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www.bible.com/72/psa.42.2.hcsb

When I counsel those who are in depression, or tell me they are depressed, I assure them they are in good company. David, the author of this Psalm, says over and over again that he too is depressed. It is possible to be a devout believer in God and the hope of His promises and still be depressed. I find some comfort in that, because I suffer from depression. There is a phrase from this Psalm “deep calls to deep” (vs 7) that gives me a reason why this is so. Depression comes from a deep place within us, a fundamental discord about our lives and abilities.

Like a slow moving river, depression moves slowly within me, I feel like life itself slows down, because the depths of my soul are being stirred. Depression speaks to the core of my being and tells me I am worthless. Tells me that for all my vaunted skill and training, I still suck at being a good person, at being significant.

David remarks that he remembers the triumphal procession of worship, remembers the heights of the Lord’s presence, and I do too. And perhaps it’s because of such heights that I also know the depths. “But no temptation has overtaken you but what is common to man.” (1 Cor 10:13) The Lord Himself will provide a way of escape. “Oh for the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God” (Rom 10:33) Here is One who will match the depth of my depression with the depth of His riches. My depth of depression calls to the depth of the presence of God. So as the deer pants for water, ever seeking for a stream to slake its thirst, so my soul thirsts for God, in the depths of my soul crying rivers of tears.

My life is bleak, a mere two-dimensional black and white portrait of someone that I used to be. Depression strands us in that wilderness and leaves us desolate. Depression abandons us to the worthlessness of our own thoughts. Depression itself is no good companion and we become stranded in the corridors of our thoughts looking for a way out. As Paul once wrote, “O wretched man that I am, who will save me from this body of death?” Who can?

Deep calls to deep. The depth of our sorrow calls to the depth of God’s love and comfort. This Psalm has no resolution. There is no great triumph at the end that show that David overcame his depression. I think we need to hear that. Depression is a part of who we are, and it forces us to confront the deep parts of us. We would be so stirred if we had no depth. And some of the greatest self-reflection can take place there. But we do so in the knowledge that it is ok. God has not abandoned us. The Valley of the shadow of death is still a place where His rod and staff, his gentle leading and correction, comfort us. We need to traverse the wilderness to experience the wonder of the verdant gardens. Because we feel so strongly in our pain, so too will feel strongly in our worship, a far deeper appreciation for the glory and wonder of God. I would not give up my depression, because it moves me to a profound sense of worship. Depression is but for a season, for God calls to us in our depths, meets us there, walks with us there, and guides us back.

Praise be to God for His glorious gifts! Praised be the Lord!

www.bible.com/72/jol.2.12.hcsb

Loss is usually the signal for grief. What Joel describes this morning are three common symptoms of grief, fasting, weeping and mourning. We fast because we don’t feel like eating. We weep because stress often finds its way out through our eyes. Mourning is about meditating on the loss itself, looking at the open wound in our lives. And this kind of grief isn’t just about losing a person. It can be about losing a job, a spouse (through divorce), a pet, possessions, or even hope for the future. Grief is a natural human reaction to loss of any kind. The degree of grief is according to the perception of the loss.

Now Joel sets his focus on national sin. The Lord is calling to the people of Israel to come back to Him, leave off worshipping false gods, and come back in grief to the Lord. If grief is a response to loss, then what are they grieving? Maybe loss of innocence? Loss of relationship to God? Loss of God’s blessing on their nation and His Divine protection?

May I submit that this text is entirely appropriate for our nation today, though few are aware of what we have lost. We have lost moral authority. We have murdered the innocent, allowed it over and over again. We have protected the guilty. We have promoted immorality and abomination in the form of gay marriage, an absolute mockery of God’s original institution. We have those that fight for the right to be immoral, and I wonder how soon until the Lord vomits us out of his mouth.

We ought to grieve, but we do not grieve as those who have no hope. For we know God is gracious. He welcomes back the repentant. May your prayers today be for the repentance of God’s people.

God bless you today.

www.bible.com/72/pro.21.2.hcsb

First of all, I love this picture. Wow! God’s Love is at the heart of our mission and witness, “For God so loved the world”. So this image is a perfect opener for what needs to be said today.

I will be honest. I think I’m right a lot. I don’t intentionally set out to do the wrong thing, unless it’s avoiding writing this blog. Because sometimes you just don’t feel it. This isn’t one of those days because this is the Lord’s Day, and I am finally back in the house of my spiritual family after having to take a break last week. I love being in Church. I feel at home here. And I know I am in the right place.

But the rest of the week, I feel like I’m on my own, and like you, have to make a number of decisions day to day. I like to think I make those decisions based on Scripture, but honestly, I don’t. Not every life issue has a “thus saith the Lord.” I don’t believe the Lord intended it that way. There are major course corrections we learn to make, moral decisions about life’s direction that He gives us wise counsel, but there are countless minor decisions we make everyday that don’t have a moral component, or do they?

Take for example, brushing your teeth. Seems like a minor thing, right? You squeeze the toothpaste onto the toothbrush and brush vigorously. Rinse and spit. Where was God in this decision? Why did you brush your teeth? To have clean teeth, right? Why is that? So that I don’t offend people when I talk to them. So that my appearance is unmarred at least for a while. Keeping teeth in our culture is often paired with affluence, lack of drug use, and a standard for wholesome living. Having a full set of clean white teeth offers strangers a quick insight into the kind of person you are. And then you pair that with Christian witness, and you have a positive effect upon others. Was brushing your teeth a Holy work? Maybe today it is.

All of the billions of tiny decisions we make have. Cumulative effect on the kind of person we are. If we think that we can skip a day, we have declared something about our character. We may think we are “ok”, but God knows the motives of the heart.

How is your heart today? God Bless!

www.bible.com/72/luk.16.10.hcsb

I’ve read this verse dozens of times, usually with Ephesus on the righteous side of it. Being faithful in a few things will lead to God giving you more things to be responsible for. It’s a sign of wisdom. If you are faithful to produce in a job of $10, you can be trusted with. Job of $20, $100, and so on. When little things matter, you can be trusted with bigger things.

But the back half of this verse hit me this morning. Being unrighteous in little things means that bigger things will be a problem. Sin always starts small. Sin makes the initial investment so tiny that you might not give a second thought to compromising your integrity. While being faithful in a small thing is a big deal, being unfaithful, like telling a lie when it really doesn’t matter, can lead to big trouble. If you see the dog’s feed bowl empty, do you stop and fill it up, or wait and let someone else do it? If you see a picture with a bit of skin, you go back and look at it, or do you let it scroll on by? Do these little hits to your integrity matter? Yes. Any small opening you allow for sin, even to be tempted, is like the camel’s nose in a tent. Before long the camel is moving in.

Small things matter. Never forget that. Be mindful today of the small things, things that only you know about. God is watching.

God bless you today.

www.bible.com/72/jas.1.19.hcsb

You want to get along in life? Be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. Good advice. Listen first, but then take your time in your response. And even longer in your emotional response. Make sure you are angry about the right things.

This has been proven true again in the Jussie Smollett case, a man who paid others to perpetrate a “hate” crime ion him so that he can call attention to the plight of gay black men, a plight that in his case was self-inflicted. Many rushed to speak and defend him, only to have egg on their face when the truth came out. Others expressed great anger at He MAGA-hat wearing Trump crowd for fomenting this kind of hate, only to discover that the only hate involved was Smollett himself against whites and straight people. Those who took their time, waited for all the facts to come out before speaking, were proven wise. Wow. God’s word is good advice.

So today another woman has come out saying that Trump kissed her against her will. Hmmm. Maybe I will wait on that until more facts come out.

God bless you today, and take God’s advice. You won’t regret it.

www.bible.com/72/col.3.15.hcsb

Having just finished my second unit of CPE, I am ready for some normal. I’ve been traveling every week for class about an hour from my home to get this unit. I had attended my first unit there too, but this time I was a little older, and also required to fill 8 overnight call shifts. This took me away from family and from church (as they were on Sunday, which I volunteered for) and I hated every shift. But that’s ok. It’s over now and I am finished with all of those things required from me. I am ready for some peace, a bit more of normal life now for a change.

But real peace can be had in the midst of any crisis, especially if you have the Lord. The verse today speaks of the peace of the Lord. The verse connects peace and thankfulness. I think that it intentional. Pail writes elsewhere that “I have learned to be content ” and this in every circumstance. Paul knew the secret of peace and thankfulness. This is something you an can develop when we consider that there is nothing in this earth that can overtake heaven, nothing which can eclipse that heavenly perspective.

I want you to have this peace as well. It is only found in the presence of Jesus. Seek it. Find it. Receive it.

God bless you today!

www.bible.com/72/psa.91.1.hcsb

In my translation, “shelter” is “shadow”, hence the title. Seems to me that shadow is the harder word to use, since we usually associate shadow with darkness and evil. But remember when these psalms were written. A shadow is a great deal different in a hot Mediterranean culture like Israel than it is in a cold Northern American culture in winter. To be in the shadow was a relief and a comfort from the noonday sun. To be in the Almighty’s shadow was both comfort and protection, a perfect place to be.

In whose shadow are you standing today? Are you standing in the shadow of a parent? A mentor? A teacher? A best friend? There’s no shame here. Each of these can be a good place to be. But if they are not standing in the Lord’s shadow, you may need to move.

Something to think about on this Monday.

www.bible.com/72/act.2.21.hcsb

Is there any reason you cannot be one of these? The verse calls for two important conditions. First, you have to be a person. If you are reading this, I can guarantee that you qualify. The invitation is open to every person. Jesus’ blood qualifies every human being. There is no one, and I mean no one, who is excepted from this qualification. God doesn’t care how much you have sinned. He has loved you so much that no amount of sin you could possibly commit can compare to the amount of grace has already given you. That’s a hard truth for someone who has been through a rough time and feels God could never forgive.

Second, though, may be the tougher of the two. This is to call on the name of the Lord. This calls for humility. This is a knowledge that despite all our best efforts, we cannot be rid of the guilt of sin. We try to cleanse ourselves with good deeds, kindness and generosity. But it doesn’t work. You see we have offended an Almighty Deity, and our limited ability to make up for it doesn’t cut it. We are not capable of offering an infinite gesture of sacrifice. We cannot give an eternal offering. So we are forced to turn to an infinite God who offered an eternal sacrifice, the Lord. This, if we are too receive this powerful gift of atonement, we must ask for it. It is freely given, but it must be freely received.

Everyone can call upon the name of the Lord and be saved. Are you one of them?

God bless.

www.bible.com/72/gal.6.9.hcsb

I think I am beginning to understand the author a little better this morning. It seems when you are doing something really good, the enemy always finds s way to bring you down. Had a great Bible Study last night, was feeling good and refreshed. Came home and had an argument with my wife about the kids. My fault. Ugh! I am getting tired of being shot down after these spiritual blessings.

Then this verse pops up on the feed this morning. I won’t say I’m ready to give up, but I am tired. I’m tired of having fantastic days of ministry, and coming home to a clogged toilet, or dishes overflowing from the sink, or chores that need to be done when I want to celebrate.

So I needed this verse this morning. God implies that it will all be worth it when all of this is over and our time on earth is done. And I will be the richer for it if I don’t give up the work. You will be too.

God bless you all!

www.bible.com/72/1jn.2.15-16.hcsb

In the classic hymn, This Is My Father’s World, we sing of the wonder of the created world, rocks and trees and skies and seas. We are reminded of the awe of beholding a world created by our loving Father for us. That’s not what John is talking about. This world he speaks of was created by man.

This is the world where demons reign, and the Enemy is the Prince of the power of the air. This is a world ruled by sin and in rebellion against God. This is the world we are warned off of here. In Scripture, God made the earth and everything in it. Man and his rebellion against God made the world as we know it.

What the world offers is contrary to the will of God. And should we follow the world, we will be lost too. The world is the old earth that will be destroyed and replaced by the new earth, where God’s will reigns supreme. The old world is characterized by lust and pride: lust of the eyes and the flesh, and pride in one’s lifestyle. All three of them speak to the “wisdom” of man over the word of God.

So how do we stay clear of the wisdom of the world? Good question. You’ve got to know what God wants, which means spending time with Him, in His work and in His Presence through prayer. Spending time with God’s people and His work, until you find that your desires align with His.

I’ve found that the world appeals to your need to be satisfied in the moment, without regard to consequences. The world says that you deserve self-love, and need to satisfy your own desires first. Everyone needs rest and ought to enjoy their time on earth, and in this is the half-truth. But were we put on this earth for our own pleasure? Are others here to satisfy us, or do we put others’ needs above our own? When you fall for the lie that it is all about you, you’ve discovered the world. Don’t fall for the world.

God bless you all today, and may I give s special shout-out to all my followers. Thank you all for listening and for your encouragement.