FOUR THNGS I’D DO THE SAME
Turnabout is fair play, especially when I’m involved.My previous post cited “Four Things I’d Do Differently” as I looked back over the decades of my life. Here are four things I’ve done right in life or ministry. 1. I’ve worked at being creative with gifts I’ve...
4 THINGS I’D DO DIFFERENTLY
I'm not trying to browbeat myself through this post. The good Lord knows I've done too much of that in my lifetime. As a vocational Christian leader, husband, and father, I've done some things well and right. But now that I'm 66, I'm reflecting on my life and...
SURPRISED AT SUNRISE
Last in a series on depression and faithIn this series of posts, I’ve zeroed in on emotional pain, and reconciling struggles with faith in a loving God. But not even a melancholy person like me feels gloomy all the time. No, sometimes God provides a serendipitous...
A SPIRIT OF SURRENDER
Eighth in a series on depression and faith For years I begged the Lord to heal me of chronic depression. The initial benefit of anti-depressants had waned. Counseling hadn't alleviated my burden. And God's response to my pleading was silence. I recall the day a...
RAINY DAY REFLECTIONS
Seventh in a series on depression and faith The depression in my spirit mimicked the weather that day: dark clouds and falling rain. A heavy sadness spawned a flow of tears almost as constant as the rain. The pain was relentless: an emotional ache analogous to a...
A BENEFIT OF A DESPONDENT SPIRIT
Sixth in a series on depression and faith Even when emotional pain is not the direct result of sin, it pays dividends in the war against sin. When I’m extremely depressed and prone to fits of weeping, my heart is obviously softer than usual. And it’s during such...
Incarnation
Fifth is a series on depression and faith One essential and Biblical strategy for battling depression is the love and support of friends in the body of Christ. Years ago, during a particularly rough week plagued by despondency, my wife thought I might be suicidal. ...
HOW GOD GETS GLORY – PART 2
Series on Depression and Faith My last post, “How God Gets Glory,” conveyed the ironic truth that our weakness, neediness, or inadequacy provides a grand opportunity for God to receive more honor and praise. Allow me to dissect the concept of God’s glory. The...
How god gets glory
HOW GOD GETS GLORY More than a century before satellites beamed Christian TV programs across the globe, Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892) was a renowned British pastor. Due to the depth and eloquence of his preaching, contemporaries dubbed him the “Prince of...
Misconception about Depression
MISCONCEPTION ABOUT DEPRESSIONFirst in a series on faith and depression During a prayer time in an adult Sunday school class, which I taught, I asked for intercession on my behalf. I had been despondent for weeks: sad, less motivated, emotionally fragile. I wanted...
Can faith and despondency coexist ?
CAN FAITH AND DESPONDENCY COEXIST? Is virile faith in the living God of the Bible inconsistent with bouts of despondency? Not if you base your answer on the profiles of Jeremiah and King David. Jeremiah warned the people of Judah of the consequences of sin, then...
If i were a Christian College Freshman again…3 Things I’d do differently
I began my freshman year of college in the Jurassic era, 48 years ago this month. What if I could start all over, knowing what I know now about life and relationships? 1. I’d write my parents a letter soon after arriving on campus. No matter how imperfect or...
