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Written by Eugene Harder
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Tuesday, 02 October 2007 10:50 |
- 1. Sin has done a number on our bodies. God's original plan for our bodies was that they would perpetually renew themselves. That's how we were created, but sin has changed that reality. Sin causes us to abuse our bodies and they eventually die.
2. Sin has done a number on us psychologically. It has wrapped our perception of reality. It has caused us to play games with life and live in our own fantasy land. 3. Sin has done a number on us spiritually. We can't hear the voice of God nor see His face nor feel his love. This leaves us wandering without adequate direction and care. Our first step to wholeness is the admission that sin has screwed us up because, "Wholeness is a process that begins with God."
1. A constant feeling of dissatisfaction. So they keep moving, running and racing as fast as they can. 2. There is a sense of detachment. Even in a crowd people you feel a gut level loneliness. You come to church and you still feel lonely. 3. There is a sense of destination sickness. People just don't have authentic goals. They are going with the flow. They can't think about next year or three years or five years because they don't have enough hope to reach out to next week. It's a destination sickness. Do you know how to tell if you have one of these undertows? Check your pulse, if your hearts beating, you have one two or three of these pulling on you. You'll never deal with them till you believe that....."Wholeness is a process that begins with God." We don't move through these is because . . . -
a. You must be aware that you have a problem. If you think you don't have a problem, ask your partner, your children or your parents. b. You must be aware that you are powerless over that problem. You can't do anything to solve the problem. Already some of you are arguing with me...."O yes I can, I can handle this problem." O no you can't. You are powerless by yourself to solve your problem. Temporarily you may be able to manage it, but eventually you will have to realize that you can't do it. c. Your life is becoming unmanageable because of the problem. If you don't fix the problem, things will go from bad to worse. Time does not remove the problem it only increases the ultimate smell of the problem. d. You must ask God for help. You come and tell Him that you can't get fixed on your own. Someone has said, "We're as sick as our secrets." "He who hides his problems will not prosper." I have prepared a worksheet for each of you. Get alone for a few hours and begin writing answers to the questions. Just by writing the answers you have taken a major step forward. It may be the most important thing you have done in many years. Determine to attend a TLC group where you can share as much as you feel comfortable sharing. The experience of others will help you through the process. 1. My problem isn't that bad .....yet. I can think of 10 people who have worse problems than I do. How bad does it have to get? I heard some Saskatchewan wisdom that goes like this. If one person calls you a horse, ignore them. Iit's ridiculous, I'm not a horse. If two people call you a horse, you might check your hoofs or look in the mirror. If three people call you a horse you'd better buy a saddle. If more than one person has said, "That's a problem," it probably is. It's probably time you admitted that...."Wholeness is a process that begins with God." 2. The second form of denial says, "I can handle it myself." "Thanks for bringing this up Eugene, but I can handle it. Others need help but not me." If you could, you would, since you can't, you won't. Another piece of Prairie wisdom goes like this. "When a horse is dead, get off." Any of you on a dead horse and wondering why it isn't moving? There's no use beating it to death. Just admit that...... "Wholeness is a process that begins with God." There's a basic piece of wisdom taught through in Proverbs. 28:13 "He who hides his transgressions (failures or problems) will not prosper." The reverse is true, it you are open about it and able to confess it, then you can deal with it. There are four simple steps you can take to recovery.
(High tech note: Your answers are not saved in the file but can be printed out before you close the document. You can also print the document with blank boxes and fill it in with a good old pen or pencil.)
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