As you study the Old Testament, you see God’s people caught in a cycle. I’ve heard it described as one of rebellion, retribution, repentance, and restoration. It happens over and over and over.
God’s people keep forgetting. They keep going back to old ways. They keep returning to idol worship and self-determinism and a whole host of bad choices.
It’s almost like this is the 4,000-year object lesson. God’s people have to repeat this cycle for generation after generation to truly learn this: Left on their own, they will mess it all up.
They cannot save themselves.
The OT closes on this horrible realization.
And the NT opens to point us to Jesus.
Many of us still get caught in this old cycle today. We keep forgetting. We keep going back to old ways. We keep returning to idol worship and self-determinism and a whole host of bad choices.
Even Paul seems to know about this. “I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. …What a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?”
So look, if you find yourself fighting a cycle of bad habits and bad choices, you are not alone. God’s people always have.
But there is hope. There is Jesus.
This thread is already too long, but let me offer just one more thought. There is SO MUCH to say about how we can/should battle and overcome our bad habits and bad choices. But it seems to me that it must *begin* with this realization: We are loved.
Paul says there is no condemnation for those of us who belong to Jesus. God does not stand by just relishing an opportunity to punish us for our wretched lives. He sends Jesus. He pursues us. He accepts us. He forgives us. God deeply and genuinely loves us.
Feeling convicted is good and right. But battling our bad habits and choices begins with finding freedom from shame and condemnation. Because *shame is the fuel* for those things!
Shame says you are ruined, a failure, worthless, unlovable.
The more you believe these things, the more anxious and depressed and desperate you become.
The more we feel those things, the more tempted we are to return to easy, familiar, quick fixes: our old habits and choices.
So if you find yourself struggling, you have work to do. And sometimes it is really long, hard work. But before anything else, know this – you are loved.
Let's start with this one: Why can't we get past the headline before reading about DV victims being "tempted?" Temptation leads to sin - and so from the very beginning of the article, we are getting echoes of victim-blaming. If she doesn't seek help, it's probably her fault.
Does this seem off? We are already looking to understand the "controlling husband." And is it a deflection to talk about "the anger in the household" rather than, say, "the severe and uncontrolled anger of her husband" instead?
Periodic reminder: your college classes aren't doing you any favors if you are never challenged or offended by them. We aren't here to protect your bubble. This isn't VBS. It's boot camp.
"The student who is simply conditioned to respond in certain ways to certain stimuli is at a loss when he confronts novel situations, as he will in a changing society undergoing a knowledge explosion."
"He needs a disciplined understanding of his heritage plus creativity, logical rigor and self-critical honesty, far more than he needs prepackaged sets of questions and answers."
Among the many concerns I have had (and continue to have) about @theaacc, this one may not be as serious. But it still speaks to the integrity and trustworthiness of the organization. The advertising for the new "Care and Counsel Bible" has been misleading, at best.
@theaacc Even though I already owned the "Soul Care Bible" printed in 2001, I ordered the new "Care and Counsel Bible" just printed this year. I told that story here:
I teach psychology and counseling classes at a small Christian college. One of my classes is “Psychology and Christianity” where we wrestle all semester long with issues of faith/theology and how they relate to the work we do to care for and counsel people.
Our first textbook is basically an (undergrad) intro to systematic theology book for people helpers. We cover some of the major doctrines and what they mean for the work we do. So far, we have reviewed our doctrines of Scripture, God, Human Nature, and Sin.
One of the many problems that comes with unequivocal support of Trump while also running the world’s largest Christian Counseling association:
The entire organization is rendered mostly mute and powerless to speak on issues of sexual abuse and misconduct when it’s really needed.
Sexual abuse is *always* important to address. But this month has brought it front and center for many Christians, with the largest denomination publicly confronting its own sexual abuse crisis.
And every single tweet/retweet this month from the leading Christian Counseling organization is about how to register for their opioid addiction training.