyon, you’ve got to go for it with gusto. It won’t work until you commit to making it work.

4. Be corrected by your defeats.

1. In chapter 1, verse 7, God tells Joshua, “Be strong and courageous. Be careful to obey all the law. Don’t turn from it to the right or to the left that you may be successful wherever you go.” He tells Joshua not to get sidetracked. When you have a failure, get back on track. Let God’s Word help you reorganize your ministry and your priorities. Mistakes are a part of life. You’re not perfect. The pencil eraser industry was built on your mistakes. If there weren’t such things as mistakes, we wouldn’t have any need for erasers.

The difference between successful and non-successful people is not that successful people don’t fail. They do. It’s just that successful people learn from their failures. Corrections after defeats are the key to the future. Thomas Edison once said, “Don’t call it a failure; call it an education.” At Saddleback, our staff is highly educated! We’ve done more things that didn’t work than did. We’re not afraid to admit it when we’ve made a mistake and to learn from it. The road to success is paved with failure. But we’ve learned from those failures.

Joshua did too. Remember the story of Ai, the little dinky town that the Israelites came upon after their great victory at Jericho. They’d just taken on the greatest, most fortified city in the land (Jericho) and God had given a tremendous victory. They were getting a little confident and cocky. Then they began to presume upon God’s grace. When they had to take the little city of Ai, Joshua said, “Go out with a small battalion of troops.” They went out and were absolutely wiped out. When the news came back to Joshua, he threw himself onto the ground and prayed. He asked God what happened.

God tells him to get up, dust himself off, and get the sin out of the camp. Don’t just pray – do something. They later discovered that Achan had stolen three things even though God had said not to take plunder. Because he hid those things, his sin was causing the entire camp to suffer.

But Joshua had to discover the problem and take appropriate action. He learned by his defeats.

5. Be conscious of God’s dependability.

God promises enormous benefits in his Word as we trust him and follow him. Joshua 1 is full of God’s promises. He specifically promises Joshua four things:

a. Power: In verse 5 God says, “No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses so I will be with you. I will never leave you or forsake you.” God tells Joshua to trust him and he’ll provide all of the power he could ever need.

b. Protection: He tells Joshua that nothing can harm him. In verse 5 he says, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” He’ll be with him always and protect him.

c. Prosperity: God says in verse 8 “Don’t let the book of the law depart from your mouth. Meditate on it day and night. Be careful to obey everything written in it. Then you’ll be prosperous and successful.” Prosperity is being everything God wants you to be, having God’s blessing your life, and using the talents he has given you. God guarantees that you’ll have more than you need if you trust in him.

d. Presence: That’s the best promise of all. In Joshua 1:9 God says, “I will be with you wherever you go.” Many times I’ve felt lonely in ministry, but God always gives me a new sense of his presence when I trust him.

Quotes on Goals

George Shinn: Goals Quotes
There is no such thing as a self-made man. You will reach your goals only with the help of others.

Scott Reed: Goals Quotes
This one step - choosing a goal and sticking to it - changes everything.

Orison Swett Marden: Goals Quotes
We advance on our journey only when we face our goal, when we are confident and believe we are going to win out.

Maxwell Maltz: Goals Quotes
We are built to conquer environment, solve problems, achieve goals, and we find no real satisfaction or happiness in life without obstacles to conquer and goals to achieve.

Henry David Thoreau: Goals Quotes
We must walk consciously only part way toward our goal and then leap in the dark to our success.

Zig Ziglar: Goals Quotes
What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals.

Nido Qubein: Goals Quotes
When a goal matters enough to a person, that person will find a way to accomplish what at first seemed impossible.

Napoleon Hill: Goals Quotes
When defeat comes, accept it as a signal that your plans are not sound, rebuild those plans, and set sail once more toward your coveted goal.

Greg Anderson: Goals Quotes
When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing -- then we truly live life.

Denis Waitley: Goals Quotes
When you are in the valley, keep your goal firmly in view and you will get the renewed energy to continue the climb.

Les Brown: Goals: Motivation Quotes
You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.

Edgar A. Guest: Goals: Motivation Quotes
You are the person who has to decide. Whether you'll do it or toss it aside; you are the person who makes up your mind. Whether you'll lead or will linger behind. Whether you'll try for the goal that's afar. Or just be contented to stay where you are.

Les Brown: Goals: Motivation Quotes
You cannot expect to achieve new goals or move beyond your present circumstances unless you change.

Mark Victor Hansen: Goals: Motivation Quotes
You control your future, your destiny. What you think about comes about. By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands - your own.

Tracy Brinkmann: Goals: Motivation Quotes
You must have an aim, a vision, a goal. For the man sailing through life with no destination or "port-of- call', every wind is the wrong wind.

Les Brown: Goals: Motivation Quotes
Your goals are the road maps that guide you and show you what is possible for your life.

Ralph Marston: Goals: Motivation Quotes
Your goals, minus your doubts, equal your reality.

Bo Jackson: Quotes about Goals
Set your goals high, and don't stop till you get there.

Tom Landry: Quotes about Goals
Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan.

Herodotus: Quotes about Goals
Some men give up their designs when they have almost reached the goal; while others, on the contrary, obtain a victory by exerting, at the last moment, more vigorous efforts than ever before.

Paul J. Meyer: Quotes about Goals
Success is the progressive realization of predetermined, worthwhile goals.

Mack R. Douglas: Quotes about Goals
The achievement of your goal is assured the moment you commit yourself to it.

Brian Tracy: Quotes about Goals
The most important key to achieving great success is to decide upon your goal and launch, get started, take action, move.

Francie Larrieu Smith: Quotes about Goals
The most important thing about motivation is goal setting. You should always have a goal.

Cecil B. De Mille: Quotes about Goals
The person who makes a success of living is the one who sees his goal steadily and aims for it unswervingly. That is dedication.

Denis Waitley: Quotes about Goals
The secret to productive goal setting is in establishing clearly defined goals, writing them down and then focusing on them several times a day with words, pictures and emotions as if we've already achieved them.

Edgar A. Guest: Quotes about Goals
The timid and fearful first failures dismay/ but the stout heart stays trying by night and by day/ He values his failures as lessons that teach/ The one way to get to the goal he would reach.

Richard Bach: Quotes on Goals
Here is a test to find out whether your mission in life is complete. If you're alive, it isn't.

Jim Valvano: Quotes on Goals
How do you go from where you are to where you want to be? I think you have to have an enthusiasm for life. You have to have a dream, a goal and you have to be willing to work for it.

Og Mandino: Quotes on Goals
I am here for a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain, not to shrink to a grain of sand. Henceforth will I apply all my efforts to become the highest mountain of all and I will strain my potential until it cries for mercy.

Robert Townsend: Quotes on Goals
If you shoot for the stars and hit the moon, it's ok. But you've got to shoot for something. A lot of people don't even shoot.

Alberto Salazar: Quotes on Goals
If you want to achieve a high goal, you're going to have to take some chances.

Mary Lou Retton: Quotes on Goals
I'm very determined and stubborn. There's a desire in me that makes me want to do more and more, and to do it right. Each one of us has a fire in our heart for something. It's our goal in life to find it and to keep it.

Norman Vincent Peale: Quotes on Goals
It takes struggle, a goal and enthusiasm to make a champion.

Mary O'Connor: Quotes on Goals
It's not so much how busy you are, but why you are busy. The bee is praised. The mosquito is swatted.

Unknown Author: Quotes on Goals
Knowing your destination is half the journey.

Vince Lombardi: Quotes on Goals
Leaders aren't born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that's the price we'll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal.

Dechurched?

2008-05-30T08:06:00.001-04:00

There are 12 million Dechurched people in America right now.

I wanted none of the language to or Labels to stereotype anyone who may be reading this article who is either unchurched or de-churched. This is absolutely not US verse THEM mentality, the purpose for discussing this matter is my personal burden and passion for young adults in crisis. Discovering the systemic causes of their needs and to discover practical methods to help them effectively. I am simply using these descriptors for the purpose of clarity and amplify the topics. Furthermore, these both topics have been researched in a more in depth way than I could ever give it justice and encourage you to research these both topics more fully on your own time.

I briefly will introduce the topic of the unchurched to clarify they are not the DE-cHURCHED. The latest statistics report 12 million dechurched people in America right now. I have researched this topic and have listed numerous sources for your own private study and research.

BARNA ARTICLE on The term “unchurched” has become quite popular in missional efforts to re-evangelize and re-church North America. To be sure, there are a lot of unchurched people in the U.S. In fact, no county in the US has registered a greater percentage of church persons over the past decade. Church attendance has declined over the past few years by 10%, and the US is the only continent where Christianity is not growing! With these kinds of statistics, I wonder if “unchurched” language and perspectives are falling short of adequately describing the challenges facing the American church (more Barna stats). Perhaps we should pick up the language of missiologists who have used the term “resistant.”

The resistant are those who have or are receiving an adequate opportunity to hear the gospel but over some time have not responded positively (Pocock, “Raising Questions about the Resistant”). The resistant are NOT unreached, though they are often unchurched. What constitutes “some time”? More importantly, should we shift our strategies and discourse to approach unchurched Americans as resistant peoples?

Not unlike the term unchurched, defining the resistant is has its problems; however, Timothy Tennent has helpfully pointed out that peoples can be resistant in at least four ways: culturally, theologically, ethnically or politically (Tennent, “Equipping Missionaries for the Resistant”). Depending on what area or peoples of the U.S we are considering, any one or combination of the four areas may apply.

If your town is average, thousands of recently dechurched people live near your church.1

Craig Bird, in a recent article at www.faithworks.com, called these dechurched “postcongregational” Christians.

Jamieson, who studies the quest of these post-congregational Christians, compares them to “travelers who abandon a luxury liner in mid-cruise. They grow tired of the endless buffets and entertainment, the carefully designed activities, or the captain who makes all the decisions about the ship’s speed and direction. They are longing to experience what is not on the itinerary. They sell all they have to buy a small boat and leave the welltraveled sea lanes for uncharted waters.”2

“George Barna noted two years ago that large numbers of American adults regularly participate in faith activities – prayer, Bible reading, use of the religious media – even though they haven’t attended a church service in six months. They are ignoring church, not faith, he said. Relatively few unchurched people are atheists. Most of them call themselves Christians and have had a serious dose of the church life in the past.”3

Is your church designed to reach the “leavers”? Michael Johnson, in an article titled “If We Can’t Reach the Dechurched, Can We Really Reach the Unchurched?” suggests the following:

· Would it make more sense to first become the kind of church that is highly

effective in reaching the dechurched?

· What we can learn from the dechurched may be more important than what they

can learn from us.

· Collaboration, rather than assimilation, may be a more appropriate goal to set with regard to the dechurched.

· Understand that dechurched people are probably closest to the solutions needed to reach and transform your city.4

· It is important to take a second look at those people leaving the institutional church. Rob McAlpine, in his article “Detoxing from Church,” reminds us, “…these are people who are in love with Jesus, and who want to be a part of the healthy functioning Body of Christ. If they didn’t care, there would be no issues. They wouldn’t be upset. They would either leave altogether and never again seek out fellowship with other believers, or they would passively go through the motions week after week and never give their spiritual status second thought. It is far too easy for the church to make these people the enemy when in fact they are not.”5

When people leave our church fellowship, it is easy to write them off and never seek to find out “Why?”

The trouble with the Church today?

A perception of irrelevancy. There is a vast number of "unchurched" people in the World who see the Church as irrelevant. Some of the people are Christian believers who once attended an institutional church, but no longer attend; some are Christian believers who attended, but infrequently; and some are unbelievers.

Their reasons for abandoning the institutional church vary, but behind those reasons is one commonality: They believe the institutional church is irrelevant. It is perceived as irrelevant to their life, in that it cares little for them, or their situation, except for wanting to add another name to the church roles; and it is perceived as irrelevant to their community, in that churches only care about those people who are "like us."

That is not a new revelation, but it is one that the Church must meet head-on if it is to meet the mandate of the Great Commission -- that of going into the world and making disciples of Christ, for the sake of Christ. Churches who make the gospel relevant to the hungry, to the hurting, and to the disenfranchised will meet the mandate; those who do not, will not.
Think of this: A church can grow in membership, launch building programs and increase the budget exponentially and still be irrelevant.

How? By focusing on membership, building programs and the budget, while neglecting the hungry, the sick, the naked, the imprisoned, the disenfranchised ... Jesus Christ among us.

A reality of immobility. While the focus of the past decade has been on establishing new worship services -- first targeting baby boomers, then targeting twentysomethings, Millenniums, or whatever is the demographic of the moment -- the Church seems unable to move what appears to be a vast army beyond the sanctuary doors.

Why is that?

If you believe that what we call discipleship has its roots in worship, then the fruit of discipleship is correlative to the degree in which we worship in spirit and in truth. Superficial attempts at worship (whether in contemporary or traditional settings) will result in little or no fruit -- an immobile congregation. Those engaging in true worship -- worship in spirit and truth -- will naturally produce a bumper crop of discipleship. They will look for ways to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned and sick, and focus on being disciples of Christ, for the sake of Christ and others.

Finally, the Church is in trouble because of ...
A resistance to change. Again, that is not a new revelation, but this is the most dangerous foe of all in postmodern Christianity.

Much has been written and said in recent years concerning the "emerging church" and "postmodern" faith, but if you find someone who claims to be an expert, keep looking. Still, one constant component in what is being said and written is that doing things the way we've always done them because that’s the way it’s always been done will no longer get it -- if it ever did. Another component is that those working the field of the emerging church are uncovering what some might find as an unexpected surprise: Therein lies a fertile field of faith.

But, to mix a metaphor, the field of faith today is as fluid as the ocean. The Church has to catch the wave, and for some of us there’s some hard paddling to do.

The bad news: Some believers are already worshipping outside of our doors, because they believe the institutional church will remain irrelevant, immobile, and unable to change.

Jesus says that he "was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Likewise, when he sent out his apostles he said: "Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." This restriction is a very important consideration because it tells us that his primary mission was to reclaim those who were by birth included in the promise to Abraham. But they were lost, he said. Why did he call them lost? Anyone who has read through one of the gospels knows that Jesus went to the sick and afflicted. He himself went to Samaria where descendants of Abraham lived cut off from the Temple of the Jews. His detractors accused him of associating with those they considered beneath their piousness to even acknowledge on the road. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them. I tell you that this Jesus would be unwelcome in some of today's churches.

This is the way that Mary Tuomi Hammond defines unchurched.

The word dechurched is hardly adequate in describing the variety of individuals in question. Any term that utilizes "church" as its root can easily be misunderstood due to the myriad of popular conceptions and definitions applied to it. Does the word dechurched include those who simply neglect to make time for public worship or those who drift away from Christianity out of disinterest and distraction? Does the term primarily refer to individuals who have left mainstream denominations due to serious concerns? Can one be considered dechurched by virtue of simply attending a church and leaving it, regardless of whether that person ever made a genuine commitment to a life of Christian discipleship?

With these very valid questions in mind, I wish to clarify my use of the word dechurched for the purposes of this article. I use this term to describe those who have lost a faith that they once valued or have left a body of believers with whom they were once deeply engaged. I limit my exploration further by focusing on those who have felt damaged and alienated amid this process. I cannot judge the authenticity or a person's prior experience with the Christian faith; I can only listen to the pain and disappointment, the questioning and confusion, the anger and even rage that the stories of the dechurched often embody.

With the risk of sounding melodramatic, I must say that the last sentence above affects me deeply; it breaks my heart. And that's why my own anger and even rage sometimes bubble over when I read the attacks of one professing Christian against another. These dechurched are the collateral damage of these battles for power. They, and those attacked, are the ones who suffer when church leaders fight among themselves and when they abuse their positions and pompous titles.

But who will stand and speak out for the unchurched and dechurched? Who will go beyond theological and denominational squabbles and continue the job that Jesus began? Who will lay aside their pride, put their trust in God rather than doctrine and dogma, and humble themselves for the good of others? And who will give up their human notions of worthiness and give up their pride for the unworthy? Who?

IDEAS:
1. Dispel the stereotypes. Research points out that the growing portion of this group, are not weak in faith, but in fact are strong Christians. Many are former church leaders, many have years of ministry experience, and some are even former pastors. They are not disillusioned with God, just the organized church they’ve known; and many are experimenting with the house church movement or pursuing other creative formats like marketplace or community missions. In fact, for the most part it is because of their strong faith, not the lack of faith, that they have the courage to step beyond the known comfort zones of their traditions and face the misunderstanding of other Christians.

2. Avoid Simplistic Definitions. If someone is part of a house church, mission group, marketplace fellowship, or even on a temporary sabbatical, they are still part of THE Church. We say the church is not a building or an organization, it’s the Body of Christ, but we tend to forget this when we attach labels.

3. Listen to the Dechurched. Seek them out, know who they are, listen to their perspective. Focus groups and one-on-one interviews with the Unchurched are good to get a broad, uninitiated, community perspective so important. But the recently Dechurched will have the most informed and intuitive perspective, the kind that can uncover great insights and ideas for change.

4. Partner With The Dechurched. Sound strange? But think about it. The Dechurched are probably the closest people to the creative solutions needed to really reach and transform your city. But, you say, isn’t that like reward-ing independence? Would that not legitimize them? What if all my people took their path? Stop for a minute and unpack that line of thinking. Don’t we want all of our people to be independent, to stand confident in their gifts and calling, follow the call of God, to meet the needs in the community they are uniquely meant to fill? They should not have to leave the fellowship to do that, only if we’ve made it necessary. We may have to admit that if people have to leave to follow their calling, or for that matter if they are that easily drawn away by outside influence, there is something inherently wrong with the way we’ve wired our organization. Could it be that the reason they are disconnected from much of the Body the result of church institutions that fail to provide a wide birth for creativity, imagination, risk, and missional ideas? We also must admit that God may have these people where they are for a reason, to experiment, venture into new areas, cross-pollinate with different cultures, or take a sabbatical to process or work through something important with God in a way which a high level of church activity would be a major distraction. But they still might be open to collaborate or partner for specific reasons. Whatever relationship that might be, can you see the mutual benefit?

5. Create Community Idea Factories. In almost every case, the reason people leave the church, is not a relational problem in and of itself. At its base it’s a failure to channel inspiration and imagination. If dreams and ideas keep bumping up against walls and internal obstacles, sooner or later they will find their way outside the enclosure. A better way would be to take the proactive position and actually stimulate ideas. But, facilitating ideas is not the same as endorsing or funding ideas. Read some of Tommy Barnett and his son Matthew Barnett’s experience with the Dream Centers (The Church That Never Sleeps) for effective ways to create and channel an idea movement. Remember, the path to transformation goes through dreams.

There are 12 million Dechurched people in America right now. That means if your town is average there are thousands of recently dechurched people living near your church. With a little openness and creativity put into it, what could an intelligent outreach strategy that effectively connected with them mean to your church, and in turn, what impact it could have on your city?

Yet in these deep longings of the urban youth, the voices of the streets seem louder than the faint cry of a church stuck in institutional patterns of the past. A growing "non-church Christianity" is growing up where God-talk is hip but church is out.

Hood Kids

hood kids
but good kids
not bad kids
just misunderstood kids
watch mom shoot up
and dad shoot bullets
and combat the words
that scream that I'm useless
I'm not
just hot
and mad at dad who split
and mom who took him back
even though he split
her lip the third time
I watch from the sidelines
and grow full of hate
from parents' guidelines
and you, pastor
push me faster
to hate
taking our crumbs to fill
your already full plate
your frock is stained
you mock the name
of He who commissioned
cuz you're more concerned
with titles and pensions
than the mission to save me
don't forget the babies
don't be so lazy
cuz I need you greatly
it's not about parking spots
and who pays a lot
but who gives a lot
and who prays a lot
for me
the lost sheep
but nobody's looked for me
don't you know God made
the Good Book for me?
but I need direction
some protection
much affection
not rejection
I...NEED...YOU
man of God
woman of God
be of God
and keep your eyes peeled
for real
we're crying
and dying
but still trying
though momma ignores us
and daddy abuses us
I'm sure that God still
wants to use us
when momma doesn't hug us
and daddy slugs us
I'm confident that God
still loves us
cuz I'm a hood kid
but a good kid
not a bad kid
just misunderstood kid
and I need your help
before it's too late
and I walk the same path
that my parents made
look at us
behind the chain linked fence
pain wrenched kids
such tainted kids
who were struck
but never fainted kids
we live hellish lives
but can be saintly kids
if you just try TRY!
until then
we'll continue to die
continue to cry
the hood kids
that no one really cares about
it's so obvious that no one
really cares about 'em...

mms://media.kybaptist.org/Man on the street256k.wmv

1 Mindstorm Idealetter, June 7, 2005, breakthroughchurch.com

2 A churchless faith, Craig Bird, June 7, 2005: www.faithworks.com

3 Ibid

4 Mindstorm Idealetter, p.1 breakthroughchurch.com

5 Detoxing From Church, Rob McAlpine: www.robbymak.org

Why Does God Allow Evil?

2008-05-29T18:28:00.001-04:00

"If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand" (Psalm 130:3).

Traditionally, there are three main categories of evil: metaphysical, moral, and physical or natural. Blindness, deafness, and lameness are examples of metaphysical evil; cruelty and malevolence are examples of moral evil; and earthquakes, droughts, and tornados are examples of physical evil. All moral evil is the direct or indirect result of moral agents' free wills or ability to choose. Physical and metaphysical evil may or may not be the result of moral agents' choices.

One of the most common questions every person wrestles with in life is this: "God, if You are loving, just, and all-powerful, why do You allow good people to suffer?" Many choose not to believe in God because they cannot adequately explain this question. Evangelist Billy Graham addressed this question in his book Answers to Life's Problems:

We do not know all the reasons why God permits evil. We need to remember, however, that he is not the cause of evil in this world and we should therefore not blame Him for it. Remember that God did not create evil, as some believe. God created the world perfect. Man chose to defy God and go his own way, and it is man's fault that evil entered the world. Even so, God has provided the ultimate triumph of good over evil in Jesus Christ, who on the cross, defeated Satan and those who follow him. Christ is coming back and when He does, all evil will be ended forever and righteousness and justice will prevail.

Have you ever thought about what would happen if God suddenly eliminated all the evil in this world? Not one person would be left, because we are all guilty of sin.

Whenever we suffer, we should remember that the Son of God went before us, drinking the cup of suffering and death to the dregs. Because Christ is fully man and fully God, we know that God understands our fears, sorrows and suffering. He identifies with us. Most important of all, the Father has given us the gift of His Son so that we don't have to die and suffer forever in eternity.

Because Jesus suffered and died for us, our suffering can be made like His -purposeful and meaningful. Evil, suffering and death came into the world when the first man and woman listened to Satan and committed the first sin. Evil was never part of the Garden of Eden. The moment Adam and Eve crossed the boundary of God's command, evil became the terrible reality of this world.

There are some questions that will remain unresolved until we are able to meet face to face with our Creator in Heaven.

The answer lies in both our greatest blessing and our worst curse: our capacity to make choices. God has given us a free will. Made in God's image, he has given us the freedom to decide how we will act and the ability to make moral choices. This is one asset that sets us apart from animals, but it also is the source of so much pain in our world. People, and that includes all of us, often make selfish, self-centered and evil choices. Whenever that happens, people get hurt.

Sin is ultimately selfishness. I want to do what I want, not what God tells me to do. Unfortunately, sin always hurts others, not just ourselves.

God could have eliminated all evil from our world by simply removing our ability to choose it. He could have made us puppets, or marionettes on strings that he pulls. By taking away our ability to choose it, evil would vanish. But God doesn't want us to be puppets. He wants to be loved and obeyed by creatures who voluntarily choose to do so. Love is not genuine if there is no other option.

Yes, God could have kept the terrorists from completing their suicidal missions by removing their ability to choose their own will instead of his. But to be fair, God also would have to do that to all of us. You and I are not terrorists, but we do harm and hurt others with our own selfish decisions and actions.

You may hear misguided minds say, "This must have been God's will." Nonsense!

In a world of free choices, God's will is rarely done! Doing our own will is much more common. Don't blame God for this tragedy. Blame people who ignored what God has told us to do: "Love your neighbor as yourself."

In heaven, God's will is done perfectly. That's why there is no sorrow, pain or evil there. But this is earth, a fallen, imperfect place. We must choose to do God's will everyday. It isn't automatic. This is why Jesus told us to pray, "Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven."

The Bible explains the root of evil: "This is the crisis we're in: God's light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness ... because they were not really interested in pleasing God" (John 3:19, Message Translation). We're far more interested in pleasing ourselves.

There are many other questions that race through our minds during dark days. But the answers will not come from pollsters, pundits or politicians. We must look to God and his Word. We must humble ourselves and admit that each of us often choose to ignore what God wants us to do.

We were made for a relationship with God, but he waits for us to choose him. He is ready to comfort, guide and direct us through our grief. But it's your choice.

Energy-Sappers: Smoldered Wick

2008-05-28T12:06:00.001-04:00

These statistics below are for pastors and their wives. However the energy-sappers are for everyone.

STATISTICS ABOUT PASTORS

Pastors today are faced with more work, more problems, and more stress than any other time in the history of the church. This is taking a frightening toll on the ministry, shown by the (North American) statistics below:

Pastors:

· Fifteen hundred pastors leave the ministry each month due to moral failure, spiritual burnout or contention in their churches.

· Eighty percent of pastors and eighty-four percent of their spouses feel unqualified and discouraged in their role as pastors.

· Fifty percent of pastors are so discouraged that they would leave the ministry if they could, but have no other way of making a living.

· Eighty-five percent of pastors said their greatest problem is they are sick and tired of dealing with problem people, such as disgruntled elders, deacons, worship leaders, worship teams, board members, and associate pastors. Ninety percent said the hardest thing about ministry is dealing with uncooperative people.

Pastors' Wives:

· Eighty percent of pastors' spouses feel their spouse is overworked.

· Eighty percent of pastor' wives feel left out and unappreciated by the church members.

· Eighty percent of pastors' spouses wish their spouse would choose another profession.

· Eighty percent of pastors' wives feel pressured to do things and be something in the church that they are really not.

Pastors' Relationship With the Lord:

· Seventy percent of pastors do not have a close friend, confidant, or mentor.

· Ninety-five percent of pastors do not regularly pray with their spouses.

· Eighty percent of pastors surveyed spend less than fifteen minutes a day in prayer.

· Seventy percent said the only time they spend studying the Word is when they are preparing their sermons.

Now... take a moment and give us your energy-for-God sappers. What have you found that depletes your desire to get up and serve the Lord?

Here are ten energy-sappers:

10. Compromise.

You're doing something displeasing to the Lord and you know it. The guilt lingers and weighs you down. When you try to read your Bible, pray, or worship, the fog is so thick you could cut it. God seems far away, and you know without being told it's because you moved. You're being torn down the middle and it's a miserable feeling. The greatest compromise, I have found is not only in doing obviously sinful deeds. It is when we are operating in our own goodness and works based on our own performance. This births a cycle of defeat, frustration and utter failure. We must come to end of ourselves and stop trying to operate in self-salvation. We can never save ourselves, ever be good enough or do good enough deeds to please God. Only our Faith Pleases GOD.

Isaiah 59:1-2 comes to mind. "Your sins have separated you." Confess them and move back closer.

9. Nay-sayers.

The discouragers around you are constantly pointing out that you cannot do this, you are not the Christian you ought to be, the Bible cannot be understood, your prayers never go beyond the ceiling, and your pitiful offering amounts to nothing. To make matters worse, sometimes that negative voice hounding us is our own. You lose heart and want to give up. I listen to words very carefully to make sure that they are coming from the proper source. The source of Grace and Truth. I stop listening of speaking when I am sensitive to recognize that the Word's of Grace and truth are not present. This takes years of Practice and development by the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 103:1-5 comes to mind. "Bless the Lord, O my soul." Speak to yourself words of faith. Believe your faith and doubt your doubts.

8. Nit-pickers.

A family member, a colleague in the office, or a so-called friend has taken it as their personal calling to remind you of your failures in living up to the standards you claim. Your clothes do not match, you need a haircut, why do you waste your time on those books or that writer or that church, why aren't you exercising more, you're putting on weight, and I don't think you're right for this. Of course, he tells you this for your own good. You leave your friend's presence feeling worthless and hopeless. I have been on both sides like many who have been the unkind friend to the Hurting and not deeply caring enough to take time to be a hope-bringer of God's wonderful Peace and grace. I have been on the receiving end of harsh criticism when I was sick for an extended period of time. Either has changed my personal character for the better and changed the words I chose to use. If my words will not edify and build an individual I keep them to my self. Words are very powerful and need to be used carefully. Even when words of Correction are sometimes needed, I take the opportunity to have the word's be of encouragement that help an individual be able to be convinced of the Word of God in their personal capacity.

Philippians 4:8 comes to mind. "Whatsoever things are true, think on these things." Choose where your mind will land and come to rest and what it will feed upon.

7. Time-wasters or Bloodsuckers.

A few years ago, we would have named television as the biggest time-waster. It still is for many, but these days, the tube has lots of competition: the computer, computer games, the telephone, worthless reading materials, shopping, mall-crawling, and such. Each person has his own battlefield in this regard. But it's not just the time; the problem is that it robs you of your energy for God or service to His will for your life. It weakens your discernment in relating to other people. Be AWARE that their are many bloodsuckers in the Church who will sap the strength out of you if you let them. I always want to remain tender to weak individuals in the church and make my self available to loving them where they are in life. This is ultimately Christly time management and requires being lead by the Holy Spirit. Some pastors that I have spoken to who are extremely successful church planters Have stated that they do not do any counseling anymore nor do any thing but invest in this future generation's leaders. They focus on building the next generation of leaders in the Church so they can in turn invest in weaker individuals. I personally have done both and not been overwhelmed by caring for those who are poor in spirit and weaker members of the Body of Christ. I never want to become a man who forgets where he came from, I was once one of those weaker individuals who was definitely poor in Spirit. God sent a Man of God to me to teach me to walk with Christ moment by moment. I needed plenty of Biblical Counseling, Nurturing, Grace and practical love when I came off the streets homeless at 19 years old.

Luke 18:1 comes to mind. "We ought always to pray and not to lose heart." The old hymn told us to "Take Time to Be Holy." It takes time.

6. Starvation.

When you're really hungry, instead of pausing for dinner, you gulp down a soft drink and a bag of chips. Now, you have stopped the hunger but you're starving your body. A few minutes later, your wife or mother calls you to dinner. You beg off; you're not hungry. You dare not admit what you just did. That foolish scenario happens spiritually, too.

Try this experiment. After watching two hours of television--especially sitcoms of the type the networks are running these nights--get up and go get your Bible and read a couple of chapters. You'll have to make yourself do it. After a steady diet of mental junk food, you have no appetite for real nourishment. I also am carefully monitor what I am allowing to stimulate my mind. Plenty of things and images bombard our mind in billions of parts per second that we are not conscious or aware of the stimulation. These stimulations seem to dull the ability for us to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit through the Word of Life the Word of God.

Matthew 4:4 comes to mind. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." And Psalm 34:8 "O taste and see that the Lord is good." You need to feed your soul if you expect to have any energy for God.

5. Fatigue.

You're doing good work; you're just doing so much of it that you're exhausted. When tired, you get irritable and are no fun to be around. You end up having to force yourself to do your spiritual activities. It's not an admission of weakness to confess you have physical limitations, that you need 8 hours of sleep at night and maybe a little rest in the daytime and a vacation once in a while. Many of men have burned out because they failed to spiritually disciple themselves to take a Sabbath day per week to renews and be strengthened by God. This is not a mandatory for we are under Grace. I believe in strong work ethics and long Hours. What is the use of working hard and not being sharp. What is the use if God decides to use you for a task and you are so exhausted you fail to hear the whisper of His Voice. We can Work Hard by Working Smart. Working Smart is to take any day of the week to be our Sabbath day for renewal. I also have counseled numerous burned out pastors who in over thirty years of ministry never took a single day off, not even a well deserved biblical sabbatical. They are not walking with God today nor are they finishing the race well. They started very well and even impacted my life personally when I first became a Christ-Follower, they are now left the ministry and are drifting daily farther away from God.

Mark 6:31 comes to mind. "Come ye apart and rest for a while." And Matthew 11:28-30: "Come unto me all you who labor and are heavy laden."

4. Depression.

You are a Christian, one who believes your Bible and has the Holy Spirit, so how could you be depressed? Ever say that to yourself? The roots of depression (mental, emotional, whatever) are many and complex. You might need to remind yourself that some of the finest Christians ever to walk the planet have battled depression. You have good company. Those believers made the same discovery you have made, that sometimes you just have to get up and go on with your day while depressed, that you don't dare give in to it. Missionary leader and inspirational writer Elisabeth Elliot has said that when she's depressed, her method for dealing with it is: "Do the next thing." She does not make a long list of tasks to accomplish that day, but does the next thing before her, then she looks around and decides what is next, and so forth.

Habakkuk 3:17-19 comes to mind. "Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines... yet I will exult in the Lord." Praise Him anyway.

3. Rebellion.

Compromise is one thing; you rationalize a sin and turn a blind eye toward a practice you know is not wise and is hindering your spiritual life. But rebellion is another matter altogether. In rebellion, you drop all pretense about wanting to do the right thing. You enthrone your self and devote your life to pleasing only you. This really gets scary when you're in the Lord's service and draw a paycheck from a church or religious organization and yet are in rebellion against the Lord. I've been there; I know. People are looking to you for spiritual direction and expecting to hear God's voice through you, but what they are receiving is shallowness and staleness, negativism and putdowns, all bubbling up from the acid eating away at your soul.

Revelation 3:4-5 comes to mind. "I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember... and repent." The prodigal son story of Luke 15 applies.

2. Laziness.

Sloth. Idleness. Lethargy. Listlessness. Dullness. Slackness. Find yourself in any of these? You just can't make yourself get up and do anything spiritual such as reading the Bible or praying meaningfully or volunteering for a service project. You "just don't feel like it." Sound familiar? There's a law of physics you may be familiar with. Inertia is the tendency of an object at rest to remain there, and a moving object to continue moving. Now, it takes energy to get the object moving and it takes energy to stop it once it's in motion. Like priming a pump, we use energy to get energy. This pertains, whether speaking of the physical or the spiritual.

Proverbs 6:6-11 comes to mind. "How long wilt thou sleep, O thou sluggard?" Wake up. Get up.

1. Satan. The enemy himself.

You wondered if we would get to that? The unholy trinity of the world-the-flesh-and-the-devil are always at work to discourage believers from living the life Christ commands and we profess. The devil has had longer to study human nature than we, so he knows methods we have yet to discover. He uses detours, overloads, and even good works to keep us from doing the best things. He uses our diversions to sap our time, people to sap our joy, and work to sap our energies. Our time gone, our spirits depleted, and our energies sapped, we decide not to read our Bible tonight, to skip on our prayer time, and to get our rest tomorrow by sleeping late and skipping church. Chalk up another victory for the roaring lion who walks about.

I Peter 5:6-9 comes to mind. You know what it says. "We are not ignorant of his devices." 2 Corinthians 2:11

Now... take a moment and give us your energy-for-God sappers. What have you found that depletes your desire to get up and serve the Lord?

Soul Scars

2008-05-24T09:39:00.001-04:00

18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth (lives) no good thing (that is my sinful nature): for to will(desire) is present with me; but how to perform(carry out) that which is good I find not.

Rom 7:18

“For the word of God is living and operative, and keen above any two-edged sword, and penetrating up to the parting of soul and spirit...”

Heb.4:12

Soul Scars

· Scar tissue of the soul leaves a debilitating loss

· Scar tissue of the soul is also called hardness of the heart and stubbornness of heart. The Lord Jesus Christ quoted Isaiah 6:9-10 as the reason for teaching in parables to the Jews of His day who had hardness of the heart (Matthew 13:13-16; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10; John 12:40)

· Scar tissue of the soul that restricts capacity for life and love.

· Scar tissue only cure for such problems is a divine solution, which requires application of Bible Doctrine which brings in The Mind of God in to the categories of our Mind. Our unconsciousness after we are saved still has residual effects of irrational thought and hardness. The Word of God will till the hardness of our thought life. How we think will transfer into how we believe, how we believe, translates into faith action.

Scar tissue of the soul, however, is not the same as the Old Sin Nature, which is the motivation to sin. Every cell of the body contains the Old Sin Nature or the flesh. In the absence of the Filling of the Holy Spirit, the Old Sin Nature our Flesh will motivate irrational thinking and sin will control the our outward life from within our minds that are naturally bent towards a temporal value system. Scar tissue of the soul will add fuel to the fire of the soul under the control of the Old Sin Nature. However, the power of scar tissue of the soul will be thwarted by the Filling of the Holy Spirit. The Zoe life of the Holy Spirit will convince us in our the battle Ground of the mind. We are not to fight our own battles, not fight our own thoughts. God will fight them for us if we just live in faith rest in receiving the Holy Spirit of Grace, through Mercy, and by the Word of Living Truth.

We have a lifetime of habits and wounds that have caused soul scars over the many years our minds we not merged with a Christly Mind. A scar is a natural part of the healing process. The worse the damage is, the worse the scar will be.

A soul scar is SCAR TISSUE: unhealed wound,unresolved pain, deeply seated doubts, hidden chambers of idolatry, and any other initiations from our senses or impressions from the cosmic world system that have marked us in the past or present. The combinations of these have caused numerous residual effects such as to have mental blocks, spiritual blindness, and mental darkness. We need more than salvation we need illumination. “Illumination may be defined as the divine quickening of the human mind in virtue of which it is enabled to understand truth already revealed.” It does not reveal new truth, but makes the old truth understandable. Someone said, and I don’t know the source of this, “What light is to the eye, illumination is to the mind.”

"BEING CONVINCED" - ILLUMINATION

· REMOVES BLINDNESS IN OUR MIND

· GIVES INSIGHT

· PREPARES ACTION IN THE WILL

Illumination brings deliverance which promotes spiritual harmony with in our mind which in turn will heal the soul by the Holy Spirit .

Our lives are full of unwelcome behaviors and overwhelming emotions. The fact that we still feel the pain from our past is not a sign of a failed relationship with God. The presence of the pain does not lessen the impact of the salvation in our lives. This is a signal that we need to begin the process of moment by moment inner-healing. God will make the necessary interior healing and transfiguration. To admit to pains and problems may seem to be a contradiction of our claim to salvation, but it is not. The bible is a masterpiece of men and women who struggled continually to overcome past mistakes and present temptations. This is the evidence that God is at work in lives to conform individuals into His Image.

Look at the Apostle Paul , he wrote about this matter clearly and proves the bible is true. He wrote about his uncontrollable life and behaviors as proof of his separation from God. Yet, his admission does not interfere with his commitment to do God’s will. Paul’s will got in the way with God’s will. This is part of the pride complex that is in every man. The pride of the old man that cries with in us for his own will and works against us to frustrate God’s plan for us.

We have a culture that places a high value on individual accomplishment and success. There for we want to have our own Human remedy for our own problems. We want to follow our spiritual father the FIRST ADAM who operated in independence, self-sufficiency, relative righteousness and preoccupation. These aspects of personality are in various degrees of impression on every person. So it is very common to bring in the Cosmic world system in to our new found faith and return back to the way of self-performance. These human remedy's will leave us frustrated and experiencing constant defeat. This is right where the we get debilitated and usually remain not moving forward through life, If we think that we are defeated failures, be will begin to act like defeated failures.

Most of us from birth have been bombarded by our self the old sin nature, the devil, and the world system the ideal of high achievement and performance. Being successful and competitive is viewed by society as important. We are taught that if we compete hard enough we will be “winners” and, therefore good people. If, however we don’t measure up to what is expected of us we are losers, we believe of ourselves as failures. This combination creates a poor self-image, desperation, frustration, and utter despair. Due to the absence of good role models, during childhood, many of us are confused with these ideals and the biblical definition of a Victorious Christian life. We don’t know where we fit in. We continue to allow our worth and self-esteem to be determined by what we do and what others think about us, and not by who we are in Christ and what he has accomplished upon the Cross. We have conditioned ourselves to fail and learned anxiety from our much confused and misguided lives.

Surrender to Grace, we admit defeat and recognize that our obsessive traits manipulate the affairs of our lives to ease inner pain of our separation from God. Thus making our lives uncontrollable and will continue to be until we surrender our own will.

Romans 11:6-7

6 But if it is by grace (His unmerited favor and graciousness), it is no longer conditioned on works or anything men have done. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace [it would be meaningless].

7 What then [shall we conclude]? Israel failed to obtain what it sought [God's favor by obedience to the Law]. Only the elect (those chosen few) obtained it, while the rest of them became callously indifferent (blinded, hardened, and made insensible to it).

AMP

[And if grace ...]

If the fact that any are reserved be by grace, or favor, then it cannot be as a reward of merit. Paul thus takes occasion incidentally to combat a favorite notion of the Jews, that we are justified by obedience to the Law. He reminds them that in the time of Elijah it was because God had reserved them

Romans 11:6

[Otherwise grace ...]

If people are justified by their works, it could not be a matter of favor, but was a debt. If it could be that the doctrine of justification by grace could be held and yet at the same time that the Jewish doctrine of merit was true, then it would follow that grace had changed its nature, or was a different thing from what the word properly signified. The idea of being saved by merit contradicts the very idea of grace. If a man owes me a debt, and pays it, it cannot be said to be done by favor, or by grace. I have a claim on him for it, and there is no favor in his paying his just dues.

[But if it be of works ...]

"Works" here mean conformity to the Law; and to be saved by works would be to be saved by such conformity as the meritorious cause. Of course there could be no grace or favor in giving what was due: if there was favor, or grace, then works would lose their essential characteristic, and cease to be the meritorious cause of procuring the blessings. What is paid as a debt is not conferred as a favor.

And from this it follows that salvation cannot be partly by grace and partly by works. It is not because people can advance any claims to the favor of God; but from his mere unmerited grace. He that is not willing to obtain eternal life in that way, cannot obtain it at all. The doctrines of election, and of salvation by mere grace, cannot be more explicitly stated than they are in this passage.

Ephesians 2:8-9

8 For it is by free grace (God's unmerited favor) that you are saved ( delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ's salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God;

9 Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law's demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.]

AMP

Galatians 5:4-6

If you seek to be justified and declared righteous and to be given a right standing with God through the Law, you are brought to nothing and so separated (severed) from Christ. You have fallen away from grace (from God's gracious favor and unmerited blessing).

5 For we, [not relying on the Law but] through the [Holy] Spirit's [help], by faith anticipate and wait for the blessing and good for which our righteousness and right standing with God [our conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action, causes us] to hope.

6 For [if we are] in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith activated and energized and expressed and working through love.

AMP

Romans 4:1-7

Chapter 4 1 [BUT] IF so, what shall we say about Abraham, our forefather humanly speaking — [what did he] find out? [How does this affect his position, and what was gained by him?]

2 For if Abraham was justified ( established as just by acquittal from guilt) by good works [that he did, then] he has grounds for boasting. But not before God!

3 For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed in (trusted in) God, and it was credited to his account as righteousness (right living and right standing with God). [Genesis 15:6.]

4 Now to a laborer, his wages are not counted as a favor or a gift, but as an obligation (something owed to him).

5 But to one who, not working [by the Law], trusts (believes fully) in Him Who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited to him as righteousness (the standing acceptable to God).

6 Thus David congratulates the man and pronounces a blessing on him to whom God credits righteousness apart from the works he does:

7 Blessed and happy and to be envied are those whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered up and completely buried.

AMP

Ps 6:6-7

6 I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.

7 Mine eye is consumed because of grief; it waxeth old because of all mine enemies.

(KJV)

1) What keeps you from recognizing your unrestrained life?

2) What area of your life is causing you the most sadness?

Our pride cries out against the idea of being not in control and giving up power. We are accustomed to accepting full responsibility for all that happens in our lives and in the lives of others. The dysfunction of the environment of the world system that surrounds us teaches us reaction and we learn to become overly responsible. Liberation and renewal of strength will come from total surrender.

3) What events in your life caused you to realize the extent of your pain?

Deut 30:19-20

19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

20 That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land

(KJV)

4) Pain is a signal to act out your addiction, obsession, or compulsion. Now pain can be a signal to acknowledge your lack of control and to choose life. What specific pain is your strongest signal?

As we begin to accept and surrender the reality of our condition, we naturally reach out to others for answers. There will be no true relief for us until we, by ourselves, in our own minds ands hearts acknowledge our lack of control.

1 Cor 8:2

2 And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.

(KJV)

5) We think that life is working when we rely on our old survival techniques. How has this blocked you from seeing your real problems?

The ongoing commitment to surrender, we remember that our damaging traits, habits, and behaviors are a part of us. They are unconscious reactions to the scars that are in our soul. The unhealed wounds are these soul scars. We observe our behavior patterns for the appearance of destructive tendencies. As we notice self-defeating behaviors and reactions surface, we can surrender and seek rescue from God. God will open new courses for action for us.

6) In what area of your life do you experience the strongest need to be in control?

7) What are the results of self-defeating habits?

Mark 4:35-40

35 And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.

36 And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.

37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.

38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?

39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?

(KJV)

8) The apostles felt fear and doubt, because of the situation of their personal powerlessness. What do you fear the most? What causes you to doubt?

Recovery from Scar Tissue of the Soul

By your patience possess your souls —Luke 21:19

When a person is born again, there is a period of time when he does not have the same vitality in his thinking or reasoning that he previously had. We must learn to express this new life within us, which comes by forming the mind of Christ (see Philippians 2:5 ). Luke 21:19 means that we take possession of our souls through patience. But many of us prefer to stay at the entrance to the Christian life, instead of going on to create and build our soul in accordance with the new life God has placed within us. We fail because we are ignorant of the way God has made us, and we blame things on the devil that are actually the result of our own undisciplined natures. Just think what we could be when we are awakened to the truth!

Scar tissue has been around throughout history. It is a common problem. Our Lord dealt with it in those he tried to teach, and through his teaching the recovery process can be learned. When teaching people with scar tissue, our Lord taught them in parables. After teaching the Parable of the Sower, his disciples asked him why he had taught in parables. His answer was because his audience had scar tissue of the soul. He quoted Isaiah 6:9-10 in Matthew 13:14-15. Since most people with scar tissue aren't going to learn Bible Doctrine anyway, because their internal capacity is very minimal and their mind continually wanders therefore He taught them with symbolic messages, or parables, to illustrate the Spiritual principles. The parables served two purposes: (1) They hid the true doctrine from those who would never learn it anyway, and (2) they required analysis to understand just like the application of Bible Doctrine that would be required to handle the testing associated with scar tissue of the soul.

The Recovery Process

The recovery process from scar tissue of the soul was taught by our Lord in Matthew 13:14-15. Recovery is complicated by the problems that characterize scar tissue. The person with scar tissue of the soul is his own worst enemy; and what's more, he doesn't understand his own problem. There are certain things in life that we need not pray about— moods, for instance. We will never get rid of moodiness by praying, but we will by kicking it out of our lives. Moods nearly always are rooted in some physical circumstance, not in our true inner self. It is a continual struggle not to listen to the moods which arise as a result of our physical condition, but we must never submit to them for a second

"And in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,
'You will keep on hearing, but will not understand;
And you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; (Matthew 13:14)

People with scar tissue of the soul may see the Scars of their soul but not be able to understand what it means spiritually. Although they have heard doctrine taught, they are unable to make application. They keep on hearing Bible Doctrine taught, but they do not understand how to apply it to their life individually. Thus, scar tissue of the soul hinders the metabolization of Bible Doctrine and the execution of the Spiritual Life. The only solution and hope of recovery is to stop Trying and begin Trusting that God's way and power is the only deliverance of our Soul Scars. The divine recovery procedure must be received by Grace not by our own strength no performance; otherwise, there will be no recovery from scar tissue. The Scar Tissue will only be more deeply engrained and habitual failure becomes our frame of Reference. This old frame of reference energized by our own performance and frustration of defeat forms a cycle of failure. The only divine remedy to break this cycle of Failure is to stop trying in our own performance and receive the Grace of God which will cause us to trust in God's performance even when we do not immediately see results. God works in the invisible not in the visible. That is why we need to look through faith eyes not though our own perception and opinions of our own mind which is conditioned by the comic world system, our flesh, and from the Devil.

For the heart of this people has become insensitive,
And with their ears they are hard of hearing,
And they have closed their eyes
Lest they should see with their eyes,
And hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart and return,
And I should heal them.' (Matthew 13:15)

You have become estranged from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by the Law; you have run aground from grace. (Galatians 5:4)

The word for running aground is the Greek ejkpivptw (ekpipto), which means to drift off course or run aground. Those who run aground cease to advance in the Spiritual Life.

Scar tissue of the soul makes it more difficult to stay on course. In addition to ignorance, which makes navigation in grace difficult, scar tissue of the soul may add the additional lure of lust and lasciviousness or legalism to go astray.

Ephesians 4:18-19
18 And they have been darkened in their way of thinking, and they have been alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance which is in them, because of the scar tissue in their heart. 19 Who, because they have become callused, they have given themselves over to licentiousness resulting in the practice of every kind of immorality with insatiable lust

The believer with scar tissue of the soul is alienated from the life of God and easily tempted by lust to go astray from grace. Scar tissue of the soul is an added burden to those who are trying to advance in the Spiritual Life.

¹ Strong, James, Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, Crusade Bible Publishers, Inc., Nashville, TN, pp. 1340, Dictionary of the Hebrew Bible, pp. 127, Dictionary of the Greek Testament, pp. 79.
² Kittel Gerhard, and Gerhard Friedrich (Editors), Theological Dictionary Of The New Testament Collected Dialogues Of Plato Including The Letters, Abridged and translated in one volume by Geoffrey W. Bromiley, W. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI, 1985 (Reprinted 1992), ISBN: 0-8028-2404-8, p. 1342-1353.

The SOUL

2008-05-22T18:22:00.001-04:00

Rom 7:18

“For the word of God is living and operative, and keen above any two-edged sword, and penetrating up to the parting of soul and spirit...”

Heb.4:12

SOUL AND SPIRIT SEPARATE

The distinction between soul and spirit is no less pronounced. Besides the passage in Hebrews 4:12, which gives the Word of God the monopoly on this distinction, we have the list “spirit and soul and body” (1 Thess.5:23).

Now, instead of the soul and spirit being the same, they are put in striking contrast in the discussion of the differences between the first man, Adam, and the last Adam, Christ Jesus. The first became a living soul, the last a vivifying, or life-giving Spirit. This same contrast is even more apparent in the adjectives “spiritual” and “soulish.” In the second chapter of the first epistle to the Corinthians this distinction is obscured by the rendering “natural.” Not the “natural,” but the soulish man is not receiving those things which are of the spirit of God (1 Cor.2:14). Such perception is reserved for the spiritual man (v.12). So, too, in the fifteenth chapter. The body is there called a soulish, not a “natural” body, in contrast to the spiritual body of the coming resurrection (1 Cor.15:44,45,46).

THE SOUL SPEAKS OF SENSATIONS

The truth that the soul refers to sensation or conscious experience is really acknowledged by the translators themselves, though they have concealed it from their readers by their renderings. Many who think of the soul as the seat of our highest spiritual faculties would be surprised to know that it finds its fitting place between such words as “terrestrial” and “demoniacal.”

In James 3:15 we have “terrestrial, soulish, demoniacal.” The translators rendered it: “earthly, sensual, devilish.” Here, however, if we take the word sensual in its present day acceptation, they have overshot the mark. But in their days it probably meant very nearly what soulish means—one who is swayed by physical sensation. The crowning proof of its antipathy to spirit lies in its last occurrence. There we read of those who are “soulish, not having the spirit” (Jude 19). Here again the translators rendered it “sensual.”

THE SOUL, AND THE SENSES

Plants have life as well as animals, but it is not a conscious life. They do not see and feel and hear and taste. This is the force of being a “living soul.”

The connection of soul with the senses is evidenced by a selection of interesting passages. We will give the renderings of the Authorized Version. The taste is especially intended in such scriptures as “whatsoever thy soul lusteth after” (Deut.12:15,20,21), “thy soul longeth to eat flesh” (Deut.12:20), “eat grapes thy fill at thine own pleasure” (Deut.23:24), “Their soul abhorreth all manner of meat” (Psa.107:18), “a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul” (Prov.6:30), “eateth to the satisfying of his soul” (Prov.13:25), “an honeycomb, sweet to the soul” (Prov.16:24), “if thou be a man given to appetite” (Prov.23:2), “The full soul loatheth an honeycomb, but to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.” (Prov.27:7), “should make his soul enjoy good” (Margin reads: “delight his senses,” Ecc.2:24), “the appetite is not filled” (Ecc.6:7), “to make empty the soul of the hungry” (Isa.32:6). In all of these cases the point lies in the sensation accompanying the use of food, the physical satisfaction which the soil furnishes when we partake of its products.

A CONVINCING CONFIRMATION

This is amply confirmed by our Lord’s words: “Do not worry about your soul, what you may be eating, or what you may be drinking...Is not the soul more than nourishment” (Matt.6:25)? These creature needs are what the soul craves, yet true satisfaction is not to be found in them. Even as He said on another occasion: “For what will a man be benefitted, if he should ever be gaining, the whole world, yet be forfeiting his soul? Or what will a man be giving in exchange for his soul” (Matt.16:26)? This is the evil which the wise man saw: “A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it...” (Ecc.6:2, AV).

OUR SOULISH BODY

In perfect accord with all this we are told that there is a soulish body and there is a spiritual body (1 Cor.15:44). The last Adam became a life-giving, or vivifying spirit, in contrast with the first Adam who became a living soul. Flesh and blood, indeed, is not able to enjoy an allotment in the kingdom of God, for the blood is the badge of a soulish body, while flesh and bones is in accord with a spiritual body (1 Cor.15:50). The statement that Christ’s flesh was not acquainted with decay (Acts 2:31) in the tomb is enough to show that it was the very same flesh which endured the suffering of the cross. And this is put beyond question by the nail prints and the spear wound. And the further fact that His body is bloodless reminds us that a propitiatory shelter, for the pardon of Israel’s sins, as well as those of the whole world, has been accomplished (1 John 2:2). The “blood” that is “making a propitiatory shelter” has been poured out.

The Soul and Related Biblical Terms

Old Testament

Soul (nephesh, neh'-fesh, נפש) Strong's Number 5315 from 5314; properly, a breathing creature, i.e. animal of (abstractly) vitality; used very widely in a literal, accommodated or figurative sense (bodily or mental). ¹

the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being (nephesh). Genesis 2:7 (NIV)

In his hand is the life (nephesh) of every creature and the breath (ruwach) of all mankind. Job 12:10 (NIV)
Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD and delight in his salvation. Psalms 35:9 (NIV)

Spirit (ruwach, roo'-akh, רוּחַ) Strong's Number 7307 from 7306; wind; by resemblance breath, i.e. a sensible (or even violent) exhalation; figuratively, life, anger, unsubstantiality; by extension, a region of the sky; by resemblance spirit, but only of a rational being (including its expression and functions).¹

Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Genesis 1:2 (NIV)

Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?" Ecclesiastes 3:21 (NIV)

and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Ecclesiastes 12:7 (NIV)

New Testament

Flesh (sarx, sarx, σαρξ) Strong's Number 4561 probably from the base of 4563; flesh (as stripped of the skin), i.e. (strictly) the meat of an animal (as food), or (by extension) the body (as opposed to the soul [or spirit], or as the symbol of what is external, or as the means of kindred), or (by implication) human nature (with its frailties [physically or morally] and passions), or (specifically) a human being (as such)

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 (NIV)

Body (soma, so'-mah, σωμα) Strong's Number 4983 from 4982; the body (as a sound whole), used in a very wide application, literally or figuratively.¹ The biblical definition of death is found in James 2:26 where it says that death is the separation of the spirit from the body.

As the body (soma) without the spirit (pneumatos) is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. James 2:26 (NIV)

Soul (psyche, psoo-khay', ψυχη) Strong's Number 5590 from 5594; breath, i.e. (by implication) spirit, abstractly or concretely (the animal sentient principle only; thus distinguished on the one hand from 4151, which is the rational and immortal soul; and on the other from 2222, which is mere vitality, even of plants: these terms thus exactly correspond respectively to the Hebrew 5315, 7307 and 2416).¹

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.
What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?
Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? Mark 8:35-37 (NIV)

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. John 10:11 (NIV)

Spirit (pneuma, pnyoo'-mah, πνευμα) Strong's Number 4151 from 4154; a current of air, i.e. breath (blast) or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively, a spirit, i.e. (human) the rational soul, (by implication) vital principle, mental disposition, etc., or (superhuman) an angel, demon, or (divine) God, Christ's spirit, the Holy Spirit.¹

God is spirit (pneuma), and his worshipers must worship in spirit (pneumati) and in truth." John 4:24 (NIV)
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit (pneuma), soul (psyche) and body (soma) be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1Thessalonians 5:23 (NIV)

Mind (nous, nooce, νους) Strong's Number 3563, probably from the base of 1097; the intellect, i.e. mind (divine or human; in thought, feeling, or will); by implication meaning.¹

So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind. 1 Corinthians 14:15 (NIV)

Conscience (suneidesis, soon-i'-day-sis, συνειδησις),Strong's Number 4893 from a prolonged form of 4894; coperception, i.e. moral consciousness.¹

So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man. Acts 24:16 (NIV)

To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds (nous) and consciences (suneidesis) are corrupted. Titus 1:15 (NIV)

But one who prophesies speaks to men for edification [intellect] and exhortation [will] and consolation [emotion]. 1 Corinthians 14:3 (NAS)

Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart [kardia] and with all your soul [psyche] and with all your mind [nous] .' Matthew 22:37 (NIV)

Our new proclamation:

2 Cor 5:17

17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (KJV)

We took control to protect ourselves, but the results frequently have ended uncontrollable and unreliable. We now don’t want to give up control and release ourselves from the torment. This now is a great opportunity to face reality and admit that our life is not working with us in control. We stop pretending, we admit that we can’t continue the illusion of control. The way we have managed our own lives brings us to this point. We prepare ourselves towards the walk of wholeness.

This may seem overwhelming to most of us until we begin to see our lives as they really are. It is threatening to realize could be uncontrollable. Our life experience testifies against us and reminds us that our behaviors did not produce peace.

Ambassador of Christ Profile Of A Disciple

2008-05-21T19:03:00.001-04:00

So we are Christ's ambassadors, God making His appeal as it were through us. We [as Christ's personal representatives] beg you for His sake to lay hold of the divine favor [now offered you] and be reconciled to God.
2 Corinthians 5:20 (Amplified Bible)

If you read the epistle from the beginning you can see that in chapter 5 verse 20 the "we" and "us" is himself and Timothy, and the "you" refers to the Corinthian Church. Christians are no more automatically ambassadors for Christ than they are disciples of Christ on the level of discipleship in Luke 14, unless they have met the three conditions set forth in verses 26, 27, and 33.

Moreover, it is inconceivable that one would be an ambassador for Christ if one is not even a disciple (learner) on the discipleship level of Luke 14. Sad to say, that most Christians today in this country are not only not ambassadors for Christ nor disciples of Christ (according to Luke 14), but rather are yet carnal like the Christians in Corinth whom Paul rebuked in his first epistle to them (1 Cor. 3:1-4).

Would Christ send someone to be His ambassador who is carnal rather than spiritual, who is not even a disciple according to the conditions of Luke 14?
The purpose in this study is to make clear what is involved in being a true disciple of Jesus Christ. We will do this by looking at Jesus' own words. There are seven statements about discipleship that Jesus makes in the gospels.

These statements give us a :
One statement that tells us the goal of discipleship.
Three statements that tell us the marks of a disciple.
Three statements that reveal the cost of discipleship.

Are you are a disciple of Jesus?

An ambassador is…

· Ready. An Ambassador is attentive for chances to represent Christ and will not back away from a challenge or an opportunity.

· Patient. An Ambassador won’t quarrel, but will listen in order to understand, then with gentleness seek to respectfully engage those who disagree.

· Reasonable. An Ambassador has informed convictions (not just feelings), gives reasons, asks questions, aggressively seeks answers, and will not be stumped by the same challenge twice.

· Tactical. An Ambassador adapts to each unique person and situation, maneuvering with wisdom to challenge bad thinking, presenting the truth in an understandable and compelling way.

· Clear. An Ambassador is careful with language and will not rely on Christian lingo nor gain unfair advantage by resorting to empty rhetoric.

· Fair. An Ambassador is sympathetic and understanding towards others and will acknowledge the merits of contrary views.

· Honest. An Ambassador is careful with the facts and will not misrepresent another’s view, overstate his own case, or understate the demands of the Gospel.

· Humble. An Ambassador is provisional in his claims, knowing that his understanding of truth is fallible. He will not press a point beyond what his evidence allows.

· Attractive. An Ambassador will act with grace, kindness, and good manners. He will not dishonor Christ in his conduct.

· Dependent. An Ambassador knows that effectiveness requires joining his best efforts with God’s power.

http://www.str.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5188

Pressures of Life

2008-05-20T09:39:00.001-04:00

John 16:33, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world..”

In this modern society, many people have difficult on dealing with their own pressures. Therefore, learning how to lessen the pressure has become an important issue. With the right method to lessen your pressure, you will be more efficient in your work or whatever things you are engaged in.

Thlip´sis

Compression, especially external cause.

Constraining influence oppressive condition of physical, mental, social, or economic distress

In Life: 2 Corinthians (thlipsis = pressure)

· 1:4 Tribulation = Generic troubles

· 1:8 Trouble = Persecution

· 2:4 Affliction = Caring

· 4:17 Affliction = Aging; passage of time

· 6:4 Tribulations = Ministry life in general

· 7:4 Tribulation = Present, specific difficulties

· 8:2 Affliction = Finances; economics

· 8:13 Burdened = Taking up slack for others

Steps

1. Realize the root of the problem.

2. Find out the sources of the pressure. For example, come from work, economy or family, etc.

3. Think a moment for those questions. How does the pressure cause? And what influence does the pressure bring about? For example, sleeplessness or have no energy on doing everything.

4. Plan the solution that can work out such as reducing the amount of your work, improving your relationship with others, or saving your money, etc.

5. Think of the influences of that external pressure is causing in your life.

6. Carry out the method to reduce external pressure you choose.

7. Reflect on the way overcome external pressure if you can and accept it if you cannot reduce pressures

8. Review the effect of the method you choose to reduce external pressures and share it with another individual who is experiencing similar pressures in their life

9. Think whether the method you carried out is as ideal as the way you expect or if you need to modify the method next time

Think the root of the problem caused by pressure carefully.
You can also plan a schedule to make sure you work on pressures in your life the right way.
You can ask your family or friends for some constructive suggestions.
What you have to do is concentrate on your formula.
If you don’t satisfy with the result, you will have to calm down, and then carry out step 1 and step 2 again.
Don’t be overhasty on carrying out the formula.
Don’t take a risk on using the wrong way to lessen your stress.
Cutting, Drinking, Smoking, and Doing Drugs will not solve anything, despite their popularity for doing so. They are all just new problems to deal with.

Answers To Difficult Questions : Suffering

2008-05-16T13:49:00.001-04:00

WHERE'S GOD WHEN IT HURTS?

This question has probably created more atheists than any other question.

http://www.biblesociety.ca/free_scriptures/escriptures/it-hurts/it-hurts.html

This above link is a wonderful video to watch before you you read this article below.

If these kinds of attitudes accompany your answers to difficult questions, even the best argument will fail. Is the person more important than the answer? Are you arguing for God? He can defend Himself Just Fine. We as believers must be very careful with our words and have them seasoned with Love not pride because we can cause such pain with our words. Is it God to win an argument and damage seeking skeptics opportunity of future faith in Christ because of our attitude. Our words can push a person further away from God and the questions that people are asking are a good thing because they are searching for answers for life. If we are not able to give answers in the Holy Spirit, and easily loose our tempers and have a prideful spirit it is best to let another believer answer difficult questions or learn to walk in a grace and speak word even if they are hard words seasoned with he love of the Good News. Always remember that your actions will speak louder than you arguments. You life is a living message and represents the King of Kings. When you are arguing and debating, people are listening especially if they know you are a believer. They will be listening how you will answer for many reasons to see if you are being judgmental (speaking down to doubters with pride), are hypocritical (not living your answer), being exclusive (a know it all and treating people as outsiders in a we are better than you because we live a clean and moral life).

In His Grace Forever,

Young Adult Crisis Hotline

Pastor Teddy Awad, CMHP

1-877-702-2GOD

Listen Before You Answer

Good counsel comes from those who combine empathy and insight.

James 1:19

A psychologist, counselor, and teacher shares his thoughts on how to speak to people in difficult circumstances.

The most important thing for us to recognize is that what people need most is understanding. While understanding always provides the foundation for other kinds of help, it is important in and of itself. Understanding is a wonderful gift to give others.

Having all the answers is overrated. Ask 20 people to tell you who has had the most influence on their lives, and in the vast majority of cases you will find the notable absence of the phrases “gives good advice” or “always provides great solutions to problems,” and the frequent presence of phrases such as “is a good listener” or “really understands.”

We all want to be understood. We want to be around people who show genuine humility, who empty themselves of their own concerns, and who give us their full attention. We are drawn to people who suspend their own needs to control and dominate and who display openness to our story. We seek relationships with people who really want to tune into the meaning of another’s experience and are willing to express that meaning back to us. And of course, such a posture invites us to look inside ourselves and recognize that we need to be that kind of person.

Two Steps to Understanding
1. Work on your listening skills. Listening is hard work because we are not just processing what others are communicating, we are seeking to pay attention not only to the meaning embedded in their words, but also to what they are not saying. In doing so we are not engaging in a process of evaluation but in a process that seeks to accept and value the other.

2. Expand your understanding of the problem. This takes us beyond the skills of listening to a broader view of the problem itself. Doctors are a good example of a combination of these two skills. They need to be good listeners and ask the right questions. But they also need to understand medical problems. Good process needs to be combined with good content.

Mistakes to Avoid When Answering Difficult Questions:

1. Impatience, unkindness, or intolerance for skeptics or people with genuine questions

2. Appearing brusque or prideful

3. Treating a legitimate question as if it could easily be answered

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

When dealing with tough questions about God and evil, the most severe weakness of some Christians has been the tendency to confront the apologetic challenge and fail to hear the voice of suffering behind the question, “Where is your God?” To not weep with the person who suffers, but rather offer platitudes, Bible verses, even excellent philosophical lectures, is like sending greeting cards to people in a burning building. We need to listen to the voice and not merely the words.

My hope is that Christians will become the apologetic—choosing to live in a way that is much more important than spoken words, no matter how articulate, profound, and convincing the arguments. They will, instead, work where there is human suffering and demonstrate to the world that God is doing something about it: he is sending us into the heart of it to heal it.

Christians are not likely to produce many new and satisfying answers to why and how God acts in pain and evil. But, in the future, they can come alongside others in hardship as they, with their lives as much as their words, try to show others how God enters the places of dark suffering. In these situations Christians can demonstrate how God does deal with evil—not as a theoretical challenge to be solved but as a tragedy to be remedied. In this way, Christians can live as people who have been enlightened by Jesus Christ, who was both victim and victor over evil and suffering.

Suffering Can Be Good

"Why, God, why?"

When we let the cross shapes our theology.

Philippians 2:5–8

It is remarkable that there were so few attempts to solve the “problem of evil” prior to the 18^th century. Certainly there was no shortage of suffering and disaster. Life was nasty, brutish, and short. In Martin Luther’s day the Black Death had decimated the population of Europe and still threatened. Villages and towns lived in constant dread of fires and natural disasters.

Is it not curious that only when life seems to be easier do thinkers set out to “justify God”? Perhaps it is as Hannah Arendt remarks, “When man could no longer praise, they turned their greatest conceptual efforts to justifying God.” But the problem of suffering should not just be rolled up with the problem of evil. Only false speaking lures us into doing that.

This world is no stranger to suffering. The last one hundred years--which saw greater technological and medical advances than people living in previous centuries could ever have imagined--witnessed suffering, pain, and despair on a nearly inconceivable scale. Disease and sickness, earthquakes and other natural disasters, war and genocide, poverty and death--a stranger to Earth might be forgiven for concluding that suffering was the defining element of our world.

And suffering in its myriad varieties continues to this day, scaled to fit our everyday lives. We--and people we know and see around us--struggle daily against a world full of pain, a world full of hurts that seem to serve no purpose beyond inflicting misery. Some people struggle to feed and shelter their families; others to understand the loss of a loved one, to find the strength to keep standing beneath the weight of a terrible illness, to lift their eyes to heaven and demand an answer to the age-old question: "Why, God, why?"

I don't know what you're suffering. Maybe it's one of these horrors. Perhaps it's much more personal, more mundane. We each live unique lives with unique hurts, sharing in common an experience of a world that just doesn't seem to work like it should. Each of us suffers personally, in ways that no other person can understand.

Is there hope? Is there an answer to be found? There is, although we may not see it yet. In the meantime, this most important fact remains: we do not suffer alone. That is the promise of God. "... we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us" (Romans 8:17-8). "For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows" (2 Corinthians 1:5).

WHERE'S GOD WHEN IT HURTS?

This question has probably created more atheists than any other question. Worse, the seething anger that sometimes lies behind it has probably created more insane people than any other. And justly so. While faith in God doesn't logically stand or fall just on this matter, it hinges on it more than any other so far as our experience of life and faith is concerned.

If that offends some of you, well, tough. True, we have no right at all to expect or demand a suffering-free state of false bliss that would leave each and all of us as bored living a sterile and stupid life. That is, if you can call something 'life' which has no challenge, no learning, no growing, all of which only come through trial, error, taking part, success, pain, loss, and suffering. (We can safely ignore the many fools who think that way.) But does there have to be the kind of suffering that some people go through? Suffering of apparently unquenchable pain, immeasurable loss, utter hopelessness, total abandonment? Suffering that will end in a slow death, like lung cancer? The very fact that there is such suffering gives good cause to doubt not only the value of the whole human race, but also the existence of any God that can be said to care in the slightest for what's been created, any God who has power over all things, any God who is anything other than a horrible brute who finds sadistic whimsical joy in squeezing every last drop of suffering out of them. It would seem to rule out anything even vaguely resembling the God that Christians speak of -- and rule in a God who deserves our utter hatred not our worship.

Except for one thing ........

...except that God knows this is true, and set out to do something about it. Not by overriding the freedom God had put into nature and into creatures, especially the human ones. Not by working instant repairs on the universe so that all is blissfully well (that would be a jerk-God, a more powerful version of the fools I wrote off earlier), or by pulling a string here or there from a distance. But by choosing to fully take part in what is happening. The choice : soiled ancient diapers, skinned childhood knees, and dirtied adult feet. God felt what acceptance and rejection are like at a human level. God walked among people in the same way they walk among each other, talk to them at their level, with their sufferings small and large, face to face, person to person. God taught them in their language, with sound waves instead of spiritual whispers, from within their tradition, from within the world they knew, a world teeming with truth smothered in their own lies. But even more : God had to face the ultimate in human rejection -- to be publicly executed for having spoken and lived the truth. That's something not even God wanted to go through, but the whole point of it all was to go through things that no one wants to go through, if that's what it takes to complete the task at hand, for real. (In fact, that's what 'for real' is all about.)

Jesus was that choice. Jesus is the divine answer to suffering. Jesus is the answer a Christian has to the problem of suffering. Jesus knows. Jesus cares. And Jesus is suffering alongside each one who suffers, ever more so as the suffering increases. The 'why' of suffering is a mystery; you'll never know the reason why, or even if there is a reason. The reply of God is no mystery, or at least, no more mysterious than love itself.

"Mystery is not the absence of meaning, but the presence of more meaning than we can comprehend"
---- Dennis Covington

"You need not cry very loud; God is nearer to us than we think."
------ Brother Lawrence

BUT, HE'S NOT HERE ANYMORE ...

Yet Jesus is not the Christian's answer to suffering by Himself. The phrase that the New Testament used for describing the fellowship of Christ's followers is "the Body of Christ". Jesus is the head of the Body. That, of course, means that Jesus is not the arms, legs, hands, and such. That is what the believers are. As Paul saw it, they are a unit, a whole, just as a human body is a whole, yet each believer is an identifiable part with a function in the overall Body.

Jesus is no longer physically here. His role as head is signaled to the Body through the Spirit, the nerve impulses that cause the Body to work. Jesus can no longer hold the hand of the sufferer, wrap His arms around them, and give the comfort of a physical embrace. He can no longer move His legs to where the sufferers are, so that He can physically address them face to face, look them in the eyes, grasp hold of their needs, render through sound waves the needed words of comfort or challenge, lay hands to bring physical healing. That role is to be done by the Body of Christ in the physical world -- that is, by the believers, as a whole, in subgroups and organizations, and as people.

If you want to see a key part of God's answer to suffering, look into a mirror. If what you're looking at isn't much of an answer to anyone's suffering, then pray that the Spirit's signals start directing you.

Good Suffering

Evil does cause suffering—but not always. Love can cause suffering. Beauty can be the occasion for suffering. Children with their demands and impetuous cries can cause suffering. Just the toil and trouble and stress of daily life can cause suffering. Yet surely these are not to be termed evil. Humans have an unfortunate tendency to try to prove that God has nothing to do with suffering and evil. Meanwhile, suffering goes on.

Martin Luther suffered spiritually and physically. But he saw God’s hand in the suffering and wrote: “He kills our will that his may be established in us. He subdues the flesh and its lusts that the spirit and its desires may come to life.” Beyond his own experience—based, in fact, on the cross—he asserted that whoever does not know God hidden in suffering does not know God at all. If God has nothing to do with suffering, what is he involved with?

Salvation Through Suffering

Suffering, the Bible proves, can be redemptive. This must be the case because it is only through suffering and the cross that sinners can see and come to know God. The cross is suffering. But it is suffering from God and it is good. That is the deepest reason why we call the Friday of the crucifixion good.

Rather than knowing God in a way that would be convenient for us, the only way to know God is through suffering, the suffering of the one who saves us. Luther called this a theology of the cross—a theology that calls a spade a spade, and suffering, when it is redemptive, good.

—Gerhard O. Forde, Adapted from On Being a Theologian of the Cross, © 1997 by Wm. B. Eerdman’s Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, MI. Used with permission; all rights reserved. To order this book on demand title, contact the publisher at 800.253.7521 or visit www.eerdmans.com.

Self-Mutilation=Self-Medication

2008-05-15T15:02:00.001-04:00

Startling Stats

1. 1.5 percent of all Americans deliberately harm themselves.

2. 12 percent of college students admit to harming themselves.

3. 60-70 percent of self-injurers are female.

4. 35-80 percent also battle eating disorders.

5. Self-injury usually starts in adolescence and lasts between five to ten years-longer if untreated.

6. 90 percent of self-injurers begin cutting/burning as teens; their struggle often extends into their mid-20's to early 30's.

—Elaina Whittenhall

Self-Mutilation

A disturbing situation has emerged among teens: the practice of self-mutilation. Teenagers who self-mutilate – overwhelmingly girls – are inflicting pain and injuries on their own bodies. While it's estimated that only one percent of the American population self-mutilates, the emotional issues that drive them – and the physical fall-out from such practices as cutting and burning – make self-mutilation a serious problem.

Types of Self-Mutilation

Cutting is but one of the self-mutilating behaviors adolescents may exhibit. Other common practices of self-mutilating behaviors include burning, bruising, breaking of bones (especially digits), picking at the skin or "wound interference" (the practice of producing a wound and not allowing it to heal).

What Causes Self-Mutilation?
There is no stereotypical person who will choose to mutilate his or her own body, but experts say it's a process that stems from the inability to deal with stress or intense emotions.

"Self-mutilation is a desperate attempt to have some control over unbearable feelings of aloneness, loneliness and helplessness," says Dr. Margaret Paul, a book that examines self-mutilation. "When a teen or young adult has not learned healthy ways of managing these intense feelings, they turn to physical pain as a way to blot out the emotional pain or gain a sense of control over the pain they feel. In a strange way, they are really not trying to hurt themselves – they are trying to protect themselves from something even more painful than the physical pain."

According to SAFE-Alternatives, an organization that helps self-mutilators, those who practice it say they do it when they feel fear, anger, guilt, sadness, anxiety or other emotions that are just too much to handle. Those who self-mutilate often feel they can't express themselves verbally or otherwise. As these feelings remain inside, they build up to dangerous levels and can eventually result in self-mutilating behavior.

"Cutting is physically painful – it hurts," says Dr. Paul. "But to a mutilator it's absorbing. It's doing something. It's controlling something. It's causing something. It's making it happen and not being at the effect of outside forces over which they feel like they have no control."

When parents learn a child is hurting herself, they often feel helpless.

According to SAFE-Alternatives, most adolescents who self-mutilate tend to be perfectionists. They feel they must live up to or exceed the standards set for them by their parents and peers. When they are unable to do this, their emotions become confusing, and they tend to result to what they know – causing harm to their own bodies.

"Children are put under a huge pressure to perform," Paul says. "They have to perform in all aspects of their lives. They have to do well in school; they have to get good grades; they have to have enough friends; they have to look a certain way. There are these huge pressures on them to look and perform in certain ways, and they are often not seen for who they are."

What Can Parents Do

Parents may discard their child's altered behavior as a phase or something that will pass. And the "weirdness" of the behavior might induce a "taboo" effect – parents will often approach the issue timidly.

"Their parents don't even begin to know how to see [the kids] for who they are," says Dr. Paul. "So even if the parent tries to go and talk to [the child], they are talking different languages. The parent isn't really getting what the child is truly feeling, what the pressures are, what the fears are, what the stressors are, what the overwhelming feelings are about. These feelings can get so intense as to be unbearable that the child wants to jump out of their skin. A parent doesn't want to hear that. They want to know that their child is normal and that all is well."

Parents should not assume they are the cause of the stress in the child's life. Adolescents experience intense stress in places other than the home such as school and work. "Although the home environment needs to support what's going on with the child, it's not always that the parents are hypercontrolling or unavailable," says Dr. Paul. "It may be that [the parents] don't understand what's going on at school or what's going on with peers or how to help their child."

What to Look For
There are signs parents can watch for if they suspect their adolescent may be practicing self-mutilating behaviors. Unexplained or frequent injuries, wearing jeans, long pants or long sleeves consistently – even in warm or hot weather – exhibiting the want for isolation or "being alone" and the presence of blood stains on the inside of clothing may be clues into a child's self-mutilating behavior.

These behaviors are not attempts at suicide. They are attempts to gain control over life. "Self-mutilating behaviors, as well as eating disorders, drug or alcohol use and extreme violent behavior are all cries for help," Dr. Paul says. "These kids are saying, 'I don't know what to do, so this is what I do instead. And don't try to take it away from me because it is all I have.' There is no place where we learn how to manage our intense fear, anxiety, hurt, anger, depression or whatever the feeling is. There is no one place that teaches that. A person must find a method that works for them. Whether spiritual meditation, breathing or something else that helps an adolescent manage inner stress, having the equipment to deal or cope is the first step in gaining control."

"What does the Bible say about self-mutilation / cutting?"
In the Old Testament of the Bible, self-mutilation was a common practice among false religions. 1 Kings 18:24-29 describes a ritual in which those who worshiped the false god Baal slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom. Because of the traditions of pagans, God made a law against this sort of practice.

Leviticus 19:28 says, “You shall not make any cuts in your body for the dead nor make any tattoo marks on yourselves: I am the LORD.”

In the New Testament, cutting oneself was associated with someone who was possessed by demons (Mark 5:2-5). It was characteristic of behavior caused by evil spirits. Today, self-mutilation is rarely used for ritualistic practices or actual demon possession, but instead usually by teen-agers and young adults who have misplaced anger and pain that they are attempting to work out in self-destructive ways. Instead of dealing with emotional pain, some people would rather bring themselves physical pain, which actually serves as a relief from stress. Unfortunately, though, this sense of relief is quite short-lived, and the feeling of wanting to be more self-destructive quickly returns.

The Bible doesn't talk about self-mutilation in terms of depression or anxiety, but it is very important that whoever is making a practice of this seeks immediate psychological (and hopefully Christian) counseling. This behavior also indicates, or can lead to, drug and/or alcohol abuse, eating disorders, identity disorders, and suicidal thoughts or even attempts.

1 Corinthians 6:19 tells us how important our bodies are to the Lord. We no longer belong to ourselves, but instead we belong to Christ, who purchased us at a high price. We should not abuse one of the greatest gifts we have been given.

A person who is struggling with self-mutilation should seek immediate counsel from a pastor and/or Christian counselor. Self-mutilation is the result of an incorrect view of yourself and of your personal value to God. A personal relationship with Jesus Christ and a proper understanding of His love is the only true cure for self-mutilation

Why even Christian teens aren't immune from the epidemic of self-mutilation

—and what you can do.

A Troubling Trend

This behavior has many names: cutting, self-injury, self-mutilation, self-violence. It includes not only cutting but also scratching, picking scabs, burning, punching, bruising or breaking bones, or pulling out hair. Though death isn't the goal of this deliberate, repetitive harm to one's body, it can cause scarring, infection, and even fatality if a cut goes too deep or an infection isn't treated.

Self-injury crosses economic brackets, education, race, gender, and age. But the majority of those involved are middle- to upper-class adolescent girls. Exact statistics are hard to pinpoint because the behavior often is hidden. But one thing's clear: The growing trend of self-injury isn't confined to teens outside the church.

"I know people whose self-injury started because they were so disgusted with themselves, they felt hurting themselves was the only logical thing to do."

"I felt rejected. My mother was a counselor but didn't have time to talk to me. My father lived in a different state. Boyfriends failed me, and I didn't know Jesus for whom he was. I wanted something I could control, a sense of power—and cutting gave me that."

When parents see the wounds on their teen's arms, they often react in fear, shock, and anger. They threaten. They beg. They want it to stop. "Two common reactions are either to become furious at the teen and to punish her, or to minimize the behavior as a phase or bid for attention and to ignore it."

"Endorphins released during cutting often soothe some deeper emotional pain—rejection, depression, self-hatred, or helplessness," Vernick explains. A teen who self-injures finds instant release through the biochemical reaction and correlates cutting with comfort.

Lader describes self-injury as "self-medication." Cutters haven't learned to express their emotions, so the feelings persist. "The teen uses physical pain to communicate something she's unable or unwilling to put into words," explains Vernick. "She needs help to process whatever emotional pain she feels so she'll learn healthy ways of dealing with hurts instead."

"It's more prevalent among Christian teens than people like to think," she says. "Self-injury is just beginning to be recognized and treated in Christian circles. If you do it, you feel like a freak. You feel unlovable, as if you were beyond God's grace. But a cutter needs to realize Jesus loves her as she is—and that his atonement is sufficient for her sins."

While self-injury can be a squeamish topic, it's an important one. And no matter how this behavior appears to the outside world, God views these teens and their parents through a lens of worth.

Resources :

Meier Clinics 1-888-7clinic or www.meierclinics.com

Suzanne Eller tseller@daretobelieve.org

Wendy Lader wlader@aol.com

Leslie Vernick LeslieVern@aol.com

Lysamena lysamena@lycos.com

Lysamena Project on Self-Injury www.self-injury.org

S.A.F.E. Alternatives 1-800-DONT-CUT or www.selfinjury.com

Secret Shame www.palace.net/~llama/psych/injury.html

Brooke Shewmaker littlelamb81@aol.com

Essential Resources

Cutting: Self-Injury and Emotional Pain (e-book) by Elaina Whittenhall (InterVarsity Press)

Cutting: Understanding and Overcoming Self-Mutilation by Steven Levenkron (Norton)

A Bright Red Scream by Marilee Strong (Viking)

Bodily Harm by Karen Conterio and Wendy Lader (Hyperion)

24 Hour National Crisis Lines

Young Adult Crisis Hotline

Call Toll Free: 1-877-702-2GOD

(2463)

     800-273-TALK (8255) www.nmha.org
     800-SUICIDE (784-2433)
     800-334-HELP (4357)
     800-799-SAFE (7233) Domestic Violence Hotline
     866-4-U-Trevor - for GLBTQ youth
     877-332-7333 Teen Hotline

______

S.A.F.E. ALTERNATIVES®

Need Help? 800-DONTCUT

S.A.F.E. ALTERNATIVES® is a nationally recognized treatment
approach, professional network, and educational resource base,
which is committed to helping you and others achieve an end
to self-injurious behavior. Self-injury is known by many names,
including self-abuse, self-mutilation, deliberate self-harm.

__________

Therapist Referrals

http://www.selfinjury.com/referrals_therapistreferrals.html

Engaging our Culture? or ARE WE STUCK ON LIVING Christian PRINCIPLES?

2008-05-13T23:29:00.001-04:00

Engaging our Culture? Or ARE WE STUCK ON LIVING Christian PRINCIPLES?

In the beginning the Word already existed. He was with God, and he was God. He was in the beginning with God. He created everything there is. Nothing exists that he didn't make. Life itself was in him, and this life gives light to everyone. The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it”. So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the only Son of the Father.” (John 1:1-5; 14 NLT)

..."having a form of godliness but denying its power" (2 Tim 3:5).

ARE WE STUCK ON LIVING Christian PRINCIPLES?

God never called us to to live by Christian principles. He calls you to live in relationship with the living God, Jesus Christ. We are to literally live an incarnate life moment by moment. Asking God to help us when we fail to get up quicker than the last time we have failed. Incarnation living is to live life from not our own self or our own desires. Incarnation living is to represent in a bodily form Christ who is supplying our life from within as our source. When we embody Christ to those around us we are representing the pierced hands, feet, and speared side of Christ. We are helping people to the heart of God through in living form being who Christ is and all that he has done by Grace not representing oneself, we represent a Kingdom here on earth because Christ who is our King reigning and ruling from our hearts as a channel of His kingship to those of another kingdom. We make the subjective,objective and through having God's interests, thoughts and feelings live them through our Human spirit that has been regenerated inwardly to outward representation of the Throne of God that is with in us now. When we are sensitive to the Holy Spirit, who is our Source that has internally transfigured us from within. We are by every moment the reality of Christ to the world by manifesting the Glory from within our very lives demonstrate plainly, relevantly, and practically the bodily form of God upon this earth from our new hearts and new nature. Our new nature with in us was birthed from above and from within ourselves so it does not depend upon our own effort to have God be channeled or flows out from us. God the Holy Spirit is the Living Water that will flow through us to make obvious and apparent who God is and what He has already performed and accomplished. The unfinished work of God is to emerge the Finished work of God to the Lost and depraved world around us through our lives as we are the manifestation of the invisible God. We are the visible and external embodied truth of God for God's Truth lives within us we can be the personification of Christ who has preeminence of our lives. This means that we live the personal qualities of God's nature that lives within our new hearts and by our new Christly minds.

Incarnational Living

Incarnational living finds its source in the love and concern of God for His creation. God proved, in a real way, His care for humankind by becoming human being. It must be this love of God that embraces us and motivates us, in turn, to care for others.

Without giving up His divine character, Jesus became fully immersed within the culture of the people to whom He brought the excellent News. He was part of the culture, yet transcended it. He lived contentedly surrounded by the culture, yet was a representative of transformation. The incarnation is a difficult to comprehend and exist within the world of the un-churched culture. We must make the Great News culturally relevant to them, and take it into their world.

Outreach to the un-churched must consider the issues of incarnation by going where people go, and living in their world. The methods we use to reach them must be based upon developing authentic relationships that are living. We must model a lifestyle of Christ-likeness in the context of friendship and serving people as Christ has served us. The church must meet the needs of the un-churched within the world in which they live, instead of confrontational evangelism, practicing servant evangelism and living an incarnate life as living epistles that can be easily read, overflowing with the life of Christ from within as a follower of Christ.

Because Jesus is love incarnate, He chose to leave the glory of heaven and dwell among men. Think about this… God the eternal Son became man to dwell side by side with each of us that he created! Now we must prove through our lives that man can still dwell eternally side by side with God.

Incarnational living is not just about remembering an event in the past but the events of the future as well. We must come to realize that the best days are ahead of us, not behind. The Kingdom of God is just around the corner. We must stop yearning for the good old days and begin to look forward with joyous anticipation and excitement that the best is yet to come. God is yearning to be incarnate in your life...today and in all your tomorrows. The Kingdom of God is just ahead of us. It is time for us to look farther down the road. The fullness of His Glory is still yet to be revealed !!

Jesus, the God who became man, is our example. Without giving up His divine qualities, He nevertheless became fully immersed within the culture of the people to whom He brought the Great News. He was part of the culture, yet transcended it. He lived happily within the culture, yet was an agent of transformation. Are willing to be also agents of transformation today with our lives and engage culture.

Incarnate Defined:

Incarnate can be defined as: To represent in or as if in bodily form; to embody: To represent in bodily or material form to include; to integrate: represent; materialize; externalize: make external or objective, to turn outward; To direct interest, thoughts, or feelings into a channel leading outside himself or herself. make external or objective, or give reality to, make manifest: To show or demonstrate plainly; reveal, exhibit, make plain, clear, obvious To make manifest or apparent to represent in or as if in bodily form: body forth Readily seen, perceived, or understood materialize : emerge To take physical form or shape. To cause to become real or actual , objectify: To make objective, external, or concrete, make external or objective, or give reality to, personalize: To take (a general remark or characterization) in a personal manner. To attribute human or personal qualities is to personify Make personal or more personal, personify: To think of or represent as having personality or the qualities, thoughts, or movements of a living being from within

One of the weaknesses of the Church today is that we preach and teach people principles without the relationship. We teach so much head knowledge and bible doctrine on one extreme or on another extreme share stories that contain little or no biblical truth nor how to apply it relevantly in practical Christian living through the Word of God. These extremes are so prevalent in the American or Western church that we have disengaged from the culture and put bars on our churches to keep the sick or those that don’t dress like us, act like us, talk like us, behave like us, or who really doubt and are just as skeptical as Apostle Thomas, which Christ came to seek and save out of the religion to bring them into a relationship. The church mostly has become institutionalized or become so established in organization it has lost its organic nature. The church is Christ's Bride and is living we can try through religion to over program, make it consumer friendly, or become a movement of together through the organism of the Body of Christ here on earth. Instead it has become a refuge from the World, as an alternative to Changing the world by turning the World upside down by operating within the world but not of the world through living Christ incarnate to the lost and dying world.

The western church is big on ten step programs, "how-to" methods and acrostics to illustrate memorable ideas. There is a place for establishing principles to change negative behavior. However, we are not called to have a relationship with principles, but a living God. Living by principles is the equivalent to living by the law in the Old Testament. It is rooted in the Greek system of learning and is dependent upon our strength instead of being led and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Principle-based living is powerless living. This makes our Christian experience a religion instead of a relationship. "But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law" (Gal 5:18).

We read about principle-based followers in the book of Acts, "The apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people. And all the believers used to meet together in Solomon's Colonnade. No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people" (Acts 5:12-14). There was a group of followers who liked being taught but never entered the game. The prophet Jeremiah tells us about the nature of God and His desire for every believer.

This is what the LORD says: "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 9:23-24).

Engaging our Culture?

When the church embraces this mandate, how does it engage the culture around it? On the one hand, everyone within the church interacts daily with the culture in which they live. On the other hand, the church exists as a subculture that is out of step with larger Western society. We as the Church have tended to be reactionary rather than missional. We are known for building high walls around our churches and doing in-reach really well with programing our people like prisoners are programmed in institutions. We have our unspoken rules in the church, that sound like prison programing instead of freedom and Grace. This lack of missionary spirit has contributed to the churches mass marketing approach and consumerist culture. Every culture that has no missionary presence will eventually become a secular society. We are loosing ground every day with thousands of churches closing or declining in attendance rapidly. If we do not wake up and sound the alarm we will look around ten years from now and wonder what has happened to the CHURCH.

Instead of engaging the culture in which we exist, we have been prone to long for the return of 1954. Rather than incarnate the body of Christ within our present culture, we tend to stand against the culture and chastise the deterioration of society.

Should the church seek to be relevant to the culture in which it exists? On the one hand, the Church must always be distinct from the world in which it exists. We must, for instance, be distinct in the way that we treat one another, as our love for one another is a witness to the power of Christ within our community. On the other hand, we can not be the body of Christ incarnate to this culture if we do not become part of this culture. Christ came into our world and entered a particular time and place. So we as the church becomes Incarnational, the body of Christ manifested within the culture of our missionfield which is everywhere we are in the culture.

One might argue that the church should be wholly distinct from culture, that the culture within the church should be formed only by scripture. This argument would be stronger if it were possible for any church to remain distinct from its culture.

Friend, have you been guilty of living a life based on principles instead of knowing the One who authored the principles? Invite Jesus to be Lord over your life and begin to spend time with Him every day. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you through every moment of your day.

Influence of our Tongue

2008-05-10T10:53:00.001-04:00

The tongue is influential weapon and its ammunition is the words we articulate. Our words are so authoritative that they can consecrate or curse, give confidence or dishearten, injure or mend, shred apart or construct. Our words can even persuade the way we act and feel as well as determination our mind-set and attitude on life in impacting our viewpoint. Our viewpoint then will effect out action and lifestyle. Our thoughts control our will which relates to daily life from the inside out.

The power of influence can change individuals. There is a big effect of our words on the people around us and also will cause action individually. Therefore we should be very careful with the influence of our words, calculate your thoughts and carefully listen to every syllable to what we are saying. Why? When we shâma` we are listening and in word pictures it is directly connected to obedience. In the west we hear something process the thought and it does not directly correlate with action.

In Hebrew language In ancient Hebrew, like in Chinese and ancient Egyptian, every word is formed by adding pictures together to "paint" or illustrate the meaning of the word. A word picture is a word that is described by pictures.

You don't have to be able to read Hebrew in order to understand and to use this effectively when you read the Bible. When Hebrew was first written, each letter represented both a sound and a picture. Even if you or the people you teach are not familiar with the Hebrew sounds and have no experience with this language, the pictures you see inside the words will speak for themselves.

Why is Hebrew Word Pictures are important to believers?

"Every so often, something comes along that can help move your spiritual life into high gear. I'm convinced that "Hebrew Word Pictures" is such a concept. With so many books and conference about biblical principles, this one can help you better understand and love God's Word itself.

As someone who's studied "word pictures" for years, seeing them come alive in the very letters of Scripture is like adding color to a classic movie. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in gaining a deeper love and understanding of the Scriptures.

shâma` - 'hear, heed, understand & obey'

If you constantly complain, you release poison into your life. Complaining is not based on your circumstances; it's based on the attitude of your heart. If you will keep the right attitude during your time of adversity, God will honor you. When you truly trust God there are times you will have unanswered questions – don't let that keep you from fulfilling your destiny. When you have a heart full of gratitude, it leaves no room for complaining. You can always find something to thank God for, no matter what kind of adversity you may face in life. So decide today to live a life of thanksgiving!

"Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and put devious lips far from you." (Proverbs 4:23-24)

Let us encourage you today to watch what you are saying. Your words have creative power and you can use them as a destructive force or as an instrument of blessing. If you continually speak negative words over your life, then eventual defeat will be the result. In the same way, if you speak words of faith and victory, you will see a harvest of blessing not only in your own life, but also in the lives of those around you.

Your words have the power to pollute or purify.

Proverbs 18:21 – Power of the tongue.

A. The tongue has the power to kill or the power to give life

B. “…they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” – They that love using the tongue shall eat the fruit thereof. In other words, they shall reap the rewards of the use of it, whether good or bad.

James 3:2 – 8 – Control of the tongue.

A. Verse 2 informs us that if we are able to control our tongue, we have reached some level of spiritual maturity.

B. It says we have achieved a level of spiritual maturity where we can control the rest of our body if we can control our tongue.

C. In Verses 3 & 4 we are given 2 examples of large things that are controlled by small things.

D. Verse 5 compares the tongue to the horse’s bridle and the ship’s helm (the ship’s steering mechanism).

E. Verse 6 explains the danger of a loose tongue. Expound…

F. Verse 7 explains that the tongue is harder to tame than wild beasts.

G. Verse 8 explains the evil nature of the tongue, the dangerous poison it spews out, and the inability of anyone to tame it. Only the one using it can control it.

James 3:9 – 12 – Inconsistencies of the tongue.

A. Here we see the often inconsistencies of the use of the tongue.

B. We’re reminded of the absurdity of such inconsistencies.

Matthew 12:34 – 37 – Connection between the tongue and the heart.

A. Here we are shown the connection between the heart and the tongue.

B. Basically, the tongue is connected to the heart, in a manner of speaking.

C. The words of the tongue are and extension of what resides in the heart.

D. Verse 34b makes it clear that the tongue expresses the heart’s content.

E. Verse 35 explains that the spiritual condition of the heart is evidenced by the words of the tongue.

F. Verse 36 informs us just how responsible we are for the words we wield.

G. Verse 37 makes it clear that justification or condemnation rest in the words we speak.

· If then, we our words wield these kinds of power toward others and in the judgment we are judged with, it stands to reason we need to understand how to use our tongues in a way that is acceptable to God.

Ephesians 4:24 & 25 – Speak the truth.

A. We must speak the truth.

B. We can lie so much we begin to convince ourselves our lies are true.

C. But, God is not deceived. He knows what is true, whether we will acknowledge it or not; and He will judge us according to truth, not according to what we present as truth.

Ephesians 4:29 – Corrupt use of the tongue.

A. Here, we are instructed to guard ourselves to keep corrupt words from coming out our mouths.

B. Corrupt words can be words that are vulgar, cursing, or damaging.

C. Notice, we are only to speak those things that minister grace to those who will be hearing our words.

D. Do you speak words that minister grace to those you speak to or about? Or, do you just ‘say what’s on your mind’ and consider what you have said later?

Proverbs 31:26 – Use kindness with the tongue.

A. Here, in the Biblical picture of what we call the perfect woman, I believe we see a type of the church in the state God intends it to be.

B. First, our mouths should express wisdom.

C. In James 3:14 – 16 we see described, a picture of earthly, sensual, devilish wisdom.

D. But, in James 3:17 we see a description of wisdom that is spiritual, from above.

E. Where the tongue is expressing the characteristics in Verses 14 – 16 we know the heart is filled with devilish content.

F. If the tongue is expressing the characteristics listed in Verse 17, we know the heart is spiritual.

G. Back in Proverbs 31:26, it also says “…in her tongue is the law of kindness.”

H. The law of kindness means that the mode of operation of her speech is consistently kind.

I. Ephesians 4:32a says to “…be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another…”

J. Words of kindness are not optional to the Christian; neither are they contingent upon deservedness.

K. Matthew 5:44 & 45 explain we are to “…bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;”

L. Our words are to be kind, blessing words; words of prayer, even when we are being rewarded with treachery and mischief.

Psalm 12:2 – 3 – Manipulation using the tongue.

A. Flattery and double-hearted deception will be met with the harsh judgment of God. They will be cut off, destroyed.

B. Verse 3b – 4 explains that those who think they shall prevail by manipulating the people in their lives with their skillful, but deceptive use of words.

C. These are proud, thinking themselves more intelligent than those they are attempting to manipulate.

D. Here, though, God makes it clear He will destroy them.

E. In their pride, they have not taken God into consideration.

James 2:12 & 13 – Use mercy when speaking.

A. We are to speak mercifully.

B. We will be judged according to the same degree we speak and show mercy.

James 2:14 – 18 – Vain use of the tongue.

A. Here we are warned of the futility of empty words.

B. Words without corresponding action to confirm their validity are empty and profitless.

Ephesians 5:1 – 2a & 3 – 4 – Using the tongue for foolishness.

A. We are to refrain from foolish or jesting words.

B. Foolish talking and jesting would include speaking vainly of things pertaining to God and His Word.

C. They would also include things that are indecent (filthiness).

D. They would also include jokes or jests that make fun of or demean others – such as ethnic, or racial jokes, or jokes about someone else’s appearance or intelligence.

E. These would also include words that would incite the flesh to sin.

Ephesians 5:4b & 19 – 20 – Spiritual content of the tongue.

A. We should speak words thanking the Lord.

B. We should speak words that invoke spiritual thoughts and heart yearnings.

Titus 2:7 & 8 – Careful words that need not be retracted or apologized for later.

A. We ought always to be careful to speak words that cannot be condemned; words we will not have to be sorry for saying or have to justify later.

Colossians 4:6 – Use consistent grace in speaking.

A. With grace – always speaking things that reflect the grace God has extended to you.

B. Seasoned with salt – words that, like salt, tend to preserve the one it is applied to; and words that provide a good flavor to the person or subject being addressed.

C. Our speech must “…always…” be like this. It should never be inconsistent.

D. We must remember that good, honest, pure words can quickly be nullified by destructive words.

E. Ephesians 4:29 – Therefore, our words should consistently be those that minister grace to the hearer.

Galatians 5:13 – 16 – Walking in the Spirit allows control of the tongue.

A. Verse 15 – If we bite and devour one another with the use of our tongues, we must understand that the result will be that we destroy each other.

B. This ‘biting’ and ‘devouring’ warned against is that of biting or devouring one another.

C. It is not strange, but rather to be expected that attacks will come from without, from wolves; but it is unnatural for sheep to attack each other.

D. It has been said that Christians are the only ones who shoot their wounded.

E. Ephesians 4:1 – 6 – The unity of the church is quickly destroyed by contentious or malicious words.

F. Mark 3:25 – Divisive destructive words will destroy the effectiveness of a church and sometimes even the very church itself.

G. Verse 16 – The key to controlling the tongue and using it for the right purposes is to walk in the Spirit.

H. Proverbs 13:10 – A fleshly or carnally minded person will speak in pride, demanding his way, and this will always generate contention.

I. One who walks in the Spirit, on the other hand, will always seek the good of his brother instead of his own will; and will therefore speak only those things that edify his brother.

J. Verse 25 – Here we find that we can live in the Spirit and yet not walk in the Spirit. So, our salvation should be validated by our corresponding manner of life, particularly the way we use our tongues.

Ephesians 5:11 & 12 – Use the tongue to reprove wickedness.

A. We are not to participate in the unfruitful works of darkness, either by our involvement in them, or by our discussion of them.

B. Instead, we are to use our tongues to reprove, or confront them concerning their wickedness.

C. We should not let our silence give the appearance that we approve of evil.

D. The only way to keep this from happening is to speak against it.

E. This will not make us popular, for those who commit wickedness do not like to be challenged in it.

Romans 10:13, 14, & 16 – We must speak the gospel in order for people to be saved.

A. Verse 13 makes it clear that calling on the name of the Lord is how we are saved.

B. Verse 14 explains by the questions it asks that we cannot call on Someone we have never heard of.

C. Verse 16 plainly tells us that faith comes by hearing the Word of God.

D. Lifestyle evangelism is great but the message of the gospel must be heard in order for someone to believe and receive it.

How Do You Develop Spirit-Control?

2008-05-08T16:28:00.001-04:00

God did not give us a spirit that makes us afraid but a spirit of power and love and Self-control. 2 Timothy 1:7 (NCV)

Victorious people have one obvious trait in common: personal discipline. They are willing to do things that average people are unwilling to do.

Victorious individuals express their Spirit-discipline in these six ways of well established principles of living:

1. Victorious individuals master and their moods – They live by their commitments, not their emotions. They do the right thing, even when they don’t feel like it. “A person without self-control is as defenseless as a city with broken-down walls” (Proverbs 25:28 NLT).

2. Victorious individuals study their words – They use their minds to think carefully before opening their mouths. : “Those who control their tongue will have a long life ….” (Proverbs 13:3 NLT).

3. Victorious individuals surrender their reactions by living a yielded life – How much can you take before you react in your emotions? “People with good sense restrain their anger; they earn esteem by overlooking wrongs” (Proverbs 19:11 NLT).

4. Victorious individuals develop an established schedule – If you don’t establish your time, how you will spend your time, you can be sure that others will decide for you! Time is mans greatest gift and commodity. We can never make up for wasted nor for idle time. God wants us to redeem the time because the days are evil.

Let us detach ourselves from things trifling and insignificant, and give ourselves up to the study of things worthy our nature and capacity. We all value our possessions, and much more ought we to estimate our time.

“So be careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days” (Ephesians 5:15-16, NLT).

5. Victorious individuals are stewards of God's money – We discover how to exist on less than what they make, and we invest the difference. The value an individual places on a concise budget will reveal management or stewardship of God's money that we are privileged to manage rather than wondering where it went having it control you. You can tell: "Show me someone's check book, and I’ll tell you where their heart is." “The wise have wealth and luxury, but fools spend whatever they get” (Proverbs 21:20 NLT).

6. Victorious individuals preserve their health – That way they can complete more and enjoy their achievements: “… control your body and live in holiness and honor” (1 Thessalonians 4:4 NLT).

The spiritual disciplines you establish today will determine your victories tomorrow. It takes more than just willpower for lasting self-control. It takes a power greater than yourself, it comes from an internal victory that has been birthed inside of you before the foundation of the world by Christ. Think about this promise from the Bible: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7 NLT).

Will....is what is within a person that drives them to do what they do in life. It is the drive that influences major or even minor choices.The will can also be define similarly to the "any internally motivated action" usage, but more narrowly. In this sense, will is more a "creative spark," which has a certain independence and stubbornness.

Willpower, is having the power to take control of it in a healthy level and able to manipulate those choices in order to achieve an important goal. The American Heritage Dictionary defines it as “The strength of will to carry out one’s decisions, wishes, or plans.”

My experience has been that willpower has absolutely nothing to do with long term success. You can will power yourself to do something for a day or two, or a week or maybe a few weeks or even a few months, but eventually if your POWER TO CHANGE comes from will power, then you will fail. Why? Because will power was not designed to be a long term source of power in our lives. It is a short term power source that we get used to tapping into for short term activities, and then try to use for long term activities out of habit.

So if will power doesn’t work, what does? How do we make long lasting changes? The answer is not a simple one that I can answer in a single paragraph. Will-power,can only be part of the solution because it is so easy to “run out of gas.”

You can exercise your will-power without adopting a habit. Of course, if you direct your will-power at repeating the same activity day after day, week after week, you can form a habit. And, yes, if you do form a habit, very little will-power would be required after its formation.

Spirit-control is having the proper amount of Spirit discipline from the source of Living Waters which provides persevering strength and power. The Source of Life, through the internal river that flows through us develops Godly Spirit Control which translates into Discipline over time by Grace through systematic Faith (confidence). We can then choose what to do with God's will, and therefore choose God's desires and will continuously during every moment if we are plugged into the right source. When I am operating with an integrated Christly mind and I process my will through the right source the Holy Spirit, I am submitting my will to the will of the father in my daily life which gives me His control and thoughts about any given choice. I therefore can only think with the Mind of Christ which is through His Word which is God's rational expression of thought.

Our Will power is related to Spirit-control, except that it can happen for people do not operate through Christ. The exertion of one's own will on one's personal self - their behaviors, actions, thought processes can be modified through a source that is not alive and living. Godly Spirit-control comes from the perception of self hidden in God as our source and the ability to set up God's given boundaries for that new self that is now integrated in to our new nature given as a gift from Christ by God's Grace. Spirit-control can be expanded into several different areas gradually. Godly Spirit-control is therefore is received from the living source of Christ through the Holy Spirit who has the the divine ability from within us to exert God's strength and will over the inhibitions of the mind, soul and body. This new source causes internal life change through the Living Water of the Holy Spirit which now flows through us as new creatures and our new hearts.

The source of Spirit-Control must be Christ or it becomes behavior modification, self source willpower or legalism rooted in our own strength not God's Grace. God's Mind integrates with our Mind to develop the Christly Mind. Christ's Mind in our Mind is the source of the power of your unconscious mind which is fighting against your conscious intentions and resolutions. When we live the daily abundant life from within, from the source Christ, the things you want to do to overcome bad habits have no internal control because Christ has set us internally free from within, we need to harness the power of Christ integrated in the mind of Christ in our unconscious mind in a new abundant way so that your Spirit-control will be effortless through Christ alone. "Spirit-control and Spirit-discipline are the most important things we need to live an effective life through Christ."

The more I accept God’s control over my life in total surrender of my own will and desires, the more I am living a spirit-controlled life which may look to be self-control but the source God gives me to fulfill His unique will and His particular desires for my life individually! This is a heavenly economy of God, always rewards those who have eternal victory from seeking first the Kingdom of God. God’s always gives His Eternal favor of internal victory for every believer who has Christ upon the Throne of His heart first.

Where do you need to develop Spirit-control? Is Christ upon the throne of your heart? Pray this prayer and call me at 1-877-702-2GOD please.

Father, I know that I have sinned and have been separated me from you. Forgive me, and now I want to turn my heart over toward you and Give you the throne of my Heart. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.”

In His Grace Forever,

Teddy Awad, CMHP

Young Adult Crisis Hotline and

Biblical Counseling Center

Call Toll Free: 1-877-702-2GOD

(2463)

theodoreawadjr@comcast.net

http://yacrisishotline.tripod.com/

http://youngadultcrisishotline.blogspot.com/

youngadultcrisishotline@comcast.net

Interesting Article : http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0846/is_7_24/ai_n13606433

WHY YOUNG ADULTS HATE CHURCH?

2008-05-06T11:40:00.001-04:00

Statistics that I recently read shed new light on my thoughts about church and what there is to like about it…

Did you know that…????????????????????

· Church members divorce their spouses as often as their secular neighbors.

· Church members beat their wives as often as their neighbors.

· Church members’ giving patterns indicate they are almost as materialistic as non-Christians.

· White evangelicals are the most likely people to object to neighbors of another race.

· Of the “higher-commitment” evangelicals, 26 percent think premarital sex is acceptable, while

· 46 percent of “lower-commitment” evangelicals believe it to be okay also. ^[1]

There are far too many young adults– both the ones that were never raised in church and young adults that were raised as active members of a church – that simply hate church.

Not so long ago, young adults began voting about their opinions of church with their feet. Today, many will vocally express the reasons why they hate church. Below are a few of the reasons that I have heard over and over from young adults. This is not a scientific study. These reasons are subjective, but they bear witness to some startling attitudes about church.

1) Young adults hate church because they feel like it has nothing for them. They have trouble finding their place. How many times have you heard a young adult say, “I would go to Church, but they don’t have anything for me.” Or “I don’t go to church on Sunday nights, because they don’t have anything for me.”

Young adults do not see themselves as adults and therefore don’t feel like they fit into any of the adult activities. They also don’t see themselves as youth. What’s ironic, is that they are correct. Recent research has proven that adolescence in America goes on for much longer than it used to.^[2] Popular songs such as Britney Spears’ “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman” is an anthem for this generation’s feelings on the subject.

2) Young adults hate church because they are idealists. Many young adults' spiritual depth, capacity for faith, and risk for God far outshine church members. (Of course, this is not true in every case.) This generation of young adults has a strong desire to live out their lives in a way that is wholly pleasing to God. They have not yet been jaded by many of life’s disappointments. They still believe in fighting for what is right. Too often, we, as adults, have learned to compromise in order to live a more comfortable life.

3) Young adults hate church because they are self-focused. The act of being a vital member of a church requires a level of self-sacrifice that many young adults find too uncomfortable. Sin nature, our culture, their developmental place in life, and the generationally segmented church culture all have significant roles in this attitude of self-focus.

4) Young adults hate church because young adults are immature. Young adults are often both immature and arrogant. Many of our churches value maturity and humility and subtly denigrate young adults for lacking those qualities.

5) Young adults hate church because young adults hate anything that seems fake. Many churches subtly ask people to “fake it till they make it.” Young adults will not tolerate fakeness. They want authenticity and transparency and they can smell a fake a mile away.

6) Young adults hate church because they think it is boring. Let’s be honest…. oftentimes church is not much fun. The elements of church that adults find satisfying and fun are very different from those of young adults. Young adults are looking for adventure and novelty and reality shows us that we are in a battle. Other than being scared occasionally, they concentrate on what makes them happy while adults run around trying to save lives and care for the wounded.

7) Young adults hate church because they hate bureaucracy and churches are associated with bureaucracy. Finding a young adult with a positive stance when the word “denomination” is mentioned is like trying to find … well you get the point. The word denomination is associated (rightly or wrongly) with bureaucracy, fighting, and the politicization of Jesus.

8) Young adult hate churches because churches are “lonely places.” I have heard this phrase over and over again. I suspect that it is a statement that the church has no real community for young adults. It could be a statement that churches are unfriendly places, but I suspect that it has more to do with a lack or real community.

Admitting that young adults and young adults have a problem with church is not easy for me. I think that it should not be easy for any of us. After all, we love Jesus, His church, and His young adults. We know that Christ started the church and that He loves His church. We know that young adults need to be actively involved in a church body – to be obedient and to become all that Christ wants them to become.

So, what can we do to help young adults overcome negative feelings about church?

1) We must recognize where their negative feelings are coming from….

a. Friends – although young adults are young adults, because of delayed adulthood, many still behave and rely on friends in a profound way. In a recent book entitled The Nurture Assumption, author Judith Harris hypothesizes that parents actually have less impact on an adolescent than the friends that he or she chooses.^[3] As ministry leaders, we must recognize that friends’ opinions about God and church are of primary importance to an adolescent.

b. Culture via Television and Media – it’s easy for us to ignore this influence because of over-talking, but what’s influencing our adolescents’ culture is a multi-billion dollar business. Companies like MTV make their money by creating a culture that kids will buy. This is a generation of media gluttons and as we know from scripture we become what we take in.

c. Past personal experience – young adults may be young but they remember negative past experiences and unfortunately many young adults have had negative church experiences. (such as church splits, worship wars, and clergy immorality).

d. Family attitudes – although friends are of primary importance, family experience is a close second and young adults “catch” attitudes about church from their families. Unfortunately, the percentage of adult Americans involved in church is dropping dramatically^[4] leaving fewer adults with pro-church opinions.

2) We must work to address their specific reasons for hating church.

a. Idealism – Young adults are idealistic. They take Jesus seriously. They will give their whole heart to a cause in which they believe. We need to expose young adults to the outlandish challenges of Jesus and help them strive to live up to His expectations. We need to teach them to ignore the criticism that comes from adults that are no longer idealistic. We should encourage their idealism and seek to protect it for as long as possible. If young adults find a church that is radical about Jesus and His claims, they will respond.

b. Maturity – Young adults are not adults. Because of delayed adulthood, they are really not young adults until very near the end of the college undergraduate degree. Therefore, we should not treat them like adults. We should strive to move them adulthood and maturity in Christ, while still recognizing the real maturity challenges that they face. As churches and ministries we should still seek to provide specialized ministry to young adults like we do children and youth. They are a special class of people and as a whole they do not possess the maturity to get over the “I’m not going because they don’t have anything for me” attitude.

c. Community – Young adults travel in packs like wolves. If we seek to create a ministry that will truly reach lost young adults and disciple young adult believers then we must create a community for them. For too long we have viewed community-building activities such as retreats and fun events as a waste of time and a distraction. Many have felt that these “fun” activities distract us from evangelism and discipleship. However, this generation must have community as a foundation before anything else can be done.

3) We must pray that God will speak to this generation about His church – that He will change their attitude and our attitude. Let’s face it, apart from a unique move of God, this generation will continue to struggle through life without the benefits of a church community.

[1] The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience by Ronald J. Sider

[2] Youth Ministry in an Age of Adulthood by Chap Clark, accessed at http://www.youthspecialties.com/articles/topics/ adolescent_development/delayed_adulthood.php

[3] The Nurture Assumption by Judith Harris (The Free Press, New York 1998)

[4] The End of American “Religion as We Know It”? by Charles Harper, accessed at http://moses.creighton.edu/kripke/news/S97-3.html

CAN WE REALLY SAVE OURSELVES?

2008-05-03T12:52:00.001-04:00

DOES BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION WORK?

IS MY WILLPOWER ENOUGH?

If you received a deadly snake bite, what would you do, submit to the prescribed treatment or question and doubt it? Would you first have to have all of your medical questions answered about the treatment? Would you rely on your own ability to provide the needed cure? Or would you do what common sense tells you to do, realize that you are in a serious condition and about to die, and without further delay accept the offered cure for what it is, the only remedy, your only hope.

In the Old Testament portion of the Bible we read where the people of Israel faced just a situation. In Numbers, chapter 21, the people of Israel rebelled against God and Moses, and as retribution God sent poisonous serpents among the people, and as they were bitten they died. In God’s mercy He provided a cure for the snake bite by instructing Moses to make a brass serpent like the ones biting the people. After the brass serpent was made, Moses put it on a pole and lifted it up, and those who were bitten by a snake, if they would look to the uplifted brass serpent they would live. This was an act of obedience and faith by the one bitten.

The New Testament tells of One Who was lifted up for all to behold and to be healed. This healing, however, is not from a snake bite, but rather from the ravages of sin. You see, we all inherited Adam’s sin nature (Rom. 5:12), and out of (or because of) that sin nature we commit the acts of sin. None of us are exempt - we are all sinners doing the acts of sin (Rom. 3:10-18), the wages of which are physical and spiritual death (Rom. 6:23), judgment (He. 10:27), and eternal damnation in hell for those who die without receiving Jesus Christ as personal Savior.

Our problem is similar to the one that the people in Numbers 21 had - we can’t do anything to save ourselves. We are like two men in quicksand - neither can save the other, and the more self-effort struggle is applied, the deeper we sink. So what are we to do then? Hear the Word of God in John 3:14-16, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Repentance:

Repentance is the translation of the Greek word “metanoia”. The literal meaning of “metanoia” is “a change of mind”. “Meta” means, “change”. “Noia” means “mind”. So, therefore, “meta-noia” means a “change of mind”. Before learning about metanoia, I am sure that you are already familiar with a Greek word with the prefix “meta”. That word is “metamorphosis”. “Meta” means “change”, and “morphosis” means “form or structure”. This word metamorphosis is used to describe the change a caterpillar goes through to become a beautiful butterfly. I am sure that you have studied about this change of form. Repentance, therefore, (metanoia) is a change of mind.

This simply means that any person who will Change their mind of their sins and believe that Jesus Christ shed His blood and died on the Cross of Calvary as the full and final payment for the sin debt that we owe which is the judgement of death, and receive Him as personal Savior, that person will be saved for all eternity.

We Just look at Jesus. Do we Cure ourselves of our own sin by behavior modification or try to fix ourselves? We may and will or can to try,obviously resulting in the effect of utterly failing all the more. The powdering or perfuming of the flesh (the old sin nature, we all inherited Adam’s sin nature (Rom 5:12 ) will still remain dirty and smelly because of the root cause that need to be dealt with which is our sin nature. The root cause of our old sin nature that needs to die daily by us looking to Christ daily and the work that Christ has already accomplished on the cross for all of us. We look at the person of Christ and He does the healing, Christ causes the internal changes of our lives from the work Christ finished on the cross of Calvary we daily are receivers of the past action that has continual effects. We do not perform the action of saving ourselves or cause ourselves to change. Christ has already, He became our sin and we become His Righteousness right in Him) (2 Cor 5:21).

This is a matter of looking and believing, Not looking and doing ourselves over to be like Christ. It is a daily process of becoming like Christ daily through the person and Work of the Cross, this is the Gospel of Grace which is the Good News. It would be really Bad news if we had to or must pay for our own sins in self-salvation to save ourselves. This type of Goodness is just as evil and wicked as an act of adultery. It is Spiritual adultery to even think that we can or could save ourselves or cure ourselves from the serpent's bite. The bite to be cured has only one remedy it does not need us at all, it only needed the person of Christ to be nailed to a cross to die a death so that we may live in Christ's Finished Work.

The believing in John 3:16 is connected to looking in John 3:14-15 and Numbers 21-6-9. Did the ones who were bitten cure themselves of the serpent bite. They just turned from one direction they were going to another and just gazed at the Brass serpent on the poll which is a type of the Crucified Christ on a pole or Cross to satisfy the judgement of God toward us once and for all. The very moment they looked they lived. They received deliverance and healing from looking. We continuously receive Eternal life day by day. It is all in the look at the Cross and then our then faith then comes. Our faith is birthed from turning in our mind to the Work that was already accomplished for us through the person of Christ. We just have to receive life from looking to Jesus daily for he paid it all already.

Spiritual healing and deliverance from the grasp of sin is possible, today, right now - but only through salvation in Jesus Christ. The “old” way of life and habits are to be let go, because we have become a new creation in Christ. Hear again God’s Word, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away: behold, all things are become new.” (2 Co. 5:17) Once a person receives Jesus Christ as personal Savior, he is not perfect, just forgiven, having the personal responsibility to just look to therefore live for Christ (2 Co. 5:15; 1 Co. 6:19-20).

The people in Numbers 21 were to look upon the brass serpent that Moses had made on God’s directions for their deliverance. No other substitute would do, no rocks, trees, birds - only that which God provided was acceptable. The same is true today my friend. For our salvation we are “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith: ...” (He. 12:2).

In His Grace Forever,

Pastor Teddy Awad, CMHP

Young Adult Crisis Hotline

Call Toll Free: 1-877-702-2GOD

(2463)

theodoreawadjr@comcast.net

http://yacrisishotline.tripod.com/

http://youngadultcrisishotline.blogspot.com/

youngadultcrisishotline@comcast.net

Understanding Craving

2008-04-29T23:57:00.001-04:00

Understanding craving

Describing craving
Identifying triggers
Avoiding cues
Coping with craving

Because craving is such a difficult problem for so many abusers, this topic is introduced very early in treatment. Episodes of intense subjective craving for cocaine are often reported weeks and even months after the inception of abstinence. This experience can be both mystifying and disturbing to the abuser and can result in cocaine abuse if it is not understood and managed effectively.
The goals of the session are to:
- Understand the patient's experience of craving.
- Convey the nature of craving as a normal, time-limited experience.
- Identify craving cues and triggers.
- Impart and practice craving- and urge-control techniques.

It is important for patients to recognize that experiencing some craving is normal and quite common. Craving does not mean something is wrong or that the individual really wants to resume a life controlling problem.

Because of the frequency and the variety of circumstances in which a chemical substance or self-defeating behavior is self-administered, a multitude of stimuli have been paired with habitual abuse. These may act as conditioned cues or triggers for craving. Common triggers include being around people with whom one used chemical substances, having money or getting paid, drinking alcohol, social situations, and certain affective states, such as anxiety, depression, or joy. Triggers for craving also are highly individual, thus identification of cues should take place in an ongoing way throughout treatment.

To explain the ideas of conditioned cues is often enough to demystify the experience of craving and help individuals identify and tolerate conditioned craving when it occurs. It is also important to convey the time-limited nature of craving, that is, conditioned craving usually peaks and dissipates in less than an hour, if not followed by chemical substance use. Counselors should also explain the process of extinction of conditioned responses.

Describing Craving
Next, it is essential to get a sense of the patients' experience of craving. This includes eliciting the following information.

What is craving like for you?
Cravings or urges are experienced in a variety of ways by different patients. For some, the experience is primarily somatic; for example, "I just get a feeling in my stomach" or "My heart races" or "I start smelling it." For others, craving is experienced more cognitively; for example, "I need it now" or "I can't get it out of my head" or "It calls me." Or it may be experienced effectively; for example, "I get nervous" or "I'm bored." It is important for the therapist to get a clear idea of how craving is experienced by the individual.
How bothered are you by craving?
There is tremendous variability in the level and intensity of craving reported by individuals. For some, achieving and maintaining control over craving will be a principal treatment goal and take several weeks to achieve. Other individuals deny they experience any craving. Gentle exploration with individuals who deny any craving (especially those who continue to use cocaine) often reveals that they misinterpret a variety of experiences or simply ignore craving when it occurs until they suddenly find themselves using. Other, abstinent patients, who deny they experience any craving often, when asked, admit to intense fears about relapsing.
How long does craving last for you?
To make the point about the time-limited nature of craving, it is often important to point out to individuals that they have rarely let themselves experience an episode of craving without giving in to it.
How do you try to cope with it?
Getting a sense of the coping strategies used by individuals will help the therapist identify their characteristic coping styles and select appropriate coping strategies.

It is important for patients to recognize that experiencing some craving is normal and quite common. Craving does not mean something is wrong or that the patient really wants to resume drug use.(Much of this material on key interventions used with episodes of craving was adapted from Kadden et al. 1992.)

Identifying Triggers
Therapists should then work with patients to develop a comprehensive list of their own triggers. Some patients become overwhelmed when asked to identify cues (one patient reported that even breathing was associated with cocaine use for him). Again, it may be most helpful to concentrate on identifying the craving and cues that have been most problematic in recent weeks. This list should be started during the session; the practice exercise for this session should include self-monitoring of craving, so patients can begin to identify new, more subtle cues as they arise.

Our lives are a series of habits, held together in perfect sequence by our subconscious mind. Whether it is over indulgence or the task of typing on my computer keyboard, the subconscious takes me through the paces without having to think about results – or consequences. Over 90% of our daily living is an action of habit, systematically driven by our subconscious mind. Healthy habits like washing our bodies, brushing our teeth, driving a car or looking both ways before crossing the street are behaviors learned by the Subconscious mind and fed back to us without a conscious thought. As we enter the New Year, many of us are choosing to create new habits, for healthier living.

Here are some tips to keep in mind:

1) All habits are learned behavior. The subconscious mind receives the impress of our repetitive thoughts in order to set habit patterns. Begin to take stock of your habits.

2) Become aware of your thinking patterns. Each thought and word is an affirmation. See if you are thinking negatively. To say or think, “No matter how much I try, I cannot keep my finances in order,” is negatively driven and no good can result from this. Don’t judge yourself. Merely observe your thoughts. Trust in your words and thoughts to create a healthy belief system.

3) Consciously set in motion healthy thoughts and words. Affirm positive thoughts and words: “I am bright and aware of my finances. I always bring in far more money than I need. My finances are healthy and in perfect balance.”

4) Do not allow the turbulence of change to cause you to falter from your healthy intent. While your subconscious is learning the new patterns, you are going to create a break in long established patterns. Like the farmer, you must disturb the soil to create the means to plant new seed. The kingdom of God is there within you, ready and supportive of your intentions. Habits are a healthy thing and your subconscious is your greatest ally if you will but allow yourself to direct and insist on the right and perfect results. approaching, adjusting and establishing new and healthy habits.

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These are examples of CONDITIONING and the REALITY they represent:

ANGER OR RAGE WHILE IN A TRAFFIC JAM
FEAR OF SITUATION OUT OF OUR CONTROL, ANGER IS FEAR DISPLACED

RACIAL OR ETHNIC SLURS
FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN, THE OTHER - INHERITED FROM PARENTS, OTHERS

VERBAL BERATING OR JUDGMENT OF OTHERS: FAMILY, FRIENDS, CO-WORKERS
DEFENSE MECHANISM TO AVOID RELATIONSHIP, ALSO FEAR OF REJECTION, HURT OR LOVE

FEAR OF FLYING
FEAR OF LOSING CONTROL, FEAR OF DEATH-FEAR OF LOSING ONESELF

ALCOHOLISM, DRUGS, ALL ADDICTIONS
FEAR OF THIS MOMENT AND MANY OTHERS- AN ESCAPE FROM REALITY

TELLING A LIE
FEAR OF FAILURE, NEEDING TO BE ACCEPTED BY OTHERS AND SELF

SEXUAL PROMISCUITY, ADULTERY
LOOKING FOR ACCEPTANCE, WANTED TO BE LOVED-FEAR OF REJECTION

NEED TO DOMINATE OR CONTROL OTHERS
FEAR OF RELATIONSHIP, INTIMACY, BEING ALONE

BELIEF IN A BETTER TOMORROW
REFUSAL TO LIVE THIS MOMENT AS THE ONLY REALITY

BELIEF IN THE "ME"
FEAR OF DEATH, FEAR OF OTHER

This is an interesting Book The Meaning of Addiction by Stanton Peele and I want to preface that I do not agree with every statement. However I like the research and hope you will examine your beliefs about addiction and the hardliner ideas that addiction is a disease. You can access the entire book at the link below. I think it is a recommended read for alternative viewpoints on addiction and the causes and treatment options. This book has helped form my personal treatment of addictive and life controlling problems with thousands of individuals. I has been helpful to challenge the erroneous idea of addiction as a disease with competence and thorough evidence. I believe that the root cause of all life controlling problems is the God shaped hole in everyone's soul that we fill will everything but God because of our Free volition(will which defines our human responsibility) and Total Depravity (called total inability and total corruption) It is the teaching that, as a consequence of the Fall of Man, every person born into the world is enslaved to the service of sin and, apart from the efficacious or prevenient grace of God, is utterly unable to choose to follow God or choose to accept salvation as it is freely offered. Total depravity is the fallen state of man as a result of Original Sin. The doctrine of total depravity asserts that people are by nature not inclined to love God wholly with heart, mind, and strength, as God requires, but rather all are inclined to serve their own interests over those of their neighbor and to reject the rule of God.

In His Grace forever,

Teddy

The Meaning of Addiction

http://www.peele.net/lib/moa.html

EIGHT PRINCIPLES WHEN DEALING WITH DEPRESSION

2008-04-28T07:09:00.001-04:00

EIGHT PRINCIPLES WHEN DEALING WITH DEPRESSION

Eight principles which are proven Biblical techniques which we can use to successfully deal with depression in our life, REGARDLESS OF THE CAUSE:

1. CONFESSION OF PERSONAL SIN:

Personal sin leads to depression, especially not isolated and confessed sin.We must deal with sin on a daily basis by isolating and confessing our sins directly to God the Father. Then getting on with our life or we will begin to enter into chain sinning and which will develop into habitual sin. If we don't do this, sin becomes a burden which clouds our joy, drains our spiritual energy, and destroys our productivity and vitality. In short, sin is always depressing and extremely dangerous when left to fester because it erodes our rational minds!!

So, make it a spiritual habit to confess sins and walk in constant repentance the moment we are aware of them. This step toward recovery from depression is absolutely critical!!

2. THE FILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

The Holy Spirit fills us and controls our life when we have no unconfessed sin in our life. We can trust the Holy Spirit to reveal sin to us when we commit it, or even before to help us prevent entering into sin.

When the Holy Spirit is in control of our life, He produces His fruit in our life. And the fruit of the Holy Spirit does NOT include heaviness, depression, discouragement, disillusionment, anguish, sadness, dejection, or loss of vitality.

WHAT IS THIS FRUIT?

Well Galatians 5:22-23 tells us that it is: LOVE, JOY, PEACE, LONGSUFFERING, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, AND SELF-CONTROL.

These 9 virtues REPLACE DEPRESSION!

3. LIVING IN THE WORD OF GOD:

Make it a daily practice to read and study the Bible each and every day. By living in the Word of God we are constantly reminded of GOD'S viewpoint, of His Plan, of His provision, of His awareness of our spirit of heaviness; and we are reminded of what He wants to accomplish in us with the tests or trials that we are going through.

A Christian’s response to the Word of God are:

READ IT Deuteronomy. 31:11; Isaiah. 34:16; Luke. 4:16; Ephesians. 3:4; Colossians. 3:16; 4:1; 1 Thessalonians. 5:27; 2 Timothy . 4:13; Revelation 1:3.

HEED IT Psalm 119:9; 1 Timothy. 4:16.

SEED IT Matthew. 28:19, 20.

DESIRE IT 1 Peter. 2:2.

PREACH IT 2 Timothy 4:2

RIGHTLY DIVIDE IT 2 Timothy. 2:15.

LIVE BY IT Matthew. 4:4

USE IT Ephesians. 6:17.

SUFFER FOR IT, AND IF NEED BE, DIE FOR IT Revelation 1:9; 6:9; 20:4.

THE CHILD OF GOD :

KNOW IT in his HEAD

STOW IT in his HEART

SHOW IT in his LIFE

SOW IT in the WORLD:

Deuteronomy 4:1-10; 12:32; Joshua 1:8; Psalm 33:6; Proverbs 30:5, 6; Mark 4:24; Luke 8:12; John 12:48-50; Romans 8:7; 1 Corinthians 2:14; Hebrews 1:1-3; 2:1-4; Revelation 1:1-3; 20:12; 22:18; 19.

Living only in the sphere of human, secular viewpoint is a powerful source of depression. Remember King Solomon’s experience?

4. APPLY THE PRINCIPLES OF GRACE:

Depression is often caused by PEOPLE, and most of the time by people we cannot escape, or people we love, or people we cannot confront, or people we trust.

By applying the principles of grace we will develop the ability to look at people and see them as GOD sees them. This includes the ability to let them live their lives as unto the Lord, and trusting God to make His way clear to them. This technique lets people make mistakes without us judging them.

5. FOCUS ON THE LORD JESUS CHRIST:

When we focus on Jesus Christ it helps to cure depression because it gets our eyes off our spouse, our children, our neighbors, our friends, ourselves and our problems. Instead, as we move through the day, we are thinking about the Lord Jesus Christ, His plan for our life, the Father's provision for each incident in our life, and His provision of wisdom for each decision we must make.

Depression is a by-product of being solely occupied with ourselves, with our lives, and with our own problems.

6. TRUSTING AND APPLYING THE PROMISES OF GOD

When we trust and use the promises of God we then enter into the "REST" phase of Christian living. We need to have a good grasp of just who God is so that we will not hesitate to believe that He can do what He has promised to do.

We know Him as He reveals Himself in the Bible.

We believe Him when He tells us what He will do for us.

This builds trust in Him!! He will never let us down!! Let our faith REST on it.

CAST our burden on the Lord because He really does care for us!!

7. RELAX – TAKE IT EASY – LET GOD DO HIS WORK.

A relaxed attitude is based on knowing God personally and intimately as His special child that we are. A relaxed attitude is one of the results of living in the Word of God, walking in fellowship with Him, trusting in and using His promises to us, and being focused on Jesus Christ.

All of the components of depression will MELT away and dissolve when we finally come to realize that our Heavenly Father has everything in hand and He doesn’t need us to help Him. This omnipotent God who has sent His Son to die for us and who bottles our tears and numbers the very hairs on our heads, loves and cares for us more than we can ever possibly imagine!!

If you are a Christian, YOU are His personal gift to His Son, who categorically stated that no one can ever snatch you out of His Father’s hand, nor out of His!! (John 10:27-29) 27. "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28. "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29. "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand”.

We are personally being trained and groomed by God Himself to rule this entire universe with Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords. God already sees us seated in heavenly places perfectly sanctified and glorified. But to have the glory, we must also have some suffering for a little while on this earth. This is part of our training and is spiritual development in maturity.

But God wants His child to learn how to handle the suffering and the trials WITHOUT DEPRESSION. – Without falling apart - without feeling sorry for ourselves - without blaming everything, everyone and including GOD!!

God wants us to grow toward spiritual maturity, - His goal is to progressively transform us into the glorious image of the LORD JESUS CHRIST!! - And trials, testing, tribulations, traumas and everyday problems are PART AND PARCEL OF THAT PACKAGE SOMETIMES!!

Look to the Lord for every detail in life personally. Our Joy should NOT depend on people, circumstances or things. True joy is found when we trust and obey God. We can have the peace of God that surpasses all human understanding. Like the apostle Paul, we all need to learn to be content under any circumstances.

8. STRIVE FOR INNER JOY IN YOUR LIFE:

Inner joy is not possible for the Christian who is occupied solely with himself and his own needs. It is also not possible for the person who occupies himself solely with his own problems, his own circumstances and his own efforts.

Inner joy is a state of joy based on knowing that God is everything He claims to be and that He can do ALL that He has promised.

Inner joy is the living with every provision for physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being, and therefore made by God in the life of a Christian who is walking in daily fellowship with Him. This inner Joy!! It is truly worth it and it is the antidote to depression, misery and feelings of helplessness and despair!!

For the Christian, depression usually marks lost faith in the One with whom I have entrusted my future destiny. It dishonors the One who floods my life with endless love and manipulates for good everything that touches me.

Jesus Christ is the answer to all the broken dreams, the collapsed hopes of our lives, the pressures that we feel from day to day, the sense of our failure and the inability to perform as we would like to perform.

Jesus Christ is alive and He is ready to meet us in the hour of death, but more than that, he is ready to meet us in the pressures of life.

He has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)

The Christian life is all about dying to our own selfish interests and allowing Jesus Christ to live His life in and through us. It about being less independent and less self-reliant, and instead, depending on CHRIST and finding our sufficiency in His all sufficiency.

It’s very much about focus, too. Not on other people; not on things; not on circumstances; not on ourselves; - focus on these things will only make us miserable, depressed and wretched. (Isn’t this how most people get depressed?)

Our focus and key interest should be on the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ and on the written Word of God, the Bible.

These eight proven Biblical techniques are your guaranteed way out of depression and on to the road to a healthy recovery. They are also a sure fire method in avoiding depression taking hold of you in the first place.