If you ever watch the Thirteen
Days movie about the JFK crisis and how the Soviet Union was trying to
strong arm the United States into letting them put nuclear missiles in
Cuba. It’s an interesting (scary) movie and you will see how sometimes
our nation seems held together by a string. Thank God that JFK and his
advisors were praying! It sort of reminds me of our lives where it says,
“Our lives are just a vanishing vapor – a puff of wind.” (James 4:14)
For
lack of guidance a nation falls, but many advisers make victory sure. Proverbs
11:14
Where
no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is
safety. Proverbs 11:14
Anyway, a good lesson out of
it is that JFK had to depend on his heart, but he had a couple of good advisors
and all the rest were pretty much wanting a nuclear fight with the Soviet
Union. (The king's heart is like a stream of water directed by the Lord; he
guides it wherever he pleases. Proverbs 21:1)
I know that JFK and Bobby
Kennedy had a short life, but I see that possibly he was raised up for such a
time as that (avoiding a nuclear war with the Soviet Union), although people
were not excited about what happened with the Bay of Pigs. Some people were concerned about having a President of the Catholic faith.
Who are our counselors?
They can be our pastors, parents, friends, family members and professionals.
There are people who specialize in financial counseling. I listen to my
adult children in dating because I want their opinion on who I date.
I find I have to be very careful with my friends, because if it’s like
when I was a teenager and they are going through the same crisis, that they are not above the problem to help me.
My counselors are the widows who are going on 15-years of being single and who
have been faithful to a husband 30+ years or married women who have been
married that duration.
I got a long pretty good with
my step-daughter before she moved in, and
then once I became an authority figure, I went through rebellion from
her. There is an “intruder alert” with step children – “that is not my
dad/that is not my mom.” What got me through the tough times was step family
Internet user support groups, books and private counselors. God has blessed
us with “rich” knowledge of those who have gone through the battles ahead of
us. Our pastor over the singles ministry at Chapel Rock said that he knew
we were a solid couple, but that our kids
would “eat us alive” and he was right. #1 battle was our kids in a blended
family. #2 battle was ex-spouse who affected the minds our children not
to obey us. #3 battle can be a children’s peer pressure.
God’s saving grace was a good
teen pastor in our church that sat down my step-daughter and said “honoring
your father and mother” includes your step-mother and prayed with my step
daughter and I saw an immediate change in her attitude.
Since I have been widowed
I’ve gone to a couple of grief share groups, one ran by a hospital chaplain,
private counseling, and read Christian grief books. Even one woman never
married who wants to marry a man with children who said, “Your husband is your
honeymoon.” Advisors can come in small packages or large packages – like
good things come in small packages! God has an “order” to things and his
order is for the older women to teach the younger women. The older
“faithful men to their wives” will teach the younger men. I see two
qualifications (not addicted to alcohol) and not slanderers (gossips).
Likewise,
teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers
or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the
younger women to love their husbands and children, Titus 2:4
Don’t be prideful and cut
yourself off from knowledge. Many marriages fail before a couple makes it
to even one counseling session. They have already given up.
Although love is the most important, we have a wealth of knowledge to tap into
the secular world and the Christian world. A true prophet will lead you
to forgiveness. Moses led the children
of Israel to the waters of bitterness. A true prophet will lead you to
deal with your attitudes towards your father or mother.
And
he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn
the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the
wisdom of the righteous--to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
Luke 1:17 and Malachi 4:6
And
when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so
that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." Mark 11:25
Is that what Christian
psychologists do so you can have a healthy relationship with a husband or wife?
At first, I was not sure if
my husband would submit himself to counseling with a pastor because of spending
$10K on his past relationship on counseling that did not work, but thankfully,
he did submit himself to reproof and counseling from professional counseling
and our pastor in making it through those step family years.
My
son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Proverbs 4:20
turning
your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, Proverbs 2:2
What I realize that like JFK
there were times counselor’s failed us. My husband’s last counselors were
a cardiologist and his family practice physician who did not pick up his
pending heart attack. Our family practice physician apologized that when
he came in one month prior to the massive heart attack, he did not pick up on it
with his high blood pressure and cholesterol the first time in his life, and
the cardiologist said that his heart arrhythmia was a flux from over exerting
himself in skiing in thin air in Colorado with his asthma.
It’s the same experience I’ve
had with psychologists that sometimes I’ve gone against natural counseling to
follow the voice of my spirit.
The Bible warns that many in
the last days will prophesy, “peace, peace” when there will be no peace without
the Prince of Peace.
For
false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and
miracles to deceive even the elect--if that were possible. Matthew 24:24
They
dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. "Peace,
peace," they say, when there is no peace. Jeremiah 8:11 and 6:14
While
people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them
suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 1 Thess
5:3
"'Because
they lead my people astray, saying, "Peace," when there is no peace,
and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash, Ezekiel
13:10
In the natural, to think that
David would defeat a 9’ tall giant in all natural reasoning that does not make
sense, so when you go by the counselors around you, make sure they have the
same type of vision and go by the witness of our spirit man (the voice of their
inner spirit) and the word of God. I had a warning in my spirit about a
pending problem of my husband’s heart, but we were both going by our counselor
(his physician) and a heart monitor he was on the week he passed away.
My
sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27
He
said, "If you listen carefully to the voice of the LORD your God
and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep
all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the
Egyptians, for I am the LORD, who heals you." Exodus 15:26
But
this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your
God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have
commanded you, that it may be well unto you. Jeremiah 7:23
"But
my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. Psalm 81:11
The music group Casting
Crowns calls it the voice of truth over the voice of reasoning. (Trust in
the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
Proverbs 3:5)
JFK learned to tap into the
voice of truth in that moment of crisis.
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