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An illustration of John the Baptist preaching about the Kingdom of Heaven, from the 1875 Young People's Illustrated Bible History (Photo credit: Wikipedia)MATTHEW 13:10-17 His disciples came and asked him, "Why do you always tell stories when you talk to the people?"11Then he explained to them, "You have been permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others have not. 12 To those who are open to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But to those who are not listening, even what they have will be taken away from them. 13That is why I tell these stories, because people see what I do, but they don't really see. They hear what I say, but they don't really hear, and they don't understand. 14This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah, which says:'You will hear my words,but you will not understand;you will see what I do,but you will not perceive its meaning.15For the hearts of these people are hardened,and their ears cannot hear,and they have closed their eyes-so their eyes cannot see,and their ears cannot hear,and their hearts cannot understand,and they cannot turn to meand let me heal them.'lb16 "But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17I assure you, many prophets and godly people have longed to see and hear what you have seen and heard, but they could not. If a friend does something which puzzles us, we might ask what it was that he "had in mind" in doing it. It is in this sense that Paul uses the word mind in Philippians 2:5. What was it that seemed important to Jesus? What principles did he cherish? What objectives? On what footing were his choices made? The revelation of the mind of Jesus is presented here as the story of a great change. It befits with one who was in the form of God (verse 6), that is, one who possessed inwardly and displayed outwardly the very nature of God himself. As is plain, verse 6 is speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ before his incarnation.... What a change is expressed in verse 8 when he who was in the form of God become obedient unto death! Wesley put it justly when he wrote: "Tis mystery all! The Immortal dies!" Mystery indeed, but at the same time the testimony of the Bible. How it could happen we cannot know, that it did happen we are assured. There is great stress on the fact that this change came about for voluntary decision and in this we begin to enter into the "mind of Christ." Verse 7 says he emptied himself, and verse 8, he humbled himself. In each case the reflexive expression points to personal decision and action. - From "The Message of Philippians" by Alex MotyerTHE CRISES IN TRAINING As we move through life, most of us behave in fairlyconsistent ways. There are emotional and spiritual ups and downs, ofcourse, and at all times we must exert extra effort to deal with emergenciesor unexpected challenges, but as we approach adulthood, each person develops arepertoire of problem-solving techniques based on one's personality, training,and past experience. We use these techniques repeatedly and thus areable to meet the challenges of life successfully. At times, however, situations arise which are most severe andthus threaten our balances. Theses situations, or life events are alsoknown as crises. They may be expected or unexpected, real or imagined,actual (as when a loved one dies) or potential (as when it appears that aloved one MIGHT die soon). Several writers have pointed out that the Chinese word for"crisis" involves two characters. One means danger; the other meansopportunity. A crisis is a DANGER because it threatens tooverwhelm the person or persons involved. Crises involve the loss ofsomeone or something significant, a sudden shift in one's role or status, orthe appearance of new and threatening people or events. Because thecrisis situation is so intense and unique, we discover that our customary waysof handling stress and solving challenges no longer work. This leads toa period of confusion and bewilderment, often accompanied by inefficientbehavior and emotional upsets including anxiety, anger, discouragement,sorrow, or guilt. Although this intellectual, behavioral and emotionalturmoil often is short lived, it may persist for several weeks or even longer. Crises, however, present people with the OPPORTUNITY tochange, grow and develop better ways of coping. Since people in crisesoften feel confused, they are more open to outside help, including the helpwhich comes from God and that which comes from a trainer. What one doeswith this help and how one resolves the crisis has: ... considerable significance for the future mental healthof the individual. His new equilibrium may be better or worse than inthe past.... He may deal with the crisis problems by developing newsocially acceptable, reality-based problem-solving techniques which add to hiscapacity to deal in a healthy way with future difficulties.Alternatively, he may, during the crisis, work out new coping responses whichare socially unacceptable and which deal with difficulties by evasion,irrational fantasy manipulations, or regression and alienation - all of whichincrease the likelihood that he will also deal maladaptively with futuredifficulties. In other words, the new pattern of coping that he worksout in dealing with the crisis becomes thenceforward an integral part of hisrepertoire of problem-solving responses and increases the chance that he willdeal more or less realistically with future hazards. When doctors talk of a medical crisis they often refer to thatcrucial point in time when there is a change, either toward improvement andrecovery or toward decline and death. Emotional and spiritual criseslikewise are unavoidable turning points in life. To live is toexperience crises. To experience crises is to face turning points whichwill bring either growth and maturation, or deterioration and continuingimmaturity. The Christian leader/trainer is in a vital position toinfluence which direction the crises' resolutions will take.THE BIBLE AND CRISIS TYPES Much of the Bible is concerned with crises. Adam, Eve,Cain, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, Moses, Samson, Jepthah, Saul, David,Elijah, Daniel, and a host of other figures faced crises which the OldTestament describes in detail. Jesus faced crises (especially at thetime of his crucifixion and so did the disciples, Paul, and many earlybelievers. Several of the Epistles were written to help individuals orchurches meet crises, and Hebrews 11 summarized both crises which had happyendings and those which resulted in torture, incredible suffering and death. Contemporary writers have identified three types of crises,each of which has both modern and biblical examples. Accidental orsituational crises occur when there is a sudden threat or unexpectedloss. The teat of a loved one, the onset of a sudden illness, thediscovery of a pregnancy out of wedlock, social disruptions such as war oreconomic depression, the loss of one's house or savings, a sudden loss ofrespect and status - these are all situational stresses, many of which wereseen in one Old Testament man, Job. Within a short period he lost hisfamily, wealth, health and status. In addition, his marriage appears tohave been strained and he experienced considerable confusion, anger and innerturmoil. DEVELOPMENTAL CRISES happen in the courseof normal human development. Starting school, going away to college,adjusting to marriage and then to parenthood, handling criticism, facingretirement or declining health, and adapting to the deaths of one's friendscan all be crises which demand new approaches to coping and problem-solving.Abraham and Sarah, for example, coped with moving, criticism, many years ofchildlessness, family stress, and even the command of God that young Isaacshould be sacrificed. We might wonder how an elderly couple likeZacharias and Elizabeth handled a son as unique as John the Baptist, or howMary and Joseph were able to raise one so unusual and brilliant as the boyJesus. Surely there were developmental crises - turning points whichdemanded prolonged periods of wise decision-making but which also led toincreased growth. EXISTENTIAL CRISES, which overlap the above,come when we are forced to face such disturbing truths as the realizationthat: * I'm a failure * I'm too old to reach my life goals * I've been "passed over" for a promotion * I'm now a widow - single again * My life has no purpose * My marriage has ended in divorce * My illness is incurable * I have nothing to believe in * My house and possessions are all gone because of a disaster * I've been rejected because of my skin color These, and similar realizations, take time and effort toassimilate. They are changes in self-perception which can be deniedtemporarily but which in time must be faced realistically. After a greatspiritual victory, Elijah was chased by Jezebel and ran to the wildernesswhere he concluded that he was a failure. Jonah had similar thoughts ashe debated with God and surely after his calamities. Job struggled withthe question, "What has become of me, and what will happen now?" The Bible speaks to all three of these crises and givesdirection both to the trainee and to the trainer who is concerned with crisisintervention. In the lessons which follow crises of all three types willbe discussed in detail, but there are training techniques which apply to everycrisis situation. These should be understood by any Christian trainerbefore we turn to more specific challenge areas.Related Articles * Daily Verse: Philippians 1:6 (faithfulprovisions.com) * Identifying A Crisis and Managing it Effectively (melissaagnes.com) * Royal Heirs: Arise, Claim and Enforce! Part 2 (arolitaadams.com) * Shining Examples of Excellent Social Media Crisis Management (radian6.com) * Planning for the next food-safety crisis (crofsblogs.typepad.com) * About faith crises (english.velska.net) * When Forgetting is a Blessing (samuelatgilgal.wordpress.com) * How will I serve? (christopherscottblog.typepad.com) * What Drew Rosenhaus Taught Me About Crisis Management [VIDEO] (savvysexysocial.com) * "What Have You Been Thinking About Lately?" (Philippians 4:1-9) (haroldcameron.wordpress.com) * September 23rd 2012 - Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (catholicjules.net) * Holy Cross Day (preachingthenewlectionary.com) * You don't have any rights! You gave them up to serve the King (radiqx.com) * The Love that Motivates Obedience (sabbathsermons.com) * The American Bible Challenge - Week 2 - Day 2 (christlikeministriesnwa.wordpress.com) * Has John 3:16 Been Misunderstood? (defrostingwindows.wordpress.com) * Jealousy of Those Who Lived with Jesus (arendsarticulations.wordpress.com) * The Kingdom of Heaven is LikeA is for Ambassador (deannebullock.com) * Jesus Explains the Purpose of Parables (tvaraj2inspirations.wordpress.com) * 120806 - George Hach's Inner Disciplines Journal - Monday (georgehach.wordpress.com) * May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (richardangulo.wordpress.com) * Going That Second Mile for the Lord (deweymoede.wordpress.com) * "GOD THE FATHER" IS NOT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, SERIOUSLY! Part One (lynleahz.com) * 15 Days in the Word with John Piper - WILL WE ARRIVE BLAMELESS ON THE DAY OF CHRIST? (christlikeministriesnwa.wordpress.com) * Morning Prayer ~ September 16, 2012 (ronpogue.typepad.com) * 120813 - George Hach's Inner Disciplines Journal - Monday (georgehach.wordpress.com) * Mark 4:26-34 (housthedread.wordpress.com) * Sunday (September 23): "If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all." (shechina.wordpress.com) * "Many longed to see and hear what you hear" (worryisuseless.wordpress.com) * Scattering Seeds (pmishler.wordpress.com) * What is Prayer? (healinginspiration.org) * SERMON: REDISCOVERING THE POWER AND PURPOSE OF BIBLE PROPHECY - Part 1 (flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com) * The Bible as a Book of Mysteries (everwonderaboutgod.wordpress.com) * "Mad-caps and semi-lunatics" (eardstapa.wordpress.com) * Spurgeon on Mad-Caps and Semi-Lunatics (challies.com) * Whose Job is it to Convert the Lost? (christianitymatters.com) * How to Be a Spirit-Filled Christian By Dan Delzell, Special to CP (trinityspeaks.wordpress.com) * He is the Holy Spirit (arolitaadams.com)
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