Mental Illnesses - Why and How?

    There is a lot of mental illness going on today. Many are depressed and sad. Others act like they have lost their minds. Why do people have mental illness anyway?

   The simple answer is because of the fall of mankind. Human beings have suffered horribly since Adam and Eve trusted and believed the devil's words instead of God's. God alone has the words of life. Anything from the Enemy of our souls will be a lie.

   Let's look at something from the Bible in Romans 1*. Most of us are familiar with this passage and this is one reason for mental illness. It starts with human beings not liking God or His standards. When we don't like something, we have wishful thinking. We wish really hard that whatever it is we don't like would go away. We eventually believe what we want to believe. But in Romans 1, God interacts with us as well. When we suppress the knowledge of God that God gives us, eventually, all we see is nothing of God. God will not continue to deal with our hearts once we have hardened our hearts against Him. He will not make us believe what is true. He will have left us to our own devices.

    The result of this is a lack of normal mental processes. But not every person who is experiencing mental illness is a person described in Romans 1. Could there be another reason for mental illness besides suppressing the knowledge of God?

    The mind is complex, and living in a fallen world with fallen people makes everything more complicated. But there are some things that are concrete, even though we might not have all the answers or know how to cure people of mental illness that comes about because of victimization.

   Victimization is a scary word. When some hear the word, 'victimization', they automatically think of blame shifting. For example, have you ever heard the outcome of a court decision to let a person go free who has done a horrible crime, just because he or she was mentally ill? It can become a scapegoat for our sins and crimes against others if we are not careful and skilled in knowing how to deal with the mentally ill.

   But there is a mental condition that is very, very prevalent today, and I think it needs attention. The reason it needs attention is because many are experiencing this type of condition, yet, many who would counsel them would assume that these people are in the Romans 1 category, when in reality their cause for mental illness is very different. The end product looks the same, but the cause is very different, and we need to treat the two types of mental illnesses differently. 

    When children are traumatized, they basically shut down. The conscious part of a person goes completely blank and the subconscious part takes over. It is a little like sleep walking. Many times, a person's emotions are gone, as well as a conscience. Some of these people seem like robots. There is a valid reason for this; their subconscious is protecting them from being hurt again, or from potentially going through another traumatic situation.

    The statistics of women who have been raped as a child are alarming. What is even worse, is that being raped is like a check-mate. A woman who has been raped not only has the disgrace of being raped, but, the rapist usually will put the blame of the rape onto the woman, and, he will threaten the woman with harm, should she report or tell of the rape. If that isn't bad enough, many women have wanted to tell of the rape, but their stories are not believed.

   Some women have told and have suffered badly. One woman I know told her mother about what her father did to her. Instead of the mom listening to her daughter, she beat her severely. The more trauma a child suffers, the more difficult his or her mental illnesses will be.

  A common effect of this particular mental illness is the appearance of not having a conscience. People can do things in public that they normally would never do. Most of the time, when confronted later on about the episode, they will not be able to recall it.

  How can a person go into a building or a bus, and blow it up, and not feel any concern that they will be killing many people along with themselves. It is true that some religions, such as Islam, would teach that there is reward for killing certain people of particular groups, such as Christians. They believe they will have Allah's favor on them if they kill those whom they deem as Infidels, but that still doesn't answer the question of why there doesn't seem to be a conscience or concern.

   When people are about to die, many are very concerned about what happens next, but those who blow up buildings and buses aren't. Why do you think this is?  Drugs? Possibly. But it is likely that the person doing the blowing up has been mentally destroyed by going through intentional trauma, to make him or her have this mental condition. That is how people can get others to do things for them that they normally would not do in a normal state of mind.

   I actually have heard of the expression of 'breaking the mind' in order to piece it back together, and sadly, many have had their minds broken by adults whom either they trusted or could not get away from. They redo the mind with programming in whatever subject they want to put into the victim.

   I am not saying though, that everyone who seems to not have a conscience has been traumatized on purpose as a child. Some of those are people who have suppressed God and removed Him from their thoughts.

   A word of caution though; Do not assume that every person who is a homosexual is struggling with homosexuality because he or she has suppressed God in their hearts. Yes, that could be the case. But it might be due to sexual abuse as a young child or some other wrong believe system that they have bought into.

    Here is another interesting thought: Most people (usually men) who have raped little girls or even their own daughters, usually will never remember the incident(s). Even more puzzling than that, most of these men seem like very normal people, who live normal lives. But there is a side to them that you may not ever see unless you are the daughter. That is why it is hard for a girl to report a rape. When the rapist is exposed, everyone thinks he is a good guy, because, in most of his life (which is visible to the public), he seems like a normal person who wouldn't do anything like that.

   I heard a sad report yesterday, but it ties in with what I am saying. As I watched the news, the reporter announced two different incidences where Bill Cosby was said to have raped two different women. I don't know if this is true or not, but, the point is, even though we have good talents and even wisdom, we can still fall into sin. Even Bill Cosby can sin, and he may really be guilty of what these women are accusing him of. One reporter asked the woman why she didn't report it when it happened. She simply said, no one would have believed her.


* For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.  For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.  For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools,  and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,  because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature;  and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.  They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,  foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.  Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. Romans 1:18-32 ESV

Dealing With Satanic Ritual Abuse Victims

  This is a tough one. Out of all the traumatic problems people go through, this seems to be one of the harder ones to deal with. Not only are there physical components to work through, but the spiritual aspect is necessary to deal with.

  I won't go into all the details here of what goes on with Satanic Ritual Abuse, but, the results are devastating. One of the obstacles in those who are affected by SRA is that their stories are hard to believe. We live in a physical world and we see physical results from physical causes, but when you are dealing with Satanic Ritual Abuse victims, part of the nature of their difficulty is that there is a supernatural component that sounds very strange to the natural mind.

   We all want to help people, and we are learning how we can help in the best way. Let's start with defining some things that go along with SRA. One of the first things we have to know is that children, even babies in the womb are affected when Satanic Ritual Abuse is applied to them. For example, one method used by the abusers is electrical shocking aka shock treatment. I don't know exactly if mind control programming is specific to Satanic Ritual Abuse, but those who practice Satanic Ritual Abuse work with mind control programming. Sexual activities, such as rape, are used in Satanic Ritual Abuse practices. Trauma is one of the main ways that SRA is used.

   The nature of SRA is that is happens to children who are born into families who have practiced SRA for generations. It is a religion. I won't cover all the beliefs of this religion, but, to explain what it is, I will bring out some points. First, a daughter who is the first-born, will be rejected by the family. She will probably be dedicated to some demonic entities at birth. She will be a victim of rape, and rituals that accompany the rape ceremonies. She will be tortured/tormented by her abusers. She will likely see many people die or be tortured. She may be put into a cage and treated like a dog, or she may have food and sleep withheld from her. Guess who the main ones will be who are doing the torture? Mom and dad will be the ones to carry out this activity, but others will be involved too.

   You probably wonder how a parent could do this to their child. I wondered too. There is a component to that as well. You see, the parents were treated this way by their parents. What ends up happening to the child in a situation like this, is that the child will end up with what is called 'Multiple Personality Disorder' (MPD) or 'Dissociative Identity Disorder' (DID) which are the same thing by different names. When the parents were babies, their parents treated them in the same way they are treating their child. When a person had MPD, he or she had different personalities that they developed while they were under trauma. Every person has what is called, a 'core personality' which is just the basic person manifested by their personality. But when a child has been traumatized, he or she will blank out the 'core personality' and live in the subconscious during the time of trauma. The person may never come back to the place of having the core personality operating. He or she may live the rest of his or her life in another personality that was made during the traumatic time in that person's life.

   Imagine seeing, let's say, a plane falling from the sky, and it falls in your back yard. You wouldn't call your best friend and say, 'hey, a plane just fell in my back yard'. You would probably have an assortment of emotions that eventually would lead you to call someone for help. Let's say that you are a child, and someone came into your house and brutally killed your mother and sister as you watched on. You wouldn't just tell someone about it the next day. You would be extremely affected by what you saw. You may even have nightmares from it. It would be so terrifying to you that you possibly wouldn't even remember it, but when you did, it would be a terrifying memory to have. This is much like what a person who is abused by SRA experiences. But they experience this many times over.

   Those experienced in working with mind control programming know how to create in children multiple personalities. The personalities are formed while the child is experiencing trauma. The child will probably not remember the trauma because of its intensity. While these personalities are forming, the mind control programmers put mind control programming into the child. For example, while the child is under trauma, they will give the personality that is forming, a name. Let's say, it would be a name like 'Pretty Mama'. They will also put keywords into the child's mind and give them directions on what they want the child to do when they hear the key word. So, throughout the child's life, whenever she hears 'Pretty Mama' it triggers her mind into the personality that was given that name. Many names are associated with sexual activity. Other names that are given are associated with military tasks. So, for example, a child under trauma might be given a name like G.I. Joe. G.I. Joe was programmed to know how to build a bomb and how to blow up a bus. He will have key-words given that will trigger him into being G.I. Joe when he is in another personality mode. He will be trained to act upon the mind control programming when he hears the key-words.

    What I want to do is to help others understand that there are people out there who have had the experiences of SRA and are living out the effects of their past experiences. The question for us is, how can we help them?

   Keep in mind that many who have lived in homes where SRA was practiced, end up committing suicide. They see no way out, and the only way out for them is death. We, as the church, need to be ready to help them. We need to be prepared, because over time, and with the availability of the Internet, we are going to see more and more people who have come from this type of background. Most of the time, these people do not realize that they were in homes where they were victims of SRA. Some children have tried to escape from their homes, but they are usually unsuccessful. Sadly, even though it is hard for us to believe this, but some children are victims of being used as a human sacrifice to Satan.

   Many wonder why these people do not get caught. There are a few reasons, but I want to focus on one in particular. I personally believe that when the church (I am referring to the church in general, not any specific one) is healthy, society will become healthy. The conditions around us reflect the condition or health of the church (the body of Christ-true believers). For the past 50 years, probably longer, the church has been very passive and indifferent. Very few are in faith for God to move in our lives. Most don't even care. In the past centuries, whenever there was an opponent to the pure Gospel message, there was always someone who stood up for the truth. The truth prevailed. But in America, in recent years especially, the church has just sat on the sidelines, so to speak. I believe that if the church were growing and healthy, we would not have issues like pro-choice vs. pro-life, or same sex marriage issues today. We presently have these issues, because we were passive when others marched their causes into the Supreme Court and got what they wanted. If we were the church God intended for us to be, God would expose the works of darkness and people would not be allowed to get away with murder.

   The powers of darkness are very strong and real. Satan is not a red character holding a pitchfork. He is a powerful demonic force that we have to resist. We don't resist the Enemy by just going to church on Sunday and living for ourselves the rest of the time. Spiritual warfare is a lot of work. If we were doing spiritual warfare, God would set the captives free. Setting the captives free is part of God's plan for us as a church. It doesn't happen automatically. As the saying goes, 'All it takes for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing.' That is exactly what the church has been doing for the last 50+ years.

  I don't know about you, but when I realize what people affected by SRA have gone through, I am willing to sacrifice things in order for them to be set free. I am willing to learn how I can help them in the best way possible. These are people who have had their dignity stolen from them. They feel like garbage. They have been sold to the Enemy by someone else. They are trapped and don't know how to get out. Can we love these people and do whatever we can to try to set them free? Can we bring the Gospel to those who are in this utter darkness?

   "Father in Heaven, Creator of all things, We ask that You please have mercy on those who have experienced Satanic Ritual Abuse in their childhood. Please expose the works of darkness and those who are working this kind of darkness. Let Your healing power be present and at work. I pray that many will be set free and that the chains will fall off them. Please let moms and dads who are practicing this horror on their children, to be caught. Also, we ask that the network that has been so strongly woven together to hold these people into bondage, begin to unravel. Please set the captives free, especially little children. I pray that where there are doctors, police, governmental workers, politicians, and others who embrace SRA to not be able to use their positions to keep people in bondage and defend the wrong when they know it is happening. I pray for many to be pulled out of this web of horror, even tonight, tomorrow, and in the coming days, weeks, and months. May the Gospel of Jesus Christ be made available to those who are in utter darkness, and may the chains begin to fall off even now. May the Enemy of our souls be subject to Jesus Name. Please break every spiritual chain holding these people down. Thank You for the blood of Jesus which is powerful enough to undo the works of darkness. Thank You for disarming the powers of darkness and for the power of the Resurrection. Give Your church the power to serve and minister to these broken people. In Jesus' name."

Although this article does not use the words 'Satanic Ritual Abuse' in it, the description of what Carol Rutz went through during her childhood explains clearly what children who experience SRA go through. Many who lived during this time period, also were sent to these 'safe houses' as they were called (and they were anything but 'safe'). More and more information is coming out now about the children who were involved in this activity during the 1950s-70s. Today, there are many adults, now in their 50s and 60s who are mentally ill because they were part of these experiments. Let us learn how we can help these people and ask God for wisdom and compassion, as well as patience. https://www.rutherford.org/publications_resources/oldspeak/a_nation_betrayed_secret_cold_war_experiments

   Carol Rutz Interview- Rutherford

Suicide? Why?

  You may have had a loved one who committed suicide or maybe you have tried to do this yourself. When we are sane, and of a sound mine, we may wonder why we would have done such a thing.

   It is easy for people to be tempted to end one's life. We get discouraged. We don't see any fruit in our lives. If we are tired or  have PMS, the temptations could even be stronger. Why do we have this though?

   As you probably know already, when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden, the whole human race was plunged into darkness and sin. Since we are born in the world of darkness, we don't really know what it's like to be in the world of light. But when we come to know the Lord, the lights come on. We see a lot more clearly, but still, we only see as if we were looking through a dark glass at the light, compared to the day when we really will see things clearly (in the next life).

       Sometimes, people commit suicide to punish those left behind. Sometimes, people end their lives because they never got what they really wanted in life, and that is their response to that fact. But there are times when people end their lives without even considering what it will do to others, and they do this simply because they are discouraged. They are looking at their world through tired eyes, or eyes that can only see a glimpse of the light, if even that.

   Occasionally, those who are believers in Jesus Christ, and who have been walking with the Lord, kill themselves. I heard of one pastor who was so discouraged that he ended his life. It's an easy temptation for all of us to have, especially when we put our hope in things instead of God.

  What are some ways that suicides can be prevented though? It is easy for us to tell ourselves to keep our guards up. We should do that, but sometimes we get distracted and unintentionally we put them down. The Bible tells us several times to 'remember' or 'do not forget' what God has done for us. But because we are fickle and forgetful, we do forget. We get distracted and set our eyes on something else, even good things. We constantly need others to remind us and bring to our remembrance the evidences of God's grace in our lives.

       Take for example, the pastor above who killed himself. He was distracted because the number of people who were in his church congregation went down. He felt like a failure. Take a parent who has children and she wants each one to know the Lord so that when they are adults, they will be serving Him instead of living for the things of the world. When the children grow up, a few of them decide that they would rather go the way of the world. The parent is discouraged. She might listen to the lies of the devil telling her of what a failure she is, instead of listening to the voice of truth which would inform her that fruit sometimes takes a long time before it is evident.

   Suicides can happen to young teenagers as well as older people. It can be done by males and females. No one is exempt from this kind of temptation.

  We can help each other in the body of Christ, by building good relationships with others in the church. We need people who will love us and whom we can turn to in our dark hours. Conversely, we should be available to others when they go through hard times.

   The Bible talks a lot about the love of Christ. A lot of Christians do not want to talk about the love of God because they are afraid that this concept will keep many people from repenting from their sins and trusting in the Lord. They believe that lost people will use the love of God as an excuse for not repenting and turning to God, for if God really loves them as much as people have told them, then He will not send anyone to hell. People have a hard time reconciling God's judgment and God's love. But it was because of God's love, that He provided a way of escape for us. Not just so we could go to heaven when we die, but so we could also be delivered from sin, which so easily entangles and deceives us.

  When we truly learn to love God, we will love other people. We will learn to love ugly people, mean people, tired people, old people, children, black, white, Hispanic, retarded, handicapped, and people with a host of other traits.

  We will be ready to sacrifice for others. We will become good friends with people when we truly love them. We will serve them even when it is not convenient. We will live and give whatever we have so that others can be successful.

  I believe that when a church can make application of the verses which tell us how we should relate to one another, there will be less temptation to commit suicide.

  I would encourage people to talk, and not hide their difficulties and challenges. When people are humble enough to be open with us, let's embrace them, no matter how bizarre their stories could sound to us. It is not time for preaching or correction when people open up to us. We need to provide a context for people to feel safe around us. We need to show the love of Christ when we minister to others, especially the downtrodden and broken-hearted. If we don't, there will be many Christian casualties, and we will be forever asking the question of why our loved one ended his or her life. Let's be proactive when it comes to this one.

Just remember, everyone is inside the tunnel at some point
in his or her life. There is always a light at the end, but it
may not be visible until you are near the end of the tunnel.
Photo made by: TORUŃ DAILY PHOTO

Everyone of us will be inside the dark tunnel, sometime in our lives, maybe even several times, or for a long period of time. There is always a light at the end, though the tunnel may be long and very dark. This is why we need each other. It is hard for us to see when it is dark, but others can see for us until we get to the end. 

Helping Those Who Struggle With Same Sex Attraction

  This issue is on my heart for a number of reasons. I think there is a lot of confusion about Christianity, the Bible, homosexuality, tolerance, acceptance, and a host of other things which end up relating to same sex attraction issues.

 I don't want to make a lengthy article on this, but I came across this book, written by a man who struggles with same sex attraction, and how he is working through the issues in his own life. He is lining up his life with what Scripture says and not twisting things around to make the Scriptures say something they don't want to say.

   What does God actually think about same sex attraction? Is there help for a person who wants to live their lives out for God's glory, yet struggles with this issue?

  I know there are those who will not even read this blog page, but will make assumptions about it before they even click on the link. I am sorry for those people, because they have a filter over their eyes and are only going to see what they want to see. But, God has something in mind that all of us can learn from, in understanding the issue of same sex attraction in light of what God's word says to us. And there is hope.

   I have not read this book yet, but I did read part of it online, and read the amazon reviews, which seemed very helpful. I would like to contrast this one with Mel White's book called, Stranger At The Gate, which is basically about his struggle with being a Christian and being gay at the same time. There are differences in these two books and the main one I see is simply that I don't see an active, living understanding of the Gospel in Mel White's book. I did not see a time when he tells of his conversion. He does not address sin correctly from what I can tell. Mel White came from a religious home, being raised with certain convictions. For example, his family did not believe it was right for Christians to go to movies or drink. There was a list of things Mel was no allowed to do when he was growing up. But God's word does not address going to movies or dances as being necessarily sinful. The activities we do that are sinful are the actions carried out by our selfish hearts. Sure, we can go to movies and do it with sinful motives. Mel's family did not talk about heart issues that have to be dealt with. Nor did I see a clear correlation of Jesus' death as it pertains to our sin. I personally do not see Mel White's book as a book on the Gospel, or even covering the Gospel message, which applies to all of us, not just homosexuals.

    Mel White's conclusion brings about a lot of questions concerning his understanding of the character of God. Is God not all wise or not all knowing? Why would God condemn something in the Old Testament, and even in the New Testament yet, because of science advances we have today, those supposedly trump over God's word, as if God didn't know that people were going to struggle with same sex attraction issues in the 21st Century. So, what Mel White is really saying is that God was not all knowing, and that science is more valid than the Bible. Something is terribly wrong with that picture.

   But that is the issue that our whole culture faces today. When Eve was tempted in the Garden of Eden, the devil had one question he asked, and he asked the question in order to put doubt in Eve's mind about the goodness of God and whether God was trustworthy or not. The devil poses the same questions to us. 'Did God really say..'?' is what he would ask us today as well. Many think God doesn't know what He is doing and do not want to trust Him. Many want to control their own lives instead of letting God control their lives.

   The other issue is 'entitlement'. As Americans, mainly, we think God owes us something. We expect God to pour out His blessings on us and give us what we want, instead of what we need. This understanding has crept into the church as well. Many come to Christ, not necessarily to be cleansed from sin, but rather, to be able to go to heaven (or avoid hell) when they die. They are not interested in a relationship with Jesus Christ, and they think they can twist God's arm to make Him do what they want Him to do for them.

   What are some things God tells us though? He tells us to forsake our sins. He tells us to carry our crosses (that means to live for God's purposes and glory instead of our own, even though it will be hard at times). He tells us to repent and believe. He tells us to flee youthful lusts. He tells us to love Him above our families. He tells us to live holy lives. He tells us to crucify our flesh. He tells us to live lives worthy of His call. Sounds like this doesn't allow for any kind of sin, selfishness, autonomy or entitlement, to me.

   From what I have read about in this book, it looks really helpful. It has recommendations from people I trust, so, I will also recommend it to you. At least look at what is available to read on amazon.com and see if you would find it helpful as well. I think you will be well pleased.

Are You Discouraged?

  You are walking with the Lord. Things are going fairly well. You are even beginning to experience the blessings of some of the fruits of your labor. Then something goes really wrong. What are you going to do?

   The tendency for many of us is to assume that somehow we got away from God and now we are failures. But the truth of the matter is that while we walk with God and enjoy His blessings, He allows us to go through challenging times, which could be an assortment of different things that have gone wrong.

   In the Bible, it tells about when Jesus was baptized. After He was baptized, the Holy Spirit came down upon Him and God the Father announced that He was pleased with His Son. Right after that though, Jesus was driven into the wilderness to be tested. Of course, He passed the test and returned to regular life after the time of testing was over.

  I remember a time when I was on the 'mountain top' so to speak. God was so very real to me, and it seemed like He was working in my heart and answering prayers, etc. Many wonderful things were happening, but we moved to another city and couldn't find a good church. We had a hard time finding good fellowship and never fit in anywhere. I knew in my heart that we were not going to stay there or even find the church we were to be part of in that city, but regardless of that, I ended up being very depressed.

  We stayed in that house for 15 months. God seemed so far away from us, yet I do remember having a dream, and in that dream God showed me that He wanted us to move to that city. Whatever God was going to do in our lives, was going to require us to move away, which I was totally reluctant to do, until  God showed me that it was what He wanted us to do.

  While we lived in this other city, I remember wanting to do Bible clubs for kids that I had been doing up until that point. As we were moving, I made sure all my material I had collected came with me and I continued to add to that collection, because I wanted to have a Bible club that would reach many children with the Gospel. But God had other plans.

   I brought the subject up to people in a church we were attending at that time. A woman was going to be my helper. But in my heart, I knew God was telling me that there would be no Bible club. How disappointing! In spite of what I felt God impressing on my heart, I tried hard to start a Bible club. The other lady who was supposed to be my helper disappeared, and when the Bible club was supposed to start, no one showed up. Was I a failure, or was God doing a work in my heart that I would even see until years later?

  The Bible club never panned out, and I went for counseling somewhere in this new town. Everything seemed to be going in reverse. Was I reading God in a wrong way, or was I just misinformed? Maybe I was a complete failure and God kicked me out of His kingdom? Where was God anyway? I thought I had a lot of faith in Him but I didn't sense His nearness anymore. What was wrong?

   After a while of this discouragement, my husband decided to move us back to the town we were originally part of. We already knew the church we were going to be part of, and that is why we were moving back.

   We were on our way to moving back and I remember thinking to myself, 'why does it seem that I can't do anything in ministry? Why has God put me somewhere far away? Of course, the question always comes up which asks 'what did I do wrong?'

  I did get an answer. It came in the word, 'wait'. Wait was not part of my active vocabulary though. We, as Americans, are not taught to wait for things. We are so busy doing things and can't wait for answers. That is why we are so impatient. We are pragmatic. We are very practical, and we are very impatient at the same time. We reason within ourselves that we only have so much time on earth and we have to get done whatever it is that we want to do for God, right now. As usual though, God has other plans. His ways are higher than ours and many times they do not make sense to us, mainly because we are impatient and pragmatic.

  "But God, don't You want me to serve You?" I felt like my life was a waste. What I didn't know was that I was pregnant with my first child. What I didn't know was that this was going to be the beginning of a new adventure that God had for me. It was not an exalting adventure, but it would be one that would change my life and help me to become more like Christ.

  Marriage and children have a way of sanctifying us. Now it was time for me to learn sanctification. Jesus says that He prunes the vine and those who are on this vine are those who belong to Him. Pruning is not a fun experience. Being in the wilderness is not a fun experience. We want to stay on the mountain top, and we don't like pruning shears on us! God will use spouses and children to do that kind of work in our hearts.

   Yes, God does want us to serve Him, and if we are faithful to Him, we will find ourselves in ministry, one day. Our ministry could be to our children, or to those we don't even know yet. But we have to go through the process of sanctification first, before God places us in ministry. For some, the process will seem hard and unending, but what we don't realize is that there will be good fruit that will come out of it, one day. We might not see any fruit for a long time, but we are not to become discouraged in that. We are to be faithful to God, whether we are on a mountain top, or in the valley or wilderness.

   God does the heart work while we are in the wilderness. We will go through times of testing. Will we be faithful, or will we be discouraged and want to quit?

   The ministry God has for us might not look like what we are expecting, but when God is in it, He will bring the results in His timing. We must wait upon Him and learn wisdom during that time. We must be growing spiritually by feeding upon His word. We need to draw close to God. Our faith in Him will develop as we learn who He is, and we learn who He is by spending time in His word.

  Whatever ministry we have, it will only come out of our relationship with God. We cannot give away what we don't have. The more we have received from God, the more we will be able to give away, and the stronger our ministry will become. And the only way to receive from God is to be abiding in Christ.

   We had our baby, and then a couple more, then we home schooled them and learned what life was really all about. I failed many times as a parent and teacher, but God was able to do way more than what I could have ever done anyway. I feel like I have learned some things as a parent that have helped to shape me into the person God wants me to be. The main ministry I had was to my family, but now it can be extended to others.

   The word 'ministry' really means to serve. We are to serve those in our families. We are to serve our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are to serve our neighbors. We are to serve the lost. We use the gifts God has given us, whether they are spectacular or mundane. We use them with humility and grace. We use them to serve others with so they can be successful.

   Your 'ministry' might not look like what you imagined, but if you are in God's will, what you are doing to serve Him and others is valid. You might not see the fruit of it today, or tomorrow. You might only see the fruit when you get to the other side.

   Do not be weary in well doing. Whether it is home schooling, changing diapers, working at the top level of a career, or picking up trash off the streets, if you know God and are serving Him, He will make your efforts productive. Do not listen to the lies of the Enemy of our souls. He would want you to believe you are a terrible parent or spouse. He wants you to give up, but don't. With the power of God in your life, you can stay with it. Be faithful with what God wants you to do, and you will be grateful for all of what He has given you to do, one day.

Does Mental Illness Cause Us To Sin?

Here is a note I wrote the other day. As I study Biblical counseling, I am learning more and more on how unclear the general public understands the heart of man. No one knows where to place sin. It is hard to know, unless you understand what God says about the human heart. In this note, I give two examples, which were stories that really happened. Even more amazing of how bad we can be, is the way the court system thinks people should be charged. Instead of charging the person who did the crime with the correct charge, these two people were acquitted because it wasn't their fault. They had a disease. In one case, the disease was PMS. PMS caused the woman to kick and scream at the cop who was giving her a ticket. The other disease was called, 'Male Chauvinism' which caused a man to kill several people. As you read this, see what you think. Do people sin because they have a disease? Or could there be a better explanation for their sinful behavior?

  I have been studying the subject of mental illness and the relationship people make with mental illness and sin. Today, I was listening to the news and there was a report of of man who went on a shooting spree and killed a few people. Then, as the course usually follows, he killed himself. A psychiatrist who analyzed him decided that he had the disease of Male Chauvinism. This man was extremely angry with women because he was continually rejected by them. So, his disease was Male Chauvinism and he would have probably gotten off the hook for his crime of murder because of his 'disease'. What do you think?

   A woman gets caught by the police for wreckless driving and gets a ticket. She kicks the police and gets violent. She has to go to court, but when she does, she gets dismissed for she has a physical condition that caused her to react violently to the police, called PMS. 

   Are PMS and Male Chauvinism diseases which cause people to sin? Where does sin come from and what is it's real cause?

  Take an example of a man who is blind. He cannot see women to lust after them. But could lust still be in his heart? Give him eyes that can see, and what would he do with them? The problem is not blindness, but the heart. Sure, being blind could be an asset that could hinder him from having the ability to lust after women, but, the problem is still in the heart. If he had eyes that could see, chances are good that he would be lusting after women (unless he chooses not to).

   PMS and Male Chauvinism are not the cause of sin, although they help sin to be fulfilled in our lives. In a court system, they are sometimes used as an alibi or an excuse for wrongdoing. Just because there is a reason for something, the reason is not an excuse for wrongdoing. Reasons do not make wrong things right. They make them plausible though, and can help us to better look at our heart motives. Human court systems do not go back to the heart, but God's court system does. 

Are You Awesome?

   I hope I don't step on anyone's toes here (smile face) and I don't want to come off as angry at everyone (which I know I do at times) so please bear with me while I try to explain my dilemma.
  Recently, I finished a class on Theology and Secular Psychology. What I learned was amazing. Up until the mid 1800s, counseling had been done in the church where it belonged. Only God can cure a sick soul. For some reason, counseling had been pulled out of the church and brought into the secular world. As it was being categorized, it earned the title, 'Psychology' and was placed in the medical field. Secular psychologists rose up with their theories and ideas, many of which were implemented. In secular psychology, you have to remember that 'man is the measure of all things'. Man is the standard, not God. The problems of mankind can only be solved by mankind, because there is nothing or no one who is higher who can help.
  Taking care of the mentally ill had been, and still is a challenge for secular psychologists. Curing dementia or Alzheimer's is a goal that will never fully be reached in the secular medical field, although, because of God's common grace, some medications can relieve some of the symptoms for a period of time.
  There has not been much agreement among psychologists in the secular world. Each has his or her own ideas of what works and what doesn't, yet, they claim that they have the key in helping because supposedly empirical science is able to provide answers to hard questions. Much of empirical science though, is biased. Tests have been done that 'prove' homosexuality is inherited, but the tests only used certain factors, not everything that could or should have been used to give a more accurate result.
  One of the big factors in modern psychology that is employed is the theory of the need for 'self-esteem'. Esteem actually is a worship word. It means to have a high regard for something or someone. Of course, the psychologists will tell you that you have to love and respect yourself, and then you will be self confident and will be successful at whatever it is that you want to do with your life.
  There is a difference between dignifying someone and deifying that person. That seems to be where the crux of the problem lies. So many times, we want to encourage someone, but what we end up doing is telling the person things about himself that aren't true, but we think they will help the person feel better about himself and will solve his problem.
   I see it on Facebook often. Well meaning people tell their troubling friends to 'stay strong'. I have seen people grieving and someone replies 'You are strong.' Or, 'Stay strong!'. What is that supposed to mean to someone who is grieving? Instead, the commenter should be weeping with the grieving person and praying for her, not telling him or her to 'stay strong'.
  I also see these things in greeting cards. "Celebrate You" seems to be a concept that is popular. Here's a good one put out by Hallmark. It reads, 'You're Wonder Woman' on the front. Inside it says, 'Kind and caring with a little kick-butt too, that's you, from head to fabulous toe'. Flattering someone is not the same as encouraging someone. I think secular psychology blends those two concepts and doesn't know how to separate them. We need encouragement, but not flattery. We need dignity, but not deification.
  I first heard the word 'awesome' when the song 'Awesome God' came out. Awesome was an accurate word to describe God, although I don't think any of us will ever really understand just how awesome God really is, as long as we are on earth. When the word 'awesome' is used, it means something is pretty high up there. Other things might be cool or exciting, but only God is really awesome. But I know we are getting away from this thinking for I hear people talking often about such and such as being 'awesome'.
  Awesome really means 'inspiring an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, or fear; causing or inducing awe: an awesome sight.' according to Dictionary.com . Here is the definition of 'awe'-

1.

an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration, fear, etc., produced by that which is grand,sublime, extremely powerful, or the like: in awe of God; in awe of great political figures.

Notice that the definition really fits our response to God. If we have ever 'seen' or encountered God, we will have a sense of awe or overwhelming feeling of reverence. 

Suppose an angel came into your room and started talking to you. Would you just answer the questions and have a nice dialog with the angel? I don't think so. If you look in the Bible and see Mary's response to an encounter with an angel, you can see that she was in awe. She knew God was visiting her through an angel. The shepherds also were in awe when they saw the angels announcing the birth of Jesus. The Bible says that they were 'sore afraid'. They were terrified. Once they got through it, they went in the direction that the angels told them in order to see Jesus as a baby. That was a feeling of awe that they experienced that night. 

  We are not awesome, but God is. With that in mind, here is something I saw today. This is an indication of how little we understand of God's greatness and how high we think of ourselves. I'm sure the person who designed this card was thinking that it would be an encouraging note to give to a friend, but it really says so much more. It is deifying a person, not just encouraging someone.

I hope the person who sent this or designed it won't be offended at what I have written here. But should we be telling people how awesome they are? Of course not, but, we can encourage them and pray for them. We can point out evidences of God's grace in their lives. But when it comes to being strong, we are not strong. God is. God is our strength. God does not necessarily make us strong. He wants us to depend upon Him for His strength. 

   God is awesome and we can be in awe of Him. If we believe secular psychology, we will think we are awesome. When things go wrong, we will be disappointed in ourselves. We need to have God's perspective on who we are, and we need to have the Bible's perspective on who God is. We need to see who really is awesome!

Intervening In The Rules Of The Game Of Life

   Before I write the article, I want to make a disclaimer. I don't want my readers to think of life as a 'game' to be played. I certainly don't want to lead anyone into thinking that God is playing games with us or that we are pawns in His game. I would like to compare a real subject, 'life' with a game as an illustration.
  There are some similarities between real life and playing a game. There are differences as well. The similarities are the different teams who live on this planet, just as there are different teams or players in a game. The differences are that we are playing for life and eternity, not just to win a game. The goals of the team leaders are different too.
  It's like there are two captains, yet, the captains are very different. One captain is evil, beyond imagination. The other captain is good, beyond imagination. One captain is all-powerful, all-knowing, holy, and omnipresent, whereas the other captain is a created being, ultimately subject to the all-powerful Captain.
  In a sense, we are stuck in the middle. We are created beings too, like the Evil captain is. We are not as powerful as the Evil captain is, and we certainly are not as powerful as the Captain who created us.
  In the beginning, we were originally created to be on the team of the Captain who is the Creator, the Good Captain. But the Evil captain was around and tricked some of our team members into his side. Ever since that happened, whether we like it or not, we have been on the side of the Evil Team's captain.
   The rules of the Evil captain are run by deception. The problem with deception is that you don't know you are deceived. When we are born, we think we are basically good, and we think we are on the side of the Good Captain, but we really aren't. We can see selfish expressions of our lives even from the time we are babies! As we grow older, it becomes more and more evident that we aren't on the side of the Good Captain, but the Evil one.
  The Good News is that no one has to stay on the side of the Evil captain. We can now be reconciled to the Good Captain and be on His team instead of the Evil team. The Good Captain, who is God our Creator, took on flesh, and lived a human life, the life we should have lived but couldn't. Then He died a death that we should have died. He should not have died that death because He didn't deserve it. But now we can be on His side, the winning side. Of course, just knowing about this doesn't make us automatically on the Good side. We have to turn away from sin and selfishness, and turn to God, trusting what Jesus did for us on the Cross 2,000 years ago. Jesus is the winner and showed forth the victory when death was defeated after He arose from the grave! When Jesus died on the Cross, the Evil team lost the battle. Yes, the devil is still prowling around trying to tempt people to fall into the trap of sin, but now we don't have to belong to him. We can belong to God and be on the Good Team, only because of the victory won by God's Son 2,000 years ago when He died on that Cross and arose from the grave.
  Now that I have finished writing this blog, I have to admit that it wasn't what I originally intended to write! Maybe I will save that for another blog, another time.

The Enemy tricked us into his team

Questions For Counselors To Ask Themselves

  I have been studying the history of Biblical counseling, and I have to admit, I have no idea of how we are affected today because of the fact that the area of counseling which was once part of the church, had been taken out of the church by the general public and brought into the medical field, where counseling would now be tied in with psychology and science.
   Psychiatry and psychology are fairly new categories. They were invented by those who wanted to take the responsibility of 'curing the soul' out of the church. Before the mid 1800s, the church took the responsibility for this. Not sure whether it was just taken out of the church, or if the church just abandoned its responsibilities in this area. Whatever the reason, the beginning of psychology, psychiatry, and mental health care was begun, and science was the religion behind how it was supposed to work.
  In the mid 1900s, Jay Adams saw the desperate need to bring Biblical counseling back into the church and has pioneered the way. Many have followed in his footsteps and much has been done to recover the loss. Biblical counseling is now part of many local churches and it is becoming more and more refined as those leading the path continue to blaze the way for it to become implemented and restored by to the church, where it belonged in the first place.
  Today, there are a few, very effective Biblical counseling ministries and ministers. One of them is David Powlison, who has followed Jay Adams in helping to found Biblical counseling. David Powlison has written many articles and has taught classes at CCEF, as well as teaching at seminars and conferences on Biblical counseling issues.
  David Powlison wrote an article called, "Does The Shoe Fit?" which can be found online at: http://www.ccef.org/does-shoe-fit-0
  I was reading through the article and there were about 30-40 questions listed in a section that were directed at the potential counselor. The questions were excellent and I would encourage everyone who aspires to counsel people to read this article and ask themselves the questions. I have also organized some of the questions in a readable format and will reprint them here:

 Questions for us to ask & answer ourselves:

1. Do you treat your counselees differently from how you treat your best friends?

2. Do others see you as embodying tender care for their well being?

3. Do others know you love them?

4. Do people feel that you are for them, and that you are in it for the long haul?

5. Do you elicit trust and promote openness?

6. Do you have a vision, rationale, and modus operandi for the times you might have a 25^th counseling session with someone?

7. Do you so emphasize behavioral sin that you fail to be attentive to heartache and pain?

8. Does the way you look at people and their problems-in-living gravitate to one part of the human condition, but neglect other parts?

9. Do you in fact weep with those who weep?

10. Do you strike the Gospels’ balance between meeting people in their hardships and calling them to change?

11. Does your counseling help some people to weep, giving voice to their sorrows, perplexities, and uncertainties, when they have confused the Christian ideal with the Stoic ideal?

12. Do you strike the Psalms’ balance between suffering and sin and joy?

Please note that in the article, there are many more questions than this, and you can go to the article yourself and read the other questions.