Continuing on in the same passage (John 8) as the last three posts, Jesus tells us that the kind of freedom He will bring is “out of this world” (my paraphrase). Like many of us, His hearers did not understand. In a culture where literal slavery was a reality, those in His audience thought they were free, because they were not literal slaves. But Jesus was talking about a different form of slavery, the kind I was talking about in last day's post.
For example, some of us are in prisons of our own making. I see many trapped in prisons of bitterness, or anger or greed, as well as a whole variety of more obvious addictions. On the other hand we can in fact be free even in prison. The apostle Paul was. Read the book of Philippians which He wrote from prison. It is full of rejoicing.
Our modern world has this view of freedom that consists of casting off restraint, and in particular casting off Biblical morality. “It's old fashioned and outmoded and narrow minded and restrictive. Who needs it?” But let me ask you, with its divorce rates and suicide rates and the occurrence of alcoholism, gambling additions and the like, would you say that our society's casting off restraint is bringing freedom? I mean is the phrase “free indeed” something that comes to mind when you think about our (post Christian) culture?
If God does not exist, or if He has left us to struggle on our own, then what I am saying is nonsense. On the other hand, if He is ready willing and able to come along side of us to help (and He is), and we are not availing ourselves of His help, then it is our attitudes and beliefs that are nonsense. One of the names of the Holy Spirit in the greek is 'Paraclete'. It's made up of two words 'para' (as in parallel) which means along side, and 'kaleo' called. So one of the functions of the Holy Spirit is that He is called along side to help and comfort us. Do we in the West need any of this?
At the very beginning of His ministry, Jesus identifies Himself as the One who would come to heal the broken hearted, to release the prisoners and to set at liberty those who are oppressed (Luke 4). Why would we not want His help? From what I can see we do want to be free, and we think that that is just doing what we want to do. Too often than brings bondage. Why would we not want to be “free indeed”? It does not make a lot of sense.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
The freedom that enslaves
Many (most?) of us have to learn the hard way, that going for what we think will make us free, turns out very differently from what want or expect. The freedom to be bitter poisons us and those we love. The freedom to get drunk starts off with giving us a headache, but can finish up costing us our job, our marriage, our family or even our life (driving drunk etc.). Not everyone who drinks becomes an alcoholic of course, but we all have addictions, even if we don't like to acknowledge them.
Let me list a few common (hidden) addictions. We have for example, overeating, shopping, spending, television, internet, computer games, worry, obsessive thinking, etc., etc. You will notice I did not say coffee. Well I like it. Clearly some addictions are more harmful than others, and some are bad habits over which we don't yet want to admit we are loosing control. The picture I have of this is that it is can be rather like a whirlpool in which we are, many times, not even aware we are swimming. The ability to resist the pull towards the centre is manageable on the fringes. However the further we get into the whirlpool, the stronger that pull, so that when we really get into it, we come to the place where no matter how strong a swimmer we are, the current is stronger still.
Some additions are very destructive, but by the time our habit has become an addiction it is always destructive at one level or another. When we are addicted to something we are not free, the addiction is taking us to the places it wants to take us. Now we all have addictions hidden and not so hidden, but we don't all (yet) want to be free of them. It comes back to the post “Do you want to be made whole”. Or perhaps “How whole do you want to be?” There have been times in my life when my addiction to coffee had too big a hold on me. So I gave it up. I needed to know (experience) that with God's help I could do that. I do drink coffee now, but then periodically I fast from it, since I am determined it will not rule me. I need to be free. By the way, I am not saying coffee is the worst thing I have faced.
The point I am making is that the freedom not to drink coffee for me (and I am talking about me) is more important than the freedom to drink it. The freedom not to drink it will not enslave me, but the freedom to drink it could. The apostle Paul makes an interesting statement in I Corinthians 6:12. He says “... I will not be mastered by anything”. If we are mastered by an addiction, we are not free at all, certainly not "free indeed".
For me the habit of drinking coffee is relatively innocuous. But there are things that are much more destructive. In the same passage we have been looking at in the last two posts, Jesus says “He who sins is the slave of sin”. We can become slaves to anger, or jealousy, or sex, or greed, or gamboling etc., etc., and being trapped in these things things is like slavery. When the appetite or the circumstance says jump, we jump! We don't like to be told what we can or cannot do, but the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And as I keep on saying, it is smart to listen to the One who made us, who knows what is good and what is bad for us, what will fulfill us, and what will rob us of quality of life. It bears repeating that when He says “no”, it is for our protection, and it is for our provision. The Bible teaches that our sinful desires “war against” our soul (1 Peter 2:11). Like cancer is to the body, so are our lusts a cancer to the soul. But He is also the one who, when we repent, will help us to get free from the traps we fall into when we don't listen to Him. Like a father who has compassion on his children, so He has compassion on us. When we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9).
And there are many traps, and for sure we don't see all of them all. I experienced this just the other day. I was listening to a teaching on forgiveness when the speaker shared an experience she had where the Lord had convicted her that while she had forgiven such and such a person, she continued to judge him for his behaviour. I was immediately convicted myself of doing the very same thing. Such times are crossroads. I could have complained “these Christians are always laying guilt trips” and been offended. On the other hand, I could do what I did, which was to bow my head and ask His forgiveness and cleansing. I was suddenly free from an unhealthy soul tie with one I was judging. I felt freer than I have for some time. If the Son shall set you free, you will be free indeed (also from John 8).
Let me list a few common (hidden) addictions. We have for example, overeating, shopping, spending, television, internet, computer games, worry, obsessive thinking, etc., etc. You will notice I did not say coffee. Well I like it. Clearly some addictions are more harmful than others, and some are bad habits over which we don't yet want to admit we are loosing control. The picture I have of this is that it is can be rather like a whirlpool in which we are, many times, not even aware we are swimming. The ability to resist the pull towards the centre is manageable on the fringes. However the further we get into the whirlpool, the stronger that pull, so that when we really get into it, we come to the place where no matter how strong a swimmer we are, the current is stronger still.
Some additions are very destructive, but by the time our habit has become an addiction it is always destructive at one level or another. When we are addicted to something we are not free, the addiction is taking us to the places it wants to take us. Now we all have addictions hidden and not so hidden, but we don't all (yet) want to be free of them. It comes back to the post “Do you want to be made whole”. Or perhaps “How whole do you want to be?” There have been times in my life when my addiction to coffee had too big a hold on me. So I gave it up. I needed to know (experience) that with God's help I could do that. I do drink coffee now, but then periodically I fast from it, since I am determined it will not rule me. I need to be free. By the way, I am not saying coffee is the worst thing I have faced.
The point I am making is that the freedom not to drink coffee for me (and I am talking about me) is more important than the freedom to drink it. The freedom not to drink it will not enslave me, but the freedom to drink it could. The apostle Paul makes an interesting statement in I Corinthians 6:12. He says “... I will not be mastered by anything”. If we are mastered by an addiction, we are not free at all, certainly not "free indeed".
For me the habit of drinking coffee is relatively innocuous. But there are things that are much more destructive. In the same passage we have been looking at in the last two posts, Jesus says “He who sins is the slave of sin”. We can become slaves to anger, or jealousy, or sex, or greed, or gamboling etc., etc., and being trapped in these things things is like slavery. When the appetite or the circumstance says jump, we jump! We don't like to be told what we can or cannot do, but the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And as I keep on saying, it is smart to listen to the One who made us, who knows what is good and what is bad for us, what will fulfill us, and what will rob us of quality of life. It bears repeating that when He says “no”, it is for our protection, and it is for our provision. The Bible teaches that our sinful desires “war against” our soul (1 Peter 2:11). Like cancer is to the body, so are our lusts a cancer to the soul. But He is also the one who, when we repent, will help us to get free from the traps we fall into when we don't listen to Him. Like a father who has compassion on his children, so He has compassion on us. When we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (I John 1:9).
And there are many traps, and for sure we don't see all of them all. I experienced this just the other day. I was listening to a teaching on forgiveness when the speaker shared an experience she had where the Lord had convicted her that while she had forgiven such and such a person, she continued to judge him for his behaviour. I was immediately convicted myself of doing the very same thing. Such times are crossroads. I could have complained “these Christians are always laying guilt trips” and been offended. On the other hand, I could do what I did, which was to bow my head and ask His forgiveness and cleansing. I was suddenly free from an unhealthy soul tie with one I was judging. I felt freer than I have for some time. If the Son shall set you free, you will be free indeed (also from John 8).
Sunday, August 22, 2010
"If..continue in my Word ..." continued
The essence of being a Christian is having a relationship with God. All else follows from that. It is not first and foremost about being or doing good, it is about knowing Him. In John 17:3 Jesus tells us “This is eternal (and so abundant) life, to know the One True God..”. But He is not interested in a one night stand, He is interested in relationship. You can think of this as the feminine face of God if you like. This is His desire and, if we would but know it, our “exceedingly great reward”. This being the case, He has built into the fabric of the (fallen) universe aids to draw us into, and help us to stay in, relationship (see “ A cursed earth and the laws of sowing and reaping”). When we turn to our own way and find ourselves in bondage for example, He builds “process” into the part we must play in receiving His solution. So He makes freedom (our desire) contingent not simply on a one time decision to believe (though we do have to start the process), but on - on going continuation in His Word. So then the freedom He promises (see the last post), is also progressive. We don't get it all at once. It comes little by little as we enter into relationship with Him, and learn to claim and appropriate the "land" of His promises.
He knows us well enough to know that if freedom came instantly and fully, we would far too easily throw it away again and return to our bondage. The scripture pictures this as a dog, after being cleaned up, returning to its vomit. In fact for many of us, this is an accurate description of our journey. His solution is the process of allowing Him to “put to death the deeds and the desires” of our perverse fallen nature. In a wonderfully helpful book (Transformation of the inner man), John and Paula Sandford put it this way “We may need to fail over and over, until we can no longer stand not to die”. Part of this of course is that there are consequences to our choices, and they are usually extremely painful.
When we “continue in His Word” the way that He intends for us to do, we learn to come to Him quickly when we fall (it speeds up the process of becoming free). We discover that our God is gracious and full of mercy, and (when we confess and return to Him), He will not only forgive us but cleanse us from it all. This is not the form of “Christianity” that like much of the rest of the world, wears masks and pretends that everything is okay when it is not. It is the kind of Christianity where we are real with each other, where we find a safe place to “confess our faults one to another” and so receive the promise that when we do this, we will be (progressively) healed (James 5:16).
As we continue in this way, one of the things that will slowly but surely start to sink in, is that the Scriptures also bring us wisdom, encouragement and comfort. In and through the Scriptures, we learn how to stay connected to the One who is our “exceedingly great reward”. They show us the part that we need to play in tapping into the strength He wants to give us to live this difficult life in the here and now. Those of us who are seeking to follow and appropriate the promises of God will tell you that the ways of God are not only good and right and proper, they are smart. They do indeed lead us out of bondage and into freedom. But there is so much more. There is in relationship with Him, there is joy and peace and love and hope and grace and the wherewithal to be all that He created us to be. You even get to like yourself. All this if we will but set our hearts, with His help, to continue.
There is one last reason we need to set our hearts to continue, and that is, as Jesus puts it, we do not “immediately desire the new wine for we says the old is better”. In other words there are times when perversely we still want the old ways. It is a little bit like the devil we know is familiar, and at some level there is comfort in that (see “Do you want to be made whole”). It is like there is a barrier that we need to get through, that only persistence and time (and God) will take us through.
So these then are the reasons why it is important to set our hears and wills to continue. It is in many ways a battle. However, when with His help and Bible help we do continue we will become progressively free. It will be easier if we keep examples in our life of those who, in continuing, are escaping the corruption of the lusts of this world. Fellowship with His people is also important.
He knows us well enough to know that if freedom came instantly and fully, we would far too easily throw it away again and return to our bondage. The scripture pictures this as a dog, after being cleaned up, returning to its vomit. In fact for many of us, this is an accurate description of our journey. His solution is the process of allowing Him to “put to death the deeds and the desires” of our perverse fallen nature. In a wonderfully helpful book (Transformation of the inner man), John and Paula Sandford put it this way “We may need to fail over and over, until we can no longer stand not to die”. Part of this of course is that there are consequences to our choices, and they are usually extremely painful.
When we “continue in His Word” the way that He intends for us to do, we learn to come to Him quickly when we fall (it speeds up the process of becoming free). We discover that our God is gracious and full of mercy, and (when we confess and return to Him), He will not only forgive us but cleanse us from it all. This is not the form of “Christianity” that like much of the rest of the world, wears masks and pretends that everything is okay when it is not. It is the kind of Christianity where we are real with each other, where we find a safe place to “confess our faults one to another” and so receive the promise that when we do this, we will be (progressively) healed (James 5:16).
As we continue in this way, one of the things that will slowly but surely start to sink in, is that the Scriptures also bring us wisdom, encouragement and comfort. In and through the Scriptures, we learn how to stay connected to the One who is our “exceedingly great reward”. They show us the part that we need to play in tapping into the strength He wants to give us to live this difficult life in the here and now. Those of us who are seeking to follow and appropriate the promises of God will tell you that the ways of God are not only good and right and proper, they are smart. They do indeed lead us out of bondage and into freedom. But there is so much more. There is in relationship with Him, there is joy and peace and love and hope and grace and the wherewithal to be all that He created us to be. You even get to like yourself. All this if we will but set our hearts, with His help, to continue.
There is one last reason we need to set our hearts to continue, and that is, as Jesus puts it, we do not “immediately desire the new wine for we says the old is better”. In other words there are times when perversely we still want the old ways. It is a little bit like the devil we know is familiar, and at some level there is comfort in that (see “Do you want to be made whole”). It is like there is a barrier that we need to get through, that only persistence and time (and God) will take us through.
So these then are the reasons why it is important to set our hears and wills to continue. It is in many ways a battle. However, when with His help and Bible help we do continue we will become progressively free. It will be easier if we keep examples in our life of those who, in continuing, are escaping the corruption of the lusts of this world. Fellowship with His people is also important.
Friday, August 20, 2010
If you continue in my Word..., you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free
We tend to think we know what we want, and what we want is to be happy. The problem is that when go for the things that we think will make us happy, the happiness we so desperately seek, seems to allude us. We look back and see the times in our lives when, with 20/20 hindsight, we were the happiest, we did not even know it. It works the same way with fulfillment in life, and with freedom. When we pursue these things, they seems to allude us too. In this illustration of the trinity of helps from John chapter 8, Jesus points the way to true freedom. True freedom comes not as we seek it, but as a byproduct of something else. True freedom is not found in doing exactly what I want to do. When I do this, I finish up developing appetites that that demand attention. I finish up being in bondage to the very things I felt would make me free (see future post 'The freedom that enslaves'). True freedom is not the absence of restraint, it is the freedom to be all that we were created to be. Jesus tells us that He came to bring us abundant life, to fullness of life, but we need to do things His way. More often than not when I do it “my way” I finish up settling for mediocrity, or worse, for the quiet desperation that, according to the saying, is the lot of most of us.
The verses we are looking at today, illustrate well the trinity of helps that forms the basis of my blog and in my book. The first component of this trilogy of interconnected helps is Truth. Truth is found supremely in the Bible, properly understood (no small task). In Jesus' High Priestly prayer (John 17) He prays to the Father that He would sanctify us (make us holy) through the truth. He then says “Your Word is Truth”. This may not what be what you believe at this point in time, but it is surly worth considering that these words are spoken by the one who is widely regarded as the best teacher the World has ever known. We might want to ask ourselves why that is, before we too easily dismiss what He says. The first component then is Bible help, help from His Word. The second component has to do with our receiving the truth, our cooperation with it, and the third with the help God gives as us we do this. So then the next two components are self help (if we continue..) and God's help, “the truth shall set you free”. "Wait a minute", I hear you say, "isn’t that Bible help again?" But in the mystery of what He tells us, He is the living Truth (John 14:6), and according to orthodox Christianity (and Jesus Himself if we can see it), He is God, so yes God's help. These things are, as I say mystery. But we have banished mystery in the West. We will need to say more on this (see future posts).
In addition to being an illustration of the trinity of helps, these verses constitute one of the exceedingly great and precious promises of the Scripture. If you are looking at these things from the outside (not yet a Christian), you will find them hard to believe. The Scripture tells us that the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit. I can see it. If I did not know the truth of what I said in the last paragraph, I too would think of this as just so much mumbo jumbo. Perhaps this is you, but if it is, please do not tell me that Jesus was just a good teacher. If what Jesus is teaching here is mumbo jumbo, then Jesus was not even a good teacher, he was a teacher of mumbo jumbo (see future post Lunatic, Liar or Lord).
The things of the Spirit can only be verified from within. As one person put it “I believe, therefor I understand”. I cannot get there by logic. The understanding comes afterwards. If you do not believe that the human body (your human body) can float in water, the way to find out if it is true, is to jump in the water. This would be a scarey suggestion if you don't believe it can float. Some of us got desperate enough to take the plunge, and then found that it really is true. But you won't get there as a spectator staying at the side of the pool! But, to repeat myself, it is a promise. It can be verified by meeting the conditions of the promise “If you continue in my Word”, reading it, believing it, memorizing it, meditating on it, letting it sink into our innermost being, and most importantly, obeying it. The Bible makes it clear that the Word is like a seed that gestates. When it is planted deep within good soil (the soul who will continue) it germinates and brings forth fruit (Mark 4).
And all this is nonsense if God is not there, or does not play His part. But He is there and He will play His part if you play yours. If you are not there yet (or you need to go deeper), please do not give up, because “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17)”. “All very circular” you say. Perhaps, but it is a divine circularity, and that it is true, is the testimony of many who have tasted and seen that the Lord is Good. It is my testimony too. He is in the process of making me progressively more and more free.
The verses we are looking at today, illustrate well the trinity of helps that forms the basis of my blog and in my book. The first component of this trilogy of interconnected helps is Truth. Truth is found supremely in the Bible, properly understood (no small task). In Jesus' High Priestly prayer (John 17) He prays to the Father that He would sanctify us (make us holy) through the truth. He then says “Your Word is Truth”. This may not what be what you believe at this point in time, but it is surly worth considering that these words are spoken by the one who is widely regarded as the best teacher the World has ever known. We might want to ask ourselves why that is, before we too easily dismiss what He says. The first component then is Bible help, help from His Word. The second component has to do with our receiving the truth, our cooperation with it, and the third with the help God gives as us we do this. So then the next two components are self help (if we continue..) and God's help, “the truth shall set you free”. "Wait a minute", I hear you say, "isn’t that Bible help again?" But in the mystery of what He tells us, He is the living Truth (John 14:6), and according to orthodox Christianity (and Jesus Himself if we can see it), He is God, so yes God's help. These things are, as I say mystery. But we have banished mystery in the West. We will need to say more on this (see future posts).
In addition to being an illustration of the trinity of helps, these verses constitute one of the exceedingly great and precious promises of the Scripture. If you are looking at these things from the outside (not yet a Christian), you will find them hard to believe. The Scripture tells us that the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit. I can see it. If I did not know the truth of what I said in the last paragraph, I too would think of this as just so much mumbo jumbo. Perhaps this is you, but if it is, please do not tell me that Jesus was just a good teacher. If what Jesus is teaching here is mumbo jumbo, then Jesus was not even a good teacher, he was a teacher of mumbo jumbo (see future post Lunatic, Liar or Lord).
The things of the Spirit can only be verified from within. As one person put it “I believe, therefor I understand”. I cannot get there by logic. The understanding comes afterwards. If you do not believe that the human body (your human body) can float in water, the way to find out if it is true, is to jump in the water. This would be a scarey suggestion if you don't believe it can float. Some of us got desperate enough to take the plunge, and then found that it really is true. But you won't get there as a spectator staying at the side of the pool! But, to repeat myself, it is a promise. It can be verified by meeting the conditions of the promise “If you continue in my Word”, reading it, believing it, memorizing it, meditating on it, letting it sink into our innermost being, and most importantly, obeying it. The Bible makes it clear that the Word is like a seed that gestates. When it is planted deep within good soil (the soul who will continue) it germinates and brings forth fruit (Mark 4).
And all this is nonsense if God is not there, or does not play His part. But He is there and He will play His part if you play yours. If you are not there yet (or you need to go deeper), please do not give up, because “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17)”. “All very circular” you say. Perhaps, but it is a divine circularity, and that it is true, is the testimony of many who have tasted and seen that the Lord is Good. It is my testimony too. He is in the process of making me progressively more and more free.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Unless you forgive from your heart …..
Jesus teaching on forgiveness is surely one of the hardest things He taught. Part of this of course is that forgiveness is no easy thing. What is the saying “To err is human, to forgive divine”? And to forgive to the point where our hearts agree with our decision to forgive is even harder. Of course He never commands what He does not, with His help, enable us to do. But it is still not easy.
And forgiving those who are closest to us, father, mother, spouse etc., when they have hurt us to the core, can seem at times, like giving approval for abuse, or betrayal. “They do not deserve to be forgiven”. If this is how you feel, then the last thing I am about to do is to try and persuade you that you are wrong. The point though is that in the final analysis, we don't deserve to be forgiven either. This is brought out clearly in the parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18). This perspective of the desperate need of being forgiven by God is completely foreign to a society that does not admit that there is such a thing as right and wrong. We do need to be consistent though. If there is no such thing as right and wrong then the “wrong” done to us cannot be wrong either!
The main problem with unforgiveness, it that is it a prison that keeps us tied emotionally to the one who has offended us. I know of people who decades after their wounding, still hold a grudge. From their perspective the one who wounded them messed them up so badly, they are no longer able to function normally. Thus everything that goes wrong, every problem they encounter, is the fault of the other person. The Biblical principle that we need to embrace here, is that we are not responsible for the sins committed against us. We are however responsible for our response to them. To blame the other person for everything, is tantamount to giving away control of our lives. “I did this or that because he messed me up”. In doing so we fail to take charge of our lives. This leads to bad decisions which mess us up even more, but of course its his fault not mine. Right? Yeah right!
Nobody is saying that life is fair here, that forgiveness settles the justice issue. But the greatest injustice, the greatest unfairness that ever existed, is that we crucified the spotless Son of God. And yes, I do say we, because it was your sin and mine that necessitated His sacrifice to bring us home to the Father.
But forgiveness is so hard at times, that we cannot always handle the whole thing in one foul swoop. He knows this, He knows our weakness. Sometimes it has to start with, “I don't want to forgive this person, but I am willing to forgive”. Sometimes I have to go even one step further back than this. “I am not willing to forgive, but I am willing to be willing”. We need to give the Lord what we can. When we do this, He works in us to will and to do what He commands (Philippians 2:13). I have mentioned it before and will no doubt mention it again. When God commands something He does it for our provision and our protection. We do need His help here, many times. I need His help to keep my heart uncluttered from these things.
One final point for now, forgiving someone is not the same as saying that what they did was okay, it is not negating the harm that they caused us. Actually, the very fact that there is something to forgive says that is was not okay. And no they don't deserve it. So I choose to give them a gift that they do not deserve, and then I leave it to God to deal with them. It then becomes His problem not mine. This is the only way to start to get free from the harm done to us, and to break free from the 'ungodly soul tie' with that person. Forgiveness is an important key in healing life's hurts.
And forgiving those who are closest to us, father, mother, spouse etc., when they have hurt us to the core, can seem at times, like giving approval for abuse, or betrayal. “They do not deserve to be forgiven”. If this is how you feel, then the last thing I am about to do is to try and persuade you that you are wrong. The point though is that in the final analysis, we don't deserve to be forgiven either. This is brought out clearly in the parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18). This perspective of the desperate need of being forgiven by God is completely foreign to a society that does not admit that there is such a thing as right and wrong. We do need to be consistent though. If there is no such thing as right and wrong then the “wrong” done to us cannot be wrong either!
The main problem with unforgiveness, it that is it a prison that keeps us tied emotionally to the one who has offended us. I know of people who decades after their wounding, still hold a grudge. From their perspective the one who wounded them messed them up so badly, they are no longer able to function normally. Thus everything that goes wrong, every problem they encounter, is the fault of the other person. The Biblical principle that we need to embrace here, is that we are not responsible for the sins committed against us. We are however responsible for our response to them. To blame the other person for everything, is tantamount to giving away control of our lives. “I did this or that because he messed me up”. In doing so we fail to take charge of our lives. This leads to bad decisions which mess us up even more, but of course its his fault not mine. Right? Yeah right!
Nobody is saying that life is fair here, that forgiveness settles the justice issue. But the greatest injustice, the greatest unfairness that ever existed, is that we crucified the spotless Son of God. And yes, I do say we, because it was your sin and mine that necessitated His sacrifice to bring us home to the Father.
But forgiveness is so hard at times, that we cannot always handle the whole thing in one foul swoop. He knows this, He knows our weakness. Sometimes it has to start with, “I don't want to forgive this person, but I am willing to forgive”. Sometimes I have to go even one step further back than this. “I am not willing to forgive, but I am willing to be willing”. We need to give the Lord what we can. When we do this, He works in us to will and to do what He commands (Philippians 2:13). I have mentioned it before and will no doubt mention it again. When God commands something He does it for our provision and our protection. We do need His help here, many times. I need His help to keep my heart uncluttered from these things.
One final point for now, forgiving someone is not the same as saying that what they did was okay, it is not negating the harm that they caused us. Actually, the very fact that there is something to forgive says that is was not okay. And no they don't deserve it. So I choose to give them a gift that they do not deserve, and then I leave it to God to deal with them. It then becomes His problem not mine. This is the only way to start to get free from the harm done to us, and to break free from the 'ungodly soul tie' with that person. Forgiveness is an important key in healing life's hurts.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
The Sins of the Fathers (and mothers) are visited on the Children to the third and fourth generation
Where I have found Psychology useful is when it has thrown light on Biblical laws and principles. Perhaps the clearest example has to do with how the sins of the fathers are visited 'on the children to the third and fourth generation of those that hate me'. Though it does not use this language, Psychology has embraced the “law” behind this statement (several thousand years after the Bible stated it, by the way). It is well know for example, that children of alcoholics are more likely to become alcoholics than in the general population. Or take suicide, it unfortunately tends to run in the family. These and other sins tend to act more like pressures and examples that tend to be followed, rather than absolute laws that will always hold. They can for example skip a generation, and appear in the grandchildren, or in the great grandchildren, unto “the third and fourth generation”.
Where Psychology is particularly useful here, is in the gathering of data that shows clearly that dysfunctional pattern do in fact get repeated over and over and over. Thus Psychology verifies that this is a kind of law. One of the tools that Psychology has employed is called the genogram. This is a kind of family tree where “unhelpful behaviour patterns” are also recorded. The point of course, is to recognize and acknowledge that such patterns to indeed tend to reoccur. The hope is that if we can predict the behaviour, we can prevent the recurrence. The principle I suppose, is that to be forewarned is to be forearmed. Psychology sees the problem, the statistics relating to how Psychology has helped to prevent recurrence of these patterns though, are not encouraging.
As always, the Bible has the solution. The quotation of the title of this post is found in the middle of the ten commandments. It seems to be well known even by those who do not read the Bible. The verse that follows it is not so well known, but it contains a promise. It starts with a “But”, "but steadfast love and mercy to thousands of generations of those who love me, and obey my commandments" (Exodus 20:6). I thank God for the “buts” of the Bible. A “but” changes everything. For example “I won a million dollars on the lottery, but I lost the ticket”! The 'but' of Exodus 20:26, shows us how to change a curse into a blessing!
The Bible often puts things in stark terms to make a point (see unless you hate father and mother …). Hate of God and disobedience, and love of God and obedience are equated here and elsewhere in the Bible. For example “He who says he loves God and hates his brother is a liar”. Going through religious motions are not enough. God is neither mocked not fooled. These (inter-generational) curses and curses they are, are not broken just by turning to Him for salvation. They are broken by the costly obedience to His Laws and His Principles, for those who both love and obey Him!
No one is saying these things are easy. Supernatural intervention is needed in order to break the (known and unknown) patterns of sin which have been entrenched generation after generation. One of the helps is the motivation contained in the principle (law) itself. God knows our heart. You see most parents I know, when their children are ill, would rather be ill themselves than have their kids sick. What I am saying is that if and when we start to see that our being stuck keeps our children and grandchildren and great grandchildren stuck too (third and fourth generation), then this provides a great motivation for us to go forward with what we might not be otherwise willing to do. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us, but God cannot steer a parked car. We need to move out in obedience. It is when we move in obedience that we hear the voice behind us saying 'this is the way walk in it'. It is as we obey that He gives us the strength to do and to carry through what we cannot do without Him.
I said above, that these things are curses, and these curses need to be broken by the power of the Cross. There are Biblical principles which show us the “what” and the “how” of this. One of the clearest expositions of these things can be found in the Kelstra's Restoring the Foundations workbook. Briefly we need to start by acknowledging the patterns. Confession of our families /countries/ethnic sins has strong Biblical warrant. This is not the same as taking the blame for them. We are not responsible for the sins of our ancestors, we are responsible for our response to them. Admitting a family fault though, can be difficult in and of itself. Often such admission breaks the unspoken and unwritten but strongly held family rules (don't think, don't feel, don't speak, don't rock the boat), but it is an important first step. Often there are lies associated with these sins. We confess and repent of our own involvement in these things, then we apply the provision of the cross. As the scripture puts it Jesus became a curse that we might receive the blessing of God. This provision of the Cross it one of many divine exchanges. He takes our curse, we take the blessing of His perfection. It just part of the good news of the gospel.
Where Psychology is particularly useful here, is in the gathering of data that shows clearly that dysfunctional pattern do in fact get repeated over and over and over. Thus Psychology verifies that this is a kind of law. One of the tools that Psychology has employed is called the genogram. This is a kind of family tree where “unhelpful behaviour patterns” are also recorded. The point of course, is to recognize and acknowledge that such patterns to indeed tend to reoccur. The hope is that if we can predict the behaviour, we can prevent the recurrence. The principle I suppose, is that to be forewarned is to be forearmed. Psychology sees the problem, the statistics relating to how Psychology has helped to prevent recurrence of these patterns though, are not encouraging.
As always, the Bible has the solution. The quotation of the title of this post is found in the middle of the ten commandments. It seems to be well known even by those who do not read the Bible. The verse that follows it is not so well known, but it contains a promise. It starts with a “But”, "but steadfast love and mercy to thousands of generations of those who love me, and obey my commandments" (Exodus 20:6). I thank God for the “buts” of the Bible. A “but” changes everything. For example “I won a million dollars on the lottery, but I lost the ticket”! The 'but' of Exodus 20:26, shows us how to change a curse into a blessing!
The Bible often puts things in stark terms to make a point (see unless you hate father and mother …). Hate of God and disobedience, and love of God and obedience are equated here and elsewhere in the Bible. For example “He who says he loves God and hates his brother is a liar”. Going through religious motions are not enough. God is neither mocked not fooled. These (inter-generational) curses and curses they are, are not broken just by turning to Him for salvation. They are broken by the costly obedience to His Laws and His Principles, for those who both love and obey Him!
No one is saying these things are easy. Supernatural intervention is needed in order to break the (known and unknown) patterns of sin which have been entrenched generation after generation. One of the helps is the motivation contained in the principle (law) itself. God knows our heart. You see most parents I know, when their children are ill, would rather be ill themselves than have their kids sick. What I am saying is that if and when we start to see that our being stuck keeps our children and grandchildren and great grandchildren stuck too (third and fourth generation), then this provides a great motivation for us to go forward with what we might not be otherwise willing to do. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us, but God cannot steer a parked car. We need to move out in obedience. It is when we move in obedience that we hear the voice behind us saying 'this is the way walk in it'. It is as we obey that He gives us the strength to do and to carry through what we cannot do without Him.
I said above, that these things are curses, and these curses need to be broken by the power of the Cross. There are Biblical principles which show us the “what” and the “how” of this. One of the clearest expositions of these things can be found in the Kelstra's Restoring the Foundations workbook. Briefly we need to start by acknowledging the patterns. Confession of our families /countries/ethnic sins has strong Biblical warrant. This is not the same as taking the blame for them. We are not responsible for the sins of our ancestors, we are responsible for our response to them. Admitting a family fault though, can be difficult in and of itself. Often such admission breaks the unspoken and unwritten but strongly held family rules (don't think, don't feel, don't speak, don't rock the boat), but it is an important first step. Often there are lies associated with these sins. We confess and repent of our own involvement in these things, then we apply the provision of the cross. As the scripture puts it Jesus became a curse that we might receive the blessing of God. This provision of the Cross it one of many divine exchanges. He takes our curse, we take the blessing of His perfection. It just part of the good news of the gospel.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Psychology without faith is lame.
Some of you may know that I am alluding to the well known statement by Einstein that “Faith without Science is blind, Science without faith is lame.” With respect to the first part of Einstein's quote, I know where he was coming from. But it is not just inside of the faith of some, where one finds the attitude, “Please do not confuse me with the facts, I know what I believe”. I suppose it is more obnoxious when it comes from one is claiming to be enlightened, but then atheists claim to be enlightened too, and some of them also have this attitude. I have met them. But not all atheists are like that, nor are all Christians like that. With respect to the quote, poor old Galileo for example, under tremendous pressure from the Church, was force to recant of his belief that the world went round the sun, rather than vice- versa.
But “Science” is not always right. As with all knowledge, we advance many times by two steps forward one step back. I have faith that the “assured (but often false) conclusions of our research” will eventually be corrected by new research. The advantage of age is that you can look back and see this happening. I have seen it over and over in a number of different areas, in Science, in Psychology, in Biblical studies etc. In each case I have seen that “findings” antithetical to Christian faith, which we were assured were true, have in retrospect been shown to be false. But these things can take a long time to correct, a very long time. There is a book “The nature of scientific revolution” which strongly suggests that the old guys (who invented this or that theory) have to die off, before their false theories can be discarded. In terms of inner healing, we need to be aware that confidently expressed Psychological solutions based on the wisdom of man, rather than on the wisdom of God, are not always correct. But I digress (slightly).
Now Psychology research can give insight in our understanding of human nature in general, and the nature of our psychosis in particular. However (to come to the title of this post) Psychology without faith is lame. The problem is that understanding what is wrong, is not the same as fixing it. We may, for example know perfectly well what we aught to do, but the wherewithal to do it is more often than not, missing. Nicky Gumbel (of Alpha fame) says it over and over “Yes, but how?” Paul (to repeat an earlier post) complains that the good things he wants to do he does not do, and the bad things, he does not want to do, these are the very things that he does. He and we, need help. We cannot live the Christian life without God, and the vehicle we need to use to tap into the help we so desperately need, is our faith. We need His help to change, and we need Him in the healing process too. After all He is the One who “heals all your diseases”. I know that it is foolishness to the World, but the testimony of so many of His people is of tremendous help they received. It is my testimony too. Taste and see that the Lord is good!
Let me acknowledge here, that there are those who do not name the name of Christ (they obviously have a will power much stronger than mine), who do somehow manage to pull themselves up out of their addictions. Those I have spoken to though, tell me that they never loose the craving. The problem here, is that even when I can change the behaviour, it does not heal the wounds that drove me to the behaviour in the first place. I personally need God to work in my desires (Philippians 2:12) and I need His healing in the hurts I have sustained and continue to sustain in life.
These helps are more available than we have begun to imagine. It has to do with being vitally connected with God through prayer, godly council and His Word. There are many helpful resources that I believe God has raised up, and continues to raise up at this hour, in and for the increasingly sick society in which we live. Some of the keys He is showing us can be found, for example in “Healing Light” by Agnes Sanford, or Leanne Payne's “Healing prayer”, or “Healing of Memories” by David Seamands. Then there is “Transformation of the inner man” by the Sandfords (see Elijah house ministries), or the Restoring the Foundations network of the Kelstras (RTF), or Jack Frost's “Shiloh Place ministries”. All these and others (though they do not use the same language), seek to engage the trinity of helps that I am advocating. In particular there is an emphasis on discovering Biblical Keys to inner healing, as well as a heavy reliance on the intervention of God in the healing process. And it is a trinity. We need all three aspects of it, self help, Bible help and God's help. When we do not avail ourselves of, and learn how to tap into, the God's help part of this trinity we are, I am very much afraid, guilty of having a form of religion but denying its Power. If we really believe that with God all things are possible we will show it by our lives, and in the choices that we make. We must not, we cannot, be conformed to the World that gives up the moment there is 'pain in the offing'.
The things of which I am speaking are in fact quite controversial in the church. It is unfortunate but true that this has been true of every move of God (since Luther on). The move and provision of God for this hour, about which I will need to say more, is not of course perfect (well I am part of it, and I am far from perfect). I am however convinced that this move is very much what our sick society so desperately needs. I believe that it is the way forward for both for the church and for the “whosoever will come”s of this wicked and hurting World in which we live.
But “Science” is not always right. As with all knowledge, we advance many times by two steps forward one step back. I have faith that the “assured (but often false) conclusions of our research” will eventually be corrected by new research. The advantage of age is that you can look back and see this happening. I have seen it over and over in a number of different areas, in Science, in Psychology, in Biblical studies etc. In each case I have seen that “findings” antithetical to Christian faith, which we were assured were true, have in retrospect been shown to be false. But these things can take a long time to correct, a very long time. There is a book “The nature of scientific revolution” which strongly suggests that the old guys (who invented this or that theory) have to die off, before their false theories can be discarded. In terms of inner healing, we need to be aware that confidently expressed Psychological solutions based on the wisdom of man, rather than on the wisdom of God, are not always correct. But I digress (slightly).
Now Psychology research can give insight in our understanding of human nature in general, and the nature of our psychosis in particular. However (to come to the title of this post) Psychology without faith is lame. The problem is that understanding what is wrong, is not the same as fixing it. We may, for example know perfectly well what we aught to do, but the wherewithal to do it is more often than not, missing. Nicky Gumbel (of Alpha fame) says it over and over “Yes, but how?” Paul (to repeat an earlier post) complains that the good things he wants to do he does not do, and the bad things, he does not want to do, these are the very things that he does. He and we, need help. We cannot live the Christian life without God, and the vehicle we need to use to tap into the help we so desperately need, is our faith. We need His help to change, and we need Him in the healing process too. After all He is the One who “heals all your diseases”. I know that it is foolishness to the World, but the testimony of so many of His people is of tremendous help they received. It is my testimony too. Taste and see that the Lord is good!
Let me acknowledge here, that there are those who do not name the name of Christ (they obviously have a will power much stronger than mine), who do somehow manage to pull themselves up out of their addictions. Those I have spoken to though, tell me that they never loose the craving. The problem here, is that even when I can change the behaviour, it does not heal the wounds that drove me to the behaviour in the first place. I personally need God to work in my desires (Philippians 2:12) and I need His healing in the hurts I have sustained and continue to sustain in life.
These helps are more available than we have begun to imagine. It has to do with being vitally connected with God through prayer, godly council and His Word. There are many helpful resources that I believe God has raised up, and continues to raise up at this hour, in and for the increasingly sick society in which we live. Some of the keys He is showing us can be found, for example in “Healing Light” by Agnes Sanford, or Leanne Payne's “Healing prayer”, or “Healing of Memories” by David Seamands. Then there is “Transformation of the inner man” by the Sandfords (see Elijah house ministries), or the Restoring the Foundations network of the Kelstras (RTF), or Jack Frost's “Shiloh Place ministries”. All these and others (though they do not use the same language), seek to engage the trinity of helps that I am advocating. In particular there is an emphasis on discovering Biblical Keys to inner healing, as well as a heavy reliance on the intervention of God in the healing process. And it is a trinity. We need all three aspects of it, self help, Bible help and God's help. When we do not avail ourselves of, and learn how to tap into, the God's help part of this trinity we are, I am very much afraid, guilty of having a form of religion but denying its Power. If we really believe that with God all things are possible we will show it by our lives, and in the choices that we make. We must not, we cannot, be conformed to the World that gives up the moment there is 'pain in the offing'.
The things of which I am speaking are in fact quite controversial in the church. It is unfortunate but true that this has been true of every move of God (since Luther on). The move and provision of God for this hour, about which I will need to say more, is not of course perfect (well I am part of it, and I am far from perfect). I am however convinced that this move is very much what our sick society so desperately needs. I believe that it is the way forward for both for the church and for the “whosoever will come”s of this wicked and hurting World in which we live.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
