Our Blog

Spiritual Development July 2018

                                                      Wisdom for Relationships

One of sin’s greatest rebellions is our repeated refusal to listen and submit to the wisdom of God revealed on every page of his Word. Dr. Paul Tripp offers the following insight regarding how we can flourish in relationships by submitting to the wisdom of God’s Word.

As I listened to them argue, blame, and graphically recount one another’s wrongs, all colored with hurt and anger, a sad thought gripped me. The vast majority of what they needed to hear in order for their relationship to be what God intended for it to be was clearly written in the Bible that they both said they believed. Their marriage was the sad casualty of their street-level unwillingness to listen to God’s wisdom and seek the grace he offered to live with one another in light of it.

Consider one passage loaded with essential relational wisdom: “[Live together] with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:2–3). Think about these wise guidelines for relationships:

1. “with all humility . . . ” Pride always destroys a relationship. It causes you to feel more entitled and to be more demanding than serving and giving. It drives you to insist on control. It makes you have to be right. It forces others to submit to your lordship. Pride is an anti-relational way of having a relationship. Humility is the godly way.

2. “and gentleness . . . ” Treating a person with gentleness makes him or her want to move near you. Responding with gentleness teaches another person that he or she is safe in your care. It is an essential relational bond.

3. “with patience . . . ” You cannot have a healthy communion with another flawed human being without being willing to wait. If you demand to have things your way and in your time, you are so busy loving yourself that you have little time left to love the other person.

4. “bearing with one another in love . . . ” Love requires that you be willing to be forbearing, that is, willing to suffer. Why? Because you are in a relationship with a less-than-perfect person, living together in a fallen world. Both you and that person often fail.

5. “eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit . . . ” Love means unity is more important to you than being right, having your way, and getting what you want. Love rejoices in the fact that God’s Spirit in both of you gives you a wonderful platform for unity.

6. “in the bond of peace.” Love means committing to make peace, not war.

There simply are no more-important relational commitments that you could cite. The husband and wife I mentioned above held this wisdom in their hands, but did not listen. Do you?

Spiritual Development June 2018

Finding Hope in the Midst of Depression

A few years back I attended a counseling conference at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary on the topics of depression and hope in Christ.  I would venture to say that many members in our church wrestle with what Charles Spurgeon called, “the dark night of the soul.”  Christians become depressed. There is so much more to be said about this topic than what this small article allows, but I want to encourage you that in the midst of your sadness it is possible to hope in Christ and strive for joy.

One of the speakers at this conference, Dr. Stuart Scott, gave an incredibly hopeful and practical lecture on seven biblical truths that help us remain steadfast in the midst of our depression.

1. Rehearse the gospel of Jesus daily. (Titus 3:3-7; 2 Timothy 1:12)  There is nothing inconsistent with an unbeliever being depressed, but the Christian has the truth and hope of the Gospel to rely on.  Remind yourself of it daily.

2. “Believing” and “hoping” in God are verbs. (1 Peter 1:13) Our hearts will wander away from concentrating on God if we let them.  Actively pursue Him in    belief and hope by getting to know Him through His Word.

3. This is a spiritual war - "fight the good fight of faith". (1 Timothy 6:11-12) The world, the flesh, and the devil are our enemies.  Fighting them requires extreme effort and endurance.  We will either make wise choices by God’s grace through faith or foolish choices by the flesh through unbelief.

4. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by renewing your mind one thought at a time. (Romans 12:1-2; Philippians 4:4-9; Lamentations 3:1-20, 21) Knowing God’s Word is crucial to being able to renew your thoughts, your affections, and your actions. Take each thought or feeling captive and seek to renew it with Scripture in the power of the Spirit.

5. Joy and sorrow are inseparable. (2 Corinthians 6:10; Philippians 4:4) We live in a world where joy and sorrow are completely inseparable.  To some extent, until Christ comes and renews the created world everyone will be affected by suffering and sorrow. But we have the power to rejoice in the Lord despite this reality.

6. We must be others-minded and not self-focused. (Proverbs 18:1; Philippians 2:3-4) The most depressing thing is to be self-focused.  Isolation is destructive and disastrous. We must have the counsel of God’s Word because it is our daily bread. We should not starve ourselves from what we most need.  It is through the meditation of Scripture that we are led to pray and to know what to pray.  

7. We must have an eternal perspective. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18, Revelation 21:4) We must be focused on the long term and not only the short term.  Our ultimate hope is found in Christ and the hope for the new creation to come.

These truths can help equip you with hope to combat the sadness and sorrow that you might be experiencing.  “Sometimes a light surprises the Christian while he sings; It is the Lord, who rises with    healing in His wings; when comforts are declining, He grants the soul again, a season of clear shining, to cheer it after rain.” (“Sometimes a Light Surprises” by William Cowper; ref. Malachi 4:2, 1 Peter 5:7)

Recommended Resource— If I’m a Christian Why am I Depressed? by Dr. Robert Sommervile

In this achingly honest work. Dr. Sommerville explains that depression is not restricted to the secular world. Throughout history, godly men and women—among them Martin Luther and Charles Spurgeon—have suffered in the deep trenches of dark emotion. But God’s Word promises hope at the seemingly unreachable ends of trails, and new strength forged from adversity and pain in the new light that follows the darkness of despair.