How Does the Power of Secrets Dominate Your Life?

Human beings are exceptionally capable of creating problems and adversities that have long-term consequences. So much is publicized about the lives of celebrities since it’s impossible to hide from long-range camera lenses and the paparazzi’s investigative skills. However, most of our secrets are not subjected to this type of scrutiny.

Secrets have the potential to become destructive when saturated with guilt and shame, which then demand concealment from family and friends. The possibility of discovery creates heart-piercing anxiety about the truth getting exposed to the light for everyone to see.

An important blessing of life is knowing that our deepest, darkest secrets cannot be hidden from God. Listen to Psalm 90:8. “You, O God, have set our inequities before yourself. Our secret sins exist in the light of your presence.” When you realize that God knows your secrets, confess them and repent so he will forgive you and give you peace. 

____________ 

For everything that is hidden will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will be brought to light.  

~Mark 4:22-23 New Living Translation

___________

Subscribe to the Attitudes Answers podcast on your favorite podcast platform to hear this and other 2-minute features 3 days every week.

What Negates Promises to Control Anger?

Resentment emanates from unresolved anger attached to emotional pain that refuses to be healed. Resentment may never be articulated but be retained silently and indefinitely. That’s why it takes the powerful touch of the Lord Jesus Christ to be healed spiritually and emotionally.

After an episode of expressed chronic anger, a person may promise never to let it happen again because the after-effect is pain and suffering for all involved. By acknowledging that accumulated anger transforms into resentment and contaminates your well-being, it is necessary to surrender your resentment to God’s forgiving power.

As you give yourself completely to Christ Jesus, he frees you from resentment’s power. By God’s grace you are in a position to forgive others, and as you keep your mind fixed on the presence of Christ in you, evil loses it power over you.

 ____________ 

Do what the Lord wants, and he will give you your heart’s desire. Let the Lord lead you and trust him to help.  

~Psalm 37:4-5 Contemporary English Version

____________

Subscribe to the Attitudes Answers podcast on your favorite podcast platform to hear this and other 2-minute features 3 days every week.  

What Makes Internalized Anger Destructive?

Anger can be a driving force that seeks to correct what is wrong within a relationship and within oneself. It can be a source for destructive behavior leading to alienation. Internalized anger becomes a barrier to fellowship and intimacy by creating emotional distance. Internalized anger occurs by suppressing its expression.

Mistakes in perception create anger that can be sustained for a lifetime. The younger brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son came home needing support and help after sinking so low physically and emotionally that death was imminent. The older brother had zero tolerance for his brother’s mistakes and bad choices.

The older brother misjudged his father’s joy when his younger son returned safely home. He mistakenly perceived the father’s joy as rewarding his brother’s irresponsibility, while never having rewarded his hard work. God never overlooks sin but forgives where there is repentance and regret.                            

___________ 

If you are angry, don’t sin by nursing your grudge… – get over it quickly, for when you are angry you give a mighty foothold to the devil.

~Ephesians 4:26-27 The Living Bible

___________

Subscribe to the Attitudes Answers podcast on your favorite podcast platform to hear this and other 2-minute features 3 days every week. 

So Why Should You Forgive?

It isn’t easy to forget an emotional wound that cut deeply and hurt so badly that it continuously feels active and new. Most people do not delight in reliving the past, yet it seems impossible to forget what was so painful. Forgiveness is possible even where hurt and anger are entrenched in your feelings and attitudes.

When you internalize anger and resentment, you turn these powerful emotions against yourself. These emotions damage your well-being by the stress they generate. By extending forgiveness to others, a wide range of benefits become available to you and the other person. Forgiveness is validated by actions and deeds.

Make up your mind to be forgiving for your own peace of mind and clear conscience. Forgiveness is made possible by believing God has forgiven you of every sin you’ve committed. God does not hold grudges, so follow his example by forgiving others. You will not regret it.   

___________ 

Jesus said: Don’t judge others, and God won’t judge you. Don’t be hard on others, and God won’t be hard on you. Forgive others, and God will forgive you.

~Luke 6:37 Contemporary English Version

 

My prayer for you, my very dear friend, is that you may be as healthy and prosperous in every way as you are in soul.

~3 John 1:2 Phillips – New Testament in Modern English

____________

Subscribe to the Attitudes Answers podcast on your favorite podcast platform to hear this and other 2-minute features 3 days every week. 

Living a Worthwhile Life

If you were asked to choose what matters most in making life worthwhile, what would you say? Through the ages, philosophers have believed that all of life is a search for meaning and purpose. Jesus said, "I am come that you may have life in all its fullness," which implies he gives meaning and purpose for every aspect of life.

Making the most of life includes living under the umbrella of the provisions Jesus promised for those who believe and trust in him. Faith in Christ builds a bridge to the fullness of life, the knowledge that nothing can separate you from his love, which includes forgiveness and freedom from the penalties of guilt and shame.

The fullness Jesus provides includes an optimistic attitude about the purpose God designed for you that has eternal value. By God’s grace and mercy, you are able to lay up treasures in heaven that are incorruptible and can never be lost. So give thanks to God for his goodness and kindness.      

____________ 

Do not store up riches for yourselves here on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and robbers break in and steal. Instead, store up riches for yourselves in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and robbers cannot break in and steal. For your heart will always be where your riches are.

~Matthew 6:19-20 Good News Bible

____________

Subscribe to the Attitudes Answers podcast on your favorite podcast platform to hear this and other 2-minute features 3 days every week. 

God's Forgiveness Will Cleanse Your Conscience

I recently heard someone ask, "How can I forgive others when I can't forgive myself?" That question is troublesome because it’s laced with shame and guilt. What makes it difficult to forgive oneself is a sense of unworthiness. Unrelenting feelings of guilt and shame may produce behaviors that unintentionally cause damage to a relationship.

 

Inadvertently hurting or betraying someone and then saying their pain and suffering is inconsequential inflicts additional pain that makes forgiveness more difficult. Self-punishment is powered by the wrong belief that it will dissolve shame and guilt. However, sincerely making amends or apologizing is God’s way to a clear conscience. 

Self-forgiveness follows knowing and accepting the cleansing power of God's forgiveness. God's forgiveness is available to anyone who turns to Christ Jesus in faith confessing their sins and behaviors that separated them from fellowship with God and others. Committing to these steps will make it possible for you to forgive yourself and others.  

________________________

If we confess our sins, He is to be depended on, since He is just, to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from every wrong.

~1 John 1:9 Williams – New Testament in the Language of the People

So let us come near to God with a sincere heart and a sure faith, with hearts that have been purified from a guilty conscience and with bodies washed with clean water. Let us hold on firmly to the hope we profess, because we can trust God to keep his promise.

~Hebrews 10:22-23 Good News Bible

Trapped by Past Sin – No Secrets!

          

Can you imagine the anxiety and fear Joseph's brothers must have felt returning home from their trip to Egypt to face Jacob without their brother Simeon? He was being held in custody as assurance they would return with their younger brother Benjamin. "Be sure your sins will find you out” became a reality for these brothers.

The trap these brothers fell into is classic. They had lied to their father about Joseph and covered it up for decades. Remember the men who bombed the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, killing four little girls? Decades later, those guilty of the crime had to face justice for what they had done. There are no secrets for God.

The good news is that God’s forgiveness is available, and forgiveness brings unspeakable joy and peace to a troubled soul. Choose to confess what cannot be hidden from God. When you take this step, restoration of fellowship with Christ Jesus and others is attainable. May God give you courage to take this step for a new beginning.  

______________________________ 

“But if you don’t do what you say, you will be sinning against God; you can be sure that your sin will track you down.”

~Numbers 32:23 The Message

In Scriptures God says, “I swear by my very life that everyone will kneel down and praise my name!” And so each of us must give an account to God for what we do.

~Romans 14:11-12 Contemporary English Version

Restore to me again the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.

~Psalm 51:12 The Living Bible

Shackled by Unbridled Shame?

Shame has the capability to hold us captive by creating companion thoughts that, if we confessed to behaviors that were unquestionably wrong, then we would never be acceptable again. Shame communicates that something is wrong with us and that we are unworthy of God’s love and mercy. 

          This state of unbridled shame may come from years of being exposed to criticism and rejection by significant others. False reasoning tells you to stay where you are and remain silent. This is not God’s plan for you. Christ Jesus died to give you freedom from sin and shame, regardless of its source, by forgiving and cleansing you from all unrighteousness.  

          While the voice of shame is strong, the desire for a clear conscience is stronger. God's Spirit compels us to make amends for past failures. Making amends includes acknowledging and confessing behaviors that were hurtful to others as well  as restoring what was damaged or ruined. To do so indicates that transformation is  in process and is under-girded by God’s undeserving love, mercy and forgiveness. 

Choosing at the Crossroads - Part 1

Everyone standing at a crossroads has made mistakes and chosen less than the honorable, upright way to live. Standing at a crossroads, where decisions and choices are critical, may seem overwhelming. A helicopter pilot in Vietnam was unable to rescue a soldier from a fire fight. He misjudged the situation and consequently the soldier died.

"Not a day goes by that I do not think about the soldier I let die," mourned  the pilot. Compounding his torment was his refusal to share this guilt and grief with his family. Secret-keeping results in secret suffering of self-incrimination. Crossroads experiences can be disturbing, but they need not be devastating. All humans make errors in judgment.

Jesus instructs us to make things right. Do whatever it takes to make amends for poor judgment, mistakes, and deliberate acts of anger. If this is impossible, own up to your weakness and confess it to Christ; seek forgiveness and comfort as you grieve for yourself. Tell others you're suffering, and ask God for strength and grace to endure.

Melting Stone-Cold Attitudes, Ideas, and Hearts - Part 1

The last few decades of the twentieth century are referred to as the age of narcissism. Narcissism originates from Greek mythology. It's defined as lacking genuine concern for others while being preoccupied with oneself. For the narcissistic individual, looking out for "Number One" is a "number one" priority.

This attitude is embraced in the story of the prodigal son, who left home with little concern for the impact his selfish choices would have on his family. However the father's unprecedented kindness for his son, who chose to return home after squandering his inheritance, is a perfect picture of other-centeredness.

The older brother is offended when the father restores his younger brother to an honorable place within the family. Proverbs 18:19 profiles the older brother. "An offended brother is more unyielding than a fortified city. His anger shuts you out like iron bars." Compassion and forgiveness are God's attributes that are available to all who sincerely seek them.  

Jealousy or Forgiveness? It's Your Choice - Part 3

Imagine a family member refusing to come to a party because of anger and  jealousy. The older brother in the parable of the lost son refused to celebrate his irresponsible younger brother's return home. Listen to the father's appeal to his older son. "Everything I have is yours. But it's right to celebrate, for your brother was dead and is now alive! He was lost and is found."

Jesus emphasized that it's your attitudes, thoughts, and behavior that make you unclean before God. The good news is, God can intercept and change the heart of anyone who has enough humility and honesty to be repentant. However jealousy and anger blunt the heart and soul to express compassion and kindness.

This older brother appears unwilling to accept his father's love for both him and his brother. The younger brother needs forgiveness while the older brother needs to come to terms with his jealousy and hatred. The love of God extends to the vilest offender who sincerely believes and repents. It's hard to love as God intends, but he will help you succeed when you give your best.  

________________________________

As of Monday, March 21 new posts now occur 3 days of each week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Blog posts will coordinate with the radio broadcast schedule of Attitudes/Answers that airs at 5:45 PM on KHCB radio at 105.7FM in the Houston area. To stream it live or for a listing of sister stations in TX, OK, LA, and FL, you may click on the KHCB link in the "About Me" section of this page.

Jealousy or Forgiveness? It's Your Choice - Part 2

Children are keen observers of the attitudes and behaviors their parents model for them. In the story of the prodigal son, imagine what the older brother was thinking and feeling when he observed his father give away property to his younger brother, who would sell it and leave home for an extended period of reckless living? He would later witness his father maintain a vigilant watch each day for the return of the younger son.

Picture the lavish reception this wayward son received from his father when he returned home in abject poverty. The older brother was not happy. He felt threatened, betrayed, and defensive. He believed he was not as special as his brother although he had worked hard, followed his father's rules, and remained obedient.

Is it fair for God to be as accepting of someone who has enjoyed a life of sin and reckless living as he is of someone who has always been faithful? Your answer could  be based on which of these two brothers you more clearly identify with. The good news is, God's love and mercy are greater than all your sins.

________________________________

As of Monday, March 21 new posts now occur 3 days of each week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Blog posts will coordinate with the radio broadcast schedule of Attitudes/Answers that airs at 5:45 PM on KHCB radio at 105.7FM in the Houston area. To stream it live or for a listing of sister stations in TX, OK, LA, and FL, you may click on the KHCB link in the "About Me" section of this page.

Crisis and Reality - Part 2

In the parable of the prodigal son Jesus relates how a young man, his older brother, and a father came face to face with reality. The younger son demanded that his father immediately give him his inheritance. Days later this young man sold his inheritance, packed his stuff, and left home. What do you think the father felt as his son walked out the door?

If your children have left home or are ready to do so, maybe you can identify somewhat with the ambivalence this parent felt experiencing his son's leaving home to find his way in the world. Leaving home takes determination, courage, and dreams. It's not whether you leave home, but what attitude motivates you to do so.

In this parable the young man left home with false assumptions that evolved into a life-threatening crisis. Someone said, "We cling dogmatically to our assumptions as long as possible." We often experience pain and suffering by acting on false assumptions. Yet God in his mercy helps us correct the plunge into crisis and return to the loving Father's love and forgiveness.

Crisis and Compromise: Choosing God's Way - Part 1

Middle-aged men and women are subject to having the wind knocked out of their sails just when they should be the happiest and most content with their life's achievements. The twenty year period between ages forty and sixty produce an alarming number of divorces. What do you think could be the reason for this sense of discouragement and alienation?

Researchers refer to the emergence of a crisis of integrity. It's not unusual for a person's integrity, that personal sense of respectability and uprightness, to become fragmented and damaged. The movie Liar Liar was based on a person's agreeing not to tell a lie, even an insignificant, small lie, for twenty-four hours. Have you tried this test of integrity?

White lies and other misrepresentations of oneself diminish integrity; yet there is hope for restoring damaged integrity. The Lord Jesus Christ makes this possible through confession, repentance, and forgiveness. Jesus enables and empowers each person to choose righteousness and faith, which is a decision for healthy, positive change.