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Monthly Archives: September 2015

DEPRESSED CHRISTIANS

Christian often seemed surprised by feelings of depression and discouragement, but these are common emotions which actually come to us as lies.

Satan “oppresses” and accuses even non-believers, even those who have not yet come to believe. He is the “accuser of the brethren.”

The Bible tells us also that; “If a man comes to God, he must believe that God is, and that He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him.”

“It is a crime to be weak in God’s strength,” writes Oswald Chamber’s in My Utmost for His Highest. Depression involves our personally letting emotions take us down; emotions that are common to all people, and may be especially powerful among those who have sided with God. We must not allow that to happen.

The film, “A Beautiful Mind” depicts a person, while afflicted with what appears a permanent schizophrenia, as a person who takes charge of his feelings/thoughts.

Probably the greatest need common to all human beings is encouragement. Encouragement is love. God is an encourager. And to allow depression to attach itself to us over and over is to thwart God’ stretched out hand. God constantly is the Comforter and is there offering encouragement, that we can overcome our fears and depressions.

If we actually understood the function of depression, we would hate it, resist it. “Resist the devil and he will flee from you,” the Lord tells us. Resisting is do-able and the sooner we do resist, the less becomes our habit of resisting. In fact, by resisting, we are strengthened by the Lord. The devil loves to see his effect on us, as he becomes a stronghold in our lives where we poorly demonstrate to the world the mighty saving power of God.

If a person finds lust attaching itself he needs to get a hold on his feelings, snap out of it; re-affirm his commitment to God and family.
We used to sing:

“Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin.
Each victory will help you, one other to win. . .”

So it is with the depression temptation which may have gotten a stronghold on us. Our God is not a scolding Person, He is the Friend of sinners. He is not fooled into being ashamed of us. Rather, He will perform His personal deliverances we need. It is as though He says, ‘Friend, we will work through this together.” Such love melts any sincere heart and by it we learn to (and how to) abide in Him and over-come.

If we continually do not resist depression and temptation, we allow Satan to build a stronghold in our very being.

Have we sinned? We are told to go to Him, tell Him, to trust Him to make it just-as-if-we had not sinned. Cling to Him, hide in Him. Hide under His wing. Be honest and remember, of course we can win: “We can do all things through Christ which strengthen us.”

Buddy

The Fight of Faith

Faith involves a battle in the mind. Faith is asking: that is no battle. We can join multitudes of other religious efforts: we can even join: “A moment of silence” which is popular today. It is prayer without praying: politically correct praying: but not faith.

Faith in the Lord involves believing. Believing what? That His answer is ‘Yes,” that as care-giver, He gives care:
He intercedes in our lives.
He that once healed; heals yet.
He that once set us free sets us free yet.
He who began a work in our lives will continue to the end. God intercedes. And it pleases Him when we open the windows of heaven through faith.

“Ask, seek and knock” is what we often do: we call this – prayer, but is our praying earnest and effectual prayer? The windows of heaven do not open. We do not experience the outpouring of heaven with signs and wonders following. We invent disclaimers and even write about “When God says – ‘No.’”

Then we sing, “I prayed: God answered.” Are we here saying that His answer was, ‘No?’

It does not please the Lord that we ask but do not persevere in believing. Faith is asking – and- believing. He said “Ask and it shall be given you: seek and you shall find knock and it shall be opened unto you.” He continued: “For every one that asks receives, and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened.”

Faith is a battle position where the saints of God prevail such that “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” becomes an actuality.”
We must not let the scripture “If we ask amiss – that we may consume it upon our lusts” – stop our faith. (James 4:2)

We are allowed no excuses or disclaimers concerning the Lord answering our prayers. We don’t pray as an exercise that will please God and grant us His favor. We pray to overcome: we pray as the Lord’s allies in the battle for souls: we pray out of that compassion which is born in His heart: we pray because the love of God is burning in our inner being. God is faithful: we are to battle to be full of faith in Him – that He will do for His earth-bound (temporarily) children.

We “ask amiss” if we are pleading with God as though He is reluctant to move on our behalf. “Every one that asks receives” is a promise directly tied to our praying.

Our faith seems small in our eyes. The thing about which we pray is huge, beyond our natural abilities. David said, “My enemy is stronger than me,” and He acted on the fact of divine intervention whereby he slew Goliath.

David also said, “I’m leaning on a Rock that is higher than I.” That is what we are doing when we pray, and the Lord will never let us down.

So we go back to our praying, this time believing and asking. The miracle hand of God is now able to move through His mighty army, the church – His family here – “brethren” of the Son of God – Sons too who have been privileged to begin saying and believing; “Our Father.”

And we are engaged in His quest for reaching the lost, healing the sick, comforting the battling warriors of God. Once again in the church signs and wonders cannot be held back; for petition is asked with faith believing.

As it was when the church first operated, so it must be as we join the host of witnesses stemming back to Calvary. Then were the first “believers;” then began the church of Jesus Christ and miracles in ministry.

Thousands were added to the church, sometimes daily. The word of God was “published” in the land – word of mouth. Church members were excited as they worked hand-in-hand with the Lord to touch the word with love and mercy. No literature has since outperformed the scriptures as many, many people made or obtained whatever fragments they could of the message of the Apostles: this was the birth of what is called the New Testament. Thousands of fragment then written, and in the years following have since been recovered.

Oh people, don’t believe as credible those scholars who have missed in the Bible what has amazed millions as they come to know the Lord. The Bible is a living book: it speaks because the Teacher of it is the Holy Spirit. One famous scholar wrote, “I know it is God’s word when it speaks to me.” We can’t know for ourselves unless we too have heard from the Lord through its pages: preached by others or read on our own.

God gave us preachers and teachers and He gave us His word. Jesus said, “Thy word is truth.” All who have come to believe – dating back to the first believers – are then able to pray and believe: that is faith.

Through faith we stand on a truth; we trust in God; He comes mightily.

When we taught our kids to say, “My God is great, my God is mighty; there’s nothing that my God can’t do;” we were saying what scripture promises.

Probably all of us need to get back to the basics, to pray believing and therefore believing we receive of Him. “Faith, nothing wavering,” and that takes determination.

The Lord has not changed. Faith always involves a praying one who is standing on a promise for results which only the supernatural can accomplish. It is to Him that we pray. It is to us that He gives – “pressed down, running over – shall – men give unto you.”

Yes, “We are more than conquerors through Him. . .” “By faith, we read in the Book of Hebrews, our forerunners – changed the world. Their watch – now our watch – the same faith; the same faithful God: “Even so, come Lord Jesus. . .” Amen!

Buddy