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Health Care Provider and Faith Diversity

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Health Care Provider and Faith Diversity

Abstract

The concept of spirituality has gained popularity in healthcare. Faith diversity and spirituality are core components that define people and shape their experiences. This paper implements feedback from the previous works to provide valuable insights into the unique needs, customs, and rituals that can be integrated in healthcare faith diversity. The paper aims at addressing the seven world view questions and to provide a summary of the comparative analysis of the various belief systems.

The spiritual perspectives on healing will be addressed. The critical healing components common to all beliefs will be discussed. Additionally, important factors to consider when caring for patients from a particular faith that differ from healthcare providers will be explored. The paper concludes with a reflective summary describing ways the insights gained can be applied into practice.

Address Several of the Worldview Questions

A world view refers to the way of thinking about reality. It entails summing up people’s basic assumptions about meaning of life. To determine personal worldview, one should answer the following seven questions.

What is prime reality?
What is the nature of the world around us?
What is a human being?
What happens to a person at death?
Why is it possible to know anything at all?
How do we know what is right or wrong?
What is the meaning of human history?

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According to my personal world view, the prime reality is that we all believe in a Supreme Being. In my case, I believe there is God, who rules the universe. According to our doctrines, the world was created in six days. We have a personal relationship to this world as man was ordered by God in the Garden of Aden to till the land and multiply, and fill the land (Genesis 1: 26).

Therefore, Human beings were made in the image of God. In Christianity doctrines, when a believer dies, one is resting with the angels. We believe that the soul is immortal and continues to live after death (Acts 2:29, 34). It is possible for human beings to know anything. This is attributable to the fact that were made in the image of God, thus, he has granted this wisdom (Genesis 1: 27).

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I am also aware of the processes of evolution and its association with increased intelligence and consciousness. I am a deontologist supporter. Therefore, I believe that there is nothing right or wrong in the world. These ate notions developed by socio-cultural pressures for survival. Human history begins when one’s understand their purpose on earth. As Christians, we believe that our purpose is to serve people and to help them live in harmony (Philippians 2:1-30).

Comparative Analysis of the Different Belief Systems

In Christianity, God is the Supreme Being and is believed to be omnipresent. Christians believe they were made in the image of God. He is the healer and comforter (Psalms 103:2-5). Christians lacks the concept of self. They are individuals whose souls are bound, and will be redeemed by the return of Jesus Christ. Therefore, their faith is driven by their relationship with man and God.

This is the only religion that worships the Supreme Being who loved the humanity that he gave his son, to live with them, understand their sufferings and to intercede for them. They believe in doctrines of sins, and the ultimate wage for sin if not repented is death. This is often associated with emotional insecurity especially in Christians who have had estranged lifestyles before (Hardman-Smith, 2013).

The Christian spirituality doctrine supports repentance and forgiveness; good healing anchors that nurse could be utilized to build and strengthen the patient’s hopes once more. Christianity also teaches on issues of kindness, love and empathy towards the suffering; e.g. the story of the Good Samaritan (Hardman-Smith, 2013).

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On the other hand, Buddhist believes that life begun spontaneously. In Buddhist, the greatest physician is Buddha. Buddha has skills to diagnose and administer treatment in a spiritual manner. Buddhist highly values the self-concept, which is transformed from mental and physical forces. This is an important factor during healing processes. Suffering is associated with the four noble of truths.

They believe in meditation and prayers. Buddhism critical component of spirituality in healthcare is that the community must take care of the sick. According to their teaching, he who attends the sick attends must be kind, compassionate and understanding. These are universal and important or core factors when attending patients from the different spirituality (Probst, 2014).

Spiritual Perspective on Healing

The holistic model of healing have three spheres including mind, body and spirit. In spiritual healing, it is the third realm (spirit) that is considered. Healing the spirit have positive effect of the body and the mind. This is a broad topic, but the specific approaches to healing includes healing liturgies, faith healing, laying of hands, anointing with oil and music meditation.

The growing demand of spiritual healing has made the medical community to integrate some of the critical components of healing in their therapeutic interventions. The most common critical components of religion in healthcare include prayer, meditation as well as patient’s belief. These are important as they influence the patient’s perception of a disease; and have been found to affect the decision making processes. Additionally, spirituality shapes the patient coping ability (Allan, 2014).

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What patients consider important when being cared for by providers with different spiritual beliefs

Receiving care from healthcare providers with different spiritual beliefs makes a patient feel uncomfortable. The healthcare providers must assess all issues that they consider valuable during their treatment regimen. The patient’s autonomy must be respected. Disregarding patient beliefs could lead to dissatisfaction. If the patient is not comfortable to be attended by the healthcare provider, the nurse manage must make arrangements to ensure that she gets a nurse whom they share values and beliefs (Hardman-Smith, 2013).

Creating a healing environment

Additionally, this course work has facilitated my understanding of healing hospital as described by Laurie in Arizona Medical Centre healing hospital report. These includes the physical environments which are set up in a manner that they promote the patients as well as their relatives to cope including less noise disturbances as the patients’ needs ample rests to recuperate (Probst, 2014). Additionally, healing hospital must combine technology with the work design.

This is because it facilitates the healthcare providers to deliver their care more efficiently. This includes activities such as assigning bank elevators to facilitate easy movement of the patients in critical conditions and the healthcare providers. This helps in maintaining patient’s dignity as well as the preservation if the patients privacy- improving the healing process (Hardman-Smith, 2013).

The integration of recent medical devices, healthcare informatics and nursing informatics yield efficiency and effective delivery of services. On the other hand, I have also learnt the challenges to anticipate when establishing a healing environment (Marriage, 2013). These includes staff shortages which could result to nurse burnout and lack of adequate facilities that will help give the nurses a healing environment too.

Some of the factors that might affect the concept of spirituality include scarcity of time, lack of patient knowledge and low experiences in managing spirituality discussions with the patients (Allan, 2014). There are incidences where the patient may want to impose their faith or beliefs to the care provider. For instance, consider a patient requesting a non-religious patient to pray.

For instance; at my work place, we have very short breaks, and there lacks a mediation place. There lacks motivational factors which could be affecting out productivity. I will definitely share the insights achieved with my colleagues; there is just so much that we can learn from this unit- important concepts often overlooked by most healthcare facilities (Hardman-Smith, 2013).

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Reflective summary

This course has improved my understanding the role of spirituality at people’s place of work. I have always approached the concept of spirituality with a lot of uneasiness and tension; but from my interaction with the other assignment has enabled me note that my perspective of estranged relationship between healthcare and religion is not a reflective of what is expected in the field.

I have learnt that integrating spirituality in healthcare serves the best interests of the patients (Hardman-Smith, 2013).Therefore, introduction to the worldview was important as it has enable me understand how to approach patients from different cultural and religious background; such that I can now establish a fruitful interaction with the patient- promoting holistic healing process.

In the topic of the phenomenology of illness and disease, it is interesting to learn that suffering, pain as well as disease has features that are universal in human beings; and that their magnitude is influenced heavily by the person’s race, social status, gender as well as religion. By reading Lev Tolstoy book The Death of Ivan Illych, I now understand the universal elements of disease, illness as well as death.

The analysis of the Called to care text book was informative and phenomenon too. I have learnt that my perspectives about religion would influence the relationship with the patient. I have learnt not to underestimate the patients faith and the religious systems, nor should I impose my faith or believes on the patient (Probst, 2014).

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Altogether, learning this unit has enable me understand that patients especially those diagnosed with chronic diseases and are at the end of life stage have crisis of identity. In this context, spirituality must be integrated in care as it entails the search of the lost identity as well as the search of meaning. From the evidence based research, it is evident that spirituality is a coping strategy for most patients (Russell, 2013).

Conclusion

Therefore, every healthcare providers, especially the nurses are expected to integrate the patients culture and spirituality in the patients care plan, and when making health decisions. Additionally, the healthcare providers should not neglect their spiritual wellbeing or psychological health. Maintaining a healthy environment for nursing is important as nurse’s work in stressful environments; and is exposed to patient sufferings as well as death. This unit reminds me of the importance of staying in touch with my religion and feelings that add value as well as meaning to my life- while dedicating care to others.

References

Allan, F. (2014). The Essential Guide to Religious Traditions and Spirituality for Health Care Providers Jeffers Steven , Nelson Michael , Barnet Vera et al The Essential Guide to Religious Traditions and Spirituality for Health Care Providers1048pp Â£120 Radcliffe 9781846195600 1846195608. Nurse Researcher, 21(6), 46-46. http://dx.doi.org/10.7748/nr.21.6.46.s4

Hardman-Smith, J. (2013). The Essential Guide to Religious Traditions and Spirituality for Health Care ProvidersThe Essential Guide to Religious Traditions and Spirituality for Health Care Providers. Cancer Nursing Practice, 12(3), 8-8. http://dx.doi.org/10.7748/cnp2013.04.12.3.8.s3

Marriage, H. (2013). Book review: December 2013 The essential Guide to religious Traditions and Spirituality for Health Care Providers Stephen L Jeffers , Michael Nelson , Vern Barnet , Michael Brannigan (eds) Radcliffe Publishing , Milton Keynes pp 1048 Â£120 ISBN 9781846195600. J Health Visiting, 1(12), 717-717. http://dx.doi.org/10.12968/johv.2013.1.12.717

Probst, J. (2014). Health Care Providers In Rural America. Health Affairs, 33(2), 346-346. http://dx.doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2013.1389

Russell, P. (2013). The Essential Guide to Religious Traditions and Spirituality for Health Care ProvidersThe Essential Guide to Religious Traditions and Spirituality for Health Care Providers. Nursing Older People, 25(6), 8-8. http://dx.doi.org/10.7748/nop2013.07.25.6.8.s11

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Contemporary Metaphors for the Kingdom of God

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Contemporary metaphors for the kingdom of God

God’s Kingdom is described metaphorically in most parts of the New Testament. As Tame (2005) pointed out, the metaphors used in the New Testament actually do not relate to the contemporary society. This essay is focused on contemporary metaphors for the Kingdom of God. One particular metaphor or parable is used in describing the Kingdom of God.

The essay discusses how the selected metaphor or parable would have made sense to Jesus’ audience during the first century. The impact and meaning of this message to the original audience of Christ is described exhaustively. Lastly, this essay describes the way in which that same message and impact may actually be communicated in the modern context.

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One particular metaphor that has been utilized in describing the Kingdom of God is the Parable of the Mustard Seed. This parable was taught by Jesus Christ in rhetorical hyperbole. Here, Christ makes use of a tree or shrub growing up from a seed to represent the growth of God’s Kingdom (Daniel 4: 11-21; Ezekiel 17: 23; John 12: 24). The growth of the seed attracts the presence of evil – portrayed as birds (Revelation 18: 2; Matthew 13: 4, 19) – to dilute the church whilst exploiting its benefits.

According to Christ, the heavenly kingdom is analogous to a mustard seed that a person takes and sows. Although the mustard seed is in fact the tiniest of all seeds, when this seed grows, it becomes the biggest of plants in the garden and tree where birds come and rest on in its many branches (Morrison, 2011).

Therefore, the picture that Jesus Christ paints in this parable is that of the lowly initial stages of the church undergoing an explosive growth rate. The church grows very big and later on it becomes a source of shelter, rest, and food not just for believers, but also for false professing persons who want to take advantage of or consume its benefits whilst mixing or residing amongst what the seed produced (Galatians 1: 7; Corinthians 11:13; and 1^st Corinthians 6,7; 5:1).

Put simply, Christ was predicting that despite the fact that the church would grow to become very large from merely a small beginning, it would not remain unadulterated. Even though this is not a disapproval of the big size of modern Christianity, it actually shows the audience the biggest burden which comes with it. This parable serves not just as a prediction, but also as a warning (Morrison, 2011).

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Given that the metaphors used to describe the Kingdom of God in the Bible are out of date, it is not easy for people in today’s society to comprehend what Christ is saying. Nowadays, Bible readers struggle to find the meaning of God’s Kingdom (Tame, 2005). The same meaning and impact of the Parable of the Mustard Seed may be communicated in the contemporary context by using the metaphor of financial investments; that is buying growth stocks.

A growth stock is essentially a share in an organization whose earnings grow at a rate that is above average in relation to the market. Growth stocks generate sustainable and considerable positive cash flow and whose earnings and revenues are projected to increase much quicker in relation to the average company in the same industry (Fuscaldo, 2014).

An investor who invests in growth stocks may start off by purchasing a very small amount of stocks in a growth company and as the company continues to grow over time, so does the investor’s assets in that company. Growth stocks are generally attractive to a lot of investors since they are growing (Fuscaldo, 2014). The revenues and earnings of the investor in growth stocks would increase much quicker than investments in other companies in that industry.

Therefore, after a period of time such as 10 years, the earnings of the investor who initially invested $2,000 would be about $150,000 (Fuscaldo, 2014). However, there are challenges for instance the company’s stock price may decline later on and the investor’s earnings reduce. These challenges or risks are comparable to how the church would not remain pure.

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The changed metaphor from the Parable of the Mustard Seed to the metaphor of investing in growth stocks is faithful to the teaching of Christ on God’s Kingdom whilst changing the metaphor for the audience in that my contemporary audience members will easily understand how the Kingdom of God grows. It starts small like a little financial investment in growth stocks of a company that grows slowly but steadily and after some years, the investment will increase into a substantial amount of money for the investor.

Put simply, just like financial investments in growth stocks, God’s kingdom has small beginnings; however, its growth is gradual but certain. This updated metaphor is especially suited to today’s audience members since many people nowadays tend to buy stocks in companies as a better way of investing their money rather than just saving them in banks and earning annual interest on their savings.

The metaphor conveys to my audience members the traits of the Messianic Kingdom of God as modelled and taught by Christ since it illustrates how God’s kingdom is comparable to buying growth stocks; has humble beginnings but eventually grows into a big thing.

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Conclusion

To sum up, Christ using the mustard seed parable to his audiences was describing the kingdom not simply as a seed, but as the tiniest seed. He was not explaining to the audience members a kingdom which comes in a conflagration of glory – Jesus basically described a kingdom which starts really small. This is not what was expected by the Jewish people at the time, but it was the kingdom of God which Christ stated was forthcoming.

On the whole, the kingdom of God is a narrative regarding slow growth. The meaning and impact of the mustard seed parable could be conveyed in contemporary context using the metaphor of investing in growth stocks; humble start but steady increase. Companies with growth stocks grow at a comparatively faster rate than other companies.

References

Fuscaldo, D. (2014). 5 characteristics of good growth stocks. Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

Longenecker, R. N. (2012). The challenge of Jesus’ parables. Boston, MA: Eardmans

Morrison, M. (2011). The Present and Future Kingdom. Grace Communion International.

Tame , K. (2005). And finally…the kingdom of God is like this… Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

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Healing Hospital: A Daring Paradigm

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Healing Hospital: A Daring Paradigm

Healing hospitals are composed of three key components including a culture concerning radical loving care, the integration of technology and work design and a healing physical milieu. Spirituality, on the other hand, is a person’s identified experience or religion in relation to their realism. The philosophy of the healing hospital, therefore, integrates the physical body with the spirit of the person and the spiritual mind in order to provide the best health care possible.

A physical healing environment provides health care to the spirit, body and mind. This starts with an appropriate culture where the related professionals need to contain a servant’s attitude, action, recognition and the key beliefs of empathy for the patient in meeting the patient’s spiritual and emotional needs (Chapman, 2010). Technology plays an important role in the provision of care as it facilitates better access to tutelage to the patients and increased time availability in order to address the spiritual and mutual needs of the patients as well as better interventional treatments and diagnostic to treat both the body and the mind (Chapman, 2010).

Furthermore, the design of the facility takes into consideration the three core components of an individual. The design needs to allow protection and privacy, promote the complete wellness of a person and to offer easier access for the patients. These components are significant in facilitating the treatment of the body, mind and the spirit.

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The key challenge affecting healing environments is to bring the entire medical unit under the thorough concept of healing within hospitals. Healing environments within hospitals are also challenged by spirituality and cynicism, leadership, bureaucracy, business and economics. The notion of incorporating spiritual causes a form of conflict from what health care professionals think and reason. Cynicism affects the healing environments since some people do not believe in the significance of improving the conditions of health care systems or that they do not assist in promoting quality health care services (Chapman, 2010).

In the past, the society was made to believe and taught that spirituality, which is also defined under religion, was to be separated entirely from the workplace. Furthermore, the health care system has transformed within the American economy by occupying a rather large portion of the national gross domestic product. The government and health care businesses need to focus on the profitability and cost to keep the shareholders contented as well as the access to health care viable.

The effectiveness of this perspective is that it would lead to quicker discharges, improved patient to nurse ratio and tight hospital budgets (Chapman, 2010). Patients end up spending huge amounts of cash in accessing care, which influences the healing process of patients. Therefore, health care facilities and hospitals are sometimes faced with huge budget constraints that may lead them to choose between equipment and treatment that offer emotional care and spiritual care (Chapman, 2010).

The Biblical perspective also supports the philosophy of healing hospitals. Such can be identified in the book of Jeremiah chapter 33 verses 6. This specific passage involves the health and healing of individuals by enabling them to be happy and enjoy abundant security and peace in their lives (American Bible Society, 2010).

Therefore, it is evident that the healing hospital concept is supported by this passage. Care givers are responsible for facilitating the healing process through the patient’s spiritual, emotional and physical aspects, which provides them with a sense of peace and security (American Bible Society, 2010).

In conclusion, the success of a healing hospital can only be actualized through the incorporation of the three components and by overcoming the plausible challenges and barriers. Healing hospitals focus on the needs of the patient and the provision of environments that promote the healing process.

This philosopher not only centers on the healing process of the patient and the related holistic aspects but also the general well-being of their family. Henceforth, all hospitals need to put the integration of the healing hospital philosophy into consideration since it promotes excellent provision of services and compassionate care to patients.

References

American Bible Society. (2010). The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments, translated out of the original tongues and with the former translations diligently compared & revised, King James Version.

Chapman, E. (2010). Radical loving care: Building the healing hospital in America. Nashville, Tenn: Erie Chapman Foundation

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Global North and South Essay Paper

Global North and South

Introduction

The element of the Global North and South are currently in a phase of change that is considered to be growing further from the loving and real relationship with God. This has seen the North and South turn out to be a religion closer to what Christ had initially intended for the Church. In the North, there is a rise in individualism, an ideology that is has consequently forgotten the element of sin in religion, thus substituting the grace of God for self-knowledge (Johnson & Sun Young, 2014).

As a result of this, Christ’s mission of global salvation has turned into self-help, thus contrary to the mission of Christ who was to be a Christ of faith and who commended the concretization of cultures in order to transform their destructive tendencies. This clearly denotes that the objective of evangelization was directed towards seeking life-giving aspects in these cultures with the aim of giving flesh to the vision of the gospel of peace, reconciliation, compassion, love and justice.

North and South Growing Together: The Differences It Makes

The establishment of a Christian life and message in relation to the context of cultural living is not considered as clear, thus making its manifestation inappropriate within different cultural contexts. Christian traditions are structured on the traditions of Jesus; however, this is jeopardized by the errors of man in effectively carrying these traditions and teachings without the interference of personal characteristics that soil the word of God (Johnson & Sun Young, 2014). This depicts the fact that man is not in a position to carry out the will of God without the guidance of His Spirit, with this explaining the fact that the global south has failed in recapturing the themes and trends of early Christianity.

The primary themes that the church in the global north and south need to learn are deeply rooted in Pedro Arrupe’s statements that necessitated the need to ensure that faith in Christ is only achieved through concretizing the gospel within the existing cultures in order to transform the destructive tendencies of these cultures (Johnson & Sun Young, 2014).

This requires an exploration of the changing religious aspects, faith identities and cultural aspects of the north and south. This is attributed to the fact that the incarnation of Christian life and the message within different cultural contexts finds a principle that animates, unifies, directs, and transforms cultures with the aim of recapturing the themes and trends from the early history of Christianity.

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The primary themes and trends which the churches of the global South have recovered and that the churches of the north can learn from include the changes experienced in incorporating the Gospel of relationships and love in their ways of life. This is considerably essential in achieving the missionary work that Christ begun, that was significantly centered on the prospects of love and relationships in restoring the relationship between man and God (Johnson & Sun Young, 2014).

Traditionally, the Southern religious aspect depicted as Liberation theology was considered as normative in the manner in which the exercised their religious beliefs. However, the advent of Pentecostalism has seen the southern religious sects resorting to the reading of the Gospel with an application that determines how to live it. As a result of this, a reformation to the lost themes and trends of Christianity are being restored, an aspect that is turning to be a religious trend in the northern Churches.

Conclusion

In consideration of this, it is important to ascertain that the Global North and South are currently experiencing changes that are considered to be growing towards recapturing the themes and trends from the early history of Christianity. This is embedded in the global southern Churches efforts in the body of Christ that is currently being spurred by the Spirit in ensuring that the modern cultures adapt to the Christian ways as established in the history of Christianity.

References

Johnson, T. M., & Sun Young, C. (2014). Tracking Global Christianity’s Statistical Centre of Gravity, AD 33-AD 2100. International Review Of Mission, 93(369), 166-181. Retrived From: http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=13991642&site=ehost-live

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The spiritual assessment tool

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The spiritual assessment tool

Spiritual Needs Assessment

The spiritual assessment tool is part of a holistic approach to addressing the needs of the patients. Ideally, the personal beliefs of a patient can play a vital role in incorporating coping strategies and limiting the negative implications of depression. Currently, healthcare plans implement psychosocial resources in addressing the needs of patients. Mainly, oncology patients tend to spend an extended time with the nurses and doctors; therefore, there is a need to ensure that their accommodation is as comfortable as possible (McSherry & Ross, 2010).

The spiritual assessment tool can be customized depending on attributes such as age, gender, and ethnicity. Analyzing the implications of the instrument will ultimately enable doctors and nurses to improve care management. The following questions were developed and the conversation between the interviewer and the patient documented. Furthermore, the patient was an adult male cancer patient in the late twenties, of African American ethnicity.

Part I: The Interview

Interviewer: Are there any spiritual beliefs that help you to interpret the role and meaning of life?

Patient: Yes there are. I believe that every man has a part to play in balancing earth’s ecosystem. Some people have minor roles, and others have major ones; however, each is equally important. God’s will is that people share the gifts they have with each other and with their environment.

Interviewer: Does your family have a religious background?

Patient: My father is of the Catholic faith. My mother is a Christian, a Protestant. I never really understood what she is protesting about

Interviewer: Do you have any personal religious convictions?

Patient: Yes I do. I believe the blood of Jesus can save lives and souls. Of course, I don’t mean a literal approach, but I am convinced that my life is spent well if I live reflecting on the teaching of the Bible.

Interviewer: Do you believe that aspects of your spiritual life have physical manifestations on your health?

Patient: Yes. The devil came to steal, kill and destroy. Naturally, that implies harm on my physical body. However, I can face adversity because I know I am not alone. Jesus hears my prayers and will deliver me from this affliction one way or another.

Interviewer: Are there any specific attributes about spirituality that provide an anchor in times of distress?

Patient: Christianity is about submitting to a higher purpose. God has good plans for me, therefore, if harm comes my way it is all part of God’s plan. Maybe the Lord wants to display his strength, and I just have to trust him, or my pain is somehow supposed to be a testimony for someone else who is suffering. The Lord works in mysterious ways.

Interviewer: Are there any resources from your spiritual history that you would prefer to be incorporated in your treatment plan?

Patient: Yes. Kindly notify my family to bring my Bible and study book. Also, I would prefer to connect with my local church ministry through social media, television, or radio. There is a prayer and fasting revival that is to begin next week, and I would not want to miss it despite the pain.

Interviewer: Are you concerned about any medical procedures that may assist or interfere with your spiritual convictions regarding your treatment?

Patient: Please do not give me any medicinal marijuana. I am not supposed to consume any hallucinogenic substance. Also, I would have to skip lunch starting from next week since that is when the prayer and fasting revival begins.

Part II: Analysis

The spiritual assessment tool provided crucial insight on the patient’s current mental state. Mainly, the patient’s spirituality seemed to offer effective coping strategies since there were minimal signs of depression. The patient was very cooperative and open about his spiritual preferences and how they manifest in medical perspectives. However, in future, some of the questions will be modified to prevent introducing aspects that interfere with the treatment process.

Especially, the question reflecting on the spiritual resources that can be implemented in the treatment plan tends to invoke a controversial response; therefore, it will be modified as a suggestion as opposed to the indication that the resources can indeed be incorporated despite their negative influence on health dynamics.

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The patient answered all the questions asked. However, he appeared to have a limited attention span which may be affected by pain associated with his condition. As such, his response was very slow. Interactive communication strategies that sustain active engagement can be used in future in anticipation of challenges when the patients are required to respond (Katz, 2015). Additionally, a more open approach should be applied on a general basis since some patients may not have any spiritual affiliations. For instance, the first question can suggest to the patient that he or she has the right to refuse involvement in the conversation by incorporating terms like ‘May I ask about your religious orientation?’

The spiritual exercise facilitated a healthy interaction between the interviewer and the patient, enabling documentation of attitudes towards the current condition. Therefore, physicians and nurses can anticipate certain reactions from the patient during the treatment program. For instance, suggestions of medicinal marijuana to minimize pain and strain due to chemotherapy should not be made to ensure that the patient does not lose confidence in the treatment.

The illness had a consistent implication on the patient’s spiritual needs. The interviewee believed that Jesus would aid him in his times of need; therefore, more pain or distress required additional religious influence as an anchor. The spiritual assessment tool identifies holistic resources that should improve the patient’s experience. In scenarios whereby the interviewee does not have any religious or spiritual convictions, the physician can focus on whether the patient believes he or she has some purpose in life.

In conclusion, the spiritual assessment tool enables patients, nurses, and doctors to develop effective communication strategies. The nurses can monitor changes in behavior and offer timely intervention to prevent cases of depression (Christ, Messner & Behar, 2015). Ultimately, a patient’s psychological and social orientation should provide a support system that should be applied in the treatment strategy. Additionally, since the placebo effect proves the physiological benefits of belief, the benefits of the spiritual assessment tool should be prioritized.

References

Christ, G. H., Messner, C., & Behar, L. C. (2015). Handbook of oncology social work: Psychosocial care for people with cancer.

Katz, A. (2015). Meeting the need for psychosocial care in young adults with cancer.

McSherry, W., & Ross, L. (2010). Spiritual assessment in healthcare practice. Keswick, England: M & K.

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Spiritual Disciplines

Spiritual disciplines

Spiritual disciplines form a natural component of the Christian life. In fact, nearly nothing of any importance in Christian lives can be achieved without it. Spiritual disciplines can be illustrated as deeds that enhance spiritual growth and allow people to grow to spiritual maturity. Moreover, the course of spiritual growth and development commence the moment an individual meets the risen Christ and draw closer to Him for salvation.

Spiritual disciplines play a significant role in the growth of an individual inner being, which has been altered by Christ at salvation. In addition, redeemed believers have experienced the full regeneration of their entire person from within, concerning variation in notion, feeling, and disposition that might be unhurried to manifest in their external deeds (Daniel, 2015).

There are several spiritual disciplines that individuals apply and have shown immense capability in changing their lives. The common spiritual disciplines applied by individuals include prayer, fasting, scripture reading, worship, and service. Since I received salvation and decided to devote my life to Christ, I have been applying various spiritual disciplines in my daily life to assist in my personal development.

The first spiritual discipline that I employ involves the Word of God and comprises the reading, study, memorization, and meditation of scripture. These spiritual disciplines have played a noteworthy role in my personal development, and as Daniel notes if these spiritual disciplines are ignored, there is no other effort to control ourselves that will be successful because we merely do not possess the power to prevail over the opposition of the sin nature in which our new natures dwell.

In addition, we do not have the power to triumph over the resistance of demonic pressures whose plan is constantly to disconnect us from the single source of spiritual growth, the Word of God. Scripture memorization has also been an essential component in my spiritual life. I usually do scripture memorization twice a week, especially during the evening before I go to sleep. Daniel argues that individuals have been offered the free will to select what they want to put in their minds, thereby making scripture memorization important in human lives.

Moreover, since Christians believe that the Bible is the Word of God they are called upon to memorize it as it facilitates Christians to keep it always in the front of their minds, which makes it possible for them to react to all life situations according to its teachings (Daniel, 2015).

The other spiritual disciplines that I have applied in my life include prayer and fasting. Daniel proposes that prayer has the ability to transform people’s viewpoint and further adjust what they look from others. Moreover, prayer changes how people react to predicaments. Prayer is a great source of spiritual growth for me and I usually pray in the morning when I wake up and in the evening before I sleep. Conversely, whenever I want to attain a larger spiritual objective I fast. Since it is possible to fast from pleasures, such as social media or any other activities that convey fulfillment and happiness, I desire to focus my fasting from food, and I fast mostly two or three days (Daniel, 2015).

Common temptations

The major challenge of being a Christian is the temptations we face each day, but resisting temptation is the essential component of every Christian’s life. Christian temptations differ in various aspects, however they can be tempted, and stand firm. Personally as a Christian, I often face temptations on a regular basis, but refusing to accept the temptation is what allows me to succeed and grow spiritually. In spite of standing firm, I often face temptations that tend to have an influence on my spiritual life.

The temptations that I commonly face include overuse of electronic and social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, video games, and television. This is the temptation I face on regular basis and find it not easy to oppose, but since Christians posses the internal strength to counter temptations if they turn to God, this always constitute part of my appeal when I am praying to God (Presbyterian Mission Agency, 2012).

Blind spots and weaknesses

Everyone has blind spots in their discernment that keep them from seeing the certainty about others and themselves. Since people are at times blinded to truth, they are powerless and crippled by blame and disgrace, rage and bitterness, and fear and worry. Several people live unnecessarily in defeat, powerless to their own faults or the faults of others. Moreover, they stagger around in life with blind spots blocking the work God wants to do in them.

Nevertheless, it should not be this way since regardless of how broken or upset, each person can find out the way to healing, optimism, and a pleasant new way of living. On the other hand, people always feel they have a weakness that affects their capacity to do bigger things. In fact, in the Bible, Paul felt similar way; however, he utilized his weakness to have great impacts on other people (Arterburn, 2015).

As a devoted Christian I try very hard to live a life that is in line with the Christ teachings, however I have identified some blind spots and weakness that drags me back. The stubborn resistance is the blind spots that have an influence on my spiritual life. Arterburn argues that stubborn resistance is when people develop practices and inhibitions that they do not consider of letting go.

People often hurt themselves and those around them, thus allowing things to worsen in almost every area of their lives. Furthermore, rather than searching for ways to get rid of these blind spots, people refute that they have a problem. Nevertheless, in my case I have discovered that willingness is essential in overcoming stubborn resistance, although it is not very easy to overcome the blind spot in a moment or a day, but the realization that I have a problem is a greater step towards conquering the blind spot.

Conversely, I have recognized that there are weaknesses that have an immense effect on my Christian life. Blame shifting tends to have an influence on how I react when things do not occur as I have anticipated, especially things done in a group. Morally, everyone has a weakness, but it is when we accept where the weaknesses are that we are more likely to prevail over them. Therefore, in my case since I have understood in which circumstances that I am more likely to shift the blame, then I will be more watchful and ask for God’s assistance, when I find myself in that situation (Arterburn, 2015).

References

Arterburn, S. (2015, January 28). 5 blind spots blocking god’s work in you. Retrieved January 31, 2017, from http://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/5-blind-spots-blocking-god-s-work-in-you.html

Daniel, D. (2015, January 9). 5 Spiritual Disciplines that Will Change Your Life. Retrieved January 31, 2017, from http://www.crosswalk.com/faith/spiritual-life/5-spiritual-disciplines-that-will-change-your-life.html

Presbyterian Mission Agency. (2012, March 18). Spiritual practices and disciplines — spiritual formation — mission and ministry — Presbyterian mission agency. Retrieved January 31, 2017, from https://pma.pcusa.org/ministries/spiritualformation/disciplines/

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The Holy Spirit: Book Critique

The Holy Spirit

Book Critique

Bibliography Entry

MacArthur, John F. Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship. Thomas Nelson Inc, 2013.

Summary

The book by MacArthur is very resourceful to Christians and leaders seeking to be effective in their ministries and in their personal growth in Christ. The book has three chapters, each delving in different topics, addressing the need for Christians to understand the immense power of the Holy Spirit. In the first chapter, the author states how Christians in several parts of the world have been faking their understanding of the working of the Holy Spirit.

Others use their position to swindle and steal from unsuspecting listeners using the language of generosity and faith.[1] He says prosperity is not a gospel but a heresy.[2] The author says that the Holy Spirit is already churning the Church through mighty revivals and it requires Christians to discern the times and workings of the Holy Spirit in their midst.

In the second chapter, the author states the importance of speaking in tongues as a sign to the Israelites and as a transition to the new covenant from the old.[3] The use of tongues should be orderly and only for edification purposes and not for spiritual ecstasy. The author strongly reinstates the need to have faith in praying for the sick, whose healing should depend on the faith of their intercessors, not theirs.

The author in the third chapter brings several themes into light. First, the author highlights the dangers of counterfeiting the working of the Holy Spirit, stating that it is vital to have a true understanding of the Holy Spirit in worship. The Holy Spirit is God, whose presence in a person should result in a greater spiritual experience.

The Holy Spirit has the ability to secure a person’s salvation, but some charismatic Christians ignore this wonderful ministry of the Holy Spirit. The author states that it is important for believers to be filled continually with the Holy Spirit in order to offer effective worship to God and to be fiery in their ministries.[4]

Critique

The works of MacArthur highlights several problems encountered in the Christian faith worldwide. The author is concerned with the low level of spirituality in the church; and how some ministers have reduced the message of salvation to personal gain. The author’s arguments on the working of the Holy Spirit resonates the need for the church to awaken and rediscover the power of revival, prayer, worship and evangelism.

I agree with the author’s analyses of several theatrics present in the church such as false tongues, false miracles, prosperity gospel, and use of the pulpit for personal gain. It is imperative for the minister to understand their call and adhere to their master’s command, the Holy Spirit, in their daily activities.

The author has also stated how important it is to speak in tongues; genuine tongue that leads to edification of the person. This is the most abused practice in the church according to the author, and amounts to mockery of the highest order to the Spirit.

The fact that many Christians do not understand the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives in terms of His plans for their salvation also highlights the need for Christians to seek for a deeper understanding of the Holy Spirit. To sustain the great revival and to keep the Spirit fire burning, Christians will have to safeguard themselves from false doctrines and practices and lean to the pure word of God.

Evaluation

MacArthur reinstates the perpetual need for revival in the body of Christ in his book. Since the beginning of the 19^th century, the church has experienced mighty revivals by the Holy Spirit seeking to change the static nature of the church to a vibrant one. The notion of being filled with the Holy Spirit and speaking in new tongues is a part of Christian experience that the mainstream churches have ignored for a long time.[5]

The Holy Spirit has immense ability to work in the current church in an even mightier state than the ancient church; something that has been plagued by the inability of the church to recognize His power and the need to yield under His authority. The Holy Spirit is a prerequisite for the successful operation of the church, which Jesus promised to send, without which we cannot be effective in ministry.[6]

George Smeaton in his book The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit reiterates how this third personality of God has been working with humanity since the time of Enoch. The Holy Spirit is the finisher and effecter of the purposes and plans of God. However, the reason why the church has remained dormant for a long time is due to lack of understanding of the Holy Spirit and yielding to the spirit of confusion.

The church is at the edges of societal centrality due to entertainment of ungodly doctrines by ministers and congregation as well. Christians must learn to test the spirits to know which is from God in order to avoid deception.[7] God gave several people in the Old Testament the Holy Spirit in order to do specific tasks, requiring wisdom, courage, extreme strength, and skills.[8] Therefore, the infilling with the Holy Spirit is a requisite for effective spiritual experience in Christianity and realization of greater purpose. The author’s analogy of the works of the Spirit reflects the works of other authors as an imperative entity.

Works Cited

MacArthur, John F. Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship. Thomas Nelson Inc, 2013.

Smeaton, George. The doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2016.

Synan, Vinson. The century of the Holy Spirit: 100 years of Pentecostal and charismatic renewal, 1901-2001. Thomas Nelson Inc, 2012.

Thiselton, Anthony C. The Holy Spirit–in biblical teaching, through the centuries, and today. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2013.

[1] MacArthur. Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship. Thomas Nelson Inc, 2013. Pp. 10.

[2] Ibid, pp. 16.

[3] Ibid, pp. 143.

[4] Ibid. pp. 204

[5] Synan. The century of the Holy Spirit. 1901-2001. Thomas Nelson Inc, 2012.pp. 1

[6] Smeaton, George. The doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2016.pp. 60

[7] MacArthur. Strange fire. Pp. 38.

[8] Thiselton, Anthony C. The Holy Spirit–in biblical teaching, through the centuries, and today.Pp. 04

Miracles Witness Report

Miracles

Witness Report

The person I chose to share the gospel with is my friend Allyson Sy and we met at Starbucks Coffee on Feb. 7, 2017 at 4:00 pm because she was feeling down. This is why I shared the gospel to her that has a message about miracles. When I read the gospel to her which is John 2:1-11, she was skeptical of the part when Jesus turned water into wine because, according to her, there is no such thing as a miracle. Hence, she said that it never happened, but after some time, she began to open her mind to the possibility.

I did not allow her doubt to discourage me because I gave examples of little miracles that happen in daily life. For instance, how a person feels relieved after praying if she has been feeling unloved and lost. That miracles do not always happen in big crowds like the wedding in Cana at Galilee. That event had to happen because there were a lot of people and it was a banquet that symbolized the messianic era. There was also the faith of a mother in her son because all she had to do was tell Jesus there is not enough wine and he did the miracle.

If someone who does not self-identify as a Christian hears about this story, he or she might even laugh at me. Since Allyson is my friend, despite her skepticism, she continued to listen to my explanation. Meanwhile, I was also very careful not to make her feel that I am imposing anything to her. I have had experiences where people have become defensive of their beliefs because someone provoked them to. By making Allyson feel that I do not condemn her for not being a self-identified Christian, her reaction was lighter. And out of curiosity, she started to ask questions.

She wanted to know why his disciples did not believe Jesus’ ability to perform miracles. What happened at the wedding proved them wrong and they started to believe in him because that was clearly not a coincidence. They had no wine at first and Jesus filled 6 jars that held 30 gallons each. The disciples did not believe Jesus at first because they have never met anyone like that before and blasphemy was very common during that time. In the same way, Allyson thought I was being foolish, but she eventually opened her heart.

This is an encounter that I will not forget because it gave me a chance to open someone’s doors to the reality of miracles. Especially because that person is one of my good friends. I also related Jesus’ experience to how people doubt a leader at first until he or she proves them wrong. Jesus and his disciples can be compared to a group of friends who have been through a lot, got lost, and needed a credible leader to clear their path. This is something that can happen to a person, a company, or a peer group. There is always someone who has to take the lead so that everyone is safe.

After I talked to her about it, she gained more insights about life and why people tend to admire someone they can look up to. Since we still had time, I invited her to pray with me and told her that I will lead the prayer. She agreed because, since the does not self-identify as a Christian, she is not good with spontaneous prayers. I recited a prayer of thanksgiving and related it to the experiences we had. It was a 3-minute prayer that was enough to let her feel the power of prayer. She thanked me for the experience because it is not every day that she will encounter someone like me, and we happily ended our meeting.

Source:

Gospel reading – John 2: 1-11

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Spiritual Discipline

Spiritual discipline

Spiritual Growth Plan 2

Spiritual discipline is imperative for any Christian with a strong quest to live a fulfilling godly lifestyle and achieve the optimum outcome from his faith. It has been part of my weekly practice to adhere to a spiritual discipline plan for the aim of inculcating a consistent godly lifestyle and avoiding all manner of temptations. This study provides a brief evaluation of the achievements I attained while implementing the plan, how I overcame temptations and the plan I shall use for the next twelve months.

Spiritual Discipline Evaluation

In the entire week while implementing the spiritual discipline plan, I came to realize the importance of having a consistent personal relationship with God. Spiritual discipline highlighted to me the beauty of staying attached to the creator of all and learning many things that the Holy Spirit has to offer to all that are thirsty for Him. My spiritual discipline plan entailed two activities, which were journaling and a scripture taking. Each day I allocated an hour of prayer and reading the Word every morning and evening with a quest of making it my personal habit. It was difficult to adhere to the schedule as I was used to the normal routine of waking up and preparing for other activities.

Putting God first ahead of my daily activities has made me realize that I achieve more because He goes ahead of me. In scripture taking, I came across a verse granting the ownership of day and night to Him;[1] therefore, His importance in leading us every day is unquestionable.

I allowed the Holy Spirit to lead me through scripture taking, which enabled me to have a satisfying devotion every day. Although I managed to accomplish the devotions almost daily, some days I slept late and woke up very late making it difficult to have a conducive session. I was able to achieve covering up to nine chapters of the scriptures per day, only skipping devotion on average twice a week.

I spent a considerable amount of time, sharing the scripture with my neighbors and friends during the weekend and in our cell group, which exposed me to more revelations from other brethren. I would make it clear that it was not smooth sailing as exhaustion sometimes made it difficult to attain these goals but God enabled me to achieve them.

I also managed to do journaling every day. Journaling is an activity I personally saw as important since it allowed me to quickly capture insights developed whenever I read the scripture or reflected on the doings of the Lord in my life. Personal reflections and meditations especially after my devotions helped me to grow a deep understanding of the purposes of God in my life.

Every day I sought to record at least five things that I consider a blessing in my life. This helped me to identify what I had taken for granted in my life that God was doing. It is surely surprising to know what the Lord has done by counting one’s blessings one by one. Implementing the first plan was difficult because of lack of personal training into being consistent in implementing the plan.

However, it became easier to implement the plan on a daily basis by developing some discipline in avoiding distractions that would rob me time in the evenings and morning. Some of these activities included staying out late, sleeping late, oversleeping, and watching television until late.

Battle Strategy

The ability to overcome temptations is an important step in achieving long-term goals in life, whether spiritually, academically, economically, or socially.[2] Lack of self-control is a major setback in establishing a thriving spiritual life that is both fulfilling and successful in the pursuit of godliness. The Bible is clear that temptations that come upon people are due to the evil that are accustomed to them.[3]

It is however important to undergo trials as it helps to build perseverance in the life of a Christian. The main temptations I identified before the beginning of my plan was the use of electronics and the social media. I realized I was spending a considerable amount of time watching television and chatting on social media sites. This was detrimental to my spiritual walk and especially being consistent in my devotions and prayer.

During the implementation of my plan, I learnt how to allocate time for my evening and morning devotions by, reducing the time I was using to watch television and accessing social media sites. I placed a lot of priority on my devotions especially in the evening by deciding to do my devotions early before doing other things. Social media can also provide a lot of temptation to a Christian, so I limited the time taken to use the sites. Additionally, I decided to use the sites to promote spiritual matters by sharing Bible verses and evangelism.

I developed the need to draw satisfaction from the social media by interacting with friends and catching up with people I have not met for a long time. Using sites like facebook, whatsapp, and twitter provides a window into getting information concerning what is happening in the society and people’s views concerning them.

However, the devotion plan helped in making me understand the importance of allocating time to build a relationship with God. Although there was some great tendency to veer off the quest to remain spiritual, adhering to the spiritual discipline plan made it easier to overcome temptations.

However, I can also say that the Holy Spirit helped me a lot in realizing this goal as it is not by my strength that I was able to accomplish this. I also drew a lesson from the Bible, which states that we should draw closer to God in order to overcome the temptations that the devil throws at us.[4]

Spiritual Discipline Plan

Reading the scriptures and prayers constitute a very important part of personal devotion. In my devotions, I have learnt to create notes on what I have learnt, and this has helped me in developing personal insight on what the Spirit communicates to me on a daily basis. In my new plan for the next six-month or so, I would like to share with people more about these insights in order to spread the word of God. I have desired to be active in evangelism so that I may lead other people to Christ and help them change their lives.

In order to undertake this new plan, I would like to get involved with some brethren in the church who are consistent in evangelism and become part of them. I believe by surrounding myself with people who have the heart for the lost will enable me reach out to more people with the message of truth and helping them in their daily struggle through sharing of a message of hope. I also need to study the Bible more and my plan shall not rely on my daily devotions but by taking part in Bible studies with my church’s cell group members.

In the next month going forward, I shall aim to lead at least one person to Christ every month, while taking part in church activities that optimally capitalizes on my faith and ability. Having a great intimacy with God can overflow into a personal action and lead to someone reaching out to others as an expression of this intimacy.[5] I believe by putting action into my faith, I shall not only be alive to the working of God in my life but also to hearing from Him even more.

Bibliography

Bible, Holy. “King James Version.” Texas: National Publishing Company(2000).

Campolo, Tony. The God of Intimacy and Action: Reconnecting ancient spiritual practices, evangelism and justice. SPCK, 2013.

Fishbach, Ayelet, and Luxi Shen. “The explicit and implicit ways of overcoming temptation.” Dual process theories in the social mind (2014): 454-467.

[1] Holy Bible. Psalms 74:16

[2] Fishbach, Ayelet, and Luxi Shen. “The explicit and implicit ways of overcoming temptation.” Pp. 02.

[3] Holy Bible. James 1:14.

[4] Holy Bible. James 4:7

[5] Campolo, Tony. The God of Intimacy and Action: Reconnecting ancient spiritual practices, evangelism and justice.pp. 17.