REFLECTIONS: When I Was Younger….
When I was younger, I had the idea that God existed for my sake. Now I see from God's Word that I exist for His sake. When I was younger, I had a passion to speak for God. Now I am desperate for God to speak to me. When I was younger, I wanted to glorify God by...
A PLEA FOR HEALING OF THE HEART
To some extent, each of us is self-absorbed. More interested in our own needs being met than meeting the needs of others. More motivated by our own reputation instead of God's glory. Too sensitive to what others think of us (without realizing that they seldom do,...
COPING WITH DEPRESSION AFTER THE LOSS OF A SPOUSE
One Man's Personal Story Tom Rea and his family served as church planting missionaries in France with ReachGlobal (Evangelical Free Church). Afterward, he served for 15 years as a church-planting pastor in Hermann, Missouri. Now he's a bi-vocational pastor in...
WRETCHED EXTREMES: The “Always” and “Never” of Suicide
Guest Post by Christine Chappell Introductory Note from Terry: This guest post was originally written by Christine for the DesiringGod.org website, published June 13, 2018. In a clear, sobering fashion, Christine depicts what goes on inside a person...
THE OUTRAGEOUSLY FRUITFUL MINISTRY OF A DEPRESSION-PRONE SPIRITUAL GIANT
More than a century before satellites beamed Christian TV programs across the globe, Charles Spurgeon (1834--1892) was a renowned British pastor. Due to the eloquence and depth of his preaching, contemporaries labeled him "the prince of expositors." While still...
Just Go! (The Gift of Presence)
Spring 1988 Pat, our Associate Pastor's wife, heard that I'd been experiencing debilitating fatigue, plus strange neurological symptoms (numbness in limbs and hand tremors). She also knew that during my study leave from Columbia Bible College (now Columbia...
A Gentler Despondency and Why It Didn’t Get Worse
June 16, 2018 A Day When Faith Made a Difference What invaded my spirit today wasn't the searing emotional pain that opens the floodgates to my tear ducts, until a pool forms on my shirt or the floor. Not a throbbing heartache that made me doubt whether I'd...
Mental Illness Stole My Father’s Days
Chronic Joy Ministry posted: "Fifteen years into fatherhood, mental illness burst into my son’s life and took up long-term residence. So did chaos, friction, tears, lying, arguments, anger, and disrespect. Then drugs. Then jail. Then death. As is often the case,...
WHAT IS THE SOURCE OF YOUR SIGNIFICANCE?
Introductory Note: In two recent posts I focused on an aspect of salvation doctrine to assuage depression and inject a more grateful spirit into our thinking: "Quick Decision Rendered In Superior Court Case" and "Phantom Pain." Different biblical terms such as...
How Can You Tell When Someone Is Depressed?
Depression that leads to suicide is no respecter of persons. It isn't just the plight of the financially-strapped, unemployed provider of a household, or the teen who's tormented by bullies at school, or the aging retiree who's weary of declining energy and...
PHANTOM PAIN
Biblical Truth That Assuages Depression My last post described a courtroom scene and clarified the implications of the doctrine of justification. In this post, I tell a story and explain another implication of the cross that assuages despondency. I’m not...
QUICK VERDICT RENDERED IN SUPERIOR COURT CASE
Dr. Terry Powell, a professor at Columbia International University, stood trial yesterday for three charges. According to the District Attorney's office, the charges are "inexcusable" for a Christian professor who's been in vocational ministry for almost five...
