The first thing to notice about the psalms is that the poet complains to God.
My first advice about parenting is - don't hurt your child or yourself.
If you know what you are doing is going to hurt - then complain about yourself to God. You can't hurt God. God has already absorbed your hurt.
The most valuable advice I have is more fully understood from the New Testament. In order to stop doing something you know is hurtful, you need the power to stop. This power comes by faith in the same God of the psalms. That faith represents itself by inaction - by not acting. All your anger and destructive behaviour that arises out of yourself or your difficult childhood has already been destroyed by your baptism into Christ - take that as a given. You cannot act in a hurtful way that you know is hurtful because you have already died (in your baptism) - and a dead person cannot do anything.
If you believe this and act on it - by not doing - then you believe the one who moves me, Jesus who died for me, and in believing him, you will find life that I cannot show you - but he will.
Friday, February 29, 2008
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5 comments:
Dear Mr Macdonald,
Thank you for taking the time to answer me. I greatly appreciate it.
I will think about what you wrote.
Im really sorry for the mixup.
Angie
I would just like to ask what you mean when you say i have died when i was baptised?
Angie
You ask the right question - In the Psalms it is written - mercy and truth are met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other. These are the things you have when you are baptised into the death of Jesus. You can face your own past and tell your trouble to God in your prayer - and so not act them out on someone else. And you can do this because God has opened the way to talk to him through the suffering and death of Jesus. You have gone through that suffering in a sign and seal through baptism - it is understood that you have really died in him and that the life you now live, you live through him who lives in you by his Spirit. Just live as though this were true and it will be. Not only true now but it will change the past and give it all a new reality. If you read more of my blogging and stories (on the companion blog) you will find that this is all I am writing about. And believe me - it is much better than our imaginings or even what we think ought to be.
What you are saying is entirely new to me. As an infant i was baptised a catholic, i am non-practicing though, is this the same as being baptised into the death of Jesus? If its not, how do i get that?
I am not a very learned person but i want to try and understand. My hope is you wont get tired of explaining.
Today was a very trying day for me. But i tried what you suggested. I complained to God instead of acting out. Took a minute to converse with Him about my troubles. It worked.
Angie
I am glad that it worked. You have taken your first steps.
When you were baptized as an infant, you were baptized into the death of Christ. It was a step taken on your behalf by the faith of others. Now you will learn what it means.
Mercy and truth - that is from Psalm 85. Later I will do a separate post on the psalms your questions have suggested to me. Psalm 4 where he says -
in narrowness you have made room for me -
is a Psalm that is also a first step.
Besides telling God your troubles - and keep doing this - (Psalm 121 tells us that God never gets tired of our questions) - also listen. When you read the psalms, you are also listening and will learn to listen better.
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