Know It

Hypocrisy. King David did not always do things according to the Laws of God. Saul was mutilated after his death. The Philistines cut off his head and strung his body up outside the walls of a chief city (1 Samuel 31:9). This upset David. Mutilating people after their deaths was not customarily done (especially to kings). Yet, in 2 Samuel 4, we see David ordering the hands and feet of Ishbosheth's killers cut off and hanging what was left of their bodies by the pool at Hebron (2 Samuel 4:12). Ishbosheth was the son of Saul and designated leader of the northern tribes of Israel. So David was playing fast and loose with the Laws God had given His people so many years ago.

This is another example of the people corrupting the Old Testament Laws. The people, including David, no longer knew what the Law said. They had forgotten it and had not passed it down to their children. They were violating it in many ways – just as Christians often do today.

Why does this happen? People are just not immersed in the Word of God. They don’t even know what it says so they can’t tell if they are following it or not. Unfortunately, my experiences indicate that this is especially true for those calling themselves Christians. Many mainline denominations have decided to interpret certain passages of Scripture so that they are convinced it can and does mesh with current cultural biases. Individuals rely on others to teach them what the Word of God says without investigating Scripture for themselves.

In a separate study of God’s Word I’m doing with a friend from my church, there are examples of ways to investigate God’s Word as individual people. (Early Christians were commended for searching the Scriptures to see whether what the preachers were preaching was in line with Scripture (Acts 17:10-11). It’s not just something we can do; it’s something we should be doing. I’m going to briefly look at the suggested ways for getting into and understanding God’s Word found in the NavPress Bearing Fruit in God’s Family.

1.     Paraphrase a verse or passage. Start by looking at various translations of the Bible. Some of my favorites are the New International Version, the New American Standard Bible, the Complete Jewish Bible, the Amplified Bible, the New Living Translation, and the paraphrase, The Message. You can find all these translations at https://www.biblegateway.com/After reading the same verse(s) in a few translations (not necessarily all the ones mentioned above), write the verse(s) out using your own words or borrowing bits and pieces from the various translations until you truly understand what it’s saying.

2.     Questions to be asked. Ask who, what, when, where, why, and how questions of the passage. Also note questions that come to your mind as you read the verse(s) through a few times (possibly also referring to a variety of translations).

3.     Pray through the verse or passage. Look at each phrase or sentence and pray about how it applies to your life and your life circumstances.

4.     Emphasize each word separately as you read through the passage several times. Each word is there for a reason (2 Timothy 3:16). Determine what is the significance of each key word (don’t be fooled; even the word “in” could be significant).

5.     Cross-References. Find them by using a concordance or use Google. What you are looking for are verses that say similar things to the verse you are looking at. You are looking for other verses in Scripture that support the basic concept. You may be surprised how many there are for each verse. I recently used this technique for John 14:21 and found at least 5 Old and New Testament passages that support the concept of keeping God’s Words. (Look up John 14:21 to see what I’m talking about).

6.     Applications to be made. This is a key to true spiritual growth. What specific and measurable step can you take based on the truth(s) in a particular passage. I recommend attempting to make an application for each passage you look at each day. Make it something you can do in one day. For instance, for Philippians 4:6, an application might be to pray each day for a week being careful to give thanksgiving for what has already happened and the promised (yet unseen) answers to come.

Try one of these techniques today. I suggest choosing a different one each day this week and use it in a passage of Scripture you are reading (or should be reading). As a side note, another helpful aid is a little booklet called Woven Writing by Cassie Showerman. This booklet can be purchased at https://godshapedmom.com/shop/ I am using its suggestions and gaining new insight into familiar and not-so-familiar passages of Scripture. Many of the suggestions in this booklet use the same techniques I outlined above.

Permission to Feel

In my Quiet Times, I’m reading a devotional book as a jumping off place. It’s called Joy Breaks: 90 Devotions to Celebrate, Simplify, and Ad Laughter to Your Life. The various devotions are written by one of four women: Patsy Clairmont, Barbara Johnson, Marilyn Meberg, or Luci Swindoll. On Monday I read “Don’t Grin and Bear It” by Barbara Johnson.

Basically it said that there is a place for sorrow and crying in our lives. Actually, it said that humans are the only animals created that can cry. “Scientific research indicates that tears – real, wet, human tears – may be the body’s mechanism for flushing away harmful chemicals produced during stress.” (p. 16) So that tells me that God has a purpose for crying and tears, and that we should not refrain from experiencing them.

However, crying means that we feel something, something pretty intense. And feeling scares me. I’ve done many things throughout my life to avoid feeling (or at least feeling intensely). My addiction to alcohol started because of feelings and frustrations I experienced as a young person. Self-harming behaviors developed as a way to not feel the emotions I was feeling. Keeping people at arm’s length kept me from feeling emotions. Getting caught up in a good book often helped me avoid feeling the real things in my life. There are probably other ways I’ve learned to avoid my feelings, but they come so naturally to me, that I can’t even identify them.

I’m not sure why my feelings are so frightening, but after reading the devotion I realize I’m not experiencing all that God wants me to experience because I’m unwilling to allow myself the emotions that may cause tears. The devotion cited Psalm 126:5-6: “Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy. He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him.” God understood our humanity (after all He created us) and expects there to be tears whether due to sorrow or joy. I’m missing out on being fully human by not allowing myself to feel intense sorrow or intense joy.

The devotion also said, “Sometimes allowing yourself to cry is the scariest thing you’ll ever do. And the bravest. It takes a lot of courage to face the facts, stare loss in the face, bare your heart, and let it bleed. But it is the only way to cleanse your wounds and prepare them for healing. God will take care of the rest.” (p. 17) So maybe I’m not alone in having trouble accepting my feelings and allowing myself to feel them. It may be scary for everyone. I need to learn to deal with my feelings in productive ways, first by identifying them and letting myself feel them.

Thanksgiving and Praise

From 31 Days of Praise by Ruth Myers; Day #28: “I exult in the free, confident access You have provided, so that I can come into Your Presence for warm fellowship, for refreshment, for mercy when I’ve failed, for grace when I’m in need. What a joy to know that I can draw near to You at any moment, wherever I may be . . . that I can come boldly to Your throne of grace, assured of Your glad welcome – not because I’m worthy or because I’ve served You, but because You’re a God of grace, a God of unmerited, unlimited favor – not little dribbles of favor reluctantly measured out, but overflowing, super-abundant favor. I’m so glad that You welcome me just as I am, simply because Jesus is my risen Savior, and I am alive with His life and righteous with His righteousness!”

Today, that grace and mercy from God is what I’m most thankful for. Without it I would be living in fear and guilt, unable to rise up and be glad in my circumstances. I don’t always believe I’m totally forgiven and free from the guilt of my sin, but Scripture tells me I am – just because of what Jesus did and because He’s my Savior.

I’m without fear of eternity and that only comes from having a relationship with God. But, my faith wavers and sometimes I have to rely on sources outside of my own thinking to regain a sense of being totally forgiven and loved. Sometimes I turn to various books, like the 31 Days of Praise quoted from above, to help me focus on the truths of my relationship with Christ. Sometimes I rely on friends to remind me. Sometimes it’s my therapist that says the words I need to hear to put me in the right mindset to have the faith I need to turn to God.

On this day, Thanksgiving 2014, I could focus on the many blessings in my life, but I’m choosing to focus on the ultimate reasons for thankfulness: Salvation, grace, and mercy because of Jesus. My you find the same thankfulness in your lives this holiday season.

Thoughts on Thinking

I recently read a book called My Stroke of Insight about a woman neuroscientist who had a stroke at age 37. She lost most of her functioning of the aspects of her brain that stem from the left side of her brain. That meant that the stuff we usually think of as academic thought and abilities, including speaking and reading, were lost to her. The amazing thing is the book was actually written by the woman who had the stroke.

She regained much of her lost functioning through hard work and retraining her brain to make connections in different ways. The part of her story that intrigued me the most was how she learned to appreciate the functioning of her right hemisphere of her brain. She believes that the right hemisphere contains the abilities of compassion and peace. I could use a little more peacefulness in my life. And, maybe I could use more compassion, too, especially compassion for myself about myself.

The left hemisphere of our brains is responsible for judgment and calculations. I am very good at judging myself, probably too good leaving me without the compassion for myself that I could use to live a happier and less self-critical life. I think I spend much of my waking moments being judgmental and critical of others and myself. I think I’m going to try to spend more time using my right brain by getting in touch with the present moment in time . . . what am I feeling at given moments in time.

One exercise suggested in the book was to just notice sensations in my body. For instance, when a cat is sitting on me, notice the pressure and weight on my lap without judging whether it’s good or bad. It just is. I’m going to try to make conscious decisions to retrain my brain to be more compassionate toward myself. I can do this by consciously choosing to think happy thoughts and not dwell on negative thoughts.

In My Stroke of Insight it talks about certain sensations having a 90-second physiological cause. An example they gave was for anger. There’s a release of chemicals that effects the way I feel for 90-seconds. At the end of that time, I can choose to allow the circuits in my brain continue being angry or I can choose to let the anger go and feel peace and compassion. I think this will take some practice, but I’m going to try.

Books

I’ve started working on converting my son’s bedroom into a study. You wouldn’t know it by looking into the room, but I’ve spent 6 – 8 hours working on sorting through some of the stuff he left here after his move to Muncie, IN to go to grad school at Ball State University.

I am most impressed with the number and types of books he’s accumulated since he was born. He’s got a little of everything. Science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction, mysteries, picture books, legends, Vikings, explorers, missionaries, kings, cowboys, and many more. It was kind of fun to note the books that are well worn, the books he’s read and reread many times. It was fun to remember him propped up in bed near bedtime reading a novel. He loved to read. He still does.

Sometimes, even as recently as last year, I’ll catch him reading through a Three Investigators book. It used to take him a few days to read through one of these children’s mysteries. Now it takes an hour or two. So I packed them up so we could move his bookshelf as I get ready to paint. But, those books, along with his Harry Potter series, Brian Jacques books, The Lord of the Rings series, Susan Cooper books, and his other favorites will be back on the bookshelf once the painting is done.

The thing is, I’ve read most of his books, too. They were good reads and remind me why I was able to recommend books to him that he would enjoy. Because I enjoyed them!

Time to stop writing and return to the sorting and cleaning. However the room looks like more of a mess than when I started cleaning it. I can’t do much more until I have some place to put the boxes of books and knick-knacks while I prepare the walls for new paint (like in my daughter’s room once she leaves for college!)

I’m getting excited to see how things turn out. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.