The Search for Significance

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142 The Search For Significance can cause us to become callous and insensitive to ourselves and others around us. Unfortunately, this is just what happened to Mike. Over the years, Mike had deadened himself to his emotions, apparently not allowing anything to bother him. He had experienced a difficult childhood, first being abandoned by his parents, and then being shuffled from one relative to another. In an effort to stop the pain, Mike learned to block out his emotions and to ignore his circumstances. But Mike's success at suppressing his emotions had long-lasting consequences. First, by severing painful emotions, he missed out himself from the on many pleasant emotions as well. Secondly, the longer Mike avoided dealing with his emotions, the more fearful he became of them. To combat this fear, he simply became more calloused and withdrawn. Third, and perhaps most important, Mike could not use his emotions to detect the false beliefs that were at the root of his problem because he denied that he even had those emotions. He was helpless, unable to acknowledge his hurt needs. The second way that many people deal with emotions is by becoming enslaved to their emotions, unable or unwilling to make decisions that are contrary to them. Wearing her emotions on her sleeve, Melinda was not difficult to figure out. Her flaring temper, her torrent of tears, and her jovial laughter were all indications of her rollercoaster emotions. Never knowing what to expect, Melinda's husband, Ken, became weary of trying to deal with his volatile wife. Melinda's erratic emotions affected her so much that they became, in effect, her lord. Her feelings seemed to be more real than anything else in her life and clouded her perception of God and His purposes.
Renewing The Mind 143 We often respond incorrectly to them, but our emotions are in fact a gift from God, intended to be used and enjoyed. In His goodness, God intended us to live in joy and peace, buoyed by love, and anchored by faith, but until His truth is dominant in our lives, our emotions will determine our responses to life's situations. It is vital that we be sensitive to our emotions and actions, always looking for those that do not reflect the character of our Lord Jesus Christ. We need to submit these painful emotions and actions to Him in prayer, asking that He reveal the false beliefs that hinder our fellowship with Him. Then empowered by the Holy Spirit, we can cast aside our false beliefs and choose to believe the truths of God's Word. (The psalmists modeled the freedom to express both joy and pain to God. For example, look at Psalms 6 and 13.) Notice, it is first necessary to expose the root emotions and the false beliefs which are triggering them. Then secondly, by faith, we can allow God's Word to renew our minds. Here are ten typical statements reflecting common false beliefs. Examine each statement, asking, "What false belief(s) does this statement represent?" Then beside each statement, place the number of one or more of the false beliefs. All ten statements are reflections of the four false beliefs we have already studied:
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earch For We have two alternatives:
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The Search For SIGNIFICANCE Robert
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To my wife, Marilyn, who has given
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INTRODUCTION When Christ told His d
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TABLE OF CONTENTS " " 1. Our Search
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10 The Search For Significance emot
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12 The Search For Significance Anot
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14 The Search For Significance this
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Chapter Two The Origin of the Searc
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18 The Search For Significance of G
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20 The Search For Significance ing,
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22 The Search For Significance Than
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24 The Search For Significance woul
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26 The Search For Significance we t
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28 The Search For Significance caus
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30 The Search For Significance Obvi
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INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTERS 4, 5, 6, &
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Chapter Four The Performance Trap M
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The Performance Trap 3? failure is
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The Performance Trap 39 FEAR OF FAI
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The Performance Trap 41 cannot heal
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The Performance Trap 43 ANGER, RESE
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The Performance Trap 45 would not b
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The Performance Trap 47 As marvelou
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The Performance Trap 49 pelled by i
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The Performance Trap 51 ETERNAL REW
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. The Performance Trap 53 everythin
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The Performance Trap 55 7. You can
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Approval Addict 57 proval of others
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Approval Addict 59 eluded that lone
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Approval Addict 61 FEAR OF REJECTIO
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Approval Addict 63 THE EFFECTS OF T
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Approval Addict 65 even cause some
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Approval Addict 67 DOMINEERING In a
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Approval Addict 69 "But God doesn't
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Approval Addict 71 16. MATTHEW 26:2
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Approval Addict 73 proval. All the
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Approval Addict 75 1. On one side o
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The Blame Game 77 them and escorted
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The Blame Game 79 tion to love and
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The Blame Game 81 righteous condemn
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The Blame Game 83 deal with inadequ
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The Blame Game 85 INTERPRETATION OF
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The Blame Game 87 we reason that we
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GOD'S ANSWER: PROPITIATION The Blam
Page 95 and 96: The Blame Game 91 die. But God demo
Page 97 and 98: The Blame Game 93 There was only on
Page 99 and 100: Chapter Seven Shame When past failu
Page 101 and 102: Shame 97 Too often our self-image r
Page 103 and 104: Shame 99 SHAME TEST Read each state
Page 105 and 106: Shame 101 THE EFFECTS OF SHAME Susa
Page 107 and 108: Shame 103 INFERIORITY By definition
Page 109 and 110: Shame 105 were the moment we truste
Page 111 and 112: Shame 107 "...lay aside the old sel
Page 113 and 114: Shame 109 To summarize the last fou
Page 115 and 116: Summarizing the Search 111 earth. A
Page 117 and 118: Summarizing the Search 113 other th
Page 119 and 120: Summarizing the Search 115 others*
Page 121 and 122: GOD'S SPECIFIC SOLUTION RESULTS OF
Page 123 and 124: The Holy Spirit — The Source of C
Page 135 and 136: Chapter Ten Renewing the Mind In on
Page 137 and 138: Renewing The Mind 133 longsuffering
Page 139 and 140: Renewing The Mind 135 tions, and em
Page 141 and 142: Renewing The Mind 137 placed with B
Page 143 and 144: Renewing The Mind 139 "What!" Winst
Page 145: Renewing The Mind 141 a joke about
Page 149 and 150: Renewing The Mind 145 7. 1,3 9. 1 8
Page 151 and 152: Renewing The Mind 147 himself as an
Page 153 and 154: Renewing The Mind 149 that because
Page 155 and 156: The Weapons Of Our Warfare 151 evil
Page 157 and 158: The Weapons Of Our Warfare 153 2. t
Page 159 and 160: The Weapons Of Our Warfare 155 the
Page 161 and 162: The Weapons Of Our Warfare 157 self
Page 163 and 164: Guilt vs. Conviction 159 demnation
Page 165 and 166: Guilt vs. Conviction 161 died on th
Page 167 and 168: Guilt vs. Conviction 163 Accnt* The
Page 169 and 170: Guilt vs. Conviction 165 given me t
Page 171 and 172: The Search Concluded 167 "...In ref
Page 173 and 174: The Search Concluded 169 sin. "For
Page 175 and 176: The Search Concluded 171 "Do you no
Page 177 and 178: The Search Concluded 173 ers in nee
Page 179 and 180: The Search Concluded 175 and daught
Page 181 and 182: The Search Concluded 177 Is it His
Page 183 and 184: The Search Concluded 179 spite of o
Page 185 and 186: The Search Concluded 181 determine
Page 187 and 188: ADDITIONAL MATERIAL AVAILABLE Workb
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The Search For SIGNIFICANCE by Robe
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The Search for Significance

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