Tag Archives: Jesus

Depression and demons???

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I reccently received a comment on this post, which I decided to respond to in a new post rather than in comments.

I want to say up front that I don’t agree with the comment.

Here it is –

“Call it what it is. Depression is demon. Jesus did not play with them or talk to them, He commanded them to come out.Look to your bible. Is it where you get knowledge and wisdom ALL the time? Or just in glancing? The teachings of men cannot heal you much at all.The power that raised Jesus from the dead will also drive your demons out if you believe.”

The Bible does tell us of Jesus casting out demons. In most places it gives us vivid descriptions of the people who are demon possessed. Here are just 2 examples from Mark’s gospel.

This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him any more, even with a chain. For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. Mark 5:3-4

A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. Mark 9:17-18

Clearly, demon possession is a serious, dangerous and violent experience and nothing at all like depression.

The heart of depression is hopelessness and despair. Most of the time there is a physiological cause for it, and doctors and medicine can help. I believe that we should always pray about everything (Philippians 4:6) and sometimes the work of medical science is God’s answer to us.

Depression is NOT demon-possession. It is NOT a weakness. It is NOT a lack of faith. It is NOT a punishment. It IS a medical illness and part of the frustration of living on this side of Jesus’ return.

Here are some quotes from great men of the Bible who I think suffered their own times of depression –

JOB – Why did I not perish at birth, and die as I came out of the womb? Why were there knees to receive me and breasts that I may be nursed? For now I would be lying down in peace; I would be asleep and at rest. Job 3:11-13

KING DAVID – How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? Psalm 13:1-2

ELIJAH – He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord” he said. “Take my life”. 1 Kings 19:4

Job is described by God as ‘blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil’. David was chosen by God as ‘a man after his own heart’. Elijah was a prophet of God, who the word of the Lord came to. And each of them suffered their own loss of hope. And each of them also knew that God loved him and found strength and comfort in their God. Here is the end of David’s psalm –

But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me. Psalm 13:5-6

Christianity and Depression

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abstract_by_Xevious1337

I have mixed feelings about doing this particular post. I have not suffered from depression, so my experience of this is from the point of view of a friend/family member of a sufferer. So my aim has mainly been to work out how to educate non-sufferers about depression so they can support their friends. I think part of doing that is to talk about particular challenges that Christian sufferers face and I think this is a really important part of any discussion on depression. So while I feel completely inadequate to talk about this I will do the best I can and pray that it is helpful to at least one person.

Challenges for Christians with Depression

1. The ‘hope’ conflict

The Christians experience is about hope (Colossians 1:23). And yet at the heart of depression is the lose of hope. The good news is that the hope we have is not dependent on how we feel. It is about God’s faithfulness – and that doesn’t change. (1 Corinthians 1:9). So the challenge for Christian’s is to hold onto that hope, even when all you feel is hopelessness.

2. The isolation temptation

There is a strong temptation when we are feeling down, to want to be on our own. Depression is no exception to this. I have seen many people who fall into this temptation and cut themselves off from everyone around them. I think this is a temptation that we need to avoid. Hebrews 10:25 says that we should not give up meeting together, instead we should encourage one another. When you don’t feel like seeing other people is when it is especially important to have your Christians brothers and sisters around you. They will encourage you and love you but more importantly they will remind you of God’s love and faithfulness.

3. The nagging questions

Who is God? Where is he? A lose of hope will naturally lead to questioning who God is. Although its hard, its important to hold onto the reality that God knows us and loves us (Psalm 139:13 – 16), even when we are at our most unloveable. Don’t be tempted to think that God can’t take your depression away – he can (& he does) and only he knows why he hasn’t yet. Be reassured that it is God who will give you strength to get through anything (Philippians 4:13).

They are three big challenges. I think its important to say that there is a way you can serve and love your family and friends through all this and that is by doing everything you can to get better. See a doctor. Follow the advice they give you – they know what they are talking about. That is the best thing you can do for the people you love and for yourself.

Next: How to care for your friends/family with depression

Lifeline Australia (24 hr hotline – 13 11 14)

To Write Love on Her Arms

beyondblue

Black Dog Institute

More from me on depression here.

The blood on our hands

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I couldn’t tell you the number of times I have heard or said this sentence Slide1

“Jesus died for you”

Yesterday I realised how inadequate it is.

Jesus didn’t just die for you. He was tortured for you. He was humiliated for you. He was treated like the world’s enemy for you.

Jesus didn’t just die for you. He died because of you. He was tortured by you. He was humiliated by you. He was treated like the world’s enemy by you.

And as we got his blood on our hands, he prayed for us. He willingly went to the cross so that we wouldn’t have to.

That is grace. Thank you, Jesus.

The upside of regret

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I’m having a moment of regret.

Looking back on a moment in time of my ministry experience and wishing, not that I had done it better but that I had done it completely different. And if I’d known back then what I know now I probably would have.

While I feel distress about that moment, I also feel encouraged by the fact that I want a do-over. Because it means that in the last year I have learnt more about God, about myself and about the people I seek to minister to. And it’s amazing how knowledge changes you. I like it.

It is finished

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Well exams for this semester are done and I have to say even though this time I only had 3 exams – compared to 6 at the end of last year – I feel much more exhausted this time around. I’m not sure why but stress really got the better of me at the end of last week and despite going into hiding at my folks place on the weekend I am having a hard time getting back to being myself again.

But here is something that never ceases to amaze me and that has brought me a lot of comfort over the last few days. In the process of studying for my New Testament exam I had the pleasure of working with 2 brillo friends and translating and chatting about this –

Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced”.

What an amazing display of Jesus’ sovereignty and therefore willingness in his own death. Without even talking about the fact that everything that happened fullfilled scripture written AGES before that, I am always blown away by this line –

With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

In this day and age we are some determined that ‘its my life and i’ll do what I want’ and yet as hard as we try we can never just decide to give up our spirit and die. But Jesus can! Because as much as we want to be god, Jesus IS God and, in what might be seen as his darkest hour, he showed that in a way that I find astounding.

And he was not just in control of his life but he is control in all things. I’m so glad that he is cause if it was up to me what a mess I would make – especially now.

Two interesting quotes…

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Both of these I have read today in the course of studying for exams.

From Anthony Weston’s A Rulebook for Arguments

Similarly, religious moralists often have declared that certain practices are wrong because they are contrary to the will of God. We should reply God ought to be spoken for a little more cautiously. God’s will is not easy to ascertain, and when God speaks so softly it is easy to confuse that “still small voice” with our own personal prejudices.

A little earlier I had read this –

He was in the world, and the world was created through him yet the world did not recognise him. He came to his own people who did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children on God.[…] No-one has ever seen God. The one and only Son – the one who is at the Father’s side – he has revealed him.

Want to hear God speak loudly? Jesus is the answer.


My Grandma’s 9 lives

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I swear I have the most resilient Grandmother who ever lived.

She is well into her 80’s and quite unwell these days.

When she was 55 she had triple by-pass surgery. About 10 years after that it became evident that her memory loss was more than old age. Alzheimer’s. Now is lives in the dementia ward at a nursing home in Penrith. She is a wanderer and this is a safe place for her to be. Her last nursing home was not as safe. I remember getting a phone call from Mum one day when I was at work saying that Grandma was missing. She had wandered right out the front door and to who knows where. It was hours before she found, bruised and looking very worse for wear, 8kms away from the nursing home.

In the last 10 years, as well as Alzheimer’s she has had falls, illness, been missing, lost her husband of 50 years, and each and every time we think its all going to over she bounces back with incredible strength. And the last week has been no exception.

She has been in hospital with pneumonia and a staph infection. And yet a mere 4 days after going into hospital, she is back out and home at the nursing home. She isn’t walking particularly well, but after 4 days in bed its possible that her brain has forgotten how. On the other hand, based on past experience she’ll be fine again in a few days.

If I was to be completely honest with you I would tell you that I often wonder if the resilience of her body is a good thing or not. Her mind is failing her. She has only 4 grandchildren – me and my 3 sisters. We used to spend every school holidays with her and my grandfather. They were a massive part of our lives. And now she doesn’t know who we are. She floats in and out of recognising my mum (her daughter) and spends most days surrounded by nurses and other patients she doesn’t remember from day to day.

My grandparents served God their whole lives. I don’t know if she is aware of who Jesus is anymore – but I trust that he still keeps her and that when she dies she will go home – to be with her saviour with a mind that won’t fail her anymore.

And so I wonder if its a good thing….. and if its ok for me to wonder…

Who wants you???

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Sometimes I feel like that rose – not just because of a sexual past but for all the other sin in my life that withers me.

What a great comfort that Jesus wants me! And today I remember that he died for me!

It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. Luke 23:44 – 46

Meditation of my heart #2

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2 Corinthians 4

What a great passage to read the week before MTC mission.

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (vs 4)

A great reminder of the state of our world – so many people are blinded to the good news of Jesus, by his enemy, Satan. (For interesting discussions on demons read this or this)

Paul also remind us about what we are doing when we go on mission.

For we are not proclaiming ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves because of Jesus. For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness” – He has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ. Now we have this treasure in jars of clay, so that this extraordinary power may be from God and not from us. (vs 5-7)

We go to proclaim Christ as Lord!
To be reminded that I am a jar of clay is humbling and exilarating. Humbling because I realise anything good that I do is not of my own ability, but God’s powerfully work. Exhilarating because I know I am not doing this work – the glory is God’s because the work is his.

Mission will be a long, tiring, fun and maybe at time disappointing week. But

we do not give up; even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolute incomparable eternal weight of glory. (vs 16-17)

Amen!