"SPIRITUAL
SOUL FOOD"
Menu #59 February, 2006
By Michael
King
APPETIZER
I am really excited about what the New Year 2006 will bring.
I've learned over the years that if I want things to be different
there must be a change in me to bring that something about.
Romans 12:9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is eviL
Cling to what is good.
Apostle Paul gives us a rapid fire behavior checklist. It's
not a legalistic checklist by which we judge "good" Christians
from "bad" Christians. It is a list of things by which
we can measure our own personal standards, our own personal behavior
and our own personal growth. It is a list to help us to grow,
to add new Godly behavior to our lives, and to help rid us of
behavior that don't comply.
In chapter 12 he opens by urging us to be "living sacrifices" for
God and to use our Godgiven spiritual gifts to serve the Lord.
He cuts to the chase, and follows with a nononsense list of behaviors
that are befitting of a "living sacrifice". (Romans
12:921):
Let love be without hypocrisy -
True love is not selfish, it is not done to benefit "self';
it is done to benefit others without expectation of repayment
or reciprocation. Things done in love are without hidden agendas
or strings attached (iCor 13.413)
Abhor what is evil Hate - sin.
Why? Because sin is opposite of the God who created you (Prov
6.1619), and the Savior who died for you. Sin destroys lives.
Sin causes people to go to hell for all eternity (Col 3.25; John
5.29). Sin is the reason for almost every pain, hurt, disappointment
and regret. Don't just have a negative opinion of sin.., hate
it!
Cling to what is good - To "cling" is
to put forth an active effort to keep hold of something. Reach
out and hold on to what is good. Even when the world and popular
opinion make it difficult, don't let go of what is good. You
have to work hard to hold on to good. The spiritual forces of
darkness are relentlessly trying to pull it from your grasp (Eph
6.12).
Be kindly affectionate to
one another with brotherly love - Another
act of selflessness is by showing love towards other, being affectionate
and compassionate... this separates the Christian from the rest
of the world who are mainly looking out for themselves. This
love should be without favoritism, not based on looks, talent
or wealth (James 2)
In honor giving preference
to one another - The world would have
you to believe that you must look out for yourself first. As
Christians, we honor others over ourselves. We prefer the well
being of the other person first. This is so completely opposite
of the world, that it becomes a distinct identifying trait of
Christianity.
If we are ever going to be good Christian examples, then each
and every one of us must read, study, learn and live the word
of God (Hosea 4:6).
"Hypocrites
don't make good Christian examples; examples are made from
good hypocrites!"
Michael
"SPIRITUAL
SOUL FOOD"
DEALING WITH DEPRESSION
I do not have a better definition of depression than the one
given by the National Association for Mental Health: "Depression
is an emotional state of dejection and sadness, ranging from
mild discouragement and downheartedness to feelings of utter
hopelessness and despair."
Sooner or later all of us know what it means to
be depressed. Almost every person, somewhere between birth and
death, will come to terms with depression. Although there seldom
is a single cause for depression, stress is a major source.
Stress results from pressure, conflict, strain, or just plain,
old physical exertion. It is one of the forces we have to learn
to live with in today's world, and depression is one of the body's
ways of dealing with stress.
Neurochemistry is another factor in depression.
When a person's neurochemicals and neurohormones are out of balance,
he or she is likely to experience depression. This kind of depression
may be linked with periods of very expansive or manic behavior.
This is what we sometimes call manic-depressive illness bipolar
disorder or borderline disorder.
Because it is linked to a person's neurochemistry, medication
controls this kind of depression very well. You would attempt
to restore normal liver, heart, or kidney functions through medication,
so why would you want to discriminate against a medical problem
with your brain? The brain is the organ of the body your spirit
needs most to be healthy, so be careful to provide it with the
medication it needs to serve you in a healthy way.
There are ways to know whether depression is bipolar or circumstantial.
If there's no crisis or grief or loss in your life, you can write
off circumstances as a cause of your depression. Also, people
who suffer from bipolar disorder usually complain that their
depression is worse in the morning. Circumstantially induced
depression tends to get worse as the day wears on.
If you go back into Scripture, you find that even Bible characters
were depressed. When Jacob knew he was going to face his brother
Esau, he began to fear. Not only was he anxious, he was depressed
(Genesis 32, 33). And the psalmist David, wandering from one
cave to another and fleeing for his life, prayed, "Why are
you downcast, 0 my soul?" (Psalm 42:5). And, of course,
there is Elijah. He is sitting under a juniper tree complaining
because life is no longer worth living and wanting to die (1
Kings 18, 19).
Depression does not always take you into deep valleys. It comes
in all ranges, from the "blues," which will usually
run their course in three or four days, to grief reactions which
may last six months to two years. (If the grief results from
sudden and unexpected death, it may last as long as five years.)
This is normal.
Never take risks with depressed family members and friends.
If they begin to talk about suicide, get them to a doctora psychologist,
psychiatrist, or the family physician who can refer them to a
mental health professional. If we can protect them and bring
them back from the brink of suicide, they will recover from the
depression with no lasting harm. And, in most cases, the person
will never be suicidal again.
There are ways to help people with depression:
A combination of counseling and medication is
the shortest way out of depression. Do not shortchange
yourself on either end of that approach. You need to be counseled
by a godly pastor who knows how to help depressed people or
a Christian mental health professional.
You need to understand biblical ways of dealing
with circumstances out of which your depression grows. God
has a positive way to look at all of life's negatives: "We
know that in all things God works for the good of those who love
him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans
8:28).
Medication cannot replace prayer and Scripture, but it can put
you in a frame of mind to benefit more from these spiritual resources.
Do not deprive yourself of all these resources... and help yourself
or family members and friends suffering from depression to use
these resources as well.
These suggestions may help you get through the pain of depression:
The way you feel reflects
your estimate of your self-worth. When you measure selfworth by feelings, your depression
only deepens. Your true selfworth is determined by the price
Jesus paid for your redemption. You were redeemed by the precious
blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:18,19).
Remember the transient nature of your feelings.
You have been depressed before and survived it; you will survive
this, too. Remember the many times in Scripture where the phrase "and
it came to pass" is used. Your bad feelings, too, will pass.
They have not come to stay.
Learn to rate the depressions you have experienced on a tenpoint
scale: one being the least you have even been depressed, to ten
being the most you have ever been depressed. This will protect
you from generalizing any low feelings by comparing your past
to your future. Remembering how past depressions came to an end
can help you survive your present depression.
Understand theneed to recover from grief and
allow yourself a normal recovery. Do not rush your recovery from griefinduced
depression. Realize that grief for several months or longer after
a great loss is normal. Normalizing your recovery itself will
help you find hope. The more meaningful the loss means the more
time to allow for recovery.
Sometimes it is necessary to stay away from people who are
a source of negative conversation, complaints, and criticism.
Some families are this way, continually talking in the negative,
seeing a glass always half empty instead of half full.
Our feelings determine our thoughts and our conversations, both
internal conversation and those conversations we have with others.
We learn to "feel" at least two years before we learn
to talk. A child growing up in a home where there is little peace
and harmony but a lot of yelling and even violence has more pain
underneath his thought process than he has pleasure. So we must
be sure we talk positively around family members, especially
around children.
Sometimes, when a person accepts Christ, his or her whole worldview
changes. But very often after one is born again, he or she still
has the need to reinterpret painful parts of his or her past.
This is a part of the theological process of sanctification that
allows you to relive the hurtful parts of the past and see them
from a biblical point of view, flooded with the love of God and
a healing application of Scripture.
Here are some guidelines for dealing with depression:
1. Accept a certain amount
of depression as being par for the fairway of life. All
of us get into the rough once in a while. If your depression
does not last more than a few days, forget it.
2. Find the source of stress
causing your depression. In our
fastpaced, stressful society, look at what is happening in your
family, your marriage, your job, and your church. It is important
to identify the source of the stress and deal with it. If you
are a Christian in the office of a pastor or Christian counselor.
If not a Christian go to your family doctor and get a referral
of a highly respected psychiatric specialist.
3. Allow your Christian worship
and church experience to be a positive, "up" time
in your life. When you
go to the house of God as a Christian, think "up" and
don't think "down." Don't be a critical or negative
Christian. Allow the church and God's people to be your sanctuary,
your shelter, a place where the Lord wants to bring you help
for your depression.
4. If your depression is medical, allow yourself the medications
you need to bring relief until God helps you experience a more
perfect form of healing. Denying yourself medical help also denies
God greater productivity from your life. Take care of your mental
health just as you would your physical health.
5. When you are suffering from a loss or a crisis in your life
that has brought depression, it is very important for your recovery
to talk about it. Good counseling is important, either from a
trusted pastor who is trained to counsel or from a competent
Christian mental health professional.
6. Stay busy and avoid brooding
over your depression. There
is a lot of truth to the old adage that "an idle mind is
the devil's workshop." Stay busy and active. Do things you
normally would enjoy, even if you do not enjoy them while depressed.
They are familiar to you and will keep you from brooding.
Did you find this message
helpful?