DISCIPLINE#5 OF 12 - SABBATH REST

                    THE BMIC BLAST - MARCH  2025

DEFEAT DEPRESSION AND SPIRITUAL CRISIS

CAST YOUR CARES UPON GOD, HE CARES FOR US

TEXT:

Philippians 4:6-7 

6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

English Standard Version (ESV)

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

DEEP SEA PRAYING

TEXT:

Jonah 2 

 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, 2 saying,

“I called out to the Lord, out of my distress,
    and he answered me;
out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
    and you heard my voice.
3 For you cast me into the deep,
    into the heart of the seas,
    and the flood surrounded me;
all your waves and your billows
    passed over me.
4 Then I said, ‘I am driven away
    from your sight;
yet I shall again look
    upon your holy temple.’
5 The waters closed in over me to take my life;
    the deep surrounded me;
weeds were wrapped about my head
6     at the roots of the mountains.
I went down to the land
    whose bars closed upon me forever;
yet you brought up my life from the pit,
    O Lord my God.
7 When my life was fainting away,
    I remembered the Lord,
and my prayer came to you,
    into your holy temple.
8 Those who pay regard to vain idols
    forsake their hope of steadfast love.
9 But I with the voice of thanksgiving
    will sacrifice to you;
what I have vowed I will pay.
    Salvation belongs to the Lord!”

10 And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.

English Standard Version (ESV)

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

THE 3:16 VERSES OF THE BIBLE, PART 14:"ORIGINS OF PAIN AND DEPRESSION"

“Or like a miscarriage which is discarded, I would not be, as infants that never saw light" (Job 3:16)
Every human being alive, since the Entry of Sin into the World and the resulting chasm between God and His creation, has suffered from Depression. It was not supposed to be this way, but it is. God gave Man dominion over all the earth and the ability to freely enjoy all Creation. Adam and Eve had communion with Jesus Christ daily as He walked in the "cool of the garden". After sin entered the world, Holy God had to judge in righteousness. Herein we find the seeds of what later became known as depression.

Whereas God provided all for Adam and Eve for a long time as they went about their work, the stain of sin brought the following life sentence, which we still serve for all time, until the end of this age.
THE INTRODUCTION OF PAIN, BECAUSE OF SIN:
To the woman He said,
“I will greatly multiply
Your pain in childbirth,
In pain you will bring forth children;
Yet your desire will be for your husband,

And he will rule over you.” (Genesis 3:16)

THE INTRODUCTION OF MAN'S DEPRESSING TROUBLES:
17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’;
Cursed is the ground because of you;
In toil you will eat of it
All the days of your life.
18 “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;
And you will eat the plants of the field;
19 By the sweat of your face
You will eat bread,
Till you return to the ground,
Because from it you were taken;
For you are dust,

And to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:17-19)

After you let this sink in for a moment, there will be a realization of the origins of all our troubles as human being. In order, agreeing with a serpent - the representative of Lucifer (Satan) over the pure and freeing relationship with God brought (from Genesis 3:16-19):
     - Pain
     - Lust
     - The Origins of the corrupted Creation which led to natural disasters from then until the present day (earthquake, drought, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods etc.)
     - Toil and labor for little or not return
     - Food and shortages of all the basic needs of life 
     - The sense of life having no meaning and that all we do is grow up, get up, work, eat, sleep, get back up, go to work, pay bills. Then if we are fortunate enough to live long enough - retire, play with grand kids and then die. 

That alone could depress even the most focused and joyful of us, unless we stay planted in Christ and point others to Him....and especially the Lost. 

Then there is the pain of everyday or unexpected tragedy: the stunning loss of a child; a loved one with a fatal disease; the increasing instances of new and untreatable diseases and on and on. Without the biblical perspective on pain and how God can move through the pain of His people, many walk away from Him and blow it, close to the finish line. This is NOT the plan of God, even in a corrupt and perishing world, which was brought about by sin.

This was not the initial response of Job either, when he lost everything - children and all his riches in one day and then was physically afflicted with sores and painful things all over this body. But as time went on and we get to Job Chapter 3, we see him first NOT listen to his wife, who wanted to him to "curse God and die", but go from having a good view of pain to opening wishing he was dead! 
Most of Job chapter 3 is a stunning turn for a man who was now regretting that he was ever born. 

These are some amazing words from Job:
"“Let the day perish on which I was to be born, and the night which said, ‘A boy is conceived.’ "(Job 3:3)
"“Why did I not die at birth, come forth from the womb and expire?" (Job 3:11).....then Job goes on to wallow in thoughts of death (from Job 3:17-22).

Then here are words of true physical and emotional depression, the kind which is treated with heavy meds in the USA and other western countries. This is precisely how a depressed person feels - Christian or non-christian:
“Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden,
And whom God has hedged in?
24 “For my groaning comes at the sight of my food,
And my cries pour out like water.
25 “For what I fear comes upon me,
And what I dread befalls me.
26 “I am not at ease, nor am I quiet,

And I am not at rest, but turmoil comes.” (Job 3:23-26)

Job's depression continues for a long time and all kinds of incorrect things were said by both him and his friends. God was so upset with Job's friends and their horrid advice, He would have taken them out of the picture, if His grace did not allow Job to offer a sacrifice for them. When someone around us is depressed and in a terribly messed up, the worse thing we could do is give unqualified and uninformed advice. PLEASE get that person to a biblical counselor in your church or one of your local churches which have professional counselors on staff, and then to a physician in case there is a chemical imbalance, for which medication will be needed.

For the most part, accurate, pure and compassionate biblical counseling will go a long way because a qualified Bible counselor will be able to discern if a physician is necessary or not. The Word of God does have the remedy for depression. This verse from 2 Corinthians 1:8 tells us that even the great Apostle Paul was depressed: "For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life." (Emphasis mine)

He was not the only Bible hero to be in despair. Read most of the Psalms written by King David. Most were written when he was on the run from King Saul attempting to kill him and he was severely depressed for years and years. Still he - David - found his comfort and hope and rest in the Lord. In these Psalms, he would begin depressed and then immediately switch to praying to the Lord and end in praise! 

Therefore, when you and I get depressed - let's start there! Let's to to the Psalms and find comfort and respite. Then let's be encouraged with the exhortation from the Apostle Paul who said the following in 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 "8 we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body".

MORE INFORMATION ON DEPRESSION & THE BIBLE IN THE FOLLOWING VIDEO:

WORD OF LIFE, PART 20: "DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL- BUT BREAKTHROUGH COMING!"

Is there such a things as the "dark night of the soul"?  Some would defintely agree with this.  Even the strongest believer can stumble into a dark hole and come face to face with a crisis of Faith. This is nothing abnormal. Is there such a thing as Despair in the Believer? You bet there is. Apart from being a saved and sanctified child of the Living God, the faithful are still human beings, in a fallen world. The thing we have to consider is our response and then God's role in emerging revived and renewed when we run off a spiritual cliff. The Bible is full of examples for us, of great souls who suffered under great physical, mental and even spiritual torture.

Jeremiah is called the "Weeping Prophet". There is an entire book of the Old Testament called Lamentations which is exactly as it sounds. It contains the wailing and weeping of a man who simply believed, did what God told him to do and paid some heavy costs for it, as a man. The thing was that his "lament" was not about himself, but his people. Does the lost nature of the people around you and I cause us to weep and be scared over their eternity away from God, because they keep rejecting Him? If it does not, we are in worse shape as the Body of Christ than we thought!

The Apostle Paul spent most of his life, post-conversion to Christ, being persecuted and in situations which would have destroyed the modern western believer. Christians in China, the Middle East and Asia face the same thing and worse. He said "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies" (2 Cor. 4:7-10).

Please, let us look closer at Paul's response here from this passage:

 ~ Afflicted (attacked, sometimes in bad health or slammed by life in so many ways. YET - NOT CRUSHED. Sometimes physical pain or a variety of illnesses can easily distract us from our previous joyful walk with the Lord. How do we keep from being depressed and the feeling of being hit by a 2000 pound boulder? Community. God created us to fellowship with the saints, from our immediate families to those in our churches and small groups. Here is where we need our fellow saints to come around us and lift us up in prayer and encouragement.Do not neglect the fellowship of the saints.
 ~ Perplexed (in other words "WHY, LORD?....Why ME, Lord?").  YET NOT DRIVEN TO DESPAIR. There is nothing which we suffer in this life, which people from ALL backgrounds have not experienced since our time on this planet began 5777 years ago (from the current Hebrew Calendar). Solomon said it best all through Ecclesiastes - "there is nothing new under the sun". How we deal with it and ALLOW others to help us cope, will decide how long we stay in the dead zone and not allow ourselves to partake in a "pity-party".
 ~ Persecuted (from the extreme hatred and evil we see in non-Christian countries to judges/politicians forcing Christians to disregard their beliefs in the West). YET NOT FORSAKEN, because we know WHO is with us. We are a people sealed by the Holy Spirit and the world only has so much power against the Godly.
 ~ Struck Down (financially in harsh economic times; physically by evil or ill-health or morally by a corrupt culture). YET NOT DESTROYED. Modern culture and society can only distract and destroy us and our children if we allow them to. The Key is Faithfulness to Abba Father and the Word of God. The lock is guarding our hearts and instructing our children to not partake in the evil and cultural rut and filth of these times.

We see this in the next section of our Journey through Psalm 119:
Psalm 119:153-160
Resh.
153   Look upon my affliction and rescue me, for I do not forget Your law.
154   Plead my cause and redeem me; revive me according to Your word.
155   Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek Your statutes.
156   Great are Your mercies, O Lord; revive me according to Your ordinances.
157   Many are my persecutors and my adversaries, yet I do not turn aside from Your testimonies.
158   I behold the treacherous and loathe them, because they do not keep Your word.
159   Consider how I love Your precepts; revive me, O Lord, according to Your lovingkindness.
160   The sum of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting.

These verses are almost completely similar to what Paul was talking about in the passage we just looked at above (from 2 Corinthians 4:7-10). 
Psalm 119:
Verse 153 tells of the affliction and need to be rescued from the "dark night of the soul" or the dark place or traps which have befallen us.  YET we do not forget God's Word in the Bible and His Promises. We know from studying the Bible that the Law actually gives life.

Verse 154 tells us that when we cry out "Why Me?" we have an Advocate with the Father who will plead for us. Scripture and the Holy Spirit CONFIRMS that this Advocate IS JESUS! THEN, this same verse informs we can ask for a renew of Spirit and the Word (the Bible) and the Word Who became Flesh (Jesus) will most certainly do so! (P.S. Question to self: "Is Jesus your Lord" or are you?)

Verse 155 tells us of the sure judgment and eternal disaster facing the rich, poor, middle income or the powerful and those who reject God and persecute His Elect. So let that alone and let's move on. We ask "how long shall the wicked reign"? Well, they will face God on That Day too....and will have a different final destination. Do NOT dwell on that but pray for their eyes to open before it is too late for them.

Verse 156 reminds us to keep our FOCUS ON HIM because in the midst of this darkness, despair, depression and even death, He is willing and able to bring us around to His side, heal, reveal goodness, while He conceal our hurts. He is a good, good God and full of Love, Mercy, Grace, Long-suffering, patience and Kindness. Take Him at His Word.

Verses 157 and 158 tells us that we MUST understand the spiritual battle we are in. We are horribly misinformed by weak teaching if we do not recognize this truth. Read Ephesians 6:12 and be alert at all times. Hate ALL forms of evil and do not fellowship even with fellow Christians when the Holy Spirit reveals what they are about to do can lead to potential sin and ruin. The enemy, the devil, is looking for an opportunity to destroy us. Don't let him.

Verses 159 and 160 can be summed up like this: the weeping Prophet Jeremiah's despair, weeping and hurt over the destruction in the book of Lamentations are so intense and stunning. YET in the midst of all of that, here is what the Holy Spirit led Jeremiah to write in Lamentations 3:22-24: "The LORD'S lovingkindnesses (mercy and grace) indeed never cease, For His compassion never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I have hope in Him."

WORD OF LIFE, PART 19: "SOULCARE CAN DEFEAT DEPRESSION"

The entire Book of Psalms (all 150 of them) is considered the Prayer Book of the Bible for a reason. They cover every emotion known to men and women. From joy to wonder and from sadness to grief…and a whole lot more. A lot of the Psalm cover the topic of Depression. Most people’s historical perspective begins, for them, from the day they were born. It is actually not so. There is nothing new under the sun.  The sheer volume of human beings suffering from depression seems huge, but when considered in context of almost 10 billion people alive in the world today….well, it is somewhat understandable.

Well-known men and women, highlighted in both the Old and New Testament suffered from the same sort of depression in varying degrees. Yet they had no modern band-aids like the mass consumption of anti-depressant drugs like North Americans. ALL they had was Faith….and their Faith in the One True God – Yahweh.  Elijah ran and hid a cave depressed after Ahab and Jezebel tried to kill him, thinking that he (Elijah) was the only man of God left in the world (1 Kings 17:4) God sent ravens, of all created beings, to minister to Elijah and to feed him divine and tasty food and water. This nourished both body and soul as the prophet knew God literally was looking out for him.

King David was overwhelmed by depression several times in his fourteen years on the run from the jealous wrath of King Saul, who trying to kill him. Being constantly on the move in deserts and caves took a toll on this young man. Psalm 119:145-152 is not about this particular depression in the future great king of Israel, but it is about a man under pressure, or a woman or anyone alive today, since the Bible was written 100% for our instruction, edification and correction in our thinking and lifestyle.

From even a casual study of the psalms, we see a person of Godly character either in the depths of despair, danger and drifting who, never the less, never allows himself to be pulled away from his Faith and Trust in Yahweh. Rather than explain what each verse means, it is more impactful, meaningful and full of spiritual significance, if we read, meditate and ask the Lord the following portion of Scripture in our spirits. Start here:
Psalm 119:145-152
Qoph.
145   I cried with all my heart; answer me, O Lord! I will observe Your statutes.
146   I cried to You; save me and I shall keep Your testimonies. 
147   I rise before dawn and cry for help; I wait for Your words.
148   My eyes anticipate the night watches, that I may meditate on Your word.
149   Hear my voice according to Your lovingkindness; revive me, O Lord, according to Your ordinances.
150   Those who follow after wickedness draw near; they are far from Your law.
151   You are near, O Lord, and all Your commandments are truth.
152   Of old I have known from Your testimonies that You have founded them forever.

In verses 145-147, the man of God describes what He did to reflect his emotional and spiritual lack of alignment with the Joy of the Lord. But the second part of EACH verses, shows a Godly person (today - you and I, fellow Christians) who will remain FULLY focused on God, His Word and His Truth - regardless. This reminds of Job when he says "Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him. This also will be my salvation (Job 13:15-16a). 

Job is the epitome of a soul who is surrendered to God, as well as, hopes in Him. He says so in Job 13:16a "this will also be my Salvation".  In Psalm 119:148, we see why the old school discipline of "Soulcare" is so important in Biblical counseling. 

From Verses 148-152:
Soulcare tells us that we have a true Hope in times of trouble, and precisely when we do not feel like it, is when we should meditate and focus on His Word.
Soulcare tells us that because God's Spirit lives in His Redeemed, He will hear our prayers and renew a right spirit within us, according to His Will and purpose.
Soulcare tells us that our God is never far from us, even when He remains silent for as long as He wants or wishes to be. He is still near us.
Soulcare tell us that all of this is true because His Word, promises and laws can be trusted, not just because they were actually written from ancient days, but because they have always existed....even before the Creation of Planet Earth.

DEPRESSION & BIBLICAL SOLUTIONS - HELP IS OUT THERE

1 As the deer pants for the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God.

2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

When shall I come and appear before God?

3 My tears have been my food day and night,

While they continually say to me,

“Where is your God?”

4 When I remember these things,

I pour out my soul within me.

For I used to go with the multitude;

I went with them to the house of God,

With the voice of joy and praise,

With a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.

5 Why are you cast down, O my soul?

And why are you disquieted within me?

Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him

For the help of His countenance......(Psalm 42:1-5)

Webster's dictionary describes depression as "a psychoneurotic or psychotic disorder marked especially by sadness, inactivity, difficulty in thinking and concentration, a significant increase or decrease in appetite and time spent sleeping, feelings of dejection and hopelessness, and sometimes suicidal tendencies". That is a huge mouthful and unfortunately, all of it is true.

In times like these, it is small wonder that the ability to cope escapes more and more people, in all strata of society. Depression evades no one. We saw what happened in the recent past when the son of US mega-pastor Rick Warren unfortunately committed suicide, after almost an entire lifetime of depression.

Depression is not something to be dismissed by the super-religious by telling folks under duress to "get a hold of themselves" or "why don't you pray more....or read the Bible more" etc. It takes more than sermonizing. It takes love, commitment, counseling added to the Scriptures and Prayer to beat back the five major types of depression which I discuss in the video teaching below.

Counseling is important and critical to this, but it HAS TO BE from a Christian counselor. Most churches do NOT have this much-needed service and most times, the pastoral staff is ill-equipped biblically to handle these issues so they lean mostly on pop-psychology solutions. If you are someone who needs to reach out and seek or assist another in whipping depression, please look up your nearest Celebrate Recovery chapter in your town. 

There is a Celebrate Recovery group in almost every major town in the United States. There is even a Celebrate Recovery (CR) Bible now! There are apps for PDA's, anything which will keep a person with a problem plugged in 24/7 until we beat this thing. 
CLICK HERE TO FIND THE NEAREST CELEBRATE RECOVERY GROUP TO YOU

This is the best way to help a friend defeat depression. The mentoring, teaching and fellowship will bring value, peace and purpose to someone's life and the great thing about it, is CR is based ENTIRELY on the Word of God, with Jesus Christ as the foundation!

WATCH THIS SHORT TEACHING ON DEPRESSION AND HOW TO DEFEAT IT

THIRTY ONE DAYS OF PRAYER AND THE WORD:JANUARY 1-31, 2015 THEME: "ABIDE"

DAY NINETEEN:
VERSES:
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you....1 Peter 5:6-7

PRAYER: (Against Anxiety, Day 1)

Oh Heavenly Father, the Ancient of Days and Lord of the Universe, thank You that You are our Defender, our Shield and Buckler, our Help in Ages past and Hope for those stormy days, yet to come. It is more than humbling that You, Commander of all the legions of armies of angels in Heaven, the God of Eternity, would know not just our individual names, but when the smallest bird falls out of the sky. You name the stars and they bow to You. You command the snow and stop the rain. You cut a highway through the flat bottom of the Red Sea and millions cross on dry land and You roll back the flooding Jordan so the same thing can happen forty years later.

What manner of God is this, that He should do mighty things and powerful things and defeat ungodly giants with a smooth stone yet send the Good Shepherd to pick up a lost lamb and carry it to safety. The knowledge of the Holy is truly humbling and amazing. We tremble at the Power of Your Name, oh Holy One of Israel. Sovereign God we bow this very moment before Your Throne of Power, Love and Gentle Grace which sometimes seems like a frowning Face, but behind it remains a smiling countenance.

So Father, starting now, we refused to participate in the manic mulling of the circumstances of this world with its fears, cares and tears and ditch our anxiety in favor of Your mercy and grace. We know You cared so much for us that You sent the Creator to become like one of His Created so He can minister back to the Throne on our behalf.  Because of that Truth, He knows our loneliness in times where evil seems victorious. He knows our fears for an uncertain future for our families and especially our own grandchildren, made that way by people who misled to get into office so they could then fulfill the plans of the evil one, instead of the people who trusted them to lead.  

He knows our horror at the Word of God trampled by unbelievers, the Will of God thwarted by the prideful and the sinful and the Wonder of God spat upon by the current temporary keepers of culture and society. He knows our deepest longings to belong, not to each other, but to the Source Who created us yet sometimes doubt and even lose hope that You are even listening. He knows that we lack the courage sometimes to take the strong leap of Faith and let God be God and every man a liar. We lack the courage to let You have all that trouble, depress, weigh and oppress and bring us down. We lack, let's face it, oh God, the faith to let You do what You said You would do - Be a Mighty Fortress for us, a Bulwark never failing. Lord, we know, from past victories and triumphs over adversity, evil and improbability that Your Promises are true, but our memories are short and our nature is weak. Lord we believe, help our unbelief. 

Starting right now, most Gracious Heavenly Father, we therefore surrender our weakness to You. This Scripture, Holy-Spirit inspired, clearly states in its original translation that You have more than an interest in us, but at the proper time of Your Choosing, which we know as God's Timing, You will take the course which is most beneficial for us, and raise us out of the pit of despair and fear! That is truly mind-boggling to let sink into our very consciousness and what a Savior! What an incredible  and loving God You are that this is so! So we rest our anxiety of this day on this Truth and this Promise and rest, abide and dwell today in the God given peace, that passes ALL comprehension that as we cast our nets out into Your sea of mercy and loving kindness, we are not simply fishing in unknown waters, but in the vast ocean of certainty of Your Love, through Jesus Christ our King, amen.

THINK ON THESE THINGS - SUNDAY

COMFORT THE BROKEN

As if times are not confusing and crazy enough these days, here come the annual end of year holidays where Faith, Family and Food all mix in a fluid flow of fantastic fellowship. 


It is the kind of fellowship which runs for the better part of a month. 
It is the kind of fellowship which brings so much joy to many. 
But it is also the kind of fellowship and season which brings depression, sadness and loneliness to many!


In fact, this time of year - starting from Thanksgiving week to New Year's day - is an officially recognized type of depression call Seasonal Affective Disorder or S.A.D.

What an appropriate abbreviation for all of this - S.A.D!


What we find, even in the midst of large groups in some families, community groups, churches and in offices, is the absolute despair and inability to cope with life, as we know it today. Without getting into detail, which we don't really need to, let's see this week...and yes, this Christmas season, if we can't reach out and bless someone who is adrift in such a sea of despair.


Many people do not have a support mechanism or even a friend they can rely on....the type of friend who is a phone call away to encourage and pray with you....the type of friend who is closer than a Brother, like Jesus is! The vast majority of depressed folks this time of year, fall into that category.


Can YOU be that friend....to the older man at work, who has health problems or maybe his wife was sent to a nursing home?
Can YOU be that friend....to the single mom, who has been made to feel like trash by men who gave other men like us, a bad name?
Can YOU be that friend....to that young person in your church, who comes week after week, sings praise songs, listens to a sermon going over her head which means nothing to reality...and leaves even more confused and hurt than when she/he came in?
Can you?

There is so much, we can fill up a book. The issue is - how can we love on that person? How can we "comfort the brokenhearted" as Christ did? What does that love LOOK like?


First, let's not attempt to solve one problem by creating another! This love is not emotional or physical! It is AGAPE love! The kind of love Christ has for us! Another thing - be careful about hugging another member of the opposite sex, who is NOT a family member...and especially if you or that other person is married! This is a prescription for potential disaster.


All we need to do in this time of despair, loneliness, tumult and chaos is give Grace! That is the same Grace which Jesus Christ showed us, friends!  


Grace is unmerited favor. 
When you give that grace, do not expect anything in return! 
Give it freely! 
Share your blessings!
Buy them a gift from a Christian bookstore or something!
Listen to their complaints! 
Point out YOUR testimonies! 
Tell them how God dealt with similar issues in your life! 
Tell how God's provision came when you least expected it. 
Tell how Jehovah Shammah - will be there, if He is called upon with a true and hurting and repentant heart. Tell of His love before you show them the Scriptures. 
Then show that Word to confirm your blessings.


Here is a short list, to underline my list above,  from a book by the son of Henry Blackaby - Richard- who said in his book called "Putting A Face on Grace", the following:
•    Speak words intended to build up, not to bring down.

•    Focus on their need rather than your own.
•    Freely forgive.
•    Swallow you pride and say, “I’m sorry”, and “I was wrong.”
•    Live your life with a goal of “no regrets”.
•    Don’t keep score of what is fair.
•    Grace doesn’t condemn or give up on people.
•    Grace emphasizes mercy, not justice.
•    Read 1 Corinthians 13 regularly.

Friends, if you want Grace yourself, show some. If you want mercy, show some and if you want compassion, show some!

One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Micah 6:8 which says "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?

This is the command! If you wish to be like Christ, as most Christians say they do, this is your verse!

Jesus said "the Spirit of the Lord is upon me...and He anointed Me to bring good news....and bind up (or COMFORT) the brokenhearted (Isaiah 61:1)" Are you sure you wish to be like Him? Well, here is your chance to prove His Love - by Compassion to His People!

(Image by Google Images)