Bad Means = Bad End

S

(Leviticus 10:1,2) Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censor and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord ... and fire came out from before the Lord ... and they died before the Lord.

O

Presumably, this could have been the best day of Aaron's life because he and his sons were dedicating the tabernacle. Instead, his sons did the right thing in the wrong way, and died for it. Details do matter, motives matter, and goals matter. As priests, Nadab, Abihu, and Aaron were leaders, and sin in leadership is especially serious (we're all leaders for some seasons). Sin in leadership produces sin in people. Whether their carelessness was born from indifference or drunkenness (as the text suggests), God knew that far worse activities were sure to follow.

A (Personal)

This reminds me that the end, even if the goal is good, is never accomplished with the assistance of wrong means. The freedom of truth can never be established by lies, just as purity can never be achieved through increasing corruption. After this, Aaron and his two remaining sons, Ithamar and Eleazar, might have cowered from God's call, but in the end of this chapter, we see that whenever it is remotely possible, even when deviating from God's commands, God chooses mercy and grace over judgment (James 5:20; 1 Peter 4:1-8).

A (Psychological)

Our profession is governed by ethical guidelines that are specific, objective, rigid, and clear. And violating these could cost mental health workers their professional standing, not to mention the possibility that violations could cause harm to clients and the community. In contrast to this, when joining with clients and seeking to understand their unique and often irrational or unethical thought processes, we need to remember that behind our good listening and joining skills, we must remember for our clients, too, there exist ethical, spiritual, and social guidelines that are specific, objective, rigid, and clear for them too, even if they don't perceive or believe them. Part of our "do no harm" work is to help clients interact safely with the real guidelines that indeed govern all of us as well.

P

Lord, search me and know me. See if there are any wicked motives or corrupt expediencies in my life. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I choose to worship You in Spirit and in truth instead of being intoxicated with my own ambitions. Thank You for delivering us from even the fear of death.

Slippery Snipes

S

(Psalm 15:1,3) O Lord, who shall [travel and reside with You]? He who ... does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor nor takes up a reproach against his friend.

O

Slander is one of the trademark practices of Satan, our adversary and accuser. That word means spying for the sake of finding excuses to accuse and oppose. Scripture also describes slander as being smooth and slippery. It's alluring. It's easy. It's like a delicious drink that glides gently through one's mouth. And it's wrong.

A (personal)

This harmful talk seems like trying to grip a greased handrail: it promises to promote justice and stability but ends up eventually toppling the slanderer (verse 5). When I'm tempted to slander or accuse or reproach someone--regardless of how truthful it seems at first--I'll try to imagine being that person's advocate instead. That'll probably move me to intercessory and effective prayer (1 John 3:22-24).

A (psychological)

In conjoint or family counseling, the clients have come to you probobably because of some grievance they have with each other. It's very important to join with each member of the family system. But te challenge is to empathize and to respect each perspective but to do that without colluding, without--perhaps because of countertransference. Doing that would be to participate in one person's accusations against another. Holding opposing perspectives and complaints in honesty and safety is the work of love, the path through this slippery slope.

P

Savior, thank You that even when my adversary fairly accused me, You still loved me and were my advocate. I would much prefer to be like You. Please help me to excel in advocating for all people in my life, especially those whom the adversary tries to bribe me to target. I don't want to be his messenger ... I want to be Yours.

A Cut Above

S.
I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so it will be even more fruitful. John 15:1,2

O.
John is describing Jesus teaching his disciples in the upper room just before the Passover Feast. This was likely a very private scene, warning them of what was to come, preparing them to move into the world as leaders/servants of God. Jesus is describing the work of his Father within them, touching on the purpose of the suffering ahead of them.

A. (Personal)
It is January in Oregon. Time to prune our dormant fruit trees. The Ohio State University Extension website notes, “A neglected but otherwise healthy fruit tree will usually show a marked improvement in fruit quality as a result of pruning…. the primary purpose of pruning is to increase sunlight penetration, remove less productive wood, and shape the crown into an efficient, stable form….. pruning increases fruit size, promotes uniform ripening, increases sugar content, and decreases disease and insect problems…..”. A well pruned plant is a thing of beauty, yielding fruit or blossom and health not otherwise gained. There may not be as important a horticultural imperative to the health, productivity, and purpose of the plant as efficient pruning.

A. (Psychological)
Suffering. The unceasing challenge of the human experience.
Meaning. The deepest experience of humanness.
Love. The highest goal to which humans can aspire. (Man’s search for meaning, 1963, p.59).
….Existential concepts which struggle to make sense of the psychological fiber of life… suffering, meaning, love. The therapist’s relationship with the client in this setting is critically important. The authentic therapeutic encounter allows the client to discover their own uniqueness in the here and now. It is existential “joining”. At this point, the therapist incorporates a personalized flow of techniques from more concrete approaches to challenge clients to recognize their responsibility in events occurring in their lives, and to help them identify factors that block freedom (Corey, 1996), health and progress.

P.
Lord, life is sometimes hard. Help us to be aware of your life that is flowing within us; that we are branches. Work in us faith to know that the meaning of our suffering is your purpose. Your glory. You are the Master Gardener, the Great Designer.


You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit…fruit that will last. ….This is my command: Love each other. John 15:16,17

Attitude Adjustment

S
It is good to praise the Lord and make music to your name O Most High, to proclaim your love in the morning and your faithfulness at night. Psalm 92:1,2 NIV

O
A song for the Sabbath, used in temple services. The author is anonymous. Throughout the entire psalm, he paints vivid scenes of gratefulness, joy and worship to the Lord….yet we can see in verses 6-11 that the author does not live in a bubble; he is well aware of the hardships of life. His positive attitude is infectious. What an effect we can have on each other within the body of Christ, as this musician has for us! During the good times we can relate to such positivism. Through the storms of life such Scripture reminds us that our Jehovah Jireh is faithful even when we cannot feel His presence. He will not forget us (Luke 12:6).

A (Personal)
As I meditate on the attitude and vitality of the author and upon his intent, I find myself becoming particularly thankful for God’s hand in my own life. I can permit myself to realize the truth of my life in His, and dwell in the radiance of His presence. I am grateful.

A (Psychological)
“It is good to praise the Lord”. Cognitive-behavioral techniques direct the client in changing thought patterns, language, and confronting faulty beliefs. Psychologically, it is good to praise!... the Lord, others, self. A positive attitude and thankful heart can affect the client’s perception of reality, independent of any circumstantial change. Family systems therapy calls this reframing. Focus is used by structural therapists to arrange the facts of a client’s experience in order to relate them to each other with therapeutic relevance. The client is led to reframe his/her previous reality, often contributing to health.

P
Lord, “Give me Your eyes so I can see”, as the song today goes. Give me a grateful heart in ALL circumstances so that I can glorify You authentically everyday. Thank you for being Jehovah in each part of my life…. shine through me to each individual that I come in contact with today.

Awakening Strengths

S

(Revelation 3:2) Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.

O
Sleep is that necessary state where the body lies comatose and its imagination is left unguarded to unravel its emotional tensions. Figuratively, to jump awake is to remember reality and repent--i.e., to reverse all that is wrong (3:3). That is the surprise: instead of focusing on lost life, Jesus said repentance is best accomplished by strengthening and nurturing the good that is still alive. "Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16).

A (Personal)
Have I completed the opportunities that God gave me so far today or this week? He's not a tyrant who forbids enjoyment or demands forced labor; He's gracious. He understands that love, mercy, and peace produce good fruit if we'd but cultivate and enjoy them. Therefore, think: What strengths, what virtues, what goodnesses and potential greatnesses have I been neglecting or minimizing?

A (Psychological)

Here, Strength-Based and Positive Psychology models find their spiritual roots. Dr. Susan Bettis said (my paraphrase) that the last thing depressed people need is empathic Rogerian rehashing of their misery--strengthening what should be asleep instead of awakening what should be awake. That's why Positive Psychology works so well with depressed people. Jesus's letter to the people at Sardis affirms the need for dealing explicitly with strengths and toxins.

P
Lord, good morning. Thank You for haven given me great and precious promises (2 Peter 1:3,4) and every spiritual blessing in the Heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3). Have I been miserly or fearful and treated Your gifts as scarcities? Have I used any of them to manipulate or trouble others instead of liberate them? If so, help me to feel and fear that pain and to honorably repent.

Healthy Disclosures: Straight Talk

S

(John 16:14) "I have said these things to you to keep you from falling away ... that when the hour comes you may remember that I told these to you ..."

O

In this chapter, Jesus revealed that He calculates what, when, and how He discloses information. Sometimes He spoke plainly; sometimes He disclosed Himself figuratively. Always, He calculated His revelations so whoever received His words would have fullness of joy in themselves (15:11; 17:13) and peace during terrible circumstances (16:33).

A (Personal)

From Jesus' words (16:25,29), I see the heart behind His informed consents. He gives me enough information to allow me real choices about whether to trust Him. Armed with this information, I now have a new set of options during tough times, which are inevitable ... and I can legitimately set my hopes on God.

A (Psychological)

People should be respected enough to be enabled to make their own decisions about their lives, even though I might be convinced I can to that better than they can. God doesn't usurp the rights and responsibilities He's given people ... dare I? My challenge, then is to calculate as best I can what is the healthiest amount of information clients need at any given moment, remembering that knowledge (disclosure) is progressive and cumulative. The next challenge of integrity is to inform people in a way that, over time and increased information, all disclosures square perfectly with truth.

P

Lord, thank You for speaking plainly and letting me know that even though I love and trust You, I'll still encounter tough days before I get to heaven. Thank You for being vague or specific, according to what You see is best for me. I trust You and I love You.

Follow the Leader

S
(3 John 11) Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.

O
The Holy Spirit developed within John a mastery of simple, strong communication, as this summary verse demonstrates. We all mimic. We all imitate others. Otherwise (quite literally, as neurologists tell us), our brains would not form or function. The issue John presented wasn't whether to mimic, but whom. No human idea is really new (Eccl. 1:9): creativity is merely a redressing and personalizing what we've seen and followed. We long to transform, to possess improvements, but to stay within the structure of what is safely familiar. Longing for resurrection is hardwired in us.

A (Personal)
John revealed that anyone who has seen, touched, and discovered God aches to mimic Him--to become truly good. For that reason, God reminds us (2 Thessalonians 3:7,9; Hebrews 13:7) to thoughtfully observe the people we're following. I need to objectively evaluate the people who are on the same path I've chosen but who are simply farther along.

A (Psychological)
In addition to the obvious parallels in developmental and contextual models of human development, this verse suggests interventions from several other models. Nila Epstein, while supervising me, has recommended that I ask some clients (teenage boys) who their heroes have been. By identifying their favorite characters in movies or books or history, people are able to understand the reasons behind their choices. We a naturally imitators, but we don't easily admit or recognize that. Play therapists recognize that play resolves the incongruencies of our circumstances. Similarly, while sleeping our brains "translate ... expectations into dream scenarios...and metaphorically act them out" (J. Griffin, I Tyrrell, Family Therapy Magazine, Nov-Dec. 2008, pp 26-30). Narrative Therapy, while exploring dominant and alternative stories of our lives.

P
Lord, give me boldness. I need that if I'm going to be honest about my life and my direction, if I'm going to believe Your Word. I understand that no person is perfect, so I need You to heal my eyes so that I can see Your hand and Your heart at work in the people I'm imitating, even though it's in my own style. Please unclog my ears so I discern Your leadership above distracters.

Appropriate Trouble; Apt Peace

S
(John 13:21) After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in His spirit and testified, "Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me."

O
Luke described this troubling Jesus felt as being like calm water that had been roiled up. Others who had had similar emotions were described as being terrified, agitated, unsettled, confused, and intimidated. Such reactions were appropriate, normal responses to disturbed, abnormal circumstances.

A (Personal)
I'm encouraged that Jesus knows how I feel at such times. I'm thankful, too, that those disturbances--and my emotional reactions and mind-freezing responses--are simply reality checks for me. They remind me that I still need a Savior and that Jesus is always mighty to save.

A (Psychological)
Mental health is not maintaining emotional indifference or distance from difficult circumstances. It's being able to experience emotions appropriately. Some circumstances are so severe (or our perception of the might be so severe) that returning to a stable, peaceful state is not always possible apart from direct aid from the Holy Spirit.

P
Lord, thank You for letting me "see You" through Scriptures. You can be agitated and troubled, too, but You also have remedies so that I can "not let my heart be troubled or afraid." You alone can always restore peace when no one else can and even when circumstances remain unchanged (John 14:1, 27).

Humble Enough to See

S

(John 9:41) Jesus said to them, "If you were blind, you would have no guilt, but now that you say, 'We see,' your guilt remains."

O (Biblical)

To everyone's surprise, Jesus wasn't as concerned about actual sin as He was about people's attitude towards sin. He already knew the world's works were evil (7:7) and that people were enslaved to sin (8:34,35). The problem, though, was that people's sin became solidified whenever they claimed to be free of sin apart from Jesus. Such people are forever locked up with their guilt.

O (Psychological)

Lack of humility is a great psychological problem. When ever people deny sin or guilt, whenever people minimize the relational damage they have been responsible for, their openness to change is unlikely. Unresolved relational damage, therefore remains. Guilt is present even though it's denied.

A (Personal)

I don't want to be like the disciples who saw sin as the cause of suffering (9:2) or the Pharisees who saw sin as a description of other people (9:34). Like the adulterer in John 8 or the blind man in John 9, I want Jesus to help me see my sin so I can repent and be delivered.

A (Psychological)

A person's attitude towards offense seems to correlate significantly with readiness for change: the greater the denial of being guilty of moral wrong-doing, the less ready a person is for change. It would be interesting to study Prochaska's stages of change with humble, honest attitudes towards personal sin (as distinguished from co-dependency).

P

Savior, You see the full range and ramifications of each sin, which is why You came to make deliverance available to us. In Your light, I am able to light--the Light of Life (Psalm 36:9; John 8:12). I pray that You help me to always have a tender and humble heart towards sin and righteousness.

Locus of Control

S (Scripture)
(John 7:17, 18) If anyone's will is to do God's will, he will know whether [Jesus' teachings are] from God ... the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him is no falsehood.

O (Observation--Biblical)
Here, Jesus gives humanity tools for discerning the validity of His amazing claims. These tools also help us recognize both truth and honest people--authenticity (see Acts 17:24-28). He teaches that people who promote themselves instead of God are filled with falsehood. In contrast, those who induce people to love and obey God are filled with truth. How does one recognize Truth? The more one reveals Jesus, the more one reveals Truth (see John 14:6,7).

O (Observation--Psychological)
J.B. Rotter (1966) developed the concept of Locus of Control: a person's generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. C. Hoffine, who works with batterer interventions, warns of people who manipulate power and control to compel others to satisfy their expectations--internal loci of contro. Conversely, N. Groom, who works with addictive interventions, warns of co-dependency--external loci of control. This Scripture shows a third locus of cotrol: submission to God's will guards against either extreme.

A (Observation--Biblical)
This information teaches me how to structure my life and my thoughts. First, I resolve to be a person who resolves to do God's will, wherever that leads me. Second, I resolve to be a person who seeks God's glory and revelation in any circumstance, regardless of how Fear or Doubt or Greed might argue. Third, I resolve to delight in Your introductions and revelations: You not only love revealing Your love, You also let us share the joy of helping people discover You.

A (Observation--Psychological)
The following intervention might help people who struggle with boundaries and shame. It involves processing a matrix-style worksheet. (I've not created it yet).

• The 3 columns identify one's resolutions (what one wills to do): Self-Serving (internal locus of control), Other-Serving (external locus of control), Christ-Serving (God locus of submission).


• The 6 rows identify expected results from these resolutions: Internal Approval, Internal Disapproval, External Approval, External Disapproval, God Approval, God Disapproval.

The intervention is to write expected feelings that result in each cell (a list of emotions might be helpful for clients). This might profoundly encourage people to trust or learn more about God, or it might explain a person's resistance to trusting God.

P (Prayer)
Lord, its hard to not be a self-promoter or self-server. Just as it's also hard to not be a slave to others' disapproval or approval. The only thing that gives me perspective enough to abandon those sins is to love and trust You. I know you--You are truly trustworthy.