We aren't having funerals or memorials! There is no Biblical basis for them, they cost a lot of money and people who haven't seen us in over 30 years would come to say goodbye to those who cannot hear them. It's nearly laughable to me.
There are are so many rituals and traditions that our culture does that has little to no value for Christ or anything else for that matter, except.....yep....temporary feelings, that's all.
Feelings are of little value, good sense and inclinations tell us things but even then we must evaluate them to be accurate.
The Lord has removed all the desire from me, for man made traditions that only waste time, money and effort and bring little if anything toward the cause of Christ.
However, I have been to memorials for Christians and was very blessed because everyone there was a strong believer in Christ. They were happy and spoke of their friend or relative who went home. They called it "his/her home going", it was a cheerful and blessed time. There was little discussion about the deceased person, mostly about Christ and it was more of a worship service than a memorial about the person. No one spoke to the deceased, they knew he/she couldn't hear, they felt no need for closure because we would see them again.
These times blessed me and I was glad for attending!
Tuesday, February 6, 2018
Thinking is a Must for the Believer
God said to fill our minds with truth. I am convinced that our minds do not discern between truth and fiction. We react on the basis of things that are not true all the time, thinking we are reacting correctly.
When we watch a sad movie we cry, even knowing it is not true, only a story. Our flesh reacts to stimuli, which is the reason we must be sure that we THINK, and THINK THINGS THROUGH, Biblically and logically.
Those who have a "Pollyanna" mentality have difficulty seeing truth. They must always see things in terms they like rather than reality.
It is only when we face reality that we can have solutions to problems and dilemmas. Aren't you glad that engineers build bridges and buildings based on science and logic rather than their hopes.
Our desires often deceive us. If we are an engineer building something and we operate according to our feelings, we might be tempted to leave out certain safety measures because they are hard to accomplish or they just don't look the way we would like, maybe they are too expensive. We wouldn't want to hire an engineer that does things the easy way or cannot admit his design needs more work when it is unsafe. And, yet we do this with relationship, we take the easy road. It is easier to dissolve the relationship, refuse to communicate than to do the hard work of admitting or confronting.
Relationships fail often in our world because the foundations for them are broken or gone. The foundational structure of a good relationship is conversation, truth and a desire to resolve things, even if we have to admit our wrong attitude or reaction.
Seldom in our world today are we allowed to discuss things, nor are those confronted, willing to admit anything. This is why we have the Catholic church sweeping dirt under the rug for decades, moving priests around to avoid the difficulties that come from resolving situations in truth. Protecting the organization takes priority over the individual who was harmed.
The Catholic church is not the only entity that does this form of lying. Many protestant pastors have their own dirt that they hide. intimidating into silence those who have been offended or grieved.
Mocking, intimidation and demeaning, even triangulation have been used to silence victims of verbal, emotional and spiritual abuse.
Time after time we have seen the victims voice the abuse they have endured, only to be treated as though they were lying or demented, even rejected by family members for daring to tell the truth.
It's just easier for everyone if the victim suffers alone, without helpers or allies who come alongside. You see, in our system, the allies would also be persecuted by those who choose not to believe the truth teller.
Thankfully God is our biggest ally, He sees all, knows all and has all the answers for us. Yes, the abuse often leaves scars for a lifetime, but those scars to do not overtake the believer, they are there, but they do not dictate our choices or our friends.
When we lean into Jesus Christ instead of our feelings, the feelings dissipate and we begin to see purpose in all that happens to us, even the ugly things. The devil cannot harm us when we know Who is in control and that is Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:3-5
"More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."
When we watch a sad movie we cry, even knowing it is not true, only a story. Our flesh reacts to stimuli, which is the reason we must be sure that we THINK, and THINK THINGS THROUGH, Biblically and logically.
Those who have a "Pollyanna" mentality have difficulty seeing truth. They must always see things in terms they like rather than reality.
It is only when we face reality that we can have solutions to problems and dilemmas. Aren't you glad that engineers build bridges and buildings based on science and logic rather than their hopes.
Our desires often deceive us. If we are an engineer building something and we operate according to our feelings, we might be tempted to leave out certain safety measures because they are hard to accomplish or they just don't look the way we would like, maybe they are too expensive. We wouldn't want to hire an engineer that does things the easy way or cannot admit his design needs more work when it is unsafe. And, yet we do this with relationship, we take the easy road. It is easier to dissolve the relationship, refuse to communicate than to do the hard work of admitting or confronting.
Relationships fail often in our world because the foundations for them are broken or gone. The foundational structure of a good relationship is conversation, truth and a desire to resolve things, even if we have to admit our wrong attitude or reaction.
Seldom in our world today are we allowed to discuss things, nor are those confronted, willing to admit anything. This is why we have the Catholic church sweeping dirt under the rug for decades, moving priests around to avoid the difficulties that come from resolving situations in truth. Protecting the organization takes priority over the individual who was harmed.
The Catholic church is not the only entity that does this form of lying. Many protestant pastors have their own dirt that they hide. intimidating into silence those who have been offended or grieved.
Mocking, intimidation and demeaning, even triangulation have been used to silence victims of verbal, emotional and spiritual abuse.
Time after time we have seen the victims voice the abuse they have endured, only to be treated as though they were lying or demented, even rejected by family members for daring to tell the truth.
It's just easier for everyone if the victim suffers alone, without helpers or allies who come alongside. You see, in our system, the allies would also be persecuted by those who choose not to believe the truth teller.
Thankfully God is our biggest ally, He sees all, knows all and has all the answers for us. Yes, the abuse often leaves scars for a lifetime, but those scars to do not overtake the believer, they are there, but they do not dictate our choices or our friends.
When we lean into Jesus Christ instead of our feelings, the feelings dissipate and we begin to see purpose in all that happens to us, even the ugly things. The devil cannot harm us when we know Who is in control and that is Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:3-5
"More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."
Christ and the Apostles Edured
I find that many facebook friends are enduring treatment that is mean and undeserved. They search their own hearts to see if there is something they have done and cannot find anything that would warrant this ill treatment.
They may have even done good to the very people who show contempt. It is irrational, there isn't a reason, but since we love God, we search our own hearts to fix anything that might be causing it. When we find nothing to fix we try anyway and are treated worse for our attempts at resolving the relationship problem. It is not always possible to resolve things because others refuse to dialogue or consider, they often lean into their feelings that really don't make sense.
Feelings are not facts and often bring us to a place that is based on nothing other than pride.
We might remind ourselves what Christ went through, and the apostles, then we have our answer, they did nothing to be tortured and persecuted for, except to tell the truth for the benefit of the hearers.
When we know the reason as described in 2 Timothy 3, it does make going through it a little easier. But the feelings of sadness sneak in occasionally when we are at a weak point. We should not trust our feelings, they will lead us into sin, but trusting Christ, that He has a marvelous plan for us to follow, it's all in the Bible, then we can be free from depression and oppression.
There is no oppression for those who love Christ, even when they are in jail for false accusations, they can sing praises to God for their new learning experience. When we are in prison, we must believe it is to bring the gospel to those who are there.
Acts 16:25-30 "25 But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them;
26 and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.
27 When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.
28 But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!”
29 And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas,
30 and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”"
They may have even done good to the very people who show contempt. It is irrational, there isn't a reason, but since we love God, we search our own hearts to fix anything that might be causing it. When we find nothing to fix we try anyway and are treated worse for our attempts at resolving the relationship problem. It is not always possible to resolve things because others refuse to dialogue or consider, they often lean into their feelings that really don't make sense.
Feelings are not facts and often bring us to a place that is based on nothing other than pride.
We might remind ourselves what Christ went through, and the apostles, then we have our answer, they did nothing to be tortured and persecuted for, except to tell the truth for the benefit of the hearers.
When we know the reason as described in 2 Timothy 3, it does make going through it a little easier. But the feelings of sadness sneak in occasionally when we are at a weak point. We should not trust our feelings, they will lead us into sin, but trusting Christ, that He has a marvelous plan for us to follow, it's all in the Bible, then we can be free from depression and oppression.
There is no oppression for those who love Christ, even when they are in jail for false accusations, they can sing praises to God for their new learning experience. When we are in prison, we must believe it is to bring the gospel to those who are there.
Acts 16:25-30 "25 But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them;
26 and suddenly there came a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison house were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.
27 When the jailer awoke and saw the prison doors opened, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.
28 But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here!”
29 And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas,
30 and after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)