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Why Christianity is More That Just Spiritual Anti-depressant
Devotional Thought of the Day….
27 God’s plan is to make known his secret to his people, this rich and glorious secret which he has for all peoples. And the secret is that Christ is in you, which means that you will share in the glory of God. 28 So we preach Christ to everyone. With all possible wisdom we warn and teach them in order to bring each one into God’s presence as a mature individual in union with Christ. Colossians 1:27-28 (TEV)
1 You have been raised to life with Christ, so set your hearts on the things that are in heaven, where Christ sits on his throne at the right side of God. 2 Keep your minds fixed on things there, not on things here on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 Your real life is Christ and when he appears, then you too will appear with him and share his glory! Colossians 3:1-4 (TEV)
573 When you are with someone, you have to see a soul: a soul who has to be helped, who has to be understood, with whom you have to live in harmony, and who has to be saved.
I’ve seen a number of blogs that would have you believe that a good Christian, is one who never feels depression or grief during Christmas season. Who because they know Christ, because the Holy Spirit dwells within them, there is no longer any darkness that attempts to consume them, no more doubts, no more pains…..no more tears. As if this world is utopia…
Just happiness, and smiles,
It is as if they believe that Christianity is some kind of spiritual anti-depressant, that allows us to balance out, and that the balance is somewhere on the upside of life. Please hear me – there is a great need for psychiatric medicine, and the balance it can provide to life, it is just that Christianity doesn’t work like that….
This week I am living proof of that.
Between planning 6 services this week, writing sermons that were… emotionally challenging, doing a memorial service, and then having two very good friends in the hospital with potentially life threatening issues (both are dong better now) I am emotionally a wreck. I am not “happy” but very challenged emotionally and spiritually. I am still grieving over some significant losses in my life, and the losses and struggles my friends are enduring. Let’s add into it some physical back pain.
There is a lot of grief, a lot of weariness, a lot of “why God?!!!? (matter of fact, one of my sermons had that name as well!)
Reading someone’s words that say that all good Christians are full of cheer and joy and don’t struggle? Part of me wants to laugh at the silliness/ignorance of such a statement, part of me wants to take the writer through a few hospital wards or skilled nursing facilities I know of, to a mortuary or two, or the homes of people whose family members are in harms way in the military. There are many people of great faith who are suffering, bravely suffering, but are wearing down.
So where does Christianity, where does being a Christian help in such times, if not to provide a lift of emotions, or at least the illusion of such a lift?
It is better than that…. it allows for honesty, and therefore allows for hope.
As you read through the scriptures, there are people with real problems, real trauma, real issues. Some things are external, some are internal like the ravage that sin can do to a soul.
God doesn’t cut them off… he doesn’t tell them to get their act straight. He doesn’t give them some placebo of hope.
He comes and makes His home among us. He dwells with us, in us. He helps us to embrace Him so that we can embrace the hard times with Him. No longer alone, those traumas are one’s we don’t have to hide. We know that we are with Him, and that there is a future.. because He dwells with us, we dwell with Him.
That doesn’t change the situation, but the scars… are that. They hurt badly, they sting, but even so… there is healing on the way….
He is with us,,,,
He is comforting us….
He is providing us peace… even in the midst of the depressing times, in the midst of grief and anxiety and pain….for we dwell in Him.
That is what
This is God, with us…
If you aren’t the one struggling, look around, there are people that are, souls weary and tired, laden with anxiety and fear, and grief….. you can’t change their situation, but you can be there with them… and remind them Christ is present with both of you. That is Christianity as Paul describes it:
12 Let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your troubles, and pray at all times. 13 Share your belongings with your needy fellow Christians, and open your homes to strangers. 14 Ask God to bless those who persecute you—yes, ask him to bless, not to curse. 15 Be happy with those who are happy, weep with those who weep. 16 Have the same concern for everyone. Romans 12:12-16a (TEV)
Know He walks with you… and therefore would meet all you encounter… and share His love with them as well.
Godspeed!
Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 2134-2136). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
The One Who Journeyed for a Promise!
What Child Is This?
The One Who Journeyed for a Promise!
Genesis 12:1-9
† In Jesus Name †
May you realize how the grace of God our Father, the mercy, love and peace revealed to us as we are united to Christ, may you realize how it sustains you on this journey.
Journeys…..
I wonder if there were children among Abraham’s people, if during the journey from UR to Bethel, he heard the ever present phrases emanating from the back of the caravan….
“Are we there yet?”
“Fr. Abraham, cousin Michael is hitting me!”
“Honey, is there a bathroom ahead of us soon? I didn’t have to go at the last Oasis, but now…”
During the journey, there must have been times when Abraham raised his eyes to heaven and said, “Yahweh, you said this journey would be worth it….well – when does it get to be worth it?”
And about that time, someone gets sick…..or there is a flat tire or someone wonders whether the driver is lost, or…or..
Journeys do not always go as we plan. Sometimes they are fun, sometimes not so much. Especially when we forget why we are on the journey, when we forget our destiny.
Ultimately, that is what it is all about…knowing your destiny, and knowing that you aren’t alone on the journey….
Abraham’s Journey
So let’s look at Abraham’s journey first. Imagine the conversations he had with his father, his family and friends.
You are going where?
Who is this God again? How does He speak with you? How are you going to manage there, no friends, no help? Imagine the questions that Sarah had, and Lot.
It’s not easy to pick up everything and go to a destination you don’t know much about, to not even know when you are there! Take my word for it, Kay and I have done this once or twice….
One of the things about Abraham’s life, that fascinates me, is trust in God, when he had no idea of the depth of the plan. The plan was revealed slowly, and the fulfilment of it was always off in the distance. Eventually the promise would be seen fulfilled – but how many years? He knew his descendants would spend time in captivity. He struggled with how an old man would have heirs. Like us, he sinned often, doing things like giving into his fears, and letting his wife be taken by a king. He wrestled with God over the fate of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, He moved here and there, never really settling in one place in the Promised Land. He may not have known hardly any of the points in the journey, but he had a promise, and he knew well the Lord who promised him.
CLICK There is one thing he did, (well besides sinning) that we see here. He set up places where he could worship, places set aside to interact with God. Places to pray, places where Abraham could call on the name of the Lord the passage tells us.
It was a regular part of his life, even before the church, even before the Temple and the tabernacle. Even as his life wasn’t easy, even as he was betrayed and hurt by his nephew, even though he would face small wars… there was a constant.
God’s presence, interaction with God. What we call a relationship, or abiding with Christ.
A relationship where Abraham knew God well enough to trust Him at His word, and to call upon God often. God was part of his life, that’s why Abraham could trust Him.
Even when the trusting in God meant a long hard journey, with a bare visible promise.
Christ’s Journey
We are in Lent, a time to consider Christ’s journey, to understand our need for Him to take that journey, and to wonder at a love so complete for us.
His journey was different. He wasn’t able to take his wealth, or a wife, or anything. He came as a babe, the babe we were singing about 3 months back, asking what child was this.
He probably the only one who chose to go on a long, long journey?
Definitely, He was the only one who took a journey knowing that a destination on the journey was death. A hard, bitterly cruel death, on a wicked, torturous cross,
He knew the promise. The writer of Hebrews tells us that when he was inspired to write.
Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame.
He endured it, he endured the journey, because the cross wasn’t His final destination point. It was simply a place where He did what the Father wanted, a midpoint, a place to take care of things, and put everything to right.
The joy was the destination, not even the resurrection, but 40 days later, as He ascended to the Father. He obeyed, like Abraham finding the strength through prayer, through interaction with the Father. Knowing that the cross wasn’t the end of the promise, but a waypoint. A part of the journey, but not the end.
His focus was what was the promise. The Promise. The Same Promise given to Adam and Eve, and to Abraham, and to Judah, and David, to Isaiah and Jeremiah. His journey was the beginning of the promise. Hear Hebrews again,
39 Not one of these people, even though their lives of faith were exemplary, got their hands on what was promised. 40 God had a better plan for us: that their faith and our faith would come together to make one completed whole, their lives of faith not complete apart from ours. Hebrews 11:39-40 (MSG)
His journey was a “there and back again” journey. He had a pick-up to make. That pick-up – are those who would join Him in the journey. Those who would find life in Him, and start their journey, even as we have.
Our Journey
Back to that quote from Hebrews. The one that talked of Jesus’ focus on the destination the end of the final leg of journey that we call the Ascension. Hebrews tells us:
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. Hebrews 12:1-3 (NLT)
You see His journey was to come and get us, and return us to the Father’s presence. That’s the promise of Abraham’s journey, that every nation would be blessed because of Jesus, the seed of Abraham (his descendant see Mt. 1)
His journey and the promise is about our journey! His destination is ours!
Ours may seem more like Abraham’s at times, and that’s because it is, and well, isn’t. It is because we will sin, and struggle, there will be times of war, and times where others walk away to places like Sodom (Hopefully we don’t forget to rescue them when needed, and intercede and wrestle with God for them as well!)
There will be times where we wonder – “why aren’t we there yet?” and times where we might get lost for the moment. We may still sin and struggle, we may still not find a permanent home, for the destination is still some way off.
The promise is still the promise – we can keep our eyes on Jesus, our champion, the one who brings us into a relationship where we grow in trusting God, in hearing His voice.
For that is where we can be most like Abraham, as we establish our times and places to hear God, to praise Him, to let Him nourish and strengthen Him, even as we look to the promise of His presence.
For He will never leave us or forsake us.
That too is His promise, on this journey of life.
What Child is this? The One who undertook a journey to come and take us on the journey of our lives… the one where the destination is found where we abide in the Father’s glory, the journey where Jesus Christ will guard our hearts and minds, for the journey is taken in His peace… amen?
Use our scars to build Your Church O Lord…
Devotional thought of the day:
Listening randomly to the music on my computer, the last couple of days a song has played, and stuck in my brain. The chorus includes these words,
“use our hands to build your church o Lord, use our hands to build Your church.”
A very good friend recorded the song, and like me, went to a Bible College where we were taught to lead and minister in a manner consistent with Christ’s model. We were called to serve, to sacrifice, not for our own glory, but simply to point people to Jesus. It was held out to us as the way to build God’s church, to do as ROmans 12:1-9 talks so beautifully concerning. Because of God’s incredible living kindness and mercy, present to Him your bodies, to be sacrificed spiritually – for this is the logical way to worship (parker’s paraphrase)
Last night, as Chris and I were side by side, facilitating the worship of our people, I was struggling. A dear friend in our congregation received news that she would have to undergo chemotherapy, not just a course of treatment, but a long haul, to keep at bay cancer. My childhood friend’s dad was in the hospital, possibly having a heart attack (his mom passed away recently) my dad had been taken to the ER. Another friend’s dad, extremely influential in helping me and so many other minister, responded positively despite what most would see as a major setback. As the evening progressed, I found out about others in crisis, and it began to become, well overwhelming.
It is hard to preach on Isaiah 40 when you are crushed. It is hard to preach on casting your cares on Christ, when you almost don’t have a chance for a breath as they come flooding in. Then again, you can’t really know how much God will strengthen you, how much His power is displayed in our weakness, until you really need to know it.
So how does Chris’ song, and all of the suffering work into on theme in this blog?
I was thinking about his song, and our lessons on servant ministry/leadership and about a phrase the influential pastor wrote. God can turn your scars into stars. When all of a sudden, the two morphed into one thought.
Use our scars to build YOUR church o Lord, use your scars to build Your church!
Use our scars to build YOUR church o Lord, use your scars to build Your church!
If we, in presenting our bodies to God to be living sacrifices, to serve and use our talents and abilities to accomplish His will ( 2 Pet 3:9) then He can as well use our anxieties, our illnesss, our setbacks, our crosses our scars.
It takes trust to lay those things down, far more trust than to volunteer to serve a dinner, or sing in the choir, or become a pastor or missionary, or even that incredible sacrifice – a children’s Sunday school teacher ( I am not joking with that btw- I think they are among the greatest of God’s servants) I hate my scars, I even hate more the scars and potential scars I see my people bearing. I would do anything to see them freed from such burdens, and it bothers me when I cannot.
But I see something else at work, for I am seeing God using those scars. I saw my friend, on the day she received such news, come to church and stay for the potluck, her strength an example of the very words from Isaiah. Her husband was one of the men who served that meal, working besides others and encouraging them. I see others, also dealing with issues and anxieties sharing in the same meal. I see a church of broken people, whom God has brought together and lifted up as His church….
And I realized, what I was praying for in my morphing a song and a thought and a phrase, it was already happening…. here.. in our midst. In a glorious-yet tragic-yet inspring-yet full of tears-yet beyond imagination way.
Lord – have mercy on us- bring healing to these lives… and help our unbelief…even as you give us strength, and cause us to rise up on wings as eagles..
AMEN
