Bible Psychology Devotional

By Robert Ellis

"A refreshing look at this vital spiritual and psychological issue. Well-written and well-organized, this book will prove to be invaluable to many."

R. Scott Stehouwer, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist,

Emeritus Professor of Psychology, Calvin University

Bible psychology predates human psychology by thousands of years. By the time Freud and his colleagues pieced together a few foundations of human psychology, the Bible had been putting them forth for centuries. Moses was a straightforward biblical psychologist. Job was a meticulous researcher, David a penetrating therapist, and Solomon a studied practitioner. The minor prophets practiced reality therapy in its purest form. Paul was a tireless group therapist who, in Ephesians 4:28, lays out a prescription for complete character change in a single verse! Jesus, the master, specialized in birthing new personalities. These psychologists relied upon the mind of God. Where their work corroborates modern psychology, the knowledge of man is verified.

The truth-seeker should enjoy connecting human thought with divine revelation for vivid understanding of the Christian faith. This devotional work links two psychology sources--biblical and human--so that bedrock human behavior may be scripturally verified and understood.

Jesus taught psychological concepts like the perils of temptation, the nature of the flesh, the grip of fear, and even the Freudian slip (Matthew 12:34). A myriad of psychology principles are addressed by Scripture; rigidity of character, sex addiction, love, personality change, self-esteem, and healing the fractured self are just a few. Make no mistake: as transformation relates to the human experience, the Bible is a spiritual psychology text. This devotional brings this dimension to the written page.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Oct 19, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685705671

Robert Ellis

Born and raised in southeastern Pennsylvania, Robert Ellis lived in Los Angeles for sixteen years and now spends his time between California and Connecticut along the central coast. He has written and produced over 1,000 television commercials for political campaigns and has previously published two novels. Robert is currently writing the next thriller in the Detective Lena Gamble series.

Book preview

cover.jpg

Bible Psychology Devotional

Robert Ellis

ISBN 978-1-68570-566-4 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-68570-567-1 (digital)

Copyright © 2022 by Robert Ellis

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

All Scripture quotations from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Subject Index

January

January 1: Separation Anxiety

January 2: Wisdom in Death

January 3: Behavior Formation

January 4: Literal Bible Translation

January 5: Our Broken Ability to Love

January 6: Anticipating Sin

January 7: Scripture Memorization

January 8: The Absent Explanation of Abnormal Psychology

January 9: Choosing Bad over God

January 10: The Quick Fix

January 11: Just Do It

January 12: The I Need Proof Rationalist

January 13: The Distortion of Inner Drives

January 14: Change Your LifeScript

January 15: God's Naive Faith in Us

January 16: Addiction Examined

January 17: God Phobia (Theophobia)

January 18: The Missing Cure

January 19: Loss of Face

January 20: Scripture Memorization

January 21: Divine Parenting

January 22: The Impact of Two Words

January 23: The Impact of Five Words

January 24: Problems of Conscience

January 25: The Therapy of Confession

January 26: Neurosis Is Fear Part 1

January 27: Neurosis Is Fear Part 2

January 28: Scripture Memorization

January 29: Avoidance Behavior

January 30: Tough Love

January 31: Faith: The Great Healer

February

February 1: Trial and Error in Finding His Mentor

February 2: Two Authors' Wisdom

February 3: The World's Soldiers of Fear

February 4: Initiation to Manhood

February 5: Gravitas

February 6: Neurotic Self-Aggrandizement

February 7: New Beginnings

February 8: Confidence Versus Fear at Judgment

February 9: Scripture Memorization

February 10: Striving Toward Completeness

February 11: The Character of Love and Sin

February 12: Private Intelligence

February 13: As Sick as Our Secrets

February 14: Every Day's Battle

February 15: Pride's Game: Self-destruction

February 16: Scripture Memorization

February 17: Reinterpreting Life Events

February 18: Starting Over

February 19: Simple Psych Work

February 20: Abounding in Love and Faithfulness

February 21: Personal Revival

February 22: Scripture Memorization

February 23: The Sin of No Management

February 24: The Male Aphrodisiac

February 25: A Clarion Call from the Past

February 26: The Oedipus Complex

February 27: Private Business

February 28: The Root of the Matter

March

March 1: The Unstable Personality

March 2: Coming Late to the Lord

March 3: Personality Purge

March 4: Bringing Consciousness to Light

March 5: The Incomplete Life

March 6: The Reorganized Personality

March 7: The Triumph of Submission

March 8: The Lord's Work in Us

March 9: Chutes and Ladders

March 10: Handheld Instant Gratification

March 11: The Flesh

March 12: Scripture Memorization

March 13: The Diabolical in Action

March 14: Relational Skills

March 15: Creating Masterpieces

March 16: Satan's Psychology Part 1

March 17: Satan's Psychology Part 2

March 18: Wisdom in Seeing Satan's Fear in Others

March 19: The Agnostic Secular Psychologist

March 20: Just a Couple Decisions

March 21: The Satisfaction of Love

March 22: Biblical Coincidence

March 23: Foiling Satan's Plan for You

March 24: The Role of a Therapist

March 25: The Spirit of the World

March 26: Scripture Memorization

March 27: Life's Secret Weapon

March 28: Freud Agrees with Calvin!

March 29: The Conquest of Pessimism

March 30: Find Your Middle Ground

March 31: Hurt People Hurt People

April

April 1: A Picture of Fear

April 2: Teachability

April 3: Scripture Memorization

April 4: Radical Spiritual Therapy

April 5: The Spectrum of Humanity

April 6: God's Magnificent Mercies

April 7: Accountability

April 8: The Magic Sentence

April 9: Scripture Memorization

April 10: Conversion of Primitive Drives

April 11: Freud's Take on the Flesh

April 12: Therapeutic Truth

April 13: Personal Flexibility

April 14: Psychological Therapy Versus Biblical Therapy

April 15: Rigidity of Character

April 16: Instant Gratification

April 17: Unconscious Behavior

April 18: Purpose in Fasting Part 1

April 19: Purpose in Fasting Part 2

April 20: Adam's Great Error

April 21: Family Systems Theory

April 22: Scripture Memorization

April 23: The Guiltless Christian

April 24: Social Connection

April 25: The Specter of Death

April 26: The Essence of Ourselves

April 27: Loneliness

April 28: Scripture Memorization

April 29: Understanding Ourselves

April 30: Neglected Life

May

May 1: The Weakness of Human Psychology

May 2: Scripture Memorization

May 3: The Freudian Slip

May 4: Dealing with the Necessary

May 5: Cognitive Versus Behavioral Psychology

May 6: Cognitive Estrangement

May 7: Feelings of Inferiority

May 8: Obtaining Peace

May 9: Scripture Memorization

May 10: Bringing Up Psycho Slivers

May 11: The Source of Security

May 12: Fear Defined

May 13: The Clue to Ourselves

May 14: The Quantum Leap

May 15: A Literal Interpretation

May 16: The Lord Will Never Reject Me

May 17: Paul's Cognitive Therapy

May 18: Functional Fixedness

May 19: Christ Is Mental Wisdom

May 20: Rejection Reaction

May 21: For Thy Sake

May 22: Cognitive Dissonance Part 1

May 23: Cognitive Dissonance Part 2

May 24: The Perversion of Perfection

May 25: Compulsive Drives

May 26: Scripture Memorization

May 27: Cognitive Perception

May 28: The Sophistication in Simplicity

May 29: What Matters Most

May 30: Passing the Torch

May 31: Transference

June

June 1: Inner Strength

June 2: The Great Reinforcement

June 3: Reversing Craziness

June 4: Awarding Loyalty

June 5: Miracles are not Science

June 6: When Chess Becomes Play-Doh

June 7: Christ Is Your Defense against Play-Doh

June 8: Desire as Behavioral Motivation

June 9: Life as Psyche Data

June 10: Scripture Memorization

June 11: The Psychology of Words

June 12: Life as Therapist

June 13: Do Not Forsake Mother

June 14: Sin Gravity

June 15: Scripture Memorization

June 16: Evidence of the Fall in Spades

June 17: Scriptural Behaviorism

June 18: Denial Versus Conviction

June 19: The Atmosphere of Heaven

June 20: The Contest for Our Vision

June 21: Genesis: Birth of the First Love Language

June 22: Scripture Memorization

June 23: The Female Aphrodisiac

June 24: Truth about Ourselves

June 25: The Definition of Darkness

June 26: Personal Management

June 27: Living Beyond Mortality

June 28: Personality Change

June 29: Scripture Memorization

June 30: Personal Management

July

July 1: Spiritual Therapy

July 2: Defining the Christian Faith

July 3: Spiritual Psychology

July 4: The Christian's Certainty

July 5: Life History

July 6: Secularism

July 7: Scripture Memorization

July 8: The Fool's Personality

July 9: Universality of Religion

July 10: Heart Knowledge

July 11: The Miracle of Self-acceptance

July 12: The Core of Personality

July 13: Denial and Repression

July 14: Scripture Memorization

July 15: Inducing a Personality Break

July 16: Psychological Break to Christ

July 17: Conviction

July 18: IQ

July 19: Something to Believe In

July 20: Intellectual Pride

July 21: Agape Love

July 22: Second Chances

July 23: Thought-Stopping

July 24: Woundedness Part 1

July 25: Woundedness Part 2

July 26: Self-deliverance

July 27: Scripture Memorization

July 28: A Universal Diagnosis

July 29: The Great Jailer

July 30: Be Still

July 31: The Unreachable Soul

August

August 1: The Unbeliever's Frustration

August 2: Satan's Tricks Versus Satan's Schemes

August 3: Cognitive Renewal

August 4: Sex Addiction

August 5: The Mysterious Woman

August 6: Selfish Ambition

August 7: The Upside to Suffering

August 8: The Poor Samaritan

August 9: Unconditional Love Defined

August 10: Personality Styles

August 11: The Skill of Being Christ

August 12: Healing the Fractured Self

August 13: False Leadership

August 14: The Therapy of Spiritual Renewal

August 15: Heart Talk

August 16: Self Perspective

August 17: The Payoff in Literal Reading

August 18: Sin Stopping

August 19: Hurt People Hurt People

August 20: Intense Envy

August 21: Spiritual Freudianism

August 22: The Painful Life Review

August 23: God's Omniscience

August 24: Poisonous to the Spirit

August 25: Fatal Fallbacks

August 26: The Survival Value in Thinking Positively

August 27: Faith in Place of Love

August 28: Inc Part 2: Fear and the Dreaded Life

August 29: Scripture Memorization

August 30: Wilhelm Reich's Freudian Slip

August 31: The Truth Seeker

September

September 1: The Darkest Place to Live

September 2: Above All: Love

September 3: The World as Foe

September 4: The Mystery of Ourselves

September 5: The Meaning of Life

September 6: Psych Profile: Pharisees

September 7: Extra-Psychology

September 8: Gateway to Life

September 9: A Short Course in Rediscovering Ourselves

September 10: Freud Nails It

September 11: Scripture Memorization

September 12: Children of the Shadows

September 13: Life Problems, Life Solutions

September 14: New Thinking

September 15: Measuring Ourselves

September 16: God's Behavioral Laws

September 17: Erosion of Integrity: The Pharisee Syndrome

September 18: Scripture Memorization

September 19: Rejection

September 20: Understanding Satan's Stature

September 21: Satan's Agenda

September 22: The False Persona

September 23: Consciousness

September 24: Denial and Darkness

September 25: The Grace in Divinity

September 26: No Rushing God's Therapy

September 27: The Seismic Shift from Old to New

September 28: A Time of Mourning

September 29: James' s Selfish Ambition

September 30: Treatment Objective: Light

October

October 1: A Terse Warning

October 2: But Clouds God in My Way

October 3: Trading in Yourself to the World

October 4: Strength in Weakness

October 5: Bending Steel

October 6: Living Larger

October 7: Factoring Sin into Therapy

October 8: A Quick Psyche Analysis

October 9: Scripture Memorization

October 10: God's Love for His People

October 11: Scriptural Personality Analysis

October 12: Blood in the Water

October 13: Power Games

October 14: Fun with Psychology

October 15: Satir's Stages of Change

October 16: Scripture Memorization

October 17: The Psychology of God

October 18: When People Disappoint

October 19: The Therapy Shortcut

October 20: Five Life Principles

October 21: Embracing Error

October 22: Living the Response Rather than the Stimulus

October 23: Scripture Memorization

October 24: God Within Us

October 25: Motivation

October 26: Goal Priority

October 27: Resignation by Causality

October 28: New Behavior, New Person

October 29: Rejection Reaction

October 30: The World's View of Low Self-esteem

October 31: Problem Solving

November

November 1: Heart Intelligence

November 2: Bitterness

November 3: The Great Denial

November 4: Personality Advance

November 5: Defeating Dysfunction

November 6: This Day Forward

November 7: The Meaningless Apology

November 8: The Mind of God

November 9: The Nature of God

November 10: The Grim Facts

November 11: The Core of Man

November 12: From Divine to Fallen

November 13: Mike Tyson: Psychologist-Preacher

November 14: Diagnosis: Corrupted Love

November 15: The Sin of Surface Judgment

November 16: Judgmentalism

November 17: Denial's Greatest Feat

November 18: Differences in Psychology and Christianity

November 19: Unconditional Love and Human Potential

November 20: A Hidden Source of Self-esteem

November 21: The Pampered Child

November 22: God's Conditional Hatred

November 23: The Significance of Faith over Love

November 24: Love Therapy

November 25: Healing Faith

November 26: Faith Is Not Self-Seeking

November 27: The World's Misery Exposed

November 28: Subtle Transformation

November 29: Repentance as Therapy

November 30: Self-acceptance

December

December 1: Reclaiming Ourselves

December 2: Courtship Wisdom

December 3: Restoring the Unstable Personality

December 4: Scripture Memorization

December 5: God's Faith in Us

December 6: The Necessity of Trust

December 7: The Ubiquity of Fear

December 8: Choose Life

December 9: The Genesis of Dysfunction

December 10: An Island in the Storm

December 11: God as Psychiatrist

December 12: Misplaced Anger

December 13: Perceiving Truth

December 14: Singleness of Heart and Action

December 15: Fear of Wimpdom

December 16: Tale of Two Yokes

December 17: Spiritual Thinking

December 18: Spiritual Release

December 19: The Fall in Behavioral Terms

December 20: In Defense of Genesis

December 21: Spiritual Thought

December 22: The Remedial Rationalist

December 23: A Teacher Will Appear

December 24: Two Kinds of Wisdom

December 25: A Christmas Memory

December 26: Scripture Memorization

December 27: Spiritual Renewal

December 28: War Within the Unbeliever

December 29: Intellectualism as a Defense Mechanism

December 30: The Red Thread

December 31: Parapsychology

From this point on, read at a snail's pace. Reduce your speed of reading to second grade level for the remainder of this section. Fair warning: The fleshy brain hates what you will be reading.

About the Author

To all my clients who, because of my failures to address your deepest needs, taught me the most humbling of personal lessons. May you at least know that what powered these painful pages was thinking deeply about you and reflecting upon your lives which you so graciously shared with me.

Preface

The daily entries are designed to, hopefully, amuse the reader with knowledge. Some of this amusement may come from learning human psychology theory; for instance, what lies behind things like the Freudian slip, the Oedipus Complex, or family therapy origins. Matching things like this to Scripture, we discover that modern man's brilliance in studying himself was put forth long ago by the Bible. Also, that much psychology theory is actually biblical instruction.

Many of the daily scriptures are supported by other scriptures and optional dates that further light up the textual concept. These are included in the spirit of Bible study and spiritual growth. Profit will be gained by connecting these to the daily concepts put forth.

Also, Scripture Memorization days will appear periodically. Memorization of the Word of God is a tool of enlightenment that should not be overlooked. Often, scriptural memorization becomes the pivotal point in bringing understanding to ourselves and the world around us.

We must keep in mind that all psychology is distorted when the ability to love is distorted. The Bible, and Jesus, teach of restoring that love. Many days' entries, though not enough, are centered on this story of love restoration.

Last, at the conclusion of each daily entry is the title Contemplation. It is advised to do as this suggests—apply layered thinking to what you have read.

Introduction

We are hungry to understand ourselves. We hunger to understand our fellow citizens. Many are not aware that this hunger is a major theme of the Bible. My first devotional, The Self-esteem Devotional, was written with this in mind. To continue this course, this Bible Psychology Devotional is written to combine gems of academic psychology with the Bible to deliver further understanding.

In addition to understanding ourselves and others, both devotionals address the two inward goals of every human being: to be wanted and to be complete. These are what drive human behavior. Within these inward goals are many sub-drivers: finding significance and acceptance, gaining mastery and confidence, finding assurance, giving and receiving love, things like this. When these sub-drivers are distilled, the desire to be wanted and complete remains prominent. The searcher will quickly see that God is primary in delivering these desires.

It is no surprise that large portions of the Bible are devoted to human psychology. The subject is always prominent, describing us and our way of behavior. God's Word uses many tools to convey this: cause and effect, sowing and reaping, dissecting Bible personalities, truth by Proverbs and Psalms, wise men teaching, and wayward people demonstrating; all are orchestrated by an omniscient God trying to reach us in ways that make a difference. These could be as brief as a single verse—My people are skilled in doing evil, they know not how to do good (Jeremiah 4:22)—or an entire book like Esther or Mark.

As a psychology source, the Bible is unique by adding a spiritual dimension. The teachers within it, from Solomon to Amos to Jesus and all in between, are master psychologists. In Ephesians 4:28, Paul deftly lays out a prescription for complete personality change in a single verse! Job is a tireless research psychologist; David, John, and Peter are psychology workmen, and the master is Jesus. All of these biblical psychologists work with the mind of God.

Mankind's study of himself, called psychology, carries a limited perspective. Even though spirit is the essence of man, psychology is devoid of anything spiritual. This is the difference between man's psychology and Bible psychology. Here lies the magic in Bible psychology: its dimension of spirit—that dimension eschewed by academic psychology but critical to God's psychology.

With understanding, we seek transformation. The Bible's purpose is taking crass sinners and transforming them into righteous men and women, secure in ourselves and our eternity. Psychology is equally concerned with transforming human behavior. Where they complement each other, the mission is underscored.

Because human behavior is so vitally determined by one's connection to God, this connection is prominent on the devotional calendar. Here lies the source of all human behavior: one's relationship to his Maker. It can be no other way. The Maker instills his personality within us, but sin impedes us. When this is known, transformation has an avenue. Providing that avenue is the purpose of this devotional.

Subject Index

Note to professional therapists: This subject index is valuable for looking up applicable topics to discuss with clients. Daily topics may establish therapeutic direction should a block in progress be encountered. Topics like Sex Addiction, Rejection Reaction, or Teachability should be obvious in their application to particular clients.

(Note: Subjects may not correspond to daily titles.)

January 1: Separation Anxiety

January 2: Wisdom in Death

January 3: Behavior Formation

January 4: Literal Bible Translation

January 5: Broken Ability to Love

January 6: The Thrill of Sin

January 7: Scripture Memorization

January 8: Lesson in Abnormal Psychology

January 9: Choosing Bad over God

January 10: Expediency over Right

January 11: Just Do It

January 12: I Need Proof to Believe

January 13: Distortion of Inner Drives

January 14: Change Your Life Script

January 15: God's Naïve Faith in Us

January 16: Addiction Examined

January 17: God Phobia

January 18: The Missing Cure

January 19: Loss of Face

January 20: Scripture Memorization

January 21: Divine Child-rearing

January 22: The Impact of Two Words

January 23: The Impact of Five Words

January 24: Problems of Conscience

January 25: Confession Therapy

January 26: Fear Part 1

January 27: Fear Part 2

January 28: Scripture Memorization

January 29: Avoidance Behavior

January 30: Tough Love

January 31: Faith: The Great Healer

February 1: Trial and Error: Finding a Mentor

February 2: Scripture Memorization

February 3: Worldly Soldiers of Fear

February 4: Initiation to Manhood

February 5: Gravitas

February 6: Neurotic Self-aggrandizement

February 7: Beginning Fresh

February 8: Confidence Versus Fear

February 9: Scripture Memorization

February 10: Striving to Completeness

February 11: The Character of Love and Sin

February 12: Private Intelligence

February 13: As Sick as Our Secrets

February 14: Every Day's Battle

February 15: Pride's Game: Self-destruction

February 16: Scripture Memorization

February 17: Reinterpreting Life Events

February 18: Starting Over

February 19: Simple Psych Work

February 20: Love and Faithfulness

February 21: Personal Revival

February 22: Scripture Memorization

February 23: The Sin of No Management

February 24: The Male Aphrodisiac

February 25: Abigail Adams on Womanhood

February 26: The Oedipus Complex

February 27: Private Psyche Business

February 28: Root Causes of Therapy

March 1: The Unstable Personality

March 2: Coming Late to the Lord

March 3: Personality Purge

March 4: Bringing Forth Consciousness

March 5: The Inc Life

March 6: The Reorganized Personality

March 7: Triumph of Submission

March 8: The Lord's Work in Us

March 9: Spiritual Setbacks

March 10: Handheld Instant Gratification

March 11: The Flesh

March 12: Scripture Memorization

March 13: The Diabolical in Action

March 14: Relational Skills

March 15: Creating Masterpieces

March 16: Satan's Psychology Part 1

March 17: Satan's Psychology Part 2

March 18: Wisdom in Seeing Fear

March 19: The Agnostic Psychologist

March 20: Decision-making

March 21: Love Satisfaction

March 22: Biblical Coincidence

March 23: Foiling Satan's Plan

March 24: The Therapist's Role

March 25: The Spirit of the World

March 26: Scripture Memorization

March 27: Life's Secret Weapon

March 28: Freud and Calvin Agree!

March 29: Conquest of Pessimism

March 30: Find Your Middle Ground

March 31: Hurt People Hurt People

April 1: A Picture of Fear

April 2: Teachability

April 3: Scripture Memorization

April 4: Radical Scriptural Therapy

April 5: The Spectrum of Humanity

April 6: God's Magnificent Mercies

April 7: Accountability

April 8: Taking Responsibility

April 9: Scripture Memorization

April 10: Conversion of Primitive Drives

April 11: Freud's Take on the Flesh

April 12: Corrections as the Way to Life

April 13: Psychological Flexibility

April 14: Psychological Versus Biblical

April 15: Rigidity of Character

April 16: Instant Gratification

April 17: Unconscious Behavior

April 18: Fasting Part 1

April 19: Fasting Part 2

April 20: Adam's Great Error

April 21: Family System's Theory

April 22: Scripture Memorization

April 23: Handling Guilt

April 24: Social Connection

April 25: The Influence of Death

April 26: The Essence of Ourselves

April 27: Loneliness

April 28: Scripture Memorization

April 29: Understanding Ourselves

April 30: Neglected Living

May 1: The Weakness in Psychology

May 2: Scripture Memorization

May 3: The Freudian Slip

May 4: Connecting with People

May 5: Cognitive Behavior Psychology

May 6: Cognitive Estrangement

May 7: Inferiority

May 8: Obtaining Peace

May 9: Scripture Memorization

May 10: Bringing the Unconscious to Light

May 11: The Source of Security

May 12: Fear

May 13: The Red Thread

May 14: Quantum Leap in Life

May 15: Literal Interpretation

May 16: Rejectable

May 17: Self Cognitive Therapy

May 18: Functional Rigidity

May 19: Christ is Mental Wisdom

May 20: Rejection Reaction

May 21: Meaning in Life

May 22: Cognitive Dissonance Part 1

May 23: Cognitive Dissonance Part 2

May 24: The Perversion of Perfection

May 25: Compulsive Drives

May 26: Scripture Memorization

May 27: Cognitive Perception

May 28: Sophistication in Simplicity

May 29: What Matters Most

May 30: Passing the Torch to Children

May 31: Transference

June 1: Inner Strength

June 2: The Great Reinforcement

June 3: Reversing Craziness

June 4: Awarding Loyalty

June 5: Miracles Are Not Science

June 6: Chess to Playdough

June 8: Desire as Behavior Motivation

June 9: Life as Psychological Data

June 10: Scripture Memorization

June 11: Psychology of Words

June 12: Life as Therapist

June 13: Do Not Neglect Mother

June 14: Sin Gravity

June 15: Scripture Memorization

June 16: Evidence of the Fall in Spades

June 17: Scriptural Behaviorism

June 18: Denial Versus Conviction

June 19: A Picture of Heaven

June 20: The Contest for Our Vision

June 21: The First Love Language

June 22: Scripture Memorization

June 23: The Female Aphrodisiac

June 24: The Truth about Ourselves

June 25: The Definition of Darkness

June 26: Personal Management

June 27: Living Beyond Mortality

June 28: Personality Change

June 29: Scripture Memorization

June 30: Personal Management Skills

July 1: Spiritual Therapy

July 2: Defining the Christian Faith

July 3: Spiritual Psychology

July 4: The Christian's Certainty

July 5: Life History

July 6: Secularism

July 7: Scripture Memorization

July 8: The Fool's Personality

July 9: Universality of Religion

July 10: Heart Knowledge

July 11: The Miracle of Self-acceptance

July 12: The Core of Personality

July 13: Denial and Repression

July 14: Scripture Memorization

July 15: Inducing a Personality Break

July 16: Conversion to Christ

July 17: Conviction

July 18: IQ Fragility

July 19: Something to Believe In

July 20: Intellectual Pride

July 21: Agape Love

July 22: Second Chances

July 23: Thought Stopping

July 24: Woundedness Part 1

July 25: Woundedness Part 2

July 26: Self-deliverance

July 27: Scripture Memorization

July 28: A Universal Diagnosis

July 29: The Great Jailer

July 30: Be Still and Know

July 31: The Unreachable Soul

August 1: The Unbeliever's Frustration

August 2: Satan's Schemes

August 3: Cognitive Renewal

August 4: Sex Addiction

August 5: The Mysterious Woman

August 6: Selfish Ambition

August 7: The Upside to Suffering

August 8: The Poor Samaritan

August 9: Unconditional Love Defined

August 10: Personality Styles

August 11: The Skill of Being Christ

August 12: Healing the Fractured Self

August 13: False Leadership

August 14: The Therapy of Spiritual Renewal

August 15: Heart Talk

August 16: Self Perspective

August 17: The Payoff in Literal Reading

August 18: Sin Stopping

August 19: Hurt People Hurt People

August 20: Intense Envy

August 21: Spiritual Freudianism

August 22: The Painful Life Review

August 23: God's Omniscience

August 24: Poisonous to the Spirit

August 25: Fatal Fallbacks

August 26: Positive Thinking

August 27: Faith over Love

August 28: The Inc Life Part 2

August 29: Scripture Memorization

August 30: Wilhelm Reich's Freudian Slip

August 31: Finding and Applying Truth

September 1: Living in Darkness

September 2: Practicing Love

September 3: The World as Foe

September 4: Making the Unconscious Conscious

September 5: Search for Meaning: Frankl

September 6: Psych Profile: Pharisees

September 7: Extra-Psychology: Satan's Plan

September 8: Rebellion/Obedience

September 9: Carl Jung: The Discovery of Ourselves

September 10: Freud on the Sin Nature

September 11: Scripture Memorization

September 12: Seeking Light from Darkness

September 13: Correcting Mistakes: Charles Darwin

September 14: New Thinking

September 15: Accurate Self-assessment

September 16: Spiritual Behaviorism in the Garden

September 17: Pharisaical Spiritual Darkness

September 18: Scriptural Memorization

September 19: Attitude of Forgiveness

September 20: An Education in Evil

September 21: Satan's Agenda

September 22: The False Persona

September 23: Consciousness

September 24: The Link Between Denial and Darkness

September 25: God's Grace

September 26: No Rushing God's Therapy

September 27: Old Man to New Man

September 28: Elizabeth Kübler-Ross on Mourning

September 29: Selfish Ambition

September 30: The Treatment of God's Light

October 1: The Worldly Personality

October 2: Life's Distractions

October 3: Losing Ourselves to the World

October 4: Strength in Weakness

October 5: Therapeutic Gain

October 6: Living Larger

October 7: Factoring Sin into Therapy

October 8: A Quick Psyche Analysis

October 9: Scripture Memorization

October 10: Shelter in the Storm

October 11: Scriptural Personality Analysis

October 12: Bullying

October 13: Power Games

October 14: Fun with Psychology Formulas

October 15: Satir's Stages of Change

October 16: Scripture Memorization

October 17: The Psychology of God

October 18: When People Disappoint

October 19: Tempting Therapy Shortcuts

October 20: Behavioral Principles

October 21: Nathaniel Brandon: Embracing Error

October 22: Spiritual Psychology

October 23: Scripture Memorization

October 24: God Within Us

October 25: Motivation

October 26: Goal Priority

October 27: Resignation by Causality

October 28: New Behavior, New Person

October 29: Rejection

October 30: Low Self-esteem

October 31: Problem Solving

November 1: Heart Intelligence

November 2: Bitterness

November 3: The Great Denial

November 4: Personality Advance

November 5: The Defeat of Dysfunction

November 6: A New Start

November 7: Being Wrong to Being Right

November 8: The Mind of God

November 9: The Nature of God

November 10: To Love Effectively

November 11: The Evil Schemes of Man

November 12: Perils of Instant Gratification

November 13: Mike Tyson: Preacher

November 14: Diagnosis: Corrupted Love

November 15: Surface Judgement

November 16: Judgmentalism

November 17: Denial in Action

November 18: Psychology v. Christianity

November 19: Unconditional Love and Human Potential

November 20: A Hidden Source of Self-esteem

November 21: The Pampered Child

November 22: God's Conditional Hatred

November 23: Faith over Love

November 24: Love Therapy

November 25: The Highest Form of Devotion

November 26: Faith Is Not Self-seeking

November 27: The World's Misery Exposed

November 28: In Therapy with God

November 29: Repentance as Therapy

November 30: Self-acceptance

December 1: Reclaiming Ourselves

December 2: Smart Cookie Handles Love

December 3: The Unstable Personality

December 4: Scripture Memorization

December 5: The Lord's Faith

December 6: The Necessity of Trust

December 7: The Ubiquity of Fear

December 8: Choose Life

December 9: The Genesis of Dysfunction

December 10: An Island in the Storm

December 11: Freud, Adler, Jung on Motivation

December 12: Misplaced Anger

December 13: Perceiving Truth

December 14: God's Naïveté

December 15: Fear of Wimpdom

December 16: Tale of Two Yokes

December 17: Spiritual Versus Intellectual

December 18: Spiritual Release

December 19: The Consequences of Sin

December 20: The Fall in Behavioral Terms

December 21: Trauma in Genesis

December 22: Rational Versus Spiritual

December 23: Perceiving God

December 24: Wisdom

December 25: A Christmas Story

December 26: Scripture Memorization

December 27: Spiritual Renewal

December 28: War Within the Mind

December 29: Intellect as a Defense Mechanism

December 30: Base Behavioral Principles

December 31: Parapsychology

January

January 1: Separation Anxiety

Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

—Genesis 3:8

Right there, in the third chapter of the first book of the Bible, Adam and Eve are under mankind's nemeses: anxiety and fear. Adam and Eve have become separated from something dear and defining—God—and the result is anxiety.

Separation anxiety is a fear-based emotion that is acquired when we are physically or emotionally separated from the touchstones in our lives. Sometimes, just the threat is enough to touch it off. It frequently happens with children of single-digit age and is easily quelled when the estranged person or place is reestablished. For example, a child goes off to summer camp. A flood of anxiety comes over the youngster until he or she is emotionally reassured.

For Adam and Eve, there could be no restoration. Sin had caused permanent separation. This original separation is the source of our primal anxiety. It gives everyone a more or less permanent case of separation anxiety disorder. The hiding behavior of Adam and Eve demonstrates this. God is suddenly a distant, foreign nature. Sin has shredded their intimacy with God, and the hiding shows that the couple is emotionally torn. Adam and Eve fear themselves, their nakedness, and the future. It is a textbook case of separation anxiety—a condition that occurs when we are spiritually estranged from God.

As distant relatives of Adam and Eve, we are heirs of their separation anxiety. Distance from God has removed a vital spiritual touchstone from our lives. Spiritual and mental equilibrium cry out for the spiritual disconnect to be healed. This is the reason for Christ. In Christ, God mends our separation anxiety with his flesh and blood. If we make room for Christ to enter our spirit, allowing him mentorship and leeway, he will see that once again we approach wholeness with God. We no longer have a reason to hide or fear ourselves. Our anxiety becomes unnecessary.

Prayer. Heavenly Father, I have inherited this spiritual disconnect because Adam and Eve's lineage includes me. I wish to have this healed and become a new spiritual person through Christ. Let me open the door to Christ and accept his healing. In his name I pray, amen.

Contemplation. Everyone has the same separation anxiety.

January 2: Wisdom in Death

The day of one's death [is] greater than the day of one's birth. It is better to go to a house of mourning than go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.

—Ecclesiastes 7:1–2

The best testimony to Scripture is real-life experience from something apart from Scripture. By this we see life validating Scripture and gain the insight to know that God's Word is a universal force of nature.

The following comes from the well-written diary of Philip Mechanicus—a Jewish newspaper writer imprisoned during World War II in a Nazi prison camp. Unwittingly, Mechanicus' diary validates Solomon's verse above. Mechanicus sounds much like Solomon as he writes after watching another trainload of Jews leave for one of the extermination camps.

So people have to take death into account. That makes life bearable. It makes a man strong during the most difficult time in his life. Space and time have ceased to exist—man lives against a background of nothingness. If he dies, then he dies; if he escapes with his life, then he will be a stronger person in the future. This waiting period is a time of moral training and maturing, a time to realize that life is not something we hold in our own hands. We have been given it on loan and we must quietly give it back when it is demanded of us.

Prayer. Heavenly Father, allow me to feel death's impact on the living and to know that we live here briefly, and how we live is important. I wish to live with integrity according to your statutes so that when my time is done, my life will be the most it can be. In the name of Jesus, amen.

Contemplation. A life of integrity or a lesser life.

January 3: Behavior Formation

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature its passions and desires.

—Galatians 5:24

(Supporting: Romans 6:17–18, 8:1–2, 8:7)

Psychologist B. F. Skinner developed a set of principles that he believed conditioned all human behavior (behavioral psychology.) His theory says that our behavior, paired with the reward following that behavior, programs our lives. This, however, conflicts with the Christian life experience. Where Skinner believed that satisfying the demands of his flesh was the reward, to the Christian denying the flesh becomes the reward. Where before stealing might have satisfied the flesh's craving, now complying with the eighth commandment is a greater reward. A simple change in reinforcement rewards the Christian—conforming to the Word of God. In these cases, righteousness is a higher reward than the demands of the flesh.

Skinner offers no explanation for this.

Following the precepts of the Bible introduces the believer to an entirely new, cleaner, and more correct set of rewards. These rearrange behavior. They bring us closer to who God wishes us to be. Prior to this, the person was at the mercy of his or her flesh; he or she was estranged from God's design. But with new principles, governed by the Holy Spirit, an entirely new life is experienced. This gives the Christian a new measure of control which was not in place when his flesh was in control. A new life experience is underway. New behavior is governed by new, spiritual rewards. This was brought about by switching rewards from flesh to spirit.

In psychology-speak, the new Christian changes the reinforcement governing his behavior. Once he rewarded the