AMEN 2015: CrossTraining

Morning Devotional

Steven Grabiner

Adventist Medical Evangelism Network (AMEN)

Surveying the Cross: The Offense

I really appreciate your theme, cross trading, and I hope some of you noticed, I hope some of you noticed the cross in your handout.

Last night I was looking at that, wow, you know, stethoscope, tools, so on and so forth.

Certainly the tools of all of our trades need to be utilized to bring people closer to that center of influence, which is the cross of Jesus Christ.

And so this morning and the next 2 mornings, we're gonna be spending a little bit of time surveying or looking at different aspects of the cross of Christ.

And this morning, as you can tell by the title, it is the offense of the cross.

And Several years ago, many years ago, before I was married and then after I married, my wife and I worked in a vegetarian restaurant in New York City, kind of a hands-on, gritty medical missionary work where individuals came in.

We fed around 400 people a day, 400 to 500 people a day, and just was really people coming in and out of that place.

But as I was the manager of that vegetarian restaurant, Country Life, I remember reading in the book, Volume 7 of the testimonies, I believe it was, where Ellen White made a comment that the manager's work was to make sure that the workers were so in tune with Christ, so in tune with the Holy Spirit, that when he prompted them to speak to a customer, they would hear his voice and reach out in ministry.

You know, manager's work, you want to make sure you're making money and the decks are clean and everything's going well.

But she had a very different focus on the manager's work.

And I would say the same thing for all of us here gathered this morning, the medical professionals.

You know, we have a work to do, which we need to accomplish.

Vegetarian restaurant without food served in a timely manner really wouldn't be successful.

But in addition to that or beyond that, of course, is that whole dimension of pointing people to Jesus Christ.

And so for each 1 of you here, you know, for this whole conference, are we living so closely in tune with Jesus that we can hear his voice when he tells us, you need to say something a bit more to this patient, this person, this individual that you meet.

That's really God's desire for us is to be so susceptible to the spirit.

1 little, sorry, experience that came to mind just quickly.

I was working at the restaurant at the cash register again, several hundred people coming through and all of a sudden the voice said to me, look up.

I looked up and a person walked in and the voice said, that man is going to steal.

Of course, that man did try to steal and we stopped him during his process.

But wouldn't it be wonderful if we could have that same kind of an experience all the time when we're working with people, where the Holy Spirit would simply say, no, no, now this person, you need to say this to.

I believe God wants to give us that and he wants to help us draw people closer to the cross.

Now, as we think of the cross, there's all these beautiful quotations that we have.

Spirit of prophecy, we love to talk about the cross, we sing about it.

Here, great controversy, 651, the cross of Christ will be the science and song of the redeemed through all eternity.

In Christ glorified, they will behold Christ crucified.

And just a tremendous thought here, that throughout eternity, eternity is gonna be a very, very, very long time.

And, but all that time, we'll be focusing on our study this morning and throughout this conference this weekend.

Again, Great Controversy 652, the mystery of the cross explains all other mysteries.

The mystery of the cross explains all other mysteries.

Then she goes on, the light that streams from Calvary, the attributes of God which had filled us with fear and awe appear what?

A beautiful and attractive mercy, tenderest parental love are seen to blend with holiness, justice, and power.

Tomorrow we're gonna talk about the power of the cross.

To remove the cross from the Christian will be like blotting out the sun from the sky.

So we really rejoice in the cross and we could multiply quotations like this and revel in them for a long time.

And that's the problem I wanna study with you this morning is the Bible doesn't talk about the cross quite like that.

I mean, it does in certain senses, Galatians 6, 14, Paul says, that's the only place I'm gonna glory, but Paul also calls the cross an offense, a stumbling block, foolishness.

And so the question I want to explore this morning is what did that mean?

What did it mean in Paul's day in first century, you know, Judea, Palestine, what did it mean to begin to preach about the cross?

And if it was such an offense, and it was far greater than we understand, how in the world did it come from this position of being so offensive and such a scandal And foolishness, moronic really, the word in the Greek.

How did it become from that position to the thing that we're gonna study for all eternity?

To the thing that we sing about, to the thing that that's where we're gonna glory in, what's happening there that moves it from this terrible offense to this place of glory.

So if you have your Bibles, which I hope you do, turn with me first of all to Galatians 5.

We're just gonna look here momentarily, then we'll turn to our main text this morning.

Galatians 5, verse 11, but I brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted?

Then the stumbling block, the scandal, the offense of The cross has been abolished.

And then of course in verse 12, I wish that those who were troubling you, encouraging you to be circumcised and other, would mutilate themselves.

You know, the knife would slip and they would do damage to themselves.

But Paul talks here about this offense of the cross.

And how does it become transformed for us?

Tremendous passage, 1 Corinthians 1, and we're gonna look on and off all the way through verse 18 onward to the beginning of chapter 2, if time allows.

For the word of the cross, the content of the cross is what?

To those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.

Verse 19, for it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.

Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

I was thinking about this, obviously in relation to the cross, but let's expand it momentarily this morning.

You know, is it possible that God wants to take the things that this world counts so precious and turn them upside down.

You know, our education, we become very proud and rightly so in a certain dynamic of education, our education, medical education, theological education, whatever it is.

But God says, you know, from my point of view, that could really be foolishness.

Guthrie's talk, people are here are searching, how do we help chronic diseases, which are a plague in this country?

Guthrie's idea is, well, it's simple, change their lifestyle.

We could change the whole healthcare crisis pretty quickly if you could just get people to identify differently.

Can you really, you know, help diabetes that way by making some lifestyle changes or, you know, does water, could water really work for certain issues like hydrotherapy?

God wants to take the things of the wisdom of this world and do what?

The wisdom with this world is foolishness with God, but God has some things that appear to be foolish to the world which really are God's power, which really are God's power.

But Let's think about this, continue on first a little bit, verse 21, sorry.

Plenary

Todd Guthrie

At the Crossroads: The Cross, the Healthcare Crisis, and Power for Lasting Change

Well, our topic this evening is at the crossroads.

The title of the conference, cross training.

The cross, the healthcare crisis and power for lasting change.

So quickly our outline, our goals for this, our objectives for this lecture, you get CME credit for this, by the way.

So, hopefully you'll learn something applicable in your medical practice or dental practice.

Outline the current challenge in obtaining lasting healthy behavioral change, discuss the recognition of this crying need by health care funding agencies, and explore how Dr.

Luke's view of the cross can impact motivation and identity for long-term lasting change.

You know, there are many websites that point out what the problems are.

Here's 1 aptly named healthcareproblems.org.

And the information that follows in the next 4 slides is collated on this website from other, I think, reliable sources.

So let's just touch on a few data points so we can grasp the magnitude of the uphill problem we face on the road to better health for our patients.

The United States is fast becoming 1 of the worst health care systems in the world.

We're the only industrialized nation that does not provide some form of universal health care to its citizens.

1 of the highest rates for health care expenditures now.

We're trying to remedy that, but Not always easy.

Well, health care expenditures, highest of any developed country.

Prescription prices still under patent protection, 35% to 55% higher.

1 of the biggest and most costly aspects of health care is the treatment of chronic disease.

It's hard to make insurance affordable without changing how chronic disease is treated.

75% of total healthcare spending in the United States in 2007 went toward the treatment of chronic disease.

Approximately half of all chronic diseases are linked to preventable problems, including smoking, obesity, physical activity, physical inactivity.

Numerous studies have shown that when patients with chronic diseases focus on their health and get involved in their own care, their health improves and health expenses decrease.

As I often tell my patients, I believe that no healthcare plan, be it Obamacare or whatever the next president's care or no healthcare plan can solve our unsustainable trajectory unless it addresses the underlying causes of disease at the level of individual responsibility.

Unfortunately for those who wrestle with such things, the solution is not so clear.

So much for the magnitude of the challenge we face.

Is there national recognition of the need for new creative approaches in healthcare?

The National Institutes of Health and the Department of Health and Human Services, that's the alphabet soup up there, they're suggesting a road map of sorts where we might choose to explore some other options.

We know that the Bible validates true science.

Nedley, who you heard from earlier, has aptly called our attention in previous lectures that he's given to the data showing the need for comprehensive self-control.

So you look at the title of this funding opportunity, Translating Basic Behavioral and Social Science Discoveries into Interventions to improve health-related behaviors.

You can kind of read between the lines what they're looking for, right?

Here are some of the thoughts and where they are willing to invest their tax dollars and mine.

Behaviors such as Smoking, sedentary lifestyles, unhealthy dietary intake, alcohol or substance abuse or dependence, and poor adherence to medical and behavioral treatments are major contributors to cardiovascular disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, and other chronic conditions.

For example, Combination of excess energy intake and lack of physical activity, read metabolic syndrome, right, in the U.S.

Population over the past several decades has produced a rapid rise in obesity that threatens to reverse recent gains in life expectancy.

All of these behaviors need to change, right?

And personal comprehensive self-control is probably the biggest bang for the research buck, if you can buy it.

At last estimate, 40% of premature deaths can be attributed to preventable behavioral factors and therefore, they quote this Arthur Schroeder in 2007, the single greatest opportunity to improve health and reduce premature deaths lies in personal behavior.

So far it seems we're unable to get the behavioral changes we're after.

Studies such as the trials of hypertension prevention, weight loss maintenance, and the diabetes prevention program have shown that behavioral interventions can improve behavior and prevent disease.

However, even the most successful behavior change interventions are limited in their ability to induce significant long-term behavioral changes in the majority of adults.

Often, change occurs only for the highly motivated and is limited to a single health behavior rather than multiple behaviors.

Furthermore, even individuals committed to behavioral change find it hard to maintain healthy behavioral patterns over time.

For example, most smoking studies show a pattern of relapse and cessation that may continue for years.

Exceptions to this pattern have been found in preventive interventions such as the nurse home visitation program that have shown lasting and long-term effects.

In addition, some prevention research suggests that the greatest gains can be made with those at most risk, but even these successes are not as common as they should be.

This points to the need for innovative, high-quality behavioral research, which is needed in both the prevention and intervention areas.

So this is the NIH wanting to throw money at research projects that will induce long-term change.

We need innovative, high-quality research.

So they go on to say, we use the analogy of drugs, surgical techniques, medical devices.

We need to also develop more powerful health-related behavioral interventions.

But these are dependent on our understanding of human behavior and then translating that knowledge into new and more effective interventions with enduring effects.

So then they go on to give some suggestions as to where areas of research that might be considered.

Following intended only as conceptual examples of the types of topics and approaches relevant to the proposed FOA.

And FOA stands for Funding Opportunity Announcement.

They make an announcement, here's where we can throw some money if you're willing to convince us that you could spend it wisely in your research.

Translate basic research on learning, cognition, information, processing, etc.

Encourage adherence to self-monitoring goal setting.

Find out what's actually going on in the brain physiologically.

Develop novel approaches to change behaviors based on that.

Make use of system science and modeling techniques, network analysis, etc.

Now if you read between the lines here, what are they looking for?

Brain level research, encouraging adherence, systems level, dare we say, whole person?

You know, the whole person system is what they're looking at.

They want us to translate laboratory or observational studies into new avenues for intervention or prevention by developing interventions that target executive functioning and behavioral control, emotional and behavioral self-regulation.

That's comprehensive self-control, right?

They're also looking for new paradigms of science.

Now the paradigms they suggest, I don't know, chaos theory, nonlinear models, well, I think we might have a nonlinear model, we'll talk about that in a bit.

To address the unpredictability of behavior, to construct interventions that foster motivation for behavioral change, and strategies that maximize chances for nonlinear, nonrational change.

And they give the idea of tipping points.

That sounds like something almost miraculous or a singularity of life, right, where things will change, motivation changes.

So the harmful things, diet, alcohol, substance consumption, developmental exposures, all of these things can affect the epigenetic regulation of the genetic blueprint.

So they were looking for basic research on epigenetic processes to develop interventions that change behavior and affect gene activity, perhaps from what, generation to generation?

Jeremiah

The Ambassador Group

05. Jeremiah: More Woes for the Prophet

Welcome to another in-depth exploration of the Book of Jeremiah.

Edited for audio and produced by The Ambassador Group.

More Woes for the Prophet Oh Lord, you misled me, and I allowed myself to be misled.

You are stronger than I am, and you overpowered me.

Everyone laughs at me." Jeremiah 20 7 The New Living Translation 1 thing anyone who has followed the Lord for any length of time will learn is that being a believer in Jesus and seeking to do His will do not guarantee an easy passage through life.

After all, as 2 Timothy 3, verse 12 in that same translation affirms, yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

This is a truth that Jeremiah was surely learning for himself.

At the same time, however, what our faith can do for us in times of trial is give a broader understanding upon which we can steady ourselves amid our struggles.

In other words, when unfair and unjust suffering and trials come, and no question, so many of them are unfair and unjust.

We don't have to be left alone with a sense of meaninglessness and purposelessness that people who don't know the Lord often feel.

We can know something of the big picture and the ultimate hope God offers us, no matter how dismal the present is.

And from this knowledge and hope, we can draw strength.

Jeremiah knew something of this context, though only on his woes.

Godless Priests and Prophets Godless Priests and Prophets Removed as we are by more than 2, 000 years chronologically from Judah, and perhaps even further removed culturally and socially, it's hard for us to understand all that was going on in the time of Jeremiah.

When reading the Bible, especially the harsh warnings and threats that God uttered against the people?

Many people think that the Lord is portrayed here as harsh, mean, and vindictive.

This, however, is a false understanding, based only on a superficial reading of the texts.

Instead, what the Old Testament reveals is what the New Testament does as well.

God loves humanity and wants it saved, but he does not force our choice.

If we want to do wrong, even despite his pleas to us, we are free to do so.

We just have to remember not only the consequences, but that we were warned about them beforehand.

What were some of the evils that the Lord was dealing with in Judah?

What were some of the evils Jeremiah was prophesying against?

2 references will help us answer these questions.

The first is Jeremiah chapter 23 verses 14 and 15.

But Now I see that the prophets of Jerusalem are even worse.

They commit adultery and love dishonesty.

They encourage those who are doing evil so that no 1 turns away from their sins.

These prophets are as wicked as the people of Sodom and Gomorrah once were.

Therefore, this is what the Lord of Heaven's armies says concerning the prophets.

I will feed them with bitterness and give them poison to drink.

For it is because of Jerusalem's prophets that wickedness has filled this land.

The second reference is Jeremiah chapter 5 verses 26-31.

Among my people are wicked men who lie in wait for victims like a hunter hiding in the blind.

They continually set traps to catch people.

Like a cage filled with birds, their homes are filled with evil plots, and now they are great and rich, they are fat and sleek, and there is no limit to their wicked deeds.

They refuse to provide justice to orphans and deny the rights of the poor.

Should I not punish them for this, says the Lord?

Should I not avenge myself against such a nation?

A horrible and shocking thing has happened in this land.

The prophets give false prophecies, and the priests rule with an iron hand.

But what will you do when the end comes?" The litany of evils presented here is just a small sampling of what God's people had fallen into.

Both the priests and prophets were godless.

An incredible irony considering that the priests were to be representatives of God, and the prophets to be spokesmen for him.

And this is just the beginning of the problems Jeremiah confronted.

The evils presented here come under a variety of types.

There is the apostasy of the spiritual leaders.

They also lead others to do evil, so that no 1 turns back from his wickedness.

Jeremiah 23 14 even when the Lord warns about coming judgment, the false prophets tell them that it won't come.

Meanwhile, as far as they were from God, They had forgotten the admonition about taking care of the orphans and about defending the poor, as we hear in Jeremiah 5 28.

They are fat and sleek, and there is no limit to their wicked deeds.

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All Teachings

Surveying the Cross: The Offense

46m

At the Crossroads: The Cross, the Healthcare Crisis, and Power for Lasting Change

43m

05. Jeremiah: More Woes for the Prophet

47m

The Price of Love

53m

The Three Greatest Questions

48m

Microbacterium Laprae

52m

The Thirteenth Month

47m

On Jordan’s Stormy Banks

27m

4- The Plan of Salvation

1h 47m

3- The Counter Attack

1h 48m

2- The Experience We Need Through Prophecy

1h 31m

1- What Is the Church?

1h 36m

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