Now more than ever, I understand the crucial importance of looking at Jesus, and not at ourselves.
All the thoughts and feelings that I wrestled, all of that self-talk that many of us engage in (to our hurt), all of it was not necessary. We are not transformed by looking at ourselves. We do not get better by looking at ourselves, by trying to fix our thoughts and feeling.
We get better when we grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord:
"But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen." (2 Peter 3: 18)
The grace of God, His favor in our lives, teaches us all things:
"11For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." (Titus 2: 11-14)
Grace is all about having something good to look forward to, as well: "Looking for that blessed hope."
We have this confidence because of Jesus, who lives in us, too!
"27To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: 28Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: 29Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily." (Colossians 1: 27-29)
Christ Jesus lives in me. I want to be more interested in who He is, not in who I am, or what I am lacking.
"And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:" (Colossians 2: 10)
We are complete in Christ, which means we need to see more of Christ Jesus in our lives:
"4I thank my God, making mention of thee always in my prayers, 5Hearing of thy love and faith, which thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints; 6That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus. 7For we have great joy and consolation in thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother." (Philemon 4-7)
Our faith works as we see more of Jesus.
For this reason, John describes maturity thus:
"13I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. 14I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning." (1 John 2: 13-14)
Fatherhood is not based on how old we are, but that we know the Father of the Ages. Fatherhood is not a function of how many children we have, or how many of those children have grown up into functional, productive adults.
Fatherhood, growth in grace, maturity in the faith, is all about seeing Jesus. See Him as your Savior today, not just as God made flesh who saved you two thousand years ago when He died on the Cross.
Monday, January 19, 2015
"I Will Be a God To You" Answers All
"I Will be a God to You!" answers every concern.
For the longest time, I was concerned that how I felt determined whether He was near or far.
What if, what about? Will everything work out?
When Jesus died on the Cross, He sent the message loud and clear to the entire Universe:
Everything is taken care of.
This is still taking me a while to understand.
Once again, what does the writer of Hebrews counsel us to do?
"Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief." (Hebrews 4: 11)
It is not something that happens over night or right away.
We are called to grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord (2 Peter 3: 18).
That invitation is hard to accept, sometimes, because the first thing that I want to do when things do not seem to be working right . . .is to fix it.
Then we return to God's Promise: "I will be a God to you."
That is the answer. That truth, that revelation answers everything.
For the longest time, I was concerned that how I felt determined whether He was near or far.
What if, what about? Will everything work out?
When Jesus died on the Cross, He sent the message loud and clear to the entire Universe:
Everything is taken care of.
This is still taking me a while to understand.
Once again, what does the writer of Hebrews counsel us to do?
"Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief." (Hebrews 4: 11)
It is not something that happens over night or right away.
We are called to grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord (2 Peter 3: 18).
That invitation is hard to accept, sometimes, because the first thing that I want to do when things do not seem to be working right . . .is to fix it.
Then we return to God's Promise: "I will be a God to you."
That is the answer. That truth, that revelation answers everything.
Saturday, January 17, 2015
No More Hypervigilance
For the longest time, I was so bitter.
So easily embittered, too.
I could not understand why I would replay hurtful and painful images and memories in my mind.
"You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." (John 8: 32)
The lie which I had believed for a long time, was that I was responsible for protecting myself.
He is protecting me.
He is not going anywhere, regardless of how I feel.
The matter of entering into the rest makes more sense today than ever before.
If I felt bad, if things were going bad, right away I would get busy with trying to figure out what I needed to do, what I needed to know, or what was missing or what I needed to find out about.
I was thinking about what I was going to do about tomorrow.
That question makes no sense today, because I understand that the Cross answers every need.
Amen.
So easily embittered, too.
I could not understand why I would replay hurtful and painful images and memories in my mind.
"You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." (John 8: 32)
The lie which I had believed for a long time, was that I was responsible for protecting myself.
He is protecting me.
He is not going anywhere, regardless of how I feel.
The matter of entering into the rest makes more sense today than ever before.
If I felt bad, if things were going bad, right away I would get busy with trying to figure out what I needed to do, what I needed to know, or what was missing or what I needed to find out about.
I was thinking about what I was going to do about tomorrow.
That question makes no sense today, because I understand that the Cross answers every need.
Amen.
He Has Taken Care of Everything: Believe Him!
This revelation is too great for me to wrap my ahead around.
Once again, the Bible is way ahead of me on this truth: He has taken care of everything:
"
Once again, the Bible is way ahead of me on this truth: He has taken care of everything:
"
2Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
3Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways." (Psalm 139:2-3)
He has taken care of everything. He has been taking care of everything.
In fact, He promises to take care of us in every way:
"
10For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
11And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
12For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." (Hebrews 8: 10-12)
"I will be a God to you. . ."
He has taken care of everything.
This promise does not come into effect based on the mindset we carry. Something is not true because we believe it long enough and hard enough. We believe what He has said because what He has said is true:
"Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: 18That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: " (Hebrews 6: 17-18)
God cannot lie, but we need to put aside our unbelief:
"Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." (John 6: 29)
and
"Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing." (John 20: 27)
Also
"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Hebrews 11: 6)
We are invited to believe the following:
"And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat." (Joshua 24: 13)
This promise is a shadow of the substance we have received through Christ Jesus:
"1Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. 2For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it." (Hebrews 4:1-2)
As a reminder, here is the Gospel, or the Good News:
"38Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: 39And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses." (Acts 13: 38-39)
and
"2Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. 4I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." (3 John 2-4)
He has taken care of everything. All that our Father asks us to do is. . . believe Him!
and
"2Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. 3For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. 4I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." (3 John 2-4)
He has taken care of everything. All that our Father asks us to do is. . . believe Him!
Monday, January 12, 2015
Of Course We Can Change!
Just Sayin' Victoria Ordin•3 months ago
"You can't change anyone but yourself." Ummm...okay. So what if in a moment of self-defense you shot the person and changed them from being alive to being dead? Might be an option if you can't escape and your life is in danger--as a matter of fact, it might be your only option,
Of course you and I can change.
It's called growth.
But as long as you spend more time looking at yourself, then you do not grow.
Instead, you find that you stagnate, frustrated that there is still bad thoughts and feelings in your life.
There is no greater pain than being all caught up in yourself, thoughts, feelings, and all the rest.
This revelation is new, and getting newer.
It took me so long to realize that peace is already outside.
Not turning on ourselves and churning about the failures that we see in ourselves.
Life is outside of us. Peace is outside of us, then we discover that His peace has found its way within.
In other words: we are changing.
Guess what? People do change, and for the better, too!
The Bibles talks about how God is in the people-changing business all the time:
"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3: 18)
and also
"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Romans 2: 12)
Guess what? God works through us to change others, too!
"Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences." (2 Corinthians 5: 11)
We persuade not with lies and cults, but the truth of God's Word!
"Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;" (1 Peter 3: 1)
Do not buy the AA lie: people change all the time, and they change for the better as they grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus (2 Peter 3: 18)
Of course you and I can change.
It's called growth.
But as long as you spend more time looking at yourself, then you do not grow.
Instead, you find that you stagnate, frustrated that there is still bad thoughts and feelings in your life.
There is no greater pain than being all caught up in yourself, thoughts, feelings, and all the rest.
This revelation is new, and getting newer.
It took me so long to realize that peace is already outside.
Not turning on ourselves and churning about the failures that we see in ourselves.
Life is outside of us. Peace is outside of us, then we discover that His peace has found its way within.
In other words: we are changing.
Guess what? People do change, and for the better, too!
The Bibles talks about how God is in the people-changing business all the time:
"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3: 18)
and also
"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Romans 2: 12)
Guess what? God works through us to change others, too!
"Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences." (2 Corinthians 5: 11)
We persuade not with lies and cults, but the truth of God's Word!
"Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;" (1 Peter 3: 1)
Do not buy the AA lie: people change all the time, and they change for the better as they grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus (2 Peter 3: 18)
Thanks for "Just Sayin'", Just Sayin'!
Soooo...are rape victims complicit in their bad situations, too? You do know that there are a lot of AA members who are really into rape, including incestuous rape, right?
If you were harmed by someone, there is no reason to blame or shame someone for that harm.
Granted, we can all practice wise judgement to avoid terrible things happening to us, but rape is rape, and anyone who perpetrates it is the criminal, not the person who was raped.
And why is reacting a bad thing? In extreme situations, reacting on impulse (like the self-defense shooting I mentioned in another comment) could save your life. Getting a divorce from an abusive spouse might be another "reaction" that keeps you alive and well. And after you split from the dumb brute, no Al-Anon required. Suppressing reactions actually leads to the exact kind of "people-pleasing" behavior that Al-Anon considers a symptom of codependency. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
Damn, that was a really good point you just made right there! The AA cult does indeed force people into these lose-lose situations. No matter what they do, even when they are right, they are still wrong, and they have to take their own inventory, work their own programs, etc.
I agree that addicts and alcoholics are frequently "DSM-narcissistic," but that is a case of chicken-vs.-egg fallacy. Recent research has shown that sociopaths are over-represented amongst substance abusers--in other words, the narcissism most likely caused the addiction, not the other way around, and will most likely continue long after the addict/alcoholic is sober. There is no reason to try to salvage this and "learn to cope serenely one day at a time," folks. It will only get worse.
Anyway, CONGRATULATIONS on your CHARMING use of ALL CAPS to make a point.
Yes, and yes again. Thinking that you are the center of the universe, and finding that the world does not agree with you -- that can lead to roaring benders all the time. Of course, dealing with what set of the narcissism is much more important. There are abusive elements in our lives which we should never cope with. Never. Because there is a lack of understanding on this issue, people do drink or abuse themselves in other harmful ways.
Alcoholism is a symptom of other lies, distortions, and abuse. Twelve Step programs perpetuate the abuse, rather than deal with the lies and promote the truth.
If you were harmed by someone, there is no reason to blame or shame someone for that harm.
Granted, we can all practice wise judgement to avoid terrible things happening to us, but rape is rape, and anyone who perpetrates it is the criminal, not the person who was raped.
And why is reacting a bad thing? In extreme situations, reacting on impulse (like the self-defense shooting I mentioned in another comment) could save your life. Getting a divorce from an abusive spouse might be another "reaction" that keeps you alive and well. And after you split from the dumb brute, no Al-Anon required. Suppressing reactions actually leads to the exact kind of "people-pleasing" behavior that Al-Anon considers a symptom of codependency. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
Damn, that was a really good point you just made right there! The AA cult does indeed force people into these lose-lose situations. No matter what they do, even when they are right, they are still wrong, and they have to take their own inventory, work their own programs, etc.
I agree that addicts and alcoholics are frequently "DSM-narcissistic," but that is a case of chicken-vs.-egg fallacy. Recent research has shown that sociopaths are over-represented amongst substance abusers--in other words, the narcissism most likely caused the addiction, not the other way around, and will most likely continue long after the addict/alcoholic is sober. There is no reason to try to salvage this and "learn to cope serenely one day at a time," folks. It will only get worse.
Anyway, CONGRATULATIONS on your CHARMING use of ALL CAPS to make a point.
Yes, and yes again. Thinking that you are the center of the universe, and finding that the world does not agree with you -- that can lead to roaring benders all the time. Of course, dealing with what set of the narcissism is much more important. There are abusive elements in our lives which we should never cope with. Never. Because there is a lack of understanding on this issue, people do drink or abuse themselves in other harmful ways.
Alcoholism is a symptom of other lies, distortions, and abuse. Twelve Step programs perpetuate the abuse, rather than deal with the lies and promote the truth.
Really Looking at AA
I just found this comment on a post called "Are you safe in an AA meeting?"
Just Sayin'•9 days ago
Just Sayin'•9 days ago
Also, has anyone ever looked at the "To Wives" chapter of the AA Big Book (not actually written by Lois Wilson but rather ghostwritten by Bill 'n' friends because he thought she was too dumb to do the job)? I mean, *really* looked at it? Here's a sample: "[The alcoholic] struck the children, kicked out the door panels, smashed treasured crockery, and ripped the keys out of the piano." And the answer was to go to Al-Anon, not be a "nag, killjoy or wet blanket," and serenely wait for the husband to sober up in AA.
I liked that phrase "really looked at it."
Putting aside whatever program men and women have been force-fed, there is no running away from the facts that AA is a demented, sick cult. The people who have been victimized by drunks in their lives should not be shamed into merely putting up with the abuse.
Everyone does indeed need help, but the grace of God was never to be replaced with license to sin, because sin is death.
Whoa, whoa, wait a minute, back up. He struck the children? And the answer is to be all serene and go to Al-Anon? No, the answer is to strike that bastard back with a blunt object and call the cops. Children are not like pianos or crockery. They cannot be replaced. I guess if wifey has to choose between getting her husband into the program and tending to Junior's fractured skull, the husband's sobriety should come first. Just be serene and "detach" and soon the rampant child abuse won't bother you. After all, if you actually do something to resolve this dire situation and/or nurture your children and keep them safe and, you know, get help for their injuries, then you are just a codependent "fixer."
Wow! These comments are a welcome departure from the AA cheer-leaders who promote the wicked Twelve Steps without thinking twice, or "really looking at AA".
But not to worry! If the kids survive, then they can spend the rest of their lives in Alateen and ACOA talking about how Dad beat them within an inch of their lives every weekend while Mom stood by and did nothing because she was "practicing detachment." Now the whole family can play!
Love that sarcasm!
Alcoholics Anonymous is another wicked infusion of therapy, when it is the truth which sets us free.
I liked that phrase "really looked at it."
Putting aside whatever program men and women have been force-fed, there is no running away from the facts that AA is a demented, sick cult. The people who have been victimized by drunks in their lives should not be shamed into merely putting up with the abuse.
Everyone does indeed need help, but the grace of God was never to be replaced with license to sin, because sin is death.
Whoa, whoa, wait a minute, back up. He struck the children? And the answer is to be all serene and go to Al-Anon? No, the answer is to strike that bastard back with a blunt object and call the cops. Children are not like pianos or crockery. They cannot be replaced. I guess if wifey has to choose between getting her husband into the program and tending to Junior's fractured skull, the husband's sobriety should come first. Just be serene and "detach" and soon the rampant child abuse won't bother you. After all, if you actually do something to resolve this dire situation and/or nurture your children and keep them safe and, you know, get help for their injuries, then you are just a codependent "fixer."
Wow! These comments are a welcome departure from the AA cheer-leaders who promote the wicked Twelve Steps without thinking twice, or "really looking at AA".
But not to worry! If the kids survive, then they can spend the rest of their lives in Alateen and ACOA talking about how Dad beat them within an inch of their lives every weekend while Mom stood by and did nothing because she was "practicing detachment." Now the whole family can play!
Love that sarcasm!
Alcoholics Anonymous is another wicked infusion of therapy, when it is the truth which sets us free.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)