Practicing Affirmation. Sam Crabtree all rights reserved

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George Gray
5 years ago
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3 3 x 5 The most eye-opening thing you have discovered in your years as a counselor

5 Session 1 : The Problem and Opportunity for Every Person The Pervasive, Universal, Non-optional Mechanism That God Has Wired Into the Universe

6 God-centered Praise of Those Who Are Not God

7 Practicing affirmation is not about self-esteem. It is about esteeming the work of God in the lives of people.

8 Jails are overrun with people who have plenty of self-esteem. So are asylums. (Chesterton)

9 Folly and sin conspire to make us desire to be made much of, thinking that we deserve to be loved. This is idolatrous and deadly. It is about esteeming the work of God in the lives of people.

10 Practicing affirmation is not about self-esteem. It is about esteeming the work of God in the lives of people.

11 You are not the author of your story. Your story isn t mainly about you.

12 A key is not the main thing, but it is a crucial thing.

13 is not optional. That is, doing it and not doing it both produce an effect. They do not produce the same effect.

14 A fire not stoked goes out. A refrigerator unplugged rots the eggs. A garden not tended produces weeds, not vegetables.

15 is the fire-stoking, refrigerator-electrifying, garden-tending aspect of relationships. It is not optional.

16 The principles of affirmation apply universally to all human relationships including your relationship with God.

17 Mistake: failing to grasp the connection between lack of affirmation and one s own reputation.

18 The Mercy of the Lord to You in Affirming Others

19 2Timothy 1:16-18 The Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chains; but when he was in Rome, he eagerly searched for me, and found me the Lord grant to him to find mercy from the Lord on that day and you know very well what services he rendered at Ephesus.

20 Unless physiologically driven, depression is a signal that something in my life has become more important than God. Depressed persons need mercy. Refreshing others (including affirmations) introduces mercy. (see p54) 3. Oppositional

21 Romans 15:2-3 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me."

22 The Ratio presupposes things like: God sovereignly brings about ends through means. Believers are dependent upon the Spirit. Love affirms; love also corrects. Everything can t be said in one seminar.

23 The Ratio presupposes things like: Our behavior does not save us. Jesus alone is our justification. The root of every sin is idolatry. Idolatry is a failure to look to Jesus alone. Idols thwarted bring discouragement, anger, anxiety, etc. So don t make practicing affirmation an idol.

24 Proverbs 11:25 He who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. It is the law of the harvest. Caution: God (not others) is the ultimate source of our refreshment.

25 Matthew 10:42 And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward. God rewards us when we refresh others.

26 Caution: Self-interest is not selfishness. Though we benefit from refreshing others, the refreshment is theirs and is to be real refreshment. Romans 15:2 Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification.

27 Though boys throw stones at frogs in sport, the frogs do not die in sport, but in earnest. Bion of Borysthenes (Greek philosopher)

28 Sustain the Weary With a God-given Tongue Isaiah 50:4 The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary.

29 Peanuts Cartoon (removed for copyright reasons)

30 Ratio Correction 1. Stop hearing the correction 2. Stop hearing you 3. Oppositional

31 insufficient affirmation plenty of healthy affirmation Natural winds blow to the left. Correction accelerates that wind. Practicing affirmation is non-optional.

32 Ratio Correction 1. Stop hearing the correction 2. Stop hearing you 3. Oppositional

33 Ratio Correction Consider it like a checking account.

34 Ratio This is about earning the right to be heard, gaining a hearing. People are influenced by those who praise them.

35 Gang behavior

36 Ratio You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. A spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down. 3. Oppositional

37 We readily believe those whom we know to be desirous of our welfare. John Calvin 3. Oppositional

38 Richard Baxter, Puritan writer: They love those who best esteem them highest. The faults of these admirers can be extenuated and easily forgiven [Isn t that what you want? Forgiveness to flow?] If you would have his favor, let him hear that you have magnified him behind his back and that you honor him. 3. Oppositional

39 C.S. Lewis When Christians behave badly, or fail to behave well, we are making Christianity unbelievable to the outside world We give them grounds for talking in a way that throws doubt on the truth of Christianity itself. 3. Oppositional

40 Stop and pray for grace to practice affirmation. 3. Oppositional

2 Timothy Study Week 1 2 Timothy 1:1-18

2 Timothy Study Week 1 2 Timothy 1:1-18 Day One 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, 2 To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy