Beating Depression

Have you ever been depressed?  Discouraged?  Absolutely flat as a pancake? Yeah, I thought so.. most of us have.  Probably some more than others.  Most people experience some form of depression periodically.

For some, it’s very mild and comes with the ebb and flow of life.  For others, however, it can be something they struggle with on a regular basis.  Well, if you’ve ever been depressed, don’t beat yourself up.  The prophet Elijah in the the Old Testament struggled with depression.

Elijah was a preacher and he had just had a big revival on top of Mt. Carmel. He showed the people and several  hundred false prophets that Jehovah God was God, and He was God alone.  So, this was a great moment and everyone’s happy, right?  Nope.  There was a wicked king named Ahab who told his wife, Jezebel, what had happened.  She sent word to Elijah that within twenty-four hours, he would be like the prophets of Baal… dead.  You would think that Elijah would say something spiritual like “I will trust in God to protect me from this wicked lady, Jezebel.”  But he didn’t.  Elijah ran.

He found himself a tree, sat down and had himself a pity party.  He was depressed.  So, if Elijah, the prophet of God, can get depressed, we can certainly face it as well.

If you are depressed.. watch your thoughts.  The devil can absolutely do a tap-dance in our minds when we are struggling with depression.  If you are down.. God wants to pick you up.  A preacher mentor of mine once said “Things are never as good as they seem to be and things are never as bad as they seem to be.”  So, if you are down, ask the Lord to help you gather your thoughts.. get up.. get dressed and with the Lord’s help, face the day.

This blog is my ministry on the web.  If you would like to be notified when new posts are made, you can subscribe to the blog on the top of the page.   

“You Just Call Out My Name… You’ve Got A Friend.”

Probably one of the most popular shows in the last twenty years was the show “Cheers.”  If you watched it some, you may be humming the song intro now;

The lyrics are;

“Making your way in the world today takes everything you’ve got.

Taking a break from all your worries sure would help a lot

Wouldn’t you like to get away…

Sometimes you wanna to go where everybody knows your name.”

All of us want to go “where everybody knows your name.”  The show highlights the importance of friends.  In the book of I Samuel we see the friendship between Jonathan and David.  Jonathan was the son of Saul.. who tried to kill David.  So, Jonathan was friends with his father’s enemy.  The friendship between these men endured Jonathan’s father trying to take David’s life.

Everyone of us need friends.  Friends that we can be ourselves with.  Friends that will be there in the middle of the night.  Friends that love us like we are.

As James Taylor sang;

“You just call out my name, And you know wherever I am, I’ll come running to see you again.

“Winter, spring, summer or fall; Hey now all you got to do is call.

And I’ll be there, yes I will; You’ve got a friend.”

Jesus is the best friend any of us can have and Jesus wants us to be a friend to someone who is down.  Today, be a friend and thank the Lord for the friends you have.

This blog is my ministry on the web.  If you would like to be notified when new posts are made, you can subscribe to the blog on the side of the page.   

Don’t Let Jealousy Bring You Down

Country musician Patty Loveless has a song entitled “Got A Jealous Bone.”  Jealousy is an emotion all of us experience at times.  When you are jealous of someone, you want what another person has.

The Bible says that Saul and David came back from battle and  the people were singing; “Saul has slain his thousands but David his ten thousands!”  When Saul heard this, he became very jealous and wanted to kill David.  Jealousy does that to you… it can make you want to see something bad happen to someone.

If you are jealous of someone…. it’s a common emotion.  But, be sensitive enough to recognized if your jealous and ask the Lord to help you deal with it.  Psalm 37:7 says “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him: fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way.”

Two Kentucky farmers who owned racing stables had developed a keen rivalry. One spring, each of them entered a horse in local steeplechase. Thinking that a professional rider might help him outdo his friend, one of the farmers engaged a crack jockey.
The two horses were the leading the race at the last fence, but it proved too tough for them. Both horses fell, unseating their riders.
But, this calamity did not stop the professional jockey. He quickly remounted and won the race.
Returning triumphant to the paddock, the jockey found the farmer who had hired him fuming with rage. “What’s the matter,” asked the jockey. “I won didn’t I?” “Oh, yes,” roared the farmer. “You won all right, but you still don’t know, do you?”
“Know what?” asked the jockey.
“You won the race on the wrong horse!”
There are several horses that we have the option to ride in our lives: One is called “success”, but it too can throw us off. Others are called “anger,” “jealousy,” or “wealth.” But, these too can give out and we can find ourselves flying through the air.          When we get back on and start riding, will it be the right horse?

Make sure you don’t ride the horse of jealousy.

This blog is my ministry on the web.  If you would like to be notified when new posts are made, you can subscribe to the blog on the side of the page.

Be Willing To Go The Extra Mile

Are you willing to go the extra mile?  Make the extra call?  Look a little deeper?  I admire someone who will do a little extra.  Let me explain.

When you ask someone for information, if the person doesn’t know the answer, they will respond with a simple “I don’t know.”  And, in most cases, it stopos right there.  The person has answered the question.  But, in today’s world, a simple “I don’t know” isn’t always sufficient.  If you don’t know, you can know..  Be willing to make a phone call… ask someone or do some research on the web.  In other words, do a little extra or, do more than expected.

In the book of I Samuel, Saul didn’t know who David was and he asked one of his men, a man named Abner, who David was.  Abner responded “I really don’t know.”  Then David tells Abner “Well find out!”

Abner didn’t know who David was… that’s ok, we meet new people all the time.. but, Abner  could keep checking and that’s what David wanted Abner to do.

Today, I encourage you to do a little extra.  Make an extra call.  Talk to one more person.  Dig a little deeper.  If you don’t know, find out! Don’t just make one phone call and call it quits.  Do a little extra.

This blog is my ministry on the web.  If you would like to be notified when new posts are made, you can subscribe to the blog on the side of the page.

 

 

“You’ve Mourned Long Enough… Move On”

Life  can be tough.  We face adversity  and go through trials.  People let us down.  We face financial difficulties.  We experience family problems.  Those things happen but the key is, how do we respond to them?

When bad things happen, it’s easy to dwell on them.  We can re-hash and re-hash what happened.  But, doing that doesn’t help us move on.  In the book of I Samuel, Saul had disobeyed God and God told Samuel he was going to select a  new king.  It bothered Samuel that Saul hadn’t worked out.

After some time God said to Samuel;  “You have mourned long enough for Saul. I have rejected him as king of Israel.”

“You have mourned long enough…”  God is saying “Samuel, it’s time to put this behind you and move on.”

Is there something in your life you are  still mourning over?  Maybe a wrong that was done?  Maybe a mistake that you made?  We all have them but, lingering over them doesn’t help.  Just as Samuel was told “You’ve mourned long enough…”, God may be telling some of us, “You’ve mourned long enough… get on with your life.”

You can’t go back and make a new start but, you can start from here and make a new ending.  By God’s grace, move on!

This blog is my ministry on the web.  If you would like to be notified when new posts are made, you can subscribe to the blog on the side of page.

How Do You Handle Criticism?

     How do you receive correction?  When you make a mistake and someone tries to help you know the right way to do something, how do you take it?  Do you get angry and tell them to leave you alone?  Do you tell them you know how to do it… just go away?  Or, do you listen?

Correction is often hard to receive.  Our pride often gets in the way and we don’t want to listen.  But it shouldn’t be hard to receive.  None of us are perfect.  We are all a word in progress.  So, we have to learn.

It may be that someone has tried recently to correct you and you have angrily told them to leave you alone.  You might need to re-consider.  Maybe, what they want to tell you could really make a difference in your life or, keep you out of trouble.

Proverbs 15:5 says “whoever learns from correction is wise.”  So, there is nothing wrong with listening to correction.  It doesn’t mean we are any less a person.. we just need to learn.

Several years ago I asked a wise, older Pastor how he  handled criticism?  He said that when people criticized him, he asked the Lord to show him if any part of the criticism was something he needed to hear and dis-regarded the rest.  That’s good advice for all of us.  So, the next time tries to correct you… listen.. There may be something there that you need to hear.

There is an old Yiddish proverbs that goes;

      “If one man calleth thee a donkey, pay him no mind;

If two men calleth thee a donkey, get thee a saddle.”

      So, the next time someone offers criticism, try not to take it personal.. instead, listen to it.  There may be something you need to hear.

     This blog is my ministry on the web.  If you would like to be notified when new  posts are made, you can subscribe on the side of the page.   

 

 

A Tale Of Two Mom’s

Charles Dickens wrote “A Tale of Two Cities.”  With that title in mind, I want to entitle this “A Tale of Two Mom’s.”

First, my Mom; Myrna Lavelle Potts.

I grew up in a fairly traditional home.  My Mom was a stay-at-home Mom.  She was the old-fashioned kind.. She normally cooked breakfast for us every  morning as well as lunch and supper.  She ran errands for Daddy throughout the day.. sometimes going to Franklinton or Kentwood, to pick up a part.  Sometimes paying a bill.  She kept the books for the dairy-farm and raised three kids.  She also played the piano at East Fork Baptist.  That was the “model” for a Mom that I grew up with.

Now, for my wife and the mother of my kids; Holli Alice Potts.

In 1983, I met Holli Alice Knighton at Mississippi College in Clinton.  She was the youngest of four kids of Hollis and Emma Zell Knighton and the only girl.  She was dark-complected, had beautiful brown eyes and long black hair.  We started dating and in a little over a year, I proposed to here and we were married.

Holli graduated from Mississippi College with her B.A. in 1983 and in 1984 with her Masters Degree.  From the time Holli graduated from M.C., she has taught school.  In addition to teaching school, she has raised three kids who are active in their churches.    That is in large part due to their Mom’s influence.

Holli Alice has been a GREAT Mom.  Has she done it different than my Mom?  Yes… she is most definitely a working Mom.  She gets up every morning about 5:30 to get dressed for school.  In addition to teaching school, she is active in church and has worked a part-time job for several years.  Holli Alice, is one of the best Christians I know.  She seldom and I mean SELDOM.. is critical of anyone.  She is a very hard worker and very reliable.  Robert, Will and Sarah are very lucky that God gave them Holli Alice for their Mom.

I love my Mom… a traditional, stay-at-home Mom.  And I love the mother of my three kids, Holli Alice, a work-outside-the-home Mom.  Today, we celebrate Mother’s Day.  A day to recognize and express appreciation  to all our Mother’s.

I am very thankful for Myrna Lavelle Potts, my Mom.  And I’m very thankful for Holli Alice, my wife and the mother of my three children.  Happy Mother’s Day to both of you sweet and beautiful ladies.

This blog is my ministry on the web.  If you would like to be notified when new posts are made, you can subscribe to the blog on the side of the page.