A distant father

I’ve had the privilege of writing regularly for the Primary Newspaper of the Allentown, Pennsylvania area for about 15 years (Morning Call).

Check out my column from 11-2-19 here.

Steve Cornell

 

What does Spirit-filled mean?

We must guard against the tendency to understand the spirit-filled life as merely a subjective emotional reality. Being Spirit-filled is….

Wisdomforlife

In Ephesians 5:18, the command to be Spirit-filled follows the command: “Do not get drunk on wine.”

The two commands are placed in contrast in a way that invites a comparison between what the one forbids and the other requires.

The first command is given in a verb tense (aorist) requiring that we never do what it forbids: “Do not ever get drunk on wine.”

The second command is in a verb tense (present) requiring continual action: “Be continually filled with the Holy Spirit!” This supports the idea that being Spirit-filled should be descriptive of a person’s life.

An epitaph was written over the life of Barnabas identifying him as “…a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.” (Acts 11:24). This epitaph of being “full of the Holy Spirit” is treated as a measurable and visible…

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When forgiveness is understood this way

What is forgiveness?

Forgiveness is a worshipful act of releasing to God the hurtful actions and consequences of the wrong done to us.

^“And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins” (Mark 11:25).

I tried to look normal on the outside

The story of my home life growing up seemed much like a fairy tale. I grew up in a loving and caring home, never lacking anything. I lived with a mother and a father who loved each other and made sure their children were provided for. I was a very happy child who enjoyed life.

I realized later that there were many insecurities and wrong mindsets that I was raised in that I had to break away from and learn how to conquer.

I especially had to conquer childhood fears. Being rejected and imperfect is my ultimate fear. I grew up with an unhealthy and unrealistic belief that I needed to be flawless to be loved.

I did not want to disappoint others, so I created a false image of myself. I would try to impress others by becoming just like them to feel accepted. If people were disappointed in me or did not like me, I would be very upset and try to win them over by doing anything to get their approval, even if it meant going against my values.

I created an unhealthy approval addiction that lasted over thirty years. I cannot say I have fully overcome these insecurities, but I can say I have boundaries.

How I overcame these fears was not a simple task. I had to go back into my past hurts and failures to see the root of the problem. I had to relive moments that I was not proud of and work through the emotions.

As I was trying to find peace from my past, it brought on more guilt and shame into my life. Through trying to process these hurts and failures, I became depressed. I hurt my family with harsh words. I lost friendships due to isolation and I missed big events in my family’s life due to depression.

I was haunted daily by the fear of rejection and loneliness. The fear became a reality, and I created a life filled with negative mindsets and false accusations.

I thought everyone was against me, and I had to protect myself from being hurt again. I tried to look normal on the outside when everything within me was chaotic.

FOR THE REST OF HER STORY AND MANY OTHERS – Purchase your copy of my new book – The 18 Year Factor  

 

Church: belonging and removal

Two questions

1. Is it possible to be so casual about what it means to belong to a Church that belonging loses its effectiveness and removal becomes irrelevant?
2. How does the following passage contribute to our understanding of the church in light of this question?

I Corinthians 5:1-13

1-3 – “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this way, I have already passed judgment in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this.

4-5 – So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.

6-8 – Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. Let us therefore keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

9-11 – I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.

12-13 – What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. ‘Expel the wicked person from among you.’”

Thought – “If we can restore to full and intimate fellowship with ourselves a sinning and unrepentant brother, we reveal not the depth of our love, but its shallowness, for we are doing what is not for his highest good. A forgiveness which bypasses the need for repentance issues not from love but from sentimentality (John R. W. Stott. Confess Your Sins, p.35).

Steve Cornell

 

 

 

Pick one line and share it

Some key lines from “The 18-Year Factor” by Steve Cornell

● Attachments to a painful past make it difficult to do well in the present.
● The narrow lens of yesterday’s loss doesn’t have to
control the way you see your future.
● Don’t let the diagnosis define your destiny.
● Where you’ve been doesn’t have to define who you become.
● Include the past in who you become instead of letting it define who you are.
● Overcoming a problem involves understanding where
and how it originated.
● The only thing you can change about the past is how it affects the future.
● What you focus on is what will become your reality.
● The only person you can change is you. Get started!

Purchase your copy today on AMAZON  

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