Devocionales de Alfonso Gomez Plaza: CHRISTIAN DEVOTIONAL- ANXIETY AND THE OLD TESTAMENT I

ANXIETY AND THE OLD TESTAMENT I

In the scriptures we have everything.

FOR three days we will be reading a series by my brother and friend, Pastor José Nuñez Diéguez, Argentine and you can contact him through audioscristianos1960@gmail.com or on Twitter @Joeoikos. You can hear in: https://www.breaker.audio/audios-cristianos-sencillos/e/88579988. Without any more preambles:

“Do not fear, because I am with you; do not be dismayed, because I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; With the right hand of my righteousness I will sustain you."

Isaiah 41.10

Workplaces are increasingly mobile, creating the risk of isolation and overwork. Young people are told to go anywhere and do anything, but their mental health is paying the price. And that's not to mention the bigger issues like addiction, abuse, chronic diseases, unemployment, homelessness, and many others that afflict so many today. In response, a thriving wellness industry has emerged, with Instagram therapists, wellness dogs, and stress-relieving toys. As a Christian, you may feel tension, even guilt, when a doctor or self-help book improves your mental health more than reading the Bible. Why don't we go to the Old Testament?

“I will glorify you, O Jehovah, because you have exalted me, And did not allow my enemies to rejoice in me. Lord my God, I cried out to you, and you healed me. O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol; You gave me life, so that I would not descend to the grave. Sing to the Lord, you his holy ones, And celebrate the memory of his holiness. For a moment it will be his anger, But his favour lasts a lifetime. Weeping will last at night, and joy will come in the morning."

Psalm 30. 1-5

We accept the wisdom of the media, or even some Christian leaders. The Old Testament seems, to many, dry and dusty. But while others buy a coffin and recite a eulogy for these texts, I find them full of life.

Fortunately, I am not the only one. Many of our most therapeutic worship songs are filled with Old Testament references, such as "Raise a hallelujah" and "Blessed be your name." Fleming Rutledge's award-winning book, The Crucifixion, points out how communities enduring generations of marginalization find comfort in Old Testament stories of exile and liberation. This is seen in Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, in which King uses Old Testament themes, including an allusion to Psalm 30, to comfort his eager audience.

The texts of the Bible, especially the Old Testament, are ancient and were written long before our mental health crisis. But they are not irrelevant to our concerns nor are they simply a more helpful New Testament background. In fact, in telling the stories of various people and their most difficult experiences, the Old Testament is not that old - it offers a special form of group therapy.

God bless you.

ANXIETY AND THE OLD TESTAMENT I

God bless you and bring revelation into your life of the Mind of Christ that is already in you. Remember to acquire the book: "HOW TO UNDERSTAND THAT PRIESTHOOD PRODUCES IN ME MAN", through this link:

https://www.amazon.com/-/es/ALFONSO-G%C3%93MEZ-PLAZA-PONCHO/dp/B08B73YXMR/ref=sr_1_3?__mk_es_US=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&dchild=1&keywords=alfonso+gomez+plaza&qid=1594459708&sr=8-3

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