Journal
Encouraging Bible Verse: Psalm 9:9-10 – “The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder – This is a common condition that parents partners or other individuals can have but can be hidden from a community and even the victim for a long time. There are many links on Utube that describe this in more detail. Unfortunately most therapists are unable to identify this problem from victims. The Paralyzed Adult Child of Narcisstic Abuse : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLCPDYt1wYk.
Grieving – we need to fully grieve over all past hurts and the effects of those hurts on our lives, in order to forgive from the heart. This may involve the release of emotions of anger, sadness, loss, depression and so on. For instance it is good to think about the hurtful memories then get in touch with your real feelings about them. Having a good cry is especially helpful. Some people can cry for hours or days months or as long as a person needs, depending how serious the hurt was eg. in cases of child abuse.
How to Acquire Faith –
a) Faith comes from listening, reading, studying or memorizing the Word of God, the Bible.
b) Spend time with godly people and listen to their testimonies of how God has worked in their lives
c) Build faith now, so it will stand you in good stead when trials come.
Asking a Holy Person to Pray for Your Needs – The prayers of a holy and righteous person can be more powerful than the prayers of one who is less holy. James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
Forgiveness – It’s important to forgive all people who have hurt us in our lives. However forgiveness is a long process and can be something we need to work through for the duration of our lives. Forgiveness does not always mean we need to see the other person again especially if they continue to be physically, psychologically or spiritually abusive. Sometimes forgiveness involves grieving over the hurt and how it has damaged our lives. For instance the hurt may have deprived us of work, a relationship, success or income for our lives. It is wise to ask God to guide us in the process we need to take to achieve forgiveness.
Jesus can Identify with Those who Suffer – when we realise what He had to endure through His Passion (what he had to go through in leading up to his death on the Cross). Here is a passage taken from the devotional book – ‘In Conversation with God Vol 2 page 257’. He (Jesus) suffered at the hands of Gentiles and Jews, of men and women – an example being the maids who accused Peter. He suffered at the hands of princes and officials, and at the hands of ordinary people too. He suffered at the hands of relatives and friends and acquaintances, on account of Judas who betrayed him and of Peter who denied him. In short Christ suffered as much as it is possible for man to suffer. Christ suffered at the hands of his friends who abandoned him, his honour and self esteem suffered from all the taunts and jibes; He was even stripped of his clothes, the only possessions he had. In his soul he felt sadness emptiness and fear; in his body the cruel lashes of the whip. (St Thomas, Summa Theologiae III q46 a5)
Mother Theresa – “God does not call us to be successful. He just calls us to be faithful”
Religious Moral Code – I was watching an interesting program on the SBS channel about aspects of civilisation . It concluded that those people groups who lived by a positive moral code from their particular faith :-
a) Were able to live in harmony with each other more
b) Received a force of power to produce goodness in their lives
c) When people believed they were being watched by God they behaved better. This was more effective then constant policing
d) It stopped people from becoming beasts. Instead their moral code and faith helped people become a version of their higher selves instead of becoming debased.
e) Having a religious faith also gives hope for the hopeless and can save them from utter despair.
Do the Possible, God can then do the Impossible – God wants us to take action to serve him even if what we do may seem little and small. We don’t have to wait until we have all the resources necessary. When we trust in God he can give the increase in His own way and time. This is seen when Jesus feeds 5000 people. The little boy offered what he had. Only 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread. With Jesus’ miraculous power He took what little the boy had and multiplied it to be enough. However the little boy still had to take the first step to offer up his sacrifice even though it seemed small and insignificant.
Sacrifice: is necessary in doing God’s work. There is no real love without sacrifice. Love is not just a feeling.
Gentleness & Meekness : is a fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5:22.
We are to be meek ( yielded, teachable, responsive ) first of all in our relationship with God, and secondly meek ( humble, gentle, respectful ) in our relationships with people. A word with a closely-related meaning is magnanimous, defined as “generous in forgiving; avoiding resentment or revenge; unselfish.” See further:-
https://www.ucg.org/the-good-news/the-fruit-of-the-spirit-meekness-and-gentleness-strength-with-a-tender-touch
Benefits of Fasting : Fasting at least 1 meal a week helps to strength our will power against sin. We can also offer it up as a sacrifice to God for the salvation of souls or for the cause of a particular person.
We Need Christian Values – to help maintain society in a civilised state. The Christian movement has produced many benefits to society eg. hospitals for the sick, free education for the poor, slaves were freed during the Middle Ages in England, many charities to help the disabled poor and vulnerable in society. This is so because the Christian faith introduced the idea that all people were valuable in God’s eyes no matter how poor, disabled, sick, “unattractive” , female, or from what ever race and so on. See further “Lumen The Catholic Gift to Civilisation” by Holden and Pinsent (tiny book).