THE NECESSITY OF FORGIVENESS

And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against any one; so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses (Mark 11:25).

Some of the goals of marriage counseling are to improve communication, to increase understanding in each spouse, and to build conflict resolution skills.  While being successful in accomplishing these goals in marriage counseling is a good thing, nevertheless, healing will never be complete unless there is forgiveness.

When Jesus taught about forgiveness, he tended to frame it in financial terms, Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors" he taught us to pray.  People are familiar with finance so it makes forgiveness a little more easy to understand when Jesus pictures forgiveness this way.  When a debt is forgiven, the note is put through the paper shredder; there is no longer a legal basis to hold the debtor accountable for his debt.  Though the debt might not be forgotten, it cannot be brought up again.

That two sinful people can be united in marriage and not hurt one another is nearly impossible and that is why forgiveness is so necessary.  Most of the time the hurts are minor, sometimes they are major, but always they will be sources of anger and conflict unless they are forgiven.  Forgiveness is a core value of being a Christian; to forgive is to love like God loves in Jesus Christ.

One of the hindrances to effective prayer is when forgiveness is withheld even when it is asked for.  God will not hear our prayers if we are not willing to forgive the one who has hurt us.

My understanding of Christian forgiveness is that it is not unconditional; there must be a change of mind which leads the offender to ask for forgiveness.  Sometimes there a pathological abusers out there who take advantage of forgiveness as a means of continuing the abuse and we must be wise in that regard.  Generally, asking for forgiveness implies a desire to change.  According to First John 1:9, forgiveness is conditioned on the offender recognizing that his behavior is sinful and, as a result, asks for forgiveness.

God loves each person; Jesus died on the cross for all!  The sins of every person are paid for in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ--while we were yet sinners Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).  God stands willing to forgive anyone who recognizes their sin and embraces Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  Apart from that, they stand unforgiven.  Likewise, we must be so ready to forgive that forgiveness is a foregone conclusion if one asks for it.

Our Father's Blessings and Love,
Tom

THE ACTIVITY OF SALVATION: BELIEVING IN DR. CHRIST

Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has God the Father set his seal.  Then they said to him (Jesus), "What must we do to be doing the works of God?"  Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he hath sent" (John 6: 27-29).

As I wrote in the Passivity of Salvation, salvation is something that only God can do to us--we cannot save our selves and make our selves whole!  The sacrificial death of Jesus Christ for our sins is the only price that can be payed.  The ministry of Holy Spirit is the only power that can make us whole.

It is only a coincidence that the doctor who is the doctor in charge of treating my sickness literally has the surname, Christ.  It adds a nice touch to this devotional does it not?  Dr. Christ is in charge of the treatment, but if I do not believe in him, can he heal me? 

I do not show or feel any signs of the disease I have.  It was only by an annual physical that it was discovered.  I could say, "I'm doing okay, I do not need Dr. Christ."  But I have seen what this disease does to men, so I do not want to take the risk.  As a result, believing in Dr. Christ, I am willing to sign the consent form for treatment, follow his instructions, show up at the hospital at the appointed times for treatment.  If the treatment is successful, I will be extremely thankful to Dr. Christ, even though I will pay him very well, because I could not have healed myself!  If I did not believe in Dr. Christ, I would do none of those things.

If one truly believes in Jesus Christ, all that follows is a foregone conclusion.  The activity of salvation is believing in Dr. Christ.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

QUICK TRIP TO CALIFORNIA

(The Lord) who satisfies you with good as long as you live so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's (Psalms 103:5).

We (Helen and I) just returned home from our annual President's Day holiday week-end trip to the great state of California to visit our grandchildren, Faith, Deacon and Parker and their wonderful parents, Rebecca and Kirk.  The weather was sunny and warm, a nice break from Iowa.  It was nice to see green grass and the almond trees blossoming!  The honey bees were out doing their job of spreading pollen around.

The state of California is truly the state of fruits & nuts.  The church my son-in-law serves is building an out door baptistry.  Since baptism is by immersion there has to be enough water to immerse a person under water.  The local officials couldn't decide if this would be a pond or a pool.  They finally decided that it would be a pool and, as a result, the church must post a "No Life Guard on Duty" sign on the baptistry.

It is a good thing to be connected to the family.  For children to be connected to the extended family gives them a source of meaning, purpose and self-esteem during their growing-years.  It is a blessing to grand parents too, keeping them young.  I think God intended to renew the strength of grand parents through their grand children.

The flights were uneventful this year, thank God, but those airplane seats are the most uncomfortable place to park one's "keester" since the steel tractor seat.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

THOUGHTS BEFORE I WENT UNDER: THE PASSIVITY OF SALVATION

And we all with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18).

You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ . . . (I Peter 1:18,19a).

When I was on the operating table waiting to be sedated, yesterday, I was thinking about the journey of physical healing I was beginning.  In purely human terms, the healing is coming from the doctor, nurses and hospital staff.  They provide the facility, expertise, medication and care needed for me to get well.  In my case, the doctor was doing a procedure on me that will make me well.  What would I be doing?  Nothing, (I had already signed the consent forms) except letting the doctor and staff work on me.  Then I thought, "Isn't that how salvation is, allowing the Divine healer to do his work in my life?" What is necessary for me to do is to sign the consent forms for treatment (Christian baptism) and to let go of the futile ways of the past.

I will have more to write about this in a following post.  For now, remember that Dr. God wants to heal your life if you will allow Him.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

AMERICAN PICKERS: A COMMUNION MEDITATION

You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your fathers, not with perishable things such as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ like a lamb without blemish or spot (I Peter 1:18-19).

One of the programs I enjoy watching on television is American Pickers--it's on the History Channel.  The "pickers" are Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz, who are from Iowa, incidentally, and they travel the United States looking for junk that is really treasure.  So, as they drive their van, they are looking for places that have lots of junk.  Finding one, they will ask the owner if they can look through their junk.  If they find some junk that is really a treasure, they will make an offer to buy that object for a certain amount of money, knowing they can re-sell that object for more money and make a profit on it. 

Mike & Frank are funny to watch, but their program reminds me of one of the basic principles taught in economics 101: An item is only worth what a buyer will pay for it.  Mike & Frank will not buy an object on which they cannot make a profit.  If the seller wants too much money for an item, then they simply move on. 

The point I want to make here is that God has established the value of every human being here by what He has paid for them.  God did not cheap out here, trying to redeem us, buy our salvation, with mere gold and silver, but He bought us with the precious blood of Jesus Christ, His Son.  God's motive is not the profit motive; the reason God is so extravagant in the payment price is that He loves us as much as His very own Son who was sacrificed on the cross for you and me.

Our Father's Love
Tom

NARCISSISM: SELF-ESTEEM GONE TO SEED

For by the grace given to me I bid every one among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think . . . (Romans 12:3).

Whether it is an over emphasis on self-esteem, or a misunderstanding of how to deal with low self-esteem, it certainly seems like we are raising more and more narcissistic and self-centered people.  Personal peace, happiness and prosperity are our chief values.  We tend to be, in our culture, more "I" centered than "we" centered.  Even among so-called low self-esteem people there are many times when they think, "rules are for other people, they do not apply to me."  As a result, there is a lot of out-of-control behavior by low self-esteem people.  Yes, low self-esteem people can be narcissistic.

What this means is that low self-esteem people are not always low self-esteem people.  It just means that, more often than not, they seem to be low self-esteem.  Low self-esteem is situation specific, it is not a constant.  At work one may act with great confidence and competence while in her social life she might be a blushing, stumbling "wall flower."  One of the tasks of the low self-esteemers is to identify the competencies they have and the beliefs they have that enable them to act in self-accepting ways, and try to strengthen them and expand them.

The opposite of low self-esteem is not self-centeredness, or narcissism, it is being comfortable with one's self and becoming what God created us to be.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

SELF-ESTEEM AND CONFIRMATION BIAS

. . . and you shall know the truth, and the truth will make you free (John 8:32).

There are no truly objective researchers.  Any researcher who has set forth a hypothesis tends to favor evidence that confirms his hypothesis.  That is the definition of confirmation bias.  Not only is confirmation bias a problem for researchers, it is a problem for ordinary people too.  If a person has come to the conclusion that he or she is worthless and has little to offer in terms of beauty, talent, intellect or finance, then that person only selects evidence that supports his conclusion.  If one is told he is ugly, stupid, fat, clumsy and will not amount to anything enough, he will believe it. 

In many cases, people with low self-esteem cannot be reasoned out of it.  There's an old counselor story about a man, "John," who came to the counselor believing he was dead.  The counselor reasoned with the man for most of the session, but then he finally used this argument when he asked the client, "John, do dead men bleed?" John replied, "no."  So, the counselor gave John a needle and asked him to prick his finger.  John did as the counselor asked and blood came from his finger.  Then the counselor said, "See, John, you are alive because dead men do not bleed."  Then John said, "Well what do you know, dead men do bleed!"

In dealing with depression and low self-esteem, this phenomena of confirmation bias is not easily dealt with, but the solution is always the truth.  Dr. Chris Thurman wrote a book called, The Lies We Believe.  It would be worthwhile reading for anyone dealing with depression, anxiety and low self-esteem.  Daily we are surrounded with messages about self-worth that are lies.  The antidote to that is bathing in the truth every day.  How do your beliefs and values line up with the sound teachings of the Bible?  Low self-esteem does not cause false beliefs, rather, the lies we choose to believe cause low self-esteem.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

*There is an emotional component to low self-esteem that makes it so difficult to remedy.  One additional facet of treatment is to fellowship with those who live the truth--those with healthy self-esteem.

THOUGHTS ABOUT SELF-ESTEEM: GUILT AND SHAME

Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons (Genesis 3:7).

Adam and Eve had just eaten the fruit that God had told them specifically not to eat.  Guilt is a legal term.  If one violates the law, he is guilty of it.  Shame is the feeling of worthlessness that one should have as a result of violating the law.  Adam and Eve felt the shame, and therefore, sewed fig leaves together to cover their nakedness.  Verse 8 of Genesis 3 tells us that they then tried to hide from God.  Their actions indicated their shame--shame accompanies sin.

I've often wondered if all the tattoos that men and women cover themselves with these days are attempts to cover the shame they feel.  Perhaps that is a subject for research.  Guilt and shame are not always the cause of low self-esteem, but much of the time they are.  If one is suffering from low self-esteem, it is worth taking some time to probe around in the past to see if there are some "Adam & Eve" moments of unfaithfulness and disobedience that have been covered in psychological fig leaves that need to be uncovered.

Shame is the feeling of worthlessness that results from wrong-doing, real or imagined.  Those suffering from shame must remember that the value of any object is always established by the one who purchases it.  Think about it, God has established your worth by purchasing you with the precious blood of his only Son, Jesus Christ!  Regardless of your sin, guilt and shame, your worth has been established by God (John 3:16-17).

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

THOUGHTS ABOUT SELF-ESTEEM: SELF-CARE

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.  On it you shall not do any work . . . (Exodus 20:9,10).

The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath . . . (Mark 2:27).

It should be noted that Christians are no longer under the Sabbath law (Colossians 2:16-23) but there remains a principle of rhythmic rest and worship that refreshes our hearts and bodies enabling us to face life with confidence.  Christians celebrate the Lord's Day, the day of Christ's resurrection, on a weekly basis, resting from nonessential labors to fellowship with sisters and brothers in Christ, worship and reflect on the author of creation and salvation, Jesus Christ. When these most-important matters are observed, a person is blessed and refreshed.

Many people suffer from low self-esteem because they violate this principle of regular rest and worship.  It is difficult to have positive self-esteem if one is chronically tired.  Chronic weariness and pain have a role in causing depression, while rest and worship refresh the heart.  A person with materialistic values believes he, or she, only has value because of what he, or she, produces.  As a result, there is an idolatry of work, and workers drive themselves beyond limits, becoming anxious, irritable and exhausted.

The sabbath principle was made for human beings so that they can see and appreciate who they really are.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

THOUGHTS ABOUT SELF-ESTEEM

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).

I'm sharing some thoughts on self-esteem at the request of a reader and because there is a need for understanding self-esteem at this time.  My basic understanding of self-esteem is based in theology, for it is God who gives value to human beings; human beings do not have the final word on the worth of themselves.

Self-esteem may be defined as the feeling we experience as the result of self-appraisal or appraisal by others.  This appraisal is either positive of negative; if negative, we usually feel depreciated, deficient, and depressed; if positive, we usually feel elevated, enthusiastic, and exuberant.  Thus, positive self-appraisal is crucial to our well being.  Negative appraisal from others is less threatening if we can appraise ourselves positively (Bruce Parmenter, 1986).*

We are not the final authority on our own self-worth, nor is the appraisal of others the final word on our own self-worth.  The feelings and the values of the appraiser, the glasses through which they view the world, distort the truth of the value of another human being.  Do not allow the criticisms of others, or your own negative self-talk and feelings conquer the truth.  God says you are created in his image, thus your dignity, value and nobility are established!

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

*Bruce Parmenter was a seminary professor of mine, and a friend.  He wrote a book called, What the Bible Says About Self-Esteem.  Many of his thoughts will be reflected in this series of self-esteem.

YOGI'S WISDOM

Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?"  Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but by me . . ." (John 14:5-6).

Yogi Berra* had a way of expressing himself that is truly unique--funny, but profound.  This saying credited to him was reproduced in a church news-letter.  It reminded me of the cited text above.  I just had to share it: If you don't know where you're going you'll end up somewhere else!  I have a feeling Jesus would laugh and would agree completely.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

*When I was a boy, Yogi Berra was an all-time great catcher for the New York Yankees baseball team.  I was a Yankee fan.

METOPROLOL* FOR THE SOUL

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid (John 14:27).

I receive a health news-letter from Dr. Andrew Weil.  In today's letter he cited a Norwegian study about the correlation between church attendance and lower blood pressure: A large new study from Norway suggests that the more time men and women spend in church, the lower their blood pressure.  Earlier research in the U.S. suggested a similar association between church attendance and blood pressure, but the Norwegian researchers didn't expect to see the same thing in their country.  In Norway only about 4% of the population attends church while in the United States about 40% of the population attends church on a weekly basis.

I do not recommend that people start attending church so that it will improve their health.  The reason people should attend church is because the gospel of Jesus Christ is true--immediate salvation or eternal punishment await.  The lower blood pressure, that results from having faith in Christ, is one of the immediate blessings of salvation.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

*Metoprolol is a blood-pressure medication.

A LITTLE GOOD NEWS

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have ever lasting life (John 3:16 my memory version).

He who does not love remains in death.  Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer . . .(I John 3:14-15).

Any who have followed this blog know that I had a Carpenter's CD playing in my F-150 farm truck for about a week.  I gave it up.  Making a long story short, I happened upon an Ann Murray CD.  I have had that one playing in the truck for a while now, too.  I guess those old love songs make this old man a little sappy, especially when they are sung by the next silkiest, smoothest voice ever, Ann Murry.  On this CD is an interesting song called, A Little Good News.

Gospel literally means, good news.  The good news is that God has provided a means of salvation for ALL in Jesus Christ.  It is through this salvation that hearts are changed and lives are changed so that we can love our enemies and help the disadvantaged.  As hearts and lives are changed for Jesus, the world is changed.  Isn't that a little good news?

In closing, I'd like you to consider that there are approximately 1.9 billion people* on this earth who have not heard the gospel for the first time.  There are approximately 1.4 billion people who live on less than $1.25 a day.  There's a great need out there yet for a little good news.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

*Statistics are from the Foster Report in the Christian Counseling Connection, a periodical of the American Association of Christian Counselors.

ADDENDUM TO CALLING MIKE LEDGEWOOD

When I look at the heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast established; what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou doest care for him? (Psalms 8:3-4).

In a universe of a billion trillion stars, not counting the planets, it seems that there should be life out there somewhere to contact.  In fact, some scientists have asked the question, "Where is everybody?" due to the high probability that there are other earth's out there where conditions are similar to ours so that life could have evolved.  Some, like Carl Sagan, have advanced the notion that the reason we have not encountered extra-terrestial aliens is because there is a "high probability that advanced civilizations destroy themselves."* That appears to be the destiny of planet earth.  From weapons biological to nuclear weapons falling into the hands of secular dictators and the moon-worshippers obsessed with death, there is the potential for us to do ourselves in and civilization erased from planet earth unless there are "interstellar policemen."

 God chose to create life in one place, on planet earth.  On this spec of dust in the universe, God chose to create man.  If life is found somewhere else, so be it, but I believe the silence in the universe is intended to show us that life cannot spontaneously come from non life.  It is only on earth that God has created us with free will to live our lives and make choices.  Materialists are desperate to find life elsewhere in the universe because the alternative is God and the notion of a God to whom we are accountable is unacceptable.  That we find ourselves in this mess on planet earth is because we have chosen to ignore our Creator and go our own way.

The "interstellar policemen" are coming, and all things will be made right.

Our Father's Warnings,
Tom

*From a column by Charles Krauthammer, Are we alone in the Universe?

CALLING MIKE LEDGEWOOD

The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and evil doers, and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.  Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.  He who has ears, let him hear (Matthew 13:41-43).

Anyone who knows who Mike Ledgewood is either actually knows a person named Mike Ledgewood or has been listening to too much of the Carpenter's music.  I am the latter.  My Ford F-150 farm truck has a dynamite sound system.  My wife left a Carpenter's CD in the counsel.  Last week it finally made it into the CD player and I have been listening to the silky-smooth voice of Karen Carpenter for about a week now--Okay, okay, I promise I will give it a rest.  It is unbelievable that it has be nearly 30 years since her passing.*

Anyway, there is a fun song on the CD that is the anthem of  world contact day called, Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft. 

If you took the time to listen you now know who Mike Ledgewood is--the guy on the phone to the DJ announcer.  I've always wondered if the name Mike Ledgewood is symbolic of something, or if it was a name plucked out of thin air.  One of the things that has always interested me about the song is the assumption that space aliens are friendly and that they are "interstellar policemen."  Is there an innate desire in human beings to have order imposed on them by extra-terrestials with super natural power?

The Bible speaks of a day when, at the Lord's command, the archangel, Michael (Mike Ledgewood?), will lead the angels in the harvest of the earth, first taking wickedness, and those who cause it, out of the earth.  These are the true "interstellar policemen."  Are you ready for contact day?

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

*I have always been a Carpenter's fan.  See the Feb. 26, 2010 posting about another Carpenter's song, Goodbye to Love.

THOUGHTS ABOUT LEADERSHIP

Where there is no guidance, a people falls . . . (Proverbs 11:14).

Farm Journal television interviewed Barry Posner, author of a book called, The Truth About Leadership and I happened to watch that interview at five in the morning.  Posner shared four essential qualities for leadership a person must possess if he/she is to lead: 1) To be a leader one must be honest and possess integrity.  A lie is generally not hidden for ever; the truth comes out eventually so that a person's ability to lead is seriously compromised, if not ended.  Politicians are great illustrations of this point.

2) To be a leader one must possess vision.  Where is it that the leader wants to take those who follow?  Much of the time leader want-to-be's do not have followers because they have no clear vision of where they want to go and cannot articulate how to get there.

3) To be a leader one must be inspiring.  This is a quality of leadership that is a gift and not all people possess it to the same degree though most people possess it to some degree.  Charisma, achievement, power, position and relationships are inspirational qualities, but, it seems to me that there is an intangible quality to this quality of leadership.  Charisma might come the closest in describing it, but there are some who are recognized as leaders simply by how they carry themselves with self confidence and personal authority.

4). To be a good leader, one must be competent.  Each of us is a leader to somebody, so each of us has to make the effort to become as knowledgeable and skillful as we can be.  Good leadership does not just happen.  One has to be intentional about becoming the best leader he/she can be because there are many who are watching . . . And if a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit (Matthew 15:14).

5)  Dr Posner did not include this one as necessary for leadership, but the Lord did: . . . and the leader as one who serves (Luke 22:26). Leadership is about love and service.  I have almost no hope that our politicians will ever get it.  They call themselves public servants while enriching themselves in political office, acting like kings and nobles while fleecing the citizens of the United States.  Being a servant is leadership by example, teaching by behavior.

You will lead someone in 2012. Do what it takes to become the best leader you can be.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT: WHAT HEAVEN IS LIKE OR KNOWING THE ONE WHO MADE HEAVEN?

For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him (John 3:17).

Recently, I have had occasion to think about heaven more.  I've wondered why God does not tell us more of what heaven will be like--perhaps more people would desire to go there if they had a clearer picture of heaven.  We all want to go to heaven, but if the Lord is getting a bus load up today, maybe we will want to take a later bus.

I was thinking about this as I was reading the Bible this morning and decided that what is really important is not so much the destination, but who one will be with at the destination.  If one is a disciplined reader of the Bible, then one will get a clearer picture of the nature of the Creator, Redeemer, Father, Brother and Friend with whom we will spend eternity.  Anywhere will be Heaven if they are there.  Anywhere will be hell if they are not.

The Christmas story reveals the nature of our God.  I hope you spend this Christmas getting to know the One who truly loves you.

Our Father's Love,
Tom

IS TEBOW A HERO?

For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the son of man also be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels (Mark 8:38).

For my non-American readers, Tim Tebow is a professional football player, quarterback of the Denver, Broncos.  Since Tebow has been elevated to the starting quarterback, the Broncos have won six games in a row, vaulting the team to first place in the western division.  For the Tom Steele family, this has been a wonderful thing because we have been Denver fans since we lived in Colorado--about 35 years.

What has made Tebow such a subject of controversy is that he is a devout Christian and is not afraid to let others know about his faith.  He is not an "arrogant twit" about it, but seems to be the real deal; he is quite refreshing.  Actually, Tebow is not the greatest athlete in the world, but he is a great one and he seems to have this intangible quality about him that is more than leadership, it is about inspiring the players around him to play better than they are otherwise able; Larry Bird is one of the few other professional athletes who had this gift.

The criticism, mocking and shaming that have been directed towards Tebow have not seemed to affect him at all; he still stands firmly for the Lord.  Some have suggested that if real bullets were being shot at Tebow he wouldn't be so brave.  I think just the opposite, standing for the the Lord in spite of the onslaught of very public criticism indicates real courage that would be steady under fire.

What about you?  Do you have the courage to take the stand that Tebow has?

Go Tebow!  Go Broncos!

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

DID JESUS LAUGH OR DOES GOD HAVE A SENSE OF HUMOR?

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).

The short answer is yes, even though the Bible does not speak of Jesus, God become flesh, as laughing. In the New Testament Jesus wept, but it does not say, "Jesus laughed." In the Old Testament it is recorded that God laughs, but it is a laugh of derision, not a belly laugh of humor.  So how can I say that Jesus did laugh and that God does have a sense of humor?  First and foremost, human beings have a sense of humor and laugh.  I believe because human beings are created in the image of God, I infer from that truth that because humans have an innate sense of humor and laugh, then the God who created us in His image, must have a sense of humor and laugh too.  How could we survive in this sinful world without humor?  A lot of humor comes from the shared experience of the struggle of living in this world.

All of us laugh.  If we do not laugh then we are struggling with twisted theology or mental illness because clean joking and laughing are hallmarks of health.  I know that in the world of theology there are those who believe the fall of Adam caused the total depravity and that depravity completely obscures the image of God so that what is seen in the natural man is only depravity; even if a natural person does something apparently good it was from an evil motive.

I believe in original righteousness, not in original sin.  There is no question that the fall of Adam does obscure the image of God in our lives, but not completely.  God's image, original righteousness, does shine through the clouds once in a while and allows people to do noble things, to cheer each other up, and to laugh.  I wonder if when Jesus was eating with sinners or hanging around children he told a joke or two and laughed.  There are some stories in the New Testament that, I believe, cannot be properly interpreted without the humor factor.

It is interesting that hell is described as a place of weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth, and it is never said there is laughter there.  In contrast, it is said that in Heaven there are no tears, grief, pain or death, but it does not say laughter will be taken away!  It appears to me that Heaven will be a place where there is lots of love and laughter.

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom

FEELING TRAPPED?

So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchia, the king's son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes.  And there was no water in the cistern, only mire, and Jeremiah sank in the mire (Jeremiah 38:6).

I have been reading through Jeremiah.  For some unknown reason, as I read this verse, I thought about the clients who have spoken of feeling trapped in their marriages, jobs and even their lives.  It's funny how a single verse can trigger such thoughts--humm.

Sometimes being trapped is not one's own fault.  Being trapped can come through simply being faithful, as Jeremiah was a faithful prophet for God.  In those situations, one can, at the very least, have a clear conscience about the situation; it goes a long way toward helping one sleep at night!  Of course, if it is true that one is trapped because he/she was being faithful to God's word, then God will also make a way out; Jeremiah was pulled from the cistern.

Most of the time, feeling trapped and/or being trapped is of our own doing; we make the prisons that imprison us.  I am not blaming here because we all make mistakes and errors in judgement that are not intentional, but, nevertheless, form the bars of our prison cells. It should go without saying that  intentional sins have the same result.

Feeling trapped is hopeless anxiety.  It is the feeling that a situation will never change and there is nothing I can do about it; I have no resources or power to bring about change.  If one believes in the God of the Bible, he/she already has resources to deal with a hopeless situation, even one of our own making.  God is our Redeemer, paying the price for freedom from the prisons in which we find ourselves.

So the place to begin is prayer, asking God's help to see and understand.  Sometimes the prisons in which we find ourselves are not prisons at all, it is just a matter of perspective.  Reframing a situation can make all the difference in the world.  If one can meaning in imprisonment, one can find, not only the strength to persevere, but to flourish.  It can be that those in a literal prison can be the most free people, the apostle Paul being an example, because there is meaning in the imprisonment.

The prisons of addiction are the most difficult to deal with, not only because of the dysfunctional family dynamics that form much of the prison, but because of altered body chemistry and brain dysfunction.  Even with God's help, it is a tough way out.

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit (II Corinthians 3:17-18).

Our Father's Blessings,
Tom