You think I would insult him?
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Depressed?
- Thread starter Cosmicwaffle
- Start date
Unless it is medical, it is easily curable for a Christian.
We need to exhort him to deal with that.
Repressed emotion, deep seated fear, anger, grief ....you have God on your side who forgave you for all your sin. Repressed emotion = dealt with. Fear = dealt with. Anger = forgive = dealt with, grief = scar = live with it / dealt with / ask for prayers.
No, I don't. I actually have to apologize for putting it that way because it was rude on my part.
While I don't think you meant to insult him, I think it is insulting to suggest that one can't be depressed if he is a Christian.
Though perhaps my opinion is besides the point. No worries.
I think your heart is in the right place, and on one hand, I do agree with you.
On the other hand, it is important to remember that depression comes in many different forms. Sometimes it is caused by trauma, sometimes it is caused by chemical imbalances. Sometimes it's due to seasonal effects. Sometimes it's minor, and sometimes it's major. Sometimes it's short-lived and other times, it's long-term.
Encouragement of prayer, reaching out to God, etc. is always important and should by every account me encouraged. And while I think you are recommending this because you do genuinely care, I think there is more to be said for it. Depending on the individual and what they're dealing with, sometimes counseling is needed. Sometimes, medication is needed. Perhaps an issue or fear needs to be addressed to combat it. With each of these, prayer should be included in asking for God's strength and His help.
I am not exempt from making stupid statements
. The more you type the higher the likelihood and then the internet curse of words not conveying emotion properly.I attended a depression and addiction meeting at a church with my best friend who got hooked on drugs. The counselor...the advice
...all in the name of ''Christianity''. People don't know their bibles. People don't know that we have victory in Christ. People don't know that not having victory suggests a great need to examine ourselves before God. Unless it is an actual chemical imbalance, what can be the cause of constant depression? The truth shall set us free!We need to be blunt and cut to the chase. If drugs are our crutch..... Jesus is not. If a boring life is getting us down we are not mindful of the fact that we are only here to serve God. Holidays and fun is for heaven. Depression is mostly linked to selfishness.
You want your life to be better instead of losing your life to Jesus and His will for it.
I only sympathize with losing a loved one. That is a scar that we need help living with.
I attended a depression and addiction meeting at a church with my best friend who got hooked on drugs. The counselor...the advice
We need to be blunt and cut to the chase. If drugs are our crutch..... Jesus is not. If a boring life is getting us down we are not mindful of the fact that we are only here to serve God. Holidays and fun is for heaven. Depression is mostly linked to selfishness.
You want your life to be better instead of losing your life to Jesus and His will for it.
I only sympathize with losing a loved one. That is a scar that we need help living with.
With all due respect, it's not replacing Christ with drugs. If a valid prescription can address a neurological or some other medical issue, then it's ethical to try it and see if it works.
Not all forms of depression are the same, but sometimes, medication might be God's answer to our prayers. Speaking from my own experience and members of my family's experiences (at least 5 out of my immediate family of 8), antidepressants have helped a great deal and has leveled out neurological imbalances we each struggled with at different times of our lives.
Many Christians struggle with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, PTSD, etc. I don't claim to know everything, but I don't hold to the Christian Scientist position that if one takes medication then it means he doesn't trust God or lacks faith. I truly sympathize for people who struggle with these things.
You have have experienced a bad counselor, but that doesn't mean counseling itself is invalid. And sometimes prescription drugs don't work or even cause harm, but that doesn't mean that's the case every time.
What?
Don't you guys think if I really was a Disciple of Christ (Christian), I wouldn't be having so many doubts about my own faith?
It's often possible. Many of is have struggled with severe doubts before. Some still do, and some will.
I couldn't be the judge.
Do we really only need Faith in Christ, or do we have to give up our own lives and follow Christ. Because if that is the case, then I probably am not a Christian. I have given up a lot of things, but my selfishness still remains.
Why do you say that?
Because every time I read the Bible I find myself lacking, and I don't make huge efforts to be a true follower of Christ. I want to be, but I can't.
What to you struggle with? Why do you think you struggle?
The word of God is a MIRROR! It serves as a looking glass into who we are and how we fall short, but it also is a wonderful message of hope and life for us who have faith in Jesus Christ, teaching us how He has forgiven us of all our sin---past, present and future---and in there God makes particular promises such as not ever leaving us or forsaking us, and being true to lead us in righteousness---if we will only follow, even if we are limping!
Don't lose hope! We all have imperfections, but God only sees Jesus when He looks at us! Jesus is our Living Hope!
2 Corinthians 3:12-18 (NLT)
12 Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold. 13 We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away. 14 But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. 15 Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand.
16 But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.
Hold onto the truth! Don't let it go.
1 Peter 1:3-4 (NLT)
The Hope of Eternal Life
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.
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James 2:14
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
Matthew 16:24-25
24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Yes!
You said in your OP....
What fruits are you not displaying?
You said above that you have doubts, you want Him to heal you of doubts? What do you doubt? Is it that smiling and gifts of the spirit = Christianity?
His peace that surpasses all understanding is either with us or it is not. We should be able to see living works or else we are possibly out of His will. Do you want that? You want God to do more for you then what He has already done?
You have no works?
I mean what do you struggle with specifically?