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Then, when shame strikes, it is so nasty you have to numb yourself, and what better anesthetic than your addiction? It is the perfect vicious circle.
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Edward T. Welch |
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Shame's hold over you leads you to believe you don't deserve to be rid of shame. As a result, you treat hope as if it were a contaminated substance.
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Edward T. Welch |
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What is shame? The Son of God, while on a rescue mission of love, was misunderstood insulted betrayed denied mocked spit on cursed abandoned
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Edward T. Welch |
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The important thing was the shedding of blood. Sounds barbaric, but the Old Testament was reminding us that there was a significant cost involved in moving from unclean to clean. You didn't have to pay it, but it still had to be paid.
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Edward T. Welch |
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Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests--Aaron and Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron's garments to consecrate him for my priesthood." (Exodus 28:1-3, emphasis m..
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Edward T. Welch |
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Isaiah himself was only more aware of his shame as it stood in contrast to the perfection and purity of the Lord. It brought him to despair at his predicament. But despair is not a bad thing when it compels us to trust in or be associated with God himself.
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Edward T. Welch |
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Shame is very much on display in Jesus' crucifixion. When he predicted his own death to his disciples, he made sure to explain that it would be infused with mocking, a public flogging, and spitting (Mark 10:33-34). Witness this hatred and rejection and it will change you.
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Edward T. Welch |
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The fastest way to bring a wrecking ball to our skewed interpretations is through confession.
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Edward T. Welch |
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The Holy One is not human. The triune God is not human. Don't limit God's character by your expectations of what a decent human king might do. You expect God to reject; he accepts. You expect him to turn away; he turns toward.
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Edward T. Welch |
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Shame can be removed, and you can still be you. Despite your feeling that your destiny and shame's destiny are identical--that if shame no longer exists, you won't either--the reality is that you will be more you without shame.
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Edward T. Welch |
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Hiding. Covering up. Self-protection. Feeling exposed. They are telltale signs of shame.
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Edward T. Welch |
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Once at Golgotha where he would be crucified, the people continued their festival of shame, not knowing that their attempts to heap shame on the Creator God were the most disgraceful acts in human history.
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Edward T. Welch |
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The odd thing is that fear and anxiety are running away from something, but they don't know what to run to. They know danger, but they don't know where to find peace and rest.
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Edward T. Welch |
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the desire is overwhelming. Why? Because there is availability without accountability.
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Edward T. Welch |
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When he was with his fellow pastors, they challenged each other with these seven questions: 1. Have you been with a woman anywhere this past week that might be seen as compromising? 2. Have any of your financial dealings lacked integrity? 3. Have you exposed yourself to any sexually explicit material? 4. Have you spent adequate time in Bible study and prayer? 5. Have you given priority time to your family? 6. Have you fulfilled the mandates..
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Edward T. Welch |
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When your emotions feel muted or always low, when you are unable to experience the highs and lows you once did, the important question is not "How can I figure out what I have done wrong?" but it is, "Where do I turn--or, to whom do I turn--when I am depressed?" Some turn toward their beds and isolation; others turn toward other people. Some turn away from God; others turn toward him."
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Edward T. Welch |
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a lingering sense that something was very wrong with him. That sense is called shame.
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Edward T. Welch |
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The world was created by God as the abode of human beings. As created by God it is good, but as our abode it bears the mark of our sin. Therefore, in the New Testament, the term world is used to denote the order of things that are alienated from God.
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Edward T. Welch |
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But the point is that we live in a culture that idolizes happiness, and if we idolize happiness, it will always elude us.
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Edward T. Welch |
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the culture with the most peace, money, and leisure is also the one with the most malignant sadness.
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Edward T. Welch |
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When I'm depressed, pain is my friend. I wallow in pain. It's what I am familiar with. I'll tell you that I hate my pain and that there is nothing good about it, but I still hold onto it. I'm so dead inside, so empty of any enthusiasm or hope. My pain reminds me that I'm alive. It allows me to be angry.
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Edward T. Welch |
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If your lifestyle makes you wonder if Jesus really is your King, that is actually a good thing. You are understanding the truth. But you should also be amazed that the King never stops inviting you to himself and his kingdom. That is either very weird, or it's holy. If someone kept offering you a free invitation to a grand and expensive party, and you kept shoving it back in his face, at some point the host would stop making the offer. But ..
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grace
inspirational
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Edward T. Welch |
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When the only one who has a right to be angry chooses love and service, when He considers the interests of others more important than His own and chooses humility-He changes everything (p. 55).
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humility
jesus
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Edward T. Welch |
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Fear has given birth to extreme parenting. It looks like love, but it is love mingled with fear.
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Edward T. Welch |
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others, and so on. And anything that is opposed to God in our lives is actually one of the many gods of the kingdom of earth. You will always be running scared if you worship other gods, because idols can't deliver on their promises. In the Old Testament, the choice before
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Edward T. Welch |
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When your wants become needs, it means that you have put your trust in people. They have become like a god to you. Yet, for some reason, the true God is patient with you. Although you might reject him, he doesn't reject you. And this is everyone's story.
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Edward T. Welch |
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What does your worship look like? Anxiety, despair, shopping, primping, acting like someone you aren't, acting stupid when you are smart, or acting like you don't care when you do? Why do you do it? You are hoping that, if you worship it correctly, the idol will give you what you want. But idols are notoriously slow in responding.
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Edward T. Welch |
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Therefore, we cannot rightly say, "My God is not a God of judgment and anger; my God is a God of love." Such thinking makes it almost impossible to grow in the fear of the Lord. It suggests that sin only saddens God rather than offends him. Both justice and love are expressions of his holiness, and we must know both to learn the fear of the Lord."
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Edward T. Welch |
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If we look only at God's love, we will not need him, and there will be no urgency in the message of the cross. If we focus narrowly on God's justice, we will want to avoid him, and we will live in terror-fear, always feeling guilty and waiting for punishment.
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Edward T. Welch |
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Worry's magnetic attraction can only be broken by a stronger attraction, and David is saying [in Psalm 27] we can only find that attraction in God Himself.
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Edward T. Welch |
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Are you worried? Jesus says there is nothing to worry about. It isn't our kingdom, it's God's. We take our cue from the King, and the King is not fretting over anything. He is in complete control.
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worry
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Edward T. Welch |
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This was Paul's joy in suffering and shame: "that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead" (Philippians 3:10-11). Notice how this affects your shameful past. It will still hurt at times, but shame will lose its power. The very event that made you an outcast is the one that gives you insight into the ..
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Edward T. Welch |
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We can think that God is good, and we are pleased with him, though we might be pleased less with him than we are with the ease of our lives. Then, when life is hard--especially when life remains hard--the allegiances of our hearts
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Edward T. Welch |
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Augustine wrote, "That first way [to truth] is humility; the second way is humility, and the third way is humility."1 If humility does not precede our wisdom and help, our efforts are meaningless. Paul, it seems, would agree. Life in Christ starts with humility."
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Edward T. Welch |
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The circumstances of life do not have the power to turn us away from Jesus or to make us love him more--those are the jurisdiction of the heart.
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Edward T. Welch |
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You barely realize what just happened. It is called faith. You just turned in Jesus' direction and you are listening. You want what he offers.
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Edward T. Welch |
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When in doubt, look at the Lord. Lift up your eyes (Numbers 21:4-9). That will be something it will take all your life to master, but what better time to start than now? Still, you can't imagine being an invited worshiper of God.
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Edward T. Welch |
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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). The task God sets for us is to need them less and love them more. Instead of looking for ways to manipulate others, we will ask God what our duty is toward them.
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Edward T. Welch |
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When the fear of the Lord matures in you, Christ becomes irresistible.
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Edward T. Welch |
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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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He says "I love you" first, even when we respond with an indifferent shrug or the equivalent of a passing, "Oh, thanks." And in this we discover why it might be hard for us to move toward others: the one taking the initiative in the relationship--the one who loves most--is the one who risks humiliation."
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Edward T. Welch |
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Our liberation comes through a person, not a system of ideas and principles. "Everything we need for life and godliness" ultimately comes "through our knowledge of Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 1:3)."
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freedom
scripture
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Edward T. Welch |
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Why do you think Adam and Eve were concerned about uncovered genitals, but not bare arms, legs, noses, or ears?
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Edward T. Welch |
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God really does speak in our suffering, and we have good reason to believe that the words he says are good and powerful enough to lighten our pain.
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Edward T. Welch |