DEPRESSION'S FAULT

Depression may not always be your fault. Sometimes depression is brought on through a wrongful deed or un-repented act. But not all depression is the result of some wrong decision that was made. If you have rightful cause in your life, for something that you have done, that brings you depression, allow your remorse to lead you to confession, and understand that when you bring your mistake or sin to God through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, then you have only to forget it and move on! While there is a lot of wisdom in the latter part of that statement, forget it and move on, sometimes that is much easier said than done, huh? Often times depression will continue because there may be a root of the cause of depression that can be held on to and when we do not cut or sever that cord, we stay connected to the root, which will always cause its tentacles to grow back reaching up and keeping the process of being depressed an ongoing event in our lives. Depression can come upon us when we least expect it. It can be devastating to not only the one experiencing the depression but to our families and loved ones as well. I know this because I have not only counseled women, who have gone through cycles of depression, but I myself, have lived through the horrors of depression.

Knowing why and how we become depressed will help us to realize what it will take to get through and over it. Many times, we can find ourselves slap dab in the middle of depression wondering how we got there. When that happens, getting another perspective can be very helpful. There is no shame in needing someone to walk through our depression with us and giving us godly advice. We can often times feel tremendous guilt over feeling or being depressed. We feel that we have let down both God and our family because we may not seem to be able to get a good grip on our depression. The secrecy of being depressed can even become a priority, because we do not want other people to know that we seem to have lost our joy or control over our emotions, especially if we are a Christian. But at some point, it’s time to end the guilt feelings and deal with the depression.

Jesus never condemned a sad person, rather, he identified with grief and sadness as when he wept over Lazarus. There are some very common causes of depression that are not tied to sin or wrongdoing in our lives and it is best to determine this before a person beats themselves up spiritually. Some people can experience brain chemistry that is out of balance. Their Endocrine system being out of balance can trigger depression. Postpartum chemistry can turn up to overwhelm women years after they have had a baby and cause them to go into overload emotionally. An undiagnosed condition can exist such as fibromyalgia, high blood pressure, low thyroid, chronic fatigue syndrome or a host of other conditions. Some people experience types of trauma, bad news, death in the family, divorce, an unpleasant event, abuse, or other life difficulties. Some people have a Genetic disposition. People with ADD or ADHD experience bouts of depressions. Unrecognized problem of bitterness, anger, hate, jealousy, condemnation and other serious sins of commission or of omission can blight the healthiest, most balanced of people.

If today you are experiencing depression and feel the need to get help, do! Maybe a visit with a wise pastor that you may know or someone you trust, can suggest a counselor that can help you determine if your depression is spiritual, environmental or physical depression. Once you have learned the reason for your depression and the recommended treatment, you must act upon it in order to get on the road to recovering or simply managing your mood swings. If you do need to be put on medication, accept the responsibility of taking it and do not stop suddenly when you start feeling better. 

But don’t be so quick to accept medication until you have searched with all your heart and believe that medicine is your answer. Be careful to listen to God, as He responds to your cries for help and remember that prayer is an excellent way to receive wisdom from God for the direction you need to take and for healing in your condition, whether or not it is temporary, short term or long term. Add to your prayer singing, scripture memorization and exercise. I know from experience that those combinations release the body’s chemicals that help us to feel better.

You are very precious to God. He wants you to know that you are cherished and desires that you feel better and whole, because that is the way that you were designed to be. In Christ, you do not have to be bound by your condition, freedom calls for you in the name of the Lord, listen carefully. "And so, I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” Luke 11:9. Don’t you dare give in or give up! This is what King David said when he experienced sadness and depression in

Psalms 30, “O Lord my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me. O Lord, you have brought up my soul from Sheol (grave, pit, a place of darkness) you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit. Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” It will come, this too will pass, so dig into His promises and hang on until you get to the other side sweet friend!

Loving on you today,

Bren

DEPENDENCE ON GOD

I just finished the last chapter in the book of Nehemiah. As I read about his recounting his time as governor of Canaan when the Israelites were returning from their bondage in Babylon, I was reminded just how much the people of his day are like the people of my own. While the time and culture was somewhat different, the people never the less, are the same. Nehemiah struggled in the face of overwhelming challenges, with the same issue that we face today. He had to deal with not only his own personal motivation for himself, but he had the challenge of motivating God’s people to return to the Lord as well and in doing so, he faced criticism, doubt, distraction and fatigue. In the middle of all his challenges he had discovered a great weapon and learned to use it on a regularly basis. His weapon was prayer!

 

Many of the Bibles most moving prayers are found in this great book. In them, Nehemiah expresses his dependence on God and a trust worthy for us to follow. As he trusted God in his situation he was able to assess his circumstances and the circumstances of God’s people and expedite them getting them once again working together rebuilding the walls of their beloved Jerusalem. He also reestablished worship and reminded them of their past greatness and obedience and the desperate need for repentance.

 

As difficulty and opposition developed, Nehemiah encouraged the discouraged and when some strayed into sin, Nehemiah confronted the problem, rebuked the sin and called them back to God. Today, we not only are called to minister to a broken world, but we have the great task of ministering to a broken church that has gone astray in many ways. Until Christ returns for His beloved bride, believes will continue to be attacked and their lifestyles be compromised as they allow sin to run rapid in their life. Until Jesus comes back, there will always be a need for a prophet to call God’s people back from the distractions that satan will most assuredly put in their way, just as he did Nehemiah, in his day.

 

God’s people must learn to say no to those distractions as Nehemiah did in Nehemiah 6:3 when he said, “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down”…in response to his enemies distraction. He was tempted yes, but he realized that there was another force at work trying to cause distraction upon every turn. Still, he did not allow them to cause him to veer off his beaten path. For Nehemiah, his distractions came from within and without begging his attention elsewhere. Yet, he stayed the course and through his obedience and much prayer, God was faithful and gave him favor when needed and wisdom and understanding in dealing with the Israelites as God, through Nehemiah, called them back into a right relationship with their God.

 

Prayer not only allows us communication with God and is an essential element in our worship, but through faith, it is the power source for the Christian to live victoriously. Psalms.145:18 says, “the Lord is near to all those who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth.”

Loving on you today,

Bren

Speaking To Teens & Young Adults - If You Will Listen

 

If you will listen to me, I have something very important to say to you, that will spare you a lot of heart ache! That is every parents dream, that their teenager or young adult child would take their advice before making a choice that will end in heart ache that often times brings pain both to their child and themselves. With so many pressures to fit in and do what society says is normal, it can be easy for a young person to think that while their parents may mean well they are keeping their children from a lot of fun and experiences that they could be having. This can be hard to handle, even when they may believe that God exists, and want to live the way that God desires them to. However, because of the strings that are pulling them in different directions to be a “pop culture” zombie following mindlessly the superficial people that they are around daily, deep down inside they struggle just like you and me with what is right, what is wrong and what is accepted and not accepted and that what today’s society considers “normal” is not necessarily right with God nor is right for you and I.

But, still, the temptations are there and each person struggles with the decision to sow their own wild oats at some point in their life. Most people think that, that is part of what being a normal teenager is. However, that is wrong thinking! It does not have to be that way. In fact, it should not be. Consider a parable related by Jesus who, by the way, knew what it was like to be a teenager Himself. He told of a father who had two sons. One  of his sons sowed his wild oats by wanting to seek and experience all the extremes life had to offer, living his life abandon from his upbringing and far from his family and home. But when the fun came to an end, this prodigal son came to feel himself, abandon from those that he had sacrificed his future to party with and enjoy his sin for a season.  At one point he had reached such a lowly state that upon his getting the only work that he could find, in tending pigs, he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, if only he were allowed to do so. You see, the party was over for him, and his life was miserable according to Luke 15:11-32.

No matter how attractive the idea of, “experiencing real life” may seem for a while, those experiences bring permanent consequences in our lives. They are the unproductive, fruitless and barren crops, that spring up from what we have sown. The Bible puts it very simply: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” Galatians 6:7.  The reality is that there is no free pass when it comes to the cause and effect of sin that we have purposely sown in our lives. King Solomon had a great understanding of this truth and knew from his own experience with sin as he wrote, “Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth; walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes; but know that for all these God will bring you into judgment” Ecclesiastes 11:9. Even in our youth, the actions we choose will affect us for the rest of our lives. Teens and young adult years alike, are filled with potentially life changing decisions, so even while we are young, we should be wise as serpents and gentle as a dove in how we respond to them according to Matthew 10:16.

A great example of this is when young people become involved in having sex or drinking alcohol which many may consider a normal rite of passage for them; they are taking a closer step toward injury or even death that would not have occurred if they had not opted to take that first drink or put themselves into a situation where they would be forced to decide whether to have sex or not. Motor vehicle crashes are often caused or worsened by alcohol consumption and are the leading cause of death for teens in the United States. But even if they forgo injury to themselves physically, they should consider the impact and witness that their misconduct or drinking will have on their friends, family and their own children as when the times comes for them to marry and establish their own families. Sexual encounters may seem to be harmless especially as it is plastered all over the television and magazines  as it is presented as every human’s right and is certainly common among today’s teens as well as unmarried adults. However, it does not make it right. Millions of cases of sexually transmitted diseases is contracted each year and is a direct result of unprotected sex between two people that did not give any thought to the repercussions of what they were doing. One report states that, nearly half of the 19 million new STDs each year are among young people aged 15–24 years. Other statistics point out that, each year, one in four U.S. teens contracts an STD or other sexually transmitted infection, and that by 2025 as many as 40 percent of all men and half of all women could be carrying one or more STDs. 

How did our culture come to this point? It happened because society now accepts intimate sexual contact between guys and girls no matter the age or the consequences that having sex may bring them. By removing standards that define appropriate contact and what is right and what is wrong no longer matters to many people. By winking at the sowing wild oats attitude, while it may appear or seem to be fun at the time, always brings some form of heartache and regret that can last a lifetime.  God’s Word may appear to be a book of rules and guidelines for some people and while they may overlook them and not care much for them, they will answer for them either in this life or the next.  The wisest of all men King Solomon wrote, “My son, hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother, for they will be a graceful ornament on your head, and chains about your neck” Proverbs 1:8 -9.

As Solomon wrote, “Even a child is known by his deeds, whether what he does is pure and right” Proverbs 20:11. Make sure that the seeds you sow are godly ones that will produce good crops of fruit in your life without regrets. Even if you have sown a few wild oats in your past, you can turn your life around at any point. It is never too late to start doing the right thing and remember that the devil means to use your wrong choices to destroy your happiness and bring you to ruin. But God can restore those wrong choices over time as you surrender your life to Him. Please listen sweet friend and accept wise council!

Loving on you today sweet friend,

Bren
 

A NUISANCE FOR CHRIST

In Mark 10 Christ spoke to His disciples about the difficulty of salvation for those who have an abundance or special attachments in this world. He told them that those who eagerly seek wealth and relationships in the world will never hold Christ and His grace as the great gifts that they are. He also mentions the greatness of those who have little in this world, but give it up to follow or obey whatever Christ may ask of them to do for His sake. One of the greatest trials of a person’s consistency and true test of their love for Jesus is when, their love for Christ calls them to give up any love they may have for their friends and relatives that rule supremely over their love for Christ. For our love for God and the work that He did on the cross must rule in our hearts over every other desire, lust, love, passion that we could possibly have on this earth. We are to expect to suffer in some ways and learn contentment in a low state, as we watch against the love of riches in a high one. Our prayers to the Father should be; to be enabled, to part with little or all, if required of us, in Christ's service, and to use all that we are allowed to keep in His service.

 

When we come to Christ we are oftentimes labeled by family, friends and acquaintances as being “Too Religious” or a “Jesus Freak", in a negative manner. I have often times been thought of like that myself and have learned to be grateful for it! This happens because the one calling the name has not surrendered their own heart as Christ speak to do in Mark 10. For once your eyes truly fall on the risen King, you will not be able to walk away untouched or unchanged in some way. I am truly disturbed that as Christians, we have fallen short in showing the world that living for Christ is worth more than the rarest, most deepest desire of the heart or anything this world affords. The people in our lives should see Christ in us and the major difference in who we are now, since accepting Christ as Savior and Lord, than the old person who we once use to be. His light in us should light up a room when we enter it and our life should invoke others to want to seek the Lord in truth and not simply as the son of the Man upstairs.

 

Many people who do not know Christ are critical and, like the Egyptians, their hearts are hardened and eyes are blinded by the enemy and will continue to be until Christ is revealed to them as they accept Him into their lives, allowing Him to change them as well. People often refuse to come to God on His terms, because of their personal attachments of unwillingness to give up or change some part of their lives; and yet they work diligently to get to Him on their own and by way of their own merit. They continue to use old stories of those who have fallen away from some Church or some hardship that God never responded to or a bad experience and continue to live apart from Him, thinking that they and God have their own thing going; so all is well. To those folk, the true child of God will always be a nuisance to them and will continue to be labeled as too religious, because of the deeper commitment that they personally cannot conceive or understand.

 

May you today be a nuisance to the world in that sense, troublesome to the enemies of the King of Kings and while your conduct always be courteous no matter what it may cost you, let your testimony for Christ be given without any flinching and without any mincing of the matter and may you continue living for Him as you are led by Him. People need the Lord, and they need you to be a light for them to see Him!

Loving on you,

Bren

WHAT TO DO?

We ask ourselves, should Christians drink? Is it okay to spank our children when needed? Should we provide them with private education, public schools or maybe homeschool them? Should we go to a church that tickles our ears by what we want to hear and supports our way of thinking or should we seek out a church that will challenge our own wisdom. As individuals we ponder the pros and cons of our decisions. We scratch our heads, read some books and look to whom we deem experts for definitive answers. We do this because it is much easier for us to let someone else do our thinking for us. Who is doing your thinking for you today? Who are listing to? Are you challenging what they are saying by weighing it against the Word of God?  

 

It is common place in our society to have the dependency of following and letting TV evangelist, the church house preacher, the latest author who has written a best seller, or a person that may have a degree after their name. While this is not all bad, it can be bad if we are being led astray by false teaching or some truth, mixed with lies.  The thinking and studying that discernment requires of us is hard work, even though God’s Word (for example in Philippians 1:9-11 and Job 34-:1-4) tells us that it is worth the effort to seek it out for ourselves. We are told in 2 Timothy 2:15 to study to show ourselves approved, workmen that needeth not to be ashamed…. because we ourselves have made the effort to divide the Word of God by studying it and researching it for ourselves.

 

Ignorance creates fear and uncertainty, while truth liberates us with the assurance of what we should do or think; and the only way to achieve that is through personal seeking, studying and comparing it to the Word of God from a personal standpoint. Don’t follow after someone other than God, don’t let them manage your mind. Pray for God’s wisdom, but remember not only should you pray for wisdom from God, you must earnestly desire and seek truth, no matter of the personal cost that may be required of you.

 

Don’t give up and say God did not answer you because He did not answer you the way you wanted Him to. If God shuts a door, stop banging on it….like the saying goes! In faith, trust that whatever is or was behind your request, is not meant for you, and move on. So many times we put too much effort in trying to make our wills, God’s will for our lives and then when things do not turn out like we wanted, we blame God for it! It is so easy to praise God in the good times when things are going well. But the real test of your faith always comes in the dark clouds that form over you to shield you from the light of God’s truth about a thing. So, put your trust in God, not yourself, nor in others for the answers that you need and are seeking, but wholly in God alone! 

 

Loving on you today,

Bren 

MY HANDS ARE AGING

 

I glanced over my cup of coffee this morning and noticed my hand. A new age spot! Oh boy! I love getting those. Yeah right! However, they are what they are. I cannot stop them nor can I prevent myself from dropping things and spilling salsa on every white or light colored blouse that I own (which now are multicolored blouses by the way). I have more pair of glasses than the dollar tree and still can’t keep up with them. Finally, I broke down last year and bought myself one of those large 7 day pill boxes that I fill up every Saturday morning and keep on the kitchen counter in site, where I will not forget to take them, as soon as I walk into the kitchen in the mornings. Every day, I feel myself decaying a little bit more. Dying is inevitable, but until that day comes when I will cross over into eternity and one day receive my new body, one that will not ever see corruption again, I am faced with what I have and it is up to me to make the best out of it. Not only does my body feel the pains and elements of aging, my mind too suffers. Maybe though, age is kinder to me than I think. If I will not wear my glasses, I can’t see the lines that run north, south, east and west on my face. I am finding that as I am aging, I am tempted more than ever not to care what people think. While some of those can be looked upon as a positive, I know that they offer me no excuse before the Lord in my actions. Though my hands are aging, my eyes are failing, I am exhorted in the scriptures to praise and serve the Lord, all the days of my life.

 

As I was pondering upon age today I was reminded of an elderly group of women with whom I am very close to and very, dear to my heart. They are quite older than I am and I have a world of respect for them. I spend time with these women every week and am very grateful for their godly influence on my life. They are not women of wealth, nor are they famous, they are however an example to me as wise women of faith, in which I regard more than any other thing on earth in a relationship. Most of us are drawn to those in our society that are successful and find some type of value in their opinions. We watch how they live and pay close attention to what they say and do. But too often we place our respect in the wrong things and by doing so we are tempted to value a person’s power and success with a worldly perspective. However, from a Biblical perspective, those characteristics take on a whole different meaning. Instead of wealth, power and success, we are told to honor and respect wisdom and understanding and pursue it through the knowledge of the older ones.

 

Elderly people were respected and accredited more in Biblical communities because of the years of experiences that they had accrued. Their understanding of the times, the seasons, and the forces of nature were crucial to the well-being and sustenance of each generation to come. Sadly, we’ve lost some of that in our world today. Our older people are set aside as being too old-fashioned and out of touch. The younger generation is no longer grouped with the teenagers, but today they are in their 20’s and 30’s and some even into their 40’s. The reason of that is because age does not make a person wise. It is the experience and willingness to set aside pride and be willing to listen and learn through the years that they have lived. However, many today are more into what’s happening now and who’s doing what amongst their peers, instead of listening to the garnered wisdom and collective understanding of our seniors.

 

 In our frantic effort to be relevant, we’ve unwisely ditched the best of our faith for the worst of our wants. If we honestly want to be a strong force and have an impact in our churches, families and communities, then we have to take time to give credence to the collective wisdom and understanding of those who have been faithful for decades before us, instead of constantly deferring to those whose  walk is just beginning. Change just for the sake of change often times leads to chaos and division, and you can end up being influenced in the wrong way. Choices made through wisdom and understanding, give us the power to be influential and have a real impact for Christ. There are many, many of our senior adults today just sitting waiting for someone to acknowledge their worth. Many struggle with guilt because they can no longer do as they once did. They want us to listen to them, ask their opinions, encourage their activity, whatever it may be. Psalm 63:4 says, “I will praise you as long as I live, and in Your name I will lift up my hands”. Or we could read it like this, “Even though my hands are aging, I will continue to lift them up in praise to You! For the older saint in the Lord, your hands may not look as they did in your former years, but they are power packed with wisdom and understanding and someone, somewhere needs you to reach out to them and share what you have learned. Never stop praising and serving the Lord sweet friend….no matter what your age is! God has something for you!

Loving on you today,

Bren

LOVING THE LEFT BACK RIGHT

God can redeem even the most sinful life as well as restore the one who has turned away and left the Father’s house only to realize the error of their way as they return home expecting slavery; but is greeted by an elated, gracious and generous father who welcomes them home with favor and open arms. Most of us know Christ's parable in the scriptures of the Prodigal Son. Maybe this is a story that you can relate to in one way or another, for most of us can.  While you might not have given your child an inheritance to be squandered, still, you see them squandering their life in wrong choices and thoughtless behavior. In Luke 15, we find another parent facing that same dilemma. Though I wouldn't have chosen the pain of the prodigal son’s father to be a teacher to me. I can tell you that it has been at times a university of chastisement where I have majored in purging and pruning as God continues to work His character into my life as I learn the greatest of all lessons, to love unconditionally. The most valuable possession a human being can have is their own personal testimony as to what God has done for them. Hurting people are always on the lookout for folks that are willing to bear their souls and join them in their pain as they must walk through it. Sadly, there are family members who have never heard their dad's testimony, or their sister's or their brother's story of how God broke them, forgave them and how they have learned to enjoy the resurrected life they now have in Christ. Nothing moves me more than to hear what God has done for someone else.

The child of God should be testifying constantly in their homes, to their friends as they are visiting and fellowship and to the lady at the counter who needs to hear the story on a personal and intimate level as to what Christ has done for them and what He can do for others. Every Christian's home should be a testimony site. The neighbors should know that that family they live next door to loves the Lord. They should know when, where and how those neighbors were saved and they should see a light that shines continually in them and not hidden for only the Church family to know about and see. How can we parent our prodigal children, wayward neighbors, family and friends in the far country that need the Lord? Those that have left the fold and are wondering and need to be brought back and made right once again. We do it by simply loving people enough to tell them the truth and what God has done for us.

Luke 15:20 tells us this about the prodigal son and his father, "while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him." Romans 5:8 tells us that, "While we were still sinners, Christ died for us," While God most defiantly expects us to change, He did not wait for us to stop sinning to die for us. That scripture is very clear in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. You see, if we would start looking at others that are not where we, nor God wish they would be, and put ourselves in their place, I mean really, really put ourselves in their place, it would change our lives. It’s easy to blurt out to others what we see them doing wrong. But it is so very hard to love them in spite of what they are doing. I remember in Bible college, a dear professor making this statement, “don’t be so quick to judge, for you may be surprised when you enter the gates of heaven who may approach you to welcome you into eternity”. That has resonated with me for years.

God did not call us to save people, He ask his Son to do that but He does ask us to tell people about the good news of salvation that Jesus offers to those who will turn from their sin and receive the gift of eternal life that He offers. Someone may need to hear your story today about what God has done for you. They might be in an arrogant stage of their life and may not be ready just now to accept what you have to say, but they'll never forget it and when the time is right and the Holy Spirit has worked in their heart, they will recall your witness to them and the things that you said will then make sense.  They'll never forget those people that love them and care for them, even at their worst. Sometimes we can get so caught up in reaching the lost that we neglect those that are saved yet are living in a faraway country, spiritually. I heard it said once that those who have left the fold and wondered away can be brought back and made right once again and when they are made right, will have the potential to reach more folks for Christ than any number of preachers from their pulpit.  Why? Because they will exhibit a life change that people can visibly see. Unfortunately, we want to judge them instead of loving them. We want to kick our feet at them and avoid them instead of lifting them up, drawing them to us and encouraging them to come back into the fold. If there has ever been a time where we need an epidemic of Good Samaritans loving on the unlovely and hurting folk, it's now!

Would you pray today sweet friend a prayer of restoration, a prayer of forgiveness, a prayer to desire holiness in your life and ask God to do a righteous cleansing in your heart? Would you be willing to go and love on someone who needs a kind work of hope and not condemnation for where they are. Applaud the little things in their life and encourage them in those areas where they may be faltering. But never, never give up on them!
Loving on you today sweet friends,

Bren