Facebook Postings 9
by Matthew Cramer
These are the Institute's Facebook postings from May through September 2021. Last quarter, we announced that over 4000 Facebook friends have been excepted. Their growth has recently slowed through acceptance management. There is an upper limit of 5000.
As in last quarter, the postings are considerably longer with more content, in deference to the evolving geographical mix and number of our Facebook friends. This quarter we have continued the introduction of two media technologies to our Facebook page. There is a video posting to ease the day-to-day stress, a multi-talk audio album for spiritual growth, and an article about manhood. The workshops were recorded at our popular Healing Training seminars.
The Cramer Institute of Minnesota
Published by Matthew J. Cramer • September 18, 2021
The Scriptures tell us that creation’s prime-mover is our infinite, loving, all-powerful God. We were created from nothing. Should God withdraw his creating intent, we would return to nothing.
Said another way, we are held in existence from moment to moment by our loving God — when we are happy or sad, descending into the depths of sin, or climbing mountains of accomplishment.
This reality is well worth prayerful study. That God would love and accept us, in the midst of our prideful accomplishments and rebellious depravity is beyond comprehension. Infinite love is the only possible explanation.
To be sure, he does not approve or overlook errant behavior. Yet he does not zap us with a bolt of lightning after six, egregious mortal sins. Instead, he keeps our creation uninterrupted and remains lovingly available to forgive and reconcile, should we offer heart felt contrition and repentance.
But why would God consistently participate in such an erratic process, over 4000 biblical years BC, and another 2000 AD’s after Jesus redeemed us. He supplies the answer himself.
“Moreover, I will make My dwelling among you, and My soul will not reject you. I will also walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.” (Lev 26:11-12 NASB)
“I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You...” (Jn 17:20-21)
He just loves us. He wants us to be with Him, and Him to be with us. He’s been mentoring us, in one way or another, since Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the garden.
At baptism, we receive the new life of Jesus that was delivered at Pentecost. Saint Paul reveals another astonishing surprise: It’s not just a matter of switching an old life A to a new life B — God actually lives within us.
"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?... For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.'" (2Cor 6:19,16)
No more is God’s presence confined to tents in the desert, no more is he locked in a box that's carried with poles, or cloistered behind a huge, thick veil in the temple. The walls of separation have crumbled. God holds us in existence moment to moment, and now lives in you and me — literally.
It’s an incredible revelation. Since we are temples of the living God, it’s probably best we get to know Him better.
The Cramer Institute of Minnesota
Published by Matthew J. Cramer • September 6, 2021
Image by: javipalleiro
The Cramer Institute has just added a new article in our website's Sandbox for spiritual life and growth. Entitled Men and Manhood, it’s written specifically for men, and motivated by the growing number of us who are character wimps and responsibility dodgers. Their uninhibited free will is seriously infecting our culture.
This no-nonsense article presents both causes and recommendations. Links to substantial guidance for leadership, the care of others, the use of authority and power, and spiritual warfare are included.
Here are some excerpts:
"What has happened to manly character strengths such as long-term commitment, respect for women, shouldering responsibility for the results of our actions?"
"The Scriptures reveal that God intended Adam and Eve to execute His mandate as a team."
"Absent immediate penalties and guilt for behavior in these areas, many men are being seduced to indulge in free will to the point of debauchery."
“Jesus defeated the authority granted to the devil by Adam and Eve in the garden.”
"Our culture is collapsing before our eyes. It’s time for men to cast degrading behavior aside and resume their proper role in the culture."
The article can be found in the Sandbox at https://cramer-institute.com/the-sandbox/ or accessed directly at https://cramer-institute.com/men-and-manhood/.
The Cramer Institute of Minnesota
Published by Matthew J. Cramer • June 30, 2021
Twenty years of the Cramer Institute of Minnesota's healing ministry, was recorded on more than 400 cassette tapes of seminars and teachings. Selections of the most popular talks have now been converted to mp3 audio files that can be made available through our website.
They are organized in our Audio Library under 11 categories, including: Blocks To Healing, Christian Management, Deliverance & Spiritual Warfare, Inner Healing, Men’s Issues, Physical Healing, Spiritual Growth, and Women’s Issues.
Ruth Ann always had a soft spot in her heart for women who were suffering from significant traumas. She'd been healed of many traumas herself, so she developed a five-part, one-day seminar for others like her. It was very well received.
In her fond memory, it is fitting that our first audio album would re-present that seminar entitled Healing Women's Deepest Hurts. You can access it through the Sandbox at https://cramer-institute.com/the-sandbox/ , or directly with this link: https://cramer-institute.com/healing-womens-deepest-hurts/
The Cramer Institute of Minnesota
Published by Matthew J. Cramer • May 25, 2021
“...and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.” (1 Cor 12:6 NRSV)
All of us were excited about the gifts of the Holy Spirit in our early days with the Lord, “What did you pray for, what gifts did you get?” We marveled at speaking and singing in tongues, prophecy, healing and so on. Prayer groups, local and national ministries, all using gifts of the spirit, rose up almost overnight.
Some individuals did not experience the gifts right away. They wondered why the delay, what their gift would be, when would it arrive? Many ministries were genuine and produced much fruit. Some were developed from natural talents that were enhanced by the Holy Spirit. Others were false, based on emotions and prideful desires.
The Scriptures reveal that Pentecost has a larger perspective, way beyond the unique gifts of the Spirit. Since the fall of Adam and Eve, God has relentlessly been calling us closer, to be with us. The Old Testament is soaked in versions of, "I will be your God and you will be my people." Yet he had to remain distant — on a mountaintop, in the ark, behind a huge veil in the temple.
Jesus confirms the Father's grand objective in Jn 17:21, "...that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me." It's easy to skip over that prayer as another of Jesus' confounding statements.
But Paul sees something else. Harkening back to Lev 26:11, 12, he makes this astounding declaration, "Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple." (1 Cor 3:16)
The gifts of the spirit are real. They are practiced in different ways, as the Spirit leads. But Pentecost is not as much about gifts. The incredible news is that the whole package moves in — the Holy Spirit and his gifts. The third person of our triune God lives in each of us, guiding our efforts from a full complement of gifts. We are a temple of the living God.
It takes a while for the measure of this to sink in. I think it best to use his gifts wisely and expand our relationship with him.
The Cramer Institute of Minnesota
Published by Matthew J. Cramer • April 20, 2021
Here's another video that struck me with its easy-going humor in these troubled days. The signs are not promising, every day now, it seems like things are getting worse in giant leaps. Day by day, exclusive dependence on the God of our fathers, his son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit is more vital than ever.
The Cramer Institute of Minnesota
Published by Matthew J. Cramer • May 13, 2021
The Sermon on the Mount’s revelations about agape (God’s love) are difficult to accept, then and now. I call the concept Deferent Yielding — yielding our priorities by deferring to the needs of others. At first encounter, the injunctions seem to conflict with free will. And following them, while we are struggling to release the new life planted in us at baptism, seems almost impossible to carry out.
But If I commit my life to Jesus as my Lord, and I stick to a close relationship with him — the prognosis for my spiritual success changes from extreme risk to relatively smooth sailing. Our Lord knows that in order to release our new life, we must conquer a stubborn, demanding and emotional self. He wants it to be a fair fight. So he makes himself available to us 24/7 with love, forgiveness, the Scriptures and the Church — plus many spiritual gifts such as faith, discernment, wisdom, miracles and others that were first revealed at Pentecost. All, free of charge.
If we turn the other cheek after disagreement and offenses, we’ll avoid countless bickering and quarrels. What good are arguments and conflict when you are bathed in the acceptance of Almighty God. Serious threats might arise, but the Holy Spirit is always there to help us discern an appropriate response.
Our Lord mandates forgiveness of others for our own good. It's proper for us to seek justice, yet we are the ones that suffer from unforgiveness. We carry around bags of hurts and offenses that weigh more and more every year. Meanwhile, those who offend us are long gone. It is the Lord, the just judge, to whom we must transfer these hurts. Then, we can be healed and move on, fresh and new — confident in our Lord's promise of ultimate reckoning.
Loving my enemy does not mean surrender or approving bad behavior. It starts with granting him the respect he/she deserves as a human being — loved and held in existence by God, just like me. It invites sorrow that we could have reached this situation in our relationship. And it seeks God's View of the crisis, that will open my mind. Then, I'm able to consider reconciliation, alternate or expanded views while I'm so attached to my perfect position.
Going the extra mile is an attitude of respect, excellence, persistence, and reliability that delivers performance beyond what is required or necessary. It's a demonstration of God's love in everything we do, a signature blessing to the recipients — "that the world may know" (Jn 17:23). To an excess, it can be overpowering, offensive and spoiling. But guided by the Holy Spirit it's an unmistakable blessing.
Admonitions from God can be very precise, "You shall not commit adultery" (Ex 20:14). But others, like the Sermon on the Mount, require ongoing judgment calls. To be effective in these, we need wisdom and discernment. The more of our life that we spend with Jesus as Lord, the easier it becomes. If we want to live with God in heaven, we best start living with him now.
More on Forgiveness is at: https://cramer-institute.com/forgive-or-not/
More on Deferent-Yielding is at: https://cramer-institute.com/life-and-growth/
The Cramer Institute of Minnesota
Published by Matthew J. Cramer • May 8, 2021
This book was featured in our promotions this quarter. The ad is a combination version that keeps all four books in play. A separate combo-ad was developed for each of the four books.
