Tag: depression and addictions

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How do I Know That Going to Church is Right for Me?

Why do I need to go to church? I have heard that question many times. I have an excerpt today from my book “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World,”  that may give you some answers to that question.

This book also reaches out to those that suffer from anxiety, fear depression addictions, self-doubt and hopelessness. You can order this book by clicking on the “Bookstore,” icon and the top of this page.

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Chapter 21

The Church Is Prayer-Conditioned

 

Everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.

Matthew 7:24–25

 

The church today is often at the center of controversy—from within and without. The far right has its agenda, but it isn’t always right. The far left’s agenda causes it to sometimes be left out of the mainstream. Lawsuits against churches run from those bordering on frivolous (zoning controversies) to more serious charges like those against clergy who have molested children.

We are told in the Bible that this kind of divisive behavior will increase so that brothers will be against brothers, fathers against sons, wives against husbands. Not only is the controversy from outside the church, it takes place right within its walls. That is one reason there are so many different denominations. When people agree to disagree, the easiest thing to do is leave and form a congregation more to their liking.

Why does this happen? Why do people allow their differences to separate them from the true purpose of the church—to worship God?

 

I see one glaring reason: the lack of prayer in the church. So many ministers are what some call “current-events” ministers. They do not preach from the Bible, and speak instead about issues of the day on which they have an opinion. In the process, they do not bathe their ministry in prayer. 

That is not about worship; it is leaning on a political agenda instead. That is not what God had in mind when He laid out plans for the early church in the book of Acts and throughout the epistles.

Without prayer, a church’s foundation is laid in sand, and it will topple and crumble as easily as Saddam Hussein’s statue did in theIraqwar or as easily as a sand castle, no matter how carefully it was engineered. The church will go over a cliff just like many sheep do when they are all running in the same direction. The leader of the church will do all he can to stop them, but they will run on without him to their death.

There is a way to do a U-turn in all of this. Pray without ceasing! Here are some crucial words from Paul the Apostle: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6–7).

Is that hard to understand? I’ve told my students that when they lose their way in their studies to go back to the basics. What is the basic foundation of your math problem? What is the basic idea behind a sentence structure? What is the basic thought about this culture? The basics! Stick with them and you’ll figure it out.

The basics of a church’s survival are prayer and more prayer. It is using prayer to seek God’s will. It is using prayer to plan for the next revival. It is using prayer to withstand the enemy, who wants your church to fail.

Two things should be happening within a church to make it a growing viable church: The minister needs to be preaching from the Bible, and there has to be powerful prayer support from within.

Having the church prayer-conditioned will make for cool summers and provide for lots of spiritual growth.

I have attended several churches over the years. I didn’t stay for much more than one sermon in those that weren’t built on the proper foundation—Bible preaching and prayer. They refuse to let God run the show and eventually find themselves with declining attendance. They didn’t realize they were worshipping in God’s house, not their own house.

Check out the foundation of your church. Is it prayer-conditioned? Does it have the Bible as its guide? Or do you hear about the latest best-selling book or about why gays shouldn’t be allowed to be part of the church? These issues are about opinions and have no place in the pulpit. Church is where we come to worship God. End of story!

Try to put God first in your church, and it will be as solid as a rock.

 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5–6

 

 

Further Adventures

We sometimes take prayer for granted. We say, “Help me through the day, Lord.” But do we really think about what we even said. You walk out the door and go to work, and ask God to help you through the day. That is way too broad of a request. There are hundreds of thing that could happen in one day.

We do this in the church too. We pray for the sick of the church. We pray that the members will donate more money. Those prayers are also too general and don’t let God know your specific needs.

When we pray for the sick, we need to name individuals and hold them up to God. When we pray for more giving, we should point out specific projects. Yes, it takes a lot longer, and you think God will know all of the sick and all of the needs of the church. But He listens to earnest, sincere and concentrated prayers with a deeper love and understanding.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny that if we trust God, we can build a foundation that will never fail

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God Accepts Knee Mail

 * Got a lot of hits for Monday’s post. I want to thank you for supporting a fellow author. If you missed it, just go back one post and read the great interview of Tom Blubaugh, the author of “Night of the Cossack.”

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Time is running out in getting a copy of, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.” There are only 6 days before Christmas. Hurry and order today, and it might still make it.

This book reaches out to those who may be suffering from anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, or hopelessness.

There is a special sale going on now until the end of the year. There is a $6.00 savings of you order from this site.

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I have another excerpt from the book, “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World.” This one tells us that there are many types of technology that people use today to communicate, but the old fashion way of prayer, gets more results, and is much faster.

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Chapter 17

 

God Accepts Knee Mail

 

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.

He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Psalm 18:2

 

In this day of modern technology, we can “talk” with someone inAfricain an instant. We can send e-mails faster than we can even say, “snail mail.” Instant and text messaging through our computers or cell phones make it so we can talk back and forth as easily as if we were sitting in the same room conversing. Isn’t that amazing? What wonderful advancements the world has made!

You know what is coming next, don’t you? God can answer prayers that fast. You don’t even need a computer to do it, and it is like He is right in the room with you conversing. God is watching right now as you read this chapter. Think about it, He knows every hair on your head. (I know—for some of us that’s not hard.) He knows when you are sad. He knows when you are happy. He knows when you are in danger. Psalm 139 tells us He knows all about us.

If you question how He can know your own thoughts, it’s because God is all knowing—or omniscient, as the theologian would say. He knows the thoughts of nobodies like us who want to be somebodies. Each of us is just one person among millions and millions of people. Why would He care about you and me? Because He loves us so much He doesn’t want us to be alone. He wants us to love Him back and seek Him in times of trouble. That’s what your earthly father would do, wouldn’t he? (I realize that question assumes a healthy parent-child relationship, which isn’t the case for everyone.)

Yes, He even knows your inner thoughts—your very own personal thoughts. That can be a scary thought, but it shows us His tremendous love for us. He loves us so much that He listens to even you and me.

God is all-powerful—omnipotent in theological terms. You follow the weather report each day to see if you need an umbrella for the rain that God created. You look at the beautiful mountains, and know that they tremble before God. You see a crocus come up in the spring, and know that God designed it. You look at a newborn child and see God’s greatest work.

Yet, even though God is so powerful, He takes time to listen to you and me. He lowers Himself to your level and listens as you speak in His ear. He loves us so much He even came to show us His love in person. In human flesh. He sent His only Son for us so that we would have a person who will pass our hurts, fears, and shame on to the Father. That is why we always say, “In Jesus name,” at the end of all our prayers. We are going through Jesus to have God also feel our pain.

Have you had times when you thought no one cared? Did your spouse leave you? Did your child grow up and move away—emotionally, if not geographically? Has your brother or sister stopped talking to you? Did your dad or mom disown you?

God feels your pain. Everyone left His only Son when He needed them the most. They turned their backs on Him and let Him die on the cross because they feared for their own lives.

God feels your pain. David escaped angry King Saul by hiding in a cave. When David became king, he committed adultery and had a man killed, yet God (through Paul) called him a man after His own heart (see Acts13:22).

God feels your pain. Jonah tried to run from God and got as far as a whale’s stomach before God turned his pain into obedience.

God feels your pain. It hurts Him when people die in wars. He gives people choices and many leaders make painful, evil choices that hurt others.

Remember: God came down to this earth and felt pain. He cried. He worried. He knew fear. He knows (and understands) what we are going through. He has gone through it. So it makes sense to rely on someone with experience.

We probably wouldn’t hire someone to fix our toilet whose specialty is doing hair and makeup. Nor would we ask someone who has never been outside theUnited States(and is afraid of snakes and spiders) to lead us on a trek through a thick jungle. And we probably wouldn’t let a blind person show us how to climb the side of a rock cliff.

Rely on someone who knows you better than you do. Use someone who can change outcomes, before they happen. Count on someone who loves to make your life better than it is right now. Use God. Get on your knees and pray for God to direct you the rest of your life. God loves knee mail. He accepts it every day.

 

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear,

though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

and though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

Psalm 46:1–3

Further Adventures

We all have friends we can turn to in order to share with them our deepest hurts and fears. They are a must on this tainted planet. However, when you leave them after a long talk, they are not with you anymore. You can’t talk to them without calling them or e-mailing them. You don’t have that problem with God. He is sitting right next to you as you read these lines. He will always be right there for you. You are never alone. Let Him hear your inner thoughts and rely on Him to show you the way.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny that God can move mountains and calm the seas, but we still doubt He will help us in time of trouble?

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Confusing Times During the Holidays Needs Prayer

* I want to thank those who have been signing up for the RSS feed. It helps this site move up the Google Search Rankings. If you haven’t already signed up please do so today.

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My book, “Sings of Hope: Ways to survive in an Unfriendly World,” is an ideal Christmas present for those on your list who may be battling anxiety, fear, depression, addictions, self-doubt, hopelessness, and the many other usual suspects.

There is a special Christmas sale going on right now. In the stores the book is $19.99, but is you order from this site, it is only $15.99. The shipping is cut in half as well. You will need to order by December 17th to make sure you get the book in time.

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Today’s excerpt is chapter 16. It talks about our need to ask God for advice before we charge into making new decisions.

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Chapter 16

 

Don’t Cross Your Fingers; Fold Your Hands

 

This is the confidence we have in approaching God:

that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

1 John 5:14

 

Do you often have trouble deciding what to do on an important matter? Do you sometimes charge ahead, and hope for the best? There are better ways to approach these situations.

We do things we haven’t spent any time thinking about, and then have to scramble to figure a way out of the problem after we do it. We think that whatever we do, everything will work out. And how often does that strategy (or non-strategy) work? Not very often, if you’re like most of us.

This approach can not only be harmful to yourself, it can also cause pain to those around you. Wouldn’t it be better if we considered each situation with deep thought and prayer about how it might affect ourselves and those around us? Decisions we make can—and often do—alter our own lives and the lives of others forever.

Now the other hat is on. There may be times when you need to trust your instincts and go for it. You may need to act quickly on some of your decisions, and this is when you pray on the spot, asking the Lord to direct you through the process. It could be a situation where if you waited, the opportunity God is presenting to you would be gone. Oftentimes the opportunity is there for only moments, and we pass it up out of fear. Or we let others talk us out of our dreams. Can you imagine what the world would be like if everyone went after their dreams, and didn’t let someone discourage them?

God did let me know what He wanted me to do—write a book—and I went ahead and did it. I prayed for a long time, and knew this was what He wanted me to do. Knowing His approval was my gift from Him. He helped me through each page of this book.

Ray Bradbury said, “Living at risk is jumping off a cliff, and building your wings on the way down.”

There are many Thomas Edison’s out there who never got past their fears. This could be a time when the Lord is saying, “Trust me, I am close at hand, and I will lead you through this.”

He may choose to build your wings after you jump off the cliff. Don’t let others stop you from trying to reach a dream you have kept inside yourself for years. Step the step of faith and break through the fear barrier.

Do you notice a similarity between deliberating for awhile about a decision and making one on the spot? Both scenarios should involve prayer! With prayer, both situations can come out the way God wants them to. Prayer is a critical step in everything we do in our daily lives. Without it, we are truly jumping off a cliff without any chance of getting wings on the way down. We will have to face what ever happens if we wing it (sorry about the pun) ourselves.

As we seek the purpose God has for us in life, we need to take that first step—sometimes the hardest step—He wants us to take. He will never give us any tasks that He feels we can’t handle.

He is there for you, so take that step of faith and He will walk you through the mire to your dream.

The saying, “I made it on a wing and a prayer,” says it all. You have to have the prayer before you acquire wings.

 

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Hebrews 11:1

 

Further Adventures

Some people go through life flying by the seat of their pants. They go through the desert like the Tasmanian devil you see in cartoons. They are whirling around and around but not going anywhere. The only way they can move ahead is by prayer. Stop spinning around, and head down a straight path with God leading you.

 

Something to Ponder

Isn’t it funny that whenever a man wants to do something wrong, it is not God who is tempting him?