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I’m Not Alone

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Sometimes I get jealous of women who seem to have it all, or who have more than me…in terms of money, relationships, popularity, or success. And my jealousy hurts no one but myself…and sometimes my relationship with them.
 
I have to remind myself of what I’ve discovered. What I’ve discovered is that as I get to know some of these women and talk to them, or listen to them when they need me to, they admit problems and issues in their lives. Real problems. Severe issues. Heavy burdens. And all at once I feel relieved from my jealousy, but mostly I’m so thankful and humbled that they felt they could share with me. Then I delight in praying for them and just being there for them.
 
Many times I can identify with them because I’ve dealt with similar issues. Sometimes their issues are far more severe than anything I’ve been through. And here I was thinking they were all put together and had it all… which proves we never know. That’s the main lesson I’ve learned. The secondary lesson is that we should take time to get to know–to listen–to others’ stories and burdens. And maybe, we should admit our own burdens to others we trust too.
 
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2, NIV).
 
I admit, I don’t let very many people know my issues, hurts, and burdens. I can easily put on a happy face, act like everything is great, and even fool my husband and everyone I encounter. Many people have told me I’m “happy go lucky.” Oh I’m strong. I know that. I take action to try to keep myself happy and busy. I aim to keep a positive outlook on everything. I try to compartmentalize areas in my life or not dwell on the hurt so this is possible.
 
What others don’t know is that I hurt and struggle silently, in the depths, on almost a daily basis. I’ve been holding the same hurts and struggles for years, and they’ve never been resolved. Not because I don’t try. Believe me, I try. I’ve prayed. I’ve given it over to the Lord. I’ve cried. I’ve lost sleep. I’ve journaled. I’ve reached out. I’ve served others. I’ve sought advice, counsel and therapy. I’ve done all I know to do, but my secret struggles remain, although I wish from the depths of my heart they would be resolved. In fact, much of my burden is the fact I am powerless to resolve it and the issues it carries.
 
I’m learning there are not solutions or answers for everything, although people try very hard to supply that. Sometimes, the answers are in the waiting. Sometimes, life lessons are learned through the hurts we bear–lessons that would not be learned if it were not for those burdens.
 
Sometimes, the answers are played out without our realizing it. Then one day, resolution comes. But it didn’t come overnight. It didn’t come with a shout or blaze of glory. No, it came steadily, silently, through the living of life….the day by day, ebb and flow, ups and downs of life. It came through tears, laughter, relationships. It came through lonely nights. It came through all the prayers and seeking. It came through learning more about ourselves. And others. And God.
 
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:2-4, NIV).
 
It encourages me to remember that. But what’s more encouraging is that I’m not alone in my burdens. For all these years I thought I was alone. I thought no one else carried my burden or anything like it. No one else I met seemed to have the same issue. I didn’t admit it to many people, but when I did admit it, no one resonated or identified with me. No one seemed to fully understand or helped me. Maybe they didn’t know what to say which just added to my sorrow. So I continued to take my burden to the Lord, but then I discovered this:
 
“Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens” (Psalm 68:19, NIV).
 
Wow! Daily? The God of creation, my savior, DAILY BEARS MY BURDENS. My unique, lonely burden that I thought no one else carried. That no one else helped. Yet the strongest, most infinite, all-knowing, creative being in the universe bears my burden with me. He sympathizes and empathizes with me. He carries me, although at times it doesn’t feel like it. He understands.
 
And all those nights I cried, He sorrowed with me. All those nights I prayed, He was there. He gets it. But for whatever reason, He hasn’t resolved it yet. That’s where my trust comes in.
 
And I trust Him. I will wait. Because he’s carrying me through this; even if it takes until I go to heaven to be with Him. Just knowing He bears my burdens with me is amazing, comforting–and it’s enough.
Cheryl Smith is a pseudonym

Read more at the source: I’m Not Alone

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Spiritual applications.

Eyes Wide Open

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“Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3, The Voice). 

It’s sad how as adults we have lost the awe and wonder of the simple things in life. Several years ago, during the Christmas season, I saw a little girl pick up a Christmas gift bag from under our office tree, hold it up to her ear and shake it, desperately trying to see through the decorated paper bag, a look of curiosity and anticipation on her little face. It struck me how, as we grow up, we lose the ability to be surprised, to become excited over something small.

It’s no wonder Christ said we must become “as little children.” Children take on their world with eyes wide open, arms flung out, blissfully headlong into each moment of each day. They wake up and hit the ground running. God wants us to have that zest and zeal for life, the joy of anticipating a new day, a new adventure.

This Christmas, we should remember that every day of our life is a gift–a gift from God! And we should “unwrap” each one of them with the delight and appreciation of a little child!
Linda Klischies Niebling writes from Florida.

Read more at the source: Eyes Wide Open

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Spiritual applications.

Givers or Takers

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There are two kinds of people in this world. Either they are the givers or they are takers. The difference between them is amazing and certainly worth thinking about. 

The givers are always looking for ways to help another person whether it’s by giving of themselves physically, emotionally, financially or relationally. When our children were young we wanted to teach them about the word “benevolent” which means to give to another without expecting any financial or appreciative gain. When they were teens, we took them down to the inner city to a place called “Baloney Joes,” where the homeless find shelter and a hot meal. Our kids volunteered in serving those meals and even though they were not expecting anything in return they were surprised to be blessed by the sincere appreciation from the people they served. It was then that they learned about the blessing of giving. As our children grew into adults they chose careers that minister to and help others. The world needs more “disinterested benevolence,” the kind of example that Jesus gave of His life.

The takers on the other hand, have careers or a life that does the opposite. They expect others to always be giving to them. They are usually materialistically minded, seeking what they can get without much effort. Houses, property, cars, clothes and money are of utmost importance! They appear to be “empty vases,” beautiful on the outside and hollow on the inside. In observing one woman’s full life until her death, we saw that she was a taker. Throughout her lifetime she acquired inherited property, new cars, several houses, fashionable clothes and wasn’t afraid to use important peoples names to advance herself. In reading her written life story we noticed that she did not have a positive relationship with her husband, children or the Lord. As she was dying, she was unhappy and unsatisfied because she realized that she couldn’t take her material possessions with her. Her life was over and she ended up with nothing. Danny Thomas said, “The takers may eat better, but the givers sleep better.”

Many couples find separation in their marriage because one of them is a giver and one is a taker. The giver works hard towards having a good relationship and carries the main load of life while the taker tags along, never happy and always wanting more. The takers are selfish, vain and greedy while the givers are selfless, contented and sharing. The Dead Sea is the Dead Sea, because it continually received and never gives.

One day we were making our regular pastoral visits to church members and when we called ahead to make our next visit, the husband surprisingly blurted out on the phone, “we were just going to have some strawberry shortcake but we don’t have enough for you.” When we arrived the wife tried to politely offer us some strawberries and of course we hesitated as to how to answer. A giver would share their last strawberry but a taker would begrudge parting with even one berry.

At one of our church potlucks, a fashionably dressed couple who never contributed food but always showed up to eat, approached me with an unbelievable question, “Do you think we need to go to the car and get our can of olives for the potluck?” Jesus taught us to serve others. He knows the giver will receive the greatest blessing. To serve and give is to be happy! The takers are not usually happy or satisfied. Jesus said, “It is better to give than to receive.” Here’s a little test to know if a person is a giver or a taker. Surprise them with a small, thoughtful gift and watch carefully for their first reaction. If they show a phony, disgusted or unhappy look, they are most likely a taker. But if they show genuine and sincere appreciation, they probably are a giver.   

Believe it or not, a gambler is a taker. They have an attitude of getting something for nothing and all the while don’t see that they are throwing their life’s savings away, hoping for the “big take.” Have you ever observed a taker family waiting for the “big take” from a dead relative’s inheritance? It’s a horrible and ugly sight to see the greed coming out of the closet. The taker likes to get something for nothing and will stop at nothing to get what they think they deserve. Dishonesty, lies, manipulation and anger come out for all to see. A true Christian doesn’t go there. To the Christian, relationships are more important than money or material possessions. Seek joy in what you give, not in what you get.

If we look back biblically to the beginning of time, we read that this problem started in heaven when Lucifer wanted to take over God’s position. As a God created angel, Lucifer wanted more. He was unhappy and unsatisfied and wanted to have it all. He wanted to be God! That first sin in heaven started the separation between takers and givers. God gives us freedom of choice everyday to decide if we want to be a taker or a giver. God’s love is unlimited and unconditional, that we are truly loved, right here, right now just the way we are. God’s gift of Jesus’ life of serving, His death and His resurrection secured our salvation and is what brings conviction and converts the heart from a taker to a giver.

Are you a giver or a taker? It’s your choice!
Cathy Corwin writes from the Pacific Northwest.

Read more at the source: Givers or Takers

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Spiritual applications.

Is Addiction a Choice?

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Is addiction a sin? Or is it a disease? Is it a choice, or is it an accident? If we define addiction as a disease, does that mean alcoholics and addicts aren’t responsible for their actions? If we consider it a sin, does that mean addicts and alcoholics aren’t worthy of respect? And, finally, is the “disease concept of addiction” an excuse for inappropriate behavior?

As a certified addictions counselor who has spent eight hours a day, five days a week, for the last thirty years in the company of alcoholics and addicts, I would say that the disease concept of alcoholism/addiction generates more internal conflict and interpersonal controversy among both conservatives and liberals, churchgoers and non-believers, and addicts and their families than many other subjects. Discussing this topic is nearly as risky as discussing religion and politics, probably because our views on the nature of addiction have implications in both areas.

While listening to a politically-oriented talk show recently, I heard someone make an uncom-plimentary remark about people who rationalize bad behavior by calling it an addiction. The caller’s statement raised several questions in my mind: (1) Is the so-called disease concept of addiction a ploy for excusing inappropriate behavior? (2) Is it valid to assume that identifying a behavior as addictive gives addicts “license” or permission to act illegally or immorally? And (3) if inappropriate behavior is prompted by a diseased condition of body or mind, what is the best way for concerned persons to respond?

Before we proceed, let me give a clinical description of addiction: addiction is a bio/psycho, social/spiritual disease that is—by nature—primary, chronic, progressive, and potentially fatal. It is characterized by tolerance and loss of control. People can addict themselves to almost anything they make highest priority in their lives while ignoring other important priorities. In so doing, they avoid relationships, reality, and responsibility. If their indulgences are detrimental to them or the people closest to them and they persist in doing them in the face of adverse consequences, they are considered addicts.

Coming to terms with reality

When we define a given behavior as addictive or compulsive, are we implying that it’s okay? Is it acceptable for addicts and alcoholics to drink, drug, or gamble while their families go hungry? Is it okay for them to abuse and neglect their spouses and children? Not at all. Saying that someone is an addict doesn’t make him/her any less responsible for correcting his/her behavior than saying “I am a sinner” releases me to trespass indiscriminately or indefinitely! Nor does it suggest that addicts are not accountable for the damage done while they are under the in-fluence. Behavior has consequences. Drug addicts and alcoholics are accountable for their misdeeds, as are workaholics, relationship junkies, and food addicts. Let’s use a common physical illness like diabetes as an example: When a physician informs a patient that he has diabetes, is she implying that it’s okay for the patient to use his symptoms as a reason to avoid making lifestyle changes? Hardly! The diagnosis simply suggests a course of action that could prolong or improve the patient’s quality of life! A diagnosis of addiction serves exactly the same purpose. It helps the addict create an effective treatment plan.

Lisa, a young nurse who was addicted to prescription drugs, was on the brink of losing her family and career. Here’s her perspective on the matter: “As long as I considered myself a bad person who needed to get good, I felt hopeless. When a counselor told me I wasn’t a bad person who needed to get good, but rather a sick person who needed to get well, I breathed a sigh of relief. As a medical professional, I knew what to do about illness.” With the help of a counselor, Lisa created a viable treatment plan to arrest her chemical dependence. She took responsibility for her recovery and, by God’s grace, has been sober for fifteen years.

Admittedly, there are addicts who use the disease concept to excuse bad behavior—particularly those who don’t want to quit. If they didn’t have that excuse, they would find another. But this doesn’t mean that all addicts use the disease concept to justify their drug-taking. Five church-goers deal honestly and fairly in business. One does not. The dishonesty of the one is not a reflection on the other five. The fact that some addicts use the disease concept of addiction to avoid recovering is not a reflection on those who don’t.

The disease concept does not preclude moral responsibility. I have met very few alcoholics or addicts in the treatment setting who are looking for excuses. Their substance abuse has driven them into the ground. They are looking a practical ways to recover. They accept responsibility for change and growth and, in the process, make themselves fully accountable for past actions. Making amends is a major part of twelve-step programs, which are an intrinsic component of most treatment plans.

Parenthetically, some people who are uncomfortable with the disease concept of addiction are also uneasy with the idea of personal powerlessness upon which twelve-step programs are based. They see powerlessness as a kind of defeatism or blind resignation. Please note that powerlessness does not equate with mindless resignation. There is a vast difference between (1) succumbing to one’s weakness and (2) surrendering to one’s need of help. An addict’s admission of powerlessness simply indicates that he knows his problems are bigger than he is and that he needs help.

Would you and I be powerless if we stepped into a boxing ring with the heavyweight champion of the world? No doubt. When addicts and alcoholics acknowledge their powerlessness, they are consciously admitting that they are “beyond human aid” and that all attempts to “win through in single-handed combat” have failed.* No matter how seriously they may want to change their lives, they recognize the fact that they will lose the battle if they persist in fighting it alone. They have discovered by unhappy experience that there is “no such thing as the personal conquest of this compulsion with the unaided will.” Thus, when addicts admit that they are powerless, they’re simply facing the fact that they need good orderly direction from a source of wisdom and strength outside themselves. That’s not a bad place to start!

On your journey today, if you meet an addict or alcoholic along the way, let him/her know that s/he has a disease from which he or she can recover. The medical model provides a solid framework for treating unhealthy dependencies. Professional care (either inpatient or out-patient) and twelve-step aftercare programs have been proven by research to be the most effective means for gaining and maintaining sobriety. There is no better support system for recovering addicts than the people and principles of twelve-step groups. They offer a simple spiritual program for remaining abstinent and, ultimately, for developing character. Treatment and twelve-step meetings, used in combination, are a God-given means of recovery.

*Phrases quoted in this article come from Alcoholics Anonymous material.

Read more at the source: Is Addiction a Choice?

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Spiritual applications.

When Jesus Comes

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What Christ’s Second Coming Will be Like

In the summer of 1969, TV screens around the globe showed the incredible images of men walking on the moon. The first part of this history making feat was accomplished on July 20, with the touchdown of the Apollo 11 lunar module on the moon’s surface. A few hours after touchdown, Mission Commander Neil Armstrong stepped out of the lunar module and onto the moon’s surface. Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin soon joined him, and they both walked and worked on the lunar surface for more than 21 hours.

The reentry of the Apollo 11 into earth’s atmosphere was almost as exciting as the manned lunar landing. Soon after noon on July 24, several hundred shipmen and NASA personnel on the USS Hornet, and millions around the globe watching their televisions, focused on the clear skies about eight hundred miles southwest of Hawaii. At 12:50 p.m., the small command module broke through earth’s atmosphere and fell into the Pacific Ocean, bringing home three safe and elated American astronauts.

The accomplishment of the Apollo 11 mission still thrills us today. The mission made America the leader in space exploration and helped pave the way for its role as the world’s only superpower.

But we who believe in the Bible know very well that humanity will one day witness another reentry from space that will make Apollo’s mission seem puny. Indeed, it will eclipse every other event in human history. The Bible refers to it as Christ’s return and includes enough information for us to at least partially understand its grandeur and significance.

How will Christ return?

Christ’s return will be visible. Jesus described His coming in terms of an extraordinary public event, not a spiritual or secret coming, as some believe.

When the time came for Jesus to return to heaven after the Resurrection, the disciples witnessed the Ascension. This is how Luke describes it:

“He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.'”1

Christ Himself describes His return as personal visible, and glorious. “‘As lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man…. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.'”2

Revelation also emphasizes the visibility of this astonishing event: “Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him.”3

The Second Coming is not a private event for a privileged few. The Bible assures us that the glorious return of the Son of Man will be impossible to ignore.

It will be audible.  The incredible scale of the Second Coming will also overwhelm our sense of hearing. 

The apostle Paul described it in these terms: “The Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.”4

God’s own extraordinarily powerful voice will be so authoritative that even the dead will hear it! It will penetrate the deepest tombs with its message of victory over sin and death.

It will be glorious. There is more. This time Jesus is not coming alone, to share the fate of the human beings who rejected and condemned Him. He will come as a conquering general. In symbolic language, Revelation described Him as the Rider on a white horse:

“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns…. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean…. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”5

Jesus will come surrounded by a glorious army of heavenly beings. The book of Jude quotes an ancient prophecy by Enoch: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones.”6 But it is not the size of this army that will determine Satan’s ultimate defeat. The same power that created earth will destroy it. The same voice that called to life our planet will initiate destruction unparalleled by all nuclear weapons ever devised.

Peter wrote about the Day of the Lord: “The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare…. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.”7

Why is He coming?

Jesus is coming to free us from death. Christ won the decisive battle against Satan at Calvary. His death and resurrection make it possible that every person who chooses to can escape the bondage of sin and Satan. No one can close the door that Jesus opened. But the fight between good and evil will not end until Satan and death are eliminated.

Let’s read how the apostle Paul explained it: “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive…. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”8

Jesus is coming to fee us from injustice and suffering. Since the death of Abel at the hand of Cain, humankind has had to deal with injustice. Many men and women through the ages have cried, “When will it end, O Lord?” When will the anguish of the poor and the oppressed end? When will parents no longer have to bury children killed by violence? When will everyone have enough to eat? When will evil people no longer prosper, while good people suffer misery or disease?

The plan of salvation, of which Jesus is the executor, was designed to forever neutralize every consequence of sin.

Jesus is coming to judge humanity. “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”9

The apostle Paul wrote to his associate Timothy, “Christ Jesus…will judge the living and the dead.”10

Jesus is coming to establish His kingdom. The most glorious result of Christ’s second coming is that He is coming to stay. Its effects will be permanent.

The Bible abounds in passages about the restored kingdom. Revelation makes a prophetic announcement of the moment Jesus takes possession: “The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.'”11

On our knees before God

Joni Eareckson Tada talks about what the Second Coming will mean for her. Joni is a quadriplegic who has spent most of her life in a wheelchair. One of her greatest wishes in life is to be able to kneel before the Lord.

On a certain occasion, Joni participated in a convention in which the six hundred attendees were invited to kneel for prayer. When seeing this large group kneeling before God, Joni could not contain her tears. Then she prayed, “Lord Jesus, I anxiously await the day when I will stand on my resurrected legs. The first thing I will do is fall on my knees and worship You.”

Soon the day will come when Joni, you, and I will be able to kneel before the coming King. Christ’s glorious return is imminent. Won’t you choose to be ready?
______________________________

1. Acts 1:9-11.
2. Matthew 24: 27, 30.
3. Revelation 1:7.
4. 1 Thessalonians 4:16.
5. Revelation 19:11, 12, 14, 16.
6. June 14.
7. 2 Peter 3:10, 12.
8. 1 Corinthians 15:22, 25, 26.
9. Matthew 15:31, 32; see also verses 33-46.
10. 2 Timothy 4:1.
11. Revelation 11:15.
______________________________

Read more at the source: When Jesus Comes

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Spiritual applications.

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