Hope maketh not ashamed. How does it work? Penti Ikonen and Eero Rechardt say “the reaction to the absence of approving reciprocity,” is shame. Gunnar Karlson, “…the main constituents concerning shame are its anchorage in the situation to which it refers; …perpetually objectified; …the revelation of an undesired self; …a history of frozen nowness.” Lynn Jacobs PH.D says “shame fear and guilt, these are the ‘feelings about feelings;’ the boundary keepers.” “ Experiencing a forbidden feeling,” evokes shame. These afore mentioned answers exist in the realm of analysis; empirical, rational, sometimes very insightful — Psycho/Physiological stuff. Wow! “a person with internalized shame believes he is inherently flawed, inferior, and defective.” John Bradshaw. For what it is worth, we have definitions. Adam and Eve were naked and not ashamed. They disobeyed. Shame began here. They became pale, disappointed, delayed, and dry. They got steep protective boundaries, they received limits, things quit…
Healing at the Cross Posts
“Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, we ought to obey God rather than men.” Act 5:29. What comprises the obedience of faith? How does it work? By the obedience of Christ shall many be made righteous, is Romans 5:19. “In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.” Hebrews 10:6-7. Jesus was the obvious obedient one and by His willingness we are sanctified by the offering of His body, once and for all. But what of our obedience? A key may be in the Psalmists words “For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. Instead, The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt…
That which the palmerworm hath left — hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left — hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left — hath the caterpiller eaten. Joel 1:4 “The whole face of the mountain was black with them. On they came like a living deluge. We dug trenches and kindled fires, and beat and burnt to death heaps upon heaps, but the effort was utterly useless. They rolled up the mountain-side, and poured over rocks, walls, ditches, and hedges, those behind covering up and passing over the masses already killed.” Expositor’s “After eating up the corn, they fell upon the vines, the pulse, the willows, and even the hemp, notwithstanding its great bitterness.” “The bark of figs, pomegranates, and oranges, bitter, hard, and corrosive, escaped not their voracity.” “They are particularly injurious to the palm-trees; these they strip of every leaf…
In the Olympic games we watch competition. We see determination, thrill of triumph, misery of trounce. We weep for joy with the insignificant participant who rises from obscurity to win a bronze, silver or even gold. We identify with winner and loser, and also those just happy to be invited to play — Or do we? This time around the games meant less to me and I figured out why. I don’t compete, I don’t race, I don’t swim or run or jump for prizes. The projected “life parallel” that is associated with sports is not present with me in its many aspects as before. I have, like Paul, learned, to some degree, that I must be content, to handle living on this earth through a non-competitive attitude. Released from the inner “strive;” life begins at another’s conquest. For the Olympics, contending is expedient – nothing wrong here. For jobs,…
The blazing fire was across the canyon, too big to be controlled. Suddenly, with a turn of wind, inferno raced over canyon and river – straight toward the smoke jumpers. Thirteen lost their life that true day, three survived. Two found cover in a rock crevice. They lived, but one created his own cover by stopping, igniting the grass around him, and then lying down in the center of his own smoldering insulator. Blaze went around his pre-burned area; he made it safe. The true story is not a new one. I’m sure you have heard of it. I read it again in a book by Jonah Lehrer titled, “How we decide.” Lehrer is unfortunately an evolutionist, but uses the story to illustrate the power of the rational mind to create, when emotion is “beat back.” Interestingly, the creative fire survivor had never used the survival principle till that day.…
What is lawlessness but a conscience-seared? — a moral staple of psychological human-hood denied and burnt to a crisp. The part of us which approves or disapproves us, accuses or excuses us, or simply gives an account of oneself; conscience; has been rendered caput by artificial casting off restraints? It’s fatal to sanity. Chaos floods the banks. To do a simple self-inquiry requires this above-mentioned conscience. Seems like, this faculty’s loss would make void reflection, introspection, self-contemplation and similar activities. Guilt originates with God; no God-no guilt. Lawlessness removes the closest thing in our soul’s repertoire to a Supreme Ruler. In doing that, Lawlessness subtly attempts to counterfeit a God-given, bloody cross purchased, guilt removing redemption; creating false liberty and leaving out the vital element, Christ. How does it? Its utensil is a hot iron. With this devise one burns off a fingerprint, brands a steer, or cauterizes a wound. It…
The American Civil War tipped the scales for sad stories, many of which wrench the heart, even today. It reveals an era stacked with gloomy playing cards, cheerless scarecrows, heartsick yarns, and war-torn dilapidation. These are flora and fauna, these essentiality. The distinctive dream-escapee tasted life till it died; the bursting of bubbles, the swipe of found-less islands. Enheartenment looks not like a gratuity, windfall, or sweepstakes hit. It is not about happiness, joy, bliss or blessedness. Inflated words solicit us to their lip-service. Instead, a tidbit inspirits, a morsel of food enraptures, and a mere scent sends goose bumps up and down the neck. True love breathes not much in these parts, only in diminished silhouettes; all numbed down, reductionism dulls the culture, drives the humdrum, heats the monotonous day. War has come, Gung-ho! — but we are not ready, we have no guns; for soldiering, no skill-set. Go, the politician’s incite…
Our lives are made for balance Christian life must have balance. We are not hanging on a few verses or a pet doctrine or a one-dimensional approach. Our lives are made for balance and the other side is fanaticism. Friends, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Why the need for equilibrium? Why the necessity for a set of scales? Longevity, baby, longevity. We’re not in a sprint, folks, this is a marathon. Twenty six/odd mile runners gotta pace themselves, even the very well trained. Well, we think, “I’m going full steam ahead; I wanna burn out for Jesus.” You will. Impacting impingement happens to all“The race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.” Ecclesiastes 9:11. Time and chance? Yes…
“Superstition always breeds such sorrows, when men make themselves religious duties which God never made them, and then come short in the performance of them” Richard Baxter This excerpt from Baxter’s “The cure of Melancholy and Overmuch Sorrow, by Faith,” is based on 2 Corinthians 2:7. “…lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up by overmuch sorrow?” The author goes on to say, “Many souls are assaulted by the erroneous, and told they are in a wrong way; and they must take up some error as a necessary truth, and so are cast into perplexing difficulties, and perhaps repent of the truth which they before owned.” What’s the problem? Why do we backtrack so easily? — Deeper than we might think. It’s an over-safeguarded soul, a provision for the flesh; just in case God’s ways and means don’t come through in the pinch. It’s hanging on to the railings…
These things I learned this week: That, in the culture, individualism can be good, as long as I don’t make an idol of me. Again, culturally speaking, community is desired, but don’t make an idol of them. Who-a-person-is, subjectively, is discovered by them in receiving an objective identity, not by gazing within. The culture seeks to produce many identities from without the self. Next, diversity of attributes is to be celebrated; but to be realized only in the service of others, not to build a private reputation. Finally, an identity will reproduce itself. Webster’s from the year 1828 defines “culture” this way: The act of tilling and preparing the earth for crops; cultivation; the application of labor or other means of improvement. 2. … to improve good qualities in, or growth; as the culture of the mind; the culture of virtue. 3. … producing 4. Any labor or means employed…