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Gleanings From The Word

Tag: freedom

  • Is self-help the answer? What does the bible say?

    Is self-help the answer? What does the bible say?

    "Self-Help ?" superimposed

    The self-help industry is estimated to generate over $50 billion a year worldwide, with about 40% of that in North America. That tells me people know they are a mess. I have no doubt that some of that money brings at least temporary results for some people. I’m all in favor of better people.

    The problem is that very little, if any, self-help material addresses our key problem. Our problem is sin, and the effects of that sin.

    The Bible is not a self-help book, and the gospel is not a self-help program. The Bible tells of our need for God and His plan of rescue. The gospel is that plan.

    The gospel tells us that when we become believers, we are no longer the same person.

    Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17

    That person no longer exists. The new creation still has problems, but we are reconciled to God and transferred into the Kingdom.

    … giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. Who rescued us from the authority of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:12-24

    That doesn’t immediately clear up all of our other problems. For that, the Holy Spirit works in us. As we draw closer to God, our behavior and character change. Our ideas about what is and isn’t truly important transform over time.

    Other than Jesus, no one has been born without sin. Adam and Eve were sinless for some short period of time, but they fell in a most spectacular way. You and I were born with a sin nature and a propensity to sin. We cannot defeat it on our own, no matter how many good works we do or how many self-help books we read.

    The Lord is our helper. The Lord is our healer. He created us in His image, and His desire is for us to be more like Him.

    We are works in progress, but we are His workmanship.

    For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Ephesians 2:10

    He will not fail to finish what He started in us.

    For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

    Get help where you need it, but never forget that your true help and healing is supernatural. The God of the Bible is the ultimate helper.

    Trust Him.

    Hallelu Yah (Praise God) 

    Be blessed 

    Kevin 

    You might enjoy: A progressive revelation of Heaven. Seeing Jesus more clearly every day.

    Summary:

    The self-help industry may offer temporary improvement, but the Bible teaches that humanity’s deepest problem is sin, and true transformation and healing come only through God through Jesus Christ.

    • The gospel is not a self-improvement program but God’s rescue plan that makes believers a new creation reconciled to Him.
    • Human effort alone cannot overcome sin; lasting change comes through the work of the Holy Spirit shaping believers over time.
    • Christians are God’s workmanship, and He faithfully continues the work He began in them until it is complete.

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    Self – the source of our problems

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  • Burdens – The Weight of Sin

    Burdens – The Weight of Sin

    An image of Cain and Abel and the text burdens

    There’s a familiar biblical account about burdens, although you might not recognize it that way. Even many non-Christians are familiar with the story in general terms.

    It’s the story of two brothers, Cain and Abel. God made Cain the gardener/farmer, and Abel was the rancher/keeper of the flocks and herds. They offered a sacrifice to God. Abel’s was accepted, and Cain’s was not.

    It wasn’t the sacrifice itself that was displeasing to God; it was Cain’s heart attitude. Cain gets angry and kills his brother. We don’t know how he does it, the Bible doesn’t say, although its often depicted with him hitting his brother with a rock.

    We pick up the account, soon after the murder

    Then Yahweh said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to Me from the ground. And now, cursed are you from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; you will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth.” And Cain said to Yahweh, “My punishment is too great to bear! Genesis 4:9-13

    The term “too great to bear” literally means too heavy to carry, a great burden. In Hebrew, the word (avon) can refer not only to sin or wrongdoing, but also to a burden. Sin, in this sense, is not an abstract idea; it is pictured as a weight placed on a person.

    This helps explain the Day of Atonement, when a goat “carries” the sins of Israel into the wilderness (Leviticus 16:21-22).

    Our sin truly is a burden; it weighs us down, and it threatens to crush us. Like the chains worn by Marley in A Christmas Carol, they grow in length and weight and become heavier with each passing day.

    The burden, the chains are more than a metaphor. They are spiritual realities we cannot escape on our own. Left long enough and they will drag us straight into eternal punishment separated from God.

    The book of Hebrews speaks of the sufficiency of Jesus sacrifice to cover our sins, once for all and of His return.

    …so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. Hebrews 9:28

    He takes the burden that is too heavy for us to bear, the burden of our own making and carries it for us.

    That’s incredible news and something we often take for granted. Take a moment today to reflect on where you might be if it were not for the Christ, then give him thanks, praise and glory.

    Be blessed
    Kevin

    Gospel of Grace – Free in Christ

    Summary:

    The story of Cain and Abel illustrates how sin is not just an act but a heavy burden that humans cannot carry on their own. The message points to Christ as the one who ultimately bears that burden for humanity, offering relief and redemption.

    Key takeaways:

    • Sin is portrayed as a real, weighty burden, not just a concept.
    • Cain’s punishment reflects the crushing weight of unrepented wrongdoing.
    • The Hebrew idea of avon connects sin directly with the idea of a burden to be carried.
    • Old Testament imagery (like the scapegoat) foreshadows the transfer of that burden.
    • Jesus’ sacrifice is presented as fully sufficient to carry and remove that burden once and for all.
    • The response encouraged is gratitude, reflection, and acknowledgment of that sacrifice.

    Want to learn more about the cure for the burden of sin?

    The Gospel – the best news you will ever hear

    Interetsed in more about Christian living?

    Carried – Secure in the Lord