Meltdown News, Depression and Songs That Heal

The news keeps coming...Home Depot lays off 5,000 Caterpillar and GM lays-off thousands more...Microsoft lays-off 5,000 (Home Depot? Microsoft for Pete's sake?!) What's the best way to deal with the news of the new depression- oops, recession? How do you feel when you read economic meltdown related headlines like this?....AXED DAD SLAUGHTERS FAMILY?

I didn't make that last one up by the way. A Medical worker beyond desperate after he and his wife lost their jobs at an LA hospital, fatally shot her and their five young children this week before killing himself, horrified cops said. "In these tough economic times, there are other options," implored LA Deputy Police Chief Kenneth Garner. "In my 32 years, I've never seen anything like this. Today, our worst fear was realized. It's just not a solution. There's just so many ways to find alternatives to doing something so horrific and drastic as this." The shooter, an X-ray technician, faxed a chilling letter to a local television station shortly before shooting himself Tuesday morning in the family's home. "Why leave the children to a stranger?" he wrote. "Oh lord, my God, is there no hope for a widow's son?"

What hope is there for anyone today suffering in the wake of these trying times? Is there an antidote for meltdown news-related depression? Yes, as for me and my house, we're doing two things I heartily recommend: first, turn off the TV! Fox News, CNN, the local news and the morning paper love headlines like the above and live to titilate with tales of woe and disaster- regardless of context and perspective. If you're going to read something - read (eat) more Bible and second, sing songs that heal. What kind of songs? Psalms of course. David and prophets like Isaiah, often cried to the Lord for peace, relief from anxiety and fear and for direction as to how to proceed in trecherous ways...

Psa. 34:4, 10, 18 I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. 10 The young lions suffer want and hunger;but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. 18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

Psa. 37:3-5 3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.4 Delight yourself in the Lord,and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord;trust in him, and he will act.

Isa. 41:10 fear not, for I am with you;be not dismayed, for I am your God;I will strengthen you, I will help you,I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Let these words of the living God provide you with spirtual medicine in the form of hope and rest, from the clamor and clanging symbols of meltdowns and depression(s).

God's Extreme Makeover - our home edition

Newsweek's religion columnist raises the issue this week that Americans are torn (as the Thessalonian church was in the first century AD) about their eternal future. Lisa Miller (Beliefwatch; http://www.newsweek.com/id/181287) reports that while 80% of Americans believe they're going to heaven when they die, "only half of Americans think of resurrection as a physical event, a revivification of flesh after death. More than a third think of it as something spiritual, an ascension of the soul that leaves the corpse behind."

Now we biblicists who love to eat the Word, should not be surprised by such apparent contradictions in or out of the church, when we know that the typical churchgoer attempts to live by blind faith or sight, as opposed to by truth. As we discussed last Saturday, the apostle Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians set out to answer and clarify the great question of destiny and to purposely comfort that suffering and troubled congregation with awesome news of Jesus rapturing his children in preparation for His second coming (1 Thess. 4:13-18). It is an event he wrapped in the promise and anticipation of the glorious resurrection that awaits believers then and now, who are confronted with the fact that if Jesus did not rise and gain victory over death and sin, our faith is "in vain" (empty or worthless; 1 Cor. 15:12-14).

Folks, consider as Paul and the early church did that as to the resurrection, there is and can be no middle ground or compromise . Either it did or did not happen, making it the seminal event in world history, the event and truth on which the Christian faith hangs or falls. If there's no resurrection, the Bible's a farce and Christ is not who He said He was and is and we are all condemned to a lake of fire. Keep this in mind as you share gospel truth. As for me and my house, we choose Christ - the Word that became flesh. How about you? Never bend or break on the promise of God's extreme makeover for us. Paul gives us the future and the resurrection in it, and that hope holds us in times like these.

"13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words (1 Thess. 4:13, 16-18)."

A Sign that the Apocalypse is Near?

Episcopal Priest Claims 'Being Homosexual is Gift from God'

The Rev. Canon J. Edwin Bacon Jr. from Southern California has made it no secret that he supports same-sex marriage. But his recent pro-homosexual comments on the Oprah Winfrey show have stunned even the popular talk show host herself. According to a Christian Post report, 'Being homosexual is a gift from God,' Bacon declared in an Oprah episode that aired Jan. 7. Appearing shocked, Winfrey responded, 'Well, you are the first minister I’ve ever heard say, 'Being homosexual is a gift from God,' I can tell you that."

One big suprise and one non-shocker is evident here. First, the surprise is that Oprah would be "stunned" by such a typical, liberal comment on her own show, where wayward and aberrant, dysfunctional views even from "clergy", are standard fare. Second, why should anyone in 2009 be surprised by such false doctrine and error from an American denomination that theologically lost its way long ago, when it gave up on the Bible as an authoritative, infallible and inerrant source of truth? At this week's Presidential Inauguration ceremonies, the new administration invited Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson, he of the same-sex partnership to deliver an invocation.

Remember the apostle Paul warned Timothy at Ephesus in both of his letters to the young pastor, that such doctrine would be atypical of the beginning of the end, " For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths (2 Tim. 4:3-4, ESV)."

In fact, such doctrine according to Paul would be a sign of the great apostasy to come at the time of the tribulation as Jesus prepares to retrun, "Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared (1 Tim. 4:1-2)..."

Let's face it people, we are in times when 'everyone did what was right in their own eyes' (Ju. 21:25), where left is right, up is down and black is white. Is there much greater blasphemy on earth today than to attribute fornication- gross sin, as a "gift from God"? One is tempted to at this point to pray an imprecatory psalm as David did so often, calling for God to vanquish His enemies such as those that blaspheme and mock the name of God. Rather, we might want to prepare for and be ready to take comfort in, Christ's second coming which we should expectantly pray for more than ever. Speaking of which, this Saturday's night SOS will deal with the topic of the Rapture Revealed, from the current series, 'Comfort For the Second Coming' (see What's Up at SOS? ).

The Inauguration, the Sanctity of Life and the Mind of Terrorists

This week two watershed moments in American history will be observed and acknowledged, one to a much greater extent. The more visible one being this week's inauguration of Barack Obama, as this nation's first African-American President. This man will need much prayer in lieu of his beginning his administration in the midst of the country's worst economic crisis since the great depression of the 30's.

He owes some of his victory to a growing number of young, white, evangelical, liberal and social -gospel oriented voters, who according to articles in Time and Newsweek grew tired of their parent's politics- notably their views on homosexual marriage and abortion. It is alleged that this new breed of Christian is more concerned with being green, AIDS and war in Africa and dollars and cents than for unborn babies, still being killed at a clip of more than 1 million per year here legally. This is precisely why less and less attention is being given to the pro-life cause, as evidenced by the lack of attention paid to Sanctity of Life Day, which passed this last weekend, marking the 36th anniversay of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision from left-field that condemned well over 45 million unborn children to death in this past generation.

While I welcome our first black president to the White House ( a long overdue achievement), I grieve for the future of millions of the unborn and the fate that awaits themm as this president prepares to sign the Freedom of Choice Act, which would abolish all restrictions and limitations on women in the United States to have an abortion prior to fetal viability, whether at the state or federal level. Obama has been quoted as saying that this would be one of his first initiatives as president, which would not be surprising since he has also been known for his opposition to the Supreme Court ruling to uphold the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act.

Obama's election is truly historic and should he come to realize as a professing Christian, the evil of abortion and it's parallels of discrimination and injustice to slavery, he could actually emulate Esther, a historic leader of biblical proportions "for a time such as this," should he be led to actually make abortion more difficult, if not to abolish it, as that other great American evil eventually was. Remember there was a time not too long ago in this country where the highest court in the land, influenced by many, also thought that some people were inferior to others and were not deserving of equal protection. If the pro-choice position is the right one, abortion is a civil right, if the pro-life position is, then abortion is a holocaust, has been, and we lose more casualties every day to it, than all the lives lost here on 9-11. Pray for your President to capture a biblical vision of life and seize the opportunity to be historic in more ways than one.

Terorrists are NOT playing with a full-deck... for those of you who holding on to a misguided notion that the U.S., Israel or any other democratic nation can negotiate with terrorists for peace (as Spain learned the hard way), consider the mind and deathwish of enemies such as Hamas, who after continually firing rockets into Israeli territories, instigating counter attacks from Israel that resulted in the deaths of over 1,300 Palestinians and loss of land to Israel, actually proclaimed with a sign in carefully scripted Hebrew reading, "The resistance will be victorious, Israel has been defeated." That reminds me of the hillarious scene from Monty Python's Holy Grail, where a knight who had lost all his limbs in battle with another said, "allright, we'll call it a draw." Hello? Folks, these people are a few sandwiches shy of a picnic - the lights are on and nobody's home. Pray that our President will realize who he is dealing with and lead accordingly.

Fasting & Abstinence

Due to a recent turn of events, God is getting ready to do something big in the life of my family and perhaps yours in the near future. Unfortunately (according to our flesh), this exteme makeover may involve a painful remodeling, purifying process which no one welcomes, but if we're in Christ know, that it will be for our good and His glory. As the circumstances unfold and you hit your face and knees, fasting and prayer are excellent resources that God makes available to us to weather the storms and as we seek His kingdom.

In fact, Over 300 churches are hoping to make a tremendous impact on the body of Christ and throughout the world through 21 days of prayer and fasting this month. According to a Christian Post story, The prayer and fasting campaign, dubbed Awake 21, kicked off on Jan. 11 and organizers have made available a website with resources on the different types of fasts, daily devotionals, and messages from renowned Christian leaders such as the late Bill Bright.

For 21 days, thousands will be going without food, certain meals, television, Internet or "anything that feeds your flesh-man." "It’s really not about the food. It’s about denying your flesh-man the things that feed it," Chris Hodges of Church of the Highlands Birmingham, Ala., stressed. Jesus said ... 'some things only change through prayer and fasting.' As we heard at the recent church Concert of Prayer, though God may not immediately change or upgrade our circumstances in a given trial, He does promise spiritual resources like grace, to strenghten us in our weakness. Abstain from some things, hit your prayer closet and watch and see what happens...

FYI: speaking of abstaining, as follow-up to last Saturday night's message ('Sex, Truth or Conesquences'), according to a news report, sexually spread diseases, for years on the decline, are on the rise, with reported chlamydia cases setting a record, government health officials said this week. Florida's rate jumped up even more dramatically than the national average, with the state reporting 58,528 cases of chlamydia in 2007, up 20 percent. Additionally, to the cheers of social scientists, Britain has just been named the most promiscuous major industrial nation based on the "international sociosexuality index," which measures attitudes toward one-night stands, casual sex and numbers of partners (The U.S. finished sixth).

Britain is fast becoming the abortion capital of the world too. Government statistics show abortions in 2007 increased by 2.5 percent; the number performed on girls under 16 jumped 10 percent. Its abortion rate is No. 1 in Europe and No. 3 in the world, behind only the America and Australia, where rates have been falling steadily for years.The teen-pregnancy rate is soaring and is the second highest in the world behind the U.S., a UNICEF study found. The spike is occurring even though the government has spent more than $100 million in the last three years to cut the rate in half by 2010. This folks, is a moral and spiritual issue.

Sexual purity - non-fornication, is not just a good and safe idea as per the above news, but as we said together, it's God's command and best for us, because in Him we have greater pleasure than such fleeting moments as jumping out of the plane without a chute.

New Missions and America's Struggle with God

New Missions... One of our beloved church brothers reminded me after a recent Bible study time in Acts 16-18, that the Christian life can be one of new and evolving missions. God is not stagnant and His people are not to be either. Most of us consider the apostle Paul to be a pastor and theologian (he did write about half of the New Testament), forgetting that he spent most of his adult live and ministry on the move - in his second missionary journey alone, from Antioch to Athens to Macedonia, where he planted the chuches at Phillipi and Thessalonica, and from there doing 18 months of church planting, teaching and discipling in Corinth before moving on to Ephesus for that mission in Acts 19.

What's the point for us in all this? As you reflect on God's sovereign and providential moving in our lives- changing circumstances like job layoffs, transfers, bad health reports and past-due payments, begin to seek out God as to the "what" in your life- what's He doing? What's He up to? Listen to God through His Word, people and circumstances and His call on your life like Paul, like Abraham or Moses, to bigger and better things, and, don't be too concerned or preoccupied with the how (that's His domain) and the when or necessarily the why.

After you read about the 'Hall of Faith' in Heb. 11 and all they went through by faith, moving into the fact- yes, the fact that God uses tests of faith to chasten, even discipline, scourge and purify us (Heb. 12:3-11), verse 11 of Heb. 12 gives us encouragement and another promise to hang our hats on. "For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."

This is what I'm choosing to do today- don't fear change and movements in your call...see the hand of God in it and follow, knowing the payoff at the end can't be beat.

America's Struggle with God.... How weird a year was 2008?
Here's how weird according to Satirist Dave Barry:

• O.J. actually got convicted of something.
• Gasoline hit $4 a gallon -- and those were the good times.
• Finally, and most weirdly, for the first time in history, the voters elected a president who -- despite the skeptics who said such a thing would never happen in the United States -- was neither a Bush NOR a Clinton.

Speaking of which, more wacky news comes from atheist gadfly and wackadoo Michael Newdow, who has filed a fedeal lawsuit claiming that President-Elect Barack Obama should not be able to recite the phrase, "so help me God" when he takes the oath of office on Jan. 20. This comes from the same nut job who tried to have the pledge of allegiance removed from public schools because of its mention of God. Even for non-Christians, one might think that Obama is a religious man who has spoken often and eloquently about the Lord and and it would seem reasonable that he would want to ask for divine guidance on this, the most momentous day of his life—at such a critical time for our country and the world right?

What's more interesting about all this is to me that while the culture war between militant atheism and theism is heating up, and many Americans would like to defend the right to declare God's name, relatively few of them are willing to declare and understand what God is saying and their need for God to "help them"- through rescure of His coming wrath by way of His Son.

Sex and the Second Coming?

Let's talk s_x! That's the headline of a Newsweek story about what's hot and what's not in boomer bedrooms. It teases the reader with the preview that, "A sex therapist answers the questions you might be afraid to ask about midlife lovemaking." After reading that, a follower of Jesus Christ might be tempted to ask, 'Does the Bible - does God, have anything substantive to say about sex- much less the mid-life variety? Absolutely! After all, more than one Christian couple has been encouraged, exhorted and even dare we say, moved, to a healthier relationship by the Song of Solomon right?

Furthermore, God has expectations, standards, guidelines and life-preserving and transforming wisdom from His Word for us on this touchy issue. In fact, the apostle Paul laid some of that wisdom out for his readers and flock - us by extention, in 1 Thessalonians, which happens to be the topic of our next conversation at SOS this Saturday. If you're curious as to how God would have us deal with our sexuality- that God-given gift, then join us for that study and frank discussion. The confusion over sexuality is as great today as it has ever been, as affirmed by a recent, misunderstood, published study on abstinence education and teen sexual behavior. We'll clear that up as well as only the Word of the living God can 'untagle that web we weave.'

We talked about New Year's resolutions last week and the following thought by the great Martyn Lloyd-Jones, which appeared on a John Piper post should be considered and contemplated, as we struggle and walk-through 2009, in the hope of grace and Christ's second coming. Lloyd-Jones ends his second chapter of his classic Spiritual Depression with these challenging and refreshing words:

"Would you like to be rid of this spiritual depression? The first thing you have to do is to say farewell now once and forever to your past. Realize that it has been covered and blotted out in Christ. Never look back at your sins again. Say: ‘It is finished, it is covered by the Blood of Christ’. That is your first step. Take that and finish with yourself and all this talk about goodness, and look to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is only then that true happiness and joy are possible for you. What you need is not to make resolutions to live a better life, to start fasting and sweating and praying. No! You just begin to say: I rest my faith on Him aloneWho died for my transgressions to atone."

BTW (by the way): whether or not you're a sports fanatic (like me), a football follower or Gator hater or lover, you've got to admire University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow and his ministry on and off the filed and his love of Christ. For a nice little column on his testimony and witness, as he prepares for Thursday's collegiate national championship game (go Tim!), go to Tebow's Loftier Goal, at http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/columnists/sfl-flspmikeb106sbjan06,0,5816958.column

Real Resolutions

How many of you have already made and broken a new year's resolution? Give me time to make mine first and I'll probably join you. Part of our problem is we make resolutions without developing the strategy or means to keep them. After I asked my wife last night what resolution she was making for this coming year, I asked her how she was planning to accomplish it and she replied with a fairly blank stare. I would have responed the same way had she asked me.

According to a CNN article, the Journal of Consumer Research found that people often have trouble distinguishing between necessity and luxury. Those with less self-control considered more items as necessities, such as daily lattes and hair treatments. That makes resolution keeping pretty tough.

"People spend a couple hundred dollars on hair highlights, and they absolutely consider that a necessity. ..." Haws said. "The key problem we find is that they're not good at categorizing."
Researchers found that people start the new year with well-intended goals to lose weight or save money, but often give themselves so much leeway because they consider many items as necessities. This could explain why ambitious plans to shed weight or save money falter before January is over. "Most people fail over and over again." I can relate.

My resolutions will be spiritual ones this year because I figure if they are successful, the rest shouild fall in place. One of my goals is to just be quiet- or "be stil and know I Am God." Pastor Mark Driscoll from Seattle has blogged a nice article on this issue ("Silence") that I will make available on our blog (sixonsaturday.blogspot.com). My other resolutions will be the following written by Jonathan Edwards, one of America's greatest theologians and pastors, who led a great awakening- or spiritual revival in the 1700's. Edwards make more than six dozen resolutions over a two-year period including these:

Being sensible that I am unable to do anything without God's help, I do humbly entreat him by his grace to enable me to keep these resolutions, so far as they are agreeable to his will, for Christ's sake.

5. Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.

7. Resolved, never to do anything that I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life.

8. Resolved, to act, in all respects, both speaking and doing, as if nobody had been so vile as I, and as if I had committed the same sins, or had the same infirmities or failings as others; and that I will let the knowledge of their failings promote nothing but shame in myself, and prove only an occasion of my confessing my own sins and misery to God.

14. Never to do anything out of revenge.

20. Resolved, to maintain the strictest temperance in eating and drinking.

24. Resolved, whenever I do any conspicuously evil action, to trace it back till I come to the original cause; and then both carefully endeavor to do so no more, and to fight and pray with all my might against the original of it.

28. Resolved, to study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.

30. Resolved, to strive to my utmost every week to be brought higher in religion, and to a higher exercise of grace, than I was the week before.

55. Resolved, to endeavor to my utmost to act as I can think I should do if I had already seen the happiness of heaven and the torments of hell.

69. Resolved, always to do that which I shall wish I had done when I see others do it.

Will this be the year of the second coming of our Lord as we're discussing Saturday nights? If so, may we be resolved and ready.

Silence by Mark Driscoll

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven... a time to be silent and a time to speak...Ecclesiastes 3:1, 7b

It was a very normal day until I realized that I was actively destroying my own soul.
The day began with my alarm jolting me awake. I immediately turned on my BlackBerry to hear it chime for each voicemail and email that had been left while I slept. I stepped into the shower where I listened to my waterproof radio. I then turned on the television to catch some news while I dressed. Driving to work I tuned in to some talk-radio banter.

Throughout the day the chime on my laptop kept ringing as email arrived, and my cell phone continued to vibrate and ring on my hip. Before long, I needed a break, and I put on my iPod to go for a walk.

On the drive home, I again listened to the radio in an effort to drown out the blaring horns of frustrated fellow commuters. After eating dinner and tucking my five children into bed, I turned on the television to watch shows I had recorded on my Tivo. As I drifted off to sleep, it dawned on me that I had not had one minute of silence during my entire day. It was possible, I realized, that I could live the rest of my life without ever again experiencing silence.

In that moment, God deeply convicted me that I was addicted to the false trinity of our day, the gods known as Noise, Hurry, and Crowds. I remembered the words of missionary martyr Jim Elliot, who said, "I think the devil has made it his business to monopolize on three elements: noise, hurry, crowds . . . Satan is quite aware of the power of silence."

I began to ponder what Jesus’ life might be like if He lived today. Would He be available to all of His followers twenty-four hours a day on His BlackBerry? Would He have left His phone on at the Last Supper and been continually interrupted by needless calls? Would He have failed to stop and speak to needy people because their weeping was not loud enough for Him to hear over His iPod as He hurried past them on His way to a meeting He was already late for?

In that moment I prayed, asking God for His wisdom and help to save me from myself. God answered my prayer and reminded me that Jesus often took periods of prayerful silence to hear from the Father and to ensure not that He was doing everything He could, but that He was doing only what was most important. For example, before beginning His public ministry, Jesus spent forty days fasting from food, people, and noise in an effort to prepare Himself to fully accomplish what God the Father had given Him to do on the earth.

Moreover, the Bible says in Luke 5:16 that "Jesus often withdrew to lonely places." Jesus spent considerable time alone in silence to pray, rest, and focus on what priorities He should be devoting His time and energy to. This helps to explain why, in just three short years of ministry, Jesus had a greater impact on history than anyone else who has ever lived.

The Bible also describes multiple benefits of purposeful silence, including:
hearing from God (1 Kings 19:11–13)
waiting patiently for the Lord to act (Lamentations 3:25–28)
worshiping God (Habakkuk 2:20)
knowing God better (Psalm 46:10)
praying effectively (Luke 5:16)

Since God convicted me of my addiction to noise, I have sought to conform my life more to the pattern of Jesus’, which has proven quite helpful. I try to spend at least five minutes an hour in silence, at least thirty minutes in uninterrupted silence each day, and a full day in silence once a month. During those times I find myself going for silent prayer walks to listen to God, writing in my journal, and sometimes doing nothing at all, which for me has become an act of faith that God is at work even when I am not.

My prayer is that those reading this who, like me, are guilty of noise addiction can also experience the regular gift of silence because that is often where God is waiting for us. There was silence before God spoke the world into existence, and silence for forty days before Jesus began His public ministry, which may indicate that silence is what allows us to speak as God intends.