So, not worthy, so unworthy, we are made worthy (…God the Father, who has enlightened us and made us worthy partakers of the inheritance of the saints…). Colossians 1:12. Lamsa translation. Unworthiness is defined, “ lacking in excellence or value, not meritorious, not deserved, inappropriate to one’s condition or station” – merriam-webster The problem of unworthiness has been tackled by many a well-meaning therapist, who offer a re-teaching, chipping away at, working through approach. However, even in visiting childhood’s ‘unfortunate but nonetheless forming events and words,’ presupposed in this visit is something not Biblical: that somehow we were seeing ourselves as worthy, but lost it, and not of our own fault, most of the time. Precious souls, our unworthiness is entrenched in the depths of an old sin nature, which has not just stigmatized us, falsely identified us, or named us wrongly, but has called us correctly; unworthy, unworthy, unworthy! Unworthy cannot morph into…
Category: <span>Healing Cross</span>
I’m so glad, He saved my weary and wayward soul! I will go to heaven one day, because He came to earth and died. Through His blood poured out, I was washed. Some folks feel He came to give us a second chance. Sorry, that would not be enough for me because I am a hopeless sinner. A second chance would imply that I could change myself; I could not. I write with thanksgiving deep in my heart, but many do not have this. They are still trying hard, religiously dedicated. They feel that some day their fervency will measure up to a reward from God. It will not. More honest are the drunks, addicts, and prostitutes; they are closer to the kingdom. But will they come to God for cleansing in His blood? If not they will die in their sins. A third group have adopted one of many…
Job 5:7 …man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward. KJV — (As sure as the wild birds fly, Aramaic; and even so the vulture’s young seek the high places, Septuagint.) As sure as the laws of nature; as birds of prey scavenge from on high or fire flickers upward, so men will see trouble. Psalm 119:67-75 teaches, ” Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.” …”It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.”… “I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.” It seems that trouble should not surprise us, but must come. A word from Jeremiah: ” …the Lord will not reject for ever.” ” But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.” “For he doth not…
Job 23:14 teaches, “For He performs the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him.” Job 23:10 says “But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” Job 23:6 said, “Will he plead against me with his great power? No; but he would put strength in me.” Struggle, strive, strain and worry comprise something not Christian, for He is faithful who has called us, who will also do it. God is performing the thing concerning me. But, Job declares these profound truths in a time of severity. Matthew Henry explains: “I am loath to think holy Job would charge the holy God with iniquity; but his complaint is indeed bitter and peevish, and he reasons himself into a sort of patience per force, which he cannot do without reflecting upon God as dealing hardly…
Isolated? yes, so are many, but loneliness hurts people at holiday times. Is there help? Let’s look at some clinical observations first. “At the root, isolation compromises immunity, increases the production of stress hormones, and is harmful to sleep. All of this feeds chronic inflammation, which lowers immunity to the degree that lonely people even suffer more from the common cold.” “If we cling to the belief that we should be perfect, we may not risk doing things that might expose our imperfections. …we don’t want the risk of being disappointed. Our fear of failing keeps us isolated.” “…fear of facing shame or embarrassment. We don’t want to be seen as defective—or see ourselves as flawed.” psychologytoday John Amodeo Ph.D., MFT A solution is offered: “The curious paradox is that when I can accept myself just as I am, then I can change.” Carl Rogers “…This takes a courageous willingness to feel sad or disappointed sometimes, or even a mild sense of shame, which…
Change of mind, change of heart — the possibility of such must never forsake us. The eternal aspect of our nature allows it; there we fear not dying, for death is a thing past. The freshness of new possibilities invigorates our new and resurrected day. Can we discern the progression of being set-apart unto God, closer and closer we go, the depths of life shake us, but outcomes never disappoint us. James Whitcomb Riley writes “The Shower.” The landscape, like the awed face of a Child, Grew curiously blurred, a hush of death. Fell on the fields, and in the darkened wild, The zephyr held it’s breath. No wavering glamour-work of light and shade, Dappled the shimmering surface of the Brook: The frightened ripples in their ambuscade of willows thrilled and shook. The sullen day grew darker, and anon dim flashes of pent anger lit the sky: with rumbling wheels…
Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 1 Corinthians 15:55-56 Have you ever begged God for His true heart concerning death and dying? I have, along with many who have lost beloved family and friends to death. I discovered something profound. ” 1 Corinthians 15:25 speaks loudly. “Then comes the end, when He (Jesus), shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under his feet.” “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death!” Death is an enemy to God. to be destroyed. Indeed it has been destroyed. 2 Timothy 1:10 gives us “… our Savior Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.” Wait a minute.…
“…we must also accept the reality of our incompleteness.” Gerald G. May M.D. From his book “Addiction and Grace.” He starts in, “We can and should do our very best to move in that direction, (to achieve the state of perfection.) struggling with every resource we have. but…”we need to recognize that the incompleteness in us, our personal insufficiency, does not make us unacceptable in God’s eyes.” “Far from it, our incompleteness is the empty side of our longing for God and for love. It is what draws us toward love and one another.” “if we do not fill our minds with guilt and self-recriminations, we will recognize our incompleteness as a kind of spaciousness into which we can welcome the flow of grace.” “We can think of our inadequacies as terrible defects, if we want, and hate ourselves. But we can also think of them affirmatively, as doorways…
Ephesians 2:7 “so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Kindness? Luke 7:37-50 explains this “kindness.” “And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And…
I’ve Dedicated 15 years of my adult life trying to discover “what makes us tick,” So what have I learned? God may remove a beautiful face to fix the ugly “inner” face of a man or woman. A person is wholly who they are on the inside — a person with inward beauty far exceeds one with merely a veneer. The outer face remains important — Largely to break ice with those mesmerized by the shine of cosmetic disguise. The goal of gaining audience (breaking ice), is to eventually get inside them and let God go to work. God knows how to do the surgery, since He knows the end from the beginning– It may take years. Afterward, the outer prettiness means so much less to them. That’s all? No, there’s more: God gives allowance to the loss of a child, to teach us how He felt about the…