Showing posts with label Depression. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Depression. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Music Is An Antidepressant


Music Is An Antidepressant

1 Sam 16:14-23 NIV

14 Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.

15 Saul's attendants said to him, "See, an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. 16 Let our lord command his servants here to search for someone who can play the harp. He will play when the evil spirit from God comes upon you, and you will feel better."

17 So Saul said to his attendants, "Find someone who plays well and bring him to me."

18 One of the servants answered, "I have seen a son of Jesse of Bethlehem who knows how to play the harp. He is a brave man and a warrior. He speaks well and is a fine-looking man. And the Lord is with him."

19 Then Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, "Send me your son David, who is with the sheep." 20 So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine and a young goat and sent them with his son David to Saul.

21 David came to Saul and entered his service. Saul liked him very much, and David became one of his armor-bearers. 22 Then Saul sent word to Jesse, saying, "Allow David to remain in my service, for I am pleased with him."

23 Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play. Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.

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"Music hath charms to soothe the savage beast, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak." - William Congreve

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Minds for Christ - Not for Man


Minds for Christ - Not for Man

Phil 4:8-9 NIV

8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me — put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Rom 12:2 NIV

2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Worrying is Useless


Worrying is Useless

Luke 12:22-34 NIV

22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23 Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24 Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! 25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

27 "Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. 30 For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.

32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
NIV

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Life Ain't No Picnic


Life Ain't No Picnic

Things are never easy
I think we'd all agree
But sometimes it seems
Even our best laid schemes
Go awry at the worst time
You could almost call it a crime
When I was little I thought I could fly
No sky appeared too high
Doors opened and beckoned
And I darted through them in a second
But as I aged, life dragged me down
And turned my smile into a frown
Every day a new ache beset me
And I found it hard to be depression free
From the animal world I learned much
Not to use my pains as a crutch
Take the industrious ant for example
Proof of its laboriousness is ample
It teaches us the value of determination
Without being defeated by frustration
So why should I let trouble win the day
Let my model, the tiny ant, show the way

Truth Seeker

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Why Do We Weep?


Why Do We Weep?

Why do we weep and worry so
When things go wrong and troubles grow?
Have we no faith to just believe
When sorrows cause our hearts to grieve?
We may not understand it all
When disappointments come to call,
But God has promised to be there
If we but call His name in prayer.
We know that He is on our side
For in our hearts He shall abide
Until the rivers cease to flow
And autumn winds refuse to blow
For God is great; His word is true,
And there is nothing He can't do...
So rest assured that God is near
And wipe away that bitter tear.

Clay Harrison / T.S.

Monday, April 19, 2010

Dieter’s Prayer



Dieter’s Prayer









Dear Lord, watch over me
Whenever I take a bite to eat

Curb my hunger
Reduce my appetite

Keep me from overeating
Don’t let me sin by gluttony

Encourage me to eat healthy foods not junk
Eliminate my craving for unwholesome foods

Inspire me to exercise with enthusiasm this body
which you made the temple of The Holy Spirit.

Assist me in avoiding fad diets and pills
Keep me from comparing my physique to that of others

Forgive me Father, for having treated my body
Disrespectfully when I’ve eaten excessively. Amen

Truth Seeker

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Ge 1:29 NIV
29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.

Ge 9:3 NIV
3 Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.

Ex 16:35 NIV
35 The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.

Nu 11:4-9 NIV
4 The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, "If only we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost — also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. 6 But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna !"
7 The manna was like coriander seed and looked like resin. 8 The people went around gathering it, and then ground it in a handmill or crushed it in a mortar. They cooked it in a pot or made it into cakes. And it tasted like something made with olive oil. 9 When the dew settled on the camp at night, the manna also came down.

Dt 8:3 NIV
3 He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna , which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

Jos 5:11-12 NIV
11 The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. 12 The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate of the produce of Canaan.

1 Kgs 17:5-6 NIV
5 So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

Ne 9:20 NIV
20 You gave your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and you gave them water for their thirst.

Ps 78:24-31 NIV
24 he rained down manna for the people to eat,
he gave them the grain of heaven.
25 Men ate the bread of angels;
he sent them all the food they could eat.
26 He let loose the east wind from the heavens
and led forth the south wind by his power.
27 He rained meat down on them like dust,
flying birds like sand on the seashore.
28 He made them come down inside their camp,
all around their tents.
29 They ate till they had more than enough,
for he had given them what they craved.
30 But before they turned from the food they craved,
even while it was still in their mouths,
31 God's anger rose against them;
he put to death the sturdiest among them,
cutting down the young men of Israel.

Ps 111:5 NIV
5 He provides food for those who fear him;
he remembers his covenant forever.

Ps 132:15 NIV
15 I will bless her with abundant provisions;
her poor will I satisfy with food.

Pr 13:25 NIV
25 The righteous eat to their hearts' content,
but the stomach of the wicked goes hungry.

Pr 23:1-3 NIV
1 When you sit to dine with a ruler,
note well what is before you,
2 and put a knife to your throat
if you are given to gluttony.
3 Do not crave his delicacies,
for that food is deceptive.

Pr 23:20-21 NIV
20 Do not join those who drink too much wine
or gorge themselves on meat,
21 for drunkards and gluttons become poor,
and drowsiness clothes them in rags.

Dan 1:15-16 NIV
15 At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. 16 So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead.

Joel 2:26 NIV
26 You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,
and you will praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has worked wonders for you;
never again will my people be shamed.

Mt 4:4 NIV
4 Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

Mt 6:26, 31-34 NIV
26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

31 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Lk 12:23,29 NIV
23 Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.
29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it.

Jn 6:49-51, 53-56 NIV
49 Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."

53 Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.

Rom 14:2-3 NIV
2 One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him.

1 Cor 6:19-20 NIV
19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

Col 2:16 NIV
16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.

1 Tim 4:3-4 NIV
3 They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. 4 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,

Thursday, March 18, 2010

The God of All Comfort


The God of All Comfort

2 Cor 1:3-5 NIV
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 5 For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

Monday, March 1, 2010

Fear's Many Faces

















Fear's Many Faces

Concern
Anxiety
Agitation
Uneasiness
Apprehension
Worry

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Mat 6:25-34 NIV
25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Philippians 4:6-7 NIV
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

2 Timothy 1:7 NIV
7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

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Jesus or St.Paul never meant the first two passages to be directed to disaster victims, like the recent ones in Haiti and Chile. The humanitarian efforts take precedence over the spiritual needs. No, these texts are mainly meant for those who have their bodily needs taken care of.

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On the subject of fear, I've wondered for a long time why people feel the compulsion to want to be scared by watching horror films. In 1922 it was Nosferatu; in 1931, Dracula and Frankenstein; in 1980 it was Friday the 13th. A work colleague told me in 1973 not to go see The Exorcist because the Pope had banned it. I told her I'd already seen it and besides, I didn't share the Pope's views. My respect for the Pope has since then increased in proportion to my disrespect for horror films. Back then, I knew very little about demonology or the spirit world and I thought The Exorcist was just a lot of Hollywood schlock. How the years can change a person.

But the point I'm trying to make is... In this day of real earthquakes, multiple shootings, and terrorist bombings, etc. why would people need to make up make-believe disasters? Some would say we need to be in control of the panic button, something which reality doesn't permit us to have.

Truth Seeker

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Footprints in the Sand


Footprints in the Sand
by Mary Stevenson

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from
anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord,
"You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during
the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one
set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most,
you have not been there for me?"

The Lord replied,
"The times when you have
seen only one set of footprints in the sand,
is when I carried you."