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8c4b323
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1. We fear people because they can expose and humiliate us. 2. We fear people because they can reject, ridicule, or despise us. 3. We fear people because they can attack, oppress, or threaten us. These three reasons have one thing in common: they see people as "bigger" (that is, more powerful and significant) than God, and, out of the fear that creates in us, we give other people the power and right to tell us what to feel, think, and do...
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people
fear
god
self-esteem
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Edward T. Welch |
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6d4722c
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Jesus did not die to increase our self-esteem. Rather, Jesus died to bring glory to the Father by redeeming people from the curse of sin.
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fear-of-man
sanctification
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Edward T. Welch |
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95b8083
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The rule of thumb is that if someone is able to be verbally or physically abusive, he or she is able to understand that the behavior is wrong.
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Edward T. Welch |
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7c9b58b
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Fear" in the biblical sense...includes being afraid of someone, but it extends to holding someone in awe, being controlled or mastered by people, worshipping other people, putting your trust in people, or needing people."
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fear
codependency
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Edward T. Welch |
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05e49b8
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We are more concerned about looking stupid (a fear of people) than we are about acting sinfully (a fear of God).
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Edward T. Welch |
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d91b46a
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Sanctification is like a clumsy, slow walk rather than a light switch that we turn from off to on.
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Edward T. Welch |
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195b331
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Notice how those who have medicated away their hardships with illegal drugs, alcohol, or sex can seem immature. They may look forty-five, but they have the character of an adolescent. Find a person who has weathered storms rather than avoided them and you will find someone who is wise.
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Edward T. Welch |
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418c2c3
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It is possible that our present-day discussion about needs might be framed more by secular psychological theories than by Scripture. If this is so, we should be careful about saying, "Jesus meets all our needs." At first, this has a plausible biblical ring to it. Christ _is_a friend; God _is_ a loving Father; Christians _do_ experience a sense of meaningfulness and confidence in knowing God's love. It makes Christ the answer to our problems..
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secular-psychology
needs
scripture
selfishness
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Edward T. Welch |
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66350d4
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God's love is a costly love. It never takes the easy path away from relationships. Instead, it plots how to move towards other people. It thinks creatively of ways to surprise them with love.
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Edward T. Welch |
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60dd05e
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When God and spirituality are reduced to our standards or our feelings, God will never be to us the awesome Holy One of Israel. With God reduced in our eyes, a fear of people will thrive.
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Edward T. Welch |
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c472141
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You don't really know who you are until you have gone through suffering. We can measure our spiritual growth by the way we behave under pressure.
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Edward T. Welch |
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d3d055e
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Faith feels many different ways. It can be buoyant; it can be depressed and lifeless. Feelings don't define faith. Instead, faith is simply turning to the Lord.
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Edward T. Welch |
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d7c9a65
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The massive interest in self-esteem and self-worth exists because it is trying to help us with a real problem. The problem is that we really are not okay. There is no reason why we should feel great about ourselves. We truly are deficient. The meager props of the self-esteem teaching will eventually collapse as people realize that their problem is much deeper. The problem is, in part, our nakedness before God.
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Edward T. Welch |
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016592f
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Jesus entered the temple area and revealed that he was the perfect and final priest; even more, he was the entire temple. All the temple symbols suddenly came to life. He was the wash basin, the Water of Life. He was the bread of the Presence, the Bread of Life. He was the candlesticks, the Light of the World. He was the perfect priest, the Great High Priest who would offer the sacrifice, and he was the sacrifice itself, "the Lamb of God, w..
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Edward T. Welch |
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7db96bd
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Don't let religious-sounding reluctance fool you. When you plead "unworthy" and refuse to be served by God, you place your judgment about yourself above God's. You say you would prefer to go it alone, and you imply that your unworthiness goes beyond the scope of God's mercy and grace. You must think that God cleanses you only from ordinary sins, not from the spectacular ones."
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Edward T. Welch |
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a043114
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Through our struggles and pain, we are being offered perseverance, the character of God. Hardships are intended to give us a spiritual makeover, "that we may share in his holiness" (Heb. 12:10). Therefore, when God encourages us to persevere, he is not stumbling for encouraging words. He is teaching us how to look like him."
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Edward T. Welch |
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e56d2fd
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The feeling of emptiness is usually a sign that we have put our trust in something that can't sustain us. It reminds us that we were created to trust in our heavenly Father and nothing else. We were created to enjoy the many things God gives without making them the center of our lives. When we confuse the two, our lives feel out of kilter. To feel better, we try again and search for love apart from God, but when we finally realize that it i..
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Edward T. Welch |
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95103cc
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The gospel is the story of God covering his naked enemies, bringing them to the wedding feast, and then marrying them rather than crushing them.
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Edward T. Welch |
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cd8d7df
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Somehow, turning to God and trusting him with the mysteries of suffering is the answer to the problem of suffering.
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Edward T. Welch |
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0ce3c0a
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Jesus always interpreted hardship in light of the end of the story, and at the end of the story we will be without shame.
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Edward T. Welch |
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22b6b85
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To look to Christ to meet our perceived psychological needs is to Christianize our lusts. We are asking God to give us what we want, or so we can have more happiness, not holiness, in our lives.
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Edward T. Welch |
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62e3432
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When you believe what God has said rather than lies, you are doing valuable work. When you choose hope over despair, your choice has lasting significance. When you get out of bed and persevere in ordinary obedience because you are representing the King, your labor is noticed even by heavenly beings (Ephesians 3:10). When you pursue holiness because you are holy, you find honor that lasts.
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Edward T. Welch |
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d9f704c
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As a counselor, I have spoken with many people who want to know their spiritual gifts. They come hoping for some sort of diagnostic test that will precisely locate them. My impression is that this perspective represents a breakdown in the church. It reflects a church where we are running around as self-actualizing individuals rather than uniting as a God-glorifying community.
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Edward T. Welch |
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cbf8da8
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When you are in the grips of low self-esteem, it's painful, and it certainly doesn't feel like pride. But I believe that this is the dark, quieter side of pride -- thwarted pride.
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Edward T. Welch |
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d04f6b1
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God created you to trust him and love others. When you are not trusting or not loving, you are disconnected from your purpose, and hopelessness will thrive.
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Edward T. Welch |
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98afb40
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Here is the rule: the way you live reveals what you really think about God,
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Edward T. Welch |
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18fdbd2
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Sin can certainly be a cause of depression, but you must be careful about connecting the dots between the two. If you are being honest, you will always find sin in your life. Everyone does. That doesn't mean that sin caused your depression. No sin is necessarily connected with sorrow of heart, for Jesus Christ our Lord once said, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death." There was no sin in Him, and consequently none in His deep de..
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Edward T. Welch |
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f618f8c
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Anything that erodes the fear of God will intensify the fear of man.
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Edward T. Welch |
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44345bf
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Joy is not the opposite of depression. It is deeper than depression. Therefore, you can experience both. Depression is the relentless rain. Joy is the rock. Whether depression is present or not, you can stand on joy.
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Edward T. Welch |
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0044869
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Depression ... involves a complete absence: absence of affect, absence of feeling, absence of response, absence of interest. The pain you feel in the course of a major clinical depression is an attempt on nature's part ... to fill up the empty space. But for all intents and purposes, the deeply depressed are just the walking, waking dead.
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Edward T. Welch |
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a23fb42
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There are more subtle ways we can contribute to depression too. For example, our misguided beliefs might lead us to think that we are beyond God's love or forgiveness. We could be carrying fears of death and judgment or fears of the future because we have believed myths about both God and ourselves. These mistaken beliefs can actually cause depression. At the very least they can get pulled into depression's gravitational field and end up as..
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Edward T. Welch |
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1cc0302
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The reason Scripture doesn't give clear guidelines for assigning responsibility is that it is not essential for us to know precise causes. This is good news: you don't have to know the exact cause of suffering in order to find hope and comfort.
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Edward T. Welch |
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4487b26
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Fear of man is always part of a triad that includes unbelief and disobedience.
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Edward T. Welch |
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67488b3
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When you erode the fear of death with the knowledge that you already died [in Christ], you will find yourself moving toward a simple, bold obedience.
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obedience
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Edward T. Welch |
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a04557f
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Suffering nags us with questions about God in a way that comfort never could.
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Edward T. Welch |
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e1cabbf
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Part of the depressive syndrome is that you are immensely loyal to your interpretation of yourself and your world. If God says you are forgiven in Christ, you create new rules that mandate contrition, penance, and self-loathing. If God says he loves you, you insist it is impossible. There it is: your system is higher than God's.
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Edward T. Welch |
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501a492
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O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. (Psalm 63:1-3) These words might not speak on your behalf, but they can--they must. If you think they can't, that is not shame talking. It is hopel..
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Edward T. Welch |
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c024805
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Love breaks the hold of individualism; it builds new communities out of the ashes of broken and fragmented relationships.
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Edward T. Welch |
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7bf21d8
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Regarding other people, our problem is that we need them (for ourselves) more than we love them (for the glory of God).
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Edward T. Welch |
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7a78d26
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Shame is the deep sense that you are unacceptable because of something you did, something done to you, or something associated with you. You feel exposed and humiliated. Or, to strengthen the language, You are disgraced because you acted less than human, you were treated as if you were less than human, or you were associated with something less than human, and there are witnesses.
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Edward T. Welch |
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9c88e68
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Joy is not the opposite of suffering. If it were, a person practiced in joy could crowd out pain because one couldn't exist with the other. Instead, joy can actually be a companion to suffering.
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Edward T. Welch |
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cdd2667
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If you want Jesus, you must be willing to accept the honor that goes with the relationship. Your royal status--ascribed to you, not achieved--has been unveiled.
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Edward T. Welch |
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b686f3a
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If our failure to consistently worship the true God is the key feature of sin, we are sinners all.
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Edward T. Welch |
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f46576f
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Our goal is to love people more than need them. We are overflowing pitchers, not leaky cups.
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Edward T. Welch |