Monthly Archives: May 2010

Form. Personality, and Knowing God

28 Friday May 2010

Posted by in Biblical Worldview, New Posts, Not-So-Often Devotionals

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A world view which believes God is an impersonal being is a closed system. By that I mean that God is not involved in the affairs of creation, particularly man. It is no more than the uniformity of natural causes. It is Eastern thinking. Scientism, bottom line!
This raises two overwhelming problems: First, those who believe in this worldview have no explanation for why reality exits in its present form. This is what is referred to as materialism. Reality is what we see around us–that’s it! Secondly, when we begin with an impersonal form there is no personality behind what exists. So, form and personality are void from the “impersonal being” worldview approach. Without form or personality we cannot understand human relationships.
But, wherever we look there is “mannishness” or humanness. It is clearly evident to me that mannishness has personality. In contrast, a Christian worldview says that God has a personal relationship with His creation. God is a “personal being” interacting with people and His created order.There is form and there is personality evident in the universe. Thus, there is a God.
As a veteran you may find yourself void of earthly relationships caused primarily by your addictive behavior. A traumatic event has opened a door of fear you never imagined could exist. You feel isolated, hopeless. Christianity is not primarily a moral, philosophical, or religious system, but rather a deep, intimate, and living relationship with a personal Creator. Through faith in Christ, we are not simply “saved” or “delivered from hell,” but actually introduced into the inner sanctum of the Godhead itself and united in a personal, intimate, and relational way with our Creator. This is what it means to “know God” and thus possess “eternal life.” (A Christian World View, Vol. 2.,Francis Shaffer).
The Apostle Paul tells us that “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17); because “Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). Form and personality–it doesn’t get better than this!

The Parable of the Weeds

27 Thursday May 2010

Posted by in New Posts, Not-So-Often Devotionals

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Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. 25 But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. 26 When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew.
27 “The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’

28 “‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed.

“‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked.

29 “‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’”

I don’t think that this parable refers to unbelievers in the professing church. The field is the world (v.38). Thus the people of the Kingdom of God live side by side with the people of the evil one.
There is an important lesson here for all of us. Let me pose it as a question: “Why did Jesus come into the world?
According to John 18:37, Jesus says, “…for this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world, to TESTIFY TO THE TRUTH.
This question especially challenges veterans in recovery. This is because the word truth forms the heart of the cosmic battle which has been going on since the beginning of time. This battle has divided the world into two opposing camps or side’s: lies vs. truth.
Theism is the word used to describe a “biblical world view” (i.e. truth). It is a belief system which accepts the truths of Scripture. It believes that God is personal and attentive to mankind (Theism). A biblical world view says that Jesus is the truth (absolute) by which mankind must live. Deism, Materialsm, and Pantheism, to name only a few, represent the lies which oppose truth (ref. The Truth Project Notes).
The conditions of contemporary culture stands in direct opposition to the Truth-centered worlview presented in the Holy Scriptures. Our culture (the weeds in the parable) is not only filled with lies but is actually heading in the direction of social insanity.
Recovery entails more than medication, psychological coping skills and labels. It requires an understanding of how truth is fundamental to the mission of Jesus Christ in the world.
Do you know the Truth?

You Got to Deal With It!

07 Friday May 2010

Posted by in New Posts, PTSD, Substance Abuse

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“Oh, I’m fine. Everything is all right Chaplain. Don’t worry about me–it’ll go away”. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard veterans suffering from PTSD say these words to me in counseling.
Denial is never good when dealing with mental or physical illness, drug abuse, addictive or abusive behavior, illegal activities, or sexual abuse. A well known author on the subject of trauma talks about these feelings and calls them a “noisy Heart.” Other options that some people use for evasion include:

-Rationalization: an attempt to convinve yourself and others that the situation is not really what it seems to be.
-Repression: an attempt to puch all troubles from their minds.
-Displacement: an attempt to shift a person’s reactions from one subject to another.
-Projection: an attempt to attribute one;s own thoughts, motives, and actions to other people.
-Reaction Formatting: an attempt to substitute an acceptable feeling or motive for its opposite. (Wayne Oates, Nuturing Silence in a Noisy Heart)