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Rockydog1
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Name: Dona
Gender: Female
Interests: I love reading, especially the Bible and other inspirational works; I also love boating, swimming, talking with friends, photography, chocolate, coffee, and donuts.
Expertise: I was a nurse in Intensive Care for 20 years. For the last 6 years I have been working as a crisis counselor. Currently working on some doctoral work in Biblical counseling.
Occupation: Other
Industry: Medical
Message: message me
Member Since:
8/28/2005
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| Suffering for ChristI'm working on a research project on the subject of suffering persecution because of faith in Christ. Last night I ran across some phenomenal words written by John Calvin that touched me, and I thought they were worth sharing. He is talking of how to prepare to suffer for the Gospel:
"First, we must have profited so far in the school of God as to be decided in regard to true religion and the doctrine which we are to hold; and we must despise all the wiles and impostures of Satan, and all human inventions, as things not only frivolous but also carnal, inasmuch as they corrupt Christian purity; therein differing, like true martyrs of Christ, from the fantastic persons who suffer for mere absurdities. Secondly, feeling assured of the good cause, we must be inflamed, accordingly, to follow God whithersoever He may call us: His word must have such authority with us as it deserves, and, having withdrawn from this world, we must feel, as it were, enraptured in seeking the heavenly life.
"But as persecution is always harsh and bitter, let us consider how and by what means Christians may be able to fortify themselves with patience, so as to unflinchingly expose their life for the truth of God...altho the swords should not be drawn over us nor the fires kindled to burn us, that we can not be truly united to the Son of God while we are rooted in this world. Wherefore, a Christian, even in repose, must always have one foot lifted to march to battle, and not only so, but he must have his affections withdrawn from the world although his body is dwelling in it. Grant that this at first sight seems to us hard, still we must be satisfied with the words of St. Paul, "We are called and appointed to suffer."
"Meanwhile, to solace our infirmity and mitigate the vexation and sorrow which persecution might cause us, a good reward is held forth: in suffering for the cause of God we are walking step by step after the son of God and have Him for our guide...when we are commanded to follow the Lord Jesus, His guidance is too good and honorable to be refused."
My prayer is that we may look more and more like Christ no matter what insults are heaped upon us because of our faith. | | |
| Slacker no more?????I have been flipping back and forth all day today between writing a research paper and feeling guilty for not having posted a blog since February 6. Neither of these two activities today has been particularly comfortable, so I thought I'd take a break from my writing to do a post and thereby relieve my mind of one source of onerous thoughts. In speaking of his sharing with others the truths with which God had blessed him, Augustine said "I do not fear but that He will go on to supply what is yet wanting when once I have begun to use what He has already given. For a possession which is not diminished by being shared with others, if it is possessed and not shared, is not yet possessed as it ought to be possessed."
Though I'll never attain the Xanga writing mastery of my brother in Christ Christopher PEEEE (Paragon of Electronic Exhortation, Encouragement, and Education), nonetheless I thought I'd share some great words by John Calvin that I ran across today while trying to put the hurts to yet another research project. In the Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book III Chapter 9, he writes:
"Whatever be the kind of tribulation with which we are afflicted, we should always consider the end of it to be, that we may be trained to despise the present, and thereby stimulated to aspire to the future life. For since God well knows how strongly we are inclined by nature to a slavish love of this world, in order to prevent us from clinging too strongly to it, he employs the fittest reason for calling us back, and shaking off our lethargy.
The heart also, engrossed with avarice, ambition, and lust, is weighed down and cannot rise above them. In short, the whole soul, ensnared by the allurements of the flesh, seeks its happiness on earth. To meet this disease, the Lord makes his people sensible of the vanity of the present life, by a constant proof of its miseries. Thus, that they may not promise themselves deep and lasting peace in it, he often allows them to be assailed by war, tumult, or rapine, or to be disturbed by other injuries.
From this we conclude, that all we have to seek or hope for here is contest; that when we think of the crown we must raise our eyes to heaven. For we must hold, that our mind never rises seriously to desire and aspire after the future, until it has learned to despise the present life. For there is no medium between the two things: the earth must either be worthless in our estimation, or keep us enslaved by an intemperate love of it. Therefore, if we have any regard to eternity, we must carefully strive to disencumber ourselves of these fetters."
I am grateful for and blessed by the patience of my Xanga friends who have lovingly admonished me for not posting anything on this site. Augustine's words and Christopher's example, I pray, will cause me to mend my ways.....I'm not lazy; I just need more TIME! | | |
| This one is for Ben, written at his request! He wanted to know why I got into Biblical Counseling over the psychological variety. Here is the Cliff Notes version:
I had been a nurse in Intensive Care for many years, and really felt the Lord wanted me to do something else where I could help people with their life problems. I prayed a lot about it, not knowing in which direction to turn. Then one day I attended a Minister's Wives conference and in talking with the speaker there about our mutual interest in true crime books, she said "You should go into mental health!" I laughed and laughed, because even at that time I knew psychology was not the answer. However, within 24 hours it seemed the Lord was leading me into counseling even though I fought it because of this dislike for psychology.
Within 6 weeks of that Minister's Wives conference, I was enrolled at Lindenwood Univ. to get my Master's degree in Counseling, still puzzled that God would send me through a program that I didn't believe held any of the answers. I spent three years learning all the theories, yet still not being moved by them or convinced by what I heard. I was clueless that there was any such thing as Biblical Counseling as an established discipline; all I knew was that the Bible had the real answers. In retrospect, I thought this was the only ticket into the field of counseling. Now I know better!
After graduation, God opened the door to my current job where I see people in the emergency rooms who are having some sort of crisis such as suicidal intent, depression, etc. Through that job I've been able to share the Gospel with many people. Even though I'm the only non-psychologically-oriented counselor among 25 people in our department, it still seems God wants me there and He opens so many doors to speak Biblical truths. Sometimes I think it will only be a matter of time before I'm fired for speaking the Truth; fine by me, as I feel the Spirit opens the opportunities so He is in control.
It wasn't until we got involved at FBC St Peters that I found out that Biblical Counselors really existed! The concepts of Christian Psychology or Christian Counseling, as defined by some, always turned my teeth on edge, as they have very little that looks biblical. After finding out about Biblical Counseling, I was elated to finally find the niche into which I had always belonged, but didn't know existed.
Now I'll continue on with my schooling to learn more, that is unless I flunk my final since I'm still unable to find my lecture notes............
Thanks Ben for your interest. We love you and are praying for you buddy. Perhaps some day we can work in the same Biblical Counseling center or something......... | | |
| I understand the context of I Timothy 4:2 with regard to the population of individuals whose consciences have been seared---Paul is speaking of those who have abandoned the faith to follow deceiving spirits. Thus I don't want to misappropriate this passage, but I have been wondering lately if Christians can have a "partially seared" conscience with regard to one particular besetting sin. How else can they truly have a heart to worship and love the Lord and serve Him, yet habitually engage in a particular sin? (Pornography is one example which comes to mind.) No doubt God would make them grieve over their sin if they are truly His. Yet I'm amazed at the number of Christian clients that I see who bear much recognizable fruit yet who struggle with and habitually yield to a particular sin. What do you think? | | |
| My next question is in reference to Pastor Joe's sermon of 9/25/05. (Ben you were there.) The sermon centered on Ephesians 15-16: "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil". Do you think Christians take the admonition to make the best use of our time anywhere near as seriously as we ought? To me, the application of this in the Christian's life should radically impact how he spends each moment of every day. One of my favorite verses which seems to be a corrolary concept is Jeremiah 48:10a which states "Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord with slackness". CURSED! Such strong language! In this country it is almost a given to spend hundreds of hours per year in front of the TV or wasting time in other ways, such that most Christians don't think twice about where they are placing their priorities. Is this making the best use of time? Won't we have to account for the moments that we have thrown away, that should have been used in His service somehow? I talk with many professing Christians who say they never have time to open their Bibles, yet they can spend hours and hours each day watching TV or doing other things. (Those who know me well know that at age 12 I completely swore off TV and probably have watched less than one hour per year since then, no exaggeration. However I'm not meaning to pick on TV watching alone; I have my own time-wasters of which I am no less convicted......idle talk with coworkers which availeth nothing, time spent daydreaming, etc. so I am pointing the finger at myself here too. ) What are your thoughts? | | |
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