Last week, we experienced the sub-zero chill factors so typical for this time of year, with accompanying reduced daylight hours and overcast skies. On Saturday, Pastor Joe’s weekly email had a note about the large number of church members who had died in the last three months. There are eight of them altogether, more lost than at any time in the history of our church in such a brief time, and he named each one of them. One of these members had an open casket funeral at the cemetery this week, and Eric and I chose not to attend because of the blustery winds. I know -- wimpy of us, wasn’t it?
The picture I used for last week’s post was a black and white cartoon, with angry-faced people in masks. There were no likes at all on my Facebook page, and no comments generated on the post. Granted, some people may not have seen it because I published it late at night. But some people did read it -- it was just not my most popular post. I was pretty depressed over a recent loss when I wrote it. And in a world that is already confused, despairing, depressed and full of anxiety, who wants to read about someone else’s depression, right?
Today’s self-help guides are full of helpful hints to overcome anxiety, stress, and / or depression. They usually include getting some fresh air on a hike in the woods, drinking plenty of water, and practicing yoga. Nutri-System always has some of these to read. I often scan them to find out if there’s anything new. Sometimes it just seems like they’re grasping at straws, on the level of “Try loosening your shoe strings so they won’t cut off the oxygen to your brain.” Usually after reading them, I wonder if anyone ever does get any insights that actually pull them out of the depths of despair.
Some people are attracted to churches and religious organizations that specialize in these things. They don’t really teach the whole counsel of the Word of God -- they just emphasize how you can get over your depression by learning how to do positive thinking. Basically, they believe that if you can just train your brain to start thinking positively, only good things will happen to you. And if you want to sound even more spiritual, you can say, “If you have enough faith, God will grant all of your petitions.” The corollary to that is, “If God doesn’t grant all of your petitions, you don’t have enough faith.” Yikes! That leaves it all up to me!
There was a man named Robert Schuller who found out by polling the neighborhood where he would build a church that nobody wanted to hear about “negative” subjects like sin and death and judgment. So he instructed everyone in his organization to avoid those words and only reek of positivity. He branded his “new doctrine” as “possibility thinking.”
“Inch by inch,” he said, “anything’s a cinch.”
Contributors to his Hour of Power TV show received a free inchworm pin to remind them of this cute slogan.
Hans Christian Anderson explains inchworms to a young friend.
And adherents of the new doctrine would accomplish great feats because of the mind-over-matter technique and testify to its effectiveness. With the money collected for one such great vision, the church built an impressive Crystal Cathedral because that appealed to the members. It was important to them to attend an exceedingly beautiful church, so they threw money at the project.
What can you say to this? The testimonials to Possibility Thinking somehow didn’t really mention God much, but they worked Him in where they could. We were pretty sure this wouldn’t fly very well in Bangladesh.
Robert Schuller is now dead. The church was deep in debt when he died, they filed for bankruptcy, and the building was sold to the local Catholic diocese. How many lives were also bankrupt by then, by not hearing the full truth of the Word of God in their pretty building?
On Friday, I posted on Facebook that sometimes I feel weak. And then, in times like this, I have to sing “Jesus Loves Me” to myself to comfort me.
That struck home with many people, much more so than last week’s blog post. I had comments from people who concurred that this song, as simple as it is, ministers to their hearts as well. This is the positivity people need.
Yes, I know the Bible verses. In fact, on Wednesday, the Holy Spirit reminded me of several in a row, to speak comfort to someone in our church who was feeling overwhelmed because he knew several of those who had died. And he, also having been a member of our church for many years and a teacher of The Word, bounced back with just as many verses and promises and “Amen’s” in return. This greatly encouraged both of our spirits!
But you have to start somewhere. Sing it quietly and slowly, and mean it:
Jesus loves me. This I know
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong.
They are weak, but
He
Is
STRONG.
YES, Jesus loves me.
YES, Jesus loves me.
YES (OH YES!) Jesus loves me.
The Bible tells me so.
Once you have grasped that amazing truth, you have a springboard into all the rest. As Christians, we have the best medicine for any kind of mental anxiety in the Promises of His Word. There are whole books that are collections of just the promises, sorted according to your need. That’s a shortcut method, because it doesn’t really have the context of the promise that you would get by actually reading the Bible, but it is often helpful.
Friday night, Eric and I prayed for wisdom and then did a search on cargurus.com for a used car in our area that would meet our criteria since the transmission had gone out on our van, and we came up with one in Lafayette. Saturday morning, we ran into town in our noisy Grand Am to meet the car at a used car dealership, and we were greeted by an ambitious guy with tats above his eyebrows. Though we were a bit unsure of whether he was the one we were praying for, we took the car on a test drive and thought we could live with it.
Then we noticed that one of the man’s tattoos was a Bible verse in John. One comment led to another, he gave us his testimony, and soon we had a long discussion. He said he had hated himself and his life and cried out to God to save him. He didn’t even realize he was praying, but God did indeed save him.
He asked Eric to tell him what his last sermon was about, and since Eric’s last sermon was at a funeral, Eric told him about the difference in meaning between the word “hope” in the King James Version and its modern usage. In the Bible, the word means a confident expectation. We don’t have to just hope we’re good enough to get to Heaven -- our blessed hope in Jesus is an absolute certainty. Our hope in the Resurrection of the Dead and our home in Heaven is always our comfort. This world, Christian, is NOT our home.
And even if it is an overcast winter day here, remember Jesus will be coming in the clouds!
Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him … Rev. 1:7
We did buy the car, by the way. We told the guy we considered this a Divine Appointment. God provided … again!
Pastor Joe’s email did not stop at the list of those who died. He said this, and I think I will just copy and paste, because it was very good and I told him I planned on stealing it:
“I can’t help but think that with all the end time prophetic events in the process of being fulfilled, if those who have recently gone to Heaven, most all unexpectedly and in some cases quickly, are an indicator that the church as a whole is about to be raptured. Therefore, the Calvary Chapel loved ones who have recently passed may be the “first fruits” of the rest of us who will follow at the coming of Christ.”
To which I say, “Amen! Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly.” This is indeed our Blessed Hope.
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