For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants of one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Galatians 5:13).
Christians are a free people, so free that we are subject to no one, but we are servants so we are subject to every one. Most of that first sentence is attributed to a statement that Martin Luther is alleged to have said. In any case, I believe it to be true. The law of the Spirit is love, the kind of love that seeks the best for everyone, just as we seek it for ourselves. In is in a spirit of love that I write, and in a spirit of love that each one should consider everything they do.
I was motivated to write this because I know that there is a pretty high percentage of Christians who drink and I wonder if they consider what they do in a spirit of love. It was a letter in a recent "Dear Abby" column that moved me to interrupt my series on mental illness to write this. Here is what the letter said: . . . "I am the president of a construction company, and it was standard practice for us to give alcohol at Christmas to a number of our customers. Then one day, I received a call from a tearful woman who asked if we had given alcohol to her husband. When I answered yes, she said that in the future, she would appreciate it if we wouldn't do that anymore. Her husband, an alcoholic, had consumed the entire bottle, gone home and beaten her up. We discontinued the practice immediately. I would not advise people to gift alcohol unless they know the recipient very well and know it will not cause harm to him or her, or those around them. --SAFER IN TENNESSEE."
How can one ever know that alcohol will not cause harm? Here are a few facts gleaned from a brief Internet search. For the year 2005, alcohol dependence cost the U.S. economy $220 billion. Half of U.S. adults have a relative who is presently or was an alcoholic. There are 14,000,000 alcoholics in the U.S.. More than half a million alcoholics are age 9 to 12. Four in ten of those who begin drinking before age 15 become alcoholics. Thirty seven percent of all traffic fatalities are alcohol related. The last one is really interesting: married drinkers have a 9% chance of becoming alcoholics, living-together drinkers have a 30% chance of becoming alcoholics.
In terms of marriage and family, I'm sure I could have come up with more alcohol related statistics with a more detailed search, but I think there is enough here to make one think about how alcohol use effects those whom we love. People do not drink alcohol because it tastes good, they drink it because it makes them feel good; it is a self medication. Alcohol is a depressant to the central nervous system so it deadens the pain of depression and anxiety. Every person who drinks, drinks for this reason--yes, even social drinkers.
Does this mean that I think every one who drinks alcohol is going to hell? No, but I do believe that if we would fulfill the law of love we must carefully weigh the consequences of its use. God gave the Rechabites (Jeremiah 35:14ff)* a special blessing because they did not use it; evidently, God appreciated their abstinence.
Our Father's Blessings,
Tom
*Wikipedia has an interesting entry about them.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
MY SHORT THEOLOGY OF MENTAL ILLNESS
May the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (I Thessalonians 5:23).
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them (Genesis 1:27).
then the Lord formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being (soul) (Genesis 2:7 RSV).
If scientists are given only the raw chemistry of life, they cannot create life in a test tube. For scientists to "create" life there has to be material included that has life force in it, and that comes from God. Anything living, plant or animal, has life force in it and only God can provide that. But, of all living things, it is only said of human beings that they are created in the image of God; God has breathed spirit into every human being that is like himself.
Scientists have tirelessly researched the genome of the human body and have a pretty good understanding of the genetics that make it "tick." While there is a lot of genetic variability among human beings so that no two of us are exactly alike, we are more alike than we are different so that basic genetic principals apply to us all. When the God-created-in-his-own-image human spirit enters the body, the unification of body and spirit makes a soul. The human spirit impacts the body and the body impacts the spirit in such a way that both spirit and body will never be the same again--even after the body dies, the impact of the body on the spirit will always remain. The spirit of a dead person will remain a soul. Even though in our residence in Heaven we will have perfect bodies, living in the earthly body will have had a role in shaping our character. Through the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in our environment we are shaped little by little into the likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ (II Corinthians 3:18). Think of the sweet character of a downs syndrome person or one who has battled schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, or any other physical problem, God has worked in their lives, because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, shaping their character into the likeness of Christ.
In its self, the flesh is not evil. The flesh serves as a house for the human spirit (II Corinthians 5:1-5). The problem with the flesh is that it is very demanding so that it tends to want to dominate our lives! The flesh has needs; it tires easily, needs to be fed, it ages. Not only that, it has its desires too, so the flesh is very demanding, wanting its needs and desires met NOW! One very important principal that every child of God has to understand is that this body that we live in is to be our servant, not our master. We make our decisions by faith in God, not by the demands of the flesh. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace, says Romans 8:6. It is sin to allow the flesh to be the primary dynamic of decision making.
So what does this have to do with mental illness? There are times when our brains and glands fail. The body does not respond to the directives of the will of the spirit. Is the spirit accountable for something it can do nothing about? Only to the degree that there can be some control. As I wrote in Mental Illness and Personal Responsibility, there are those who are mentally ill who take personal responsibility for their behavior and perform very well. To have no expectations of responsibility for the mentally ill diminishes their person hood, and diminishes the possibility that they can ever function responsibly.
Mental illness is not a picnic for anyone--for the patient, his family and others to whom he is connected. Mental illness is a result of the body not working properly. Because the brain is so closely connected to the will, the will being the product of the human spirit's activity*, there is a stigma of the demonic or activity of the evil one attached to it. Also, because it is beyond our control, and not understood, it is stigmatized and shunned. The person afflicted with mental illness is still a person created in the image of God whom God loves. God alone can accurately judge the degree of responsibility of each mentally ill person, but it would be wrong for those who are treating the mentally ill not to have some expectations of responsible behavior because the ill will not progress without them!
Our Father's Blessings,
Tom
* A neurosurgeon can strategically place electrodes on a patients brain and move the patients arms, but the patients will is absent--something is being done to the patient, not something done by him.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them (Genesis 1:27).
then the Lord formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being (soul) (Genesis 2:7 RSV).
If scientists are given only the raw chemistry of life, they cannot create life in a test tube. For scientists to "create" life there has to be material included that has life force in it, and that comes from God. Anything living, plant or animal, has life force in it and only God can provide that. But, of all living things, it is only said of human beings that they are created in the image of God; God has breathed spirit into every human being that is like himself.
Scientists have tirelessly researched the genome of the human body and have a pretty good understanding of the genetics that make it "tick." While there is a lot of genetic variability among human beings so that no two of us are exactly alike, we are more alike than we are different so that basic genetic principals apply to us all. When the God-created-in-his-own-image human spirit enters the body, the unification of body and spirit makes a soul. The human spirit impacts the body and the body impacts the spirit in such a way that both spirit and body will never be the same again--even after the body dies, the impact of the body on the spirit will always remain. The spirit of a dead person will remain a soul. Even though in our residence in Heaven we will have perfect bodies, living in the earthly body will have had a role in shaping our character. Through the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in our environment we are shaped little by little into the likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ (II Corinthians 3:18). Think of the sweet character of a downs syndrome person or one who has battled schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, or any other physical problem, God has worked in their lives, because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, shaping their character into the likeness of Christ.
In its self, the flesh is not evil. The flesh serves as a house for the human spirit (II Corinthians 5:1-5). The problem with the flesh is that it is very demanding so that it tends to want to dominate our lives! The flesh has needs; it tires easily, needs to be fed, it ages. Not only that, it has its desires too, so the flesh is very demanding, wanting its needs and desires met NOW! One very important principal that every child of God has to understand is that this body that we live in is to be our servant, not our master. We make our decisions by faith in God, not by the demands of the flesh. To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace, says Romans 8:6. It is sin to allow the flesh to be the primary dynamic of decision making.
So what does this have to do with mental illness? There are times when our brains and glands fail. The body does not respond to the directives of the will of the spirit. Is the spirit accountable for something it can do nothing about? Only to the degree that there can be some control. As I wrote in Mental Illness and Personal Responsibility, there are those who are mentally ill who take personal responsibility for their behavior and perform very well. To have no expectations of responsibility for the mentally ill diminishes their person hood, and diminishes the possibility that they can ever function responsibly.
Mental illness is not a picnic for anyone--for the patient, his family and others to whom he is connected. Mental illness is a result of the body not working properly. Because the brain is so closely connected to the will, the will being the product of the human spirit's activity*, there is a stigma of the demonic or activity of the evil one attached to it. Also, because it is beyond our control, and not understood, it is stigmatized and shunned. The person afflicted with mental illness is still a person created in the image of God whom God loves. God alone can accurately judge the degree of responsibility of each mentally ill person, but it would be wrong for those who are treating the mentally ill not to have some expectations of responsible behavior because the ill will not progress without them!
Our Father's Blessings,
Tom
* A neurosurgeon can strategically place electrodes on a patients brain and move the patients arms, but the patients will is absent--something is being done to the patient, not something done by him.
Friday, January 21, 2011
MENTAL ILLNESS AND PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
And on the morrow an evil spirit from God rushed upon Saul, and he raved within his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he did day by day. Saul had his spear in his hand; and Saul cast the spear, for he thought, "I will pin David to the wall." But David evaded him twice (I Samuel 18:10-11 RSV).
Note: 1. The "evil spirit from God" is an example of a Hebrew verticalism. Since God is all powerful, he could have prevented the "evil spirit" from dynamically influencing Saul, but he chose not to and thus God gets credit for the evil spirit. 2. Was it an evil spirit that assailed Saul or was this just a matter of religious language being used to diagnose king Saul's mental problem? My thinking is to take the Bible at its word, but in either case, personal responsibility is an important factor.
Often we think that those who suffer from illnesses are innocent victims, being unable to bear any responsibility while they are sick. But, anyone who is sick has to bear some responsibility for getting well. It might be nothing more than being quiet so that the body's natural immune system has a chance to defeat the infection. It might be just to follow doctors orders and take the medication as directed. In any case, there is an appropriate level of personal responsibility to which a person can be held accountable. When I was the director of a juvenile residential treatment facility, some of the women workers would insist that there were times when they couldn't help it if they were irritable. I told them that, regardless of how they were feeling, I expected them to act like professionals while they were on duty. It diminishes person hood to not hold others accountable for their performance--even one's self.
I've said all this to lead into a quote by a member of a panel that presented to my mental health ministry class. This lady was afflicted with a true mental illness, bipolar disorder. She was functioning at a very high level, though a psychologist once told her that she wouldn't be able to function at more than a minimal level. She was a woman of achievement, running her own business and being president of a service organization. She was asked, "How do you take care of yourself so that you can function so well?" She responded very emphatically, "Personal responsibility for how I live my life, for my goals and for what I am working on! You have to have them! When I take personal responsibility I find that I need to take less medication." This woman did not see herself as a victim. She understood that she had a disease, but she was not going to allow herself to be defined by it.
I will never forget what she said and I hope you don't either!
Our Father's Blessings,
Tom
Note: 1. The "evil spirit from God" is an example of a Hebrew verticalism. Since God is all powerful, he could have prevented the "evil spirit" from dynamically influencing Saul, but he chose not to and thus God gets credit for the evil spirit. 2. Was it an evil spirit that assailed Saul or was this just a matter of religious language being used to diagnose king Saul's mental problem? My thinking is to take the Bible at its word, but in either case, personal responsibility is an important factor.
Often we think that those who suffer from illnesses are innocent victims, being unable to bear any responsibility while they are sick. But, anyone who is sick has to bear some responsibility for getting well. It might be nothing more than being quiet so that the body's natural immune system has a chance to defeat the infection. It might be just to follow doctors orders and take the medication as directed. In any case, there is an appropriate level of personal responsibility to which a person can be held accountable. When I was the director of a juvenile residential treatment facility, some of the women workers would insist that there were times when they couldn't help it if they were irritable. I told them that, regardless of how they were feeling, I expected them to act like professionals while they were on duty. It diminishes person hood to not hold others accountable for their performance--even one's self.
I've said all this to lead into a quote by a member of a panel that presented to my mental health ministry class. This lady was afflicted with a true mental illness, bipolar disorder. She was functioning at a very high level, though a psychologist once told her that she wouldn't be able to function at more than a minimal level. She was a woman of achievement, running her own business and being president of a service organization. She was asked, "How do you take care of yourself so that you can function so well?" She responded very emphatically, "Personal responsibility for how I live my life, for my goals and for what I am working on! You have to have them! When I take personal responsibility I find that I need to take less medication." This woman did not see herself as a victim. She understood that she had a disease, but she was not going to allow herself to be defined by it.
I will never forget what she said and I hope you don't either!
Our Father's Blessings,
Tom
Saturday, January 15, 2011
THE CHURCH'S MINISTRY TO THE MENTALLY ILL
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:37-39).
Every winter I try to do something to continue my education. Last year I went to fire school to learn how to do prairie burns, next year, the Lord willing, I will either re tour the Holy Land or do the "seven churches in Asia" tour. This year I did a 220 mile round trip commute each day for five days to Sioux Falls Seminary to take a class on the Church's ministry to the mentally ill. I think this is an important subject because a lot of us are not comfortable in dealing with mental illness, yet 25% of us will deal with it in a years time. Some of us will move in and out of it like one deals with the flu, while others mental illness will be life-long. It is important for those who are dealing with mental illness to understand that God doesn't love them less than anyone else!
One of the things it means to live in a fallen world is that human beings have to deal with illness and body parts that get broken and do not work right. The brain is one of those body parts. The brain is one of the organs of the body, a very complex one, but an organ, nevertheless. Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are a couple of examples of true mental illness that result from dysfunctional brains. It could be said that we all suffer from mental illness, and quite probably, we do, from time to time. For the Schizophrenic and those bipolar, though they have better days than others, they will always have to deal with their illness. Should they be loved less? No! They certainly are not valued less by God; the population of Heaven will reveal that!
The Church on earth, to be true to the ministry of Christ, has to be a source of hope to the mentally ill!
Our Father's Blessings,
Tom
Every winter I try to do something to continue my education. Last year I went to fire school to learn how to do prairie burns, next year, the Lord willing, I will either re tour the Holy Land or do the "seven churches in Asia" tour. This year I did a 220 mile round trip commute each day for five days to Sioux Falls Seminary to take a class on the Church's ministry to the mentally ill. I think this is an important subject because a lot of us are not comfortable in dealing with mental illness, yet 25% of us will deal with it in a years time. Some of us will move in and out of it like one deals with the flu, while others mental illness will be life-long. It is important for those who are dealing with mental illness to understand that God doesn't love them less than anyone else!
One of the things it means to live in a fallen world is that human beings have to deal with illness and body parts that get broken and do not work right. The brain is one of those body parts. The brain is one of the organs of the body, a very complex one, but an organ, nevertheless. Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are a couple of examples of true mental illness that result from dysfunctional brains. It could be said that we all suffer from mental illness, and quite probably, we do, from time to time. For the Schizophrenic and those bipolar, though they have better days than others, they will always have to deal with their illness. Should they be loved less? No! They certainly are not valued less by God; the population of Heaven will reveal that!
The Church on earth, to be true to the ministry of Christ, has to be a source of hope to the mentally ill!
Our Father's Blessings,
Tom
Sunday, January 09, 2011
A GENOGRAM CAN HELP
. . . for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments (Exodus 20:5-6).
An indispensable piece of my counseling treatment modality is to do a genogram with my client, or in the case of marriage counseling, a genogram with each spouse. Some counselors might spend as much as four hours completing genograms for a married couple. I try not to spend that much time, but the time spent doing a genogram is time well spent for it can make invisible family dynamics visible and be an aid in helping the client understand the dysfunctional dynamics with which he or she is dealing.
A genogram is similar to doing a family tree. It is a family map of at least three generations, outlining births, deaths, miscarriages, abortions, personality types, marriages, divorces, addictions, conflicts, over involements, military service, occupations, education, disease and medical problems, etc. In other words, every aspect of a person's family life for three generations, that can be recalled, is discussed and diagrammed so that inter generational patterns come to light. It might very well be seen that the problems the client is dealing with are problems that are being repeated from previous generations. It is not uncommon for a client to reap the consequences of a grand parent's behavior.
At some point the client, when he or she recognizes the dysfunctional emotional and behavioral patterns of the preceding 2 generations, has to commit to breaking the dysfunctional cycle in the family. It is never easy to do and, I think, can really only be done with God's help because the dysfunction has become second nature, and once one of the family members begins to move toward health, another family member will, almost always, try to sabotage the attempt to become healthy because if one member of the family becomes healthy, every member will have to change.
The best way to bless yourself and your children, and your children's children, is to humble yourself before the Lord Jesus Christ, seeking his pardon and forgiveness, and follow him in the obedience of faith.
Our Father's Blessings,
Tom
An indispensable piece of my counseling treatment modality is to do a genogram with my client, or in the case of marriage counseling, a genogram with each spouse. Some counselors might spend as much as four hours completing genograms for a married couple. I try not to spend that much time, but the time spent doing a genogram is time well spent for it can make invisible family dynamics visible and be an aid in helping the client understand the dysfunctional dynamics with which he or she is dealing.
A genogram is similar to doing a family tree. It is a family map of at least three generations, outlining births, deaths, miscarriages, abortions, personality types, marriages, divorces, addictions, conflicts, over involements, military service, occupations, education, disease and medical problems, etc. In other words, every aspect of a person's family life for three generations, that can be recalled, is discussed and diagrammed so that inter generational patterns come to light. It might very well be seen that the problems the client is dealing with are problems that are being repeated from previous generations. It is not uncommon for a client to reap the consequences of a grand parent's behavior.
At some point the client, when he or she recognizes the dysfunctional emotional and behavioral patterns of the preceding 2 generations, has to commit to breaking the dysfunctional cycle in the family. It is never easy to do and, I think, can really only be done with God's help because the dysfunction has become second nature, and once one of the family members begins to move toward health, another family member will, almost always, try to sabotage the attempt to become healthy because if one member of the family becomes healthy, every member will have to change.
The best way to bless yourself and your children, and your children's children, is to humble yourself before the Lord Jesus Christ, seeking his pardon and forgiveness, and follow him in the obedience of faith.
Our Father's Blessings,
Tom
Saturday, January 01, 2011
THE GOOD CONFESSION
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do men say that the Son of man is?" And they said to him, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah and others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, but who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:13-18).
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world" (John 11:25-27).
With this post I am merely sketching out a sermon, it will be a broad outline for my sermon. If you would like to add to it, dear reader, you are welcome.
Getting the identity of Jesus of Nazareth right is essential to the Christian faith. That is why the traditional prebaptismal confession, "I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God" is necessary for a valid baptism. One isn't expected to have a mature faith at baptism, but one is expected to have a sufficient faith at baptism. The truth of this confession is the foundation stone of the faith of God's people.
Though each member of God's family must personally possess this faith, I am not sure that many could defend it, let alone treasure it. God has no grandchildren, only children. Under normal circumstances, no one will make it into God's kingdom on the faith of a relative or loved one. I know a family that is proud of the fact that a couple of its members are ministers of the gospel, but many of the family's members live like the devil; not like people who possess this faith.
One of the things that many orthodox Jews believe about Jesus is that he is a hoax, that he never really existed so their remarks about him and those who believe in Jesus are venomous. Some things never change. When Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do men say that I am?" they did not reply with all the venomous things that men had said about him, but only the more respectable things. Jesus did not intend to be a "respectable" person, he intended to be a polarizing person. Either his is who he says he is, or he is a liar, or something worse. Though the evidence for the historical existence of Jesus is abundant, there are those who fall into the same category as the Holocaust deniers and will never be convinced otherwise--they have a vested interest in keeping things the same.
The "Christ" is a rough Greek equivalent of the Hebrew term, "Messiah." They both mean, "anointed one." High Priests, Kings and Prophets were anointed in the Old Testament. Jesus is the king of God's kingdom (Ephesians 1:20-23). He is the perfect high priest (Hebrews 2:17-18). He is a prophet in the sense that he was one like Moses (Acts 3:22). Jesus was anointed with God's Spirit at his baptism in water (Matthew 3:13-17) similarly to a Christian's baptism.
Jesus is the Son of the living God. Hebrews 1:1-3 gives us a clue as to what that means: In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things through whom he also he created the world. He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe by his word of power. There is only one living God--all other gods are dead or bring death! The living God is the only one who can bring life out of death!
We do not know what 2011 will bring, but whatever it brings, the confession is true. It will bring strength in time of hardship and sorrow. As Martha was grieving the loss of her brother, Lazarus, she confessed her faith in Christ. Whatever happens in 2011, always hold fast to the good confession.
Our Father's Blessings,
Tom
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world" (John 11:25-27).
With this post I am merely sketching out a sermon, it will be a broad outline for my sermon. If you would like to add to it, dear reader, you are welcome.
Getting the identity of Jesus of Nazareth right is essential to the Christian faith. That is why the traditional prebaptismal confession, "I believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God" is necessary for a valid baptism. One isn't expected to have a mature faith at baptism, but one is expected to have a sufficient faith at baptism. The truth of this confession is the foundation stone of the faith of God's people.
Though each member of God's family must personally possess this faith, I am not sure that many could defend it, let alone treasure it. God has no grandchildren, only children. Under normal circumstances, no one will make it into God's kingdom on the faith of a relative or loved one. I know a family that is proud of the fact that a couple of its members are ministers of the gospel, but many of the family's members live like the devil; not like people who possess this faith.
One of the things that many orthodox Jews believe about Jesus is that he is a hoax, that he never really existed so their remarks about him and those who believe in Jesus are venomous. Some things never change. When Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do men say that I am?" they did not reply with all the venomous things that men had said about him, but only the more respectable things. Jesus did not intend to be a "respectable" person, he intended to be a polarizing person. Either his is who he says he is, or he is a liar, or something worse. Though the evidence for the historical existence of Jesus is abundant, there are those who fall into the same category as the Holocaust deniers and will never be convinced otherwise--they have a vested interest in keeping things the same.
The "Christ" is a rough Greek equivalent of the Hebrew term, "Messiah." They both mean, "anointed one." High Priests, Kings and Prophets were anointed in the Old Testament. Jesus is the king of God's kingdom (Ephesians 1:20-23). He is the perfect high priest (Hebrews 2:17-18). He is a prophet in the sense that he was one like Moses (Acts 3:22). Jesus was anointed with God's Spirit at his baptism in water (Matthew 3:13-17) similarly to a Christian's baptism.
Jesus is the Son of the living God. Hebrews 1:1-3 gives us a clue as to what that means: In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things through whom he also he created the world. He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding the universe by his word of power. There is only one living God--all other gods are dead or bring death! The living God is the only one who can bring life out of death!
We do not know what 2011 will bring, but whatever it brings, the confession is true. It will bring strength in time of hardship and sorrow. As Martha was grieving the loss of her brother, Lazarus, she confessed her faith in Christ. Whatever happens in 2011, always hold fast to the good confession.
Our Father's Blessings,
Tom
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