Harper's Column: My Spiritual Devotional

No Different Than... I have discovered that I am no different than the Israelites who were led out of exile by Moses.  I would like to believe that if I was led by Moses and seen with my own eyes the miracles God performed through him, that I would no longer fear, that I would not lose my faith, continually forgetting the strength, power, and love of our creator; I would like to think that I would stand firm in my faith, marching forward through any circumstance without hesitation.  The reality is that I have experienced the presence of God and I have experienced his gentle words peeling away one layer at a time the things that I need to change, filling me with His truth. Yet, at each crisis or crossroad in my life, I hesitate.  I hesitate despite my faith, I hesitate despite my knowledge, and I hesitate despite my personal experience. There is no escape from the human condition that wants desperately to cry out, “What about me!”.  The truth is, my life does not belo...

  Jesus did not die on the cross so we can trust in him to make us happy and pain-free. Jesus died to stop sin from controlling us by: •           Aligning our heart with his •           Conforming us to his image But Jesus did promise to help us, to sustain us, and to never forsake us if we only love, honor, and obey him and his teachings Our worldly pain is not the ultimate threat, and it isn’t the threat that will destroy us.   SATAN is .

Fear & Anxiety I struggle with paralyzing fear and anxiety that interfere with normal functional living.  The fear and anxiety I experience, over time, has morphed into a phobia known as agoraphobia, a fear of open spaces.  Many people who know me are unaware of this fact because quite honestly, I do not talk about it; I am embarrassed and ashamed.  I used to be so outgoing and confident. So, I am not sure how I got here.  I think maybe it’s because I’ve learned nothing is what it seems , and I have yet to be able to work through it all.  I have lived my entire life believing, for the most part, people are good.  And even those who weren’t some good could be found in them too.  I truly believed in that.  My Pappy has always called me naive, but I prefer the term, optimistic idealist.  Then I married my 2 nd husband, my high school sweetheart.   After 8 years of marriage, he tells me not to trust anyone, not even him.  Then...

  Just Enough at Just the Right Time COVID has caused many financial hardships.  Businesses have been lost, homes have been foreclosed on, and life as many knew it forever changed.  My husband’s business is not any different.  We researched and looked to attorneys to learn about the various options available for survival or to plan a business closing.  I have done the bookkeeping and overseen the operations since November 2018.  During this struggle, I trusted my Lord and Savior to not only guide my steps and decisions about the business but also to manage my fear and anxiety.  I spent time in prayer and reading His word daily seeking guidance and wisdom.  Despite my genuine trust in God and His provisions, I still found myself paralyzed with anxiety and fear.  I struggled with my inability to control it and constantly felt as if I was letting God down.  Daily I asked for forgiveness and asked Him to strengthen me.  Prior to beginni...

The Power of One: Created in the Image of God The book of Genesis tells us we were created in the image of God.   Until recently, I did not understand that concept.  Being made in God’s image does not have anything to do with our outward appearance, but rather, it speaks of who we are, the purpose of our creation, the power we have, and it reminds us that we should imitate Him, just as children imitate their parents.  “Created in the image of God reminds us that we should imitate Him, just as children imitate their parents.” God created us as supreme beings to have dominion and rule over all living creatures on earth and in the sea, just as God rules over all of creation.  Most people would agree that there is something satisfying about speaking out and being heard.  God spoke all of creation into existence, including man.   God created life and ended it with the spoken word; God spoke Jesus into our world. During creation, at the end ...

Christians today need to be able to defend their belief and faith in God’s Word more than ever.  I wanted to share some truths found in Adrian Rogers’ book What Every Christian Ought to Know.      Each word in the Holy Bible was written by the inspiration of God; each word was God-inspired.  Adrian Rogers states the Bible is shown to be the word of God by its scientific and historical accuracy, its unity, its fulfilled prophecy, its ever-living quality, and its transforming power.  The Holy Bible contains 66 books written by 40 or more authors from 13 different countries on 3 different continents over a period of 1600 years.  The writers had different backgrounds, they wrote in different styles, and there were at least 3 different languages.  Despite the time span, the diverse backgrounds of the writers, the various locations and languages of the writers, the Holy Bible has only one theme, one hero, one villain, and one purpose; redemption, the Lo...

 

                 Questions about NPD As I scroll through the various questions on Quora, I have noticed many that reference an ex-significant other as having narcissistic personality disorder. It was not too long ago when I became more familiar with the term. At the time I assumed it was used as an adjective to describe a personality type or characteristic. Additionally, I believed Narcissism was a chosen tool someone used by choice to manipulate and control others.  I never really gave it much thought, at least not until someone very dear to me was diagnosed with a personality disorder. It was then that I began doing research and educating myself on the disorder. Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental illness. I assure you that no one chooses to have NPD and it is likely they are not aware themselves, nor will they accept or appreciate the suggestion. Narcissistic personality disorder can be the result of childhood trauma. Howeve...

  Unraveling Factors Contributing to a Failing Mental Health System in the United States The Scapegoat             There is no shortage of documentation that points to stigma as a primary factor negatively impacting the mental health system in the United States.  The plethora of documentation pointing to stigma as the main cause for failure to seek treatment is convincing until you dig a bit deeper.  More in-depth research begins to reveal a mental health system that is misguided and in shambles.  Stigma is no doubt the scapegoat used to ignore the real issues within the mental health sector.              According to Jaffe (n.d.), the stigma of mental illness is a myth.  “There is no stigma to having a neurobiological disorder (serious mental illness), the same way there is no stigma to being African-American or HIV positive or tall, short, inny, ...

  State Laws , Lawmakers, Policy, & Research Evidence             The Supreme Court’s decision to remove the Ten Commandments from government buildings marked the beginning of our nation’s Loss of Center .  The United States was founded on, created, and governed by basic Christian principles.  The Ten Commandments were foundational in the creation of our Constitutional Rights.  Ironically, the Supreme Court would decide the Ten Commandments violated the very rights she was foundational in guiding.  Lawmakers and government policy are no longer rooted in Christian principles, with God at the center.  Our government’s center is one that is referred to by the Christian faith as idolatry such as agendas, political correctness, sources of monetary support and contributions or greed, and constituent opinions.  Removing the Ten Commandments has opened the door for the devil’s evil to run rampant; infe...

  Mental Illness  Prevalence and Impact Mental health is defined as “our cognitive, behavioral, and emotional wellbeing - it is all about how we think, feel, and behave.  Mental health can affect daily life, relationships, and even physical health. Mental health also includes a person's ability to enjoy life - to attain a balance between life activities and efforts to achieve psychological resilience” (Newman, August 24, 2017).  Mental illness diagnoses can range from everyday anxiety and depression to personality disorders such as Schizophrenia or Borderline Personal Disorder.  No one is immune to mental illness.  Causes can be genetic, environmental, or both.  Mental illness is documented to impact roughly 50% of the population in the United States and around the world at some point during a life span, but that number is extremely conservative.   Mental illness has a history of being highly stigmatized and is met with significant controvers...

  Question from a Quora subscriber asked, "Do Christians really believe that the miracles that were written about in the Bible actually happened?" 17h ago Yes, we do. 1 Corinthians 2: 12-15 13h ago Quoting scripture proves nothing. Please accept my apology if I misunderstood your question. I did not reference the scripture to serve as proof of our belief, but rather to help you understand why we are able to believe. 1 Corinthians 2: 14–15 states, 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, May I ask you why you are here? Why are you engaging in this particular space? I can only assume that somewhere deep inside you are searching for truth and proof. You see, without the Holy Spirit of G...