Michael Christian Bell's Blog

“What have I done? What is my crime that your father is trying to kill me? David said to Jonathan.
Unconvinced, Jonathan tried to pacify David.
“God forbid such a thing; come on, you won’t die! Look, my father doesn’t do anything without letting me know and why would he not tell me; it cannot be true.” Replied Jonathan earnestly.
Jonathan knows his father has thrown javelins at David yet it seems he is in denial; he cannot believe his father wants to kill David. He knows Saul suffers depressions and has bad days; so in his mind it is the moods and not the man.
Family ties can blind one to the truth. Jonathan’s problem is simple: his father Saul is king. Those of the flesh, or those who are not spiritual, cannot see the flesh is fatally flawed. They make excuses and defend human actions, which the scriptures say is indefensible – Romans 8:8.
David looked Jonathan square in the eyes and said:
“Your father sees that we have a strong friendship and he doesn’t want to upset you, but as God surely lives Jonathan, I only have to put a foot out of place and I am a dead man.”
Jonathan sensed David’s urgency and sincerity. He knew his father had a short fuse and did strange things at times, so he said:
“Okay, I am listening: whatever you want me to do I will do it for you.”
David - Son of Jesse

Suggestions to get balance in one’s Christianity

1. Be moderate in your Christian views.
2. Be moderate in your political views
3. Don't be aggressive in witnessing.
4. Don't worship any man or woman.
5. Don't expect to ever find a perfect church
6. Do not be overly strict with your children; you will harm them.
7. Do not get into bondage with tithing; you are not obliged to tithe.
8. Don’t join Christian sect-like communities and fringe groups; stay away from them.
9. Do not judge other Christians because of what they eat or drink; Jesus drank wine.
Faith Crisis - Not Really: Unexpected Christian Growth

I need to explore the issue of hidden or obvious wounds suffered from indignities. These wounds can fester inside people for years and even Believers may experience difficulty in freely forgiving the perpetrators for the loss of dignity so severe that their spirit is deeply wounded and one’s personal dignity and self-esteem has suffered harm. I refer to deep humiliations such as a rape, or sexual and physical abuse as a child, maybe a cheating partner, or perhaps for a punishment inflicted, or a beating, betrayal and defamation.
The wounded spirit runs deep and is difficult to heal. Years later the hurts surface like a post traumatic experience. There is a sense of anger and helplessness to bring closure to the issue; the desire to go back in time and reverse the incident so that it never happened, and even to enact revenge on the person who caused the wound. It also causes self-blame and thus the unforgiveness burns the heart like wild passion.
The loss of face and feeling of shame comes from the pride of life . There is an ideal of manliness that carries the idea that it is more bearable for a man to die than to suffer an utter humiliation and loss of dignity. The idea has a certain truth to it, and in situations that have already occurred, some people feel that they want to die. As a result, tears flow that hardens the heart rather than softening it. Plus there is a chronic questioning of self – ‘why did I allow myself to be humiliated?’ But situations happen that set up individuals for a loss of face. Once the shame has been experienced, bars of iron shut out areas of the heart that harbor the deep wound. Nevertheless, the anger will manifest when confronted. The deep shame causes a loss of trust in people and a hardening of the soul, because the soul is not prepared to suffer the pain of the indignity again. Painful issues confront many people and closure is hard to find. Faith Crisis - Not Really: Unexpected Christian Growth