Fear & Depression

Imagine what it would be like with no problems, no difficulties, and no troubles. You're probably thinking of how peaceful and easy your life would be, but others, the rest of us, would see a weak person with nothing to offer, nothing of substance, and nothing of interest. The things we hold most valuable in people are born out of adversity, not ease. Imagine watching a movie that only detailed how easy everyone had it, with nothing to overcome, nothing to triumph over, and nothing to strive for. You would be bored stiff. If nothing every bad happened to the good guys, if they didn't have to struggle,...

---

I believe there are 4 basic reasons why bad things happen to people-good or bad. Here they are: 1. God tests people 2. Satan attacks people 3. Murphy's Law - That which can go wrong, will go wrong 4. Consequences of our own actions The World View that says, "Bad things only happen to bad people," will be a very disappointing one for you, because bad things can happen to anyone, and for all sorts of different reasons. IMPORTANT: I don't think it is possible to judge why another person has experienced something negative in their life. Since any one person can fall victim to any of the four...

---

The humanist religion, and I believe it is a religion, is based almost completely on the idea of following your own heart. It has pervaded almost every level of society from movies to politics and even religion. The idea is that our own conscious, our own heart, is the best judge of right and wrong in the world, that no authority can actually dictate to you what is right and what is wrong. The lyrics of one rock song say, "how can it be so wrong when it feels so good!". This is nothing but the core of the humanist religion. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 28:26 "He that trusteth in his own heart...

---

Breaking life down to its most basic physical components, the meaning of life is merely survival and reproduction. From a purely evolutionary perspective that is all there is. It leaves us, however, meaningless. For thousands of years humans have been asking themselves if there is something more to life than mere existence. Many do good, help others, donate to charities, participate in community needs, and love others in an effort to fill a void in their souls--to make life meaningful. Yet many struggle to maintain this level of goodness over a long period of time without becoming disillusioned...

---

I'm much more impressed with a person who shoots for an A and fails and gets a C instead than the guy who aimed for a D because he knew he could hit it, and does. Failure is not the bad thing that we tend to think it is-at least not in the positive areas in our lives. Succeeding in becoming a drug addict is not the type of success anyone should shoot for. Failure is the process by which we learn. As toddlers, we failed and failed in our attempts to walk. Our failure even brought pain as we fell down, bumped our heads, and wailed for mommy and daddy. But this process of failure teaches us a very...

---

Teenagers sometimes crack me up. They go around spouting platitudes that they want to be unique, different, their own man or woman-and then dress like their friends, do their hair the same way as their friends, adopt the same mannerisms as they do, listen to the same music, pick up the local slang, adopt the popular color coordination, and exhibit the same attitudes as their friends. In effect, they become carbon copies of each other in their quest for individuality. The truth is, God made us all individually unique. That does not mean that we are mature within that uniqueness. Someone with...

---

In the years that I have been a Pastor, the strongest regrets I have encountered are those from people who lost a loved one to death. I hear comments like, 'I wish', 'if only', 'it's not fair', 'why?', and so many others. These regrets can consume a person to the point where he or she becomes paralyzed by them, living in guilt and frustration. Most of us have regrets. We regret a missed opportunity or a wrong committed sometime in the past. These are sometimes strong regrets and sometimes minor ones. No matter the case, dealing with regrets is something that each of us has to do. REGRETS...

---

The greatest problem with a bad past is not that you made mistakes or did things wrong. It is that you can't go back and undo it. That is the most frustrating part about guilt and regrets. We are hands on people. We want to fix mistakes and right wrongs. But once the moment has slipped into the past, what's done is done. We can't go back and undo or even redo it. That is the problem. So the key to letting your past go is dependent on some sort of action that we can take. This article will assist with that action. GOD DOESN'T DEAL WITH YOU ACCORDING TO YOUR PAST - JUST YOUR PRESENT I'm...

---

STEP #1 - CONFESSION (OR EXPOSURE OF THE WOUND) I talk about this at length in other places. But no healing of emotional injuries can take place without it. The first step to any emotional healing is revealing of the wound itself. Much like a child who scrapes his arm and hides it with his hand and bringing the wound as close to the body as possible, so do we have a tendency to do the same thing. Our instincts are to hide the pain as deeply as possible. We ignore what happened, we pretend it never happened, and we try to bury it under a flurry of activity and self deception. James 5:16...

---

Guilt always haunts us more than anything else. In the Bible, the word 'iniquity' is typically used to describe our modern day notion of 'feeling guilty'. Observe: Psalms 66:18 - If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: Psalms 119:133 - Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me. Proverbs 16:6 - By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of the LORD men depart from evil. Iniquity is many things, but one thing it most certainly is, is guilt. Guilt is the result of one of two things, or a combination of both: 1. Something...

---