Jesus- Therapist or Savior?

The science of psychology can offer up some very helpful explanations about why we act in certain ways. Knowing about our emotions and systems of thought can aid us in discovering tools that are useful for breaking out of self-destructive ways and addictions. But, Freud is no replacement for Jesus Christ! A couple of decades ago, in a search for ways to help hurting people, I learned from authors who detailed the various complexes, phobias, and relational problems that diminish the quality of peoples’ lives. However, there is no power for transformation like the power of salvation through Jesus Christ.

We must not be distracted from the true Gospel replacing spiritual transformation found in the Holy Spirit by turning Jesus into the Great Therapist. Men and women broken by the sin and evil of this world need more than a Therapist who understands! We all need a Savior who can reveal the deceptions of the father of lies. We need a Light to show us the Way, to life and to the love of our Father. I am not dismissing the value of the science of psychology as a tool for dealing with dysfunctional human behaviors! What I want us to know is that it has its limits and that at the end of the road of counseling, there is a lesser traveled Way to the Cross, where "anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons! Look at it!" (2 Corinthians 5:17, The Message)

The Therapeutic Jesus is a Friend that we talk to, sharing our burdens, finding love and understanding. So what's wrong with that? Nothing, except that He is more than a Friend. He is the Lord, the Savior, the Mediator who bridges the wide gap between us and our Creator! He not only listens with empathy, He is able to change us and heal us by giving us the Spirit to live in us! The Word says, "He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him." (Hebrews 7:25, NKJV) Another version states the wonderful promise like this - "Jesus is the one who guarantees this better covenant with God. ... Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf. He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven. ... he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people's sins." (Hebrews  7:22-27, NLT)

Have you 'psychologized' Jesus?

Have you made Him a kind of super "Dr. Phil" without really realizing it?

Do you talk over your fears, problems, failures, and sins with Him but without the expectation that He can do more than just listen and advise?

He is the Lord of Glory who came to 'save us from our sins.'

The word from the Word is full of promise of inner change- "Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ. .... I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!" (Philippians 3:10-11, NLT)

When you discover why you act in ways that are harmful, why you cannot trust others, why you are full of rage; learn and understand. Then, take it to Jesus Christ and pray for the power of the Spirit to begin working deeply in you to make you new. He can, and He will.  Receive Him with new faith. Follow Him to the Cross, into suffering and death, and into a new life marked by the Eternal Life of the Spirit.

__________________

"Ye chosen seed of Israel's race,

Ye ransomed from the Fall,

Hail Him who saves you by His grace,

and crown Him, Lord of All.

All Hail the pow'r of Jesus' Name,

let angels prostrate fall,

bring forth the royal diadem,

and crown Him, Lord of All!"

Absolutely convinced

George Zimmer’s gravelly voice closes every commercial with a promise: “You’re going to like the way you look. I guarantee it.”  The owner of the men’s apparel company goes straight to the basics. If a man is spending money on clothing, he wants to know that when he puts on that suit, it will look good on him. Using great business sense and straight forward appeal, Zimmer has turned a little business that started in his dorm room in college into a chain of stores doing more than a billion dollars of sales every year!

Do you have an real idea why you’re a Christian and why anyone else would want to be? Can you state, in a line or two, why discipleship is a choice worth making? Perhaps that line of thinking strikes you as offensive. You perhaps are thinking, what’s he doing, selling Jesus?  Simply put, nobody is born a Christian! God has no grandchildren, so each generation must be brought into the Kingdom of God by our witness. “Because I said so,” isn’t a very compelling reason to embrace a life that demands self-sacrifice. So, I ask again, can you tell your family, your kids, yourself… why following Christ is the right choice?

Peter could and he did. "There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12, NLT) Salvation is not just about eternity and Heaven. We are saved, right here, right now. In Christ we are delivered from fear, kept from destruction, and given wholeness; all that and Heaven, too. That is salvation. Jesus promises that in Him we will find "life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10, NIV)

Last week, the path of my life traveled some dark valleys. My heart was broken by the suffering of others, by the deceit of sin that visited terrible things on those I love, by disappointment that came from people who failed to respond in ways I hoped for.  I am not an exception. But, I have an exceptional Savior. Where some might have felt they had no place to turn for help, or felt that their only escape was in some diversion; I knew that I could take that heavy load to One who would share it with me.  I poured my heart out to Him, often with silent prayer. He saw my tears and heard my cries. Because of Christ, I have hope for my future, hope for my children’s future, hope for the people of this planet. There is no other Name!

Here’s the word from the Word. I pray it is your conviction and from it you will find every reason to take the News of Jesus and share it with those who need to hear it.

"None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us." (Romans 8:37-39, The Message)

_______________

In Christ Alone

In Christ alone my hope is found

He is my light my strength my song

This Cornerstone this solid Ground

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love what depths of peace

When fears are stilled when strivings cease

My Comforter my All in All

Here in the love of Christ I stand

No guilt in life no fear in death

This is the power of Christ in me

From life's first cry to final breath

Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell no scheme of man

Can ever pluck me from His hand

Till He returns or calls me home

Here in the power of Christ I'll stand

© 2001 Thankyou Music (Admin. by EMI Christian Music Publishing)

Keith Getty | Stuart Townend

CCLI License No. 810055

The One Thing Most Christians Have Never Done

Brainwashing is a technique used by regimes who want to change a person's values and convictions. It involves beating up on the person's identity, creating a ton of guilt and/or shame about that identity, and causing him to betray himself or his country. Once a person is mentally and emotionally wrecked, he's ripe for any offering of security and acceptance. POW's that were held by Vietnam were subjected to brainwashing and many came home struggling with the psychological damage inflicted on them.  

Are you reluctant to talk about Jesus because you feel that to do so is to engage in something akin to brainwashing?  Is "evangelism" a dirty word? Apparently it is among many Christians given how little it is said in churches or small groups today! Then, too, mistaken ideas about tolerance cause us to say: "I just couldn't force my beliefs on anyone else." 

So, let's re-define the word. Evangelism comes from a Biblical word that mean 'the good announcement.' It not about assaulting anyone in the name of Christ, nor is it about brainwashing. It's letting others in on the good news that they have a purpose for being alive, a Father who loves them, and a way to know the best quality of life possible! It's not about shouting "turn or burn, sinner!"  Evangelism is saying, "Would you like to meet my Friend?"  For the Spirit-filled disciple, evangelism not something that is done a day a month or once every now and then, it is his way of life!

Jesus told His first disciples that when He left them to return to the Father, they were to spend time waiting in Jerusalem until they were "powered up."  What for? So they could have great, happy lives, becoming the city's most prosperous citizens?  Not according to the book of Acts. So that they could become emotionally and spiritually well-adjusted, enjoying wide acceptance within the community? Uh, wrong, again!   

Jesus said "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere-in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."(Acts 1:8, NLT)

"Witnesses" is another of those words that makes a lot of Christians shudder. It brings up visions of earnest people going door to door arguing about the Bible with those who are willing to open their door, or good looking guys in white shirts riding bicycles through suburban neighborhood trying to convince people to read the book of Mormon. It's not really a bad word at all. It just means "spectator who tells others what he has seen and knows."  The Holy Spirit living in you and me creates the kind of life (think- 'love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control') that others want to know what makes us tick and we tell them. The basic component of evangelism is not knowing a catalog of Bible verses that you use to convince another of your superior truth. It is living authentically, purposefully, and wholly holy (not a typo). The Light within shines into the darkness and creates multiple opportunities for us to say, "Would you like to know my Friend?"

The one thing most Christians have never done is the one thing all Christians are called to do - make disciples! They are bereft of a great joy. It's rather like a young couple reluctant to have a baby because they see how much work an infant brings into the lives of their friends, but then when they finally have their own child, they realize the joys far aweigh the inconveniences of parenting.

Let me ask you two things today:

1.    Are you living in a way that your greatest treasure is Christ, full of the Spirit of God? Is your life a compelling example of who a true disciple is?

2.    If so, are you taking opportunities to pray with people, to sensitively and courageously say, "May I talk with you about my Friend?"

"Remember this-a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop." (2 Cor. 9:6 NLT)

 

The Trail Mix called Life

Trail mix, that salty, sweet, crunchy, soft mix of various nuts, raisins, papaya bits, and dried banana, is a favorite snack. Sometimes I just pour a handful and eat it all together, which  creates a swirl of flavors. Sometimes I pour the bag into my hand and sort the peanuts, the dried fruit, and the raisins just to enjoy them separately.

It’s been a trail mix kind of week for me spiritually and emotionally. There were some sweet victories and some moments of salty tears. There were moments of deep sorrow offset by bursts of delight. This is fairly common to the human experience, especially for those who live fully engaged with others, who are passionate about God and His purposes.  The constant through it all is the Presence of God! "Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, he will still be with you to teach you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes. Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left. Then you will destroy all your silver idols and your precious gold images. You will throw them out like filthy rags, saying to them, “Good riddance!” (Isaiah 30:20-22, NLT) When adversity is allowed by your Father, remember He uses it to create a new readiness to receive Him.

If He fed us a steady diet of sweetness, we would soon grow spiritually fat and complacent. But, when He lets us taste the salt of our tears, we need to look to Him with renewed desire. When adverse times appear to have trapped you, don’t despair. Don’t lash out in bitterness. Don’t rush desperately to ‘fix it.’  Instead, listen carefully.  He promises to guide- not necessarily back to wide, smooth highways- but always nearer to His heart and towards our Home with Him. "Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. … A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. …And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 40:1,3,5, NIV)

Are you ready to receive His gifts today?

Are you willing to let Him prepare you to be one in whom His glory is revealed?

Father in Heaven, thank you for the

Sweetness and the salty tears!

I am listening now, intently waiting

For your voice to lead me.

Point out the idols that corrupt my worship.

Purify my heart, that I might have

Just one holy passion-

To know You, to love You,

To let Your glory shine from my life.

Jesus, You are my Savior,

"your kingdom come,
your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’ (Matthew 6:10-13, NIV)