Head-dibs

"When I see a man in a state of anxiety, I say, 'What can this man want? If he did not want something which is not in his power, how could he still be anxious?'" (Epictetus, Discourses 13) This thought provides a simple readiness against anxiety, pointing that that one who is anxious wants something--what is it? Resolving anxiety involves two questions:  "What is wanted?" "Is the object of want withing one's power?"  This simple lesson might be coupled with another learned just this weekend, touching on Sadness and Anger.  In times of sadness we could ask, "what is missing?" This is different than anxiety. No attempt should be made to cheer unless one requests cheer; instead, one must process sadness starting with coming to grips with what is lost.  Anger is never handled well with encouragements to "calm down." This response to anger communicates the idea that the anger one feels is wrong, that it dis...

"There are more things, Lucilius, likely to frighten us than there are to crush us ; we suffer more often in imagination than in reality. . . What I advise you to do is, not to be unhappy before the crisis comes . . .  some things torment us more than they ought ; some torment us before they ought ; and some torment us when they ought not to torment us at all. We are in the habit of exaggerating, or imagining, or anticipating, sorrow. . . . You may retort with the question: "How am I to know whether my sufferings are real or imaginary?" Here is the rule for such matters: We are tormented either by things present, or by things to come, or by both. As to things present, the decision is easy. . . As to what may happen to it in the future, we shall see later on. To-day there is nothing wrong with it. For it is more often the case that we are troubled by our apprehensions, and that we are mocked by that mocker, rumour, which is wont to settle wars, but much more often se...

Once we develop the habit of living in fear, it will not matter how good things get.  "You will be frightened out of your wits, not only by real, but by fancied dangers, and will be tossed for ever on the sea of illusion. What benefit will it be to  'Have threaded all the towns of Argolis, A fugitive through midmost press of foes?' For peace itself will furnish further apprehension. Even in the midst of safety you will have no confidence if your mind has once been given a shock; once it has acquired the habit of blind panic, it is incapable of providing even for its own safety. For it does not avoid danger, but runs away. Yet we are more exposed to danger when we turn our backs." (Seneca, 104) If we train our mind to worry, then we train ourselves to live in misery. We are primed for fear. The solution is to re-train in order to thrive when good fortune comes. Training takes work, that's why it's called "confidence building." We need t...

“Intrigue, innuendo, intimidation, insinuation, those constitute the discipline of danger. Our temptation is to turn from our task to untangle the intrigue, to take time to undo the innuendo, to flee from intimidation and to fight hidden insinuation. Our safety is in doing our duty (Nehemiah 2:3), in putting our trust in God (Neh. 6:9), in standing stedfast and immovable (Neh. 6:11) and in serving in silence. The result for us will be as it was with Nehemiah, ‘the wall was finished . . . our enemies . . . were much cast down in their own eyes; for the perceived that this work was wrought of our God.’ (Neh. 6:15-16). Danger feared is folly, danger faced is freedom.” (Edman, V. Raymond. The Disciplines of Life. Scripture Press Foundation, 1948)

“There are four great impelling motives that move men to action: Fear, Hope, Faith, and Love—these four, but the greatest of these is Fear.” Fear makes people do the strangest things. The Russian revolutionary Joseph Stalin had eight bedrooms that could each be locked up like a bank vault, and nobody knew which room he was sleeping in on any given night. “Cockpit country” in Jamaica was once called the “Land of Look Behind” after the 1600’s. Runaway slaves (“maroons”) fled into the jungles and waged guerilla warfare against the English. The government troops so frequently looked over their shoulders to avoid ambush that they gave the mountainous area it’s name. Fear does not prevent us from greeting a stranger in the grocery store, nor does it keep us from talking about the best deals in town (we may perhaps even swap coupons) or discussing the best brand of toilet paper (I was being random). Yet, turning the corner in the store and seeing some young men with nametags that read "T...

When David Livingstone (1813 - 1873) was asked if he didn't fear that going into Africa was too difficult and too dangerous, he answered, "I am immortal until the will of God for me is accomplished." Enjoy this video of his amazing story:

[One thing I greatly admire about my Kenyan students is that they really know how to ask questions. If you've been following along since late last week, I've been sharing questions students asked me when I traveled to Kenya in 2004. It seems that once the questions began, the more difficult they became--stay tuned to see what I mean.] As I consider the question, two thoughts come to mind: first, the fear of the Lord is one theme that deserves serious study by every believer. We see in scripture that communication with God brings about such deep reverence, fear and respect on the part of the one with whom God is talking. The second matter that comes to mind is that there does seem to be a careless attitude, a lack of fear and respect on part of many who say they know the Lord; however, such flippancy does not go unnoticed in scripture. Recall with me the Sinai experience. Moses is on the mountain, and the people gathered around with the stern warning not to come near nor touch t...

Coming April 22, 2008 "Am I enough, Lord? Can I trust you, Lord? Can I be free from the past? Can I trust? Do I trust? Am I enough? AM I WORTHY? In Freedom from Myself: One Woman’s Diary of Gods Unceasing Love , author Fay Barlow shares her deepest hurts in the process of discovering the truth about her worth in Christ. Full of raw emotions and issues that most women are afraid to admit that they feel, Freedom from Myself reveals healing through biblical counsel and scripture in an entertaining but brutally honest manner. Laugh a little, cry a little, and heal a little as you delve into the heart and mind of one woman on a quest for meaning." Publisher: Tate Publishing & Enterprises ISBN: 9781604624731 Buy this book at: Amazon Barnes and Noble Books-a-million Buy.com

“If the gospel be not preached, Jesus Christ is, as it were, buried. Therefore, let us stand as witnesses, and do Him this honor, when we see all the world so far out of the way; and remain steadfast in this wholesome doctrine. . . . Let us not deceive Jesus Christ in the testimony we owe Him, by stopping our mouths, when it is needful to maintain His honor, and the authority of His gospel. Yea, and when we see our brethren afflicted for the cause of God, let us join with them, and assist them in their affliction. Let us not be shaken by the tempests that arise, but let us always remain constant in our purpose; and stand as witnesses for the Son of God, seeing He is so gracious as to use us in such a good cause. Let us mark well, whether men suffer for their sins, or for the truth of God . . . . Every man will confess this: but they add, we are weak, and shall quickly be beaten down by the cruelty of our enemies. But St. Paul taketh away this excuse, by saying, God will strengthen us, ...

A counselor at church camp told of his experience with a nine-year-old boy who started to cry when they turned out the cabin lights the first night. "Was he afraid of the dark?" the counselor asked. "No," the boy replied; "he just didn't want to be attacked by the 'killer rabbits.'" Some older kids at home had told him that there were "killer rabbits" that would come out at night and attack the campers. Jesus was constantly reassuring the disciples with the words, " Fear not ." Their fears betrayed their lack of faith. When one traces these words and their usage throughout the Bible, it seems that one of man's constant needs is to be reassured of the presence and comfort of God almighty. Christians can draw on this presence to find comfort and destroy their fears. The problem is that when many have gotten into the habit of “whistling through the cemetery,” trying to be brave and do whatever it takes to get through. Many ...

Some Christians in Africa sing this hymn: “In the beginning was God, Today is God, Tomorrow will be God. Who can make an image of God? He has no body. He is as a word which comes out of your mouth. That word! It is no more, It is past, and still it lives! So is God.” For the first time in history, we read of people who are labeled as God-fearers in Exodus 1. Note the scripture points out twice that these people are two Hebrew midwives. Two midwives birthing a nation. Here are two women sold out to their task for God, to see His plan is carried out. This is astounding. By the time we reach this point where the nation is Israel seems to be a threat to the Egyptians there are already: 1) a great number of people; and 2) leadership who forgot their heritage. This is significant because we are already a couple of hundred years or more down the line when these two midwives appear. I find it significant to note how the midwives feared God. I find it also significant to note also how they shar...