So I've been seeing a lot of posts about depression and suicide since the death of Robin Williams.
It's got me thinking about mental illness and the church, or more importantly, mental illness and Jesus.
The Bible says it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. The Bible says Jesus went to the lowest in society, the outcasts, the sick, the unclean, the sinners, and loved them. Jesus said that in this world, we would have trouble.
We know for a fact that Jesus does not heal every person who accepts Him and is saved. Christians still die of cancer, heart attacks and a variety of diseases. Christians live with paralysis and a variety of diseases as well and are never healed.
But what about the mind?
I have heard Christians say that a Christian should not suffer from any kind of mental illness because since it's mental, that should be able to be easily healed by Jesus, that Christians should not take medication for mental illness, that if a Christian continues to suffer from mental illness, it's because they lack faith. (Okay, some claim that for physical ailments as well.)
Any honest Christian will say that even after accepting Christ in our lives, we struggle with sin. We will until the day we die or Jesus comes back and takes us home. Sin can be sneaky and affect how we think without realizing it, or it can be bold and obvious and tempt us to do things we know are wrong.
Paul wrote in detail about his struggle with sin, writing that the good he wanted to do, he did not do, but the evil he did not want to do, that he kept on doing. He also talked about having a thorn in his side that he pleaded with God to remove, but God would not, saying His grace was sufficient for Paul. The thorn could have been temptation. Perhaps it was an illness. Perhaps it was mental illness. We really don't know, Paul never elaborated what this "thorn" was for him.
But going back to Jesus going to the worst in society. It stands to reason that people with mental illness are going to be drawn to Jesus because Jesus runs to people who are suffering. And knowing that accepting Jesus is not a ticket to healing in this world, it stands to reason that people who suffer from mental illness who accept Jesus will still suffer after accepting Jesus. They are not hated or despise by God for lack of faith or sin in their lives. It may simply be their thorn that God allows in their life to remind them His grace is sufficient.
And Christians who do not suffer from mental illness should take on the mindset of Jesus and love and serve those who suffer, especially in the body of Christ, without passing judgment on them. We are all weak and in need of grace. And like the song says, "Everyone needs compassion."
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Vulnerability
I gave my life to Christ when I was 12. I saw adult Christian leaders as people who had things together. They seemed perfect, like they didn't struggle with sin, and I assumed that by becoming a Christian, I would be the same way when I grew up.
As an adult, I continued to see Christians who acted like they had no personal struggles and they were perfect. All my life I have strived for that perfection and never felt it and this has led me many times to question my relationship with God. Does He really love me if I struggle, because it seems other Christians don't struggle.
I think as Christians we often have the misguided idea that maturity equates perfection and that we don't struggle. I think more, we are either not honest about our struggles or we choose to hide them from others and thus put off this persona of being perfect.
But the Bible tells us to confess our sins to one another.
Why? Why should we confess our sins to one another? This question was asked in our small groups at CIY and my answer is this - because when we confess our sins to one another, it encourages others to know they are not alone in their struggles and if we confess our sins, we can hold each other accountable. Temptation can lose its hold on us when we hold one another accountable. I think God desires us to be vulnerable, not act perfect. When we are vulnerable, He can use us.
I am not perfect. I have PTSD, I struggle constantly with self-worth, I'm always afraid I'm disappointing God, I feel I deserve punishment more than grace, but through the grace of God, He has brought people into my life who are honest and vulnerable, who remind me that God sees me of great worth, that He sees me as His little child whom He cherishes, and thankfully I grew up with a great dad that I can understand that kind of love. I need encouragement daily and God knew I would. That's why He says in the Bible to encourage each other daily, as long as it's called today, so that sin does not gain a foothold.
We need to be honest with each other. We need to be vulnerable. We need to encourage each other that we understand sin, understand pain, understand the struggle between our sinful nature and the new creation Christ is making us to be.
As an adult, I continued to see Christians who acted like they had no personal struggles and they were perfect. All my life I have strived for that perfection and never felt it and this has led me many times to question my relationship with God. Does He really love me if I struggle, because it seems other Christians don't struggle.
I think as Christians we often have the misguided idea that maturity equates perfection and that we don't struggle. I think more, we are either not honest about our struggles or we choose to hide them from others and thus put off this persona of being perfect.
But the Bible tells us to confess our sins to one another.
Why? Why should we confess our sins to one another? This question was asked in our small groups at CIY and my answer is this - because when we confess our sins to one another, it encourages others to know they are not alone in their struggles and if we confess our sins, we can hold each other accountable. Temptation can lose its hold on us when we hold one another accountable. I think God desires us to be vulnerable, not act perfect. When we are vulnerable, He can use us.
I am not perfect. I have PTSD, I struggle constantly with self-worth, I'm always afraid I'm disappointing God, I feel I deserve punishment more than grace, but through the grace of God, He has brought people into my life who are honest and vulnerable, who remind me that God sees me of great worth, that He sees me as His little child whom He cherishes, and thankfully I grew up with a great dad that I can understand that kind of love. I need encouragement daily and God knew I would. That's why He says in the Bible to encourage each other daily, as long as it's called today, so that sin does not gain a foothold.
We need to be honest with each other. We need to be vulnerable. We need to encourage each other that we understand sin, understand pain, understand the struggle between our sinful nature and the new creation Christ is making us to be.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Holiness
Holiness is a word I think about a lot. I didn't think about it much when I was younger, primarily because I didn't understand the word other than it was associated with God. But the word simply means to be set apart. As Christians, we are to be holy as God is holy, we are to be set apart like Jesus was set apart.
A number of years ago, bracelets with the letters WWJD were very popular. It stood for "What Would Jesus Do?" The bracelet was a reminder to ask that question in a variety of circumstances. However, a question I like better is, "Is it holy?" Will my choice set me apart and make me more like Christ, or does my choice make me seem more like the world?
The Bible does not condemn the consumption of alcohol, after all Jesus made water into wine, but is it holy to party it up at a bar? Does doing this activity make you look more like Christ or more like the world? I have seen Christians in bars who look a lot more like the lost the saved.
The Bible tells us that there should not be even a hint of sexual immorality among us. So do we avoid cohabitation with members of the opposite sex while we're still single or do we live together like the world does? The world does not question single men and women living together, but they may notice your stand to not do that because you want to avoid even the hint of sexual immorality.
The Bible does not condemn smoking, but we know smoking is unhealthy. Do we choose to honor our bodies as God's temple?
When we are around people who cuss and swear, do we cuss and swear too or do we set ourselves apart in our language?
When we are around people who are gossiping, do we take part or do we refrain and set ourselves apart and choose to love those who are being talked about?
When we see the person no one wants to be around sitting by themselves, do we leave our group of friends to be a friend to the friendless at the risk of our own reputation because that is what Jesus would do and did do?
These are just some of the things I think about when it comes to holiness.
A number of years ago, bracelets with the letters WWJD were very popular. It stood for "What Would Jesus Do?" The bracelet was a reminder to ask that question in a variety of circumstances. However, a question I like better is, "Is it holy?" Will my choice set me apart and make me more like Christ, or does my choice make me seem more like the world?
The Bible does not condemn the consumption of alcohol, after all Jesus made water into wine, but is it holy to party it up at a bar? Does doing this activity make you look more like Christ or more like the world? I have seen Christians in bars who look a lot more like the lost the saved.
The Bible tells us that there should not be even a hint of sexual immorality among us. So do we avoid cohabitation with members of the opposite sex while we're still single or do we live together like the world does? The world does not question single men and women living together, but they may notice your stand to not do that because you want to avoid even the hint of sexual immorality.
The Bible does not condemn smoking, but we know smoking is unhealthy. Do we choose to honor our bodies as God's temple?
When we are around people who cuss and swear, do we cuss and swear too or do we set ourselves apart in our language?
When we are around people who are gossiping, do we take part or do we refrain and set ourselves apart and choose to love those who are being talked about?
When we see the person no one wants to be around sitting by themselves, do we leave our group of friends to be a friend to the friendless at the risk of our own reputation because that is what Jesus would do and did do?
These are just some of the things I think about when it comes to holiness.
Monday, March 24, 2014
Can't let God down
So I posted this video on my Facebook page last night and I woke up this morning thinking about it. In fact, I've been thinking about it all day.
It's a Christian skit put on by two guys, but the skit kind of hit me between the eyes. In the skit, which I will post below, one guy represents God who shows up with a hammer and chisel to chisel out the things in the other guy's life that don't belong.
Several things in the video made me think, but the one that was such an eye opener for me was when the guy told God that he had let him down so many times. God's response? "No, you were never holding me up. I hold you up with my victorious righteous right hand and don't you forget that. In this relationship, I hold you up."
I have often struggled with feeling how much I've let God down and how disappointed He must be in me. So when I heard that in this skit, it just hit me hard. I don't hold God up, so I can't let God down. God holds me up, so He can let me down, but He is perfect and therefore won't let me down. I may think He has let me down because I may put unrealistic expectations on Him, but for what He has promised, He will never let me down.
Furthermore, God knows my future. He has no expectations that I can let Him down in because He knows what I'm going to do before I do it. It is impossible to let God down because He has no unrealistic expectations. He has no need for expectations in His infinite knowledge of us. He knows the mistakes I'm going to make before I make them. When I make them, I'm not letting Him down. Rather, He's holding me in His hand, ready to chisel, to discipline me, not in anger for my making mistakes, but in love for wanting to help me, like a father would love His naive child.
I think expectations are a human invention. I think we all have them and we place them on others without them realizing it and we become disappointed when others don't do what we expect them to do. So I think we should strive to live without expectations - of others and of ourselves. We should live each day striving to live as the Bible commands, and when we mess up, to realize we haven't let God down, because He is holding us up and nothing is a surprise to Him. In fact, He accepted us when we first made a commitment to Him knowing all the mistakes, all the sins we would commit for the rest of our live as His children, and still has chosen to accept us with that knowledge. We cannot let God down, we need only surrender to His love and discipline for our lives.
It's a Christian skit put on by two guys, but the skit kind of hit me between the eyes. In the skit, which I will post below, one guy represents God who shows up with a hammer and chisel to chisel out the things in the other guy's life that don't belong.
Several things in the video made me think, but the one that was such an eye opener for me was when the guy told God that he had let him down so many times. God's response? "No, you were never holding me up. I hold you up with my victorious righteous right hand and don't you forget that. In this relationship, I hold you up."
I have often struggled with feeling how much I've let God down and how disappointed He must be in me. So when I heard that in this skit, it just hit me hard. I don't hold God up, so I can't let God down. God holds me up, so He can let me down, but He is perfect and therefore won't let me down. I may think He has let me down because I may put unrealistic expectations on Him, but for what He has promised, He will never let me down.
Furthermore, God knows my future. He has no expectations that I can let Him down in because He knows what I'm going to do before I do it. It is impossible to let God down because He has no unrealistic expectations. He has no need for expectations in His infinite knowledge of us. He knows the mistakes I'm going to make before I make them. When I make them, I'm not letting Him down. Rather, He's holding me in His hand, ready to chisel, to discipline me, not in anger for my making mistakes, but in love for wanting to help me, like a father would love His naive child.
I think expectations are a human invention. I think we all have them and we place them on others without them realizing it and we become disappointed when others don't do what we expect them to do. So I think we should strive to live without expectations - of others and of ourselves. We should live each day striving to live as the Bible commands, and when we mess up, to realize we haven't let God down, because He is holding us up and nothing is a surprise to Him. In fact, He accepted us when we first made a commitment to Him knowing all the mistakes, all the sins we would commit for the rest of our live as His children, and still has chosen to accept us with that knowledge. We cannot let God down, we need only surrender to His love and discipline for our lives.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Creation
Watched a video about creation tonight with high school students. I have heard a lot on this topic in my lifetime. I remember hearing about it when I was in high school, when I was in college, and as an adult. I don't jump into debates about it for debate sake, just like I don't jump into debates really about anything for debate sake. However, I do feel strongly about it and so here are some of my thoughts on creation...
1. God created everything in one six literal days and we understand days and rested on one literal day. In Genesis, it clearly states there was morning and there was evening one day. This was not a "figurative" day meaning millions of years. One morning, one evening, one day. Pretty clear. God says it very plainly for us to understand. If you don't want to believe that, then you open the entire Bible for man's interpretation and take away from the authority of scripture.
2. Evolutionists have the same evidence as those who believe in creation. They simply come up with different theories on how the evidence came to be. They try to argue that their methods are "truth," but they're just theories. Because unless you have a person who lived millions of years ago to verify their theory, it's not proven, it's an unprovable theory. However, with the Bible, we have someone who did exist when everything came into being and has told us about it. So, do we want to believe fallible, flawed human beings living today trying to tell us how the universe came to be, or do we want to believe the perfect creator who said He made everything and how He did it?
3. A lot of belief of evolution comes from people who do not want to believe God or a being higher than themselves who has more power and control. They want to believe that they have power over their own destiny and they don't like the idea of going to hell if they don't accept Jesus, but instead of surrender to Jesus, they try to come up with theories to believe instead of Him. Thus any belief of creation proclaiming Jesus is a threat to their false security. I had an anthropology professor once say to the class on the first day that not all questions are equal and he did not want to hear any questions challenging his position on evolution.
Isn't it interesting how threatened evolutionists feel by creationism? I do not feel threatened by evolution at all. Rather, I know what I believe regarding it and will defend my beliefs if ever challenged. (apologetics)
Bottom line...
1. What is more comforting to believe in? That we are cosmic accidents without a soul and when we did, there is nothing or that a all-powerful God created us out of love and died to save us because He loves us and wants to spend eternity with us where we will never die and there will be no more crime, pain, suffering, sickness, death, etc...?
2. Consider the miracles we see in the Bible after creation. Why is it so hard to believe God could create everything in six literal days? I am in awe of His power and might and majesty. He could create all this in six days, it humbles me into understanding how small I am in comparison to Him and His greatness. It reminds me of how worthy He is to be praised and adored. And shouldn't that be the point? All that God has done, all that He created, His infinite imagination and ability to breathe life from nothing, how dishonoring for us to try and say He is not that powerful and mighty. Why do we want to make God little? I for one want to believe in a God big enough to create a universe in six days, a God who is not the devil's equal so He can squash the devil like a bug at any time He wants, a God who has the power to end all my troubles, wipe all my tears, give me a new immortal body immune to the disease of sin, and love me with a neverending perfect love.
My God is bigger than man's attempt to diminish His power and abilities.
1. God created everything in one six literal days and we understand days and rested on one literal day. In Genesis, it clearly states there was morning and there was evening one day. This was not a "figurative" day meaning millions of years. One morning, one evening, one day. Pretty clear. God says it very plainly for us to understand. If you don't want to believe that, then you open the entire Bible for man's interpretation and take away from the authority of scripture.
2. Evolutionists have the same evidence as those who believe in creation. They simply come up with different theories on how the evidence came to be. They try to argue that their methods are "truth," but they're just theories. Because unless you have a person who lived millions of years ago to verify their theory, it's not proven, it's an unprovable theory. However, with the Bible, we have someone who did exist when everything came into being and has told us about it. So, do we want to believe fallible, flawed human beings living today trying to tell us how the universe came to be, or do we want to believe the perfect creator who said He made everything and how He did it?
3. A lot of belief of evolution comes from people who do not want to believe God or a being higher than themselves who has more power and control. They want to believe that they have power over their own destiny and they don't like the idea of going to hell if they don't accept Jesus, but instead of surrender to Jesus, they try to come up with theories to believe instead of Him. Thus any belief of creation proclaiming Jesus is a threat to their false security. I had an anthropology professor once say to the class on the first day that not all questions are equal and he did not want to hear any questions challenging his position on evolution.
Isn't it interesting how threatened evolutionists feel by creationism? I do not feel threatened by evolution at all. Rather, I know what I believe regarding it and will defend my beliefs if ever challenged. (apologetics)
Bottom line...
1. What is more comforting to believe in? That we are cosmic accidents without a soul and when we did, there is nothing or that a all-powerful God created us out of love and died to save us because He loves us and wants to spend eternity with us where we will never die and there will be no more crime, pain, suffering, sickness, death, etc...?
2. Consider the miracles we see in the Bible after creation. Why is it so hard to believe God could create everything in six literal days? I am in awe of His power and might and majesty. He could create all this in six days, it humbles me into understanding how small I am in comparison to Him and His greatness. It reminds me of how worthy He is to be praised and adored. And shouldn't that be the point? All that God has done, all that He created, His infinite imagination and ability to breathe life from nothing, how dishonoring for us to try and say He is not that powerful and mighty. Why do we want to make God little? I for one want to believe in a God big enough to create a universe in six days, a God who is not the devil's equal so He can squash the devil like a bug at any time He wants, a God who has the power to end all my troubles, wipe all my tears, give me a new immortal body immune to the disease of sin, and love me with a neverending perfect love.
My God is bigger than man's attempt to diminish His power and abilities.
Saturday, March 22, 2014
My own harshest critic
The Bible warns us not to judge others, but I think sometimes we may need to take that verse and apply it to ourselves - do not judge yourself.
I am my own harshest critic - to the point I struggle to really believe God accepts me with all my flaws and imperfections. It becomes easy to push aside verses that say things such as "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." In the words of Mark Lowry, "Woke up this morning with the years I spent hanging heavy on my mind. At times I see so much in me, I wish I'd left behind."
As my pastor said in his sermon tonight, sometimes it's easier to see God as the master and I'm the slave, making me fearful to approach Him, rather than understanding He is the loving father who wants and will always make decisions for me that are in my best interest, even if I don't understand them.
I get frustrated that unresolved issues from my past have had a severe negative effect on my behavior and feel He must be angry that I have not resolved them by now. But a loving father would not hate his child because they struggle so much. A loving father is overwhelmed with compassion and a desire to help his child overcome the things that continually bring them down. And God moreso, for His patience is far greater than man's patience and His love far greater and perfect than man's love. And so I need to remind myself He is a loving dad, more loving than my earthly dad (which is saying a lot because my earthly dad is pretty loving).
Last night I had a dream that I was a teenager in a youth group and some guy in the youth group was making me mad to the point I finally had enough and punched him as hard as I could in the face. I'm always so much more bold and daring in my dreams than in real life. I was immediately afraid that I would get in trouble and took off running. Eventually the youth pastor in my dream found and caught me, but when I looked at his face, rather than seeing the anger I expected, I saw concern and compassion. At that moment I woke up, but I woke up feeling good and I think God was representing himself in my dream as that youth pastor, that in truth, when I keep wanting to run from God for fear of being in trouble, in truth, He is chasing after me because He is worried about me, full of compassion and concern and wanting to help me, not lecture me.
So I think I need to take the verse about not judging and apply it to myself and stop condemning myself all the time. God is more patient with me than I am with myself and the negative self-talk does not come from the lover of my soul who died to save me.
I am my own harshest critic - to the point I struggle to really believe God accepts me with all my flaws and imperfections. It becomes easy to push aside verses that say things such as "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." In the words of Mark Lowry, "Woke up this morning with the years I spent hanging heavy on my mind. At times I see so much in me, I wish I'd left behind."
As my pastor said in his sermon tonight, sometimes it's easier to see God as the master and I'm the slave, making me fearful to approach Him, rather than understanding He is the loving father who wants and will always make decisions for me that are in my best interest, even if I don't understand them.
I get frustrated that unresolved issues from my past have had a severe negative effect on my behavior and feel He must be angry that I have not resolved them by now. But a loving father would not hate his child because they struggle so much. A loving father is overwhelmed with compassion and a desire to help his child overcome the things that continually bring them down. And God moreso, for His patience is far greater than man's patience and His love far greater and perfect than man's love. And so I need to remind myself He is a loving dad, more loving than my earthly dad (which is saying a lot because my earthly dad is pretty loving).
Last night I had a dream that I was a teenager in a youth group and some guy in the youth group was making me mad to the point I finally had enough and punched him as hard as I could in the face. I'm always so much more bold and daring in my dreams than in real life. I was immediately afraid that I would get in trouble and took off running. Eventually the youth pastor in my dream found and caught me, but when I looked at his face, rather than seeing the anger I expected, I saw concern and compassion. At that moment I woke up, but I woke up feeling good and I think God was representing himself in my dream as that youth pastor, that in truth, when I keep wanting to run from God for fear of being in trouble, in truth, He is chasing after me because He is worried about me, full of compassion and concern and wanting to help me, not lecture me.
So I think I need to take the verse about not judging and apply it to myself and stop condemning myself all the time. God is more patient with me than I am with myself and the negative self-talk does not come from the lover of my soul who died to save me.
Monday, March 17, 2014
Life hurts
Jesus said, "In this world, you will have trouble."
He did not say "might." He did not say "maybe." He said "will."
It's so easy to question God when the hurt comes. When life does not turn out like we expect. When we encounter hardships and struggles that seem anything but Godly. When we encounter a person who seems to hate us without reason. When we encounter Christians who are rude and exclude us because we don't fit their ideal image of what a Christian should be.
Life hurts.
I am reminded of a song Steven Curtis Chapman once sang.
Jesus suffered more than we ever will and yet God was with Him. And one thing Jesus promises is that when life hurts, He is right there with us.
He did not say "might." He did not say "maybe." He said "will."
It's so easy to question God when the hurt comes. When life does not turn out like we expect. When we encounter hardships and struggles that seem anything but Godly. When we encounter a person who seems to hate us without reason. When we encounter Christians who are rude and exclude us because we don't fit their ideal image of what a Christian should be.
Life hurts.
I am reminded of a song Steven Curtis Chapman once sang.
Jesus suffered more than we ever will and yet God was with Him. And one thing Jesus promises is that when life hurts, He is right there with us.
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