Heavenly Cure for Depression

The statistics are staggering.  Every year over that past several decades, more and more people, both young and old, are diagnosed with various forms of depression.  The prescription drug industry has ballooned into one of the largest in the world.  The truth is, depression has permeated throughout our culture that if you are not or have nto dealt with depression personally, you certainly have friends and loved ones who have.

Depression, the whole ordeal of being depressed, is a introspective endeavor.  One becomes so engulfed with themselves that a deep, dark lens of discouragement and apathy falls like a pall over his or her life.  The affect is that the person is left helpless, hampered, and handicapped to live.  And be it self-destruction, self-loathing, seclusion, self-pity, self-love, or at the worst, suicide, a depressed person will inevitably seek refuge from somewhere for relief from their pain.

The answer to such a despondent search is God.  In the end, God and He alone, is the alleviator of depression.  He is love and the Comforter for all our ills.  If we or someone close to us is struggling with depression or the like, the only cure is God.  Although the step to that relief is easy in theory, it can be challenging in execution: humility.  Only when we stop spending all of our time thinking about ourselves and we humble ourselves before the Holy Lord will we be blessed with real relief and actual comfort, straight from the Lord Almighty.

The issue is: what do we do when we are feeling depressed?  The answer is clear and accessible: seek after God, the source of all joy, love, and comfort.  This is not brain surgery but it does take humility on our part.  Only when we fall prostrate before God Himself will we be able to stop looking at the imperfection of ourselves and start looking at that which is perfect: God.  Let us then take this to heart when dealing with such challenging issues as depression and to seek after God to light our paths during the dark times!

Godly Dimples like Golf Balls

An aeronautical engineer once remarked that a perfectly smooth golf ball would not fly further than 130 or 150 yards.  Over a century ago, golf balls were made by stuffing a small leather sack with as many feathers as could fill a top hat.  The feathers were stuffed into the leather pouches boiling hot and as the feathers cooled they expanded while the leather tightened, created a hard, dense ball.  After some time, golfers began to notice that the balls were nearly useless at first, as they would fly erratically off the tee.  However, once the balls had become dented and imperfect, it was discovered that they flew more controllably and predictably.

The golfers got wise and begin to "age" their golf balls before use in order to make them fly better.  The trend continued and modern golf balls are manufactured with between 250-450 dimples.  The dimples drastically improve the aerodynamics of the balls and make their flight paths predictable and useful for the game of golf.  It seems odd to think that it is in fact the perceived "blemishes" and "distortions" on the balls that makes them purposeful at all.

Humans are like golf balls designed by the heavenly ball designer.  He has put certain dimples and, what we would call, imperfections into our design but only to increase our flight paths.  Each of these is for His purposes and, ultimately, our good.  If we could recognize that God desires to use us for a specific purpose and that He has designed us in such a way fitting that purpose, then we will take joy in who we are, knowing that God has made us a certain way for His reasons.

The psalmist writes in Psalm 139 that, "You (God) formed my inner parts, You knit me together in my mother's womb," and "I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Wonderful are Your works and my soul knows them well."  If we remember this reality when scrutinizing ourselves or critiquing our exteriors, we will be able to breath and to thank God that He has created us in His perfect way.  Let us then cling to God, pressing into Him so as to receive His revelation as to what purpose He has created us for!

Treating the Gospel like the Good News it is

A 17-year-old opens the mailbox everyday in hopes of finding that letter, that one letter that could change his very life.  Everyday he opens the box with eagerness and closes it with sorrow at another depressing day without the letter and without relief from his anticipation.  Then, one day, like the hundreds before, there it is.  He pulls the envelope out of the box and breaths it in, opening it with deliberation and exhaling a scream of jubilant release.  From the mailbox, he sprints to his home, almost falling through the threshold as he leaps into the kitchen to yell at his mother across the kitchen: "They accepted me! I'm going to Harvard!"

Good news, like finding out that you're going to Harvard, or going to have a baby, or you've finally been offered the dream job, or the reports are in that the cancer is gone.  This sort of news will always demand to be expressed.  Undoubtedly, the joy of genuine good news will cause us to tell everyone we know because truly good news is nto something to remain hidden, but something to be shared.

The Gospel, the Good News about our Lord Christ Jesus saving all of humanity from sin and restoring a broken relationship with God Almighty, is something that should prompt us to share with everyone.  This Good News is the best news because it means that by faith we can spend eternity in the presence of the Lord.  Therefore, we should be ever-compelled to think of the Gospel at least as amazing as any other possible good news, and should be treated accordingly with the same joyous vigor.

In new believers, those who have recently made a confession of faith in Jesus, this kind of joyful sharing of the Gospel comes naturally and with ease.  Unfortunately, because of stagnant comfortability, the Gospel seems to loose some of its luster and awesomeness in their hearts and they don't share it with as much joy and gladness as news of its kind demands.  Pray that we never cease to think of the Gospel as any less than it is because it is the very power of God.  May we never think of the Gospel as common for it is supernatural and amazing.  In this way, let us seek to praise God for the Good News of His Son to be quick and excited to share it with everyone we can!

Courage in Christ

On a cold early spring day, April 19th, a relatively small band of poorly outfitted militiamen stood behind their worn muskets, facing nearly 1000 well-armed, well-trained Red Coats.  This moment in 1775 would mark the beginning of a war revolutionary for its struggle for freedom from the imposed tyranny taxation without representation and over personal human rights so refused by a detached aristocracy.  Even though the scraggly militia was nearly untrained and badly armed, they stood strong with courage.

The militia men were victorious with their worn muskets and ample courage.  But their victory fades in comparison with the victory we have have through Christ.  This victory is perfect and eternal.  We have merely to come to Christ in faith to draw from His courage stores in order that we may be perfectly courageous in any circumstance.

The biblical model of courage relies on the Lord alone as our source.  For instance, the book of Psalms says that we are to be strong and take heart when we are afraid and to place our strength in the Lord (Psa. 27:1, 31:24, 56:3-4). It is then clear that a christian's courage is derived, not in and of something from within ourselves, but is to be taken from the infinite and eternal well which is our Holy Lord.

Paul in his letter to the Ephesians reminds us that we are like the militiamen at Concord and Lexington facing down our enemy.  But unlike the poorly armed and poorly trained militiamen, we have perfectly formed armor and weapons to fight a battle which is not of the flesh but is if the Spirit.  Therefore, our courage is made sure and secure by Jesus who through the power of the Holy Spirit indwelling in our hearts arms us for every ploy of the evil one.  Let us then draw closer to Him so as to be equipped and courageous for any attack through faith in Christ Jesus!

The Holy Spirit's Help

Life is hard.  It is full of pitfalls and pains lurking around every blind corner like traps waiting to snare  unsuspecting passersby.  And no matter how aware we may be of our surroundings or how deliberate we may be in decision making or how sure we might make every step, from time to time, everyone falls prey to life's cliffs.  Fortunately, believers have an advocate and comforter in the Holy Spirit, who is able and willing to help us step out of the mire and to firmly plant our feet on the solid ground.

Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as the parakletos, the comforter who comes alongside to help.  The Holy Spirit is sent to believers, to help and comfort them in times of need (John 14:15-16).  Additionally, the Holy Spirit teaches and guides believers (John 14:25-26).  When we become His, through confession of sin and faith in His Son, God sends His Holy Spirit to indwell within us so as to guide us in the way we should go as well as to help us in our times of trouble.

God has also provided the sound counsel of His Word.  Paul indicates that Scripture is breathed out by God, by the Holy Spirit, and useful for teaching, reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness in order to equip the man of God for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16-17).  Practically speaking, this speaks to the necessity for believers to not only be in the Word regularly but also to engage with it by applying Scripture's truth to life in real ways.

Lastly, the Holy Spirit helps us through the Church, the body of Christ.  A simple examination of Acts reveals that it was normative and expected for the fellowship of believers to care for each other.  We need to rely on the Lord to help us, and He always does.  More often than not, though, He helps us through human agents.  There are two parts to this equation.  Not only do we need to humbly and honestly ask for help from our fellow believers, but we als need to be ready and willing to help others when the opportunity and the compulsion to do so arises.

At the final analysis, God does not leave us helpless.  He loves us.  Moreover, He, in His omnipotence and omnipresence, is able to help us in every possible situation.  For proof of this, a survey of how God helps may serve our good.  The writer of Hebrews writes that Jesus, because of His humanity, is able to empathize and help believers when they are tempted (Heb. 2:18).  Furthermore, God is our ever-present help, our deliver in times of trouble, our strength and shield, and the bearer of our burdens (Psa. 10:14; 28:7; 33:20; 46:1; 72:12).

Because of this, when we fall off of life's unforeseen precipices, we can and should cry out to God, who is more than able to help pick us up and set us on safely on the track again.  More than being merely able, He is willing.  This is awesome and beautifully comforting.  Praise God that He cares so much for us to help us in our need and distress!

Post-Conversion Christianity

Conversion is not the end of the Christian life.  Quite the contrary, conversion is but the beginning, the birth of a new life in Christ.  Unfortunately, many Christians consider conversion to be the only step with little care for the follow-up steps of the faith.  God does call every believer to come to Him with a child-like faith, a wonder at who He is; however, this child-like faith should not ever be confused or with a childish faith, meaning that we should press on to greater levels of spiritual maturity.

By way of introduction, the foundation of faith is unchanging and sure: Jesus Christ crucified has taken away the wall of hostility that is sin so as to redeem and restore a right relationship between man and God for all eternity.  This is the firm foundation of faith, which undergirds every subsequent step of maturation for believers.

This process of spiritual maturation that arises out of sincere conversion is to be referred to as sanctification.  In essence, this is the continual process for the repentant believer being sanctified through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to become more like the Lord Jesus.  The essential components of sanctification are prayer, worship, fellowship, and study in the pursuit of the Lord; however, the internal root of sanctification is much more guttural.

Two-fold is the practice of sanctification.  First of all, sanctification is not a passive ordeal, meaning that it requires an intentional pursuit of the things of God by believers.  This cannot be overstated.  How are believers ever going to receive the fullness of blessings promised in and fulfilled by Jesus if they are not in a constant pursuit of Him.  Think of a child promised a gift from their grandmother.  If the child never visits the grandmother, they would never receive the gift. Similarly, if we are not in pursuit of the Lord and the things of the Lord, then we will not be positioned to receive the fullness of God's grace.

The second part of this process, which is coupled with the first part, is study, that is, the study of righteousness, meaning the study into the value of and practice of righteousness.  Training in righteousness, the practice of righteousness requires two basic elements: (1) the Word, and (2) Teachers.  The former, the Word, is perspicuous and available to every believer, only requiring consistent reading.  The latter, teachers, necessitates discipleship.  This is logical if we might equate the growth of sanctification with the study of a musical instrument: not only does the student need the materials of study (the Bible), but they also need a teacher to train them in technique so as to encourage their growth (mentors).

At the final analysis, sanctification is not a passive concept received immediately in full upon the moment of belief at conversion.  Instead, sanctification is an active and life-long pursuit of righteousness.  Luckily God has provided believers with resources to guide and to help up in the pursuit and practice of righteousness, namely His Word and teachers of it.  Lastly, because this whole process is based on striving towards God, the Holy Spirit is the prompter who compels and guides sanctification along.

Friends: Gift of God

Friends are a great resource.  They are helpers and supporters who walk beside us, who lift us up when we are down, and who can call us back on track when we have gone wayward. True friendship requires accountability, trust, and reciprocity.  In reality, friendship is a two-way street that obligates both parties to each other in love.

Scripture refers to this friendship as brotherly love and affection, not brotherly in a biological sense, but in a spiritual sense.  Jesus identifies sacrifice as the requisite for this, the highest degree of friendship (John 15:13).  The greatest gift of friendship is sacrifice.  Sacrifice is not limited in scope to martyrdom but encompasses a much broader reality.  The essence of this can be seen in people who give themselves to their friends.

This "giving of self" can be as simple as forfeiting a weekend to help move, as inexpensive as paying for dinner, or as challenging as calling someone out when they're making a mistake.  Brotherly love requires that we would care for one another with a deep affection and consideration that is most concerned with serving the other at the denial of self.

In truth, the joy and worth of friendship is that friends are born for and through adversity (Pro. 17:17), meaning that friends are the human agents God uses to express His love and care for us.  Moreover, friends fulfill the divine purposes of picking each other up and dusting off shoulders when we fall down (Ecc. 4:9-10).  This means that true friends will be there through the thick and thin.

Additionally, our choice of friends, the very people we walk through life with, affects us.  We take on the traits of our friends, good and bad.  This has long-lasting ramifications in our lives.  If we walk in the company of the wise and upright of heart we prove ourselves to be wise and upright too as the converse proves the oposite (Pro. 13:20).  As iron sharpens iron, this works itself out practically in the process of accountability, service, and regular Bible study (Pro. 27:17).

The Lord has given friends for a number of valuable reasons: for encouragement, for reproof, for care, for admonishment, and for accountability, et al.  God wants us to grow into the men and women that He has designed us to be.  He has divinely placed the perfect people in our lives in order to accomplish this purpose.  Take heart at the love that God has lavished upon us in the gift of friendship!

Contentment in Christ

Contentment, the art of being content, refers to an inner state of satisfaction.  It should be understood as an attitude of fulfillment, a posture by which we live our lives.  Christians, like all the world, have times when our contentment is challenged, when our contentment will be pressed and tested.  At these times, when our ability to remain content is tested, how we react can speak volumes of the state and our hearts and the degree of our sanctification.

Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, talks about contentment (Phil. 4:11-13).  For Paul, as it should be for all Christians, Jesus is contentment's true source.  Because contentment is an inner state of satisfaction, when that satisfaction is found in situation, it will inevitably fail because the contentment is based on the whimsy and tenuousness of circumstance.  Simply stated, contentment that is not founded in God will fail because its source is ultimately perishing.

Think of Job.  He stayed obedient and faithful in the Lord's holiness and goodness even though everything was working against him.  In the end, Job couldn't take it any longer and finally cried out to the Lord for relief and explanation.  God replied in force, admonishing Job for His unbelief.  The point is clear: God and not circumstance is to be the source of our contentment.  When we are dependent on worldly situation and provision to content, we will live life on a roller coaster of contentment that is waxing in waning like the tide.  

Instead, the source and confidence of true contentment is fixed firmly in the Lord, in His sovereignty and infinitude.  When our contentment is found in God's nature and holy character, we will always be able to be content because we will be secure in He who is always sure and true.

Life is full of tempests that toss and turn with tumultuous circumstance and stressful situations.  In these times, we need to remain reliant on the Lord and thus we will be able to be content in every possible dilemma and circumstance.  Contentment is to be rooted in the Lord.  When it is, we will find ourselves content and satisfied in all situations.  This is a beautiful and lovely gift from the Lord.  Let us look always to the God of heaven and earth to be the source of our contentment!

Encouraging Encouragement

Encouragement is like a spiritual hammer.  In the right hands it can be useful for building up and for supporting spiritual growth.  But in the wrong hands encouragement can be destructive in its ability to prop up and reinforce bad behavior.  Moreover, encouragement can seem trite and critical if not delivered with sincerity and specificity.  Done flippantly or without self-control, encouragement can affirm bad habits and even have the opposite of its intended effects.

For starters, encouragement should always be encouraging.  This sounds obvious but it is important to note.  When we encourage, our delivery should be gentle and sincere.  In a real sense, encouragement that is not met with kindness will not be encouraging.  How we encourage is often just as important as why.  Encouragement needs to be delivered with grace.  If not, it can be destructive.

The purpose of encouragement is to build up.  Therefore, if our "encouragements" are not prompting growth then we are not encouraging.  Encouragement is not the same as complimenting.  Instead, encouragement acts as affirmation that we are moving in the same direction while inspiring us to continue pushing forward towards a goal.

However, bad encouragement can happen.  When we encourage flippantly or glibly, we can in fact affirm bad behavior and propel people to amplify mistakes.  Like laughing at the obnoxious class-clown, it's only going to encourage him/her to continue to act out in order to elicit a reaction.  It can be seen that encouragement has such a power and should be wielded responsibly, guided by the Lord.

Paul, in many of his epistles, begins his introductions offering encouragements.  In Colossians, he writes that the purpose of his writing was to encourage the Colossian church so that they would continue growing in the faith.  This is the essence of true encouragement: to propel greater devotion and spiritual growth.  Encouragement is one of the major ways that we can help each other grow.

Moreover, Paul exhorts believers to encourage one another (1 Thess. 5:11).  Scripture is clear and unified that God is the true giver and source of encouragement (Psa. 10:17; 55:22; Lam. 3:25-26; 2 Thess. 2:16-17).  Therefore, we should rely on the Lord to guide us so that we will encourage those that need encouragement.  Praise be to God, that He would choose to encourage His people through us!