Friday, July 09, 2004
Soul Surgery... as it is called by some... is nothing more than the process of letting God remove from our lives anything that hinders us from Him. It means simply recongnizing some basic truths.
1) Sin hinders us in our lives. 2) Sin, simply stated, is anything that hinders our relationship to God. 3) To experience God's will, sin must be removed. 4) Sin is to be removed surgically by surrender to God's direction through His grace. 5) This is accomplished through conviction of the Holy Spirit, Confession of Faults, seeking God's guidance daily, restitution for wrongs and overall surrender to His will. Evangelism is the sharing of God's grace with others that we have discovered.
God has a lot to cut out of me, but I must sign the pre-op papers and consent to the surgeon. And like any doctor, the relationship is built on trust. With confidence in the physician, we can figure that the result of surgery is a better prognosis than living life with cancer in our body. Sin must be removed if we are to accomplish spiritiual health.
Why not make an appointment with the "soul" surgeon and explore your options.
1) Sin hinders us in our lives. 2) Sin, simply stated, is anything that hinders our relationship to God. 3) To experience God's will, sin must be removed. 4) Sin is to be removed surgically by surrender to God's direction through His grace. 5) This is accomplished through conviction of the Holy Spirit, Confession of Faults, seeking God's guidance daily, restitution for wrongs and overall surrender to His will. Evangelism is the sharing of God's grace with others that we have discovered.
God has a lot to cut out of me, but I must sign the pre-op papers and consent to the surgeon. And like any doctor, the relationship is built on trust. With confidence in the physician, we can figure that the result of surgery is a better prognosis than living life with cancer in our body. Sin must be removed if we are to accomplish spiritiual health.
Why not make an appointment with the "soul" surgeon and explore your options.
Monday, July 05, 2004
For those struggling with forgiveness (or the after effects), here is an experience of Corrie Ten Boom
In his book —Robert Jeffress in his book When Forgiveness Doesn't Make Sense tells the story of Corrie ten Boom who had been unable to forget an atrocity committed against her while in a concentration camp. Although she'd forgiven her offender, thinking about the injustice she'd suffered was robbing her of sleep years later. She asked God why.
"His help came in the form of a kindly Lutheran pastor," Corrie wrote, "to whom I confessed my failure after two sleepless weeks. 'Up in that tower,' the pastor said, nodding out the window, 'is a bell rung by pulling on a rope. But you know what? After the sexton lets go of the rope, the bell keeps on ringing, slower and slower until there's a final dong and it stops. The same goes for forgiveness. When we forgive, we take our hand off the rope. But if we've been tugging at our grievances for a long time, old angry thoughts may keep coming for a while: the ding-dongs of the bell slowing down.'
"So it proved to be," Corrie said. "There were a few more midnight reverberations, a couple of dings when the subject came up in my conversations. But the force had gone out of them. They came less and less often and at last stopped altogether."
In his book —Robert Jeffress in his book When Forgiveness Doesn't Make Sense tells the story of Corrie ten Boom who had been unable to forget an atrocity committed against her while in a concentration camp. Although she'd forgiven her offender, thinking about the injustice she'd suffered was robbing her of sleep years later. She asked God why.
"His help came in the form of a kindly Lutheran pastor," Corrie wrote, "to whom I confessed my failure after two sleepless weeks. 'Up in that tower,' the pastor said, nodding out the window, 'is a bell rung by pulling on a rope. But you know what? After the sexton lets go of the rope, the bell keeps on ringing, slower and slower until there's a final dong and it stops. The same goes for forgiveness. When we forgive, we take our hand off the rope. But if we've been tugging at our grievances for a long time, old angry thoughts may keep coming for a while: the ding-dongs of the bell slowing down.'
"So it proved to be," Corrie said. "There were a few more midnight reverberations, a couple of dings when the subject came up in my conversations. But the force had gone out of them. They came less and less often and at last stopped altogether."
Receiving forgiveness can be quite a miracle. It doesn't mean that there aren't consequences. Nevertheless, over time, we can see God use our mistakes and weave them into His plan. I read a story that explains it well.
Once upon a time in a far away land, lived two
young men, much like many young men you may
know today...
The two brothers were likable, but undisciplined,
with a wild streak in them. Their mischievous
behavior turned serious when they began stealing
sheep from the local farmers -- a serious crime in
this pastoral place, so long ago and far away.
In time, the thieves were caught. The local farmers
decided their fate: The two brothers would be branded
on the forehead with the letters ST for "sheep thief."
This sign they would carry with them forevermore.
One brother was so embarrassed by this branding that
he ran away; he was never heard from again.
The other brother, filled with remorse and reconciled
to his fate, chose to stay and try to make amends
to the villagers he had wronged. At first the
villagers were skeptical and would have nothing to
do with him. But this brother was determined to
make reparation for his offenses.
Whenever there was a sickness, the sheep thief came
to care for the ill with soup and a soft touch.
Whenever there was work needing to be done, the sheep
thief came to help with a lending hand. It made
no difference if the person were rich or poor, the
sheep thief was there to help. Never accepting pay
for his good deeds, he lived his life for others.
Many years later, a traveler came through the village.
Sitting at a sidewalk cafe eating lunch, the traveler
saw an old man with a strange brand on his forehead
seated nearby. The stranger noticed that all the
villagers who passed the old man stopped to share a
kind word, to pay their respects; children stopped
their play to give and receive a warm hug.
Curious, the stranger asked the cafe owner,
"What does that strange brand on the old man's
head stand for?"
"I don't know. It happened so long ago..." the
cafe owner replied. Then, pausing briefly for
a moment of reflection, he continued: "...but
I think it stands for 'saint'."
Author Willanne Ackerman
In my life, I've seen God use many a mistake to allow Christ to be formed in me and persevering allowed it to be used for the good.
Once upon a time in a far away land, lived two
young men, much like many young men you may
know today...
The two brothers were likable, but undisciplined,
with a wild streak in them. Their mischievous
behavior turned serious when they began stealing
sheep from the local farmers -- a serious crime in
this pastoral place, so long ago and far away.
In time, the thieves were caught. The local farmers
decided their fate: The two brothers would be branded
on the forehead with the letters ST for "sheep thief."
This sign they would carry with them forevermore.
One brother was so embarrassed by this branding that
he ran away; he was never heard from again.
The other brother, filled with remorse and reconciled
to his fate, chose to stay and try to make amends
to the villagers he had wronged. At first the
villagers were skeptical and would have nothing to
do with him. But this brother was determined to
make reparation for his offenses.
Whenever there was a sickness, the sheep thief came
to care for the ill with soup and a soft touch.
Whenever there was work needing to be done, the sheep
thief came to help with a lending hand. It made
no difference if the person were rich or poor, the
sheep thief was there to help. Never accepting pay
for his good deeds, he lived his life for others.
Many years later, a traveler came through the village.
Sitting at a sidewalk cafe eating lunch, the traveler
saw an old man with a strange brand on his forehead
seated nearby. The stranger noticed that all the
villagers who passed the old man stopped to share a
kind word, to pay their respects; children stopped
their play to give and receive a warm hug.
Curious, the stranger asked the cafe owner,
"What does that strange brand on the old man's
head stand for?"
"I don't know. It happened so long ago..." the
cafe owner replied. Then, pausing briefly for
a moment of reflection, he continued: "...but
I think it stands for 'saint'."
Author Willanne Ackerman
In my life, I've seen God use many a mistake to allow Christ to be formed in me and persevering allowed it to be used for the good.
Saturday, July 03, 2004
My favorite movies change from time to time, but one of them for many years is a film called Beaches. I like it because I like friendships. Friendships that last longest are the best. Friendships, however, can have problems. In this film, the working out of a conflict is illustrated in moving terms. .
"Beaches is the story of two women whose lifelong friendship bridges their opposite backgrounds and lifestyles. CC Bloom (Bette Midler) is raised by a single, blue-collar mother. She follows her childhood dreams and becomes an actress and recording artist. Hillary Whitney (Barbara Hershey) is raised in an affluent family, attends law school, marries a successful lawyer, and enjoys her wealth. The two remain friends until a breach of trust drives a wedge between them. Eventually, they restore their friendship before Hillary dies of a rare heart virus.
After Hillary’s husband leaves her for another woman, she is extremely lonely and depressed. When she hears that CC is a headliner at a nightclub in San Francisco, she finds the courage to go and attempt to make amends.
Hillary finds a garishly dressed CC alone in the club. Hillary refers to things CC said in the past that hurt her, and says she forgives her for those comments. Hillary also confesses she is sorry for returning CC’s letters unopened.
CC says, “Did you know how bad things were for me? Did you know my career was in the toilet? No! Because you never answered one of my letters.” In tears, she continues, “If only you’d answered one, just one, and told me what a jerk I was…anything!”
Hillary soberly responds, “I don’t know how to fight back. I’m not strong like you.”
“You took away your friendship without discussing it with me,” CC replies in obvious anger. “That friendship was more important to me than anything. I trusted it. I believed in it. But you didn’t, and now it’s gone. Thank you very, very much for forgiving me, but I don’t forgive you!” CC walks away in a huff, her heels clicking on the hardwood floor.
But Hillary’s words cause CC to stop in her tracks: “I was jealous. I was so jealous of you I couldn’t see straight. You did everything you said you were going to do—everything.” Her eyes tear up and her lips quiver. “And your talent is incredible. Talent!” She turns and starts to walk away before adding, “I can’t even yodel!”
CC calls from across the room, “Hillary, what does yodeling have to do with it?”Hillary looks up. Their eyes meet. CC confesses her own jealousy. “You’re beautiful. You’re smart. People look at you!” There is a lengthy pause before CC continues, “It was all my fault!”
Realizing the barrier that had grown between them had at last been broken, Hillary responds, “It was all our fault.”
__________________
In heaven we'll all be one in Christ; in the meantime, I hope for days when occasionally barriers are broken through honesty, transparency and most of all love.
"Beaches is the story of two women whose lifelong friendship bridges their opposite backgrounds and lifestyles. CC Bloom (Bette Midler) is raised by a single, blue-collar mother. She follows her childhood dreams and becomes an actress and recording artist. Hillary Whitney (Barbara Hershey) is raised in an affluent family, attends law school, marries a successful lawyer, and enjoys her wealth. The two remain friends until a breach of trust drives a wedge between them. Eventually, they restore their friendship before Hillary dies of a rare heart virus.
After Hillary’s husband leaves her for another woman, she is extremely lonely and depressed. When she hears that CC is a headliner at a nightclub in San Francisco, she finds the courage to go and attempt to make amends.
Hillary finds a garishly dressed CC alone in the club. Hillary refers to things CC said in the past that hurt her, and says she forgives her for those comments. Hillary also confesses she is sorry for returning CC’s letters unopened.
CC says, “Did you know how bad things were for me? Did you know my career was in the toilet? No! Because you never answered one of my letters.” In tears, she continues, “If only you’d answered one, just one, and told me what a jerk I was…anything!”
Hillary soberly responds, “I don’t know how to fight back. I’m not strong like you.”
“You took away your friendship without discussing it with me,” CC replies in obvious anger. “That friendship was more important to me than anything. I trusted it. I believed in it. But you didn’t, and now it’s gone. Thank you very, very much for forgiving me, but I don’t forgive you!” CC walks away in a huff, her heels clicking on the hardwood floor.
But Hillary’s words cause CC to stop in her tracks: “I was jealous. I was so jealous of you I couldn’t see straight. You did everything you said you were going to do—everything.” Her eyes tear up and her lips quiver. “And your talent is incredible. Talent!” She turns and starts to walk away before adding, “I can’t even yodel!”
CC calls from across the room, “Hillary, what does yodeling have to do with it?”Hillary looks up. Their eyes meet. CC confesses her own jealousy. “You’re beautiful. You’re smart. People look at you!” There is a lengthy pause before CC continues, “It was all my fault!”
Realizing the barrier that had grown between them had at last been broken, Hillary responds, “It was all our fault.”
__________________
In heaven we'll all be one in Christ; in the meantime, I hope for days when occasionally barriers are broken through honesty, transparency and most of all love.
